It’s been a while since my last Life Update blog post, so in an attempt to stay active with my blog, here’s some snippets of what I’ve been up to for these past two months!
Orange Juice and Aeropress Coffee do not an Orange Americano make
I’ve been a fan of Orange Americano since a friend’s friend who owned a cafe poured us a complimentary glass of a drink he was adding to their menu.
Orange juice and coffee seemed a strange combo at first, but after having a sip, I was converted. Nowadays, I always order a glass of it when I’m not fasting and it’s on the menu. This gives me a sample of the cafe’s espresso shot while providing more flavor (and vitamins) compared to a simple Americano.
One day, fresh from finishing a glass of Tomoro Coffee‘s version of the drink, I had the idea of recreating it by myself. I already brewed my own coffee via the aeropress, so it couldn’t be that hard right?
Well, it turns out that the espresso shot is quite important. Using my usual brewing method and a bottle of Tropicana Twister bought from the nearby pharmacy, I concocted a glass that didn’t taste quite right.
The espresso is an intense shot of coffee. Likewise, fresh orange juice has pulp and a fuller, zesty flavor that’s hard to replicate. What I ended up with was slightly bitter coffee brewed from old beans mixed with a watered down orange juice. Thankfully, the fresh ice made it a refreshing companion to a sleepy, office afternoon.
On a scale of zero to Orange Americano, I would give my creation a high 4. You can tell it’s on the way there, but it needs a lot of help along the way.
This was a nice experiment and I might try again with fresher, fruitier beans and a carton of actual, fresh orange juice. I’m curious to see the difference and if another attempt might land me closer to my goal.
But for now, I’m sticking to Tomoro Coffee’s Orange Americano (not sponsored, but Tomoro, hit me up) whenever I’m craving for this drink.
Update: I’ve been snooping around the Tomoro branch and saw that they use Orange Jam instead of juice. This makes sense as to why the flavor is so concentrated. I’m one step closer to the secret recipe. Huehuehue
Getting hot and sweaty at PlannerCon 2026
I attended Day 1 of PlannerCon Analog Days 2026 last May 16th. This event was held at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig. Shane and I attended the previous one, held on November 2025, at the same venue.
It was a bit of a wait in the queue, but we eventually managed to get in.
There were lots of artists selling cute stickers I had to control myself from emptying my wallet (cue “I have stickers at home” mantra). There wasn’t anything specific that I was looking for, so I just browsed around.
One item that stuck with me were Pilot’s Colored Pencils that turned into watercolor paint when brushed with water. I didn’t know things like that existed. Another was a portable watercoloring set that fit into a tin box smaller than an Altoids! It was cute and I would have bought it if I had any confidence in my watercoloring skills.
I also snagged a business card from Mozaiku, a local supplier of acrylic and wooden merch. Just in case I plan to make a set of keychains or standees in the future.
Oooh-ing and aaah-ing at the displays, Shane and I inched along the venue, sometimes on our own volition, but most times being swept along by the crowd of people.
I admire the organizer’s attempt to make the event more comfortable to everyone by splitting it into two days and by limiting the amount of people going into the venue at the time, but it was obviously not enough. There were still long lines outside the event area and once we got inside, we were still packed in with a lot of people. It was hot and overstimulating, people’s backpacks and bodies were continuously bumping into me, people were hogging the stamps, boxing out the exhibits, etc.
I really believe that the only solution here is to either extremely constrict the amount of people inside (which will lead to an even bigger line outside), or just switch to a bigger venue.
I ended up buying a few stickers, but I enjoyed my time looking at the beautifully handcrafted notebooks that were up for sale. I avoided spending too much, knowing that I already have a surplus of notebooks at home, but I’m glad that the local scene for making notebooks is steadily growing.
This might be my last PlannerCon for now, unless they switch to bigger venues like the Megatrade Hall. The planner community has blown up recently and it’s nice to see both consumers and sellers thriving, but this event was a bit too much for me. I’ll stick with sourcing my materials from buy and sell groups for now.
The highlight of the day was having a late lunch at Wendy’s afterwards. We tried their chicken tenders (surprisingly good) and finished a huge bottle of their sugar-free iced tea (which was still sweet af). Thankfully, Wendy’s never disappoints.
Summer Dumaguet-away!
I had the chance to enjoy summer for a weekend when my brother and I headed to Dumaguete, Negros Oriental for a family gathering. One of my uncles was returning from Canada and we haven’t seen him and his family for more than a decade. It was a short vacation, spanning from Friday to Sunday only, but we were able to get a taste of what my hometown’s southeastern counterpart had to offer.
We arrived at the tiny Dumaguete-Sibulan airport early Friday morning. I was woken up by a jolt as the plane landed and immediately braked hard. This was because of the airport’s special trait: a very short runway that juts out of the island and leads straight into the waters.
We were then picked up by an aunt and uncle who lived in the city. We rested for a bit at their house while waiting for the rest of our relatives to arrive from their land trip from Silay City (the hometown).
After finally meeting up, lots of greetings and conversations were had and we had lunch at Kawa Bistro Filipino. They served an absolutely mouthwatering dish of Crispy Sisig. This was my favorite dish from the entire trip. Afterwards, we had dessert at the new branch of Sans Rival at the North Point, overlooking the seaside. I had their Premium Tiramisu cake which was decent, as well as their Orange Coffee Fizz (still trying every variant of Orange Americano that I can find).
Our next stop was the Dumaguete Bell Tower (Campanario de Dumaguete) and a quick visit to the neighboring St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral. There was a lot of buzz in the city because the day marks the street dance contest of the Kabulakan Festival. We were able to see the performances of multiple barangays as they traversed the main roads of the city.
Then, we checked in at our accommodation for the next few days. After settling our things, we ended the night with a big family dinner at the same house we rested at this morning.
Day two started extremely early because we were heading to Bais for some dolphin watching. This is one of the most popular activities to do when in Dumaguete and I highly recommend it. We had a bit of a problem with the local coast guard but we eventually headed out into the waters on our rented boat. We sailed back and forth, with the boatmen searching for the dolphins. We were about to give up, blaming the coast guard for the lack of dolphins, when on the horizon, we saw some shapes jump out of the water. Everyone on the boat immediately got on their feet, cameras at the ready. Thankfully, we were the first boat to arrive on the scene and we watched as a small group of dolphins followed the boat’s nose. Occasionally, they would come up to breathe and even rarer, do their dolphin dive out of the water. There was even a baby dolphin swimming in sync with its mother. It was definitely a sight to see.
As more and more boats converged on our location to see the day’s dolphins, we headed towards Manjuyod Sandbar, the next stop of the day tour. Once there, we anchored our boat and the boatmen started to cook our lunch while we enjoyed the waters. We swam around and rode the dragon boat and other inflatables that were being pulled by a smaller motorboat. It was my first time being overturned from the inflatable and it was fun. After the activities, we had our early lunch. Post-lunch, we did some more swimming at another part of the sandbar before returning back to port and into the city.
We returned to the hostel to wash the seawater from our bodies and after a short rest, we headed to the Mango Ranch. This is a water park and outdoor adventure resort, but due to time constraints, we were only able to do ride the Go Karts. But aside from this, they also had bump cars, atv rides, and an obstacle course area.
Another first for me, Go Karting was more enjoyable than I expected. The feeling of speed just by pushing your foot down on the pedal was so fun and feeling the cart react to your steering and even drifting was very addictive. Even as I’m writing this, I’m already looking for places with Go Kart rentals.
Lastly, there was a hot air balloon being inflated in the Mango Ranch’s air park. I’ve never seen a hot air balloon this close and we were able to witness the inflation process from the start to until the balloon was flying in the air. Very entertaining!
And to close off the day, we had dinner at Lantaw Native Restaurant. This was a Dumaguete icon and there were a lot of people dining so the service was lengthy. I loved their calamares and baked scallops. Afterwards, it was back to the hostel for a good night’s sleep.
Our final day in Dumaguete started early as well. We had breakfast at the Valencia Sunday Market. This open air (hot) market takes place in the Valencia Public Plaza every sunday and had so many food stalls I wished I had a bottomless stomach so I can try them all. That morning, I settled with a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, a couple of tacos, slices of quesadilla, and a cup of dirty matcha. Each of them were from different stalls that I couldn’t remember the names of, sadly. I had a good time here and everything I ate was satisfying and cheap (as compared to Manila prices, ofc).
After checking out of our hostel, the last place we visited was Robinsons Dumaguete. I learned on that day that Dumaguete doesn’t have an SM City yet (which is the Philippines’ number 1 indicator of urban development). We roamed around the two floors of the mall and I was able to purchase a rare pair of shoes at a big discount from Planet Sports. This pair was sold out in all the Metro Manila branches I visited, but apparently a few are hidden in the provinces. Shopping done, we headed to the food court for lunch.
My cousin, who lives in Dumaguete half of the time, recommended the burrito from Bazinga Dumaguete. He’s been raving about this burrito from Day 1 so I had to see what the fuss was about. After seeing it served on the plate, I can see why he’d like it. This massive burrito is filled with boneless chicken poppers and french fries, then topped with a semi-spicy sauce, then served with another container of said sauce. It is absolutely unhealthy and sinful. But also very delicious. I admit, I had a hard time trying to finish the second half of the burrito, but it was because of the size, not for the lack of flavor. Any sane person would separate the burrito into two meals for the day, but my cousin and I didn’t give up until our bellies were bursting and our hands covered in sauce.
My brother and I were dropped off at the airport afterwards. We said goodbye to all of our relatives and waited for our flight back to Manila. Thank you, to everyone who made us feel welcome and for accommodating us in this short trip. I enjoyed seeing my relatives and getting caught up with what they have going on in their lives. We used to be kids and now we’re adults facing our own sets of challenges. What a weird feeling.
I can’t wait to return to Dumaguete now that I had a taste of what it has to offer. I’ve been here before but it’s a place that’s always changing and developing so I’m looking forward to its next iteration. Plus I want to Go Kart with Shane and take them to the nearby island of Siquijor! I’ll definitely find a way to return.
That’s it for now. These past two months were a blur but I’m glad there were some things I can share. With my digital minimalism journey in full swing again, I hope I can make another post like this soon.
Stay cool and zesty,
-jgzn
