GOODBYE HAPPINESS ( letter to a departed )

We are never ever going back together- Taylor Swift

Indulge me. This is personal.

Dear Happiness,

It's been 18 long days. The longest that I've ever been without you. It was harder than I thought it would be. Parting with you was one hell of a decision. It was saying goodbye to happiness. It was like halting to breath. It was as if I was killing the very core of me.

We've been through ages. Every up and down, every rise and fall and every laughter and tear. You were there for me. You were my drug, my comfort zone, and my assurance that everything will be alright. I clung to you like a child. You, slowly sucking the very life of me. I let you did what you've done without question and reservation. I was okay with it for the longest time until the 12th of June 2014.

It was freedom! Independence from your control, you  which held my life on the edge of danger and near death.  I finally decided to part with you. My heart said, enough is enough. I finally found the good in goodbye.

It was hard not missing you, harder not to be tempted by what we had in the past. There were times that I would love to have you back but my will would shut the thoughts i have for you. I held on controlling myself, I held on tight to my determination until I felt for you no more.

At times, I would blame myself for not having the guts to leave you early on. I waited longer until i was heavily burdened with your brunt. Until the worst has been done to my soul. I cannot undo the past nor correct my mistakes in a snap. But i am taking baby steps to make myself and everything better. In time, everything will be alright. The good days are not far ahead.

I miss you everyday but that would be it. I learned my lessons hard  and well. I don't want to be with you again. There is no space left for you in my life anymore. Sorry that this has to be this way but I love myself more than the love you're giving me. Yours is a destruction. I am glad i ran out from the mess we're in before it was too late.

I hope you well and I pray that you don't miss me. Please don't. Have mercy on me. we have had enough memories to last us a lifetime. it is time to move on and move forward.

I am now in control of my life and never would I allow myself to be enslaved by your kind. Not ever. Not again.

I have only one wish in mind. Be kind to others. Don't let them fall for you hard and deep like I did.

Goodbye happiness!

Here's to you and the good 'ol days.

Ofel

 Happiness no more

 Healthy options

 Juicing. An excellent alternative to carbonated drinks

 Fruits & veggies ready to be juiced

 Carrots, apples & lemon

 My friend Joey Gabieta ( PDI/Leyte Samar daily Express ) introduced me to this 

ginger tea brew (salabat) from Javier, Leyte. Available at Andok's @ 120/bottle. 

Mix it with honey or half teaspoon  white sugar and Calamansi juice to taste. 

Good for digestion. Tastes good too

 Original recipe. Mango-melon  salad with bits of ham and  unsweetened yogurt

 Veggie & fruit pita

 Heavier (with my love affair with carbonated drinks)

lighter and still counting  the pounds off

'The difference between 

the impossible and the possible

lies in one's determination'

- Tommy Lasorda

K PATISSERIE ( of fate and faith)

 K Patisserie (corner Paterno & Gomez streets, Tacloban City)

The Haiyan-stricken places are rising again. The survivors are now smiling and slowly  getting a hold of their lives despite the inadequacy of support and help that they truly deserve.

In Tacloban, one of the badly hit, the streets are noisy again, vehicle engines churning and people intersecting, coming and going off the bends and curves, doing all they can to go on with their lives. 

Some of the city's landmark and big businesses have reopened, a sign of life, of hope, and lives going back to normal. The economy is up and about once more albeit slowly. Even the vendors peddling wares and food on the streets are now visible everywhere.

Many of the smaller establishments are already showing promise seven months after Haiyan. One of those is K Patisserie, a coffee cum pastry shop just steps away from the fabled Sto. Nino church.

The patisserie opened three months before Haiyan. It was devastated by the super typhoon and for a time, the young owners thought that reopening the shop was unthinkable and way too impossible.

But then fate and faith collide and after just a few months after the tragedy, K Patisserie is once again brewing, cooking and baking for its followers old and new. Rebuilding what was left of the shop was not easy. They rebuild anyway.

Seating just more than thirty people, the pastry shop has a French charm to it evoking the not so usual and run of the mill food adventure.

Red velvets, Mango graham cupcakes are just some of its bestsellers. The shop also offers pasta dishes, breakfast and lunch combos, a variety of burger choices, cookies, and refreshments.

A growing clientele from different walks of life is now frequenting K Patisserie, satisfied with the menu, the price, the aura of the place and the service that comes with it.

For every cup of coffee that you pay for, for every cupcake that you'd nibble, for every cookie that you'll enjoy and for every meal combo that will satisfy your hunger, you pay tribute to the spirit behind K Patisserie.

The spirit of not giving up, of not losing hope, and of believing that good times is yet to come.

Of spirit unbreakable despite the hardships of life.

A spirit  that lives on.

...and on and on and on.

 A taste of Paris

 Malunggay-citrus refreshing juice

 Red velvet and Mango graham cupcakes

toppings

 Tuna omelette. The best in town

 Teapots and cupcake platters

 Mirror, mirror on the wall

 Every sunrise is a miracle

 Photojournalist Mel Caspe (Remate), loyal K Patisserie foodie 

 Charming backrest. Stylishly comfy

 Biyahera's turn a-posin'

'Where hope grows,

miracle blossoms'

-Elna Ray

CORAZON ( the heart of Filipino-Hispano cuisine)

 Corazon ( Level 4, Edsa Shang East Wing)

For a time, we as a nation breathed and ate Spanish. We adorn our altars with images of saints and heavenly intercessors like Spaniards do. Many of our kababayans speak Creole, a Spanish-based language in places including Zamboanga, Davao, Cotabato and even in some parts of Cavite.

Our cusine is heavily-laden with Spanish influence until now. A result of 300 years Spanish colonization. The name of our country was derived from the name of King Phillip II of Spain. The islands of Samar and Leyte were once called 'Las Islas Filipinas' by Spanish Conquistador Ruy Lopez Villalobos. Eventually, Las Islas Filipinas became what is now known as 'Philippines'.

So it is not surprising that until now, our culture mirrors a great deal of Hispanic influence. We celebrate the new year, Noche Buena, Araw ng mga Patay and Semana Santa (to name a few)  because of this influence.

We lay mechado, turon, torta, menudo, longganisa, paella, estofado, dinuguan (again, to name a few) on our table because of this influence. We call squash a calabasa, sweet potato a camote, roasted pig a lechon, margarine a mantequilla, beefsteak a bistek, sausage a chorizo, pork crackling a chicharon and chocolate porridge a champorado. The list is endless that many of us sometimes fail to see what is of Spanish origin from an authentic Filipino.

But Corazon, home of Filipino-Hispano cuisine knows just that. The place embraced the fact that Filipino and Spanish culture go hand in hand, the reality that  the other is bland,  without the trace of the other. 

The creators of Corazon perfectly captured the Filipino palette by serving on its menu  well-loved Filipino-Hispano cusine including the all-time favorite paella valenciana, crispy pata, squid in olive oil, molo soup, different variants of sinigang, grilled fish and many other choices.

The menu also boasts of refreshments, usual and new. The calamansi-malunggay juice is spot on. Yet, another marriage of Filipino and Hispanic roots. A healthy option for wellness buffs.

If you're tired of the usual, you might as well head on to Corazon. located at the east wing of Edsa Shangri-la (level 4), you're in for something both nostalgic and new. The crew speaks a Spanish or two and they have nametags with identities ( Maruja, Javier)  not their own.

The price is surprisingly lower than expected. For a fine-dining resto inside one of the country's premier and glitziest shopping mall, it is one place to go to.

For Corazon, the heart of the matter is the food itself and the great dining experience that comes with it.

Muy bien. Me gusta mucho.

Voy a regresar. I shall return.  

 Calamansi-Malunggay juice

 Paella Valenciana

 Squid in Olive Oil

 Suman sa Latik

 Ice cream cart outside the resto

 Artwork

Biyehara w/ the Thursdaters ( & eating buddies)

(from L-R) Avic Amarillo, Bernadeth Romero, Cherry Dacanay

Biyahera, Daphne Villaruz & Marivic Chavez

'No culture can live 

if it attempts to be exclusive'

-Mahatma Gandhi

ANGEL N' KISS (bakery-cafe, the Korean way)

 Angel N Kiss Bakery Cafe, Bluewave Walk, Macapagal Ave, Pasay City

It's hip, it's cool, it's modern. All the things you never imagine a bakery should be. It's different. It's Korean!

Angel N' Kiss, the new 'IT place' in town is making buzz and waves at the newly-built Bluewave Walk in Pasay City. Touted as the next Bonifacio High Street for yuppies and fun- loving people working and living around the vicinity of Macapagal Avenue. It is now  the word of mouth of those who love to explore gastronomically or just to be with company of friends and loved ones after the toxicity of their daily grind.

Angel N' Kiss' conception was well thought of. It offers a wide array of sinfully-good cakes, pastries, burgers and breads. Also in the menu are coffee and  cold drink concoctions with distinct Korean taste and flavor.

It is a two-storey building with an art deco charm evidently shown throughout its wall design. A splash of black tiles with an edgy feel to it. Even the tables and chairs at the second floor speak of distinctiveness, an out of this world, an out of the ordinary sense for aesthetics. There's even a big screen playing music videos of what's hot in the K-pop industry.

Kudos to the Korean partners who brought the bakery-cafe to Manila, capitalizing with the Filipinos' addiction to K-pop, Bulgogi, and everything Korean.

The price is very affordable for a food joint that has so much potential and class. The bestseller cakes are priced to just over P700. The choices are delish both to the eyes and tastebuds. The service is good and the crew are superb in what they do.

Open from 10:00 in the morning until midnight, every day of the week, customers are assured of a great foodie try-out and experience..

Especially with a slice of Angel N' Kiss heavenly strawberry cake that goes perfectly with the strawberry smoothie that has a tangy feel-good aftertaste.

The place smells like heaven. Digging in, for a moment, I knew how an Angel Kiss felt like.

...and tasted.

 A world of its own

 One of the bestsellers. Strawberry cake

photo courtesy of Angel N Kiss

 Choices! Choices! Choices

 Fruity-flavored goodness

photo courtesy of Angel N Kiss

 Strawberry smoothie

Biyahera with the Thursdaters 
@ the cafe's stairway 
photo courtesy of Marivic Ching

'Eating without conversation 

is only stoking'

 - Marcelene Cox

ONEDIRECTIONERS (not my girls)

Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles. You guessed it right, they're the members of the hottest English-Irish pop boy band that is taking the world by storm, the ONE DIRECTION.

They finished third in 2010's Britain X-Factor but Simon Cowell, the hard-hitting ex American Idol judge and one of the founders of the X-Factor singing competition was so impressed with the group and it's potential to sweep the kids all over the world (and their parents) off their feet wasted no time and took the boys under his care. One direction signed up with Cowell's record label and the rest is history.

Hit record after hit record, award after award, the swoons of their fans got louder and louder.Avid followers mob them everywhere they go. They came in multitude and baptized themselves as 'onedirectioners', a stamp of commitment and loyalty to the boy band.

The band is now a fad, a craze, a culture and for millions of their followers, a way of life. The Philippines, our teens, parents in tow whether swayed or not joined in and also got caught in the madness. So, it came as no surprise why there were sobbing, crying and hearts broken when many onedirectioners failed to buy tickets for the boy band's scheduled Philippine concert in March 2015. The onedirectioners are more than willing to shell out up to P18,000 pesos for a concert ticket to finally throw their love and devotion to the boys up-close and personal. A ticket so expensive it could equal a random private school's annual tuition fee.

Many came from the province just to become one of those who lined up in malls for hours buying nothing in return. Many felt like it was the end of the world and some would even go the distance to get the chance to watch the show. Some sought the help of fixers and shady characters selling overpriced tickets just to see the boys. 

And who wouldn't? Even country superstar Taylor Swift, a musical genius in her own right fell with one of the boys, writing another sad song after their relationship failed to see the light.

I have nothing against these screaming teens and shrieking fans. Lucky them because they have thousands of money to spend for a night of music, screaming and madness overload..

With the recent turn of events where two of the members were caught on video doing weed, I am grateful that my girls are not into the boys. 

So thankful, they are pursuing their lives and  interests in OTHER direction. 

'Everybody's youth is a dream. 

A form of chemical madness'

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

TWENTY-ONE: POSTCRIPT TO HAIYAN ( a life behind a number)

Tacloban Airport porters (number 21 not in sight)

Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, City of Tacloban, the 9th of April 2014, exactly five months after Haiyan brought the Visayas and the Philippines unto its knees, I stepped out of an Air Asia flight, my first after that fateful morning of November 8, 2013.

Slowly but clearly, Tacloban is en route to recovery and re-development even if some political animals are fighting to the nines in trying to claim 'ownership' of the on-going rehabilitation efforts that is still not enough for the typhoon victims and international community that played a critical role in easing out the burden and unimaginable misery of the lives severely affected and impacted by Haiyan's wrath.

I cannot contain my emotions. It was hard seeing for the first time the city that has been a huge part of my life. I spent my college years  in Tacloban and lived in nearby Paterno Kings, one of the areas severely hit by Haiyan. I started my career in broadcast at the now 'dead-air' DYDW Radyo-Diwa. Haiyan brought the station to deafening silence, destroying everything that got in the way. We pioneered producing the first ever waray-waray radio dramas that many Waraynons came to love. I spent the good one third of my life in Tacloban. The city where I started making my dreams happen while enjoying the line of barbecue stalls along the downtown strip and frequenting Diorico's bakery every time I have extra money to spare on their breads. It was a part of my life well-spent and well-remembered until now.

The rain was pouring hard, the skies turned black and cried endlessly as if remembering the more than six thousand lives Haiyan claimed in a single blow of super storm and raging waters. An airport crew handed me an umbrella and slowly, I made my way to the ravaged airport. My heart was beating fast that I can hear it making an endless sound of faint booms and thuds.

I immediately saw the line of men in white and blue shirts with numbers on their left chest, the porters, the friends of weary and luggage-heavy travelers. My eyes wandered, looking for a familiar sight, a wave, a face, a smile, a number...twenty-one.

But there was none. There he was not. The burly man with the gentle lines of his years etched on his face. He with the shy smile and dependable helping hand. There wasn't he who always welcome me with the usual 'ilan po ang baggage nyo ma'am?'. There he was not to carry my load until I am safely settled in a vehicle that would bring me to my next destination. 

Sadness swept over me as maddening thoughts entered my mind. Could it be that the life behind number twenty-one was among Haiyan's victims? I said a prayer of gratitude and hope. Gratitude for knowing him and for the time he spent securing my luggage everytime I set foot at the airport. A prayer of hope, wishing to heavens  that I was wrong.

The other porters knew of the bond that I and Manong 21 had. It took another porter to calm my nerves down, but then, the news. 'Ma'am wala na po si 21'. Panicked ran through my blood again. My heart sanked and I nearly choke in tears. 

'Kasama ba sya sa na-yolanda?' I asked.

'Hindi po ma'am'.  

He survived. 

Twenty-one found a better job.  

The view from the plane

The sadness that was Haiyan

 Waiting & hoping

 Displaced lives everywhere.

 Unspoken sadness. Tormented sorrow

 Ray of Hope. Camella roofings restored. Thanks to the generosity of Vista Land's boss and billionaire Manny Villar who donated more than P20M to bring back the 'normalcy' in his ravaged housing communities

With or without politics, Tacloban will rise again

'We fight, get beaten, 

but we rise and fight again'

-Nathanael Greene