crumb trails

Where hope's in bloom (watercolor on paper)

A daffodil

For hope,

Faith,

Good fortune,

and new beginnings…

Whenever I try my hand at painting, I’m always partial to watercolor as my medium. It usually occupies my spare time or when I’m in the mood to [try to] create an artwork.

I did one last summer. It’s not as remarkable as a pro’s work, but as I was looking at it the other day, it became clear to me why I chose this particular subject and picked those hues from the box of watercolor tubes, gathered  several paintbrushes, and started working.

Flowing Leaves (9x12 watercolor on paper)

This piece, which I named “Flowing Leaves,” was done almost four months ago, the same time I had to make a major decision. It is now that I realized why I picked those leaves from the garden and painted the watercolor pad in blue: because at that time, I was turning over a new leaf; taking my life in a new direction. I thought that although the water in the stream has a particular destination, I have decided to go against the current and create my own channel.

So far, I’m loving the decision I made. Life is good (and the Almighty’s making it even better). I couldn’t be more grateful.

Everyone keeps a secret. But some secrets need to be shared. Like this great place I was tasked to photograph for the newspaper we publish.

I’m sure you all know Fanny Serrano. He’s a well-known celebrity makeup artists in the country. He enhances the beautiful faces of movie celebrities such as Sharon Cuneta, Lorna Tolentino, Amy Austria and many others. But did you know TF (as Fanny Serrano is fondly called) has a secret?

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A familiar sight? When was the last time you were here?

Located at the heart of Manila, Rizal Park is one of the main attractions of the city. In the Spanish colonial era, it used to be a cleared area aimed to buffer any rebellious acts of the locals against the walled city of Intramuros, which, at that time, was the center of business and social activities. The area was then named Bagumbayan or New Town, but was better known as Luneta because its shape was like a small moon or lunette (Spanish). In 1912, Act No. 243 of the Philippine Assembly, declared the place as the site where a monument of Dr. Jose Rizal and a mausoleum which will house his remains will be erected. This location is almost the same spot where Dr. Jose Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896. Up to this day, two ceremonial guards known as Kabalyeros de Rizal or Knights of Rizal guard the National Hero’s monument twenty-four hours a day and all throughout the week.

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One of crumb trails earliest entries was about a place in Marikina. Among the cities in Metro Manila, Marikina has become one of the most progressive. But what sets it aside from other cities is its cleanliness. The discipline of its citizens is also exceptional. But apart from these, there’s a lot more to discover in Marikina. And one of them is Pan de Amerika (PDA).

Pan de Amerikana embodies quality dining experience. The concept of the restaurant is meant to make every diner feel at ease. The ambiance is a fusion of European, Asian and Filipiniana that blended well together, creating a homey environment and a perfect garden set up. Unlike other concept dining places, Pan de Amerikana is not restrictive. Guests are free to wander around while waiting for their food to be served and linger some more after they have finished eating. And speaking of food, the restaurant serves authentic Marikina dishes and other Filipino foods. Marikina boasts of its Everlasting and Waknatoy. Everlasting is similar to embotido but it is placed and cooked in a “llanera.” It is named as such because it in the olden days, this dish is ever present in festivities and gatherings. Waknatoy on the other hand is like menudo. And like everlasting, it is also always on the table of almost every family gathering. The Chinese settlers in Marikina during that time would always complain and say, “Ito na naman? Wak na `toy!” (This dish again? No, not this dish again!). Other notable dishes in Pan de Amerikana are the Ilocano sarabasab, Bicolano express-laing, Cebuano sinugba and sisig rice. But the taste of these foods is not the only reason to dine at Pan de Amerikana. With a very nice ambiance, you’ll be surprised at how affordable their meals are.

Some of the things to look forward to at Pan de Amerikana

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Let’s face it. In our country, visiting museums is not part of our culture. We don’t bother to go, unless you’re a student and your teacher or professor required you to visit a certain museum in a certain place.

I may be wrong, but most people think that museums are meant solely for the well-off members of the society, an activity only the rich people can afford and enjoy. That is a HUGE misconception. If you can afford buying tokens for a videoke machine (don’t shoot me, I have nothing against karaoke singing. I’m Pinoy, so I like it, too), you definitely can afford museum entrance fees. Some of them do not even charge a dime!

You see, museums are there for you — for you to learn more about your community, your country, a religion, a new technology, history, etc. Spending time in a museum somehow changes, in a positive way, your view of yourself as part the society. Sometimes you can find the missing aspects of your life. It can be fun, only when you start appreciating what you see there. You can even say, museums rock!

It had been a little while since I’ve been to one. This year I plan to visit as many as I can (that’s the GRAND plan!). And since I’m based in Metro Manila, I’ll start here. I’ve made a list of the museums here and grouped them by locality.  You might want to visit them also. Or join me!

Here goes my list with a few basic details:

City of Manila
Museo Pambata (Ermita)
Museum Hours:
Sunday 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Tuesday-Saturday 8:00 am-5:00 pm (Aug – March), 9:00 am-5:00 pm (April-July)
Admission: Php 100 (children & adults), Free/discounted for Manila residents (bring ID); Free for museum workers and teachers (bring ID); Free for street children, infants

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I belong to a family who are mostly (humbly speaking) gifted in the arts. I have an aunt who’d been scrap-booking long before scrapbooks became a fad, makes letter cut-outs without using whatever kind of pattern, creates paper mosaics, and does her own greeting cards. As a young man, my dad worked as an illustrator for Tagalog Komiks, now he’s into photography. My sister showed, at an early age, her artistic talent, hence, she took up fine arts in college. Recently, I discovered that a cousin is starting to make a name in photography in Singapore.

Being surrounded by these people, I’ve learned to appreciate the arts at an early age. I’ve learned to open my eyes and somehow see beyond a picture or painting. Most of all, I got to try my hands at painting/drawing! Here, take a look at some of my pencil drawings:

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Dreaming of creating your own art masterpiece one day?

Thanks to programs like Mr. Picasso Head and bomomo, now you can further explore your creativity. With Mr. Picasso Head, you can create your own Picasso-like piece. Really fun!

Here’s one of my creations:

Framed it and all so it’d look like a real painting. This is inspired by one of Pablo Picasso’s sketches.

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Last week’s night out is the closest thing I could think of of a summer getaway. It’s already the month of May and I haven’t been to any resort (beach, pool or spring). I went to the beach too early (February). My time—or should I say, mine and my officemates’ time—is occupied by the routine at work. Maybe all of us were too busy to notice that summer is slipping away, fast and unnoticed, and the thought of some summer adventure only occurred to us in passing. Haay…

Anyway, on the last day of April, my colleagues/friends at the office decided to push trough with our plan of dining together at Adarna Food & Culture. It was also a farewell dinner for Conrad as it was his last day at the company. That was my third time at Adarna, and like my previous visits, it was again an enjoyable experience. This restaurant really keeps on surprising me and my taste bud.

There were thirteen of us who dined at Adarna. Butch, the waiter assigned to serve us, ushered us to our reserved table near the piano (we really specified that our table be by the piano because we planned to sing some songs after eating). Everybody instantly liked the homey ambiance. We ordered several platters of Batanes yellow rice, dilis, piassok, sigarilyas salad, Adobong Batangas ala Adarna, Pochero, Tapa served with a very interesting dip, and Gising-Gising. It was a delightful dinner; every bite a moment to relish. Personally, I have never imagined that sigarilyas (winged bean) could taste that good. The salad was one of the groups favorite. Piassok was a sure hit, of course—the beef melts in your mouth. This dish is a must-try at Adarna. Everything is a must-try at Adarna!

The Group (from left: Che, Avi , Yme, Chris, Tet, Leng-leng, Gemma & Alan, MJ, Obet, Conrad, Sir Jojo, and Sir Jay) Just finishing our cups of coffee, tea and hot choco. Thanks to Chef Giney for this photo.

Adarna Food & Culture is open until 10:30 in the evening. But we were enjoying the place, the company of each other and the singing that we somehow lost track of time. It was half past eleven when we left; many thanks to Ms. Beth and Chef Giney for allowing us to stay that long.

Here are some more pictures:

Jamming time! Yeah, we weren’t “that ready” for a night of music (`yan may baon talagang songbook )

Havin’ some good time.

Another group photo, taken just before we left Adarna.

In celebration of April Fool’s, I’d like to share some works of art by a colleague. The initial creation is a product of a misheard term and the last two sprung from a series of hilarious discussion with other co-workers. So, without further ado, may I present “Smelly Ps”, created by Conrad. I hope they’re good April Fool’s surprises.

Introducing ‘Yagit’ (orphan) — the character that started it all.

Then came jolly fellow ‘Wagi’ (winner/successful)

As Conrad pointed out in his blog, someone has to take the opposite of a winner. Thus, ‘Sawi’ (failure) was born.

____________________

Hitokirihoshi is planning to write a story about these “P’s.” Check her blog, maybe she has posted one already.

Hey, peps, can you guess what they are?