Maring and Habagat August 2013

For most of the Filipinos in Luzon, me and my family included, the 3rd week of August 2013 has been an unforgettable one.

Typhoon Maring entered Philippines' area of responsibility and with it tagged Habagat or southwest monsoon, says Google. This tag team resulted much rainfall which amounted to a month's worth of rain, and because of this, most of Metro Manila and the CALABARZON area have been submerged in flood water for days.

SLEX, flooded (photo from Google)

Sunday, 18 August 2013, Early Afternoon at around 2 PM
Heavy rain started to fall in intervals. My family and I were on our way home to Cainta from Cavite where we spent the weekend and celebrated my nephew's 7th birthday. It was a festive occasion.

Same day, Late Afternoon at around 5 PM
We reached our destination and the rain started to fall in full force and in quick successions. The roads were not flooded then.

Same day, Late Evening
The rain was relentless. The street outside our home started to fill up with water. We had a feeling classes will be suspended the next day. We went to sleep with the sound of heavy rains beating the roof non-stop.

Monday, 19 August 2013, Dawn at around 5 AM
We turned on the TV to news and our prediction was right, the classes were suspended. As for us working people, it's business as usual so we left earlier than usual so we won't be caught in traffic. But minutes later, we came back because a part of the main road of our subdivision is already knee-deep in flood and our car would definitely not make it across.

Our unexpected long vacation has started.

Same day, Early Afternoon at around 2 PM
The rain had stopped long enough to let the flood in front of our home momentarily subside. That's when my in-laws took the opportunity to leave the subdivision and go to another location which I won't tell anymore.

Watching the news, I learned that Cavite was severly hit followed by Laguna and then Rizal and Metro Manila. I was shocked to see SLEX submerged in chest-high murky waters. Highways and main roads were impassable to light vehicles.

Same day, Late Afternoon
The rain came down in torrents and the streets outside our home were once again flooded and already half a tire high. That meant that the main road of our subdivision was already waist-deep in flood.

Tuesday, 20 August 2013, Dawn at around 6 AM
I woke up to the sounds of thunder and very heavy rains. I knew right then and there while laying on the bed that it's vacation day 2. I would not dare going out and risk getting stranded someplace away from the comfort of our home.

The rain was relentless this day. It barely stopped and if it did, it was as if it's taking a breather only to rain much more.

The news said Maring will leave Philippines by Thursday. That's way too long.

Same day, Early Afternoon at around 1 PM
The subdivision's management has decided to cut the power supply to avoid accidents such as electrocution because of the wait-deep flood. Our gadgets were barely charged. It's going to be a very long day.

For the rest of the afternoon, we cooked, ate, slept, read, played games on gadgets until the batteries went dead.

Same day, Evening at around 7 PM
The lights came on, horray! We rushed to charge all our gadgets thinking the electricity would not be on for long. Luckily, the management took pity on us as we still have electricity until the next day.

News update: Maring is leaving Philippines! More hoorays!

Wednesday, 21 August 2013, Ninoy Aquino Day (Legal Holiday)
The storm is different today, it seemed like the real thing. Wind accompanied the downpour and our windows were shaking, that's what woke me up this morning at 7.

The news said this day would be better. It did. My sister-in-law got to work even though her legs went Jel-O after driving her new car across knee-deep flood.

There was no brown-out today, thank you subdivision management. To be productive, we cleaned the house, folded clothes and cooked. It's been awhile that we did this.

Before I end my Maring-Habagat tandem experience, I wish we would have a better day tomorrow.

Take care everyone, be strong and God bless all of us.

A Superman-movie, Figaro and Teriyaki Boy Date

Last Saturday, my Hubby and I went out on a much-anticipated Superman-movie date, and it was awesome. Not only the movie, but the whole experience, from the movie house, the movie itself and our lunch.

So my Hubby and I caught the flick at a Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall cinema, a movie house that I never thought would be cozy, comfortable and spacious just by looking at the exterior of the mall. I'd describe the cinema as such because:

• Cozy - the floors are fully carpeted starting from the entrance and it has soft lighting, even the restrooms.
• Comfortable - the seats are soft.
• Spacious - the leg room in between rows are wider and you can curl up on the chairs, not like the ones by SM which are cramped.

Anyway, they're still old school though. The tickets are in rolls and, (for the first time in more than a decade) this is the first mall that still has Premium and Deluxe sets of seating with different entrances! So the premium is the one below, nearer the screen which tickets sell at P130.00, and the deluxe is the one above and tickets at P180.00 each.

old school tickets

But before we watched the movie, we had lunch first at Teriyaki Boy at the Brick Road, the clump of restaurants and hang out spots across Sta. Lucia Mall. We had to go all the way down to the ground level and cross the streets to get to Teriyaki Boy which is at the 2nd floor of a 2-storey building with Don Henrico's below it.

And did I mention we used from Metrodeal for this date? It only cost P624.00 which includes 2 deluxe Superman movie tickets plus 1 complimentary ticket for any movie and 2 set meals from Teriyaki Boy with bottomless iced tea. Cool right?!

Our set meal is Donburi or rice toppings with choices between Sukiyaki Beef Teppanyaki (P165.00), Katsudon (P175.00) and 3-piece Gyoza. We choice the first two and they're both very, very tasty and served hot. But between the two, I like the Katsudon better.

Donburi Meals with Bottomless Iced Tea

But, our meals are never complete when eating at Teriyaki Boy without my favorite Kakiage or vegetable tempura. It has strips of squid, carrots, potato? Not really sure which veggies are included but still, they are the yummiest.

Kakiage -Veggie Tempura

So, with our bellies (and our bladders) very full, thanks to the bottomless iced tea, we head back to the cinema to catch our movie... but not before I grabbed a large cup of Hot Latte at Figaro which is right across cinema 6.

My Latter with Le Bron's Number?

I also bought myself an Oreo Cheesecake Cookie which sound and looked really yummy and I thought would be a good match for my coffee. Well, it turned out that I was too full to eat this even after the movie ended. I took it home instead and ate it with a cup of tea.

Oreo Cheesecake Cookie

Anyway, did you know, the Figaro at Sta. Lucia Mall is, I think, the coziest I've seen? It has soft lighting and an open area. The front of the store is carpeted, maybe because it's still part of the cinema, but the side room has stone floors.

a cozy place to hang out

And, they have a smoker's area too even though it's inside the mall. They have a separate room for the smokers which is brighter than the rest of the area.

Figaro's smoker's area

So, after all that's been said and done, it was a great date. My Hubby loved it so I am very glad about it.

Until the next date!!!

fresh-faced lang!

Official Start of My Summer 2013

Since the latter part of February 2013, every time I'd log in at Facebook (my favorite social networking site), I'm greeted left and right with pictures of family, friends and work acquaintances' own version of Summer 2013.  They're pictures of beach outings, some are by the pool, while others are in an exclusive hotel with breathtaking view of the ocean or the skyline.

Of these pictures, sometimes I feel envious because up to this day, I haven't gone swimming yet.  But, I have a few in line these coming months.  One I'd do with the Chua Family, another with the Santos Clan and a last one with my workmates, my Condis Family.

But today, my Summer 2013 officially starts!!! with none other than a big bowl of home-made Halo Halo!!! Yum!!!

In my calorie-filled Halo Halo are: red nata de coco, green kaong, white beans, whiter macapuno strips, teaspoonfuls of ube halaya and leche flan bought from our friendly kanto dessert maker Clarence, a couple of scoops of ube and cheese Selecta 3-in-1 ice cream, lots of shaved ice and a generous splash of Carnation evaporated milk.

Since this is a big bowl, I got a stern reminder from my Hubby that I am on diet and that I should not waste my jogging efforts of shedding off pounds.  But since its really, really hot and sweaty (besides, I do have cheat days), I moved away from him and indulged!

And so, after my Halo Halo moment, I am now ready to don my bikini (wink) and welcome Summer with open arms!!!

Have a good one, guys!!!