Almost about Sex and the City

I wanted to blog about Sex and the City but I don't feel well. I have colds and my nose is killing me and I feel a bit hot. :( I hope I won't get sick because I have an appointment tomorrow with a wedding supplier. I can easily cancel but I will be going with Penny. And I so want to see her to talk about wedding preparations hehe. So yeah, I will probably just sleep early and drink a lot of fluids and pray that I feel better tomorrow. Okay, I will go back to watching the marathon of American Idol now. Bye! Have a nice weekend.

Bohol 2005

It’s been raining for a few days now. Where did summer go? I wasn’t even able to go to the beach. Boo! Anyway, I just want to reminisce the time when I went to Bohol. We went there for our division outing in 2005. The trip coincided with the Labor Day holiday so we didn’t need to file for leave.

The start of our trip was a sign that this was going to be an interesting one. At the airport, we saw a lot of local celebrities. It was I think the same time that the biggest TV networks were having their summer caravan (they send out their artists to different provinces to have their shows there).

L-R (Row1): with Angelica Panganiban, with Roxanne Guinoo, with Anne Crutis, another one with Anne; (Row2) : with Mare and Pare (Winnie Monsod and Oscar Orbos), with Jericho Rosales, with Jomari Yllana, that’s just me hehe

We arrived at Tagbilaran City, Bohol almost lunch time. So our first stop for the tour is the Loboc River where we had the river cruise.

After the river cruise, we went to see the tarsiers.


We also went inside the Baclayon Church but I don’t have pictures there. Okay, I really don’t remember the sequence of the places we visited but we also went to the blood compact monument.


Of course a trip to Bohol won’t be complete without visiting the Chocolate Hills. On the way to Chocolate Hills, you will pass by their manmade forest. We didn’t really stop there but the tourist guide mentioned it as we passed by. What I remember most about Bohol was it was sweltering hot when we were there. We didn’t have the energy to go up to the viewing deck so our photos of Chocolate Hills are not that great. So that one will go down to my to-do list on my next visit to Bohol.


The next day we spent the full day at Panglao Island Nature Resort. We enjoyed the beach…


And the pool..



Picture taking at every nook and cranny of the resort. We also went to a nearby Cambagat cave.


Our day was capped off by a nice dinner by the pool and more picture taking.




Our last day was a free-for-all day. We can do whatever we want to do. We passed by Bohol Beach Club.


Tita Julie then brought us to the vacation house of her friend in Panglao.


Then it was time to say goodbye to Bohol. Last picture taking of the group at the hotel.


I love Cebu Pacific’s colorful planes.

Prenup 2: Avilon Zoo

After lunch, we made a pit stop at Shell gas station along Commonwealth for an outfit change and retouch of my makeup. Nakigamit lang kami ng CR nila haha. Anyway, while in the CR kakatakot na yung kulog and super dilim na. Ella was telling me to stay calm and that it wouldn't rain. At kahit umulan pa ay maganda pa rin ako haha. I so love that girl! Kaya lang we had to say goodbye to her there, she didn't come along with us na sa Avilon zoo. Even before we left the gas station, trickles of rain were starting to drop. And then it started raining hard as in HARD! It felt like someone was playing tricks on us. Sabi ni Jo Anne para daw may nagbubuhos sa min ng timba ng tubig galing langit haha which is true! That's how it felt like. I was praying so hard na sana sa biyahe lang malakas ang ulan and sana pagdating namin sa Avilon the rain will stop. We used the route from Commonwealth going to Litex to Avilon zoo. Katakot ang daan. We passed by this area na parang gilid ng bundok and then the road near Avilon zoo naman super putik dahil sa ulan. Dami-dami pang dumadaan na mga truck. We thought we were lost already. We passed by this area where there were rows and rows of similar houses, sabi ni Jayson kung hindi kami makarating sa Avilon pwede na kami magshoot don.

Thankfully, we finally arrived at Avilon. The travel time from QC was actually pretty fast. It only took us about an hour to get to the zoo. Siguro without the heavy rains and muddy roads, it would have been faster. Ambon-ambon na lang ang ulan when we got there. We paid for the entrance fees (P208/head) and the tour guide (P350) and then we're good to go. They weren't really strict with the photoshoot (mas strict pa si manong guard sa Math bldg) but they asked Jayson to fill up a form that indicated the equipments that he will be using. I don't know it's some kind of a waiver kasi si Jayson na ang nag-fill up ng form.

Our tour guide, Irene, started us with the arapaima. They were these big fishes who are fed with 5 kilos of bangus every two weeks. And then she showed us the ducks that they breed in the zoo and then they fed the poor birds to the crocodiles. Ach! So from the ducks, she led us to the crocodiles. When we got out of there (alive haha), we were led to these huge cages for the birds. She told us that peacock is a male term while the female is called peahen and the baby are called peachick. We're like "Ooowwwss..joke yan e" hahaha. Apparently, they're collectively known as peafowl. Then we saw this really lovable white dog - think Angel Locsin in Lobo. Of course, we have to take a picture with Oskee (the dog). Irene also showed us to the maina birds and man, they can talk. Talk like people - as in not just "hi" and "hello" meron pang "kumain ka na ba?". It's really amazing kasi boses tao talaga. Meron don boses ng babae, meron din lalaki. Kaaliw! After that we were led to the area where you can have your picture taken with the python. Guess who did that? :) They also have this area for the baby araipamas and you can feed them with chicken head. That was pretty exciting and kakatakot ng onti because the fish were jumping out of the water jus to get to their food. We also have pictures with the orangutans. They're hairy little b*tches haha. They were a bit cranky because they were supposed to go home na pala to eat. Eto naman kaming gusto pa magpapicture. Kapagod din going around the zoo. Zach was ready to give up na before the tour ended. He was tired of having to walk around the 7.5 heactare zoo. But he was a really nice boy and didn't throw a tantrum. We were still able to finish all the exhibits. After the tour Jayson still did some shots around the area. Our sunset shots were like posters for Seiko Films haha. Landian sa Talahiban ang pwedeng title.

The ride going back to QC was pretty quick. We had dinner at McDonald's Katipunan. We ate and then talked about what happened during the day. I'm so glad they enjoyed our little adventure because we did too. The trip to Avilon was worth it. I can't wait to show you our photos. I'm sure they will be great!

Prenup 1: UP Diliman

Yesterday was our prenup shoot. My day started early because I have to have my makeup done. Ella came by our house a few minutes before 7am. She was very nice and we clicked right away. We talked about so many things while she did my makeup kaya nga ata medyo nalate kami umalis. I thought we'll be finished after an hour pero she probably did my makeup for almost two hours. Admitted naman sya na she's a bit OC when doing makeup. She started by applying primer on my face, some moisturizer I think para sa skin care. Tapos yun foundation na and then eye makeup. Medyo dun pala matagal kasi talagang yun ang importante to open up my eyes daw. After that blush and lipstick and then we're done. We we're running a bit behind our sched kasi ang sinabi ko kina Jayson was 9am sa UP. So I texted Jo Anne na just to let them know and buti na lang late din pala sila. Whew! Ella was kind enough to let me hitch with her going to UP. So we talked some more and I found out that aside from being a cool make-up artist, she’s also a product manager who works atleast once a week from home, she was a swimmer and part of the varsity team of UP and the Philippine team, she's the daughter of one of the 60+ fellows of ASP and she loves dogs. I'm giving her one of our puppies. Super naaliw sya dahil ang dami naming tuta sa bahay. So so many things to talk about and so little time. We arrived at the oblation a few minutes after 9am, and Joema was there already. Hehe sya pa talaga ang nauna sa amin. Niloloko namin sya ni Ella na dapat magpa-makeup din sya, na lalagyan sya ni Ella ng blush. Ayaw daw nya. Sabi ni Ella on our wedding day di na daw sya makakatakas, itatali na namin sya sa upuan and then Ella will do his makeup. Joke lang naman kasi Ella told me na she's just going to put some powder, medyo contour siguro sa face and lipgloss lang dahil lalaki naman yun. Di kailangan ng anything else.

We waited for Jayson to arrive to start the shoot. He arrived with Jo Anne and Zach since gusto daw sumama ni Zach sa zoo and with his assistant Jun. When they arrived, he started shooting us at the back of Quezon Hall near the Lagoon. Syempre at first medyo ilang pa kami ni Joema. But eventually I think we got the hang of it (I'd like to think that we did!). Jayson would joke para matawa kami. Chaka easy poses lang yung pinapagawa nya like hug each other or holding hands lang. After don punta kami sa bike lane na napagalitan pa si Jayson nung isang "traffic enforcer" at bawal daw don. Then pinaupo kami ni Jayson sa isang bench and tambay-tambay lang konting chika. Then we proceeded sa gilid ng Film Center sa mga bricks. All this pala kasama din namin sila Ella, Jo Anne, Zach and Jun. Ella wanted to be there para makita nya yung test shots and she'll be do a touchup of my makeup after lunch. Si Zach naman was also taking our pictures - budding photographer din. Buti na lang talaga at maaraw nung umaga kahit na super init okay na rin. It was almost lunch time when we finished shooting there pero I told Jayson I'd want some shots taken at Math building. Jo Anne, Zach and Ella stayed behind na, kami na lang yung nagpunta sa Math building.

When we arrived at the building kami muna ni Joema yung pumasok. Di naman kami sinita ng guard kaya I told him to get Jayson and Jun. But when the guard saw them with their cameras, pinigilan silang pumasok. I later learned na the guard wanted them to go to CS ata, bring their IDs there and get a permit. E nung lumabas ako at nakita kong ayaw sila papasukin sabi ko sa guard sandali lang naman kami kahit 5 minutes lang (syempre that's not true). And then the guard suggested I talk to the director at magpaalam. Sabi ko "Sige. Sino po ba anjan? Si Sir Joey po ba?" Oo daw kaya ayun di ako nawalan ng pag-asa. Pagkakita namin kay Sir Joey I told him that Joema and I we're getting married and we wanted to take some photos inside the building. Sir Joey just waved off the guard and told him that we were former students there. Hurray! Syempre konting kamustahan with Sir. He told us that Institute na pala ang Math (hindi na department) and apparently sya na nga ang director. I told him he didn't aged a bit which is true. He looked younger pa nga. Si Joema asked kung andon pa tambayan ng SUMS. Kasi pala sinabi nya sa guard na member sya ng SUMS, yung guard ang kilala lang MMC at Math Club. Pahiya tuloy sya hahaha. Sir Joey told us na kahit nga yung tambayan ng MMC at Math club kung saan-saan na nadidisplace dahil kulang ata sa rooms. And yung SUMS is not a CS-based org so they are not in the building anymore (or pwede ring naglaho na talaga ang org na binuo namin haha). So anyway, we said goodbye to Sir Joey and proceeded with the shoot. We went to one of the classrooms, it's actually the classroom of Joema's block for their Math 17. Our block naman was just the room beside it. Jayson had a blast shooting at the classroom. Special request ko naman to shoot with the UP Toki jeep hehe. Basta our shoot at the Math building was really memorable for me. It was sort of a documentation of our love story, where it all began. Our "sandali lang" shoot there turned into an hour-long shoot kaya we were all really hungry after. We went back to Quezon Hall to get the three we left behind and proceeded to Mang Jimmy's.

Joema and I rode with Ella going to Mang Jimmy's. May mga konting pagbabago na sa Mang Jimmy's, yung ulam nila instead of P90 naging P100. Tapos di na bottomless kanin...you get no. of persons + 2 rice. Gets? Like us 6 adults kami so we got 8 cups of rice. Tapos sa ulam naman buy 6, free 2. Kaya fiesta ang lunch namin! We ordered sisig (na ang sarap pa rin!), pusit, porkchop, blue marlin and pork liempo. And dahil super uhaw na kami naka-3 liters of Coke kami. Galit-galit muna kami while eating. Busog naman lahat after. Although si Zach nabusog sa burger nyang baon at hindi sa Mang Jimmy's hehe.

DC it is!

I'm so so glad David Cook won the American Idol title. I wasn't able to watch the results show yesterday because we're out the whole day for our prenup shoot (more on that later). My father texted me the result as early as 10am yesterday. But of course I will watch the replay. Yey yey yey! I wasn't expecting him to win (although I'm really rooting for him) because of Simon's comments during the performance show.

So the soccer moms were the moving force behind his win.

Unlimited Perversion

My mother gave me her other Sun cellular phone, the one with unlimited texts and calls if you text or call other Sun cellular lines. So anyway, since it’s unlimited, nauuso na naman ang mga nakikipag-phonepal (what do they call these nowadays?) Hay naku it all started last Friday, I had two missed calls from the same number. When I showed it to my brother he called the other line – which I think is stupid since it wasn’t registered in my phone. Although the only numbers registered in that phone is my mother’s and my brother’s numbers. So anyway, I told him to hang up since I don’t know who owns the other line. And then after that I got a text message “hi”. I didn’t reply of course even if it’s for free. And then he (yes, I know he’s a he) started calling again. I figured I will answer the call but I won’t speak para lang masayang yung minutes nya. At first he was saying “hello…hello…” And then ohmygosh! Pervert! He was moaning on the other end. I know nothing physical happened, I didn’t even see his face but I really felt violated and offended. Up until now I still get calls from him although I don’t answer anymore and reject his calls. If only the phone has a call barring feature. Super low-tech naman kasi so it doesn’t have that feature. So what will I do now? Today, he made 5 calls already, the first was 6:30 this morning! Argh! I hope he gets tired of calling. :(

Just Married

I was able to watch Just Married last night on ETC. It was hilarious. I can only imagine what will happen in case Joema and I go through the same on our honeymoon. For example the one where they where evicted our of that palace hotel – I don’t think either one of us has the personality to talk back to the hotel owner/manager like that. Then they slept in that small car – I would’ve bitched the whole night if I was there. Then they had to sleep in that crap of an inn. OMG! We wouldn’t even check-in on that kind of inn. Although we’ve stayed in budget hotels before, but they are clean and not that old. Then they had that ex-boyfriend of Brittany Murphy following them around, I don’t think my ex will follow us around on our honeymoon. For one we don’t even have connections nowadays so he doesn’t even know I’m getting married. And I don't think he's still hung up on me like Peter in the movie.

I must admit, I was a bit teary eyed after Ashton Kutcher’s “please open the gate so that I can tell my wife” speech hahaha.

A Guy's Point System on How to Make a Woman Happy

A friend emailed this to me. Very funny...but true! ahahaha


In the world of romance, one single rule applies to the men: Make the woman happy.
Do something she likes, and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted.
You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played.
Here is a guide to the point system:

SIMPLE DUTIES
You make the bed (+1)
You make the bed, but forget the decorative pillow (0)
You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets (-1)
You go out to buy her what she wants (+5)
In the rain (+8)
But return with Beer (-5)
You check out a suspicious noise at night (0)
You check out a suspicious noise, and it is nothing (0)
You check out a suspicious noise and it is something (+5)
You pummel it with iron rod (+10)
It's her pet (-10)

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
You stay by her side the entire party (0)
You stay by her side for a while, then leave to chat with a college buddy (-2)
Named Tina (-4)
Tina is a dancer (-6)
Tina has silicon implants (-80)

HER BIRTHDAY
You take her out to dinner (0)
You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar (+1)
Okay, it's a sports bar (-2)
And it's all-you-can-eat night (-3)
It's a sports bar, it's all-you-can-eat night, and your face is painted the colours of your favourite team (-10)

A NIGHT OUT
You take her to a movie (+2)
You take her to a movie she likes (+4)
You take her to a movie you hate (+6)
You take her to a movie you like (-2)
It's called 'DeathCop' (-3)
You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans (-15)

YOUR PHYSIQUE
You develop a noticeable potbelly (-15)
You develop a noticeable potbelly and exercise to get rid of it (+10)
You develop a noticeable potbelly and resort to baggy jeans and baggy Hawaiian shirts (-30)
You say, "It doesn't matter, you have one too." (-8000)

ENJOY THE 'BIG' QUESTION
She asks, "Do I look fat?" (-5) [Yes, you LOSE points no matter WHAT]
You hesitate in responding (-10)
You reply, "Where?" (-35)
Any other response (-20)

COMMUNICATION
When she wants to talk about a problem , you listen, displaying what looks like a concerned expression (0)
You listen, for over 30 minutes (+50)
You listen for more than 30 minutes without looking at the TV (+500)
She realizes this is because you have fallen asleep (-10000)

The Wedding Dress

NOT! This was actually the reject. My mother told me that the neckline will not suit me and this reassures me that she is correct. I have broad shoulders and small chest. So I’ve been on the lookout for other wedding dresses and I’ve finally found another one that I’ve fallen in love with. *sigh* Let me tell you the story of this dress. My friend Penny suggested that I look into Eva Longoria’s wedding dress when I told her I didn’t want a strapless gown (like most wedding gowns are). She said that Eva’s dress was a simple halter type and the back was amazing (haha I really wanted something spectacular at the back of my gown). Anyway, so I googled for the dress however I couldn’t find any photo that has a clear shot of detail of the back. What I did was googled “celebrity+wedding+gwons” and found out about Sandra Bullock’s wedding gown.

photo credit: http://www.sandrabullockcentral.com

It was all I wanted in my own wedding dress – lacy, romantic with a nice back. And it’s actually from the same designer – Angel Sanchez. I found photos of the dress from brides.com. I really love their photo gallery there – it’s complete with details of the front and back of the gown.

By the way, while looking through thousands of wedding dresses I chanced upon this site. Check it out, it's so fun playing dress up! It even has Mounique Lhuiller's Fall 2007 collection.

screenshot from the site

29th

Yesterday was Joema’s birthday (happy birthday honey!) and I was able to file for a half-day leave. We met up for lunch and ate his fave kare-kare and pansit (for long life hehe). We were so full after our meal. And then we proceeded to go to Archbishop’s Palace. When we got there Bro Emman was not there (boo!) and the guard told us to go back this Saturday. You see they don’t really have regular office hours on Saturday but they will be open this coming weekend because Bro Emman wasn’t around yesterday and apparently today also. We can’t go back on Saturday because Joema has work. We’ll probably have to reschedule going there. Anyway, we went there yesterday hoping that Bro Emman can discuss to us what requirements we need to submit. Actually he already gave me a list before, when I paid the reservation fee, but informed me that my fiancé has to be with me when he discusses the requirements and we should go back atleast 6 months before the wedding. The documents mostly have 6-month or 3-month validity. I was anxious to have this discussion because aside from the usual documents (birth certificate, baptismal certificate, permission from our parishes), we have to get another additional document because I’m Catholic and he’s Methodist. Something that we’ll have to get somewhere near the Manila Cathedral and I’m not sure about the details. It’s supposed to be a contract (?) that says that Joema is agreeing that we’ll get married in Catholic rites and our future children will be raised as Catholics. So yeah, we’re not about to do that just yet. We'll probably go back in June.

Anyways, we watched a movie after going to the church. We watched Iron Man because everyone I knew was raving about this movie. And it was really awesome. It’s that kind of movie where you don’t want it to end because you’re having so much fun watching it. Robert Downey Jr. is so great in this movie. I don’t really know his filmography but I liked him in Ally McBeal. Too bad he had drug problems (?) and had to quit the show. I super loved him when he sang “Every Breath You Take” with Sting in one of the episodes. Well, in Iron Man obviously he’s not singing haha. If you haven’t watched it yet, go go go! It’s better to watch the movie in the big screen unless you have your own mini-theater at home. And please wait after the credits because there’s one last scene after.

After the movie, we headed home and watched the elimination show of American Idol. Actually I already knew who was going to get booted out even before the start because Lorena texted me the result – she loves Jason. Anyway, after the elimination of Michael Johns I’m quite indifferent on the results (although I was extra happy when Kristy Lee Cook left haha). But I began to like David Cook especially after the Mariah Carey theme. I hope he wins and not David Archuleta. I do like little David but I guess Cook is much more original and has a lot more character than David A.

It was back to wedding preps after watching AI. Not really wedding preps but on our honeymoon ehehehe. I showed Joema the resorts in Krabi that I’ve researched on. I am thisclose to booking one without Joema’s knowledge haha. But last night he approved of the choice I made. I am not yet sure if I’ll book it right away or wait for October and hopefully get the discounted rates because of last minute booking – but I guess if I do this I take the risk of not being able to book the resort if they don’t have available rooms anymore.

After surfing the net, we went back to watching tv. We popped in Friends in the player and laughed our heads off. Buti na lang Joema’s very easy to please – even if we didn’t do anything extra special he was still happy on his birthday because he got to spend the day with me. I’m very happy too that he is happy. I love you honey!

Travel to Toronto

I really love to travel. If only money isn't a problem, I will really travel all over the world. But since I don't have the money to spend, I indulge myself by visiting tavel blogs/sites.

Now if ever I’ll go to Canada, one of the cities I want to visit is Toronto. Bed and Breakfast Toronto is a site that is very helpful to tourists. Not only does it tell you the different hotels in Toronto, it also discusses everything and anything about Toronto. There is even this Toronto bed and breakfast for gays. Blogs like this really inspire me to save for travel expenses.

Labor Day

Our labor day holiday was packed. We, the fam with Joema, had lunch at Saisaki. We were actually there early so we waited for a while. We were all full after lunch. I think I went back to the buffet table 5 times. My frist plate was all Japanese food, then I headed for the Filipino food, and then went back for lechon de leche and then went back again for the sashimi and then finally dessert. While there we saw them filleting a big salmon. I was asked to wait for the salmon sashimi because they were still filleting the fish. It was so big. Almost as long as our table! Their band sang at our table. I am totally forgetting the two songs they sang.

After lunch we headed to the mall and did some shopping. The mall was brimming with people because of the sale. Frankly, we were there because of the sale too. The first thing we bought was a cellphone for our househelp (althought that wasn't on sale). And then we headed for the clothes. Joema and I bought outfits for our upcoming prenup shoot hehe. We were all exhausted with all that shopping (nyek!) it felt like the food we ate are all gone by the time we went home. Actually Joema and I didn't go home with them, we went straight to our friendly neighborhood salon, together with my mother, to have my haircut. My mother had hers too. Joema and I then headed to dinner with our friends. As usual everyone was late but that's okay because we waited for a while to be seated. Again, food food food. Goodbye diet! I officialy declared May 1 as my cheat day.

See my new hair (never mind that I have the same clothes during lunch and dinner)

My girls and our boys

Health is Wealth

Ever since I underwent our Annual Physical Exam and the doctor told me to go on a diet because of my high cholesterol, I have been a good patient. I started eating oatmeal everyday, less intake of rice (oatmeal is my alternative), and I ate fish and vegetables only. I did this for more than a month. Although there were times when I ate some pork and chicken, maybe two or three times during that entire duration. But after I went for another blood test, I immediately ate cheeseburger, pizza and Jollibee chickenjoy. I was really happy the second blood test resulted to normal levels of cholesterol. So now I’m back to eating pork and beef. Although I still try to eat more fish and vegetables and I still have my oatmeal daily. Both Joema and I are starting to really watch what we eat. While I had high cholesterol, Joema on the other hand has high blood pressure. His blood pressure was monitored for a month after his medical exam.

My father's side of the family has a medical history of diabetes and high blood pressure. My grandmother has diabetes so we are prone to have it too. When we take her to the hospital for confinement, it’s either because of her diabetes or her high blood pressure. Both my father and his sister are now taking medicines to lower their high blood sugar level. I am not sure though if they are experiencing neuropathy yet.

Now that I'm older, I'm starting to realize why people wish their loved ones good health during their birthdays. I now appreciate that kind of well-wishes.