H Proper Coffee Roasters at The Podium: Coffee, Cake, and an Afternoon That Slowed Time

By the time Saturday arrived, all of us looked as though we had spent the week staring into the same screen updating the same websites. In many ways, we had.

We work remotely, scattered across different homes and different cities, meeting each other more often through video calls Most days, our conversations revolve around deadlines, web technicalities, campaigns, translations, and the tiny details that only fellow Web Content Developers would understand. When work becomes particularly demanding, our worlds shrink until they are measured by browser tabs, coffee mugs, and the glow of a laptop long after sunset.

That Saturday was different.

We finally traded our laptops for paintbrushes, laughed our way through an afternoon activity that reminded us none of us had promising futures as painters, attempted a little dancing with far more enthusiasm than grace, and lingered over lunch at a Thai restaurant before the afternoon began to dissolve into separate plans. Some of our teammates headed their separate ways, while a few of us wandered into The Podium in search of coffee and a little more conversation.

Lemon and Olives Greek Taverna, Baguio City: Returning to the City of Pines, Finding Greece on Plates, and Remembering Those I Miss The Most

A decade is a long time to stay away from a city that breathes in pine and exhales nostalgia.

The last time I spent any meaningful time in Baguio, life looked different. My mother was still alive, so was my younger sister. The future seemed larger then, unfolding ahead with the confidence that only youth can afford. Ten years passed almost without permission, consumed by work, responsibilities, grief, and the thousand ordinary things that quietly pull us away from places we keep promising to revisit.

So when I finally found myself traveling to Baguio City once again, watching the landscape transform from lowland heat into mist-covered mountains, I wasn't merely returning to a destination. I was returning to a version of myself that had been left waiting somewhere among the pine trees.

Baguio greeted me the way old friends often do. Not with fanfare but with familiarity. The cool air carried the scent of pine needles and damp earth. Fog drifted lazily over hillsides. Familiar landmarks appeared around bends in the road like memories stepping out from hiding.

Yet as comforting as the city felt, I quickly realized that nostalgia alone could not sustain a journey. I wanted something new. Something that would justify the return.

That something turned out to be Lemon and Olives Greek Taverna.

When Autumn Fades Fast: The Short Stay of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte in Manila

🧡 Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is a Warm Hug in a Cup

If you’re a coffee enthusiast like me, you know there’s one drink that signals the cozy season has arrived — the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. Every year, I wait for that magical moment when “Pumpkin is in” finally appears on Starbucks Philippines’ Facebook page. This year, that long-awaited announcement dropped on September 30, and I swear I could almost smell the cinnamon and nutmeg through my screen.

I rushed to my nearest Starbucks the very next day. My heart fluttering, wallet ready, and taste buds already tingling with nostalgia. Autumn might not exist in Manila, but the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) makes it feel like fall, even under the tropical sun. For a very few blissful days, I had my fill: the Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte for humid afternoons, the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino Blended Beverage when I needed something playful, and my all-time favorite — the Hot Pumpkin Spice Latte with an extra dash of cinnamon.