Rest in Peace, Ms. Lucy De Villeres

I think I've only written once about a high school teacher. Most if not all of them have retired considering I graduated from high school more than 34 years ago. The more senior teachers I have managed to be in touch at least through social media. The last time I saw any of them in person was at the Lourdes School of Mandaluyong alumni homecoming 9 years ago, when our batch celebrated our Silver Jubilee. Ms. De Villeres was not among the attendees that night.

I have fond memories of Ms. De Villeres during our high school days. She was one of the 'terror' teachers back then and the entire batch had to go through her in 3rd Year English. She was also an adviser to one of the 4 sections in our batch. It was under her that I got to write my first term paper. But even before we wrote this as a sort of capstone project for what was then junior high school, we already had a few reports or papers written in the first 2 quarters. I recall having a lot of corrections and these were all in red ink. We jokingly refer to our corrected work as a "bloody mess." She was not impressed by the attitude or swagger of some classmates who probably thought our cream section (pilot section) will have special treatment under her. I remember her telling our class that she was more impressed by a couple of other students in other sections whom she said wrote very well. She added that if any one of us could just write half as good as one of those students, she would gladly give a high grade to those students.

On a more personal note, it was in her class that I finally shed my easy going ways in high school. I had good enough grades during my freshman and sophomore years that probably encouraged me to continue to be easygoing in junior high. I was not in the top ten those two years but did better than most in our class and in our batch. I got my first scare in the second quarter when I almost failed in English! That resulted in my parents being called to a meeting with Ms. De Villeres. I don't recall being in that meeting but Tatay later recalled she was very respectful but candid about her thoughts about by performance in her class. That was a wake-up call for me and the following quarter, I did a plus 15-point recovery. I later learned that I had the highest mark that quarter in our batch and went on to finish junior high among the top 5 in English. I learned to work hard for my grade and the momentum carried over to my senior year where I probably surprised a lot of my classmates by leapfrogging the usual top performers and placing in the middle of the top ten of the batch.

I would return to LSM every year after I graduated in 1988 as I was tasked to pay tuition for my younger brother who was still in grade school at the time. I always greeted my former teachers when I encountered them and was glad to be able to reconnect with many even through social media. That included Ms. De Villeres. I learned that she became a trainer for call center agents or BPO staff. Her experience and skills were and are still relevant especially for contact-type centers whose staff need to communicate effectively using the English language. She is also fluent in Spanish. She could converse with the Spanish priests at school as if she was a native speaker. I share a photo of her that my friends shared on social media as they paid their respects and honored her memory.

Rest in peace, Ma'am, you will always be fondly remembered by your students.

I did not think that among the last topics I would write about this 2022 would be a farewell to a beloved teacher. I felt I must write this piece as a sort of final tribute to a person I admire and perhaps one of those who inspired me to become a teacher as well. Rest in peace Ms. De Villeres. You will always be remembered by your students to whom you shared your knowledge, your wisdom and your love for teaching.

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[Note: We had a 4-year high school back then. First Year: Freshman, Second Year: Sophomore, Third Year: Junior, Fourth Year: Senior]

Dinner at The Taverna, Antipolo City

The Taverna is located at the Luljetta resort in Antipolo. We learned about the restaurant from a social media post on the city's official account that usually featured places to visit or eat at in Antipolo. They only recently opened and we were eager to eat there as we can only enjoy Greek food when in Metro Manila. It's always nice to have a nearby go-to place for certain foods that we crave (like authentic Japanese food, for example).

The restaurant view from the stairs

A view of the interior from the main door

A big copy of the menu is at the entrance.

The waiting area includes this horse (Trojan?).

The restaurant has clean, bright interiors

Table with a view

Another view of the waiting area

Tzatziki for appetizer

Chicken souvlaki meal set

Beef souvlaki meal set

The breakfast menu

Lunch and dinner items plus photos of featured or specialty items

We had vaclava for dessert

Our only regret was not ordering one each as we split one order thinking we'd be too full by the time. We also didn't know the serving size for this delightful 'panghimagas'.

A close-up of the layers consisting of nuts and sweet honey

While there, we were able to talk with the chef. He is a very engaging fellow who comes from humble beginnings from the island of Santorini. He shared with us many stories including his previous stint as an engineer.  He's the same guy behind the popular Greek To-Go in Quezon City and usually stays at the resort when he's not busy with his place in Anonas.

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Replacing the bracelet of my Mido diver

Another pin connecting the links of the bracelet of my favorite Mido Ocean Star diver failed and I ended up using duct tape to keep the bracelet together. This was the second time I had a pin broke (likely from wear and tear) and I thought perhaps I should get a replacement. Doing a quick search on eBay, I found an original replacement bracelet and did not hesitate to purchase one.

The old bracelet had a problem with a pin connecting the links. To be specific, the screws at the end of one pin holding them failed and the end was stuck, making it too difficult to replace the pin.

I detached the old bracelet from the watch using my Swiss knife, which had a precision tool for this purpose. The same tool is used to remove some links for a good fit on the wrist.

The replacement bracelet was neatly packaged.

With the complete links on the replacement bracelet, I was able to adjust it for a good fit to my wrist. It's a good thing there are legitimate replacement bracelets on the market. I actually tinkered with purchasing a titanium bracelet that was also a good fit but is for the titanium model of my watch. That would probably not have ended well as the titanium bracelet is noticeably darker than the stainless steel variant.

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Christmas 2022

Maligayang Pasko sa lahat! Merry Christmas to everyone! Meri Kurisumasu!

Orchids from my sister

Who needs the branded cakes when a good friend bakes great ones!

Puno at Parol

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Mary Grace in Robinson's Antipolo

Mary Grace finally opened their restaurant at Robinson's Antipolo last December 8. The date is fitting as the owner is a devout Catholic and devotee to Our Lady. We had been eyeing their fit out as it is strategically located at the mall, and wondering when they will open.

Mary Grace at Robinson's Antipolo

This branch is spacious and even has a large function room that they say can seat as many as 40 people depending on the set-up and subject to health protocols. The photo shows the impressive collection of lamps they have installed at this branch. There is also al fresco dining available as they set up tables outdoors.

My chorizo pasta

Mary Grace adds to the other restaurants that have recently opened at the mall. It provides another option for people who aren't into fastfood, Japanese or Korean food. I will try to take more photos next time and share them here.

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Morning dew, mountain dew

Our morning walks take us to parts of our subdivision that is not yet developed. Some parts are like forests or pocket forests, with large, old trees. These include mango, narra, acacia, kaimito, kapok, santol. Other parts are shallow soil and mostly rocky ground (we are in the mountains, after all). There, only shrubs, grass and the occasional small trees grow. There are many herbs in the area older residents refer to as the "Second Floor" and you can smell their scents when in that area.

You can do some nice photography in these places and one cool morning, we took some photos of the dew on the grasses. Here is an artistic close-up of the dew as they clung to the blades of grass.

There will be more of these during these cooler months of December until perhaps February.

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On trees that fell and recovered

There are many large trees in our neighborhood. Most of these are old, huge mango trees as the village used to be a mango orchard or farm. Each lot We are told by old timers here that through the years, they planted other trees including narra and acacia trees. Many residents also planted fruit trees in addition to the ones already growing in the area. These included kaimito, santol, pomelo and lanka trees you now find scattered around the village. I've seen many trees fall or damaged due to typhoons but many seem to be resilient enough to recover if they are not totally uprooted and people just leave them be.

This mango tree practically is lying on its side and fortunately was not totally uprooted. Village maintenance staff pruned the branches that were damaged especially those that became road obstacles. The tree is alive and well, and continues to bear the kalabaw variety of mangoes every year.

This is a sort of requiem for other trees that are now gone. There are currently many new houses being built around our village. Most owners, architects and engineers don't really care about trees even the larger, older mango, narra, acacia, santol and kaimito trees that typically are located in the lots. Everybody seems to want a cleared lot to build their homes on using templates or designs usually for those typical subdivisions that have cookie cutter structures. In our case, we didn't go that way. We retained the old mango tree and relatively younger narra tree that are now magnificent landmarks for our home. Our mango tree was victimized by a powerful typhoon months after we moved in. Fortunately, it only lost one of its big branches and the tree survived to grow into its broccoli-like shape today.

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Nippon Ramen at the Mactan Cebu Airport Terminal 2

We arrived early for our flight back to Manila and had time for a meal, lunch to be exact. We decided to go for some ramen at the Nippon Ramen branch inside Terminal 2. We ordered a couple of char siu ramen, which we just shared with our daughter. It was not a heavy meal as we also didn't want to have full stomachs while in transit.

Nippon Ramen frontage/counter where customers may order their food and drinks

Char siu ramen

The wife's char siu ramen

I've eaten at their branch just outside Terminal 1's arrival area and we (my friends and I) thought it was good enough though not really having the authentic taste you probably expect and find in the Ramen Nagis, Mendokoros or Kurodas or other ramen restaurants that are now scattered around major cities. While some people might be tempted to say their prices were exorbitant (presyong airport), I thought Nippon Ramen's was reasonable for the quantity and quality.

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Chocolate tasting guide

Opening a chocolate for dessert one evening, I discovered that Lindt provided much information about their chocolate in the inside of the package. There is a tasting guide that you don't usually see in other chocolates. If there were info on the inside of the package, its usually about the advocacies of a company including fair trade and beneficiaries of the company.

Inside of the package - this usually is blank so kudos to Lindt for providing such information here.

About Lindt chocolates

It's the first time that I saw this on the packaging of a chocolate especially the part where there is a pairing suggestion with wine or tea. The descriptions of the chocolate according to the 5 senses is also very informative if not amusing.

I guess the high cocoa range would be the ones highly recommended to be paired with wine or tea?

Description of the chocolate according to the 5 senses.

 

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Anyone for Korean orange juice?

I was curious about the orange juice from Korean brands so I decided to get a couple of bottles from a store in the nearby mall. I actually bought one of two orange juice variants they have and both taste good. Both claim to be 100% orange juice and not just juice drinks like what most are in the market. From what I understood, they were not necessarily the concentrate type or the blended type like what many bottled or tetra-packed 100% orange juice are.

Fresh Mandarin from the No Brand store

Price-wise, I thought the price of a bottle was reasonable enough for a 100% orange juice. I say this in comparison with the typical Happy Day, Ceres, Harvey or other brands you'll find in supermarket shelves. Satisfaction-wise, these Korean orange juice are really good. I thought the Mandarin was flavorful (perhaps full bodied can be used to describe it). You may add some water if you want the taste to be lighter especially if the juice will be to wash in the food you're eating or as a refreshing drink after a workout. I will definitely get more of these the next time I pass by the store.

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Rolls cookies and crinkles

There's a stall inside the Bonifacio High Street Mall that sells really good cookies, crinkles and brownies. The price for each is justified by the quantity and quality of their products. We have seen their stall several times but just have not had the nudge to purchase and try their items. One weekend last month, as I was waiting for the wife and daughter as they checked out one of the shops, I decided to get a few cookies, crinkles and brownies.

Chocolate butternut crinkles, pecan-choco chip cookies, and fudge brownies

A box of Rolls goodies

There are so many cookies, crinkles and brownies out there especially as many people seem to have taken to baking and selling during the pandemic. I thought Rolls' were one of the real deal and truly worthy of a next purchase and serving. Just be careful not to overindulge as too much of these is bad for your health.

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Another Seiko 7015-7010 Flyback Chronograph

We begin the last month of 2022 with a watch feature. I acquired another, more pristine Seiko 7015-7010 flyback chronograph when the opportunity presented itself. Here are photos of the my more recent chronograph.

Seiko 7015-7010 Flyback Chronograph from the 1970s.

The case back is correct and the serial number show that the watch was manufactured in January 1973. Similar to my first 7015-7010, this is the birth month and birth year of my wife.

Side view showing the crown and the chrono buttons

The other side view showing the overall good condition of the watch

Close-up of the dial showing the clear markers and prints, the day and date displays (I set the day in Kanji). The inner bezel is not faded and rotates. The chrono hand resets to zero.

The obligatory wrist shot with some sunlight providing a clear photo of the watch.

And here it is side by side with the more beat-up watch I had:

Note the correct chronograph hand (yellow) compared to the replacement hand on the watch on the right. Note also the more beat-up condition of the dial and bezels on the right.

I replaced the bracelet after I found an extension to the buckle. I am now pondering whether I should let go of one or keep it in case I need parts or have the opportunity for a restoration.

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ABCT Japanese Restaurant, Sakura Circle, Antipolo City

I've written about the limited options for authentic Japanese food in upper Antipolo. It's really a good thing that Ramen Nagi is now open and soon Marugame Udon, too, at Robinsons Antipolo. There's supposed to be another Japanese-themed ramen place to open at that mall but I haven't heard of it (and can't even remember its name as I write this). As we've been purchasing items at the nearby ABCT Japanese Store, we spotted their izakaya at the same compound/food court. We've heard about this but don't have close friends who've eaten there who could give a nice review. And so one lunch time, we decided to go out with our daughter (whose was schooling from home then) to try the restaurant. It did not disappoint.

Set lunches on the menu

Sashimi selection among others

Makimono

The restaurant interior reminded me of izakayas in Japan. The only thing missing are tatami tables and rooms.

The karaage set feature chahan (Chinese style fried rice), ramen (with your choice - tantanmen, tonkotsu, miso or spicy) and sweet squash for dessert.

The ebi fry set is the same except for the central item.

Price-wise, we thought that it was reasonable for very good quality, authentic Japanese food. There's just so many items on the menu to choose from that you cannot possibly try so many unless you're in a big group. We'll be back for more and to try other items.  Tops on my list would be the sashimi and teppanyaki but some time I will probably try their unagi. Until the next time!

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