Sunny Side Up

It has only been a year since I last set afoot our house in Antipolo where I lived back in college and I must say a lot has changed already. My sister and I traveled a seven-hour trip from Baguio to Manila a few days ago and didn't expect that the Antipolo-Sumulong terminal is no longer in Araneta Center in Cubao but now in Farmers. Aside from that, gone are the Tamaraw FX days or Revo, it's changed to huge vans that can hold 15-18 pax. The fare sky-rocketed too from Php35 to 50 but not so much for jeepneys and buses. The heat and traffic are still unbearable as usual so that is no surprise at all. Once we are settled in our house we didn't think about going out until the next day because we are so darn exhausted by the heat. Our house sits in an overlooking area where we have a good view of tall buildings in Ortigas and Makati so it's quite refreshing, unfortunately, we now have a limited view because the leaves of our resident mango tree obstructed it but that's not the tree's fault, nobody just care to trim the leaves anymore, I guess. 

Our brother dropped us off to SM Masinag the next day. We scoured the mall and noticed that there are still a lot of unoccupied stalls. I love it when a place looks fresh and smells new. I'm glad to see an Etude store there too because I love their black Oh-M liquid eyeliner and I don't have to travel far just to grab one once it runs out, yay! I've been to SM Marikina last year while SM Masinag is still being built but I kinda like SM Masinag better, I find it more accessible from our place. The first thing that came to mind when I saw Razons in this mall is their bestseller "halo-halo." I ordered one for me and one for my sister to beat the heat and we surely loved it. We went home after an hour since there's nothing left to do there and we just really wanted to check out the mall. 

Hungry Hippo

The main reason for our travel is to sign some documents from our previous employer because I got a call from someone in our HR department that they are working on our final pay. Makati is about an hour away (depending on traffic of course) from Antipolo. From Antipolo, our brother dropped us off in Masinag where we rode a van en route Ayala. The fare is now Php55 per pax from 40 which was less than 10 years ago from what I remember. Our van left Masinag at 6AM and we got there past 7AM our appointment is at 9 which is a good thing because we have ample of time for exercise. We walked from Philamlife to RCBC Tower which is kinda far, it's roughly a 7-10 minute walk. 


Many years ago, all FX coming from Antipolo will drop off passengers along Paseo de Roxas which is more convenient, it will only take you 5 minutes to get to RCBC. We should've worn more comfortable clothes because we are sweating out when we get there. I got hungry after a long walk I told my sister I want to have breakfast at her favorite hangout place called Hungry Hippo. I ordered a huge meal which consists of egg, bacon, and toasts whilst she just had french fries said she lost her appetite after our morning jog/walkathon, lol. After signing all the documents we came back after lunch to see if we can already secure copies of our certificate of employment and ITR unfortunately, we were advised to claim it in their Baguio office...I thought seriously? We came all the way here because we were told that everything will be forwarded from one center to another so there's got to be a miscommunication somewhere? But we didn't give up, my sister sent an email to our HR coordinator in Baguio and got a reply immediately that we can get the COE and ITR the following day. Sadly, we still have to go back but thankful that we have accomplished everything.

We heard mass at the Antipolo Cathedral on Sunday. Our first house in Antipolo was just thee minute walk to the cathedral and it is still there only my sister and her daughters (20 and 7-year-olds) live there now. There are so many establishments that have sprouted in the area like malls, coffee shops, etc. It has changed a lot since 1987 when we moved into our first family home. I still see a few familiar faces. Our niece drove us afterward to Robinson's Place which is the newest and the largest mall in Antipolo. I recall this place used to be an empty land with tall grasses but it's transformed into a mall with a huge parking space. On the way back we paid a visit and offered prayers at the newly built Parish of the Immaculate Heart near Hinulugang Taktak (a famous tourist spot in Antipolo). I love this church better than the cathedral because it is not crowded. It is surrounded by trees so you feel closer to nature.

I still couldn't believe my eyes how a simple town like Antipolo can become so progressive that I couldn't recognize it anymore. I like how it's changed minus the road widening because it is such a pain that there's no space to park your car anymore in front of your own house. It's gone too crowded already. I think it's not ideal to live there it's become too polluted as well. I still need a place where I can breathe.