Off to UPLB!

It was a fine Monday and we can’t be thankful enough of the overcast weather because we had to go to UP Los Baños and submit the requirements for Lot’s dormitory application. After leaving our things and the office and the collared shirt I would be wearing for work, Mon and I went straight to the Taft area to ride a bus going to Los Baños.

To our surprise, the JAM Liner terminal there did not have any bus departing for Sta. Cruz, the route passing by College, to UPLB. One of the drivers there told us to go to Green Star’s terminal few meters away, and we had barely missed the bus because it was already in the highway, about to leave.

Welcome to UPLB!

An hour and a half, we already arrived at our destination. I was really excited to go there again because I haven’t been to UPLB for a very long time. I have extremely fond memories of the place and seeing the familiar environment brought the feeling back.

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Winter in South Korea – Day 4: Lotte World and leaving Seoul

*extremely picture-heavy post

It has been three weeks since I last wrote a post regarding our trip to Seoul, and it did not help that this post concerned two things that made me unenthusiastic: Lotte World and leaving South Korea. From Simone Handbag Museum, we took the traingfrom Sinsa Station going to Jamsil station, which is connected directly to Lotte World.

BK Hospital plastic surgery advertisement in Sinsa Station

BK Hospital plastic surgery advertisement at Sinsa Station

BK Hospital plastic surgery advertisement in Sinsa Station 2

Another plastic surgery advertisement

 

Fountain with people sitting around it - Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea

Fountain with people sitting around it

 

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See you again in July!

Today is Mon and I’s 4th year and 5th month together and a few minutes after the clock had struck 12, he gave me a piece of paper with a note and a drawing of the Eiffel Tower and some French macarons from Max’s. =D

First of all, I did not even know that these are called as such, and I initially thought that there was a mistake with the spelling (i.e. macaroons). The irony of a French major not knowing French food.

French Macarons from Max's

We had a plan to meet up with Ikle today because he is going back to China tomorrow until the semester ends in July. As it is still winter there, I decided to just give him one of the trench coats I bought last November online.

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Half of January

It seems only yesterday when we were busy preparing for the New Year and now, we are already on the 15th of January. Time really flies so fast whenever we are doing a lot of things, yet I still have more to accomplish even before the month ends.

I went to the dentist yesterday and I wore the Abraham Lincoln shirt I have thrifted last Friday. It was really funny because some of the people who saw my shirt were sniggering because they suddenly realized that Abraham Lincoln was actually cross-eyed. LOL

Cross-eyed Abraham Lincoln shirt, brick pants, brown 8-hole Doc Martens and black Prada nylon and saffiano messenger - Manila, Philippines

It also rained a lot yesterday so it was a good call to use a nylon messenger and my favorite pair of brown 8-hole Doc Martens. For the past months, I’ve been using only my Red Wing and black 8-hole DMs that my other boots were left, uhm, desolate in our wooden shoe cabinet. I cleaned and moisturized all of them last Sunday afternoon and vowed to rotate using my shoes more.

For today, it fortunately did not rain and I used my wexford messenger again. However, my love for heavy bags has been slowly dwindling because well, they are heavy. LOL Seriously, nylons and canvases are doing it more for me now than my heavy leather ones.

Vintage Balenciaga shortsleeves polo, khaki pants, Red Wing 875 boots, Mulberry wexford messenger briefcase - Manila, Philippines - "mulberry bag philippines"

Before sleeping last night, I took several photos to be used as ID picture. One of the requirements was an ID picture with my complete name on it. I planned to get this taken in UP, from the same stall where I had photocopied my classmate’s book.

But as I highly doubt that they have a chalkboard there to write my name on; and usually, getting pictures taken outside entail limited choices as you get one and two shots and pray unto the highest heavens you have a good one. I wore the same royal blue shirt and silk necktie from an October shoot we had in the office because I really love how the color pops in picture. I got a decent shot in the one but I had a little fun with the camera as well.

Unused photos - royal blue dress shirt and blue Hermès necktie

I have also finally reserved our tickets to watch Les Misérables tomorrow. We will be on halfday leave because I still have several carryover leaves in the office and I have carefully allocated all of them until February. My friend, Ikle, will be back in the Philippines next Monday and we were to go to Baguio City for a three day vacation.

However, as I am desperately trying to complete my requirements for a January 31st deadline, we had moved our sojourn to February 2.

My personal Masterchef!

I had barely woken up when Mama handed me out an envelope from BDO. First, I thought that it was a pre-approved credit card. I had no intention of having one, even if I was already called by several agents trying to woo me over the benefits of owning one but to no avail. When I opened the envelope, this was securely plastered on the paper:

BDO's Emerald Rewards card, which can essentially function as an SM Advantage card

Over breakfast, I read the accompanying letter and with the help of Google, I found out that what they sent me was essentially an SM Advantage Card, the BDO way. =D Interestingly, in one of the get together’s I have attended last December, Marcial gave a thorough explanation over the benefits of an SM Advantage Card and I was genuinely interested in having one. So after eating my food, I immediately registered the card and it was already ready for use.

Purple V-Neck shirt, brick jeans, Red Wing 875 boots, Gucci microfiber messenger - Manila, Philippines

Since last month, I got accustomed to wearing a comfortable cotton top (preferably, a T-shirt) on my way to work and just change in the office because until now, I still feel a bit uncomfortable. But two months from now, summer will officially start and I plan to buy lots of cotton T-shirts and polo shirts to prepare for the blazing heat. I also plan to go back to the tailor who made my favorite pair of black pants to have at least two more pants done: khaki and navy blue. But unlike last year where we bought all the way from Kamuning’s famous fabric market, we will just buy it in the Public Market of Marikina. Even if the fabric costs less per yard, it was such a hassle to go there again. Besides, the fare alone already made up for that supposed-discount.

Since the start of the year, I made a personal pact to continue with my quest to bond with my stationary bike. I was also fortunate enough that I no longer have to make this effort clandestine to Mon and he was supportive of whatever it was that I wanted to do. We’ve been trying to eat healthy as well, with occasional cheat days. I’m also very grateful that his cooking skills has been more apaprent because he has been cooking our snack at home more frequently.

Mon's herb and garlic pasta

Mon's herbed marble potatoes

Mon prepared this light cappellini aglio olio and marbled potatoes with a strong garlic flavor, which I absolutely loved. Both were cooked in olive oil and I was very fast to finish my share. He admitted that all the marathon watching of Masterchef US since last December has inspired him to cook and cook more lately. =D I also learned how to cook before. When I was in grade school, I remember my mother teaching me how to cook some dishes because she had to go and work abroad again. Well, as my othe siblings were more adept at cooking, I just let them do the chore and I was perpetually relegated to take care of the dishes after (and that continues until today). My brother even has impressively perfected and improved my mother’s baked macaroni recipe. Her fiancée was also good at cooking (they have prepared lunch for all of us last Saturday)! Good thing that between the two of us, Mon can cook quite well, or else we’re doomed to takeaways!

Back to reality

It is a Wednesday and we are officially back to reality and must go back working. Before leaving the house, I thought that it would rain but barely 20 minutes off from home, I was cursing under my breath the humid weather. For a start, I’ve decided to pair again my khaki pants with these Red Wing boots because I think they were a perfect combination. Besides, I know that I should be more smart and stop spending on clothes and there’s nothing wrong with repeating to wear the things you love over and over again. =D

Checkered shortsleeves polo, skinny khaki pants, Red Wing 875 boots, Prada nylon and saffiano backpack - Manila, Philippines

I arrived in the office and saw that Mon was wearing almost the same thing as me again. However, his was on red while mine was on… whatever color mine was. It was not the first time that such thing happened because last September, we had the same thing on. He also began wearing his glasses because of astigmatism. And again, we have the same style of frame but in different colors.

And we got identical glasses

Of course, just like everybody elese, I had to drag myself to work because four days of rest seemed very short. =D Not that I wanted to start the year off in the office marred with laziness but I just can’t stop thinking of my bed, our dining table and our fridge. LOL In all fairness to me, I was able to exercise for an hour by riding my bike again, and even gave our two dogs a bath. I think I’m off to a good start because I seem to start shaking the lazy bug off and get a move on with the things needed to be done.

Christmas Lunch with the team at Chef Laudico’s Bistro Filipino

Wonderful Wednesday and it was a perfect day for a lunch with the team. Technically, they are not my team but since I spend most of my work time with them, it did not even matter. As we were not familiar with the area, Mon and I even printed a map of the Fort area just to make sure we won’t get lost. We were already running late but fortunately, the roads were not that congested and we arrived in the venue in just about 15 minutes. The first thing I’ve noticed was this giant cutout of two chefs by the door. It was then I realized that Laudico was actually Chef Lau from the Pinoy Masterchef on TV. As I usually watch the show every morning because I wake up at around 10:00 AM, I suddenly remembered that he was extra critical of Filipino dishes prepared by the contestants. Now it made full sense.

A very prominent picture of Chef Laudico in the menu

The leather-bound menu of Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino

The 4-course set was actually very good and its price - Ched Laudico's Bistro Fiipino

We were the last person to arrive and everybody we’re already eating their pica-picas or appetizers, so we also immediately ordered ours. It was actually a 4-course set and I was a bit taken aback by the serving size of the appetizer but maybe I was not really used to eating course meals. LOL

Pica-pica -Sisig Basket, Lumpia Cone and Wagyu Salpicao - Chef Laudico's Bistro FilipinoNext was the soup and we ordered this Molo Binakol. It tastes almost like the traditional tinola, with the siling labuyo leaves and all.

Molo Binakol - Chef Laudico's Bistro FilipinoAnd the part I was waiting for, the Main Course. I tried this Crispy Tilapia Cocoloco and it has the most amazing tomato curry sauce on it. It was so lovely that I did not even eat the breaded fish and just went straight away to the curry and rice.

Crispy Tilapia Cocoloco with Tomato Curry Sauce - Chef Laudico's Bistro FilipinoMy teammates ordered other dishes as well:

Adobo Trilogy - Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino

Kare-Kare - Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino

But expectedly, the part where Mon was most excited of was the desserts! Similar to the the pica-pica, we were to choose three out of the list. We chose Sans Rival Moderne, Yema Bicho-Bicho and Tsokolate Oh! They also have Halo-Halo sherbet served on little shot glasses.

Sans Rival Moderne, Yema Bicho-Bicho and Tsokolate Oh - Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino

Yema Bicho-Bicho - Chef Laudico's Bistro FilipinoHalo-halo sherbet - Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino

While eating, we also proceeded with our little exchange gift and I got a coffee maker! ^_^ Thank you so much Rev for giving me that lovely gift! We were also planning a day in Enchanted Kingdom this January and hopefully we will push through with it because it has been years since Mon and I went there.

Photo with the whole team

With Ayen

Mon and I

Surprisingly, the Mind Museum was just across the restaurant and it won’t be long before we go back to the area. Tomorrow, we will be using the tickets that my dear nephew won two months ago at a company event and I’m very excited to see the exhibit inside the museum!

What a way to start my week

I was already running later for my errands today and Mon and I even had a little argument over my supposed schedule. I was just being my stubborn self again and refused to admit that I miscalculated my time and even went on with my one hour of exercise, instead of leaving early to go to the bank. Anyway, this small squabble was finished in less than thirty minutes and we were already laughing our heads off over how silly we were. The weather was quite unpredictable, so I thought of testing this pair of Red Wing boots for the first time:

Gray Play by Comme des Garçons T-Shirt, skinny khaki pants, Red Wing 875 6-inch boots, Givenchy luggage duffle bag - Manila, Philippines

So off to BPI in KPMG Building I went, input some detail and took a number. But it took me forever before my number got called, and to make matters worse, the teller just informed me right there and then that their system was offline and I had to manually fill out two sets of transaction slips, which they will process once the system was okay again. So that was causing the delay. I couldn’t understand why they did not bother telling the people right away (I mean there were really LOTS of people waiting) and handed out transaction slips for us to manually accomplish, instead of telling every person approaching the counter to do so. Very efficient. Anyway, I ended up with an “OFFLINE VALIDATED” slip and off to the office I rushed.

An 'OFFLINE VALIDATED' transaction slip from BPI

Before reaching the elevator, I asked another BPI branch by the ground floor of our building if the system was already online. I was informed that it just went running again a few minutes back. I hurried upstairs and called the other branch to ask if they have already processed my two transactions. It turned out, the teller gave me the wrong telephone number. I also had a second glance at the transaction slip and she had wrongly written a digit in the account number. I had no choice but to walk back again to their building and ask her about it. Mon went with me this time and I was swearing a lot on our way. Mon looked nervous because he probably thought that I might be having a fit, but I calmly approached the teller and asked her about what happened. I was actually surprised about my reaction because I would normally lash out but I began thinking few weeks back that I should really learn to control my temper. The only downside, though, was Mon becoming my unintentional shock-absorber of my cussing fit.

Burberry London Leather Messenger Bag

So what made me really determined to have that transaction completed? It was because I was paying for a (yet again) Burberry leather messenger bag I bought online, from the same  seller who sold me the LV Epi Noir Pochette Cles. She was extremely nice and easy to talk with. Besides, it will be my first ever Burberry and I love the fact that it is leather and not canvas! I already accepted the fact that I might not receive it tomorrow but I was surprised when the seller was able to ship it as she reached the cut-off. The bag in question will arrive tomorrow. A big thank you to her.

Bye bye! Mon Hermès Fourre Tout!

Of course, it might initially seem that I was out spending on another bag again but the truth was, I had to let go of another bag, the Hermès Fourre Tout I bought almost three months ago. I liked it but I never really got the chance to use it and it was only my sister who had the chance to take it out on my nephew’s birthday (as a diaper bag!). In the process of selling it, I ended up guilt-free because it was sold at a price more than the cost of the Burberry messenger, which did not leave me with less resources. I just looked at it as a trade and this bag deserves another person who will lovingly use it.

I know it will be quite hard for me to just kick off my habit of looking into having another bag, but I have learned that the first step of just selling the things I don’t use clearly leads the way to a better spending habit. More or less, I end up with a new bag with extra money to spare. The ultimate goal, however, was to extremely minimize my bags to just a little over six or make it seven. =P I know I’ll get there someday, one step at a time. Who knows, maybe before 2013 ends, that goal has been already achieved.

P.S.
Today marks my 5th year at work! Also, the birthday of Lolo Dada (paternal grandfather — R.I.P. Lolo) and Mon’s maternal grandmother, who we fondly call as Lola Groovy. =)

Wednesday footwear finds

More than my bags, I think I’m also getting quite out of hand with the number of footwears that I have. I just realized about it when I just purchased two more and was a bit surprised that my shoes have already kept up with my bags. LOL I normally just wear flip flops/sandals on weekends and my beloved DMs on a weekday. Try to shake things up a bit.

First, this new-to-me pair of Red Wing 875 6-inch boots. It reminded me of the PathFinder boots I bought earlier this month and they utilized the same technology in making the soles. I have a good feeling that Red Wing was first on this technology though. It was actually evident by now that I have a huge thing for boots and high-cut styles in general, so this one perfectly fits the bill.

My new-to-me pair of Red Wing Boots and details - Manila, Philippines

Trying on this pair of Red Wing 875 6-inch boots - Manila, PhilippinesAnd then this pair of leather sandals from DKNY, which I also got at a good price (of course, every price has to be good!). Honestly, I don’t even know why I bought this one because I barely even use the other leather pair I own. But as it was sold at a bargain, hmmmm — I think I just answered my own question!

Brown DKNY Men's Leather Sandals and details - Manila, Philippines

Wearing this brown DKNY Men's Leather Sandals - Manila, PhilippinesI know that I previously decided on bringing the PathFinder boots and the brown 8-hole Doc Martens to Seoul, but possessing the Red Wing boots made me reconsider that decision. I love that brown DMs but these Red Wings are extremely comfortable! I still have a couple of days to decided which between the two to bring on our trip!