Though the eyes are tired and fingers overworked from writing, researching, accounting, taking photos and being steward of three, bright-eyed younger characters while touring around one of my favorite cities in the country, I'd hate to skip a blog post on diverse, cultural encounters this past week.

Given this state of an over-caffeinated mental anxiety over deadlines and Davao trip tasks, I will just post photos for the rundown.

The start of the week was utterly toxic, like the chemicals in this lab. Rested all day, but punctuated it by visiting the Manila Water compound for an adventure. For a while, I stood just watching Fernando Zobel de Ayala watch someone work in a sparkling new, impressive water facility in Diliman.

Acosta

Also met environmental adviser Neric Acosta, who is surprisingly not the typical politician who can only muse about the conditions of the country. Pleased to find out he's also a waxing humanist.

"(Storytelling) is how Rizal became a hero. He understood it from the level of the human experience, and the human condition is the most enriching, actually. You see human folly, but you also see human greatness. And that's why I'm a frustrated writer," Acosta said, answering my nosy question on why he can quote Balagtas and Shakespeare from memory.

The crew from Ortigas: Gino Bonifacio, Jess Orleans and Ila Perez.

Having Filipino tea at Cafe Laguna, which regrettably doesn't have a branch in Luzon. And it's cheaper than it looks.

Now I don't know if my friend was taking my photo, or the food's. After all, any place is always also about the food.

And any place is always about the incredible people.

But the core of it is about work.

And I'm happy to be also working on something really awesome these days. Here's interviewing broadcaster Mike Enriquez with a student trainee. Check out dragons.ph! I'll write about the film we're promoting soon. After I see it myself, of course. Geez, marketers. #

All photos by Camille Diola. Please cite Creative Commons license for use.