March 2013

Compared to February, March this year is pretty lax as I am made more aware of my financial conditions following my many travels in such a short period of time. My Hong Kong trip last February ate up most of my savings. This was followed by my trip to Vietnam which is much cheaper, but which nevertheless contributed to more expenses. It’s still a good thing I was on duty on Holy Week as this may help in my finances.

I finally experienced sleeping over at a friend’s house last March. That was my first. My parents never allow me sleep at a friend’s house despite the many invitations I got. It was fun, I got to peek at my friend’s manga and DVD collections. It was just unfortunate that I didn’t consider bringing my 1TB external HDD; I could have procured copies of series and movies.

Before we got to her house, we spent some time at Timezone in Glorietta. It had been a long time since I was there, the last was when I was in my third year in college and a friend treated me to some games there. Prior to that, my last was way way back when I was a kid. I just can’t bring myself to spend money on something so trivial. I’d rather buy a book or spend on food, thus the rare visits to arcades. We then headed to Mercato Centrale in the Fort. It was my first time there, and also my first time to take the bus shuttle from Ayala Station. I used to get off at Guadalupe and just take a jeep. There are many weird foods there and the prices are not as steep. I love the flower-shaped nachos, strawberry basil ice cream, Chef Anton’s turkey, and the buffalo wings. Salmon and cheese paella, and Japanese Wagyu paella are not bad either. My friend told me about the ostrich meat which is a must, but it was getting late and we everybody was tired so we didn’t wait for it anymore. This experience reminded me of that one night when my officemates and I went to UP-Ayala Technohub Mezza Norte where I first experienced a weekend food market. The concept is awesome and it just beats dull food court fare in malls.

Because this month I bought a new laptop (Fujitsu), I need to find ways to save money and shun temporarily theatrcal performances. To somehow recuperate from my overspending, I seek entertainment in books, animé and movies. I finally watched X, an animé I have been putting off for so long. Also, I continue to watch My Date with a Vampire, easily the best Asian drama ever (so far). These days, ever since I quit school, I seem to have distanced myself from books, as I find myself taking too long to finish a book. This month, I’m determined to finish the extra verbose novel Lempriere’s Dictionary by Lawrence Norfolk which is not an easy read at all as it includes classical mythology aside from the convoluted mystery plot and dizzyingly beautiful historical references that one is inclined to suspect the book of being pretentious but anyway, it’s rare to find beautiful prose these days. And reading on, I became interested in the author himself so I checked his website and also read how he conceived Lempriere’s Dictionary and his other works which I plan to read should I find them in Booksale. [Maybe I ought to switch back to non-fiction.]

As for physical activity, I am embarrassed to admit that it has ceased suddenly perhaps owing to the fact that I became engrossed in non-physical activities. Brisk walking has been a quotidian activity but I would rather increase my activities to burn more fats (hopefully). Early this year I planned to take up dance lessons but the plan has not materialized yet.

In order to somehow cushion the financial blows following my monthly travels, I decided to go on budgetarian mode, making sure I have packed lunch for work or if not, just have veggies since these are not only cheaper but also healthier. I even bought promo canned goods in case there's no food for lunch. Still, my food lust is difficult to satiate as I found myself buying restaurant vouchers from Metrodeal. I availed Barbara's dinner buffet with dance performance with a post-graduate friend and Marina Restaurant's oyster promo with my sisters.

Barbara's buffet dinner was a bit disappointing as there are very few dishes and most fall below expectations. Chicken soup with shrimp head is so-so. The pancit bihon is surprisingly good. Chicken barbecue becomes hard when cooled. Beef caldereta unfortunately does not have veggies like carrots and potatoes. Fish fillet is too covered with bread crumbs. Grilled tanigue is bland. The desserts are a welcome treat in comparison to the main dishes, most especially the brazo de mercedes which melts in mouth with a hint of lemon. The brownies are chewy and moist and chocolates oozes out of it, thereby delighting the senses. But I guess what we really look forward to here actually is the dance performance. I am reminded of the breathtaking performance at Las Casas de Acuzar. 

Marina's red hot oysters are heavenly. I just love the cheese and the spices are just right. Alongside the promo, we also ordered bagoong rice and pinakbet Truth be told, we found the food extra pricey when we couldn't find anything special in it.

For my brother's birthday, we had dinner at Uncle Cheffy (Eton Centris). Food was disappointingly sad though service was okay. Among the food that we ordered, I love only Spaghetti Alejandrino (red sauce with Spanish chorizo). Beef steak is okay,too, but the serving is too small. Asian fried rice doesn't taste Asian to me, but my sisters loved it.

I couldn't believe that I would be assisting in an excavation this year, I thought I had zero chance since I am no longer an archaeology student. I was informed of the AIA near Sta. Ana Church and on March 17, I went there to assist in accessioning the collected artifacts. I miss digging!!! What is bad in urban archaeology is that you go home after a day's work and work is not that continuous compared to excavation in far flung areas. During lunch break, I walked around the area and took pictures of the church, something which I have been putting off for so long. We went back to UP afterwards and my friend and I shared an order of pasta at Friuli's, my first time to try the restaurant.

Top: Santa Ana Church
second row (from left): plaza fountain, test pits, Chinese temple
third row (from left): Santa Ana Market, preserved tree inside Savemore, preserved trench in Savemore showing walls made of adobe

Working from home during Holy Week, I was finally able to clean our room and arrange my books things and to throw away garbage that occupy too much space. Yes, I am a clutterbug and the four-day holiday was too short to ever do the things I wanted to do for our bedroom.