Desperate Measures

I'm Back!

Forgive me, readers that I still have left, for I have been most lax.  My last blog post was almost three weeks ago.  I was attending to the very serious business of celebrating my birthday.

I was in Manila for eight nights, Cebu for three, Bohol for five, and then Cebu again for three nights.  In that time, I went to Bikram Yoga five times in Manila.  (I enrolled for a week and I swear I would have made it seven for seven had I not had morning appointments on Tuesday and Saturday.)  And I swam 900 m. to one kilometer -  once - in Amun Ini's pool in Bohol.  (It was hard to gauge the length of the pool but I estimated it to be between 18-20 m. so I did 25 laps).

In 19 days, that's all the exercise that I got.

Well, I also lifted boxes and moved furniture around a lot in Manila, in the process of unpacking boxes in my newly renovated room at my parents' house.  I have no idea how I sent almost a container of stuff to Siargao, threw out boxes and boxes of junk, and still managed to have 14 boxes left to unpack.  (I went through most of them, but still have about three boxes of old papers to sort through.)

The rest of the time, I ate.

Shrimp in aligue (crab fat) sauce at Tiago.  Interesting "progressive Filipino" menu, but with room for some improvement.  (Photo c/o Lisa Suarez.)

And ate.

The clam chowder at Amun Ini in Anda, Bohol.

And ate.

  A massive Filipino breakfast I shared with The Ananyana's owner, Emma Gomez:  marinated dried fish, with tomatoes, fried eggs, and fried rice.  

Among other things.

With Siargao residents, Susan Brandstetter, - yes, that's me in the wig, Elsa Avall, and David Nugent at Opening Night of "Priscilla - Queen of the Desert, The Musical" at Resorts World.  What a riot!  Catch it!  The show runs till June 15.

But, mostly, I ate.

Fresh bacon from organic restaurant, Earth Kitchen, my favorite find in Manila this time around. 

<groan>

I got back to Siargao this afternoon.  Ironic - and maddening - that I finally sit down to write in the place where I have the shittiest internet connection.  But maybe that's why I finally have time to write.  Because there's nothing else to do.

Nicolas is away for three weeks and I was fully intending to go into lockdown while I am here and resume my favorite pastime of torturing myself with exercise, diet, and documentation.  But, well, we all know by now that I was born without a spine or will power.  (I just made plans to go out on the town tomorrow night with a girlfriend and booked a table at Sagana to kick things off.)

Doh!

Siargao Diary

1 April, Tuesday 

• Biking (10+ km.) - I finally tried my new bike today and fell on my ass twice.  Nothing bruised but my ego.  Well, okay, I've got a scraped knee and my back isn't very happy.
• Swimming (1024 m.)

2 April, Wednesday

Nicolas is off to Cebu and I am officially starting my detox.  Am juicing the whole day.  Gaah!  I'm starving!  Ate some mangosteens.

• Taekwondo - Dominic came over at 7 AM and we trained for an hour.  I told him to go easy on me.  He could tell that I'm "out of condition".  
• Swimming - My body hurts.  Am not sure if it's from the bike ride, from the spills I took yesterday, from the taekwondo - or all of the above.

3 April, Thursday 

David Nugent (- yes, he's related to the rocker, Ted) came by with potential buyers of his family's land, whom, it turns out, I know from Manila.  I showed them around the place and now have an invitation to a meal when I am back in the city.  Yay!

I invited Sue over so that I could practice massage on her.  As I was getting ready, I realized that I was already starting to forget the massage.  I panicked.  Well, not really, but I thought I should be.  In the end, I forgot a few things but nothing major.  I just have to be serious about getting more practice.  Sue loved the massage and has volunteered for more sessions.

David and Elsa joined us for lunch afterwards.  Uh-oh.  The escape clause.  While everything we had was vegetarian, it was hardly Paleo (- we had pumpkin and snake beans in coconut milk, vegetarian spring rolls, and crepes).  Elsa brought a bottle of red which, of course, I couldn't decline.

• Swimming

 4 April, Friday

I invited Mark and his posse over for lunch.  So I finally met his sister, Fleur, who will soon be a Siargao resident with her boyfriend, David, who grew up in the U.K. but traces his roots to Jamaica.  And Mark's mate, Adam.

Yes, I ate.  A lot.  No, it wasn't vegetarian and it wasn't Paleo.  (Adam said our fish cakes might be the best food he's ever had.)  And I had two shots of Patron XO and a bit of white wine.  It could have been much worse, because Mark can be a pushy bastard.

Before lunch, I practiced massage on Fleur.

• Biking
• Swimming - It's not advisable, swimming whilst tipsy, with body pain kicking in.  (My hamstrings and arms are painful.)  I kept wanting to pass out in the pool.

I declined invitations for the jungle disco and spent the evening playing with the dogs. 

5 April, Saturday

Time to behave.  I decided to ditch the whole vegetarian thing and just do regular Paleo.  I had French-style stuffed aubergines for lunch - and that was supposed to be that.

And then my regular habal driver invited me to dine with his family for fiesta.  How could I refuse?  I had a second, very non-Paleo, lunch.  <groan>

• Walking - How lame is that?  I couldn't even be bothered to work out!  But I did walk home after lunch.  That must have been 1.5 to 2 kilometers.

6 April, Sunday

For lunch, I had a large Philippine-style stuffed eggplant.  It was soooo good.  And Paleo!

And then I went to Sagana to give Sue a massage.  Afterwards, we chatted over red wine and bruschetta.  Mark sent me a rather sketchy invitation to dinner earlier but I couldn't reach him to confirm.  Then Hoze Arando, whom I met a long time ago when I first dabbled in yoga, turned up for dinner with other people who were friends of friends in Manila, and we ended up having a wonderful evening together catching up.  (I had the saltimbocca.)

On my way back home, I saw Fleur and David walking along the road so I stopped and apologized for not making it to dinner.  It turned out that they had been out drinking at Buddha the whole time (- I knew the invitation was sketchy!), so we made more solid plans for tomorrow night.

• No exercise.

7 April, Monday

In an effort to make up for my excesses, and because someone at the table last night said that kale was best eaten rather than juiced, I asked for a green salad for lunch.  Blech.  It would have been better with some fruit and nuts.  And some meat.  I barely ate half of it.

• Biking
• Swimming

Dinner at Mark's turned out to be a dinner party with more than a few guests.  David is a cook by profession, and made very succulent pork ribs, fried chicken, and a potato salad.  He even made dessert.  I had too much food.  And more red wine.

8 April, Tuesday

Lunch was Paleo:  Fish with parsley butter and a green salad.

• Biking

Then I went to Sagana to practice massage on one of Sue's guests.  She was very thankful afterwards and her husband told me that she kept saying over and over how her body felt like new.

I was all set to head home for a swim when Sue offered me a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, which is only my favorite sandwich so, of course, I accepted.  Then her daughter, Lily, asked me to help her with some puzzles so Sue asked me to stay for dinner.  We had more red wine and bruschetta, and I had the pork schnitzel for dinner.  After dinner, we went to Kawayan where poker night was in session.  We said hello to the boys and Sue and I shared a chocolate cake.

9 April, Wednesday

I gained one kilo.  Dammit.  I really shouldn't have clauses when trying to detox.

• Biking 

So far, I had stuck to the clauses and had Paleo meals when dining by myself but, yeah, I entertained and ate out a lot this week.  Since there was no detox going on, I had a very big non-Paleo breakfast and a very big non-Paleo lunch before leaving for Cebu in the afternoon.  Will try again next week.

I'm in Cebu now to look for tiles for the house with Nicolas.  We'll both be back on the island on Friday.

A New Month, A New Start (Well, Sort Of...)

I've decided to TRY to get back to being healthy this April.    Which means a return to a vegetarian version of the Paleo lifestyle for the first month, with the following exceptions:

• when entertaining at home
• when dining out

I figured that I entertain/dine out frequently enough in a week to meet my body's protein requirements.  Not that I would have any idea what that would be, but I do know that I cannot live on vegetables alone.

Re drinking, I'm hoping to limit my choices to the acceptable Paleo cheats of red wine and tequila/vodka sodas.  Which would be a challenge at the jungle discos.  Have yet to work that one out...  (Hip flask?)

And, hopefully, I will be nicotine-free this month.

If all of this sounds vague and non-committal, it's because, well, it's April 1st and who's going to take me seriously on April Fool's Day?  Or on any other day for that matter but more so today?  And it is a Tuesday, which is neither here nor there in a week.  Nobody starts anything on a Tuesday.  Wednesday is so much more definitive.

And there are - were - three cupcakes in the fridge that I had to finish.  Gaaah!  But I am finally out of chocolates and sweets, which means that I can be serious about this tomorrow.

<groan>

Well, I should be stepping up the exercise too and if the bike seat on my new bike is replaced with the old, reliable, padded one from my old bike this afternoon, then I'll be biking into town before my afternoon swim.  And I already set an appointment with Dominic, the taekwondo instructor, to restart my training early tomorrow morning.  And I've hung my TRX to the bathroom door, even if I'm not sure what to do with it...

So I am sortakinda serious about this.  Sortakinda.

Siargao Status Update

Yeah, so while Nicolas and I were supposed to be juicing, I would sneak off and raid my chocolate stash or cook up some fried rice with Spam.  He would also raid my chocolate stash or ask the maid to fry up some chorizos and eggs.

When we had guests over, we ate.  When it was poker night, we ate.  When we were hungover, we ate.

So we weren't really fasting.  While we were drinking up a lot of vegetables and fruits, we were also eating a lot of junk that we normally wouldn't have been eating had we not been trying to fast.

I hardly exercised too.  These are the days that I went swimming:

• Last week:  Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday
• This week:  Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

I've been incredibly lazy.

The truth is that I'm horizontal most of the time and only ever really get up when there is somewhere else I have to be.  

Yesterday was insanely busy:

At noon, there was a children's party.  Then there was a wine tasting at Sagana.  And then it was the re-opening of Bones' Sports Bar at his new location.  Which, of course, ended with pitchers of Jungle Juice and wild dancing at Tattoo, the jungle disco.

I really need to detox.  I don't want to see another lechon for a long time.  (There were four this week.)  And I just begged off from a party tonight because there's another big one tomorrow night.  I can't believe I'm saying this but I want to stop drinking for a while.  And I really want to stop smoking already.

Gai's Siargao Food and Exercise Diary

Sunday, 15 December

Another sleepless night.  Had to force myself to get up in the morning.  It was too hot to jog so I took the bike out.  Two kilometers in, I got a flat tire.  I went to the nearest house and asked if I could park my bike in their yard until someone could come and get it.  I tried jogging back but, even with The Prodigy on full blast, it wasn't happening.  I walked.

• Biking, 2 km.
• Walking, 2+ km.

Nicolas was in the room the whole afternoon so I couldn't do the Jillian Michaels workout.  I really didn't want to anyway.

• Swimming, 32 laps, possibly more because I couldn't concentrate and kept losing track of my count and starting over.

Had a bit of chutney with my fish cakes but, apart from that, was still on track with Paleo.  It's a struggle though, knowing that Joanna Ongpin's espresso chip cookies are sitting in the fridge.  Nicolas had two.  Gaah!

Joanna Ongpin-Duarte's espresso chip cookies, available at the Rafik Shawarma/Pizza di Gracia booth at the Saturday Salcedo Market and the Balesin Club gift shop. 

Monday, 16 December

Still no sleep.  It's really difficult to be motivated when all you want to do is sleep.  The thought of moving right now isn't the most appealing.

I think I'm too scared to do Jillian Michaels' "6 Week Six-Pack".  I watched the rest of the video and she goes through the first part without any rest and then does everything again in DOUBLE TIME!  If I was already huffing and puffing at the warm-up, then I'm sure to be dead at the end of this workout.  Maybe I should do parts of the Shred workout again so that I can get back to that level of fitness first...

I've been told that my bike needs a new tire.  I think I need a new bike.

<twiddles thumbs>

Can you tell that I'm procrastinating?

Noo nee noo nee noo nee noo...

I ended up wrapping Christmas gifts for the staff.

I only had breakfast today.  Mr. Delicious applewood smoked bacon and fried eggs.  Yummy.

• Swimming, 32 laps

Tuesday, 17 December (Cheat Day)

Big lunch and some bubbly and cheroot cigars with friends, then a pizza dinner.  Oh, and I finally had some of those cookies.

• Swimming, 32 laps

Wednesday, 18 December

Groggy.  Was kept awake the whole night by a farting dog.  I don't know what he ate but it was nasty.

Asked for a green juice then tried to go back to sleep, but the leftover pizza from Kalinaw was calling me.  I reheated the last four slices and had them for lunch.  So much for Paleo.  ARGH.

I've lost my will to exercise.  It's too hot outside and Jillian Michaels scares me.

• Swimming, 32 laps

Had another green juice for dinner.

Thursday, 19 December

Rainy morning.  Chicken-vegetable soup.  One cookie.

• Swimming, 32 laps

Dinner:  More chicken-vegetable soup plus the leftover mustard-tarragon chicken and green salad from last Tuesday.  Plus one more cookie.

Friday , 20 December

I woke up starving and with a craving for Spam and fried eggs so that's what I had.  I had some green juice with it so my breakfast wasn't entirely unhealthy.

For lunch, I had meatballs soup.  With a bit of rice.  And then I had some dark chocolate.  And a cookie.  And another cookie.  Doh!

Tonight, for the first time in my 14 years in Siargao, I am having dinner at Lalay's, the local barbecue joint at the boulevard.  I only had their food once before, some years back when Nine Bar had a party there for their staff, but that was when they relocated to the side of the road.

• Swimming, 32 laps.  I've begun timing myself and I average about 39 minutes in the pool.

Saturday, 21 December

I can't decide if I am hungover or just lacking sleep or both.  I got home from the jungle disco at about 3:30 AM and was awake and playing with the dog four hours later.

I had a mango when I finally got up and what was left of the meatball soup.  No cookies yet.  (There are only two left.)

Lalay's was nice.  Aussie guy, Brent, was there and we had a good laugh.  I had the pork barbecue and the chicken barbecue and, although I didn't have rice, I did order a plate of fries.  My total food bill came out to P200.  Not bad.

I did drink a lot though.  We started with gin tonics at Lalay's (except that I wasn't drinking the tonic), then we had piñacoladas at Pontus and Frida's, then shitloads of very strong rum cokes at Tattoo.  There were a lot of cigarettes too. In my recollection, I was calm but, by other accounts, not so.  It's a good thing Andrew was there and made sure I got home okay.

The staff is having their Christmas party tonight.  I wonder if I am expected to attend.  I don't think I can remain upright for very long.

There will be no exercise today.

7:30 PM - So I ate a massive dinner with the staff and the workers.  It's a good thing they get shy around me so I left the table as soon as I finished so that they could eat comfortably and speak more freely among themselves.

I'm tempted to have a cookie.  Part of me is saying, "No exercise, no cookie."  And the other part is saying, "You're going to have to eat it all before you leave on Monday anyway so you might as well have it now."

I'll have a cookie.

Oh, joy!  There were still three in the box!  Well, two now...

Sunday, 22 December

Watched a TV series till 4 AM and was awake 3.5 hours later.

Lunch at Maya Villas.  Alon has a short menu out now, but I didn't know this and ordered the hummus, baba ganoush and shawarmas in advance.  Must visit again and try out his burgers.

We started with white wine, then Pale Pilsens - and then this is where my memory gets foggy, but I have pictures on my camera that I do not recall taking.  We ended up at the Christmas party at Palaka Dive Center where I jumped around and danced with the girls while they karaoked.  I vaguely remember eating lechon.  And, judging from my throat this morning, I'm guessing cigarettes were involved.

Watched "South Park" reruns with Liam while I waited for the habal driver to pick me up.

I had a cookie when I got home.

Monday, 23 December

Didn't get to sleep till around 3 AM again and then, because I'm leaving for Cebu in the afternoon, I kept waking up every hour.  Finally gave up trying to sleep at 8 AM to play with the dog.  He knows that I am leaving.  He ignored me the whole week but, this morning, he is unusually needy and overly affectionate.  We'll both be very sad when I leave.

I think I'll have more of the bacon before I start getting ready to leave.  And I might as well finish the last cookie.

I think I'm back on track with my weight, but tomorrow is Christmas Eve and Nicolas will be with me for nine days in Manila and I'm already planning where we are going to eat...

Trying To Get Back To Good In Siargao

I left Siargao last November 18 and returned yesterday.  I only resumed working out again today.  Well, there was that one day in Bagan, in between sunning myself by the hotel pool, that I swam 20 laps.  And then Nicolas and I biked to and from lunch, which wasn't really very far, so I'm not sure if that counts.

In less than a month, I managed to do so much damage to myself - purely from overeating - that I felt like shit and looked it.  I was hardly even drinking or smoking.

I missed working out so much that I seriously had fantasies of doing push-ups, walking lunges and box jumps.  But I was either too busy or too tired - or both - to do anything.  On one flight, I tried to do air squats by the lavatories but it was a small plane and I got curious looks.  In Bangkok, I was looking forward to using the gym at our hotel because, from the photos I had seen, I knew that it had the Technogym personal Kinesis machine and I so wanted to do Kinesis again.  But even with 24-hour access to the gym, the spirit was eager but the flesh needed to sleep.

Today, I finally found the will power to get off my ass and start again.  Even if I got up late and the sun was glaring, I did the following this morning:

• Jogging, 2 km., time:  16:29 minutes
• Biking, 10+ km.

I felt totally elated afterwards.

In the afternoon, I watched a few new Jillian Michaels' workout videos and tried doing Level 1 of "6 Week Six-Pack" and nearly gave up at the warm-up.  I got as far as the burpees and a few of those squat twists before I gave up.  Will try again tomorrow.

I went to the pool instead.

• Swimming, 32 laps (1 km. + 24 m.)

I'm also making an earnest effort at returning to Paleo and intermittent fasting.  I only started yesterday but I'm already feeling better.  Let's see if I can maintain the regimen in the ten days that I am here.

I can't tell you how much I am dreading Christmas in Manila and the usual excesses that come with it.

The Stormy Week in Siargao

Monday, 4 November

Gloomy day.  Nicolas is wondering if his flight back to Cebu might get cancelled.  I made him some bacon and cheese sandwiches to bring to the airport in case he has a long wait ahead of him.

I'm trying to be good today.  Will have green juice the whole day, and only have dinner.

Went to the market.

Nicolas called.  The plane circled overhead a few times but it couldn't land and it returned to Cebu.  Of course, as he is telling me this, the weather had cleared and it was bright and sunny.  He rebooked his flight for tomorrow and scheduled an afternoon game of golf with the Frenchies.

There's talk of a very strong typhoon coming this week.

• 30 Day Shred, Level 3
• Swimming:  32 laps

Nicolas and I had a nice, simple dinner of grilled panga (tuna jaw) and guisadong monggo (sauteed mung beans).  With rice, of course.  Doh!

Tuesday, 5 November

Breakfast:  green juice.  Then I went biking to General Luna (GL).  So far, so good.

When I got back, there were fresh crabs being delivered.  Nicolas asked the maid to prepare a crab omelette and the claws for us for lunch.  How could I resist fresh crabs?  I had to have lunch.

After lunch, Nicolas left for the airport.  At the airport, he called me.  Apparently, the typhoon was a serious one.  He made arrangements for me to evacuate when necessary to Villa Maya, Alon and Venus Dassa's hilltop resort, so that we could, at the very least, be safe from the storm surge.

• Biking (10+ km.)
• Shred, Level 3
• Swimming:  32 laps

Had dinner with Liam and Carl at Kalinaw.  It was my third time there in the space of a week since I rediscovered their pizza, particularly the one that they call "Campagnola di Parma".

It's a white pizza with parma ham, tomatoes, basil and parmesan shavings.

I think I'm addicted to it.  We ordered four pizzas and a bottle of wine.

The best pizza in Siargao.

Wednesday, 6 November

It's a beautiful day.  We spent it preparing for the storm.  Boarding up the place, elevating machinery and sending all the construction workers home.

I got in touch with Chona Ayson of Homemade Treasures and asked her to send the ensaimadas and cheese rolls I had ordered to my mom in Manila instead.

I went to the grocery and the bakery to buy some food.  When I got to the bakery, the "German" bread was being brought out from the oven.  It was delicious, although I'm pretty sure that I didn't have to have that second piece of bread...

When I got home, I cooked some chicken-tarragon macaroni, a slightly more posh mac and cheese, to take with me to Villa Maya.  I had been craving a good mac and cheese forever so, of course, I had to have a plate of it for lunch.

• Shred, Level 3
• Swimming:  32 laps

Skipped dinner.

Thursday, 7 November

It rained through the night, but this morning was just a little bit cloudy.  I wanted to take my time at our place before having to evacuate.  The typhoon wasn't scheduled to hit till next morning anyway.  I told the staff we'd leave after lunch.

• Shred, Level 3

While I was working out, it started to rain very hard.  I worried about the staff that had stayed on because they live nearby.  They still had long walks ahead of them to their respective houses in the fields.  I immediately arranged for transport for me and my dog to Villa Maya, since I knew that the staff wouldn't leave as long as I was still there.

When we got to Villa Maya, the rain had stopped.  While it was a bit cloudy, it seemed like a perfectly good day.  The calm before the storm.  With nothing to do, we began to drink and eat.  I tried reading for a bit but eventually joined the boys at the bar.  Typically, I was the only girl drinking.  We had a few beers and rum cokes.  Before the storm had even begun, we had gone through most of the junk food we had brought.

We had been there so long that we started to laugh about the typhoon being a non-event.  As we sat there, cracking jokes, Typhoon Haiyan (a.k.a. Yolanda) was developing into the strongest storm in recorded history.

We went to bed as the winds picked up.  I couldn't sleep.  My dog, Apollo, and I were sharing space with Villa Maya's guests on the second floor.  The windows were all boarded up so we left the door open and Apollo chose to sleep out on the balcony.  At around 2 AM, with a tempest howling outside, I tried to get him to come inside but he was dead to the world and I had to drag him in.

The rain was coming through the window next to the sofa bed I was on, so I laid out the small mat I had brought with me and lay on the floor, listening to corrugated iron sheets rattle in the wind.

Friday, 8 November

As it started to get light outside, we got up to watch the storm from the balcony.  David Frachou of Kawayan Resort and Alon were there too.  All of a sudden, a big gust of wind lifted something from the floor above us and smashed it along the stairs.  Glass broke at our feet and sent us scurrying back inside the room.

Then the wind started to die down.  I promised Gerry Degan (of Sagana Resort) that I'd make him breakfast so I did.  Later, I took a walk with Apollo and the resort's guests over to Cloud 9 to check out the waves.  The waves were monstrous and there was a lone kite surfer out.

Aussie Kyron Rathbone kite surfing at Cloud 9.

Apollo and I were back at our place by noon and I made myself a second breakfast.

Apart from fallen coconut leaves, everything seemed to be fine on the island, considering that GL was only about 60 km. from the edge of the storm's eye.  We were very lucky.  In the meantime, other parts of the country were being turned into wastelands.

Mobile phone signals were intermittent the whole day, but the electricity was finally restored in the early evening.  I hadn't slept and was exhausted but it was also the eve of Liam's birthday so I went  to Drop Inn where we had pasta and finished a bottle of Patron XO.

Saturday, 9 November

• Swimming:  32 laps

I had twisted my foot in Alon's kitchen on Thursday night, while heating up the macaroni in the microwave, so I skipped doing Shred, but the pool was finally cleaned and I did my laps today.

Given that I had eaten a lot of junk on Thursday and ate two breakfasts (that involved rice) and pasta on Friday, I decided to be good today and only have dinner.  But, when it was served, I still wasn't hungry and ended up feeding most of my dinner to the dog.

Which was a mistake, because Liam was having a few people over for his birthday (including Pontus and Frida, my hosts when I was in Sweden) and it meant that between my first drink over at their place at around 8 PM and 4 AM, when I found myself sitting opposite where I originally was on the balcony, watching movies with Carl, I have absolutely no recollection of what happened.  (Since Pontus and Frida arrived some time during my blackout, it means that I have no recollection of having seen them although Frida has confirmed, through text messages, that they were indeed in the company of the Evil Twin.)

Sunday, 10 November

I wasn't hungover but I hadn't slept much since the typhoon so I decided that I wasn't even going to think of exercising today.

Nicolas wisely had his flight to Siargao moved from Friday to today.  (He leaves for Cebu on Wednesday and will no longer be returning to Siargao until after the project he is working on in Cebu is launched.)

After he arrived, I went to the market to buy some vegetables because we had, apparently, run out.  On my way back from the market, I stopped at Maridel's in GL to buy myself some lunch.  I'm so tired of our own food that I am quite happy to eat at Maridel's any time.  I bought about four different things, heated it up at home and devoured it like I had been starved for years.

I asked Nicolas about the damage to the house.  He said he estimates it at about P30,000.  Which, in the grand scheme of things, is really nothing.

I am finally catching up on the news and am horrified by the destruction that Haylain has left in its wake.  Which is the nature of the beast, isn't it?  Every time we heave a sigh of relief that Siargao was spared from being devastated by a typhoon, it only means that somewhere else, there's another village, another town, another city, another province that is being leveled to the ground.  And we turn over in our beds at nights, knowing full well that it could have easily been us.

***

Please click here to find out how you can help the typhoon victims.

The Slightly More Sober Week That Was (Part 2)

Monday, 21 October

Nicolas and I had a big breakfast before he left to catch the plane to Cebu and I thought I'd be good and not eat the whole day.  Then I got a text from my friends, Liam Cox and Carl Branson (British owners of the now defunct Drop Inn), asking if I wanted to come over for dinner.  How can I resist when guys offer to cook?  We hadn't seen each other in a while and it was definitely time for a catch-up.  And Ailene did send over a chocolate cake that morning...

Except that my energy levels were really low.  I couldn't work out, but I did swim 30 laps before going over to see the boys.  I stayed for a bit and then went home early.

Tuesday, 22 October

Energy levels back up!

• Walked the dog.
• Shred, Level 2
• Swimming:  30 laps

To make up for my early exit the night before, I offered to bring dinner to the guys, as well as a bottle of Don Papa, my favorite rum.  Had a fun night, drinking and laughing.  We finished Ailene's cake then ordered another one from Aventino's.

(Internet file photo.)

Wednesday, 23 October

• Walked the dog.
• Shred, Level 2
• Swimming:  30 laps

Sober day today.  Went to market to buy fruits and vegetables.

Thursday, 24 October

• Walked the dog.  Tried something new today and walked the dog to the 4 km. marker (- our place is a few meters beyond the 5 km. marker), which means that we walked more than 2 km.  Since I don't trust this dog, I have to keep him on a leash, to make sure he doesn't go wandering off.  But, as I did with Napo, I have to carry a stick to protect him from other dogs, as well as other dogs - and people - from him.
• Shred, Level 2

We had a big girlie despedida (farewell) lunch for Susan.  We started off with a large, strong fruity cocktail at Sagana, before proceeding to Kawayan for lunch.

Since David Frachou (- the Angry French Man of Kawayan Resort) works the kitchen solo, it does take time for orders to come out, but his food is totally worth the wait.  Everything we had was good:  the ceviche (- he followed our advice and ditched the tomatoes he served with it when Nicolas and I were there), the seafood pasta (- I must have this again!), and he made an apple pie to die for!  We ordered two bottles of wine and Elsa mixed up some sangria for all thirteen of us.

Kawayan's ceviche.

Friends from Manila, Candice Lumayno and Gina Gamboa (plus two of their friends), arrived the day before and we met up at Kawayan so that we could all ride over to my place for dinner.

I sometimes forget the effect our house has on people who see it for the first time.  As soon as we pulled up, they started woop-wooping and seemed unsure if they should gawk, pull out their cameras or keep shrieking and, because I was concerned about the tide rising and the sun going down, I was impatient and rushing them with the instruction, "Walk and talk, people, walk and talk."

It was great seeing them again.  We drank beer and swam in the pool until it was time for dinner.  We had fish and crab, and I opened the last bottle of cava to welcome them to Siargao.

The pool.

Friday, 25 October

• Walked the dog.  I walked him out on the road with the intention of going all the way to the 4 km. marker again but Apollo would have none of it.  We had barely gotten past Dedon and Bayud resorts when he started being stubborn.  I thought we should at least make it to the former L&B Resort, but Apollo refused to budge and we had to turn back.
• Shred, Level 2
• Swimming:  30 laps

Candice, Gina and company went to Sohoton during the day and I suspected that the trip would wipe them out, especially since they had been doing a lot of early days and early nights.  They insisted they were up for partying, especially since Candice was leaving on Sunday and she wanted to go to the Friday night jungle disco.  So, at 9 AM, I went to Nine Bar to wait for them.

Sure enough, they started to flake. 

"We're just going out to dinner now.  Text you when we're done."  (She said the same thing about an  hour earlier.)

"Food coma.  Going back for a power nap.  We will catch up with you at the jungle disco."

I was one beer down on my three-beers-a-night thing (- the rule does not apply when at home or other people's homes) and was bummed.  I caught the first habal (motorbike taxi) that passed by and called on Liam and Carl.  Liam was nodding off in the hammock, but Carl brought out the rum I had left with them and drank with me.

 We finished what was left of the bottle.

Past midnight, the girls were awake and ready to roll.  They came by for me but we couldn't fit all of us on the bike so the driver dropped them off first at Tattoo, the jungle disco, then came back for me.

And this is where my memory gets splotchy.

I have vague memories of harassing Remo Lütolf (Swiss Olympian swimmer), dancing wildly with Candice and mock-arguing with Al Solloso, Siargao's resident gay boy.  At around 3 AM, I said my goodbyes and dropped Al home, before heading home myself.

Saturday, 26 October

Three hours later, I was awake.  And Candice was just getting back to their resort.  (She wasn't kidding when she said they'd take a power nap.  They went from zero to fully charged in less than two hours!)

She filled in the blanks of the previous night.  She said that we danced like crazy people, I drank some beer (- so much for the three-drinks-a-night rule), ate some biscuits (?) but that, no, I did not smoke.

While I didn't feel particularly hungover, I did feel rough around the edges and starved like I hadn't eaten in ages.  I ate big, heavy meals the whole day (- I had rice with EVERYTHING) and snacked in between.  I'm chalking it up to PMS and a wannabe-hangover.  Because of the lack of sleep, I was lethargic the whole day and didn't have the energy to work out.

Sunday, 27 October

I got up at 6 AM this morning to go to the market for some meat, chicken and fish.  Made a big breakfast for us when I got back, then went back to sleep.

Now waiting for lunch.  Am excited because it's the first time the maid is preparing paella for us since we sold the resort in 2010.  I have to say that we made the best paella back then and we've been missing it.  While our maid trained with the resort staff before we left, she hasn't had a chance to replicate all the dishes we did then.  Recently, I thought that it's about time to do these dishes again before she forgets them completely.  So far, she's been doing a great job.  Needs a bit of fine tuning but not much.  Today, she's making paella and cured tanguingue (mackarel), two of the best dishes we had before.  I hope she gets them right!

I did Shred, Level 2 this morning.  I can't believe I've already done nine sessions and only have one more to go before I start Level 3.  Noooooooo!!!  I don't want to move up to Level 3!  I've watched a bit of it and am terrified.  I'm not even done being freaked out by Level 2!

Will swim 30 laps before we head out for dinner at Kawayan tonight.  I already pre-ordered the seafood pasta, the pork tagine, and the apple pie.  Can't wait!

Declared by Sagana's Susan Brandstetter to be the best dessert she's ever had on the island. 

***

Summary:  I'm getting fatter.  <groan>

The Slightly More Sober Week That Was

Monday, 14 October

Apparently, during last week's very "messy" Friday night, I had proposed that we all have lunch at Villa Maya on Monday.  The following night, the eager Norwegians and Swedes wanted to know if I already had it organized.  Before my Evil Twin could come rushing in on a Red Horse, I quickly sent a text to owner, Israeli, Alon Dassa, and ordered hummus, baba ghanoush, falafels and shawarmas.  Then I shot an invitation to Susan and, with that, lunch was set.

Villa Maya and Golf Course.

Alon and his Filipina wife, Venus, outdid themselves and prepared a mini feast for us.  (A clear favorite was the fried cauliflower, dipped in hummus or tahini.)  And Elsa mixed a wonderfully refreshing sangria for us to wash it all down with.  By the time the shawarmas were served, we couldn't eat any more and had to take them home.

I was so stuffed that, several hours later, while I attempted to do my 10th and last session of the 30 Day Shred's Level 1, I nearly threw up doing the warm-up jumping jacks and had to abort.  I did 30 laps in the pool and told the maid I would skip dinner.

And then she told me that the carrot cake that I ordered from Ailene had arrived.

I should never be left alone with cake.

I also ended up eating the shawarma cold, and it was still very tasty.

Tuesday, 15 October

At the poker night that I crashed last week, I told Siargao Inn's German owner, Rico (- his Filipino name) Reitenbach, that I had been meaning to check out the new rooms he had built and that I wanted to try the food at his restaurant again.

Siargao Inn's view.  (Photo c/o Eliza-Mari Almazol.)

So, today, the girls joined me for lunch at Siargao Inn.  (These lunches have evolved to girl-only lunches as a slow farewell to Sue before she leaves for Oz next Friday.)  Be advised that the servings here are HUGE, especially if you order the burrito or the empanada.  For a light dessert, try their homemade yogurt with honey.

After yesterday's workout disaster, I made sure to finish Shred, Level 1 in the morning, and did the 30 laps late in the afternoon.  I have now decided that anything less than 30 laps is a waste of time and resigned myself to the fact that it will be dark by the time I finish swimming.  I just have to turn on more lights around the house so that it isn't too gloomy.

Again, I told the maid I wouldn't have any dinner but had about a kilo of fruit and, predictably, more cake.

Wednesday, 16 October

• 30 Day Shred, Level 2 - Goodgod, I hate this workout.  Seriously, how one can go from high-knees to squat thrusts and then do them over again without keeling over from a massive coronary is beyond me.  Don't look at me.  I stop before my arteries can explode.  I sweat so much that it's almost impossible to do the planks at the end of the workout without my feet or hands slipping all over the place.  And I have NINE more of these to go?  <groan>
• Swimming:  30 laps

I worked out in the morning because I had to meet some guests over at Dedon for sunset drinks.

Because I was a guest of a guest there, it meant that I didn't have an all-access pass to alcohol and was thus able to observe the alcoholic in me when denied instant gratification.

As soon as I was done with the first beer, I instinctively wanted another.  My hand frequently went to the empty bottle and I found myself glancing nervously over at the bar a lot, where there was no bartender.  (The manager was with us and she was in charge.)  When someone made a move to get another drink, I immediately piped up that I wanted another one too.

With the second Red Horse, I was a bit more loose.  Behavior and language were still controlled, but only just so.  As soon as I had finished the beer, I was restless again.  And then I realized that, while I really did need another drink, I didn't necessarily need another beer.  I needed another drink because alcohol dehydrates and I was thirsty.

When the thirst became uncomfortable, I said my goodbyes and left, and returned home and had a lot of ice cold water.

Thursday, 17 October

• Shred, Level 2 (before lunch) - Problem solved with the slipping.  I change spots around the room and I place a towel under my hands during the different plank exercises.  I'm still super wussy and alternate between following Natalie (difficult) and Anita (easy).
• Swimming:  30 laps (before dinner)

Lunch at Kalinaw, with a bottle of white shared among five.

Kalinaw.  (Photo c/o Eliza-Mari Almazol)

Evening:  Fred De Backer, one of the French owners of Kalinaw, was DJ-ing at Nine Bar, so I thought I'd show support.

After Friday night's blackout and yesterday's introspection at Dedon, I decided to give moderation another try.  I was only going to allow myself three drinks.

I arrived early and joined Peter and Elsa for dinner (- they ordered some yummy creamy chicken pasta from La Luna), and I held off on the beer until the guests started to arrive.  And then I ordered my first Red Horse and nursed it slowly.

Surprisingly, I was able to stick to just three beers throughout the night.  And what's even more surprising is that I actually had a great time!  I was hanging out with some really cool gay boys from Manila and we stomped around and danced like madmen and laughed like banshees.  I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time.

Of course, as I was settling the bill at the bar, Joie, Fred's Filipina partner, cornered me and wouldn't hear of my turning down a shot since it was after midnight and it was officially her birthday.  How could I say no?  I had one tequila shot with her - and things could have taken a turn for the worse had I not run right smack into My Least Favorite Person In The Universe.  Talk about an unlikely Deus Ex Machina.  I took that as my cue to exit stage left.

MODERATION ACHIEVED.  Ohmy.  I refuse to think of the implications.  

Friday, 18 October

• Shred, Level 2 - This seems to be a good day.  I only followed Natalie (difficult) and did almost all the reps, except for those chair squats with V-raises.  I LOATHE those.  I only do about 16 squats and then I most definitely do not raise my arms to eye level, and then, for the rest of the count, I skip the squats and just do the V-raises.  How those women manage to do this workout without looking like a total wreck after, I do not know.  But I am considering upping my weights next time to the three-kilo dumbbells for the static lunges with medium-grip rows and the pendulum lunges with hammer curls.  
• Swimming:  30 laps

While Nicolas brought over my groceries from Cebu, he left everything else in the freezer back at the apartment!  Well, just the Chinese dumplings and the Reese's peanut butter cups.  There was no baklava on account of there being no filo pastry available in Cebu last week.  Fingers crossed that everything makes it to the island next Friday.

It was Joie's birthday party and Sue was very happy to hear that I am now managing my alcohol intake.  Of course, when she poured me some wine and only filled my glass halfway, I objected.  I took the bottle and filled the glass to the brim.  I may be only having three drinks but, dammit, they're going to be three FULL drinks.  She was so happy with my control that, before I left, she poured me another one for the road.

I went home and finished what was left of the cake.

By the way, before the party, Nicolas and I grabbed a quick bite to eat at Kawayan and we totally recommend the ceviche starter. 

Saturday, 19 October

I couldn't sleep last night.

Finally, at 5 AM, I popped one of those pills that Sue gave me a few months ago.  Her guests had left them behind and they told her they were over-the-counter drugs (SleepWell) and were very mild.  I must have eventually dozed off but then I had difficulty waking up.  I was groggy and pretty much drifted in and out of sleep the whole day and night.  Needless to say, I had zero energy for exercise.

Sunday, 20 October

Energy levels almost back to normal.

• Shred, Level 2 - I spoke too soon.  Today was like my first day back at Level 2.  I couldn't finish the reps and was gasping for air most of the time.  I don't think I should be upping my weights yet.
• Swimming:  30 laps

Summary:

Still not dieting.  Lost maybe half a kilo after that night of frenzied dancing, but I'm sure it's all back now.  Alcohol intake, managed.  Smoking, possibly managed.  (Since I quit last October 1, I must have smoked during Bones' closing party, at poker night and the Friday Night I Can't Remember, but I can't be sure.)  I only walked the dog once this week (last Tuesday), for which I have no excuse.

I think I will go into hibernation as soon as Sue leaves.  I really need to be more serious about losing weight.  I'm getting tired of the fat look.

The Debauched Week That Was (Part 2)

Tuesday, 8 October

• Walked the dog.  Yes, I am now counting this as exercise.

• 30 Day Shred, Level 1
• Swimming:  30 laps

I crashed the guys' poker night at Kawayan.  It was supposed to be my big experiment on "drinking moderately" and I got to figuring out that about three Red Horses, nursed throughout the night, would be just about right.  And then I proceeded to drink double that.  Stopped for more beer at 101.

Wednesday, 9 October

Got up at 5:30 AM to go to the market.  Yes, I am doing this now.  This is my attempt at "responsibility".  Let's jusy say that I now have three freezers full of meat and seafood and that I won't have to go to the market at 5:30 AM again for a while.  (The meat is freshest around that time since they usually butcher a pig around 5 AM everyday.)

Then, I biked to Driftwood for lunch.  It was the first time I crossed over the Kilometer 0 marker in General Luna going towards Cloud 9 by myself!  (Mommy, mommy, looky!)  I was so proud!

It was also the first time in a long while that I biked without any music on and I realized a few things:  (1) that my cheap-ass bike makes quite a racket and (2) so do I.  It's actually quiet out on the road when you're not on a motorbike, or on a bicycle singing at the top of your lungs.  And maybe yelling "good morning" at everyone I pass might be jarring for the old folk.  Sigh...  Sometimes ignorance is truly bliss.

Driftwood is under new management (and, as of last week, has changed its name to The Curry Pot - revised 21 Oct. 2013).  It offers all-day breakfasts, and deli meats that you can have in subs or toasts.  I had a sub, which was just okay.  It would have been better if they had grilled the bread and melted the cheese.  I only found out later that I should have ordered toast instead.  (Duh.)

It's a weird sort of joint because it's a small space with only one big table.  We were the only guests at that time and the serving girls and the owners were hanging around and, of course, they could hear all of our conversations, and we were three girls girl-talking and catching up.  We weren't too comfortable with that.

Before I left, I joined the girls for coffee.  Big mistake.  I felt worse than if I had a hangover.  I collapsed in bed and tried not to die.

 

Thursday, 10 October

• Walked the dog.  I learned today that when walking one's dog in a short dress on a windy day, one risks broadcasting one's bottom to the world in pursuit of a wayward hat.

(Internet file photo.)

• 30 Day Shred, Level 1

Friday, 11 October

• Walked the dog.
• 30 Day Shred, Level 1
• Kettlebell swings:  3 sets x 20 reps
• Swimming:  20 laps

You do know that all that activity was in anticipation of a massive hangover the next day, right?

Saturday, 12 October

I woke up at around 8:30 AM.

Last night, I had dinner at Nine Bar with the owners, Swedish couple, Peter and Elsa, and tried their Indonesian specials by their new Indonesian cook.  I had about three glasses of wine.  And then the Norwegians showed up.  They ordered a pitcher of some nasty concoction and started pouring shots.  The DJ started to play...

And that's all I remember.  I had no idea what time I had left, how I had gotten home...  I panicked and texted people.  Of course, no one was up at 8:30 AM.  So I went down the check list:

• Body - A few nicks and cuts on the legs, but nothing too weird.
• Phone - No drunken texts or calls.  No calls to the habal (motorbike taxi) driver too, so I still didn't know how I got home.
• Computer - No drunken posts.

So far, so good.

My clothes were in the hamper.  The shoes though were strewn all over the place.  I had a lot less money, which meant that I must have paid my bills.  I had also let the dog in so maybe I wasn't that much of a basket case when I got home.

By 10:30 AM, I got my first text.  Apparently, I had gone off with Nine Bar's DJ after his set to the jungle disco, where I ordered more drinks but kept dropping them.  He said he didn't see me leave.  He gave me a new nickname:  Messy Beaucoup.

I had the maid make me some vegetable soup and crawled back into bed.

Then I got a text from Elsa.  Was I coming to lunch?  Holy shit!  I made lunch plans?  On a weekend?!  What a bloody amateur!  Someone's birthday party and I didn't even know whose.  I commandeered a habal and made it to General Luna in record time.

It would turn out that the birthday lunch (for the Indonesian cook's daughter) wouldn't be ready till "oh, three or five.  Not now.  Too hot."  Peter, Elsa and I walked over next door to Driftwood.  The toast was definitely much better than the sub but I still would have liked the bread more toasted and the cheese melted.

This time, the serving girls were in uniform.  I don't think they had them on before or I would have noticed, and I am quite notorious for not noticing things, but these uniforms were kinda hard to miss.  They were wearing what looked like school uniforms with short red skirts and black see-through thigh-high stockings.  Without any shoes.  It was just wrong on so many levels.  Especially in the day time heat!

I went back home late in the afternoon, hoping to catch some z's before heading back out again for dinner, but that didn't happen.

I swam 20 laps. 

I went out again with the Swedes and the Norwegians.  Some wild wind had kicked up quite a fuss earlier and the power was on and off.  In the blackout, we tried to find a place to eat.  Kalinaw was fully booked.  The generator at Kawayan was down and David didn't want to accept orders until the power came back on.  Sagana couldn't accommodate us.  So we headed back to Nine Bar for the same Indonesian fare we had the night before.

The Norwegians filled in what they could of the previous night for me.  They said they had ordered two pitchers of the shots we were doing.  They said Jagermeisters were also involved.  (No!  That means Bianca Jager was out and she's the nastiest Evil Twin of all!)  They followed to the jungle disco, but didn't see me there.  They were pretty messed up too.  They didn't get up till 3 PM that day.

On my way back from a trip to the loo, I ran into the Indonesian cook.  I almost didn't recognize her, all dolled up.

"Why you don't come to my dinner?"

"Because I thought it was lunch and I already had dinner plans."

"I still have siomai."

"Okay."

"You come to my house and taste."

"I'm really quite full, thank you.  I just ate your food upstairs.  It was very good."

"Come on, you try."

So that's how I ended up at the Indonesian cook's house (which was right behind Nine Bar) and met her Australian husband and two children, and her maid who insisted that I try the buko (coconut) salad.

When I got back to the dinner, the Norwegians were already settling their bills.  They wanted to be ready for the surf the next day.

It was a quiet night at the bar, so I kept Peter company until midnight.

Sunday, 13 October

I thought I had made it home without the appearance of any of the Evil Twins.  Until I got up to search for my phone.  It wasn't anywhere.  I would have tried to call it except that it's on "Do Not Disturb" mode from 11 PM to 10 AM.  I must have blacked out when I got home.  My money was strewn all over the place.  I peeked outside.  Sure enough, there it was.  Lying face down on the grass.  (Thank god for the Life Proof casing!)  It must have fallen out while I was paying the habal driver.  It's a good thing it didn't get squashed by the motorbike.  Or get stolen.

I lay in bed, hungry.  It was a Sunday and all was quiet at the staff house.  I had a very specific craving for arroz ala cubana.  When the maid got back from Church, I asked her to defrost some meat.

While I was cooking, I got a text from Peter and Elsa.  Could they come over for lunch?  They could bring pizza.  Sure, why not?  I was cooking enough for six anyway.  I opened a bottle of cava to celebrate the day.

By the time they had gone, the heat had zapped my energy.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  But I weighed myself again and I hadn't lost a single kilo.  I forced myself to work out.

• 30 Day Shred, Level 1
• Swimming:  30 laps

I really should stop drinking.