I Was There

I'm proud to say that I was one of its regular customers when this place began back in the 1980s. :D The photo below was taken one weekday morning last week at GoodAh's Valero Street branch in Makati City.


I didn't realize until I saw the signage above that hung on one of the restaurant's walls (if not its only wall) that the company was marking its 25th year of existence this year. Boy, time surely does fly.

I remember that it was back in college when I became a regular GoodAh customer. It was born out of the desperate need for a very satisfying meal while on a tight budget. I was a student at the time and whatever money I had were those that I managed to save from the allowances I received from my father.

On a sentimental note, it was a favorite place to take girlfriends out to lunch or for a dinner date. As a student going out on dates, I also operated on a rather tight budget. All of the date money I had then were culled from my savings. Not once did I ever ask my parents for money to spend on dates. Aside from an independent streak, I was also careful not to let my conservative parents know that I was going out on dates. But if there's a will, there's certainly a way. I made sure that my romantic operations were conducted with utmost secrecy. :D Naks! Anyway....

The GoodAh restaurants back in the 1980s were not airconditioned as they are now. Dining was of the "al fresco" Filipino-style type. (Naks! That means dining out complete with the ever present langaw or "fly" hovering over one's plate. Hehehe) My favorite GoodAh locations were the ones on West Avenue and in Greenhills. My favorite dish was the Longsilog (with extra orders of both the fried egg and garlic rice) while my girlfriends often preferred the Tapsilog.

Romantic dinners by candle light at GoodAh became possible courtesy of MERALCO, NAPOCOR (National Power Corporation) and sometimes, even the New People's Army (NPA), whenever these folks decided to tinker with the Luzon Power Grid.

Looking back, I was glad that my girlfriends at the time were very understanding of my situation. Given that they were Chinese girls who came from rather well-to-do families, I appreciated the fact that even if eating at such a place must have been quite an adjustment for them, they remained very supportive and didn't mind that I took them to such a place. To a person, not once did I hear a complaint from them. To this day, I give them a lot of credit for that and I remain proud of them for the understanding they showed me. Plus, I give them a lot of credit for dating a less than average looking, middle class Filipino boy like me period. Hehe

Because of those dates, GoodAh brought back a lot of happy memories for me. And by having breakfast with the SO at its Valero Street branch last week, I simply added another event to my list of happy GoodAh-related memories.

Photo Credit: MQ

A Place My Heart Will Never Leave

A part of me will always remain in this city.


Makati City, the Philippines. I started working here right after college. In the four jobs I held in the Philippines prior to migrating to the United States, three of the jobs were in this city.

The place has changed a lot since the last time I was here. There are a lot more tall and impressive skyscrapers. I remember back in the day when the 28-storey Pacific Star building (the white building at the left of the photo above) at the corner of Makati Avenue and Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia) opened its doors to the public. The Republic of Nauru was one of the building's owners and representatives of the island republic's government were present at the building's inauguration. The newspapers hailed it as the country's tallest skyscraper.

Now, 20 years later, what used to be its magnificent white paint has turned a rather shoddy gray thus making the building look old and neglected when compared to the shiny new skyscrapers that have reshaped the Makati skyline.

There are a lot more restaurants and high-rise residential condominium buildings. The presence of call centers have turned Makati into a 24-hour city. A city not unlike Manhattan where finding a place to eat at any hour isn't a problem, a feature that's near and dear to yours truly's heart. Hehehe

The old Schwarzwalder restaurant that used to stand at the corner of Makati Avenue and Dela Rosa street is gone. An expanded Ayala Museum now stands on its old spot. My old office building on Dela Rosa street is gone too and on its old spot now stands a tall and impressive residential condominium building. Old carpark buildings now house 24-hour restaurants on their ground floors.

The Greenbelt and Glorietta shopping areas have changed a lot mostly for the better. What I used to know as Greenbelt is now known as Greenbelt 1. The old Makati Supermarket is gone and on its old spot stands Greenbelt 3.

These days, one can pretty much walk from EDSA all the way to Paseo de Roxas without having to expose one's self to the sun's rays. That wasn't the case when I worked in the area years ago. There were no pedestrian underpasses then and the shopping centers were a lot less crowded.

Traffic hasn't improved though. Countless cars still clog its streets. The fact that a lot of Makati CBD's streets are curved and narrow do not help improve the traffic flow situation at all. Parking remains at a premium and a number of taxicab drivers still discriminate when picking up passengers.

But anyway, I was glad to spend some time in this city even for just a short while. I love the city in spite of its imperfections. Anyway, every other city in the world has its own problems. Makati City and its buildings awed me as a child and I still remember the joy I felt the day I found out that I was to work here. For me, and a lot of others who dreamt of building a career in the corporate world, Makati City was the place where one set out to make a name for one's self. And as I looked at the changes around me last week, I still believe that Makati City remains as the place to be for those who want to make a name for themselves in the Philippine corporate scene.

Photo Credit: MQ

Fast Car

As a music lover, I've always been a sucker for songs with music that bring an original, new sound to the public's ears. But I also go for the entire package. It's a big bonus for me if a song with beautiful and original music is also endowed with a great set of lyrics. It's poetry set to music.

The following song is one of those. I've loved this song from the very moment I first heard it when it came out in late 1988.

The song's called "Fast Car", written and performed by Tracy Chapman, a great American folk singer. The acoustic guitar introduction and sound was, for me, one of the most original I've ever heard then and since. In terms of originality, I would rank it up there with the guitar and sitar combination that served as intro on the Beatles' song "Norwegian Wood".

I loved the lyrics too. They spoke of sadness, heartbreak and disappointment. In her desire to leave a life of despair and hardship behind, a girl fell for the charms of one who seemingly offered her a way out poverty, one who could help her fulfill her lifelong dreams. But as they lived a life together, she finally realized that all the hopes she had in him were misplaced.

Ms. Chapman eventually won a Grammy ("Best Female Pop Vocal Performance") for this song. Let me then share with you the words that went with the music.

You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere

Any place is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
But me myself I got nothing to prove

You got a fast car
And I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far
Just 'cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living

You see my old man's got a problem
He live with the bottle that's the way it is
He says his body's too old for working
I say his body's too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said somebody's got to take care of him
So I quit school that's what I did

You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
We leave tonight or live and die this way

So remember we were driving driving in your car
The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
And I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
And we go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
And I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
We'll move out of the shelter
Buy a big house and live in the suburbs

So remember we were driving driving in your car
The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
And I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
And I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids
I'd always hoped for better
Thought maybe together you and me would find it
I got no plans I ain't going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving

You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so you can fly away
You gotta make a decision
You leave tonight or live and die this way

The Baker Goes On A Mini-Hiatus

I'll be on a brief one-week mini-hiatus from blogging. There are some matters I need to attend to and as a result, my blogging has to take the backseat for just a few days. Nothing bad or negative so please don't worry about me. I'll be fine.

I say mini-hiatus for I don't think it will be a complete break from posting any blog entry. I may be able to sneak in one or two during the week.

I'll probably bloghop whenever I get the chance but I seriously doubt that I will have the time to post a blog entry due to a rather tight schedule. Will try my best though. :)

Anyway, please take care of yourselves and I'll see you all in a bit. Who knows? You might even see me in one of your regular haunts. :)

Photo Hunt: Shoes

This week's Photo Hunt theme is Shoes.


My contribution to this week's theme is a picture of my left shoe. I took the picture at work earlier this week.

The shot was rather hurried because I didn't want my boss to see me taking a picture of my shoe. He would have found it quite weird and he would have busted my chops no end. :)

Have a great weekend, folks!