Lockdown Favorites
April 18, 2021
This post seems to be
overdue, however, I suppose that might not be the case. We are exactly in the
same circumstance as last year, still at square one, unchanged. (However, I
won’t make this as a socially and politically laden piece; there’s a more
appropriate platform for that.) Despite the circumstances, people still find
reasons to buoyantly go on, while their smattering of absurdism is uncloaked
and put to a test. In the last few months, scads of food trends transpired,
either as a result of people’s world-weariness or their unleashed creativities.
Common themes include brewed coffees, hybrid foods, local takes on international
cuisines, and concept stores. Accordingly, below is a curated and digestible guide
to the best food trends that Cagayan de Oro City has to offer.
Warm Cups, Warm Hearts
December 13, 2020
Recently, I got my early exclusive holiday presents from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Philippines. Inside the inviting gift box that I received straight from Manila is the much awaited 2021 Giving Journal. The Giving Journal is made even more delightful as it is fully customizable and comes with a sticker pack to personalize and to suit it to one’s personal style and schedule. They also included the new Limited Edition Holiday Tumbler, the best way to keep my drinks hot or cold all day.
Heydays of October: A Visual Journal
October 31, 2020
I have always wondered on
what the end game of all upheavals brought by this pandemic is. It is
as if we are trapped in an abyss, with little to no resolution or with a bleak
hint of redemption at the end. This year I was supposedly planning to visit
Taiwan for my birthday and experience the wonders of Taipei and the colors of
Taichung. But, as anyone else would say as they would reminisce their cancelled
trips and unrealized plans, the corona happened. Instead of fretting over
wasted times from this existential impasse and certain vacillations on productivity, my family and I decided to
go to the beach after almost 7 months of mere house-and-errands routine. The
whiff of seawater strewn by the sea breeze, the warmth of fine grains of sand
exposed under the October sun, the array of potluck foods made more appetizing
by the views of the sweeping horizon, and the dear experience of familial
company and of a placid weekend are the inspirations of this visual journal. It
is an ode to the good times and everything that goes with it.
The New Normal
June 9, 2020
We are at the mere half
of the year, yet, it has paved ways to predicaments that we wished were simply fleeting
jests and to a lot of self-realizations. 2020 for sure has changed not just the
drop of a life we have, but the whole ocean that we are a part of. The current
situation has led, for some, to an existential crisis and a question of
productivity, or for others, a dismal path and worse, a loss of a significant
other. So, here I am writing a feature which has been long overdue to instill
some sense of normalcy, if there such a thing nowadays. I miss creating
content. I miss the laidback dinner banter with friends. I miss the routines of
humdrum experiences and quotidian learnings. The notions of “back to normal” or
“business as usual” are perhaps far from possible since, given the
circumstances, there will be no going back. There is only the new normal.
Gifting Grateful with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
December 5, 2019
Coffee Redefined
October 17, 2019
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