I noticed more and more weekend markets are emerging in the metro these days. I remember the very first weekend market I’ve been to, and it wasn’t actually here in the Philippines, but in Bangkok, Thailand, and it’s famously called Chatuchak. Oh, don’t I just love and miss Chatuchak! Chatuchak is a 35-acre market area that is home to more than 8,000 market stalls, and is actually one of the largest weekend markets in the world. Similar to our local Divisoria, it’s where you can discover great finds and a wide variety of goods - from food and beverage, clothing and accessories, handicrafts and ceramics, furniture and home decors, down to antique and collectibles, pets, plants and almost everything under the sun, at prices cheaper than in most commercial establishments in Bangkok.
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| Chatuchak Weekend Market |
Here in the Philippines, however, the very first weekend market I encountered is the one at The Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City. Opens on Sundays at The Lung Center hospital grounds, Mom used to come here for some fresh organic veggies and some local delicacies. The other weekend markets I know are the Salcedo Saturday Market in Velasquez Park, Salcedo Village, and the Legaspi Sunday Market along Herrera and Rada corner Legaspi Streets, Legaspi Village, both located in the sprawling Makati City residential-commercial neighborhood. Then there’s Mercato Centrale, situated at the corner of 34th Street and 8th Avenue (across MC Home Depot) in the new cosmopolitan business hub, Bonifacio Global City, in Taguig.
Are you stressed? Are you like the man in the photo who, when under stress, tends to overeat to the point of gluttony? Or are you like the woman in the photo who looks old for her age because of stress at work? In our fast-paced, highly-competitive and modern world, I think no one is exempted from experiencing stress. Even a baby inside a mother’s womb experiences stress on certain occasions! Indeed, everyone will experience stress, whether major or minor, whether positive or negative. Certainly, stress has become part of every human being’s life that cannot be completely avoided. Given its inevitable nature, the question now is – how well do you handle stress in your life?
Some people handle negative stress well, and it has little effect on their emotional or physical health. Others, who are very negatively influenced by it, become the victims of fatigue, chronic headaches, irritability, change in appetite, withdrawal, high blood pressure, insomnia and gastrointestinal disorders. Negative stress creates a tremendous breeding ground for illness. Researchers estimate that stress contributes to over 80% of all major illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, endocrine and metabolic disease, skin disorders, and infectious diseases of different kinds. And even if the illness is not caused by stress, it most certainly is made worse by it.
