434 days have passed since the Philippines announced the #ECQ #lockdown starting March 16 last year, and here we are - still at it. The community quarantine classifications have been modified so many times already but because I am praning, I still behave and move around as if we are still under ECQ. One reason for adopting this pragmatic mentality is my own experience with ... READ MORE
Christmas in the Time of Corona
I honestly thought that Christmas is canceled this year. Which suits me just fine because I don’t feel like celebrating. I lost my daddy last May, and this is our first Christmas without him. I missed his cooking: his penne pasta, the famous lumpiang shanghai and sometimes he would whip up meatloaf that we will later on eat with pandesal. If Liam is here in Manila, am sure ... READ MORE
Product Review: Lasco UV-C Germicidal Lamps
My shopping splurge during this 9-month community quarantine was not on clothes, shoes and bags but UV-C germicidal or sterilizer lamps – all purchased from Lasco Security Home Security and Automation via their online store at Lazada. I’ve read lots of online-published articles and studies about how UV-C light can kill 99% of coronaviruses and it helped too that there are ... READ MORE
Kyoto Food Hits
I've been watching a lot of Rion Ishida's Youtube videos about Japan lately. He's the perfect local tourist guide in Japan, and I enjoy all his videos like a virtual tourist albeit I cannot smell, taste and touch the interesting food that he's been sharing with us through his videos. His day trips to Kyoto and Osaka were my favorites, and I was really fortunate to have ... READ MORE
A Cat’s Tale
Exactly 2 months ago today, I woke up to AJ's very excited voice saying that there's a cat outside our door and drinking from the water that I will use for the house plants. You see, AJ is what I call a cat whisperer and you have probably seen in our travel photos that a cat almost always find itself in the picture, being pet by AJ who else? Although I'm a big fan of ... READ MORE
Looking for the Perfect Face Mask
Like most of you here, I have bought numerous types of face masks to protect myself and others from #covid19. Wearing of face mask is mandatory here in our city, and while I am very comfortable wearing the 3-ply surgical masks, they cannot be reused and have to be disposed of immediately after wearing. At the start of #ECQ lockdown here in Manila, the supply of these ... READ MORE
Our British Food Adventure
To begin with, British food is not complicated. So drawing up our "foodie list" was the last thing we did when we were planning our UK trip in June last year. It helped too that Netflix was streaming British cooking shows such as "The Big Family Cooking Showdown" and "Million Pound Menu", and watching them gave me a good idea of what to expect in British local food. Truth ... READ MORE
Online Shopping in the Time of Pandemic
I have stopped doing online shopping for a while not because of bad experiences with sellers, but because I like to be able to actually see, hold, smell or taste the thing I'm going to buy. The multi-sensory engagement with a retail or bookstore is what makes shopping a fun thing, isn't it? I mean, who among you here doesn't enjoy stopping by a Jo Malone or Body Shop store ... READ MORE