Christmas Away from Home

Unfortunately, this year our schedule didn't allow me to fly home and spend Christmas with my family. But like millions of Filipinos overseas, I have a family here in Dubai, and they're coming over this evening for a very special Christmas eve dinner.

We're shunning the crackers, stuffed turkey with cranberry sauce and other Western festive trimmings we've been seeing on TV and hearing about on the radio. We're going all-Filipino, and I love it.

Each one of us has been assigned to bring a special Filipino dish. So here's what we're expecting this evening:

Hamon

Pancit

Queso de bola

Pandesal

Rellenong bangus

Pinoy-style fruit salad

A variety of kakanin

The one and only foreigner at our party will be in charge of grapes and other beverages.

On top of that, we're going to have our very own impromptu Secret Santa. Our gifts must be dropped off beside the tiny Christmas tree that I decorated and assembled. 

Not to mention Pinoy Christmas songs, courtesy of Fifi.

It's going to be a different but equally meaningful Christmas, filled with love.

Shanghai and Hangzhou

Shanghai and Hangzhou are contrasting cities, but equally beautiful and open to tourists. On the way back to Manila, we took a side strip to China to experience what the country had to offer. I was expecting good siopao and wonton noodles, but got so much more. Read on.

SHANGHAI

After more than eight hours on an Emirates plane eating Chinese airplane food, we finally landed in Shanghai. Pudong International Airport is big, modern and very promising. We hopped in a cab, headed to the Hilton, and checked in painlessly. Bonus: We arrived a day before the Shanghai Open, and a bunch of famous tennis players were staying in the same hotel! I saw Jo Wilfried Tsonga and two others (can't remember their names, but if you're a tennis fan, you would recognize them).

We wasted no time. We stepped out, crossed the road, and immediately saw a small after-work joint, where we had our first drink. Not bad. We continued to explore the area, pub-hopping and merrily snacking on street food. I was very happy with my first treat: a bowl of fresh egg noodles, with a bunch of fresh bokchoy, mushrooms, chilies and chives thrown in. And of course, Northern China's version of the siopao - a rice bun sandwich, with the middle bit slapped with a generous heap of oily, sauce-drenched peppery pulled pork. Also, they're very, very cheap.

The next day, we walked further and went to a few places. We stopped at a very busy temple, which was cool. Hundreds of Shanghainese were lighting incenses and throwing coins into a waterless well, and bowing to the gigantic Buddha statues.

Then we went to the People's Park, where we saw some people on bicycles, groups holding tai chi sessions, and bridal pre-nuptial pictorials. We also saw one of the most bizarre and amusing phenomena in modern China: A whole stretch of the park were filled with ads. These ads were posted by the parents of eligible bachelors who were having a hard time looking for wives. Creative, pro-active, innovative, and judging by the scale of it, trendy.

We continued our walk and reached Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower. We actually queued to enter it, but abandoned our plan when we realized we were competed with what seemed like three million locals. We wouldn't have time for anything else if we decided to go ahead with it. So we walked some more, took a cab and got out in front of a festive market that occupied about a whole block, and had a Chinatown feel to it. We realized that we ventured beyond the tourist trail, and landed in a local family hangout. We loved it.

We walked into a canteen and realized that the whole menu was in Chinese. After about 15 minutes of choosing and sorting out the ordering process, we finally got what we asked for - four different kinds of dumplings. Unfortunately, none of them tasted good. We must've ordered four dodgy varieties. Not happy with them. 

HANGZHOU

We left Shanghai boarding a high-speed train to Hangzhou in Eastern China, very impressed by the efficiency, punctuality and cleanliness of the trains.

After less than an hour, we arrived at the Banyan Tree Hangzhou, a luxury resort situated by the city's wetlands. It boasted of huge villas with high ceilings, a small lake with pretty pagodas, all in the style of the area's ancient culture. 

They have a tea house, which in Hangzhou is considered an esteemed place where guests are welcomed and important conversations take place. Guests can also choose from several restaurants, and can choose from classic Hangzhounese dishes such as Dong-po pork, to the good ol' burger. Plus, The general manager, Pascal Eppink, gracious as ever, sent a bottle of red wine and a basket full of fresh, exotic fruits.

We spent hours in the spa, which houses a big infinity pool, complete with luxurious trappings such buttons and knobs that can can set a complete massage experience in motion. A much smaller heated pool is perched on an elevated platform beside it, and it's where we read our books and practically fell asleep.

The next day, we were introduced to the marketing communications manager of the resort, Alice, who agreed to take us on a tour around Hangzhou. We went to Lingying Temple, one of the oldest temples in China. Businessmen from other parts of the country travel to Hangzhou just to visit it and pray for success, wealth and health. There's also a series caves with amazing carvings of Buddhas, indicating different dynasties that lived in that area. 

We also saw the Westlake, a man-made body of water with an aim of attracting more tourists. 20 odd parks are scattered all over it, connected by bridges. The idea is people can go park-hopping and have picnics and explore the flora and fauna in the area. Our next stop was China's National Tea Museum, located in the heart of Hangzhou's tea fields. We sample a bit of LongJin tea, a specialty of the city, and explored different kinds of tea and how they're made, served and enjoyed. A few grams of tea can cost hundreds of dollars! And a tea set can cost much more. Our last stop was the National Silk Museum, which displays different kinds of silk clothes and accessories, all arranged chronologically, reflecting each dynasty's style. These days, very few people wear silk. But its value doesn't diminish. Hand-crafted silk wear is still seen as elegant, and its price tag can prove it.

SAD TO LEAVE

As much as we looked forward to arriving in Manila, we were sad to leave China. The place is refreshing and fun, and my visit there dispelled my pre-conceived notion that the country still had a communist feel about it. Maybe it's true for other Chinese cities, which I would love to visit in the future. But for now, I'm still on a high from one of my latest Asian trips, truly one for the books.

Zen the Spa: A sanctuary in the heart of Deira

Deira is the last place you'd want to be if you were looking to relax and get away from it all. But as I discovered, there's a place in that part of town where you can drown out the noise and get your yin and yang in order.

Zen the Spa is located on the fifth floor of Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana, the hotel chain's newest property in the UAE. It's posh, spacious and conveniently attached to the newly renovated Al Ghurair Centre.

As I sat myself on one of the couches of the spa's well-lit lobby, a very helpful receptionist greeted me and ask me to fill out a form about my medical history and massage preferences.

She then led me to a room equipped with a jacuzzi, a steam bath and a sauna room, where I can spend as much time as I want before my appointment.

After utilizing them all, I was fetched by my therapist and taken to a reasonably sized massage room that had all the trappings of a perfect relaxation nest: dim lights, a faint fragrance to soothe my senses, and an inviting, incredibly comfortable massage bed.

This is obviously not me in the picture, but my experience was similar.

First off, a short ritual to kick off the treatment: my feet were gently washed, preparing me for a full hour of bliss. And then, my 60 minutes. Mine, all mine. Mobile phone off, restrictive clothing off.  The treatment I chose is called the Active Muscle Massage. I told my therapist that I had extremely painful knots in parts of my back, as well as a slight, numb feeling on the soles of my feet, that resembled mild cramps.  I was impressed at how well she listened to me, and how she hit those areas spot on. Within minutes, I was in a deep sleep. The combination of the essential oil she used, the quiet humming of instrumental spa music, and my therapist's expertise was all I needed to get to that REM cycle that I found so hard to reach.

Before I knew it, I was gently being reminded that the treatment was over, but that I could continue chilling out in another room. The room was big and had a sens
e of calm about it. Staying there helped me transition from zen mode to 'real world' mode. It was necessary at it was luxurious.

All in all, my experience at Zen the Spa certainly beats some spas in Dubai. I left the hotel with some peace of mind, a smile on my face, and extremely relaxed muscles.

BRUNCH AT THE DUSIT THANI DUBAI

I didn't know the Dusit Thani did brunch until my friend invited me to it.

Serving Thai food at a brunch is a brave move. Thai food is meant to be served straight from the wok or saucepan, steaming hot and releasing the aroma of chilies, lemongrass and ginger into the air. The thought of it being sat along with 50 or so other dishes for four hours can put anyone off. It's just now buffet food. But then again, Dusit knows Thai food. Very well. It's a Thai brand, and it houses of the best Thai restaurants in the country, the hotel chain's signature culinary powerhouse, Benjarong.

So with that reservation out of the way, I sat myself along with friends at our table on the 24th floor of the Dusit Thani Dubai, right by the entrance of PAX, a restaurant that serves Italian fare. And after ordering a drink, I got up and attacked the food.

First of all, the  food there was, as usual, impeccably prepared. It consisted of menu items from Benjarong, PAX and The Californian, all located on the same floor.

A steaming bowl of Tom Yum, anyone?
Colorful Asian salads that pack a punch.
Fresh seafood including oysters, prawns, lobsters and crabs piling on my plate.
A good sprinkling of crushed peanuts and drizzling of lime juice on my Pad Thai.
A delectable serving of mushroom pasta especially prepared by Chef Fabio of PAX.
Spare ribs with corn on the cob.
Beef and lamb steak with gravy and Yorkshire pudding.
Warm arancini and pizza.
Seven different types of dessert, including my favorite, cream puffs.

I ate my way to partial blindness.

Add to that splendid Thai performances by the staff, complete with costumes and props.

I couldn't believe I was having the full Thai experience within a five minute taxi ride from my place.

Great thing to do on a Friday.

CABARET NIGHTS IN DUBAI

In a bold attempt to convert this huge Filipino night club into an international dining destination, Asiana Hotel's Boracay Night Club is launching the first ever Las Vegas dinner show in Dubai. And I was there at the soft opening, along with discerning foodies and travel industry professionals.

Great food! The flyer said 'international buffet', and more or less, it was. It consisted of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and a teensy bit of Western fare. I'm talking kimchi, sushi, dumplings, grilled chicken, and pasta.

The cabaret itself was probably the most fabulous night club performance I’ve seen in Dubai. Though I’ve not been to many, I could tell that a huge amount of brainstorming and funding went into the production.

The daily evening show consists of different song and dance numbers, vibrant costumes and multi-talented performers, who I was told were plucked from Universal Studios and Disney. Everything was very entertaining – from the Bruno Mars ballad to the spectacular Burlesque number. The only time I got up to get a drink was when I heard the intro to “My Heart Will Go On”. I thought it was old and tacky, but I looked around and saw all everyone else thoroughly enjoying it. So yeah, i guess that worked as well.

Here’s the best part: It’s AED179 for a full buffet plus the show. Not bad.

THIS TIME, I'M NOT 'SHAYAN' AWAY FROM PERSIAN FOOD

Persian food, anyone? It's not the first thing that comes to mind when I feel like eating out, but I like trying things, and this particular fare deserved my attention. After all, I've been living in Dubai for almost eight years, and it's just not right to ignore it, especially when a lot of people are raving about it.

My first encounter with Iranian food was made possible by Shayan, a restaurant at Rayhaan by Rotana, a hotel attached to the newly renovated Al Ghurair Centre.  It's a spacious, amply lit and extremely classy inside, but with a staff greeting you at the door and leading you to a table of your choice, it's not intimidating at all.

After handing me the menu, the smiling server didn't leave my table. He had expected to be barraged by a number of questions, mostly about what the dishes were and what they consisted of. And that's exactly what I did. And I must say, I was extremely impressed by their knowledge of every single item on the menu. 

The servers at Shayan are extremely friendly and knowledgeable, but not intrusive.

First off, the appetizers. Shayan does fabulously presented yet fresh and uncomplicated starters. Their Salad Shirazi looks like it's been tossed and plated straight from a vegetable garden - cucumbers, red onions, and tomatoes drizzled with virgin olive oil and lime juice. 

These fresh veggies, olives and bread are part of the appetizer round.

It took a few spoonfuls of the Kashk E Bademjan to convince me that the flavors in the dish actually worked together. It's special aged cheese curd mixed with grilled eggplant and seasoned with traditional Persian spices. I'm a big dairy consumer, but eggplants aren't my thing. But the spices actually do a great job marrying those two ingredients. A nice mix of of salty, spicy and savory.

The Esfenaj Nargesi - or seasoned spinach, topped with sauteed onions and fried egg - rests on a dainty plate, a perfectly sized portion. These are simple food items that I didn't realize made perfect sense when combined. It could even work as breakfast. 

Let's get to the good part. The mains were pretty straightforward. I first delved my spoon into the  Gheymeh Bademjan. It's in no way near "gamy" (Gheymeh, get it?). It's a lamb stew prepared with lentils, tomatoes and fired eggplant. It's something, I imagine, that an Iranian mother would make for her family of eight when there's a special occasion. It's comfort meets festive. Never mind my loathing for eggplant (which I guess is Bademjan in Farsi). The rest of the dish was something I would have over and over again at Shayan. 

A plateful of grilled goodness.

Then there came the enormous plate full of delectable grill items. Let's talk about the first one, called Kubideh Ye Joojeh. It's basically minced chicken breast, onion and saffron on a skewer. It's moist, tasty and healthy. That's a dinner dish I can get on board with. 

I sampled another chicken skewer called Joojeh Kabab Ba Ostokan (won't try to say it twice). It's chicken on the bone marinated with saffron sauce. It's tender, richer and densely packed with the sauce. The bits of chicken come apart! 

I then focused my attention on the beef. Tikke Masti is beef tenderloin marinated with yogurt, saffron and Persian spices. At this point, my taste buds were dominated by saffron. That wasn't a complaint at all. I thought it was good that saffron was one of the common elements in some of the dishes, because it was subtle yet undeniably essential in making the dishes achieve a certain flavor profile.  Tikke Masti isn't massively different from Arabic kebab, but in a way, it's distinctly Persian.

Three different kinds of rice served with the mains

Now I'm no fan of lamb. Some of the lamb kebabs I've had in the past tasted too gamy, over seasoned and oily beyond necessity. But Shayan's Kabab Shishlik was neither of those things. It was as fragrant as a good piece of lamb could get, grilled to perfection and seasoned to my liking. It's the kind of grub you'd have with lots of greens and grilled tomatoes.

The single weird thing I tasted that evening was the Tahchin Ghoosh Mahi. It's basically a savory rice cake flavored with saffron and layered with shrimp, fish and other seafood, topped with sea scallops, barberries and pistachios. Yes, it tastes as strange as it sounds. I was told that many patrons of the restaurant order it. I'm guessing they're all Iranian. I guess it's a really authentic and unique Persian flavor. It's one of those things: one of the Filipino dishes that everyone in my country loves is kare-kare, which is made with peanut butter, veggies and tripe. So this dish is something like that. Not a fan.

Room for dessert? Anytime. I sometimes think I eat a whole meal just to get to the much awaited dessert round. And my meal at Shayan is not exception. I was served traditional Persian ice cream, flavored with saffron and rosewater, adorned with vermicelli. There were many textures in this ice cream. At first I thought it was going to taste like kulfi, but it was sweeter than kulfi, but not as rich as mainstream ice cream, for example. The rosewater put me off, but the string of hardened caramel in the cup kept me going. I finished about 3/4 of my cup.

Trivia: Wikipedia says ice cream originated in Iran. Yup. Here's what it says:

In the Persian Empire, people would pour grape-juice concentrate over snow, in a bowl, and eat this as a treat. This was done primarily when the weather was hot, using snow saved in the cool-keeping underground chambers known as "yakhchal", or taken from snowfall that remained at the top of mountains by the summer capital — Hagmatana, Ecbatana or Hamedan of today. In 400 BC, the Persians went further and invented a special chilled food, made of rose water and vermicelli, which was served to royalty during summers.^[5] The ice was mixed with saffron, fruits, and various other flavours.

All in all, my Shayan experience left me bloated and happy, feeling like I knew more about the world than before I walked into the place. Lots of hits, a few misses. Contrary to my preconceived notion that Persian cuisine was similar to Arabic, it's actually unique. It's less intense but equally delicious. It's rustic in the way it is prepared and presented but complex flavor-wise. And of course, it's been around for centuries, which makes it a piece of ancient Persian culture. That's pretty cool.

I WISH I COULD MAKE THIS HAPPEN. ME, MY FRESH SISTAHS, AND AMY POEHLER ON MY BIRTHDAY.

NOTE: GOT THIS OFF RASHIDA JONES' TWITTER PAGE.

Sleep is my new life goal.

WWW.KEEPCALM-O-MATIC.CO.UK

This year has been a wonderfully packed calendar of exciting news at work, and it's only March. I've been assigned to do many shifts, including news reading for a couple of stations and reporting live from different parts of the city. My schedule changed almost every day, and I had to go to bed and wake up at different times depending on what I had to work on for the day.

Yesterday I finally settled into a shift that I can stick to for the next couple of months. I now read the morning news at the top of the hour on the first and only Pinoy radio station in the country, and I couldn't be happier. I start my first bulletin at 5 in the morning, effectively kickstarting the day's programming.

But it also comes with a big challenge: adjusting my daily schedule. Every day I have to wake up at 3 in the morning, tiptoe to the bathroom, give myself about seven minutes to look decently dressed for work, grab my lunch bag and dash out. I'm at work at half past three, and I produce my very first news bulletin for the day, ready to go on air at 5AM.

I finish work at 12 or earlier, and by that time my body is at odds with my mind. It's tired and wants to go to sleep, but my mind - after a day of churning out fresh information and broadcasting it to potentially 645,000 listeners - still wants to keep going.

I have no idea when bedtime is and I seem to just zombie my way through the night, but other people on the morning shift say it'll get better. I just have to get used to a routine and stick to it, no matter what. So let's try that tonight shall we.

But despite my mild rant, I really enjoy being around my lovely colleagues and being part of something that has the power to keep people informed and entertained. It's worth sacrificing a few hours of Zzzz on the first few days.

In the very near future, perhaps knowing that I am on the right track and my efforts are appreciated will be enough reason to sleep at night.

Or a good brand of sleeping pills.

CORKS: My Current Things-piration

Weirdly, I've been feeling the need to create something out of garbage. I've been visiting a lot of craft websites and nodding excitedly when I see a great craft or DIY idea.

I'm a geeky crafts website lurker and I am sort of proud of it. Now if only I could get around to making something and displaying it in our front room for everyone to admire.

One thing I'm absolutely obsessed with is corks.

I'm collecting them and hope to eventually think of something beautiful to create with them.

Here are great cork crafts that I wish I came up with:

www.dumpaday.com

inspirationtreasures.blogspot.com

www.blisstree.com

dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.com

Yup. This happened today.

Today's assignment? The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

I headed down to Intercontinental Festival City and got lost in the sea of authors and literary enthusiasts, but managed to find my way to Bobby Chinn.

A short interview and a low-res photo later, I came to the conclusion that he's the best.

9 THINGS PINOYS CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT - A REPOST FROM WWW.RAPPLER.COM

MANILA, Philippines - It doesn't matter how rich or poor Filipinos are. They cannot live without toiletries.

The Consumer Coping Behavior Survey of research firm Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that Filipinos consider toiletries a staple, or a product they cannot live without, or consider as absolutely necessary.

In a briefing on the survey results and insights, SWS director and marketing professor Ned Roberto revealed the top must-haves of Filipinos in different areas of the country:

	National Capital Region (NCR)	Balance Luzon	Visayas	Mindanao
1.	Bath soap	Detergent soap/powder	Toothpaste	Toothpaste
2.	Detergent soap/powder	Bath soap	Detergent soap/powder	Sugar
3.	Toothpaste	Toothpaste	Bath soap	Soy sauce
4.	Soy sauce	soy sauce	Soy sauce	Detergent soap/powder
5.	Shampoo	Shampoo	Shampoo	Shampoo
6.	Rice	Vinegar	Vinegar	Bath soap
7.	Vinegar	Rice	Toothbrush	Talcum powder
8.	Sugar	Sugar	Sugar	Rice
9.	Fresh eggs	Cooking oil	Cooking oil	Cooking oil

For NCR, the top brands for bath soap are Safeguard, Palmolive, and Dove. For detergent, it's Tide, Surf, and Champion.

Top brands for toothpaste are Colgate, Close Up, and Hapee.

Items Filipinos can do without
Roberto said the survey results listed a total of 159 products and classified them according to (a) staple (b) near-staple (c) nice to have (d) near-dispensable (e) definitely dispensable.
Products that are considered near-staple include those items that are necessary, but had some non-users. Roberto said there are around 10% or more that do not use products such as:

• Deodorant - 29%
• Prepaid cellphone - 19%
• Conditioner, Sanitary napkin, & Headache medicine - 18%
• Dried fish or Tuyo - 17%
• LPG - 10%

The nice-to-have products include those that more than 30% do not use.
For NCR, products that had high numbers of non-users were:

• Feminine wash & pantyliner - 41%
• Powdered fruit juice - 35%
• Cough/cold medicine & vitamins - 34
• Baby oil & butter - 32%
• Powdered chocolate drink - 30%

The presentation explained that near-dispensable items are those that people can do without. This means, there are more non-users than users.
For NCR, the items with the highest number of non-users are:

• Landline phone subscriptions & loans - 71%
• Internet subscriptions at home - 70%
• 5 gallon water & visits to specialist doctors - 63%
• Disposable baby diapers - 61%
• Ready to drink Iced Tea - 60%
• Powdered filled milk for kids, single ice cream, spaghetti sauce, & roasted chicken - 35%
• Tomato sauce - 33%

Roberto said the bulk of the 159 products that the SWS included in the survey were regarded as definitely dispensable or products that Filipinos consider they can live without.
For NCR, the highest number of non-users were for items such as:

• Disposable adult diapers - 93%
• Denture care products & paluwagan - 92%
• Therapeutic toothpaste for sensitive teeth & gum care - 91%
• Canned mixed fruits - 48%
• Canned pineapple tidbits/chunks - 47%
• Macaroni - 43%

Roberto explained that many of these definitely dispensable products relate to a small percentage of the population such as those who are old and senile who require adult diapers, as well as those with certain conditions, like those requiring dentures.

But, Roberto said, there are products that are considered definitely dispensable where companies can grow their brands or markets. These products include those that have 20% to a little over 30% who do not these products.

What this means to business
With these insights, Roberto addressed the entrepreneurs and marketing practitioners in the audience: "The ultimate source of growing your business is not new or innovative products, but market segments."

He spoke about the importance of market research, especially in looking for opportunities among "non-users located in Balance Luzon."

He urged them to search for opportunities for expansion by asking "What is MADI," referring to "Missing, Annoying, Disappointing, Irritating."

He also spoke about getting the company's internal processes atuned to the needs of the target markets. He said companies' marketing managers must focus on "customer retention" and "re-acquisition."

The respondents of the survey, conducted via interviews during the 3rd quarter of 2012, were household consumers. - Rappler.com

What I've Been Up To

The past few weeks haven't been easy, but they've been some of the most interesting ones I've had in my life as a grown up.

1. I had my first taste of the morning news shift. I actually got up at 330 am and was in the news room by 4:15 am. Waking up was painfully hard and being on the job half-asleep caused me to commit a few minor mistakes that I took very seriously and lost sleep over. But the big pay-off was being able to read the news and having people recognize my voice. A lot of people listen to the radio in the morning, so I consider the AM shift a great one.

2. I did my first live studio bit! It was nerve-wracking and a great cure to constipation, but I got through it and I sounded fine. I did it again the next day and I sounded more confident. It was awesome.

3. I made peace with the fact that the peso is getting stronger and it's not going to slow down any time soon. That means I just have to lose some money every time I deposit some to my Philippine bank account. It's just how things are at the moment, and I just have to look for a different strategy for saving and making my savings work for me.

4. I made two dishes that L actually ate. I made chicken breasts stuffed with a feta and herb mixture, and good ol' tacos. He ate both, and helped himself to seconds and thirds. Those were moments that cemented my place in the domesticated women's recipe club. I intend to stay in it, so I'll keep on cooking.

5. My mom and sister finally discovered Skype and we've been Skyping for two weekends now. They've been showing me pictures of me and Fifi when we  were in grade school and high school. Wow. We look a lot better. Thanks to threading, waxing, facials, workouts, makeup and the fear of growing old as spinster best friends.

All in all, it was a good February. I predict March will be even crazier, but nothing's too crazy for a person with a crazy name.

A pointless recap of the rest of my day

I don't have all the time in the world like I used to, so I've decided to budget my time.

Now that I have to work from 4 in the morning (and the tears are pouring - ok) until just before one in the afternoon, I've got to make wise use of the sunny afternoons that have suddenly landed in my lap.

I thought of pursuing my home decor/arts and crafts/DIY anything hobby, but that's a bit too time-consuming to start with.

Baby steps, I said to myself.

And those baby steps led me to the supermarket, where I bought a bajillion ingredients for the Valentine meal I am making tomorrow evening.

And not only that, I also baked cookies. Yup, I did an inventory of everything we had in our kitchen cupboards and discovered that I could make different kinds of cookies, and give and take a few provisions, even cakes. I already made trifle last weekend, but that wasn't really as satisfying as baking and in the process giving the apartment a warm vanilla aroma.

I have not tasted the oatmeal cookies I made. They're sat on the kitchen counter cooling and being evilly enticing.

Which leads me to another thing I must do before the sun sets and my eyes and brain shut down for the day - work out. Yup, I will aim to do that in a few minutes.

Not a bad day, considering I was dreading morning shifts.

Yup, I lived there.

This article on Huffington Post called Our Worst Apartment Stories  reminds me of my creepy, gross and depressing experiences in the different places I lived growing up and shortly after moving to Dubai.

Join me as I recall some of them.

No water. In the 90's, it wasn't uncommon for some parts of Manila to cease having running water several days a week. So on the days that we had it, we would save it in big drums to use for later. But it sometimes ran out, and so I was forced to brush my teeth using what was left of the brownish water in bottom of the industrial-style drums that had specks of unknown particles in it. No water also meant no flush, and I am going to stop right here.

Dead rats. I'm not kidding. When we lived in my father's grandparents' house, I saw a dead rat behind our refrigerator several times. One time I saw two. It was one of the nastiest memories from my childhood, and the thought of those fat, filthy rat carcasses still makes me shiver. My mother said that there was a hole in our wall that led all of them from the sewers to our room. We never found the hole, but we shortly moved out of that hellhole.

Illegal substances. I didn't know it then, but over the years I realized that the same house must have had traces of drugs everywhere. I remember seeing pieces of foil in one of the cupboards and wondering how our table lamp got deformed and developed solid bubbles, as if someone was trying to mold them into another shape. I remember seeing extra bottles of "salt" "MSG" and not thinking anything of it. Okay.

Fishy mornings. In Dubai, I once rented a room in a nice villa. For some reason the aircon was getting air from the kitchen. Too bad my housemates always had fish and vinegar for breakfast. Don't get me wrong, I love eating them, but I didn't appreciate their smell permeating the aircon vents and stinking up my mornings, not to mention my duvet, pillows and every single thing in my room. It was probably for the best when I got kicked out.

Dirty landlord. I moved into an apartment with my friends and within days we knew that our stay there would be a nightmare. Our landlord was a slob. She didn't wash her dishes for days and left Coke and curry stains on the floor. Worse, in the evenings, she cuddled up with her boyfriend in the front room, trapping us in our windowless room. We couldn't go out for a cigarette.  So we lit up in the bathroom, where the tiny exhaust fan did nothing to get rid of the smoke.

Fresh air, extra space to grow plants, dancing in the front room and frying an egg whenever the hell I want to. These are the simple things I really appreciate and value now. That's probably why I've just started to learn interior design and how to use the oven. Where I used to live, my only goal was not to puke.

www.alltravelspots.com

Golden Harvest in the Philippines

Golden Harvest in the Philippines

Clink on the link to watch the video.

"A cinematic documentary from Chibi Moku about Wing Chun Kung Fu being introduced to the Philippines. Shot over a period of 2 weeks in Manila and Laguna. Featuring Sifu Steve McGowan and Sifu Robert Greene. Also featuring actor Raymond Bagatsing and the rest of the Golden Harvest team. Wing Chun is a Chinese form of martial arts that has quite unique techniques and foundations.
While wing chun can be found all over the world, including the Philippines, it's a creative rarity of forms when passed through it's different lineages."

Overseas Filipino... Whatdidyousay?

I remember having a very weird and awkward conversation with a fellow Filipina who was based in Manila. She was in Dubai for a few days to accompany her husband, who was tasked to conduct a workshop for Filipino students in the emirate.

She asked me the usual OFW questions - how long have you been living in Dubai, do you get to go home and see your family, is it hard being away from them, what do you do here. We had a few more minutes to kill, so she decided to ask more questions. How is the business environment here? Is there a demand for software services here? I suppose so, small and medium companies are sprouting every day and they get support from the government. And before I could take a sip of my coffee, she said, "I suppose I could set up a business here. I'm in IT. It's going to be easy running an IT business here." I nodded encouragingly, which I deeply regretted when she blurted out, "But I can't do it. I guess I just really, really love the Philippines." At that point, my tongue froze and my milky coffee seemed to turn into her blood. I was too stunned to respond, so I walked away and didn't give myself a chance to respond. And that is why I have a blog...

"But I can't do it. I guess I just really, really love the Philippines." There is something very, very wrong with that statement. I understand that as newlyweds, she and her husband had already achieved remarkable success at such a young age, and that's great. They had stayed home, paid their taxes, supported the retail and real estate industry, and made a decision to live a conventionally Filipino family life. Awesome.

But there are many other Filipinos who have made different choices and sought success in other places, but never failed to show their love and support for our home country. And they help run the Philippine economy. And the government and global financial authorities have always acknowledged that. Last year the World Bank predicted that in 2012, remittances from overseas Filipinos would hit $24 million. And in recent years, this money has not only been utilized to pay rent, but purchase houses and plots of land and condominium units across the country. Remittances are a huge chunk of our economy, that an official from the National Economic and Development Authority told www.rappler.com that the country couldn't do without remittances from kababayans all over the world. Not yet. Suze Orman even warned OFW families not to be too dependent on remittances, and must learn to earn money on their own, and learn how to save it. (I totally agree with her on that, and I think many families are starting to realize that.)

What I'm getting at is, we help the country despite our physical absence. Consciously, willingly, lovingly. I could have put my money somewhere else, but instead chose to invest in the Philippines. I make sure that I spend at least one holiday there ever year, and do most of my shopping there. I use Milcu instead of Dove. I ditch H&M to spend a whole day in Divisoria. And my best friend Fifi and I make sure that we do our bit to help fellow OFWs. Every single day, I do something great for my country.

Because I love my country. And even though I'm not there 340 days a year, I show my love for it in many, many ways. I've recommended it to many foreigners and actually encouraged some of them to pay it a visit. I'm a walking DOT booth. And with my new job, I will be serving the Filipino community in the UAE.

So Mrs. IT, stop thinking that we are different. It's not always black and white. I'm sure that you also have relatives abroad, and I'm sure you see how excited they are every time they come home or even talk about our country. And if you just broaden your understanding of patriotism, especially against the backdrop of globalization that makes it possible for other countries to utilize their resources for our benefit, you just might get it: We both really, really love the Philippines.

5 Twisted Ways I Motivate Myself to Work Out

1. I always, always keep in mind that nobody would ever love me if I got fat. Not even my family, or fat relatives.

2. I work out - sometimes longer than intended - to avoid anything that resembles a household chore. Shhh.

3. I say to myself that if I don't work out today, I would have to resort to extremely unsafe weight loss methods like diet pills or crash diets or bulimia, resulting in my death.

4. I talk to my 15-year-old self and diss her for being chubbier than her peers. It ups my energy during Zumba or RPM.

5. I imagine that all my friends are losing weight except me, and I'm the fattest at our ladies' night drinks.

Statement tees, money, and me

I remember that day in 2005 when Fifi and I exploded with excitement. We were brainstorming a new business idea - fresh, hip, and promisingly lucrative - STATEMENT T-SHIRTS! It made sense. My best friend and I were, hands down, the wittiest 23 year-old single Filipino ladies in our respective barangays. We had a million obnoxious/funny/rhyming/smart alecky things to say to our friends/strangers/each other/ the world that deserved to be immortalized on mass produced t-shirts. Plus, my mom was in the garments industry and knew a bunch of suppliers and designers. So that was the plan. The next logical step, of course, was to set up a boutique and have rocks stars and indie actors endorse our brand, which didn't have a name yet.

We were so confident that our business was going to be a big hit that we set up a "luncheon meeting" with our smart friend Terri, whose business acumen we trusted, and whose morals were so solid that we were positive there was no way she would steal our money-making idea. So we wasted no time when she showed up at SushiYa in Tomas Morato. Before our miso soup was even served, we told Terri all about our plan. The greatest t-shirt company was being conceived and was to be born in a few months, possibly C-section, given our scary level of enthusiasm.

Terri patiently listened to us, her smile assuring us that we were on the right track and that she was so impressed that she might actually contribute financially to get the ball rolling. And then she dropped the bomb. Actually, it was more of a simple question: "Do you guys have a business plan?"

Fudge, fudge, fudge. Fifi and I couldn't speak for a few seconds, but I'm sure she was asking the same questions in her head as  I was: Why do we need one? Why would you take a dump on our dreams? And most importantly, what is a business plan? From that point on, Fifi and I mellowed, and we gradually let our plans fade into the abyss of not knowing how to create a business plan, and start a million-dollar business empire.

So we flew to Dubai after a few months and saved some money. Every time a business idea came to mind, I swept it under my financially illiterate rug and carried on saving more money, that unfortunately just sat in the bank. I was convinced that my zero knowledge of business and finance and everything in between would not take me anywhere beyond a simple bank account. For six years this went on, and it came to a point where I thought I was rich, and didn't have to think of ways to make my money grow or make more by opening a business. I had savings, and that was enough. As simple as ABC. Until a HUGE emergency forced me to empty my savings account and start over. I lost most of it in two days. Fudge, fudge, fudge. Penniless and desperate, I had no choice but to start saving all over again. Cutting corners. Saying no to nights out. Being a complete idiot.

But I had one big asset: I bought a house. I was forced to, due to circumstances that were two painful to recall and write about in detail. Anyway, it was a lovely three-story, three-bedroom abode in a gated community of twenty houses. A quiet and friendly neighborhood. It's a heavy investment, and I am working my butt off to pay for it, but it's proving to be a great one. So I thought, this must appreciate in value faster that other properties. It's in a great location, and we never ever have floods here. And that's how I started to compute for my net worth, and in the process, get inspired to put the money I've been saving - however little, somewhere else. In short, I started to take interest in financial literacy, after years of forcing my brain to go dormant on the topic. It was, as Brad Pitt would say, "inevitable".

So I asked around. I asked people who knew stuff and humbled myself and resigned to the fact that I didn't know everything. I acknowledged that I had no idea how to handle my finances and optimize passive earning. Fast forward to now, I am learning and reading books and looking up useful, up-to-date information on the internet. And I will continue to educate myself and learn about money and how to use it and grow it and make it work to secure my future. Pension? Sure. Mutual funds? Yep. Real estate? Started already. I may not have much in the bank, but with the correct steps and the Philippine peso getting stronger in recent decades, I may have a shot at retiring comfortably and not depending on my grandchildren for anything.

I am on my way to financial freedom and success! Now that's a statement you can definitely print on a shirt.