my circus, my monkeys

Oaxaca

Fri, 01 May 2026 13:46:16 -0700

Do you like food? Do you like mezcal? Do you like churches? Do you like mezcal? Do you like museums? Do you like chocolate? Do you like mezcal? If so, you’ll love Oaxaca.

CDMX is a city in a way that San Francisco is not. SF is pretty small and sleepy; there are 20 million people in CDMX and you can feel it. It’s bustling and busy and alive. Not to be ‘Guy who has only seen The Boss Baby’ about it but Mexico City is like Manila if Manila didn’t get bombed out in World War II as an open city.

In comparison, Oaxaca is a lot more chill.

We arrived hungry so first stop was Copal in Oaxaca for a very late lunch/ very early dinner.

Shrimp and scallops in leche de tigre; guacamole with chicharron; bone marrow with shrimp; carrots in a pumpkin seed sauce

Then we went to Templo de Santo Domingo where there was a wedding going on.

I sent this photo to my family group chat and my brother was like ‘This looks like Nacho Libre.’ Then I found out they shot Nacho Libre in Oaxaca

One thing I envy about Mexico is how much pre-Hispanic history they’ve been able to preserve. Either we haven’t been as interested, back in the Philippines, or I just haven’t tried harder to see what we do have now. There’s probably a bit of Imperial Manila and casual racism against the indigenous thrown in there, too. I did see they’re opening a new Museo del Galeón but even that still looks heavily Spanish-influenced.

All that is to say that the Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca, next to this church, contains a pretty sweet room with all the artifacts found in one tomb on Monte Albán, as well as a comprehensive series of galleries detailing the earliest civilizations in Oaxaca all the way to the fight for independence and the modern day. I don’t have any pictures of it though.

I did, however, get one of this ox.

And here is the interior of the church. It’s a lot of gold, which, considering Oaxaca is like the third-poorest state in Mexico, is pretty messed up.

Anyway. We also signed up for a tour of Central de Abastos market which is this fuck-off huge market with 3,600 stalls, and we definitely needed that guide (shoutout to Goyo) because the place was chaotic. It reminded me of going to the wet market when I was younger, back in my hometown, except much, much bigger. I didn’t take a lot of photos but here are a couple

Some memelitas from a street cart

Having some memelas at Memelas Doña Vale

We also went to Monte Albán, a large pre-Columbian site which was in use for ~1,200 years until around AD 800.

Overview of the main plaza

When these carvings were first found, they were called Danzantes (dancers), but they’re more likely captured enemies that became sacrificial victims with their genitals mutilated so that’s fun

View of the valley

Yours truly at Monte Albán

Food

We took a class at El Sabor Zapoteco, in a small town called Teotitlán del Valle, where we learned how to make chicken enchiladas in a delicious sauce.

Spices ready for the comal

Reina teaching us how to use the metate

Enjoying the spoils of our labor

We ate a lot of meals, and a lot of street food, but don’t have a lot of pictures of it.

But here is a particularly good meal from Levadura de Olla. The theme was ‘Reminiscencia de Jitomates’ (Memory of Tomatoes)

Criollo avocados (they’re little and you can eat their skins. So good); uhh can’t remember; native Oaxacan tomato salad (there’s like 500 kinds of tomatoes in this); mole with nopales; tostada with dried shrimp; atole with tomatoes; layered tamal with beans and pork in salsa verde; tomato sorbet palate cleanser; coconut and mango dessert

Mezcal

I mentioned mezcal earlier, right? I don’t know why I thought I could do a 5-mezcal tasting (I tapped out at four) but it was very interesting to learn more about all the different kinds of agave. I also learned that apparently the way to distill tequila and mezcal actually came from the Philippines, and that lambanog (or vino de coco) was very popular in Mexico in the 16th and 17th centuries. (Source)

I also tried pechuga for the first time, which is when you redistill mezcal with some proteins (could be chicken breast, rabbit, iguana, lobster, whatever you want) or berries or whatever else, and it makes the mezcal taste really funky and savory.

Definitely do a tasting at Mezcaloteca if you can swing it. They do get a little dogmatic about mezcal — for example they don’t like añejos or reposados because it ‘taints’ the purity of the mezcal but you will learn so much

Then we spent a day touring different mezcal palenques (in Tagalog, ‘palengke’ is like, a wet market. I wonder if the words are related). Shoutout to Randall of Mezcal Educational Tours for being a delight.

At Don Felix’s

The aftermath of a tasting at Rambha; this is run by a woman, which is a rarity in mezcal, and Rosario’s a badass and I love her. Her family never did mezcal, but she decided she wanted to, and so she did.

I ended up flying back with like 3 liters of mezcal. Oops. (Also, like, six bags of coffee. I just finished the coffee I bought from Japan last year.)

Then I was supposed to fly out of Oaxaca at 6am but my flight got delayed by four hours.

Overall, a very restorative trip; I’d go back to explore more of the art (there are a lot of woodcut print studios), the barro negro pottery, and just eat a lot more food.

Mexico City, Weeks 1–2

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 20:03:19 -0700

Estaba en Mexico.

(Please excuse any issues with posting, I’m making some changes to the blog and I don’t really know what I’m doing lol)

Until recently, for every five years of service, you’d get a one-month sabbatical with which to do as you please. They changed that to once on your eighth year and no more after that, but thankfully I made the cutoff to qualify for your second one.

As an aside, it is wild to me that I’ve been here for 10 years. 10 years!

Since I am trying to learn Spanish, visit at least one new country once a year (though I’ve already done this by going to Korea a month or so ago), and spend my birthday not at work, I decided to spend three weeks in Mexico — two in Mexico City and one in Oaxaca. Check, check, check.

My sabbatical did get off to a weird start, when USCIS told me I had to go in for fingerprints on April 8, but my trip started on April 5, and now seems not the time to be asking the government for delays or favors, so I made the executive decision to fly back from CDMX to SFO the evening of the 7th and fly back out the afternoon of the 8th.

Anyway, that all worked out, so please enjoy some disconnected photos below. I loved Mexico! It reminded me a lot of home (mostly because of the pork and the Catholicism lol). I’d love to go back and explore even more parts of it, but I’d also happily go back to either CDMX or Oaxaca.

Monumento a la Independencia on Reforma

Central Library of UNAM

The view from Chapultepec Castle

Inside the Metropolitan Cathedral

Yours truly at the Palacio Postal

Lucha Libre fuckin rips and I’m so glad I went, though I don’t think my Spanish tutor appreciated all the vocabulary I learned from the audience.

Mistico about to lay the smackdown on Volador Jr

I could have spent days at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, but I only had one day:

Piedra del Sol/ Aztec Sun Calendar

Xōchipilli, god of … a lot of stuff (beauty, youth, love, passion, sex, sexuality, homosexuality, fertility, arts, song, music, dance, painting, writing, games, playfulness, nature, vegetation and flowers)

Xochimilco has a lot of canals, the last remnants of a complex Aztec transport waterway, but now it’s mostly like, party boat central, so of course we went at like 9am and it was very peaceful. Then about half an hour in there were mariachi boats and beer boats and quesadilla boats that would row up to your boat and deliver whatever you wanted.

Boats parked

Food!

Listen I ate so much good food and so many goddamn tacos but here are some highlights.

Left to right, top to bottom: al pastor street tacos; the mixed plate, a Tijuanita, and just straight bone marrow all from Tacos del Valle; a chile relleno taco and a soft shell crab taco from the Taco Omakase at Pujol (I’m gonna be honest with you … not worth it. Though maybe I’m just burned out on fine dining now?); and a mixed plate from Tacos El Betin — turns out I love fried tripe tacos. Who knew?

Some advice: if the line at Tacos del Valle is too long, go to Cariñito instead. It’s not that far away, their tacos are like Asian/Mexican fusion, and are very very good. So caramelized and so flavorful. Not authentic at all.

In Week 2 we went on another taco tour, and it was also very good, but I didn’t get a lot of photos. I did bookmark every spot, and if you ever need taco recommendations in CDMX, I have a whole list to share with you.

I know I just said I was maybe burned out on fine dining but I actually enjoyed my meal at Quintonil. The service was good, the food was fantastic, and I sat next to a lady from Walnut Creek who’s now a professor in Wisconsin. But it was also by far the most expensive meal of this trip so like, it better have been, you know?

I don’t remember most of what this was, but there is a delicious mole here somewhere that came with the best duck I’ve had in a while, and I got a bonus dessert because it was my birthday. I may have told every restaurant I went to that it was my birthday and I had so many free desserts.

Quintonil collage!

But my favorite meal in CDMX might be at Masala y Maiz. (There’s a Chef’s Table episode about it which you should watch if you haven’t already.) It’s Indian-ish/ Mexican fusion with really great use of spice and techniques.

I am still dreaming about this grilled shrimp; even just sucking on these shells was so good, it was so limey and smokey, and you dip it in this vanilla ghee which at first sounds insane but actually the warmth of the vanilla works well with the spiciness of the shrimp.

Shramps

Look at this teeny weeny chicken (sorry for the shitty picture it was dark in there)

Perfect serving size for one person

CDMX is also chock full of great pastry shops but I especially enjoyed Panaderia Gala, which is like a bakery speakeasy? You have to get buzzed in and you walk in right where they’re baking stuff and the tables are right in the middle of the action and the pastries are all really good (especially the guava croissants).

I mean look at this goddamn sandwich. Melts in the mouth

In summation: CDMX rules.

Oaxaca needs its own post and I will make sure to get it up before I have to go back to work on Monday.

Boracay + Seoul 2026

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 23:49:12 -0800

Boracay

Somehow, I’d never been to Boracay before. It’s probably because I had no money when I still lived in the Philippines, and also thought of Boracay as somewhere college kids go to get hammered.

But I get it now. Boracay is beautiful. I went for my sister’s wedding and it was a lovely ceremony (but those photos are for her to put up)

White Beach

View from Shangri-La where I lived my best White Lotus life for a few days, only with fewer murders

Seoul

Because people with US visas can go to South Korea visa free if you’re only passing through, I decided to spend a few days there on my way back to SF. Unfortunately I got sick like, right in the middle of it, so I didn’t get to do quite as much as I wanted, but I still managed to get a color analysis (apparently I look best in light spring colors? What am I going to do with all these black t-shirts?), sneak in a few nice dinners (Y’East was my favorite, followed by Solbam, then Mingles), a trip to the DMZ, and a food tour of Gwangjang Market.

Your steak comes in a little smoking box from Solbam; great meal and they gave me a little hand warmer before I left because it was cold out.

Then I went on a DMZ tour. It’s kind of weird, the whole experience. At the observatory a whole troop of uniformed personnel probably from the UN started streaming into the theater where you can just kind of look at North Korea, and given all the news that’s happening I never enjoy seeing that much military all in one place.

A photo I’m not sure I was 100% allowed to take

Cafe Hanyakbang, probably my favorite cafe (it’s well-hidden in a maze of narrow alleys and the coffee is good)

The best thing at Mingles was the Jang Trio dessert. Lots of textures, savory and sweet and smoky, but I was so tired from the DMZ that I don’t think I was able to fully appreciate the meal. And also this is probably when I started getting sick so that did not help.

Jang Trio dessert at Mingles

And some more photos:

Gyeongbokgung Palace

I joined an Airbnb food market tour; it was raining the whole time, but these little tents were warm. I also had the raw fresh octopus, which I’m glad I did once, but don’t need to again.

Me and some randos under a sidewalk tent enjoying some street food

And listen, once a Classics girly always a Classics girly, so I took this photo at the National Museum of Korea:

Athena

My final meal in Seoul at Y’east included this ridiculous thing, which is literally a bunch of rocks except one of them is edible and contains blue cheese and galbi, which was actually delicious.

A meal of rocks?

Okay cool that was my trip, thank you

A very late Tokyo photo dump

Thu, 01 May 2025 04:13:23 +0000

Everybody’s going to Tokyo, baby.

Day 1

Day 1 was only half a day since I landed at 2pm, so I just stayed in Ginza

Glitch Coffee in Ginza

Makiyaki Ginza Onodera: Japanese-French wood fired grill. My favorite was the seaweed waffle that started dinner

Dinner collage!

Day 2: Ueno, Kappabashi, Senso-ji

Went to see the tail end of the cherry blossoms at Ueno Park, stopped by a Miro exhibit at a museum, walked to Kappabashi to buy a knife, had ramen at an Ichiran, and walked to Senso-ji. I also probably went to like three coffee shops to stay awake/ alive.

Photos from this walk follow

Dinner: Shizen in Shibuya. Also Frenchy Japanese wood-fired cuisine.

Day 3: An Instagram trap, Tokyo Tower, Solo Birthday Dinner

Do not go to the TeamLab museums. It’s fun for like five minutes then it’s kind of annoying and it’s hard to get out.

Tourist trap!

Tokyo Tower also low-key sucks. They try to upsell you on too many things and it’s a lot of waiting. I went to Mori Art Museum after, and it’s a much better experience (and you get to check out cool art).

Look at this view

Dinner this evening was at Hakunei, a fancy also French/Japanese place that seats 8, but I was the only one in there so I had a whole army of chefs cooking just for me.

Top 10 life experience tbh

Day 4: So much sushi, more coffee

I impulsively signed up for a Tsukiji tour/ sushi making, and I was the only one again, so I got a solo tour of the fish market and a personal sushi making class. Then in the afternoon I went to Kuramae to check out some coffee shops and impulsively buy fountain pens.

Photos from this day

Dinner was more sushi at Sushi Yuu. Apparently Drew Barrymore went there a few weeks before I did? Also, I couldn’t finish the last six rolls in the last photo, I was so full.

Sushi Yuu

Day 5: Meguro, Shimokitazawa

More cherry blossoms at Meguro!

Then Shimokitazawa for ramen and coffee and weird vintage shirts

Dinner at Ukiyo, where I was at a counter with four dudes who were also from the Bay Area because I can’t get away. Anyway this place had a fantastic non-alcoholic pairing and they gave me extra dessert because I said it was my birthday.

Happy birthday to me

Day 6: Skytree, but otherwise a chill day

Tokyo Skytree is better than Tokyo Tower if the goal is a view and to not feel like you’re trapped in a confined space. Then I had duck ramen after.

Photos from this day

The best espresso martini I’ve had in my life at Unlimited Coffee Bar

Dinner was at Cocon in Kanimeguro. Counter seats seven and one chef does everything. He’s cooking in front of you, he’s doing all the prep, he’s serving the drinks, he’s making the coffee, and I don’t think he stopped moving until he served the last dessert. This might be one of my favorite meals, from the kangaroo tartare to perfectly cooked lamb to the two desserts (which were both excellent). Also surprisingly reasonably priced? Except for the drinks.

Cocon is very good and you shoudl go

Then we made the mistake of going to the Shibuya Don Quijote, which was … a lot.

Day 7: A half day in Tsukiji, then flying back

Went with my sister to have breakfast in Tsukiji and grab some coffee before I headed to the airport.

Tsukiji!

And that was Tokyo. Very low key trip, had a lot of good food, walked around a lot, had some alone time but got to meet up with my sister for a bit, which was nice. I came home with too much specialty coffee that will probably take me months to finish. I also got waylaid at a soy sauce store and bought way too much soy sauce. They had a clear one that I couldn’t not get.

I’d love to go back and visit other cities next time — I definitely want to go to Hokkaido.

Now I gotta plan the next trip so I can have something to look forward to.

Make it 2003 again through science or magic

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 19:55:02 +0000

The gigs I’ve gone to this year so far are really leaning heavy on nostalgia:

Ben Gibbard at Grace Cathedral, February 25
Snow Patrol at Fox Theater, March 24 (I won free tickets?)
Franz Ferdinand at The Warfield, March 28

I’m not beating the allegations by buying tickets to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Bloc Party, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Matt Berninger – I mean if you found my CD booklet from high school it’d be the same acts. Except Matt Berninger, I guess, that was more of a college thing.

I also went to Rich Table, in Hayes Valley, for the first time. The Chefs Picks menu is the way to go — and pro tip, go with three people, you get the most variety that way (and get the caviar supplement). Then my friends told the waitstaff it was my birthday so I got a little candle.

Anyway I leave for Tokyo in 8 days, let’s goooo. Photo dump below

Zion, 3/7 - 3/10

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 17:33:41 +0000

There are so many things wrong with the US. But its national park system is not one of them.

However, you really notice the whole defunding thing when we walked into the entrance and there was ONE park ranger at the entrance, who can’t even check if people paid for passes, and all she could do was hand out maps. It’s pretty fucked up.

Anyway, here are a few photos from our trip to Zion (and a few from our day in Orderville, UT). There was one night we went to Hurricane Mesa for a night of stargazing, and while the stars were beautiful, and I got to see Jupiter through a telescope, iPhone photography just isn’t there yet. Also it was really fucking cold. Those desert winds’ll get ya.

Next travel plans — Tokyo for my birthday week!

it‘s the end of the world as we know it and i feel mildly ill

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 03:41:22 +0000

or: what not having instagram for a month does to a mf

Since I rage-quit IG this is what I’ve done

go back to Manila and India after having just been there a couple months ago. had to tell my family not to get used to it
read 8 books, only two of which were fun
although Conclave was a pretty fun readand I have thoughts about Benitez being Filipino in the book but Mexican in the movie. Did they think the Philippines would throw a fit about it? Because we probably would’ve, I can’t blame them
got re-orged in my job where I’m doing mostly the same thing but everybody is confused (including me)
planned a trip to Tokyo for my birthday
do you know how hard it is to plan a trip and pick restaurants without TikTok or Instagram? so many restaurants don’t even have webpages, just Instagram. Drives me nuts
watched Severance (maybe my favorite show of the last three years? It’s so good and I love it so much that if you don’t like it, don’t talk to me)

Anyway. Guess I’m trying to do this more regularly now because apparently after years and years of social media it’s hard to just go cold turkey. What am I supposed to do, keep all my thoughts inside????

Maybe if I pay for a service and go through the whole process of self hosting I’ll be more disciplined about it. Let’s see!