Toast Box!

I was supposed to eat in “Shiok” that day, but then chanced upon another great Singaporean restaurant along Rizal Drive in Bonifacio Global City - “Toast Box” ! Always game for new things, I opted to dine there instead, and did not regret it!

the counter

their Milo Dinosaur, which is soo much better than Shiok’s (uber concentrated, just the way I like it! Not diluted at all :> )

was this Nasi Goreng? Anyway, it was good!

and the classic Chicken Rice (Hainanese-style) - yumm! Almost as good as the ones in Singapore, where incidentally I was at last weekend. But I didn’t eat Hainanese there, I ate roasted Chicken Rice all the way, complete with MSG-doused rice and all, for lunch and dinner, almost everyday. Except for that one lunch when I almost burned my throat eating overpriced laksa at Universal Studios. :|

And while we’re on the Singaporean food topic, there’s this hole in the wall but to-die-for-delicious “Singapore Chicken Rice” place my sister and I randomly found in Cubao, near Shopwise. Their black pork adobo and not the chicken rice, ironically, was my favorite.

More on my Singapore trip last weekend next time  :)

xxx

Jesi Mendez Salon Review - If you want a haircut from the hearing impaired.

Was this me 6 years ago? you ask.

No, this was me after I had a “trim” from Jesi Mendez Salon a few hours ago. If you want a haircut from people who don’t bother listening to you when you tell them how you want your hair styled, then go to this salon. 

I’m usually really fussy about where I get my hair done, but a while ago, after having my underarms lasered at Park Square while waiting for my dad to finish gyming, I had time to kill. I needed a trim anyway, so I thought to myself “Why not? What could go wrong?” WRONG.

I know, I know. It’s not that bad. But look at this:

That was me five years ago!!! It’s like I never changed. I know it’s different for caucasian people, but I don’t really wanna go back to the way I looked when I was 19, which translates to looking like a 12 year old in most people’s eyes. Could you fault me for wanting to look a little more mature and sophisticated? Ha ha.

Kidding aside, the stylists at Jesi Mendez probably haven’t taken any hair dressing refresher courses since 2005, since they don’t know any other way to cut hair. Oh, and let’s not forget the ear checkup - I said side swept bangs below the eyebrows, no layers, and a 1 inch trim. Simple right? Not for them, I guess.

xxx,

Yeni

PS. Hope you all had a great weekend!

PPS. I have nothing against the hearing impaired. Just against those who choose to be.

I Hate PhilPost

Another word of warning to you all: If your friends or relatives are sending anything to you from abroad, don’t course it through the government-run post office (PhilPost). Choose any private carrier (FedEx, DHL, anything), or you’re in for one big pain in the ass customs battle.

My aunt bought me this Coach bag as a gift:

and sent it to me via the US Post under my dad’s name.

A month later, we got the claim stub with a tax computation that amounted to P5,000.00++! 

below was their FIRST computation:

Customs Duty

$375.00 X 43.79

16, 454.09 X 15% (Rate of Duty)

 = Php P2,460.00

Other Charges and Fees

Customs Documentary Stamp  P250.00

Customs Duty P250.00

BIR Documentary Stamp P15.00

Expanded Value Added Tax

Dutiable Value in Peso P16,454.09

Customs Duty P2,468.11

Other Charges and Fees P515.00

TOTAL P19,437.00

X12% (EVAT Rate) P2,332.46

SUMMARY

Customs Duty P2,468.00

EVAT P2,332.00

IPF P250.00

CDS P250.00

BIR Stamp P15.00

TOTAL      PHP5,315.00-

My dad went there to claim the bag, and asked for a rebate. They lowered the price to P4,000.00++. That was still too high for us. I mean, we were practically paying 1/3 the price of the bag. I might as well buy myself a new bag for all the taxes I was paying for with this one.

I mean, my aunt already paid for shipping and taxes in the US. And this is a GIFT. And yet I have to pay 12% VAT plus customs to the post office. As if my income tax, SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-Ibig contributions aren’t enough! And as if the tax that I pay is going to do me (or the Post Office, for that matter) any good! I mean, the place hasn’t been renovated in 100 years! And I’m not even joking, if you see the place, the PO boxes are seriously antiques.

They sent us a final notice recently (two months after the first one), and it said they were either going to send it back or dispose of the parcel if not claimed. EXCUSE ME. As if it’s theirs to dispose of in the first place! Instead of disposing it, why don’t they just GIVE it to me?!! For God’s Sakes. 

NOT TO MENTION the utterly RUDE post office personnel who threw my ID and Claim Stub at me, saying I couldn’t claim the parcel as it was under my dad’s name. Talk about adding insult to injury. If it were up to me, I would pepper spray him in the face.

Here’s the sample computation of the PhilPost *insert vile name here*: (this is the amended one)

I cannot believe all the random sh*t I have to pay for (what the f are all these damn stamps for?!! IPF?? CDS??) just to get my bag! They are robbing me of my hard-earned money.

As of this point, I have no clue how I’m going to get my package without paying exorbitant and unacceptable fees. Any suggestions?

Wanted: Intern

Siemens Inc. (Makati) is looking for an intern!

SECTOR:              Corporate Communication
DEPARTMENT:    CC

 Intern   (Code: OJT-2011-01)

• Updates website and intranet
• Assists in the CDO roadshow
• Handles news monitoring and clipping

Skills: Knowledgeale in Adobe Photoshop and other Microsoft applications 

E-mail your CV to carla.serafico@siemens.com if you’re interested:) 

never, ever give your license to a police officer

lesson learned last Sunday. This post is for the rest of you, so you know better than to do what I did. As Tam said, don’t let them “outstupid” you. If you think they can understand reason, think again.

The story: Last Sunday, I was ordered to drive to SM Hypermart to buy groceries for our family dinner and mass for my mom. I took the Land Cruiser with my sister and headed up South Super Highway. I was looking for a place to make a U-turn when I saw this sign:

So I turned left to SM Hypermarket Makati.

A policeman in yellow caught me for turning left, and I was calm, knowing there was a sign there that clearly did not have a “NO LEFT TURN” incorporated into it, and even an arrow pointing left to where I was going.

“Ma’am, one way ho ito,” (Ma’am, this is a one way street) he said.

“Paano ko malalaman? Wala namang sign,” (How would I know? There’s no sign) I said.

“Patingin nga ng license mo.” (Show me your license). I fished it out of my bag and handed it to him, sure he was just checking it. But he never gave it back, he simply wrote me a ticket. I started getting angry, since it was so unfair. How was I supposed to know I couldn’t turn left? Or that it was a one way street/turn??! I was asking him exactly that, when he just walked away from me. WALKED AWAY FROM ME!

I was soo angry at this point. I called my dad, but to no avail. I couldn’t see the MAPSA/police guy anymore (his name is TAGUDENIA), but I was determined to find him. I wanted my license back so bad, I actually thought I could get it. I drove further on, and found him hiding behind the skirts of one of his colleagues.

I got out of my car, and asked him if he even knew what the SOP is when ticketing someone. He was saying something else.

“What is the step by step policy of giving someone a ticket??” I demanded. “You’re not answering the question!”

He simply said, “mag-aaway lang tayo dito” and walked away from me AGAIN. He’s actually supposed to give me information on what I will do without a license, where I’m supposed to claim it, etc.

Anyway, to cut the story short, my fine apparently is P2,000.00. I decided to contest it yesterday, and went to the City Hall to file the complaint. My hearing is on December 7.

*there was a Christmas bazaar at the city hall yesterday, and I bought a frame made by a prisoner to help the prisoners :p

**just realized, tumblr doesn’t have smileys =/ miss that about xanga.

***last shot from the scene:

Collective Day

For the first time, Tam and I ventured into the supposed “Cubao X” / indie scene of Makati in search for Halloween costumes - Collective at Malugay Street. Sadly, I was disappointed by the so-called variety of costumes they had there. There was barely anything interesting in the much-read-of costume shop. In fact, I would liken their collection to that of SM Kids. Quite literally, overpriced American-targeted made-in-China rubbish. I was hoping for some really interesting and non-departmentstorelike ones.

However, the trip wasn’t for naught. I was able to find a unique trapeze-artist-worthy cutout white leotard from Sundae

and some other great (but oversized) pieces from Duerre (?) - cutout dresses, uniquely printed high waist slacks, moulin rouge-worthy brassieres, and more.

We met James, the owner of Homeroom, and his 8-month old shy black pug(?), Batdog. The concept store offers old and new amazing items from London and Toronto. Think real denims, thick baseball jackets, vintage sunglasses, and other assorted items.

“We’re opening a ladies line soon,” says James in that indistinguishable accent of his. “Real classy stuff, elegant, not too slutty.” Tam jokes that I wouldn’t be a potential customer, then. ugh.

Mike, the owner of restaurant Wingman, walks into the store while James is chatting us up, there to inquire about his custom-made/pre-ordered denims: “have they arrived yet?” 

James was in the middle of answering our question on where we should eat in Collective. “I was just telling them to eat over at yours, man,” says James.

“Great! I was also just about to invite you to watch Transformers 2 at the restaurant. We finally got our movie wall-projector and surround sound installed.”

Mike urged us to try the buffalo wings, the Wingman’s specialty. Tam, with his goal of becoming the next Buffalo Wings connoisseur, was of course overjoyed by this, and made a beeline for the place. We got a dozen buffalo wings to share for 280ish, twister fries we couldn’t finish for 180ish, and the best, most refreshing blue lemonade I’ve ever tasted in a Bacardi glass. The place reminded me of Charlie’s in Pasig/Mandaluyong. 

It’s a pity I wasn’t able to take more pictures, but suffice it to say, the place has got a lot of potential (a future Tianzifang of Manila? the vibe is so similar), if only more people choose to break away from mainstream malling mindsets and get involved in fair trade and local art/fashion scenes.

EDIT: I was planning to place pictures between paragraphs, but tumblr, multiply, and imageshack are NOT cooperating with me right now!!!