Of Walls and History

Sharing the beauty of Manila

SimplymeSMC

I have been to a lot of places. Yes, I have travelled Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and even a certain foreign country. I consider myself well-travelled ( as compared to other people my age, I supposed ) , but it was only lately that a reality hit me:  I was a  Stranger on my own land – this is how I was whenever I was asked about Intramuros; Fort Santiago and other land marks in the old City of Manila . What a shame, I know. I don’t even know anything about these historic places right at the center of  Metro Manila.

I know I’ve been here a long time ago, but hey, as a kid, what will I remember about war and history? All I could probably recall was the dirty Ice Cream I asked my mom to buy and the Calesa ride, of course.

Well, I was not…

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Exploring Sagada

The municipality of Sagada is a 5th class municipality in the Mountain Province, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 11,127 people. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagada) . It’s known for a beautiful sunrise view, Jeepney top-loading ride, caves and a breezy weather, above all, it is known for being a neighboring municipality of Banaue, which is part of Ifugao province.

And what’s with Banaue? Well, it is home for  UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Batad Rice Terraces, and Bangaan Rice Terraces.

I know a lot of people would think that Sagada and Banaue are of the same area, but nope, they were part of two different provinces. That will require another blog post about geography.

Allow this post to focus more on the beauty of Sagada and its neighboring places.  A 9 – hour night trip from Manila was worth it! Again, Sagada was worth that long and tiring drive! We knew this trip will tire us out, so we opted for an arranged itinerary. We were a group of 8, the van was roomy enough as it has a 12-seating capacity. We paid 3500.00Php each. This already includes the following:

• Two nights, 3 days accommodation
• Van with gas from Manila – Sagada, and tour
• Driver
• Tourist guide
• Because we opted to skip some of the destinations that we deemed too risky, our tour guide/ driver was gracious enough to treat us to breakfast instead. ( Feel free to drop me a message if you want a recommendation, I promise, our guide is good, he even takes great photos.)

As Sagada is in a mountain province, you MUST bring jackets. If you feel that your covers are not enough “ukay-ukay” will get you covered. I scored two jackets of good quality for only 50.00php each. The tour guide could bring you to a flea market for good buys.

Enough of my words, let the photos do the rest of describing. Have Fun!

We went orange picking

 

Hanging Coffin

Top Loading is a thing here

Inside Sumaging cave

My Thoughts About “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” Movie

First, I have to say, I am not the one who would normally watch a movie that has a very simple and predictable plot. I am very practical when it comes to where and what I spend my money and time on. I am glad Netflix is very handy now. I can watch wherever and whenever I want. Words about this movie was very tempting, hence, I gave in. 😊

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a 2018 American teen romance film directed by Susan Johnson, based on Jenny Han’s 2014 novel of the same title. The movie was distributed by Netflix.

The Story revolved around a teenage girl, Lara Jean, who wrote a love letter to whoever she had a crush on at that time, but she didn’t have any intentions of sending them. Among the guys were her best friend Josh  who ended up to be her sister’s boyfriend. There was also Peter Kavinsky who was the boyfriend of her former best friend whom she parted ways with because Gen was an insecure spoiled brat.

Lara Jean’s life started to get complicated when her youngest sister sent out all the letters that she was keeping for so long!

Lara’s world was confronted with the most complicated situation a teenage girl could ever experience. Peter took this opportunity to ask Lara Jean to pose as his pretend girlfriend because he just broken up with Gen.

As you all suspected, the pretend Love story became real. … And they live happily in Love!

A normal predictable love story, right?

But what was my take on the story and the characters?

Well, the plot was nothing unusual. As I have mentioned, the story was very predictable.

It’s a normal teenager world – where crushes, young love and first loves are the most important things in the world.

But… as a 30 year old girl, I must admit I felt 15 years younger while watching Lara Jean’s and Peter’s love story unfold.

Peter, played by Noah Centineo is every teenage girl’s dream boy. Physically, he was tall, and ruggedly handsome. His role in the movie was sweet, loving and your typical boy next door. Who wouldn’t fall for that, right?

Lana Condor who played Lara Jean was  good too. She was the “school-home-family”  type of girl, and all these relationship thing was new to her. A certified virgin.

The tandem was cute on screen. Lana has Vietnamese blood. A very Beautiful Asian girl and her beautiful Asian skin and Asian eyes complemented with Noah’s American look! Noah was HANDSOME! Never not smiling while watching him.

May favorite Scenes?

• Noah stood for Lara Jean and fought for his love
• I like how Lara Jean’s dad pushed her to have fun and enjoy high school life – that includes PUSHING her to go to parties and giving her condom. (not sure if he is a cool dad with condom thing or not, you decide).
• At Peter’s house, after dinner
• Hot tub scene
• Pocket Spin
• Sisters relationship

For the benefit of those who have not watched and are planning to watch, I won’t elaborate on the scenes.

From an almost-old-maid who doesn’t normally watch love story, let alone teen love story, I’m telling you, this is worth your time. You will find yourself smiling the whole time, and even after watching the movie. Feel Good at its finest!

 

Flavory, Savory, Flowery Flabbery!

Have you ever been at a point wherein you wanted to send your friends, or family or your significant others a surprise treat but you were halfway across the globe?

That situation sucks, I know.

Well, worry no more! If you are somewhere in the world and you want to send a friend in India birthday treats, be it a flower, a cake or chocolates, Flabbery is the answer!

What is Flaberry?

It is an online site where you can place your orders of cakes, flowers, chocolates of even decorative plants at a very reasonable cost.

What’s the payment scheme? You can wire transfer, you can pay through CC or Debit card. If you are out of the country, Paypal is the safest and the most convenient option for you.

You may visit https://www.flaberry.com/  for their wide variety of goods! I promise you the service is good and they have wide coverage of delivery. India is a big country, but Flaberry will deliver right at your doorstep.

I have a firsthand experience with Flaberry customer service and I definitely got the smoothest transaction ever.

Their products look tempting! I will surely try each one of them. I am now trying to write down names and occassions for my target Indian friends to get surprises from Flaberry.

These photos  I screen grabbed from Flaberry’s website

33 on 33

Last month I celebrated my 33^rd bday. I had simple get-together with my family and I capped the day with a 4-hour spa session at one of my favorite water spas in town.

Albeit simple, I got to have more time to look back and reassess myself. Am I happy at 33?

The answer is YES! I am happy and grateful! And here are 33 reasons that I can think of:

1. I am happy for the gift of family – My mom is healthy; my dad’s condition is getting stable and my siblings are in good places.
2. I am thankful for my 2-year old niece who brings so much joy to the family.
3. I am thankful we were able to finally hire a trusted aide to be with my dad every time he needs to go to the hospital.
4. I am thankful for my best friend Thea who is always there, respecting my privacy when I don’t like to share anything just yet even with her.
5. I am thankful for the job that pays the bill.
6. I am thankful for my best bru ever since we were kids, Joan. She is the best.
7. I am thankful for my girlfriends – my longest relationship by choice. (yes 26 years of friendship and counting).
8. I am thankful for my significant other – very patient and understanding man. The last 5 years with him are the best years so far.
9. I am thankful for his family that accepts me and embrace me for who I am.
10. I am thankful for the chance to travel with my man.
11. I am thankful for the opportunity to travel here and abroad.
12. I am thankful for the gift of writing – (a passion for writing to be exact )
13. I am thankful for my daily Grab and Cab ride. I don’t have to take the train or Jeep to and from work.
14. I am thankful for my trusted friends who I met at the office but our relationship goes beyond work (Tracy, RJ and Jolan).
15. I am thankful for WordPress for the platform to express myself.
16. I am thankful for the reliable internet connection that I have at home.
17. I am thankful that I get to read my favorite author’s books ( yes, I am a book-aholic).
18. I am thankful for the people who do not bash me for my weight. ( yes, I am overweight, plus size)
19. I am thankful for the people who believe in me at work.
20. I am thankful for my current company ( it’s been 7 years now that I am with IM).
21. I am thankful for my “moonlight” company – that gives me opportunity to conduct tutorial for 1.5 years now.
22. I am thankful for my WordPress followers. ( Yes, 700+ bloggers).
23. I am thankful for my brother in-law who always treats my dad as his own.
24. I am thankful for my own house that I still pay until now but it provides shelter for my loved ones.
25. I am thankful my brother got his first job (which means he does not have to rely on parental support. 😊 ).
26. I am thankful for the ability to cook, good enough to survive my weekdays without starving. (hehehe).
27. I am thankful for online delivery services – I didn’t have to go out to do my groceries and my shopping.
28. I am thankful for Google and YouTube for being my Go-to sites for all hacks I need.
29. I am thankful for the random group messages from my cousins.
30. I am thankful for the people who laugh at my corny jokes.
31. I am thankful for the nice cab driver who gave me back my wallet which fall off my seat.
32. I am thankful for the good – random people I meet every day.
33. I am thankful for my existence! 33 years of making things that matter! I may not be right every time. But I am thankful that God gives me chance to start anew every single day!

 

The list continues and I am forever grateful! Now, on to another year!

Cheers!

 

With a Happy Heart,

-Simplymesmc

Meet and Greet (June)

It’s time for the Meet and Greet weekend everyone!! Strap on your party shoes and join the fun! Ok so here are the rules: Leave a link to your page or post in the comments of this post. Reblog this post. It helps you, it helps me, it helps everyone! Edit your reblog […]

via Meet and Greet: 6/1/18 — Dream Big, Dream Often

600 Followers + Q&A portion!

Jirah from https://jirahmerizz.wordpress.com and   https://eyeseesomething.com/ recently sent me a few questions and some of you left in the comment section awesomely interesting questions all through out the years.  Some questions were thrown during the Awesome blogger award nomination.  As my way of thanking you, my 600+ followers, I am answering some of those questions today!

 Cheers to all creative minds who can freely express emotions through writing! You guys are awesome!

Here you go!

1. Question: What is your goal in blogging?

Answer: My goal is to inspire readers and honestly, I am hoping that one day, I can earn  financially out of writing.  I know I have a lot of learnings to do to reach that point.

2. Question: Do you plan to start Youtube soon?

Answer: Not in the near future but I’m not closing my doors to any possibilities. As of now,  writing is really my passion.

3. Questions: What do you like and dislike about the blogging community?

Answer: What I like?

• I like meeting new friend and reading what others have to say about a certain topic. All the blogs that I follow, I make sure to read some of their pieces. Ok, I admit, not all of the entries but before I hit the follow and like button, I make sure I have read atleast one article.
• I like it that I get a lot of ideas from my fellow blogger specially on beauty and style..
• I like reading book reviews, and I also get to know other awesome book authors through book reviews
• I get to express myself and I get to inspire other readers
• Ahggggg… I have so many things in mind…. The pros are limitless

What I dislike? – 

• People posting negative posts , rants, whines and anything that do not inspire at all

4. Question: What life lesson do you appreciate the most and why?

Answer: To have faith in God. No matter what happens, trust in the Lord. We will never go wrong. While we have faith in God, do your part. God cannot just give everything we need, we need to work hard for it too.

5. What motivates you as a blogger?

Answer: All my followers motivate me to blog. People messaging me that they get something from what I write keep me going. Your Comments, likes and reblogs motivate me all the time. Plus, blogging is my way of sharing my views and experiences to a larger audience.

I hope I answered well. 😊 ! No seriously, I hope you get to know me better through this.

Thank you.

Love, Simplyme