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Monday, May 27, 2024

Do you remember life before the internet?

 Daily writing prompt

Do you remember life before the internet?


I spent some of my childhood years without the internet. On weekdays after school, when I’m done with homework, my sister and I usually camp at the living room to wait for our favorite animes. I remember watching Fushigi Yuugi, Gatekeepers, Boys Be, Eto Rangers, and Samurai X. My favorite channel then was AXN because of the anime line up. Before steaming media, we had cabled TV.


Other times I’d play with my brick game. When daddy is free he teaches me chess. I also collect teks (text? tex?) which are small cards with anime characters on it that I buy in the marketplace for like 5 pesos per set. A set has 4 of 5 cards in it. I never play with them, instead I use them as reference because I also loved to draw. Most of the teks I collect are from Ghost Fighter (Yu Yu Hakusho) and I had hundreds of them stored in a box. There was a time my mom got alarmed that the cards I collect have images of demons and ugly creatures on them that she threw everything away. She’s super religious and thinks it would attract Satan or what lol. I threw a tantrum when I found out, went full-on demon, and felt really bad about it (about my cards being thrown away, not acting possessed). A few days later daddy called me to come look at the drawer in the closet, there I found an entire set of new cards! He told me to keep it a secret from my mom. I love my dad! A true minion!


There was an old keyboard at home I used to play with. It isn’t hooked to anything, but I just loved typing on it because of the sound haha. I remember getting so devastated when my mom gave it away to give to one of my cousins.


Most weekend mornings my parents would take us to QC Circle and my sister and I would rent bikes while my parents walk around and soak in the sun. After an hour or so we would converge in the parking lot and walk to the food stalls to eat lugaw, ice cream, buko juice, and whatever snacks they have. Most of the time my mom packs food for us but we always opt to buy from the stalls cos there are more options hehe. Other weekends we go to Eco Park instead which is nearer. La Mesa Eco Park is where La Mesa dam is, a part of a system that supplies water to most of Metro Manila. There aren’t a lot of things happening there, but it’s a conserved area with lots of trees and trails you can walk or bike at. It’s very refreshing just hanging around there. They have a vast picnic area, swimming pools, and gardens. There’s a flight of stairs that has over 100 steps that gives you an amazing view of the dam up top, and a beautiful perspective of the flower garden when you look back.


So yeah, that’s my life before the internet. I was a kid, I enjoyed it a lot.



Oh wow, didn’t expect to write this much about this prompt. What a trip down memory lane!


I was just supposed to give a brief answer and go on rant about how unproductive my day is and how much I have to do. Guess I’ll do that right now…?


Okay so I’ve been putting off testing this one project that I’m actively working on and today is that day I decided to really work on it. But alas! I only have 30 minutes left for the day and I haven’t done a single thing. I promised to get this automation deployed by June, which means I need to have it tested this week.


Work’s been piling up. Which is good because I thought I’d be out of things to do and next thing I know I’m fired. But well, I like that they’re piling and that I feel more confident to work on them somehow becuase I’m slowly getting more and more familiar with how things work around here. Who to ask for access issues, who to call for database stuff, who to consult for architectural stuff, etc. I love that I’m able to think more proactively now about the tasks being thrown at me and I’m not that scared to attend requirement gathering meetings anymore. Oh well. All that “growth” and I’m still not getting anything done.


Actually, I’ve been preoccupied lately. Jeckie and I are working on acquiring something in the coming weeks that’s pretty major for both of us. You’ll hear about it soon, but that’s all for now! 😀

Friday, May 17, 2024

I feel so lazy

Some happy things recently

✱ I bought a new mouse, since my current one’s scroll wheel has gone bonkers no amount of blowing off dust would fix. Happy to find something below 200 that works just as well as my 500 pesos Logitech mouse.


✱ I bought a new silicone strap for my smart watch. The original one gave me rashes which was weird so I had to replace it. I first got a leather looking strap but it stinks over time specially when I work out. This new one that I got is only 74 pesos and it hasn’t given me rashes yet! Yeyy!

I really don’t know how to motivate myself with work. I’m only working on one project. Lots of things lined up but I don’t know where to start. Argh.


Alright, alright let’s get moving.

Monday, May 13, 2024

Baguio 2024! All the pet-friendly places we went to + how much we spent for 5 days!

Two weeks ago we went to Baguio for a quick getaway (5 nights, I knowww, bitin! haha) and man did we miss it! Especially that Manila heat is proving to be unbearable for weeks now! Since we got Koomi we haven’t been able to go on staycations as much because it’s more expensive to bring a pet with us plus there’s not much options for pet-friendly hotels around. But most importantly, we just couldn’t find the budget anymore lol.

This trip was special for a lot of reasons, the most important one being it’s our first time to bring a car (at least for me this was a milestone). It was my longest drive ever at 264kms! I only drove on the way to Baguio and my husband drove around the area and back to Manila. We have always commuted by bus going up but since we have a dog it’s difficult to use public transpo and get around on taxis.


We were hesitant to bring our 8-year Toyota Vios because we think it’s too old. It’s a matic car with a decent 1.3L engine with manual modes so the only issue really is with the driver (me) lol. But after asking a car group about tips on driving up to baguio with the car that we have, I gained confidence and became pretty excited about the trip!


Turns out it was a great ride. 3hrs out of the 4.5hrs we were on the road were spent on the expressway which was mostly smooth. After exiting TPLEX, we gassed (??) up and stretched a bit at Shell TPLEX Rosario before starting the ascent. Our full-tank was halved by the time we had to climb.


We checked-in at an Airbnb at Bristle Ridge Condo. It’s a DMCI property and it’s pet-friendly! It’s almost like we didn’t leave home cos the amenities look the same except it’s 10deg cooler lol. We were fantasizing about this before, teleporting our unit to different places so we didn’t have to travel and nest haha. How I’d love for that to be a reality lol.


Anyway, I’ll start making lists now hehe


The route


Pretty straightforward coming from Metro Manila.


ESDA -> NLEX -> SCTEX -> TPLEX -> Marcos Highway -> Baguio!


Between Marcos Highway and Kennon Road, the former is what everyone suggested we take because Kennon is usually closed and open only to locals, and when it rains it’s more dangerous.


They say Marcos Highway has wider roads because it’s what trucks and buses use. You’ll be sharing the road with them so there could be a slow down in some parts. But I realized after driving up that trucks are usually very kind to private vehicles, they would give way and give you a hand signal when it’s safe to pass them. The buses are more aggressive so be careful around them!


We left home 9:30AM and arrive 2:30PM. So that’s 5hrs with one stop, following the speed limit ah!


Gas | ~₱4,500


Initial full tank – ~₱2,000

Consumed half a tank traversing the expressways.

Top-up at Shell Rosario TPLEX – ~₱1,200 (half-tank)

Consumed another half-tank going around Baguio

Top-up heading back to Manila at Shell Rosario TPLEX – ~₱1,300 (half-tank)


When we got home we still have around half-tank left so our actual consumption is really just 1.5 full tanks for the whole trip.


Toll fees | ~₱1,200


To be safe, load up your Easytrip (for NLEX and SCTEX) with ₱700 and your Autosweep (for TPLEX) with ₱500. That 1,200 is enough for going back and forth Metro Manila.


Airbnb | ~₱17,500


We stayed here for 5 nights and it was great ♥


We’re a party of 2 adults plus Koomi our dog and we paid around 3.5k/night.


Koomi loved running around the roof deck ♥.


All the pet-friendly places and restaurants we visited



  • Lime and Basil Thai Restaurant
    • Located at Outlook Ridge Condo (another DMCI property hehe
    • Spent ~₱2,000 here


  • SM Baguio
    • You can hang-out by the stairs at the sunset terrace
    • Most restaurants have outdoor seats where pets are allowed
    • Buffalo Wings and Things – spent ₱500 for merienda
    • Chaya Japanese Restaurant – spent ~₱3,300 for dinner


  • Lemon and Olives Greek Taverna
    • Love the view here! And the laaamb dishes ♥
    • Spent around ~₱2,800 for lunch


  • Mines View Park for souvenirs
    • Entrance is ₱10/adult, dogs are free
    • Careful of one of the St. Bernards cos one is agressive towards dogs. Honestly though, nakaka-awa sila tingnan. They’re not fun to pet. And we feel like the “agressive” one was actually barking at other dogs for help huhu.
    • Spent around ₱4,300 for pasalubong (strawberries, ube jam, shirts, and music boxes) because everything is overpriced here haha.
    • Strawberries are small during this season, according to the ates they’re normally big during December to March. Still sweet though!
    • Good Shepherd Ube Jams are sold out easily in the morning because the vendors hoard them and sell them with a huge margin sa baba. Unfortunately we’re not morning people so 450/jar na yung nabili namin nung hapon. Original price is 350/jar.


  • Choco-Late de Batirol
    • Had a lovely lunch here!
    • Spent ~₱1,300


  • Camp John Hay Picnic Area
    • Loved walking around here! Lots of dogs too! Most people bring picnic stuff cos the tables in the park are not free and you’re not allowed to sit on the stumps. There are some wooden benches though. 🙂
    • Parking is available but they’re mostly parallel slots


  • Mangiamo Ristorante Baguio
    • One of our favorite Italian restaurants!
    • It’s at Giraffe Boutique Hotel which is also pet-friendly
    • Spent ~₱2,000 for dinner


  • Lola Joe’s Bulalohan and Kambingan
    • It’s one of the restaurants at Mine’s View na may Kambingan so we ate here!
    • The adobong kambing was so good!
    • Spend ~₱680 for lunch

Grand total – ~₱43,000 for 5 nights


I think it’s not bad for 5 nights considering we ate out a lot?! I already included the grocery items I bought in preparation for this trip. You know… chips, eggs, bread, some canned goods, snacks, rice, coffee, etc hehe. That’s maybe around ₱2,000.


Hopefully we could stay longer the next time around cos I swear sobrang bitin pa kami ang init sa Manilaaaaa!!!! I wanna go to other parks and Baguio market too!