Misadventures of a Madwoman

Honest verdict for Dear Joe:
Ambience ☆☆☆☆☆
Cleanliness ☆☆☆☆
Service ☆☆☆
Food Quality ☆☆☆☆
Coffee ☆☆☆☆
Value for Money ☆☆☆

Today, I went to the happiest coffee shop in Davao City... BÜRST.

I wanted to try their Mocha Frappe after reading a lot of good reviews and of course visit na rin my friends since forever Sucit and Robert. :)

Located near Ateneo Matina specifically Juna Subdivision Acacia cor. Calachuchi streets, BÜRST offers a variety of delectable meal choices suitable to the discerning palate. Trust me when I say that Sucit has high standards especially to food and drinks and will only serve and offer the best.

I ordered the Pan-seared salmon with rice and the mocha frappe (no dessert because you know, bawal). Delicioso! Will come back again to try the other meal choices.

BÜRST also has a spacious area for those who are looking for a suitable place to study or work. Open from 10 am to 12mn, this place can accomodate you and your study/work buddies. They have good wifi connection, clean restrooms and malakas na aircon. Sasampalin ka sa lamig. 😁

Coming soon, more food and drink choices. Can't wait! Also mga pakulo and surprises for mga suki na mga BÜRSTomers. Cheret.

Di jud mo magmahay

Sometimes I feel tired with life. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to be alive and grateful to be luckier than others.

But sometimes I do feel as if life has been trying to knock me out from all corners. Just when I think I am finally getting up, recovering and living my potential, a hard blow will come to knock me off my pedestal.

I just don't know. Maybe I just had too much caffeine in my system right now trying to enduce loose bowels but really these times when it's quiet, when my pets are asleep makes me wonder what is more for me to uncover. What more does this life has to offer?

But yeah, it's nearing 4 am and my medication cycle for the day is about to commence. So this could just be caffeine plus meds speaking. 🥴

I haven't been posting much in the past few months about my misadventures as of late. I think you can say that it life finally catches up with me and the reality of being an adult is a misadventure altogether.

These past few weeks have been hectic for all of us, not because of the usual hustle and bustle we are used to but because we are cooped up at home and relied heavily on social media to keep us updated on what is happening in the world. Some posts we read are light and funny, giving us the badly needed positive vibes during the pandemic, while other posts were downright negative, tiring and too heavy to read.

These posts are not necessarily the grim realities the pandemic has brought to the world but more of the grim reality showing the real attitude of people. These past months, we have been bickering back and forth about politics, economy, social statuses, privileges, lack of health care and a lot more that it came to a point that it was a relief seeing tiktok videos of DJ Loonyo once in a while. (Not plugging him or anything but I do hope that he had better looking back-up dancers...kidding! or maybe not ✌️)

Honestly, I have been envious of my mom who has no idea what the social media world is all about and remains entertained by watching old movies, series reruns and playing games installed in her mobile phone. Indeed, ignorance is bliss.

There was a time when I liked posting a lot of my views and thoughts in facebook but too much negativity stopped me from doing so. People get easily offended by something you say even if you are only sharing your views; some will belittle you, asking what do you know and even questioning your credentials; some are just plain nasty and finds happiness in bashing and calling you names. Eventually, you (meaning I) learn to retaliate and end up doing the same, tit for tat. You become a negastar, a basher and a troll. You become the person you despise.

Sadly, most of these people you fight with are your acquaintances, people you have met and worked with, your former students, your current colleagues, your mentors, your idols, your family and your friends. You end up resenting them, unfriending them and at some point never talking to them ever again.

Social media, which was originally meant to connect us all together, ended up tearing us apart.

And I have experienced this too. I have unfriended and unfollowed a lot of people. Social media became too toxic for me that I was afraid that what I feel while posting, retaliating, debating will translate to real life. In order to maintain the respect and love I have for friends, family and colleagues who have different opinions from mine, I had to unfollow them. It was hard to do so but I had to step back from social media and logged out for a while.

I needed a break. My heart and mind needed one badly too.

I am not saying though that people should stop posting on their social media accounts. It is your page after all. However, we need to be prudent and discerning while we post something especially if you have people who are fond of reading your posts.

In my case, since I am a teacher, I realized that what I say and what I do in social media could be seen as right and could be mirrored not only by my students but also my nephews and my nieces and the children of my friends, classmates and colleagues. I do not know why they add me in facebook but I have "friends" who are as young as 5 years old.

As the self-proclaimed "best tita in the world" I have to set a good example - be prudent, tolerant and respectful of others.

I should stop being judgmental (sorry Ate Alma 😔), stop insisting what I say is always right, and stop bashing people who have different opinions and beliefs from mine. I should not contribute to all these mudslinging and if I can help it simply choose to not participate altogether (by watching a lot of kdramas).

And yes, I am STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS. I have slipped up many times and possibly will continue to do so. It is sometimes difficult to stop myself especially when I am hormonal or 'hangry'. I am not perfect and prudence is something you do not learn overnight.

I am trying to change one step at a time, because really, how can I advocate for reform when I, myself needed one so badly?

We always say that change is inevitable and that our government, our officials, the institutions and most especially the people have to change in order for progress to happen.

We always say "kaya pobre ang Pilipinas kasi ang tigas ng ulo ng mga Filipino". Pero teka lang, baka isa ka rin sa problema? How do we expect the world to change when we, ourselves, refuse to do so?

So yep, I guess that's it. So much for my late night musings. Sorry for the long post. It must be Dalgona Coffee speaking.

Keep safe, stay at home and God bless everyone!

Peace!

PS. For those who are asking if I have other soc med accounts, I do have one in twitter but do not follow me. I only used it so that SHINee, Dara, Ellen Degeneres and Rafael Nadal will have one additional follower. 😂

Okay, so here goes.

I have been flying to various places via for countless of times. Many times my flights had been delayed, I was bumped off from one flight to another, was asked to transfer from one terminal to another... and honestly, during those times, I didn't mind and just went with the flow and just thought that salazar has struck once again.

But this leg of vacation is different. The inconvenience brought by cebpac is way too much that it cannot and should not be ignored.

Our family, for the first time, travelled abroad June 3, 2019. Since we are pretty much spread throughout the Philippines, half in Davao, another half in Baguio and I being in Manila, we decided to meet in Clark International Airport since our flight to Macau was via Clark anyway. We were booked at Ceb Pac's 5J370 9 pm Clark - Macau flight and our ETA in Macau is at 11:35 pm. Since my mom is with us and I know that sleeping at Macau Airport will be impossible, I decided to book us a hotel for June 3 in Macau as well.

So June 3 came, we all converged and were waiting for our flight when an announcement was made that our flight will be DELAYED because our turn around aircraft did not arrive yet.

Fine. Not surprising. This always happen anyway.

A few minutes later, a plane landed and taxied to our designated gate. Seeing the plane there means that our aircraft finally arrived. Just a few more minutes and we will be off to Macau.

Then another announcement was made that due to technical concerns (problems with the plane) our flight will be delayed and our ETD is now at 11 pm instead of 9 pm.

Of course my family was annoyed but took it in stride. Sige na lang, two hours will just pass by kaya okay lang. Kaya naman maghintay.

Around 10:30 pm. The delayed sign was changed to CANCELLED. Many, including I, panicked and went to the terminal desk and asked the ground crew why our flight was cancelled. She said, no ma'am, hindi po cancelled. Delayed lang. She also added na nagkamali lang po ang technical operator sa signage.

By 11:30, wala pa rin. Even the airplane that was there was pulled out kasi nga may technical problems. So I asked again and they told me not to worry because a flight from Hong Kong is scheduled to arrive at 12:30 am which will be our plane going to Macau.

Pero by 12 midnight biglang CANCELLED. Just like that. People went to the ground crew and started demanding answers. Ang sagot lang nila is "may technical problems ang eroplano", "yun ang advise sa kanila" at ang next na flight ay 12 noon na ng June 4.

Siyempre sobra na. Galit na ang lahat. Those who have work in Macau will be absent and could possibly lose their jobs. People like us who were booked in hotels (take note na mahal ang hotel sa macau at 16 kami lahat) will waste money. Tapos ang sasabihin lang nila e "ieemail na lang namin sila" at "may ipinamimigay po na certificate ng cancellation". Aguy. Nayawa na.

I was so mad pero my sister and brother-in-law were madder. Kaya I let them have a go na lang. Pero yun e. Wala talaga. Ang "ground crew" na kausap namin ay agency workers contracted lang ng Ceb Pac kaya wala silang maisagot na maayos. Pati nga pagsagot nila wala din sa ayos. May isa pa who claimed to be the supervisor of everyone "under ko po sila lahat" walked out kaya na-call ang attention niya. And then when people asked me sino siya and when l said "siya daw ang pinakamataas dito" she denied it and said hindi daw siya.

So yun lies, all lies. Worst is that they do not have a system in accommodating all concerns and even prioritize the Chinese tourists who have measly knowledge of English kaya the lines end up not moving simply because of the tourists who cannot understand.

Anyhow, that was Day 1. Even with this glitch, we continued on with our vacation. Even if we wasted money on a hotel room we never used and was not refunded by Cebu Pacific, our vacation continued on.

And now this. Pauwi na nga lang.

We were booked on a Ceb Pac flight bound for Davao last night. It was scheduled to leave at 9 pero it was delayed due to thunderstorms.

And yes, this time it was understandable. All flights were delayed during this time because of the bad weather. So we stayed and waited patiently at our departure gate which was on the 3rd floor. And then it was announced that we need to move to another departure gate at the 1st floor and so we went and then minutes later we were told to go back to the 3rd floor which will be our FINAL departure gate

And mind you, I was tired and sleepy but mostly tired. So was my mom and for an elderly like her and for a disability like mine, walking from one place to another is not an easy feat. But what can you do anyway.

When we arrived in our supposed final gate, it was boarding already. We were able to board at approximately 11 pm. While in the plane, the pilot, through the loud speaker, apologized for the delay and also said we have to wait for 30 more minutes because of air traffic. Ok sige, at least we were on the plane already.

Two freakin hours later, we were suddenly asked to deplane. The pilot announced that our flight is cancelled and that the cabin crew will facilitate our deplaning. When asked to explain what happened, they only pointed out na dahil sa bad weather. And also pati sila, discourteous and even told the tired passengers na "hindi kasalanan ng airline" kaya I shouted "hindi din namin kasalanan".

When we went back to the terminal, as usual walang sistema. Magulo at puro kasinungalingan. The ground crew who was supposed to rebook us to another flight kept telling us na ang available na flight is sa June 12 pa. Pero when you check online may available naman pala na seats sa mga earlier flights today. Again, mga sinungaling. May mga elderly na nahihirapan na, others are hyperventilating pero wala lang sa kanila. Wala man lang nagoffer ng wheelchair. Kelangan pang sabihan. Walang mga common sense. In other words, walang kwenta.

Since we have travel vouchers from ceb pac due to the first cancellation we had, I decided to use the voucher at wag nang iavail ang kanilang rebooking for June 12. Nakabook ako ng flight namin for TODAY, albeit sobrang hapon na.

Nagdecide kami na magparefund na lang ng nagasto namin sa flight. Pumunta kami sa kanilang main office dito sa airport, kumuha ako ng priority number, kasi nga PWD ako, pumasok sa kanilang office, umupo at hinintay matawag ang number ko.

Three hours later, finally natawag na din. Nafacilitate naman ang refund pero since credit card ang ginamit, in 10 to 15 working days pa daw maibibigay ang refund straight sa credit card.

Kaya eto, nasa may check in area na naman ako. Naghihintay makacheck-in dahil soooobbbbraaannnng haba ng pila dahil nga ang daming nastranded.

Oh and by the way, may mga eroplano na nakalipad around the same time na na-cancel ang flight namin kaya bu****it lang lahat ang sinasabi nila about the weather. Kasi nga naman by 3 am e wala ng bad weather warning.

So sa bandang huli, what did I learn? Simple lang.

WALANG KWENTA ANG CEBU PACIFIC.

After ng flight ko pabalik ng Manila ngayong Sabado (which nabook ko na kasi ng advance), iboboycott ko muna ang Ceb Pac.

Walang silbing airline. Puro pahirap lang alam. Laging delayed ang flights at walang training sa tamang customer service ang kanilang mga crew.

CebF**k talaga itong airline na to.

Food Blog 1

Resto: Jesrin's Jipbab
Location: Ground Floor, EGI Taft Tower, Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila
Hours of operation: 7am to 11 pm

Went home hungry so I decided to try this new Korean resto conveniently located in our condo building.

The resto is small but spacious and very clean. Despite me having dinner at 9:30 pm, the staff were still friendly and accomodating and were able to prepare and cook my order in reasonable time. They have free wifi which helped while the time.

Sadly, since my stomach is acidly acting up, and cannot handle anything spicy, I can't try their dinner set which highlights the spicy octopus. I had to play it safe and ordered Chicken Katsu and my ever favorite Gimbap instead.

In fairness, the food is reasonably priced and also tasted good. I especially loved the gimbap and even contemplated buying another piece for my midnight snack (FYI: I restrained myself because I should be dieting). I also ate all of the chicken even if I think it had too much mayo and sauce. To be fair, I am not a "saucy" person.

For a resto that is newly opened (like I think this is only their third or fourth day) they do have a variety of cuisine to choose from... except, sadly, for the drinks and side dishes. I was expecting to have 3 or more side dishes but just got the usual kimchi. They also don't have bingsoo (yet) which could've been the icing to my Korean dinner experience.

I also wish they had 2ne1, SHINee, SuJu and Sechskies on their playlist. This would've made this Ajumma happier. 😅

Will I be back? Definitely. I still have to try that octopus, their fried tteokboki and other stuff in their menu.

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

:)

Of friendship, reunions, childhood, sunsets, whitesand and coconut trees.

These past few months of talking and spending time with my high school classmates made me realize that I had a fun time continuing my growth here in Mindanao.

From being a hardcore Baguio girl, I resisted against moving here when I was 14. I even told my mom and dad that I was old and mature enough to stay in Baguio and finish my schooling there. The thought of leaving my friends from City High (shoutout "betamag" friends 😁) and leaving the comforts of Baguio was unacceptable to me. I think I also shouted to the world that life was so unfair and asked why I had to suffer in this life. Yup, I was that dramatic. 🙄

So when I was told that I had no choice and that I really had to leave, I comforted and told myself to just endure 2 years and then go back to Baguio F O R E V E R !!!

LOL

Teenage years, what can I say! 😂

But, what I did NOT expect was, that I enjoyed it here. And that every moment spent with my friends were downright fun - PE classes, CAT training, cutting classes, escaping from field demo practices, sleepovers, petty 'crimes', cheating squads and many more. Looking back, I had NO REGRETS so far. :)

I guess this is what life really is. It could throw us into unexpected circumstances that could disrupt the life we are used to having. It all boils down to how open we are to accepting and perceiving it.

Moving to Tagum was a curveball I definitely did not expect. But it was a lifechanging moment that opened my life to many opportunities and possibilities. It broadened my horizons, it opened my eyes to realities and brought it a new perspective on how I should live my life. Undeniably, it made me better. :)

Don't get me wrong, I still and will always love Baguio and still consider it my home. Only difference is that now, I have many homes. 😎

Yayamanin e. Charot.

When I was still teaching Philippine History, I remember telling my students about the Banaue Rice Terraces and how it was once hailed as a Great Wonder of the Modern World.

Sadly, through time, modernization, neglect and the refusal of future generations to continue the tedious work of farming, most decided to pursue other careers and leave their lands.

Eventually, the majestic terraces were then overgrown with trees and other plants. In some ways, nature took its course.

This is the reason why I encourage you all to see the terraces while you still can. We don't know what will happen tomorrow for it may be too late.

I do wish that DOT will do something about this. The Banaue Rice Terraces is a heritage we can leave to the future generations. :)

Last night, I conducted a talk on Federalism. Usually, before discussing what Federalism is all about, I start the discussion on the current realities/issues faced by the Philippines, one of which is the Conflict in Mindanao.

So I asked the students why they think many people from Mindanao are recruited to various groups such as the CPP-NPA-NDF or to M**F or MNLF. Two bravely raised their hands and answered the same. They said,

"Kasi po gusto nilang humiwalay ang Mindanao sa bansa."

I have to be honest. I was not shocked by this answer. This opinion is shared not only by these two students but many Filipinos not only here in Luzon, but even in Visayas and Mindanao. The conflict in Mindanao is still seen as something trivial that always leads to the desire for secession.

Sadly, I cannot blame these students. It is not really their fault why they come to such conclusion. Media has always portrayed Mindanao as a rogue island full of rebel secessionist groups. Various realities that push many to join the said groups such as persisting social problems, lack of access to government, difficulties in accessing aid, and many other realities are seemingly ignored because these are not "newsworthy". See, secession, war, killings, etc. are more sellable and sensational and more dramatic to a lot of these media outfits. As they say, s*x sells and in this case, secession sells.

Similarly, the educational system could also be blamed for this. Mindanao has always been crying foul for the many historical Injustices that happened to her and sadly, this still is not addressed. Textbooks used in schools still have a limited information on Mindanao. Even our history books "generalized' our history wherein the history that only matters is the history that happened in the North particularly here in Manila.

Have you ever wondered what was happening in Mindanao when the Spaniards were here? Or when the Propaganda Movement was writing articles, did they also consider Mindanao? When Rizal was in Dapitan, what has he heard about the other people in Mindanao?

Better yet, while "history" was happening here in Luzon, what was happening in Visayas and Mindanao?

This is also a wake-up call for me. As a person who teaches Philippine History, I know that I also am responsible in imparting knowledge and has to do what I can do about this. I may not be able to reach all Filipinos but at least I'll try to impart what I know one person at a time.

Maybe by doing this, we can start bridging the gap that divides the people from the north and from the south. Maybe by understanding each other, we can appreciate more our diversity as Filipinos and respect each other's ethnicity.

And maybe by doing this, we can love each other more.

For someone who loves watching historical kdramas, the meeting of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and President Moon Jae-in is something significant to me. Though I am not a Korean, I felt optimistic when Kim Jong Un crossed the 38th parallel towards the south. For the first time, I felt that peace is possible for the two Koreas.

I always believe that what happened to the 2 Koreas was something that was not instigated by them. The 2 Koreas share a common history that I know most kdrama lovers know by heart by now. ;) Sadly, because of colonization, the Second World War and the Cold War, the Korean peninsula was split into two with US (and its allies) occupying the South and the then USSR (and China) occupying the North.

Eventually, the Korean War erupted and as they say, the rest was history. From 1953 onwards, with the signing of an armistice agreement, the two sides agreed to temporarily stop fighting (so technically, the Korean War is still ongoing and may end later this year when the two leaders will finally sign the agreement to end the war). DMZ became heavily guarded with soldiers from both sides. The 2 Koreas became very wary of each other and they drifted further apart. :'(

(Side note: I hope that my students in IR still remember all these. You can look for them and ask them for more details. 😂)

In 2016, my friends and I visited the DMZ at Panmunjom, South Korea, a place I have read only in books. I was at awe when I personally saw that the line that divided the 2 Koreas was yes, really just a line. A line that once crossed could lead to aggression especially since, at that time, Kim Jong Un was very "ballistic" with his nuclear threats. It was a time when diplomacy was close to impossible.

This year, for whatever reason, Kim Jong Un agreed to talks with the South to the point that he agreed to cross the border to meet President Moon. Many scholars are skeptical about the motives of Kim and admittedly, though I see hope in this leader, I have my doubts as well. Maybe Kim is just using the South to gain audience with Trump. Maybe Kim is using these talks to gain the favor of UN. But whatever is his reason, whether it is for self-gain or not, I still feel optimistic that this is the first step towards peace. Though reunification for me, is already impossible, the end of the war signifies a turn towards a more peaceful era. (We now only have to worry about China, but that is another story)

But more than that, I am happy that the two leaders agreed to a reunion of families that were separated because of the war. As agreed upon, these families will be given a chance to meet each other this coming August. That in itself is a positive result of today's talks.

Further talks are scheduled to happen and Kim is scheduled to talk to Trump soon.

Is this a turn towards the better? I really hope so. We really do not know what the future holds so I guess we just have to wait and see. :)

PS. My sister Nava said that if peace happened between the 2 Koreas, we will have a problem in our hands. Peace in Korea may lead to the emergence of Kpop artists from the North and we will have a harder time catching up with the trend.
😂😂😂

I remember when the results of the AdDU survey on the proposed housing project was presented. The survey was for AdDU employees and their perceptions (and in some ways) expectations on the proposed housing project.

I remember that the employees wanted the housing project to have:
- a Club house
- a pool/sport facilities
- guards (gated community with a guard house)
- CCTV
- wifi
- garage

when asked how much the employees were willing to pay every month, majority of the employees who answered the survey said... PhP 3000 per month.

i remember laughing when i heard this because we were so demanding with what we want but seem to be hesitant to pay for it. LOL

and then same thing is happening with the TRAIN law right now.

people are happy that their taxes were reduced to more than 50% but are not happy that some prices of commodities increased. some are even suggesting not to increase prices yet and let the people enjoy the reduced taxes first.

and then complain because they see that the services offered by the government or the basic services provided by the government are not at par with other countries.

hmmm...

we wanted to have a good life but we are not willing to pay for it. we expect the government to provide us with everything we need and want but we don't want to pay for it.

i don't smoke, i don't drink, i don't have a car.

i do drink soft drinks all the time and ride public transport to school and to work and to everywhere.

i am okay with TRAIN. at least every payday i can finally see that the work i am doing is getting the pay it deserves. i also curse the government less and has now stopped my thoughts of taking home manhole covers because i paid for it in taxes.

i also know that the soft drinks that i love is more expensive and riding jeepneys will require me to pay more. then, i think this is the best time to recalibrate my life. i now have to drink lesser soft drinks, walk more and consider carpooling.

In that way I improve my sugar level, become healthier and gain more friends.

Choosing to deal with the situation proactively is not bad y'all. At the end of the day, it really is on mindset and on how you look and deal with situations.

I choose not to be a nega star. How about you? 😉

PS. On soft drinks... I will really do my best to cut down my cola intake. If I really can't, at least drinking bottomless soft drinks will be more challenging because it is more expensive. LOL (sorry daddy)