May 28, 2013. Of hospitals and loved ones.

There are different places for different people. 

At certain times in our lives, we get to meet a variety of individuals at several meaningful locations. 

Sometimes, hospitals and love ones get to encounter each other. We may not always feel that these places are suited for each person. However, these places are deemed to be the best at certain situations. 

Times get hard when decisions need to be made. 

Why do we need to have choices? Why can't life happen just the way it's supposed to be? Why not leave choices to the turn out of toss coins or blind draws? Why not leave it to destiny; to divine intervention?

Life gets intertwined with places we do not choose. Succeeding events may not happen according to how we want it to be. I guess, in the end, acceptance is the key. 

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May 25, 2013. Nuestra Senora de Guia.

I am Catholic. I want to share my faith. Even with religious differences, I do not see a barrier with letting other people know and understand my faith. Barrier? Language. Color.  Belief, faith, or tradition. I say, it's all about respect. 

May 24, 2013. Fast & Furious. Furious 6.

May 20, 2013. J.Co and Jo

I was on duty as the adult physician for 48 hours starting May 20, 2013. Each duty contains 24 hours, with two resident adult physicians minding the ward and emergency room and the morning dialysis center. However, my partner for my first 24 hours of duty cancelled for personal reasons.

Upon endorsement of the in-patients from the outgoing residents, I thought that everything will be easy breezy. But I was just so mistaken. Being alone for the whole 24 hours of duty, every call was directed to me. I had to answer to different referrals of in-patients problems while juggling the buzz of the ER and dialysis center. Aside from this, since all patients are private, I have to refer to each patient’s attending physician via SMS or phone call to update on laboratory or procedure results as well as current status or complaints.

I have a very bad habit of ignoring breakfast. Upon waking up every single day, rarely do I have the urge of hunger.  I usually take a mug of coffee before I hit the road.  This is also the same reason I have gastric pains intermittently.  During my first 24 hours of duty, I did my no-breakfast routine since I didn’t expect to be busy.  Lo and behold, it’s already 2:00 in the afternoon when I noticed my stomach grumbling in complaint of need for food. How come I haven’t had lunch on time? Well, time flies when someone’s busy as a bee. But when I got to the call room to eat, I have just taken a few mouthfuls when the phone started ringing. Again. Multiple times. Multiple calls. Lucky me.

The day went on and I can liken my situation to a work ant. Focused only on work. Work. Work. Cliché, though, it is rewarding to lend a hand and take care of patients and attend to their needs. Spiritual or not, I believe goodness and karma travels back fast.

Ever ready and moving, I found that there are actually some perks travelling from my call room to the ward. I got to exercise my legs and breathe out heavily to ward off bad vibes. But I got to do this hundreds of times, I guess, that I got to the point that I am just dog-tired. Then my personal phone started ringing. It was my friend Jo. I must have forgotten that he’s supposed to meet me at the ER in the afternoon. Tee hee, the afternoon meet-up turned to evening, and I barely noticed the difference. He did call me beforehand asking if I like J.Co donuts and if I have any preference. I told him, just give me some milk tea and I can survive the rest of the day. I was so surprised when he came in and had a box of 6 pieces of sumptuous J.Co donuts! I almost wanted to cry out of happiness that I could bite into such delicious goodness without enduring the long lines of the much sought-after donuts. I even I asked him where did he buy it and how was he able to get hold of these precious donuts without breaking a sweat. So he told me that he had to wait in line, standing outside the shop, just to get them for me. To bribe me! He wanted to meet up for this medical thing he needs to accomplish. And what a bribe I got. I thought he forgot about the milk tea, and then he told me that he just opted to give me Gongcha milk tea, which is now a bit warm ‘cause of the travel time to the hospital. Ah! Heaven! I must be dreaming. I have been so busy that I didn’t even think I deserve a minute to eat and now I found my oasis.

Thanks to you Jo, I had a glimpse of happiness amidst the sorrow of lone duty during my first 24 hours. But then again, as a down side… I only got to taste my goodies at around 11:00 in the evening. Perks or no perks, I think I have one of the best jobs in the world --- with the one of bestest friends to go with it, “user-friendly” or not. 

J.Co Donuts: Top - Alcapone; Middle: Hi Lychee; Bottom: Avocado DiCaprio (my ultimate favorite!)
with my GongCha milk tea

Love and Loss

The element of loss cannot be denied. Even in a mathematical equation, loss is still tangible and significant.

There are times when happiness and contentment leaves us dreamy. We go on with daily life with no worries. Troubles afar. Life is pure bliss. But then there are events that could change the direction of how one sees life. An event might be very insignificant compared to the bubble bliss. Insignificant as it may be, any small thing can lead to bigger or even enormous and drastic change. 

Living with someone for years. Knowing his every move. Hearing him breathing at the break of daylight. Watching him sleep soundly and warm. Feeling his hand enveloping yours. Feeling his warmth as he lulls you to sleep. But then, like a carpet pulled from your feet, you lose balance when suddenly all is taken away with a flick of your fingers.

There were signs. It was just that the bubble bliss left you blinded. There were last words that seem to be a joke, but were really meant for you to listen and understand. He might be denying his pain and distress to go through with the difficulty without adding burden to you. It was just love, no worries.

Grief. Love. Death. Life. They get intertwined and fuzzy when you get to think about.

But loss is loss. It leaves a hollow aching in the chest that can only be overcome by shedding tears that seem to flow out of nowhere. It can blur your vision and surprise you when you shed them. When eating. When washing the dishes. When walking and humming to yourself. When you’re alone. When you’re in a crowd. Tears cannot be shy.

The element of loss is tangible. It is undeniable. And will truly be irreplaceable. 

May 17, 2013. Let me introduce you to KoCCo. Kitchen of Cakes and Coffee.

Upper left: 7th Heaven; Upper right: Carrot cake; Lower left: Dulce de Leche cheesecake; Lower right: My best cheesecake. 

To ward off the bitter vibe of the noisy and irritating experience we had from a grill at Panay Avenue, my high school barkada and I went to Morato, Quezon City to look for something dainty, off-beat, quiet, sweet, comfortable, and cozy. All these thoughts materialized when we saw KoCCo! Let's meet  Kitchen of Cakes and Coffee.

We opted to just have our fill of sweetness from their variety, literally three different menus, of food, drinks, and desserts.  We ordered our selection of cakes.  We had 7th heaven, carrot cake, dulce de leche cheesecake, and my best cheesecake.

Dulce de Leche cheesecake. This is what I ordered. I am a fan of not-so-sweet desserts, so this was a good cheesecake for me. I shy away from the tangy taste of no-bake cheesecake so I opted this baked choice. It came with a drizzle of caramel on top presented in contrasting artsy plate. I would have wanted it to have more caramel on the side or drizzled generously above it so that the crisp hint of burnt sugar above the cheesecake will be more pronounced.

My best cheesecake. It is a combination of baked tangy cheesecake topped with all-time favorite blueberries. This is really a classic! For all cheesecake lovers, this might be your best.

Carrot cake. Carrot cakes basically tastes the same... well, except for this one.  I loved the way the cinnamon and walnuts are mixed in just the right amount in the carrot cake batter that all blended well, not one overpowering the other.  With just one bite, you can appreciate all the textures and flavors this cake has to offer. And not to forget the creamy topping! The topping gives a sugar rush addition to the healthy cake. Yes, we ordered a second plate of this.

7th heaven.  Heaven! For chocolate lovers, here it the perfect pick for you. The name came from how it was made, with 7 layers of cake! The taste is reminiscent of rocky road ice cream. It didn't scrimp on layers of chocolate cake, cashew meringue, custard, and what seems to be mocha flavored buttercream icing. Yum.

We also got to try different drinks. Since I breathe and bleed coffee (will be reiterated on all dessert posts!), I ordered KoCCo house brew. Strong and reliable, it kept me awake until 4:00 am. The rest of the group ordered different drinks, Great Passion yogurt drink, Mango Tango yogurt drink, Ceylon milk tea, and a chocolate frap. Sadly, I wasn't able to appreciate Great Passion. It was slurped out of its container from touching the table. Mango Tango was a refreshing complement and wash down after a full on dessert galore. As a milk tea addict, I was disappointed in their Ceylon milk tea. I was a bit warm and low on sweetness despite just limiting sugar to 75%. The milk was overpowering the supposed to be mild bitter aftertaste of the Ceylon tea. I didn't even get any aftertaste, well, I guess just milky. Since the chocolate frappucino drink came in late, I was not able to fully appreciate the taste. However, I noticed how they used semisweet chocolate chips which somehow did not complement the crushed ice drink.

The shop offers food choices as well, we just opted to stick to desserts this time. There'll be a next visit for a taste of their main course and other meals.  The ambiance was cozy, comfortable, sweet (redundant???). We really did not disappoint on the location and noise level for this resto. We opted to stay until closing, which was apparently until 2:00 am. I must say, it's a plus that they have WIFI service and that it was was really fast. MOCHACCINO is the password! Hihihi. And again, to hint customers of closing time, WIFI was turned off roughly 15 minutes before closing.

All in all, I would recommend one to go here. Bring your friends. You might spend until closing, for time flies with good food and great conversations.

A "shy" friend holding up her Ceylon milk tea.

Fashion post. Plum peplum.

Here's another post on peplum. I am very fond with peplum blouses right now. I appreciate how it  flatters a woman's body and makes the waist and shoulders pronounced.

I love this rich textured plum peplum blouse from Dorothy Perkins. I paired it with the black version (Yes, I have another one in white, refer to Fashion post. My take on vintage. ) of my floral cut-out skirt from Forever21. I wore my black and pointy platforms from Shoebox. I think platforms are witty choices for short women like me who wants to add height. However, as you can compare with my other posts, heels give an illusion of longer legs.

I used my leopards! I just can't help it with animal-related accessories and animal prints. I wore my Forever21 leopard face earrings and my leaping leopard necklace from Landmark.

Since this look exudes chic that is adequate for corporate, power make-up is a good bet to complement it.  Answer = RED fiery lips. Mmwaahh! 

Posh and corporate. Another take on peplum. 

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Fashion post. Lace and acid wash.

I have grown to love and like pink since I was a kid. It has been a stereotype for girls to be dressed and accessorized in pink while boys use blue. As a tribute to this stereotype, let me share this look of pink and blue.

In here I want to combine the girlish lace with acid wash jeans. I adore their combination since both are light in colors but have different appeals. My top is in neon baby pink lace with lining, zipped at the back, from Dorothy Perkins. I paired it with my acid wash skinny jeans from Crissa. To add a rich but flirty vibe, I wore this necklace from Landmark which was mainly gold with feather drops and neon green splatters. I wore my ever-reliable flower earrings from Forever21 with my Landmark thin bangles. My makeup? Of course, it was sheer, girly, and pink! 

Gorgeous combination in my POV. What do you think? 

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Fashion post. Rocker chic.

Rocker chic Barbie. An inspiration. 

Me like rocker chic Barbie. 

Here's my inspiration for this post. I am amazed how Barbie, given her age and timeless beauty, gets to wear thousands of outfits! I am envious actually...

In this post, I wore my Bench mini dark denim pencil skirt with my black people are people net-sleeves shirt and studded bolero. As you would notice in my accessories, I'm a fan of gold and vintage, thus I like old gold colors. I accessorized with my arrow dangling earrings, owl necklace, and ring from Forever21. I must not forget my heels! These are from Charles &Keith.  I have one in brown with leopard and gold details.  For this one, it's black, with snake skin print, and silver details. I tend to shop in tandems so I usally buy two of each item if I really really REALLY like and need it in my wardrobe. Notice how great red lips are against this black facade. For my face, I  used my BB cream from holika holika topped with my Kanebo Kate liquid foundation.

Try this look and rock on! Yeah!

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Fashion post. Animal print and me.

I have always been drawn to animal prints. I usually get them in leopard, for unknown reasons and preference. Don't get me wrong, I am pro animal rights and against animal cruelty... so I stick to faux fur and synthetic prints.

In this outfit, I chose to contrast the animal prints with subtlety. I chose to match my leopard printed skirt and shoes with my mint long sleeves blouse from Forever21. It's good to pair animal prints to such subtle colors so as not to look trashy, pardon my language. My blouse exudes attitude with its slitted sleeves perfect to match the vibe given by the print. My divine skirt is from Divisoria, yes, frugal yet fashionista me. I just had it altered to meet my height requirement --- meaning, shorten the skirt to give an illusion that my legs are from here to forever.  My heels are from Charles & Keith, leopard print, brown, with gold details. I minimized my accessories and make-up this time. I used my beige chunky bracelet with gold accent from Landmark and dangling mint beaded earrings from Accessorize.

Animal prints can be worn in different ways. I already have different looks in mind at the moment.  You might want to consider this one for an elegant touch to such attention-seeking print. 

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Fashion post. My take on VINTAGE.

My ultimate inspiration for every fashion decision I have and will have. Audrey Hepburn. 

Vintage vibe! I am in love with vintage. So much that I make sure that I get to put touches of it in my daily outfits. This one outfit I put together was inspired by the 50's look.

I paired my navy blue 3/4 satin blouse with my cream floral cut-out skirt, both from Forever21. I donned a pair of wedge loafers in light gray. I must say, light gray goes well with pretty much everything! And I love how stable yet tall and postured I feel when wearing wedges. Just a suggestion, I think that every woman should own a pair of light gray shoes, as well as beige or tan brown, and navy or denim. These colors are staples in my shoe rack since these are the usual colors called for by different outfits.

I accessorized with layers of faux pearls, my fave cream rose corsage bracelet, along with my cream square earrings from Forever21.

Topping off my look with my make-up, I didn't have to think twice before using  my red lippies from Stila. The lips exude a vintage vibe amidst the skin. For my face, I used a Korean brand Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly BB cream #02 with my Kanebo Kate mineral liquid foundation over it. I just had semi-Smokey eyes to deepen my gaze.

Try this look and let me know if you are one with me on this vintage vibe.

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May 15, 2013. Fashion post. When I'm feeling blue. OOTD.

Blue is my color for the day! Day to night carry pa rin ang blue!  This picture shows how I can use the whole outfit (black tube and electric blue skirt, both from Forever21) from day to night.

For the day look, the outfit can be paired with an embroidered cardigan and a leopard print flats. Again, with the vintage feel, I used my black cotton cardigan with lace details from Bayo. I am fond of animal prints, especially leopard ones. so I paired my day outfit with this pair of flats from Janeo with white leopard print and black bow.

For the night look, wear the outfit on its own and then pair with heels. I prefer wedges 'cause I feel more stable standing on them.

Voila! From work to party.
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Outfit for the night. 

Daytime look. 

May 15, 2013. Hangover? Nah. Just missing caramel beer.

Hangover from birthday beer session. Craving caramel beer from Rue Bourbon. Up until med school, I haven’t been fond of the taste and aftertaste of beer. Even during med parties, I’d stick to flavored “girly” drinks. I graduated med school and my internship came afterwards. It was during this time that I, ehem, became quite fond of beer. Well, I don’t drink that much but it’s the beer sessions and conversations that build up friendship and closeness which made me like beer. And you must admit, people are way different, funnier, more emotional or whathaveyou when they are at their peak of beer consumption. During one of our trips, the heat of summer prompted my friend and I to drink ice cold Red Horse beer. The tangy and bittersweet taste complemented by the ice cold serving really hit the spot. It was then that I started choosing this beer over others. When I went to a get-together at Rue Bourbon, a friend introduced me to caramel beer. It’s the best! I assumed it to be Red Horse beer drizzled with yummy caramel. I almost downed the whole pitcher! But since I’m sharing it with a friend, we opted to order another big pitcher! I’m still thinking which brand of caramel they are using. Hmmmn. I will surely get back to you on that.

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May 15, 2013. Hollys Coffee and conversations with Heartitootea

Sweet potato latte and choco waffles at Hollys Coffee. I’ve been living along Taft Avenue, Manila, just across DLSU, for quite a while and it’s just now that I got the chance to try this coffee shop.

I suggested to my best friend that we just meet there and talk our way into every single thing we have missed since we last saw each other. Good thing I did so, read on and find out.

The shop caters to different tastebuds as they offer a variety of flavored drinks, coffee, and tea. I have read good reviews on their sweet potato latte, so I opted to try it along with my comforting chocolate waffles. When I got my regular cup of piping hot sweet potato latte topped with almond slivers, my mind is swimming with curiosity of its taste. How does it taste? It’s sweet, creamy and comforting with just the right hint of starch. It has a whitish froth over its pale yellow soupy drink goodness. The almond slivers worked perfectly with the taste as it gives added crunch and adds a nutty complement. Given such rich taste and filling amount for a regular-sized drink, it can be taken on its own, no doubt.

There's a flat screen TV above the counter. It was such a distraction from the conversation since I kept on looking at the NBA scores! Heartitootea mentioned that earlier only Korean films are playing but since it's already late, the male baristas switched channels. Tee hee. Plus points for male coffee or tea addicts! Just nudge the cool baristas for a channel surf.

WIFI addicts (just like me)? Here is the place to be. Additional points for the free WIFI with password already posted on the counter. Its fast and you may notice that most diners brought their gadgets to enjoy the freebie. It was funny how the baristas wanted to close down on time that on the dot of 12 midnight, they turned off the WIFI access. And surely diners one by one went out hihihi.

But the food, drinks, and WIFI are not the only things to thank for in this shop, they also have comfy chairs for quiet conversations or individual study and a perfect wide table for group meetings and group studies.

I surely want to come back another day since I just live across the coffee shop. I’d like to try every single drink! But since i breathe and bleed coffee, I might as well drink a latte when I come back. I’ve read reviews how Hollys coffee is the Korean Starbucks, so I guess their arabica and other brews are comparable. But I’ll be the judge of that on my next visit. I am surely craving for more!

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May 14, 2013. Birthday buffet! Ehem, pig-out!

May 14, 2013.

Buffet101 with my hubby, B. My husband’s birthday means free food! Since I’ve been itching to try the new buffet restaurants, I suggested we dine at Buffet 101 along Seaside Boulevard at SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City. We’re procastinators when it comes to reservations so we just went early and lined up as walk-in diners. I actually tried to reserve our seats in advance, but the minimum number of seats to reserve is for four people. And so it began with us going at the buffet around 6pm, will all these people who apparently reserved their sure seats and sure food. I was surprised when we got there and thought that we might be the first to line up but even if it was just 6pm, the people are already buzzing around waiting to eat! Uh-oh, I just remembered, gluttony is one of the 7 capital sins. Tsk Tsk. 

When we came in, the first thing I noticed were the shimmery and glittery chandeliers. They added a posh feel to the buffet tables though I must say, without the glitter and shine, the array of food can speak for itself! What my eyes first landed on are the espresso machines and the dessert tables. The choices of cakes, candies, fondue, pastries, waffles, and fruits can leave one’s jaws dropping.  I had a hard time resisting to go to the desserts first since I want to take in all the pleasant aroma and food presentation in the buffet.

They can surely boast of variety showing off their salad and soup bar, tables for Asian cuisine - Chinese and Japanese, Italian and American food choices, fresh seafood cooked to your requested manner, desserts tables, fruit shake bar, and yes, a candy bar! I was very fond of the Chinese food choices. I just ate my way to every dimsum I see and the umami goodness of viands. Since I love Japanese cuisine, I can’t help but compare their selections and taste to other restaurants and buffets I’ve been. I was satisfied with the sushi, maki, and sashimi…but I’m not so fond of their ebi tempura. Another thing I love about buffets is that you can choose your steaks and eat small portions at a time. I love love love the roast beef steak drizzled with barbeque sauce! Though I am not a big fan of lamb (coz I can hear them saying baa-baa in my head while I chew…) I got to appreciate its unique taste with a good pair of mint jelly and peppered gravy.

The buffet offers different drinks ranging from iced tea, plain H2O, fruit juices, and sodas. Note that their sodas are mainly Pepsi products. Back to the dessert tables, I noticed that some if their cakes are from a local brand Red Ribbon cakes. It’s nice how they promote such affordable yet great tasting cakes among their variety. Of course i was able to chow down on my ultimate favorite macaroons! They had strawberry ones then but given a choice I would want them to have different flavors of macaroons. But then that’s just me wanting to hoard such wonderful melt in your mouth pastry goodness. Fruits in the dessert tables are replenished so frequently that I barely noticed each plate to be empty. It must be the blessing of the summer season for such good quality produce. The waffles, one of my weaknesses, are cooked right before your eyes with you option to put whichever topping you desire. My fave combination was peanut butter and choco chips. Yum! I would surely want to come back to Buffet 101. It was worth the pesos since my hubby and I paid around 1,800 for the both of us, drinks included.

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