June

Wow, it's already July tomorrow. Pretty crazy how the first half of the year just flew by.

This month, I experimented in the kitchen often.

Vegan adobo: shiitake mushrooms and tofu

Tableya hot chocolate with cinnamon, vanilla and chili powder.

My brother went to Finland (for business) and brought home some blueberries.
We also had ripe mangoes at that time so I made a pie!

Binagoongan rice with green mango and egg

baked potato wedges in butter-sriracha sauce

lettuce, tomatoes, sauteed mixed mushrooms, caramelized balsamic onions,
burger buns, and beef-malunggay patties with cheese

Yay burger!

zaru soba (cold buckwheat noodles in dipping sauce)

This month, sadly, I only made one painting. It is, however, my most detailed painting so far.

This month, I visited a third-wave coffee shop in West Avenue called Coffee Empire.

So much equipment, it looks like a laboratory!

They have a room for storing coffee beans and a roasting area as well.

I ordered a light-bodied capuccino. It was very good and it didn't need sugar.

A mango-bavarian which was good but too sweet for my taste.

This month, I went to Boracay (first trip to the beach this year yay!) with my friends to relax. We mostly just ate, walked, slept and played in the water. Hurray to getting a tan!

Wind turbines! Hurray for renewable energy!

This month, my computer finally crashed and I had to have it formatted. Thankfully, I decided to buy an external hard disk drive last April (by then, my computer has been exhibiting some problems already) so most of my files are backed up.

This month, my news feed has been bombarded with graduation photos, mostly of my former students, and even though it kind of makes me feel old, I'm actually very happy looking at them.

Action-Packed

Believe it or not, on our second day in Boracay, I woke up at 5am. I don't even do that anymore during classes.

We swam early in the morning and then had breakfast. We also tried the flying fish water activity (PhP350). It's kinda like the banana boat but maybe 50 times more intense! I was seated on the edge and it was fun until I eventually got thrown off the thing (well, that was the goal anyway). It was crazy. It made my arms hurt like hell a few days after. It was a great experience but I swear I'm never doing it again. :))

photo from Ma'am Dora

Some of my co-instructors did helmet diving but I passed.

We had Jonah's fruit shake. I bought a banana vanilla shake.

photo from Ma'am Dora

And then parasailing (PhP650)! Like the flying fish, it was also a great experience but I swear I'm never doing it again. Haha. It was exciting but really scary and the boat ride was just unbearable.

photo from Ma'am Dora

In the afternoon, I chilled by the beach chairs and read the book Sean lent me months ago. AH, LIFE.

And then, in the evening, we had buffet dinner at Boracay Regency.

We were supposed to go to a bar that night but everyone was tired from the activities so we ended up sleeping early!

What Kept Me Alive

Last Saturday, I went to Boracay with seven of my co-workers. I kept looking forward to the trip during the course of the [hell] semester. It's what kept me alive, haha.

Finally, I can compare Malcapuya Island (Palawan) to Boracay. And what can I say? Well, same clean waters, same fine and white sand, same gentle slope. The only difference is that Boracay is a veeeeery long stretch of a beach, it's crowded (it's not even peak-season) and it's very commercialized (I wish I could plaster a huge "NOT INTERESTED" sign on my forehead to ward off people selling things and offering water activities to me).

We stayed at a backpackers' hostel, Frendz Resort, in station 1. It's a two-minute walk from the beachfront, which is good for people who don't want it noisy at night. We rented three private, air-conditioned double rooms and added two extra beds. The rooms are native-style (made of wood, bamboo and nipa) with verandas. The restroom floor and walls are made of marble (and I think they need a little bit more cleaning). I paid only PhP 1700 for three nights, which is really cheap for a Boracay resort in station 1. I have no complaints.

The cozy common area, perfect for meeting new people.

The room facade

I'd like to go to Boracay with my family next time. :) But for now, I have to get back to checking papers!

Boracay Island

...is where I spent the last four days.