About the Scallop Primo Pizza

Dear Shakey's Philippines,

Shame on you! It's not cool to mislead your customers. I'm talking about your Scallop Primo Pizza radio commercial. The one with the cat of course. Is there any other Scallop Primo Pizza radio commercial out there? I fully expected after calling to have a Scallop Primo Pizza delivered, that as soon as I put my phone down, something magical will happen. But no. MY CAT DID NOT TALK TO ME! DID NOT TALK! She just sat there and proceeded to clean her belly. And to think I'm pretty sure she's been meeting up with the neighbor's orange cat. I know because she would ask to be let out same time for a couple of nights already. She would not talk about it. Let alone give me a name. So I'm stuck referring to her bae as the neighbor's orange cat. I want details of their escapades dammit!

Cat Flip-fluffs

It was inevitable that the merchandise gods would finally give in to us mortals and come out with cat-themed cat stuff, things with cat prints, things that celebrate all things cat, following the popularity of felines online.

The last quarter of 2016 saw Havaianas and Ipanema churning out flip-flops with cat prints.

Local flip-flop brands Banana Peel and teen sibling Nutmeg are way ahead of them. They have long been pleasing cat lovers like me with flip-fluffs with cat designs. From cat prints to cat pins. If you are a fan of cats living in the Philippines, you should always check their racks in department stores and their stand alone stores. Stalk their online accounts. Banana Peel has a mainstay yet evolving Hello Kitty collection, has offered a cat-themed flip-flop collection dubbed Catastrophe and as I have mentioned, has an occasional cat printed flip-flop wandering at their displays.

National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Marilao Bulacan

If you're in Metro Manila or north of the capital, here's a place you can visit during the holy week or when you need a spiritual escape or intervention or just about anytime you feel like it. The National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Marilao, Bulacan could be the haven / spiritual retreat you are looking for. People go there during holy week usually for the way of the cross. Others go there to meditate and reflect all throughout the year.

There have been stories of devotees who miraculously healed from their ailments after making a pilgrimage to the place. Others believe in the healing powers of the water streaming down the walls of the man-made cave and grottoes. So much so that the people at the Church had put up signs limiting the amount of water one could take to one gallon. When I first read that I was like, how much do some people take? A pail? Isn't that kinda heavy? Do they bathe in those? Hmm, maybe they do.

Father Vic Robles, who used to say mass at the school I went to, is largely responsible for the Divine Mercy Shrine in Marilao coming into being. There have been instances when we would go to the shrine as a class.

As a kid then a teen, the place was wondrous. It was nothing like any church I have seen. It was labyrinthine with lots of nooks and crannies to discover. And before I get accused of being there just for sightseeing, please, I know I took faith and religion way more seriously than other kids my age at that time. I was far more religious then than I am now. Sadly.

We used to go to the Divine Mercy Shrine during Lent and for the annual Feast of the Divine Mercy on the 2nd Sunday of Easter (the next Sunday after Easter Sunday). The last time I have been to the shrine was three years ago so the pics below are that old. The place has undergone several developments over time.

At first it was just the open air altar and courtyard with log pews, wishing well, waterfalls, grottoes and the church with its man-made cave aside from a few structures:

Church facade. Note the staircase on the side which lead to the lofts.