Nang Mawala ang Isa't Isa sa Atin

Sa buhay,

nasasaktan tayo

kapag yung inaakala natin

e mali pala.

Kapag tinama ka ng isang tao,

kahit gano man to kasakit,

tanggapin mo.

Kapag pinakita nya sayo

ang kawalang halaga mo,

tanggapin mo at magpasalamat ka.

Masakit man, magpasalamat ka

dahil sa wakas,

binuksan na niya

ang piring sayong mga mata.

Ang piring na matagal ng tumatalukbong

hindi lamang sa mga mata mo

kundi pati na sa isip, puso, at kaluluwa.

Magpasalamat ka

habang tumutulo ang iyong mga luha

Magpasalamat ka

at tanggapin ng buong puso

ang pagkawasak mo.

Sa iyong pagkadurog,

unti unti mong buuhin muli

ang sarili mo na nawala.

Nawala sapagkat inakala mong

ikaw ay kalahati na ng isang kabuuan

ngunit hindi pala.

Hindi mo napansin

na sa paglipas ng panahon,

ikaw na lamang pala ang naiwan.

Nawala na sya.

Akala mo hawak mo ang kamay nya

ngunit ilusyun mo nalang pala ang iyong hawak.

Hindi mo napansin na sa pagdaloy ng tubig,

puro luha mo na pala ang dumadaloy

na pumupuno sa rumaragasang ilog.

Hindi ka pa ba pagod?

Mapagod ka na.

Tumigil ka na.

Magpasalamat ka na.

Unti unti, mamaalam kana.

Alamin at tanggapin

na darating ang panahon,

sisikat ang araw,

ang dati mong kaulayaw

ay wala na

at isa na lamang memorya.

Darating ang araw

ang lahat ay unti unti ng mawawala.

Tulad ng pangako nyang

nawala sa kanyang isipan,

darating ang araw

mawawala ka na rin sa kanya.

Darating ang araw,

hindi na masakit

ang alaala na wala na rin sya sa iyo.

Lenovo's K5 Pro: Entry Level Gaming Phone

I have a teenage son and I've learned in the past that if you want to see if a mobile phone is good enough for gaming, it is a teenager that should test it. They are the most tenacious when it comes to ratings and they are the most vocal as well.

When I got the Lenovo K5 Pro, I wondered to myself, "Would this be good enough to become an entry level gaming phone?" I had my son test it for a week and here's what he said.

Graphics wise, the Lenovo K5 Pro is able to deliver. It's easy on the eyes and the visuals of the game being played is crystal clear. However, when it comes running games like Mobile Legend and PUBG, there is a tendency for it to have delays.

When it comes to games like Plants vs Zombies, Pokemon Go, Rayman Adventures and the like, the phone has no problems. It does not need to constantly restart and everything plays smoothly without a hitch.

The phone is also more than enough for a teen to enjoy his Tiktok videos with the dual camera found at the back. It's presentable, classy, and definitely something that they can whip out and not feel left out.

Is this phone good enough for gaming? Yes and no. It's good enough for simple games such as PokemonGo and the like but not enough for Mobile Legends.

Is this phone good enough for videos and photos required for online learning in school? Definitely yes in my opinion. Kids can already do basic videos with this phone and the photos are clear, sharp, and perfect for Instagram and Facebook.

Would I recommend this phone to other Moms? Yes, I definitely would. Their kids can already use this for text, calls, to go online, take selfies, do TikTok videos, and for online classes. At less than Php10,000 this phone is definitely bang for buck.

* Gaming inputs from Brent Atienza.

Baby Khali's Blessing

The road to getting my son blessed was not an easy one.

Crazy right? I mean, blessing a child should not have been a hard thing to do but with the Catholic church acting very unlike people of God, it was a struggle.

He who has not sinned may cast the first stone.

It seems those who worked in Mary Mother of Church in BFRV, Las Pinas are perfect and have cast judgement.

They have REQUIRED that you be wedded in CHURCH before you can claim your child's baptismal certificate. In short, it is held hostage until you get married in a Catholic Church regardless if you are wedded civilly.

They DO NOT HONOR civil weddings even if in Philippine law, you are married already.

So we decided to find an alternative and thankfully, a friend of mine recommended Reverend Edwin Colangoy, Senior Pastor at New Covenant Manila Global Harvest. I emailed him, told my story, and asked if it was possible for him to bless my son in our home.

Lo and behold, he said yes without a fuss and even said that he was freeing me from the judgement I have received in Jesus' name.

Yesterday, our baby was finally blessed.

We invited only one Ninong and one Ninang to follow health and safety protocols against COVID-19. Everyone wore a mask the entire time and practiced social distancing. Everyone was also disinfected.

It was very solemn and I loved that the only focus was on our son. Reverend Edwin was such a delight to have.

Khali was also such a trooper. He had his vaccine before his blessing.

Family photo in our living room right after the blessing. Khali fell asleep haha.

These are our angels. They make life so much easier for us and they take care of Khali when I need to sleep.

I'm just really happy that my son has been blessed already. It gives me peace of mind and it brings me joy to welcome my child to the Christian world.

Mambo Chicken PH

Sometimes, you just need to treat yourself.

Lately, I have been cutting down on non-essential things because of the pandemic. After all, we don't know when we will be back on track or until when we will have our jobs. Nowadays, nothing is certain anymore.

However, once in a while, we all deserve to enjoy a treat or two.

Last weekend, my family and I were in for a treat because we had on our table food from Mambo Chicken.

We had the Original Fried Chicken, Tteokbokki, and Japchae.

First impression when I got the food was shock. Normally, serving in the Philippines is small. Trust me on this. Their serving was pretty big. When they said that it was good enough for 4 people, they meant it which I really, really liked.

I love it when restaurants are able to deliver on their promise.

This is their Tteokbokki which was chewy, had enough spice to give it a mild kick, and was just so good that a small part of me wished that I could eat this all by myself. Eeekkk. Greedy much?

I was just so happy because this one was cooked just right.

Mambo Chicken's Japchae was a great reminder of this Japchae that my former Korean neighbor would cook for us. It was the most legit Japchae that I have ever had and this one from Mambo Chicken is definitely a close second.

The Original Fried Chicken is very filling. The pieces are filling and heavy plus there's no need for gravy or ketchup. This is perfect paired with beer. Yep, chicken and beer.

We also had the chance to try out their spiciest chicken ever. Here's what I can say. If you're not a fan of spicy food, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT ORDER THIS.

It was REALLY, REALLY SPICY. Good, BUT REALLY SPICY.

I'm glad that Mambo Chicken is located just at BF Homes Paranaque. Now, when I want to treat myself and my family, I can easily message them to have this bunch of goodies delivered to my home.

JuanLife helps you Be Insured without Leaving your Home

Insurance.

Most people veer away from the word because it entails a lot of paperwork, seminar, discussions, and what not. I know that it took me a long time to actually get one because it was just all so confusing.

This is why I love JuanLife Personal Accident Insurance. Juan Life allowed me to be insured in as fast as it took me to load up my phone. Yes, you read that right.

Getting personal accident insurance is now as easy as loading up your prepaid phone and you don't need to leave your home. It's safe, fast, and easy.

There are many cheap options out there but most of them would require you to fill out form after form after form and they are simply add ons to the main insurance plan that you have.

JuanLife Personal Accident Insurance is a stand alone insurance. You don't need to get other insurance to be able to avail of this.

All you need to do is go to this link and sign up. Afterwards, you're good to go. Seriously. You just need to go to the website, put in a few details, activate it, and then you're insured. It's that quick.

Of course there are a few limitations and this is why you should click on this link to learn everything you need to know about JuanLife Personal Accident Insurance.

A few things that you need to know right off the bat:

1. You can get up to a maximum of 3 JuanLife Personal Accident Insurance for yourself or for someone per year.

2. JuanLife Personal Accident Insurance is valid for only one year.

3. You can choose between Php300 or Php500. You can also do a combination if you are getting more than one.

4. You don't need to buy all 3 in one go.

5. Your beneficiary has to be your closest legal relative.

6. You can have two beneficiaries per policy.

7. You can change your beneficiaries at any time via the website.

8. You can get JuanLife Personal Accident Insurance even if you are an OFW and living abroad as long as you are still a Filipino citizen.

9. You can avail of the JuanLife Personal Accident Insurance even if you have a hazardous or dangerous job.

10. JuanLife Personal Accident Insurance is applicable for people 7 years old and above up to 60 years of age.

To know more about the simplest, easiest, personal accident insurance that you can get your hands on from the comfort of your home, go here.

Hummingbee Creations' Seafood Supreme Baked Sushi

Sometimes, you get lucky and you get the chance to dig into some of God's creations.

The Seafood Supreme Baked Sushi by Hummingbee Creations is one of those things

and I was lucky enough to actually get my teeth into this.

No, scratch that. I was lucky enough to devour this entire thing one Friday evening.

I know that I've written about baked sushi before and though there were misses,

there were definite hits. This one, it was a HOMERUN.

Containing 5 layer of awesomeness, this Seafood Supreme Baked Sushi put out all

the stops. It had Japanese rice, veggie furikake, mirin, tamagoyaki,cream cheese, kani,

mayo, jap mayo, pepper, cucumber, diced mango, sliced salmon, sliced mango, shrimp,

jap mayo, sesame seeds, and ebiko. Just reading it overwhelmed me.

Imagine taking a bite of this goodness? Out of this world.

It was definitely packed and the best part about it is that the combination of everything

made it absolutely perfect. This felt like the baked sushi to end all baked sushi.

It was just so amazing. In fact, this is the first pan that we actually finished in one sitting.

Normally, we'd have leftovers and we'd eat it the next day. This pan did not make it to the

next day. It went straight to our belly!

Hummingbee Creations' Seafood Supreme Baked Sushi is definitely something that

everyone needs to try. To order, contact them through Facebook. Make sure your stomach

is ready though because it's going to be filled with one pan of goodness.

They also offer Mascarpone Cheese Tarts and Cinnamon Buns, both of which were

a treat in their own right. The Mascarpone was eaten by Mark in a flash and the

cinnamon buns had to be hidden just so it can survive for two more days. I think that

says a lot about the dishes.

Review of Salmon HQ's Sushi Bake Pans

I know that I've talked about having tasted really good sushi bake from Sushi Bake by Jen. However, I did not know then that I would get to try the Baked Crunchy Californa Maki Sushi Bake and the Aburi Scallop Salmon Ebi Sushi Bake from Salmon HQ.

For those who are not familiar what a sushi bake is, it's one of the food trends that rose to fame during the quarantine. Sushi bake is basically deconstructed sushi that has all the flavors you can get from a typical roll, but baked.

I had hesitations at first because I had yet to see a baked sushi that had the complete ingredients to the california maki but this one, this blew my mind away.

The Crunchy California Maki Baked Sushi was everything it was supposed to be. It had the crunchy factor, it had mango, it has kani (lots of it) and it will really remind you of what a good california maki should taste like. I felt like I was eating one giant california maki but better!

Now on to the next one coz we're guilty of gluttony.

This is the Aburi Scallop Salmon Ebi sushi bake. Just by looking at it, I was already drooling. It had all the seafood staple that I love which is salmon, scallop, and shrimp. GAH! How can I not like this?

I scooped a portion, placed it on my nori, took a photo, and that was the last time I had time to take photos. IT WAS SOOOO GOOD!

It's the first time I had this variant and I ended up thanking the cooking gods for teaching the owners of Salmon HQ how to make this. This is what Barney of How I Met Your Mother would call LEGENDARY.

This sushi bake pans were the death of us. There were only 4 of us eating and we almost finished it. Yes, we almost cleaned it through because it was just really good!

If you want a taste of heaven, order from Salmon HQ. Every single bite is worth your hard earned money. They didn't scrimp on the ingredients which is why I had the best sushi bake experience to date!

7.7 Haul from Lazada

I was able to get a few items from Lazada during their last 7.7 sale. After the carpet and bed sheet I was feeling a bit more positive about online shopping for things I normally never would buy online.

Mind you, this is not sponsored though I wish it was so I could save a few money haha.

I got a 60L eclectric oven from Kyowa and baby socks for Khali.

This is what it looked like.

I am definitely happy with this purchase. It was totally worth the price and the wait. So yes, note that when you order this, it takes at least 2 weeks for the delivery.

My biggest worry was that the socks wouldn't fit. My son is big for his age so I got the ones for a one year old but I have read horror stories about clothes coming in fit only for a doll. Thankfully, this wasn't the case.

I'm really happy with this purchase. So far, Lazada has not yet failed me in recent purchases and I'm hoping that since I have this checklist for online shopping, I won't have any botched products in the future.

Review of Affordable Bed Sheet from Lazada

Now that we are done with the carpet, let's talk about the bed sheet that I bought from Lazada.

Since we moved, we also ended up with a "new" old bed from my Mom. Since it didn't fit her new home, she donated her old bed to us. The thing is, this bed is massive and heavy. It's a really thick queen size which means that the regular queen size won't fit because of the thickness.

What I did was to order a king size bed sheet from Lazada. What I did was:

1. Googled the size for king and queen size beds.

2. Checked the description box if the sizes indicated were the same.

3. Double checked and made sure to follow the hints that I listed to be successful in online shopping

As you can see, it's very cheap. So I was really worried about the quality of the bed sheet esepecially since we'll be sleeping on it.

Will it be smooth?

Will it be itchy?

Will it feel rough?

To cut the story short, I ordered 4 and then I prayed.

After less than 2 weeks, it arrived.

Surprisingly, the bed sheets were actually comfortable. It's never going to feel like the bed sheets from hotels but this one was pretty good. Smooth, not starchy, and comfy to lay down on.

To be honest, there's a really small difference from the expensive ones. Unless you're super sensitive to clothing, this one is definitely worth buying.

We've tried out 3 out of 4 and so far, no complaints. Definitely bang for buck in my opinion. Next, I'm planning on getting more for B so that he can have new sheets as well.

Tips for Successful Online Shopping

Nowadays, online shopping has become the norm. This also means that a lot of people that I know has at one point or another, gotten scammed via online shopping.

Since I have been doing online shopping for some time now, I've learned a few tips and tricks to make sure that I never, ever get bamboozled again.

Tip # 1

READ the description.

A lot of us tend to just read the caption and then order. Reading the description can save you a lot of hassle. Sometimes, the captions are simply clickbait but in the description, most sellers will actually explain what you will get.

Tip # 2

DO NOT believe the PHOTOS alone.

Sometimes, the photos can be misleading. Sadly, there are times it's pure lie. Make sure that you check thoroughly before committing to buying especially when it's a bit ticket item.

Tip # 3

READ the REVIEWS

I never buy something that has no reviews or has less than 5 and then it's just stars and has no actual text on it. I make sure that there are different people who have left reviews. I also make sure that I leave feedback so that others will know what they are getting.

Tip # 4

CHAT with the Seller

Most sellers are actually nice and would love to show you photos of what they are sending or if you have a certain request, as long as it within reasonable measures.

Tip # 5

Compare, compare, compare.

Just like in a physical store, you can compare to see which one is giving you the best bang for buck. However, note that the cheapest is not always the best option. Make sure to read #1 - #4.

PS. You can also use image search when looking for something. Take a photo or screenshot of the item that you are looking for and on the search box, there's a camera icon. Use that and scan the image of the thing you are looking for.

Do you have online shopping tips? Please share.

Review of Carpet bought from Lazada

I'm going to be doing a series of posts where I review different products that I have bought from online platforms. I'm going to show you what it looked like on the app and then what actually arrived.

So, I bit the bullet and ordered a carpet from Lazada.

Was I worried? Yes.

Was I praying that I get one that's bigger than a foot rug? Of course?

Did I read the reviews? Yep.

So I ordered and this came.

I am so happy! It's actually a real carpet and it's actually quite impressive especially for the price.

This is what it looked like on the Lazada App. As you can see, it's Php999.

I'm really happy with what arrived. It's legitimate. It's definitely not a waste of money. It's exactly what was promised.

VERDICT: Definitely recommended. If you need something simple, nothing too flashy, and just something to spruce up your floor, this carpet is more than enough. It's not too hard on the budget unlike other carpets but it's also not cheap looking. Hurray for that!

PS. Not affiliated with Lazada so go search the thing on your app. :)

Tasty Love's Dimsum

One of the things that I truly hate is frozen dimsum. You see, most of the time, it tastes like crap and you just end up wasting your money. It's irritating at best and really depressing at worst. I've tried so many different frozen dimsum and I have never been happy with it.

Until I tried Tasty Love's Dimsum.

My friend owns this which was why I said yes to trying it out. I figured, if it was no good, I just won't order again. I got pork siomai, Japanese siomai, and sharkfin.

I loved the Japanese siomai the most. It actually tasted like the real thing. It wasn't full of extenders and it was exactly how I remembered it to be.

The pork siomai was the true revelation for me. Most of the time, this pork siomai when bought frozen is just ready to go to the trash can. This time, I honestly thought that I was seated at my favorite Chinese restaurant.

It was AUTHENTIC.

The sharks fin was okay. It wasn't bad but I was definitely more impressed with the pork siomai and the Japanese siomai.

It's also perfect as topping when you have instant ramen.

To order, you can message them on Facebook. One pack of Pork Siomai is Php380pesos for 30pcs while Japanese siomai is also at Php380. Sharksfin is Php350 at 24pcs.

Photos by Mark Balmores