Like The Tomato

These last few days have been bliss. My hun and I really didn’t plan on what to do during my visit. I mean we did have a few things lined up but we were more than happy to just wing it. A lot of the things that we thought of doing are all outdoor things but since the weather has been rainy and humid and hot, we just decided to just really take it day by day.

The one thing that I really appreciated was the domesticity we had. Being at home, doing errands together, cooking together, doing chores together. Really just being with each other was the thing that I wanted. I really didn’t care if we go out or not.

Friday, we went to an Asian store and did a little bit of grocery shopping. We found a nice sweet shop a few feet away from it. So what did we do? Of course, we had to try it out. And it was amazing. My hun of course got peanut butter chocolate things. We tried some cannolis. And I had to try their mint-flavored oreo thingies. The shop did not disappoint. We also watched a movie – Escape Room, some episodes of Bob’s Burgers, and episodes of The Great British Baking Show. That night, we also read together. I started reading Homicide and Halo Halo, the second book to the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery Series. And my hun started reading A Dirty Job. And yes, we both gave each other a book to read.

Saturday, the morning was spent in the ER – not going to give context to this. All I am saying is that it was neither of us who needed to see an MD. After that, we ended up going to McDonald’s because I was craving some salty fries. Then we ended up going to KFC so my hun could introduce me to their fries. It was good. It definitely hit the spot for me. We stopped by CVS and Dollar General on the way back home. I ended up cooking some pork sinigang for dinner. My hun cooked and stayed in the kitchen with me. He told me that he was a little bit intimidated by the dish because of how many vegetables I planned on putting in the dish. The way he dissected the dish as he was eating was adorable. He ended up liking it, he said he couldn’t taste the veggies so he liked it. The only thing that he didn’t like was baby bokchoy. I told him that could be substituted with string beans next time. We ended up binging and finishing Deadman Wonderland after dinner. To say that the last few episodes of that anime were intense was a huge understatement. It got intense and dark so fast.

Sunday, we went to the laundromat – his folks needed to do some laundry. My hun and I decided to have brunch at Waffle House. Of course, I didn’t really expect the place to be able to cater to my allergies. And I was fine with that, as long as I don’t really stack my sensitivities up then I should be fine. But my hun, being the sweet person he is, asked our server if they would be able to use just the yolks for the eggs on my dish. They did. And we really appreciated that. A lot of places won’t even bother. At least the only allergen I had there was the cheese. And it was fine. We introduced his folks to the Filipino store/restaurant located next to the laundromat. And introduced them to some Filipino snacks and food. My hun and I cooked braised pork belly for dinner. We finished the season of The Great British Baking Show. I got annoyed with comments about David’s showstopper during the semifinals and I wanted him to win just because he was such an underdog going to the finals. And those comments. “He made a cake” on patisserie week. Well, hello, two other semifinalists also made cakes for their showstopper. So boo. 

Today. Monday, we went to the laundromat – we needed to do some laundry ourselves. We stopped by The Filipino store/restaurant again while the clothes were in the wash. We had brunch, we got two entrees + rice combo with calamansi juice. They also gave us free sinigang broth. It was a good lunch. After, we went home My hun watched me play The Stanley Parable. I was able to get some different endings. My hun seemed to enjoy my reactions to the journey to getting different endings. I loved the narrator’s reaction every time I didn’t follow his instructions. It was fun. We ended up watching a few episodes of Tokyo Ghoul after dinner. His mom cooked arroz con gandules, green beans, and pork tenderloin for dinner. It was good. I enjoyed every variation of cooked rice I ever had before, so it was no surprise that I love this one as well. 

What are the plans for tomorrow? Go back to the sweet shop, buy a couple of boxes of sweets, one for my hun and one for me to take back. Then stop by a store to get an insulated bag for the sweets. I really don’t want to think about tomorrow, to be honest. The time my hun and I together are too short for me. For us. One week is really just not enough. I just want to start our life together already. But until that day comes, both of us will just have to be okay with the situation. 

Holy crap. I’ve been absent for a good while. Let’s see – I am on PTO and on the other side of the country to visit my love. 

Today is our second year anniversary and our second year in a long-distance relationship. The situation is not ideal but we make do with what we are given. Eventually, this situation will change but for right now, we will deal. 

I took a redeye from the West Coast on 09.14. To say that my anxiety was triggered was a huge understatement. I am not a big fan of flying alone, to be honest. But good thing that I passed out right as the plane was moving on the runway. I didn’t even realize when the plane took off. I got here at 6 AM on 09.15. My hun picked me up at the airport and with no fail – like the other times I’ve been to this airport – I got lost. No idea how or why that happens, I just get lost. Regardless, he was there waiting for me right next to the assigned baggage claim carousel for my flight. 

The first thing that we did, aside from the obviously given kissing and hugging each other, we got breakfast. Where? I wanted Dunkin’ Donuts. Unfortunately, Dunkin’ is not an easy place to find where I’m based, so I was more than happy to enjoy it. I mean, definitely, this was definitely not a Roma-proof breakfast by any means, but I was happy regardless.

Next stop? Target. I had to get some necessities that I forgot to pack for this trip. After that, we drove to his place and just relaxed before our dinner date. We decided to do our anniversary dinner a few days earlier since the 18th fell on a weekend and that would be busy for sure. I normally don’t get dressed up anymore and often just do not wear makeup at all. But I was more than happy to get dolled up for the night. 

Location: Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Why did we choose this restaurant? We wanted to have a bit more of an upscale feel for our second year anniversary. We spend most of the year away from each other, so we want to at least splurge a little bit for this dinner. We got to the restaurant and we were escorted to a table with rose petals on it. With the hostess and our server greeting us “Happy Anniversary”. It was cute. Did I take those rose petals with me when we left the restaurant? Yes. I did. The ambiance was really nice. The restaurant was dark, quiet, and definitely not crowded, regardless of the fact that there were already people seated when we got there. Even as the place got even more crowded as our dinner went on, I never felt crowded and the place didn’t get noisy either. It was a peaceful and delightful dinner.

Drinks: I ordered a Blueberry Mojito. It was a very refreshing drink. It was not strong at all, which I was not surprised about. I mean this is a restaurant after all and not a bar. And I appreciated the fact that I was able to enjoy the food we ordered. The mojito definitely tasted like juice to me and had the potential to be a very dangerous drink. My hun ordered a Blackberry Sidecar. That was a bit more of a stronger drink in my opinion. I could definitely taste the alcohol but good nonetheless. My hun enjoyed it and that really was all that mattered.

Appetizer: We chose the Veal Osso Buco Ravioli. It’s a saffron-infused pasta, sautéed baby spinach, veal demi-glace. And it was good. It wasn’t heavy at all despite of it being pasta. The spinach was good – my hun couldn’t stop eating it even though he does not like vegetables. So I will take that as a win. There was also complimentary bread and butter provided – and oh goodness, the bread was fresh and so good! And when we dipped the bread to the veal sauce, yeah, that was heaven.

Entree: We both got medium rare ribeye steaks and a side of garlic mashed potatoes. The mashed potato was smooth and creamy. And steaks were perfectly seasoned, juicy, and tender. It definitely cut like butter. We enjoyed every bite we had! Despite being full, we couldn’t stop eating it because the steaks were that good. We did end up taking some leftovers home. And despite eating the leftovers at 2 AM the next day, and the steaks being in the fridge for a few hours, it was still tender and oh so juicy.

Will we come back again? Most definitely, when? Not sure yet. 

Last week was a bit too busy. Anyway, I’m here now. Not going to discuss all the things that happened last week. Let’s just say that it was overwhelming and annoying.

I’m getting ready for my coming trip on Wednesday night. No I have not packed. But I’m slowly collating my stuff for packing. But yes, I am going on a trip to visit my hun on the other side of the country. Finally.

My hun and I didn’t get the chance to hang out yesterday. We chose to do some chores, get some stuff done before I leave in a few days. The air quality was bad. Ash everywhere. And I was struggling because my allergies were bad, and my breathing was labored. I went to H Mart. And then I went to Target. Yeah, I had fun at Target. 

My hun and I did hang out today. We watched a few anime episodes and a couple of episodes of the baking show.

Tokyo Ghoul. We finished the first season. And Kaneki’s character development was amazing. Embracing that he is now a ghoul was definitely a turning point for him. How he got there though was a bit tough to watch. We definitely did not expect how intense this anime actually was. The last few episodes of the season involves Kaneki being tortured by Jason. It was difficult to watch but I also couldn’t look away – why? I have been waiting for a shift in his character and I had a feeling that it would happen during the torture scenes. And I was right. That last fight scene was…yeah. Yep.

Deadman Wonderland. My hun was very hesitant to suggest this one for us to watch because of the intensity of it. But after watching Tokyo Ghoul, he said that maybe we should check it out. The first episode definitely caught me off guard. The massacre was definitely…something. I definitely had some questions. Like how the 14 year old became the scapegoat and why in hell the investigation just jumped on that. My head was spinning because did no one question the logistics of what happened at all? NO ONE. Make it make sense. Anyway, premise is definitely interesting and I can’t wait to meet the other characters with the Branches of Sin ability. I know this is a gladiator-esque death match anime, and I’m all for it. I want to see where this goes.

Great British Bake Off. Episode 2 which was Biscuit Week. And Jamie went home. I personally think that he was not ready for this kind of competitive pressure. I think it’s very different doing something for fun vs if you are competing against a bunch of people with the same hobby. I still love seeing the bakers help each other. I just really find it so refreshing. Granted I have not seen the US version of the show and I have nothing to compare this to, but I feel like the environment between the two would be different. Episode 3 was Bread Week. And Amelia got eliminated. I still think Henry is my favorite but I am struggling to pick my second one. I keep on see-sawing between Alice and maybe Steph. I don’t know. My hun still likes David and Michael.

Tomorrow is a new work week. And my anxiety is definitely triggered. I have a headache, could be a stress headache. My hun and I didn’t make plans to hang out but I know that I will be packing little by little for the next few days.

Today was a long day. My work day started way too early. 6:30 AM. Yeah, never again. From now on, any meeting earlier than 7:30 AM is a NO. I was onsite so early that I was hearing things. All the time that I was in a meeting, I kept hearing the doorbell. And every time that I check, there was no one there. Yeah. Never again.

It was busy. People were visiting the lab. So the office was packed. And a lot of food was available. They were nice enough to get some Roma-proof variety, which I definitely appreciated. I believe there were two more people going to be coming in tomorrow. So we shall see how crowded the place would be.

My hun and I got to start another season of The Great British Baking Show. The first thing I thought was, that there were a lot more youngins this season. I am already leaning toward Henry – a young literature student. Priya – an aspiring novelist. I think my love is leaning toward David – the health advisor, who baked a healthy fruit cake and the snake birthday cake, and also Michael – the clumsy one, who cut himself three times during the signature round. My hun said that Michael’s clumsiness reminds him of me. We shall see.

My CTS is flaring up today. Actually, for the sake of transparency, it’s been pretty flared up for quite a while now. It’s just that today, it’s been really bothersome. I was tempted not to type anything today, but I figured why not? I can make a short post. I need to evaluate how ergonomic my home and work stations for ergonomics. I raised my seat now using a seat cushion here at home, so maybe this will help. But I need to look at my station at work. Evaluate it really carefully.

This weekend was lazy. I can say that much at least. I know I did laundry on Friday, shaved Paco, gave the dogs a bath, finished laundry on Saturday, and went to the grocery store and cooked spaghetti with meatballs on Sunday. Those were all done in the mornings. And the rest of the time, I was hanging out with my hun. 

We finished Collections 5 and 6 of The Great British Baking Show. Collection 5: what did we think about it? Obviously, we had our favorites. Liam was our favorite during this season. He got eliminated on episode 8: Forgotten Bakes. The last three bakers were Sophie, Steven, and Kate. Kate was I think a wild card among the three. She was in so much danger the weeks prior before the semi-finals. So I was not expecting her to be among the finalists. Steven was pretty good. He was pretty consistent at the beginning, but I think the stress got to him in the later episodes. His bakes became a bit unpredictable. And then Sophie, the most consistent throughout the season. She always did an excellent job with her bakes. So there was no surprise to us really that Sophie won. Not that the other bakers didn’t do a good job. It’s just that Sophie’s final bakes were better.

Collection 6: what did we think about it? First impression of the contestants: we felt like they were so random. I don’t know how to describe it. Regardless, we picked our favorites right from the beginning. I picked Rahul right away. I found him so endearing. His ability to talk non-stop without realizing it made me smile the whole season. My hun’s favorite was Dan and Jon. Both good bakers, both dads, and the fact that many of their bakes were dedicated to their kids made them a favorite for my hun. Well, mine too to be honest. Kim-Joy kind of squeezed in there for us. She was not scared to be herself. She was marching to her tune and we loved it. And her bakes were adorable! We were sad when Dan and Jon got eliminated. Dan had it rough during Pastry Week, while Jon got eliminated during Vegan Week. The top three finalists were Rahul, Kim-Joy, and Ruby. All good bakers but it really came down to the showstopper. Kim-Joy’s was a bit disappointing. We thought it was too simple. Ruby’s looked good, but it came down to her bake. And Rahul’s showstopper not being the most enticing to eat, but the elements were good bakes and the flavors were good. Rahul won in the end despite a rocky couple of episodes.

We did end up watching three episodes of Tokyo Ghoul. That anime can be intense sometimes and I can only watch a few episodes at a time. But despite so much blood and killing in that series, the anime definitely has a heart which I appreciate. I really would love to see Kaneki’s development. I still don’t like Touka. I’m pretty sure there is a background to her that made her the way she is but I just don’t get her yet. I find it hard to like a character who is unnecessarily difficult to begin with. I’m glad that the story right now revolves around Kaneki since I really want his progress and I want to follow his journey of finding himself again as a hybrid.

Then we also watched some episodes of Futurama and Bob’s Burgers. I really don’t know what it is with Futurama, but that cartoon makes me tired and sleepy. My limit on that series is definitely a couple of episodes. My hun and I decided that we should watch Futurama at the beginning of our night. Bob’s Burgers does the same to me but not to the extent as Futurama.

All in all, this weekend was good. Lazy but good. I really enjoyed that my hun and I got to spend a lot of time. We talked, we messaged, we video-called, and we watched a lot of things. It was great. I do wish that we are closer to each other, but right now we’ll make due and do our best to make time for each other. 

Okay, so it’s been a while here. By a while, I mean a couple of days really. Not bad since I have been gone for more days than that before. What did I do for the last couple of days?

Let me see, Wednesday. Yeah! I decided to wear contacts that day. And what happened? My left eye got really irritated. And it was as if I was not wearing contacts at all on that eye. It was hurting and it was really red. So what did I do? I took the contacts out and threw them away. I’d rather work blind compared to having a red irritated left eye. Right after I took the contacts out, I felt relief. Granted I had to move my monitors close to me, maximize the view, and still move my face close to the monitors to actually manage the blurriness, but the shift ended with no incidents, so I take that as a win!

Thursday – yeah. The big announcement from my boss. She is leaving the company and her last day is Friday next week. I should’ve known that the reason why there were two people from the mother company visiting this week is because of the fact that the announcement had to be made. Was pissed? In a way, yes. I was promised a position that she was supposed to be making…And she never did it and now this. It’s okay – sort of – just because I wasn’t planning on actively looking for another job until after this project that I’m working on. But I just think that the position was dangled in front of me with no follow-through. There will be a few bosses coming onsite next week for the purposes of “helping with the transition”. I don’t know. Whatever. Moving on.

Today, again, nothing spectacular happened. I went to work, finished the shift, and went home. My hun and I got to hang out today. We watched a movie and two episodes of the Great British Baking Show. 

The move: Grandma’s Boy. A movie from 2006. Not going to say what it was about. Google it if you need to. But it was a pretty solid funny movie. There were definitely some annoyances, some questionable decisions, and some inappropriateness. I was telling my love that I don’t get why he can’t buy a TV to use for work while he was staying at his grandma’s house since grandma and her friends like to watch TV. I don’t get why he can’t shed a couple of hundred for a TV since he actually needs it for work as well as his side project. The sexual harassment this consultant experienced from this “game developer prodigy”. That will not fly. And it shouldn’t. And speaking of the “game developer prodigy”, why were his scenes just so cringy, and honestly, I just cannot stand him. I cannot with that character. He is such an a-hole.

The two episodes of the Great British Baking Show we watched were Pastry Week and Italian Week. We just love that show so much. Relaxing in a very weird way since it can really get stressful just watching them bake within a time limit. Can’t wait to finish this season and start the next one.