As I am writing this, I feel super unmotivated.

I watched inspirational videos but it didn’t work.

And looked at tips how to be motivated or productive during your low days.

They said, do the 2-minute rule,

Or chop tasks to smaller and realistically achievable,

Other suggested to make a to-do list,

Or romanticize your work/studies,

Clear desk, clear mind, and I did that as well,

I even meditated,

But nothing I found in the web worked.

What did I do?

Nothing.

Was I unproductive? Yes.

Did I feel any guilt? Sort of.

What did I do to change my mood?

Nothing.

And it’s ok.

Just feel it.

Do nothing.

Enjoy the moment of not doing anything for a while.

Maybe that’s your body’s way of telling you to pause, and reevaluate your life.

Maybe you’re in a transition phase to get the life you can’t stop thinking about.

It’s tough to rewire the mind and convince it to endure the uncomfortable.

It’s normal.

You can’t get it overnight.

It takes practice.

You’ll fail ten times.

But make sure that you’ll get up on the 11th.

Maybe your progress is slower.

But progress is progress.

Pause if you need to.

But remember to press the play button again.

Be patient.

Be strong.

Work. Pause. Work.

Repeat.

Is it your first time to go to the Philippines?

Or planning to do Filipino street food crawling?

Here are some of the Filipino street foods that you can try:

1. Grilled innards

Isaw or chicken/pork intestine is one of the famous grilled street food. But you can also be adventurous by trying out other innards like pig ear, chicken head (“helmet”), chicken/pork blood (“betamax”), chicken feet (“adidas”), pork skin, pork mesentery. For me it’s best eaten with sweet or sweet and spicy sauce or vinegar.

2. More grilled food

If you’re a vegetarian or pescatarian, you can do grilled sweet corn or dried squid. This is not too common in a lot of places so if you find one go grab one! I found the grilled dried seafood in Cebu and Bacolod.

3. Kwek-kwek

They say it’s called as egg waffle in English but I couldn’t justify. LOL. Basically, this is hard boiled egg coated in orange batter and fried. Best paired with spicy vinegar or sauce or combination of both.

4. Fish balls, kikiam, squid balls and chicken balls

So from the name itself except kikiam, these streetfood are made of fish, squid and chicken while kikiam is made of pork meat mixed with flour and seasoning and shaped into balls and fried. Don’t forget to eat it with the sweet sauce.

5. Balut

Don’t be scared of that tiny chick inside the egg. Balut is a fertilized developing duck egg embryo. Usually sold at night along the streets or mobile vendors. Can be eaten with vinegar and salt. Sip the savory soup of the egg first before opening the egg.

6. Fried intestine, proven(proventiculus), gizzard

If you didn’t like the grilled innards, you may opt to try it in fried form. Of course with good sauce and vinegar!

7. Buchi/Mochi

I just saw this in a night market in Davao. There are places with their own street food so this one was new when I tried it but it’s worth a try! This is fried rice cake with variety of fillings to choose from. In this photo, they also sell fried shrimp roll, bread rolls and chicken dragon balls that I don’t know because I didn’t try.

8. Fried peanuts

This is a common street food. No need to explain but what’s different from the packed peanuts I think is that this is freshly cooked. Usually, they also sell fried anchovies, caramel-coated peanut, kidney beans, cornick, and sweet beans alongside that you should try as well.

9. Fried dumplings and chili egg roll (dynamite)

Fried dumplings is usually made of ground pork with seasoning stuffed in eggroll wrapper and then fried. While the chili egg roll aka “dynamite”, is made of long green chili stuffed with ground pork mix then wrapped and fried. Best dipped with sauce and/or vinegar.

10. Pansit (stir fried noodle)

Pansit habhab or lomi are sometimes sold in the streets in some places. Pansit habhab is more common in Quezon province and instead of calamansi, you can put vinegar. Lomi on the other hand is being sold usually in Batangas province or nearby places. In Bicol, they have pansit bato not because it is hard as rock but because it came from the name of one of the municipalities.

11. Egg cake

This street food has a distinct smell because it is made of old egg or eggs with broken yolk. They put seasoning and tomatoes and baked or fried. Best with spicy vinegar.

12. Ilocos empanada

If you’re in Ilocos region, this is a must try. Although there are places that serve this as street food but not as common as in Ilocos. I love the Vigan sausage, egg and veggies mixture inside this orange wrap.

13. Veggie balls + lato(seaweed)

Made of ground veggies, flour, egg and seasoning. Deep fried. Try it out with seaweed if you see one.

14. Grilled bananas

Saba banana in a perfect unripe-ripe stage grilled coated with margarine and sugar. You can also try banana cue – this is the same banana but coated with sugar.

15. Taho

Soybean milk curd with sweet caramel syrup and tapioca. In some places, like in Baguio City, they have strawberry and ube taho.

16. Binaki

Steam grated corn. It’s a bit sweet and the cool part is that it is steamed using the husk. Usually sold in Cagayan de Oro-Bukidnon area.

17. Dirty ice cream

And we are down to the last one that I purposefully put here as your choice of dessert. Aside from the usual chocolate and cookies and cream flavor, they sometimes have cheddar cheese and purple yam(ube) combo flavor. In some places like Bicol province, they have chili ice cream and other interesting flavor. In Davao City, I had a charcoal ice cream variant they also have Durian ice cream. In Baguio City, they have ube and strawberry ice cream.

And if you get thirsty, we gotchu! Get some buko (young coconut) juice.

Take advantage of the health benefits of young coconut in a place where young coconut is considered as street food. Pair it with any of your selected street food!

It’s amazing how Filipinos are very creative in terms of street food. There are a lot more but I hope this list helps you decide the first ones to try.

Love is in the air. If you are close to giving up on love, this is the sign to keep holding on. I know it hurts a lot. An unbearable and excruciating pain. Every day is a struggle to get out of bed because you just want to cry all day. It’s exhausting mentally, emotionally, and physically. You just want the memories to get washed off by the tears, but it seems that each morning is just the same amount of pain as yesterday. Tomorrow won’t be ok. Or not even next week. Then maybe today was better. Guessing that you are starting to feel the slow healing and smiled a bit. And then you saw the cause of your pain and you go back to day 1. You may cry each night for a month and everything may seem like a never-ending cycle. But it’s not. In time, you’ll heal. Be patient with yourself. Acknowledge the pain. You are enough. There is nothing wrong with you. It’s just not yet your time. But I hope you get well soon. While you’re in pain several thoughts will come into your mind like maybe love is not for you and then you’ll start building thick walls around your heart to not let anyone enter ever again. Depending on how things ended, sometimes after the healing process is done, you’ll have the tendency push away the love that you most certainly deserve. And it’s normal. It’s part of our life that makes living exciting. Yes. It is easier said than done but trust me, you lost that love to give way for another one. The one that you’ll be thankful everyday why things didn’t work out. It will look magical how everything seems so easy and almost perfect. You’ll be scared because the flow is very smooth. You will think it’s too much from what you’d prayed for. But, you deserve all the love the world offers. So, don’t give up on love. Ok?

Back in college, I had this microbiology class where we made tempeh. Basically, it’s fermented soybean. I really liked it and when I started working with soybeans, I remembered that dish and was so curious if I can make one. Google to the rescue. I was successfully to make one!!! And realized that it’s so easy and cheaper than buying meat. Below is the summary of the things I did:

1. Prepare your ingredients: 2 cups of dried soybean, 3/4 teaspoon tempeh starter, 4 tablespoon vinegar.
2. Wash the dried beans in water and overnight. Dehull it if you don’t prefer the taste or texture of the hull.
3. Cook for 45 minutes in boiling water. Drain and dry it well the next day (it should be dry to touch).
4. Add the vinegar to the dry soybean and mix it very well (this will prevent the unnecessary microorganism to grow).
5. Add the tempeh starter and mix it well to the soybean.
6. Get a ziplock and poke it with a stick to create holes so the starter can breathe. Put the mixture in the bag. Incubate for 48hours under 35 deg Celsius or 90 deg Fahrenheit.

You can put them in the fridge if you won’t cook them yet to prevent sporulation (gives black dots in the tempeh). Then cook it whatever way you want. I just like frying it and adding salt (just like the image below).

Henly and Partners recently published the countries with the most powerful passport. And which got the top spot? No other than Japan! It’s inevitable to not get jealous because my country’s passport even requires a visa for 1-day transit to to go out of the airport in a lot of countries! It’s sometimes frustrating and challenging to get all those paperwork done for someone like me who doesn’t like doing paperwork but very into traveling. But don’t let that stop you from aiming to go to places! Let this guide you on getting your Japan visa.

Japan’s sakura being featured in animes when I was a kid has always lured me to go to Japan. Ticket price is not cheap but the most intimidating part is getting a visa. I don’t know where to get that bank statement that will prove that you can stay in Japan (they say you need at least PhP 100K in your bank account for a week’s stay. Not sure about this but you can find other sources). Guess what? I only had PhP15K but was able to get a double-entry visa!

My journey in getting one wasn’t too bad. How did I do that? Agriculture! In my previous posts, you’d see how I was able to go to places without breaking the bank (cos I don’t have a bank to break to begin with. lol) by being in the field of agriculture. So, agriculture brought me to the US and the fact that I’m in the US I think helped me get the double-entry transit visa.

It was a bit last minute cause I was busy with things. I got a round trip ticket to the Philippines for a quick vacation and the ticket had a 20-hr layover in Nagoya going to the Philippines and 12-hr layover in Narita going back to the US. I was not planning to go out of the airport so I won’t have to process any papers. But then I said to myself, why not give it a try. I didn’t even go the Japan embassy in Chicago (the embassy that process visa for people residing in the state where I’m staying), I just sent everything by mail! But make sure to have all the required documents before sending them!

The documents I sent are the following:

• original valid passport with available visa pages
• completed visa form application
• 2″x2″ recent photo (taken within the last six months with my full name on the back side)
• flight reservation/itinerary (basically the round-trip flight information)
• hotel reservation for the 20-hr layover (in my case, the layover in Nagoya)
• proof of your U.S. immigration status
• clearance from the country that you are planning to enter after Japan (I didn’t need this bec my final destination was my country)
• valid I-20 (if you’re studying)
• bank statement (I think my account had only $300. LOL)
• prepaid self-addressed return envelope (there’s an express which was 3x the price of the usual priority mail but 1-2 days faster, if you’re not in a hurry, the cheaper one is fine)
• visa fee (if it applies in your country, for Philippines residents at the time I applied it was free)
• schedule of stay where you describe day by day DETAILED activity plan in Japan (see the one I made below)

If your layover is more than 12-hr, it is imperative to have a hotel reservation issued by the hotel or travel agency in Japan. If you have all the requirements mentioned above, you just have to mail them and wait for it to get back to you.

How long did it take to get my double entry visa? If I mailed the complete documents, it would just be a 5-7 business days from the date they received my papers.

NOTE: In my case, I did not initially have a hotel reservation and schedule of stay so they had to mail it back to me with a checklist of missing documents. So make sure you have the COMPLETE requirements.

Funny story when I resubmitted my documents, I looked at the tracking online and saw that it was sent back to me back like 3 days after and I felt like it was so fast and assumed that I got denied. I didn’t have enough time to reapply if that would be the case, so I had to message my friend that I was sad because I got denied. But then when I physically got the envelope, I felt that it only had my passport and immediately opened it. Taddddaaaaaa!!! Approved!!!

Most blogs I saw said that the time it takes to get processed would be at least 10 business day so I advise you to apply a month before your flight especially if you’re planning to do everything by mail.

When I was thinking I got denied, I said maybe there’s another way. I heard that in some countries they give transit visa in the airport. While searching, I came across on this Japan Shore Pass which says that I may be able to obtain a Japan Transit Visa on arrival if I have a travel ticket within 72 hours. I don’t know how this one works because before I could do a thorough research, I already got my visa. If anyone knows how it works, feel free to share it with us.

It was worth it and rewarding. Fighting for something you really want.

Sinigang is my comfort food especially during the rainy/colder season. It is a sour soup made of vegetables and meat of your choice (you can use shrimp, pork, beef, fish, chicken). Unripe tamarind is the commonly used ingredient to make the sinigang sour. Other people use calamansi instead of tamarind. Nowadays, people usually use the instant tamarind soup mix because it’s cheaper and easy to use.

I won’t be detailing how to make one because you can find several youtube videos and/or blogs to learn how to make one. My goal here to look at the sinigang and the commonly used vegetables from different versions of it.

Below are the commonly used vegetables in sinigang. They are in Tagalog-English-Scientific name order.

kangkong – water Spinach – Ipomoea aquatica

sitaw – string beans – Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis

kamatis – tomato – Solanum lycopersicum

siling haba – long chili – Capsicum annuum

sibuyas – onion – Allium cepa

gabi – taro – Colocasia esculenta

labanos – radish – Raphanus sativus

miso – soybean – Glycine max

talong – eggplant – Solanum melongena

sampaloc – tamarind – Tamarindus indica

calamansi – Philippine lime – Citrofortunella microcarpa

The photo above was my take on my own sinigang (because in the country I am right now, the veggies mentioned are rare to find). I used asparagus and mustard instead of string beans and kangkong. Enjoy your hot sinigang in this bed weather situation. I would love to hear how they are called in your place and other vegetables you add in your sinigang in the comment section.

Puerto Galera is situated in the island of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. It is one of the closest and easiest to access beach/dive resort from Manila. I honestly didn’t travel from Manila to Puerto Galera as we are from Laguna. If you’re coming from Manila, you only have to find a way to go to Batangas Pier. They say that there are bus routes in Cubao that will take you to Puerto Galera.

How to go to Puerto Galera from Laguna?

Our point of origin was in Bay, Laguna. Here are the step-by-step guide on how we were able to go to Puerto Galera (it was a last minute so some random tips and tricks so you won’t do the same mistakes that we did. LOL):

STEP 1: Ride e a jeepney going to Crossing, Calamba terminal. Hop off at the terminal and find a jeepney going to Turbina (one is a jeepney route going to Tanauan, Batangas) or ride a tricycle for P100 as special ride to Turbina (if you’re on a budget and a backpacker, I suggest you to ride the jeepney which will only cost P15).

STEP 2: When you reached Turbina, ride a bus going to Batangas Pier – this will cost you P145. The bus will stop close to the terminal where you will get your ferry ticket. TiP no.1: don’t give in to people harassing you to buy stuff or book you at a higher cost. Planning is the key.

STEP 3: Get your ferry ticket (~P600/pax) going to Puerto Galera and pay P30 terminal fee – prepare your ID when getting the ticket. REMEMBER: Last trip would be at 2pm so be sure to be there before that time. Since we were not able to catch the last trip, we took a trip to Calapan (make sure to be there before the last trip of public jeepneys and vans) because we were not able to catch this trip as well (don’t follow this so you won’t spend more), we rode the tricycle going to Galera for P2000.

From the terminal, you go to the resort that offers scuba diving (most of the resort offers one). In our case, we booked days before online El Galleon resort (I highly recommend this – for me it has a relaxing ambience, although food is a bit pricey, but you can opt to go to town to look for cheaper alternatives).

It was my first scuba diving experience. I’d been wanting to do this for the longest time but find it expensive especially when you have a base salary. After saving for this activity, I took the chance. It cost me around P7500 all-in, the initial training, gears, oxygen tank and boat ride to the dive site.

You will have to practice basics in the pool like what are the common sign language, how to equalize properly, what to do when you accidentally removed the regulator or when water filled your goggles under the water.

After that, you can go directly to the ocean. If you’re a beginner like me, an instructor will make your life easier and he will just carry you throughout the dive. But, if you are a certified diver, you just have to be close to your pact under the water.

I didn’t have a camera fit for diving so you have to see for yourself the wonders that living organisms deep down the sea offer you. Different fish colors, starfish, sea snake, and corals in different shades, hues and colors. Words and pictures won’t be enough to describe it. Experience it yourself. It was worth a try.

Remember that you have to allocate at least 24 hrs before flying again after the dive. You can also enjoy a white beach close by the dive resorts after your dive.

Time flies so fast. In 26 days, we will welcome 2023. How many years have you been writing your New Year’s Resolutions but ends up failing? Mine? It’s countless. I don’t know about you, bu t I’m guessing that I’ve been doing it wrong.

It takes 21 days to build a habit they say. So, what if we start our new year’s resolutions at least 21 days before 2023? Here’s mine:

Day 1-21 (Dec. 5): Since I started this today in the middle day, I was not able to wake up at 6:30am

__ MAKE MY BED

__ Meditate

__ EXERCISE for 10mins

__ Read a page in the Daily Stoic

__ TAKE A COLD SHOWER

__ Drink a glass of warm water

__ REVIEW TIME BLOCKING

__ Follow at least 70% of the schedule

__ SCHEDULE/TIME BLOCK FOR TOMORROW

__ Journal

__ Read a book chapter

__ Sleep at 11pm

Feel free to copy this template and let’s do this together. Here’s a Google sheet you can download, edit and print. Let me know your success rate! 😀

That lump in the throat

The crushing feeling inside your heart

Sleepless nights

Swollen eyes

It feels like a never-ending cycle

You’re hoping that it’s just a nightmare

That you’ll open your eyes and nothing happened

‘Cause it was just a bad dream

But it’s not

You know it’s not

You can feel the tears rolling on your face

Day and night you’ve been waking up

He’s gone

Forever in your life

A fact

The reality

But this one’s different

Not the usual heartbreak

The worst

A stab in the heart is an understatement

You don’t even know when or how to move on

You couldn’t even delete his pictures

Nor date a rebound guy

He was the kindest and most humble man

The first person that showed me unconditional love

He was not rich

But, he had so much to offer that money couldn’t buy

He’d spoil me up to the last cent in his pocket

He won’t let me walk alone in the middle of the night

He’d cook for me almost everyday

Perfect steamed rice

Variety of sunny side-ups that I could choose from

Over-easy

Well-done

Over-cooked

And a lot more that only him could make

He’d buy me my favorite food every single market day he’d been

I was his favorite

He liked bragging me to his friends

His love for me was top tier

I was willing to give everything I have so he’d stay

But I know he had to go

He was tired

He tried his best

He fought a good fight

Wherever you are

Know that I will be forever grateful for all the times we’d shared

I hope you are in a happier place now

No more pain

I miss you

I love you, tatay.

I used to travel a lot in different islands of the Philippines until the pandemic hit. It’s difficult to travel plus the risk of acquiring the disease stopped me from traveling for almost 3 years now. But, now that traveling has becoming easier and vaccines/boosters are available, we can now book our flights. Out of all the places I went to, the following 4 places are the top ones that will come into my mind without looking at any previous photos or browsing the names of the places, and will highly recommend to people who are planning their vacation.

1. Enchanted River

It will be like your first love that will never die. Once you visited it at the right calm state and weather you can stay the whole day enjoying the place.

2. Puerto Galera

If you live in Manila and looking for a close place to have a beach night life, then this one is for you.

3. Gigantes Island

The best thing about this one that makes it a top destination to go is the P2 per piece scallops and cheap seafood! Another thing that makes it memorable for me is its unique shape you’ll see from the top – the combination of sand area and small hill.

4. Samal Island

The thing I like the most in this island is that during low tide, you can walk on it!

Wherever you plan to go, plan very well. Here are some points to remember when planning. Do not choose places that are too far if you’ll just have 2 days or less. Look ahead of time if the place is open on the specific date that you wanted to visit. Check the most favorable weather to get most of it from the destination. Since covid is still around, travel with caution, wear mask if it’s too crowded or in an enclosed space. Happy travel!