TapsiTurvy

When I woke up this morning and saw kitchen appliances, plate stacks and other food servers crowding our house, I felt sad. I instantly knew what it meant: My dad's Tapsi Diner has folded.

The business was not that bad, really. It was managed by my ever so industrious sister. The place was conveniently  located on a busy road near a school.  The food was made out of secret ingredients and spices making diners come back for more. The service was fast and friendly. It was my dad's latest business endeavor, but before it can even hit its first year, it had to fold because of swelling cost of running it.

I felt sad for my dad and my sister who really pulled a lot of resources and effort to keep it alive. One problem was the location. Because it was in Antipolo, far from where we live, it was hard to keep an eye on. But most of all, I think there's a lot of improvement needed on the  logistics and accounting side of the business.
  

 

 This was the diner's set up, Silog diner inside and outside there was a cart that serves dim sum and burgers.

(pardon the faulty date)

Panda and Sweet Pea just enjoying the food.

The diner serves home cooked style tasty meals.

The best seller of all, the famous longsilog.

Every business has a life span, but while the diner did not last very long,  we sure learned a lot about the in and outs of the food business.

Meet My New Pet

Our house is like a small zoo. We have a dog, rabbit, hamster, love birds, gold fish, arowana, etc. 0_0

Meet my new pet, his name is Steve. 

I think he's such a pussy! His favorite song? - I Want to Break Free by Queen, and I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross. For Christ's sake, he should face his fears! Most of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past, and the fear of the future. 

Bird Poop

Weeks ago Sweet Pea and I got home and stumbled upon this - a pigeon. Not only did the pigeon make tambay (naks sosi) at the apartment,  it also brought us something -- a message probably?  No it's bird poop.

Look Boo, it is a good sign!

I told Sweet Pea, Hon... we are very lucky. This is a sign of good omen. I saw something like this in the movie Under the Tuscan Sun. This is a sign of good things to come. We got water and some crackers and left it under the table where the bird can see it. We hid from a distance and watched the bird made tuka the crackers and water. We even tried to scare the bird away so that it will fly out of the apartment so that it can join its friends, but no, it stayed, and made tambay for the night.  Days after that incident, we tried our luck by purchasing some lotto scratch cards and, believe it or not, we won a series of 20 to 300 pesos. That money we won - I always keep it in my wallet. I always refer to it as "my lucky peso bills." I even wrote the date and that fact on the bill itself! That's just one of the things that lucky bird brought.. I believe in luck. Luck can be acquired and can be created.  I don't believe in bad luck, though. I think there is no such thing as bad luck - only lost opportunities.

Now tell us Mr. pigeon,  what kind of present did you bring us?

Justice for the Victims of the Bar Salubong Bombing.

My father, my sister, sweet pea and I visited Raissa at PGH last Saturday. We brought her white roses and an  inspirational book entitled "Blessing in Disguise." Earlier last Thursday, Sweet Pea and I also visited Rainer our friend who was also one of the victims. We also planned of visiting JoKat but we were informed that she was not yet in a stable condition.

I really admire Raissa's  spirit - her condition is not easy. As you must have known, both of her legs had to be amputated because of that senseless bombing that happened while they were cheering for the barristers on the last day of the bar exams. We did not stay long. When we got there, it was almost past visiting hours. We knew that it had been a long day for her and that she also needed time to rest. She appreciated our visit and bid our farewells. As we left her room, I silently prayed that may Raissa, Ram, JoKat and all of the victims of this malevolent senseless incident get the justice they deserve.

 It will probably take a long time before I can get over the trauma of that bombing incident. Although I wasn't there at the site, I know a lot of the victims and could have been victims of that tragic day. For this, I vowed not to participate in any school activity that involves crowds forever. I think I should get counseling on this. Times like these, I also get reminded that there is really more to life than what meets the eye.  Life is too short -- there's so much we can appreciate in  life - every bit of it, no matter what, no matter how hard it gets.


*pic from raissa's tweeter.