I noticed that I didn’t quite close off 2022, so let’s do so here.
The fourth quarter of the last year saw a lot of activity on my end as usual, so there’s been a significant delay with my posts. Couple that with several food posts ready for publishing, I’ve had to schedule the quarterly recap – four parts in all – for the entire month of February.
Putting that aside, it’s time for another update for you guys to find out what I have been up to outside of the regular foods posts I publish. Let’s get it on!
OCTOBER
I got one chance to leave the house during the early days of the month, which yielded two outputs – Sourdough Café + Deli and another post on The Brewman Coffee, hopefully not a final goodbye.
Construction on our house went full swing after that trip as Dad wanted the front yard with a whole roof over it. He also commissioned a general handyman to do painting work on the entire interiors alongside that. The handyman took a break for the Halloween-All Saints Day holiday, promising to return the next month.
I unfortunately never had the chance to take a break during this period. The only time I had for myself, ironically, was when everyone was asleep. Fortunately, I managed to sneak out thrice that month for personal errands. Most of the errands involved me sending some long-sleeved shirts for repairs and claiming them from the alteration shop. (Incidentally, two of these shirts had been previously featured in 2015 and in 2017.) I also paid a visit to a government office to iron out some kinks.
As the month of October ended, Typhoon Nalgae battered the Philippines as everyone was anticipating the long Halloween weekend. Halloween (Oct. 31) and All Saints Day (Nov. 1) are traditionally set aside for commemorating the deceased in Filipino culture, a practice borrowed from the Mexican Dia de los Muertos celebrations.
Here’s a bonus food post to cap off this month – the Sashimi Aimori Don from Tendon Kohaku. This consists of prawn, chicken, salmon, pumpkin, and green bean tempura on a bed of diced tuna and scallop sashimi. Rice is underneath that savory combination, and a sprinkling of ikura (salmon roe) rounds everything off.
Here are the posts I published for October 2022.
344 – On Traversing Tragic Thoroughfares: Tomas Morato Avenue
NOVEMBER
I celebrated my 32nd birthday on my own rules and my own terms. This time, I’m calling the shots.
I started off the day by going to church and thanking God for everything I have. I still have a roof over my head, a chance to save money courtesy of the WFH setup, and protection from COVID-19 (we haven’t had it since the pandemic started). I treated Dad and younger brother to meals using my hard-earned money, which I wrote about here.
Construction of the full roof in out front yard finished, but the repainting continued. I managed to sneak out again for a day to myself, as our bosses gave us Thanksgiving and Black Friday (Friday and Saturday in Manila time) off. I handled some bank errands, bought several birthday items for myself, restocked on toiletries and reviewed two food establishments that were long delayed – namely Mr. Ube Rice and Noodle House (part 1 and part 2) and Lord Stow’s Bakery.
All my plans for Black Friday fell into place. I managed to finish the bank transaction I was supposed to do and review two restaurants afterwards. I also got a haircut at Felipe and Sons at its E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue branch, now the nearest to me after its location at El Pueblo Real de Manila in Pasig City closed for good. (That was where this old OOTD post was shot.) I did not end Black Friday empty-handed though, as I also bought something as a birthday gift to myself. I’m thankful for that four-day weekend, as we seldom have long breaks given that we follow the US schedule.
Capping off November is this Creamed Mushroom Omelette Curry with Extra Chicken Cutlet from CoCo Ichibanya. This plate consists of fluffy Japanese-style omurice with curry sauce and mushrooms cooked in a cream sauce. The cutlet was an extra order as I craved protein that time.
Meanwhile, here are the posts I published for November 2022 – coinciding with my ninth blogging anniversary and my 32nd birthday.
347 – REBLOG: On 6 Reflections After Quitting Cosplay (2022 Edition)
I’ll end the first part of this series here. Do watch out for the next post!
The Monching's Guide 
It seems to me that 2022 was a peaceful year on your end. It was the opposite for me 😂 I hope 2023 will be even more peaceful (and hopefully, you get to sneak out more often 😊)!
Thank you, Bahanur! And yeah, I will definitely need to sneak out more often — our bosses just informed us yesterday that we’re on WFH forever 🤣
(Also, I look forward to reading the rest of your Manila trip! It’s just Part 3 and the good stuff is just coming up.)
Isn’t it crazy how the end of the year seems to be full of activity for everybody, everywhere in the world? 🤔
I don’t know anybody who doesn’t always have a very busy time while the calendar year is coming to an end.
As always, the food photos you posted had my mouth water. Luckily, this time, I’m about to have lunch, so that’s fine. 😁
Enjoy your lunch! 😆 Well, in the Philippines — the activity is mainly driven by the fact that Christmas-related bonuses often come in at the last quarter!
I wish I have the same oomph in blogging regularly and cheers to WFH forever!
Sa case ko kasi, blogging is the only outlet I have since permanent WFH na. Well, at least tipid sa gasolina (with high pump prices nowadays) and traffic (which is returning to pre-pandemic levels).
Wow, all that food looks amazing especially the pizza.
It sure was! That pizza actually lasted for two more days before we finally finished it.
Thank you for stopping by, Pooja!
Oh nice and my pleasure!
I was going to ask you saan mo nabili yung cake! I checked your birthday blog, sa Conti’s pala, might try that once I’m back in the Philippines! Also, hooray for WFH permanently!
Yep, sa Conti’s! Same quality and taste as Cafe Mary Grace, but at the fraction of the price. Masarap din main dishes nila — I recommend the Baked Salmon, it used to be a staple kapag Christmas party sa dati kong work.
Indeed! Tipid sa gas, tipid sa oras, tipid sa pamasahe — though there may be times that I’ll work outside just to deal with cabin fever.
I agree with you about working outside, Before, when I was still working from home, I would ask my supervisor from time to time to let me work sa office kasi I felt so isolated inside our house, and my room started to feel more like an office than my personal space. I can’t work outside eg. cafe kasi nawawala focus ko.
That’s true. Fortunately, I visit a co-working space in those cases — may isa akong pinupuntahan along Katipunan Avenue (Project 4 side). But I’m also checking other co-working spaces now.
Seems like you still managed to do quite a lot in those two months! The food you featured looks delicious!
Thank you! Yes indeed, all that — in spite of construction work at our house. But that’s just for October and November. There’s still Part 2 which will tackle December — and I’ll bring it out tomorrow (Feb. 12).
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Hats off that you managed to work,treat the family AND find some you-time all whilst having work done at home. You do make the best of things!
Thank you, Helen! I guess the secret, if I can share, is balance. Now that I’m permanently on a WFH setup, I sort of regained the time I would have otherwise consumed traveling to and from the office.
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