Blue sky, blue sea, bird song
The last few days have been tough so I’m devoting my Sunday to a bit of soul-patching. For whatever reason, I hope you also find comfort in the grace and sound of ether.
Tricky Tree!
Saw this fantastic tree at the Ayala Triangle Gardens. I'm posting from my mobile, so I'm not sure if the photo shows enough detail. It looked surreal, like it was painted over the background. There were others that were similar, but this tree's extra smooth and colorful bark made it stand out.
Anyone know what kind this is called?
Passing the time in Königsberg
A friend was telling me about topology because I love space, maps, sets, drawing, and was actually good at geometry. After being linked to the Bridges of Königsberg. I tried solving it even before reading 99% of the page.
"WTH is the problem?! This is so easy," and I hastily came up with the following
Flame on!
I tested my cooking skills this week, and made two dishes that were quite satisfying. I’m not used to cooking my own meals, so I decided to start off with something easy to prepare, and with few ingredients. Here’s the first thing I came up with: grilled asparagus and meat skewers.
Others usually use bacon, but I’ve restrained myself from stocking seriously unhealthy goodies in my fridge. I assure you this piece of pork is the last of its kind in my frozen universe. Using salmon came to my mind first cos I also wanted to make something less common and more healthy, but I didn’t have any when I made this.
Living economics
One of the things I like about this new place is that I drastically have less things. My unit has a kitchen, a bathroom, a balcony, a living room, and a bedroom-- five spaces with barely anything to line walls or cram a closet. On the other hand, my room at my parents’ home is still filled with books, clothes, shoes, and other things that a family of six could own.
It surprises me how I can live happily with barely an eighth of my possessions. Just some clothes, a few pairs of shoes, my food for the week, a bed, a laptop, three books, a tea cup, an air plant... While these may still seem excessive, I think they’re just what I need to live comfortably. I can probably even let go of two books, two more pairs of shoes, and a lot of clothes.
A friend inspired me to let go of at least half of my belongings by the end of the year. He told me about some people who are taking on the 100 things challenge. While I don’t think I can live with just a hundred things, I’m all for reducing my baggage in life. This is why when I go home to my parents’ this weekend, I plan to declutter as much as I can. I’ll sort everything to sell, or just to give away.
Would any of you be interested in my books, or a postcard saying hello? Let me know. I can’t wait to feel in QC, the same way I feel when I’m at my apartment— astoundingly and satisfyingly light! Wish me luck.
Oodles of noodles
Someone asked me what noodles I like best. I generally love them so it’s difficult to prefer one over many. Blame it on my weakness for Asian food, but unless what’s served is poorly-prepared, it pains me to have to choose.
Despite the dizzy spells I get over the choices we have, there are dishes that admittedly standout. One is yee mien with fried wonton from North Park. They serve it topped with toasted garlic and chopped green onions in a hearty hot pot.
There's just something about the texture of yee mien and fried dumplings, and how they soften a bit when submerged in broth that I find so satisfying.
Virtual tour: To market, to market!
I’ve been frequenting Saturday market at Salcedo park with my dad, and it's one of the things that make me look forward to weekends. Flowers, fruit, meat, seafood-- everything’s unbelievably fresh, and in good quality. Even processed food like cheese and bread are at their best state.
There are three other people I've been wanting to take to the market, who are unfortunately elsewhere or unavailable on Saturdays, so I took some shots to virtually show them (and you guys) around.
Moving out and moving in
I left Loyola Heights less than a month ago to live right smack in Bel-air, the central business district. It's near my workplace so now I don't have to get up 2 to 3 hours before work, and allot an hour's worth of travel (or more) to move back and forth Quezon City and Makati. I still go back to my parents' home, and return to being their little princess on Saturdays and Sundays.
Rainy day merienda
Churros! I know I haven't been posting lately, but this is an attempt at resurrecting my blog. I'll be posting more in the next days, and hopefully will keep on doing so like I was in college.
Everything that flies pt.2
As promised, here's the second set of photos from our trip. We spent most of the day bumming at my home in Subic so there are only seventeen shots in this post. Most were taken during the afternoon when we met Steph, Jungie, and Uno for merienda. 〬Following my previous post, the photos Paul and Earnie took are free from commentary and credited to them. My photos are the ones with opinion at the bottom :p
