Joei & Me

Imagine coming up with an app and selling it for millions of dollars. What would you do? Most of us would definitely say travel and yes, that's what millennial tech entrepreneur Garett Gee did.

In 2014, Garett sold his technology company to Snapchat for $54million and went around the world with his family.  And guess what? Garett has Filipino blood! But he's never been to the Philippines so he's traveling here for the first time. His visit will be documented in the newest original series from Myx TV called "Discovering Routes".

These three words bring back memories of my grade school years while reading my Araling Panlipunan (social studies/history) books.  Little did I know that I will be seeing it many, many years later.

T and I are happy when restaurants open in Alabang. Although we are content with the usual go-to places in our home base, sometimes we are in the mood to try something new. One Sunday, after hearing mass at the beautiful Sacred Heart Jesus Parish Church near Alabang Hills and Hillsborough Alabang, we go to Madison Galeries to check out The South District Food Hall, which opened only last July.

The newest restaurant in City of Dreams Manila is Jing Ting Noodles & Dumplings.  It's an open kitchen, casual dining restaurant that offers Cantonese dishes.  I regret not being able to take a photo of the restaurant's exterior (because I'm in a wheelchair which is another story for another time) but it looks like a little house.  Actually, Jing Ting means little house or resting place and is inspired by the Chinese Hutongs, which are small areas of old buildings in Beijing.

I don't get to read leisurely as often as I used to because of the busyness of daily life.  But reading is one of the things I love doing so I decided to carve out even a little time each day for it.  Instead of browsing on my phone before going to sleep, I pick up a book or my Kindle.

Here are three books which I finished last month.  All of them are new releases so you might want to reserve a copy in Fully Booked or Powerbooks. I got mine from the US though so I'm not sure if all of them are available here already.

Are you familiar with the movie The Breakfast Club? The premise of this book is similar to that except that this one involves a murder.  There's the brainy girl Bronwyn who never breaks a rule, the beautiful Addy who is the picture-perfect homecoming princess, the notorious Nate who is a criminal and in probation for dealing, the sporty Cooper who is an all-star baseball pitcher, and the outcast Simon who is the author of a gossip app in their high school (which gives it an element of Gossip Girl too).  They all get detention but before the day is over, one of them dies. 

The book is a page turner.  Even if I read it only a few pages at a time (in the airport before a flight or while waiting in line somewhere), my interest in the story never wavered. One of Us is Lying would actually be a good teenage TV show which I would binge watch on Netflix.  The only thing I don't like about it is the lack of twists and turns. This book is very wholesome with only a little bit of adult content. I wish it were a bit darker like the TV show Riverdale on CW/Netflix.  

Image credit: Goodreads

After picking me up from the airport, T and I have dinner at Mr. Roboto, the newest restaurant to open at the Sykes Building in Alabang Town Center.  The first thing that catches our attention is the retro wall featuring 80's favorite comics and cartoons like Voltes V and Mazinger Z.  You can't miss it when you walk by.

Beauty MNL is a shopping mecca of curated skin care, make up, and hair products ranging from beauty staples such as moisturizers and sunblock to beauty trends such as snail cream.  They asked me to give their website a test run and here are the goodies I got.