Category: Food

10-Minute Warning CXCIII

Tonight, I really don’t want to write another Minute Warning post; I’m supposed to publish a new Watch post. The upcoming post is about a famous YouTube video related to my hero, Dave Grohl. But when I was drafting, I got a message from someone I met recently, and I must admit: getting messages from her is the highlight of my day.

Pardon me, my readers… oh, right. Pardon me, my only reader. Thanks to her, this Minute Warning post is all you get tonight. But at least my shadow heart is feeling a different kind of light, a comforting kind of light. And trust me on this: that’s something I haven’t felt in a long time.

Anyway, about my birthday plans: it’s exactly a week to go before my special day, and finally I have the day planned out! I’m going to my favorite cafe, and plan the next year ahead by writing in my new Moleskine daily planner. I will also have lunch there, plus I will drink my favorite affogato in the whole world. After that, I might look for a Blokees Deadpool figure at the nearest toy store. (Though I’m not sure if I’ll buy one.) And in the main event, I will meet my family and two of my closest friends at a modern Filipino restaurant, and we will have a glorious feast. (Take note: the restaurant is Michelin-certified.)

My ten minutes are not up yet, but that’s all I can say for now. See you in the next post, and happy weekend!

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A part of 14 Days of The Deranged Writer (2025).

Header image: Suvan Chowdhury of Pexels. Edited in Adobe Photoshop 2025.

Updated November 29, 2025.

10-Minute Warning CXCII

What can I write here in under ten minutes?

Let me just list down what happened today:

  1. Lately, I have been drinking FRESH POTS every morning. Again. Today is no exception. 2010 Dewey is screaming with joy.
  2. I recited Steiner Math at home. Again. HOLLA IF YA HEAR ME!!!
  3. I walked from my mall of choice to the nearest hospital. That’s 1 km.
  4. I walked from the hospital lobby to the 12th floor through the emergency stairway to buy my dermatologist’s medicine.
  5. After going down to the hospital lobby via elevator, I walked from there to the mall. That’s another 1 km.
  6. I met with my Mother, my cousin May, and my Tita Maggie, and we had a lovely merienda at Paul. I ordered a tartine salmon, and paired it with a refreshing glass of mango juice. It was excellent! I’d order a tartine salmon from Paul again.
  7. I walked around the mall to cool down further. I almost tried a different cafe that also serves affogato.
  8. I was mocked by a group of people because of my face. I know because when I passed by them, I heard them saying, “Pogi ang pananamit, pero ang pangit ng mukha.” (The style is nice, but the face is ugly.) I’m aware that I don’t have the face of a matinee idol. In fact, I have been insecure about my looks for a long time, and their mocking didn’t help at all. I was really hurt. Thanks for that.
  9. To calm myself, reset, and feel better, I dropped by my favorite cafe again, and I had a hot Earl Grey tea. This time, I only stayed for around ten minutes. I already did my Monday ritual anyway, so I’m good with a quick cup of tea.
  10. I went home with my parents and my cousin May.
  11. And now I’m writing this post.

Oops. My ten minutes are up. See you in the next post.

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A part of 14 Days of The Deranged Writer (2025).

Header image: Edward Eyer of Pexels. Edited in Adobe Photoshop 2025.

The Recently I

Lately, I have been delivering longer posts more than ever, and I think that I’m doing a decent job of that. Not great; decent. But anyway, the reason behind the mini-surge of lengthy posts is that, after a few years of working in my current day job, I found the right balance between doing what I have to do (e.g., my day job, relearning my skills) and doing what I want to do (e.g., enjoying my fandoms, writing here on The Diary). That balance gives me more time to plan and contemplate, and then put them all to writing here in The Diary.

That being said, I miss writing quick posts, and I haven’t made a new blog series in a long time, so it’s time for the debut of a new one: The Recently. Think of it as a page from a slumbook where I write the recent things I have watched, listened to, eaten, or whatever I have done recently.

Now, let’s begin the first edition of The Recently.

Continue reading The Recently I