can't get enough

last tuesday, the 24th, dad flew back from thailand from a week business trip. as usual, the whole family greeted him at the airport. meanwhile, at the duty free, we shopped like he was gone for 10 years! apparently, the duty free shop near NAIA stocked up fresh new items so we were fillin' up carts like there was no tomorrow. dad looked overwhelmed so i took the initiative & offered to charge half of the expenses to my card. a meager addition of $100 lang naman sa P50K kong utang....what the f??!

on the 25th, i went to saguijo w/ JP. we watched imago, sandwich, chillitees & helen. jon (of chillitees) was already there when we arrived. after a few chats, we entered the bar, checked out the little shop they have upstairs, ordered alcohol, & watched the band helen who already began.

outside & w/ jon

chillitees went on next. shempre memorize ko na songs nila! haha

next, imago. buzz was that zach & aia broke up. saw zach w/ a petite mestiza girl that night & aia's dating mark escueta of rivermaya (showbiz!). by the way, my gig partner engaged in what he concocted as a 'staredown' w/ aia the whole time imago was on stage. honey, quit bein' prettier than me or aia kasi! haha. cut that long purty hair! *:Pthen there was sandwich.
it all started when he wore a grey bonnet, a freckly checkered polo shirt, jeans, & a pair of high-cut rubber shoes...strummed & plucked his white fender like a pro...danced & pranced w/ the divine beats he made...& that coy smile...sigh...

ye sure...i have this admiration, although unrequited, for rock band guitarists, w/ the likes of...ya ya you got me...mong alcaraz...of sandwich/chicosci...teehee...so i got pathetic one night & asked for a picture w/ him...so what. chicosci's other player is currently my brother's bandmate so it's highly likely that we bump into each other at home during one of their practices? brother? pls? hahaha!

babies day out

june 23, 2008

sister plans.

my nephew RT was recently hospitalized for being unable to intake food, & if able to, vomited everything. we visited him at their house in cainta 2 days after he checked out. i brought my daughter ofcourse, my 2 nieces & my sister. RT had distinctly regained strength by that time that he was already able to catch up w/ my naughty rayna who kept running circles around the house.i played billiards at their verranda while these kids played cat & mouse (or cats & dogs). by 5pm, ian & sam planned to spend the rest of the day out. we went to the sta.lucia mall's worlds of fun.

playin' ball w/ RT
this is so cute!!!!

we played arcades, rode the bumper rides, the kids rode those musical mechanical cars etc. like them, we also had so much fun!

beauty in a couch

ever eyed for something you've wanted so bad but can't afford it?

i eyed for this couch since time immemorial (exag na naman!). seriously, i was gunning for this couch since i 1st laid steps inside the trinoma mall. i don't remember the name of the shop (did i really have to?). it's across the play area where i bring my toddler to, leaving her w/ her yaya while i do the shopping. whenever i pass by, i check out this couch & just sigh in frustration, because i could never ever afford such a beauty. i am frugal by nature. i have just began to spend more than a thousand for shoes (pero a diamond in the rough ang dating dapat ng shoes na yun!). i would alot more budget than the regular, but only WHEN the stuff i'll be buying is necessary OR WHEN it's for my daughter. the couch was P6K.

we went to trinoma a few weeks ago, placed my daughter at the play area & by chance went inside the shop across it. a whopping placard stating 50% OFF was upon the couch!! weeepeee! i did not have second thoughts! i snagged it & brought it home.

here's my daughter on it. such a lovely addition to my groovy room ya?

cynthia @ conspiracy

june 21, 2008, same night

after i sent my daughter, who fell asleep from the long journey, & the rest home, i invited my sister, her bf & my nieces to watch cynthia alexander at the conspiracy bar near home. i was sick that day actually, but that did not hamper me from enjoying of what was left of the evening. i already had 2 bottles of sml at nanay's birthday so why the heck not extend the day for a couple more while watching my favorite local female alternative guitarist & singer. june 21st choked my day up. i had the invite from the coffee break island ska band, my brother's gig somewhere, my lola's birthday, & this one at conspiracy. i obviously decided to go the last 2.

it was my 3rd only at the conspiracy bar. the first was an impulsive visit, irregardless of who played. an rj jimenez night, just to see something w/ JP. the second was like a blast from the past. another impulsive decision to seek refuge in the night there (hehe, exag!), w/ my friend alex. fortunate for us, color it red was the guest band. it was nostalgic, arousing my unwavering love for '90s local rock scenes. cooky played a bunch of songs from her new albums, albums i have not added in my collection, & a very few from the 1st album which i sang along. the bar space is pretty small so the atmosphere there is very intimate. the band is situated on just a foot high platform. since myself & alex were just seated upfront, cooky would randomly chat & tease us while up on stage & while she sipped her 'grandma' (grand matador) at every end of a song. teased because we only knew songs from her 1st album. by the end of the night, the only band member who remained sober, bassist bopit, whom as well is one of the original members of color it red, sat & chatted w/ us for another hour. pictures? gone w/ the wind..err..gone w/ my phone's memory chip.

at cynthia's gig, i still recognized 98% of the songs she played & sang along. cynthia noticed how i engaged i was with her pieces she asked me to write the line up . too bad coz i only know the songs but never had memorized the titles..

awesome shots below:

w/ bayang barrios
coolest pic ever. w/ my nieces. they called this shot the 'new generation'
& myself w/ cynthia

nanay's 80th birthday

june 21, 2008

my mother's mother's 80th birthday.

i had work in the morning. was supposed to go to makati's handlebar for a ska night w/ a friend. my mom brought along my daughter & niece to cubao where my 'nanay' (grandma) lives to celebrate her 80th birthday. they needed a ride home so i went there instead after shift.

when i got there round 8pm, the place was jump packed w/ people, half i only recognize by face & the other half, my relatives. my daughter greeted me excitingly with her usual cute wide smile & tight hug, smooches & the adorable 'love you' in the end.

being the last to arrive, almost all the food were already packed-to-go by my mom & others. i was able to sample a li'l of the 'papaitan' & 'pansit' only. beer was already served so i was already drinking alcohol while havin' dinner.

after a couple of bottles, i started grabbing the microphone every now & then from our elders who were busy on the videoke. (didn't i just mention before that i love to sing?). we went home before 10pm.

my nanay; who gave my baby a toy gun??

w/ my cousin & uncle; w/ my daughter

cousins; mom, sam, ian & trish

w/ sam & ian outside; my daughter w/ her yaya

my sister & myself lived at nanay's house while attending grade school & high school.

nanay took care of us like her own children. she cooked breakfast for us, washed & pressed our uniforms, heated the water for our baths every 4am in the morning, waited for us at the gate after school.. etc. we only go home to fairvew, our current address, during weekends. under her care, we learned to stretch our allowances, conserve the resources we had (since we couldn't always run to mommy & daddy those times), save money, be self-reliant & focused.

our lolo was stricter than nanay. lolo often scolded us whenever we played new wave or rock music on our radio or played guitar or used the phone longer than 10 minutes. he got more furious when we clattered around the house whenever he played his favorite old songs on vinyl records. one of them was the song 'unchained melody' which he played over & over again. i miss my grumpy lolo.... my lolo passed away 3 years ago from a heart attack. he was 76.

it was hard to adjust at first because we were, i admit, spoiled by our parents. i remember crying everyday after school, missing my folks. what our parents do to payback the days we weren't home was that they made sure they took us out every weekend & bought us at shoemart anything we wanted, literally anything. we moved out to live w/ our parents again before college.

this is for you nanay. i love you!

friday the 13th at chili's

june 13, 2008, friday

this email came in from my boss days prior:

Subject: Night out on Friday

Everyone,

Along with the Sportsfest committee we would like to invite everyone to Chili’s Greenbelt for late dinner/drinks on Friday the 13th starting at 1030pm. This is to thank everyone for their efforts on organizing both the successful Sportsfest and the Charity events. Better halves are invited.

----

complimentary overpriced & overrated food & drinks! awesome!..but i, also 3 more of my other staffs who also got the invite, had really early duty the next morning....so we went straight to chili's after we clocked out at 8pm. it was a party! we ordered everything our tummies desired (or anything we couldn't possibly afford hehe). that chocolate volcano cake melted our hearts! superbly yum!

by 10pm, brigs & allan arrived. i ordered myself a 'kamikazee' whilst the whole world watched. dang these people! no mood for cocktail on a friday??

anyhow, after 11pm, our brit boss arrived w/ the rest of our office mates. as the table filled w/ the freshmen, we, w/ april, shiela & brigs, exited... then they had beer. geeeez... *:)

what do i mean to you?

What Genna Means

You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life. You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone. Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

another family affair

june 15, 2008

a post birthday celebration for my mom & for father's day.

i felt generous again, i gave my family a treat. as a gift for my mom & dad, we went swimming to grotto vista. yes, again. our family seemed to have developed the comfort of spending affairs there rather than somewhere else. we've always laid down options, like at that time, we were choosing between club manila east & there. obviously we chose the latter, as always.

i've been itching last summer to bring my folks & my kid to the beach but knowing my father, who's very impatient on long drives, it never materialized. up to now i am wishing that i could bring all my family to boracay. next summer, hopefully...

we went on a sunday, so there was no night swimming. we got there past lunch & the resort was to close by 6pm. while my sister & her bf aj grilled the 'liempo', 'tilapia' & 'pusit', the rest of us already dipped in the pool. my nephew tylord already developed his love for the waters. he was so brave! however, i had to cuddle rayne while in the pool or else she would cry hysterically. it was ironic though, she loved to play in the water when she takes her bath. she would dip herself entirely inside the water drum, which i allow for less than 10 mins only, after soaping & shampooing. well, tylord had been in the waters several times this summer so i might have to bring rayna to the pools a little more often too. i want her to take swimming lessons when she turns 5.

after an hour, we had lunch then back to the pools until 5pm.