celebraTINg exisTENce

Di ko alam kung anong mararamdaman ko na December na agad pero deSAMEber pa rin ako o naging emotionally and physically drained lang these past few days kaya feeling ko deSAME pa rin, ewan ko.

Hayyy. As much as I want to, I can't write anything with enthusiasm this time kasi wala talaga as of the moment pero hindi totally wala ah. Nasa 60-40 siguro.

Ito na naman, 'yung paulit-ulit kang babatuhin ng pare-parehong problema hangga't di ka natututo. Haaaaay. Medyo nakakapagod lang kasi pero keri, tomorrow is another day. Nak ng. :)) Umayos ka!!! Walang big deal, ikaw lang nagpapalaki. Diba nga, as long you don't stop...

Bakit ganon? Ang hyper ko last year, nasan na 'yon?!

Kunsabagay...

- wala na 'yung tinutukoy kong para sa'kin... ang fail talaga nitong desisyon na 'to. Pag naaalala ko, naiinis pa rin ako. Kagaya ngayon. Lalo nung nabasa ko kung gaano ako ka-excited last year. :( Baliw talaga. Pero 'yun nga, hindi naman nawawala 'yung hope. Tanggapin lang na nagkamali na naman ako... ata. Haha! Saka meron namang next. Prepare and look forward na lang! Past is past.

- majubis pa rin ako. more jubis than last year. hahahaha. Ayun lang. Wag ko na lang kayang sabihin na hindi ako kakain baka hindi talaga ko kumain. Kainis na eh. Kabaliktaran lagi.

- di pa siya nag PREX. Ohhhh the thought of it makes me cringe! Oi nasan na 'yung choice mo to be happy?! Iniisip ko, sana nag control na lang ako huhu alam kong may something nung gabing 'yon kaya biglang nawala 'yung mabigat na feeling pero e naiinis na ko ngayon. Di ko lang matanggap kasi nasa personality ko 'yung hindi talaga ko open. Ugh, lampake na. Moving on...

- di siya na food poison. SOBRANG DOWNER TALAGA NITO!! AS IN SUPER BONGGANG LALA parang buong pagkatao ko ang lungkot na most of the times. Dito talaga nag start kasi okay ako before nito, di pa nakaka-recover 'yung system ko. Baka nagising si sadness sa lason ganyan o sobrang naapektuhan si joy. Di ko alam pero tomorrow is another day... dapat!!! Pakasaya na lang na kahit di pa ko totally naka-recover e okay na ko. Saka more things to be thankful about diba.. After that much pain, ito buhay pa. Lumalaban. Huhuhu

- di pa namili si Popoy. Mas malala pa sa One More Chance kasi ako hindi ako pinili. Haha!! Buti na lang nga iyak din ng iyak 'yung mga katabi ko sa sinehan kaya keri lang kahit walang tigil yata akong umiiyak. Dati naman kasi wala lang 'yon eh arteng iyak lang pero ngayon kasi ano e nang-a-ano naman 'to si Popoy eh. :((

Pero merong dalawang linya na gustong gusto ko...

1. It is brave to ask "what if?" but it is braver to embrace "what is."

2. Your ~~love~~ story is what you make it.

WHAT IS. WHAT IS. Tama na kakaisip dun sa mga wala na kasi wala na nga sila. WHAT IS. WHAT IS.

Paano ba nalalaman na "right" ang isang tao at "wrong" timing lang? Paano kung 'yung akala mong wrong timing e right timing naman pala kasi gusto ipa-realize sa'yo na 'yung tao e wrong na pinipilit mo lang maging right? O ang gulo ko.😌 Ahhhhh ang aga aga.💢 #whatever #poemsporn #fridayfeels #hindingakasiright

A photo posted by Tin Gallemaso (@xtintina) on Nov 26, 2015 at 4:43pm PST

It's the same thought na madalas natin ginagawa, sabi na'tin we're here to find ourselves 'yun pala we're here to create ourselves. Na after feeling lost, kung na-lost man, we have everything to create who we want ourselves to be. Walang destined anyone na maging tayo, walang destined na anyone para sa'tin. Everything is our choice. Everything is within our control. Diba diba diba. It took me so long to realize na totoo 'yan. K. Buti walang too late.

Kaya kung anong nasa harap ko, kung anong naiwan, kung anong pwedeng gawin - ito na lang muna. Ito 'yung ngayon kaya tama na katatanong ng mga what if at make the best out of what is. G??

EDI ANG DRAMA!!!!!!!!

"It is a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is a good time as any."

Keribells!

God bless! :D

Hopefully maging okay na tayo lahat bilang last month naman na ng 2015! Sobrang bilis plssss. :)))))

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FINALLY!!!!!

Finally, na-post na 'to.
Finally, nakapunta rin!

When I got my phone from the service center, I was then having a hard decision whether to eat ALONE or just go home. I am that person who would choose the latter because I can't eat rice meals when I'm alone in public. Hahaha! Pero hindi naman kanin 'to so keribells.

I have a cognitive map of Kapitolyo since I've been there for a lot of times but that one was special because I was alone, it was raining hard (may bagyo! huhu. All for the love of matcha!!), and it was my second time returning after a year. Ulitin ko lang, medyo ma-drama talaga 'yung part ng paglalakad ko. hahaha! Nakakatawa na lang eh.

I actually didn't know where I was going but I have more confidence in directions when walking than riding so I skipped the tricycle. I know that it's in Pioneer Street but I wasn't able to get the exact location so I just walked along the street not minding the wind and the rain.

Ang bait lang ni Kuya guard from Pioneer Center because even if I wasn't asking him anything, he told me that it was okay to ask if I was lost. (Kuya, life lessons ba 'yon? Wala naman masama sa pagtatanong. HAHAHA.) O mukha yata kasi akong naliligaw that time or naawa lang siya kasi ang lakas ng ulan at mukhang di ko pa alam pupuntahan ko. And?? I told him, "De, kuya okay lang po. Anong lugar ba 'to?" Hindi ko sinabi na naghahanap ako ng matcha cafe na dapat pala sinabi ko na lang. hahaha. He answered, "Pioneer Center"

I continued walking but my instinct told me to go back so I did.

After all the drama, Kissako Uji Matcha Cafe is in Pioneer Center. Ge.

I ordered Hot Matcha Latte and Japanese Cheesecake

What I enjoyed more is the Matcha Japanese Cheesecake. It was my first time eating Japanese Cheesecake and I must admit that I fell inlove at first bite. Not entirely because it's matcha flavored but because of melt-in-your-mouth texture. But even so, nadudurog kasi pag hinahati so I'd like it to be less crumbly if ever I return to order this again

For the taste, there was a slight matcha taste at first and afterwards it was all cheese.

I won't tell more details about the latte aside from the super obvious qtpi latte art that makes drinking a hard decision.

Overall, it was a pleasant matcha experience (food & ambiance). Nothing goes wrong naman with matcha and I kaya more than pleasant pa nga. hehe.

And I'll just mention this 'cause I'm happy that more and more people are discovering the goodness of matcha/green tea/nokcha. I've been on the look out for anything matcha for like more than 3 years now and the search has never been this easy. Haha! I see matcha almost everywhere now which is definitely a good thing so I can satisfy my cravings immediately.

Where else can I find delicious matcha goodies? :)))

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Having thoughts about how worse it could've gotten. Will forever be amazed with our body's capability of healing itself.
— Tin Gallemaso (@xtintina) November 26, 2015

Dahil hindi raw kumpleto ang isang buwan ko kung walang dramaramaramrama... kakaloka tayo, life noh?

Nov. 24, 2015 - Hurriedly went home since my Nanay texted me that we had Pansit Malabon at home. I ate that for dinner, even gave our neighbor one plateful. (Note: I am not a pansit person. The only two types of pansit that make me crave are Lucky Me Pansit Canton and Pansit Malabon. Imagine my excitement because I am only able to eat Pansit Malabon once in a blue moon. lol)

Nov. 25, 2015 at 3 AM-ish (3 AM-ish talaga, Tin?!) - I woke up because of severe stomach pain. Nakiramdam what kind of pain was that, sobrang sakit lang, hindi ko alam kung ano. Shemay. Maya-maya pang-CR na. (Pasintabi po. Dami ko pa naman resto reviews.) Thought it ended there? No. I went back to vomit, then went back for another.... :(( I looked at the mirror and I was so pale to the point that it was scary already.

Buti kung 'yun lang eh but no. I wasn't able to go back to sleep because of the terrible stomach pain I had. I was also sweating but I was feeling cold. Kind of Reminded me of Mt. Pulag kasi akala ko OA na 'yung na-experience namin nung gabi, meron pa palang mas OA na experience dun which is ito na nga - walang idea kung gano katagal eh, ramdam na ramdam pa 'yung pain. Best in Experience talaga every November. Sana next November din. Hihi. Pero sana mas magandang experience naman... fall... autumn... hihihi.

Nov. 25, 2015 after getting some sleep- Spent the whole day in bed. Stomach pain was reduced but in exchange, I had headache and body pain throughout the day. I couldn't even bend my knees and elbows because of the muscle and joint pains. So ganon ang feeling ng may mga arthritis. Oh wells...

Nov. 26, 2015 - Head still thumps and there are still stomach cramps especially when standing but I am feeling a whole lot better. Nag breakfast na nga ko ng bacon eh at nakapag-blog pa 'ko akalain mo 'yon. Grabe. Di kaya ako naka-kain kahapon.

I searched for the Facebook page of tooooot and I was supposed to send them a private message to tell them our concern (Since hindi lang ako kundi lahat kaming kumain. Magkakaiba lang ng degree of pain.) but I saw a comment there and what they experienced was the same with ours so sumagot na lang ako dun sa convo. It's because we are in the same industry that I am not being hysterical about this nor am I making this a big deal - tagal din nila inalagaan 'yung reputasyon na 'yon e saka sobrang dali kasing makasira ng kung anuman pwedeng mabasa sa internet kaya hindi ko na papangalanan. Also, I am considering the experience as a reminder that safety and sanitation are very important in food preparation. You'll never know eh. The food wasn't spoiled. It tasted the same with the first time I ate it. Proud na proud pa kong sabihin na one of the best 'yon kasi na-feature na sila on different tv programs such as Jessica Soho and KrisTV. Tapos, one of the best pain we'll ever experience pala. Hihi. Unforgettable nga at namigay pa ko ng isang platong foodborne illness. 'Yan ang sobrang generous, pati sakit e ipinapamigay. Hahaha!!

I don't think I would ever crave for Pansit Malabon again. Ka-trauma. Buti na lang may Lucky Me, Sotanghon at Japchae pa! hehe. May chance pa sa long life! haha. Ngayon pa baaaaa.

Here's to surviving the food poisoning ordeal!

Woooo. I made it through the ~~rain~~ pain I can stand up once again... *insert Mariah Carey's "Through The Rain"*
Nga pala, laking tulong talaga ng Human Heart Nature balm for all seasons kahit kelan sa sobrang sakit naubos ko isang lalagyan nang hindi ko namalayan, ng buko juice, ng Psyllium fiber na dahil regular naman akong may intake e mas appreciated ko pa, ng erceflora, ng biogesic (loyal kay Lloydie!) ng oil galing Regina Institute of Contemplation in Asia (halatang ritwal ang naging sandigan ehehe!) saka ng prayers shempre. huhuhu.

Again, I am not writing this to complain but because of gladness that we were able to recover fast (with that degree of pain, understatement ang glad) and because I want to remind everyone that we all have our roles in keeping our food safe. And, hopefully for us there would be no further complications.

For us, food handlers, may we able to come up with better food-handling practices so as not to repeat what had happened. We should really pay close attention in all steps of the food preparation.

For us, consumers, may we more vigilant and only eat food that nourish us. Although hindi ko rin alam kung paano, may we stay away from contaminated food all the time.

At pang Ms. Universe: Hoping for a world where everyone has access to clean food and drinks, and proper nutrition.

Seryoso, napaisip talaga ko kahapon nung sobrang sakit ng tiyan ko kung parusa na ba sa'kin 'yon kasi kain ako ng kain pero naisip ko ngayon na hindi naman siguro, nagkataon lang. Alam mo na, for more life lessons. Haha. ktnxbye. :))))

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I used to frequent Tagaytay (attractions link: here.) but this time, it took me more than a year to return. I was surprised not only by the new establishments in Tagaytay City but also by those along the Sta. Rosa - Tagaytay Road. How can there be that much change within a year? Anyhow, this is not to answer the question, "what changed?" but "where to eat?" and "what to eat?" when in the area.

This is along Tagaytay-Nasugbu Hi-way, roofdeck of Domicillo Botique Hotel. 'Yung daan pa-Mahogany Market merong gas station. Lagpas lang ng kaunti doon, then nasa left side sila pag pa-Batangas 'yung way.

Interior of Aozora

If it wasn't so hot that day, this part would be the perfect place to stay at.

Oh. I heard that the best time to go here is during sunset. Yes, I think that sunset viewing is perfect in their place 'cause nasa west part sila and there are no obstructions in the view. (Sunset at Picnic Grove link: here.)

Japanese snacks are for sale.

Got over my love for Meiji's dark chocolate because it's Meiji's Kyo-matcha for me now. Hehe.

And they have the best spot of all the establishments I've visited along the ridge.

The name Aozora (blue sky) makes perfect sense when you're at this part. I would love to view the sunset here someday. Sige, kapag may ka-date na ko. Char lang :))

Panoramic View

You are to see nature and forest in its finest. You are to eat Japanese cuisine in its finest. Definitely worth the drive!

Unfortunately, mahirap na makakita ng ganitong spot sa Tagaytay kasi ang dami ng buildings and houses. Buti na lang, meron pa rito.

So here it is.

Tagaytay's first authentic Japanese restaurant.

Dragon Maki

Named as such because it looks like a dragon. Laki kong tulong talaga. Haha. But this tastes good huhu I want to go back.

Gyoza

Miso Soup

And my favorite of the dishes that I tried there is Aozora's version of Sukiyaki.

Aozora's Fried Rice
So good you don't even need a viand to eat this with.

Aozora's owner, Ms. Christine, told us that they import most of their ingredients from Japan. Their salmon has a different texture from the salmon sashimis that are available in eat-all-you-can buffets.

Aozora's Salad

The crunchy kani on top took this salad on a different level. Sarap! I can eat this all by myself. hehe.

Tempura

Chicken Katsu
Loved this as well!
The chicken meat was tender but the panko coating was crunchy.

Pork Tonkatsu

Chicken Terriyaki

Tempura Ice Cream for dessert

This one's interesting because the ice cream's obviously cold but the tempura coating is hot. The taste of chocolate syrup, red bean and vanilla ice cream are all complimenting. Must try!

I was surprised when they brought this out. Bulalo ramen daw.

But I was more surprised that they managed to make this dish into something na hindi nakakaumay at bagay. Bulalo in not my kind of comfort food but with Aozora's Bulalo Ramen maybe it can be now.

A look of Taal lake once again.

Yay for the virgin forest they have there. Looks like no one has traversed here yet.

If you find yourself in Tagaytay, go to Aozora 'cause not only do you get to see this scenic view, you also get to eat delicious and authentic Japanese food prepared by Chef Seiji Kamura.

AOZORA JAPANESE CAFE+ BISTRO
9 AM - 10 PM
KM 58 Gen. E. Aguinaldo Hi-way, Tagaytay City, Cavite

For reservations:
09155038800

Thank you, Ms. Christine Villongco of Aozora for inviting us and Aldous of aldousatetheworld for organizing this event. :))

So meron pa palang ganitong part sa #tagaytay.😄 Super nice ng view from #Domicillo hotel (taas😂). #aozora #forest #travelph #nature #clouds #xperia

A photo posted by Tin Gallemaso (@xtintina) on Nov 8, 2015 at 12:45am PST

Bet talaga, noh?
Mej ingat lang kasi walang glass na harang dyan. Di ko lang rin alam kung ano tawag.