Hindsight

I was going to say that this is a very bad week.  News about the passing away of a classmate, a friend's dad, a friend's brother and another friend's uncle, came within a week's time.

But then, I realized that it happens all around, all the time.  That every single second, a person loses somebody he loves.  It is as normal as the falling leaves or the rising of the sun.  It is only a matter of time.  It only matters to me now because I knew these people. 

The sad part about all these, according to most of the surviving relatives I've talked with, is that they missed the chance to show love to the departed.  Be it because of lack of time, a strained relationship, or simply taking for granted the time they had with the loved one because they were just always there, like a rag in the doorstep.

Time? We spend a lot of it having coffee with friends for the usually useless chitchats; we spend an hour or two in a spa; we have all week to tend to the wake.  It just isn't there when it matters.

Strained relationship?  We easily forgive and ask forgiveness from the person behind the glass.

Always there?  No, they will definitely not be.

My guilty hands raised.

Surprise

At long last, our sked for passport application and renewal has arrived.  It took us roughly two months since we secured appointment online late September.  We chose the 2:30 pm slot so we wouldn’t be cramming to get to DFA.  We decided to leave the house at 10:30 am to provide for possible delays along the way.  And delay there was, big time!

We were coming from San Mateo and based on my daily experience, it would only take a 45-minute drive from the house to SM Marikina even in normal traffic conditions, Philippine context.  To my unpleasant surprise, traffic was massive along Marcos Highway.  It was almost 12 nn when we got out of Marcos and traffic eased out as soon as we got to the diversion road going to Libis.  However, traffic greeted us again as soon as we entered E. Rod Jr. all the way to DFA-Aseana Office.  We finally got there at 1:15 pm.  Had a quick bite at McDonald’s, which was jam-packed, then went in to start what would be almost 3 hours of waiting.

Online applicants use Gate 2 to go inside the premise where a guard checks your valid application form.  You will not be let in if you don’t have one, as chaperons are only allowed to minors.  Once in, proceed to the immediate table for online appointment verification where an officer will check your application form and mark it.  You can now go inside the building and start the application proper.

Step 1. Processing and Documents Evaluation.

(This picture was taken after being emptied out by applicants at around 5pm because I did not initially think of writing a blog for what I thought would be a horrible experience.)

Do not be overwhelmed by the very long snaky line as it would only take you around 10 minutes for your turn.  At the end of the line, an officer will direct you to a window where your documents are to be evaluated.  Upon verification, the officer will ask you whether you want the processing “Express (Php 1200, delivered in 10 days)” or “Regular (Php 950, delivered in 20 days).  A receipt will be attached to your application.  Proceed to the second floor for the next step…

Step 2.  Payment for processing fee.

Go to the cashier at the second floor and present only the receipt that was attached to your application form.

Step 3.  Encoding / Enrolment.

Don’t get too excited!  You first need to get a queue number.  Now this is the gruesome part.  The number I got was 2868, the number being served, as shown in an overhead monitor, 2303.  Worse, there’s hardly any seat available so you have to be very patient in getting one.  My suggestion is that you assess first how long the processing takes and estimate how much time it would take before your turn.  In our case, it took almost 3 hours.  So, you can either go somewhere else, there’s a Starbucks across the street (I wouldn’t recommend McDonald’s) to pass time comfortably or just stay there until you get a seat and doze off.  You can also bring your laptop and Facebook all you want, just make sure to have a full battery or secure the seat near an outlet.  As soon as your number is flashed on the monitor, go to the table number assigned as indicated next to your queue number.

The officer will scan your documents, encode your personal data and get your finger prints and electronic signature.  Afterwards, he/she will ask you to check the encoded information, then prints a form which you will have to check again for accuracy and finally sign.  Your application is done.

Step 4.  Passport Delivery.

This one is optional as you can pick up your new passport on the scheduled date.  However, I would definitely suggest you just have it delivered at a very minimal fee of Php 120.  You just have to proceed to the Passport Delivery Service area where they will issue you a receipt…

As for me, it was a very organized process, light years away from the old system at the old DFA office.  No fixers to harass you and you get to fall in line and wait in an air-conditioned area, on sturdy non-squeaking, non-wobbling new seats  You don’t need any travel agency to help you out as the process is uncomplicated at all, a first in government service.  All you need is a whole lot of patience in waiting.

Apathy

Just came back from a Subic trip.  I was hoping to write a longer blog but, as I expected, there is nothing more that I have not seen in Subic.  I started the trip without my usual enthusiasm, spent the entire time mostly thinking of how I would spend the biggest pot money in lotto should I win it, and ended it feeling exhausted without any apparent cause.  Do not get me wrong, I still admire the discipline and order that I hope the rest of the country emulates,  I still love how it is industrial at the same time that it preserves the environment.  However, for me, it has lost its charm.  Like a stripper who's gone full monty, it has got nothing left to show.  So instead of my usual narcissistic self, I just decided to take a couple of pictures of random things to at least have something to show for the Sunday unwisely spent.

Machine

I am like one.  When I am programmed to do something, I have to do it or I go haywire.

Last night, I was supposed to meet ETS for a food trip in Marikina.  She read my blog about my recent food trip with another friend to two and a half amazing restaurants and she craved for Chuka Soba.  Being the unofficial tourism minister of Marikina, I got really excited and thought of bringing her to two other restaurants in Marikina where she has not been to.  She’s already tried Café Lidia, and loved it, and Café Feliz, as mentioned, is only half as interesting, at least based on some of the dishes I’ve previously tried.

So imagine the horror of getting a call from ETS that she couldn’t make it.  And because I would certainly self-destruct if the program was overridden, I decided to push through with the food trip with Maginhawa Street in UP Village as a target.  Fortunately, PDG, another friend, called and asked if I was available that day.  I knew days before that anytime this week I’d get a call from her because Harry Potter is currently showing, so the call was impeccably timed.  We agreed to meet in Eastwood Libis.

PDG is one of my two dear friends from MBA days who I made a pact with that we won’t eat in the same restaurant twice, or if we don’t have a choice, we won’t have dishes we’ve already tried.

We got the 7pm Harry Potter so we had plenty of of time to hunt for a restaurant to try.  As usual, we had to scour the entire enclave for that until we agreed to finally try Cyma Greek Taverna.  I am not entirely sure and failed to ask if it was also her first time to try the place but based on her later reactions, it was.  Anyway, I looked at the menu and I found the dishes quite pricey.  We agreed to try Tonnos Salata (Fresh Green Salad) and Roka (Arugula) Pasta.

And we were pleasantly surprised to be served this first…

It was a humongous serving for a Solo size.  I could only imagine how big the Family size is, we could have been served a whole garden already.  That explains the price tag.  I did not initially intend to blog about anything “mainstream” but it was a blog-worthy monster of a dish, so I grabbed my phone and clicked away.

Next served was Roka Pasta, and we were a bit disappointed that it was not as much compared to the Salata.  We thought that this is where they got even for that green leafy overload…

I am not a meat lover but I cannot eat a dish that has not a least a hint of meat in it.  Any food isn’t quite complete without it.  Voila! This particular pasta dish was so flavorful that I didn’t have to think about meat for a second.  It was already very good as it is considering that it only had arugula leaves, pine nuts and a whole lot of garlic as main ingredients.  The taste made up for the small serving at 300+ a plate.

All in all, it was great as all first times should be.  PDG loved the salad, she almost finished everything.  I was already full after three glasses of the house blend iced tea so I could not be the “plate-cleaner” that I usually am.

It was then time for Harry Potter which I refuse to comment about.  Afterwards, it was time for coffee to cap the night.  This time, we tried Cafeccino.  It has a very cozy but a little “corporate” ambiance, great for a nice chitchat without having to strain your chords to compete with the group next table as you usually experience in, say, Starbucks.  We had Flat White hot coffee and Crème Brulee.

It was good but I still prefer our good old-fashioned Leche Flan.

Answer

I recently received a text from a dear friend about the passing away of a classmate from high school.  It suddenly came to me that death indeed is one of the things that we should expect to happen especially as we grow older.

I heard one say on TV that there are only two things certain in this world, taxes and death.  Others refute this because there are people who still live in the wild, ergo, no taxes.  Good point.  Some argue that what’s certain are birth and death.  However, there are babies who die in the womb.  Another valid point.  Therefore, only death is certain.

Death is the one topic most people, including myself, dread to talk about.  Even perhaps the most daredevil of us all felt fear of the inevitable at one point in time.  Maybe it comes from the fact that it is human nature to fear the unknown.

Death comes to us in so many ways, imaginable or otherwise.  Some just did not wake up from their sleep, some died from accidents or diseases while some at the hands of another person or worse, their very own.

Untimely is the one word that is almost always used whenever describing a person’s passing away.  But the big question is when is it timely?  Who’s to say when is the best time to go?  A young person who suddenly dies in a car accident is said to have had an untimely death.  But could we not consider that it was the best time for him to go because had he lived a few years more, he would have contracted a dreaded disease that would have killed him slowly and painfully.  We could always think of a number of what-ifs to either console us or aggravate our pains.  But the fact remains that everyone has to go, one way or another.

Do not misconstrue that I do not recognize the pain death brings to a loved one nor do I acquit people who take the life of another.  Heaven knows that I ardently pray that I don’t get tested on this because I would surely be as devastated as anyone would be.

It is just that my point of view on the matter is that everyone, whether he believes in the afterlife or not, will have his way out.  As mentioned, some would have it sweet and swift, some not.  Since all of us are mortal beings, we do not expect to live forever.  Death is part of the grand design, of the grand scale of things in which everything has a purpose.  Death is the period to a novel, the curtain fall to a play.

And I guess the question we should be asking is if we are playing our part well, if we are living our best life.  And my answer scares me.

Gluttons

I love impromptu.  I am the kind of person that doesn’t plan for the future at all.  I live each day as it comes.  Based on experience, the best events are mostly spur of the moment.

I learned over FB that a very good friend, who will now be known in my blog as NC, is back in the country for a vacay.  And since I was supposed to meet a mutual friend, I decided to give her a call.  Luckily, she was within the area so we agreed that I’d pick her up.  Unfortunately, when I called our friend to tell him that we were on our way to his house, he had to back out so the two of us were left without a backup plan.  And since I am in the business of touring people around, I decided to bring NC to a little known but oh so extraordinary Italian restaurant in Marikina.

Café Lidia is great place if you want a dose of Italian cuisine without breaking the bank.  It is located in a Calumpang Marikina residential area.  Ambiance is great without being prohibitive especially to those who would like to come in their shorts and slippers.  I am no expert food critic but I can confidently say that everyone I brought to Café Lidia loved the food.  The food appeals to the eyes, the palate, most especially the wallet.  We ordered my all-time favorites buffalo wings and mixed seafood pasta.

During the meal, I mentioned to NC that there is another great place I know within the area that serves Japanese food.  She wanted to check the place out but since we were already full, we decided that we’d just have ramen or something really light.  She just wanted to see what I was raving about.  So off we went.

Tamagoya is a tiny Japanese fast food in Masinag, Antipolo, a step and a half away from Marikina.  It has two floors, each could only sit around 15 people at a time.  I love the interior because it does not look cramped though small.  Talk about Japanese minimalism.  Lighting is impeccable and the colors are rich, even for a color-blind like yours truly, with piped in Japanese music that added to the authentic feel of the place.  And the food is simply great, although it offers a limited menu, mostly rice toppings and ramen.  We ordered Chuka Soba and Gyoza.

We were already really full but we were not done yet.  I told NC that I could not write a blog about it because we only tried two restaurants and a food trip, as for me, should at least be about three.  So I decided to bring her to another restaurant that specializes on desserts.  we decided to cap the night with coffee and cake.

Café Feliz is another quaint restaurant in the Rancho Estate Marikina neighborhood.  Although it offers other dishes, I personally only like its pastries.  We tried its own version of another all-time favorite sans rival and it did not disappoint.  The cake was crunchy, just the way I like it, with the right amount of sweetness.  It was also carefully plated to our delight.  We did not even want to eat it because it was just totally cute.

Picking up from my favorite movie Eat, Pray, Love, we did not worry about getting muffin tops.  That night, it was EAT, EAT, EAT.


Map of Tamagoya (right-click and open link in new tab for a bigger image)