Life Lately

Career: Last month, I was asked by my adviser if I could be a part-time lecturer at the university this semester. Turns out, one of the faculty members suddenly had to take a leave so they needed people to fill in. So yes, it's back to school for me! I'm teaching one subject (two hours per week) this semester. 

didn't think I'd be using these again

My first day was actually overwhelming. You see, I haven't taught class in almost two years and I haven't spoken in front of a crowd in almost a year. That's why teaching a class of 124 students made me so nervous during my first day-- my voice was breaking, seriously. Thankfully, during the succeeding class lectures, I was able to gain my footing once again. One of my previous students from 3 years ago even sat in my class and afterward told me that I (including my teaching style) haven't changed at all and I guess that's not so bad considering how long I haven't been teaching. 

Social Life: One of my goals this year is to make time for friends and I'm glad that I'm being true to that. Over the past two months, I've been doing a lot of catching up with my friends and it feels refreshing.

Health: Twice for the last two weeks, I tried boxing classes because I thought it would be a good activity not just for losing weight but also to relieve stress. However, I think it just gets me even more stressed! After classes, it's either I get (1) sick or (2) too drained of energy that I just want to sleep until the next day. I'm guessing it's not a sport for me so I might try a different sport. I will update on that!

Hobbies: I've been making a lot of cupcakes. I also managed to bring out my watercolor and pick up a brush after more than a year! This time, I enjoy doing watercolor calligraphy/lettering.

chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

matcha cupcakes with anko and matcha cream cheese frosting

Kamakura and how the world is small

They say it's a small world [after all] and I must agree for I have learned this to be true during my day trip to Kamakura last August.

One Sunday during my stay in Tokyo, I decided to go to Kamakura to meet my friend Rachel. She's from Texas and I met her during the 2012 Summer Course held in UP SURP last July 2012. She visited the Philippines for a week last June 2013 and then flew to Japan for her two-month internship. Thankfully, our schedules gave us good timing to meet up (a little over a week before her flight back to Texas and my flight back to Manila)! I was really excited because I'll be meeting a foreign friend in a land that is foreign to both of us. How cool is that?

I met Rachel and two of her British co-interns Lois and Chris at Kamakura Station.

big lunch for only JPY1000! Much cheaper compared to Tokyo

When Lois learned that my purpose in Japan was to participate at the Todai Innovation Summer Program (TISP) 2013, she told me that she had wanted to apply for the same program but decided against it because she didn't want to take a leave from her internship. Turns out, two of my TISP 2013 co-participants are Lois's classmates in Oxford. We were all surprised by the coincidence! Small world, indeed. Eventually, I told Lois's classmates that I met her in Kamakura through a common friend and they were like "Whoa!"

taro-matcha soft-serve ice cream to battle the summer heat

jet stream

walking from Daibutsu to Hasedera

Hase Station of Enoshima line (it looks old but I think it looks really cool!)

Studio Ghibli shop near Kamakura Station!!!

sadly but not surprisingly, stuff were expensive

I've always wanted this kind of glass chimes.
This one wins more brownie points because it's Totoro... but it was so expensive!
Now I suddenly remember that I forgot to buy something like this in Tokyo... darn.

ramen for dinner!

And this is why whenever I need to say goodbye to friends from different places, I don't simply say "Goodbye". I say, "See you around (the world)" because it's actually possible.

PS: Around the same time, another co-participant from the 2012 Summer Course, who's also from Texas, posted a picture on Facebook with herself and two of my former colleagues in UP ICE. They were all in Malaysia, participating in another summer school. It was amusing.

PPS: One of my [Japanese] co-participants in the TISP 2013 used to be a classmate of my friend/orgmate/co-worker Sty when he did an exchange student program in Todai. How's that about the world being small?

Weekend Well-Spent

I've been working from home for a few weeks already. I still go to the office twice a week but I've been gravely deprived of non-office and non-family social interactions haha. In other words, I had no social life. T_T It was probably driving me crazy so I'm really glad that I was able to go out with some friends this weekend.

Yesterday I got a pretty sudden invitation to hang out at the local mall with some AME friends whom I haven't seen for months! We talked for hours and it was really funny that everyone was also lacking in social interactions haha. In the end, we all agreed that we should do such meetups more often. 

This afternoon, I went to Ally's in Teacher's Village with more AME friends. I missed catching up with them.

It's an all-day breakfast place in Malingap Street (near Bayantel and Pino). I've actually been here with my co-workers before (It was through them that I learned about the place.) but back then I didn't take any photos aside from the waffles that I cut into tetris shapes.

They have a very extensive menu which you can view on their Facebook page. Today, however, I was not very hungry so I decided to just go for their custom pancakes/waffles.

I had a waffle with cinnamon flavor. I added ice cream, crushed grahams and peaches for toppings.

Also added hash browns just because I like potatoes lol. Total wallet damage: PhP270

Honestly, I think food in Ally's is quite normal. I mean, so far, the food I've tried are things that I can make in our kitchen (except for the waffles of course). Nevertheless, I like it because it's an all-day breakfast place and breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Also, it's pretty pricey but I think it's a good place to chill and hang out with friends. And I swear, this shop is so adorable and my photos don't do justice. (Sorry I didn't take many photos because I was too occupied with talking to my friends haha.)

Tomorrow is another Monday. Gotta survive!

Hanging Out in Shimo-Kitazawa

One of the [many] things I love about going to Japan-- I always have friends whom I can contact and hang out with!

The day after my arrival (after the first session of the summer program), I met with my friend Kyle. He left the Philippines last April for a two-year study in Tokyo. I didn't really think we'd see each other again so soon (just 4 months)! Glad we lived along the same railway line.

We went to Shimo-kitazawa (along Keio-Inokashira line where we both stayed). Like what my Japanese co-participants said, Shimo-kitazawa is a cool place with many shops and restaurants but not much people.

Kyle and I had ramen for dinner...

Ramen, I missed you so!

...and then crepes for dessert. I bought a strawberry cheesecake crepe with fresh cream. It had a whole (albeit kinda small) slice of cheesecake inside!

Japanese sweets you make me fat.

Waiting for the train at Komabatodaimae station

Ah, good food shared with a good friend, how cool is that?

Ramen with Friends

I like holidays in the middle of the week, especially when they're spent catching up with friends I don't see regularly. 

Yesterday, some friends and I went to Centris Walk. We were there at around 12nn and left at almost 7pm. We spent almost seven hours just eating and talking... but mostly talking.

We had lunch at Ramen X. I ordered kimchi ramen and a peach float.

After lunch and a lot of talking, we proceeded to Tutti Fruitti to share a tub of froyo and for more talking. 

You see, I wasn't able to take a lot of photos. That's because I really enjoyed the company I had yesterday. We were talking like there's no tomorrow and it was awesome. I really needed that.

Pancakes and Farewells

Last Sunday, my friends and I went to High Street to try IHOP (International House of Pancakes). It was sort of a send-off for our friend, Kyle, who left yesterday to study in Tokyo (he'll be staying there for two years). 

It takes a really long time to get seated at IHOP because of the amount of people wanting to get a taste of their pancakes. That's why Airis and I arrived there at around 2pm (off-peak time). We had our names listed and asked around how long until we get a seat. The man at the reception told us that we'll get seated in around 30 minutes so Airis and I, while waiting for the others, went to Fully Booked first to pass time.

True to their estimate, we got seated at around 2:30pm. I was really hungry that time because I didn't eat lunch and I did it on purpose because I heard that IHOP's servings are huge. 

I ordered a Split Decision Breakfast (French toast, two strips of bacon, two eggs, two sausages and two buttermilk pancakes,) and Iced Vanilla Coffee (with free refills). I was expecting our orders to take long because they had a lot of customers but it actually didn't.

I've been suffering from hyperacidity since last week (I haven't been drinking coffee recently) but that day, I could not resist trying their iced vanilla coffee! Unfortunately, I couldn't taste the vanilla in it but it was good iced coffee nevertheless. I was actually amused by their customer service because while I was happily sipping on my coffee and my glass was around 20% full, a hand suddenly snuck up on my left side and brought another glass of iced coffee! It also happened to my friend who ordered a bottomless Splashberry. It was actually funny. I really love how we got refills without even asking!

And here's the champ: Split Decision Breakfast. I really thought I could finish everything since I didn't eat lunch but I was wrong! I underestimated it. My friends and I couldn't finish everything we ordered.(which is not normal because we eat a lot!)

My wallet got 500 pesos thinner and I felt like I gained a couple of pounds just that afternoon. 

I guess won't go to IHOP on a normal basis because (1) High Street is so far from where I live, (2) it's expensive and (3) waiting long for a seat is not something I'm willing to do all the time. However, I really think it's worth the experience. I'm glad that my friends and I were able to try it!

Samgyeopsal Day

Last Wednesday, my high school friend who just returned from a six-month stay in China went to UP to have lunch with me. She is a lover of Korean culture (she even went to Korea for one year as an exchange student). I, on the other hand, may not be a lover of K-pop but I do love Korean food and Korean comedy-drama!

We went to Kalayaan Avenue for late lunch. There are a lot of Korean restaurants along Kalayaan. I've been meaning to try them but I waited for my friend to arrive before going to one. (Well, actually, my friend and I have been to one before but that was years ago.)

We went to one of the restaurants almost just across Kamay Kainan and I'm sorry for not catching its name because I did not notice any English name (and I was really hungry too).

We ordered unlimited samgyeopsal (PhP299 per person) as my friend suggested. Samgyeopsal is grilled pork belly that you wrap in greens (like lettuce). My friend also put garlic, kimchi and rice inside the lettuce so I just imitated what she did with her food.

I really enjoyed five of the seven side dishes! Also, see the lettuce at the corner of the table?

pork belly and soup

I like how Koreans eat their food too-- with stainless steel chopsticks and a long spoon.

I think I'm totally falling in love with Korean food. For one, I love spicy food. (I actually have a perpetual craving for spicy food.) Also, I feel healthy when I eat Korean food. They grill their meat (which is relatively healthier because oil gets drained) and they always have vegetables (I swear I love vegetables). The pork belly was fatty but I didn't feel unhealthy at all even after eating a lot because most of what we ate were vegetables.

I think PhP299 was totally worth it because everything is unlimited-- pork belly, greens, side dishes (including kimchi), rice and soup. I should bring friends to this restaurant!

I think I'm getting addicted to kimchi. I should find and buy those kimchi stored in jars.

An Afternoon in Little Tokyo

I've been meaning to go to Little Tokyo for the longest time and finally, today, I had lunch there with some high school friends. [Pardon my photos, I forgot to bring my camera.]

I took this while we were going out.

Here is the nice walkway that leads to the shops inside.

I went inside to wait for the guys and the place was almost empty. There weren't many people even if it was Saturday (but maybe it's because of the holidays).

The place is beautiful and is actually very reminiscent of Asakusa in Tokyo.

We ate at Hana Restaurant because I've heard a lot of good reviews about the place.

Here's how Hana looks inside. There's a bar area, three normal dining tables and one Japanese-style  table (a low table on an elevated area) at the back.

I ordered a yakisoba.

Yakisoba (PhP220)

I also ordered takoyaki.

Takoyaki (PhP120 for six pieces)

I also ordered melon kakigori (shaved ice with flavored syrup, a typical summer treat in Japan). It's very basic (I mean, as I mentioned, it's just ice and syrup) but I wanted to try it at least once. However, after ordering, I suddenly remembered that I have actually had melon kakigori before in Sweets Paradise in Tokyo! (I think I forgot about it because I ate a lot of dessert in Sweets Paradise haha.)

Kakigori (PhP70)  + PhP10 for milk

Hana isn't exactly the most affordable place (our bill totaled PhP1,130 and there were only three of us although we actually had a lot of food) but I don't regret going because it was a great experience and the food was good!

Anyway, Eric also shared with us some green tea cheesecake made by Gregory Guy (pronounce "Guy" as "Gi"). It was pretty expensive (PhP550 for a six-inch cheesecake) but it was really really good and creamy!

And here are the guys. (Yeah, it was everyone's first time in Little Tokyo so we were all fascinated by the place hence all the photo-taking.) Some people were not able make it (due to work, due to vacation) but I'm still glad that we were able to hang out.

These people, like me, love to travel.

After lunch, Eric handed me the postcard set that he bought for me during his Taiwan trip last November. I'll write about that in my next post!

Burger Project Holiday

Because we haven't gotten together in a long time (since August) and yesterday was a holiday, I dragged my friends to Maginhawa Street for Burger Project.

I wonder if I'll ever get tired of this place. 

Yesterday, I decided to deviate from my usual tofu patty-garlic cream cheese-jalapeno-bacon combo. I still ordered a tofu patty but got bleu cheese, chili con carne and garlic sauce instead. 

I didn't order much but I got really full after our meal. And as usual, everyone loved it (we all love food anyway). I totes missed hanging around with my friends. Hopefully, this December, we'll be seeing more of each other. :)

Why I Should Pack Dri-Fit Shirts Next Week

Last Tuesday, I had dinner at Mashitta with Jed and Sir Romeo. I had Bibimbap and we also shared California maki.

I should try more Korean food. I like my food spicy and with vegetables!

Last Wednesday, I had dinner at Burger Project with Sir Romeo and Sir H. Oh Burger Project, you're gonna be the death of my wallet.

Sir H takes his exam seriously/

Oi Sir Romeo, no cheating!

My burger: tofu patty, sesame buns, lettuce, tomato, jalapenos, garlic cream cheese and bacon.

Sir Romeo's Krabbi Patti burger.

Last Thursday, I bought some marshmallows and choco chip cookies. First, I lay them out like this, then popped them into the office's microwave and then pressed another choco chip cookie on top.

Here's the final product. Yay comfort food!

Finally, yesterday, we went to the newly-renovated Tokyo Tokyo in Trinoma to try their ramen. I ordered spicy chicken ramen. It was actually good IF ONLY the noodles weren't overcooked! Still, reminded me of the ramen I had in Shibuya last March. At PhP 150, I'm not exactly complaining. Now, at least, I can buy ramen for cheap!

Tsk, I'm gaining weight and I miss jogging around the academic oval so bad. I will pack dri-fit clothes next week, I promise!