SHAKE YOUR BON-BON w/ MISSY BON-BON!!!

I do not know if this pastry shop is known in the international market, all I knew is that this pastry shop sells oh-so-delicious food at “oh-so-international prices”. Haha.. But no matter how expensive their products are, it surely did capture the hearts and taste of the Kagay-anons!!
It all started from a little stall at the mall, where people—most especially children, are buzzing around their stall to have a free taste with their gelato! Yup, they let people have a taste with their Italian ice cream, absolutely for FREE!!! I was even one of those people at one point! Hahaha.. Of course, I can argue with that, I'm still a kid at heart!! 
Now, aside from their little stall inside the mall, Missy Bon Bon has now expanded their capabilities in reaching the hearts of Kagay-anons. A new Missy Bon Bon pastry shop was opened two months ago around the vicinity of Limketkai Arcade here in Cagayan de Oro. And despite of their “quite expensive” breads and gelato, still, a lot of people dine at Missy Bon Bon.
So many times, I am so tempted to get inside their shop to see and taste what they had to offer! However, I am reluctant to get inside because I might go home, broke, with a centavo left on my wallet! Haha.. I swear one of these days, I would be sitting there, inside their cozy place and munch on with my favourite Cookies and Cream Gelato! Yum!!! Can’t wait for such day to come! 

The Gift of Love

"Love is Blind"

The phrase used to be nothing but a cliche to me. But everything made sense when I saw a couple just this evening-- both of them were blind. I saw them walking in the streets of DV Soria, just the two of them, without any assistance from anyone who has a gift of sight.

After seeing the both of them walking hand-in-hand with only a white cane to guide them, my initial reaction was: "they are pitiful".. that they are into an unfortunate situation; and for a moment, it broke my heart. :-(

But as they passed by me calmly, acting as if they are just like any other ordinary individuals, I've learned to see things on a different perspective. I was able to see their situation on the "lighter" side.

I went my way home with the blind couple on my mind. Then I realized that they are the best example of a couple who are truly in love. One who loves unconditionally. One who loves beyond physical imperfection. It's nice, isn't it?! Just imagine, you give your love and trust to someone you don't see. And the baby on the woman's tummy is a proof of that love.

I used to think that each of us is loved based on our face value. That it's hopeless for people to love without taking into consideration the physical aspect of a person. But I guess I was wrong.

In one way or another, I envy them. It seems that they are more fortunate than I am. They're rich and generous enough to give that much love and trust to one another.

Ako kaya?! When will I be able to give that kind of trust?! When will I receive that kind of love?! Hmmm..

I'm happy to know that there are people like them who teaches me lessons in life. They might be "burdens" for some because they call them "DISABLED". But for me, they are God's instrument to teach narrow-minded people like me. I might be physically fortunate than them but nevertheless, they are also fortunate in another way than I am!

OH MY!! SIOMAI!!!

I was born with a hint of Chinese blood flowing from my veins—well, that’s what my father claims to be. Although it is not very evident if you try to see my physical aspects, it is very much etched within my personality. One of my traits that made me feel that I was really from the Chinese aborigines is my love for Dimsum! Yes! In my entire life, I have never gone tired of eating Chinese food! In fact, I learned to make and had my own recipe for Chao fan (Chinese fried rice) during my early high school years. I guess I was thirteen years old then.
But one of the best Chinese dimsum that I’ve ever tasted (in my personal opinion) is Siomai. It is some kind of a meatball that’s wrapped in a molo wrapper and steamed until the meat and other ingredients are cooked evenly. However, it’s not all of the Chinese restaurants and food chains offer good tasting Siomai. There are some whose version is overcooked and some are using low quality meat! And it’s quite sad to conclude that these restaurants degrade the Chinese cuisine with what they’re doing.
In the Philippines, Siomai has now become one of the street foods that most Filipino patronizes. This all happened when some mobile cart started selling such dimsum on the night market. At first, I had a violent reaction about it. I thought it was another degrading thing. And to think that it is sold on a very low price, I expected that it would taste bland!
One time, due to curiosity, I tried to buy from one of those food carts around the night market. I bought six pieces of it for myself, costing only 20 pesos. It was placed in little paper plates and a customer can freely put some soy sauce on it and some chilli sauce. I place lots of lemon and soy sauce on mine, in case it does not fit my taste. But to my surprise, I was wrong with my first impression because it tasted so damn good!! A Chinese cuisine with a classic Filipino flavour!!
It was really a lesson on my part! I guess I have to correct my idea of cuisine degradation. I realized that a cuisine is not degraded when it is sold in streets to capture the taste of the masses. 

HERE COMES THE BRIDE!!!

A girl only wishes two things her entire life: First, to have a nice debut; and second, to have the most beautiful wedding. Any girl would be willing to spend all her savings from her two year work salary (and overtime pay, if any) just to have her dream wedding.
Among the basics for any wedding are the entourage’s dresses, the bride’s gown, the groom’s suit, the flowers for the church and the venue, the venue for the reception, the cake and catering service provider. Plus, added in the list are the photograph and video centres that will document one of the most memorable moments of a girls’ life. And the most important—the wedding ring!!
Considering these unrelated necessities for a grand wedding, it would take one several months, trying to contact and set everything up for a one day event. It would be so time consuming, and it would cost a lot of effort in searching store-to-store. And to end that dilemma, a soon-to-be-bride could always try to look for a wedding bazaar in some malls, every now and then.
One time, I was able to witness a wedding bazaar that was held in a local mall in the Philippines. I really enjoyed in hopping from one booth to another. There were cake displays, chocolate fountains, photography centre displays, couture, jewellery stores and lots of other stores that are needed in a wedding. I, for one, could say that preparing for a grand wedding would be no sweat with the help of these wedding bazaars!

CHURROS CITY

One time, I was strollin’ down the mall and I was intrigued with a tarpaulin that said: “Churros City Coming Soon”. Then I tried to imagine what that “churros city” might look like. I thought it was a restaurant, but I kinda have that thought that churros is some kind of a cookie or a pastry that is usually eaten with a “tsokolate” (pure cocoa drink). It was just an idea, though! Truth is, I haven’t even tried eating a single churros my entire life! Hahaha..
A week after I saw that tarp at the mall, the big day arrived!! I was at the same mall again during the opening of “churros city”. It was then when I found out that the “city” is just a little cart that occupies around 2-3 square meters of space at the mall!! Isn’t it ironic?! A city that’s only three square meters big!! Haha.. I was tempted to try their churros, just for an experience. I bought one serving for myself—around six pieces of churros with a dip. At first, I thought it was a ribbon-shaped cookie. But as I took my first churros, I realized that it was soft like little doughnuts. And when I took my first bite?! POP!! A light bulb blinked open on my mind!! Churros are nothing less than a: “Pina-sosyal na Shakoy (a fried dough)!” I know this is some kind of insulting for churros fan, but I'm just being honest with what I felt the first time I ate those munchies!! I'm not saying, though, that churros don’t taste great!! It’s just that it resembles a local pastry that’s much cheaper that those which are called “churros”.
I enjoyed the time chewing the churros because of its chewy and gooey texture! And the chocolate dip that comes with it adds a taste that makes one happier in eating it!  And I'm pretty sure that it wouldn’t be the last time I'm eating it because there are still lots of flavours that I need to try!! Their churros are great when matched with their frappes!! But I prefer to pair it with a hot chocolate. 

KAGAY-ANON FESTIVAL

This is how Kagay-anons (term for Cagayan de Oro people) celebrate a feast!
The 28th of July is a date to remember for us, natives of Cagayan de Oro. This is a time for celebration as the whole city pays tribute to the feast of its Patron saint, Saint Augustine. Whenever the month of August begins, everyone also begins to prepare for the said event. You could see colourful bunting flags tied on every street and tarpaulins can be seen everywhere, promoting the different activities that the local government has prepared for everybody. Big establishments, such as Malls, Boutiques and Department stores usually offer a great deal to the locals and tourists by offering 20%-70% off on all their items!! And that offer is good for the whole month! Isn’t that great?! Haha!!
This year’s highlight is the giant float parade where 9 competing floats paraded around the city. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see the floats “live” because I woke up a bit late and I know I won’t be able to catch up since our house is a bit far from the city. It was quite disappointing on my part, actually. However, I believe I was still lucky that day, because I was able to see the floats on TV via live telecast. One of the local television networks made that possible. And that shooed my sadness away! 
One of the activities that I was able to witness was their Street Dancing Competition, where the contingents are very pleasing to the eye as they danced their hearts out in the streets, wearing colourful costumes and huge head dress, under the biting heat of the sun! I took some pictures of them and as you could see, a lot of the locals who watched the street dancing were also in the pictures. It only goes to show that we appreciate this kind of thing. Even though it causes us to be sunburned and icky with sweat, we don’t mind because this is our celebration! And that is our way of getting involved in this once-in-a-year festival!

BIRTHDAY GIFT

For two weeks now, I have been trying to look for three things that I wanted to have this month. One, I wanted a pair of gladiator sandals. I didn’t wish for the expensive ones. The one with the decent style will do. And two, a bouquet of roses which is also, the not so expensive ones. I just wanted to know how it feels holding a REAL bouquet of flowers. And to complete my birthday wish list, a slice of red ribbon black forest cake which makes me salivate every time I stare at its picture. Those are the things that I wished to have on my birthday. And as much as I wanted to have all of them, due to financial constraints, I can’t have them all. If I wanted to buy them all, I need to have around three thousand pesos; and unfortunately, I don’t have such amount in my pocket, or my parents. It’s quite sad but it’s one of the realities in life that I have to accept.

On the day of my birthday, I was lucky enough to receive a gift from my mom. And fortunately, it was one of the three things that I longed to have—the gladiator sandals. She brought me to the department store in one of the malls here in our place and she asked me to choose the one that I liked. I strolled around each shoe stand to find the sandals that would fit my preference and my budget. I had in mind the design that I liked and the price should not be more than eight hundred pesos.

As I looked at each of the gladiator sandals, my eyes spotted a pair of gladiator sandals that perfectly matched the design that was on my mind. It was beige in colour, made in a velvet material and it was a boots-high sandals. “It was perfect”, I thought. But then when I picked it up and tried to see its price tag, it was worth a whopping One Thousand One Hundred Ninety-Nine pesos (P1,199)! For me, it was a no-no! But when my mom saw me holding it, she said if I liked it. I said “yes” but I discouraged her with the price. She asked me if I can wear it for my review classes and I answered “yes” again. And then she told me, “If you could use it every time, then it’s worth the price”. I really can’t believe that she bought those for me. It was the only thing that made me happy that night and it’s one of the things that I am thankful for.

Up to now, I still kept on thinking about the other things that I wished for. But still, I think, it’s not the things that could’ve made my birthday complete. It’s the people that I wanted to be there. And they know who they are. I just wish that next year’s birthday is going to be a “BANG!!!”. I wish would get the bouquet, the cake and be with the people I wanted to celebrate with.

BIRTHDAY DINNER - Happy Birthday to ME!!

Today is my birthday. It was my twenty-second year of existence here on earth. It was supposed to be a special day but I guess I didn’t feel anything that makes it special from any other day! Hahaha.. For me, it was just the same ordinary day of my life.

Days ahead, I had in my mind that I am not going to have neither a grand celebration nor a little. I didn’t even thought of treating my friends or anybody else. What I had in mind was that I want to spend it alone. I want to contemplate on things about me, together with a couple of drinks while watching a bossa nova singer on stage. I thought it is supposed to be a time for myself! However, the circumstances didn’t allow me to realize the things that I had in mind. Instead, I had my whole family following behind me on my birthday! At first, it really did piss me off; but, as time passes by, I suddenly got used to it. I was FORCED to get used with their existence!!

So what I did on my birthday?!? I went to the beauty parlor and I had my nails done. I was the birthday girl and yet I can't even treat myself with a foot spa service! Urgh!! After that, I went to the church for a mass. Then I went to the mall and had dinner at Roadhouse Cafe. Actually, I didn’t really enjoy eating the food. Haha.. But I was forced to do so because it was supposed to be my birthday. And that was the end of that “oh-was-it-my-birthday?” day! 