Mistakes

It's only by making mistakes that you figure out the right thing to do.  In this case, we used wood stain on the first set of closet doors.  When I wasn't too happy with the outcome, we used the penetrating stain and it looked a lot, lot better.  

Today, I went to Divisoria to buy supplies for a business that I entered into which is one of those failure-mistakes (five months posting negative) that hopefully, optimistically will yield lessons that when applied, lead to successful future ventures.       

I saw this amazing vehicle which looked like a jeepney but was really a truck carrying an obscene amount of goods both inside and out. 

Around 9pm last night, my husband and I waited in front of the Binondo church for trucks delivering mangoes to come by and after a while two came and we followed it.  I've never seen so many sacks upon sacks of green mangoes converging in one place.  Too bad, I didn't have the camera with me.

This is a truck I wish I can design a mini-home with.  It would be so cool with half the structure opening up to a beautiful view.

How old do you think he is?  

Va-va-varnishing

Riding the car to various project purchasing errands, I spent the morning and early afternoon worried about the varnishing, thinking it won't come out the right shade.  The other day, the foreman showed me some samples and I picked the darker reddish shade over the mustard one.  Then today, I kept seeing these laminated cabinet and closet doors and started getting nervous.  Everybody just seems to use laminates nowadays.  Recalling the reason behind the decision, I was intrigued by using ribbon grain and plain varnishing like the old fashioned way.  

True enough, when I arrived at the site, I wasn't too excited about the shade when it was applied to the large area of the closet so this is what we decided.

We'd let go of the first bedroom's closet and leave the shade as is.  In the master's bedroom we'll make it more natural.  And then when we get to the kitchen, it'll even be more natural and the more expensive penetrating stain will be used.   Don't know how it'll all turn out but it's an experiment anyway and great fun learning minus the worrying bouts which as my husband always says, is useless. 

The structure of the kitchen cabinet is on the way and hopefully, the main frames will be up by Tuesday so the granite counter maker can come in and measure.

I like the yellowish warm light bulbs more than the white daylight ones so we limited the use of the daylight bulbs in the kitchen and service areas.

Half like and don't like this.  Like it for making the best use of the leftover tiles except for the blue ones which had to be added or else there wouldn't be enough for the balcony.  Don't like it that much but oh well got to go beyond these little design disappointments.

Update and Lessons

The ribbon grain closet doors are in place and ready for varnishing.

The piece of molave freebie for the kitchen counter has been cut and is ready to be fixed in place.  I made a mistake and should have specified a longer piece so that it eats up into the concrete wall.  Another mistake is not noticing that a set of light switches were placed smack in the middle of a wall instead of at the corner so I had that repeated.  Lessons, lessons everyday.  Next time, remember light switches go on the corner and provide for allowance when you're cutting materials off-site so that it could still be adjusted on-site.   

 The kitchen counter's next in the cabinetry work.

The aluminum sliding glass doors have been removed so that it could be repaired.  Here's what the balcony looks like after some time hemming and hawing about what to do with the leftover tiles so they don't look too much like leftover tiles.  Maybe when everything's done, you wouldn't notice they're leftovers. 

 I've been going regularly to the Binondo-Sta. Cruz areas to hunt for bargains and found this beautiful gothic window right above a typically messy street. 

My husband and I went to check out this solar powered lamp that my Mom wants for her farm.  If you can photoshop the clutter behind, you'll get a much clearer picture. 

Off-Guard

While finishing work is proceeding in this renovation site, I looked at the next potential project site, pictures of which I'll post after I've gotten the plans and costing approved.  Meanwhile, I have to prepare the drawings and computations.

Had to look at another apartment unit that was vacated today to see what work needs to be done.  This was the same apartment where I lived for five years before I went to China so it brought back a lot of memories and emotions from the past.  I had curtains made out of colorful ice candy hanging to filter the sunlight and my collection of art postcards were scotch taped to the bedroom windows like a puzzle collage screen.  The only things left were the scotch tape marks which weren't scraped off in ten years and the hooks where the ice candy hung from were still there, a bit rusty.

I felt a bit sad remembering the neighbor friends I had during the time I stayed in that building.  One dear friend passed away and I only knew about it through entries of people bidding him farewell on his Facebook page.  Two friends moved to other countries while another two transferred to other parts of the city.  I moved to China five years ago and now am back but I haven't really reconnected with a number of people I should just call up, drop by and say hi.  The passage of so much time stops me from doing what I should.  The only person left I knew was the security guard who has been working in the building for ten years and I was happy he recognized me.

Last night, I was talking to my senior citizen friend who seems on the outside so accomplished and successful but in the course of casual conversation, she revealed one dream she had that she wasn't able to fulfill.  It struck me to hear it from a person like her because I thought she had achieved so much already.   Apparently, all of us, no matter the age or status, carry unfulfilled dreams like nagging thoughts creeping up at certain junctures catching us off-guard.  Trips down memory lane are such junctures that can bring forth old dreams that ended up on the wayside and you ask yourself is there still time and strength to pursue them.  

Foreclosures and Food

 Meeting up with old architecture schoolmates and colleagues, I realized most of us harbor dreams of being a property developer.  One classmate wants to be a developer so that he can have full control of the architecture and his design would be realized fully as he intended.  Another friend got traumatized by a client who didn't pay so she surmised holding the reins yourself would free you from these pitfalls -- while introducing you to other kinds of pitfalls.   Another person would like to maximize earnings and profit versus getting individual contracts.  Whatever the reasons, there remains the need to acquire knowledge and experience to be able to make quite a lofty dream come true.  So a friend and I attended some seminars on real estate and attempted to join our first property auction.  

However, in the first auction, we weren't even able to set foot inside the function room.  Thus the picture above of the sumptuous lunch at Mesa Greenbelt which was taken after we funnily, laughably failed to enter the auction.  I was excitedly telling my other architect friends about the misadventure before gorging on Mesa's mouth-watering two-way laing and grilled platter.  

Two days before the auction, I was able to visit two properties in the list which we found interesting.  In the first home, a semi-hostile lady told us that she would be calling her lawyer the next day to fix the problem and no, she will not allow her home to be taken away from her.  In the second property, there was a sign outside the gate labelling it under litigation.  The person from the asset management company escorting me to the site wasn't able to get us in either.  Despite these setbacks, my friend and I decided to attend the auction and absorb what we can.  

In one of the seminars, the speaker recommended that we should attend property auctions just to get the feel for the process, an idea about property values and a general exposure to real estate. We weren't able to get in the auction room because if we gave the show-money manager's check and nobody else bid for the property, we would be declared the automatic winners.  We just wanted to see how the thing works and not foolishly commit our money to something we were not fully prepared to buy.  

Another thing is the "as is where is basis" clause that means once sold, the buyer takes the property with all the legal and other impediments on his or her shoulder.  Scary, especially for the inexperienced.  For the brave and natural risk taker who knows what they're doing, it's another story.  You'd have to contact a lawyer beforehand to know about the legal and financial ramifications of buying a foreclosed property with a tangle of unsightly strings attached.  

 The next day, there was another auction that we joined and this time we were able to get in.  At the first auction, my friend prepared a manager's check for P100,000 as show-money while the second auction had a lower show-money amount at P25,000.  The property values in their list were also much lower.  The auction started past 9:30 in the morning yet they strangely served us a full lunch of fried rice, soup, lumpiang shanghai, chicken, two other dishes and buchi.  

People clapped and a few cheered when people won bids.  Most of the prices didn't escalate that much because one person always bowed out to the other while a number of people were lucky solo bidders. During these two auctions, we were able to talk to others who gave useful tips and insight for information-hungry students like us who have a lot of homework to do.

Getting There

Work on the current renovation is still proceeding on track.  Yesterday, it was fortuitous that both the aluminum sliding glass doors and the laminated floor installers came at the same time so they were able to coordinate.  The analok aluminum sliding glass doors have been taken out, brightening up the whole space.  The unit looks better without it that I wish I don't have to put it back. There's this unfinished construction look that I find to be a more compelling structure.   

To save on money and materials, the installer is just recycling the glass and the usable aluminum and replacing the parts that need to be replaced.  

I wanted to use polycarbonate for the kitchen cabinet doors but then it would mean more time and materials.  Another opportunity presented itself through the door to the new laundry-storage area.  There's an existing door (the one that's leaning in the picture) that I could use for that purpose but instead, I'll go with the translucent polycarbonate door so that light can pass through majority of the area.  

I've been mulling over the pinlights because the cheaper ones that I could find in Binondo are not that pretty and the more attractive ones are more expensive.  I told the civil works foreman my dilemma and he gave me a great suggestion.  He said I can use the nicer type of pinlights with the glass cover in the living and dining areas and then for all the other areas, I can use the ordinary ones without the cover.  That meets both aesthetic and economic criteria. 

 I had hoped that I wouldn't deviate too much from the drawings and woudn't make too many changes but it's unavoidable.  Seeing things in 3D and in actual, I spot better design solutions but as long as I catch them early enough then it's okay thus the daily site visits.   I had to add accent tile pieces in the bathrooms and change the closet shelf spacing. My drawings were also not that complete so we just discussed things as they came along.   

Tessa's Brand of Cool

The photos say it all:  I've got a super talented cousin who creates amazing interiors.  Tessa Alindogan found her calling, took up interior design in London, has been practicing ever since and her artistic sensibilities have even spilled over to big canvases.  

Her home is filled with artworks she's amassed over the years and this particular one is her own creation . . .  

. . . .  while this one shows her fascination for hands.

Her utility kitchen breaks the mold of the sterotypical "dirty kitchen" and is the farthest from dirty.

The master's bedroom has its own kitchenette backed with Fornasetti wallpaper.

I think my brother Raymond would lust after this walk-in closet with an island of drawers.

Tessa's brother, Noji parked this sculpture temporarily in Tessa's foyer.  Francis Bacon is quoted, "If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts, but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties."  

Farm Search

My dad, hubby and I went on a twelve hour car ride last Friday to look at some farms.  My husband and I are interested in going into agri business so we're studying what's out there.  My dad was excited to introduce us to Tatang Nards Balanggao, an agriculturalist from the North who has served as ADB consultant and farm manager to the likes of Congressman Tong Payumo and Gawad Kalinga founder Tony Meloto.  We visited his farm in Pangasinan and then went to Dinalupihan near Subic to check out Sinagtala Farm of Tong Payumo and his partners.

My dad, mom, hubby and I all harbor dreams of living in a farm someday or at least spending much more time in the countryside.  My dad and laogong (husband in Chinese) wouldn't mind living in a bahay kubo but my mom would need better facilities.  But first before all these, we've got to get the business side of the farm down pat and make the land productive and profitable.  We've got to learn from Tatang Nards how he nurtures and markets papaya, red ube, aloe vera, lettuce, strawberries and a host of other fruits and vegetables.  "Never plant something you don't have a market for," Tatang Nards said.  

Torn

My friend Shiela posted this video on her Facebook wall and since it was a lazy Sunday morning, I had the luxury of watching this almost hour-long documentary.  This is the sort of documentary that tears me apart.  It's a painful reminder of why I wanted never to come back to Manila and one of the reasons why I need to come back as well and what the heck can anyone do to change things anyway.

This is not your typical reality show that puts somebody out of his comfort zone in the UK by giving him the extreme challenge of placing him in the strange, alien nation of the Philippines. This is a serious documentary that shows the differences between a first world and third world country couldn't be starker and that indirectly raises difficult questions such as on the RH bill.  A bus driver in London earns a decent wage that allows him to live a comfortable life.  A jeepney driver in Manila can barely make ends meet even if he performs the job of three people.

When I was doing my architecture thesis in the university, going through the squatter areas along the Pasig River made me realize that I was more interested in the social issues than in the built structures.  Architecture was for the rich and those who could afford.  Of course there are socially conscious architects and urban planners, but I got drawn into the world of NGOs and government because they had the means and tools to impact society.  I worked in the private sector and in government and had this big dream of solving poverty and changing the world.  When I ended up living in China, getting married and having a child, the dream was shelved for the more realistic goal of feeding the family.

Watching a documentary like this brings up a lot of emotions -- sadness, overwhelming frustration over the fact that things haven't changed for the better.  On the one hand it's tempting to just live abroad and be detached from what's going on here and on the other hand, there is that nagging feeling that you ought not turn a blind eye.  The posting on youtube received a lot of comments many of which referred to corruption in the government.  Although corruption does play a major part, I believe it's much more than that.  Both developed and developing countries have their share of corrupt people and systems of governance but they manage to push their nations forward.  There's something more than corruption that's holding back the Philippines.  And many things have been said and written about our attitude, culture, behavior, history, politics, tendencies ad infinitum but despite the pessimism or harsh reality, there are people who continue to labor for and love the country, never losing hope and passing along their spark.  

It takes courage to live in this country or you're just oblivious to the situation. Documentaries like this may be painful to watch but we have to.

Dream Design Brief

As architecture students, there are some design briefs that are more compelling than others because of the extra challenge they pose and the great potential fun exploring various solutions, avenues and crazy ideas.  One such design brief is for a small mobile space that stretches the imagination because of the given limitations.   

My mom took me to see a Carry Boy mobile home that she was thinking of buying for her beach farm.  My immediate reaction is that it was a bit claustrophobia-inducing, was totally not suitable for the warm, humid weather in the Philippines and was way out of this world too expensive.  If I could make my own design brief, it would be for a compact mobile home for the tropics that won't break the bank vault and most importantly opens up to the elements.  To convince my mom, I gathered pictures from the internet from luxury African tents to artsy modern mobile homes just to show the range of what could be done.

My mom has another requirement for a portable bathroom and the ones I found are not really pretty but they give a good idea of what's out there.

Many years ago (more than thirteen), my uncle who is into pyramids and triangulated structures, commissioned me to design and build a "tent within a tent" that he wanted to be a sample unit for his island resort.  Back then, I used Corel Draw to illustrate my design.  

The base is made from used tires filled with sand.  The inner tent is made of velcro and mosquito net that allows the user to cover panels with opaque streamers for privacy.  The outer tent rests on a bamboo frame from where the inner tent also hangs.  Finally, the whole structure is covered with "trapal."  The tent under is completely porous so air circulates while the "trapal" provides protection from rain. 

The bathroom was utter fun to make:  the toilet is made out of orange traffic cone; the shower is made of snorkel and plastic palette floor drain; a pair of used car side mirror serves as the mirror.  The bathroom is located right outside the bedroom but under the same big covering. 

The wonderful (almost unbelievable) thing is that we were able to actually build this fronting a lovely beach in Batangas.  I have an album full of pictures that unfortunately I can't find anymore. From the bamboo main frame, we hung fascinatingly shaped dried creatures from the sea.  I remember begging for used streamers for the wall materials that fasten onto the frame.  Looking back, it's amazing how the contractor was able to sew the huge velcro skeleton of the interior tent.  

 The bathroom walls were made of panels of used parachute which gave it a colorful glow from inside.  This photo is from the draft brochure I made about the tent.  

After collecting these inspiring internet photos and unearthing an old design I made for my uncle's tent recalling the exuberance of youth, I started designing a mobile beach home for my mom to fit her requirements.