Seeing Pink: Cherry Blossoms (Philippine version?)

“I wonder how , I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree”

- Fool’s Garden

A beautiful sight greeted us at the start of the week. And it is not a yellow lemon-tree but a pinky-cherry tree (well, almost). The trees behind our staff dorm rooms turned all pink with all of its leaves gone and replaced by small lovely blooms.

I first saw this while taking a bath last Monday. A branch of flowers can be seen through the bathroom window and at that time only a few flowers were yet in bloom. As the week progresses so did the profuse blooming of the trees.



They look really pretty. Almost like a huge cotton candy amidst all the greenery. The branches have clumps of small 5-petal pink flowers with yellow centers.
I look forward to seeing them outside our window every morning when I wake up.


These were taken right under the canopy of flowers. There are so many flowers that it is actually hard to take pictures because there are also lots of bees.


It is weird though that none of the locals ever noticed this tree blossoming before. Also, they do not know what’s it called and if someone planted it there or Mother Nature planted it herself.
We have foresters in the company, however, this is also the first time that they saw a tree like this. I even asked them to figure out how this tree can be propagated or grown, if we can get a seedling of it or if we can grow it by cutting. I wanted to plant a tree like this for my backyard. Imagine, resting under the shade of pink flowers, oh so relaxing and pretty!
But we are not successful. It appears that the tree does not drop any seeds since no small plant is near the main tree.
Also, I tried to google for Philippine cherry blossoms or flowering trees in the Philippines or trees that shed leaves then blooms with small pink flowers but I did not find anything similar. I only found the Palawan Cherry but in the pictures, the flowers look white and the leaves are not the same. Also, one of our foresters used to work in Palawan and she said that this tree is different from the Palawan Cherry. Sigh.



We can’t figure out how we can obtain seedlings of the tree so we were left to admire the flowers while they last while spending all day not doing anything for the remaining days of Holy week.


Beautiful right? I guess they bloom only once a year because I haven’t noticed it blooming in the last months I was here. Maybe the start of the summer months.
Hey, if you’re an expert on Philippine trees or if you’ve come across this tree and know its name and how I can grow it, can you please message me or leave a comment? Will greatly appreciate it.
That’s it. These little flowers inspired me this week. Hope you’re inspired as well by the little things that are beautiful around you.

Love,

Pleasant Surprise: Portable Travelling Trolley

Know the feeling that you thought something is of no use to you and then you found out later you need it and it’s just the right one for you? How about giving up on solving a puzzle and then going back on it again after some time and finally solving it? Well, this post is about both.

We had this portable trolley in the office since Christmas. My officemates who were assigned with the gifts and prizes committee on our company’s Christmas Party happens to be three sweet and funny girls as well. While shopping for these gifts, they convinced the owner of the store to give them gifts as tokens of appreciation for blessing their store the opportunity to be the source of all the company giveaways. And so they were given these trolleys.

Problem that time is none of us can actually figure out how to fully use this thing. It was such a mystery to us. I ask them if I can have one since I always travel (1 in every 4 weeks). They happily (and most willingly) gave it one to me.

Work in progress. First we figured out that you can extend the handle (o well, that’s obvious). After a month or so, I figured that you have to slide the nut on the back to spread out the wheels. Really, it was like the life cycle of a grasshopper.

Tough nut to crack. It’s like getting trapped in a middle of a sudoku. So, itinabi na lang muna sya. Almost forgotten.

Earlier today I though, I was browsing thru google for places in Manila to buy a cheap 4-wheel luggage and suddenly I remembered this trolley. I restarted the google search, this time on how to use the trolley but there are no helpful documents. Di ko matanggap na hanggang dun lang ang kaya nya, somehow I know that there is still something to this trolley that still needs to be cracked! I decided to look for the box. After rummaging thru the christmas box of presents in the storage area I found its box. So, it is called “portable folding traveling barrow”.

It was easier to look it up after that. This is the most helpful picture I saw in the internet.

It looks like it alright. And I have manage to stretch out the wheels like that. But why does it have dimensions at the bottom. That’s the part I haven’t seen before.
So I got the trolley and examine it once again. I noticed that the nut is not pushed to the very end of the slot. I pushed it and then I heard a click. I turned to look at the trolley and there! May pangil s’ya!! nyarrr!
That’s what we’ve been missing. This is how you will be able to put a bag on it. I happily showed it to officemates and 1 boss. (I’m sorry but I was really that excited. Finally!) Boss even said that I should keep on working on it, baka mas marami pa syang hidden talents, baka nagiging airplane..
This portable one is ideal if you don’t want to check in your baggage like I do.  It can easily be folded to your bag when it’s time to put the bags at overhead compartment. It is easily folded and unfolded without the need for struggling and wrestling. Also, there’s no need to strain your back or shoulders with your bag as you can just pull away your bag to your heart’s content. But wait, there’s more, according to their website it weighs only 1kg on itself but can carry as much as 20 kilos. Now it’s not a grasshopper but an ant!
Now I don’t have to buy a trolley travelling bag after all. This little gift (for free) saved me some thousands there. I can’t wait to use it this Sunday for my trip back to Manila. I love it!
And that’s how the mystery of the chinese travelling trolley was solved. Case closed.