The PolyHobbyist

Hey guys! So sorry for the lack of food and travel posts. I promise they'll be back shortly hihi. There's just this craft called Bullet Journaling that's been eating my weekends. I'm enjoying it so much! It just feels so good to just get lost and be in my mind palace. Since February is the Love month, I decided to make a theme for my spread. Obviously, there are a lot of hearts! Hearts. Strings. Leaves. Aaaand, colors! Scroll down to see how my February setup looks like.*wink* *wink*

Monthly Spread

For my monthly overview this month, I have decided to not take up the whole space for the February Calendar. I regret not having a future log on my Bullet Journal Setup so to at least make up for it, I included a Goals and Next Month section.

Including these two will help me plan for the current month and the next month without rushing on to make the weekly spreads. And you'll know why on the next paragraphs.

I also included a sidebar-like daily tracker for the things that I wanted to track for that month. I love how simple it is and hopefully, I get to check them everyday. Guess what P stands for haha.

Weekly Spread

I think I've overdone my weekly spread this month. It took me hours to finish this and to be honest, I don't find it convenient, especially that I'm mostly busy during weekdays. BUT. I love how it looks hihi. Drawing those leaves is time consuming but they look so cute! Like my monthly spread, I also included my this week and next week sections so I won't forget any plans. And because I already ran out of ideas on what to put on this spread(LOL), I just thought I'd do some lettering on top.(Support LGBT!). At the bottom, I placed my water tracker(because I'm feeling dehydrated this past few days) and something that I should be reminded of at work everyday: LOG MY WORK HOURS!

I'm thinking of trying another format for my weekly spread if I don't have enough time to recreate this one for the next weeks ahead. I'll update this post if my mind decides to have a new one. ;)

If you're trying Bullet Journaling too, please leave your comments below. I'd love to hear your insights and see your works. Bye! :)

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I have been using planners ever since college. They are my way to organize my thoughts and my life. You see, I'm an occasionally forgetful person. I tend to forget tasks and dates sometimes. That is why when life gets too bombarded with to do's, I always create lists to keep track. I've used so many planners and yet, the problem is, I never really get to use them for the whole year. I don't know why but I always end up using it during the first and last few months of the year. I don't consistently use it and sadly, sayang sila.

When I buy planners, I always find something lacking on them whether it be that the monthly spread is too small or the weekly spread is too wide or it is too bulky to bring everywhere I go. That is why, for this year, I chose to join the bandwagon and try Bullet Journaling.

The best thing that I love about Bullet Journaling is that you make your journal at your own pace and to your own liking. You are not limited by the built-in dividers or features of your planner because you make them yourself. Special thanks to TC(one of my favorite type artists) of @inksandcoffee for suggesting and selling me her extra Limelight Sketchbook with Pen Roll and bookmarks. And to my boyfie, Chad for giving me so many pens as Christmas presents! Thank you! :*

So without further adieu, let me share with you guys my current Bullet Journal spreads!

The first spread, of course, I placed the year in the most artsy way that I can LOL. It took me 3 hours and a lot of ink to finish this mehee.

On the next page, I made this. I stopped making New Year's Resolutions 2 years ago. Instead, what I do during the start of the year is to make a theme for that year and create plans according to that theme. This page is dedicated to those plans. What I intend to do or not to do is all here. This is just my way of planning the months ahead so I don't forget.

Next is one of my favorite sheets: My Savings Goals and When did I Last? Section. I plan to visit Japan and Taiwan next year. To be able to do that, I should seriously save this year. I also promise my Lola that I'll buy her an air conditioner so yeah, placed it there so I won't forget.

When Did I Last? is my way of keeping track of my good and bad habits. I placed all those habits inside the boxes and I put dates of when I last did them. I just saw this on Pinterest and I found it to be helpful to track my habits.

The last before the monthly spread is this. I have a lot on my blog backlog right now so I have to be mindful of what I need to post. In addition, I oftentimes think of ideas for my blog while in transit so for the ideas not to be forgotten when my mind spills them, I better have a permanent place to jot them down and not just some scratch paper that I always misplace LOL.

The Calendar serves as my period tracker shhhh.

For the monthly sections, I plan to just make them simple because I know I won't be able to update my journal from time to time. Natuto na ang lola nyo.

My month overview is for events and meetings. As I have said before, I tend to forget special dates so I really need a whole spread for my monthly overview. I've had my share of conflicting schedules all because I forgot I was going somewhere but I said Yes to some event in our company. I ended up choosing one over the other which I don't want to happen ever again.

My weekly spread is just for my daily tasks and some doodling when stress gets me so I just kept it simple and not that space consuming. I don't really document my everyday life so a weekly spread fits me well.

And if I ever get motivated or I'm too happy to document my highlights, I made a spread for my monthly highlights. I'll share this with you guys before I share my spread for February. ;)

For this year, I plan to go back to my de-stresser, Art. I made a separate Instagram account for my type creations. If you would like to check it out, follow @typebythepolyhobbyist on IG! hihi. I will share all my future artworks and bullet journal spreads there.

Hope you guys liked this post. Join the bandwagon too if we have the same sentiments towards limited features of planners on the market! It's not too late! Let's go! Oh, and let me know what you think about this on the comments section. :D

P.S.:Flatlay photography man is tough when you don't have natural light source. I'll find one next time hihi.

7 comments

Hey everyone! Welcome back to me! hihi. I can barely keep track of when I last posted here. Nevertheless, Happy New Year to you guys! If you're reading this, I just want to say thank you for keeping up with me last 2017. Time flew by very fast and now, we're almost done for the first month of 2018! Gosh, kumalma ka time please. It's too fast!

This post is really late but I still want to do this just to share with you guys what I've been up to for the past weeks that I've been neglecting my blog duties. Here's what made me happy for the last quarter of 2017:

1 I'm Now a Certified Software Tester!

I guess I haven't really told you about what I do outside this little blog of mine. I work as a Software Test Engineer for a Mobile Networks company, Nokia. Apart from their mobile phone business, they have other business lines and Mobile Networks is one of them. In general, what I do is to test the software that they use for their Mobile Networks business. Last October, my manager told me that he signed me up to take the ISTQB Foundation Level Exam. It was the first certification I took after the board exams. The exam was held last December so I only had a month and a few weeks to study. That ate most of my time. And to pass this certification meant that I am competent enough to test software so this is a great achievement for me last year. *Pats myself on the back*

2 My Blog's Little Successes

My blog turned 1 last January 9.~~(I honestly forgot LOL)~~ It may not be as big as other blogs out there who always get sponsors or is enough for them to be financially stable without their day jobs, but I'm still happy that my blog has achieved milestones last year. One of those is that I got to pay for my domain this year from the money I earned from a sponsored post. Thank you for trusting my blog! hihi. I am also getting traffic from social media sites with Google most of all. You know what that means? My SEO efforts are working! I felt so much satisfaction the first time that I saw one of my posts to be on the first page of the Google search engine. It felt surreal!

But above all these, I think the greatest achievement that my blog has reached is that I am able to fulfill one of this blog's objectives: To share information. Our tour guide during our Tangadan Falls adventure PMed me out of nowhere(I still wonder til now how he found my Facebook account), thanking me for sharing his contact number on DIY Travel Philippines. According to him, he got a lot of clients from there. I never thought I would reach that far. And so this year, I plan to still do the same: To share reliable information and help our local tour guides with their business.

3 Winning My Battle Against Acne

Also on the last quarter of 2017, is when my confidence rock bottomed. I never had acne before and to experience it was really one of my worst days. At first, I was in denial that I have acne. I started to have bumps on my cheeks. Three I think. But then it became worse. They started appearing everywhere and I felt bad that time that I didn't even want to go to work. I don't want to see my face. ~~I felt so ugly.~~(Please don't judge huhu) But then came a point that I was able to accept it. I sought for professional help. I went to Skin Station(Oops this is not a sponsored post). Luckily, they were able to cure it. I had facial session every 2 weeks plus meds and skin care products. The first 2 sessions were rough. I cried a lot because the pricking was so painful. And my face looked like a battlefield afterwards. ~~There was blood everywhere!~~ I even had to take a leave after the first session because my face is still red the day after. Thankfully, after all the pricking and peeling, my acne situation got better. I don't have cystic acne anymore. I still have scars on my cheeks and still getting treatment. But I'm really glad that I don't feel that bad anymore and my confidence is slowly coming back to its normal level.

4 Celebrated my 25th

Sorry for the blurry photo hihi

I celebrated my 25th birthday last December 8 hihi. ~~#QuarterLifeCrisis~~ I'm actually in crisis last year. I'm feeling so lost. I didn't know what to do with my life. But every worry slowly passed and now, I'm just taking life one day at a time. I just celebrated my birthday with the people I treasure the most, my family. We ate dinner at this super cheap but delicious restaurant near our home.

I also got to celebrate my birthday at The Nook with Chad hihi. We bummed and dined there for a few hours and enjoyed wearing the Slytherin and Ravenclaw uniforms. <3

5 Spent the Holidays by the Beach

Paparazzi shots of my Mama, Papa and our baby Sam hihi

Caba, La Union

Turning our Japanese Cousin into a Gyojin!(Fishman in Japanese)

The Holidays last year was fun. Our Tita(who is also my second Mom) and her son went home from Japan so we treated her to an out of town to La Union last Christmas. La Union never failed to relax my soul. We didn't stay at the famous surfing spot, San Juan, rather we stayed at one of the nearby towns which is Caba. Nevertheless, the beach is still beautiful and the waves are still strong. We enjoyed our stay there. It was just us and the beach. <3

I didn't had the chance to say this last year. But from the bottom of my beating heart, thank you guys for being part of my 2017! I had my fair shares of highs and lows last year but my 2017 ended awesomely. Hope you had a great start of 2018! Til my next post(I'll be sharing my bullet journal setup hihi). Bye! :D

2 comments

Ever heard of an ancestral home turned restaurant? If not, then let me introduce to one in San Juan City. And it's not just an ordinary restaurant. It is a Buffet Restaurant named after one of the famous chefs in the Philippines, Chef Laudico. With his name posted on the entrance of this restaurant, I'm sure Chad and I would be up for a yummy gastronomic experience. We celebrated our 3rd anniversary here(It's Chad's idea and surprise). What would be a better #12Months12Cuisines challenge than featuring a cuisine closest to our hearts? Nothing beats Filipino cuisine when it comes to tasting a bit of home.

Basic Information

How to Get Here

Address: 387 P. Guevarra Corner Argonne Street, Addition Hills, San Juan City

Opening Hours: 1 AM to 2 PM, 5 PM to 6:30 PM, 7:30 PM to 10 PM

We took an Uber to get here because frankly, we're not very familiar with San Juan. Also, the restaurant is situated in a residential area so I advise you to use your car or take a cab instead for lesser hassle. Upon stepping foot on this establishment, we were greeted by this Spanish-styled big ancestral home which is now Chef Laudico Guevarra's.

Parking Space

You need not worry on where to park your car because they have a dedicated space for parking. They have a wide parking space. I think they also accommodate outdoor catering events based on how huge their outdoor space is.

Reservations and Price

Chad booked a reservation for us days before our anniversary and I highly recommend you do the same thing. The place is always packed with customers especially weekends. Chad booked an early dinner reservation from 5 PM to 6:30 PM. They have an event at around 7:30 PM so we had to adjust. It cost us 614.88 pesos each(P549 + 12% VAT). They only have 15 minutes holding time so be sure to be on time or your reservation will be cancelled.

The Place

The interiors of Guevarra's reminded me of my grandparents' home in Laguna. With those big windows, wooden floors and walls, and an overall Spanish vibe, the restaurant gave me an impression of dining during the Spanish Era.

Even though this place used to be a house, turning this into a restaurant is not a bad idea at all. The place is big and spacious. It has a lot of rooms enough to accommodate around 70 - 100 people(just my guesstimate tehee). You can reserve a whole room for special occasions. I almost got lost just looking for the comfort room(It's located at the room on the right side the moment you enter the restaurant. You're welcome hihi.).

The house was renovated to be fit to be a restaurant. It is fully air conditioned. They also have these plates with signatures from famous people who dined there. Definitely not your ordinary buffet restaurant.

Food

And now, for my always favorite part of every restaurant review, FOOD! Guevarra's is an All-Filipino Buffet Restaurant so don't expect some foreign cuisine here. I am surprised with how many dishes this restaurant prepared for us. I think it has over 50! And I bet if not all, but almost all of them tastes delicious! Too bad I don't have a big tummy to accommodate them all.

Their buffet setup has SIX STATIONS: Appetizers, Carvings(my favorite! binalik balikan namin 'to), Hot & Grilled, Main Course, Desserts, and Beverages. Every station has a LOT TO OFFER. I don't even know where to start. Check out each station on the photos below and you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about. I'll share my favorites in each section.

Appetizers

The Appetizers section is full of our favorite bite-sized snacks. They have crablets, Filipino-style pizza, Calamares, crispy KangKong, bread, salad, etc. I highly recommend you try their Calamares. Calamares is one of my favorite streetfoods and Guevarra's has it! They are crispy and dipping them to their vinegar makes it taste even more delicious. We also tried their Pizza and their cheese is a bit different but tastes good. I'd love to try the crablets but the plate was empty when I came back after shooting the photos. They taste great maybe?

Carvings

Puputok ang batok mo pag nagstay ka sa Carvings Station LOL. This is my favorite station and I think now you know why. There's Lechon and Crispy Pork Belly! And...wait for it... BACON BAGNET! Yes. I didn't know such a thing exists. Two of my favorites in one dish? What a treat! And it's a first I had from Guevarra's. The dish consists of thin slices of Bagnet. Crispy and Savory. *heart eyes*

Hot & Grilled

This Hot & Grilled Section, from the words themselves, contain grilled seafood and meat and soup. There's Chicken Barbecue, Liempo, Squid, Tapa, and others. They also have Bulalo. You can also find condiments here you could use with your carvings and appetizers. I don't have any favorite from this section. They all tasted okay for me.

Main Course

The Main Course Station consists of our favorite ulam elevated to fit the restaurant standards. And I didn't said that just because we're at Guevarra's. I said that because they are really delicious and scrumptious! They have my favorite Kare-Kare. Aside from that, they have Dinuguan, Pinakbet, and other Seafood dishes that I'm not much familiar of. Pansit and Paella is also present in their Main Course Station. Among all of them, the Angus Beef Kare-Kare will always be "The One". The meat is so soft it melts in my mouth. The sauce has the right amount of peanuts and the consistency is thick. I can't stop but get rice when I tasted their Kare-Kare.

Desserts and Beverages

I had fun shooting at their Desserts Section. They just look all so yummy! Their vibrant and chocolate-y colors just caught my eyes. And even their desserts also has a distinct Filipino touch. They have Suman, Leche Flan, Buko Pandan, Halo-Halo, sweet pastries, Biscocho, and Ice Cream. The beverages they offer consists of juices, milk tea, softdrinks and water. Their Milk Tea tastes more like Sago't Gulaman though. Their must-try desserts for me are Leche Flan, Buko Pandan, and Biscocho. Guevarra's Leche Flan is thick and creamy but not too sweet. The Biscocho came as a surprise to me. It's not the hard toasted bread I know but it tastes like a mini donut which is good by the way. I liked how it tasted.

I had tried a Filipino Buffet Restaurant before(I won't drop names) when we attended our grandmother's birthday. I was disappointed back then. The dish containers always ran out of food and it will take a while before it's refilled. I'm glad that it never happened in Guevarra's, except for the crablets.

Overall, we are satisfied customers of Guevarra's. And if it weren't for its location, I would have brought my family here. I wish they'll have another branch closer to Marikina. I recommend you guys bring your Balikbayan relatives or foreign visitors here if you want them to taste our own Filipino dishes. It's a treat they won't forget. ;)

Guevarra's

Address: 387 P. Guevarra Corner Argonne Street, Addition Hills, San Juan City
Budget for Two: Php 1000 to 1500 (Depending on time and day of visit)

Ratings
Food: 5/5
Ambiance: 5/5
Service: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

8 comments

Monthly Spread

Weekly Spread

Basic Information

How to Get Here

Parking Space

Reservations and Price

The Place

Food

Appetizers

Carvings

Hot & Grilled

Main Course

Desserts and Beverages

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