A Quick and Easy Summer Day Tour of Chicago

Here's an easy tour to take a guest with, one who visits in the summer.  I did this today with a college friend. But we had to leave very early on a Sunday, and got back home for dinner.

800am - Take metra train to Ogilvie. Have breakfast at the food court while waiting for the first water taxi going to Michigan Ave
9:45am - Take water taxi ($5) from Ogilvie/River North going to Michigan Ave. Purchase Architecture Boat Tour tickets ($35) at Wendella, where the water taxi docks at. The first architecture tour is at 10:30am. Will be done right before noon, still a little full from breakfast, so can manage to walk up north to John Hancock Tower.
Spend an hour at the John Hancock Tower, $20 general admission.
Around 1pm, walk 2 blocks south to Gino's East for Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. It will take 45 minutes to make the pizza so it pays off to have your guest eat a heavy breakfast earlier at the Ogilvie.
3pm - Walk all the way south to the Millenium Park for the Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain, the Garden, and the Pavillion.
Walk a block south to the Art Institute of Chicago then walk along Adams Street going west. In a 2 blocks, stop by CVS for cheaper souvenir T-Shirts ($5 each).  Continue to walk till Wacker, take a quick photo at the main entrance of the Willis Tower.  When back up north west to Ogilvie for the 6:35pm train home.

Changing Your Name in the US

I recently got married and had to get through the process of changing my last name. Like everyone else, I googled and found pretty good information. But the sequence does matter, and here's what I have learned.

1. Expedite your national marriage certificate and have it sent here to the US.  In my home country, it normally takes six months to claim one's marriage certificate from the National Statistics Office. I asked our wedding coordinator to file for an expedited process and it took 3 months.
2. Go to Social Security to change your name. Bring original document from #1. Wait a week to receive new Social Security card.
3. Use #2 to update your name in your employer's file. In my case, they asked for a photocopy of my new Social Security card. Because of this change, your records at the IRS, payroll provider (if any), and health insurance will change as well. Eventually, you will receive an updated health insurance card. And ofcourse, show the updated health insurance card to your health practitioner or hospital to also update their own records.
4. Use #1 and #2 to change your name at the DMV. In my state, we get the new card instantly.
5. Use your new DMV card as proof of name change to your banks. Some banks can be more strict, and some asked for my marriage certificate.
6. Use your new DMV card to renew your passport, yes it is a renewal in my Consulate.  It takes 8 to 12 weeks to get the new passport, so avoid making plans to travel overseas until you get the new passport.

I hope this helps, good luck!

Travel Options from Southern Leyte to Surigao

What does it take to travel from Bato, Southern Leyte to Surigao City by plane?

1. 5 hours by land from Bato to Tacloban City
2. 1 hour flight from Tacloban City to Cebu City
3. Transfer to another plane (No direct flights as of this writing)
4. 45 minute flight from Cebu City to Surigao City

Here are alternatives if travel by ferry is not an issue

Option 1: via Liloan 

1. Travel by land from Bato to Liloan Port.  Googlemap says 67 km, and would take only an hour. But to translate that into the kind of roads we have in the Philippines, that would really take some 2 to 3 hours.
2. Take 3 hour ferry from Liloan Port to Lipata, Surigao City

Ferry Schedule here:

http://schedule.ph/boat/from/Leyte/to/Surigao

Option 2: via Maasin City

1. Travel by land from Bato to Maasin City for an hour.
2. Take 5 hour ferry from Maasin City to Port of Surigao, Surigao City

Ferry Schedule here:

http://schedule.ph/boat/from/Leyte/to/Surigao

9-10 Day Itinerary for Cebu and Negros Oriental

Day 1

Fly out of Manila 10am
Arrive Cebu 11:30am
Check-in at Tune Hotel, Cebu City (close to Ayala Center - Cebu)
Lunch at Ayala Center
Explore "Old Cebu" via taxi

• Magellan's Cross
• Basilica de Santo Nino and its museum
• Cathedral Museum of Cebu
• Fort San Pedro
• Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House
• Museo Sugbo

Taxi to The Walk, IT Park, Lahug

Dinner at Zubuchon

Day 2

Fly out of Cebu 1020am

Arrive Dumaguete 1100am

Travel 45 km north to Bais City

Checkin at a resort in Bais City

Day 3 - Bais City

Dolphin Watching and Manjuyod Sandbar (research on time when it is LOW TIDE to see the sandbar)

Day 4

Travel south

Check-in at Islands Leisure Boutique Hotel and Spa

OR rent a beach house in Bacong or Dauin

Option to rent van for all trips

Food to try: budbud kabog, sansrival, silvanas

Day 5

All morning, Twin Lakes of Balinsasayaw and Danao

Lunch at "Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries"

All afternoon:

• Silliman University
• Dumaguete Boulevard aka Rizal Boulevard, eat at tempurahan

Day 6

Day Tour Apo Island Diving

Day 7

Day Tour to Oslob Whaleshark Watching, take 30-min Ferry from Dumaguete Port to Osl ob

Day 8

Take one hour ferry to Siquijor and go back to Dumaguete in the afternoon, or take an extra day in Siquijor. Hire tricycle for a day (1,000 pesos) and will take your around already identified tourist spots.

Day 9

Pasalubong shopping

Fly out of Dumaguete at 4:55pm

An Untypical Day

I don't like waking up early for work. But today, I had to show up in uptown Chicago because the government needs to take my fingerprints. Having recently gotten hooked to CSI:Miami on Netflix, I knew what the government was up to. If you consider me your friend, please remind me to not leave fingerprints in a crime scene. And please remind me not to kill anyone. I took the slow city train that makes every possible stop. It may even stop when a squirrel hails for it. But it was nice to take it slow and easy for a change. I got off the train station and walked by a vintage movie house. It looked perfect to upload to my Instragram account, but I did not bring any of my two phones (1 for work, 1 personal) today because I was told it was not allowed in the government office I was going to. No problem, for a change, I'd love to temporarily detach myself from any gadgetry. So instead of using Yelp to find the closest place for me to have a meal, I could use my legs and my own eyes and my natural human instinct! Just as I was about to cross the street, three thin, bald monks crossed the same street. They each carried a gold-tinted jar, and they walked barefoot, with their heads down. I already forgot to cross the street because I realize this doesn't happen to me everyday. Part of me wished I could walk with them and make conversation about life, compassion and humanity. I decided to trace where they must have come from till I found a Buddhist temple around the corner. I almost stepped in, inside the temple, until I saw two old ladies in it, and not monks. Unsure of my next move, I turned away to address one of humanity's greatest need -- hunger. I was hungry so I walked back to an old and ugly diner I passed by earlier. There was a Starbucks nearby but the dilapidated signs of this diner and its many customers was more enticing to me. I expected to see a typical, rundown American mom-and-pop diner, but it was now run by Latino immigrants. I took one of the red cushioned seats that match the red-stained lamps above each booth. A middle-aged woman comes in, in her short red dress, laced red gloves, and striking red hair. She sat next to my booth and may have looked like a furniture along with the diner artifacts. "One day, I'll take all my things into my car and drive down to anywhere. Maybe Tennesee!", I heard a lady say to her friends. Deep inside, I cheer for her. You go girl! Claim your freedom! I look down to my omelet, and take a sip of my bad coffee. But I relax and savor this short few hours of not having to sit in a cubicle all day. I notice my hand trying to find my phone in my purse, my - it has become an automatic movement - que horror! I asked for my check and they refused my credit card. They only take cash. They gave me my change in coins, and one of them was a Canadian coin. What an untypical day for me, and I like it.

Seeing My Philippines

I consider myself relatively well-traveled until I got a C- in this app.  I will travel again in July to see Palawan for the first time.  I know I will get a better grade after that.


My Lakbayan grade is C-!
How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!
Created by Eugene Villar.

My Map of the USA

Unexpected circumstances encouraged me to do some self-reflection.  If I ever have to move out of the US, am I satisfied with what I have seen and explored so far?

I have visited 17 of 50 states

Ahh, yes.  I am satisfied.  I can say that the US is no longer a mystery to me.  But, ofcourse, I still have a short list of the last few places I want to see:

1. Aurora Borealis in Alaska
2. Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington

History In Movies

I used to hate history.  In school, my report cards confirm that I had very little interest in the past.  I guess the only one that stuck in my head was about the Sumerians who invented the sundial.  But since I moved here in the US, I happen to become curious about where all these races in the US came from.  It is no question that in the US, everyone are immigrants, except of course, from the native American Indians.  My museum trips out of state has slowly piqued my curiosity and slight interest in basic history not just for the Americas but mostly the world.  Fortunately, I have seen these movies that, I think, everyone should see:

• Invictus - I knew nothing about South Africa and Nelson Mandela until I saw this movie.  It's amazing how recent they have embraced democracy.  I am most amazed by how Mandela charmed the Afrikaners to let go of apartheid to the native black Africans through rugby.
• Schindler's List - A heart wrenching movie that depicts the dark side of the human race.  This is about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who took big risks to save the lives of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories.
• The King's Speech - Old World royalties do not really interest me but this is more about a person's own struggle with himself.  
• Hotel Rwanda - Oh, gosh, this is another heart wrenching movie.  A friend recommended this to me and it reminded me of Schindler's List.  It saddens me how cruel we humans can become to one another.  
• The Motorcycle Diaries - Che Guevara's roadtrip around South America.  This describes the very trip that changed him into the revolutionary that he was.  Very inspiring.
• Evita
• Iron Lady

Brown Rabbit

It was nice to see this little brown rabbit munching on some grass in the park. Seeing him made me happy!

15,747 emails

My BlackBerry died on me one morning when I got 15,747 emails. Unbelievable.

A Flight of Stairs

This is the flight of stairs I take to get to the train for work everyday. But that morning, the stairs was buried in snow. Haaay, I hate snow.

Pinoy Sweaters in the Mall

I saw this in the mall during the weekend. At the back are big letters that spell out my home country: PHILIPPINES

Could this have been inspired by Manny Pacquiao's multiple boxing titles? Most likely.

Go Pinoy!

Dreaming Bora Bora

Ahhhhh, Bora Bora... This is as close as I can get to my dream islands... Someday... Someday I will snorkel in your prestine waters... Someday I will dive in your luscious deep waters.... For now, I need to swim in my codes and dive into my defect list... Ngarsh!

A Bus Stop for Royalty

I saw this one morning while walking along Madison St, right next to the Civic Opera.

My "Chicago In a Day" Itinerary

My friends from all over the world (literally) were here to visit me and my beautiful city. I have come up with an itinerary that I have proven to work so great that I want to share it with you, my readers. (Do I really have readers? Anyhoo....)

Here are the benefits of this itinerary:

• They get to see most of the must-see's in a day.
• They take full advantage of the CTA Day Pass for only $5.75 for unlimited rides. (There's no fear in getting lost now, haha!)
• It benefits me because I can go to work the next day. What they do is take the same route as the previous day, but this time, go inside the museums or spend more time to enjoy the attractions.

Chicago-in-a-Day

1. Navy Pier. Start from the south part, of course, to show off the best part of the pier. You get to see the ships and a good view of the city's buildings. When you have reached the tip of the pier (eastern most), walk back through the building. Inside the building is a stained-glass and mosaic museum. Good opportunity to do some souvenir shopping. Get some snack or drinks if necessary.
2. Take the blue trolleys or any CTA bus to Michigan Ave. Walk south to Chicago Tribune and Wrigley Field. Cross the bridge and go downstairs to the riverwalk. Stop and rest by the riverwalk. Wave at the people taking the Architecture Cruise and encourage them to do that the next day. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
3. Walk back upstairs to Michigan Ave and walk north to be part of the shopping tourist crowd. Walk to the Water Tower and upto John Hancock Tower. Tell them that they have the option to go to the Observatory the next day or maybe have some cocktails at the Signature Lounge.
4. Walk a few blocks south for Chicago-Style Deep Dish pizza. Options are Gino's East, Giordano's -- all along Superior St. If they are willing to walk further, go to Pizzeria Uno along Ohio.
5. Go back to Michigan Ave and take a CTA bus to Millenium Park. Very important to take pictures at the Cloud Gate aka The Bean. Go to Crowne Plaza for the water fountain.
6. Cross the street to Madison and take a CTA bus to United Center. Seeing Michael Jordan at the United Center was a special request by my friend from Toronto. On the way across the loop (going West) try to show them the Willis Tower. Tell them that they can go to the Skydeck the next day for some more history and most especially, the clear ledge! If they are interested about Chicago's financial district, show them the CBOT and CME buildings.
7. Take the same bus route going back to the loop, then take another going to the Museum Campus. Tell them that this is where they can go back the next day and enjoy the Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, and the Adler Planetarium. Most likely, the sun has started to set and it's getting dark. The best thing to do (actually, I have never done this before -- twas a happy accident) is hop out of the bus at the stop closest to the Adler Planetarium. Sit by the lake and enjoy the sunset -- great photo-op for photography enthusiasts! I must say this is my favorite part of the day's itinerary.

Stop and watch the ants

I finally had a free Saturday again so I decided to take it slow. I resisted to get out of bed and stared at the 18 red roses that my boyfriend has given me for our anniversary.

After an afternoon of cooking and lounging around, I decided to walk outside and enjoy the last few warmer days of the year. I walked to the lake in my flipflops, wondering the last time I saw the lake.

I stopped to admire the flowers. Some were bigger than my hand. Some were hanging from atop a tall tree! (I've been seeing a lot of gumamelas. I wonder if it's also called hisbiscus -- my latest tisane favorite.)

I stopped to stare at the branches and leaves above me.

I stood and sat barefoot at the rocks along the lake.

I touched the trunk of the trees in the park. Actually, I wanted to hug them but the trunks looked a little too dirty and buggy to hug. I watched the ants in the tree trunks move on with their daily life.

I smiled at dogs and their owners as I run into them walking back to my apartment.

Oh, what a relaxing day.

Pinoy Ako!

I got the United States Census form in my mail today. On the envelope was a big printed label that says "YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW". [Shudder. I just think it's funny.]

I must admit -- I am glad that my race, "Filipino" has its own box! In real life, I have somehow felt like my race is part of "Other Asian". It's rare for an acquaintance to identify me as Filipino. Rather, he or she would identify me as Thai, Korean (probably because of my current hairstyle), Chinese, or Vietnamese.

What Time Management?

Why do I always find my evenings too short? Quite frankly, I am more excited about going home from work than going to work. Ofcourse, I am very very very grateful to still be working in the middle of the recession. Not that I dread going to work -- I still look forward to work... but it's not as exciting as what I do after work.

I cook. I bake.

I plan my menu. I make a grocery list.

I skim through weekly ads, clip coupons, and again make my grocery list.

I go to the gym for Yoga or a 30-minute swim.

I watch TV or "watch TV" through my laptop. I love Desperate Housewives, Cougar Town, Shark Tank, House, sometimes Amazing Race.

I facebook. I google. I wikipedia. (Websites are now verbs!)

I organize. I mess things up just to reorganize them again. (I used to do this a lot when I had no TV nor laptop.)

I do my laundry (a necessary evil).

I manage my finances. Pay bills. More bills.

I blog when I can.

And the list goes on!

The funny thing is... I live alone, with no kids to take care of... yet I feel like I am preoccupied with too many things to do! I don't know how working mothers do it! They are superheroes!

Time Management? I badly need that. Now. Time is running out!

I Have High Cholesterol

I have something to celebrate today! I stepped out of my doctor's clinic with a big grin on my face. I have high cholesterol -- good cholesterol, that is!

When my doctor first analyzed my blood test results, she said everything is normal... my glucose level, sodium, insulin, etc... everything except for my cholesterol. As you can see in the image above, I have 229, which is above the range of 125 to 200. I was a bit surprised and I started to worry about the food I would have to give up! (And if you know me well enough, you would know that I love to eat. Fried rice, bagoong, beef stew, cheesecake... etc...)

And then I tell my doctor, I exercise once or twice a week. She says that's not enough. She says I should exercise atleast 30 minutes 5 days a week! I gulped.

And then, she looks at the test results again and says.... "Oh wait! Your cholesterol is high because your good cholesterol is high. And it is exceptionally high!" (See image above)

Whoaaaah! I said, I do eat a lot and I wonder where I got all that good cholesterol. The first words she mentioned were... "Fish... fish oil..." I interrupted her right there and then because I remember I have been taking the Norwegian Cod Liver Oil since summer of this year. She agreed. And she encourages me to continue to do what I do.

Ahhhh...... I feel elated!

Actually, I started taking cod liver oil after I watched a video on YouTube. This may sound funny... but the video was about how to improve one's skin. Yes, my intention was to improve my skin so applying makeup will look better on me.

See? I have shallow reasons that turned out to help me in the long run! Amazing, isn't it?

80 degrees

Today, we had the first 80(F) degrees of the year.  Wonderful!

As soon as I got home, I watered my plants (a new habit, I must mention) and packed myself some food.  I immediately left my apartment and walked to the lake.  Ahhh!  Every tree and flower seems to welcome me as I take steps towards the lake.  I feel relaxed already.

I sat on my favorite boulder when I reached the edge of the shore.  I opened my bag and enjoyed my little sweet snack.  I brought with me my iPod Shuffle so I could listen to music, but, I felt it's such a bad idea when all I really wanted to hear was the sound of rough water splashing onto the rocky shore.  I soaked in the beauty that surrounds me -- the birds flying over the water and then swooping in for a fish kill, the greenery of the park, the seemingly bare trees that have small leaves and flowers sprouting from its tips.

Being one with nature totally relaxes me after a long day at work.