257 - 262/365 - Laziness and Illness

It has been a very lazy week in terms of blogging. I managed to take my daily photos but there was little to no inspiration. Plus for the life of me I could not find any topic to blog about.

Mom and Martina's Miniatures

I finally did manage to try my 30D's external flash on my G16. Since I never really seriously tried using the external flash, I have little to no clue how to maximize the potential of the flash. I did manage to get it to work while mated to the G16, so that's one step forward.

Flash photography with my external Speedlite 430EXII

My mom and I tried eating at Burger Bar in Greenbelt 2. The burgers were good, but I found it a bit expensive for the price. Would I eat there again? Yes I would. But not soon. Maybe on a special occasion. Mom and I got some burgers and fries to-go for Dad, Maica, and Martina to taste. They did like the taste also.

Fries from Burger Bar

That didn't mean I was always in the mood to shoot. Here I just took a generic shot of our room, with the lights out. This was when I was getting mini-migraines last Friday. It started early morning, it got bad in the afternoon. Thankfully my boss made me take the rest of the day off to rest, so I managed to go home and sleep.

Built-in flash photography

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. I was still getting mini-migraines last Saturday so I needed to take the day off also to recuperate. It was nice of Maica to get me some food from Sakura for lunch. Then I spent the afternoon sleeping and recovering.

Katsu Curry and a maki from Sakura

Thankfully today I feel better. Not 100% better, but the mini-migraines seem to have left. What do I mean by "mini-migraines?" Well, they weren't the full-blown migraines I used to have. The pain level wasn't as high but it was enough to bother me at work and at home. I have no idea why it happened last Friday and why it lasted until Saturday, I just hope whatever reason is over and I will be fine moving forward.

It's Nero!

Anyway that's what happened this week. I was lazy to blog, and I got sick.

Out.

256/365 - Messenger Bag

Today I adjusted the strap on my messenger bag. Should have done this a lot earlier.

I usually have my messenger bag's strap extended to it's longest. But I have been noticing my shoulder usually gets sore, no matter how light or heavy the load. So this afternoon before walking to Maica's office I decided to shorten it a lot.

I first checked online if there was any "optimum" length or position for a messenger bag. Seeing that there was none, I decided to try for a shorter strap length, where the bag wouldn't dangle as much as before. I made it hug my body a bit more.

Not surprisingly, my shoulder didn't get as tired when I was walking. In fact, I think this is the strap length I'll be using moving forward. Who cares if It makes my fat more noticeable? At least I'm comfortable.

Out.

253, 254, 255/365 - Weekend Rest

Watching TV to fall asleep

Some tekka maki for dinner to start my R&R

Squeezing every bit of R&R this weekend

I was very excited for this weekend to arrive. My mom had rented some small rooms in Tagaytay Highlands where we would spend the weekend. I was really looking forward to getting some much needed R&R. However, I had work until Saturday so...

Maica, Martina, and my folks went to Tagaytay on Friday afternoon. I was left home alone because I still had work on Saturday. When Saturday arrived I was really looking forward to clocking out in the afternoon, because I would follow to Tagaytay.

I left Manila around 5:45pm, and thanks to the light traffic arrived in Tagaytay around 7:30pm. I met with my family and we had dinner out. When we got back to our lodgings I just took a hot shower, then I fell asleep by 9:30pm.

I woke up around 6am feeling pretty refreshed. We bummed around a bit before heading home in the afternoon.

Overall it was a great quick vacation. I still wish I had Saturdays and Sundays off, but I can't really complain that much. I just miss my two-day weekends.

Out.

Amateur Review - Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen at SM Aura

Today was Martina's Moving Up Day. After her school event we decided to go to SM Aura to celebrate and do the groceries. We decided to have lunch at Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen.

(Author's note: Martina's moving up day had some heavy snacks I ate. Then while waiting for Maica to finish her second class Martina and I had Starbucks. I was feeling pretty full when we arrived at the restaurant.)

Upon arriving I immediately notice the paper placemat.

Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen's placemat has a handy "how-to-eat-ramen" guide

Maica ordered the Miso Tonkotsu Ramen, and I ordered the Ajitama Tonkotsu Ramen. Martina and her Yaya Jill had the chicken karaage and extra rice.

Maica was starving, I was (unfortunately) full when we arrived

Here's a photo of my order. Sadly my order didn't look like the one in the menu. I was really disappointed that one of the ajitama eggs had no yolk, and the other was swimming face down in the broth - like a dead Jason Bourne at the end of Bourne Ultimatum.

Ajitama Tonkotsu Ramen I ordered

I wasn't in the best of moods, since I was feeling sleepy, but the ramen was surprisingly good. Enough to wake me up. The broth was good, the chashu was tasty, and the ajitama egg was, well, disappointing. Maybe it's because I've tasted ajitama eggs in Japan (sorry for the humblebrag). Anyway, my order was good, taste-wise. The noodles I chose were firm, as recommended by our server, and I think it fit in well with the soup.

One good thing about reading the placemat before eating was seeing the advice how to enjoy the ramen. I added ground sesame seeds in my broth and mixed in some of the pickled ginger. The sesame seeds and ginger made the ramen taste even better. I told Maica to add some to her Miso Tonkotsu and she also agreed that it improved the flavor.

Pickled ginger, chicken karaage, and some crayons for Martina

Overall we had a good experience in Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen. The place was clean, the food was good, and the service was okay. Expect to pay around Php500.00 per head (including service charge) for one order with drinks. Maybe a bit more since we didn't order drinks.

Group shot of the food we ate

Finally, would we go back there again? Not really. There's a reason why we never ate at Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen whenever we went to SM Aura. And that reason was Yabu. There are other reasons why we will have a hard time going back. Like Lugang Cafe, and that other ramen restaurant that opened beside Yabu.

I'm not saying don't eat there. Please, try it out. I wouldn't mind eating there again. But I also wouldn't go out of my way to eat there again.

Out.

251, 252/365 - Time Flies

(Cold) Gino's Brick Oven Pizza and Pasta for dinner

Martina's moving up again!

How time flies. This project 365 is wrapping up in a little over one hundred days. Another year has gone by and Martina is moving up to another level in her pre-school.

It feels strange. I know I have a lot more things I have to do to improve. Time moves so fast that if you're not careful a lot of things would have passed you by. So cherish every moment, be it good or bad. Use it as a learning experience. Use it as fuel to become a better person.

Good grief, I hope I can stop procrastinating. Sigh.

Out.