MANILA GIRL IS LEAVING MANILA: DAY 2 | IN SEARCH FOR WINDOW CURTAINS

I love the windows at my new place. It brings a lot of natural light and keeps the place cool inspite of hot summer days. Staying here on a weekend to clean and to take out all my stuffs from the bags kept me the whole day with just open windows and without the aid of electric fan. Pretty economic, eh?

But at night time, it leaves me uneasy as the view from outside-in is so clear that I have to improvise some sort of curtain to keep me away from the neighbors' eyes when dozing off. I'm now in search of window curtains for the first time!

And since the most accessible market is in Guadalupe, I tried to get familiar with the place by purchasing a few cleaning tools and materials there, hoping also to find some decent pieces of curtains to put on my generous windows. I'm surprised that in this part of Makati, there's really no stand-alone supermarkets that you can see as there are in Manila. I have to go down the basement of the market and inside the bazaar area to check on the things that I've listed so early on a Saturday morning. You know what I realized after this short trip to Guadalupe market? I tend to compare it with San Andres and Paco markets. Gosh, it's been only a couple of days and I'm not officially leaving Manila until Monday but I've been comparing and comparing - from prices to products to people. Like when I wanted to buy something, you won't find anything when you get out on J.P. Rizal. When in Manila, as soon as you open your door, you'll find hundreds of things that you don't really need to buy but are just right there. Here, it's nothing but empty streets filled with automobile traffic.

I'd like to share with you this view from my window. It's not as breathtaking as the view from the buildings in Adriatico, Malate. But I appreciate this because it's very convenient when you want to look out far and imagine a few things.

And oh, I've mentioned on my previous post about the vendor in Paco market who sells nothing but leaves, right? Here she is:

I've also seen one particular vendor in Guadalupe market like her who only sells leaves, but leaves! and there's just too many! Too bad I wasn't able to bring the digicam but I will take a photo when I go back to that market. It's pretty interesting :)

More love to life,

Bella Donna

MANILA GIRL IS LEAVING MANILA: DAY 3 | THE BROKEN SHOWER

This is the shower.

And it's broken. I can't turn it off from here, I have to go out of the laundry area to turn it off from the gate valve. The landlady said she'll have it fixed soon.

Let's hope so. Otherwise, there's gotta be a lot of clean water wasted for nothing. In a few years, water will be gone. So let's not waste it :)

More love to life,

Bella Donna

MANILA GIRL IS LEAVING MANILA: DAY 4 | MOVING MY THINGS

Imagine these stuffs for one person and one person only:

I can't. And I didn't expect to have this much since I don't maintain a lot of things. I tell you, these are just mostly books and papers. The rest are kikay things, shoes, bags, a bag of laundry. Thankfully, I had Chris to help me out move these things. We didn't even finish as we left one more box, a water gallon, foldable table and a wooden hanger in Manila. He was so tired I had to give in to his plea to get what we left off for another day.  My, he was telling me to throw away stuffs or sell them. I said I was being sentimental. I actually thrown away those I've sorted. He said, "you can't bring them when you die. Might as well sell and enjoy those things in a different way." Point taken. But I have to be sure I won't have a need of them anymore. I've been putting it all off for quite a long time now. And I knew I needed to sort these things out. I will after I finished cleaning the house.

You know how much my heart melted for Chris after moving all of these? I wish my eyes would have SD card where I can retrieve the images just as when I captured those moments. He was sweating, perspiring like an athlete. And surprisingly, he still smells oh so very good. Wait, what was that? Hehehe. Anyway, thankfully his body's all worked up to take all the weight too. If he was just a guy framed like the comic character, Archie, I think he'll trip off the stairs just to bring a not-so-heavy bag. That's what you get to have a man with the body and the strength of a gladiator. Wink wink!

More love to life,

Bella Donna

MANILA GIRL IS LEAVING MANILA: DAY 5 | PACKING UP

Failure to publish post yesterday is due to whole night of packing. Sorry guys, no photos either. I didn't know I was keeping that much papers and documents the whole time that I am in Manila, not until last night. And I tried to sort out all the papers and trash just for me to travel light. Failure, again. I have to keep some papers until I am sure I don't have the need of them anymore so, there, I'm keeping two (2) big boxes and three (3) small boxes all loaded with papers. Gosh, how's that for moving out, eh? I didn't have much stuffs. I don't even have furnishings or appliances. If I'd take away the papers and documents, I'll only have a big bag full of shoes, a big bag full of books, another big bag for my kikay stuffs and accessories, mattress and pillows, electric fan, small foldable table, a gallon container for drinking water, five (5) dozens of hanger and that's it!

This Manila Girl has been in this city for quite sometime already but never thought of really settling in. For one, having an address in Manila is as costly as having one in Makati or other key cities. I've been looking forward to it I don't know how much farther can I go to get that address.

I hope it comes soon. Oh, Manila!

More love to life,


Bella Donna

MANILA GIRL IS LEAVING MANILA: DAY 6 | PACO MARKET

Notice that my first two entries on this countdown is about shopping. Day 7 is about my experience and relationship with Robinsons Place Ermita and today, Day 6, is about going to Paco market where I buy my produce. Since me and my siblings moved here a year ago, my love-and-hate relationship with Manila has become more intensed. Why? I can answer in too many ways. For one, Paco market has the cheapest price for fresh produce: fruits, crops, vegetables - most especially, vegetables! You know that my weekend therapy involves going to the market and later on, cook them for the day? I mean, yes, seriously. I do this on weekends for my family. And since I discovered how cheap it is to buy vegetables in Paco Market, I try to buy as much as I can bring to Cavite during weekends.

Did you know that in Paco Market, you can even find Taiwan pechay, different variety of lettuce, basil, and basically almost all kinds of leafy vegetables? There is one stall that sells only leaves and it's amazing because at the end of the day, they're all sold out!

Fruits are also great to buy from Paco. You can find whatever is in season and I can buy a piece if I'm just consuming it alone or perhaps in bulk if I want to bring some for my pamangkins. Their favorite: MANGO! As soon as I arrive in Cavite with two kilos of mango, my pamangkins will kiss me on the cheeks and bring the mango in the kitchen, sit at the dining table and wait for me to slice the mango for them. Isn't that sweet?

On the other hand, I hate the mud in Paco Market. Even if it's dry season, still the market is in chaos with this mud. Be careful not to slip because you will look like you've stepped on a manhole if you get all the mud. Plus the punget smell of the market. If you just stay inside the market for one hour, the smell will stick to your hair, to your clothes and every inch of you. So, should you decide to go, be ready to get dirty and smelly! Anyway, that's the beauty of a marketplace. You'll find the first harvest in a filthy place like this. How ironic, eh? I hate the crowd too aside from the mud and the smell. It's just plain chaos. People just don't care if they bump to you. More than that, the people at the marketplace fight over small things and it's a big deal! They fight from their stalls talking oh so loudly it almost looks like you're watching from big screen. Haha, sometimes, I find it entertaining and other times, annoying.

But whether its the mud, the smell, the loud fights or the freshest pick, the greenest greens, the biggest discounts, you'll soon discover that Paco Market is a place with scenes not too far from a stock trading floor - where negotiating happens a lot in between deafening noises and filthy floor.

More love to life,

Bella Donna

MANILA GIRL IS LEAVING MANILA: DAY 7 | THE START OF COUNTDOWN

I was born a Manilenya. I spent my college years in Manila, had my first job in Manila, met my great love in Manila. Been living in Manila for the last eleven (11) years. I live, breathe, eat and sleep Manila. It's in my blood. But recent life events has pushed me to leave where I live now. And Manila was still my home of choice until my sister asked me to find a place near Makati CBD so it will also be accessible to her place of work (I've been living with my siblings since last year) and I did. Not until last Friday, she told me she's being provided a staffhouse in Batasan, Quezon City as she moves with her new job. I cannot back out and we're not extending the rent in Manila because my sister is also leaving soon. So that leaves me to moving on to the new place on my own: MAKATI.

But before that, I have been feeling sentimental these days especially now that I realized, I'll be leaving Manila for a while. I didn't know what came to me but, memories run through my mind and I've been thinking of the places that made me fall in love with this place called Manila.  Manila is where the most romantic sunset can be seen. Too bad I've been putting that off for sometime now and just always do some mental note to take time to see the sunset again.  Anyway, I decided to do a countdown before I move out and list the places that I love the most in Manila. First up: ROBINSON'S PLACE.

Pedro Gil in Malate will always be traffic even late in the evening. That's because Robinson's Place attracts a lot of people including me. I have been living around the area and for the last ten (10) years (not until last year when I moved with my siblings in Paco), and I only make a short walk to reach this mall.  It's very convenient. If I'm hungry and too lazy to cook, if I need to do a quick visit to grocery, check on new shoes, meet some friends or even find some inspiration in the middle of its busy crowd, Robinsons is just a few minutes away. It's always been like a friend that I can run into and has always cheered me up whenever, whatever. I have yet to check the nearest mall at my new-found place but Robinsons mall experience will never be the same.

More love to life,

Bella Donna

CHEAPSKATE'S SPLURGE 3: TOMATO AND SECOSANA

I know I've been splurging a lot lately on shoes. But what can I do? I'm just a lady who like shoes too much. Then I realized, I've been getting a lot of colored shoes lately without having something most appropriate to pair them up with: A BAG. So I decided to check something out if there will be a piece that will match any of the footwear that I hoarded lately. :) And I just didn't find one. I found two!

I was at Pasong Tamo for a client call when I saw Tomato's Outlet Store. I checked out and found this blue clutch bag. It's spacious and perfect for my blue flats so, I didn't hesitate to get it. Anyway, it's less than P200. You know that my netbook fits this clutch bag? I'm so happy because it's so chic, it won't even show that you have a computer in this bag.

Inside Tomato blue clutch bag

This is a Secosana piece that I found at Market! Market! Mall. It was on sale, I think at 30% off (about P600+ net). What I like about this bag: It has a lot of compartment, pockets and most of it, it fits my netbook, my journal, my idea notebook, my kikay bag, my electronic accessories and my pack of wet and dry tissues. You can imagine how much weight it can accommodate. My approximation: 5 kilos.

Inside Secosana yellow bag

Anyway, I think I'm getting wild and mad about pairing up shoes and bag. You know what fashionista says about it. Well, there are rules to break them up and I'd like to sport them one of these days. But for the meantime, I'd do this pairing up thing until I got tired of it. :)

More love to life,

Bella Donna

YOU WERE CLOSE THIS ONCE. RECONNECT THIS MOTHER'S DAY

Ok, this is the second time I am doing this entry. This morning, just as I finished signing off my article, suddenly this page has been reset and everything that I wrote with all my might, my heart and a bit of my tears poofed! Just like that. While I try to retrieve it, I was cursing early in the morning wondering how it all happened. Althroughout the day, I was thinking how will I rewrite everything again. But it’s still worth the try.

So anyway, I was saying, when we were young, there’s no other woman in our lives that we know of but our moms. We are so much dependent on her that we don’t want to be separated from our mothers. Back in college days, I remember my professor in Philosophy said that “humans are the only species needed to be born prematurely. Otherwise, it will not survive. The bond that ties us to our mothers (or parents) is one great factor that leads us to life. Humans also have the longest dependency to its parents among any other life form”. True, in its every form.

Seeing their kids growing up scares most moms (and sad most of the times). So I’ve heard and so I’ve seen from a lot of friends (Although they don’t really admit that). I still don’t understand why. But I’ve heard them say;

“Before, my daughter never fails to come with me on weekend grocery. But now, she’d just give me a list of the things she need and do her own thing.” Or something like;

“He prefers weekend sleep-overs at his friend’s house now, rather than catching up on movies with us.” Or;

“He’s got a mind of his own and doesn’t want to be told. He doesn’t even want to be kissed when I drop him off to school. He’s shy to be seen by his friends kissed by his mom. And he’s only ten!”

These are like nightmare statements from moms. And I realized, from being a sucker dependent kid, most of us slowly become distant from our moms as we grow old.

I always hear a friend of mine saying “Enjoy the kids while they are young. If they want to be carried, carry them with all your might. If they want to be embraced, give them the biggest hug they could have. Pamper them with your kisses because, as they reach the age of puberty they will surely have a mind of their own and not much of these will be asked from you. You will miss them being clingy and it will rip your heart out to even have the thought that your child has grown and that they don’t need you anymore.”

Wow.

I wonder what my mom has thought of me when I was growing up. Did she ever say any of those things when I was “having a mind of my own?” I have run my life at the farthest distant from her that I could remember. The farthest moment not wanting to be away from my mom was in grade school when she was supposed to pick me up after class and she was a few hours late. I was crying, thinking that my mother would never be there to bring me home. When she finally came, she’s got sugar-coned ice cream on her hands to cheer me up. I think every mother never ceased to reach to their children in between our busy schedules like my mom always does. Sometimes, I even thought of not answering her calls because she was sooo makulit, so persistent that she tells me things like I’m still a little girl. She is reconnecting constantly at every instant and every chance that she has despite the distance that we have.

Even though I still don’t fully understand the circumstances of being a mom, I hope I have did good as her child, made her proud of me and made her happy despite the fact that we always think differently and eventually end up fighting. I hope I made her a one proud parent on this planet and I promise I’ll try not to think of not answering her calls again just so because she’s makulit but instead, I’ll try to call her as much as I could. For my friends and all the moms, this is for you:

You were this close once. Reconnect this Mother's Day. #PLDTMothersDay



More love to life,

Bella Donna

CHEAPSKATE'S SPLURGE 2: SHOEBOX & ME

I'm a sucker for shoes. That's the truth and if I have the chance and the money (of course, the money!) to buy, I will with all my heart out. Hehehe. It doesn't matter if I don't have new clothes for as long as I have a pair of shoes once in a while. Perhaps, once a month, if I can, really! I try not to be an impulse buyer if I could and reason myself that what I am buying is totally what I really need.

I've found great buy at Robinson's Place Ermita.  Flats and wedges and sneakers too!  The shoes are locally made (from Marikina) and owned by a Filipina entrepreneur.  The lady at the shop said she personally designs the shoes and have them made in Marikina, the shoe capital of the Philippines!  And since the shoes are local, they fit the Filipino feet.  (alliteration, it is! Hahaha).  A pair would cost for no more than Php1,000 and there are a lot of design each week.

And since I'm a sucker for shoes, I took the opportunity to buy a couple of pairs for these lovelies and just cost me only P1,200. Ha! What do you say, ey?

I use these flats when I go on field for client calls and market saturation.  You know ladies more than anyone how much it will hurt to wear heels while walking the streets of Makati, eh (and other cities as well)?  So these days, I'm going for flats for a more comfy feel.

Wedges are also great for long walks.  But after eight (8) hours, you have to stop walking and rest your feet for it will bring a revenge on you.  I'm not kidding.  :o)  Anyways, I'd like a few more pairs of wedges and flats that I could use alternately for my daily client calls.  Not all shoes are equal.  But hey, each one is unique.  These shoes have been my partner and my bestfriend during business calls as they keep some sort of inspiration that I have to kick the day off!

More love to life,

Bella Donna

THE SWEETEST THINGS

This morning, I've heard one of the sweetest things anyone can hear. After a long wait for transportation, after an early call, after a long line of traffic, and after a crazy manic Monday morning, I've heard the sweetest thing. I was on my ride to the office when this guy beside me made a call. I didn't mean to be nosy and I promise, it was unintentional eavesdropping! He was calling his "Tita" to be at the venue at 5pm today. Then, he asked for another guy and said, "punta ka mamaya ha. Magpo-propose ako sa Ate mo. Okay lang ba?" (Please come over later. I'm proposing to your sister. Is that ok?) Then probably, he was asked by the guy on the other line if he was sure that he answered, "Sure na sure. Sobra-sobra. More than 100% sure. 150% pa." And then, "hindi nya alam na pupunta ako dun. Ang alam nya, may meeting ako mamaya. May reservation ako for 15 persons. Pupunta sila mamaya ng officemates nya ng 4:15 sa restaurant ng hotel." (She doesn't know I'm coming. She knows I will be in a meeting later. I have reservation for 15 persons. She and her officemates will come over at 4:15 at the hotel restaurant.

While hearing all of these, all the agony of a crazy, manic Monday suddenly disappeared and replaced by a secret smile. I looked away to the window and I was blinking my eyes so rapidly that if I didn't, tears will roll down on my cheeks. I don't know if I was being mushy or cheesy but it was the most heartwarming, heart-melting, nerve cracking thing I heard. Then I realized, how can a girl say no to a guy who exerted all these efforts and hassles, breaking out from his daily routine on a manic Monday morning just to ask her to marry him? I wanted to tell him, she will definitely say YES!

I'm still teary as I recall it upon writing this entry. I could only imagine that somewhere in South Metro, there is one happy guy who asked his girl to marry him and a lucky girl who has a this one guy, 150% sure that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. And made me believe again that somewhere, somehow there is someone meant for everyone of us. Thus, this song playing in my head:

More love to life,

Bella Donna

CHEAPSKATE'S SPLURGE 1: CELETEQUE HOARDING

This is probably a bad title for an entry most especially that cheapskate and splurge are two contradicting words. But anyway, I think I've been indulging in that manner with a few of my purchases since I bought those two goody shoes from Parisian. And yes, there will be a few more entries about a cheapskate like me (well, not all the time though), so hold on with me and find more about that.

I have been searching for a water-based moisturizer and I haven't find one that's within my budget yet. Until one lunch date with my college friend, Tots, she told me about Celeteque. It didn't prop me to buying immediately not until two weeks after our lunch, she tweeted about it. She said: "Call me cheapskate but I hoarded Celeteque." I texted her and asked where she bought those and off I go to Watson's Market! Market! This regimen cost me with less than Php500 and I just love it! I had all the oil control line since I have an oily face and the moisturizer that's water-based! Finally!

More love to life,

Bella Donna