Jodythinks

Lost in Quiapo and Binondo

Jody Alarva4 Comments

Friday night, while settling down to a night of Heroes, I grabbed Tony (my camera you pervs) as I was planning to delete a few pics so that Joannaman would have primo memory for her trip to Tagaytay. After several frustrating attempts to turn it on, I charged the battery, but found that it wasn’t the problem when the charger stopped flickering after a few minutes. After several frazzled texts to my fellow d40 users and failing at everything they told me to try, i set Tony aside and drifted off to a troubled sleep.

I just got the camera a month ago. I really didn’t get what went wrong.

So when I woke up the next day I tried to turn the cam on again to no avail. Frustrated and panicked I brought it to work thinking the people who use the same camera would know what to do. Asked Steve, asked Ronan, even asked Nan, they all told me to take it to where I bought it. As i could not find the receipt that morning, I sighed and resigned myself to paying whatever it takes to fix Tony. For my peace of mind. Already saying goodbye to food trips until the next payday, I left the office at lunch. I couldn’t work, I couldn’t think. I knew i was overreacting (especially with the tears, wtf was that about anyway) but it just felt all was wrong.

So i dragged my depressed butt home and searched halfheartedly for the receipt i thought i threw away while i waited for Pao to pick me up to go to Quiapo (There was no way i was going there alone, I already was a helpless female at the phone with Mayer’s i wasn’t going to humiliate myself in person alone). Lo and behold, the receipt was tucked away in one of my old wallets, Thank God.

Feeling a little better i headed to Quiapo with Pao in tow. Lugging every single thing the cam went with at Berto’s advice (the box too i was that nervous about the return). Got to Mayer’s at half past three, talked to a cheerful Mang Ramon who told me that it was just a simple repair and I would get Tony back within the next week. I felt bad about leaving Tony there, but we do what we have to do.

Feeling loads better, I dragged Pao to lunch at Dong Bei at Binondo. I figured, I was at Quiapo already, why not make the best of it, so I did. It was an extremely late lunch (about 4 pm) but it was worth it, even if i did lose my way once or twice to get to Binondo church (my landmark to get to Dong Bei). Had the chicken, two orders of soup dumplings and rice.

Have i raved about Dong Bei yet? It’s a hole in the wall place that’s somewhat of a cult favorite of bloggers (as i discovered when i looked it up online) that servers the best soup dumplings evar. The chicken’s great too. And the rice. I always order the same thing (the things i just mentioned) but i never get tired of them. And they make the dumplings themselves right there in the restaurant. And even if I am that person that hates to know what goes on in food preparation, I don’t mind seeing the whole process right in front of me, coz i love the dumplings that much.

Only after eating did we realize that it was pouring outside. Having no umbrellas we ran all the way to the church. Took a trike to quezon blvd (who ripped us off btw, 80 pesos for a freaking trike ride? give me a break). Squishy ride home that took a reaaaaaally long time (we kinda forgot that Espana doesn’t have a Saturday cooling off period for traffic). But there it is. A saturday for the ages. And i got my Tony fixed.

So who’s coming with me to get him? 🙂

Jodythinks

You are who your friends are… not! :P

Jody Alarva2 Comments

In the case of my best friend since I can remember, we’re totally different.

Jules is a straight up girly girl with a penchant for dressing up and is actually good at the whole thing.

Me I can hardly put an outfit together, I always have something a little wrong, whether it be the wrong jeans, wrong shoes, or wrong bag.

She is an expert at putting on makeup and getting the perfect hair.

Me i’m lucky if i get a good hair day out of a month. And my mom applies any makeup you’d see on my face.

And to that i introduce Just Lianne, my best friend’s blog.

Makeup, getup. The perfect brush. Everything i know nothing about.

Jodythinks

Pick a side, any side.

Jody Alarva3 Comments

there was light

I often find myself on the fence. Especially when it comes to my friends. The present is no different. Sadly, what was once a tightly knit group has now formed two separate groups, and i find myself trying to split myself in half hanging out with both of them.

It’s no issue really, people with different interests form different circles. These two circles intermingle sometimes but generally exist apart. Sometimes I wish i lived in a world with only concentric circles.

Naive as I am I’ve tried to be part of both. Both groups i like equally, and both groups having different interests I can both relate to.

Now I just find myself running from one side to the other trying to find a way to understand why I’m killing myself doing it.

But the answer is simple.

I love my friends. That’s it.

This isn’t complaining, this is just a longing for a utopia where people can all get along.

I try to pick a side, but I find myself missing the snarkiness of one group or the silliness of the other.

I hope I won’t find myself someday not belonging to any group.

Till then I’ll be running.

food · Jodythinks

Sunday is Family day

Jody Alarva2 Comments

artscream

So we haven’t seen our cousins from my mother’s side in a really long time. Since we’re all now basically in Manila and we can go to the mall again (long story, just that we were told by the mom’s side of the family to not go to the mall for a while) we decided to meet and eat and catch up.

Where did we go? Robinson’s Place Ermita of course. Why of course? Well, it’s where we’ve always gone when we do see each other here in Manila. Even if it is a hecka long way from home, it’s a food haven that hasn’t changed since my mom worked in Pagcor when I was a kid. And for food, I’ll always travel.

First stop: Bon Vivant. It’s a rice in a box stall that’s been there for as long as i can remember. They have the most unique and just comforting flavors (Like my favorite: Ooh La La, a shrimp pesto, bacon mix) that have made people come back for years. And since it’s the only branch (believe me, people have tried to ask the Chinese owner for franchise rights, they’ve all been denied) it’s an inexpensive treat that I always make sure I get when I go to Ermita.

Then off to Wham. Don’t tell Ate Kaye (she doesn’t know we already ate, since she was late [hey that rhymes!]) but we ate fries, chicken littles (their chicken nuggets that are oh so good) and onion rings with our rice. Photo-opped, laughed at absurd rumors (that we found out later in the day was true) and ate our way through our first sit down meal.

Ajisen was third on our list. After walking in circles for 15 minutes and not knowing what to make Ate Kaye eat, we sat down at Ajisen, this Japanese place at the corner of the 3rd(?) floor at Midtown. Ordered sushi (to be fair we already ate) and ice cream. Gulped down the food then looked for more dessert.

And dessert we did find. Art’s cream gallery at the ground floor of Midtown was a place I’ve already read about online. Fiorgelato providing it’s ice cream (ok, gelato) we had the One for All which consisted of 12 scoops of ice cream in a single huge martini glass. The flavors all melted together, which was sometimes fun(mint and chocolate chip), sometimes strange (lychee and hazelnut). It was gone in 10 minutes.

Don’t think the day’s over. After Tita Tess picked us up, we went to S&R for apparently a sale and saw the longest line ever. We were tired so we just decided to eat dinner there. For people who have been eating every hour and a half, we managed to eat half a dozen burgers, a pizza, more cups of clam chowder than i could count, a salad (with bacon and cheese, i suspect it’s not as healthy as it’s parading to be), churros, and those chicken bread things that were so good.

It’s a wonder our clothes still fit.

Next time we’re going North! 🙂

Jodythinks

The simple things.

Jody Alarva4 Comments

jager

I guess with all i’ve done lately, I haven’t felt like me in a while.

I don’t really party but I want to now. I find myself listening to party music and doing the shimmy shimmy shake at home, and the head bob at my station at work.

I find myself checking out people’s outfits in public and asking them where they got that random shirt, or shiny shoes.

I wear makeup sometimes now (eyeliner) when I feel like it (or when I try to distract from a blemish caused by not sleeping).

I haven’t read a new book in ages.

Food trips are a thing of the past.

 

So last Saturday I went back to my roots and just spent it laid back and food tripping. Things i learned that night:

  • Gerry’s (at least the one in front of ABS fer sure) has no corkage fee. Huzzah)
  • You can buy those little liquor bottles that they have in hotel rooms for 150 each at a liquor store in Timog circle
  • There are no ice cream parlors in the Tomas Morato/Timog area to Katipunan that are open at 3am on a weekend.
  • Bri-iw, a small hole in the wall bar in Kamuning used to be a gay bar.
  • Petron Treats in Katipunan stocks only Nestle and Haagen Dazs ice  cream in its freezers.
  • Drinking is supposedly strictly prohibited there.

It was a nice night. Just hanging out, laughing my head off. No hangover, no Sunday hell.

I missed this.

(But i wanna dance)