island mouse

Because I live in Paradise, I have a tendency to take it for granted... until I have my film developed and see the pictures that I took months ago.

The northern end of the beach

View from my favorite spa

Somewhere in Angol

The mainland of Panay

I must have done something good in a previous life.

country mouse

We were in Tagaytay this past May to celebrate Ma's birthday. I brought along my Vivitar film camera.

Taal Vista Hotel

The Nephew

The Parents

A good time was had by all.

city mouse

My Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim pictures came!

Because film developing is kind of expensive, I have to wait until I have five rolls of film before I bring them to Digiprint. They develop the film, scan, and save the JPEG files on a CD. Then, they deliver anywhere in the country that there's an LBC. It's cheap, fast and very, very convenient.

The only problem is, by the time I have accumulated five rolls, I'd already forgotten what was on the first roll of film. Oh well.

Shangri-la Plaza Mall

Ortigas Flyover

North EDSA

Amistad Spa

Film still rocks!

my backyard 2

This is the view from our backyard, yesterday at sunset.

Click to enlarge.

The sea was the color of red wine. No kidding.

I've just heard that the Canon G11 is available now. Its major differences from the G10? The new guy is 10.0 megapixels and it has a 28mm wide-angle lens. Does that sound familiar?

Canon, you can try to imitate my Lumix LX3, but you will never have a Leica lens. Haha!

a walk in the clouds

When you fly, do you still bother to look out the window? Or do you just pull down the shades and read your magazine?


Yez, sometimes it's scary to look out. But there are also times when you see slices of heaven.

Flying from Manila to Kalibo.

doing our part

Because it told us to:

We have to shop to help our economy:

Konti lang pera namin, kaya maliit ang cart.

fusion with rice cakes

This is what a traditional bibingka looks like:

Image borrowed from Wikipedia.

Behold the Bibingka Souffle:

Food review: This is really outrageous. It looks like a souffle, it feels like a souffle. But it tastes and smells like a freaking bibingka. And the sauce-- I don't know what it is, not the normal creme Anglaise-- but it was heavenly. I regret sharing it with my mother, actually. Available at C2 Classic Cuisine, Power Plant Mall or Shangri-la Plaza Mall.

noli and el fili

I love the name of this restaurant.


Ma and I had an afternoon snack here.

Bibingka waffle.

Diablo souffle.

Food review: You have to be Pinoy to truly appreciate these desserts, or at least have an open mind. A bibingka is a rice cake, usually topped with cheese and salted eggs. The bibingka waffle is a soft waffle with the flavors of a bibingka. A little hard to imagine, but very tasty. As for the Diablo, it really blows the mind. It's a chocolate souffle laced with chilis. Yez, it is spicy, like a Mexican mole. My reaction after the first bite was "What the hail?", but after my taste buds adjusted, Ma and I demolished it. Verdict? Will definitely go back and try the other menu items, such as Sisa's Dementia.

Note: How does one put the accent slash thingy over the letter E? "Souffle" without the accent slash looks kind of naked.

o.j.

This is the best thing to ever come out of a supermarket.

If you squint, it looks like I have the world's longest thumb.

You go to Rustan's Supermarket. You go to the fruit section and look for a weird orange contraption. The machine squeezes the juice out of the oranges and right into the bottle. No sugar, no water, no additives, no preservatives. It's probably best when cold, but I wouldn't know. I usually drink it right away. It never makes it to the ref at home.

the perfect sneakers

At last! After months of searching for the perfect sneakers, I finally found them.

Ta-dah!

These shoes are really comfy and the style is classic. I got them in this pale, pale blue-- looks kind of like faded denim, but way cooler. Will take them out for a spin soon.

Superga sneakers come in dozens of delicious colors.

Drool.

day off at the spa

Yesterday was a non-working holiday, so we kidnapped the Wonder Dog couple and brought them to the spa.

Enter Amistad.

The ladies' locker room.

For body scrubs.

Like all urban spas, the place is a labyrinth to maximize space, but there are unexpected cool touches everywhere.

Like this:

And this:

And this:

What's that, you ask? Why, it's the LOUNGE. It's what's missing in most spas, actually. After a great massage, you need a place to decompress and get ready to face the world again-- in peace. This lounge has a bit of a harem-esque theme. There's a nice sound system, an LCD TV, wifi, cushy seating everywhere, and yez! They serve food.

Wonder Dog falls asleep after pigging out...

While Wifey chills out.

Check out their website.

shopping mall fashion

Photo by Bunny Rabbit.

Wearing: Sunglasses by i2i, top by De Puta Madre, jeans by 7 For All Mankind, footwear by Fitflop.

Location: SM North EDSA carpark.

more malling

More Black & White mall photos:




One problem that I encountered while shooting in the shopping malls is the extreme changes in temperature. It's always near-freezing inside, but hot and muggy outside. The lens definitely doesn't like that-- it keeps fogging up. Good thing I have a Lenspen. Naks!

thank gad for flat rate parking

Even the parking building is cool! I like the colors and the lines. So great to see new and/or well-maintained facilities.




I am very glad that I bought my Panasonic Lumix LX3 instead of a DSLR. Security thinks that all SLR photographers are potential terrorists, so they're not allowed to take pictures in the malls. The LX3 is inconspicuous and innocuous-looking... but the pictures are deadly!

world's number 2

In Manila, the shopping mall is the recreational nerve center for the average person. There are no decent parks to speak of, so kids, families, couples on a date and elderly people have no choice but to go to the mall to have fun or to pass the time.

I am very pleasantly surprised that mall developers nowadays are making an effort to make these places visually stimulating.

I took these pictures in SM North EDSA-- the largest mall in Southeast Asia, and the second largest in the world, according to Wikipedia. I'm liking this Pinhole setting. It gives everything a soft light.

where am i?

I have discovered the Pinhole setting of my Lumix LX3.

And I've been playing around with Dynamic Black & White.



This mall is pretty interesting!


It was thrilling-- hiding my camera from mall security. Apparently, they don't like to have pictures taken of their mall.