Random Ilocos

Hotel Tiffany...stars on the floor, polka dotted walls,and a diner that serves pakbet

portals & reflections

Vigan

Kapuluan ♥

Hip & Happenin' McDo

Picked up some (uhm...pirated--sorry!) dvd's at Makati Cinema Square last Saturday and noticed the mcdo finally re-opened. Can i just say...where's ronald? haha! 

Although i miss the familiar red white yellow and orange interiors of my mcdonald's childhood, this was a refreshing change. They kicked the kiddie but retained the fun.

Wouldn't have known it was a Mcdonald's if not for the burger ingredients printed on the neon green wallpaper...  Am loving the addition of wood, chartreuse and black plus the thoughtful use of different chairs. It's not your usual fastfood experience anymore, i tell ya.

mantra

ad astra per aspera

ad astra per aspera

ad astra per aspera

good idea

saw this in a random website when i was looking for doodle pegs...=)  
sometimes we just need to be oh-so reminded.

Street Art and Vintage Mopeds

Was passing by EDSA on a Saturday when my friend Paolo slowed down to point this out to me. I wanted to take a pic right then and there but at least 2 buses honked at us (it was right next to the Pasong Tamo Extn bus stop), and another blocked the wall altogether before i could whip up my camera phone.

I hardly ever take EDSA but what are the odds that I found myself driving that direction again the next day?? I didn't let the opportunity escape me again, so i slowed down, grabbed my phone and clicked--twice!--honking green bus be damned.

Can i just say...kudos to whoever did this. =)

How i wish all street art looked this good. It's a VERY far cry from the primary school MMDA art I've seen sporadically (mis)placed on various vertical surfaces along EDSA. One day i will park, walk over and give this masterpiece a proper audience.

It's amazing what you see along the road sometimes. The next weekend, after picking up my sister from the airport we spotted this rickety vespa alongside us. Very tricky to take pics of a moving vehicle when you're on a moving one yourself but after a couple of tries I finally got a few viable ones... =)

 notice how the car freshener reflected it's own ring around the subject. o ha! galing divah...

Had to put my window down for the second shot. Awesome right? Love the fact that there's another seat at back--but I think I'll get a tetanus shot first before riding. Haha! Might be a smarter move than wearing a helmet. This bike was so old it made a whole lot of neck-cringing noises--and so loud I put up the window soon after I stole this shot.  Have to give it to the driver though--he drove pretty fast on something that looks like it's old enough to fall apart any moment. 

Next time you're on the street, whether driving or riding, be on the lookout for awesome--sure beats cursing at cutting taxi drivers and swerving buses. =)

I WANT THIS!

saw this at 1stdibs.com...isn't it gorgeous? loving the solihiya detail. man, those guys from the 60's really knew how to make 'em!

am on the prowl for a supplier that can make a shorter version of this for my living room if i can't find a real vintage that can actually fit my stairwell. =)

Architect Bobby and Me

Mañosa, that is.

Arch. Mañosa, Me, Franco Hubilla

Oh what a joy it was to visit LRI again. But as an added bonus, I got to see National artist, Arch. Francisco "Bobby" Mañosa and his exhibited works up close and personal. Starstruck was the word I'd describe myself.

Scale Model of Miriam's Environmental Research Center

He is truly an inspirational and aspirational persona. His work ethic is to design without social bias--remembering to always promote, celebrate and showcase Filipino culture and architecture. And what better way than to do it than with our quintessential Bahay Kubo. Not only does he do this for the sake of national pride--but it's because it's a design that makes sense in a country such as ours. So why change it? Customize it, deconstruct it, but stick with it's basic elements and you've got the perfect abode.

The exhibit held at LRI Design Plaza in Reposo entitled Beyond the Bahay-Kubo displayed some of his best works, and features the architect himself--at work and play.

Designers and the nation's 'creators' should follow in his footsteps...never forget your national identity, always work to the best of your ability, and never forget to have fun.

The exhibit runs from Aptil 7-16, 2011 at LRI Business Plaza, Reposo St., Makati. Take time to visit and get re-inspired. ;)

DFA Horror Story

pila 2

top of the line...not quite

Had a terrible experience renewing my passport 2 weeks ago. I had a 3pm appointment and had to be there 30 minutes prior. When I got there, I noticed the line was long--and worse, we had to wait in tents outside the building. At 2:30pm, this was so not cool (literally). And to top it all off, the same guard that told us where to sit when we got there--by the time we got to the beginning of the line (before lining up again inside the building)--said we were on the wrong time slot. He even managed to make us feel like we cut the line. We of course defended ourselves--but still had to go to the back of our time slot's line. Grrrrr... And just to prove we did not cut the line--the same thing kept happening to different groups of people every thirty minutes. Talk about walang sistema.

Then as soon as you get to the building itself, you realize you just spent the last hour and a half on the first HALF of the lining up process. Bumped into Gerry, Frances' hubby--a welcome sight coz I really needed to know someone I knew who was suffering the same ordeal. 

I got to the cashier (Step 2) another hour after I got inside. 

It was a breeze from then on. But that's 3 hours of my life waiting in line to get out of this country (even for a while). I sincerely hope the government is doing something about this.

Now I have to wait a whole month till my passport gets delivered.

Tomato Kick!

Seeing as that it's quite a travel from Fort to QC--no to mention the on-going roadworks at both Global city and Lawton ave., I decided Saturday to be my do-everything in QC day--from sourcing suppliers in Ortigas, an alumni meeting in Libis and of course, a party in Cubao. I didn't want to get home during the day--which was sweltering hot by the way--and stay away from the traffic till late and it's just Constructicons I have to battle with without so many cars on the road.

On transit from the meeting to the 5-celebrant birthday all-out drinking party, my friend James and I, decidedly hungry, figured we'd line our stomachs before 'wasakan night' first so we headed to Tomato Kick along Katipunan Ave. Since I missed all the openings events held there by Lui and or Kim--both surfers and owners of the place--because it was simply too far a drive for me, I though I should go and give it a try now while in the area.

Just a little history, this corner lot beside QCMC used to house 540 Surfshop, owned by Lui Tortuya. I miss the place since it used to also serve as a hangout--the place to go see your surfer friends, and purchase a bikini too, plus it was where we left our cars enroute to La Union or Zambales--quick hi to Lui and leave some food for the always-hungry shop owner. I don't know why he decided to partner up, close shop and turn the place into a restaurant--but a year ago, the restaurant Oboda opened. That's adobo spelled backwards, and it served yes you guessed it--different versions of the Filipino favorite default ulam. Wasn't able to try the food there though. Next thing I knew, it became Tomato Kick a short time later.

Wish I was there for the opening with matching introduction to the food--because it took a while to figure out what to order. We finally decided on aligue and squid ink pasta and tinapasta--the latter of the two they ran out of because Kim ordered a bunch for his friends earlier. So we added quesadilla, chicken fajita and a couple of beers--all to share.

Can I just say, the squid ink pasta was to die for. I could not stop eating (almost wish I had ordered a whole plate to myself! haha!). Rich, sexy flavor... With chili flakes added for the extra kick, it was definitely yum-factor 9 and 3 quarters. The quesadilla, James and I wished had more cheese and the fajita was ok. But the squid pasta was memorable. We use the quesadillas to wipe off the excess sauce before spooning it to our mouths when the noodles ran out. Mmmmm...

I don't know when my next QC day comes again but this I know for sure--when I'm in the area again, I will definitely go back to Tomato Kick if only for that pasta, and welcome ink sauce on my teeth tongue belly. ;)