Little Free Library: Dare to Read, Care to Share

Bibliophiles will be thrilled to know that there's a mini library where strangers can pass by, borrow a book or share their own copy.

Ayala Mall's UP Town Center was able to set this brilliant idea where their aim is to "support reading for children and literacy for adults". Simply put, the main idea is to propagate knowledge from within the mall to parts of the metro.

 

Informative posters near the library area provides its visitors with a brief history of how the nook came to be.

There are books inside the beehive-like shelves which hang from the wall.

Words of the wise -- quotes on reading and books from renowned authors adorn the area.

This library can be found near UP Town Center's open field area, just beside Cold Stone Creamery. 

Address: UP Town Center - Katipunan Ave, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila

ToyCon 2015

ToyCon Philippines uploaded a picture on June 1, 2015 with this sub-caption, "Those of us who grew up in the pre-social media era or even the pre-electronic gaming age remember a time when “Play” was associated with the outdoors." There were no gadgets and one is entitled to be connected if there are any work-related tasks that he needs to accomplish. This means that you're not supposed to be "wired" if you haven't landed yourself a job and gained clients to communicate with. Life was boring. But not really.

I grew up witnessing the neighborhood kids play Atari. My parents used to own a Game & Watch before getting a Nintendo unit. Mario was the bomb back then. Nintendo/FamiCom games aside, I inherited an electronic hand-held device called Speak and Spell. I guess it helped me a lot since I found myself as one of the top five spelling wizards in first grade. Then there were those afternoon cartoons like Care Bears, Rainbow Bright, Shirt Tales, He Man, She Ra, Thunder Cats, The Transformers, Voltes 5 and Daimos among others. It's the 80s and we don't know what a cable connection is so we only get to have 5 local channels back then and in order to watch some toons, you need to wait for the exact programming time. Any 80s kid needs to make the most out of his/her free time and this is why we have to play pretend with our "action figures". A few years later (circa my elementary years to high school years), I was obsessed with X-Men and some anime shows (like Macross, Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z). I collected a few comic sets, cards and small figurines. Post school years had me going gaga over some other anime shows and Marvel movies. Eventually, my fanaticism died down and I guess that marked the hysteria of my childhood days. 


It was a good thing when I noticed the ToyCon post in my newsfeed. I decided to tag along my cousins and experience attending a toy convention. Here's a glimpse of what happened when I attended my 1st ToyCon and some reasons why everyone (your truly included) had a blast:

 

Go Team, let's invade ToyCon 2015!

 

  

 

There were quality action figures all over the place and human-sized characters. 

 

  

Awesome merchandise and other collectibles. 

Le Boo will be thrilled with all the Captain America collectibles!

A pretty DJ graced the hall, gave the crowd something to dance for and for the men, a face to ogle at.

Because photo booths are love!

Most of all, we hoarded on a lot of freebies: free Oishi goodies, photo booth shots, a sling bag (c/o iflix), a tumbler (c/o iflix), an ID lanyard (c/o iflix), a Captain America mask (from nowhere) plus we won a bluetooth speaker from PLDT. 

I'll attend next year's ToyCon and by then, everything's going to be sweeter!

Date: June 19, 2015

Venue: SM Megamall - Megatrade Hall

Maginhawa Quest | Trip via Gerry's Jeepney

We were searching for just the "right amount of trip" or "tamang trip" in vernacular to kill the long weekend (isn't it fun to slay long weekends?). Our goal is to not hurt our pockets by driving for more than 10 kilometers or by staying somewhere posh and comfy. Initially we wanted to grab a bite somewhere or have coffee in a shop other than Starbucks or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL). We have something on our list that meets the qualification of our coffee shop target but the place is full. I'll probably blog about the coffee shop once I've had my fair share of first hand experience.

Anyway, one can never go wrong with Maginhawa Street in Quezon City so we went ahead and parked in front of a charming, Filipino-themed restaurant, "Gerry's Jeepney". 

There are five jeepney vehicles all lined up on the left side of the restaurant. Groups of eight-ten people can occupy one vehicle and dine inside. All four vehicles have different themes: Pinilakang Tabing (known Filipino celebrities), Pinoy Superheroes (hello, Captain Barbell), Manananggal ('nuff said) and Mabuhay (Philippine heroes). 

The entrance has colorful "banderitas" or banners hanging, hinting of an enjoyable feast that awaits its enthralled guests. More than the pop visuals that adorn the restaurant, Filipino OPM hits (note: in remix versions) like Rock Baby Rock, TL Ako Sa'Yo and Bato sa Buhangin makes the atmosphere more patriotic. 

 

 

  

An ice cream cart is parked across the jeepney area and humorous nuggets/sayings like 

"God Knows Hudas Not Pay" and "Basta Driver, Sweet Lover" lightens up the place.  

Oh, and have you seen the wash area? Customers can wash their hands with sinks that look like rubber tires.

They have more indoor spaces with colorful wall art and decorations. Notice how there are woven back rests on some chairs - one that a jeepney driver normally use to make his trip less tiring. There are Pinoy games like sungka, dama and domino to enjoy while waiting for your food to arrive.

Do you know where you're going to? Cubao, Ayala, Quiapo and the list goes on.

Gerry's Jeepney prides itself with boodle orders that are good for sharing between 2-4 pax. They classified their Bagong Boodle selections into Divisoria (Php650 - with breakfast viands like tocino, longganisa, tapa), Quiapo (Php680 - with more grilled fares like inihaw na bangus, pork barbeque, inihaw na tilapia and ensaladang talong), Cubao (Php730 - with chicken barbeque to boot) and Ayala (Php780 - with crispy shrimp as an add on). 

They have individual meals and viands priced around Php80-Php250. Some meals come with a glass of iced tea too. Very affordable!

The happy bunch!

Gerry's Jeepney

7 Maginhawa St., Teacher's Village, Quezon City

Store Hours: Tuesday-Sunday (11AM-10PM extends till 12AM from Fri-Sat)

Closed: Every Monday

(02) 435-6824

Barkin Blends | Dog Cafe in the Philippines

Coffee lover? Check. Dog lover? Check. Overwhelmingly curious with a Dog Cafe? Check and check.

Equipped with a couple of rave-views coming from other online bloggers, the boyfriend and I drove to faraway Katipunan/Katips to have our first-hand experience of being in a coffee shop that is not exactly one's typical cafe place. While I am a true blue coffee lover, I am not as insanely thrilled as the boyfriend when it comes to mingling with dogs. I have been fond of our four-legged animals as a kid (even aspiring to become a Veterinarian and setting up my own clinic) but my family went on without a dog for more than a decade and this dwindled my exposure to man's best friend. The catch is, I love Beagles - how they look and their playful demeanor.

Special thanks to Waze for bringing us to the exact address without difficulty. We turned right on the street between Shakey's and Mc Donald's Katipunan and saw J&R Concon Centre with Barkin' Blends signage. Barkin' Blends is located on the 2nd floor of the building.

 

We are fortunate to arrive early since they can only accommodate just a number of customers. They got our names, gave us our "call number" and asked us to wait. Customers may simply order food from the cafe and stay at the "Human Zone" or they can pay Php180 to serve as an entrance fee to the "Dog Zone". The Php180 fee entitles one to a free drink.

There are a number of "house rules" which their incoming customers need to follow. Just to shorten the set: 1.) Sanitize before entering the area by using the hand sanitizers / alcohol that they have before entering the area. This being said, avoid visiting the furry ones if you're sick to avoid contaminating them. 2.) Bags and shoes are left outside and kept inside the wooden lockers. Don't bring that much valuables. The lockers doesn't have any locks on it neither the doors "guarded" by the attendants. There is no way for them to identify if the stuff inside a particular cabinet belongs to whoever so it's better to be cautious. 3.) They have in-house slippers to use inside the Dog Zone. 4.) Be careful with handling the dogs. 

 

Colorful poster boards adorn the area. There are benches where guests can sit and pat the dogs. Drinks are served inside the Dog Zone area.

Tip#1: They do have a variety of furry family members and the visit will be extra special if one can memorize the names (and call them by their names of course) before going in.

 

Top Left-Right-Bottom: Skye (Siberian Husky), Coco (Poodle) and Ella (Chiweenie)

 

There goes my eye candy - Psyche the Beagle. I was surprised when she looked at me and went straight to sit on my lap. She slept for a couple of minutes after licking the cup that I was holding.

Tip#2: They love licking on the cold cups. Don't offer them human food/drinks though.

 

I'm not sure if it's Marley/Finn with the boo but they had a grand time together 

(sad side story: the boyfriend has been missing their family's own Golden Retriever Hachu after it died last December 2014 so it was definitely a momentous feeling for him to be approached by one). 

The other Golden Retriever wasn't in the mood and slept on rhe floor.

Tip#3: Don't (and I mean DON'T) wake them up if they started to snooze. 

There goes Smile the Pug. He doesn't look ecstatic - more like sleepy - but he is adorable in person.

Tip#4: Can't get enough? Repeat the whole experience by going for another visit and enjoy.

Visit them using the following links: 

Barkin' Blends (Official Website) | Facebook | Instagram: @barkinblends 

Store Hours: Monday-Sunday (except Tuesday) 12NN-9PM

Address: 2F - 91 Rosa Alvero St. Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Parking: Yes - Limited parking at the ground floor