Looking Back at 2022, Looking Forward To A Much Better 2023

I will have to say 2022 was such a challenging year for me. I resigned from a somewhat stable job to pursue a more financially rewarding option in another company. I joined the new one last May but unfortunately, after just 5 months of stay, just a few days after I was informed of my supposed regularization, I was told I would be laid off. Such loss of job is a big blow to me, financially as well as mentally and emotionally. I’m not on my 100% health-wise and I also have lots of personal obligations to attend to as well family to support with so yeah, I would say 2022 is really tough.

But looking back now, now that I already have a new job (I started last November) and hearing some not very good news about the company I thought would be my last until that dreaded retrenchment, I would say what happened is a blessing in disguise. My new employer, though far from being perfect, is a good one. I may have experienced some issues with co-workers when I was just starting but now that everything’s settled, I can say we’re all good. So thank you Lord for this job. Thank you because even though I lost a job, a job that I thought was a dream job, I found another one; maybe not as financially-rewarding as the old one but definitely more relaxing and stress-free. And I get to work from home full time; no more going though rush hour traffic, no more queuing along EDSA for the MRT line, no more worrying about what dress (or shirt rather 🤣) to wear. A blessing in disguise indeed! Thank you Lord. 🙏

But 2022 was not all challenges and tough times. I get to fulfill and check 2 items from my wishlist last year. I get to double my UITF fund and build up my emergency fund, thanks to my previous employer 😊. I still have some balances from my credit card but with God’s blessing, I intend to finish it in the next few months. Although I broke the resolutions I made last year  - still sleeping late, after 12MN from time to time and wasn’t able to create a monthly blog post - but at least I tried, and I get to do 6 posts 😜. But the good news in terms of my resolutions is that I’m back to my health routine! I do cardio exercises (at least 20 minutes) at home every other day and walking in the park during weekends. Good job to me! 💪

A week had already passed for 2023 and I’m feeling hopeful, I believe 2023 will be a much better year, not just for me but for all of us. This year, I’ll continue working on my savings and build it up. I will continue to try to live a healthy lifestyle and I will do my best to create more blog posts this year. I also am sleeping earlier than usual these days, especially during weekdays as my work schedule is pretty early (AU time) so yeah, I have a good feeling that 2023 will be good to me. And hopefully to you all out there also. Happy new year everyone! 💥 Cheers! 🥂

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Food Trips | Pho Hoa Noodle Soup, A Healthy-ish Cravings

sticky rice w/ ice cream

Healthy lifestyle is a big thing nowadays, especially since the pandemic. Almost everyone became aware of their lifestyle, particularly, the eating habits. Everyone tries to live and eat healthy, myself included.

However, I’m not fond of those strict/focused diets out there. I believe in eating a balanced meal. But as much as possible, I avoid or minimize intake of deep fried foods and junk foods. Since I'm mostly work-from-home (before the dreaded retrenchment happened), I normally eat home-cooked meals, veggies and fish mostly; lean meats for meat products. I also usually cook sinigang or nilaga for meats, bulanglang for veggies so it’s less fatty/oily.

But of course, we do eat out too, usually during weekends. And one of our weekend go-to restaurants is Pho Hoa. BFF and I usually go to Pho Hoa for healthy-ish dinner. I like their noodle dish as it’s light and is healthier, compared with other noodle dish like ramen which so heavy and creamy and usually greasy. BFF loves their "grilled pork with shrimp" because he likes their fried rice, and it has meat and seafood (grilled shrimp) to.

Following are our usual orders at Pho Hoa. Please note that these orders were made in several visits, not just in one. 😜 I added captions on every photos for my short take on the dishes. For the "mango sticky rice with ice cream" (photo above), it was okay because of the sweet mango and creamy ice cream but wont order again. The sticky rice is kinda bland although the quality of the rice is good but I like our own "suman" (sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf, sometimes coconut leaves) better. Ours has a hint of salt (makes desserts (or sweet dishes) taste sweeter) and when taken w/ sweet mango, just yum! 😋

chicken pho

light but tasty, with lots of pulled chicken,
a very good companion on a gloomy weather

Goi Cuon
fresh rice paper rolls

this one I usually order for take home,
and eat the next day, for my breakfast 😋

Com Ga Nuong Cha Gio
grilled chicken with fried rice paper rolls

this is one of BFF's favorite,
anything with fried rice, actually 😁

grilled pork with shrimp

another of BFF's favorite,
it's the vinegar dip that makes him like grilled dishes from Pho Hoa

Pho Chin, Nam, Gan, Bo Vien
brisket, flank, tendon meatballs pho

fresh and aromatic, flavorful (yet not greasy) soup,
with lots of beef brisket (not fond of tendons, though)

Chien Ga Ot Sung, Dau Phung
kung pao chicken

this I just ordered last week,
it's okay but I'm not gonna order this again,
actually, it's just the peanuts that makes this dish okay for me

mango crepe

love the crepe but not the mango, asim!

~oo00oo~

"for every minute you are angry,

you lose sixty seconds of happiness." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

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Random | I Was Blindsided by ‘I/We got your back’

Last October 4, I got another blow on my professional life. I was once again laid off. The first one (check here) was in 2020 when the company I was then connected with was affected by pandemic; although if I would have to look back, it’s no surprise since our commercial team is not getting new clients anymore.

And it’s not so different this time around. I just joined the company last May but in June or July, the company announced that they’ll stop hiring to mitigate the possible effect of economic recession. In August, the leadership then announced refocusing of the efforts for some reasons. Sounds familiar eh?!

And then came the announcement of refocusing/restructuring in the organization. I was surprised but the announcement was not really unexpected considering the timeline of events I mentioned. I wasn’t in the office then (decided to WFH that day) but I can imagine the somberness, the sadness, the heavy feelings that everyone felt, even those that weren’t affected by the announcement.

The manager talked to each and every one of us who were affected. When it’s my turn, the manager didn't say much, only reiterated the message announced in the “all hands” meeting. It's more like I was the one handling the conversation. I faked strength that time, but inside me, I'm crying. I actually cried but I don’t know if they sensed it. After the meeting, I cried a bucket. Losing a job is really really hard. It’s hard because I have a family to support and obligations to fulfill. It’s hard because just a week before the announcement, I was told of my regularization only to be told a week after that I’m fired. What makes it more difficult is knowing that it wasn’t LIFO, that the manager chose who’s gonna stay and who’s gonna be fired, considering that the same manager recruited me personally. It felt like I was stabbed in the back. It felt like I was a worthless employee, that I wasn’t deserving of the position I have. That time I was thinking, where’s the “I/We got your back” mantra that they (all the leaderships) want to instill in the minds of their employees? How about radical transparency? Before the announcement, they always say the company is okay, nothing to worry about. Where’s radical transparency there? Are they all just lip service?

But I'm okay now, all that thoughts are slowly going away as days go by. And if I would have to look at what happened objectively and be honest with myself, I know that what the manager did was to do his job, to look after the company that pays him to do so. Whatever criteria he used to come up with the list of who are going and who are staying, I understand. They are probably better fit than we are who were let go, better fit to the company that I thought I would retire from. The company that despite what happened, I still want to see succeed and prosper, not because of the owners and remaining employees (don't get me wrong, all my teammates are nice, the camaraderie and friendship formed in those 5 months is awesome; and for that, I’d say ‘no regrets’. all things considered, it was an amazing 5 months) but for the company’s mission to come into reality. Because I believe in their mission and I know that their mission will have a great impact to humanity. So yeah, I hope the company overcomes whatever challenges they're facing.

Looking back now, two weeks after that dreaded day, I’m more calm, more at peace with what has happened. I've already moved on. I’ve accepted the fact that I’m unemployed, that I’m once again part of the  statistics, the 2.68M unemployed Filipinos.

My journey with those 19 awesome guys and gals (my teammates) has ended, that chapter of my life is over. It’s time for a new one, hopefully a chapter where there will be more  amazing people and wonderful journeys. I know it will still be hard so I have to be stronger. And I will be. Because I have an amazing God who will always be beside me. He always was, always is and always will be, beside me, whatever state or chapter I'm in. 

 

~oo00oo~

Be joyful in hope,

patient in affliction,

faithful in prayer.

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Food Trips | A Taste of Mary Grace

dory and saffron cream - Php 430

I see Cafe Mary Grace as one of those restaurants that’s  frequented only by  the ‘can-afford’ middle-age (or older) adults. I seldom see young adults whenever I pass by this restaurant. For me, it has this “sosy” vibe which makes me somewhat uncomfortable. That’s why I’ve never tried it, not until last week.

What changed then? Nothing actually, it still has that ‘sosy’ vibe for me. But BFF and I are tired of Gerry’s and Mann Hann (our weekend go-to restaurants) so I decided to become ‘adventurous’ somehow and tried Mary Grace for the first time. And so we went to Mary Grace’s Trinoma.

When we got hold of their menu, BFF’s first reaction was ‘ang mahal naman!’ 😂 He’s better off than me actually but he’s the type who always check the price. Anyway, we ordered toasted Vigan longganisa meal (with rosemary fried rice and scrambled egg) for him, dory and saffron cream (pasta) for me. We also had mango bene for dessert.

Vigan longganisa was cooked the way we like (we shared our meal so we can both have a taste of each other’s orders) our longganisa, well-done, that is. It’s good and garlicky but kinda salty for our taste (probably because we’re used to LSLF diet) but the rosemary rice was superb, I’d probably try it at home some other time. For the price: it’s 502 PhP, pricey indeed for a 4-piece longganisa meal but the menu says it's homemade, fresh and without preservatives so...🤷‍♀️

Dory and saffron cream pasta on the other hand is worth the price for me (costs 430 PhP). The pasta is al-dente, white sauce is creamy and tasty (though still salty for our taste), cream dory tasted fresh. I’m not familiar with how saffron tastes like (but I read it’s the most expensive spice) so I can’t comment on its taste but at least, somehow I tried a dish with saffron in it. 😜

mango bene - Php 278

Having a sweet tooth, mango bene is yummiest of course. I’m actually tempted to buy a whole cake for take out but we’re also on low sugar diet so a slice is enough. Mary Grace is known for its cakes and pastries so no wonder mango bene tasted very good (better than the popular mango bravo of Conti’s, in my opinion). A slice of mango bene is priced at 278 Php, by the way.

Overall, Mary Grace is worth a try; foods taste great, ambience is good, staff are efficient and responsive. Are we coming back again? Probably yes, but most likely, not as frequent as the other restaurants we go to; because you know, we are puritas. 😁

That’s it for our taste of Mary Grace, Happy and blessed Sunday everyone. 🙏

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Food Trips | Batangas Lomi

 

Being a Batangueña, a visit to my home province would not be complete without visiting a lomi house and having a taste of pancit lomi, or simply lomi to most Batangueños. Lomi is an egg noodle dish in thickened soup stock with meatballs (sometimes squid balls) and slices of kikiam, pork and liver as toppings; sometimes, with chicharon and hard-boiled eggs, too. But definitely, no vegetables! That's what sets Batangas lomi apart from other lomi variety.

Lomi was made known in 1968 by To Kim Eng, a Chinese immigrant in Lipa City who served this dish to his mah-jong friends. Because of its good taste, he then started getting orders of lomi. Soon after, he, together with his wife Natalia, started their own Lipa City Panciteria, the first lomi house in the city. From then on and due to the dish' sudden popularity, more lomi houses sprung up around the city and the neighboring towns as well. (history source) Nowadays, most (if not all) local eateries or restaurants has lomi in their menu. It is a recommended dish for travelers and food-trippers alike. And, it has now become Batangas' icon, aside from Batangas bulalo, and of course, the famous kapeng barako.

Lomi is usually served with soy sauce, calamansi and chili pepper. It is the customer who then prepares his own seasoning mixture, depending on his preference. It is typically served in a medium-sized bowl filled almost to the brim. Non-Batangueños and first-time eaters of Batangas lomi were usually astounded by its serving size and often wondered how they would finish it. But for some Batangueños, the serving size is just enough because it serves as a substitute to their regular meal, what with its carbo- and protein-rich ingredients. It's a heavy snack-cum-meal at a price that's not heavy on the pocket. An order of lomi usually costs around 50PhP to 100PhP, depending on the toppings (regular or special) and the location of the eatery or restaurant.

 

Curious about this hearty and delicious noodle dish? Go food-tripping in Batangas. Try a steaming hot lomi with a super spicy calamansi-soy-sauce-chili-pepper seasoning and you'll have that sweat-and-mucus-dripping but definitely tummy-filling experience. Enjoy! ^_^

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