The busy season is over and my weekend is little by little going back to normal. For the past couple of months I spent my weekend working or if not working I was thinking about my work and the deadlines. Well, I gues that was how I was welcomed back by external audit. All work and less pay… eer play makes dormboy a workaholic!  After April 30th, the last filing day of tax returns here in Doha, I felt a little bit relieved. Although the relief was not fully maximized as fiscal clients began the day after the end of April, still I was glad that all things went well.

During my zombie mode at work, I keep thinking how’s my blog was doing. May nagbabasa pa kaya sa nasulat ko. I guess there is but not that much as I don’t have updates lately. I didn’t have a descent blogpost during the busy season. In fact I thought I lost my touch in writing. I also had lesser time to visit the blogs of other bloggers I used to read. Sometimes if I do back reading in their blog, tinatamad na ako maglagay ng comments. Some of the bloggers I follow are also on hiatus mode just like me while others were blessed to have the liberty of time and ample topics to write about. I am expecting to be back on track and read some updates from these bloggers.

Aside from blogging, there are other things which I miss doing. Travels and photography top my list. Eto yung mga gustong gusto kong gawin na di ko magawa.

Travel

Summer time is the perfect time to go out and visit new places. I remember May last year when I got the chance to visit Bacolod to attend my closed friend’s wedding. I brought along with me my backpack and laptop and went to see the Mansion and other ancestral houses in nearby cities of Bacolod. That was the trip which I enjoyed most maybe because I felt relaxed and traveled by my lonesome. I took public transport without any itinerary in place. Kung saan ako mapadpad then go. Go with the flow lang.

Going back to all my trips across our country, I became a witness how beautiful our country is. All the memories and photos I took remind me to become an ambassador of promoting our country to other nationalities. Each time I got the chance to have a chat with my officemates from other countries, I always encourage them to go to Philippines and don’t stay too long in Manila, rather go to islands and provinces.

I have an officemate named Mike who was just hired a couple of months ago. He is an Egyptian who worked in an audit firm in Kuwait. He asked me if I am Filipino. I was proud to say yes. He had good words to Filipinos and to our country. He even like Filipinos because of our attitude and for our hygiene. For him, malinis at maalaga sa katawan ang mga Filipino. He said he traveled numerous times to Philippines and visited the places like Clark, Bulacan, Palawan, Bohol, Boracay and Davao. I was surprised how he got the chance to visit those places. He said he worked with SGV (the biggest audit firm in our country). He took that opportunity to visit the places he mentioned. Now he is planning to take a week vacation in August to have nightdiving in Bohol. (Talo pa ako, buti pa sya uuwi ng Pinas.) I think given the chance if he will choose what nationality he wants to become, he will prefer to become a Filipino. By the way he is six-foot-four and just all Filipinos – he is a basketball fanatic.

It actually feels great to hear great things about our country from other nationalities. While we Filipinos see the bad things about our nation, there are foreigners who love and cherish their experience in our country.

Photography

I miss taking shots. The irony is, I got my dream SLR but I don’t have the time to use it. There are limited places to take some shots here in Doha and blame it to lack of travels during the past months. The thing is I enjoyed taking shots when I travel. Having no travel time means no new photos to share. What I like most is adding stories to my photos. I enjoy most of the time blogging about a picture either making a short narratives or fictitious story about it. I guess that’s what my habit is.

Before masaya na rin ako sa pictures na makuha ko using my reliable point and shoot digicam. I was even proud to capture great shots using digicam na akala ng iba kuha ng SLR. I think things will be changed now. I gave to my sister my digicam so I need to practice using my SLR. Maybe i will start from taking ordinary shots in preparation to extraordinary shots.

I know plunging to this new hobby will take more time. Being busy lessen my desire to take shots and enjoy the joy of taking shots. As much as I want to go out and take shots, mainit naman sa labas. Hassle pa ang maghintay ng susundo sa akin to go out and do photowalk.  Right now I still don’t have the exact plan how will I start taking shots. Hopefully little by little I could do it.

There are other things which I miss to do. Sabi nga nila, sometimes your passion to things might fade away but eventually magbabalik din yung desire to the things you love to do. I always have this feeling na kulang lagi ang weekend sa Doha because I couldn’t do the things I miss doing. Two days are not enough. This is a challenge for me on how I could manage my time at maisingit ang mga bagay na gusto kong gawin sa schedule ko.

Still hopeful,

Dorm Boy

I was so stressed out this week. After I spent the whole day in my client’s office, I went back to the office to work till midnyt to finish the financials of my other clients. These happened for four straight days. Except yesterday, kasi Thursday (last day of work) bumawi muna sa pahinga. I guess ganito talaga ang buhay audit. I used to have this kind of life back from the audit days in Makati. I got burn-out and left the firm and tried working in private companies. Pero look at me now, I still went back to work as external audit this time in abroad.

While working late in the office, I made some comparison between the overtimes in Makati and here in abroad - from the volume of work to the working environment in our office. For the work load, siguro it is the same except for the fact that in Pinas, junior staff are more reliable and can provide the needed help. Right now, there are tons of things that I cannot delegate to any junior associate either because I am the one-man-team in the audit or the staff doesn’t have any idea what to do. Although I still find time to teach the things to do still, it will take much of my time. So if there are things you want to be finished, better do it by yourself.

Staying in the office and rendering overtime is far better in Pinas. I guess kasi masarap mag-overtime sa ating bansa kasi marami kang kasabay – kasabay kumain sa Mang Inasal, Mcdo or Jolibee, sumaglit sa Starbucks at maglabas ng sama ng loob at stress. In our office, it is so hard to find an outlet or a place where I could catch fresh air. Wala kasing malapit na fastfood or coozy coffeeshop sa office. Good thing there is a small take-out counter na coffee shop in the next office. If I feel so tired, I go out and order hazelnut latter and buy any sandwich they have. Minsan kakwentuhan ko rin ang mga lady barista. I called them ”ate” pero I know for sure mas matanda ako sa kanila. Buti na lang may mga kabayan sa munting coffeeshop na pwedeng makipagkwentuhan. I got to know them and their life and share of struggles they have here in Doha. Minsan palang teleserye ang kwento. They came from different work back home. Someone used to work in fastfood kung saan masarap ang gravy, may isa naman nagwork as accounting staff sa isang agency office sa Makati. Napaisip nga ako bakit pa sya lumabas ng Pinas. After I heard their reasons for leaving Pinas, I began to ask the same question why I left Pinas… same pa din sagot… Lovelife. Yiheeee! (Kilig much)

By the way may pakain din naman sa office. Our good bosses, order pizza or chicken wraps for all people who will stay late. Parang sa Makati din na may pakain. This week halos magsawa ako sa pizza. There was an incident this week when an associate made the headcount for food. One of the managers was shocked when he found out 45 people would still be staying. Ayun, go pa din sa pizza. Then the associate asked the manager,  “Sir how about the vegetarians?” Ang simple ng sagot ng manager, “Forget about the vegetarians.” (Hangsama!)

Speaking of the bosses, well, I will be quite bias if I say mas okay pa din ang mga boss sa Pinas. I guess because, sa atin kasi pwede ka pang makipagbargain, or pakisuyuan ang mga boss with regards to the deadlines and deliverables. Right now kasi, all my immediate boss are very demanding. Sometimes, possessive pa. If they see their staff doing work for another manager, magtatanong na yan bakit iba ang ginagawa. Yung mga acting managers or soon to be managers are doing the same. I guess ginagaya lang nila ang nakasanayan sa Pinas. But I cannot blame them, kasi they were also pressured by the higher bosses. If there is one thing, it is not actually, the pressure, but how the boss reacts. There is a shouting boss, there is makulet na boss update ng update pero wala naman ginagawa at mayroon din dedma boss pero comes deadline super demanding. Just like the cockroach theory, it is better to be composed dealing with these bosses and don’t react like them to the disturbance. Lahat ng pangangarag nila are disturbance that may make someone to overreact instead of responding the right way. Sabi nga ng mga kababayan natin pag pressure na – KALMA lang.

I really can’t wait matapos ang busy season. Isang araw na lang kasi weekend ko. Just like all the trials and big humps or mountains to cross, matatapos din ang lahat. Ang kahit na gaano kahirap ang audit ng isang client, matatapos at matatapos din…

depende nga lang kung kelan.

It’s a good thing I have this personal blog, my stress reliever.

After writing this one, maya-maya magdadraft na ako ulit ng financial statements at tax returns.

Bring it on,

Dorm Boy

Watching movie saved my sanity last night. After rough week in the office and misunderstanding with Pooh, I didn’t know where to spend my Thursday night. I was bored at home and I didn’t want to hang-out with my friends. They were also stressed out from their work so sharing my misery to them was not a good idea. So I decided to go out all by myself. While waiting for my ride to go to the mall, I checked in the internet for the movies in the cinema. Early this week, I planned to watch G.I. Joe 2 but my depression dissolved my eagerness to watch it. Eventually, my attention was caught by a romantic comedy film entitled Love, Wedding, Marriage. I was curious about its story so I checked its trailer in Youtube. It seemed like it was worthy of my money so I decided to watch it.

Just to give you an idea about the movie, it is all about Ava, a marriage counselor who just got married to Charlie. Their marriage was inspired by Ava’s parents, Bradley and Betty, who were living 30 years of married life. But when Betty found out  an affair Bradley had 25 years ago, she wanted to ask for a divorce. Ava, being the hopeless romantic, and saviour of marriages, did everything to save her parents’ marriage up to the extent that her marriage with Charlie was affected. Another twist in the story  is Charlie’s first marriage which he didn’t considered as legal since it happened when he was drunk in Las Vegas which Ava found out after eight weeks of their wedding. Indeed the story simply revolved around the secrets the husbands had in the past which were eventually revealed to their wives.

The comical relief from Bradley and Betty was a positive side of the movie. They perfectly portray typical old couple who lived and tolerated the bad habits of their partners for years. I smiled at the scene when Betty was so upset narrating her issues with Bradley like leaving used roll of toilet paper and not being changed in the bathroom and for eating the same food for breakfast for 30 years – oatmeal! (Sorry for spoiler! lol!)  Add also the funny moments from different activities in various counseling sessions they attended. There was also the scene on Charlie’s bestfriend Gerber who married a Polish Girl named Kasia and the antics of Ava’s sister Shelby.

While watching the movie, I realized that knowing and understanding the one you love is indeed a process which has no end. Every single day and every single night our love ones and us as well, change.  And there are also some things or habits which we can never change. All we need to do is accept both the changes and the unchanged ones. The movie made me reflect about my relationship with my dearest Pooh. Our relationship is still fresh and at this stage, I still considered that we are just still starting to know each other. Even though we were friends since college days, every day and every episodes we have keeps me puzzled and sometimes awed as I witness new things which I never know about her. I turned into an observant who witnesses the metamorphosis of a young lady to a more gorgeous and beautiful woman – both in and out.

I prepared myself  for two things the day when I said to myself that I was already falling in love with Pooh – for good and bad days. Just like the cliche says, every love story is not always  a walk in the park or a bed of roses. It is easy to prepare for the goods days. This is the best part of every relationship when the world seems like a colorful and lovely place. I wish all good days would stay and remain for good. I hope all those days never ended. Or if they ended, I wish I could not forget even the tiniest details of those wonderful moments. I also adamantly wish that I could always do the things which make Pooh happy during those days like simply waking her up every morning and preparing breakfast in the morning and getting ready her hot tea at night. Part of those happy days are the dining moments with her, which are all heaven made. I love how we enjoy to explore new restaurants here in Doha, and try new food which are very much foreign to our tastebuds. But the 2 things that top my list and I will always treasure are her smiles and laughters. My heart melts every time her eyes turned to fine lines when she smiles. And when I crack corny jokes, she is my avid fan – bentang benta ang mga jokes ko sa kanya, which to my delight. Listening to her hearty laugh is indeed a wonderful music to my ear.

And here comes the bad days. I almost stopped writing this article to discuss the bad days. I know I am not perfect and I make and will still make mistakes. At first, I was afraid to commit mistakes because I am worst in handling their consequences. I am poor in managing disputes and conflicts. But just like in basketball when the winning team is ahead of 20 or 30 points in the first half, the coach will always tell his boys to play to win and not to lose. Playing to win means still being aggressive and doing everything to win while the latter means playing safe and being complacently wasting time and just maintaining the large margin until the final buzzer. During the good days, I tried not to cross the boundaries going to bad days. But I want to live my days with Pooh by playing to win and by doing that, I am prone to repeating old and committing new mistakes. I know she is upset at me for committing the same mistakes like misunderstandings, “mga hindi ko alam” mistakes, my insensitivities and other petty stuffs but still, the drive to be a good and loving guy for her still fuel my heart. I know and this is certain, that I will commit mistakes as the days pass by. I hope she is always ready to accept my shortcomings. During bad days, I’ll accept and love her imperfections. I guess that’s love really means. To accept, forgive and live with imperfections of our love ones.  If there is one fervent wish I have regarding bad days, is that they become like rains in the desert – very rare to happen and when they come they are mere raindrops.

One of the lines from the movie which considered as a reminder for me are the words from Bradley:

“The greatest love survives the harshest of conditions and surviving that turmoil is what makes it strong.”

After listening to this line. It struck me and that was it. Enough has been said.

To my dearest Pooh, For sure there will be bumps or even mountains along our way. But don’t worry we will walk and cross all of them together…. in good and bad days.

Look who is sorry,

Dorm Boy

Last week I celebrated my birthday. It was another unforgettable birthday since it was actually my first birthday outside the Philippines and the first with my dearest Pooh! We were still miles apart last year, but she still managed to surprise me. Now that we were both here in Doha, I was more excited since we were together.

So as part of my annual tradition, I am writing once again the details of my first birthday in Doha.

March 22, 2012 Pre-birthday celebration

7:10 PM – Pooh and I were on our way  for her surprise birthday dinner for me. She greeted me while we were still inside the car. Birthday ko na daw kasi if we were in Pinas. Thanks to Mohammad, Pooh’s regular driver for driving us that night.

8:00 PM – We reached The Torch and proceeded to 360 Restaurant. It was my first time to visit the place. It was called 360 Restaurant because it was a rotating restaurant which is located at 47^th Floor. The bird’s eyeview of Doha at night was magnificent.

8:30 PM – We both decided to have seafood so we ordered grilled salmon and lobster. I liked the mushroom soup as well as the appetizing bread while waiting for the main course.

9:30 PM – We were almost done with our dinner when the waiter served my birthday cake. It was actually the first of the many surprises I received that night. The pianist stopped the music he was playing and asked my name as he rendered a jazzy Happy Birthday Song.  I gave him a smile and nod for appreciation of the song. When he finished the song, he then asked me from which country I came from. I was proud to say I’m from the Philippines. He simply smiled and said, “Just as I thought.”Being chinito looking, he might thought I am Chinese. Then he added, “Only from that place could have a name Patrick.”

9:45 PM -After sumptuous meal, we left The Torch and moved to Villaggio Mall to check for a movie to watch. There was no romanntic comedy movie available which we both were looking for except for an action film – Olympus Has Fallen. Watching movie on the eve of my birthday was another new thing for me. Nag-enjoy kami watching the movie and as we left the cinema house, I was still asking if it was really possible to attack the Olympus in real life.

March 23, 2013 Birthday ko na!

1:00 AM It was almost 1 in the morning when we reached home. I went to the kitchen to put the “take home” birthday cake inside the refrigerator. I was surprised when another big box of cake was stored inside the ref. I didn’t mind it though I had a feeling there was another surprise coming.

1:10 AM - Tama hinala ko! After 10 minutes, door bell rang and my friends were waiting outside to greet me on my birthday! Jerry, Jiam, Marco and Abeth were waiting for me to open the door (May susi naman si Marco pero pinag-open pa rin ako ng door lol!) Then Lolit woke-up to join the celebration. She was the accomplice to the surprise pero nahuli na, nakita ko na yung cake na nilagay nya sa ref. Thanks guys for the surprise and your gift. Masarap pagsaluhan ang  pancit and cake.

DB with the Bros

DB with the housemates

DB with the Ladies

2:30 AM – The last part of the series of surprises was revealed. I received a gift from Pooh and I was really surprised! I thought dining in a posh fine dining restaurant was already enough as a present. I really like the gift. I am actually planning to buy it this year, pero inunahan na ako ni Lovsy! By the way, the gift of my friends was related to the gift my Pooh gave to me. I smell another conspiracy again (lol!)

3;00 AM – Sleep mode.

11:00 AM – I woke up and checked my phone. It was already 11 in the morning. I read the birthday greetings from my father. I went straight to our sala and opened my laptop. Syempre nagcheck ng FB for the greetings.

12:00 pM – I had my late breakfast. It was  actually lunch already. I also checked my e-mails. My “surprise” treat for my former officemates in Makati finally arrived.  I asked Jo to order Yellow Cab pizza. It was my simple way of saying my thanks for them. Thanks Jo for the help.

1:00 PM – I was still online checking FB greetings. I finished the movie The Odd Life of Timothy Green which  I started to watch on installment basis. (Ang tagal kasi ibuffer lol!) It was a heart-warming movie (Disney eh). I like the story and the story of the leaves Timothy left to the people around him. It seemed like the timing to watch the movie was fitting for my birthday.

2:30 PM - Pooh invited me to hit the gym. After all the sweets and carbs intake, I said yes and joined her to sweat-out in the gym. Nice one for starting a healthy lifestyle. =)

3:30 PM – It was my Skype Moment with Papa and Manang back home. Wala si Kuya sa bahay kaya sila lang nakausap ko. As usual masayang kwentuhan. Feeling ko nasa bahay lang din ako kakwentuhan si Papa. Still I missed celebrating my birthday with them. Good thing may Skype.=)

4:00PM – I started to prepare as we planned to go to City Center. (It’s my show, it’s my time… it’s Shower time!)

5:00 PM – Lyka and Leo, our flatmates prepared palabok, toasted bread and leche flan. Swerte ko daw kasi nataon weekend ang birthday ko. So Lyka had time to prepare palabok. I like the seafood palabok. Thanks Lyka and Leo!

6:00 PM - Pooh, Lolit and I  left home to City Centre. We went to the bank to process our own personal transactions. Then Marco arrived as we waited for Abeth to pick us up as we headed to Villaggio.

Bday Dinner at The Butcher

8:45 PM – We reached Villaggio and met Jerry and Jiam. Then Dandred arrived. To other friends who were based here in Doha, hindi na ako nagcelebrate ng bonnga. Bawi na lang ako sa inyo next year.

9:15 PM – We just had simple dinner at the Butcher Shop. Kwela si Kabayan na waiter. Parang sya na rin nagdecide kung ano oorderin namin for a big group like us. Ayun umulan ng steaks and shrimps that night.

10:30 PM – We went home feeling busog.

To all the people who remembered my birthday, yung iba sobrang aga pa naggreet, thank you very much!

To my former officemates, students, batchmates in audit, former boss and managers, old friends in college, kababata, and friends who are now living in different parts of the world, thank you for your greetings and wishes for me!

To my friends and batchmates here in Doha… you are successful in surprising me. Thanks guys!

To my family for being supportive to all my plans in life, thank you and see you soon!

And lastly, to my dearest Pooh… saying thank you is not enough. Thanks for brightening up my day not just on special one like my birthday, but to all the days I spent and will spend with you! =)

Now I am thirty and in all honesty I am proud of it. They say 30 is the new 20 so let’s see. I had a great run during my 20′s, a decade marked with different stories from work, travels, and blogging. By the way, I don’t feel bad of getting old for as long as I look 5 years younger of my age hahaha! I guess this is what they mean of growing up gracefully. =)

As I continue my life here in on earth, I thank God for the wonderful three decades of existence and hopefully counting! Lord sana me bonus years pa ako. =)

Next year it will be more fun….

at thirty-one (Abangan!)

Goodbye 20′s Hello 30′s

See related posts:

DB’s Birthday v29

DB’s Birthday v28

DB’s Birthday v27

After a grueling week doing audit works I finally got the time to relax and unwind last night. My boss allowed us to go home early yesterday which made the end of the week truly worth celebrating.  Friday night dinner with Pooh and friends wrapped up our evening. We all missed Pinoy food and ended up in Pinoy Fiesta where bulalo, kare-kare and inihaw na post-it (pusit) were waiting for us.

When we reached home, I had no specific plans for Thursday night. Out of the blue I opened my laptop and ended up checking for some feel-good movies to watch. Aside from blogging, watching movies or TV series is my stress reliever. By the way, just a trivia to share to you guys, I still consider watching movie in Manila more convenient and more swak sa budget. First of all, movie tickets in Pinas is cheaper than here in Doha. A movie ticket will cost you 35 riyals. For a new OFW like me, sakit ko pa rin until now ang magconvert ng expenses to peso. Maybe I’ll get over this habit after a couple of months more.

Aside from the cost of movie ticket, it takes time and effort to go to malls. Unlike in Manila wherein Greenbelt, Glorieta, and Megamall which are the usual places I go to see movies, these malls are accessible from my place in Makati. Here, I still need to call or arrange for a “carlift” (I called them “hatid-sundo” services). For those who have no idea about Qatar, public transport here is not that okay. Only limited number of Karwa (taxis and buses) is available. That’s why owning a car is a necessity. I still can’t afford to own a car and I still need to learn how to drive here so it will take more months for me to be a suki of carlift. I am actually planning to make a separate blog article about my carlift stories.

With all the hassle of going to movie house, I ended up checking movies in the net. Among all the featured movies I chose Here Comes the Boom for the night. The movie is about Scott Voss, a high school biology teacher who became a mixed martial artist in order to raise money to prevent extra-curricular activities from being cut at his financially challenged school.

Here Comes the Boom

After watching the movie napalista ako for top ten things to spoil oops to keep. So here are the things worth mentioning about the movie:

10. According to news, Kevin James lost 70-80 pounds after training for 14 months for this movie. (Makapag MMA na nga rin para pumayat lols).

9. The movie has a touch of Pinoy.  Charice and Reggie Lee are part of the casts. Mabuhay ang mga Pinoy! By the way I read before that Kevin James’ wife is Pinay. (Will Ricky Lo interview also Kevin James and invite Pinoys to watch his movie?)

8. The movie is like the new Rocky movie of the younger generation, only this time it is the Octagon version. If Sylvester has the Eye of the Tiger, Kevin has Boom!

7. Teachers indeed inspire students. Inspiration from teachers has distinct effect to students. There are scenes in the movie which are unusual in a typical classroom discussion. One, I should have tried entering through the window for a grand entrance to my class. I also remember my former college prof in IT who used to discuss while standing on top of the table.  (Bigla ko namiss my teaching gig).

6. Because of this movie, I am becoming more interested in MMA and in UFC. They say UFC is the NBA of MMA.

5. Viking hat and outfit are not good props in intimidating an enemy.

4. If I got my 48-year-old wife pregnant at an advance age, I’ll make sure to have security of tenure or a stable source income. (Sorry wala na ko maisip to complete this list).

3. If you want to make your life interesting, have something to fight for. Aiwa!

2. It is refreshing to see Charice in her old looks, way before her transformation. As expected Charice has her birit moment.

1. At ang pang FB post: “Without music life would be a mistake.”

Boom,

Dorm Boy

I am so happy that my blog is back. Since October I could not access the dashboard of my blog. I could not approve comments, edit a post, or even make a new post. I don’t know what happened. I thought it has something to do with the internet here in Doha. I thought my blog was blocked but it was not. I even asked my sister to access my blog back in Pinas and we both ended up having the same result. I tried to open my blog during the weekends of November and still I could not access my dashboard. I couldn’t wait anymore so I accepted the possibility that my dotcom days were over. Last December, I went back to my old wordpress account, just to satisfy my craving to write.

Out of curiousity today I tried to access my dotcom and walaah, I opened my blog and reached the dashboard of my blog! Sa sobrang saya ko, I feel like writing agad agad. It really feels good to receive something you waited for so long.  I already have tons of stories to share about my life here in abroad yet I couldn’t find a right avenue to share them.

Now that my blog is okay, I am thinking to do the posts I postponed like the yearly blog articles for the year-end and the welcome post for the new year.  Knowing that time is of the essence in blogosphere, I know these blog articles are not fitting anymore as of this time. Still  I am so glad that I can continue blogging  and the joy of blogging is back to my system!

So what would be the fitting blog article to welcome 2013?

By the way speaking of New Year, naalala nyo ba yung mga pamahiin tuwing New Year about round fruits and foods na dapat ihain sa pagsapit ng new year? Well, I am actually a follower of that superstitious belief. But I did not have the chance to do it. So to welcome 2013 at para swertehin ang blog ko I am going to post this katakamtakam picture I had this January.

Banana Mapins!

Yes indeed cupcakes and muffins!

My dearest Pooh’s hobby is baking. It is also her stress reliever.  We started 2013 with a mission which is to start baking. After we bought mixer, measuring cups, spoons and teaspoons (i called them mga laruang pangbake) as well as baking supplies we envaded the kitchen for my first ever baking experience. I have no experience in baking and oven is not my type of friend. Hanggang stove lang ako. So when Pooh told me to bake I was curious how  hard or delicate to bake. Who would have thought kailangan ko pang mag-abroad to learn how to bake.

I am the assistant alalay during our baking session. Aside from taga-hugas at taga-abot ng gamit from cupboard, I am also the runner for any supply needed (to burn calories na rin lolz!)We started from a basic cooking using ready mix for chocolate muffins. Then it was followed by Banana muffins and the list of cakes will surely be longer in the days and weeks to come!

While waiting for the cupcakes to expand.

One of the best feeling in baking is when you see the mixture you made in paper cups glow and expand. It is like a masterpiece, little by little coming out to life! It is really a work-in-progress and after next 25 minutes it becomes a finish product ready to be served.

I learn that in baking, measurement should be precised and accurate. One mistake in measurement and it is over. Pwede na ring lesson in life etong natutunan ko while baking.

Holding the hot molder fresh from the oven feels like holding a trophy of a successful first stint as a baker…. assistant baker to be exact!

Muffins anyone?

Banana muffins

Till next baking moment,

Dorm Boy