Kota Kinabalu 2007

So yeah it was just the six of us who finally were able to go on with the trip. Out first day/night was like a series of unfortunate events. First, Janice and Al weren’t able to come because Janice was sick. Then Allan was held back in line on the check-in counter because of his passport. After Immigrations and the final x-ray thing, Penny and I had to go back to the check-in counter to check-in our umbrellas because we had them in our carry-on bags (umbrellas were not allowed because of the long metals). Pao and Joema were joking that they were the only ones left and be together the whole trip haha! But things did not end here in the Philippines. At the airport at Kota Kinabalu, after I got my passport stamped and was already waiting for our luggages, Joema called me back and said the Immigration officer was asking for me. I was like “Huh? WTF?!?!?” It turned out he stamped 90 days in my passport and had it revised to 30 days. Then when I left the counter for the second time, he called me back again because he did not give me back the portion of the disembarkation card that I had to keep for my departure. I was telling them later on that the officer was so entranced by my beauty (or the lack of it) that he gave me 90 days to stay on the island. =P After we all got our luggages, we searched for our sundo but as luck would have it, the hostel forgot to arrange our airport pick-up. Ugh! Good thing there were Filipinas there who were picking up other people, they help us talk to the guy manning the Tourist Information desk. He called the hostel and we asked them to pick us up. We had to wait for 30 minutes before we were picked up. After that, everything went smoothly na. I think the taxi drivers of our cabs (as in 3 cabs because there were nine of us originally, kaya ayun isang cab isang couple ang nakasakay), were expecting us to give them tips. Oh so sorry because we still didn’t have ringgits then. We planned to have our money exchanged when we reach the city. So that’s the first things we did after checking in our things at the hostel. We went to Centerpoint Mall, it’s like Tutuban Mall (but I think that was only one part of the mall, the other part was more sosy), to have our pesos exchanged to ringgits.

We had dinner the nearby Sedco Complex. And when I say nearby, it was just next door. The complex was sort of our dampa here in Metro Manila. Pili ka ng fish, prawns, crabs or any other seafood then they will cook it for you. There was another Filipina there, the waitress who took our beverage orders. I tell you there were a lot of Pinoys in Kota Kinabalu which was really good because it made things easier for us. We ordered seafood fried rice, prawns and fish. Ang sarap!


After dinner we went to the night market. But only a few stalls were open because it was raining. Parati na lang ata umuulan pag bumabiyahe kami kaya natuto na kami lahat..lahat kami may dala ng umbrella. We went back to the hostel feeling a bit tired and disappointed because we didn’t get to do much on our first night.

Day 2

Since we didn’t have our tour guides (Janice and Al) we had a sort of hard time deciding what to do on our first whole day in Kota Kinabalu. Whole day island hopping in Tunku Adbul Rahman Park? City tour? Will we be able to squeeze in Klias Wetlands? Where do we arrange the package tour? How do we got to the jetty – taxi or arrange with the hostel? After talking to the reception lady at the hostel (she can’t understand or speak that much English) and talking to someone over the cellphone (I think it was their manager) we decided to just arrange the pick-up and ferry to Manukan island (part of TAR park) at the hostel. We shelled out RM40 per pax for that. We didn’t have time to eat breakfast because after a few minutes the van was already there. They took us to the Shangri-la Tanjung Aru Resort where the Beach Bums Jetty was located. And the travel gods was looking down on us that day because from the resort we made arrangements for the Klias Wetlands later that after plus they gave us 10% off from the original price of RM190 because we were a big group. Yey! They told us to leave Manukan island at 130pm and the van will pick us up at 2pm at the resort lobby. Weeeee!!!!

The beach sand in Manukan island is not powdery. Actually it's not recommended for swimming dahil puro bato talaga yung beach. There were a lot of fish to feed though. As in super dami.



We had lunch at the island where we met another Pinoy, Mang Justine, who gave us free chicken bbq. =) Actually, Pao made a mistake of ordeing the bbq instead of the chicken satay. Nung cinorrect namin binigay pa rin nya sa min yung bbq compliments of him. Trivia pala, yung ibang Pinoy don actually dun na pinanganak so they understant Tagalog pero they don't speak. Katuwa nga e kasi when you ask them if they're Pinoy they will say yes pero technically hindi na because they were born and raised in Sabah, like Mang Justine.



After lunch we rode the ferry back to Shangri-la. Ganda don! Wish we could have stayed there. Mga kurips kasi sa board and lodging haha. This was were we were picked up the van that will take us to Klias Wetlands for a river cruise. We rode for two hours before arriving at Gamana River. Ready na for the cruise!



There we saw different kinds of monkeys - proboscis monkey, long tail macaques and silver langurs. Then after dinner we were able to see thousands of fireflies glow like Christmas lights. Sayang lang dahil we only saw that for a few minutes. Then it was time to head back to Kota Kinabalu.

Day 3

We intended to go to Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Springs. We originally decided to take the public bus going to Kinabalu Park but after eating breakfast and walking to the bus stop, as you may have noticed our original plans don’t really happen, a Pinoy sweet talked us into hiring their van going to Kinabalu Park. We paid them RM120 for the whole van which is okay because the bus fare to the park would cost us around RM15-20 per person. They just told us to take the bus going back to the city proper and make sure that we don’t go home later than 5pm because that’s the last ride back to the city. As you would have guessed that didn’t push through as well. We rented out a van going to Poring Hot Spring and commissioned the driver to bring us back to Kota Kinabalu. I think he asked for RM220 for it. But I’m getting ahead of the story.



We're no mountain climbers so we followed a few trails at the Kinabalu Park. Sayang it was cloudy so we did not see the peak of Mt. Kinabalu. Anyways, we first followed the Bukit Tupai Trail where we went to see their botanical garden. Then we went to Padanus Trail hoping to get a peek of the mountain. Argh! Akyat ng akyat na wala naman palang patutunguhan. Sabi ni Joema "We're beach loving people, bat ba tayo napunta dito?".



After the 500m mark we went down the Kiau View trail. Super pagod after that. We had lunch at the cafe at the foot of the mountain.

Poring Hot Spring naman after that. We were a bit disappointed with the place. We didn't get to soak in the hot spring dahil hindi namin ma-take ang itsura. The hot spring in Camiguin was much better (or was that because it was already dark when we got there?) Anyways, we just soaked our feet in the tub for feet only haha! Then we waited for our van na. We asked him to pick us up at 5pm but since wala nga kaming ginawa sa hot spring we were already at the rendezvous before 5pm. We were so bored waiting...


In fairness naman he arrived exactly on time. Super speed driver namin before 7pm we were at the waterfront of Kota Kinabalu na. Natuwa kami sa nakita naming malll at dun na kami nag-dinner. Sarap dinner namin and super mura. By the time we were full, we're ready to explore the city again. We went back to the night market and were able to buy a few more things. Including some glow-in-the-dark shirt na hindi naman nagglow. Hayop! Penny and Joema bought the same shirt...different times lang dahil we separated while browsing through the market..pero they got it different prices. Mas mura ng RM5 yung kay Penny...tapos yung kay Joema kulang pa ng logo sa likod ng shirt. Laugh trip talaga!

Day 4

Since it was a Sunday, our schedule well me and Joema squeezed in our schedule to hear mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Karamunsing. While the others went to the Handicraft store at the waterfront and bought pasalubong. Anyways, after the mass Joema and I had a hard time finding a taxi that will take us to Warisan Mall. We were two lost tourists walking around. We had to go back to the church and ride a bus. There was a friendly passenger who told us that we had to get off the bus at the same stop he got off and that we had to walk going to the mall. Argh! Walk again?!?!?! But since this story has an ending, we were finally able to reach the mall and meet up with the others. We were so hungry! Buti na lang the store where they bought the pasalubong was just a block away. I asked Joema to buy our pasalubong first before we eat para makapahinga kami ng dire-diretso. After eating (whil the others went around the mall), we all headed back towards the hostel for check-out. Then it was bye-bye time.

Math Problem

Nine friends planned to go to Kota Kinabalu as early as April. They booked the free flights offered by Air Asia. Two days before the scheduled flight out from Clark, one friend declined to come. Let’s call him friend A. He and his two sisters were supposed to go home to Nueva Ecija on the 30th of October but one sister cannot go home until the 1st of November. So he opted to stay and wait for both his sisters instead of going out of the country. Phew! Lame excuse.

On the 1st of November, friend Mrs. B, texted friend C that she was sick and she cannot come. Oh shit shit shit! She and her husband already went to KK so they were indirectly in charge of the trip – where to go, what to do. But she’s such a sweetheart she texted friend C all the info that she has about KK. As in panic texting!

When the remaining group of friends arrived at Clark for check-in another friend found only found out that his passport was about to expire come February 2008. Good people at Clark only asked him to sign a waiver.

Q: How many friends were able to go to Kota Kinabalu?
A: Six friends. (Those who did not come - friend A, friend Mrs. B and husband Mr. B, so that’s three friends hehe )

Prison Break

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE PRISON BREAK!!!!



AND I SO LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE WENTWORTH MILLER!!!



I know Prison Break is so 2 years ago. And I'm not gonna explain why I'm only watching it now! Heck, I've always been late when it comes to TV shows. Basta I so love Wentworth Miller!!! *drool* as in *tulo laway* hahahaha

Miglets

We were finally able to see and visit the latest addition to our ever growing family of friends (family na friends pa! tama ba yun?). But before we went to their house we had our dinner at Jollibee where Luigi enjoyed his French fries. He’s so healthy tabachingching even though he’s a very picky eater. He loves French fries, pizza, Oreos and his all time favorite Skyflakes crackers. Aaahhh the joys of a child!

I’m so engot I didn’t take pictures of Kyla. She’s getting to be a fine little lady. She told us that they already have a copy of High School Musical 2. Her Ninong Joema quipped that we already have the third one! Hahaha Sabi nya wala pa naman non e. Okay I’ll just post an old picture of Kyla.

Now, here’s Gavin Megan, the little angel of EJ and TJ. She’s so cute and still so tiny.

Sayang we don’t see Yuri as often. Sya pa naman ang inaanak ko. This is also an old pic taken on his birthday last year. This was the most recent pic that I have of him.

Dami na kids sa barkada. Sino kaya susunod? Any takers?

I Accept

I was trying to list the things I'm thankful for. My number one is: I'm living NOW. I guess that's the first time I said thank you for being alive other than on my birthdays. I'm just thankful for this moment. For the realization that I have to bow down to a Higher Being. I'm melancholic but at the same time feel very at peace with myself. I guess that's what you feel after acceptance.

Basta it just hit me. I can plan and plan and plan but it still won't matter. Now, I truly believe that it will happen in God's perfect time. I've learned to accept that. And I'm also thankful I did not learn it the hard way.

Hong Kong Part 2

Third Day - 6 Oct 2007

Golden Bauhinia

It was still early to head on to Ocean Park so we went here. Just a few minutes for picture taking. There a lot of other tourists since this is part of the half-day city tour of most travel agencies.

Ocean Park

We took Citibus 629 at the Admiralty MTR station to get to Ocean Park. It was just afew minutes after 9am (which is the first trip) but there was already a queue for the bus. We arrived at Ocean Park even before the gates opened so we had to wait a few minutes. My mom was so tired going around Ocean Park maybe because of the terrain. I was able to see two attractions that I didn't visit the last time I was there– Pacific Pier and Sea Jelly Spectacular.




Citygate Outlet

Now this is where my mom really enjoyed herself ahahaha! Well, I enjoyed too but I wasn’t really on my shop-till-I-drop mode. Because I was eyeing on buying a Samsonite luggage. I got the luggage I wanted 50% off plus I was able to buy a duffel bag for HKD99 only. They have a promo where you can buy the duffle bag for that price if you buy one piece of luggage. Wiii! I’m so happy! Oooh, I was also able to buy a pair of Seven7 jeans.


Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade


Okay, we were supposed to watch the Symphony of Lights but we were late. So much for running along Nathan Road just to be there on time. We were all just exhausted when we got there. We rested for a few minutes then headed back to the hotel to rest and eat dinner. And then we were off to...

Mong Kok


Wasn’t able to buy anything from here either because we were lugging around with my father looking for shoes – that he wasn’t able to buy that night. Naubos oras kakaikot wala naman nabili. Haaay! We should have just went our separate ways so that we’d accomplish more. But that’s what we did the next day.

Fourth Day - 7 Oct 2007

Rosary Church


First we heard mass at this quaint church. It was the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary when we were there. After the mass we had brunch and was off again. My brother and I were on to search for Mands’ clementoni puzzle. He gave me the address where I could buy him one. It was at Chinachem Plaza at Mody Road. But the office was closed (since it was Sunday). Of course I didn’t know that it was an office, I thought it was a boutique/store. Anyway, that’s an A for our effort hahaha! I was too tired to even bother to shop along Nathan Road (that’s what my parents did whil we were on Mody Road) so when we met up with them we told them that we should probably go to the airport already.

HK International Airport


It was just after lunch and our flight was later that night but we went anyway. Atleast we had time to rest. And that was probably the first time we really rested. We did some last minute shopping - I bought a Disneyland keychain for Joema. Sssh! Don't tell him I didn't buy it at Disneyland! Then we had dinner at Burger King after check-in. My brother almost lost his jacket when he left it at the x-ray screening right before you go to the waiting area. When he went to get it we forgot to take the tokens he bought at the Duty Free shop. Ohmigod! We were losing items one thing after the other. But we were getting them back so it's all good. I brought along a book so I wasn’t impatient waiting for the time. I was so engrossed with the book I didn’t realize we’re about to board the plane and leave HK already.

Awww! I hope to see you again!

Everybody's Getting Engaged!

Well, not everybody but two of my good friends are. Penny, whose a former officemate and friend, got engaged with Pao. He proposed during their recent trip in Boracay two weekends ago. Romantic! And Karen, my childhood friend, got engaged to Joes. They were shown on TV at the Today Show with their Just Engaged plackard. So cute!




Love is in the air! <3 Congratulations!!!! <3 I'm so happy for you!!

Hong Kong 2007

I wish I could travel as often as I want. Yung tipong every month may ibang country na pupuntahan. Ang saya siguro non. Anyway, here’s a rundown of our recent Hong Kong trip. It’s our family’s first out-of-the-country trip so we’re all very excited. Although, di pa kami nakakaalis ng Manila nagkaproblema na kami. Hay sus! Apparently, my father did not have a booking in Cebu Pacific’s system simply because he and my brother have the same name. Different middle name (mother’s maiden name) lang. The problem was Cebu Pacific’s online registration did not have the field for the middle name so pareho talaga sila ng name na lumabas sa system nila. I found out later from an officemate who used to be in PAL that the system usually cleans up the list of passengers at pag may nakitang duplicate name talagang automatic na dine-delete. We waited for a long time sa check-in counter dahil pabalik-balik yung tao nila from the counter to their office which is nowhere near the counter. Napaka-pathetic ng NAIA Terminal 1! Wala man lang phones sa check-in counter (which is a very useful tool dahil nung nasa HK airport kami going back to Manila via phone lang nag-confirm yung staff sa check-in counter nila)! Argh! Kakahiya to think na yang terminal na yan ang nagho-house sa lahat ng international flights to and from Manila (except PAL). Sana buksan na nila yung Terminal 3 para naman di nakakahiya ibang biyahero. Mas maganda pa ang international airport ng Davao!

Okay enough ranting about that! We arrived at the HK international airport around 7pm. Katuwa kasi dun kami sa kabilang terminal nag-land so we had to take a short train ride to go to the Arrival Hall. Kaaliw haha! Good thing nagpa-arrange kami ng pick-up sa hotel kaya worry free na kami pagdating. We just exchanged a few dollars for us to buy their Octopus card. Pagdating sa hotel ayos lang sandali ng gamit tapos gala na agad. Well, nagdinner lang muna kami tapos saka gumala. Super okay yung location ng hotel namin kasi pagbaba on our left is a Chinese resto then on our right 7-Eleven. Tapos ka-parallel lang ng street namin yung Temple Street so nakapag-night market agad kami. Although wala naman kaming binili nung first night haha. Ikot ikot lang sa night market then sa Nathan road. Ay mali! Meron pala kaming nabili na shirts sa Giordano hahaha. Alam nyo naman sa HK every corner ata may Giordano.

When we went back sa hotel pinlano ko pa kung anong gagawin namin kinabukasan. Gusto ko kasi mapanood namin lahat ng shows sa Disneyland. Di baleng hindi na makasakay sa lahat ng rides kasi mga tanders naman kasama ko hahahaha. Before we went to Disneyland, we passed by the Avenue of Stars and the Promenade. Then from there we took the Star Ferry that will take us to the other side, HK island! Super saya sa Disneyland! It truly is the happiest place on earth! Here are our major stops:

Click on image to enlarge


1 picture taking with “floral” Mickey mouse in the HK Disneyland Railroad
2a picture taking with Jack Skellington
2b Space Mountain
3 Mad Hatter’s Tea cup
4 lunch at Clopin’s Festival of Foods and picture taking with Alice in Wonderland
5 The Golden Mickeys
6 Fantasy Gardens – picture taking with Minnie and Mickey mouse
7 Mickey’s PhilharMagic
8 picture taking with Donald and Daisy Duck, watched the Disney on Parade and bought some pasalubong at the gift shops
9 Festival of the Lion King
10 dinner at some pizza place – Hades’ pizza if I remember it right
11 Sleeping Beauty Castle
12 The Disneyland Story
13 pictures taking with the pumpkin characters (this is before we went to Tomorrowland in the morning so this should be #2 also) and watched “Glow in the Park” parade and “Disney in the Stars” fireworks

Don’t mind the numbering hahahaha! Nalito na ko sa pagkakasunod-sunod. As you can see we barely explored Adventureland. We were just so tired. Probably from the heat. It was so humid and felt like we were back in Manila during summertime.

To be continued…

Bwisit!

I should be blogging about our recent HK trip but I haven't had the time. Natabunan ako ng work after going on leave for 3 days. Hay!

I just want to blog for a while sa sobrang bwisit sa isang babae dito sa bangko! Leche! Trabaho na nya yon bakit sa kin pa nya tinatanong? Bakit hindi pa sya dumiretso dun sa kailangang tanungin at ako pa ang tinatanong nya! Haller! Di ko alam kung san nagmula yang mga tinatanong mo. Kung iche-check mo yung binigay ko sayo andon na lahat ng kung anumang ibinigay sa akin. Yang BSB na yan baka BackStreet Boys yan! Punyeta!

See You Later Crocodile

Lately, I’ve been going to a lot of send-off parties. There was Grace’s, my boss’, Joyce’s and then last Friday was Jen’s. She was just transferring to another department but we bid her farewell as well, hoping that she will come back to us in the future.

(L-R) Seated: Tita Olive, Jen, Rhoda; Standing: me and Riza. That's Nixon at the back.

And then tonight, we’ll be sending off my college kabarkada Sharon. She will be going to Singapore this coming October 8. Seems like I’ve been saying goodbye to a lot of people. Well, it does not mean they’re leaving my life. It’s just sad that they are leaving…and that I can’t see them as easily. I have to book a flight in order to see them. Haaay….

In other news, I gave in to the fad. I bought Crocs yesterday. Remember, I was deciding which shoes to buy to use in HK? Well, after much deliberation I decided that I won’t buy shoes anymore. I will just use the old ones that I have ( the not-so-fashyown-shoes). But yesterday I offered my mother that I will buy her shoes as a birthday present. She turned 53 two Sundays ago. Plus she doesn’t have shoes to bring to HK also. We went to Podium because they were on sale. After going around we haven’t found the right shoes for her, it’s either she doesn’t like them or they don’t have their size. We went to Shoe Salon and she started fitting Gola sneakers there. I tried one display of the Crocs that they have and it fits and it’s perfect on my foot. I told my mom to try one and if she likes them I will buy one for the both of us. She liked it too! So I bought them. Haay… I never thought I’ll buy one of these. Funny thing pa Joema and I were at Trinoma last Saturday and we went inside Crocs (you know how big the store they have there). But I didn’t try on any one of the styles they have. Ewan ko ba…I think I’m a bit skeptical in getting one because of the horror stories I read in the internet. So please pray my foot won’t be caught in an escalator somewhere in Metro Manila or HK.

Rome

Haven't I said it enough na super inggit ako kay Reyna? I'm sharing with you the pics she had when they visited Rome last weekend. Hay, I'm so inspired to save up for a Euro-trip! And aren't her pictures amazing! As in if I can only will myself to be in Rome right now I would especially after looking at her photos.

Oh when, oh when can I spend a romantic night in Italy? *sigh*

Click on the images for a larger version.

Shoe Me

I’ve been debating with myself if I should buy walking shoes for our nearing trip to HK this October. A friend told me that the most comfortable shoes to wear while traveling is rubber shoes. And I did wore mine the last time I went to HK. But I don’t want to wear them for fashyown reasons hahaha. Ang arte kasi! Well, actually I figured I can only wear jeans with these shoes and I don’t want to wear any of my jeans because they’re all tight. Argh! This really is enough reason for me to believe that I really gained weight. And I think this is the first time I experienced my pants getting tight on my thigh area. It’s usually just the waist area but now my waist is okay but my thighs can’t “breath” so I end up so uncomfortable after a day wearing jeans. I’ve been searching the net for comfortable walking shoes and I found this site. She listed the most comfortable shoes for traveling. Although most of the shoes are rubbershoes types, these two caught my eye:

Mary Jane (Scala Shoes)

Merrell Plaza Bandeau shoes.

I like the Scala shoes although they are more expensive, based on online stores, but I think I’m leaning on getting the Merrell ones since Merrell is available here in Manila. I just have to check if this type of shoes is available here and if my wallet will permit it. =P Or I can just buy a new pair of jeans but that I don't want to do that because then that's one less reason to diet and exercise haha ang babaw!

Supernatural

I haven’t blogged about the Kobe event two weeks ago. Karen is already asking about it (although most of the stuff here are not even about Kobe haha).

Knowing that ULTRA is just a few blocks from the bank and the event was in the afternoon I only filed for a half-day leave. I met the boys for lunch and we had a hearty meal at Metrowalk. Good thing we were full before we went to ULTRA because we had to wait for a long time. RX was advertising the event to be at 3pm, the tickets we have says 4pm, but the Nike website is saying that Kobe will be at the Bonifacio High Street from 2-3pm. So go figure what time he’ll be there. We left Metrowalk at aound 2pm because we still have to get the extra tickets from Cristina. Side story: Cristina and I picked up the tickets the day before the actual event. I gave her the extra two that I have because I don’t know anyone else who wants to come and will be able to come. When I went home I realized the tickets had seat numbers. The worry-rat that I am I called Cristina up to ask her to look for the seating of ULTRA. Our ticket says ‘Gallery’ with ticket numbers 1998 to 2000 (3 tickets) and the other 3 tickets seated together (I can’t remember the ticket numbers but they were consecutive numbers but far from 1998 or 2000). So that got me all confused because Gallery is way up in the coliseum, they’re just bleachers. Anyway, we figured it’s best to just get the extra tickets back and figure out a way to be seated once we’re there. Our plan was (a) the three boys will be seated together and I will be left on my lonesome or (b) me and Joema will seat together and Tric and Mek will seat together or (c) Joema will seat alone while I seat with Tric and Mek (because Tric has the wheels, Mek will treat us to dinner later that day and I got the tickets – Joema was the only fan of Kobe there but he had no use to the three of us hehehe). We were figuring this out while we’re outside ULTRA queuing to get inside. The gates opened at 3pm so we were standing outside making up storites and watching the people line up for a few minutes. By the way, the security for the event was tight – as in the security personnel were dressed in really tight black shirts (parang pinick-up sa Fitness First or Gold’s Gym yung security hahahaha).

The show started at 5pm so you can just imagine how bored we were before the show. But we found things to do to keep ourselves amused. We took pictures. (As you can see we were all seated together. As common sense would tell us the seat numbers we're not followed at the bleachers).



Mek played with the balloons (we were out of balloons even before Kobe was there).



At nag-sight seeing kami ng celebrities. The five Gutierrez brothers were there (Richard, Elvis, Richie Paul, Monching with his son and the last one was I think the one involved the Manila Filmfest scam aka Take it-Take it scandal). We saw Francis Magalona, Rheema Chanco, Dianne Castillejo and basketball players like Mac Cardona and Olsen Racela.

It was a few minutes before 5pm when the hosts appeared – TJ Manotoc, Sarah Meier and Chino Rufino. They had us chanting Kobe’s name ‘’Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!’ and after a few seconds Kobe was there! I am definitely not a fan but it’s really something to see an international celebrity. Iba talaga yung feeling.



For the two hours of the show he was there the whole time coaching the super lucky boys (I only found out after the event that some of the boys where UAAP players). We were expecting kasi na he might show up at the last few minutes of the show lang. And for that we were really happy and of course elated with this final dunk! He gave away four basketballs which he signed. Sayang lang we didn’t get one. Si Joema and Tric we’re teasing. Tinatanong kasi ni Joema kung ibibigay daw ba ni Tric sa kanya yung basketball in case na makuha nya, sabi ni Tric ibebenta daw nya kay Joema hahaha. Well, I was ultra happy dahil super happy si Joema to see Kobe. I was joking him nga everytime that Kobe pats the players on their butt (you know how guys are) na naiinggit sya. I can just imagine how thrilled those boys must have been. To be able to play with an NBA superstar one-on-one. Haaay!

This is the final dunk of Kobe. Sablay yung una but please wait for the second one.

Please check out my multiply account for pictures and other videos.

UP Pep Squad Rocks

Congratulations to the UP Pep Squad for winning the 2007 UAAP Cheerdance Competition. Finally, after five years we've reclaimed the title!!! Wooohooo!! O pagbigyan na ko at wala ng hihirit na di mabubura nyan ang 0-14 na loss sa basketball. Well, true naman yun, di naman ako magdidisagree. But please allow me to celebrate this win! Wahhooooo!!!! Nagtatalon ako sa bahay at hiyaw ng hiyaw yesterday pagka-announce na first runner-up ang UST. Sabi ng kapatid ko "Pano ka nakasigurado na kayo ang panalo?" Ah basta sure ako! Wahahaha. At pwede ba ha ang daming gumamit ng music na pinapatugtog sa game show ni Edu Manzano. Don't you hate it pag ganong may nakakapareho kayo sa tugtog? Okay peace out! Congrats to the other winners UST and FEU!

UP FIGHT!!! U-nibersidad ng Pilipinas! U-nibersidad ng Pilipinas!

*photos from UBelt.com

Saan 'to?

I found this pic of Zaizai in her blog. I want to know what movie/TV series this picture was taken? Help! He's so shuai!!! I'm so not up-to-date with his happenings. Ayoko kasi talaga kay girlaloo! Parati pa syang sabit sa news!

Europa

My friend Reyna is in Sweden right now. She was sent there by their company for a project. She said they will be visiting Rome, Barcelona and Paris while they are there. I’m so envious of her. I so want to go to Europe, even more so than going to the United States. My other friend, Janice, has been to Europe twice! I’ve been asking her so many questions about Europe as if I’ll be going there soon hahahaha. Anyways, apparently one easy way to travel around Europe is if you’re studying there. Janice has friends who are studying in either Amsterdam or Brussels. Her husband studied in Brussels for two years.

I’ve been searching the internet and found these sites:

The World According to Marlon - I actually ended up in his site because I saw his article in Click the City.

Nuffic, Universiteit van Amsterdam - I googled ‘graduate+studies+mathematics+europe’ and somehow ended up there.

Dutched Pinay on Expatriotism - I don’t remember the key words I googled, maybe ‘living+in+netherlands’, but I found her site.

My avatar in YM looks like this nowadays. Visualizing myself in Venice!

I should make a list of things I want to do before I’m 40. Not before I’m 30 coz that will be less than 3 years from now. I don’t think I’ll be able to save up for all the places I want to see. But it’s free to dream, right? So maybe I will do that before I'm 30 list. I'll think about it.

Tickets to the Kobe Event

I won 6! Yippii!!! When I first heard that Kobe will come here and RX will be giving away tickets I was excited not for me cause I don’t know anything about him, well I know that he plays for L.A. Lakers, but for Joema who’s a fan. Being a fan of international celebs, I know the feeling na minsan lang sila pupunta dito and that’s my chance to see them. The first day that Chico and Del gave away tickets they only asked the date when he was going and they only asked for the listeners to text in the answer. Muntik na ko sumali don kaso mali pala yung alam kong date. I was supposed to answer September 25 – mali pala yun dapat September 5 haha. Anyways, going to work I listen everyday to the Morning Rush siguro that’s around 6 – 730am. The following day they asked na for the listeners to call them up to answer their question for the Kobe event. Shy akong marinig ang sarili ko sa radio so I didn’t bother. Last Wednesday night, I got the chance to listen to RX around 9pm. Kaso their questions were all about Kobe na – what was Kobe’s first team, against which team did Kobe win his 81 points in January 2000 (?). Duh? Contest on getting tickets to get to see Kobe so it figures they will ask things about him. E haller? Wala nga kong alam kay Kobe noh. I had to ask Joema the answers pa. The following days did not change. Chico and Del asked other trivias about the guy. Until this past Saturday, we were on our way to San Jose for my lolo’s birthday, when they asked the day and date when Kobe will be here plus they only wanted the listeners to send the answer thru text. So I texted na. Initially, I texted the date lang pero nagdadalawang isip na ko na baka dapat isama ko yung day. Ayun tama nga ko they had to ask the senders to send the answer again – day and date when Kobe will be here. Buti na lang naka-template na sa kin in-add ko lang yung Wednesday tapos send na agad. I was so excited kasi I had the feeling na ako yung first. Kaso we had to go down from the car dahil magb-breakfast na kami sa Jollibee sa Pulilan. Di ko naman dala yung headset ng phone ko para mapakinggan ko pa rin sana sila. Pakshet di ba?!?!?! Super bilis ko kumain ng almusal. As in napansin ng tatay ko na ako yung unang natapos e usually ako yung last. Pagbalik sa kotse nag-text ako agad to ask them if they can announce again the winner. Di nila in-announce ulit pero they texted me back na I won nga! Yippiii!! I called up Joema kaso he was still sleeping pa. Ang una tuloy nakaalam si Patrick dahil tinext ko din sya para ayain. Around 9:30 ata nung nagising si Joema and he called me up. Super excited din sya. Tanong pa nya sa kin kung ano daw yung tanong. Natawa sya nung sinabi kong date lang nung pagpunta ni Kobe yung tanong kaya nasagot ko. Buti na lang natiyempo na off nya this coming Wednesday so he doesn’t need to file for leave. Kami lang nila Patrick at Mek ang magf-file harhar.

Dreams

In line with my post yesterday...

What Your Dreams Mean...

Your dreams seem to show that you're a bit disturbed... but nothing serious. You may have a problem you're trying to work out in your sleep. Overall, you are very content in your life. Your dreams indicate that you have very conflicted feelings. You have a very vivid imagination and a rich creative mind.

What Do Your Dreams Mean?

Weird Night

Super antok ako ngayon. I woke up in the middle of the night dahil ang sakit ng tiyan ko. I don't know what time that was because I hate looking at the time when I wake up at an ungodly hour. Ayoko kasi malaman kung ilang oras na lang ang itutulog ko bago ko gumising ulit. Anyway, I went to the bathroom twice pero wala naman. So weird! When I finally went back to dreamland napanaginipan kong buntis ako haha! I was with another pregnant lady - I can't remember na who she is. Basta we were at the hospital at the same time and if I remember correctly I had the feeling na the father of our babies is one and the same. Nung time na para pumunta sa delivery room biglang I was with Joema na and we were going down a flight of stairs. At ang lola nyo naka-high heels pa! I had to tell Joema to stop and take off my heels. Pagdating sa delivery room the metals of my braces were popping out (I had braces in my dream). Nung chineck ng doctor sabi nya it was because my tongue was swollen. Weird dahil my mouth was bleeding. If the braces were the ones popping out of my mouth where did the blood come from? If you've worn braces you'll know na the metal is glued to your teeth so san galing yung dugo unless ipin ko yung natatanggal sa panaginip ko. Pero I don't think that is dahil little pieces yung nakukuha ko...or were those chunks of my teeth? Anyways, I knew I was bleeding only because there were trickles of blood on Joema's khaki jacket that I was holding pala. The doctor told the nurse to put a spoon in my mouth. Kinda like what you do when someone has epileptic seizures. When she got the spoon in my mouth my alarm went off and I had to wake up na. Whew! What a night!

On other news (this may be the reason why I dreamt I was pregnant), a few of my friends are either giving birth or have recently found out that they're pregnant. EJ and Allie are about to give birth this September, Valerie is 10 weeks preggo while Rhoda recently "passed" the pregnancy test. I'm wishing them all well...spread the good genes!

The Cross

Evan Almighty

Have you watched the movie? Here are my favorite quotes from the movie.

God: Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

Evan Baxter: Those aren't in my plans.

God: Your plans, oh (sigh, laugh) your plans!

God: How do we change the world?
Evan Baxter: One single act of random kindness at a time.
God: [spoken while writing A-R-K on ground with a stick] One Act, of, Random, Kindness.

God: Whatever I do, I do because I love you.

Evan Baxter: I know, whatever you do, you do because you love me, right? Do me a favor, love me less.

It's amazing how a simple movie can influence my life. I needed a nudge to remind me that God does love me. I may not understand it fully but He does. I just need to trust Him and let go of all my worries. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? I love it!

Quotes from here and here.

Thank you, Egay!

Oooohhh! I'm so happy we're getting off work early because of the typhoon. I'm about ready to curl up in my bed and sleep until tomorrow morning hehehe.

Have a safe weekend everyone!

Cut her some slacks

Have you received this email? When I first received it I thought it was really true. As in nag-reply ako dun sa friend ko after reading "alma mother" at ayoko na tapusin magbasa! Hope you have a good laugh!


We' ve been friends for a long time ago. We come from the same alma mother. Actually, our paths crossed one time on another. But it's only now that I gave him a second look. I realized that beauty is in the eyes. The pulpbits of my heart went fast, really fast. Cute pala siya.

And then, he came over with me. He said, "I hope you don't mine. Can I get your number?" Nag-worry ako. What if he doesn't give it back? He explained naman na it's so we could keep intact daw. Sabi ko, connect me if i'm wrong but are you asking me ouch? Nabigla siya. Sagot niya, The! Aba! Parang siya pa ang galit! Persona ingrata!!! Ang kapal niya! I cried buckles of tears.

Na-guilty yata siya. Sabi niya, isipin mo na lang na this is a blessing in the sky. Irregardless daw of his feelings, we'll go ouch na rin. Now, we're so in love. Mute and epidemic na ang past. Thanks God we swallowed our fried. Kasi, I'm 33 na and I'm running our time. After 2 weeks, he plopped the question. "Will you marriage me?" I'm in a state of shocked. Kasi mantakin mo, when it rains, it's four! This is true good to be true. So siyempre, I said yes. Love is a many splendor.

Pero nung inaayos ko na ang aming kasal, everything swell to pieces. Nag-di-dinner kami noon nang biglang sa harap ng aming table, may babaeng humirit ng, "Well, well, well. Look do we have here." What the fuss! The nerd ng babaeng yon! She said they were still on. So I told her, whatever is that, cut me some slacks! I didn't want this to get our hand kaya I had to sip it in the bud. She accused me of steeling her boyfriend. Ats if! I don't want to portrait the role of the other woman. Gosh, tell me to the marines! I told her, "please, mine you own business!" Who would believe her anyway?

Dahil it's not my problem anymore but her problem anymore, tumigil na rin siya ng panggugulo. Everything is coming up daisies. I'm so happy. Even my boyfriend said liketwice. He's so supportive. Sabi niya, "Look at is this way. She's our of our lives."

Kaya advise ko sa inyo - take the risk. You can never can tell. Just burn the bridge when you get there. Life is shorts. If you make a mistake, we'll just pray for the internal and external repose of your soul. I second emotion.

Teka hindi pa tapos. May second part pa! Emailed by a different friend.

I thought Jay's ex-girlfriend was really out of our lives. But heaven only goes that I was wrong. Kakakasal pa lang namin nun when Jay received a uninamous text. "Meet me at the clinic." I had a stinking feeling in my butt. I told him not to go. It might in danger him. Pero sabi niya, ok lang daw because life is what we make. Tumahimik lang ako. Sabi niya, "Penny for you talks." But I didn't know what to say. Beggars can't be losers. Isa pa, worried talaga ako na baka yung girl yun. Jay said, "Can't got your tongue?" I tried to smile at him. Kahit di ako nagsalita, actions speak louder than works, di ba?

Be that as is may, umalis pa rin siya. I was out of the loophole. After a few hours, I called him on his cellphone. But my calls fell on Jeff's ears. Lalo akong nag-worry kasi I didn't even know Jeff. Sabi na nga ba di na dapat umalis si Jay. That's what I'm talking about it.

So I tried calling some friends who will help me find Jay. That's what friends are for naman di ba? But I just faced a blank mall. I had to do this alone. Nag-taxi na lang ako. Pero ang mahal na pala ng plug down rate.

When I got to the clinic, the security was really buffed up. Di basta-basta makakapasok. So I said, "I beg your cordon. I'm patient. It's my favorite virtue nga e.Nagduda yata yung isang guard. Hinawakan ako sa arm. The nerd! I shouted, "Don't touch me not!" Buti na lang the other guards were nice and said, "Come on, let's join us."

When I went inside, parang I've been there, done there. Nung walang nakatingin, nag-explore ako. Nakarating ako sa top floor and I had a bird's IQ of the clinic. I could not explain it but I was drawn to a room on the floor. Siguro Divine Intermission na yun.

Parang may narinig akong umuungol. I was thorn. Di ko alam kung aalis ba ako o papasukin ko. It made me stick in the stomach to think that Jay and his ex-girlfriend were there. I tried to tell myself to slower my expectations. But to tell with it! I had to strike while the iron is not. I had to hear the truth from the corpse's mouth. I barraged in. O my gas! Si Jay, naka-strap sa operating table, parang genie pig sa isang nakakatakot na experiment. He was on the cutting edge. He was bleeding. At ang doctor na nagpapahirap sa kanya, ang ex-girlfriend niya at ang bago nitong boyfriend, ang nurse na si Walter. Doon ko napatunayang blood is thicker than Walter.

Guess watch? Di ko alam kung paano ko nagawa pero I was able to search and rescue Jay. Siguro adrenaline brush na yun.

Now, he's recovering. Nag-sorry siya na hindi siya nakinig sa akin. I know it's a better pill to swallow your pride so it's forgive and forget me not. All swell that end swell. I know we should kiss and put on makeup.

Ang ex-girlfriend naman niya at si Walter, nakakulong na. Detention is really better than cure. So the moral of the lesson is: if symptoms persist, insult your doctor.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA

Survey

Tagged by EJ. Rules: Once you've been tagged, you must answer all the questions in the survey. As much as possible, have specific answers! This way, your friends might learn a thing or two about you! After answering and posting this survey, tag 3-4 of your friends!

1. Give five possible names you could have been given as a child.
These are justs wild guesses. Ang co-corny!
a. Arthur Jr.
b. Teresita Jr.
c. Art-Te
d. Maria Teresa
e. Therese

2. Give three of the best years of your life and explain why.
a. 2000 – the year I graduated from college, I had my first job and I fell in love with the man in my life
b. 2005 – the year I first traveled out of the country
Yun lang ata. Imagine I can’t even think of another year in my life that I think is the best. What have I been doing?!?!?!

3. Tell about your fondest memory with your friends.
High School friends – overnight sa bahay nila Leda and hitting each with water balloons (they all thought I would get angry when they hit me and my shirt color turned to pink because of the red crepe paper hanging); overnight sa bahay nila Bang and taking pictures na tipong nasa studio
College friends – overnight sa bahay namin for studying or movie marathon (happy thoughts)
Work friends – trying out flyfish sa Galera, shopping in HK, spelunking sa Sagada

4. Name five of your favorite colors
a. green
b. blue
c. brown
d. pink
e. white

5. Five of your favorite foods
a. hipon (sinigang, halabos, gambas, at kahit na ano pang luto)
b. fried chicken
c. salmon sashimi
d. california maki
e. egg (scrambled, sunny side up, hard boiled)

6. Five favorite movies
a. 50 First Dates
b. Sound of Music
c. Chocolat
d. How to Lose a Guy in 10 days
e. 300

7. What was one crazy thing you've always wanted to do in school, but haven't gotten around to doing? Given the chance, would you still do it? Run during the Oblation run? Or have sex at the lagoon? Ahahaha Maybe get drunk and attend class.

8. If you could have one feasible wish come true, what would it be? Travel around the world

9. Three favorite actors and five favorite actresses
Actors
a. Ewan McGregor
b. Leonardo DiCaprio
c. Vic Zhou (hahahaha)
Actress
a. Jennifer Aniston
b. Drew Barrymore
c. Kate Winslet
d. Meryl Streep
e. Reese Witherspoon

10. Give fifteen random facts about yourself!!
a. I love big umbrellas with corporate logos.
b. I was once in a movie (extra lang po)
c. I was an achiever as a student (ngayon hindi na hahahaha)
d. I would love it if I have a talent like singing, dancing or drawing.
e. I’m so impressed with people who can really write well and are articulate speakers.
f. My shoe size is 5.
g. I used to envy my classmates who have notebooks bought at school, yung may official logo. Yung sa akin kasi ordinary lang na merit notebook.
h. In Grade School, I used to cry when classes are suspended.
i. I love arranging travel plans for me and my friends (or family). I’m their official travel planner.
j. I have two credit cards – BPI Petron Mastercard and Citibank Clear Mastercard.
k. I prefer wet rainy days than hot humid days.
l. I have my cellphone alarm at 5:45am to wake me up but I press the snooze button 3 times before finally waking up at 6am.
m. I started hating celebrating my birthday when I was 22 years old. I hate the fact that I get older every time I have my birthday haha!
n. I wore braces all throughout college. They were removed before our graduation picture were taken.
o. I don’t like milk.
p. I can roll my tongue.

I'm tagging Abbie, Karen, Tin and Louise.

Makati, Beyond and Back

I left for Makati a few minutes past 6pm last Friday. By 7pm I was waiting at Watsons at Enterprise for Janice. We were supposed to have dinner at Amici (near Don Bosco) with Mands, Jose, Charline, Allan, Steve and Penny. Mands even texted that they are about to leave their office in 10 minutes. And so we left Enterprise thinking we’ll have dinner in a few minutes. Our route was supposed to be this (see the blue line):



From Mands’ instruction, we’re to park at Walter Mart because parking is free there for Amici patrons. From Amorsolo we turned right, and where do we end up:



Skyway! For crying out loud! Wahahahaha! And we weren’t the only one lost …there was a Honda CRV in front of us slowing down when we reached the ramp. Looks like the driver, like us, was trying to find a way out. Hay naku! I was texting Mands na sa Tagaytay na lang kami mag-dinner. As in serious ako ha! I was worried that the traffic going back to Makati would be so heavy that we’ll end up arriving there after they had dinner. Actually our benchmark was if Penny arrives first before us super natagalan na talaga kami (Penny was coming from another dinner party so she arrived late). Another funny thing was Janice didn’t have enough cash with her. The Skyway toll was P85 one way! Nung pabalik na kami I had to pay half of the toll fee coz she paid for the fee coming from Makati. Well, actually I should really pay for half dahil libre na nga yung sakay ko sa kanya. Sabi nya buti na lang daw kasama nya ko dahil kung hindi dadaan sya ng traffic dahil kulang ang cash nya na mag-Skyway ulit. Tsk! Libre nga dinner namin (thanks to Jose, Mands and Steve!!!) kaso naglabas din kami ng pera dahil sa Skyway hahahaha! Kakaibang adventure talaga yun! More pictures of our adventure and dinner here.

Again Again

Bakit ba ang hirap-hirap mag-lose ng weight! Pakshet! I was down to 100lbs in November last year tapos ngayon….grrrr@&#$!?@?!!! Now, I have to be at the gym 4x a week just to lose weight plus I have to go back to my diet. Argh! Bakti ba ang sarap kasi kumain?!?!?!? Tell me!!! Huway!?!?!?! Pwede bang kumain ng masarap pero di mag-gain ng weight? Pwede bang kumain ng marami tapos i-lose yung na-gain na weight sa exercise lang? Bakit ba hindi pwedeng exercise lang? Bakit kailangang samahan ng right diet!?!?! Sige na crucify me I’m vain! Kasi naman ang weird ng body structure ko! I’m petite, small legs, small waist, small boobs din tapos laki ng arms. Nakaka-frustrate! When I start dieting the first one na lumiliit is my abdomen. Stubborn part talaga yung arms. Kahit ano ata gawin ko di liliit ang arms ko unless ipa-lipo ko which will cost me P5000 per session. Mga ilang session kaya ‘to? Or I can just accept the fact na pangit talaga ng arms ko. That’s more affordable ahahahaha.

We.Baby Shower.Wii

Saturday was EJ’s baby shower. Was able to see them all again after a few months. Almost all of Joema’s college friends (and my friends na rin) are married and starting their families. EJ and TJ are the fourth pair to welcome their little bundle of joy (EJ is due in September). First were Mek and Joy with Kyla, then Michelle and Bong with Yuri, then Heili and Tric with Luigi. Well, it’s about time we welcome a new baby because Luigi is turning three in January already. We’re still waiting for Jo to get pregrant (she and David got married last December).

There were games during the shower and one of them was you have to taste the baby food and guess the flavor. I was one of the (un)fortunate contestants. I don’t like baby food, it’s gross haha. EJ received lots of gifts. I don’t even know what most of them are for.

After the shower, we played poker and wii at Tric’s place. I love wii ahahahaha! I was the first one to lose at poker so was able to play wii all by myself. I had fun playing bowling and tennis (with TJ, he was the second one out). My highest score in bowling was 193. So much higher than my score in real-life bowling hehehe. TJ and I were trying to beat Patrick’s highest score of 214. Tsk, we weren’t successful. In tennis, I was having a hard time doing the back hand. I must admit I’m no Maria Sharapova =P

By the way, I haven’t been updating this blog as much but I’m uploading pics in my multiply so check that out.

Ramblings on Joema

Joema and I have been spending a lot of time together for the last two weeks or so. Yes we’re not like other fortunate couples who get to see each other daily. We’re able to go out during weekdays because he’s not on graveyard shift for the time being because he’s back in training as I’ve mentioned before. Plus we’re lucky our offices are near each other – dalawang mall lang ang pagitan. Like most of you we’re done watching the big movies for summer (in the States) – Harry Potter 5, The Simpsons and Ratatouille. Most of the time we just eat dinner (sa foodcourt para tipid haha!) and “people-watch”. Last night he was teaching me the postal codes of the 50 states. Hirap nung mga letter M’s ha nakakalito!

The point of this post? Wala lang. I just want to savor these days na hindi sya panggabi at hindi baligtad ang schedules namin. Next week he’ll have a new sched and supposedly graveyard shift na ulit.