Purple Shack

Box in a Bus     O n my way to a friend's house, I decided to ride a bus. When the bus reached the bus stop, a man carrying this box which the bus ticket inspector helped load just in front of my seat.                                                                                                            An interesting box of Selecta ice cream...                       ...endorsed by a host of a local TV station who's in the hot seat these days.   ;-)

Suggestion Box Needed      J anuary calls for a lot of office duties for our office staff. These include renewal permits and licenses,  insurances and everything that fall under securing what is necessary for your business.       A nd just like every year, Manila City Hall looks like this...filled with waiting (tired, thirsty and hungry) people. You have to a lot a whole day waiting for your papers to be processed. You might as well cancel any appointment you have on that day. And if you are your own boss, prepare for a day (make that 3 days) without profit for your business, since you can't be at your office while waiting for your papers (which will only be ready a month after regardless if they're releasing a tin business plate or a computer-generated certificate ;-) ) Alas, you will also discover that you will at least visit the place three (3) times because to be able to process your papers, you need to have a Business Resident Certificate...

Past D ay 1 in the Chinese Calendar         W ow! There was no traffic along Munoz (Quezon City area)...     E ven 8th Street in Caloocan City is almost empty! T he traffic at 5th Avenue is picking up after our turn...      Ah, yes, there's the building up of cars and vehicles at this side from Divisoria after the turn. S ome areas have few vehicles,but the major intersections are filling up once in a while...      F elt hungry, so we went to 999 Mall to eat at a fastfood restaurant...Sad to know that they don't have nai cha and braised beef - the group's all time fave food to eat at this fastfood chain.      S o, off we went to Lucky China Mall!   O n the Ground floor, we saw the "Money" tree!  O MG, there's a huge crowd inside as we went on the second floor to check for some nice restaurants...  M ore people coming in... ...

A Great Place To Hangout       W hile waiting for friends to finish their shifts after mall hours, my office mates and I went looking for a place to eat at Trinoma along Mindanao Avenue. We decided to have a "promo" meal at Giligan's. They have a P99 meal with unlimited rice serving and a glass of cold iced tea which is very tempting to my companions since we're really famished from walking all the way from the Metro Rail station.       U pon seeing their menu, we decided to order the P99 meal plus P21 instead since this one has more choices of viand that goes with the unlimited rice and drink. We also ordered an adobong kangkong (water cabbage stew) to pair with the Sweet and Spicy Squid dish I ordered while my friends took the Sisig (usually chopped pig's ears fried in a hot plate and garnished with onions and garlic).       M y Sweet and Spicy Squid is quite amazing! Can't show you the dish anymore since I finished it ...

Worse Than Ever!           W hat can I say?! I thought that the bumper-to-bumper traffic along Bagbaguin and Bocaue, Bulacan leading to NLEX highway has ceased after the holidays and the fireworks-buying spree of people from Metro Manila and nearby provinces. But, alas! Here we are again, just right after New Year's day celebration and the following days - traffic is still in existence here in Bocaue that people can't get on their appointments on time! After the two bridges connecting Sta. Maria to its neighboring barangays (that connects to Norzagaray - where the Angat dam is located) broke down and were repaired for more than three (3) straight agonizing months, we can't help but notice that those who are responsible for these traffics are still not doing what they're supposed to do - that is, make living and commuting from this part of Bulacan easy like a breeze.

Lovely Christmas Attraction to Visit at Los Banos      J ust a few days after the Three Kings celebration or a week after Christmastime, Los Banos, Laguna is still beaming with the Christmas spirit through their beautiful huge Christmas tree, Santa in his sleigh and floating reindeers on a backdrop of castles and a huge Nativity scene right in front of the university!      V isitors, tourists- local and foreign are greeted with these grand sceneries as they enter the campus. No wonder that UPLB gets a lot of visitors all around the globe every Christmas ;-) We can't help but have our photos taken, too, and enjoy the view!

A Glimpse of Bocaue, Bulacan: Philippines Fireworks Capital        A h, this was not exactly the site in Bocaue as we waited for hours inside our car (we're staying in a nearby town, Sta. Maria, Bulacan and to get out from Bulacan, you have to travel via NLEX (North Luzon Expressway) to reach Manila). It was bumper-to-bumper everyday when you drive along the by-pass road to Gov. Halili Ave. and towards the tollgate as you leave the Bulacan area. This was the time when our service vehicle moved along the road leading to NLEX and the stores which are located before you reach the NLEX tollgates.  People have started to flock the stores that sell fireworks; from the ordinary "lucis" or "pailaw" to the colorful fireworks!      It's been 2 1/2 hours to reach the Bocaue-NLEX tollgate, so we decided not to push through with our date and cancelled. Instead of checking downtown Manila for more stuff for Christmas gifts (Chris...