Goodbye, Kuya Mario!

We’ve received a sad news this morning. FIL’s first cousin Kuya Mario dies last night due to stroke. He stayed with us for a few days when we had the back extension of our house improved and converted to a small kitchen. He was like our handy man and caretaker, we’d contact him whenever we wanted something done at home, both in Bacoor and here in Manila. We didn’t know that would be the last time we’d see him. He was in his late 50’s. Such a sudden, painful loss.

Kuya Mario and I may have never been close, but I know he was a good man. He treated me nicely, just liked how he treated the hubby and his family. He was a freelancer who lived on his own (sometimes he had a job, sometimes none), away from his children and that’s why we could easily ask for his help whenever the need arose. In exchange for his services, we give him money to add to his allowance.

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Wet Weekend

Last weekend was a wet weekend. The whole Saturday, we experienced heavy rains in Bacoor which prevented us from going out. The hubby initially planned for us to hit the mall and watch the new Batman movie but decided against it when he looked outside and saw the angry skies above. Haha.

On Sunday, the weather was manageable with just light rains in the morning and drizzles in the afternoon. We were able to hear the morning mass and buy food from the local market for our lunch. I cooked some ham and corn soup and granted the hubby’s viand request of menudo. We had a fantastic meal. We spent the rest of the day sleeping and just watching TV.

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On Typhoons and Canned Goods

Heavy rains and floods brought by typhoons are so common here in the Philippines. These weather disturbances happen almost all-year round and so the best way to deal with them is to be prepared. When we finally moved to Bacoor in March right after our wedding, we made sure to reinforce our roof so it could withstand the typhoons. Haha.

We also made sure to buy lots of canned goods so that during heavy rains when a trip to the wet market or supermarket is impossible, we’d have something to eat. Last Saturday, heavy rains prevented us from going to the neighborhood market to buy fresh produce. The wife in me improvised on our meals with the help of canned goods. You see, it’s so easy to prepare them you don’t need to browse through RapidsWholesale.com for catering equipment. All you need is a can opener, some spices and a set of pans and you have instant meals to warm your chilly body and those of the entire family.

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Lucky Chinatown Mall in Binondo

Last Friday night, the hubby and I braved the heavy rains so I could attend a food event at Lucky Chinatown Mall in Binondo. I would find out later that this newly-opened mall is run by Megaworld Corporation, the one that brought us Eastwood City at Libis, Quezon City and Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill, Taguig City. The mall is a five-storey shopping complex, complete with a supermarket, shops, cinema houses and parking spaces.

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Lucky Chinatown’s atrium

There’s no denying that the mall looks posh and decent, not to mention good-smelling. Personally, I liked the shops there, though most of them looked pricey to me. I think I saw some beauty bars and clothing stores, an SM Appliance Center and even an office supplies shop that sells nice desk grommets. As for restaurants, they have a clean-looking food court dotted with Chinese eateries (and with my fave Chicken Charlie, too!) as well as free-standing restaurants such as Chicken Bonchon, Italliani’s, The Red Crab Alimango House and Tao Yuan, among others.

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Review: Cignal Digital TV

Four months ago, we applied for a cable subscription from Cignal. We decided on the P590 plan with a lock-in period of 12 months. There are only two cable providers in our subdivision then and we chose Cignal because of its cheaper rates and the fact that they provide some really nice HD channels already.

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Cignal satellite dish attached to our house

So far, we’re having a good cable TV viewing experience with Cignal. The HD channels (HBO HD, NBA Premium HD, Starworld HD, etc.) that come with our plan are really very clear. As for the non-HD channels, I’m okay with the not-so-clear screen so long as the line-up of shows are interesting. And it seems Cignal doesn’t disappoint on that part.

I guess our only complaint is that during heavy downpours, our cable signal disappears with the rain. Haha. That’s because Cignal utilizes satellite digital TV signals and not land-based ones.

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Sunday Love

I love Sunday. It’s my second favorite day of the week, with Friday being my top favorite. Though Sundays signify the end of the week and serve as a reminder that a new work week is looming ahead, I still try to make the most of them.

During Sundays, the hubby and I hear mass first thing in the morning. From the church, we make a stop over at the community market to buy meat and other fresh produce for our lunch. Then we go straight home to spend the rest of the day there. Sometimes we hit the mall, but oftentimes we just stay home and do lots of fun and crazy stuff that make our Sunday happy and complete.

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