Return to Divisoria - Thursday Thirteen - #12

Though I did not get much sleep, I am so happy with how we spent our day. Alfred finally took me for some retail therapy where all the bargain hunters go - Divisoria! (Check other posts about Divi - the place to be! - here, here and here.

So this edition of Thursday Thirteen is all about my July 2 2008 trip to Divi!

• This was the earliest I've ever been to Divi - we were there before 9am. I got off work at around 730 and we went there right after breakfast. We were able to beat the traffic because we passed through North rather than traverse the length of Quezon Avenue and España. Early is the best time at Divi!
  
• We hopped on a jeepney from Divi to Morayta on our way home. Why is this worth mentioning? Because I do not commute (public transport) on a daily basis. I take a cab to and from work not because I'm rich or maarte but because it's the fastest, and actually the most practical way for me. If I were to go by public transport, it would take 2 rides and about 4 blocks on foot to get to work. I do take the jeepney if I only have to go somewhere "near." The ride reminded me that I should commute more often - ditch the cabs!
  
• We set out to find these, and we did! All I need is magnets and can turn them into those. They were so cheap!

1. 

• We also got two pairs of pants for myself with some embroidered embellishments on the pockets (not too attention grabbing, don't worry). (PhP 250 each)
  
• I also grabbed a pair for my mom!
  
• There are 2 shirts for dad too! (at PhP 250 for both!)
  
• A black jacket for Alfred which really made his shoulders look broader than usual (I likey). This would hopefully curb his craving for an Adidas jacket. :)
  
• Anime DVDs! (for Alfred too)
• It rained so we had to purchase two big umbrellas (for 90 pesos or 2 US dollars each)
• We used only 50% of plastic bags than we would normally have because I had my funky Envirosax tote!
  
• Oh, and I got cheap fabrics for a project I'll be making this weekend. I'm not sure but I got the feeling that these were scraps or rejects or something. But the prints are awesome. No pictures for now because I'd rather post the finished product.
  
• I got a muumuu for myself, and one for Alfred's mom. Okay, we don't call them muumuus here, we refer to them as dusters but that's the closest English equivalent I could find. And these 'dresses' I got are house-dresses, not what one would normally wear when going out. :)
• Aside from the assault we did on Divisoria Mall itself, we were only able to look around the two streets leading to DM but there are so many other shops and sidewalk stalls in that area that we will have to scour next time we're there. If things go the way I want them to in terms of projects, we'd probably go there at least once every month. Yay!
  

Read my past TTs here and here.

Oh, Thank you for taking me there Babe!

My Cooking Master Boy and Thursday Thirteen #11

Cooking Master Boy - that is Alfred's favorite anime. I enjoyed watching it too when it was on ABS-CBN but for Alfred, it's like a how-to guide for cooking. Seriously. He's been watching the series again, but this time through Youtube.com or Crunchyroll.com or some other video site that carry the any or all 52 episodes of the toon.

He's been wanting to cook the perfect Yangchow fried rice, or even just to simply perfect the art of adding egg to rice. The other day, after watching an episode of Cooking Master Boy, he claimed to know the trick to get it done. For breakfast yesterday morning, he got up and tried his newly learned trick. In fairness, he didn't disappoint. So breakfast was a big, fun event yesterday. :)

A couple of hours later, while we were at the mall looking for a chopper/food processor to make crushing Oreos an easier task for me, he still couldn't forget about his wonderfully cooked fried rice. He was disappointed at not having taken a photo; I said we'll capture it on film next time - if he can recreate it. :)

Today, I am bummed about NOT being able to post a decent TT in the past 3 or 4 weeks. Really, I had several ideas and posts written out in my mind but I never reached the keyboard to get them all out. Does that happen to you too? I think it happens to many of us - we actually think about stuff that's happening around us and react to them, and then later think what a great post that would turn out to be - and then not get to post.

So here's my thirteen posts I have yet to write.

1. A post for or about my Mom and our relationship. Of course with Mother's Day last Sunday, I thought about how we didn't grow up as 'good friends' but having an ok relationship nonetheless. Instead of posting those thoughts right away, I stopped to look for her pictures that I can scrap and include in the post.
2. My top freebie hunts for digital scrapbooking. I have long wanted to feature maybe two designer blogs at a time, as my little way of thanking them for all the wonderful designs they give away to cheap-o's like me who grab every freebie that comes their way. :) When I get to do this, the first one I would write about would be Susan of Raspberry Road.
3. My follow up post about our day at the beach waves of Club Manila East. I have not finished my layouts of our pictures. And I MUST talk about the indestructible paper bracelet.
   
4. Ramble about what I'm going to do for social change. As a young girl I was involved in many activities that contribute to society. I really was a child rights advocate and not just one who would talk about it. Now, I don't really do anything in that front and I wish I could change that.
5. My thoughts on being a non-active Church member who does not attend Sunday mass (or any mass for that matter). I specifically want to dig through my thoughts and feelings about what I can do to be part of either the Youth movement or Sunday School. I know I have something to contribute, I'm just not making time.
   
6. Our third anniversary in the company. On the 23rd, Vanette, Edsel, Bea, Joey and I would be celebrating our 3rd year at NCO. We're down to 3 from the original 24 (am I correct?) who started training as L2 TSRs. We were the special class that spent one week at Camelot Hotel. We were the class with a lot of potential.
7. I wanted to share an inspirational video that I watched while I was at work the other day. It's about how our attitude towards events and things in our everyday lives could be key to what becomes of us . At least that's what I remember about it. I will watch it again and get the link up here someday.
8. Ramble about friends and why I am not like others who spend so much time with friends. This is something I think about very often.
9. Budgeting and saving money; making money. I really would love to travel and go on trips but don't have the resources for it. I've been earning three times as much as I did three years ago and yet my bank account doesn't have much. I know I can be thrifty if I wanted to, so why am I not so? I also make a little money through my blog over at http://verabear.bravejournal.com but I'd also like to explore how else I can earn online.
   
10. Marriage/Wedding plans. Okay, there are no concrete plans yet
    
11. I have not added Steve Berry's The Third Secret to my bookcase. I read this weeks ago.
12. How my luck is turning and my team is performing well at work now. I wanted to write about each team member to go with the pictures of our videoke night. That's another item on my "to-scrap" list.
13. The baking courses and schools and I read about online and why I want to sign up. Last month, I had plans to sign up for baking courses (which would have started in May).

I will post about these things SOON. If not, well, at least they're on this list already. Hahaha!

Read my past TTs here and here.

Enrich your vocabulary while donating free rice!

I was browsing the World Food Programme website today and found a link to a nice and fun way to continue making a difference. The link led me to Free Rice; all I did was play a word game and I ended up donating 1260 grains of rice and I am on Level 37 for my vocabulary!

Now 37 is not even the average score, which disappoints me, hehe. So I'm pretty sure I'll be going back to that site, play the game, and donate more grains of rice. You should go play too.

I am skipping Thursday Thirteen this week, but you may check out my old TT's here and here.

Thursday Thirteen - #10

I can't believe I almost missed Thursday Thirteen again this week...
In the spirit of Idol Gives Back, which was an awesome show that I almost missed too, here are 13 ways to give back - online.

1 to 6: On my sidebar I have my 'one-click donations.' All you got to do is go to those sites and click on the button to make a donation. It doesn't even take 5 minutes of your time (on hi-speed Internet)

7 to 9 Care2.com is another site that offers you an opportunity to click to donate and they have quite a number of campaigns going there. Sign up to learn more of what you can do. Click on these three buttons to start your own race.

10 Save the Children UK used to have a Philippine office and I was involved with some of their projects as a teener. You can shop at their site to make a difference. Just click on the logo and it'll take you to their page.


11 ECPAT is a global network of organizations dedicated to combat the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. I was very active in this network in my young life and was involved in many activities. Here's a link to a page that lets you make donations to the cause through PayPal, but please explore their website for information on this issue plaguing the world's children.

Ok, I am two links short but I really got to go and get ready for work tonight. I'll come back and add two more to these links. C'mon, let's all give back...

Edit: Ok, here are the additional links.

12 I found this website a long time ago (I already forgot how) and was fascinated by the work they do. I even wrote to them asking for any possibility that they may feature kids from the Philippines and Asia, but they weren't prepared for that at the time. Today I remembered how I was so interested to maybe even organize a local chapter or start something like this here. Maybe I shouldn't give up on that. Visit their site and learn how you can Make a Child Smile by sending them and their siblings real cards. You can make a donation too, if you want.

13 This website is for a local foundation taking care of abused and abandoned girl children. I've never really worked directly with the organization itself but I've worked with some of their girls in the past, through my involvement at ECPAT and the youth organization we built - Young People against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Childern. Visit the CRIBS Foundation website and checkout their How to help link to find out how you can help a child in the Philippines.

Move along now, you got 13 sites to help you give back :)

Thursday Thirteen - #9

I'm supposed to be at work already, but my boss let me come in half day (totally last minute) so I could go to my nephew's Moving Up (graduation) ceremonies. He's moving up from Pre-school to 1st grade next year. Wow!

Wow, how time really flies. Seems like just the other day I was whining about not having posted a TT, and here it is time for another one

My grandpa came home yesterday and we were all having lunch just awhile ago (my youngest cousin Jomar graduated from gradeschool this morning) and he was complaining that my cousin Ton has been regulating his food intake. He said he wanted to eat more. I just told him he can have a little snack in another few hours...

Anyhoo, I started this TT for last week's post - All about my grandfather. [to check out my previous TTs through the Category link on the left sidebar, for older ones, go here]

Thirteen Things about my Papa

1. His full name is Bonifacio Somebang Sr. He is also called Mayngan.
2. He is 81 years old. We threw him a surprise birthday party for his 80th and there were about 200-300 people in attendance. I emceed the event. His great grandkids sang a song for him (one I picked). At home after the party, he told me it was the happiest day of his life. I love that so many people came to celebrate with us and they showed him their love and appreciation for him. The preparation which took months was kept secret - secret family meetings where someone had to distract Papa, and everyone invited was asked not to talk about it around him. The food was prepared in another relative's house. We got him to wear a barong to mass. He was surprise to see so many of his friends and relatives attending the afternoon mass at Church.
   
3. He was the first Barangay Captain of Barangay Kalusugan and held the post for over 20 years. He was the father of the entire community.
4. He worked for the American Anglican priests and is part of the history of our Church - specially the history of the Seminary.
5. He is the patriarch not only of his immediate family but of the clan - see he's the only one surviving among his siblings.
6. He mostly stays at home now except hwen he has errands for his Golden Agers Club for senior citizens or he has a doctor's appointment. He recently went on a trip to Davao to attend a wedding and someone also hosted him at a nearby city - Cagayan de Oro - for a much needed vacation. Last year, he went to Boracay. And I've never been there!
7. He has 6 children, 14 grandkids and about 10 great grandkids.
8. He went on a trip around the world - twice I think, and for free.
   
9. He has written his memoirs. Part I is being edited by my Ma and Part II by my aunt. It's very interesting. He was inspired to finish it after reading the book published by his sister. He started it a long time ago but floods and rats destroyed a chunk of it and he had to copy/rewrite chapters of it - by hand.
10. He has a pacemaker.
11. About 15 years ago, he suffered from 3rd degree burns in an accident.
12. He's a boxing and basketball fan.
13. He used to take the whole family out to swim every summer. He loved driving us all around and teaching all his grandkids how to swim. 4 of us could hang around his shoulders at one time!

Thursday Thirteen - #8

Wow, it's been more than a year since my last T13 (my previous t13s are over here). I've been wondering when I'd be able to post leisurely on a Thursday so I could participate in this popular meme again. Glad am still up at 245AM this Thursday :)

For this week, let me showcase 13 pictures of my boyfriend, Alfred. This afternoon, my colleague Richard asked me why I always referred to Alfred as 'boyfriend' when I talk about him. Well, I'm not used to calling him Alfred anymore and that's how he's called at work. So if I'm speaking with people who call him Fred or Alfred, I refer to him as boyfriend. If I'm speaking with others who refer to him as Dodong, as I do, I call him that. Simple :)

I'm doing this because I appreciate what he did for me today (oh, yesterday). Actually, he does a lot of things for me and I truly appreciate all of it. I love you sweetie! :)

--> Okay, so this is more a picture of me with my college girlfriends, but look at Dong right there on the far right looking at us? He finds us amusing. heheh. We've been together almost as long as I've been friends with these girls. I still remember how nervous he was the first time I took him to meet them. :)






--> Now this second picture is one I took with my camera phone while having lunch at Petruss, probably around Valentine season last year. That's him pretending to be impatient.







--> This is his solo shot in the picturesque Fedilisan Rice Terraces, taken in our Sagada trip last year. We were resting because I was sooo tired with the trek back up to Bangaan so we took pictures of each other. He was so patient with me that time, which he normally isn't when I slow him down. He says he was so proud of me because I conquered it all during that trip. :)



--> These next two were both taken in restaurants. On the left is the 'before' pic of our boodle feast at Seafood Island. On the right is his Gramm's Diner pic while waiting for our orders.




<-- This next one is him lounging at our company employee lounge during the Family Day last year. We brought several of my nieces and nephews and we had just finished eating and were watching an animated movie. The kids were either sprawled in bean bags or slouching on the other furniture too.



--> Now, he will kill me for posting these next two! The first one was the first/last time he had a facial. He was totally complaining about the pricking! The second one was a surprise shot at Seafood Island.

<-- He'll definitely remember this, he was so happy when he finally got his iPod! Almost a year ago now :) It takes a lot of convincing to get him to lend it to me.


The next three photos were significant - our first dog iPod's birthday 'party.'

And now for his all-time favorite picture that I took while waiting at the recruitment area of our office:


I love you sweetie! :)

THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE THURSDAY THIRTEEN:

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. What do you do? Write Thirteen things about yourself, summarize your week in one entry, make it easy for other bloggers to get to know you on a weekly basis. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is not only encouraged, it is part of being a Thursday Thirteener!

Have your 13? Add your link to Mister Linky and leave me a comment so I can go check it out. :)

Edit: I think there was something wrong with my choice of Linky because it isn't posting the links? I'll change it if I can see what will work...