Finding Ways to Tame My Weekly Budget - June 2019

I have had to tame my expenses this week as my earning power has gone to zilch again this week.  It makes me so worried. Anyway, here is the rundown of my expenses this wee from June 22-29, that's an 8-day stretch.

Loans - 5000 pesos - 42%
Food - 2954 - 25%
Fare - 2212 - 19%
Massage - 1170 - 10%
Meds - 2%
Toiletries - 2%
Tithing - 1%
load - 1%

Total Expenses = 11,826 pesos

1478 per day

The loans will be there till October so I cannot change that.  The food averages 369 pesos per day and that includes dinner out with friends.  The fare including Grab averages 276 pesos per day.  And of course, my weekly massage.

What I can do for next week is take out the massage, lower my food expense to 60 pesos fruits and 40 pesos for the rice and 3 eggs.  For the meantime, that will be my food for the day. One hundred pesos expense per day.  As for the fare, no more Grab this coming week except on Sundays and days when I am with Mama. Otherwise, use public transport.

I have no loan to pay this coming week so I am a bit relaxed but I have to pay my gym, maybe the tarp as well and the water bill. Those are the most important bills this week. My Facebook bill is already at 2700 pesos so I might have to pay that as well. Tsk tsk.

So many challenges.  Anyway, I am glad I am writing this down so everything is clear!  Let's see how much I can save next week.

RIP Eddie Garcia

RIP Eddie Garcia.

Because of you, I became a Noranian lol

Mr. Garcia directed Atsay, a film which won him Best Director in the 1978 MMFF (yes, the MMFF used to respectable, now they only have Vice Ganda's basura movies), a Best Performer award for Nora Aunor, who in this movie, stars with Mona Lisa and Nora's perennial oppressor, Armida Siguion-Reyna (RIP as well madame), who played her roles wickedly, she was reviled by the Noranians (her characters, not her).

I think this was the movie that showed that Nora Aunor can really act and being the director of the movie, Mr. Garcia must have relished the fact that he was handling the creme de la creme of acting.

I guess he was also the reason why the movie didn't drown in melodrama. There is a beautiful scene towards the end where Mona Lisa confronts Nora - an amazing scene which today's forgettable reality TV winners can learn from - if they really want a career in movies.

As an actor, I loved Eddie Garcia in Tubog sa Ginto, where he portrayed a closeted gay married man, who falls in love with his driver portrayed by Mario O'Hara. Ang cute pa ni Jay Ilagan dito grabe! Jay portrayed his son.

Yes, there is a sex scene in the movie, this is a Lino Brocka movie after all and hindi sya malaswa. That's really how a closeted man would approach a young handsome guy i bed. It's very funny!

It's uncanny how Mr. Garcia plays the conflicted man part. You can see that he is a very sensitive actor and understands the conflicts that his character is going through as he tries to appear heterosexual when his wife is around, and becoming a total fag when alone with his boylet.

He played the role with dignity and did not make closet gay men appear as pathetic people.

Manoy, you will be sorely missed!

Checking Out the Coffee in Starbucks Reserve

Introduced BFF to the Starbucks Reserve branch in SM North Towers mall. I am not really a coffee connoisseur but it's good to try new things once in a while.

Kunwari natataste ko ang difference but the truth is, I am just as happy with my 3-in-1 coffee as with my US$4 cup of coffee.  The coffee I ordered was called vanilla bean latte and I decided on a chicken parmigiani sandwich as well.

Ambiance is expensive so very thankful that I can splurge once in a while.

For Now: No Water at Night due to Manila Water's Genius Forecasting Abilities

Water for brushing my teeth tonight. Thank you Manila Water for making this our new normal.

How could you not possibly have forecasted that your side of the water distribution channel would need more water every year?

It's unthinkable that an Ayala concessionaire can commit a major blunder like this. So who now can ordinary Filipino turn to if the bright employees of an Ayala company cannot even predict this?

And please, just tell us the whole story of what to expect in the next two months.

No water for two days next month? No water for one week? Is this going to happen every for the next ten years - till your lazy pompous asses find another water source?

Just come clean and STOP bullshitting us. You have just given privatization of utilities a big blackeye.