All posts tagged summer

Burger Machine, Lecheflan-less Halo-Halo, and a Beautiful Sunset

I feel energized!

I went home last weekend to spend time with the greatest oldies in the world (my parents!!!), drink at the beach with my cousins, experience the newly opened Burger King Machine, and take care of my pet plants!

This is my Mama and me before mass in Our Lady of The Pillar church started. I didn’t get to take a pic with my Daddy because Fr. Gerry already arrived. If you’re wondering why I don’t have lots of pictures of my parents, that’s because they aren’t camwhores like me. Hindi ko talaga gets kung kanino ako nagmana. Pumapayag lang magpicture-taking talaga ‘yang mga ‘yan kapag birthday nila or ‘pag Christmas!

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The gospel that day was about Doubting Thomas. I think it was a timely reminder for me to stop worrying and just trust God with everything. Everything by Lifehouse was the song on loop in my 3day-vacay. That and Hey Jude by The Beatles. Hmmmm… coincidence?

As we were walking home after mass, I went slow-mo when I saw the newest addition to our sleepy town of Morong, Bataan. BURGER MACHINE. Whooooaaaaaa. This is the first ever fastfood that’s ever been built in Morong. I don’t care if it’s smalltime. Progress is still good no matter how small it is. Today, Burger Machine. Tomorrow, Jollibee! Next year, Starbucks, Next decade, SM!!! Hahaha!!! Oh well, one can hope. 😉

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Some of my cousins went with me for dinner there. With the suggestion of my friend Jon, I had the PinakaBurger or Jumbo Burger, the one with everything on it– chili, bacon, cheese, coleslaw! It will never be my favorite burger but it tasted better than a Big Mac that time, because I was very happy. :p I even got my little inaanak a pasalubong. Cheesedog daw sabi ni Reese. Matakaw, mana sa Ninang. 🙂

The following morning, I woke up to this breakfast prepared by my Daddy. Cornflakes, ensaimada, coffee… and a timely article! Hahahaha! Ang lakas lang talagang mang-asar ng tatay ko! My mother also had her turn in talking to me about love over lunch. Yuuuuccckkk. Awkward. Kinwento ba naman uli sa akin ang lovestory nila ni Daddy! Shempre, gumanti ako at nagkwento rin ako tungkol sa mga ex-boylets ko! :))

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By afternoon, I hit the beach. I love that I have a cool uncle that owns one of the best resorts in our town. Do google it– East-West Resort. The amenities are not as flashy as the other resorts’ but the beach is definitely better. Feel na feel mo talaga ang probinsya charm. 🙂

Had rumcoke and lots of junkfood with my cousins and talked about school and career. It was my first time to drink with my younger cousins (23 and 17) and I felt that I was the family blacksheep/b.i. na kasing bata ng looks nila. At kasing fresh. Or mas fresh. Bwahahahaha!!! I love my cousins. I hope that I can spend more time with them. 🙂

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My third and last day of vacay was spent mostly at home.

We bought sari-sari store halo-halo and for the first time in years, I ate pinipig again. See, I am not fond of halo-halo, unless it’s Razon’s with ingredients so few, ingredients that I all like. Medyo disappointing kahit masarap naman kasi walang lecheflan sa taas. pero may ube sa loob. It’s my Mama that loves it so to fully enjoy our lunch of hilaw na mangga, inihaw na bangus, and pandan rice, I agreed on having the halo-halo for dessert. Funny nga because Daddy forgot to pay Ate Belen. Akala niya, nabayaran ko na. So after eating, he hurried back to the store to pay her. Wawa naman si erpats, ang init-init pa naman! :))

Nakarma rin naman ako because I was Miss Sweaty when I went to the backyard  to check our plants– eggplants, tomatoes, sili, guyabano, dayap, bananas, mangga, blah blah blah. It sorta sucks that the weather is too damn hot, some of plants are dying. 😦 Di ‘bale. My Mama has a greenthumb. Kaya niyang buhayin ang mga pananim!!! Go Mama!

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Sinigang was on the dinner menu, so while I was waiting for the pork to cook, I went out to buy pasalubong. Ano pa nga ba, eh di kasuy. Cashew was my colleagues’ requested pasalubong. Dati, suman sa lihiya. Too bad I didn’t get to buy lots of kasuy because it’s still so expensive! Pero ang sarap talaga ng kasuy ng Bataan. Talong-talo ang kasuy ng Palawan at Antipolo!

When I went back home, Mama and I finished cooking the sinigang. It turned out exceptionally delicious even if we didn’t get to put kangkong and labanos. It was just pork, onions, okra, eggplants, and gabi. Patis with siling labuyo as sawsawan of course. And because it was a special dinner (because I’m home) we had Coke. :p

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I’m now back in Manila. Arrived this morning. I’ll be counting the days until I am home again. Tonight, I’ll be dreaming of cheap lecheflan-less halo-halo, beautiful sunsets, and the warmth of our comfy sofa…

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listening to: Kings of Leon – Notion

2 Comments
by Iya Santos on April 17, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Food and Drinks, Home, Travel
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Posted by Iya Santos on April 17, 2012

https://psychosomaticaddictinsane.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/morong-weekend/

Bulalo and Lichens

There were supposed to be 6 of us set for the Tagaytay trip last Sunday, but Kwe got sick, Mari’s family came to town and Shani cannot be contacted. So after quick drinks in Heaven & Eggs, we headed south for the r&r we were all dying to get. Dying? Haha, baka ako lang pala ‘yun. :p

That’s me with my vanilla low-fat milk and my bemused expression. Low-fat to prepare me for the foodtrip hahaha and bemused because I heard a name that I wasn’t prepared to hear double hahaha. Almost choked btw. :p New thing about H&E, they already have live music. We missed Carla because the guy sang The Promise and Mad World. Sayang, walang Jason Mraz. Wahahaha.

After an hour drive  and listening to happy (adjective synonymous to GAY) sounds, we attended mass in Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel. The gospel was about love and hope and forgiveness. Errrr… ahhhh… God naman. Always nananadya. Hehe. :p Lighted a blue candle for me and my loved ones. Good girl na sana, but when we saw a monkey near the parking lot, I immediately called it Jose. When it didn’t respond to that name, I tried ALL names of my exes. I think it warmed up to “Jeff”? Na hindi ko naman ex. Hahaha.

Lunch was at Antonio’s Grill (or The Grill by Antonio’s). Had bulalo, ensaladang mangga and pritong hito with buro. I wanted tawilis but it wasn’t available. Guess I’ll just have it with sinigang the next time I’m in Tagaytay. Maybe in Mahogany Market. The bulalo of Antonio’s was delish but I’ve definitely had better. Like my mom’s or Myrna’s in QC. Antonio’s hito with buro, however, was probably the best I’ve ever had. 🙂

Coffee/tea and cake at Taal Vista Lodge after. This is where I sang Brokenhearted Me to the waitress kaya hindi na siya bumalik sa table namin. Too bad, she didn’t see me singing and dancing to Sexy Back. Hehe. Taal Vista was also where we  talked about condensation, music, love, (amazing) lichens, seahorses et cetera. Also where most of the photos were taken. Most of them of me. :p

Soup and bread dinner in Buon Giorno. Loved my Crema de Funghi and bread with evoo/balsamic vinegar. Looked like Joko was also glad with her Minestrone and Mike was also satisfied with his Zuppa di Zucca Arrosto.  🙂 Dessert was at Mochiko, but I skipped the sweets and just walked around the Cliffhouse.

That was an enjoyable and calming Tagaytay trip.  I wish I can go back before June ends… Or before monster typhoons arrive. 🙂

Ow-kaaaaaayyy… it wasn’t a tranquil trip from start to finish. I kicked the door of Taal Vista’s washroom because someone’s an idiot. :p Good thing the Tagaytay weather was able to cool my head within a matter of minutes. Hahaha!

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listening to: Metronomy – On Dancefloors

9 Comments
by Iya Santos on May 31, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Food and Drinks, Friends, Places, Travel
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Posted by Iya Santos on May 31, 2011

https://psychosomaticaddictinsane.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/tagaytay_may2011/

Carla and I should buy rashguards.

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Poser kung poser. Hahaha.

Got back from the La Union surftrip last Sunday night with Joko, Carla, Kwe, Kassy, Frey, Tamille, Christian, Richard, Ryan, Marie, Kuya Brother Lo, Baby Brother Lo and Girlfriend Lo. Lahat sila nag-surf. Kami ni Carla, as usual plato ang sinurf.

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It was fun! I wanna go to the beach again! Real, Quezon? Tara!

Will blog about the LU trip as soon as I am not so busy anymore. Ugh, realities of the metro. Bleh. Take me back to the beach!

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listening to: LU Girls – Come, Fighting Spirit

8 Comments
by Iya Santos on May 6, 2009  •  Permalink
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Posted by Iya Santos on May 6, 2009

https://psychosomaticaddictinsane.wordpress.com/2009/05/06/carla-and-i-should-buy-rashguards/

B__ch with a long e

There’s an imminent GAD for me, I know. Summer is supposed to be fun, but with me on the frontlines of planning my barkada’s sun and surf escape, I can’t help but have this stress cloud hanging menacingly over my head.

The Bora plan was scrapped due to five-day leave conflicts and mismanaged finances. No biggie. That beach ain’t going anywhere. I still have 8 months to fulfill my lifelong dream New Year’s resolution of bringing my beachworthy bum to Bora. More importantly, not one person in my barkada is bent on going there this summer. The kuripot blood in our veins is indeed potent. :p

So everybody wants to go to the beach and doesn’t want to spend much (or at all, hahaha).

Hence, the idea that I bring them all to Bataan. My Mum’s from Morong and most of my close relatives are there. One of my uncles own a resort and another uncle actually has the entire beach for his backyard. Ergo, we don’t even have to pay a single cent for the accomodation! It’s also typical for my relatives to feed visitors like there’s no tomorrow. So, yep, we don’t have to pay for most of the food as well. The Poblacion wet market has merchandise that wouldn’t dent our wallets. If we decide to go dirt cheap, we’ll just go to our farm and harvest whatever’s in season.

My friends have simple joys and our town has simple things to offer…
* The Beach
The sand’s not white but clean. It’s chipetix pero pretty!

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* Bonfire and Marshmallows
Wheee for ghost stories! For the extra oomph, I’ll bring them to the local cemetery.
* Videoke and Beer
Hopefully, I won’t cause a tsunami when I belt my all-time beach pick, Kokomo.
* Snorkling and Petting Pawikans
PGMA recently visited those pawikans. I wonder if they’ve turned antisocial because of it…

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* Farm and Picnic
I don’t know if the mangoes are in bloom this time of the year, though. I hope to ride a carabao across the palayan.* Vietnamese Soup
Morong used to be a resettlement area for the Vietnamese refugees. A visit to our town won’t be complete without the savory-spicy soup, Hiu Tieu!

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* Matikis Island
I heard it’s quite pristine out there, perhaps I shouldn’t bring Donnie so it will remain unspoilt. Hehe.
* Waterfalls!
It’s an hour walk I heard, but my cousins said it’s worth it, just be careful with the hanging bridge (of death).
* Zoobic Safari
Subic is just 40 minutes away from Morong. After the meet and greet with animals, we can still go to Olongapo for the baratillos!

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I can’t wait for the last week of April. Yeah yeah, 3rd week’s been canceled, thus, my GAD.

Take me to the beach!

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Another General Anxiety Disorder piece, the La Luz trip with my colleagues sometime May!

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listening to: All Saints – Pure Shores

4 Comments
by Iya Santos on March 28, 2008  •  Permalink
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Posted by Iya Santos on March 28, 2008

https://psychosomaticaddictinsane.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/beachtrip2k8/

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