Note to self:
1. When someone says 10-ish, that’s a range from 10:00 to 10:59.
2. Sometimes, when someone says that they’ll be finished by 9:00, it’s just a suggested time.
The Longanisa Project 3.0
Me and My Longaniza
The Correct Running Shoes For Me
In the interest of finding the correct running shoes for me, I went online and took the tests at the Mizuno Precision Fit. The result said that I’m a neutral runner and that I should go for shoes with cushioning. It also gave me some models to choose from. One of them that I liked was this:
It’s the Mizuno Wave Prophecy, and it’s the brand’s priciest pair of running shoes at Php 8,900+.
So I went shoe hunting at SM Megamall to get myself one and start the road to fitness, but unfortunately (or fortunately, as you’ll later find out why), they don’t have it in my size. A quick check on their online system revealed an ever worse news — they don’t have a size 10.5 anywhere in the metro. I was bummed.
A few weeks after while walking around Shangri-La Mall, I was surprised to discover that there’s a Runnr outlet inside the Toby’s Arena. I saw that they were doing a gait analysis on one of their customers, and thought that I should have mine analyzed as well. I had a dinner date with my brother, his fiancé, and my wife at that time so I didn’t line-up, but I placed it in my To Do list.
Last Friday, while we were waiting for my friends at Sis to celebrate a birthday, I dropped by the Second Wind running store to check out the neutral running shoes they’re selling. As I was looking at the different models, one of their friendly sales staff offered me to have foot checked. Since it’s free, I obliged happily. The result of the test came as a surprise for me — instead of neutral shoes, I should be running on stability shoes! Wow! That explains why I was running well on the Nike Structure Triax almost three years ago.
They showed me severals models for my foot type, and I loved this one:
This is the Mizuno Wave Nirvana 7, and it’s for people with low arches like me. It’s way cheaper than the Prophecy at Php 5,800+. Not bad!
I would’ve bought this right then and there if I had the money, but I promised to return after payday. Maybe I can do a full analysis first at their Teacher’s Village store just to be sure.
My Brand New Messenger Bag
I bought the 11″ Thule molded EVA laptop sleeve from the Apple Store in Hong Kong and fell in love with it. It fits my Macbook like a glove that I thought, “wouldn’t it be great if it has a matching bag to go along with it?” I went online and found this Thule Crossover messenger bag. Long story short, I pulled out my credit card, purchased the bag, and had it shipped to my friends at Johnny Air.
Well, I just picked up the bag from Johnny Air this afternoon and immediately migrated all the stuff from my old US Postal Pro Cycling Team bag.
I’m going for a full test run tomorrow when I bring it to work, but till then, check out the photos that I took:
See the other photos of my new messenger bag in my Flickr account.
Turning Thirty Five
I can’t believe I’m turning 35 this month. It doesn’t seem like I’ve been living in this world for that long. I think I would need a long ride soon to celebrate life.
My Thoughts on our Final Year
If the Mayans are correct and 2012 is truly our last year on Earth, wouldn’t it be great if we would mark the last year of our civilization with peace and harmony? Wouldn’t it be awesome that even for just one year, there won’t be any hungry mouths to feed anymore? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone has a place they can call home? In our last year as the human race, wouldn’t it be right to treat everyone with kindness and love?
I think we have the power to do that. And I think we can start now. We don’t need any formal organization to make this happen. All it takes is just one step.
Swing Kids
I just watched the 1993 film Swing Kids starring Robert Sean Leonard and Christian Bale among others, and I do believe that it’s one of the most beautiful films of that year. It’s about a bunch of kids in Hamburg, Germany during the time of the Nazis. It’s truly wonderful. Watch it if you can.
Check out the trailer from YouTube:
The wonderful feeling of having a newly-fixed car
I’m so happy that I finally did what I was planning to do with the car. With the 1-month gratuity pay that I got, I was able to replace all four tires, the front bumper and the right fender lamp. I was also able to have her wheels aligned and her scratches removed. Just now, with the help of my cutter and a bottle of Goo Gone, I removed the old stubborn LTO registration sticker, the dealer’s defunct domain sticker and the old commemorative Ateneo sesquicentennial sticker. My car looks like I just bought it! To top all that, I bought an air freshener that would make my car smell new.
I think a long road trip is in order.
Graham might get laid
It seems like our dear old Graham has a chance to get laid, finally. My friend’s dog, Summer, is in heat, and she saw how handsome our boy is. Now we only have to iron out the logistics for the two to meet. I’m excited. Keep your fingers crossed.
Gong Cha Philippines
Our heart leapt out today when we saw a picture of a Gong Cha stand on Facebook and discovered that the owner is Gong Cha Philippines. We immediately asked our friends from Facebook and Twitter where that picture is. We were guessing that it’s somewhere in Makati, probably in the Ayala Triangle Gardens.
Gong Cha was our staple when we were in Hong Kong last year. Never would a day pass that we did not have at least one glass of their popular milk teas.
Doing more research on the web, we discovered that the name of the franchiser is Andrew Ong. He replied to a blog post back in November last year that they’re building one somewhere in the Metro.
Not content, I searched for the guy on Facebook and messaged him to confirm if there truly is an existing Gong Cha stand somewhere in Manila. To my surprise, he replied to me after a few minutes. Apparently the picture we saw is just a sample stand somewhere in Singapore, but they’re starting construction of the first Gong Cha store in the Philippines. He said he’ll let me know once it opens.
Awesome! It looks like the milk tea wars is about to get tougher. I can’t wait!
Are you a big Gong Cha fan just like us? Join their Facebook page now!
The Obsessive-Compulsive Me
I guess I am a bit obsessive-compulsive when it comes to making the house neat and tidy. It’s already 1:33 in the morning and I can’t stop myself from doing a quick sweep of the floor, changing the sheets, washing the dishes and putting things where they belong. I think tomorrow I’ll wash the rest of the glasses, hang the freshly-ironed clothes (No, I don’t know how to iron. They just arrived from the laundromat), and maybe put out the trash. The bad side to this is, if your things are just lying around, don’t expect to find these in the same area. I think I got this trait from my mother.
I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but one of the virtues that you need to practice when you’re living in a condo with limited space is honesty. With me being in a constant editing and pruning state, I always have to ask myself if I truly need an item, or if I’ll still eat the leftovers in the refrigerator, for example. Most of the time, it’ll end up in the trash can. Sometimes it’s tough. Sometimes I feel guilty. But that’s just it — I need to throw it now, learn from that mistake and pray that it won’t happen again.
It’s 1:45 a.m. I need to go to sleep.
Taking things to the next level
He maybe an assshole, but I have to admit that he forced us to take our game to the next level. His concern and our concern, at the end of the day, is one — be able to give the customer the best experience possible. We may have different ideas on how to achieve this, but that’s alright. In what we do, having loyal opposition is a good thing.
NBI Shit
I’m currently having lunch here at Burger King SM City Marikina. I went to two NBI kiosks already to have my NBI clearance renewed but the lines were just too fucking long.
The first one was in SM Megamall. The kiosk was stationed at the basement level but the line goes all the way up to the fourth level. I figured, I will never line up for that.
The second one was at the Riverbanks in Marikina. The line was shorter but they only service up to 700 people a day, and the numbers are all given away.
Just got a call from Dennis saying that the NBI satellite office at Park Square might be a better option for me. I don’t know. For one, I’m not aware that there’s one in that area. Well, since my day is a big fail so far, why not go down with a bang?
Makati, here I come!
UPDATE:
The NBI kiosk at Park Square is a godsend. Unlike my experience with SM Megamall and Riverbanks, the process here is blazingly fast. It took me fifteen minutes or less to get my NBI clearance renewed. Now isn’t that awesome?
There were two lines: the first one is where you submit your old NBI clearance form, and the second one is where they take your pictures. That’s it. The last part is just affixing your right thumbmark to the form, and you’re out the door.
For those who are thinking of renewing your NBI clearance, better bring a your personal copy. If you lost it or you don’t have one, better head your way to the main office in Manila instead.
Thoughts about the end of the world
I woke up thinking about the end of the world.
Would God end His masterpiece by destroying it, like an artist throwing a tantrum, or, like an opera, would He save the most beautiful things for the finale and show it in its full glory?
On Being Connected and Walking Adventures
I find it wonderful that I choose to walk to the station and ride the MRT rather than waiting in line for a cab to go home. It’s nowhere near riding a bus, an FX or a jeepney, but this still makes me feel connected to the masses somehow. And if I wasn’t wearing my Simple shoes, I would’ve done something crazy tonight and walked from Quezon Avenue to Pioneer just for kicks. That would’ve been quite an adventure.
My First Legal Digital Download
Ride the Divide Soundtrack
I’m proud of myself. Last night, for the first time, I bought digital music. Yes, you read that right — bought. I didn’t torrent it. I didn’t Frostwire it. I paid for it with my credit card and downloaded the music legally. And it felt good.
So what did I buy? Well, I bought the soundtrack of the film that inspired me to do my four-day Mindoro bikepacking trip – Ride the Divide. I didn’t have the songs with me in my iPhone when I was doing the ride, but they were playing in my head the whole time. Now it’s in my playlist, and I’ll be listening to it for a long time.
Wouldn’t it be great if iTunes opened its online music store in the Philippines?
