Crazy/Beautiful

Note: this blog is also found in website: http://rubycube.multiply.com/journal/item/120

My best friend Isabelle and her American husband Robert visited us a
few weeks ago. It was a short but lovely time spent with them. We did
the usual stuff whenever Isabelle’s in town, eat and shop. One thing
that Robert noticed about Manila was the cost of living here is not
cheap, in terms of food and clothing.

And I realized, OO NGA
no! When I was working as an employee in Makati, I didn’t feel the
pinch. I guess that’s because I’m single and living with my parents and
not a breadwinner. Now that my lifestyle has changed drastically, I
started to become more conscious of where my money’s been going (I
still have my days though).

When I was working in Makati, I’d
spend about P200-250 a day for food and parking. I have not computed my
gasoline expenses yet. Since I did not have a car park space alloted
for me, I’d spend between P70-120 per day. A meal would be P70 on
average. Eh dalawang beses ako kumakain sa labas sa isang araw. Can you
do the math? There was also a time when I went to starbucks almost
everyday because I was after their planner and I had to complete 21
stamps in my card. Each drink I order would be between P85 and P140.
But that time, I wasn’t paying for parking naman cuz I got to squat  in
my friend’s parking space in the next building  until finally the
guards caught me and  posted a memo on my windshield telling me to see
their administrator. Needless to say, I did not go back.

Anyway,
the point was, I spent so much money on food and other essentials. Buti
na lang my salary then was way above minimum wage. Hindi naman ganon
kataasan but it was more than enough.

Now that I’m on my own,
I’m more aware of where every peso from wallet goes. Since I don’t
generate stable income yet, I have to live as cheaply as I can and make
sure my funds don’t go to non-essential expenses.

My friend
Cathy shared this principle with me. (Actually, it was her friend who
studied in the UK who shared it with me.) It’s called the Starbucks
principle, UK version. In the UK, a cup of starbucks coffee is about 3
pounds (can’t find a pound sign in my keyboard). If the exchange rate
is 1 pound is to 100 pesos, that’s an exorbitant price for a cup of
coffee, right? But then that’s also what minimum wage earners make in
an hour so to the Brits, Starbucks is just okay. But here in the
Philippines, the minimum wage is P362. And although
Starbucks coffee is priced cheaper here, a min. wage worker here ends
up spending almost half of his day’s wages for a frappuccino or iced
latte. Grabe no?

Robert commented also that the prices
of clothing here don’t differ much from the retailers in the US.
Example (mine, not Robert’s): Grab jeans P3795 or almost P4000. That’s
like $90! Nowadays, you can’t find a nice pair of jeans of good quality
that’s below P500. For me, I’ve been so used to buying imported jeans
since I can’t find local ones that fit me well. Well, actually, meron
akong Bayo but that one was like P1,300. Mahal pa rin.

I’m kinda done with clothes. Now we go to another favorite topic of mine which is food.

I’ve
been eating in SM foodcourt for the last 3 weeks or so. May favorite
kasi dun ako ngayon, yung Korean Barbecue Express. I only order ONE
thing: Beef Ribs Stew for P99. Ok na rin yung serving and I have no
cause for complaint. And if you know me, you know that I want to eat
something sweet after every meal. So I noticed this BUKO kiosk, another
concept from the guy who came out with the smoothie kiosk FRUITAS. This
BUKO station puts their desserts inside coconut shells (para cute
diba?). Their buko pandan is priced at P49. Before, I would have qualms
about this price but that time, I was more concerned about not being
able to finish the whole thing. Ok lang yung P49 kung may kasama akong
kumain. When I asked if they have smaller servings, the guy in the
stand said NO. So I went to the next stall which was called the Mango
Farm. I spent around P50 for a mango shake with milk and tapioca. Ok na
rin.

Yesterday, after Glorious Hope, Raffy and I ate at the SM
foodcourt again. I was craving for the munggo (the soup) at Kamay
Kainan (Yes, I eat munggo, galunggong and other probinsyano fare,
thanks to my parents). Raffy got food from Bodhi. Since may kasama na
ko, I checked out the BUKO stall again. I couldn’t forget the picture
of Buko Pandan inside a coconut shell. I figured it would be safe to
buy na because I have someone to share my dessert with (and hence,
split the calories). I told the BUKO guy that I would like to order one
buko pandan. Since he was busy preparing another’s order, I told him
I’ll just come back for mine. Since Raffy finished eating ahead of me,
I asked him to claim our order.

Imagine my disappointment when
the Buko Pandan turned out to be green and red gulaman and kaong in
milky, icy water with a few strips of coconut. Think of halo halo whose
crushed ice had melted with the milk and sugar. Sobrang olats talaga. I could have gotten a halo halo from Chowking (which I don’t really like) and would have been less disappointed.
It doesn’t take a food expert to know what a good buko pandan tastes
like. Good buko pandan should be creamy at the very least. Sobrang
nainis lang ako sa inorder ko but then I didn’t wanna ruin my day by
bitching continuously about my unfortunate dessert experience so I let
it go na.

When I met with Marie and Joan that afternoon, I
warned them about going to that BUKO stall and shared my experience
although in a less irritated manner.

Marie observed: "Bakit ganon? We’re willing to pay naman but we don’t get what we paid for?".
Then she recounted our experience at Josephine’s in Tagaytay where we
were served with Ginataang Tilapia and was charged P250 or so for the
fish that weighed less than 400 grams. And I also remembered how there
were so many waiters that day but we had to ask for water 3 times
before somebody served us water. Buti nalang we were in such good
spirits that day we did not complain. She also noticed that some
waiters there weren’t really doing anything but continued to ignore our
requests. Sa sobrang inis ko, I did not leave a tip.

My sister
who got back from Iloilo after living there for more than a year said
that the dining experience in Iloilo is so different from Manila. Here, we pay for the place, not the food while in Iloilo, you get what you pay for. If
I remember correctly, the Mang Inasal Chicken there costs P50 with rice
and drink na while the Bacolod Chicken Inasal Petso is almost P80. Wala
pang rice yun. I remembered last June 15 when I had my last merienda
with my officemates Ron and Mykee in BCI Paseo Center. Ron ordered a
bowl of pancit molo. Being a daughter of an Ilonggo, I’ve had a taste
of the real deal since I was little therefore, I knew what it’s
supposed to look like and I wasn’t craving for it. Birthdays and
Christmas Parties in Iloilo are not complete without Pancit Molo. Going
back to Ron, he was so disappointed when he got his pancit molo. One
order costs P85 and what it contained was 4 pieces of the molo
dumpling. That’s it. Eh di sana bumili na lang si Ron ng siomai sa St
Francis, 4 pcs P25 lang. He was so bitin Mykee gave him her puto pao.

Kakainis no?

Well, you know me and how I feel about food and customer service. I sure hope that BUKO owner gets to read this blog entry.

Aside from the fact that he’s gorgeous, stylish and extremely talented, Terence and I share the same views on modesty.

He was interviewed in InStyle (the one with Kate Winslet on the cover this year) and look at what he said:

"Women’s
fashion seems to have gone too far. Women have lost their modesty. They
shouldn’t be showing half their bosom to the world. I find modesty attractive. Some of the greatest people on this planet don’t blow their own horns, They’re just there. Like Oprah. She doesn’t talk about how much power she has; she’s just Oprah. She’s got a great figure and she dresses appropriately. She’s always a great role model."

Starlets at ang mga wala nang career, take note.