Bulgogi Brothers in Makati

My Tatay and sister have a penchant for eating Korean food. One weekend we were all in Makati, we opted to eat at the newly opened Bulgogi Brothers at Greenbelt 5.

Obviously costing more than other restaurants in other parts of Greenbelt, we expected the service and food quality to be at par. And it was!

 

 Mom got there first and she already practically finished the complimentary appetizers.  A lover of corn and salads, we had to request for another serving. Since then, I've been having Kimchi salads at home too.

Volunteering: It's More Fun in the Philippines

Here's the description of the Facebook photo album I posted a few months ago when my co-volunteers and I visited Northern Mindanao. Words are never enough to describe our affinity for that place, the bond that we have, and how we would always want to extend our lives to those who have touched ours.

 UNICEF and other organizations were supporting the community at Upper Hinaplanon.

--- 

In 2007, ten Filipinos became Global Xchange (GX) volunteers of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). While half of our hearts belong to the UK, half of it strongly identify with Cagayan de Oro (CDO) and Iligan City -- both ravaged by typhoon Sendong in December 2011.

First Loves Never Die

 Sala Bai in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Photo from my personal collection

I know, that seems grammatically wrong but I have two first loves: food and travel.

I'm still procrastinating while resting (why work when one should rest, right?) and my Facebook newsfeed led me back to food and travel. I checked my work e-mail with the utmost desire to do those presentations. That was a little over an hour ago.

A few weeks ago, I had the realization that I wish I traveled around East Asia more -- Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia (excluding China). I add that to my bucket of regret. Thank God, it's superficial regret.

Then this morning, I saw this CNN Go link about 10 great international cooking classes by Lina Goldberg. Anyone who knows me is fully aware I love to cook, and if we've talked at length, I really wanted to be a chef before I realized, I needed a day job. And pleasurable activities like cooking, eating, and traveling should remain enjoyable. Not a chore or task like those powerpoints.

Whenever I travel, I always intend to take cooking classes but never get to do it. Sightseeing and eating are priorities or work, then the next chunk of free time somehow doesn't allow me to take classes. The Intercon arranged it for me in Bangkok last year but none started early enough for me to reach my afternoon flight the same day. While in Malacca last year, my friend and I managed to eat way too much in one weekend but also didn't have time to take cooking classes. In Siem Reap, we prioritized the temples and the boutique hotels too much that by the time we had a free day to visit Sala Bai, it was closed for the day.

Just like the KOTO concept, Sala Bai is about using food to help the community through skills transfer. I've written about this dream before but I guess it will have to wait a few years again. Cooking school will have to wait for me and so will philanthropic work. I think I could be forgiven since my day job's mandate is to reduce poverty in Asia.

It's just a pity that most of the cooking schools in the CNN Go article are from the Asia Pacific. Then I saw another article on Asia's 10 great street food cities. Thank God I have an upcoming trip to Taipei, or else, I would be in deeper regret! Just so much to see in our region.

Then a few more clicks and I found myself reading the entire blog of Ms. Goldberg at MyBigFatFace. I'm just like that, I need to read the entire blog before saying I like it. Reading the blog is just so inspiring.

I wish I can do freelance development work and combine it with my love of food and travel in the future. That would be absolute work-life integration.

Hopes and Dreams

 Photo from the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

When I was a Global Xchange volunteer for VSO about five years ago, we were often asked to write about our hopes and dreams. Then toward the end of our volunteer stint, our program supervisors (PS), Abi and Patrick sat each of us down, and asked us what we have done the past six months, and what we thought were our accomplishments and contributions to the team and community.

That was one of the toughest moments of my life. But volunteering was one of the best moments of my life.

It was hard to look back about our hopes and dreams, to figure out and claim aloud our inputs to the cause. But an hour or so later, we had figures and rough statistics. Community action days came to mind. Hours spent on something. Outputs and results.

Most of my teammates and I have come a long way since our volunteering days. Our PSs have much to be proud of, I think.

Yet five years on, despite what seems like an uphill trajectory for me, I still have hopes and dreams that have not materialized. My closest friends and former colleagues at work often say, "if only outsiders knew what we actually do, they wouldn't wish to work here."

Yes. A few years ago, I started working for a dream organization. That January, I was choosing between working for the United Nations or the Asian Development Bank. Then I got thisclose to working on my dream topic: development effectiveness.

Simply put, my dream career would be about making sure that development interventions and every $ spent achieved its desired development results, and has a positive impact on the community.

My most fulfilling job function ever was reviewing development results for technical assistance projects completed by the institution I worked for. The analysis was based on sector and themes, which we had to link with different fund sources as well as overall institutional strategy. It would have been more fun if we checked how aligned they were with country strategies. A bit nerdy, I know.

But these things thrill me. I was so thrilled I even wrote my thesis advisers thank you notes for enduring my stubbornness to do aid coordination and transaction costs between two multilateral funders for my master's thesis.

Yet as a I write, I've procrastinated on 4 power point presentations, with just 4 slides each, about 4 sectors (trade policy, transport, trade facilitation, and energy) for a meeting in June that I will not attend anyway. The presentation is simply about the achievements and issues on these sectors. Easy. But I have no motivation.

And I wonder why. Maybe because I do not see the results of these meetings. I participated, prepared and was privy to several meetings online and offline that came to naught simply because one country rejected the participation of another. So much for cooperation. Despite the infused billion $ and opportunities to "discuss" and "harmonize" during meetings, what outcomes have really been achieved?

I had the same impressions after volunteering in Mindanao. After the grassroots organizations got funding overseas, they would hold these training sessions, pass an attendance sheet, have the training in video. And was that it? Where's the results? How do you measure effectiveness?

This topic has always intrigued me. Although I must admit, I have never really applied for a job related to this, I hope someday, I get to work on this. Maybe through an internship while at RUB, and a proper career after. I hope this dream can come true too! Just like working for that organization, and getting a scholarship. Again.

As I procrastinated and slept today (I am recuperating from a life-threatening illness atm), I had time (I was procrastinating!) to read most of my e-mail subscriptions, and even LinkedIn. Then I saw this discussion thread on M&E for someone aspiring to be in the field and would want to know where to acquire skills. One link led to another and I came across this M&E Manual. It's like M&E for dummies. I love!

Maybe, just maybe, I can intern at InProgress next year too!  Although I would much rather be in Bonn or Frankfurt, I fell in love with Berlin the first time I went there. It was both old and new but not in a London kind of way. It was chic, cool, funky and very socially oriented. Just the right size. And has more canals than Amsterdam, and practically a direct train ride from Prague. But far from Frankfurt where my heart is.

We will see how hopes and dreams materialize. Either way, I am very thankful for every result! And I owe much to the mentors that appear when needed.

I really didn't answer all the questions above but certainly working on M&E makes me feel good. Work is at least 8 hours of my day so let me indulge. The other 8 I would rather spend sleeping, and the other 8, most of it goes to food, movies, friends, design, family, and I wish, more travel.

Swiss Chocolates and Austrian Cafes

I've been coughing the past month and most of it, my doctor has instructed me to skip caffeine, chocolates, alcohol, and anything spicy.

During my teens, I acquired asthma, which was often triggered by the usual allergens like dust and foul smells, or by laughing too much, and sometimes having something sweet like chocolates followed by an irritated throat. So for so many years, I've been avoiding chocolates completely.

Until I spent Easter holidays in Switzerland a few years ago.

My aunt took me around Zurich and there were just chocolates everywhere. My introduction to Swiss chocolates in Zurich was our stroll along Bahnhofstrasse after leaving our train from Luzern. When I first saw Sprüngli, I was like a kid in a toy store. Which one to try? Just too many!

A few more steps away from the crowd brought us to another shop, which I remember not for the chocolates but for the interiors: it was just cluttered with flowers, colors hanging from the ceiling, oozing from the counters, floral cloths, and elderly looking glass cabinets displaying chocolates. I obviously got distracted. This shop was Teuscher.

But now I distinctly remember Teuscher not because of its decor but because of their dried oranges dipped in chocolate. I just love the hint of bitter from both the orange and chocolates, and the sudden surge of sweet from the candied fruit and, of course, the chocolate! My aunt came home a few months ago, and I got a box of Teuscher heaven!