A Manila Trip is Never Complete Without a Stop at....

Chinatown!

Well, that's the case for me at least :P

I love, love, love Chinatown! So many things to see, so many restaurants to eat in, little trinkets here and there. Don't even get me started on 168. LOL

My first stop was of course, Eng Bee Tin!

Eng Bee Tin hopia is the only hopia I eat. I couldn't live without these when I was pregnant with Lucas. Back then, Eng Bee Tin hopia could only be bought in Chinatown. Imagine how I would nag Jigger (the baby daddy) when I ran out of my supply. LOL So maybe that's why Lucas has chinky eyes too? hehehe Anyway, I was overwhelmed at the plethora of flavors available! But I only got these 4...

Yeah, hopia mongo is my favorite. hehehe The thing with me though, I cannot get too much of anything even if it's my favorite. I end up not paying them any mind when I've already eaten one. The custard ube is new to me and I regret only getting one packet. It's delicious!!!

After Eng Bee Tin, I headed to my other favorite place...

I have been going here for pancit since I was 17! I'm very independent, you see. With no parents or guardians watching over me, I pretty much took care of myself. So as young as 14, I would commute from Las Pinas to Manila to "soul search" while walking around. Yep, walk. LOL I walked from Recto to Chinatown btw.. but only because I didn't know what jeep to ride and I was too kurips to take a pedicab. hahahah!

Anyway, this is the inside of Manosa..

The ground floor is not air-conditioned and the staff would be peeling vegetables at the next table. The second floor however, is a little more desirable. When I say a little, I do mean a LITTLE. Not table cloths or anything but at least it's air-conditioned and there's no open kitchen up there. Anyway, I ordered these for take-out because I wanted to get home to my little monster already. He's not used to waking up without me beside him. :(

Huge siomais (100/4pcs and special mikimihon (205 for a large order). They don't look appetizing but I promise you, they are! And the servings are huge! Their menu is very limited but I've tried their Maki (shown in the top picture above this one. yep, that brown thing in the pot), fried rice, and Sweet and Sour pork. I don't like sweet viands so I usually snub anything that has "sweet" in its name.. but I loved their Sweet and Sour pork. Prices are pretty affordable. And oh, the place is always packed despite lacking in ambiance. :)

This concludes my Manila adventure today.

I hope to be able to write more interesting posts for you guys in the future. :)

CEU's Vision and Eye Care Center

When I got to Legarda station, I again had to ask for directions on how to get to CEU. It was so near lang pala... I just needed to cross the street hahahha! When I got there, my cousin was waiting for me outside. I honestly wouldn't have known that the small path was the entrance to the university. It was so small! Maybe it's the backdoor? I dunno.. Anyway, she led me to where they conduct their clinic.

CEU's Vision and Eye Care Center was a pleasant surprise. I honestly didn't expect it to be like this. Then again, that's coming from someone who went to college where the Gross Anatomy lab was located in the oldest (not to mention rotting) building on campus. Imagine having to conduct chemistry lab experiments where you could see med students arm deep in the body cavity of cadavers. When you're lucky, you come out of the building NOT smelling like formaldehyde. LOL Well, that was during my time. They say Perps has greatly improved their facilities since then.

Anyway, more on CEU's Vision and Eye Care Center...

Nice mirror by the way :P

The cubicles were okay. Not too small, not too big either...

However, I can't say that the equipment was state of the art because my cousin kept banging the remote on her hand to get it to work. LOL

Here she is filling up my patient form...

Her optometry equipment...

I heard those things are expensive!

That man.. is her clinical instructor. He came off as arrogant and flirty to me. He seemed to be flirting with his students. :/  Then they made me do this...

I promise you, it stung like a mother!!! The strip was placed inside my eyes to measure my tear production. OMG! You know, I am terrified of anything being put in my eye. I don't even put Eye-mo! Well, the test showed that I have dry eyes.

Anyway, some patient I turned out to be... It seems that my vision has corrected itself on its own that's why my current glasses are giving me headaches. hahahaha! BUT! They've diagnosed me with Computer Vision Syndrome. It will be explained a little further when I come back to get my corrective glasses for near nearsightedness.

As it happens, my old pair were to correct my far sight and since that's already taken care off, the new pair will help me with my near vision so my CVS won't progress. From what my cousin tells me, my vision blurs out because I spend long hours staring at the computer screen and that causes my corneas (or something) to spasm. So I need to rest my eyes for 20 seconds every 20 minutes to prevent that from happening. She also said my new pair will help my eyes relax and protect it from UV something something.

Sorry, I keep saying "something". 3 hours of sleep will do that to you. Very little is going to register. hahaha!

Here's a picture of my cousin and I after our session.

Pretty, isn't she? I honestly think she's the morena version of Anne Curtis. hehehe Her real name is Kari Camille but we call her Chusin. From what I can remember, that's her nickname because it sounds like her Chinese name. :)

The happiest part of my Manila adventure comes in my next post.. :)

Today I Rode the LRT 1 and 2...

I had to go to CEU today to play patient to my cousin who's studying to become an optometrist.

Here's me at 8am. I am NOT a morning person at all! I had to go back home to get my shades because I realized my eyes just can't handle the morning sunlight. LOL I always commute whenever I go somewhere that is not in the South. Especially when I'm Manila bound because I just can't deal with the traffic and going around to look for a parking space. So what I do is leave my car at the parking lot at Starmall Las Pinas, cross the overpass, and ride a bus.

Since I'm headed to Legarda, I took a bus to Buendia LRT. I didn't take pictures at LRT 1 because it's just not safe! LOL Anyway, I got off at Recto and that's where my predicament started. I didn't know where to head to next! hahahaha! I really did get lost inside the station and all I was looking for was the way to LRT 2.

Anyway, I'm more sensible now to ask for directions from the guard. Believe me, when I was in my teens, I'd rather die than ask someone for directions. That caused me to end up in BF Homes Fairview at some point because I randomly rode an FX that has a "Casimiro" sign. hahahaha!

So going back...

I just followed this sign... then finally I reached the ticketing station...

I so wanted to try out the ticket vending machines! I even made sure that I had a bunch of coins with me! Alas, my attempts failed! That sign in the bottom picture is.. I swear, the stupidest this ever! Why the heck won't the machines accept new coins?!? I spent a good 5 minutes going through all of my 1 peso coins but I only found one that was issued before 2009. So with a heavy heart, I had to settle for getting my ticket through this...

Tellers at train stations are some of the most unaccommodating people ever! They never smile! But who can blame them? Their jobs must be hella boring. LOL

After going through the turnstiles, I had to go up one more time to get to the platform. Thank goodness there was an escalator! Stairs and I do not mix well. LOL 

What I liked about LRT 2 is that the stations and the trains were clean. Plus, the carriages aren't as crowded as those in LRT 1 and the MRT. Legarda was only one station away so I didn't have to wait long to get to my destination. :)

Notice how people in train stations, malls in Makati, Pasig, QC, etc are always rushing? They're always walking at a fast pace. That's one of the things that I hate about venturing beyond Coastal Road. The people around me ALWAYS stress me out! Don't even get me started on the pollution! Here in the South, you'll always see us taking our time. We walk around in our malls as if we were taking a stroll in the park and we don't mind sitting outdoors (unless it's stifling hot out) because the air is almost never tainted with black smoke or whatever unpleasant smell you can think of. 

And that my friends is why I will always, ALWAYS stay a South girl. :)

(But yeah, our traffic is hellish here but only because our roads are small and I honestly hope they keep it that way. Besides, we have Friendship Routes to save us from traffic. hehehe)

Anne's Controversial Dress

Anne Curtis' dress for her birthday production number on ASAP received a lot of controversy from fans and critics alike. As you can see, it has a sky high slit that goes up to her waist. The picture is unflattering, it kinda shows a bit of her hohum..

My thoughts on the dress? I don't like it. Not because of the slit. I'm all for showing off what you got but this dress made Anne's ass look humongous! In the Western world, that would be all well and good. I've heard huge asses are a big thing especially among African American. But here in the Philippines, a perfect figure would equate to a slim body with a well-toned but proportionate bum.

Anne is known for her slim figure and pretty face. So in my humble opinion, the dress just doesn't cut for her. I have no problem with the sky high slit at all. I mean, if I had Anne's body, I'd probably walk around wearing close to nothing all the time. LOLOL

According to her Instagram, she wasn't naked underneath.

She's right, no need to get all riled up because of a tangga.

Anyway, I think this dress would work better on someone who is stick thin.. say, Kim Chiu?

What do you think? :)

**all photo credits go to fashionpulis :) **

Inspiring Myself to Start Working

I realized that the only way I can gather the will to start working on the requests that have pilled up on me is by actually beginning to write. So here I am again, writing something on my blog so I can start on those blog posts that were requested days ago.

So remember when I said you'd hear me ranting about my house help? I'm gonna do it now. LOL

Her name is Merly and she was my yaya when I was a baby. I hired her back (after 27 years) just a month ago so I'd have someone help me with Lucas. Well, that was a mistake because she doesn't take care of Lucas! I swear I'm so irritated with her right now!

Yes, she takes care of the household chores and I'm glad to finally see the laundry basket empty and the dishes no longer pile up on the sink. And yes, she watches over Lucas when he's out on the street playing with the other kids in the afternoons. But OMG! Lucas always comes home with a gash and lately, it's always on his face! Her only explanation is, "Nakhu takbo ng takbo! Nadapa!"

I'm like, "What the h#@?!?!" I already told her that Lucas needs to work on his balance so she needs to keep reminding him to slow down when he's running! Okay, given that my child is a boy and boys are very active in general. But I don't see the other kids going home with bumps and bruises every other day. Furthermore, I still do all the work for Lucas. I'm still the one feeding him, bathing him, washing him when he poops, changes his clothes when they're dirty. Those I don't mind but come on! Initiative lang ba hindi yung naririnig ko siya sinasabi kay Lucas "Oh punta ka kay mommy palit ka ng damit"

It's really not hard to win Lucas' trust but for some reason, I see no sign of him warming up to her at all. And it doesn't seem like she's even making an effort to win him over.

Another thing, ay Dios mio! Mag-iisang buwan palang, nakadalawang sabi na nababale siya?! I mean, even if she's worked for my mom before, she's working for me now and that makes her new! Konting kalma lang sa pag bale diba? Now she's acting like I owe her something. Oh please.

Hay.. at this point I just want to send her back to Mindanao.

Really, really sorry about this rant post. But I needed to get that off my chest. LOL I promise my next post will be livelier. hahahaha!

Hello!! :)

Hi everyone!

I've had too many blogs in the past that I started and then got too lazy to update. LOL Anyway, as per Jane's request, I'm starting on a new blog (this one) and I'm vowing to update this as often as I can. First, let me tell you something about myself.

I'm a mom to a wonderful little boy. He's 3 now but turning 4 on March 16. :)

                                    

Jigger Aleksandre Wolfgang Lucas Castille

There you go, that's my little monster. Yep, that's his full name. Well, not really. His last name isn't included yet. LOL I know it's long but whatever, I like it. hahaha! I just call him Lucas or Noy or baby. 

I used to have a beauty blog but I stopped updating that a while back because... well I don't really remember anymore. But anyway, I decided to just put up a new blog now because I want to stray from niche blogging. The reason being is that I already do that for a living.

Yep, I'm a professional blogger (if there's such a thing) or to be more clear about it, I'm a ghost blogger. I write blogposts for a company in the US which runs various blogs along the niches of beauty and skincare, careers, travel, etc.

Since I already blog for a living, please forgive me if my posts here will be a bit sloppy when it comes to grammar and such. To be honest, blogging professionally is not all that. It can get pretty exhausting especially when topics are diverse. Plus, I have to watch my grammar on those posts ALL the time! So here, I want to just write as freely as I can about my life, my son, and everything else in between. :) 

When I say everything, I do mean EVERYTHING! You can expect me to be ranting about little and big things alike - the maid, market prices, personal stuff, restaurants we try out, and meet ups with friends. So yeah, this blog will get as personal as personal gets. :D

There you have it. I just wanted to give a little insight about what you're going to be reading on in the coming months and I really hope I'll be able to maintain this blog. Additionally, I hope to meet new friends through my blog -- like how I met Jane. :) Check out her blog, she's awesome! <3

Enjoy! :)