Revisiting My Dream to Own My Own Cafe

I want to have my own cafe or bar, much like the bar in the TV sitcom Cheers, a place where my friends can drop by and drink and celebrate din milestones in their lives. The one I have in mind actually resembles the Fringe Club in Hong Kong. May gallery na, and a bar where a band can play, tapos enough space for a theater play to be held, tapos rehearsal studios na sa taas. That would be the template of my own bar - kasi nga I love culture and a night on the town.

Nagkasya sya lahat sa Hong Kong ha, considering that there, space is such a premium! The idea works in Hong Kong, I don't know if it would work here pero anyway, I will have to think about that pag may budget na hehehe

That dream came to me again when we chanced upon this quaint and cozy coffee shop called Hood Hood very near the San Sebastian church. The owners are of Arabic descent but I think Pinoy na sila kasi ang galing na nila mag-Tagalog e.

Anyway, we really needed a bathroom break around that time, after visiting UST and since it was still bedlam outside because the religious activity just finished, we decided to dive inside the cafe to eat something.

Grabe ang sea of humanity outside! Parang Divisoria during Christmas season - and thrown in din cars and vans and kuligligs for good measure - sometimes I don't know how order can happen in such a chaotic environment - pero in fairness, wala naman na-iinjure or nababanggang kotse! Testament sa kaastigan ng mga Pinoy!

Masarap ang tuna sandwich nila and sweet din ang frappe coffee nila. It was a nice relaxing break before sabak ulit sa last three churches of our Visita Iglesia.

UST: A Must Visit in Any Visita Iglesia

Pwede ba namang di isama ang Pontifical University of Asia sa Visita Iglesia e parte na ng heritage natin ang UST although most of us never really get to study there. I admit that I was jealous that the school got the opportunity to host Pope Frances, pero ganun talaga e, pontifical university sila e - although I don't know clearly what that really means.

As usual, sea of humanity din ang sumalubong sa amin, and good thing lang talaga na there's always a parking space na nababakante everytime we arrive in a new church.

As I said nga, parking is becoming a major problem sa annual Visita Iglesia - a sign na unti-unti nang nagkakakotse ang madlang pipol of the Philippines!

The crowd here lang, as expected are the youth majority. We took the liberty of taking pictures around the campus before going into the church to do our religious obligations.

In fairness talaga, the old buildings in the campus can rival the ones you see in Europe. I just really hope pina-earthquake proof na nila ang mga old buildings nila kasi it would be such a shame if masira lang sya ng earthquake. And of course, the human casualties nun, especially if the earthquake happens during school hours!

If Only Spanish Was Also Taught Here As Rigorously As English

Eso es para mis amigos y amigas hispanohablantes!  You never really forget the language naman pala noh - the only word I was not familiar with was "yacen' - otherwise it was good na I took Spanish lessons din.

Sayang talaga that we ditched Spanish in our curriculum.  Just imagine if Spanish was rigorously taught here like English, OMG, the Filipinos will rule the world!  We will survive anywhere in the US kasi we can talk to the Latinos in their native language - and the Americans who only know English will look at us with envy!

The Bountiful Harvests of Blessings from the Monastery of Sta. Clara

I was joking my friends last night that the Way of the Cross we were doing was also the Way of Alberto - a pun I created since some of the churches we visited were also the churches my ex and I visited years ago!

The Monastery of Sta. Clara is especially important for me since we wrote some wishes there!  Yun lang, di ko na maalala request ko!  I am not usually very specific with my requests before, parang 'world peace' lang.

My friends offered some eggs so I'm sure the nuns there will pray for their intentions.    Ako, ayun, nawili sa kapipicture! This was after all, just my second visit to this monastery.  It was 9:30PM na ata when we arrived here so there were no signs of the cloistered nuns, unlike in my previous visit, where you can hear them singing!  

However, the influx of devotees and pilgrims seemed endless!!  May mga buses pa nga na dumating! I was really amazed sa faith ng mga Pilipino! 

The Traffic in Eastwood Libis on Maundy Thursday

Jennifer Sy! We couldn't resist getting a groupie in front of your branch! Halos harap lang pala ng branch mo ang chapel ni Padre Pio. Kadilakad kami sis from Christ the King to Padre Pio and back!

Pano, di gumagalaw ang traffic! From the overpass, makikita mo ang traffic sa C5 as far as the eye can see!