Davao Day 1 - 24 Feb 2007

Long read…

Our day started early because our scheduled flight was supposed to be 8:55am last Saturday. We were at the domestic airport, I think, past 7am. Charline and Allan was there already and were checking-in in behalf of all of us, as in sila na yung nasa counter pagpasok namin. Good thing coz we were able to check in our bags. Super higpit na pala sila sa airport ngayon dahil bawal na pati hand sanitizer sa carry-on bags kaya naman lahat talaga ng bags naman naka-check-in. We didn’t pay for the terminal fee immediately coz we had to wait for Janice and Al to arrive. They were supposed to present the boarding pass sa check-in counter so intay namin sila. While waiting for them we spotted Tim Yap checking-in at one of the SeaAir flights. I wonder where he’s headed to? Anyways, Al and Janice was soon there and had checked-in their bags. After we paid our terminal fees pasok na kami sa waiting area, as I said super higpit na, dahil magtatanggal ka pa ng shoes/sandals, watch at belt and these should go through the x-ray machines. Jino-joke nga naming yung boys na pati brief nila kailangan tanggalin harhar. Celebrity sighting ata that Saturday coz we saw Jojo Lastimosa as well. Side kwento lang: Steve who weren’t able to go with us was also there at the airport earlier in the morning coz he was going to Iloilo naman for a school reunion. He saw Champ of Hale at talagang nagpa-picture pa sya together with Champ, nagpadala ng MMS kay Charline para pruweba. Gusto na nga din naming gawin yon with Tim or Jolas pangloko lang kay Steve. =) Anyways, ayun delayed pala yung flight naming 9:20 pa kami umalis. Kaasar na ang Cebu Pacific ha parati ng delayed ang flights. Pati yung pabalik na flight namin to Manila delayed naman ng almost an hour.

We reached Davao past 11am – umuulan waaahhh!!! At dahil sa umuulan wala kaming nagawa kundi sumakay sa FX at magbayad ng P400 para dalhin kami sa Alta Pension House. Fcuker! Ang mahal pala non dahil nung pauwi kami P70++ lang yung taxi naming papuntang airport. Kung hindi lang talaga umuulan e magttyaga kaming maghintay ng taxi sa airport. Kaso ilang minuto na kaming naghihintay wala pang dumadating na taxi at nasasayang yung oras namin sa kaiintay sa aiport. Since nakasakay na kami sa FX tinanong na naming si manong driver magkano ang singil nya going to Malagos. Aba aba! P1400 daw! Hanuba e na-research ko ang bus going there is P30/pax lang. No way noh!

Finally we reached Alta Pension. Okay naman yung inn coz it’s right in front of Gaisano Mall at malinis naman yung room at bathroom na binigay sa amin. Our room which can fit 7pax costs P1800/night. Sila Janice nakahiwalay and their room costs P700 naman. Super sulit na! Good thing talaga ang lapit namin sa Gaisano dahil we were able to buy mga last-minute chorva naming – toothbrush, comb, bottled water at umbrellas na rin dahil nga umuulan. Sabi nga namin last time we were in CDO umuulan din and sa Gaisano din bumili ng umbrella. Siguro yung Gaisano ang curse namin – pag may malapit na Gasiano uulan pag andon kami =P From Gaisano, we took a taxi going to Annil terminal where the buses going to Calinan are. Yung taxi na nasakyan namin kinokontrata din kami na diretso na daw Calinan P700 one-way. Haller! Di mo kami maloloko noh. Aba binaba ang presyo kesyo P1,000 daw round-trip. Palusot na lang namin na wag na dahil nga two groups kami at baka di pumayag yung isang taxi na diretso Calinan. Pagsakay namin ng bus P40 lang ang pamasahe (nagtaas na sila). Travel time to Calinan was about an hour.


Bus ride going to Calinan



Pagdating Calinan sakay naman kami ng tricycle. Ibang klase ang tricycle don piangkakasya nila ang 7 tao pero mura naman pamasahe P7 lang kada tao so kung arkila ka ng isang tricycle P50 ang singil nila. Our first stop was Malagos Garden Resort kaso sabi sa amin don unahin na lng daw namin sa Philippine Eagle Center kasi pareho pala silang up to 5pm lang bukas. We got there mga 3:30 na. Tagal din kasi nung tricycle ride e.

Tricycle ride going up Malagos Garden Resort - challenge mag-picture-an during the tricycle ride dahil paakyat yung road at nasa likod kami ng tricycle. There's a very big chance na pwede kami malaglag hahaha




So yun punta na kaming PEC may entrance fee na P5 dun sa water disctrict then P50 dun sa mismong PEC.

With Alex the Lawin at PEC



Our tour guide made us watch a documentary about the Philippine Eagle, it lasted for about 15-20 minutes then una kaming tinour sa parang museum where they have eagle skeletons chaka mga stuffed eagles. One of them is Diyola - the mother of Pag-asa.



Then tour na nung grounds



Aside from the Philippine Eagles there were different birds in PEC









Meron din wild boar...



...crocodile...




..na may piso sa likod nya hihi




and monkeys. We were joking about it na di kaya natatakot yung monkeys dahil sila ang prey ng monkey-eating eagles hehe




But of course the star of the show, Pithecophaga jefferyi, the Philippine eagle. This one is the only eagle not inside a cage. He is Sir Arni.



Upclose, the Philippine eagle is simply breathtaking - beautiful, beautiful creature!








I don't know why I feel like crying remembering the majestic eagle. It's such a wonderful, beautiful creature. A very memorable experience to be able to be near one. You can actually adopt an eagle for P100thou per year or you may make a donation of P250 then your name will be imprinted in one of the cement slabs in the pathway around PEC, much like the stars in Hollywood Blvd hehe.


After PEC we were suppose to hear mass sa San Pedro Cathedral. Kaso dip ala 6:30pm yung mass kundi 5:30 kaya wala na kaming inabutan. We just checked the schedule of masses for Sunday para kinabukasan na lang kami magsimba. Sakit-sakit pa pala ng ulo ko non siguro dahil sa naulanan kami nung tanghali. Napabili pa tuloy kami ng gamot dahil di k na talaga matiis na maghintay pa bago makarating ng hotel bago uminom. And good thing din may sanitary balm si Charline yun ata nakawala ng sakit ng ulo ko.

For dinner, Janice’s cousin Paul treated us to Harana. Parang local version sya ng Dampa sa Davao, turo-turo ka lang ng seafoods then sila na magluluto. Sarap sobra! Daming order ni Paul – alimasag, panga, itlog ng tuna, tanigue, spare ribs (specialty ng Harana). Yun palang itlog ng tuna iba pa yung itsura ng itlog ng female at male na tuna. Dun sa male medyo slippery sya. You would think busog na kami lahat after all that food ha pero hindi pa. Nakayanan pa namin mag-coffee and dessert sa Blugre. According to Paul, yun daw ang parang equivalent ng Starbucks sa Davao. Bluegre is in Matina Town Square parang Eastwood ang dating nung gimikan na yun. Pinatikim nya sa amin yung durian coffee parang frapuccino na durian flavor. Those of us who love durian liked the coffee drink, while those na di ma-appreciate ang durian, like me, wasn’t too keen on finishing our drinks hehehe. Sarap ng desserts na in-order – strawberry shortcake, chocolate decadent and another chocolate cake – I didn’t catch the “title” haha. Ayun kwentuhan ng kwentuhan di namin namalayan past 12 na pala. Good thing Paul was there to take us around dahil atleast we were able to experience the night life at Davao. Di kami nagmukmok sa hotel room namin at nag-poker the whole night.


..to be continued...

Exceptional

Received this office email. What a great day to get back to work after a relaxing vacay at Davao.


Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to announce the recipients among the national officers and administrative staff in our department, of the exceptional overall assessment in 2006.

To the recipients of the exceptional overall assessment, I wish to thank each and every one of you for your contribution to your division that set an example of excellence in not only what you accomplished but in the manner you went about in achieving them. Your collective individual contributions have greatly added to the effectiveness of this department and the Bank as a whole. You have also set an example of excellence for all of us to aspire to. Congratulations!

While we recognize and acknowledge excpetional performance among our staff for a given year, we must never overlook the fact that collectively all of you contributed to the success of this department. We very much acknowledge and recognize your contributions and achievements and we look forward to working with all of you in 2007 to provide even more support to our colleagues in the Bank.

DG

Now I can't wait for my salary increase. Whoopee!!! Next post will be my travelogue about Davao. :)

216

We actually celebrated our anniversary on the 17th. We had a budget date, so to speak. First up was a play we watched at Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater at AS. It has been more than two years since I went inside a building at UP at nagulat ako dahil hinahanap na ng ID ang mga pumapasok. What happened to the UP I’ve known, the UP where we only need an ID to borrow books from the library? (So kung di ka pala-library never mo magagamit ang ID mo). What is because of security reasons kaya naghahanap na sila ng ID? Even the Xerox girls and janitors are wearing them. Siguro nga for security reasons. I remember the time na may namatay na UP student dahil nadamay sa away ng mga frat. He was killed right there at the AS walk and to think he was innocent and was never a part of any fraternity. Anyway, when asked we just told the guard that we were going to watch a play at the theater and he let us in.

The play was titled ‘Basilia ng Malolos’. The tickets were expensive – P250. Dati wala ang P100 ang ticket pag sa Guerrero theater nanood ng play. Pakshet ganon na ba talaga ko katanda?!? Or sobrang nag-depreciate lang talaga ang peso? I think it’s the latter nyahahaha. The play was to start at 3pm but we were there early so tambay muna kami sa AS infront of room 216..aaawww!! hahaha sorry ang baduy!

We took pictures of each other and the halls of AS.

Sarap ng college life! Kung alam ko lang na ganito kahirap maging empleyado e di sana tinagalan ko na ang pag-aaral ko ng college.






Conversation we had while waiting for the play:

Joema: Bakit ang tawag dun sa mga driver ng truck pahinante?
Ako: E bakit ikaw Joema ang pangalan mo?
Joema: Hindi, bakit pahinante? Nagpapahinga ba sila kaya ganon?
Ako: Ano??? E di ang ahente nag-aahen din?




Hahaha gago naming magkwentuhan noh? Si Joema kasi ang hilig magtanong nyan bat ganon ang tawag sa isang bagay kaya lagi ko ring sagot ‘bat ikaw Joema pangalan mo?’. Kailangan kasi sa kanya parating may etymology.

The play started late – 315 na ata yun. Super tagal ng kwento grabe! Mula 23 years old yung bida hanggang sa halos kwarenta na ata sya dun sa kwento e di pa rin natatapos. Hayop! Ang sakit sa pwet noh! Ahahahaha. Okay na sana yung kwento kasi about women empowerment nung panahaon ng Spanish occupation dito sa Philippines chaka may mga sundot ng humor kaya lang parang sobrang haba talaga nya. Akala ko nga wala na nung 10min intermission dahil late na sila nagsimula yun pala meron pa rin. Na-late tuloy kami ni Joema sa mass sa UP chapel. After the mass, we ate dinner at Likha-Diwa sa Gulod - yung dating Sarah's. Di na sya inuman ngayon parang art gallery/resto/café na yung place. Okay nga e.







Actually this place was introduced to me by Joyce – ni-treat nya ko dito ng merienda dati at super nagustuhan ko yung food nila. Also, the place is so cozy para ka lang nasa bahay dahil nakasalampak kayo sa sahig. We ordered their crabmeat salad, shrimp chopsuey for me, pusitsig (sisig na pusit) for Joema and banana crepe for dessert.

Sa sobrang busog naming lalakarin sana namin from Krus na Ligas to Sunken Garden. Kaso sumakay din kami pagtapos naming maglakad ng isang block hehe kasi naman wala ng sidewalk na pwede lakaran. You’d think we were really full when we got to Sunken – pero dahil sa dami ng nagtitinda don (UP fair kasi) di rin kami nakatiis. Bili kami ng squid balls at kwek-kwek. Ang sarap! Eto pa nung nasa fair na kami (actually sa labas lang kami di kami pumasok), dami na naman naka-black – mga punks-not-dead! You see the first time I went to the UP fair (graduate na ko non), I went with my barkada. Sobrang natakot kami kasi nanggulo yung mga outsiders (yung mga punks-not-dead nga). Hinahampas nila yung fence na tinayo as in nambubulabog sila. Pinipigil na nga sila nung security don e – at nun ko nakita si Atom Araullo (officer ata sya sa SC). So yun na nga daming naka-black kahit ngayon. Dun lang naming na-realize na si Joema naka-itim din hahaha. Sabi ko punks-not-dead din sya. Sabi nya okay nga din yon atleast di nila kami guguluhin dahil akala nila kagrupo nila kami hahahaha. Dami talagang mga outsider pag fair – may mga bata, magkakabarkada, may family pa. We overheard one kid yelling to another (as in nag-aaway sila) : Yung nanay mo hindi virgin! Wahahaha gusto ko sumagot: yung nanay mo rin!

My failed attempt at taking a picture of the grounds. The Saturday event was dubbed UP Not Fair Sale.




Mga nasilaw sa flash

We didn’t stay long at the fair and went home early – 930pm! Joema wanted to relax a bit sa bahay before he goes home sa Bocaue. And I was a bit tired na rin so we left na nga. It was the perfect budget date for us!

Seventh Heaven

Happy anniversary!
Thank you for loving me so much!
I love you more and more each year!
I love you honey!


- text message from Joema





I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way than this.

Where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep

-poem from Patch Adams


I love you Honey! Happy 7th Anniversary!

*ang bata pa namin dun sa pic hehehe

George Stephanopalous, Stevie Wonder’s mom and a soldier

What do they have in common? I bought them, well actually, books about them yesterday. But I’m getting ahead of my Valentine's day kwento. :) And you thought I wouldn’t post anything about Valentine’s.

My Valentine’s day started on the 13th. My father gave me a bouquet of roses =) teehee…

I never thought I’d like receiving flowers. When I was in HS I didn’t get it why my friends are all giddy when they received flowers (siguro inggit lang ako? haha) I like receiving chocolates and balloons back then. My philosophy was I can’t eat roses and balloons are way cuter! I don’t know when I actually started wanting to receive flowers.

Anyhoo, come V-day, we all went to dinner my family with Joema. Joema and I met up at Powerbooks. Bought some books and received a single rose aka “Joema’s Valentine gifts”.

It wasn’t traffic yet so we arrived early at Robinson’s Metro East and got to hang around Mocha Blends.

I started reading George Stephanopalous’ book. I actually bought the book only because I remembered his name in one episode of Friends. The one where the Phoebe, Rachel and Monica were looking out to his apartment window whilst he was with a woman. It was mentioned there that he was an adviser of Clinton. Thus the curiosity in buying the book about him and his work at The White House.

Last night’s dinner was at Max’s (same resto where we had our dinner at last year’s Valentine’s day). Tanong tuloy si Joema:

Joema: Max’s na naman? Di ba dun na last year (Note: He joined us dinner last year)
Ako: Oo ganun talaga yung mga yon. Parating sa parehong resto lang kumakain.

It’s this thing my mom has about trying new food – she doesn’t do that. So we always end up at the same restaurant if there is an occasion. The weird thing is if she’s with other people she’s okay with trying new restos, to which my brother quipped that it’s only because wala na syang magawa hehehe.

So where was I in my kwento? Oh we were at Mocha Blends and everybody else were just on their way to Rob. My mom was the first to arrive she texted asking where we were so I told her we were at Mocha Blends. And then I received a text from her that she’s at Max’s so Joema and I went there. Jay was already there when we arrived but she was nowhere in sight – she went downstairs pala to Mocha Blends. Hay hanube delayed na naman ang messages! Akala ko pa naman nagpa-waitlist na sya dun sa waitress, good thing nagpalista na ko weven before she arrived. We waited for a few minutes for our table. When we were about to get seated my father arrived naman so timing na timing.

We ordered the usuals – crispy Pata, kare-kare, pansit and chicken of course. Sarap talaga ng lutong Pinoy!

While waiting for our food

Busog na

When we got home, Joema, my brother and I watched CSI in Studio 23 - walang kasawaan kahit na alam na kung anong mangyayari - and then It’s a Guy Thing afterwards. It’s really creepy when I heard Bubbles call Borgy “Mayor". Remember that rumour that he’s running for Manila mayor? Ayayayay! This was the first time I watched the whole show. Ketchup is so funny!

The news was on after it so we watched American Idol instead. Enough of the election campaign hullabaloo! Joema called it a night after the 56 hopefuls were cut down to 40. It was just an ordinary night for us but that’s okay the important thing was we were together.

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s day yesterday, may it be with your bf/gf, friends or family. Continue spreading the love. :)

Happy Thought

Because I made some major booboo here at the office and found out about it early this morning, I need to think of happy thoughts to make it through the day. So with this I am blogging about my Friday gimik at Bonifacio High Street. It was in celebration of Jose's and my birthday. We had dinner at Heaven 'n Eggs Market! Market! I ordered my favorite Minute steak with scrambled eggs, french fries and pancakes. Jose gave out his pasalubong from China. I wasn't able to take a picture of it but it's a very pretty trinkets holder.



We then proceeded to Serendra Piazza and took some group pictures kahit na mukha kaming mga DH don na nagpipicture taking on our day off. Actually buti na lang may nauna sa min na nagpipicture taking kaya di na kami nahiya.





We then walked to Bonifacio High Street. Krispy Kremes had a long line but we didn't care coz we were going to have our dessert at Cupcakes. We went inside Hobbes and wanted to see how Scene It: Friends was but the saleslady didn't let us. Afterwards, we went to our "secret garden" and took lots of pictures










After our tiring pictorial session we went to Cupcakes by Sonja and Jose bought us our cupcakes. I love their Berries and Cream :) I wanted to have a picture while eating it but lo and behold while I was posing with my cupcake the whipped cream fell to the ground :( Good thing Jose ordered 3 Berries and Cream hehe



All full and satisfied for the night

Lapit Na!

Free Countup Timers at WishAFriend.com

Sorry My Love

Why don't you tell me where it hurts now baby
And I'll do my best to make it better
I'll do my best to make the tears all go away
Just tell me where it hurts now tell me
And I'll love you with a love so tender
And if you let me stay I'll love all the hurt away



I'm so sorry the date of my birth will remind you of such a sad event. I know you're hurting but you will get pass this. Wo ai ni! <3 Pan Lici

The Boutique

I want to stay here! Kelan kaya?!?!?! A bit pricey for a bed & breakfast pero if it's a special occasion why not di ba? I would love to stay there.

Wouldn't It Be Nice

by Beachboys

Wouldnt it be nice if we were older
Then we wouldnt have to wait so long
And wouldnt it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong

You know its gonna make it that much better
When we can say goodnight and stay together

Wouldnt it be nice if we could wake up
In the morning when the day is new
And after having spent the day together
Hold each other close the whole night through

Happy times together weve been spending
I wish that every kiss was neverending
Wouldnt it be nice

Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray it might come true
Baby then there wouldnt be a single thing we couldnt do
We could be married
And then wed be happy

Wouldnt it be nice

You know it seems the more we talk about it
It only makes it worse to live without it
But lets talk about it
Wouldnt it be nice

www.lyricsfreak.com

InboxDollars

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So if you want to earn extra cash then clickety click here. :)

When in Baguio

....you take the Deluxe trip of Victory Liner because they have an airconditioned lounge for you to wait in

A lounge with pictures of old buses and their old bus station

plus the deluxe bus has big legroom although you can't cuddle (trying hard kami magdikit jan)

....you travel 15mins to Trinidad, Benguet to go strwberry picking even if it costs P150/kilo instead of P80/kilo if you don't pick them

...you go to Good Shepherd to buy their famous ube and take pictures of the view and their garden

...you go to nearby Mines View Park and take a picture with Doglas

No more kids who will catch the coins that you throw

but the view is still spectacular

...you then go to The Mansion and Mines View Park

...you go to Lourdes Grotto and take the hundred or so flights of steps to get to the top. But we cheated coz the taxi took us the top already hehe

...you can buy pasalubong at the shops nearby although there are stores in all the places I already mentioned.

...you hear mass at the Baguio Cathedral

...you should while away your time at Burnham Park and wait for someone to offer their services to shine your shoes or give a manicure-pedicure

...you go ukay-ukay and hope you get a steal like we did. Gucci bag for P350 (for my mom)

and for me two Coach luggages for P2000 not for one but for both luggages!

Now that's how I celebrated my birthday in Baguio. Turning 27 isn't that bad after all. Thanks to all who greeted me. Mwah!