Nice chair!

I'm trying to finish my part for the documentation of the proceedings of the Youth Camp I attended last week.  I'm making progress, but I find my mind drifting elsewhere.  I guess that's entirely my fault because I have so many other windows open - temptation each and every one of them! :)

I was looking through the photos I took of that weekend because I wanted to showcase the chairs at the dining hall of Forest Club. They were quite comfortable, yet very simple.  Made of hard wood, I think.  Rustic, western furniture that can withstand time.

With all the photos I took, I couldn't find a good one that includes one of those chairs! But here's one I found on the 'Net that is a close enough match:

This one has a high back while the one I'm looking for doesn't.  But I think the overall feel would be the same. Cool. I mean wood normally lets you feel cool in a warm sunny day right? That's what such a chair means to me at least :)  And the grooved seat is guaranteed to make you feel comfortable.

Youth Camp photos, posted!

I posted a bunch of photos from the previous weekend over at Where the Moon Shines, and also on Facebook.

Yeah, can you believe it? I succumbed to all those FB invites after all.  All the requests and stuff can get overwhelming though. Ugh.

Our first fun weekend of 2009

Note: Long post ahead. Rather than dwell on the fact that my site is still down and I have been asked to disable my redirect before they can fix it, I'll just talk about the weekend I just had.

It feels like I just had a long weekend. On Tuesday evening, Alfred and I went to Greenhills, believing that it was the last day for their Night Market, as posted on their website (okay, this is really embarrassing because I just checked out the link now, and we actually looked at an archived page, and the dates were for last year's nightmarket!). When we got there at 8pm, the regular shops were already closing and the parking lot where the night market stood in December, was already cleared out.

 

We just decided to have dinner because I hadn't even had lunch. Our final choice was a filling meal at Max's. After the sumptuous meal, we checked out the section of Greenhills that was still open at that hour: the Promenade. We checked out Gourdo's and I admired all the baking and cake decorating stuff they had there. The only thing I picked up to take home though, was an oven thermometer.

We spent some time at Fully Booked too. There were so many interesting titles, but I restrained myself from making any purchase, there are still several books left on my to-be-read pile from months ago, plus books I got in November and December. I also figured I'd checkout my favorite second-hand bookshop before I buy never-been-owned books.

We were supposed to head home after leaving Fully Booked, in fact, we were already on our way down the escalator. Then I remembered that Iskul Bukol's LFS was supposed to start 10:35, and that was a little more than just 5 minutes away. The boyfriend is a big TVJ fan (hehe) and he really wanted to see it, so I asked him why not go see it now? We sure weren't sleepy yet anyway. 

It wasn't as funny a movie as I expected it would be. But it wasn't too bad either. There were inconsistencies too. Like the kid being able to speak Tagalog. I mean, by the time they were looking for the Peseta, the kid was already talking comfortably in Tagalog, but when they first found him in the hotel room, he couldn't understand Vic.

Anyway, after the movie, we braced ourselves for a difficult time finding a cab. Good thing was, there were several taxis lined up near the Music Museum entrance. Since it was already midnight, it was a nice quick ride home. 

Before leaving for Greenhills the other night, I took this photo of Esban, for my Project 365 Day 6 post:

That's Esban showing me what they did with this makeshift rooftop I took home with me from work the other day. It's a rooftop we used for bay decoration for Christmas. I took it home because they would be thrown out anyway. And what a waste that would be. Just as I predicted, the kids loved it! Since there were three more of this in the office, I took them home too so each of them would have one to play with.

The next day was almost spent just sleeping. But we didn't even let the rains stop us. We went to Quiapo to have Frankie's lens fixed (finally!), and to check out some iPhone clones. Alfred got Mang Romy to put in the missing screw on his PDA too. 

We had a nice walk (eventhough it was drizzling, and it was muddy) from Hidalgo to Raon, to Isetann. Then after walking around and having a snack of shrimp and pork siomai, plus two pieces each of mini bibingka from Bibingkinitan, we took a motorized pedicab from Isetann back to Hidalgo. Because it had been raining, it wasn't hot at all, and you couldn't smell pollution. Yes, you could smell the common street smells of Quiapo, but it wasn't really all that bad. 

As in our previous visits to Quiapo, we went into the church to pray a bit. We were surprised that there were a lot of people, because we knew that the feast of the Nazarene wasn't until Friday, the 9th. As it happens, there are pre-event programs ongoing already. 

Because there was already a crowd at the back of the Church. The image of the Black Nazarene was being returned to it's storage after what I assumed was a short parade/program at the plaza. Everywhere you look, there were devotees waving their handkerchiefs, and cloths

 that bear an image of Christ, and some prayers. I'll share those photos too, but first up, here's the photo I took from when were at Plaza Miranda, right in front of Quiapo Church (click the photo for a larger view):

Thankfully, it was a cloudy and rainy day. Had it not been so, I'm sure I would've developed a migraine because of the heat and the crowd. Hidalgo street wasn't as crowded as in our previous visits. Seems like they cleaned out the road for the event, there wasn't as many vendors out as there used to be. 

From Hidalgo, we took another motorized pedicab to the 168 Mall.  We ended up buying new curtains for the room (love it!), plus curtains for my brother's room too. Alfred already put them up, and they look wonderful! I also got three pairs of jean for 730 pesos (less than 20 dollars!), while Alfred got himself a pair of shorts. We also ended up buying a few DVDs of movies and TV series.

I expected a difficult time hailing a cab home, but it wasn't too bad. Traffic wasn't very cooperative though. I ended up sleeping on the way and waking up with a headache. But even that didn't ruin my day. We ended the day by watching a movie when everyone was already asleep. It was a local movie starring Toni Gonzaga and Vhong Navarro - My only you. Rock n' Roll! :)

Oh well, why couldn't we just have regular days like these all the time? ;)

Girls Day Out - Iskra has an eye for photos

It was just like any other day after classes - we'd head to the mall and look around, or visit National Bookstore. And stuff our tummies full (with food, of course).

Yup, it was just like the old times. If only Iskra wasn't in tow.

I had a grand time catching up with girlfriends. In truth, this is the most fun get-together we've had in recent years. For me, at least.

Arianne isn't in the picture above. We've got better group pictures from her camera, and Mayeen's too. Can't wait to get those. I see several scrap pages coming up from the bazillion photos we (specially Iskra) took. I let 4=year old Iskra try out my camera and she had fun taking pictures. There were funny ones, but most really turned out beautifully. Looks like next week's SS will be one with an actual layout :)

No Layout - Scrapbook Saturday - for the newbie digiscrapper

No layout for Scrapbook Saturday this week. I had it in my mind to feature some digiscrapping celebrity (not that I am close to any one of them) or to post something that will really help out those who are new to digital scrapbooking. I didn't have time for proper research though so I'm ending up with nothing. But please do visit the SS Headquarters, starting with Dette, and visit other SS participants.

I ran a search for verabear and digital scrapbooking and one of the results led me to my journal archives. This post actually was written when I first found Susan of Raspberry Road. Though Shabby Princess was the first ever designer I downloaded a freebie from, it was actually Susan's kit that I first used for an actual layout (the one I shared on the first Scrapbook Saturday).

Now, Susan sells her designs on her blog but she still continues to give full kit freebies to her loyal blog readers. And I still go there to visit. Believe it or not, I don't just go for the freebies, I actually go to oogle over the beautiful designs and layout created by others.

Over on my sidebar is a very long Digiscrapping blogroll. Yesterday I thought that since Maria of Digifree does a very good job in her automated process of posting freebies from other blogs; and Ikeagoddess also has huge helpings of yummy freebie previews she's collected, I don't really need my own blogroll just to get my own fill of freebie kits. But I realized that I'm not just doing it for the freebies now. I actually visit their blogs to read their posts! I also enjoy and take inspiration from layouts that are posted in those blogs.

There are plenty of sites offering tutorials (free or otherwise) to get you along in creating your very first layout. I think that this freebie from Scrap Girls is one of those things that really gave me the nudge to get started. They also have a huge freebie kit for download that can very well be the newbie digiscrapper's tool kit.

On a different note, I am looking forward to a packed weekend.
Sunday afternoon I'll be seeing girlfriends.
Monday, Alfred and I will be going out to see a movie.
In both days, I will be making truffles like crazy because I haven't made any in the past two weeks. I've offered a special discounted price to my ever loyal fans.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to squeeze in time for bag organizer project. I really want to do that as soon as possible.

Saturday just flew right by me! I was looking forward to getting home earlier than usual for a Saturday but we were slapped with unplanned outages starting at 5PM and I had to be the one in charge at the time it happened. Hehe. It was a fun day at work though, surprisingly.

Anyways, a happy weekend to everyone!

Lung Center Sunday Market

My boss is really nice. He lets me come in for a later shift on Fridays and Saturdays. I take advantage of this for when I want to do other stuff during the day, so I'd come in at around 6PM. Since Alfred now comes in at night, there were some Saturdays when I actually stayed at work until his shift ended at 5AM on Sunday. This weekend was one of those days.

We left the office a few minutes after 6AM (Alfred also had to render overtime), and I suggested we visit the Lung Center Sunday Market. My parents had been there two weeks ago and picked up the new members of our family. The Market was also featured in Yummy mag's May issue. Off we went.

I got a pink leatherette apron that was really designed for when you wash the dishes. So I do use it now when I do that, and I'll be using it too when I make truffles and when I finally go back to baking. I thought it would be hot to wear, but it hasn't been. The material actually feels lightweight.

We had breakfast at one of the stalls - Bicol Express and Beef Caldereta. In my opinion, it needed more salt to taste, but it was just right for Alfred. It was filling though, and did not cost us much. We also brought home prawns that my dad cooked for Sunday lunch!

I will definitely keep the camera in my bag at all times, I missed photo opps that day for not doing so! There are pictures in this post though.

We'll be there again next Sunday - this time armed with a market list for what we really need for our food experiments the following week. Going there is a good reason to walk around too - something we should do more often!

Scrapbook Saturday 1 - The best friend ever!

Okay, so it is Sunday already but who cares? Haha. My PC was just fixed this afternoon so I am late in posting my first ever Scrapbook Saturday!

For this first week of SS, I've chosen to show everyone my very first scrapped page. I made this page from my bestfriend's Friendster photos as a birthday present.

For a larger view, and the credits, click on the image. You'll also see the letter that I wrote for JoArni at the time. Then don't forget to look at the layouts by other SS participants, starting with Dette, of course.

Tracy, if you're reading this, join us at Scrapbook Saturday :)

Eiga Sai '08 - A Stranger of Mine

I saw a Japanese movie last night, for free.

My best friend Jo asked me if I'd be interested to go to the Japan Film Festival ongoing at the Shangri-la Mall. Aside from my interest in seeing a good movie, I wouldn't pass up on a chance to hang out with her, of course I accepted. For more details on Eiga Sai 2008, read this.

I guess it was a blessing that I had to cover for Debbie at work on Saturday morning. It allowed to get off way earlier than usual.


A Stranger of Mine was scheduled for the last full show and that's what we saw. Jo had to fall in line, two hours before the movie started just to get us tickets. I almost didn't get to watch! After chatting over dinner for over an hour, we stopped by the john before queuing for the theater. When we came out, I checked my pocket and found my ticket to be gone! I was quite sure it fell somewhere in the comfort room so we went back for it. The ladies' room sure filled up fast when we got back 2 minutes later, and there was no sign of a ticket lying on the floor. Good thing the cleaning lady remembered it and then she and Jo fished it out of the trash bin. Good thing it wasn't one where you'd find spoiled tissue or what not. And the ticket escaped any kind of spoilage!

It was a fun movie to watch! The director did very well in piecing together the events of the night. I think the whole story transpired in just about three hours but it was shown in different perspectives. They were very effective too, and the attention to detail was awesome! The twist at the end was unexpected too, I didn't see it coming.

The funniest part, I think, is the part about the yakuza boss who didn't actually have any money! Image is indeed everything. Haha.

Alfred would have enjoyed the movie and I can't wait to find the schedule for the UP Film Institute screenings so he'd get the chance to see it too.

Now, more about the story. Sorry for the spoilers. This is also going to be a long post. :)

It started with Maki, who was shown to be leaving an apartment with her luggage. She pawned her engagement ring for a measly 3,500 yen. She finds herself in a restaurant, blaming herself for being in that situation after depending on others for her happiness. She vowed not to be that way from then on. At the end of the first segment, she was invited over by a stranger to dine with him - food tastes better when shared with others.

The next part showed Miyata, an office worker, staring at a woman's picture on his desktop. His co-worker was imposing on him to lend his apartment for his date the following morning. Though very reluctant, he did draw him a map eventually. He went home to his big apartment and got a phone call right away from his friend Kanda who was whispering. He invited Miyata out to dinner; news about Ayumi (his ex) was what convinced him it made him rush out, literally. They met at this restaurant. Kanda was very concerned about his friend who was still hanging onto his ex-girlfriend's shadow. He was convincing him to go out on dates, saying that timing is everything and he should have asked for the girl's phone number if he has any interest in her. It was Kanda who then invited Maki over to their table. Kanda eventually left the two to themselves.

After dinner and on their way out, Miyata found out that Maki had nowhere to go so he invited her to stay at his apartment. After much convincing, she agreed. They hopped on Miyata's bike, with Maki insisting on driving. They almost got hit by the handyman's truck! So of course, they walked the rest of the way home. Maki was supposed to stay in Ayumi's old bedroom, where all her stuff were still stored. It was the guy's turn to tell his sad story. It was funny how, to show her empathy, Maki hugged Miyata. It really surprised the latter. While Miyata was running her a bath, someone came to the door. Who else but Ayumi coming to get her stuff.

Maki really gave it to her at that point, telling her how selfish she was to leave Miyata and then come back for her stuff just like that. She then took off. Miyata told the ex to get what she needed and then he'll be throwing out the rest. He ran after Maki; he ran after her even after she hopped on a cab - that was a long way to run. He eventually intersected the cab, all he wanted was to ask for Maki's phone number! He said that he may never see her again so she has to give him his number.

The next segment is where it all started to come together. Kanda found a lady waiting at his door. It was Ayumi asking for his help to get her Passport from the apartment. Kanda was reluctant and told her how he knew everything about her - she was a con artist who had already gotten millions of yen from her old boyfriends. She left Miyata when he spent all of his savings buying the big apartment. Her latest victim happened to be a Yakuza boss and she took a brief case full of money with her in her escape!

Kanda refused to meddle with Yakuza and didn't want to help her at first. Eventually, he asked for a million in exchange for his help. He made Ayumi promise to give back the money. When she agreed, he took her to Miyata's apartment. While there, Miyata arrived. You'd know exactly when it happened because in Miyata's segment, he closed one of the doors on the hallway - it was the bathroom door where Kanda was actually peeing! It was from there that the call was made earlier mentioned and it was the reason why he was whispering! He actually held his pee until after Miyata rushed out to meet him.

From the apartment, Kanda dressed up as a delivery person and took the briefcase of money to the Yakuza boss' office. After that, Ayumi gave him his payment in exchange for the Passport and they parted ways. That was the only time he went to the restaurant to see Miyata. All he told him was that he met Ayumi and found out that she was getting married. He didn't tell him the truth. They showed the scene again when Kanda asked Maki over to join them. Then he got up to go to the john because he saw the Yakuza guys come in to the restaurant. They took him with them. So he didn't intentionally leave the two together after all. The Yakuza stripped him of his clothes before reporting to their big boss. He was then taken to the office where the boss talked to him - and Ayumi was there too. It turns out that the briefcase he brought over did not have money, but lingerie, and his PI card was in it. Ayumi really intended for the Yakuza to go after Kanda. The boss took Kanda's money but let him go. His condition was he would be using Kanda's PI services for free when he needed it. He found Kanda's folio about his investigation into Ayumi's life. So where was the money? The next morning, Kanda went to see Miyata. He found out that Miyata had thrown out the rest of the boxes, and the garbage truck had already come by to get it. MIyata happily reported though that he got Maki's phone number. He tried calling during breakfast, but found out that he had been given the wrong number.

There was also a segment focusing on the Yakuza boss. He was shown in his office with the handyman, they had cut bundles of paper and pasted real money on the top and bottom of the bundles until they appeared like bundles of real money. Everytime someone knocked on the door to see him, he would take the fake money from the safe so that the person would see him stacking the money onto the safe when they came in. Image. This was what Ayumi saw the first time she came in to her boyfriend's office. As they went out to the car, Ayumi excused herself saying she needed to use the ladies' room to freshen up. The new Yakuza was left to wait for the girl. The next scene showed the boss back and Ayumi to be missing. The boss went over to his safe and true enough, the fake money was gone! The new person said sorry and was kneeling for forgiveness. The head guard immediately went into action to look for the missing girl/money. The boss looked as if he wanted to stop them, but thought better of it. After some time, Kanda came over to drop off the briefcase. Only the boss was in his office to look at the contents - lingerie and the card. He received a call sometime after, it was the girl saying that the PI forced her to take the money and then took it from her. She told him where he was and that's how the Yakuza men got Kanda.

The Yakuza boss went to Kanda's place. He asked the handyman to pick the lock. That was the same handyman that almost hit Miyata and Maki earlier in the movie! That's where the Yakuza boss found out about Ayumi. He was puzzled why she didn't take anything from Miyata, so he headed over to the apartment. While he was there, he found the money in the box of Ayumi's stuff but Miyata and Maki arrived so he hid under the bed. It was funny how the earlier scene between the two was now being shown, but only through the two's footwork. The awkwardness felt when Maki suddenly hugged Miyata, was also portrayed by their feet! Do you remember what happened next? Ayumi came!

After Maki left and Miyata ran after her, Ayumi went into the room to retrieve the money. She found the boss then they headed back to the office to meet with Kanda. In the car, the boss let her know that he knew all about her and proposed to be partners in crime.

We thought that the movie was ending right then. But the credits rolled back, then Maki was back on the scene. She had found the money in the box of lingerie. Knowing it was Ayumi's, she took it. The taxi driver was the one who gave her the pen and paper to write her number on. Later on, he said that that Miyata seemed like a nice guy, he would do everything to make you happy, he said. Ayumi was alone again, back at the fountain where she found herself at the beginning of the film. She had decided she didn't want to be alone again.

She went back to the apartment, ready to give back the fake money. At the door, Miyata's co-worker also came by. That was the end. Yet another stranger in the mix.

Singing birds in the background

Mom and Dad went to the Lung Center Sunday Market yesterday and came home with 2 pairs of birds. They are cute little ones but they forgot to ask what kind of birds these are. Alfred says they're society finches but he's not sure.

They sure are playful and very chirpy! Watch them flying about and listen to their singing for yourself. Here's a video I took just now:

Yesterday, Zune appeared like he was very welcoming and enjoyed just watching them. When we finally hung the cage where he can't really see the birds, he kept jumping/reaching up. This morning my dad moved the cage, then I think Zune decided he didn't want them around. He kept barking at the cage! Stop terrorizing the small 'uns honey!

Attention: RANTING ahead

Alfred was supposed to take me to the market today. I wanted to look for materials for a project I want to work on, including materials to make my own glass bead magnets. It didn't happen.

One of my former agents who happens to be his drinking buddy rendered his last day at work last night and so they and a bunch of other guys went out for booze after shift. I understand that and all, but he was the one who promised we'd go today. And it isn't as if he'd have time tomorrow either. He has a family thing to go to since his brother's leaving to work abroad in a few days. I wouldn't bet on Monday either.

Sometimes even when I feel like ranting about things like this (him not following through on something) I want to kick myself in the butt. After all, I don't have to let him ruin my plans. I should be capable of going my own way if I really have to. I mean, he doesn't always have to be around to escort me. There are also several other people I can ask to go with on outings like what I had intended earlier.

But, he's the only one I feel comfortable with for what I had planned out for today. I'm out on a specific mission and I would need his input.

Still. It's not as if I couldn't do it on my own.

I hate that I'm not really as independent as I believe myself to me. It's like I'm all talk, but when it comes right down to it, I can't do it. I can't do anything.

That's it. Whether anyone's going with me or not, I will go out tomorrow.

Okay, I won't exactly be going to Divisoria or Binondo on my own, but I will go somewhere else that I can navigate on my own.

Weekend with Frank (the Typhoon)

After 36 hours of no TV, electric fans, computer and Internet - we are back online. Warning: extremely long post. You gotta give it to me, I itched to post!

Tropical Storm Frank changed course and hit Manila directly on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Alfred and I left work together and were both surprised at the strength of the winds and the rain that welcomed us as the glass doors of the building opened to let us out.

As the cab took a right on our street, it was so dark - there was no electricity in our neighborhood but those living right across the creek from us still had their lights on. Since the typhoon had cooled the house, we didn't mind not having electricity, we did hope that power would be restored when we awoke. It was not to be.

At 3PM, we went down to eat and then confirmed that not only was power still out, but that my grandpa's house had already been flooded though the water was already receding. My nephews had spent the day with my mom and dad and they even ate our share of lunch. Their moms and dads were already scrubbing their floors when I went out to check on them and the flood waters were already outside our gates. Our house was only built 6 years ago and the floor was elevated to the highest flood level recorded in this area, so we were safe from the flooding. My brother and his girlfriend got off work in the morning but were not able to come home because it was already flooded. They spent the day at Trinoma and were only able to come home at around 4PM when the water cleared.

Though it was still raining, the wind had died down and it was evident that the worst was over. We had also hoped that it meant that power would be restored very soon.

We had planned on malling because Alfred was on leave for Sunday night. We had not been to the mall since he moved to the night shift, and we were both itching to check out some shops. Off we went as soon as the water receded back to the creek and out of the road. We had to walk on the rip-rap though to avoid the stinky mud that was left by the flood. I had to concentrate on avoiding so much as glancing at the water lest I'd feel like falling into it. Eventually I asked Alfred to walk beside me on the sidewalk instead of behind me just so he could hold my hand. Haha.

Getting a cab was easy and so we were in Cubao in no time. The weather was conducive for a cup of coffee so we had some with muffins before we set off window shopping. When we finally went up to Gateway, we hit the shoe stores first but I didn't find anything I really wanted. Next stop was Fully Booked - since seeing it in Yummy mag, I've wanted to purchase an Envirosax and so I did.
This is how my lovely bag looks like and I am totally bummed out that I can't show you the pic of Alfred modeling the bag for me last night. After purchasing the bag, I met him at the mall's lounge and I went in to take a pee, leaving him with the rest of our stuff. When I came out, he had already unfurled the bag and put my purse in it. I also actually used the bag for shopping too. We went back in to Fully Booked and I finally got the sequel to the only Garth Nix book I've ever read, Sabriel. This one's titled Lirael and it's the first brand new book I've bought this year. I've just been buying previously owned books, remember? I also refused the Body Shop paper bag for my purchases and just plopped them in my reusable shopping bag. :)

Speaking of Body Shop purchases. White Musk is my new favorite scent and I love how the Chiffon Sheer Body Mist is so light - it feels soft, smells pretty, and you won't feel sticky when you spray it on. Mom had it and I just had to get one for myself too! I also bought a gift box that had small bottles of White Musk Sumptuous Silk Shower Gel and Smooth Satin Body Lotion. Body yum! (the shimmer fragrance in the picture is on my wish list)

I also asked the attendant if they still collected the empty bottles of their products and she mentioned that they still do and they returned them to the factory, but there was no promo for it, meaning I won't get anything in return if I took the bottles back. I don't care. Knowing that I returned those plastic bottles for recycling is enough for me.

Alfred has been wanting to checkout the Adidas sale since he heard about at the start of the month, so the Adidas shop right next to Body Shop was one of our stops. He didn't see any of the shoes he wanted on sale but he did see some jackets that he has been wanting to buy since time immemorial (of course he will only be buying one, if he actually gets to buy any). We'll probably go to Trinoma next weekend (after payday) because he wants to checkout the stocks there too.

Last stop before having dinner was grocery shopping and of course we came prepared with the reusable canvass bag. I restrained myself from buying anything unnecessary and I really do congratulate myself for it. :) After all our purchases were tallied I found that I had enough receipts to get a ShopWise card and earn points. The system was offline though, probably because of the intermittent power outages.

After dinner, we were confronted with a challenge - transport. There was a long queue waiting for cabs outside the grocery and after waiting in line for about 5 minutes and seeing no taxis, we decided to wait somewhere else. Out came my jacket (with hood) and our big umbrella and we walked towards Gateway. After another 15 minutes of waiting and only one other couple getting a cab we decided to move on to another stop, and then another. When we least expected to get a cab while walking towards the main road to just get public transport, we got one. :)

As we approached E.Rodriguez, we were hopeful because there were lights on the street and establishments. As we turned right at Sunny Side Drive and then through the streets of our barangay, there was hope because they too had power. Sadly - our street was still cloaked in darkness. Yes, just our street.

And I could not sleep. It wasn't hot, it was still raining a bit and it was still quite cool. There were a few mosquitoes buzzing around but they weren't bothering me - afraid I'd whack them I guess. But while Alfred was sound asleep, I couldn't. When he woke up, I was just drowsing off. Haha.

I had to call Meralco several times over the evening, early morning, and yes, until this afternoon, to follow up on the reactivation of our service. I swear, between me, my cousins an uncle, I can't count the number of times we've called their customer service hotline 16211. We understand that it's because of the storm and that they have to address consumers from all over the Metro. But we didn't even get an explanation for why were the only street that had no power for more than 24 hours already!

What's worse is that the first time I followed up on my initial report, they said that a crew was sent over and was already at the site - and since my report was specific to this street, naturally that's where I'd assume they'd be. We waited another hour, then two. Nothing. When we called back, the feedback was that power was restored. Well, duh?! Would we be calling back if it was? So they gave us a new report number. This time, response was not as fast. Up until 3PM all they can say when we called was that we were lined up on queue to be addressed. I asked that they trace whoever it was that reported that power was back in our area because obviously they didn't go to the actual street that was reported! After I asked for such a report, on the next call, the rep mentioned that the team didn't actually go to the site, but was just patrolling the area. That's clear misreporting and mishandling of the report! Ugh.

Anyway, I do not want to continue hating the power company Meralco. There's no use, right? I was upstairs when their crew finally came and I heard my cousin welcoming them sarcastically. They (including the kids) were singing the Meralco jingle that one would hear when they call the support number (their hold music). Apparently, they had to disconnect our lines yesterday because there was a tree that was in danger of falling due to the winds. They just didn't come back to fix it right away. Now why didn't they just note that in our reports and told us that in the first place? At least we'd know that they knew the reason why we didn't have power!

Please offer prayers for the victims of the tragedy also caused by typhoon Frank.

Anyhoo... I am off to browse and watch TV and DVDs, and charge my phone, and drink cold water, and just show appreciation for our electricity. Haha. :) Oh I do hope I still get to catch a sale or two in the digi world.

Alfred's 29th Birthday - June 8

This is Alfred's Photo Mosaic. He gave me his answers to the questions and I ran the search and picked the photos from Flickr.

He turned 29 yesterday - Happy Birthday babe! :)

We spent the entire day with his family yesterday, something that we've never done before ever. So his birthday was also the day I got to meet his entire family (including cousins and nephews and nieces).

On my way to their home in Pasay, I bought a cake (ube, by their request) and my dad was kind enough to drive me to the store and then to the train station. Alfred was supposed to pick me up at the Taft station and we would walk to their house but he wasn't there yet when I arrived. I called him and I got the feeling there was going to be an entourage coming to pick me up. I wasn't wrong.

His two nieces, Ena and Pauline were there, plus his nephew Lance whom I've met and spent some time with before. So I met the two giggly girls and they were really nice sweet ones. At their home, I met his two older brothers and the girls' mom. They were all really warm and welcoming.

So we had lunch (his mom cooked Bulalo, Dinuguan, Hamonado and Pancit - all were very very yummy, no wonder he has a tummy like that). The plan was to have lunch there, and then go our own way after. But since I felt like they went out of their way to spend time with their Uncle Dodong and to meet me, why not spend more time with the kids? I asked if they wanted to come with us and see a movie - they did! We went to SM Mall of Asia and saw Kung Fu Panda. It's a hilarious movie, comparable to Shrek! Haha :)

After the movie, we headed back to their house because a cousin was there waiting. I met him before but that was the first time I met his girlfriend. Later on, this cousin's older sister, her husband and two teenage kids (boys) came along too. It was a full house, literally.

There were lots of laughter and cases of beer. I drank with them too though I'm not a real beer drinker. There were lots of stories to share and to catch up on. We ended up staying until midnight.

I know he's very happy, and I'm happy that he is.


Credits for the Mosaic photos:
1. King Alfred's Tower, 2. Chicken Adobo Bento, 3. My Old School, 4. one headlight, 5. Kianna Dior @ AVN Expo 2006, Las Vegas, 6. beer belly, 7. Paradise, 8. Leche Flan, 9. flambé, 10. "Norouz" is coming!..., 11. These little piggies, 12. Blue Devil

What an awesome kick-off for a long weekend!

A colleague from work, Kiss, wrote a very flattering review for the choco truffles I've been making. I love getting comments about what I make, because it affirms it for me. You know what I mean? I make them not so much because I want to make money out of them, but because I truly enjoy doing so. Knowing that they are appreciated is really the icing on the cake. :)

I'm already thinking of variations to the Oreo Truffles. I will be trying some things out during my long weekend, which officially started at 4AM.

Yes, I have a long weekend - 4 days - ahead of me. I usually have Sundays and Mondays off work but I volunteered to go to work this Monday since one of my colleagues was on vacation (and she still isn't back). To compensate, I'm off for Saturday. Then my regular off is here - Sun-Mon, and then I availed of a one day vacation for Tuesday so we can also attend a book launch.

The downside is that I have all this time, but I'm not going anywhere. I really was looking forward to finally going to Bolinao with friends. We've been planning a vacation for the longest time but it hasn't materialized yet. This time last year, we were in Sagada exploring the cave and going up and down mountains just to see the waterfalls (I wanted to provide a link to my Live Space album but the site is down). Anyway, the vacation may still become a reality, as long as everyone's still interested. There's still some sun left.

I have not been blogging much lately, and that includes blog-hopping. Part of it is because my PC is sick. Sick, I tell you. Just today, it took me almost an hour just to wait for it to boot up properly. I had to turn it on and off countless times.

Boyf has a pretty good idea what's causing it but we've been delaying dealing with it because I didn't want to spend for the computer again when I haven't even paid for the monitor in full. Since I received my leave conversions though, we're thinking of using some of that money for this. I was hoping it would be for our vacation though (specially since our birthdays are coming up fast).

Hmm.. Blogger now has a blogroll feature and I am going to give that a try in a bit. My blog list and blogroll are both getting longer and longer I'm not sure I want to keep both on the sidebar looking that way. I do like seeing the blinkies though. Oh well.

My dad just woke up and apparently, we're going swimming today! My mom's office has an annual summer outing and they get to take their families. This year it happens today. They didn't tell me beforehand probably because I'm supposed to be working Saturdays.

This means I won't be getting any significant sleep this morning, I don't really mind though! My nephew - if you know me or have been reading up on my blogs, you would be able to guess which one - Esban is of course tagging along.

Okay, I gotta stop and get some blog-hopping done before I take a shower or a quick nap.

Hearing Mass. EcoWise at ShopWise. and a Boodle feast - Part II

So hearing mass was the first part of the Sunday night. After the priest dismissed the congregation, Alfred and I parted with Joy. I would have wanted to take Joy up on her invitation to her new apartment and have some pasta that she prepared that afternoon. We had to turn her down though, for two reasons: Alfred really really wanted to eat at a particular restaurant, and we had some grocery shopping to do.

We've been to ShopWise several times already, mostly when we needed to buy Pedigree or Alpo for Zune. There was a also a time that we bought vegetables and fruits there for my week's diet. I've seen the banners and adverts they have regarding their reusable eco-friendly bags and always thought that that was a fantastic idea. I never bought one before because we had no real intention to make ShopWise shopping a regular activity. Last night, we decided to buy the bag because, well, as it turns out, we do visit ShopWise almost every other week.

I took pictures of the bag but I'm having a hard time uploading using my mobile phone. Argh.

So we got the bag and the cashier started filling it up with our items (it's a big bag) and then I read about the reusable bag and their double points promo. For ShopWise card holders, much like SM Advantage, you get points for your purchases. For people using the bag, they get double points for all items that fit in the bag. So the reusable bag has three purposes : 1) reduce the amount of plastic used by Shopwise customers; 2) have a sturdy big bag for your grocery items; and, 3) earn double points for your Wise card.

I really just bought the bag for it's eco-friendly purpose. I've also been declining plastic bags from Ministop, often just carrying or pocketing the stuff I purchase. I also wish they would allow us to bring our own canvas bags when shopping at SM. Or perhaps SM should have their green bags available for clothing purchases, etc., and not just for use in their Supermarkets and with conditions at that.

Anywho, we've been really conscious about plastics and waste lately, it figured in quite a number of our recent conversations. I've mentioned that the Choco Oreo Truffles ala Bakerella are a big hit and people are actually ordering it from me now. I can't help but think about how wasteful the packaging is. Yes, you've guessed it, it is plastic. So Alfred and I were thinking of alternatives and paper bags just don't seem a good idea so we got the microwavable plastic stuff (more expensive than the ones I've used) and then we'll just put tags on it to encourage buyers to reuse the container or give it back to us to take a small amount off their next purchase. We'll see how that goes.

Finally, we could sit down for dinner after running around that massive grocery store. Alfred originally wanted to eat at Hap Chan but I wanted a Boodle feast at Seafood Island. Either way we would be spending around 500 pesos for the meal. Just as before, we thought about how gluttonous we looked ordering a feast for 3-4 persons, while there was just 2 of us. We looked at a family of about 3 adults and 2-3 kids who also ordered one of the boodle feasts. Are they having the 3-4 version, or the 5-6? Hopefully the latter. In fairness, they had additional orders.

Hearing Mass. EcoWise at ShopWise. and a Boodle feast - Part I

I have Sundays off but boyfriend doesn't so I usually spend the day here at home and wait for him to get off at between 5 and 7 PM. At around lunch time, we would start IM'ing back and forth - what are we going to do, where are we going?

Yesterday, we decided to hear mass. Now, this is not something we normally do. In our 8 years together, we've attended mass together only a few times. When we started going out, he professed to be an atheist. He was going through personal struggles at that time and I'd like to think that I helped him turn back and rediscover his faith. No, I did not bring him to Church - not to mine, not anywhere. I gave him a wooden cross instead (rather lent him) and told him he could always hold on to it. Maybe we prayed together too. Okay, I also remember saying a silent prayer for him every night we were out together in the garden...

After some time and many long discussions with his closest friends who also did not believe in established religion, he just started hearing mass again.

I'm pretty open-minded about different faiths and religion. I grew up mingling with other kids from different churches - my ecumenical circle :) I owe that to the fact that our church was a member of, and my mom worked at, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).

Anyway, since highschool I had it in my mind to visit other churches - a different kind of visita iglesia. At the time, one of my friends was a Catholic who went to Wednesday Novenas and my best friend was a Christian (she wasn't very active at church though at the time), so that for me offered opportunities to put that plan in to place. I was only able to attend a Sunday Service at my best friend's church once. I grew sleepy though. The youth service she invited me to some time later was more my thing. It was an afternoon event and she played the guitar. I actually enjoyed that. Sadly, boyfriend did not dig the praise music some of them were playing, he said he felt it was a little too loud. That's when I realized how he's not ready for that, he was raised and educated in Catholic institutions and though he respects other people's beliefs, he isn't ready for that much immersion.

Anyway, yesterday we decided to go hear Mass. There were no afternoon/Vespers mass in our Church at this time of year so I had to ask around for schedules at Catholic churches nearby. Because dining was also on boyfriend's mind and I was thinking of grocery shopping for Zune and oreo truffle ingredients, we decided to hear mass in Cubao. I asked my friend Vanette for the schedules in the Church near her apartment and asked her to tag along too if she wanted. It was my friend Joy who lived a few blocks away from the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish that took us up on the invitation.

I've only ever seen that Church from the outside a few times so I was surprised by its magnificence when we entered its doors. There was a lot of people too.

Sadly, I wasn't inspired. There was no misalet so I couldn't follow the readings and I could barely understand what was being read. I did try to pay attention to the Gospel reading and the succeeding sermon. The choir's singing was booming through the speaker system so I wasn't sure if the rest of the congregation was singing along, I know Joy and Alfred were, and I was trying too. Again, there was no misalet with the songs so I couldn't easily follow along. The only familiar song was what they sang at the end.

Everyone else was intent in their personal conversations with the Lord, I guess that's what is paramount. Sometimes I just feel that Sunday Mass is for celebrating your faith with others - it's a group event. If I was to have personal time with the Lord, I didn't have to be in Church with a hundred other people to do that. It reminded me of how family fits in my idea of church and Sunday services.

We didn't line up to receive communion too, which I've always found odd with some people.

Don't get me wrong, I am in no way trying to pass judgment on anyone or anybody, understand that I am searching for an outlet too and trying to understand myself and my faith.

Sunburn, waves and water proof paper!

I feel like I'm on vacation right now but I'm just on my regular weekend off. I had such a fun day yesterday - water fun under the sun! I had the best company ever - boyfriend, my friend from work Vanette, my niece Dalnes and my nephew Esban.

Vanette loves swimming. She's gone to two swimming courses in the three years I've known her. We've been talking about taking a dip for the whole month of April but didn't get to go then. Oh when we finally got to go, the sun was really on it's brightest and hottest! Yesterday seems like the only day in the past week that didn't have rains in the afternoon. There were threatening rain clouds at around 4PM but they didn't blow over Taytay (the municipality where the resort is at), and even when it started drizzling as we were on our way home, it was just brief like the wind just blew them over there.

We went to Club Manila East, a resort that's about 35-45 minutes away from here. This was the same resort that Vanette and I went to 3 years ago with 3 of our other guy batchmates from work (who are all no longer in the company). This visit was in stark contrast to the first one: we were practically alone there on that Friday afternoon while we shared the resort yesterday with hundreds of people! They have more pools this time around though so it didn't really feel very crowded, except perhaps in the Beach Waves pool.

As my dad drove us in to the entrance of Club Manila East (CME), we were overwhelmed by the number of people hanging around at the gate and the vehicles that filled the parking lot. Thankfully, the queue for tickets wasn't that long so we were in after about 5 minutes. While waiting, Alfred lifted Esban to see the people on the kayaks. We also saw the sign for surfing lessons up front. At first we wondering, how could they do it? Surely, the artificial waves wouldn't be that strong. Later in the day, we learned just how possible it was to really ride those waves!

The only thing that kept me from really enjoying the trip to the max was that I caught a cold the night before and it's just no fun swimming with colds. I also couldn't stand the intensity of the sun's rays. It was really awesome that one of CME's maintenance guys put up our table and chairs about five feet from this pool that had the least people in, and right under a mango tree! Shade! We had the coolest spot ever and we only had to pay 100 pesos for it. Before we got that spot we wanted to rent a hut or a cabana but all of them were already taken. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise really.

The kids really maxed themselves out swimming, it was fun to have them because they could both swim already so we didn't always have to fuss about them. All we had to was just make sure we had our eyes on them. They did venture out on their own to the Kiddie Pool on the other side of the resort. Dal is very capable to watch her brother though so I didn't worry too much. They came back in less than 15 minutes.

The first pool we checked out was Beach Waves. Of course, within 5 minutes of our arrival, the kids were on there. Good thing too because the waves just started. Us three adults didn't get to experience the waves yet in the morning, it's like the waves went on break or something. So we checked out the other pools and found our awesome shaded spot.

When our pool (yes, I claimed it) was closing at 5PM, we decided to go back to the Wave Pool. Vanette and I would not leave without getting a taste of it (not literally okay). Alfred and the kids went there after lunch so boyfriend already knew why Esban just couldn't get enough. So off we went and WOW, those are some waves. The whole time I was thinking, real waves are more forgiving! Haha. We stayed for like three cycles, the last one were just at the "shore" where the waves break. It was so much fun. I kept worrying about Esban though because as violent as the waves were, he kept taking them on and pushing forward! I had Alfred and Dal alternately chasing after him. Near sundown though, he was the one who said we should go - he was hungry and looking forward to going to SM Taytay!

The shower rooms weren't crowded as I though they would be. Thank God. There wasn't much hassle getting the kids cleaned and dressed up. Esban even came back for me asking me to hurry - that's just because we thought it was going to rain. We had to take pedicabs to the main street as the shuttle was no longer available (too bad, we were looking forward to taking a ride on those). And then we took a jeepney to SM Taytay. We really just wanted to check it out a bit and maybe find something other than Jollibee to eat, but we ended up eating at McDonald's! I figured it would be easier to get a cab from there too. Okay, it wasn't easy, but we did get a cab that agreed to take us home.

Esban fell asleep on the ride home, just as expected. He came up here after lunch to tell me he liked it at CME and wants to go back. That's just as expected too. I want to go back too sweetie :)

Any regrets on the trip? I guess only that I didn't borrow Edsel's camera pack to get the digicam water proofed. Another would be that we didn't ask other friends to tag along. There's always a next time. :)

Oh, this has turned into a long post and I haven't even mentioned the water proof paper bracelet they make you wear upon entrance. No worries, I'll have another post on this later with pictures! I've just transferred them from the camera and checking them out!