Touring Around Liliw, Laguna

Beau has been thinking of going day tour on this quiant little town in Laguna. One could reach the province/suburb of Laguna in just about an hour away from Makati/Manila, provided that there is no traffic at all. But upon entering the province of Laguna, one could reach the little town of Liliw in about 2 hours (if traveling by public bus) and of course, could be lesser if one is traveling by a private vehicle.

Laguna is a very big province, there is also what was called Viaje Del Sol (travel under the sun) which a lot of townsfolks are raving about but we were only able to go around the town of Liliw, but t'was a great day tour I've had there.

Liliw is called Laguna's Shoe Capital. Well, I would agree. When I got off the jeepney at Liliw, there was a whole stretch that spots about 30-40 shoe shops left and right. There were also vinegars for sale along the road, some people offering you longganisa (marinated ground pork with fat, something that looks like a bolognia), and the usual street food.

However, of course, the highlight of this trip was the retail therapy I had when we went there.

• bags
  
• shoes
  
• bags
  
• shoes
  
• and moooore shoes!!
  

You wouldn't see any clothes shop nearby (not that I know of).

*****

It was a bright Sunday morning when Beau and I were able to get up from the bed and decided to leave for Liliw. Well, out of anticipation to reach the town the earliest possible time, we decided not to eat breakfast, as I was also trying to make a lot of room for Ara Bela, so we left with empty stomachs and hopeful hearts.

Being travelers who do not have a vehicle of our own, from our place in Muntinlupa, we rode a jeep going to Alabang. By 8AM, the sun was unusually striking-hot already, I wished I was able to wear sunscreen for protection. Too bad I didn't have one at that time (Hey! It's -ber months! Who would think that sun's heat would be as piercing as summer?). When we got to Alabang, as we were walking towards Hen Lin, there was a bus going to Sta. Cruz, and so we quickly jump aboard and looked for a spot where we could avoid the sun (well, for the meantime).

I could have sung "killing me softly" while riding on the bus from Alabang to Sta. Cruz. If you're not the type who could sit and stay for a long, bumpy, dusty, and muggy ride, I would suggest you take an aircon bus instead as starting the day riding an ordinary bus going to Sta. Cruz. Not sure though if there's an aircon bus going there (but I think there is). On the other hand, if you are the kind of person who's like me - harangan man ng sibat, aalis pa din - (anything goes kind of person), then the bumpy, muggy ride is just a part of the trip and like me who would think that there's nothing to compare with the sense of accomplishment that would go with reaching a certain destination alongside the exceptional experience - then the ordinary bus could be for you.

So, yes, we took an ordinary bus and got swept away with the Sunday morning wind that kissed our faces when the bus was traveling about 120kph on the highway. The ride just got pretty slow when we reached the narrow streets of Los Baños, Laguna (well, compared to SLEX - South Luzon Expressway, Los Baños's streets are quite narrow). Ah yeah, alright, if you're also thinking of going to Los Baños, riding a bus going to Sta. Cruz could be an option too. We passed by some public pools in Los Baños with some people waving those little boards offering for private pools (I do not recommend them - highly NOT), the Korean 88 Spa (this is HIGHLY recommended in terms of privacy and quality), and of course, another hour traversing unpopular towns in Laguna.

Okay, so one little (but huge!) mistake which we did was to alight the bus right after this Metro-something Mall. I'm telling you now! Sta. Cruz is still farther than that! I guess we were just soooo giddy reaching the town of Liliw that we got so excited going out of the bus when there were a few people started to alight the bus. Haha. We had to take the jeepney tour around the town of Nagcarlan, then to Liliw. Oh, it was grueling. Be a little more patient in reaching Sta. Cruz, and when everyone is alighting the bus, that is the only time you should leave the bus too, ok? ;)

So, after the long version which we took going to Liliw, we reached the area. The jeepney we rode dropped us off the lowest point of the road, I guess it's for the shops to be able to display their products to the travelers/wanderers/visitors of the area who could be possible shoppers too. We found out that Ara Bela was located on the other side of the road, And of course, me being famished, I was sort of having a nausea when we were walking up the steep road. Oh yes, the roads in the town of Liliw were sort of steep (well, where the one the jeep dropped us off was steep), like where the shoes and sandals shops are located? They're steep. And, I may had wanted to strangle anyone who would stop me from going to Ara Bela. Yes, my heart was focused on going to Ara Bela. Nowhere else.

Finally, we had reached Ara Bela.

Ara Bela (Arabela) is in the basement of a 2 storey house. Everybody in this town knows where this is.

Beau was already hungry, if not famished, this time.

Beau is wishing that his order would taste awesome.

An antique electric fan and a lampshade to add ambiance in a small and sort-of-crowded place.

The P50.00 almost good-for-two pudding that's not so sweet and is drizzled with caramel on top. This is just to pacify my nausea.

top-view. The pudding was soft, it doesn't taste like the usual bread, the texture is neutral. Not dry nor moist. It's yummy :D
It's ARA BELA, there's a space in between. Not Arabela.
The ceiling is unusually low as this place is just a part of the house's basement.
Make sure you'll be here before 12PM. We got there at 11:30AM and, gawd! The place was already crowded! We thought we wouldn't be able to get our fill but we got lucky there was a small table for two. We rushed onto it so fast!

This is seafood spaghettini. (I think it's 140)

Take two.

Take three. (Yummy spaghettini!)

Beau's generous serving of chicken marinara. (I think this is for 160.00)

Busog na. Hehe :D *burp!*

Next... The other places you could find at Liliw, Laguna (^_^)v

I've Been Thinking About...

I've been thining about Fish and Chips... OMG! Just the thought of it makes my mouth water. :-)~

Awww...

And I'm also thinking of going to Bohol Bee Farm...

Woot! Woot!

Hah. Thanks to Cebu Pacific's limited online offer (until Oct 27 only!). I will be able to go out of town with my Peanut (along with Claire, Gel, and Joey). We're thinking of going to Malapascua and then we go side tripping to Bohol (Bee Farm!). Huuwoooow... Geez. I also only wish Beau would be with us too. I'm gonna miss him fo sho.

Anyhow, logon at www.cebupacificair.com to check the promo fares they offer.

*Hint* There are many places muchhhh better than Boracay :P

We Choose Our Fate...

In ym signature, I've always had a "motto" there that says:

"We choose our fate by the choices we make."

I got that quote from someone before.
But now, I have rather proved him wrong.
I now have realized that we do not choose our fate by the choices we make.
Rather, we choose our fate by the thoughts we make.

As Tyron Edwards said, "Thoughts lead on purposes; purpose go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny."



*Hayun. Share ko lang naman :P

Single-moms That Needs to have Someone to Take Care of Her Kid/s... Let's Volt In!!!

Okay. So, for almost 3 Sundays now I have been looking for (or rather sorting through) a yaya for my kiddo. Maybe I haven't mentioned yet, but his yaya left for another job and left us hanging and cold and dumbfounded. She only gave us 3 days notice and - damn! I would really wanna strangle her for abandoning us. Although I know that everybody else would say it's not her obligation. I'd still want to strangle her for being her.

Now my kid is with my mom and everyday I am going nuts on how and what he's doing there. To be quite honest, with all due respect to that person who bore me, I wouldn't want my kiddo be staying there for so long. It's like, gosh, the kind of environment that he's staying in right now is not the kind of environment I've been praying, hoping, and dreaming for him. He's just too precious to be staying at her place - for Pete's sake. (Yes, I may sound very OA, but hey, I'm the mother, what can I do if I'm reacting excessively? Tell me a parent who would care less for her kid. Ah. Don't start with me, eh? :P)

Anyhoo, I was browsing through www.pinoyexchange.com/forums - in it's call centre forum and it so happened that I stumbled upon a thread there that's entitled "demand for childcare among agents ". I got pretty curious on what she had to say, so I clicked the link and here's what I have found:

demand for childcare among agents

Hi there.I am a filipina small childcare owner here in California, and I am
curious about putting up a day/night care in areas near to call centers in
makati and surrounding areas. How many of you would like this kind of service???
I used to be an agent for etelecare before moving here, and I had co workers who
had to stay home cause yaya quit, baby is sick, etc...I think this kind of
service will increase productivity among working parents. It will be affordable
for agents too, similar to hiring an uneducated yaya who will just sit babies
infront of TV, but with us, staff will be interacting with kids. What do you
think???

So? I got soooo elated, felt magnificent, and felt that I was on top of the world with her offer that I left her a private message, I also posted the same message on her thread:

let me give you objective reasons why you need to put up this kind of
centre here in the heart of makati.
1) there are a lot of single MOMS out there who do not have anybody else
but her next of kin or neighbour to take care of her kid
2) she leaves the kid to her neighbour/next of kin/yaya without fully
knowing what will happen to her kid after she leaves him to be supervised by a
stranger
3) she does not know what kind of food her child is being provided, what
kind of shows her kid is watching, what kind of environment her child is growing
up with because everyday - for at least 50 hours a week - she's at work
(including the travel time to and fro the house)
4) her kid will spend at least 10 hours with that person. it is important
on the kid's growing up years that he is being well supervised and that he is
being taught the right manners at a very early age - but too bad, during the
growing up years of a child when he is being supervised/taken care of by someone
else, the child is being brought up on a way any parent would otherwise
approve
5) because yayas could also be an all-around woman in the house, what
happens is that sometimes, the kid gets to be the last priority of the yaya
because of household chores
6) parents/single moms choose to suffer the time she's supposed to have
with her kid because she needs to render OT or because she has a lot of bills to
pay or that she now is confident (kampante) that her child has someone to be
with, she also tries to get time for herself
7) people nowadays choose to leave their kids to the yayas because of a lot
of reasons. outcome? -- kids lose their amor on their parents
8) time to adapt a Japanese lifestyle. there are also some day care centres
in japan that is situated near the train station, before parents leave for work,
they drop their child at the day care, then after work, they pick up their kids
and hop on the train going home. i also think this happens in korea and taiwan.
time to start now in the philippines
9) yayas are more or less, just the people who will keep the kids clean and
make them sleep and such. day care centers will be able to provide "education"
and will encourage social-skills in children. in these cases, let's say, if a
day care center would encourage an english policy environment, the kid who
speaks the vernacular will be able to practice speaking in english too. as
encouraged by his teachers and peers. in comparison with a yaya that was from
the provinces, she would only be able to speak tagalog and would/may not exert
any effort teaching the child anything at all
10) if the payment for a day care and a yaya would be similar. Ü why
not?

PLEASE PUT UP THIS BUSINESS ASAP.
There are a lot of people/call center agents/regular employees who need
this kind of lifestyle set up.
Should you need my help or assistance, please PM me :)
Thank you.

I've had about 30 more reasons to elaborate to her but, hey, I guess for now 10 would be enough. I hope this pushes through. I wonder you single-moms out there - or maybe both parents working - or even single peeps - how do you see this kind of set up?

To add to those objective reasons, in a day care, there are a lot of toys, kids could play all day, they will be well educated, there are teachers to guide them, there are a lot of activities each day, and --- I could go on and on and the list would be endless.

I myself think that I would feel and be physically close to my kiddo. Things are definitely different if there's a yaya. Household work will be easier, and I can go out whenever I want to. But, hey, that's why I'm a mommy now. This is not about me anymore. For me, traditional parent-bringing-up-her-own-child is still the most effective way to go.

*just like in the movies...*

;)

Sooo friggin' true!! (What Does Your Birth Date Mean)

Got this one from Maya = http://maya-licious.blogspot.com/ (naku pano ba gumawa nung "Click Here"???)

Ay grabe, kanina, nung nilagay ko yung birthdate ko sa drop-down boxes. I was sort of doubtful about this. Sabi ko, nyeh, meron akong hindi aayunan sa mga sinasabi nitong b-day thingy na 'to.

To my surpriiiiise...

Your Birthdate: November 27

You are a spiritual soul - a person who tries to find meaning in everything. You spend a good amount of time meditating, trying to figure out life. Helping others is also important to you. You enjoy social activities with that goal. You are very generous and giving. Yet you expect very little in return. Your strength: Getting along with anyone and everyone Your weakness: Needing a good amount of downtime to recharge Your power color: Cobalt blue Your power symbol: Dove Your power month: September

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

They are all sooo trulalu.

I am not a fan of Reyes Barbecue

Why?

I "sort-of" used to, but ain't no more. I don't know if you would agree with me but really, they increased their prices alongside them decreasing the quality of the food.

- at West Ave, we were served with a rice that was almost "panis" (spoiled). I have a very sensitive palate and I quickly know if the food were served is fresh or not
- their barbecue is usually burned outside (coz that is not my concept of grilled)
- the waiting time... arrrgh
- now you have to pay for that extra order of peanut sauce
- there was a time I ordered bangus belly at RB in Alabang Town Center, I was horrified when I smelled and tasted the bangus. The smell had a bit of cockroach-ish smell, not to mention the taste too. I was not able to eat my food nor did come back.

Sayang ang Reyes Barbecue. The concept was very catchy, coz it's a family business that has been passed on to many generations. The food, sans all the ewww stuff, would have actually been good too. I hope, to those people who are "running" the business now, they would rather choose to have an outstanding standard in serving great food (with great value) to their customers everytime and not just, as I usually call it, crap.

Napansin ko naman, minsan (o kadalasan - can't make up my mind), kapag franchised na ang isang business, 'di na maganda yung quality nung food at, minsan din, nung service.

Hayyy, 'wag naman ganyan.

When Someone Has Told You Something Very Deep and You Won't Know How to Respond

Beau and I have been having some frequent small talks regarding his leaving for abroad. I guess one of the things he has in mind was that I might go "astray" from what we have and what we have been planning ever since. Although that has sort of cut my heart as it seemed to me that it it seemed to him (in one way or the other) that would be easy for me to let go just because of temporary pleasures, I just put whatever assumptions I have in mind somewhere out there. I just think that he's just having some going-abroad-jitters, as I myself is not really certain on what's going to happen once he's away (who is anyway, right?). I mean, no one among us is certain what's going to happen tomorrow or the week or year after next, so... yeah... get my drift?

This morning, we had our usual chat online. And of course, as it is always "usual", I wasn't expecting something different is going to happen then.

Although one of the things I like about my beau is everytime he calls me "mahal". It's just music to my ears. And as much as I hate to admit it, I still get kilig and very anticipating of whatever he's going to say right after that.

And so again... out of nowhere... he called me "mahal". Then he spoke out these words...

beau: mahal

thank you

me: san?

beau: for being my partner

me: :)

bakit ka naman biglang napasabi nyan, baby? :)

beau: wla naman

naisip ko lang

it won't be possible for me to go abroad

if i haven't found a partner

that i can trust

not only with my money but with my heart :)

(sorry for the pasted ym convo... I don't know how to paste it some other way Ü) BTW, don't mind my answer right after that. ;)

What matters most here is that I have known right from him that he trusts me enough to leave me here. I hope he also knows that I trust him, not just enough, but maybe too much of a too much to let him go and be wherever he should be. Tulad nga ng sabi ko sa isa mga dati kong posts (just like I said on one of my previous posts), "I let him go... let him leave... as I know it's also me letting him live." So, maybe no one may be able to comprehend how deeply I feel regarding his leaving for abroad, but all I can say now is... I'll miss him so.

So many songs to sing, songs just to keep myself sane
Trying to keep our memories together aflame
When one like me who easily unconsciously forgets
Holds on dearly to many heartfelt remembrances unregret