WEEKENDS AT 30

        It's been a rough week, right? Now we're all looking forward to the sunny (rowdy?) weekend ahead. Some of us are only living for that, sadly. At 30s, you think you have it all figured out, but only one call from  a friend asking to meet up for drinks is all it takes to become a complete clueless mess.

 Back on our roaring twenties, this is a no brainer. Friday through Saturday nights are the best days of our lives, and sometimes even Sunday afternoons. We'll only slow down on Sunday evenings, when the grim realization that Monday is inevitable has already started creeping up. 

But now at your calmer 30s, what do people your age usually do during weekends? After a lot of observation and painful personal experience, here's what I've got:

1.) They prefer to stay at home. No shit Sherlock. People in their 30s are always tired or sick. So staying at home never sounded any better.

2.) When they go out, it's usually just at some friend's house. They prefer to hang out inside the house still, just not their own house. Well on the brighter side, some of their friends are already moving to new houses, so it's always nice to pay a visit now and then.

3.) When they go out, they prefer open spaces like rooftop bars or open air bars. It's nice to actually be able to have a conversation while gettin' fucked up. Indoor clubs can't provide you any of that.

4.) When they go clubbing, it's usually out of town like music festivals, annual holiday raves, etc. If you're already married, clubbing in the metro is no more fun. It's nice to really dance and get messed up on a nice beach somewhere with your long-time friends, compared to throwing up on a puke/piss-filled toilet on your local pub.

5.) Travel has become therapy and a luxury. Whether it's a financial or an existential crisis, most of them crave to get away every time bad luck comes knocking. But oftentimes, they can't just go. Work, family, kids and other adult commitments makes it almost impossible to be away even for a day. Planning usually takes months only to end up not going. 

6.) Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Those non-alcoholic friends of mine look forward to trying all the new cafés weekly. It has become their salvation.

7.) Groceries. What's more therapeutic than having to walk on different aisles of soaps and detergents on a rainy weekend?

8.) Laundry and cleaning day. Don't be surprised to see a lot of us hanging out at the laundry shop with our phones or even laptop all day. This is the only time we have actual time and will to do these things.

9.) Sleeping in. They are just too tired of their lives and angry at the world that sleep outshines everything else.

10.) Nothing. Sometimes they want to do this and do that. But there's no one available, or they're broke. Or they simply don't know what they want, and that's okay. We're just big clueless kids who have jobs to pay bills after all. 

 

Can you relate?

LaBoracay or LaBoraNYAY? DAY 1 #TAGALIZED

Well, so eto na ang hubad na katotohanan, sa lahat ng nagtatanong kung mga anak ba kami ng Diyos at taon taon nalang nandito kami sa Boracay lalo na pag Laboracay haha, pwes surprise, oo. LMAO Anak ng Diyos ng diskarte at pakikipagtawaran. Hahaha.

Hindi po kami mayaman, sa katanuyan ay nagbabarko lang kami papuntang Boracay lalo na pag LaBO, dahil namamayagpag ang presyo ng mga airlines. Ngayon, ikukwento ko step by step kung pano kami sumosocial climb pa Bora tuwing Labor day para maging inspirasyon sa mga kapwa namin mga pusang gala. :D

NOTE: Wag gagayahin kung a.) maarte b.) mainipin c.) maraming dada at maraming pera (mag eroplano ka nalang), pero note ulit, gagastos ka pa din ng malaki all in all pero hindi kasing laki pag sinama mo airfare sa expenses.

So here it goes:

Usually mga April 28 kami naalis ng Manila dahil ang start ng bayuhan galore sa LaBoracay from April 29-May 1. Pero kung marami ka namang baong biyaya kahit mga April 27 palang e gumora na kayo. This year (2017), tumapat sa holiday ang April 28, 2017 dahil sa ASEAN, kaya long weekend ang mga tita mo. Maganda para sa mga hindi nanaman lilipad o tatawid ng karagatan, pangit para sa mga katulad namin rarampa sa malayong isla. Haha.


Day 1 (APRIL 28, 2017)

9:00am- Call time, nakakasakyan kami kaya dadaanan namin ang mga OTW (cavite kami lahat)
9:30am- GORA na papunta sa Batangas Port via MCX-SLEX-STAR TOLL (sa slex pa lang traffic na huhu)
1:00pm- Arrive in Batangas Port, secure parking for car for 5 days, hanggang May 2 kami rarampa mga bes (fees below), buy ferry tickets to Calapan, Mindoro, preferably FAST CAT dahil eto ang me pinakaamyos na vessel (for us)

Balyahan sa Batangas Port palang

NOTE: Since hindi kami prepared nanaman, hindi kami nakapg book ahead of time ng FAST CAT, at pag dating namin doon ay fully-booked na at ang next alis pa ay 6PM (aguy), kelangan masunod ang schedule, so bute nalang may aalis ng 1:50pm via Ocean Jet (P250/pax for aircon) . For online reservations sa Fast Cat, please click here.

NOTE 2: Meron din direct Batangas- Caticlan via 2go pero naubusan na kami ng Cabin for 6 kaya nag cutting trip nalang kami pa Caticlan. For more details regarding 2go you can check them here.

Party Party sa Batangas Port
Are you readehhh?

2:00pm- Ferry departed to Calapan Mindoro
3:30pm-  Arrival at Calapan, Mindoro. Now pag dating niyo dito sasakay kayo ng van. And please take note, only the van na papuntang BULALACAO ang sasakyan niyo, kasi nandoon ang FAST CAT ferry bound to Caticlan, which leaves every 10pm and 3am sa gabi.

Dahil 4-5 hours ang biyahe, at minsan malas ka pa sa driver mo na kala mo nangangampanya kung tigilan lahat ng kapitbahay niya, mga around 8pm ka na makakarating sa Bulalacao. Which for us is very risky lalo na super holiday, iniisp namin na baka fully booked na rin ang 10pm na alis ng Fast Cat.

Magkabilang dulo ng mundo mga beshy.

8:30pm- ANG SAYA DIBA, ngayon lang kami nakarating ng BULALACAO. Mananalo nang Congressman yung driver ng van namin sa dami ng kinampanyahan niya.

Fortunately, we still managed to get us tickets for the 10pm departure for Caticlan, although na over-booked na ata sila dahil sa sahig nalang kami sa labas nakaupo at nag royale rumble pa mga tao dahil me hindi pinasakay na Bus.

Para sa Ekonomiya

11:00pm- nakaalis na din ang barko, so from Bulalacao, it's a 3-hr sail to Caticlan, then from there sasakay kayo ulit ng maliit na bangka that will bring you to Boracay island mismo, tapos sasakay kayo ulit ng Tricycle to your hotel. O diba Triathlon lang ang peg hahaha.

3:00am- Nakarating din kami sa Hotel namin namely Francis Hotel, nasa kakaibang lugar to ng Station 2, parang executive subdivision ng mga Local doon haha. Okay ang Hotel at bago palang ito kaya wala pa sa social media. Nga lang nasa tabi siya ng mabahong sapa/kanal na kelangan mo talunan tuwing lalabas. 2 minutes walk to the beach. For reservations kindly contact (0907) 185 3421. Room rates starting at P3,400/pax good for 4pax pero nagawa namin tawaran na good for 6pax na yan pero dalawang double bed lang. Higang bente lang hahaha.

NOTES:
P250- Boat from Batangas port to Calapan Mindoro (Ocean Jet- Aircon)
P290- Van from Calapan to Bulalacao (ililipat pa kayo sa ibang van pero wala na kayo babayaran)
P375-  Fast cat from Bulalacao To Caticlan (ECONOMY) pero dahil super holiday pang aliping upo lang sa labas terrace part yan
P100- Terminal Fee Caticlan
P75- Environmental fee Caticlan
P50- Boat ride to Boracay island from Caticlan Jetty Port
P20- Tricycle
P100- Ambag sa Gas papuntang Batangas Port
P50- Ambag sa Toll gate
P167/pax- Ambag sa Parking fo 5 days for 6pax(200 per day)

P1,477pax- NASA BORACAY KA NA ON LABORUHHCAYYY

Pawisan at Lagkitan sa Batangas Port

So after a long, tiring day na halos manapak na kami ng driver at makipagsaksakan sa barko, makakapgpahinga na din. Halos 16hrs na biyahe total from Cavite (Imus) to Boracay. Pero worth it naman ang natipid ng mga tita mo. At hello, LABORACAY kaya ngayon. HAHAHAHA

Stay tuned for DAY 2! :D

CAVITE FOODTRIP DIARIES: The Black Apartment

Recently, my wish of having more hip and funky new restos in this side of the south (Cavite) is slowly being heard by the food Gods up above. My friend won't stop talking about this cool, new burger diner just in Imus, Cavite (only a few steps from home!) and the only way to calm her balls is to just go and check this thing out.

So we went there on a weekday, Tuesday I think, to keep away from the usual weekend/noisy/irritating crowd and long lines. This is just located in Medicion, malapit lapit pa rin naman sa katotohanan. If you're from Imus, malapit lang sa Imus Cathedral, but still, lumagpas pa rin kami syempre, because that's part of the fun isn't it?

When we arrived at the street, nasa medyo bukana naman sya, and for sure hindi mo mpagkakailang eto na yon, kasi siya lang ang nag iisang itim na apartment na napapagitnaan ng mga all-white nyang kapatid. Rebel look kumbaga.

Outside of The Black Apartment

Ayos ang concept, may waiting bench sa labas ska onting mono blocs para sa mga waiting, wala nga lang bubong. So pag umulan party party na haha. The exterior is simple, all black with huge, bold white letters indicating their sign and yung wall sa gilid (ung pinipiktyuran nung yosi boy), may naka-paint din na name nila. 

Ung pinipiktyuran ni Yosi Boy

We waited for a good 15-20 minutes before getting seated inside. Well still not bad, I've experienced worst sa iba, and standing pa. Atleast dito, may pampalubag na mono-bloc at sariwang hanging pwede mong yosihan. Habang nag aantay, ibibigay na sainyo ni Kuyang nka all-black din ang menu para maka-order na. Hindi ko na piktyuran ang menu (sobrang gutom sorry), but I can tell you, the prices are all reasonable, abot kaya mga P130-270 lang range niya, and ung P270 yun na ung pamatay sa laki at cholesterol na burger nila. 

So when we finally got inside, malamig at may libreng radio sa background. Kaya syempre

Let me take a selfie/groufie

After 5 more minutes into waiting, dumating na yung order, nagbayad na pala kami agad pag pasok, as advised by the waiter, para pagtapos kumain, larga/yosi na. Here's what we got:

The Landlord

Hot Chix

The Bedspacer

The Nakalimutan ko po (sorry)

Hole in the Wall

All in all, it was good. Not bad para sateng mga Imuseño, mababawasan na tayo pakpak kakakaen sa Jollibee, Mcdo, at KFC. We should embrace the possibilities even more. I hope more of us here makita ang potential ng lugar naten to become one of those hip food hub in the South para dayuhen din tayo para sa pagkain, hindi lang pag me inuman, Haha.

Definitely one of the must-try here in Cavite.=)

Why We Keep on Getting Hurt

There are no perfect list or reasons to justify why we always end up hurting ourselves. We can't always blame other people for our misery, sometimes the problem is innate. Here are three basic reasons why we do what we do:

1.) We expect. 

Expectation is the number one killer of dreams and aspirations, it messes up with our view of our own reality. We expect things to go this way, or to be that way. That when we end up getting a far cry from what we painted it to be, we get frustrated and hurt. Sometimes this is an unconscious act, when things are going smooth and fine, we automatically expect it to become better and better. But this is no fairy tale honey, it isn't rainbows and butterflies all year round.  It's okay to expect, just don't forget what the world really is like.

2.) We care. Too Much.

When we become attached to someone, be it a friend or a loved one. Our natural instinct is to care and protect them, sometimes too much that we usually end up overlooking ourselves. Sometimes we care too much because we think that they would care as much for our well-being too. But sometimes, it's just a one-sided love affair. And when this becomes a habit, they become a parasite and you will be the source. You give away all your love and time for these people who are so at ease and convinced that you'll always be there whatever happens, that they don't feel the need to reciprocate anything. That sucks right. Might as well practice the IDGAF mindset sometimes.

3.) We always forget one of the golden rules: The only constant thing is change.

Contrary to the belief that time hardens everything., it actually changes everything.  Even years of friendship changes gradually, it's just up to us to direct where and how it's gonna go. We don't really notice, but when we become comfortable with the people around us, we assume that nothing's gonna change, and when it does, we drastically fight it. We struggle to hold on to something that's inevitable in the first place.  We always forget that change is imminent and there's nothing we can do, not even our tears and long speeches, to stop it. We just have to accept it and move on. As what they always say, what goes around comes around.