Simple blessings

Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) grows in our garden all year round with absolutely no effort on our part. White is more common but we get pink ones like this every now and then.

Wishing you all a beautiful and peaceful 2012.

Value

Colorful coin purses made of handwoven fabric from the Bicol Region. Selling in the streets of Manila for six pieces for one hundred pesos—about 38 U.S. cents per piece, or less than five dollars for the dozen in this picture.

Solo act

At the Ortigas Park.

Baroque

The ornate mirror, ceiling and angel sconces at Café Ysabel in the City of San Juan. Unfortunately, the effect is a bit marred for me by the presence of the flanking speakers and large airconditioning units.

Not under

Instead of a gadget that can fit in your pocket, how about a Christmas gift that can fit you inside it? The Christmas tree itself will fit inside some of them.

At the Quezon Avenue showroom of Honda Cars Philippines.

For your white and blue

Blue and white parol hanging from the cupola of the Ateneo Church of the Gesù. The title is a line from the alma mater song of the Ateneo de Manila University, whose school color is blue.

O holy night!

The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
~John Sullivan Dwight

May your homes shine with the light of the Star of Bethlehem and your hearts be filled with the joy that the birth of our Savior brings.

Christmas Blessings

Exie & Hilda

Arbor

The belen, or nativity scene, in the Ateneo Church of the Gesù. It looks like Jesus will be born in the woods this year.

Under the Christmas tree

A new toy for Christmas, anyone?

Liteware Computers is an authorized Apple seller and service center, and is housed in two small converted apartment units along Kamias Road in Quezon City—a rather noisy and dingy area full of tiny shops selling hardware and automotive supplies. However, it offers some of the best prices for Apple products in Metro Manila. I guess their overhead costs are not as high as those big and fancy Apple stores located in high-end shopping centers.

The carol of the winds

Simbang Gabi (night mass) or Misa de Gallo (Spanish, which literally translates to rooster's mass and means dawn mass), is a traditional novena of masses before Christmas that many Filipino Catholics practice. Among Catholics, a novena is a nine-day devotion to obtain special graces. Simbang Gabi at the Ateneo Church of the Gesù started on December 15 with a performance of Filipino and foreign Christmas carols by the Banda Zabat brass band a few hours before the evening mass. Banda Zapat comes from Gapan City in the province of Nueva Ecija, 92 kilometers away.

A most welcoming host

I like how some people grow plants on the branches of trees. The trees don't seem to suffer for the presence of their guests and the variety of leaf shapes make everything even more interesting. Just don't ask me what tree or plants they are, okay? :)

Silver snakes

It took me some time to realize what these silver tubes hanging from the ceiling of Ye Dang Korean BBQ Restaurant were. I'd never seen extensible exhaust tubes before. Necessary in a restaurant where the barbecue is grilled at your table.

Sun and rain

I guess this photo is a good summary of the kind of weather we have in the Philippines—sun and rain, that's it. It's just a matter of degree.

The Mindanao cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, and smaller towns around them, have been devastated by floods caused by Typhoon Sendong (international code: Washi) and the death toll is now more than 500. If you can spare a little, please help the 8000 families who have been affected by the floods. The most convenient way to donate is online through the Philippine Red Cross' website but if you want to know about other options, please leave a comment and I will try to give you more information. Thank you.

For the greater glory of God

The Loyola House of Studies is the home of Philippine Jesuits-in-training (through their Juniorate, Philosophy, Theology, and Tertianship years), and their faculty and formators. This iconic facade of the building, which was built in 1965, overlooks the Marikina Valley.

欢迎 | Welcome

The arch over the entrance to the Chinese Garden of the Rizal Park. If anyone knows what those four characters mean, I'd appreciate a little language lesson.

A chili Christmas

Mexicali Restaurant's chilies are all dressed up for Christmas, but they're as lazy as ever.

Tiny cheeseburger

The Goose Station's playful French macaroon (bun) with chocolate ganache (patty), candied fruit (cheese) and mint (lettuce).

Hidden in plain sight

Because of the district's hustle and bustle, and the inadequacy of Philippine rules about building signs, it is easy to miss the pre-war architectural gems of Binondo, Manila's Chinatown. The Uy-Chaco Building, which houses the Binondo branch of Philtrust Bank, stands right behind the Filipino-Chinese Friendship Arch. I've featured the arch in the past, but it wasn't until several years later—and a relatively long wait for the people I was meeting with—that I noticed the building. Information about it on the web is contradictory; it was either built in 1914 and designed by Samuel C. Rowell or built in 1930 and designed by Andres Luna de San Pedro.

Artistic traditions

The museum of the Cultural Center of the Philippines has a permanent exhibit showcasing traditional Asian musical instruments.

Lord of all he surveys

To stay together

A rosary made up of Christmas parol surrounds a Filipino family praying together in a nipa hut, at the lawn in front of the East Asian Pastoral Institute.

Death by trampling

The wooden relief at the top of the 16th century main entrance of Fort Santiago in Intramuros depicts four natives being trampled under the hooves of a Spanish conquistador's horse.

There must be a better way

…to cool a medium-sized building than this.

Upper-middle

Modern, upper-middle class houses in Quezon City typically stand on 200 to 300 square meter lots with hardly any room for a garden.

U

In an effort to ease the flow of the metro's badly congested traffic, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) decided to close off most national roads' intersections and put U-turn slots instead. Their positioning are trial-and-error experiments, so the MMDA has to use non-permanent and moveable road barriers. Looks like someone tried making a U-turn from an outer lane and is being issued a ticket.

After the party

Ateneo de Manila University's school color is blue and the Class of 1986 graduated right after the People Power Revolution, hence the name of this year's grand alumni homecoming: RE BLUE TION.

A rainy Sunday in December

When you just want to stay in bed the whole day.

Portugal, Italy, Philippines

Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, Makati City, is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, a Portuguese Franciscan friar who died in Italy.

Burberry

No taxi driver in the Philippines can ever afford a real Burberry jacket on what they earn.

Black on silver

At the party celebrating the silver anniversary of Ateneo de Manila College Class of 1986, professional photographer David Fabros—a member of the class—took portraits of lucky early blackbirds gratis.

And life goes on

A typical scene near major public transportation hubs in Metro Manila, with jeepneys, vendors, graffiti and glued-on announcements on footbridge pillars, thick and tangled utility cables, and people texting.