ive already written here before that im a sooper fan of stephen sondheim’s INTO THE WOODS the musical. the anticipation on the movie version is nerve-wracking and its screening in the Philippines didnt come any sooner.

the movie was nice. not that good, not that bad, only nice. after watching the movie, i couldnt help but look back at the original broadway production televised over PBS in the US and was blown away by the charm and wit of the musical. the whole thing was so funny that you do somersaults when act 2’s heavy mood brings you down. #anudaw the film was devoid of all punchlines from the original material. the film was being too serious for the kind of material it was working on.

i have to give credit to james corden and emily blunt for doing an awesome job as baker and wife. i did wonder why they didnt cast amy adams, who had done baker’s wife on a staging of ITW in central park with the witch and rapunzel’s mom from the animated disney film, rapunzel, donna murphy, playing witch and rapunzel’s mom. over sa meta, i know. meryl streep’s witch was a bit more tricky because bernadette peters did a memorable awesome job as the witch onstage. that does not say that meryl did bad. her “stay with me” and “last midnight” were hauntingly beautiful. disney just couldnt do to rapunzel in the film version what they did to her in the stage version. and that just sucks. 3/5

carlo and i aim to simplify our lifestyle. the excessiveness of our world can be overwhelming and there will never be an end to what one’s lifestyle buries you into. we work in the advertising industry as production designers and it’s easy to get hooked into a superficial lifestyle if one is not conscious about it. averaging p250 meals at restaurants for one, free services to and from the office or the p260 taxi ride to the office and another going back home, that daily p165 grande starbucks coffee sealing your fake status in life. excessive! not to mention the small purchases of other items you may not really need.

it helps that we are not living in makati. we go home to an old, 40 year-old rented apartment in quezon city shared with my aunt who’s lived here longest in the neighborhood. food is a necessity but we are constantly reminded there are options always. i keep track of how much we spend a month and food takes up 60-70% of our expenses, through eating out or by groceries.

i remember as a kid life was so much simpler. mom goes to the market and comes back with loads of stuff. cooks meals and we share family time over a feast. it’s not too late to go back to that. sometimes, it’s not about spending less and going the cheaper route, it’s more about simplifying your life. going back to basics. buying local and reducing carbon footprint. celebrating home cooked meals. save the earth. all that jazz.

last month, carlo and i went off to the nearby marikina public market and spent P1200 ($27.21) on fresh produce. it took us 1.5 weeks to consume everything and that’s a good track record for us. this week we went back for more. there was a break with the cooking at home because we got busy with shoot projects but we’re currently back to cooking and eating at home this week.

before we left for marikina this afternoon, carlo and i planned to spend only P800 or $18 (plus P200 for taxi) at the market because we have to get a new lpg tank this month at roughly p550 (11kls per tank) as our old tank was all used up after 4 months of cooking (not bad). limiting expenses into a budget is crucial to simplifying lifestyles. money does not grow on trees, as everyone knows. here’s what we got this afternoon:

here’s an accounting of what we purchased today. im a sucker for squid and mussels. and galunggong. we’re hoping this produce and stock will see us through a week’s worth of awesome meals. carlo will cook and i will do the dishes.

P974 ($22.09) total. we sorta overspent but our commute transportation was reduced to p48 ($1.09) so we’re still within budget. you may have noticed we didnt buy pork today. that’s no coincidence. also, no rice. normally we’d get brown rice at SM save more for P55/kilo but im trying to cut down on the carbs so no rice, not even brown rice. P974 divided into 7 days into 2 meals per day would be P69 shared meals for 2-3 pax (carlo, titatems, and myself). p69 per meal with 2 to 3 people eating! that’s roughly an unhealthy burger meal at some fastfood chain for one! crazy, right?

simplify your life. in this excessive lifestyle we have in manila, we’ve stopped appreciating the beauty of a home cooked meal and spending on more important stuff like good quality healthy food that will keep your sugar levels and cholesterol down.  im blogging about this so i can share and maybe inspire others to see for themselves how beautiful our produce is in the philippines and stop buying fast food and eat healthier and eating fresh food everyday.

will post photos of meals as the days progress. cheers and have a simplified life!

ever since we did our marketing at marikina the other week, carlo and i have carefully documented the meals we produced and ate. apparently we still had to hit the neighborhood grocery for more items like cans of milk or some other ingredients not found at the public market. out of the stash of food we got here were the dishes carlo cooked and we both plated for instagraming (@luningninggerzi) :

DAY 1

that evening coming back from the market, this was the first we prepared. mussells with carrots and napa/chinese cabbage. instead of rice, we have sweet potatoes.

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DAY 2

lunch was fried big-bellied round scad (galunggong) with a bed of veggies consisting of baked sweet potatoes in basil, muscovado, honey, and blackbean sauce. dipping sauce is iloko vinegar.

dinner was shared with tita tems (who doesnt go home for lunch). we had red snapper (maya-maya) steamed in lemongrass and other aromatics and seasoned with tamarind (sinigang) powder). since we used the small oven toaster, the fish was split in two and curiously, the head part’s drippings tasted differently than the tail part (the former was tasted like the ocean and the latter’s taste was more subdued). on the side we had a salad of boiled leaves of the sweet potato (camote tops) and fresh tomatoes, onions, in a sweet-sour vinegar sauce. there were also eggplants (boiled) paired with bagoong balayan (a kind of fish sauce) with calamondi. no rice tonight.

carlo also proceeded to make his own chili sauce by chopping up sili labuyo, green chilis, and peppercorns. toasted the garlic in oil then cooked the chilis into it. sesame oil was added later on.

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DAY 3

lunch was just omelette and whole wheat bread. no photo. forgot. lol.

dinner was mantis shrimp (alupihang dagat) cooked in garlic and butter. on the side were sauteed veggies in peanut sauce (using local peanut butter. yum). i prefer to call these shrimps aliens because i think shrimps are of alien descent.

here is the photo of how i plated the alupihang dagat. so crazy.

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DAY 4

lunch was blanched cabbage heads and tomatoes dipped in bagoong, calamansi, and sili, and eaten with hands. we also had fried galunggong and fried brown rice. galunggong had a sukang iloko dipping sauce.

dinner was adobong manok, cooked for hours. adobong mother and child, as per carlo, this adobo was served with hard-boiled egg plus boiled squash and sweet potatoes. ripe cantaloupe for dessert.

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DAY 5

last lunch was stir-fried vegetables with an awesome plate of fried squid. dipping sauce is iligan’s pinakurat, the best vinegar in the world!

we had to add a few more items purchased in the neighborhood grocery to supplement what we got from the market. this would amount to maybe another thousand pesos. our initial Php 940 plus about a thousand pesos, divided into more or less 8 dishes would amount to Php 242.50 per meal with 2 or 3 people sharing the whole meal. still awesome!

im sharing this because we do have fun preparing these dishes and eating them! im hoping to inspire others also who cannot escape the clutches of fast food. maybe for others as well, you should realize you dont have to spend so much to eat better. give a little bit of time to cooking and it will reward you. the greatest chef in the world, gusteau, does believe, “anyone can cook.” and while i dont do the cooking, i do the dishes and that’s still a noble chore. lol. cheers and have fun!

years ago, i studied to get a degree in architecture. while it didnt work out and i eventually shifted to fine arts, there were things i wont forget learning from my professors. apart from the study of aesthetics in building construction, i appreciated learning that architecture was also a study of the human form in relation to spaces around him with a dash of behavorial science.

fast forward to last thursday i went to the loo at a juju eats restaurant on pasong tamo extension in makati. as i stepped in i saw they’ve designed the toilet to have a mirror behind the water closet. for females who pee sitting down, this would be a non-issue. however, for a guy who now has to pee while looking at a reflection of himself and his dong doing number 1 in full glory, i find this odd and awkward. while i dont shy away from looking at my naked self in full body mirrors at home to dry off after taking a bath, i dont particularly feel the need to WATCH myself peeing.

don’t worry, im not posting a photo of me peeing. some people may get off on those kinds of thing but i wont indulge you. here is bathroom number 1 (which i also posted on facebook).

id like to understand why designers resort to this. thing is, that very same day, i walked across the street and entered the building where i was supposed to have my meeting and eventually had to pee again and here is the cubicle at the men’s toilet. hola!

when my meetings were done there, i transferred to another building on the other side of pasong tamo to have a meeting with my directors. having had another round of drinks, i again headed for the john. lo and behold.

this was not the first time id encounter this kind of design for toilets. another restaurant in san juan had mirrors all over so you not only watch yourself frontal but also from the side. is this a thing now? it cant merely be an attempt to multi-task and check your hair while peeing or see if you having something between your teeth while holding your schlong. is this an oversight by female designers or the result of a dont-care attitude by male designers? is someone secretly narcissist and insisted on this design yet it has been replicated many times over hence an acceptable nature of people i never knew about? design, in fact, serves people’s needs so the bathrooms are a reflection of some fetishist necessity in human society. i could be overthinking this but it could also be a bad design trend. thoughts?

Cleaning out my room i chanced upon an old rotring tracing paper tube and found old plates from my architectural past. As an undergad i considered myself an average arki student, skimming through with no real accomplishment.

For one thing, even my arki professor noticed i preferred to hand-ink my plates and said i should have been in fine arts (and 4 years later i was). I did not find my groove in architecture back then. I felt it was too technical, too stiff. The whole culture was snobbish, too serious, and i struggled being creative within the confines of measurements and building laws.

I was glad i left but thinking about it, i know i could do better now (not then, now). Now, i have more confidence in design and now, if i do decide to pursue architecture, i might actually have a chance in doing well. Wow, confidence. I, thank you. Lol.

I should just stop taking photos hoping to post them afterwards and i never do. Like this photo below. Found painted leaves left out to dry probably for use in some tv commercial shoot calling for autumn leaves. Thought id add an interesting filter or two. Then i decide not to post it so this photo sits in my Dropbox, losing its potential to be what it was meant to be.

Normally the need to post is overwhelmed by how much garbage is on social media timelines and my photo would just add to it. And so in the end i post nothing. Because they are really just people’s daily trash left out in the sun. Like dead leaves painted to resemble dead leaves. Somebody’s participation or need for validation of self online. It subtly screams, im here, like me. Here’s my dirty laundry aired for everyone to sniff.

As to why this photo even makes it to my blog and into your timeline, i cant explain that. In fact, this goes against the whole idea of this blog. Damn.

remember that scene from “The Devil Wears Prada” where an associate editor had to choose between 2 cerulean blue belts? i never really gave it a thought it would happen at Landmark but there we were, Carlo​ and i taking 20 minutes just to pick one out of the hundred similar-looking WHITE CERAMIC SOUP BOWLS on display. too shallow, not too white, rim too wide, not enough rise, lip should be angled, too much angle, not enough angle.
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juice colored.

“it’s a tough call. they’re so different.”

at eto yung bowl. #ilovemyjob #ilovemyjob #ilovemyjob #emilyforever

stop and rest awhile. keep still. breathe. the Lord is with you.

there are movies that move you to tears and some to laughter. this one makes you scream and curse and rage and hyperventilate over the awesomenessofitall. it drives you mad. to the max. now i understand.

a lot have been said over the direction and the design (the costumes and car designs have been unanimously praised) of the movie and i agree with everything. it’s so awesome it blows my mind. the musical score and sound design were phenomenal; i especially love the visual aspect of the score pairing the army drummers onscreen with the kickass doof warrior character doing riffs on that rig, it’s insane! george miller. colin gibson. jenny beavan. junkie xl. john seale. tom hardy. charlize theron. nicholas hoult. they’re all insane!

another thing i love about it was the practical effects the director took lengths to do. it harks back to the days when cg was so low tech and most people do live effects and puppets and all to create a tangible, physical world to shoot in. i dont know if they shot in film as well (too tamad to research) but the look was just gorgeous and the effect visceral that if it were not for the 3D glasses i had on, i swear i was back in the old decripit theater downtown in my province in the 80s gawking at the fast paced road rage going onscreen.

i hate 3D but if there was anything you needed to see in 3D iMAX this year, this is it. 5/5

i cried again watching this movie for the 2nd time. this clearly is not only an homage to the best magazine in the world, not just to film photography, but to the very core moments of life where you need to stop and take it all in, those moments and experiences that are just needed to be lived, an adventure by itself. i just had to watch this again, this time in 1080p. the cinematography is gorgeous and every thing building up to that end sequence just tugs at my heartstrings so hard id break. easily one of the best movies. EVER.

While having my overpriced but precious caffé mocha soy milk no whipped cream coffee for breakfast in makati, i chanced on this news article about rising unemployment rate in the philippines (link here). A migrants group was saying the rise is more now during/because of president aquino’s government, contrary to what the former might have said about migration becoming less during his term. While the article may be trying to be objective, it’s kinda off hook because the article did not mention anything about new graduates, children growing up ang trying to find new jobs, population rising and not getting accommodated in a non-expanding 7,107 island archipelago.

Right after the article, some related news articles are posted. Let’s put things in proper perspective. Here’s the screencap.

#agaaga

worked on the DOH ad about prenatal checkups for moms in their 1st trimester pregnancies. sent this out to my setman carrying minor technical instructions. ive tried google sketchup years ago but it was only last year that i relied on it to furnish my construction crew with clearer plans instead of my normal hand drawn sketches.

Lion trophies. Gwen and Gavin. Climate change. Binay as president. The world is dead as we know it.

HENERAL LUNA is in the last stretch of school tours and promotions prior to the movie’s release on september 9, 2015 and artikulo uno has already released a series of behind the scenes featurettes, including a production design video featuring carlo and myself. however, let me take you further behind the scenes and the design process for one of the sets featured in the current trailer, including trying to meet requirements for our first day of shoot.

a lot of the movie’s intense scenes was staged in this convent room where president aguinaldo’s cabinet staff would meet to discuss (argue) plans for the impending conflict against the americans.

we’ve started reading and studying the heneral luna script august of 2013.  the script called for the cabinet meeting to happen in a convent. historically, the philippine government often had to move around and meet where it would be convenient and church convents would be akin to board rooms/conference rooms in our modern life setting. by this time, our govt had been driven out of manila and aguinaldo held office in the provinces. i started researching on visual pegs with photos of convents in the 1890s and any local government meetings i could find.

here are some photos of church convents in europe in the late 1800s. as a general rule, anything that is 1898 or earlier is acceptable but i tried to find photos taken in 1898 to catch details that were different from anything earlier of the period.

archive photos of government meetings we looked at included these ones here (sorry, i may not be able to provide complete credits and links from where i originally sourced these on the web; credits would go to their respective owners).

although the photo below happened after 1899 (look at what seemed to be an older manuel quezon 2nd person from the left), i was basically going for the feel of the setup and how they were seated.

this photo below from the philippine american war website shows gen. gregorio del pilar seated third from left. this was the 2nd Filipino Peace Commission that happened May 19-20 1899 with del pilar as head.

our location managers then presented different options of churches with convents or some multi-purpose hall we could use. eventually we picked tanay church and made an ocular of the room.

based on this location, i then proceeded to draw out the floor plan of the room, chose fabric for curtains, what set panels needed to be added, and the like. this also included going through hundreds of photos of props we could get and rent or buy to furnish the set. i had to remind myself we were working on a budget and this room will only be shot for 2 scenes so i cant go overboard with spending on props. in general, anything that i purchase for this room should and can be recycled to furnish other scenes. the curtains reappeared in aguinaldo’s room, the planters in other office scenes, and so on and so forth.

my sketch is dated february 28, 2014.

notes on my sketch and assignments on who is in charge of procuring them props or if they were set builds. we were only shooting in this location for 1 day and it was also our very first day of shoot, scheduled on march 27, 2014. everybody was excited and anxious.

the costume department had a stressful time as well because it took the casting team a while before the actors for the whole cabinet could be locked in a day before the shoot. we’ve already had some generic sized suits tailored but we cant say if they’d fit well yet. some actors were cast early on like buddy caramat, who we dressed up as a chinese businessman, along with leo martinez, menggie cobarrubias, and nor domingo. the rest we had to rush tailor their suits, which were finished just a few hours before camera grind.

in the meantime, the director, jerrold tarog, and cinematographer, pong ignacio, just finished shotlisting the whole film on the day before we started shooting. i held office at the artikulo uno warehouse and was occasionally called over for clarifications or revisions on layout and setup in relation to their camera angles and framing.

photo of jerrold and pong’s shotlisting camera angles with the whole cast marked by toy soldiers and the camera as an army tank. jerrold and i would additionally discuss whether i can put additional furniture pieces in areas that i feel should have those despite jerrold’s actors bumping into them. as a director, he would normally have his way so on occasion i dont tell him everything so he cant kill off my ideas even before we get to the set.

i shot a video that evening where we celebrated with wine.

a sharp contrast to the relaxed tone (thanks to the wine) in the artikulo uno’s conference room is the organized chaos in the art department warehouse. here’s a video i took of the staff that night while going through last minute checks and reminders. like i mentioned, you can never have enough time to be ready so we were also discussing about props needed in 2 shoot days ahead of time. ive already plotted out service pickup schedules and calltimes on the white board. carlo had to double check dressing up actors in either gala military uniforms or business suits in the convent scene.

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a short clip upon arrival at the location in tanay at 4AM. we had about an hour’s rest while traveling to the site. the set guys did an awesome job and now it’s time to burn some candles (also on limited supply) and smoke some cigars, leaving ash on the table for effect.

pong ignacio, cinematographer. i shot this as i was about to step out of the room prior to a take.

it was a successful first day of shoot for HENERAL LUNA. sandwiching antonio luna (john arcilla) in the photo are jerrold tarog and ed rocha, producer. woot woot!

watch this featurette on HENERAL LUNA’s production design featuring carlo and myself. the video was produced by artikulo uno and directed by jp habac. cheers!

the last two weeks have been overwhelming really. from the premiere of HENERAL LUNA to the jitters prior to opening day and now we are on the 2nd week of HENERAL LUNA. we opened with 95 theaters, whittled down to 45 for the second week only to pickup and reach 70 by friday today. we only wanted to do a good movie and the phenomenon that this film has become is crazy. we can only be grateful and humbled by it. as our producer, ed rocha, explained on cnn, this movie has become bigger than ourselves. a lot of people have taken ownership of it and generally, we couldnt ask for more.

reposting here in its entirety a few words from our producer, ed rocha, and executive producer, nando ortigas, posted online 3 days ago:

Dear All,

This is simply to take this occasion, this profound moment in time, to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your patronage, for your support, especially to those who’ve been relentlessly plugging away on Facebook or via social media, or by text, or even in person to spread the word and promote our film to others.

We are very, very touched.

For all of us—the entire cast and crew and team behind HENERAL LUNA—this has been one of the most extraordinary experiences of our lives. To be honest, it is life changing. To constantly hear applause in different theaters at the end of the film, as the credits roll, is for us a reward that’s beyond our wildest dreams when we first ventured doing this film. Many of us ask ourselves, when was the last time we heard an audience applaud at the end of a film, Filipino or otherwise, in so many theaters? And to see your FB postings, Twitter and Instagram messages, collectively and individually (especially from those who’ve watched the film more than twice already in the first week alone) moves us so deeply, beyond any words can truly express. And there are those of us who suddenly heard from people we haven’t heard from in ages—long lost cousins, exes, former classmates or invisible FB friends who suddenly made themselves known and wanted to show their appreciation for our work, for this film. Indeed, the love that you’ve all shown us has made their way into our hearts, carving a mini-monument of sorts dedicated to the heroism of Heneral Luna and the heroes who’ve lived before us, and to those who continue to live in our midst today. This is something that will stay with us for as long as we live.

Which is perhaps why reality hurts even more. Earlier today, we’ve been advised that we will be losing more than half of our theaters—that from 101 screens, we will be down to somewhere close to 40. We know, on one hand, we should be lucky to even have those, thanks to our distributor, (and for that we’re truly grateful to all of you), but on the other hand, we’re saddened that this movie has to go away before many more of you can see it, before its full audience potential can be realized. Believe us please, when we say, that while it’s important for us that this movie recoups its investment and more, it is ultimately not about box-office, not about money.

When this movie’s initial draft was first written, it was not written at all with the thought of writing a commercial blockbuster. And when we cast the film, we merely wanted to cast the most brilliant actors who were perfect for their roles. It was not based on who’s the biggest box-office draw. And creative decisions that were made (by our genius director Jerrold Tarog) while making the film were not based on “kilig,” not on what would please the audience most, but based on what would be best for the film, artistically and narrative-wise.

Of course, the beautiful irony of it all is that, now, through some magic, we’ve been rewarded with a film that is pleasing its audiences to no end—with a film that’s entertaining, enlightening, and educational. While theaters may have pulled this movie out, we strongly believe that that this movie now has a life of its own. Yes, YOU all have given this film a life of its own. And while we may have made this movie about a slice of Philippine history, YOU now are all a part of history–our history.

So, as we say thank you once again, please keep the fires burning, please keep the spirit alive. If the film is no longer in your city, go directly to your local cinemas and ask the manager to bring it back or bring it to your movie house for the first time. Be the hero for your school, for your barangay, for your friends and family by being the one who called them or texted them and let it be known to them that this movie must play in your cinema because there are plenty of people who want to see it and must see it.

But we must not stop here. The bravado and vigilance that we all show must continue onwards in our daily lives, especially in time for next year’s election. If for nothing else, HENERAL LUNA has made you or any one person to stop and think and reflect on our nationhood’s future, then this movie would have already done its job, regardless of its final box-office gross. As one noted historian put it, “History is not meant to be memorized, but to be reflected and acted upon.”

It’s a “hugot” line that Heneral Luna himself might have been proud to say.

With our heartfelt thanks,

Fernando M. Ortigas, Executive Producer & E. A. Rocha, Screenwriter- Producer

well, it seems the audience took heed. VIVA LUNA! SULONG MGA LUNATICO!

yesterday i had to go out and buy a newspaper, something i havent done in years! and it struck me that the same thing is happening to people with Heneral Luna, saying they havent been to the theater in years yet here they are. the Lord be praised!

Production designers Benjamin Padero and Carlo Tabije left no stone — or should I say plate — unturned when it came to the food styling.

col boyd was not crazy about the local food

the spread prepared by chef toto gonzales and chef gene. i explained to chef gene the scene would have been after dinner where the guests would have milled around to chat and gossip. chef gene suggested this lineup. we also discussed plating and i took notes, including flower arrangement!

our awesome executive producer, nando ortigas, all dressed up beside ms annie rocha, wife of our producer, ed rocha. on the right is line producer, daphne chiu.

captain rusa (played by archie alemania) eating again on the set! here we served some english biscuits along with sconces. carlo even had to make sugar cubes from scratch to go with the tea. and yes, everytime we have food in our scenes, we have to make sure we have a bit more because the actors enjoy eating them. good luck nalang kung maubusan kami ng food props!

i had to go buy a copy of the philippine star because chef claude tayag featured the food in HENERAL LUNA in his article. we’re so honored to be mentioned. and im also glad we really took the time to understand the food along with consulting chef gene gonzales of cafe isabel and in turn was provided with the technical expertise of chef toto gonzales for the food in the banquet scene. we also consulted with chef gene on plating, even the use of brandy, and fencing!

thank you chef claude for the wonderful article. the HENERAL LUNA FB PAGE posted a photo of the newspaper in print yesterday. click on the photo for the full article online. a full description of the food we featured in film is in the article ;-)

mas bagay jan ang ensaymada!

ever since we did our marketing at marikina the other week, carlo and i have carefully documented the meals we produced and ate. apparently we still had to hit the neighborhood grocery for more items like cans of milk or some other ingredients not found at the public market. out of the stash of food we got here were the dishes carlo cooked and we both plated for instagraming (@luningninggerzi) :

DAY 1

that evening coming back from the market, this was the first we prepared. mussells with carrots and napa/chinese cabbage. instead of rice, we have sweet potatoes.

.
DAY 2

lunch was fried big-bellied round scad (galunggong) with a bed of veggies consisting of baked sweet potatoes in basil, muscovado, honey, and blackbean sauce. dipping sauce is iloko vinegar.

dinner was shared with tita tems (who doesnt go home for lunch). we had red snapper (maya-maya) steamed in lemongrass and other aromatics and seasoned with tamarind (sinigang) powder). since we used the small oven toaster, the fish was split in two and curiously, the head part’s drippings tasted differently than the tail part (the former was tasted like the ocean and the latter’s taste was more subdued). on the side we had a salad of boiled leaves of the sweet potato (camote tops) and fresh tomatoes, onions, in a sweet-sour vinegar sauce. there were also eggplants (boiled) paired with bagoong balayan (a kind of fish sauce) with calamondi. no rice tonight.

carlo also proceeded to make his own chili sauce by chopping up sili labuyo, green chilis, and peppercorns. toasted the garlic in oil then cooked the chilis into it. sesame oil was added later on.

.
DAY 3

lunch was just omelette and whole wheat bread. no photo. forgot. lol.

dinner was mantis shrimp (alupihang dagat) cooked in garlic and butter. on the side were sauteed veggies in peanut sauce (using local peanut butter. yum). i prefer to call these shrimps aliens because i think shrimps are of alien descent.

here is the photo of how i plated the alupihang dagat. so crazy.

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DAY 4

lunch was blanched cabbage heads and tomatoes dipped in bagoong, calamansi, and sili, and eaten with hands. we also had fried galunggong and fried brown rice. galunggong had a sukang iloko dipping sauce.

dinner was adobong manok, cooked for hours. adobong mother and child, as per carlo, this adobo was served with hard-boiled egg plus boiled squash and sweet potatoes. ripe cantaloupe for dessert.

.
DAY 5

last lunch was stir-fried vegetables with an awesome plate of fried squid. dipping sauce is iligan’s pinakurat, the best vinegar in the world!

we had to add a few more items purchased in the neighborhood grocery to supplement what we got from the market. this would amount to maybe another thousand pesos. our initial Php 940 plus about a thousand pesos, divided into more or less 8 dishes would amount to Php 242.50 per meal with 2 or 3 people sharing the whole meal. still awesome!

im sharing this because we do have fun preparing these dishes and eating them! im hoping to inspire others also who cannot escape the clutches of fast food. maybe for others as well, you should realize you dont have to spend so much to eat better. give a little bit of time to cooking and it will reward you. the greatest chef in the world, gusteau, does believe, “anyone can cook.” and while i dont do the cooking, i do the dishes and that’s still a noble chore. lol. cheers and have fun!

years ago, i studied to get a degree in architecture. while it didnt work out and i eventually shifted to fine arts, there were things i wont forget learning from my professors. apart from the study of aesthetics in building construction, i appreciated learning that architecture was also a study of the human form in relation to spaces around him with a dash of behavorial science.

fast forward to last thursday i went to the loo at a juju eats restaurant on pasong tamo extension in makati. as i stepped in i saw they’ve designed the toilet to have a mirror behind the water closet. for females who pee sitting down, this would be a non-issue. however, for a guy who now has to pee while looking at a reflection of himself and his dong doing number 1 in full glory, i find this odd and awkward. while i dont shy away from looking at my naked self in full body mirrors at home to dry off after taking a bath, i dont particularly feel the need to WATCH myself peeing.

don’t worry, im not posting a photo of me peeing. some people may get off on those kinds of thing but i wont indulge you. here is bathroom number 1 (which i also posted on facebook).

id like to understand why designers resort to this. thing is, that very same day, i walked across the street and entered the building where i was supposed to have my meeting and eventually had to pee again and here is the cubicle at the men’s toilet. hola!

when my meetings were done there, i transferred to another building on the other side of pasong tamo to have a meeting with my directors. having had another round of drinks, i again headed for the john. lo and behold.

this was not the first time id encounter this kind of design for toilets. another restaurant in san juan had mirrors all over so you not only watch yourself frontal but also from the side. is this a thing now? it cant merely be an attempt to multi-task and check your hair while peeing or see if you having something between your teeth while holding your schlong. is this an oversight by female designers or the result of a dont-care attitude by male designers? is someone secretly narcissist and insisted on this design yet it has been replicated many times over hence an acceptable nature of people i never knew about? design, in fact, serves people’s needs so the bathrooms are a reflection of some fetishist necessity in human society. i could be overthinking this but it could also be a bad design trend. thoughts?

Cleaning out my room i chanced upon an old rotring tracing paper tube and found old plates from my architectural past. As an undergad i considered myself an average arki student, skimming through with no real accomplishment.

For one thing, even my arki professor noticed i preferred to hand-ink my plates and said i should have been in fine arts (and 4 years later i was). I did not find my groove in architecture back then. I felt it was too technical, too stiff. The whole culture was snobbish, too serious, and i struggled being creative within the confines of measurements and building laws.

I was glad i left but thinking about it, i know i could do better now (not then, now). Now, i have more confidence in design and now, if i do decide to pursue architecture, i might actually have a chance in doing well. Wow, confidence. I, thank you. Lol.

I should just stop taking photos hoping to post them afterwards and i never do. Like this photo below. Found painted leaves left out to dry probably for use in some tv commercial shoot calling for autumn leaves. Thought id add an interesting filter or two. Then i decide not to post it so this photo sits in my Dropbox, losing its potential to be what it was meant to be.

Normally the need to post is overwhelmed by how much garbage is on social media timelines and my photo would just add to it. And so in the end i post nothing. Because they are really just people’s daily trash left out in the sun. Like dead leaves painted to resemble dead leaves. Somebody’s participation or need for validation of self online. It subtly screams, im here, like me. Here’s my dirty laundry aired for everyone to sniff.

As to why this photo even makes it to my blog and into your timeline, i cant explain that. In fact, this goes against the whole idea of this blog. Damn.