SWEET CATASTROPHE

landing london

2009-11-10T02:16:00.011+08:00

august 9-23, 2009

the office sent me abroad for the 3rd time and this time, i was sent, together w/ 2 of my colleagues, to two countries in the UK, England & Wales. in fact, we only learned later, through our british boss, that we actually hopped from one country to another hehe.

we flew etihad to abu dhabi for 8 hours then abu dhabi to london for about 14-more exhausting hours.

my etihad breakfast; not bad, even on coach, there's tv for each passengers which contained dozens of new movies, tv series & music

arriving at abu dhabi, wondering how the weather was outside

ofcourse i looked for the first smoking room i can find. that's their smoking room poster, it was accurately a smokeless-smoking room i tell 'ya!. abu dhabi's airport terminal was impressive, internet as well was efficiently fast & available in every corner, we facebook-ed while we waited for our connecting flight to london *:)

my mother's uncle, uncle franco, greeted us at the heathrow airport; mama mia theater poster at the background.

we had lunch at a restaurant inside the airport. take a look at these fabulous desserts, yummy!....but expensive (when converted to peso that is)!

at the avis terminal near the airport to pick up our prepaid rental car; right-hand driving through london

above were my chaperones ahehe, cyril and vince (w/ cap)

our UK offices are located in cardiff, wales. including our miscalculated routes, road mishaps etc, it took us a total of 6 hours to get to land of the welsh. next, post, Wales!

baby shower

2009-09-04T11:18:00.004+08:00

july 25, 2009
makati prime towers

friends & workmates threw a surprise baby shower for abcd. abcd's been one of my staffs since the last office team reshuffle. everybody chipped in for the food & drinks & shiela, abcd's buddy in my team, bought tokens for the baby shower game prizes.
and just recently, another colleague is pregnant yay! another baby & baby shower in the making! goodluck in motherhood abcd & khaye! it's fairly easy, after giving birth that is *:)

shake's 1st birthday

2009-09-04T08:52:00.008+08:00

july 17, 2009

kumareng irish threw her second child an extravagant birthday party at the pandan restaurant in tandang sora. there were too many freebies that the standard one-lootbag-per-kid easily became one-big-loot-box-per-kid hehehe.

there were the jimini pizza & thumbs up food carts which earlier in the program were subsidizing by only serving those who had stubs (irish gave 1 stub per cart per child). later after the main course, each cart had a hard time emptying their carts for most were already full from the food served buffet-style.

aside from the limitless food & give-aways, there were also face tattoos, glitter tattoos, hair spray & hair fix which my daughter, nieces & us adults equally got a hang of.

the parents & shake; my unica hija after her face paint session

happy birthday song; w/ shake

rayna & sway (irish' 1st daughter); sam, jared & ian

my mom

the best things in life are free

2009-08-02T04:32:00.007+08:00

in lieu of my company's budget cuts, our boss had raffled off a number of nifty rewards per team. my team got the shangrila gc which i already posted here & i for myself who i reiterate is one lucky b@stard!hehehe, got a complimentary overnight stay at the crowne plaza hotel for two yeba!!!

i brought my family, ofcourse.

a room w/ a view

lunch at nearby burgoo robinsons galleria

in the room before going to the hotel's pool

the hotel's pool for ourselves

bath tubbing

my little schoolgirl

2009-08-02T04:24:00.007+08:00

my 3yo started nursery last june in the school adjacent to our house. we needed a steady learning venue for our child as both us parents work & consume most of the hours our daughter is awake in the office or on the road. there have been days when she's too lazy to get up & go to school & hyper days (thanks to dora on most days hehe), when she's too fired up to start class.
here's my li'l school girl on her first day of school.

too bad parents are not allowed to peek & observe our children through class. my daughter would just come home w/ her hands stamped w/ stars which i presume meant she's doing wonderful in school. we're looking forward to transfer her to a 'real' school for the kindergarten level. two of my chief requirements are, that it needs to be a catholic school where a church is nearby & that travel time is at a minimum. our best option for now is the holy spirit school in BF which i've heard promising feedback from a friend who enrolled her daughters there.

With what price we pay for the glory of motherhood. ~Isadora Duncan

2009-07-18T14:22:00.009+08:00

june 12, 2009

my mother had one of her grandest birthday at home yet again. it was also a combined birthday celebration of two other mothers in my family, my grandmother & my sister. the videoke had been setup since morning so we were awoken by the blaring music & cousins, helpers, cooks, singing their hearts out. the bounteous food mom prepared could feed everyone in our neighborhood & limitless wine was served in the late evening w/c resulted to tipsy & silly guests (including us hehe) w/c gradually sprung random whiners...este, 'songers', who hid their talents too long (w/c i wished they just kept hidden ahehee).

icecream for everyone!

kids in the family...who left my room in complete clutter; my grandmother, mom's mom & the lechon

from ian & sam & ty

sis, mayi & baby jared; mom's friendly neighbors

mayi & baby jared; mom on the videoke

my mom & me!; ballroom dancing ahehe

friends

my daughter

sam, ian & tylord

happy birthday mommy, ate anna & nanay. i love you all!

breakfast at the shangrila

2009-06-17T10:42:00.003+08:00

may 20 2009,
shangrila hotel, makati

so my team won a P10k food & accomodation gift certificate to the shangrila hotel courtesy of our company. i did mention in my twitter that i too won an overnight stay at the crowne plaza hotel for two after the shangrila raffle! i am one lucky b@$t@rd!

the old-er men in my team (ahehe) decided to use it for breakfast (kill joys, ehehe). after an exhausting night shift & empty bellies, we sped to nearby shangrila & drooled over the plethora of food from eggs to danishes spread in the buffet, inviting us for a taste at every corner...& that's only for breakfast!! for two hours we all felt very high-class w/ appetites absolutely satisfied!!haha

my 1st plate: eggs benedict, bacon, waffles, sausage & meatloaf, an olive, tuna, hash brown. maximum pleasure!

fiesta!

2009-06-17T09:18:00.006+08:00

may 10, 2009
nueva ecija

the delos reyes clan (rye's family) all packed up & left manila for a couple days to celebrate their province's fiesta, mother's day & the birthday of rye's mother.

the reunion wouldn't be complete w/o the 3 of us so we HAD to be there too..or else..??

my own mother was utterly excited she nagged me for days to ensure we were coming over & even coerced us to use our 'new' car as it'll be the first time we'll be stretching the car's mileage & testing how reliable & cost-worthy our car was. we pushed through even though rye was reluctant to go to the province days before because of the bad weather.

so we drove to the province on the 10th. rye's family was already eager to see our daughter rayna that they messaged us non-stop in the morning wanting to hear news on our whereabouts. we arrived before noon & the sharp inviting smell of succulent food being cooked at the kitchen already starved us to death. in half an hour, the food was laid down the table. our rayna immediately went swimming w/ her cousins in their inflatable pool. my daughter wasn't obviously ready for the swim her mommy didn't bring her her swim wear so she jumped in the pool w/ just her panties hehe.

our mothers, w/ rye at the back; cousins

my darlings

rye got bored an hour after eating so we left after staying for only 4 hours! our drive to & from the province was longer!

anyhoo, on our way home (rye's mom joined us), rye decided to treat our mothers to max's for early dinner.

mickey shades

2009-06-17T09:11:00.002+08:00

may 2, 2009

i just gotta share this. my girl's super cute clad in her mickey mouse shades!

isn't she a darling? photos taken at TOSH on a Saturday afternoon

february to may 2009 movies

2009-05-31T15:54:00.007+08:00

here's a collection of few of the movies i can recall that i saw this year.

for kids. i just watched this because blake lively's one of the casts. i got fond of the gossip girl tv series a few months back. surprisingly, she didn't go sexy nor got mushy w/ any male character in this movie, opposite to her gossip girl character.
watched w/ rye at the big screen. brought chills down my spine during the plane & train crash scenes

just saw this yesterday in dvd. nice to still see jason biggs' doing good comedy. hilarious!

on dvd. i think this is dakota fanning's first movie as a teener & i'd question her on why she even took this project. naahhh, this movie is dragging & tasteless.

i'll watch this over & over again. nice to see tasteful history remakes in the big screen

saw this w/ rye & our daughter on the big screen. eehh, it's a-ok

w/ rye & our daughter on the big screen too. i slept through half the movie ehehe

w/ an asian taste. depressing in the end. clint had to die to make a point. *:)

saw this in dvd after we saw 'angels & demons'
w/ rye at the movies. had a more fast-paced story compared to da vinci code. i did observe notable similarities with the characters on both films:

assassin: da vinci code- silas; angels & demons - assassin (no name)

antagonist: da vinci code - sir leigh teabing; angels & demons - carmelengo

tom's movie partners were lady actors: da vinci - agent sophie; angels & demons - vittoria

what do you think?

an adventure-filled film w/ an element of oddity kids & adults will appreciate

doubtless - this is the best tasting corned beef eva!

2009-05-31T15:00:00.003+08:00

i just had to, had to share my sheer delight of discovering the canned corned beef brand 'palm'. i had savoured & got extensively satisfied w/ 3 of its available flavors: garlic, onion & barbecue. i believe they got chilli mixes as well. the bbq flavor's pure heaven! i actually just had a palm bbq corned beef late lunch! yummy!!! it is genuinely incomparable to purefood's corned beef which, in my opinion, is the only competitive brand for this product in the country.

palm corned beef is already out & available in most grocery stores. cost: P130

classmates

2009-05-31T13:39:00.004+08:00

april 31, 2009
seafood island, eastwood city

after 12 work hours, khaye's wedding reception, pier one & dolce w/ officemates, i caught up w/ some schoolmates at the eastwood city. earlier that week, rhina, my ex-bff/ex-neighbor/ex-classmate, sent me a message that mau has invited everybody for a get-together. maureen who we fondly call mau, migrated to the US when we graduated elementary & that night would be the first time we'll be seeing each other again. rhina txt'd me late evening while i was still at dolce w/ my officemates that the get-together started late & i could still catch up with them even if i arrive after midnight. i had to pick up rye at eastwood anyways, who was out drinking w/ colleagues as well, so i decided to still show up despite being a li'l sluggish already & extremely sleepy from the day's activities.

w/ mau, harven & gladys

w/ maureen after 20 years

after a few minutes of 'kamustahan', & mau amused w/ my long eyelashes, asked twice if they were real hahaha, they all craved for coffee & transferred to starbucks but i didn't join them anymore. that was 3am on my watch already so i preferred my bed over coffee. the day eventually had to end anyways.

mau also did not forget to give me a couple of gifts (thanks dear!).

the wedding after

2009-05-31T12:34:00.004+08:00

april 30, 2009
pier one/dolce

the kids (wehehe) wanted not to waste the remaining hours from khaye's wedding day & planned for a night-out next. 'twas a good call since myself & my team were super 'bitin' from the wedding.

we fared to timog's pier 1, ordered a bucket of gilbey's premium strength alcopops for the ladies & a bucket of sml for the boys. it was noticeable that the occasion had become utterly dull in the succeeding minutes so i invited them to dolce which was just a block away. the kids were so excited we marched to the club after just 2 buckets of beers.

at pier one

dolce

i was astonished to see that everyone amply enjoyed the evening. i had no regrets for bringing them to dolce for i had then learned that these people love to dance!

now i ponder if i'll expect an equivalent reaction from everyone if i brought them to a rock gig instead. i don't think so. *:P

wedded bliss

2009-05-31T11:20:00.005+08:00

april 30, 2009
the oasis

my colleague & good friend khaye got married! too bad i was on shift & did not witness the vows. my team was able to follow in the evening, went straight to the oasis for the reception & still arrived too late. the newly weds were already wrapping up their wedding day & guests were already leaving.

a couple of quips:

me (when i bumped into our boss as he left): at least we arrived on time for the wedding reception's conclusion!

khaye: oh well, i'll schedule my next wedding on your day off!

hahaha

the busy bride was still able to join us for a couple of photo shoots.

this couple won't need luck as they obviously are the perfect couple! they both have a good heart & a steady future.

by the way, out of us 10 ladies in our department, she's the first to tie the knot. who could be next???

fallen oppression @ the dayo bar

2009-05-14T04:28:00.007+08:00

april 17, 2009
it has been awhile since i've watched my brother play. bj just got back from australia thus able to pull a few strings & give fallen oppression a number of gig scheds.
we went to the dayo bar, w/ alex, to see them again.

compadres

unsure if fallen oppression will go through hibernation once again for bj's off w/ slapshock for a 6 month world tour. i bet they're looking out for a temp guitar player. well, goodluck bj & bro!

Easter Wonderland at Eastwood City

2009-05-07T14:50:00.007+08:00

april 12, 2009
eastwood city, libis

brought the kids to eastwood for a fun & adventure-filled easter sunday. eastwood city came up w/ an easter wonderland setup in lieu of the traditional easter egg hunt. 5 'worlds' were assembled, scattered w/in eastwood. there were the Main Wonderland, the Animal Kingdom, the Empire of the Inflatables, the Game Zone, and the World of Circus and Magic. Each section hosted various activities, booths, and play areas, designed and organized according to its theme.

we came a little bit late in the afternoon so we didn't arrive in time for the parade, raffle, egg painting & a handful of other magical performances. the kids however, were still able to have a ball at the Animal Kingdom to pet assorted animals, got their hair groomed at the kid's salon, face-painted, watched magic, played games at the arcade & discovered amazing inventions in display. my kid particularly loved the huge inflatables & the heaps of plastic eggs w/ a candy surprise inside which the event holders gave away.

at the animal kingdom

before & after shots at the kid's salon

the characters; mom

at the PCCI (Philippine Canine Club) booth

face & body paint

my daughter

nik & rayne at the 'creativity' corner

the fair grounds closed down at 10pm & the kids were noticeably 'bitin'. my mom kept nagging that we if we left home hours earlier, we could've covered the entire event. oh well, there's still a next time *:)

we went home after dinner at pizza hut.

mike's a graduate!

2009-04-30T11:32:00.005+08:00

april 7, 2009
cabalen, trinoma mall

my cousin graduated w/ a diploma on physical therapy at UST last month. the pleased parents treat the whole family at a buffet feast at the cabalen restaurant. her gf rhiann flew from macau a few days earlier to be at my cousin's side to complement the celebration. sweet!

mike & rhee

badeth w/ jared; tita ebeth (mike's mom) & tita erly

ate anna & aj; myself & our lola

nik & trish; mom, rayne & jolo

¡felicidades primo!

a rhetoric

2009-04-21T12:35:00.008+08:00

so how have i been? apart from the weekly/monthly rendezvous that you see in my blogposts? you should know, photos are my excuse for effortlessly unloading my memory of so & so epsiodes in my not-so eventful existence on earth & tell the story. there are several other unphotographed events in between those posts that are worth writing about but i have a tendency to forget dates, ergo, skipping tales. rye brought me a belle de jour 2009 planner which i have committed to scribble on past & future events in my life but've been too preoccupied recently (or utterly lethargic whichever comes first ahehe) thus unintentionally being forgetful when i am about to write about what i was supposed to write already.

i've always been a sucker for journals ever since high school. i have a knack in documenting everything worth remembering. but beware for it has its cons too. the pros are quite obvious & one of its cons made me regret owning one. i ran away from home back in college to support a fraternity brother outside manila, who was then my boyfriend, out of forced responsibility (i am a loyal member of the same org.). my parents worried, they rummaged through my personal stuff & soon enough got a hold of my then-called diary which i rashly placed in a closet my sister & myself shared & neglected to bring along. they read everything they should not have. stuff about my privy musings, stuffs that plagued my thoughts, secrets that should've just stayed in my own foolish head. sigh.

anyhoo, here are a few updates & thoughts (spontaneously typed, in no particular order ehehe):

gadgets & gizmos - i am feeling a bit woozy as i write this because of insufficient sleep. it was my tulog-off yesterday (day off from a graveyard shift) but i really did not sleep. rye & myself invested on our most expensive conjugal (but we're not married, i just like the word hihi) property. we bought ourselves a brand new car!!! yebah!!! we just relied on tough luck when we posted our old car in cyber buy & sell pages which surprisingly garnered several inquiries & got effortlessly sold the next day! we dedicated the next few days on scouting for a new car. 2 days ago we made a fixed decision which one to get. the following day, we got what we wanted! we will be sharing the herculean task of paying the monthly car loan expenses for the next 5 years. my father too is going to replace his company car w/ the new honda city, one i was initially eyeing for. soon there'll be 4 black cars parked in our garage. our car, dad's, my brother's & my cousin's hehe.

home improvement - we also replaced our old crabby room air conditioner last month which makes our room all nippy even on a summer afternoon. that drew a border line w/ regards to our house's electric bills. i was only responsible for the phone & internet bills but when that new aircon got installed, it was time rye & i shouldered our own electrical consumption.

occasions - yesterday was also my nephew's 2nd month 'birthday'. my sister prepared carbonara & tacos yum! looking forward to 9 more months of delicious pasta!

- took a vacation leave for a couple of days dedicated to my partner's birthday. on april 13th, rye's birthday, he devoted his day to his daughter & partner (moi, whoelse?). we had lunch at italianni's, watched 'monsters vs. aliens' in the afternoon, bought him spalding sneakers as my gift & visited his family at his old place in the evening. we wrapped up the day w/ a bottle of san mig light each. the following day, we fetched his mother & sibling for a yellow cab treat, went to sm for some home (room actually) improvement shopping & brought home a kfc chicken bucket treat for everyone at home . by wednesday (ahem, ang haba ng birthday neto a! hehe), he brought us to bigoli for early dinner, sent our daughter home & spent the rest of the night w/ other friends at the freska & burby's bars. i ordered oysters, a pinacolada, a jack-coke combo & a mojito.

shopping - twice last month, i brought my nieces to greenhills for shopping splurges & expensive dinners. if i save enough money again, i will grant them whatever their tita can afford. our paltry savings for the next 3 months will be due to the 1st 3 most costly downpayments rye & i'll be throwing in for our new car. it'll nearly suck our atm's dry...we should be back in our feet after that.

pets - our puppy ebony died last feb, seemed inevitable. i had a duschand a year ago who suddenly died w/ similar symptoms. i believe it was called a parvo virus. when that duschand died, i lost interest in bringing home dogs. i couldn't dismiss the epidemic that's killing the canines in our neighborhood. cassy, ebony's mom, incredibly is still living & healthy. ebony, hope you're getting all the milk & fun you need in dog heaven!

tv series - so i succumbed into sleepless nights watching gossip girl & currently, house. i find house amusing despite my lack of understanding of hardcore medical lingo. dr. house's brutally honest demeanor is enough to keep me glued on the tv every night. i'm now on season 3.

cyberweb - facebook & twitter addiction. i still open my friendster account but i seldom do updates. facebook & twitter are relatively more fun.

i need to work so this rhetoric stops here. if i think of somethin' else, i'll post a part deux tomorrow.

a bachelorette party

2009-04-12T06:07:00.013+08:00

march 28, 2009
sommerset place, makati

my dear friend/officemate khaye has marked april 30th for her wedding.

the girls at work altogether brewed a surprise bridal shower slash bachelorette party for her, a month before she ties the knot.

a suite at the sommerset place was rented overnight. the close proximity of the hotel to our office was an intention of the organizers so none of the ladies would make an excuse not to be present.

i myself came from work, worked early the next day too which sucked coz i had to leave early.

when we got there, w/ 3 other colleagues, the bachelorette was all weepy & thankful. she hugged everyone who entered the suite.

the food was already served when the last of us arrived. there was sugpo (prawns), max's chicken, a very tasty carbonara (c/o abcd), a variety of sumptuous fruits & desserts & a round jumbo plate of finger foods. the drinks, a bottle of tequila, 2 bottles of champagne & vodka ice alcopops.

for the entertainment, dick-shaped balloons & boxes of condoms were strewn across the floor hahaha! we popped confetti's, smoked flavored tobacco from a bong c/o lea & took sleazy pictures of the bachelorette all night hahaha!!

that's khaye beside me at the left photo

(left photo) from left to right: cel, khaye (our pretty bachelorette), gigi (standing), shiela, lea, tisha, jenny (about to suck the bottle), myself & brigs (shielding herself)

& ofcourse there was the midnight delight: the male stripper who stripped off his soul to 2 virgins, 2 mothers & 7 others who screamed mightily like virgins while the nudity, 'fencing' & atrocity ensued. segments of obscenity from khaye's party will remain stored in my laptop & are never to be exposed here for my blog is rated GP hihi!

dinner at the park

2009-04-05T17:52:00.006+08:00

march 22, 2009
q.c circle

was supposed to spend time w/ the family at the echo park but the gates were closed when we got there at 5pm so we spent the day at the q.c. memorial circle instead. my father, after his hospitalization for near-stroke ailments, was very eager to exercise so he planned to bring the whole family to a nearby park for a few hours of walking. yeah, that was his exercise.

my daughter & her yaya; rayna & jared

trish & rayne; dad & nik

mom

we went to max's for dinner after watching a brief performance of a professional ballet group, which was excellent & surprisingly inspired my daughter! so cute when she started imitating the dancers!. i'll definitely enroll her in ballet class next summer. i'm also excited for my daughter for she'll start schooling this june. she's been bugging me about going school daily! *:)

baby jared's 1st month

2009-04-05T17:24:00.005+08:00

march 20, 2009

i had work when my sister celebrated her new son's 1st month out of her womb. i didn't have enough pictures to post except the one below which my sister sent to my phone. it has been a family tradition, of which i religiously observed w/ my daughter rayne, the celebration of our children's existence every month, serving noodles of any type & a cake, surrounded by the whole family.

mr. bean cake w/ sleeping baby jared

a few weeks after, my sister brought my nephew to the hospital as baby jared was having diarrhea & could positively be dehydrated. he was confined the same day. he's still at the hospital as of today, showing small signs of progress.

jared w/ his sis nik

hopefully he gets better in a couple of days & comes home. we miss him so much!

i want to be a supermodel

2009-03-28T16:36:00.007+08:00

rye took this picture of our daughter when she went up a mock catwalk at the human clothing store in trinoma.

still wore diapers here but ain't she a cutie!

several days later. this time posing spontaneously at a levi's store

that nasty ear wax

2009-03-27T03:02:00.007+08:00

& i thought my parenting skills (can i call it a skill? *:P), were already impeccable. not until i cleaned my daughters ears under a light & saw impacted ear wax on both her ear tunnels. it must've stacked up as the cotton buds i used to clean her ears twice a week pushed the ear wax deeper her ear canals, instead of supposedly removing them. *:(
i took her to an ear doctor the next day.

while waiting for the doctor

the doctor prescribed her for aural irrigation after a week. he advised me to put 2 drops of baby oil in both ears every night until the impacted wax softens making it easier for the doctor to remove & completely painless for my baby daughter.

after a week, we came back.

my baby w/ the ear doctor after the aural irrigation procedure like nothing happened

i'm so proud of my daughter as she never hesitated to sit on the patient's chair since her first visit. she just quietly & casually sat & was very obedient to the doctor's orders. she's no cry baby except when she sees her pediatrician prepare the needle for her quarterly vaccines. in the meantime, the impacted ear wax has been removed & i now switched adult cotton buds to the one specifically made for toddlers' tiny ears.

i got more obsessive w/ her safety after her 'black-eye' incident. up to now, the skin surrounding her left eye is still darker compared to her right eye. i hope it clears soon.

5 year awardee

2009-03-27T01:24:00.004+08:00

march 6, 2009
bagaberde bar, roxas

our company held a service award program for 5-year service celebrants like myself at the bagaberde bar, the same venue where we held the company-wide christmas party 2007.

it would sadly be the last recognition awarding for our company as cost-cutting of expenses has been reinforced in many foreign or outsourced companies including ours, gravely impacted by the economic meltdown in the states.

we in our department are very lucky to have maintained & retained job security in the company compared to the thousands of ill-fated callcenter agents that were laid-off.

the thropy came w/ a P2000 electronic appliance GC, a simple yet grand token that we may not be able to taste for a couple of years or more until the recession in the states comes to an end.

my co-awardees obet & april

all 5 years spent w/ blood, sweat & tears. the 5 year technical department awardees

the best in service was awarded afterwards.

the best of the best in technology service
drinking & dining w/ the bosses

after the recognition dinner, awarding & a toast to all who have serviced w/ loyalty for our company, the program came to a close. a few of us gathered at pier one, located beside bagaberde, to reminisce the past 5 years as colleagues, gossip & bond. the people in the below picture are a few of the infonxx/kgb pioneers.

lito, april, mysel & edward. gigi (the best service desk awardee) joined us briefly & left before we had this picture taken

my tube

2009-03-20T14:39:00.003+08:00

my old phone issued at work got totally wrecked so i bought a new one (rye does the payment monthly). i favor flip-top phones but when rye & myself caught the nokia 5800 express music in display at a nokia center in trinoma, i totally gunned for it & didn't waste time looking at other brands.

who wouldn't love these features:
- w/ resistive touchscreen
- cheap for an i-touch phone
- wifi connection
- 8G external memory
- plays videos/movies in mp4 format
- has an auto-rotate feature when sensor is on
- has stereo speakers for my mp3/radio playtime
- 3.2 megapixel camera
- etc etc etc

ebony & ivory

2009-03-13T10:09:00.002+08:00

i should've named our persian cat whisky ivory. who would've guessed our dog cassey would give birth to ebony...sayang *:)

dad's 57th birthday on a hospital bed

2009-03-12T15:10:00.004+08:00

i was at work when my father sent me a couple of sms'. one following up with the supply of stresstab pills i buy for him monthly & the other, casually mentioning that his nose bled. unusual but we all suspected the very humid weather that noon. late afternoon, still at work, my mom, in her usual panic mode, sent me a message that dad's nose bleeds weren't coming to a stop & they had to rush him to the hospital. i clocked out 7pm, restless & anxious to see my dad. while driving to the hospital, i called my parents up& told me to go home instead as there were no private rooms available yet & had to put up w/ the cramped space at the emergency room, plus, the hospital would not allow more than one visitors there so i just went home. the next day, i was still able to go to work in the morning but made a promise to my parents that they can text me anytime if they needed me there. come 10am, my mom was again in panic-mode. my dad's nose bleeds were getting worse, she was terrified, she wanted one of her kids to go there quickly. my sis just gave birth & couldn't leave her newborn son & my brother was at work. that leaves myself so i called my boss right away & told her that i needed to leave work immediately.

i went home & picked up my daughter. my brother was able to leave work early too & called his wife sam. we all went together to the hospital.

my dad's BP was a whopping 180/110 when we got there. the blood vessels inside his nose erupted due to his very high blood pressure causing my dad to bleed through his nose, as very well-explained by my dad's doctor. his doctor added how lucky he was that he got away from having a major stroke.

my daughter immediately climbed up my dad's bedside when we arrived

february 26,2009
dad's birthday

it turned out he was not too lucky as he wasn't sent home on his birthday. his bp did not stabilize until his 5th day at the hospital.

we bought him a mango cake from cake-2-go (less sugar, less sweet) & bought take-outs from luk-foo. sam's parents filled dad's ref w/ fresh fruits.

february 27,2009

the next day.

trisha & my kid at the figaro coffee shop infront of the hospital; my baby took my dad's temperature (over his shirt hehe) every minute

my dad's well now. we all have been monitoring what he eats. we've successfully encouraged him to eat lesser fatty foods. i've been buying him cereals, non-fat dairy milk & garlic medicines.

2 things he couldn't resist taking off his lifestyle is the smoking & drinking...but now he only drinks red wine...

a cut & art at trinoma

2009-03-12T12:41:00.006+08:00

february 20, 2009

we were supposed to visit my sister who just gave birth at the children's hospital but we were not allowed to see either my sister & my nephew yet so we all went to the trinoma mall while we waited for the new mother & baby to get settled in their private room.

i sent my daughter to the cuts-for-tots parlor for a bang trim

we stopped by landmark since the kids wanted to make art...

...while i watched

we had dinner at the food court & bought a few groceries.

by 9pm we were done & drove back to the hospital, very eager to catch a glimpse of our newborn.

baby jared sulpico

2009-03-12T12:19:00.003+08:00

february 20, 2009

i mentioned on previous posts that my sister was pregnant. she gave birth to her 3rd child & first son on feb 20th. oh i am envious! i want a son as well & our daughter has been noticeably longing for a sibling? calling ryan... hehehe

up fair amp11fied

2009-02-22T04:12:00.006+08:00

february 11, 2009
up diliman
the up fair never gets old, neither do i...or do i?... sigh...
i joined my brother, plus my friend alex, to accompany & see my brother's childhood friend bjorn play for slapshock again.

we entered through the backstage as usual & eventually mixed w/ the crowd. it was past midnight when we arrived so all the established rock bands were already in the line up; that includes the band we chaperon(ed), slapshock. the rest were parokya ni edgar, kamikazee, cheese, chicosi, urbandub & moonstar 88.
alex & myself pigged out at the tapsilugan stalls w/ meat loaf + sunny side up egg + fried garlic rice & alex w/ tokwa't (tofu) baboy (pig meat) & lugaw (porridge). prior to settling at that tapsilugan, we shared a big slice of an all-meat flavor yellow cab pizza.

there were not too many tiangge stalls anymore as we noticed so after pigging out, we just returned to the backstage.

myself & alex were saying to each other every hour: "uwi na tayo (let's go home), i feel too old for this already!" hahaha

but ofcourse we ended up waiting for chicosi to finish for my brother ian & ariel agreed to meet up for some drinks after the show.

the slap boy bjorn on guitars *:)

bored, so we just took pictures of ourselves

including the folks outside the backstage & myself staring at a blank wall ahehe

sunday market

2009-02-22T03:35:00.003+08:00

february 15, 2009
sunday market at the lung center

i wouldn't be able to appreciate this once-a-week extravaganza if i don't come from a night shift. i blogged months ago how mindless i was for several years where i constantly wondered while driving home on sundays, what the melee was & the traffic it was causing at the lung center (hospital). cars would pile up every early sunday mornings outside & inside the hospital. & now i know why!

i went with alex at makati's sunday market version here in qc at the lung center for my 2nd visit last sunday. i woke her up when i clocked out of work at 7am. got there 8am. we hardly found each other due to the thick crowd of buyers & persevering merchants. i noticed they extended the plant stalls & there were more who sold fashionable clothings, bags or shoes.

i bought skinless longganiza, garlic longganiza, boneless bangus (milkfish), green mangoes, lumpiang sariwa etc etc. alex stumbled upon the antique stalls & bought a few jewelry cases. she got for herself several bottles of carrot juice & 4 kilos of brown rice for her 'organic only' health regimen.

dolls dolls dolls!!!

2009-02-22T02:32:00.006+08:00

i am falling in love with these dolls. if only i have money to squander...oh well...

...this is good stuff i'm tellin' you! oh how i loathe being poor ehehe.

price range: 5,000 to 6,500 pesos each

and this is the winner!

all found at http://gothicvanitystore.multiply.com

january movies & games (2009) continuation

2009-02-14T20:37:00.004+08:00

rye & myself watched the underworld prequel, rise of the lycans. we didn't expect it to be that good. i still vividly recall the sequence from one of the original underwold chapters where the lycans leader lucian recollected the day the vampire king viktor condemned to death by sun his own beloved daughter sonja, lucian's secret lover.

the movie outlined the lycans struggle for freedom from the vampires who enslaved them, eventually triumphant, hence the title, rise of the lycans.

this prequel made me restlessly looking for the 2 underwold movies, which i couldn't find at home up to now. sigh...

i forgot to mention that one of my favorite video games is guitar hero. i had a taste of guitar hero's world tour version last new years on my next-door cousin's xbox, recently accessorised w/ a headset microphone & guitar. since what we have at home is a ps3, we're eyeing on getting the whole set for the ps3 console for ourselves & the kids this year.

the whole package...wow!

nik's 12!

2009-02-14T05:03:00.002+08:00

january 21, 2009
nik's birthday bash at the luk foo chinese restaurant, commonwealth branch.

nik's wish got granted...she definitely has an angel brooding over her (kuya benjo?).

the air at home was all dismal just a few days before her birthday. we had to rush her yet again to the hospital for abnormally coughing blood, & i mean alot of blood.

at the hospital, she coughed for 10-15 mins non-stop almost filling up a quarter of a small cup w/ blood. it was terrifying to witness.

diagnosis was that it's a side effect of the medicine she intakes to prevent her from having a major stroke again. the medicine diluted her blood more than it should have. the only solution was a blood transfusion. the day after the procedure, she was released on her birth day. what sheer joy for her as she cried almost hysterically when the doctor advised to admit her, because she absolutely craved for a festive birthday w/ her family & not inside her teeny tiny hospital cubicle.

everyone came, everyone she wished to celebrate with. mother-side, father-side relatives were complete...well my dad didn't join us, but that was expected of him...but nevertheless, it was a full house.

mother-side; father-side

at right, the very relieved mom who only wished the best for nik

my rayne w/ 2nd cousin sway. sway taught rayne how to pose. the right picture was her first attempt *:)

her 2nd & 3rd attempts

my brother ian & his brood &my cousins jolo & badeth; tylord & sam

pose attempts of rayne & sway# 4 & 5

the miracle birthday girl & her yummy cake

the celebrant after her tita laced her face w/ cake icing; w/ her mommy
myself w/ kumareng irish & new born daughter shake; nik w/ cousins & sister trisha

myself w/ my very preggy sis; myself w/ the 'survivor' nik

nik's family

cousins

we had the whole 2nd floor by ourselves which gave a fairly enormous space for her complete family & for the kids to run around after dinner.

by an angel or none, it definitely is her conviction to live. i love you nik! keep on fighting!!!

ruby's rocks

2009-02-09T12:01:00.003+08:00

i'm helping my friend ruby (aka alex) sell her one-of-a-kind goodies.
if you are interested to see more of her resplendent work of art, her multiply site is http://rubyrocks.multiply.com/
she accepts made-to-order requests as well.

her quality rocks (beads)

sold in single designs

watches, bangles, bracelets

vintage glasses

post-holiday starry starry city

2009-02-06T03:16:00.010+08:00

january 10, 2009
the whole family went to the star city after the holidays. we waited for holiday fever to wean down for a more subtle crowd at the star city. we won't be able to withstand the plethora of people (as seen on tv), not to mention the kids getting squashed!, if we did go there during the holidays.
picking january 10 was just perfect. the theme park was still fairly crowded, a max of 30mins to wait in line for a ride still was normal.
there are several new amusement rides & game booths & frankly, i think star city's growing more modern (& safer hopefully) every year which is cool.
after paying tickets for everybody, my daughter couldn't hold her excitement she grabbed every toy she saw at the shopping stalls & played for several minutes, probably unaware of what really was in store for her at the star city. when we went inside the main of the carnival, she got all the more delighted.

at a stuffed toy stall near the entrance; my mom & niece pat

ate anna, sam, nik & trish lined up for the snow white train ride; aj & nik

lined up for the octopus ride; tylord & rayne

w/ trish; nik

ian & sam after a horror ride; trish, ian & sam braved this swing ride

cousins

cousins at the peter pan ride

for a ride-all-you-can ticket pass, one can use about a minimum of 5 rides if you start late in the afternoon due to the long lines. it was perfectly fine since the kids got tired easily due to the walking & waiting. we got home after midnight.

my worlde part 2

2009-02-04T01:11:00.000+08:00

25 random things...

2009-02-04T00:56:00.005+08:00

i posted this at my facebook. wanna share it here too...so here i am *:)

(in no particular order)

25. i've always dreamt of having my own band. playin' guitars or doing vocals.
24. i played in a band once in a school after college
23. i joined a sorority back in college, now an alumni, still have strong connections w/ the elders & college residents
22. i am antsy to buy the nokia 5800 express music as soon as it becomes available!
21. i've been to singapore, hongkong & the united states
20. i got addicted to final fantasy X i played it over & over & over again on ps2!
19. i have a tattoo on my lower back, a cross, got it when i was a freshman at college
18. i want another tattoo, at my heel or near my ankle bone
17. i used to be the best counterstrike girl player at my old job's online gaming server
16. i don't drive like a girl
15. not txting back ticks me off big time
14. i made my grade school mates believe i saw the care bears in real life hahaha!
13. this is the day i met him so you'll see this number in my email address, pin codes etc..
12. i have 5 best friends..i wonder who wins if there'd be 'who's the bestest bestfriend?' challenge ehehe
11. i hate losing..not in sports though..i'd give that away haha
10. i rock at guitar hero
9. i'd rather eat galunggong w/ kamatis than any steaks from outback resto
8. i've fooled alot of men w/ my age. some would ask which school i go & most guessed i'm 23 years old. nice!
7. i don't like sharing my food haha
6. i love dogs! now i've grown to love our persian cat whisky
5. kabab w/ ox brain is the best!
4. men are ridiculously needy
3. i'll have curls this month
2. i need to stop smoking
1. my daughter is my battery...she keeps me goin' & goin' & goin'...

drunk on whisky

2009-01-30T06:14:00.004+08:00

the title must've caught your undivided attention...teehee...
i'd like to introduce you to our new family member whisky.

he's a year old pure white traditional persian cat whom i recently acquired from a very amiable stranger i met through the local buy & sell pages in the internet. he was desperately seeking for a buyer for whisky (he named him cloud; we changed it to whisky) for reasons like he has too many pets to begin with, his house is getting too crowded (he's selling reptiles, birds & dogs as well) & his other cat, a himalayan, is about to give birth.

whisky's the 2nd cat i checked out. almost bought the first if only wasn't the owner too honest to tell me that his cat is very aggressive towards male cats & has actually killed about 5 in the neighborhood. kamusta naman ang pagbenta mo iho diba? hehe...but i am glad he told me or else i have had buried a number of male cats at our backyard already right?? haha

seriously, rye & i had to think of our daughter. if rayne gets too excited & accidentally hurt the cat...i don't want to even write what happens next...so i had to scratch that & move forward & look for another.

then i found him.

i never knew how easy it was to care for a cat. he is litter trained so i got him his own litter box before i brought him home. i'd just scoop his dung & piss (molds w/ the litter & basically turns as hard as stone) from his litter box. he eats cat food & we bathe him once in 2 weeks since he doesn't get dirty at all. & that's it! way too easy! finally i found a pet that does not get on my mom's nerves hehe.

and my nieces instantly loved him.

ark avilon zoo

2009-01-29T04:38:00.012+08:00

january 18, 2009

rayne just turned 3yo & has grown to be extremely curious about her surroundings. in every conversation, & i mean any, she has become very inquisitive...always asks the question 'why?' & she'd intently listen to our reply...& guess what she'd say after? another 'why?'! & that would go on & on & on until she gets satisfied hahaha! i do the same thing to her too & she'd just answer 'because'! not fair hehehe.

last weekened, we brought our daughter to the mini-version of the montalban, rizal's avilon zoo at pasig (near tiendesitas). at this age, she can recognize & name most animals. when we got to the zoo, she quickly & excitedly pulled us & pointed at the animals as we approach them & named them one by one.

rayna had so much fun specially when she fed the rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs & gold fishes.

the parents had fun too!

feeding time at a makeshift barn

mommy & the owl

humongous turtles & the owl

some of the animals are not caged! guests can touch & interact w/ the animals

the ark avilon zoo is the ideal place to teach your toddlers how to care, feed & interact w/ animals. entrance cost: P200. not bad diba?

january movies & games (2009)

2009-01-29T02:50:00.004+08:00

i've been taking notes of every movie i've seen & every game i've started & finished.

to wrap up, this month, i have seen the following on dvd or the cinemas.

on dvd:

both comedies. only for adult viewers as they both have crude & sexual content all throughout, not to mention the vulgar language & nudity. on 'zack & miri..', be prepared to see private parts on several scenes hehe.

the hitcher: suspense/thriller. the lead actor gets sliced in half near the end of the movie eewww;

slumdog millionaire: award winning? nothing phenomenal. i did anticipate the indian group dance at the ending credits...interesting...

at the cinemas:

benjamin button: movie was lengthy but not boring;

bedtime stories: brought rayna with us, she loved it

the games i played:

ratchet & clank: finished;

ff 12: just had a taste at rye's cousin's ps2. i like!!

fall of man: half done, first person shooter games make me drowsy

prince or persia: i like! but had to trade it w/ 4 other games before i got to thoroughly enjoy it

she craved for cpk

2009-01-28T01:34:00.004+08:00

january 16, 2009

my staffs candidly formed the team name 'gennators', derived from my name plus the word janitors ahehe. i will not explain why ahaha!

for the 1st quarter team build for the year, we went out on the 16th for a 5k dinner at the california pizza kitchen at the glorietta mall. the resto was my barely 2 month pregnant staff abcd's preference which no one was able to argue with hehe (lakas ni abcd ah!). the original plan was to scan the bars at greenbelt, have dinner at one & get a few drinks. the idea in fact came from me when i mentioned to abcd how delicious the pasta i ate in cpk was with rye weeks earlier & i was trying frantically to recall the name of the pasta. she instantly craved for pasta & pizza & led the group to cpk glorietta ahehe. most of the guys did not thoroughly enjoy though.. well..what the heck..we still have 3 quarters for the year eh?

cpk has the most expensive alcohol so we only had a plain pizza & pasta dinner & went home after 10pm. our bill was a whopping 5K plus (wala pang alak yan a!), for 3 different pizza flavors, 2 pastas, 1 appetizer & juices for all. it was still fun nonetheless, fortunate to have comedians in my team to spice up every shift including that dinner. most of the members of my team are new so it was an excellent time to bring humor on the table so the newbies would get more comfortable w/ me & their team mates.

tokens from the big boss

2009-01-24T10:22:00.007+08:00

january 23, 2009

our brit boss was extremely pleased with the success of our department's xmas party last month he gave away gift certs as bonus to us major contributors. i for one was in charge of the entertainment & sound system. i was able to pull in juan pablo dream effortlessly who by the way was bathed with adoration by our big boss, which i'd like to reiterate, was my mission why i chose that band & their music in the first place.

here are a few of his gifts to us:

10 coupons of P200 discounts to the Spa
outback privilege card, a P500 gift card & a P500 discount card

as added bonus, our boss planned an outback dinner for the group, w/ him, using the gift cards he gave away & pay the excess.

khaye, the lead-off person of the xmas party, & myself marked the 23rd for the dinner. i was on the morning shift so i was available 7pm onwards. most of us went ahead to the outback restaurant at the glorietta mall & our boss & other bosses arrived later. we started dinner by 9pm.

the facade

i had the beef stroganoff fettuccine dinner plus my sangria which were firsts to my taste buds. the rest ordered the resto's specialty, steaks ofcourse. but prior to everything else, which resulted to not being able to finish my pasta, was the overload of starters. there were the famous bloomin' onions, the aussie cheesy fries (voted as the worst food in america, which unfortunately i only read later, due to its exuberant calorie content), kookabura wings (spicy!), & their very own spinach artichoke chips & dips (also spicy!). when our meals came, most of us were already full haha!

we all finished off w/ coffee & went home after midnight.

total bill for 12 people at outback? P14k in cash plus the gift cards. not cheap.

cat hunt!

2009-01-13T06:25:00.006+08:00

can't shake off this cat-craze episode i'm having!
you see, my nieces are having their birthdays this month & i thought of the perfect gift!

i've been a dog fanatic ever since but that has changed since my chow chow nala, my shih tzu chami & the recent dachshund i purchased all died either from street accidents or disease. i still am a canine devotee, i just couldn't get another one because imported lines are expensive! i got nala for almost 20k & she gave me constant headaches because of her perpetual skin issues. needless to say, maintaining one would eat all my time as no one else in the house shares that task w/ me, as always!

i assume turning to felines would be a tad easier. we've always had stray cats at home but we never took these cats inside. none of these cats are sick & we don't even give a rat's ass how they do or what they eat! they're noticeably healthy animals living at our backyard, unrequiring our attention, & they are still alive!

one time, nicole, my niece, brought home a stray kitten she caught at the hospital during one of her check-ups & brought her home. the kitten was amusingly sweet we treated her like a pet until one day she just disappeared after the new years! we all got disheartened by her loss & we truly miss her. that's when i began hunting for a new pet.

i'm bringing in a cat tomorrow as a present for my nieces! a 1 year old traditional persian pure-white cat. we'll call him whisky. the name: courtesy of rye. nice diba??

new years & after

2009-01-13T05:53:00.002+08:00

new years eve

after sending my still sick baby to sleep, i went out to our garage & joined the rest for new years dinner & drinks. there was still a quarter left of that cuervo tequila & served it for myself, my cousin & brother. rye took an off that eve (he was on duty christmas eve) & joined us after several hours playing metal gear on ps3. as the clock struck 12mn, i went to check on my daughter which was crying hysterically already due to the loud fireworks outside! i took her to our garage where everybody was & enjoyed watching the fireworks by our neighbors & nearby subdvisions. it rained harder after midnight so the noise from the fireworks died down shortly.

january 2, 2009

we went to our mother-side relatives' house at greenland, marikina for a reunion. my mom's uncle & auntie who are permanently residing in london visited for the holidays. they've been holding parties here & there & giving out tokens to everybody. pictures here:

first time for rayna to ride her new motorbike at the street

she looks like me doesn't she!

january 3, 2009

dad was supposed to bring us kids to the quezon city circle after the party at marikina but rayne's motorbike was suddenly inoperable after charging it's battery. i brought it to the toy kingdom at sm fairview the next morning for a quick repair (a wire got loose), went back home & prepared my daughter for a stroll at the park w/ my sister, nieces & yaya before late afternoon.

christmas 2008

2009-01-13T04:45:00.005+08:00

my poor baby daughter was sick all through out the holidays. her doctor did advise that i admit her to the hospital if she continues to not take her meds. giving her meds particularly took a toll on us especially my baby. she'd cry hysterically & vomit afterwards. she shed off alot of weight during th holidays when most of us were putting on christmas weight. gradually, through persistence, she took her meds. she recovered before new years but still with coughs & colds. she's now finally gaining the weight she lost.

in the meantime, we still had the typical/traditional 'de guzman' christmas eve celebration at home. here are some pics:

my sickly baby opening her gift/s; our christmas tree loaded w/ gifts for everybody

munchin' on watermelons, look how thin she got *:(; cousin jolo flashing my gift to him

preparing for noche buena; my baby w/ my cousin mico

dad & tito norbie watching a reply of the pacquiao fight on internet; nik lovin' her knee high osh kosh socks

tita ebeth holding our gifts for her; cousin mike flashing my gift to him

nanay (grandmother) opening our gifts for her; nanay giving out ampao (chinese envelopes w/ money inside) to her apo's (grandchildren).

mom & dad & their gifts

tito norbie & badeth & their gifts

cousin mico & the gifts i gave him; yaya who jumped for joy when she got these gifts i got for her

& the drinking sessions after served w/ vodka cruisers, san mig light, tequila & red wine

receiving on christmas day

2009-01-13T02:50:00.011+08:00

here are some of the awesome gifts myself & my rayna got this christmas. thanks to everyone who remembered! i'm not used to getting gifts anymore since i practically became an adult. the only ninong i know alive said i'm earning more than he does now! (not fair!)

a slinky black flower-printed blouse from my sister & nieces

a madilta rag doll from ninang alex a blouse from mayi who dropped by after xmas just to drop off gifts amidst the rain. so sweet!lip gloss & bangle from my lovely sis-in-law sam a fancy (but expensive!) diamond studded ring from ninang alex which she got at prp & a gift to myself, this lovely necklace a cute little shirt for my li'l one from my sister & niecesfrom rayne's ninang

i did mention i got my daughter a motorbike for christmas.

the cat posed pa ha; little bitch sticker courtesy of her ninang irish haha

& my li'l girl on her motorbike. now learning exhibitions hahaha!

giving on christmas day

2009-01-05T05:26:00.003+08:00

what makes me most particularly giddy anticipating the christmas season is the gift giving! unlike last year, i had saved enough cash to get a gift for each member of my family, friends & a few officemates.

here's what i got for each of them:

for my parents - wensha spa & wellness gift certificates each. was supposed to get platform sandals for mom at the people are people shop but they ran out of sizes & a polo shirt for dad but noticed that it had been years that we've been giving him the latter so i wanted to make it different & unexpected this time.

for my daughter - i bought the mini-motorcycle she's been craving for everytime we went to the toy kingdom.

for my partner - a couple of shirts & a bag/case for his brand new playstation 3. yeba! exciting except for the fact that the games are uber expensive! ps3's are still unmodifiable as they have just been recently released unlike the ps2 where one can buy 100 peso above pirated games on cd's all over metro manila. we were lucky enough to find a stall at the market market shopping mall for a less than 3k game. good thing we're surrounded with ps3 owners who lent us a handful of games in addition to a couple we purchased.

for my sister - a cutesy pair of red disney infant rubber shoes for my soon-to-arrive nephew.

for nieces trisha & nik - (in addition to cash) a couple of osh kosh knee high printed socks for nik & art-y pair of hip stockings for trish.

for rye's mom, a couple of my uncles & their families - stone wall crosses i got for a very reasonable price at eastwood.

for 6 of my friends at work, sam, alex, saleng, shiela - balls of rose & lavender bath salts from watson.

for my daughter's yaya - a pack of nail polishes & a cologne.

for one of my tita's & my 2 grandmothers - colorful scented candles.

for my brother - 3 t-shirts.

for my boss - bath salts, oil & sponge from watson.

for one of my tita's - a can of danish cookies.

& small tokens each for mga inaanak, cousins & friends' kids.

it never mattered if i was left w/ only a few pesos in my wallet from the shopping when it's time to take out the gifts under the christmas tree & witness the sheer joy i bring to my loved ones when they open their respective gifts. it always felt really good *:)

next post, the gifts my daughter & myself received & with photos this time!

kgb noc xmas party 08

2008-12-28T21:42:00.005+08:00

december 13, 2008

the blue leaf

i had an earlier committment, saleng's baby boy miell's 1st birthday at marikina which i'll post next as soon as i get the pictures from her, so my attendance to our department's xmas party was suuper late i was almost teary-eyed while i hastily drove to the venue. i almost did not make it to registration (for the raffle!) hence the drama, gets? especially when there's this gamut of prizes from a game console to a 32" lcd flat screen tv. the tears weren't exactly an exaggeration ok! ehehe

not only did i had to be at a children's party, i also came from a graveyard shift & spent an ample amount of time to bond & have breakfast w/ rye at the pancake house near our place. i woke up 3pm, suppossedly 2pm to give a li'l leeway for hair & make-up. i was only able to insert an extra few mins for a blow-dry...sigh. after which i went to alex' to fetch her & borrowed some of her fancy accessories then drove back home to fetch my daughter & yaya for saleng's son's birthday. the jollibee party started before 5pm & i was supposed to leave 5pm but my daughter was antsy to see the jollibee mascot & we had to at least eat so i stayed for an hour more. i left 6pm (our xmas party registration opened 6pm), sent my daughter & her yaya home, got dressed, put on a thin amateur make-up ahahay then fled to the fort. i arrived before 9pm, the registration closed 9pm, thank God they extended it. after the party, i was no longer sure if all my efforts were worth anything because i only won a P500 sodexho gift certificate! geesshh!!!

anyway, i was surprised to still had sincere fun the entire time. i did mention on my previous post that i was in charge of the entertainment, once again. i was able to successfully & cheaply book (hehe) the juan pablo dream yeyeye!!!

jpd during their 2nd set

jpd here while waiting for their 2nd set my girls plus me

my team

as expected, my british boss extensively enjoyed the band which was my objective in the first place.

the venue was posh, the food was fantastic, the people were fun, everybody won something & the band completely made the night just perfect.

riverpark

2008-12-28T20:53:00.002+08:00

i got so excited when my sis-in-law & kumare got a tiangge stall at the riverpark in marikina for the park's annual christmas bazaar. the lease is until next month only.

alex was finally able to market her unique art-y accessories, ones she personally crafts & sam looked clearly delighted everytime she was able to sell a one or 2 of her also unique merchandise of clothes, accessories, figurines & sex toys. yes, sex toys!!! hahaha

watching & helping them sell got me so engrossed i even thought of renting my own stall & have a bodega sale! but ofcourse the yearning got immediately spoiled when my mom gave me a big NO NO. i have work so i won't be able to man the stall 24x7. my sister's pregnant (yes! she's having a boy in 3 more months!), my mom has to tend to my dad when he gets home from work every night & selling would greatly stress her. so i had noone.

setting aside the inggit hehe, i still found time to visit sam & alex' tiangge every after work & enjoyed watching the thick crowd & the ruckus brought about by price negotiations & the hustling & the non-stop touching & not buying (of goods) of those who entered the tiny but fabulous stall of ours (uy nakisali!)

that's alex; that's my back...i brought old clothes to sell which i'm afraid are still not disposed off yet *:(

november 20, 2008
saleng's bday! i went to the tiangge one night & met w/ my lovely friend saleng & brought her a slice of cake for her birthday. we walked to a nearby bar to celebrate after the bazaar closed at 2am. we tried the new infinit alcopop (2.5% alcohol content) & shared a bottle each. we said our goodbyes before 5am. lovin' ya always saleng! mwaaah!

saleng & myself; sam; saleng's brother & his gf

rayne's 3rd birthday

2008-12-25T15:03:00.003+08:00

november 23, 2008

shakey's tomas morato

yipee! another amazingly fun birthday bash i personally brewed for my lovely daughter who just turned 3 yo. last month!

why shakeys? - my kumare's daughters had a party at shakeys 2 months earlier at a different branch & i was greatly satisfied with the taste & quantity of the food they served at that party.

cake & cupcakes - from ana baluyut

tarpaulin & ty cards - by daddy ryan

loot bags & souvenirs - by mommy genna

balloons, playmats & crayolas - by shakeys

barney mascot - kidzstar kastles

this time i invited close relatives only & a few chosen kumares. our objective was to make it a smaller affair than last years & much warmer, one which our daughter would recognize everyone around her.

problem was, rayne caught the flu the day before her party so she wasn't able to really mingle much, not even w/ the kids. you'd see her mostly cuddled by her dad, by me, or by her yaya. my poor baby...

anyhoo, everyone had a blast, which got me surprised, considering most guests are adults. the key ingredient to rayne's party that made it all 101% fun? the super hilarious clowns i hired c/o rayne's ninang saleng...& their fee was cheap!

rayne's fabulous cake by ana baluyut

souvenir items & showing off daddy R's wonderful tarp work

loot boxes, souvenirs & game prizes

we started off an hour late (as usual, parang cebu pac ah! hehe). there's the birthday song, the games, the clowns, balloon twisting, magic, & ofcourse i got barney! barney danced, barney sang (not really. swayed, yes) the i love you song with all the kids, food!, candle blowing & picture taking w/ the barney mascot & lastly, the loot bag giving.

kumareng alex; jolo, ate ann & aj

sam, rt, ian & pink barney!; fontanillas w/o shiela, saleng, miell & jun

family picture w/ pink barney at the front

family picture w/ pink barney at the back

the lolas; guests tuned to the funniest clowns ever

aj, involuntarily sang solo the happy birthday song; delos reyes youngs

my baby's a li'l scared of clowns, just like mama hehe; my baby w/ her tito mico

ice cream all you can while waiting for all the guests to arrive; rayne coloring play mats

biboy, nik & mica; the birthday song

rayne had no appetite for pizza, pasta nor chicken; cute sway w/ her snow white costume

everybody's obviously enjoying ha!

jaramillas; trish, badeth & nick

kids lovin' it; adults too!

rayne's cousins w/ barney; kainan na!

miell, ninang saleng

my cute daughter w/ her tito aj; ate anna, jolo & badeth

baby boys having dinner (sam & tylord; saleng & miell)

ninang dimple & ninang alex; the youngest getting face paint

my baby blowing her 3 purple candles; nick, rt, sam & me!

watching & participating in the magic show

w/ daddy ryan

the goths, my niece trish & the photographer alex

face painting

nik & jolo; my supportive mom

the store manager was quite impressed by rayne's loot bag presentation & ty cards that he asked to take one of each. (thank you!)

we packed up before 7pm, rushing the rest who still wanted to get face painted. everyone of my relative left w/ a wide smile on their faces.

phew! nice job me hehe.

my daughter at 3 already learned how to:

bike

dance in rhythm

form sentences clearly

sing songs w/ correct lyrics

is still a die-hard fan of spongebob squarepants

eats by herself

potty-trained!

calls everybody by name

very obedient & respectful, uses 'opo' in place of 'yes'

very eager to go to school which she will next year june

max'd sweetness!!! etc etc

my birthday with for my princess? - that she gets well (because she was sick on her day) & that she starts to learn to clean up after herself hehe.

ryan & i agreed to spend less on her next birthdays to save money. money we can spend on a family trip abroad in a year or 2. hongkong na sana!

i have seen

2008-12-05T02:54:00.005+08:00

these all on dvd. movies downloaded courtesy of my dad & rye. taken - liamm's gotten so old! he shouldn't be doing torrid action films like this anymore!

rendition - is this the movie where the reese & jake relationship rooted from? there is not a single scene in this movie of them together tho hehe.

heroes s3 - avid fan of the series i am & rye watching out new episodes from his bittorrent every tuesday night after being shown in the US. had to wait a week before rye can bring the file back home for me to watch arghhh.. the episode (chapter as the series tags it) 2 weeks ago was entitled 'villains'.., the heroes became the villains & vice versa...
employee of the month - i hate jessica simpson (who does not) as the music artist & i've started to hate her much2x more when i saw this movie. she can' act period. i still watched the entire film because i like dane cook. i've seen him on comedy central & have several copies of videos of him when he was just beginning to get famous as a stand-up comedian. his genius jokes are impressively unique, he's got the hunkiest & sexiest voice & he's hot!!

twilight - my office mate khaye have already finished reading the 4 volumes of the twilight saga even before the movie was released. she was lending me the books but i couldn't at that time squeeze 'em in as i was committed to read anne rice's vampire chronicles. for a certainty a chick flick, also according to my friends & cousin. considerably entertaining (for youngsters it'll do). will watch the next 3 volumes via dvd next time.chuck series - hilarious! have just seen a couple of season 1 episodes. can't wait to see the rest of season 1 on my upcoming rest days yey!

paraiso

2008-11-18T03:29:00.007+08:00

november 2, 2008

relatives from my mother side had decided to visit lolo's grave a day after all soul's day to avoid traffic & the thick crowd at the cemetery.

i even had time to meet up with ryan earlier in the morning to check out the 'sunday market' at the lung center hospital near qc circle. we parted ways before noon, i slept briefly & woke up early afternoon to drive my mom & relatives to the paraiso cemetery by 3pm. i brought along my daughter who kept herself busy running & frolicking on the green grass while her yaya followed her around & i made sure they didn't get too far.

after prayers for lolo, we all had a simple merienda of pansit, biko & kutsinta which i bought from the sunday market.

my daughter begged that i get her the pink chick, so i did hehe

i drove them all home to cubao by 6pm, drove another 30 mins to my home & finally got my much needed rest.

sweet preparations!

2008-11-13T12:03:00.006+08:00

it's the part of the year where i get the busiest. for one, i've been very busy on preparing for my daughter's 3rd bday! the date is just a few weeks away & it's the year where the date falls exactly on a weekend so we'll celebrate her birthday exactly when she was born, on november 23rd.

items i've accomplished so far are:

1. rented a barney mascot (yes, she's having a barney & friends party & she's going to wear a barney costume!)

- i specifically requested that barney sings the 'i love you' song during the party. my daughter's gonna be so thrilled!

2. ordered cakes & cupcakes from ana baluyut. she's famous for the cakes she makes & i loved the cake she made for rayna's 2nd birthday. a little expensive but cheaper than the basic photo character cakes from red ribbon which ranges from 2500-3k. no regrets ever getting cakes from this gal.

3. closed half of shakey's tomas morato branch. closed the deal w/ a petty 1k dp.

4. shopped at divi for toys for the give aways, name tags, party hats, loot bags.

5. did some grocery for snacks to add weight on the loot bags.

6. burned a barney sing-along cd to be played during her party.

7. finalized the guest list. this time it's gonna be family. 80 max plus kids, and yes, that's just family.

8. sent the invitations.

still on my to-do list:

1. ryan to complete the tarp & ty card layouts & have them printed asap.

2. go to divi for more give aways. we thought what we bought was enough due to the bulk of the shopping bags we were carrying around. i still lack 46 toys to give away.

3. finalize the packaging of the loot bags.

i'm so getting used to this stuff that i think i'll pass as a party coordinator for children's parties! hehe

another that i'm working on is supplying 'entertainment' to our upcoming office xmas party at the blue leaf in taguig. months ago i suggested the vintage theme & it turns out everybody loved the idea. so i thought of pulling in the band 'juan pablo dream', who fits just perfectly with our theme. i'm in charge of settling contracts, finding sound system suppliers etc etc.

good thing jpd's manager is a fraternity brother so there's zero trouble in booking his band. wonderful ei?

i bet both parties are gonna be swell. (cross fingers ehehe)

eat & sing all we can

2008-11-05T11:54:00.013+08:00

october 20, 2008

still crisp from our 12hr draining shift (crisp but draining???), i finally was able to take the team out, everyone present, for a 2nd installment.

we tried to schedule last september & twice early october but we just couldn't synch each others' attendance when one was absent or on vacation, or another needed to go straight home to tend to his kids.

the girls wanted to go to either comedy bars klownz or zirkoh at timog. couldn't complain even if comedy bars is not a popular choice for me if you'll ask where i want to spend my night outs. fair enough that we'll spend it in quezon city! my house is just a few mins drive away from there...so that ought to do it!

clocked out past 7pm, we went to west avenue first for an 'eat-all-you-can' dinner at the dad's/saisaki resto. price per plate/individual is P580 each & was actually too much for the small budget we allotted for the evening plus there were 8 of us. a budget of 5k for a team dinner-out per quarter was just recently approved by management (which we only later on realized was not enough).

we couldn't contain our hunger & agreed to spend most of the money on food instead of drinks at a bar where we'd proceed to after, so we settled in & pigged out to our hearts desire.

the resto was almost closing so there weren't really much food left so we instead ate most of the sashimis & maki from saisaki & made multiple visits to the dessert buffet table. the tiny cream puffs were so yummy!

after paying & having just a few pennies left from the budget, we discarded the comedy bar itinerary (it'll incur us entrance fees aside from the beverages) & went for videoke!!!

settling for music 21 videoke resto was just an impromptu decision. my passengers obviously wanted to show off their talents in singing!

2 pitchers of margarita & 2 pitchers of rhum coke

lahat kumanta, walanghiya hiya talaga! hahaha
we had to share the bills this time.
3 hours spent at music 21 - priceless. *:)

feliz cumpleaños a mí

2008-10-19T08:16:00.016+08:00

october 3-5, 2008

rye has started to be very much visible for the past few weeks. not only to my daughter, but he has been w/ me most of my free time.
to fire off my birthday, despite being sick, rye left work early & took me out. we went to starbucks for coffee & sandwiches then watched 'eagle eye' at the trinoma mall. still feverish by the afternoon & a bit ailing, we opted to just rest throughout the day. we checked in the rembrandt hotel at timog. we slept for hours but made sure we woke up before the clock hits midnight for my birthday eve celebration. we had dinner at tgif, beside the hotel. he had steak & i had fish. he ordered one of tgif's heavenly ice cream chocolate cake for our dessert. tgif closed before 1am which was strange, on a friday, if you know what i mean...so we just had drinks at the pier 1, located across tgif & the hotel, which was equally convenient to go to coming from rembrandt. i had my usual rhum coke whilst rye had his bucket of beer. we talked for hours until we had to leave since he needed to be at work before 4am. so i phoned my girl friend alex to get to the hotel fast, so as not to waste the room (& free breakfast for 2 ahehe) & ofcourse, waste the first few hours of my birth day! after a change of clothes & several minutes of irritatingly trying to search for free wireless internet inside the hotel room (she brought her new laptop), which by the way was not available in the hotel (sucks big time), exasperated, we just decided to walk across the hotel & get drunk (hahaha) at the pier 1. we ordered alcopops, grilled fish & mango salad. we went back to the hotel room after 5am & slept before the sun rose. wonderful. *:)

posing at the pier 1

free breakfast buffet! yummy!

we went home at noon & i slept some more. went out again by 9pm for another celebration w/ my siblings, cousin & friends. we were supposed to go to route 196 at katipunan but there were no more tables available. we checked out the meat shop across route 196 & unfortunately, the situation was the same. we decided to go to eastwood instead to watch jpd at the club dredd. the bar was packed as well so we had to move again until we finally settled at dencios to celebrate the last remaining hours of my birth day.

sweet!

the next day, sunday, i had a small family celebration at home too! alex created once again her wonderful cocktail concoctions, mom cooked bbq & i ordered pizza from yellow cab. my 3-day birthday celebration w/ my loved ones, amazing. *:)

father & daughter

2008-10-11T14:27:00.007+08:00

september 20, 2008
manila ocean park
his long overdue commitment to bring our baby to the ocean park.
it's rayna's 2nd time. her first was march. the place has exceptionally improved over the 6 months. less hazardous for we no longer spotted any construction in the works. there is already a variety of restaurants & coffee shops at the entrance. to name a few, there's starbucks (nice touch!), north park (where we had lunch. our little darling loved the beef broccoli!), mrs. fields, pancake house, etc. the main attraction had no significant amendments nor added facilities though. the whole experience will still take you 30 min tops to get to see every sea species displayed in their gargantuan aquariums. there's this new arcade across the gift shop, glass-bottom boat rides (P150 ticket) which are practically the 'what's new?' in the park. the park pass had increased P50 by the way.

it got obvious that it was a father & daughter thing for they were inseparable the whole time. i had no qualms taking pictures of just the two of 'em, i actually enjoyed being the photographer that time. *:)

my rayna was posing non-stop at the stage near the ticket counter haha

before heading home, our rayna stopped by the children's books & playground section near the exit. father & daughter read children's books while i took photos. *:)

horses & dogs

2008-10-11T13:39:00.004+08:00

september 19, 2008

brought my family out for a short stroll-dinner-shopping at tiendesitas. we rode the kalesa first which the kids, especially my lovely daughter, exceedingly enjoyed.

after the extreme kalesa ride (ahihi), we stopped by the dog section, incessantly adoring those cute little pups those stores were selling. we had discovered one store who sold a variety of spiders & all those other icky insects & reptiles. the tarantulas particularly scared the hell of out me hehe.

hungry afterwards, we had barbeque, bagoong rice & chicken isaw at the food court.

i had to bring my family home early for a night out w/ my friend sheila.

sheila got to our house earlier than i thought so she had to wait for us to get home. i just changed my blouse & off we went for some drinks at katips & brief clubbing at the formula in timog.

immaculate reunion

2008-09-26T14:10:00.002+08:00

the next day

i was out wih my daughter when i received an unanticipated call from my elementary/high school best friend. it was the very first time i've heard her voice since we parted ways after our high shool graduation, after 14 years!

we had reconnected after her husband died from an accident 2 years ago, also a classmate back in high school. i found her in friendster, in YM, exchanged numbers, then exchanged sms from then...we've had quite a few failed invites to meet (even just for coffee)...until...

elaine called to advise me of an impromptu meet w/ our fellow immaculadas that night at the quattro bar in timog. a meet to discuss how we can extend financial assistance to one of our high school teachers, mrs. lontoc, who recently got diagnosed w/ breast cancer.

i didn't think twice. i hastily committed. apart from my concern w/ the meeting objective, i was so so eager to see old faces & observe how each of us transformed throughout the years. it was high time anyways that i attend one of these reunions (there had been about 3 reunions i didn't go to, but not on purpose. work schedule conflicted) & high time for elaine & myself to finally meet & catch up!

i called sheila about the reunion. she & her hubby vince are fellow immaculadas & i was glad to hear they were available. they fetched me from home (i finally was a passenger yea! ha ha).

shiela & marifin

elaine, marifin, jenny & sandra; joseph, mike, geronimo (hiding??) & another mike (hihi), osmundo, ely & vince

shiela & elaine (my 2 HS bff's); vince & shiela

myself, jon & elaine (we had to take a picture, we were the only vianney's {or from the star section} who came); joseph & osmundo

nostalgic it was! elaine & myself couldn't stop hugging each other...recalling crushes or vice versa... reminiscing our 'innocent' after-school gimmicks & even fist fights w/ the other girls (for real!).

we collectively clicked. something that could not have happened back in high school. we were all plain schoolmates who instantly became good friends. elaine & myself were often teased the 'nerds', the 'aliens', the 'brainiacs', for we both were the only ones there who thrived in what our school categorized as the star section since we were grade schoolers. i had to call nelson, aka jon, so the 'nerds' grew in number haha, actually just plus 1, before the nostalgia ended at 3am.

this has to have a segunda parte. can't wait!

down the frames @ bela bar

2008-09-26T11:14:00.004+08:00

september 12, 2008

accompanied my brother to his band kamada's gig at the bela bar. my first time to tag along by myself (alex was honeymooning w/ her hubby in baguio).

they were invited by mudslide productions to guest in their show called down the frames at the bela bar in san juan. they were one of the 2 guest bands enlisted.

i was astounded by the profound appreciation & applause they garnered during their 3-song stint from both the bar patrons & other bands as well.

as soon as they stepped down the stage, i watched as various individuals approach each of 'em, showering them multitude of compliments & absolute admiration. i heard one of 'em devotees (i assume) who stole a quick chat with my brother, that they were the highlight of the gig, incomparable to any of the bands who just played(yihee!).

oh well. i guess the heavier metal, the better. *:)

congrats guys. i hope you stay level-headed always.

after bela bar, we went to timog for a few drinks.

freedom @ the freedom bar

2008-09-18T06:36:00.008+08:00

september 5, 2008
freedom bar
featured:chonkeys, talahib & more

ofcourse the birthday week of alex didn't end at saguijo & ten02.

earlier, a couple of my workmates sent me a message that the first leg of the oktoberfest was to be held that night as well. imagine that, my birth month's most anticipated festival has already began a month early. awesome!

eric was summoning me to go but i had my eyes on the freedom bar gig so i just replied that i'd follow...which i didn't...coz they sent me an sms after a few hours that they backed out due to the sheer volume of crowd that came. the venue could no longer hold those who were still incoming even those who had tickets.

anyhoo, having met so many friends lately, i get random gig scheds through sms everyday, favorably. i got the freedom bar gig set that friday from jolly of good leaf (buenos dias jolly green! ahehe). chonkeys' guitarist is my bro's band cakewalk's frontman years ago & had been in our house so many times for practices so it was perfect that i knew someone who was on set. syalam members were friends back in the days but only jamir was present & just jammed w/ one of the bands.

the event by the way was a benefit gig for a non-profit org TABAK (tunay na alyansa ng bayan alay sa katutubo). slides were previewed during breaks demonstrating the support & appreciation of various musicians & groups towards our ancenstors.

the last band caught my undivided attention. talahib. ethnic ensemble w/ music blended w/ heavy guitar riffs, emotional lyrics, pieces were extremely passionate about our country. their last song was about stopping the war & saving mindanao & delivering peace to every filipino. touching.

chonkeys' frontman

yohan at the left

talahib

showing off my rag doll; the birthday cheerleader (literally, she wore a pink shirt & ruffled mini skirt w/ a 'save the cheerleader' print haha)

tara

2008-09-15T03:37:00.008+08:00

i forgot to mention that the event held at saguijo on the 4th (posted below) was a benefit/fundraising gig for tara bosch-santelices (guitartist of saffron speedway, stormy & a regular guitar sessionist for scarlet tears).

tara is the girl who got shot in the head during a holdup aboard a jeepney ride along cainta on the eve of her birthday. more details found in this news report.

after the incident, numerous fundraising gigs have been set, extending to strangers (like me), to support her family in paying the medical bills (she has shown slow, but remarkable progress the past weeks).

i have not met tara. not even through my kumareng ayn's band scarlet tears. the news came to me via sms the day after, through my coffee break island contact. only later did i learn that she is the bandmate/friend of my kumare.

i went to route 196 for one of the benefit gigs last week of august. i finally saw scarlet tears but minus my friend ayn *:(

i got introduced to strikingly talented bands though like cherry cornflakes & good leaf.

scarlet tears' kat

my wordle

2008-09-10T12:48:00.003+08:00

cool huh? the words in the above image were randomly picked by the site generator from random posts in this blog.
want yours? go to wordle.net.