Moving to Maginhawa wasn't easy for me. Tomas Morato has been my home for 3 years and being surrounded by bars, pubs and restaurants that operate 24/7 isn't actually a bad thing. But whenever I remember all the times I had to feel like a survivor just to get home while battling the rain, moving makes sense all of a sudden. 

Looking for a place close to work wasn't easy either. Sometimes I begin to think, why did I decide to work here in the first place if I had to endure all the evilness this place has to offer? Business-wise, Manila is a pool of endless job opportunities and aggressive career growth, but it's not a conducive place for a healthy and productive life--unless you're rich and can actually afford a nice place to live in. I have more to say on the topic but that deserves a separate blog post, back to the topic. Maginhawa is like a more laid-back version of Tomas Morato. There aren't a lot of establishments that are open 24/7 but the selection of places you can go to are eccentric and fascinating. One of which is Gerry's Jeepney. 

If there's another kind of food I love more than Filipino food, it's Japanese! I love sushi, teriyaki, katsudon, name it and most probably, I love it. And any Japanese meal would be incomplete (at least for me) without Miso soup! It can be the cheapest thing on the menu and it can also be a bit pricey, depends on the restaurant really. Since I love it, I wanted to know how to make it. 

Before I proceed with the recipe, can I just rant about the weather? Earlier, there was a thunderstorm and I had to cancel a very important meeting. After an hour, the heat started to intensify making the weather ultimately humid. UGHHH! Buuuut, this recipe is perfect if you get one of those perfect and cold rainy morning, without the weather getting bipolar. Let's start! 

I remember quite vividly the first movie I watched on the big screen, it was Thumbelina. For some reason, I didn't really like the movie. It may be because we were standing the whole time and as a kid, I didn't understand why we had to pay to be tortured like that--it didn't make sense! Well, it also wouldn't make sense now. I would never, ever pay for a movie and stand up while watching. It's like paying for your demise!  But one bad experience would not ruin my love affair with movies.  

I have 3 all-time favorite movies as a kid : Rock-A-Doodle, The Great Mouse Detective and The Land Before Time. When I was a kid, loved watching movies because there is always a moral lesson in the end. And being the little one who doesn't know much, I absorbed these lessons like a sponge. Each movie felt like a fun learning activity; It wasn't as boring as school yet you still learn something. It's funny how I already forgot some of the other things I learned as a child, but not why I started loving movies, haha. Watching movies as a kid was also some sort of recluse for me. The feeling of being transported into a make-believe world where every story has a happy ending--because we all know reality is very far from that. 

I'm not sure if it's professional to let it out and say, I'm not happy with my job. I'm okay with it, yes. But only because it pays the rent, takes care of the bills, takes me to places I haven't been to and gives me just enough to still help out my parents and my siblings who are still in school. I've been a little depressed at how I'm unable to figure things out. When I was younger, I always thought that when I approach 25, I'd already have a car and maybe a small condo unit, and you know, just live by as if life were that easy. Apparently, it's not. 

I am approaching 25, and what have I accomplished so far? I have managed to give money to my siblings whenever they need it. Treat my parents every now and then, help out with the expenses at home and that's it. I don't have any investment, and aside from my gadgets, I don't own anything at all. I'd like to say I have lived a frugal life for the past 5 years. I haven't shopped as much as I used to in college, if I have any guilty indulgence, that would be food--which is a necessity. But where did I go wrong? How come my ideal life isn't even close to my reality? It's really disheartening to look at what 5 years of work has done to me. I've been feeling this way for several months now and I can't seem to shrug this feeling away. Cooking is the only thing that keeps my mind off things.

Aaaaand, since this post is becoming lengthy and melodramatic, I'll stop. 

Woke up early today because the boyfriend kept on trying to ruin my sleep. We both have fucked up body clocks and unfortunately, they weren't in sync yesterday. Hence all the bullying while I was sleeping and he was wide awake. Couldn't go back to sleep so I made breakfast! We had Enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon, scrambled eggs with basil, onions and tomatoes, broccoli salad and coconut juice!

Work this week was extra toxic and extremely difficult. Two months before my birthday and this lingering feeling of unhappiness haunts me every time. I know, I know. You'll tell me this happens every year, months before my birthday. I know that, too! But I can't seem to get rid of this annoying and unpleasant feeling. I just had a haircut, hoping I'm one step closer to finally letting go--of that dreaded feeling, amongst other things.