" My side of the Hood "

an ordinary neighborhood in Manila.
you've got tarpaulin, tons of rags and washed clothes,
some potted plants and what nots.
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" Jeep "

Yet another "Jeep" series,
but this time, on a mirror perspective and its headed to Pier, Luneta.
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" and then there were 3 "

vendors selling kites, seen outside Quiapo Church -Minor Basilica of black nazarene.

It never dawned on me that people photography could be interesting, now i know why. ^-^
still on the learning process, I enjoy taking fotos of strangers and steal their moments. ^0^
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" Suman "

Suman is a rice cake made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, then steamed in
banana leaves, wrapped in buli or buri palm (Corypha) leaves and eaten sprinkled with sugar.



Suman wrapping is an art in itself and can be traced with old indian traditions.
Wrappers utilize a wide variety of indigenous materials such as palm, banana, anahaw, banana leaves, etc.
Some wrappings are in simple folds such rectangular sumans.
Others are in vertical coils like the inantala, giving it a tubular form.
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" Sandigan Bayan "

But what does the it mean?
...The Sandiganbayan is a special court in the Philippines, established under Presidential Decree No. 1606, equivalent to the Court of Appeals which consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Presiding Justice.

What is its main purpose?
...It has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases which involve "graft" and "corrupt" practices
plus, other offenses committed by public officers and employees in relation to their office

and where's it located?
...Centennial Bldg, Commonwealth Ave. Quezon City .

ps: This structure looks a bit contemporary compared to the other courts that we have.
also, this was a swift drive-by foto, hence, its not in proportion. ^-^
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" LoTTo "

Do you believe in luck?... Most Filipinos do!



Everyday, a lotto outlet like this never goes out of line, esp. when the winnings are high.
Headed by PCSO (Phil. Charity Sweepstakes Office)
and for as low as P 10.-
you can place your bet for a 6/42 combination already.

I usually bet on "lucky pick" nos. and must admit,
i'm not really good when it comes to this.
Some lotto addicts believed it has everything to do with analyzing its pattern.
regardless though, there's always wishing for a "what if"...

What if you won the lottery?
what would you do with the money?! ^0^
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" Les Chocolat "

But who can resist such delectable sweets?



Any chocoholics? ^0^



seen inside the Sofitel's lounge bar- " Life is Magnifique "
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" Hairs "

A glimpse of reality from the other day and yesterday,
Now, for something refreshing,
let's take a look at nature seen at a famed park /mall here in Makati.




Judging from its appearance, I think this tree has been here for awhile.
I'm not familiar with it, but i'd like to call it the Weeping tree,
as its branches are spreading out and strands of golden hairs made it seem like its autumn. ^0^
It's definitely eye catching, not often do you see one like this.



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" This is Reality "

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" Rain or shine "

It's common to see them knocking on your car window,
they vied for your attention.
Sometimes you can't help but buy their products even when it's over priced.
This particular vendor was selling all sorts of car accessories.

Yet,they still sell their wares even they're not allowed to be in the middle of
the road.
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" good morning! "

Let's start Monday with a Bang!... or not...^0^
"Manong" here is still awfully sleepy.

I wish everyone a gr8 week ahead!



melody: head over feet- alanis morisette

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" Wasp "

It's quite uncommon for a wasp to lurk around our neighborhoood,
it's full of pesky mosquito or fly usually.
I was surprised to find one outside our apartment.
It seem unperturbed and it stayed at the same position for sometime,
so I finally pull out my camera and took some fotos of it.
It took me awhile before finally getting this macro look,
I must confess that I was scared to get too close to it. ^0^
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" Basyang "

Can you imagine life without electricity?!
No telephone lines, No railway transits (except for local buses and
jeepney), Cancelled flights, No internet, No signal, No t.v, No nothing.
Heck, even the water supply comes close to shortage.
More like the reality t.v. series, The Survivor.

The other day,(reason for not posting) a typhoon called Basyang-
Int'l name Conson hit our country causing massive standstill that almost puts
us all to a halt.

If Ondoy (Ketsana) last sept'09, devastated a lot of infrastructures because
of extreme flooding.
Basyang (Conson) on the other hand gave us strong and angry winds that struck down power plants causing the whole area of Luzon into "Blackout" (again!)
Lucky if you've got a fully charged generator and a full tank of water supply.
In our area, It took us more than a day,(waiting in vain) before electricity
finally arrived and things went back to normal.
Meanwhile, We have no choice but to patiently wait.

What's really unnerving was how the government and the local sector handles
the whole situation with no clear and right direction.
A catastrophe like this happens almost every year but the situation never
gets better.
There are lots of missing links and the "what must have" been done earlier,
than waiting for disaster to happen.
It's always "que sera sera"-whatever will be, will be.

Much said, I wish the newly elected public officials will take this matter seriously as more typhoons will be coming in the months ahead.

some bits Pepperoni and I
caught sight of:


Swaying to and fro coco trees.



damaged road signage



masses of garbage left along the bay, this man was apparently not clearing out the garbage, he's picking what's still useful to him.
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" Fil-Chi Friendship Arch "

Another archway or Paifang (chinese) seen in downtown.
It welcomes you in this colorful looking architecture.
I preferably like this better, because it has added more details to it,
the dragon which indeed is the perfect symbolism of the Chinese,
the gabled roof and there's even a walkway built on top of it,
right in front of the writings.

It would be a good place though, for proclamation or inaugural purposes.
I hope they do.
Like many structures here, we tend to neglect things that are old.
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" World Cup "

Unlike other countries, people aren't world cup fanatics here,
they prefer basketball over soccer.
Though that's the case, at Sofitel Philippine Plaza, there's this huge ball displayed at the concierge.
Everyone's taking a photo of it, that's for sure.

And now that the craze is over and
Spain for the first time has finally won the world cup.
Congrats! ^0^
Needless to say, "Paul" the fame- octopus- fortune teller was really right.

On another note, thanks guys for your concern last week.
I did try to get some rest, tried gargling with salt and water and also with honey. ^-^
It really does the trick eh?!
My eerie sore throat finally said goodbye. ^0^
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" As the week ends "

would've been a good week except for a sore throat that's been
nagging me since yesterday.

sharing with you another sunset version.
seen along manila bay.
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" Venice "

Ever wish you were in Venice on board the Gondola?



Or perhaps have a venetian mask like one of these?



Nope, not in Venice, I wish it were! ^0^
This eye catching window display is house by
Murano inside Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

I think it constantly changes its interior, I remember Hilda of My Manila posted this before (in great
detail btw) with a different theme.
But I can't help admiring this one.



melody: Masquerade - backstreet boys


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" Train "

two trains diverged on these tracks,
one was arriving, the other departing.

** the blurry grey on top and below are grid fences.


melody: Drops of Jupiter-Train

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" Smiles "

Still at Sofitel, these charming faces greets you a warm "hello" at the entrance, along with their Filipiniana outfit.

I caught them off guard while they were chatting, but they're observant when they saw me and instantly posed and smiled.
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" White "

went to Sofitel last saturday or what was once known as Philippine Plaza.
Haven't been there for ages and the interior looks exquisite as always.
This is the accent piece on its main lobby.
don't they look heavenly? ^0^
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" Footbridge "

across the Edsa, Taft station, one of the busiest thoroughfare,
watching people passed by the footbridge.

have a nice weekend everyone! ^0^
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" yellow "

isn't this a funky signage?!

melody: yellow- coldplay

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" Reflective theme day "

In the high streets of makati, three skyscrapers bouncing off through the
glass windows.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants
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