Aglaonema, One to Bushy

My Mom gave me a pot with a couple of plants. It was a 3 in one. I honestly had no idea what they were and her only instruction was to water it everyday.

This was the pot -

More than half a year later it grew -

Eventually, repotted it -

And now it's crazy big 😅

#BeKind #StaySafe

My New Favorite Toy

I have a new toy! It's a Pacman pinball from Miniso. I got it the other day and it's been a fun "no power needed" gadget. I reach for it now instead of my phone when I need to take "a break". I play it a couple of times and then go back to whatever I'm doing. That means I don't end up wasting so much time doom-scrolling, haha. 

It's just PhP198 (or PhP199). I hope I don't break it soon since I'll probably use it for awhile. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

A Googleplex Throwback

I was a scout for Google in my past life.  That's what they used to call us (being lone feet on the ground). It was hard and we coped by having calls with our regional scout siblings. We had one international meet-up in Mountain View in 2007. We were not complete since the others couldn't get their visas on time. 

When I was cleaning up my childhood home, I found a framed photo which I made back in 2007. It included the names of the other scouts and then CEO, Eric Schmidt. I did that so I don't forget their names, especially since the others were from other regions. 

We were late for our meeting with Sundar because we had to
ride a bike to transfer buildings. It was hard!

That week with the other scouts was one of the highlights of my stay at Google. We got to meet the CEO and I remember meeting the current CEO, Sundar Pichai (he was still a VP back then). Ahh, but what I remember most from that week was learning how to play bocca and meeting fellow Pinoy Googlers. 

And here's little me with my Chilean and Colombian siblings, Jim and Francisco.

We bonded by figuring out what words in Filipino was similar to their language.

We planned to write a book a few years ago, but everyone's so busy. I guess we'll have to wait until everyone's retired, haha. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Saved by the Bell

We went to the mall yesterday to check out Mandalorian and Grogu toys. It's always a treat for me since we're being cautious. Anyway, it was a weekday and we thought there would be less people. 

We were wrong because it felt like a weekend. We went around slowly since I still use a wheelchair (so I don't overwork my heart). Malls here try to be PWD friendly, but from my experience they need to improve. 

Anyway, as usual, I almost got clobbered by people walking backwards. Miggy would always avoid people, but there are those who are unmindful. I had to use the bicycle bell* to catch their attention. Most people forget they are in public places and should be mindful. That's the reason why I installed it on my wheelchair because I've had near-accidents even at the hospital. 

*I got this in a Daiso branch in Japan and was saving it for a future bicycle. Getting a bicycle is not happening soon, so I just used it.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Gaga Over Mandalorian and Grogu Collectibles

I have been collecting Yoda figures and collectibles for many years now. It wasn't a conscious effort because my collection grew from gifts of friends all over! 

The same happened with Grogu/Baby Yoda. I honestly just wanted to stick to my Yoda collection, but the same thing happened. A friend gave me a huge Grogu Funko Pop. I knew there was no turning back, haha.

I started watching new offers of collectibles after watching the movie. I only watched the trailer to keep the suspense. Most of the clips featured Miniso and movie theater special popcorn tubs. I also checked Amazon and there are a lot of Funko Pop variants, other figures, shirts , mugs and, of course, Lego.

After Miggy's gym session we headed to Glorietta and SM Makati to check out toy stores and Miniso. We were not disappointed since there was a lot. It was honestly very hard to choose, but budgetary constraints led the way, haha.

#BeKind #StaySafe

How We Chose an Architect

For the longest time, we lived in rented accommodations. We eventually got a condo unit as our first owned home. My sister advised me early on that you can always change where you live. It was sound advice because we moved as our situation changed. We're now on our 8th home which we thought would be our permanent home.

During the pandemic we'd watch videos on houses for sale and architect videos. I remember mentioning to Sweetie I wish one of the architects we were watching would become our architect. That did not happen immediately and we got to work with several architects before we found the right one. 

Original plan of my childhood home made by Tito Bert Apolo, c1969 (before I was born!)

Last week, I posted about red flags when hiring an architect/contractor. We have a fair share of horror stories and that's how we learned through the years. We've also reviewed several proposals. Oftentimes, there were more questions than information that would put our mind at ease. 

We put our plans to build a house on hold because we felt we had not found the right people to work with. I was also grieving the loss of my Mom and clearing the childhood home was very overwhelming. My Mom had meter deep cabinets and she packed a lot of stuff in it. 

With home building on hold, we thought about investing some of our savings and that's how we met our current architect. We felt that our values were aligned. We shared with him what we experienced and he gave us a lot of advice. 

I was a program manager and details are very important for me. I used to make and review a lot of proposals/quotations/contracts, and over a year later we started the house build. Here's what we liked about our current architect:

• We started with a business relationship
• He was very patient and generous in answering questions
• He got to know our lifestyle, needs and wants before he started planning
• He adjusted the plans as needed and has been flexible throughout the project
• Most importantly, he's the only architect that gave a detailed costing which included professional fees (architect + a number of engineers), cost of materials, other building costs, and a list of owner supplied materials

With everything above board, we also felt that we had the same values as the architect. I personally dilly-dally whenever I need to make a big purchase, so I took my sweet time deciding. Mind you we started looking for an architect even before the pandemic. It took a lot of prayers and reviewing to find the right architect for our needs. I think the most important thing is finding one with the same values as us. 

The big bonus? We're working with the architect we wished for during the pandemic :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Happy, Restful Sunday

I hope you all had a restful weekend. We were so busy last week and needed the break.

Our cats are lucky, they rest anytime they want, haha.

We'll be starting the week without water again. Apparently, a third party contractor hit a pipe somewhere in Manila and we're all impacted in our city. Oh well...

#BeKind #StaySafe