Those Pesky Straps of Havaianas Flip Flops

I have several pairs of Havaianas flip flops, but I cannot use any of them.  Do you know why?  All of them have broken straps and mostly on the left side.  

The first time it happened to me, I blamed myself for being so careless, I thought it was because I used it for hiking on rocky terrain.  The next time it happened, it snapped without any reason.  It just happened.  This problem happened again and again.

Havaianas flip flops are not cheap for something so familiar to many Pinoys.  We wear this footwear every day.  But they are from Brazil.  With its price, users like me would expect Havainas not only to be the most comfortable slippers but also durable to withstand regular wear.  But no, my flip flops didn't even last more than a year.  And I only wear them inside the house or occasionally, to the grocery.

I once tried to look for replacement straps for one of my pairs, but the store clerk said they do not have any.  She even tried to convince me to buy another pair because they have new designs.  

Whenever I clean my room and run across these useless Havaianas, they remind me of that incident.  When some of my non-Havaianas slippers got old and worn out, a friend took out their straps and put them in some of my broken Havaianas.  They fit!  I now use strange-looking pairs of Brazilian flip flops around the house with no apologies.

COVID-19: Be Ready

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost the entire world.  It can affect anyone of us at any time.  While we should continue with our daily life, how does one prepare for the day under these medical circumstances?  I found this very helpful poster from the United Nations site and I wish to share it with you.  I hope you could find it helpful.

Be safe everyone.  Always wash your hands and as much as possible, #STAYATHOME.

un.org

COVID 19: What We Need to Know

photo: CDC

As my contribution to the fight against COVID-19, beginning with this post I will share information about the disease. To avoid spreading wrong information, I will directly quote my sources which may include the WHO, the Department of Health, the CDC and other reliable sources.  The information may be already available online but I believe in casting the net a little farther to reach more people.  

Let's begin by knowing what COVID-19 is.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus which was unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.  

So far, the WHO believes that people can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. People can also catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who coughs out or exhales droplets. This is why it is important to stay more than 1 meter (3 feet) away from a person who is sick.

The WHO points out that the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough. Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don't feel unwell. Most people (about 80%) recover from the disease without needing special treatment. Around 1 out of every 6 people who get COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness. People with fever, cough and difficulty breathing should seek medical attention.

The video below gives a better understanding of COVID-19 and how you can protect yourself and your love ones from the disease.

Lunch at Dapô at Tisa

We recently had lunch at a quaint restaurant called Dapô at Tisa in Fairview.  It was my first time to eat there and also pleasantly surprised that there are dining places along Regalado St.  From the outside, the place looks like an old house converted into a restaurant and re-designed with adobe looking bricks.

The design inside is simple and without frills.  There was just this huge TV showing an NBA game with the sound blaring.  Except for that minor detail, I find the place cozy for a group lunch like the one we had.

We ordered a set meal which included meat, seafood, fish and vegetables.  The meal also came with rice, pansit guisado and a pitcher of red iced tea.

I liked what we got for starters,  sizzling tofu.  It has that creamy, melt-in-the-mouth feel but just a little spicy for my taste.  

The fried pancit canton has a lot of ingredients.  The sauce was also very tasty.

I also like this Sigarilyas in gata which is topped by chicharon.

The stuffed grilled pusit (squid) was also very good.

 All the food have generous servings and have reasonable prices.  The service was also very good and the staff was very friendly.  I want to go back and try the other selections on their menu.

Visita Iglesia 2019: Visit to Seven Churches in Manila and Quezon City

Last Maundy Thursday, we joined thousands of Catholic Filipinos to perform the Visita Iglesia, a tradition observed on this particular day of Lent.  Pilgrims visit seven churches to pray the Stations of the Cross and meditate on the suffering and resurrection of our savior Jesus Christ.

UST Parish Church

Traditionally, one walks from church to church, but we used our car, and so did the other devotees.  This created huge traffic jams on the roads leading to the churches, and parking spaces became battlegrounds.  Mercifully, volunteers managed the traffic inside the church grounds.

We first stopped at Sto. Domingo Church, which is near our place and is the shrine of Our Lady of Naval.  We prayed our first two Stations of the Cross and then lighted candles for our special intentions.

Our next stop was the UST Parish church along España Boulevard.  After praying the next two Stations of the Cross, we exited the church and found a group of people distributing copies of the Way of the Cross booklets.

At the back part of the booklet, the group explained that they aim to stop the spread of communism and socialism, which destroy the basic beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church.

We were supposed to make Quiapo Church our next stop, but it appeared most of Manila's Catholic population converged there.  We decided to go straight to Manila Cathedral instead.  However, we made a wrong turn and ended up heading towards Binondo Church.  We decided to make it our next stop. It was still not too crowded inside, so we were able to do our prayers in peace.

Binondo Church

A popular deli store offered water and snacks outside the church. It's an old tradition practiced on Maundy Thursday called pa-caridad or charity.  It's almost forgotten, and very few devotees practice it now.

We finally found our way to Manila Cathedral, but the traffic jam was terrible, that we had to walk to the entrance.  People had to fall in line to get inside because of security checks.  The long line due to the high volume of people almost deterred us from going in, but it moved fast, so we decided to go inside.

The cathedral teemed with people inside, but not everyone was praying, and several people were taking selfies and groupies!  Okay, some people were actually doing the Stations of the Cross, and their prayers mingled with discussions of other groups on what part of the cathedral they would take their next selfies and groupies in.

The Manila Cathedral

From the cathedral, we took another trip to the Shrine of Saint Michael and the Archangels, or the San Miguel Church.  We could not drive to the church because of the tight security since its neighbor happens to be the President of the Philippines.  So we had to walk, and I immediately noticed the number of food stalls near the church.  It appeared that none of the well-to-do residents of the area made a pa-caridad.

San Miguel Church

The stations were outside, in the courtyard, and as in other churches we've already visited, many people were busy taking their selfies and groupies.  Inside the church, the priests and their assistants were already preparing for the Mass of the Lord's Supper.  Also, the parish has a museum dedicated to the Blessed Mother and the angels.

We ended our Visita Iglesia this year at the two churches in Bustillos: the Shrine of Saint Anthony and Our Lady of Loreto Parish Church.  We did not get inside both churches because the Lord's Supper Mass has already started in both of them. However, like in San Miguel, both churches placed stations of the cross on their grounds.

We finished all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross and the seven churches needed to complete the Visita Iglesia.  By the way, I remember that a lay minister once told me that the Visita Iglesia should be done when the Eucharist has been removed from the main altar following the Maundy Thursday mass.  This is a response to what Christ said when He found the apostles sleeping in the Garden that they could not stay with Him for even just one hour.

Also, I hope next year, the pilgrims will be more aware that the Visita Iglesia is not a road trip, and they should be more considerate of the others who were doing their prayers.  They should also learn to be more caring about their surroundings and not just throw their trash anywhere.