The Insightful Path

(I sent this article to a newspaper but didn't see print, and so it is gracing the pages of my blog) For someone who has a very sensitive stomach and needs to be careful of what she eats, I am ironically quite fond of eating street foods. Whenever I get the chance to walk around the busy streets of Colon, I always have this tendency to stop and check out what people are selling and patronize most of them – from fried chicken, to puto, peanuts and what have you. My latest favorite is the tempura and “kwek-kwek” which they now serve with sliced cucumber and/or “guso” on the side. I first discovered this when I went for a vacation in Davao some years ago. We were just walking the streets somewhere near their Chinatown and saw a street full of people and we just had to check it out for ourselves. That’s when I saw their “kwek-kwek”, their unlimited cucumber on the side, and their grounded salt with chilies. There and then I fell in love with this street food. When I went back ...

For a few days, I’ve been all stressed about the coming 1st birthday celebration of my little boy Izel but just today, all those apprehensions turned into excitement. Initially, my plan was to have a no-hassle party and just book a Kiddie Party Package at either Jollibee or McDonald’s but the no-hassle definitely came with the word “impractical” attached to it. That part stressed me was it would definitely spoil my budget plus the concept of having to pay for the food “after the party” scared me. (I dreaded the idea of possibly having to wash all the dishes should my bill reach critical level!!!) So, I decided to organize my own Kiddie Party instead; have it at my Lola’s place and work out the details myself. After putting my plans into paper, everything became clear and I realized I could save and don’t mind the hassle at all. Here is what I have achieved so far: Step 1: Canvassed the streets of Colon for supplies (i.e. Invitation Cards, Party Hats, Balloons, Loot bags and a...