weytaminit!

The Times, They are A-Changin'

2009-12-23T07:28:00.005+08:00

When I began this blog, I just started out teaching toddlers. I've been through so much! (as you can read in my past posts) My life has been, and still is, an amazing journey. Just this year, I realized how much I've accomplished. It's overwhelming!

As I begin the new year, I want a change. I'm moving! I'm not closing this blog, for sure. I'm too sentimental. :) Anyways, I just opened a new photo blog! I'm so excited to share it with everyone. And I'm lovin' the lay-out. :D

Since this'll most probably be my last post here, I just want to close it with a few photos of the memorable events the past two months. I'm looking forward to an even more fantastic 2010! :)

Test of Faith

2009-10-01T21:56:00.034+08:00

Last Saturday, I asked for the gift of faith. Little did I know that my gift would be tested right away.

During the height of Ondoy's wrath, I was at a facilitators/care group head workshop conducted by the Light of Jesus (LOJ) community. It was a whole day affair and, though we received text messages about the heavy downpour, we were still quite oblivious to the destruction that was going on outdoors. By lunchtime, my sister informed me that the waters entered the ground floor of our house. It happened before (while I was left at home) so I wasn't that worried.

One of the workshop activities was conducting a baptism of the Holy Spirit. It was during this workshop that I prayed for the gift of faith. The sister who prayed over me whispered in my ear, "Aby, receive the gift of faith. In the name of Jesus," then prayed in tongues. Her hands trembled as she said her prayer. I felt at peace.

On our way home, we (my papa and I) were stuck in heavy traffic. The floods in Taytay were pretty bad. Thankfully, the water in our street subsided. Although we didn't have water and the phone lines weren't working, we still had electricity.

As we watched the Channel 2 news, it was only then that the whole situation hit me. Thousands of people trapped in their homes, houses that were completely washed away by the torrents, people dying from landslides, flash floods, or other forms of catastrophe; it was heart-breaking. While watching, I prayed to God to save them.

In the news, they mentioned how bad the floods in Cainta and Pasig were. I was immediately worried. My lola and her helper were trapped in her home in De Castro subdivision (Pasig). Also, my uncle and his family live in VIllage East, Cainta, another place submerged in water. We tried to call my uncle and lola but the lines were busy.

The following day, we checked the news, hoping that the waters subsided. It was actually the opposite. The water levels in De Castro and some areas in Cainta were more than ten feet. Though I worried over my uncle, I knew he'd find a way to provide for his family. My lola, who's turning 80 in November, is diabetic. I know she's still strong but I was worried that two days of no food, water, and her medicines would weaken her. I wanted to go to her right away but, from watching the news, we knew that we couldn't do anything yet. Seeing rescued lolos or lolas who were sick or dying on TV didn't help lessen my worry.

After we went to mass and had dinner, I told Papa that we had to go to Lola's village. It was almost ten in the evening when we packed candles, food, and bottles of mineral water. At that point, I was already sending text messages, asking for prayers from SOLV and LOJ bros and sisters, as well as my other friends. We still couldn't contact our relatives who were trapped at home.

When we reached one of the side streets of the village, we saw marines, firefighters, medics, and other volunteers, as well as those who were rescued. The scene was straight out of a disaster movie. There were army trucks, amphibian vehicles, rubber boats, ambulances, fire trucks, and rescue vans. I realized that they were all parked there because it was the only spot that wasn't flooded. When we walked down the road, the water deepened. I spoke to the group of rescuers about the situation. They told me they were doing the best that they could. I believed them but I was desperate to get to my lola's house. I even insisted in riding the boat with them and helping them give out food. The person-in-charge politely refused. What worried me more was how the rescue team discussed in hushed and somber tones. The situation didn't look good. The waters were still more than ten feet deep and they needed more boats. I tried to remain calm and be brave but it was really hard, especially after I spoke to the rescued people in the emergency tents.

After a few hours of watching the boats leave, Papa told me that we were going home and that there was nothing we could do to help. Besides, we needed to rest so we could return early the next day. I resisted several times and talked to a few other rescuers. I really didn't want to leave. There were a few families waiting there as well. It was a depressing sight. Then, I heard God tell me to have faith. I remembered my prayer the day before. It was past midnight when we went home. God continued to assure me that He is taking good care of my lola, uncle, auntie, and cousins. The text messages of the brothers and sisters also gave me hope.

We left early the next day. The worry was still there but I continued to pray and asked for intercession from the SOLV and LOJ communities. Thank God, the floods receded.

On our way to Lola's house

A lot of vehicles were wrecked by Ondoy

Check out the amphibian vehicle parked outside Loloa's house!

Tonet, my sister who resides in Laguna, reached Lola's house first.

Lola's safe! I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. When Gelli (my youngest sister) and I reached Lola's place, we found her and Tonet chatting outside. Lola and Ching (her helper) haven't eaten and drank anything for two days. We found out that Ching's husband (who lives a few streets away) swam to their house the day before to keep them company. It was the first time (and I pray, the last) that floods reached the second floor of Lola’s house. Even if she was hungry and wasn't able to take her medicines (they were lost in the flood), she was still strong. In fact, we had to tell her to stop cleaning and fixing her things!

Talking to her, it was as if nothing happened. She even gave away some of her jewelry and chocolates (a habit of hers whenever we visit her). It felt good to laugh again.

Lola's neighbors, both doctors, tried to salvage their documents

Reisidents don't need their rubber boats anymore

People clamored for food, instead of the donated clothes

Some of the trash were still usable

Ahh, to be stylish amidst the calamity

What's in the plastic? Hmm...not bad.

After lunch, Papa and I drove to Village East, Cainta to check on my uncle. They were okay as well! Thankfully, the water didn't reach their second floor, so my uncle was able to grab some food for them to eat. While I watched my uncle wash the mud off their floor and my aunt rant about how they lost everything in their ground floor, I said a silent prayer of thanks to God.

Though the floods were gone, the streets were packed with mud

I cannot express how grateful I am to God for saving us and keeping my relatives safe. For a few minutes, I felt ashamed for ever doubting Him. God has never failed me and He never will.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to all the people who kept in touch and prayed for me and my family. Your support kept me strong as well!

I know that my faith in God will still be tested. I am striving to keep that faith. Though it is challenging, at least I am comforted by the fact that He will always remain faithful.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. – Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Halftime

2009-08-28T18:28:00.037+08:00

This year has been a pretty amazing experience, to say the least.

We're just into the second half of 2009 and yet I feel that I've accomplished so much more than I could've imagined.

Expanding my Horizons

Last January, I finally signed up for a caregroup in the Light of Jesus (LOJ) community. The Sunday Feast has been a consistent routine for more than a year and I felt that I'm ready to reach out to more people. I've met some of the most inspiring and amazing people through this group. They're pretty crazy too (haha).

But we continue to inspire each other every Sunday. Oh, and I was able to reel in my dad as well. :)

A group shot with Bo Sanchez

There are more good things coming soon in my service to LOJ. Can't wait!

Basic Photography

I've always wanted to enroll in a photography class. Since I delved into this crazy world, actually. So I was pretty stoked to have the opportunity to sign-up in the Basic Photography Workshop conducted by FPPF.

Batch 5 of Basic Photography 2009

Learning with the Masters - Lito Beltran, Ador Pamintuan, John Chua

Though it was a long drive (all the way to Intramuros), the whole experience was so worth it! I learned a lot of tips and techniques that I'm able to practice now.

The icing on this towering cake? A new group of fantastic friends and two trophies!

1st Place: Environmental Portrait

3rd Place: Still Life

Let's Meet, 'K?

Speaking of new friends, my photography classmates and I formed a group called Kamera Cinco (K5, being the 5th batch in the Basic Photography Workshop). So far, we've had five outdoor photoshoots (La Mesa Ecopark, Avilon Zoo, Wawa Dam, Eastwood, and Binondo) and one basic lighting studio shoot (with Oliver Tam as our guest instructor).

I am having a BLAST!

At La Mesa Ecopark

With K5 friends

Avilon Zoo, Montalban

Wawa Dam, Montalban

Eastwood City

The wacky K5-ers!

Binondo, Manila

Group shot taken by Willie Cheng

Basic Lighting Workshop with Oliver Tam

My favorite shot with Nica

The Final March

After five years of blood, sweat, and tears (and lots of prayers too!), I finally graduated in my Master of Education course.

Chillin' out after the graduation rites at the PICC

With my sisters and Mama

I love my dress!

And With Distinction! My first silver medal!

More To Come...

What lies ahead? So much more, I believe! I can't wait!

The December Vineyard photo shoot

2008-12-20T11:43:00.063+08:00

Every December, the CCM-Publications releases a special issue of The Vineyard.

Normally, for the Staff Page, we just have our photos taken in a typical setting. Last year, sa Don Bosco kami, right before the prayer meeting...

while the year before that, we had a pseudo-photoshoot at Baywalk.
This year, we wanted to make it more special, as it is the kick-off to SOLV's 25th year in 2009. How special was it, you may ask?

It was an official photoshoot by a professional photographer in a real photo studio with a professional make-up artist and design artist. And we wore costumes! The theme? Something that describes yourself. :D

Thanks to our Vineyard staffer, sister, and friend, Cecille Mendoza, for making it happen!

photographer (left): Alan Fontanilla, head of SPANK (a subsidiary of LOWE)
design artist (right): Cholo dela Vega, LOWE

make-up artist: Mona Borromeo (freelance make-up artist)
We (the ladies) had our make-up session at Cecille's office (LOWE).

Nako, if only I had a videocam! Ang kulit ni Beauty! :)) I spent several minutes photographing Beauty while she was waiting for her turn to have her make-up done. Hindi siya masyadong nag-enjoy, really. ;)
Siyempre, di nagpahuli si Cecille!

Kinunan din ako ni Cecille...

When we were all made-up, we drove to the photo studio for the pictorials. It was such a treat to see everyone in costume! The biggest surprise was seeing Caloy in his priest outfit. Ano kaya ang masasabi ni Ate Malou dito? Hehehe...

Here are some of my favorite behind-the-scenes shots. Documenting the whole event was pretty fun already!

Here are the official shots.

Thanks again to Alan, Cholo, Mona, Cecille, and to our Vineyard staff, who have been such great sports! Till next photo shoot!

Hmmm...how will we top this next year???

boo!

2008-11-01T12:15:00.028+08:00

i love Halloween.

though this goulish holiday isn't celebrated here as much as it is in other countries, i still enjoy the whole experience. especially since i get a kick out of scaring people (a.k.a. my students). yeah, yeah, i'm mean. but my kids still love me so i'm not complaining. not that i bribe them with candy (trick-or-treating is an exception).

the ballerina and pink fairy

oohh...the lights

most of my Halloween partying happen in school. from the weekly theme to our special activity: trick-or-treating. i so enjoy seeing my students in costumes.

all aboard the Halloween bus!

going trick-or-treating around school

it's hilarious that, even if they're sweaty and their outfits are pretty uncomfortable, most of them refuse to take their costumes off, even during outdoor play.

her favorite ride

oh, i was a (fat) spider by the way. check out my ginormous spider eyes!

the culmination of our Halloween celebration is the school-wide party. this year's was held at the Greenmeadows clubhouse. the parents, kids, and teachers all came in costumes. it was pretty fun, especially since a lot of families were so game. the theme was saving the environment - Happy Hallowgreen!

have no fear, the Justice League is here!

they were great sports

she's such a cutie pie :)

the highlights of the event were definitely the children's parade and the magic show. my students were mesmerized by this year's guest magician (who did a terrific job of hosting the whole show).

after d dumped ribbons on her big cousin's hair

all in all, the party was a success. congrats to the LEAP teachers! boooooo!!

mum's the word

2008-10-30T11:22:00.006+08:00

i talk too much.

this was my conclusion after i had my throat checked out yesterday. apparently, my class schedule (toddler class in the morning, first steps class after lunch, tutorial in the afternoon) and extra-curricular activities (SOLV, meeting with friends, showbiz...) have worn my vocal chords out. of course, it doesn't help that our weather's more unpredictable than Britney Spears (God help her).

so the doctor ordered me to go on voice rest. hm, so this is how singers feel like after a string of concerts. minus the stadiums, screaming fans, and expensive tickets. excuse me, my fans (a.k.a. students) do not scream. unless subject to bodily harm (oy, don't look at me!).

i never felt old (because i'm not. really) but lately, my workaholic nature has been doing my body more harm. i feel sluggish, bloated. sige na nga, di na ko magshoo-shooting sa madaling araw! cut, direk!

fortunately, it's semestral break for us teachers. which means i have ample time for R&R. in my world, that means Riting & Reading. or possibly, Raiding the fridge & Ransacking my sisters' closets. or Ranting about gasoline prices & Racing jeepney drivers. i've done all of the above, actually. too bad the jeepney drove straight in the intersection, instead of left where i was headed. (i'm so glad my dad doesn't know how to use the internet. or the computer. don't tell him i divulged that bit of info, though.)

"What on earth are you going to do on your free time?" you might ask.

my answer: "What? I have free time?"

while still absorbing the great news, i'm mulling over the fact that i have so much time at my disposal. and work isn't even included! well, well, well, yellowbell!

so what do i do? why, make a to-do list of course!

1. start working on the December Vineyard issue. how exciting! i can't wait for November 15th! sorry, folks, that's a surprise. :)

2. clean my closet. ugh. not looking forward to this. i thought i saw something furry in there before. no, it wasn't my feather boa. unless something of the rodent kind used it as an accessory.

3. organize my files. contrary to what most people think, my room looks like it's been hit by a massive weapon of destruction. i guess with all the things i'm doing at once, i've neglected my sanctuary. paano na pag dumalaw si Piolo?

4. upload photos and videos. most of my photos are up in my multiply site already. just some videos that i'm still lazy to upload.

5. read. and i'm not even talking about blogs. i still have books that i've purchased months (or a year) ago that are gathering dust and other unmentionables.

6. blog about my recent escapades. the school Halloween party, LEAP mid-year evaluation, and more.

7. scrap my to-do list. easier said than done, my friends, easier said than done.

alrighty. my throat is still itchy (isang bote ng Caladryl lang to. tagay na!) and the refrigerator is calling me (o tukso, layuan mo ako!). gotta go!

*cough*cough*

MOO-chas gracias!

2008-10-03T18:25:00.002+08:00

MOO-chas gracias!, originally uploaded by wasaby.

look what i found in our mail...

my free MOO MiniCards!

and they've got tons of pretty cool stuff.

thanks again, MOO and flickr!

p.s.

got the 10 free MiniCards after i subscribed for a flickr PRO account.

what's up, ketchup?

2008-09-18T21:39:00.011+08:00

it's been eons since i last posted here. (more than a year in fact!)

a lot has happened since. but i promised myself that i'll only focus on the good parts (no more drama, please...). so, in a nutshell, i present to you some of the highlights of the year that passed:

DLSU is the UAAP 2007 Champion!
and we watched the final game live! :D

photos from the Animo Victory Party

with "the man," Coach Franz Pumaren

with Cara and JV Casio

Christmas in Singapore!

there were so many great moments to share that i'll just post the pictures. hopefully, the photos will speak for themselves.

tonet and gelli

Orchard light-up tour

at IKEA (mama's sanctuary)

at the Cine Blaster (Sentosa)

the Sentosa aquarium

underwater tunnel (pretty cool!)

Songs of the Sea (still at Sentosa)

Singapore Zoo and Night Safari (the highlight of my trip!)

Genting, Malaysia

meeting up with friends (with weng at the winter store)

melinds and my inaanak, clive

Christmas eve with the housemates

SOLV Acoustic Night

and what a successful night it was! :)

luke entertaining his mom, mayette, and ate isa

richie, our videographer, shooting beauty, our lovely host

mother (ate malou) and daughter (france)

the performers (from the St. Scho School of Music)

oh, before i forget (as if i will)....last month, mama bought gelli and me a new camera! woohoo!

me and our beloved Canon 400D :)

Outreach with the streetchildren of ChildHope Asia

had a blast! this was organized by jackie chua (sister from SOLV).

the CHA children
cheers to jackie for doing a fantastic job of hosting and organizing the affair!

by the way....i've finally caved in and got myself a Multiply account. you can check out all the photos in my Photos page.

that's it, pancit!

see you later, 'gator!

after a while, cro...aaah, you get the picture.

i'm still here

2007-07-07T22:28:00.000+08:00

and yet i feel like i've been gone for years.

it was my way of coping, i realized. i just wanted to go away for a while and breathe.
because i was drowning.
or falling.
or both.

i needed to be by myself, pick up some pieces, and move on.

i had residual feelings of abandonment. is there even a medical/psychological term for that?

now that the air has cleared, i recognize what i went through. there were so many things going on then that i couldn't think straight, you know?

last march, all my co-teachers (save for the school owners, of course) resigned. all of them. they put up their own school, apparently. when we had our year-end evaluation, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. i couldn't believe i had to say goodbye to them, after four years of growing together in our profession.

last april, my very close friend and partner-in-crime, tet, finally migrated to florida. she waited for this to happen for years so i knew it was inevitable. but when she got the go signal, everything happened so fast, even our last time together. we didn't even have a proper goodbye because i had to go to my masters class.

last may, my mom flew to Singapore to work there. until when? we don't even know. i'm pretty sure it'll be for more than a year. then, my youngest sister, gelli, packed her bags and moved in a dorm. she's a college freshman in DLSU. my other sister, tonet? she was transferred by her company to Laguna. since then, the only time i see both of them is during weekends.

before my class and work started in june, my lolo (grandfather) died from a stroke. i was at his bedside during his last day. papa didn't want to bring him to the hospital anymore because he didn't want lolo to suffer from too much medical procedures. after the stroke, it was apparent that he was ready to leave us. he died peacefully.

while i was driving home today, it hit me. so many people dear to me left for one reason or another, in a span of three months.

life goes on, i know. and i have to stop grieving and take that crucial step to living again.

now?

i'm still working on my action research paper. hopefully, the director will approve my topic for implementation and oral defense. if all goes well, i'll be graduating. master in early childhood education. sounds good.

every weekend, i make it a point to go out with friends. there's just something about my recent experience that makes me want to reconnect with the people around me, you know? fortunately, the summer movies have been fantastic! i've watched Shooter and Spiderman 3 with rica, Fantastic 4 part 2 and Transformers with noah. and i'm meeting rica again and another college friend, melinda, this coming weekend to catch another flick (harry potter 5!).

i just attended a wedding recently. my high school friend, tintin, tied the knot with her old friend, buddy. congratulations!

of course, i have my "me time." i still enjoy my company, thank God.

i'm still working on jumpstarting my photography again. i still need to feel inspired but the wedding gave me that needed nudge. hopefully my creative juices will start flowing in no time.

those several months have been a tumultuous roller coaster ride but now i'm coasting smoothly.

i wasn't gone after all.

hiatus

2007-05-19T22:30:00.000+08:00

That’s what this is. A welcome break from my characteristically chaotic life, which (unfortunately) will come back to haunt me in about two weeks or so. My prior activities have unconsciously forced me into hibernation. Well, that and the fact that I don’t have work (and moolah) this summer.

Normally, I’d spend the summer break at the beach nursing a tan and snorkling. Now the only thing I’m nursing is a hang-over from oversleeping. Amusing, I know. But I’ve come to terms with my decision to basically torture myself from boredom until I’m raring to go back to work and start implementing my action research paper. So far it’s been fun. A friend of mine was worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle all the downtime but I assured her that it’ll be over in a few days and I’ll be back to my perfectionist, workaholic self. I’m really not looking forward to all the things I have to do come June, which is why I’m making the most of my break.

So now I’m lulling my summer days and nights away with guilty pleasures like organizing DVD marathons, eating Milo (yes, eating it), and sleeping until I sport a white beard long enough for the Guinness. Yeah, yeah, I’ve become an enthusiastic couch potato. (And it’s a bad thing because…??) At least I get to watch movies with Rica and have dinner with friends once in a while.

The weird thing about going on a hiatus is that I’ve involuntarily took a break from photography and blogging as well. It’s been a while since I last posted, commented, and browsed in Flickr. My right brain has shut me out for quite some time and have yet to recuperate. Maybe once I get into the rhythm of things my fingers will begin clicking away. It’s weird that I feel most creative when I am busy and stressed out of my mind. I don’t even want to know why. That’s just how I am.

As of today, I have 12 more days of complete and utter tranquility and then it’s back to the real world. Fantastic.

baller

2007-02-05T18:27:00.001+08:00

P (gushing): Teacher, I want to go to B's house all the time!

the weekly home visits are going extremely well, much to our delight. i am tempted to share all our photos but i can't (unless i want my arse bludgeoned into the next millenium).

two years ago, i started a journal of my favorite quotes of my students. i realize that i forgot about it this year because i've been busy with a lot of things outside of school. well, since most of my current kids are more articulate and expressive now, i think it's about time i start the 2007 journal.

some of my favorite entries were the ones of my student two years ago...

1.
I was reading a Sesame Street story.
Me (showing them a picture of the characters riding a school bus): Friends, where do you think they're going?
Chino (grinning): To Megamall. (a popular shopping mall near our school)

2.
Chino (showing me the different miniature furniture in the Dramatics Area): This one is for Mama. This one is for Papa. And this one is for the little boy who lives down the lane.

3.
Chino (while drawing): My monster is dead!
Me (smiling): Why is he dead?
Chino: Because he went to the supermarket.
[somehow i'm afraid to ask his mom what happened the last time they went to the supermarket...]

ok, so it might have been hilarious then but what makes it priceless for me is the fact that he was about 2.8 years old when we had those conversations. :)

more of these funny quotes here and here.

sneak peek

2007-01-25T17:04:00.000+08:00

during our first home visit

ay caramba! has it been two weeks since my last post?!?

well, i've been a busy bee, what with the year-end requirements in my Toddler class, my last term in my graduate class, and all my extra-curricular activities. i'm right smack in the middle of Time Management 101 (with a little Stress Management on the side.)

this month, our Toddler class began our weekly home visits. every Thursday/Friday, the whole class visits their classmate at home. the kids are already establishing friendships and this weekly routine is a fantastic way to strengthen the bond. :)

other news...
last year, a friend of mine kept badgering me about copyrighting my photos. personally, i don't like seeing text on my pictures but with all the unauthorized copying and posting of photos online , i realized that it's time to be more careful. then yesterday, i read this discussion in the FPC group and sesame ellis' post. that's it. i'm copyrighting from now on!

The Goal Keeper

2007-01-12T17:34:00.000+08:00

re-reading the book that started it all

i suck at new year's resolutions, i really do.

which is why i scrapped them several years ago and decided to make my life goals instead. they don't have to be accomplished within the year, perfect for a procrastinator like me. hehe.

now that we just ushered in 2007, i revisited my life goals to check my progress. so far, i've done a few:
1. pursue teaching children
2. learn how to drive
3. buy my own digital camera
4. take up photography
5. join a photo group
6. volunteer in a non-profit organization
7. learn a musical instrument (i'm kinda cheating with this one because i stopped for a long time...at least i tried ^_^)
8. go back to the gym (*cough*cough*)

last week, my cellgroup leader, flor, gave us homework for monday. make a list of our goals for this year. hmmm...most of the ones in my life list are long-term and not that feasible this year (except for the first two items below). so i had to think of more feasible goals...

1. graduate from my Masters program this april
finally, after (bleep!) years, i am at my last term in my graduate studies. whoopee! well, that's one thing then there's also that part about actually passing my last two courses...but i'm doing my best and i know i will graduate! or die trying! (let's all cross our fingers and toes and hope for the best, shall we?)

2. learn a new language
i'm learning sign language! after my activities with Talking Hands, i was motivated to learn sign. peebs, the master at sign language in TH, is holding another class. we're still waiting for 7 more interested people. hopefully we can start this month.

3. teach preschool in a nearby big school
ok, i'm saying it to the universe. i'm eyeing the big school just 10 minutes away from where i live. i can't mention the name of the school (yet). i know my bosses don't visit my blog but i'm just too paranoid. haha.

4. drink at least 2L of water daily
since i'm already working out (*cough*cough*), i just need to be more vigilant in my daily agua intake. as of now i feel i'm drinking about 1.5L each day. just one more 500mL mineral water bottle to go!

5. be more open to new possibilities (esp. in my personal life. ehem.)
haay...i'm swallowing my pride (it's an ongoing process) and vowing to be more flexible. let's see how far i can go. hehe. (i can almost see my cellgroupmates cheering)

i'm nearing another crossroad in my life and i just want to broadcast my plans just so you guys will remind me if i'm stalling. or distracted.

cheers!

tis the season to be jolly...with TH!

2007-01-02T14:14:00.000+08:00

in case you're thinking that you're in the wrong blog, you're not. i've just made major changes, that's all.

anyways, on to my final Christmas post.

last August, i finally fulfilled my life goal of volunteering in a foundation. i signed up for Hands on Manila three years ago but i never really pursued any of the many organizations under them. last year, i got off my lazy bum and chose a foundation where i can really serve.

as i pored over the long list of organizations connected to HOM, i spotted Talking Hands. basically, TH is a group of volunteers that meet with Hearing Impaired (HI), deaf, and mute people once a month and provide them activities, mostly arts and crafts, that they can use as a form of livelihood. i liked the idea and the fact that the venue (Pasig) is the closest to where i live (Taytay). perfect!

about 4 months ago, i attended my first TH activity. i expected a few children in the group but when i saw the people trickling in, i realized that TH was bigger than i expected. there were about 40+ people consisting of teenagers and adults, with no children in sight. there were less than 20 volunteers, majority of whom have already taken sign language classes. i told tina, the head of TH, that i didn't know any sign save for i love you (thanks to Sheryll Cruz, haha!) and beautiful. she said it was alright and we can still communicate through actions. she was right! i had fun helping my group make bracelets using crystals, beads, and nylon string. when they had a question, they used their hands and mouthed the words to me so i could get it. one amazing thing about this group is that all of them understand English more than Tagalog. and there i was writing down my instructions to them on a piece of paper - in the local dialect. i realized that there really aren't any Tagalog signs (except for a few, uh, graphic words that i can't even post.)

so, to make a long story short, i decided to be a regular TH volunteer.

i attended my very first Talking Hands Christmas Party on the evening of December 23 at the Immaculate Concepcion church in Pasig (where we usually meet every month.) it was a potluck event. most of the volunteers already prepared food so i offered to bring drinks and some prizes for the games, which were organized by sisters, gilda and lira.

preparing the prizes for the raffle

a lot of the guests came (i think they were around 50!) and they definitely put us to shame with their prepared dance numbers and skits.

our special guests

the exciting dance numbers

we had two games. we gathered four couples for the first game. the guys wore a necklace made of marshmallows while the girls ate these treats without using their hands. the game was a blast and, in no time, the whole room was filled with applause and stomping as the audience cheered for the pairs. the winning couple did a fantastic job!

look at them go!

the winning pair!

our last game was a relay. each member of the group (there were 2) ran to a chair while holding their balloon, popped the balloon, then got the piece of paper inside. each paper had a word from a song title and the group who forms the title of the song first wins the game. unfortunately, some of the balloons got switched and the groups ended up with duplicate words. to the delight of the two groups, we just made both of the winners. :D

the two groups for the balloon relay

kim and lira preparing the balloons while the groups are being prepped

in between the games and performances, we held a raffle. two of the volunteers were generous to provide the prizes - packs of toiletries and goodies from Wyeth. we made sure that everybody took home a goody bag from the raffle.

raffle, batch 1

raffle, batch 2

raffle, batch 3

last batch

the highlight of the event was the dinner! i couldn't believe the amount of food that was served. the volunteers from the church brought tons and tons of pancit, kananin, barbeque, bread, and lumpia. some of the TH guys brought sandwiches, donuts, and desserts. everybody definitely came home happy and stuffed. :)

look at all the food!

kudos to the food committee!

to the Talking Hands guys, congratulations on a very successful party! and here's to more parties and activities to come! :D

our guests were all smiles

the beautiful volunteers of Talking Hands :D

happy new year, everybody!

change is good

2006-12-29T23:38:00.000+08:00

yes, it is.

i just love the new Blogger! i completely changed my template. i've been through a lot these past years and this represents all those life-changing moments i've had. the template's name is Snapshot. very appropriate if you ask me, since my blog posts have been snapshots (literally and figuratively) of my life. it actually feels like i'm changing homes, even if the living quarters that i'm referring to is a bunch of html codes and pictures. maybe i should have a blog warming party. :D

anyway, just to show how major this change is for me, i'm actually keeping the pink colors in my site. i never considered myself a pink girl (that color is usually reserved for tonet) but lately i found myself in strange oh-look-i'm-wearing-pink predicaments. like that time i wore a pink shirt to our school's Family Day and a pink dress (gasp!) to gelli's debut. i just hope this is the start of something good. not that i'm giving up blue any time soon.

what i absolutely love about the new features is the post categories. i love it, i love it, i love it! now, i can just click on parties when i'm looking for all my posts about the gimmicks that i've been to or ramblings when i've lost my sense of humor.

but there's a catch. (whaaat??) because i've switched to the new template, the blog reverted to the old comments format. which means, i lost my Haloscan comments! :(( my apologies to all those who visited and left comments on my previous posts. i really don't know how to get those back and i don't want to touch the templates anymore. sigh.

so it's back to a clean slate for me (except for the comments prior to my Haloscan days.)

ah yes, change is good.

* * *

i'm still working on my last tis the season to be jolly... post. will probably post that before New Year.

anyways, i just want to wish everybody a fantastic 2007!

tis the season to be jolly...with SOLV!

2006-12-28T00:46:00.000+08:00

in case you're wondering why i'm actually using capital letters in the start of all my sentences in this post (which is so unlike my usual entries), well this is actually an article i wrote for the January issue of The Vineyard. i added a few sentences here and there but majority came from the newsletter. can you tell i'm feeling lazy? hey, i'm still on a holiday! :D

* * *

It was truly a night of music and fun as the brothers and sisters of Servants of the Lord’s Vineyard (SOLV) celebrated the community’s 22nd Anniversary on December 16, Saturday, at the Verve Bar, Makati City.

After dropping off the December issues of The Vineyard (it's our best yet!), I met up with my special guest, Tet, in Greenbelt 1. We had a quick snack (Auntie Anne's pretzels, yum!) then headed towards Verve, which was a few blocks away. By the time we got there, a lot of people already trickled in. I was immediately given a copy of the newsletter (got my own already, thanks :D) then ushered to a table by Beauty.

Shine Like Stars
Based on the passage from Philippians 2:15, You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky, the event was not only a celebration and thanksgiving for the year that passed but also served as a reminder for everyone to be bearers of light so others may experience God’s message of life and love.

The anniversary aptly began with an inspiring talk by Bobby Quitain, a brother from Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon and long-time friend of SOLV. Bobby talked about the issues that shape the world today and what everyone, as Christians, can and must do to spread God’s Light to the people. Filled with Scripture passages and touching and amusing anecdotes, the talk was a welcome wake-up call to the brothers and sisters. Following his power-packed talk was the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Let's Dig In!

The dinner, agreeably one of the most anticipated components in any occasion, was worth the wait. The brothers and sisters lined up along the buffet table and filled up their plates with the delicious food and desserts. The venue was packed and some people opted to dine al fresco. Soon, the ground floor of Verve was filled with sounds of utensils scraping against the plates as the hungry guests eagerly enjoy their dinner; warm greetings from the brothers and sisters who just arrived; laughter as people exchanged stories and caught up on each others lives; the pages of the Anniversary Issue of The Vineyard issue being turned as some brothers and sisters pored over the articles and pictures; and shutters clicking while the “camera shy” different groups posed and took photos of each other.

Algie and James with the Starstruck Batch 2006 (haha)

group pictuuuuure!!

Tet and I are obviously part of that "camera shy" group, as you can tell from our outdoor photo shoot. Hehe.

huh, the band's playing already?

It’s Party Time!

While everybody was finishing dinner, the house band, H and the Gang, took their spot on the stage and performed their first set. They began with slow songs that the crowd soon sang along to. Towards the end of the set, the band encouraged people to join them. After much cajoling and cheering, some brothers and sisters eventually obliged. Isco Karamihan joined Gloria Palomar in a rendition of “Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang.” After the first few lines of the song, Ramil Catcalin took Isco’s place and finished the beautiful duet. Apparently, Ramil and Gloria were being teased (why am I always the last to know??) and I could hardly hear their voices amidst the cheers of the eager crowd. Ross Hernandez closed the first set with her version of a popular song (sorry, can't remember!)

Isco and Gloria; Ramil and Gloria

uuyyyy! :p

go Ross!

Beauty Aycardo introduced the next part of the program, an Audio Visual Presentation (AVP) that she created as a tribute to God and the community. The three-part AVP began with a touching production entitled “Catch The Tears,” based on the song by Russell Watson. The heart-warming music was indeed the perfect background to the beautiful images and scenes. The second part, “Faces of SOLV,” featured some of the brothers and sisters who have played significant roles as active members of the community. I was really touched to see my name on the list (as well as photos of me that I didn't know Beauty had.) The slideshow, which earned countless cheers and applause from the audience, displayed a collection of amusing and memorable photos and videos that showcased the lighter side of SOLV. The AVP concluded with an acknowledgement of the people who contributed to the anniversary party and The Vineyard as well. Another surprise, an old dance video, was included in the credits portion.

Right after the video, I saw Mitch Co stand up to greet the people before she left. "So early?", I asked. Well, she said she had no choice because she was riding with somebody who had to leave. Before she left, I requested for a photo with her.

Star and Waltz, this photo is for you. Hehe.

Of course, the night was still young and the party was just getting started. The brothers and sisters kicked off with their dancing shoes and grooved to the beat of the house band as the group sang popular tracks that kept the crowd on their feet. Since I had less than 4 hours of sleep - thanks to the December Vineyard (not that I'm complaining :D) - I had to take a break after what felt like hours of dancing. My energy level wasn't that high so I really didn't feel like breaking a sweat. But when it was time to take photos, who was I to refuse? :D

with my cellgroup sistahs!

with Tet and Hazel

the real F girls: Beauty, Gloria, and Arlene

water break!

Anyways, after a very exciting set, the band took a break and the community’s own singers took over. Jay-r Rivera, with James Mendoza playing the keyboard, entertained the crowd with a few songs. Later, Jay-r performed with the band and was soon followed by Gloria, Ross, and Ramil. Even if I see those guys every Tuesday, I am still amazed at their talent. Makes me proud to be a part of SOLV, that's for sure. :)

the last set

Our final round of picture-taking with the last men (and women) standing:

the beautiful women...

...and the crazy men of SOLV :p

An empowering talk, a touching and memorable AVP, and a community filled with talented men and women of the Lord. The 22nd Anniversary Party was definitely a time for everybody to shine!

(more photos of the anniversary party here)

* * *

my night wasn't over after the party. tet and i headed to her house for an after-party celebration. wait, before you call us party animals, this is just my way of saying that we stayed up til the wee hours of the morning eating holiday sweets and watching Desparate Housewives on DVD. party animals, right? in the last holiday party i went to, we had a lot of fun, especially since we used our hands more than our mouths... coming soon! :)

tis the season to be jolly...with FPC!

2006-12-24T16:57:00.000+08:00

and what a jolly season it has been!

apart from the regular dinner get-togethers and sleep-overs, i've been to four major parties this month. the first was, of course, gelli's debut which garnered two posts (because one just wasn't enough.) the other three? well, since all of them have been a blast, i'm giving them individual posts as well.

FPC @ Tiananmen Bar

december 7 was the Christmas party of Flickrs Photo Club or FPC at Tiananmen Bar in Makati Avenue. it was my second time to attend an FPC event and i was pretty psyched to finally meet all the other amazing people of the group, most of whom have been my online friends through Flickr.

that night was also our school's final staff meeting for the year. i was worried that i'd be late for the dinner party. well, even if i was late, the photoshoot hasn't started yet so it was still ok. the minute i entered, i looked for our FPC "boss," pat (Hocchuan.) he was seated in one of the "cubicles" (what do they call those Japanese style restaurant booths?) with other guys from FPC. after i registered, pat interrupted john edward's spiel to announce my presence (did you really have to do that, sir?? haha) to the group. after a round of introductions to the other FPC members, i took my seat between Spiegelbild and karen and indulged in my yummy dinner.

the minute john edward called out the first of several models the group hired for the photo shoot, the guys (and a few girls) scrambled to get a good spot in front of the stage. i was finishing my dinner while i watched the photographers and photo enthusiasts click away. since it was going to be a challenge to insert my petite self between the bodies, i took photos of the people and the bar instead.

the FPC shooters

JC and Lady G (with Spiegelbild and Leonard behind)

i loved the warm lighting and the hanging glasses in the bar.

the bar

the booze

later, i was able to take a few shots of the models. my camera's zoom had its limitations and i can only do much to get a close shot.

it's a bit grainy but i still like this close-up of the first model i photographed.

Leslie

my favorite one was leslie, a favorite of shutterglass as well (as told to me by ronrag. hehe.)

Kaye

i was able to take photos of the next model before they wrapped up the shoot.

my fellow Flickrians had amazing shots of the event! check out this thread for more photos.

the highlight of the evening was the raffle. there were so many prizes! and none of which i took home (waaah!) well, at least i was able to get 3 free prints of the photos i took that night and an FPC pin. :D

with Spiegelbild (photo by Boso)

Lady G, Rabbit's Foot, Lord Jit, and moi (photo by Ed's)

to FPC, congratulations again on the successful party and here's to more Flickring!

* * *

the second event was definitely a night of music and fun. tis the season to be jolly with...well, you'll just have to wait and see. :D

to be continued!

Birthday Party Shooting Part II: The Day of Reckoning

2006-12-13T23:09:00.000+08:00

after our host apologized to the guests for the delay, the laptop still wouldn't run. so, we had to reboot and pray that it'll work this time. unfortunately, her laptop runs like a turtle and the whole restarting fiasco took about 20 minutes (the poor guests!)

thankfully, this was the only noticeable glitch in the program. because the program was well-planned, everything went smoothly. gelli's friends gave a hilarious skit cum musical that summarized her "evolution" from a baby into the young lady that we know now. this was followed by an MTV and documentary by her extremely creative friend (who will make a great director and graphic artist someday.) of course, we still had the traditional 18 dances, which ended with my papa getting teary-eyed while waltzing with my sister. the next part of the program was the messages from friends and family, this time with a twist. the first part was for the messages from gelli's friends,

messages from a few of gelli's friends

while the second part was video messages from relatives and family friends which we showcased during dinner.

we could see that everybody was having a lot of fun, the opening boo-boo totally forgotten. my only frustration was that i wasn't able to take shots of the souvenirs and food as well as close-up stolen shots of the guests. my camera's zoom can only take so much stretching and i couldn't move closer to the tables because i would block the host. so most of my candid shots were whole-body photos (which i can still crop.)

papa getting all choked up during the last dance

cupcake icing fight!

my only consolation was that the tripod helped me take clear shots in the dark hall. even with all the lights turned on, the party hall was still a bit dark, particularly the terrace area. but the photos turned out pretty ok despite the dark lighting.

gelli's throne and cake table

gelli and her "real" escort, christian bautista

in the terrace with our cousins

anyway, after the whole shebang, i realized that, aside from those i mentioned in my previous post, there are more things to consider in planning and photographing for a party.

Location, Location, Location
familiarize yourself with the venue. make an occular inspection weeks before the party, especially if you're not just the photographer but the party planner as well. during our dry runs, we took note of:

1. the electric sockets
after checking out where all the sockets were located, we realized that we needed about 3 extension cords for the sounds, electric fans, and laptop with projector. if we didn't do an occular inspection, i can just imagine the panic and destruction that would happen. WW3, here we go!
2. the lighting
because i had to turn off certain lights during different parts of the program, i listed down which lights had to be left on when the host is speaking and those that had to be turned off during a video/slide show. it was also helpful to run through the whole program while operating the lights.
3. the time
we made sure to visit the clubhouse at the exact time of the party just to check the lighting and other things we should take note of. it was a great idea that time too because we found out during our 1st inspection that the clubhouse holds masses (just recently) every sunday from 6-7 pm. we had to coordinate with the priest and adjust to their time. when we were there, we noticed that the mass ends at around 6:30.

Foooood!
coordinate with the caterer. you should have an agreement about the lay-out of the tables, buffet area, cake area, gift table, and the celebrant's position (my sister was provided a special chair.) because we were in charge of the decor, we gave the caterers instructions on how the centerpiece should look like. also, we gave them the candles that we bought so they can prepare the centerpieces ahead of time (they were in charge of the flowers.)

Be My Guest
because we had to move the start of the program from 6 to 6:30 in leiu of the mass, my sisters informed their guests that they can come at around 6 pm instead of 5. of course, because i was so busy doing other tasks, i neglected to inform my guests. an obvious mistake in my part when one of my guests arrived at exactly 5 pm, while we were still setting up.

Use a Tripod!
i cannot stress this enough, especially for owners of P&S cameras like myself. the tripod spared me from potential photo disasters, bigtime. never mind that i had to throw all attempts at poise as i lugged the three-legged contraption with me around the hall in my fuschia dress and stilettos. at least the photo subjects are visible and clear.

oy, wag masyadong malakas, gelli! taob na si #1!

Shoes Ko Po!
speaking of stilettos, it's definitely not the brightest idea to move around wearing three-inch heels while photographing the whole event. comfortable flats or rubber shoes are still the best footwear. but this was a party so i really didn't care. haha!

Relax!
this is, first and foremost, a party. no matter how stressful the event may be, it is still important to take a deep breath (or more, when needed) and just enjoy the show. after all, there's something bound to go wrong in any event so you better accept it and move on (something i've learned the hard way.)

(Not So) Picture Perfect
even if the photos didn't turn out as expected, what's more important is the memories that everybody will take home with them. days after the event, my sister told me that her party was still the talk of the school. well, looks like all our hard work payed off after all. :)

moi, papa, gelli, tonet, and mama

now that gelli's debut is over, the real work has just begun for me. i still have to compile, edit, and lay-out the photos for gelli's photo book. unlike the party, this has no deadline so i'm taking my sweet time. pass me the remote control, please! :)

Birthday Party Shooting Part I: The Long Wait

2006-12-10T01:02:00.000+08:00

after almost 3 months of preparation, stress, and a failed attempt at WW3, gelli's party is finally over and done. except for me, that is.

because of financial constraints, my family refrained from hiring an official photographer. guess who volunteered to do the photos instead??

the task is daunting, to say the least. the only time i covered an event was for my godson's party a few months ago. it was held during the day so it was easier to get clear and colorful shots.

my sister's party was going to be an evening affair, which posed as a challenge for my P&S camera. knowing the limitations of my A520, i prepared for my stint ahead of time. we had 2 dry runs during the exact time of the party (5-9). i took photos just to see how my camera will perform. it was pretty ok but i still felt anxious. the debut is our family's 1st and only party so far so i wanted everything to be perfect.

prior to dec. 3, i made mental notes of what to photograph:

Preparations
for any event, it is essential to capture what transpired behind the scenes before the actual "show." this includes set-up, decorations, invitations, souvenirs, and other important stuff like the celebrant getting her hair and make-up done.

Program Proper
it is extremely important to familiarize myself with the flow of the party. this way, i'll know where to position myself at certain times of the program.

for instance, i have to stay in front of the staircase for gelli's grand entrance at the beginning of the party while for the 18 dances, i would get a clearer shot if i'm at the side of the dance floor. then for the candle blowing, i have to get as close to gelli as possible to get a nice, tight shot.

Smile, You're on Candid Camera!
i love candid shots! so for the party, i told myself to take as many stolen shots (mainly of the guests) as possible.

Post-Party
of course, a photo album wouldn't be complete without shots of what happened after the "show."

Have a Seat!
for an organized party, assign the seating arrangements of all the guests. i printed out the guest list with their table assignments. each table had the number and place card so the guests will know where their table is.

Gearing Up
i'm not a professional photographer nor do i own any professional gears. so when it came to gathering my "ammunition," it didn't take that long. hehe.

Canon A520
4 rechargeable batteries
2 pcs 128 Mb memory cards
1 pc 32 Mb memory cards
a sturdy tripod
a small wristlet (for the spare batts and memory cards)
a camera strap (in my case, it was a long fuschia string to match my outfit. ;) )

with my gear set, all i could do was pray for clear shots. as for the lighting, i can always use Photoshop.

with all of these in mind, i anxiously braced myself for DDay.

***

nothing, NOTHING, can ever prepare you for the actual event.

initially, this was the schedule that i set for myself:
3:30 - set-up decors and table paraphernalia
4:00 - start taking photos of pre-party essentials
4:30 - freshen up for the party
5:00 - party time!

just imagine my surprise when, upon arriving at the clubhouse, we saw that the lay-out of the tables was all wrong. the space for the dance floor had the long buffet table while the celebrant's throne and gazebo was set up right in the terrace, where the older guests should stay. it turned out that their (caterer) boss didn't inform them of the supposed lay-out! because i had to coordinate with the person in charge, there was a delay with the decorations. i tried to keep my cool despite the fact that i was getting more upset by the minute. luckily, by the time i was putting the table decors and place cards, i was able to take a few photos.

i didn't have time to do a complete shoot of all the pre-party preparations since i had to assist the others in hanging our polka dot curtains.

to my horror, my guest (a HS friend) arrived. i checked the time. it was 5 o'clock already! i couldn't believe it! after apologizing to carol a gazillion times, i went back to fixing the decor. the sweet girl even volunteered to assist.

when i saw that everything was going smoothly, i excused myself and freshened up for the party. when i got back, carol was already snacking on the pink and green puto and Nips we laid out on her table.

a whole Justin Timberlake's concert DVD later, a few guests trickled in. it was a few minutes past 6:30 and most of gelli's friends haven't arrived yet. i had to remind myself that this was a common occurence in parties. finally, by 7 pm, we were ready to start.

or so we thought.

for some insane reason, tonet's laptop stopped working. our host already invited everybody to stand up for the prayer, a Powerpoint slide that was going to be projected unto the white wall. since we couldn't start immediately, we had to tell the guests to sit down. how embarrassing! tonet's laptop is efficient, yes, but it is just the slowest one i've ever seen! talk about bad timing!

to be continued...

waiting to exhale

2006-11-18T18:10:00.000+08:00

stage decor for the party

is it just me or am i suddenly drowning?

hm, let's see...gelli's party is just two weeks away. as the self-proclaimed party planner, i've been keeping a mental checklist of the stuff to do. that is, until my brain practically imploded. so i actually printed out a list of all the tasks that each member of our family had to do for the party. it's been tedious and i could feel the tension start to build up. just this week, a few members of our family had a fight three days in a row (and papa was in all of them.) truthfully, i'm just waiting for the whole event to just pass us by and then i can breathe.

but of course, there's still the December Vineyard issue, which will be our biggest release this year. only less than a month til our deadline and i'm already losing my mind over it! thank God our staff and the SOLV Anniversary team are supportive.

and then, there's my first FPC blog assignment. i'm doing an interview on the first featured photographer for December. i'm too tired to talk about it so i'll just post the update when it's all done

so, till all the hullabaloo has been ticked off in my mental and hardcopy checklist, i'll be useless in the blogging world.

whew. oh, i just exhaled.

a life less ordinary

2006-11-08T19:07:00.000+08:00

i live a charmed life.

no, i'm not a millionaire nor do i wish to be one. i don't have vacation homes in the Bahamas, a Phantom Rolls Royce, a private jet, or a gazillion-dollar yacht in the Riviera. heck, i don't even have a personal assistant. but i love my life.

lately, i've been bombarded with surprise after surprise. of course, they're the good kind so i'm not complaining. :D

Ka-Blog!

i've been blogged!

after shocking me with news about my fireworks photo shoot win, robert does it again. right after claiming my Ceragem GC, i got the surprise of my life when he told me that FPC decided to feature me in their blog. who, me?? :O i'm not even a professional photographer! he looked serious so i took his word for it.

true enough, i got an e-mail from pat about the interview. a few days after answering the questions and sending it back thru e-mail, i found myself in a crowded McDonalds branch, being interviewed. and i haven't even recovered from the past events yet! it all seemed surreal and if i hadn't seen the blog post, i would've thought i was imagining things.

FPC has so many extremely talented people and to be recognized is such an honor!

the interview was very candid. well, i'm not a complicated and technical person so my answers were pretty straightforward and honest (check out the question about the BOYFRIEND. haha). robert was quick to take down notes and he did a great job writing what transpired that afternoon. i enjoyed the introduction, particularly the part where he described my outfit. yes, i did go to the gym that afternoon. :D

check out the interview here. :)

Our Hyatt Experience, Part 2

we were able to use the remaining GC for our overnight stay @ The Hyatt Regency Hotel.

the first time we were there, i was practically a couch potato and spent my stay either sleeping o eating while watching cable TV (save for our morning swim.) last week was a different story.

since the whole family (except for tonet, who was still in pampanga that time) checked in the hotel in the afternoon, i had more time to traipse around with gelli. after our early (and extremely cheap) dinner at a nearby hospital, we went back to the hotel room to rest. mama brought her work (we're a family of workaholics, i tell you!) and it kept her awake till the middle of the night. papa, on the other hand, decided to relish the opportunity for some R&R and didn't let go of the remote for hours (how typically male of him.)

what did i do?

i dragged gelli to be my photo shoot model, of course! hahaha!

jumping for joy

i joined in the fun, too.

gelli, stop picking your nose! :p

pa-cute

glamour shot (kuno)

dorky duo

we spent more than an hour in the mezzanine of the hotel, which was blissfully free of people, clicking and posing away like a couple of idiots. a few hotel staff members actually checked on us just to make sure we weren't doing anything illegal (hello!)

finally, tonet arrived. after another round of photos,

ang bigat ni tonet!

we called it a night and marched back into our rooms.

we woke up early the next day for our breakfast buffet @ Cafe Al Fresco. i missed the lunch buffet we were treated to last time since it had more courses and choices. breakfast was excellent, nonetheless. i had so much food! :O

it was a good thing that we swam after to burn those unwanted calories (yeah right!)

tonet brought her new underwater camera case and we took a few shots. it was great...

testing the camera (oops, it should be underwater. hahaha!)

there you go

...for the first few minutes.

getting blurry

self-portrait :D

i don't know what happened but somehow the casing got a little foggy and moist. we were afraid the water would seep into the camera so we stopped the shooting and focused on the actual swimming (which should have been our primary purpose for being there in the first place)

of course, i came prepared. i brought my camera, too! :D

my crazy sisters

anyways, after swimming and a refreshing bath, we checked out at the hotel and headed for Mall of Asia (what a shocker! :D)

mama and i accompanied gelli as she looked her birthday party dress and a gift for her best friend. i had fun window shopping, as usual. haay, i miss actually buying stuff at Bayo, Maldita, Kamiseta, and Celine.

we wrapped up our Hyatt weekend with the fireworks show @ MoA. i think papa was expecting great photos after my FPC fireworks shoot. unfortunately, my camera's batteries died out. ah well, there's always next time! :)

to TJ, thanks for those Hyatt GCs! sa uulitin! ;)

my very healthy weekend get-away

2006-10-31T22:44:00.000+08:00

hm. before this weekend, when was the last time i spent 2 hours in the gym, pigged out, drank a Grande Cafe Moccha, slept for about 3 hours, woke up early to head for Baywalk to exercise, then hit the gym for an hour of cardio and thirty minutes of stretching?

uh...never??

and just when i thought my bday celebration was over, tet and mike "surprised" me by treating me out last weekend. well, technically, it was mike's treat and tet accompanied me. but since they're a couple, let's just make the whole deal conjugal. hehe.

our very action-packed weekend began at a very quiet and busy internet cafe in Megamall (how exciting!), where i finished all the things i needed to do (like reply to e-mails, download photos, and check out my Flickr site) while tet chatted with mike and rica, her brother's girlfriend. when i was finished with my deliverables, i joined the conference. we had a fun time, mostly ganging up on mike and teasing the couple til they blushed (ah, the power of the webcam.) soon, our hour was up.

then the real action began.

Shake, Belly Belly Dancer

tet and i stuck to our plan of having a healthy weekend and jumpstarted it with a trip to Slimmers Megamall. after 30 minutes of sweating it out on the transport, we attended the 6:30 belly dancing class. i've never been to one (although i watched the class for a few minutes before.) as the regular attendees, in their sparkly gold belts and midriff tops, lined up in front, tet and i waited in anticipation for the class to begin.

the warm-up was pretty simple. we followed our svelte instructor as she demonstrated the hip and arm movements. hm, looks like we won't be breaking a sweat.

after the first water break, i was getting more comfortable with the dance, which involved mostly waist, hips, and leg action. but before i was about to scream, "Eat your heart out, Shakira!" our instructor quickened the pace and added more moves. ah, so much for my bubble of confidence. Shakira makes it look so easy, i swear.

by the time we were done, i was so thirsty i practically brisk-walked to the drinking fountain.

Me-Kenny!

as we were walking towards Mega Strip, we spotted Christian Bautista signing autographs on stage. i laughed and took a mental note to make gelli envious that i saw him in person before she did (she's a big Christian fan.) of course, i took a couple of photos just to make her feel worse. haha!

that night, San Miguel had an event (Oktoberfest). there were so many people and all the food spots along Mega Strip were packed. my request was Piadina and i was already dreaming about their Pasta Ariabiatta when i realized that the restaurant wasn't there anymore. bummer.

after checking out other places, tet and i ended up at Kenny Rogers. well, i haven't eaten there in a while so i didn't really mind.

our orders? Solo A meals each plus a Veggie Salad.

yum!

the greens in the salad were crunchy and fresh and i also loved their Italian dressing. too bad the dressing wasn't enough for the salad, though.

the chicken was yummy as always, although we noticed that the corn muffins are smaller than usual. never thought KR would join the cost-cutting bandwagon but looks like they did. we also tried the new side dish - cheesy garlic potatoes. it was delicious! made me forget about those muffins for a while. :D

i'm ready to dig in!

ang takaw!

while we were eating, mike called tet just to check on us. i think he was worried that i wasn't cool about eating in KR. what, me? i can eat anywhere! hehe.

look like our resto of choice is still way under the budget. so tet made up for it with coffee after dinner. :)

Caffeine Overload

Starbucks was packed but we were lucky that a group left a few minutes after we arrived. tet ordered Grande Cafe Mocchas. i actually requested for the smallest size but, seeing as the price difference isn't that significant, tet decided on an upgrade.

i used to drink a lot of coffee back in my IT days but now i rarely do because i don't really need that extra jolt. with my toddler students, i think i need something to relax me! maybe i should drink tea more often...

so should it really come as a surprise that i'd be wide awake after downing this much coffee??

looks like somebody had too much caffeine :D

anyways, it took a while for us to finish our drink so we obviously had a lot of time in our hands. we talked about life, friends, showbiz, family...everything under the sun, really. oh ,and i got to test the burst mode of my camera, too. it's a good thing i brought my mini tripod with me!

we're lucky silly people aren't banned from Starbucks!

Let's Get Physical

just as i expected. i could hardly sleep a wink that night! my body was so tired yet my mind was working in overdrive. not my idea of a good night's rest, especially since we were scheduled to wake up at 6 for our Baywalk escapade.

it was pretty frustrating that i woke up a few minutes before my cellphone alarm came off. what do baristas put in their coffee anyways??

anyways, by the time tet and i got to Baywalk, i was wide awake and raring to go. we began our day with a doze of good ol' healthy taho. yum! when we were finished eating, we started brisk walking the whole stretch of Baywalk. i realized then that it was my first time to be in Roxas Boulevard early morning. i was used to seeing the sunset, the lights, and sounds from the live bands along the bay. mornings at Baywalk was relaxing and invigorating at the same time. i felt the cool breeze during our walk and decided to ignore the mild stench that came from the breakwater (well, at least i can say it's a treat to the senses - touch and smell.) the site wasn't as colorful during the day as it was at night but there were a lot of colorful characters who enjoyed an early morning stroll along the bay. couples (who were probably there since the night before), parents with their kids, friends, old friends, and even pets filled up Baywalk.

once tet and i reached the other end of the bay, we chanced upon several aero classes going on. the first one ended the minute we got there but we were able to join the other group a few paces away. although we were there the last 20 minutes of the class, we still got a workout as the instructor added kickboxing moves to his very interesting aero repertoire. i say interesting because majority of the moves consisted of gyrating your waist and hips like a burlesk dancer. well, at least we were being consistent, considering we attended a belly dancing class the night before. guess our tummies and hips really needed more exercise. :D

after the work-out, we headed towards the port. yachts and ships (mostly for Corregidor tours) lined the part of this strip. i got a pleasant surprise when i saw the rows of restaurants (Pancake House, Dencio's among others) and, lo and behold, Starbucks! they're everywhere, i tell you!

trip to Corregidor, anyone?

after taking a few shots in front of the Corregidor tour ships, i had a fantastic idea. i turned to tet and told her to jump. not into the water, friends, but along the port for an action picture. :D

hurrah for Starbucks!

when it was my turn, i decided to use the burst mode of my digicam and had a little fun. the people in Starbucks were probably regretting their decision to quietly enjoy a cup of coffee that morning.

hyper!

well, our adventure didn't end there. our next stop - Pan Pacific Hotel!

The Final Leg

speaking of leg, my legs were aching already by the time we got to the hotel. well, we did walk all the way there. and let's not forget our early morning work-out along Baywalk.

that said, tet and i marched to the Slimmers lobby and signed up for the cardio class.

a cardio class after brisk walking, attending an aero class, and walking all the way to the hotel? my, my, i never knew i still had that much energy! tet, looks like we're not that old after all! haha!

of course, all thoughts of being young and energetic flew out the window about 20 minutes into the cardio routine. what were we thinking??? needless to say, i stuck to my guns and tried my very best to complete the class. by the time we were doing the final set, i was too dizzy from doing all those turns that i just stopped and let the experts do their thing. i think i took a water break about 10 times within that hour!

at last, the class was done and i was raring to plop down on the mat. while i stretched and lazed around, tet did several sit-ups (naks, mike would be so proud :p)

when i checked the time, my eyes practically bugged out. it was past 11 am! we've been out since before 7 am. no wonder my legs were aching (excuses, excuses...)

before we left the hotel, we lounged around the pool area for a photo op. :D

certified divas

when i got to tet's house, i was so famished. somehow, my food vanished into thin air in less than 20 minutes (or was that 10?)

i wasn't ready to leave after lunch. actually, i wasn't even ready to move yet, so tet and i watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend to kill time. it was a great movie, very light and funny.

before i left, we had our last "photo shoot" with chay. :D

chay, it's not bad luck if we're 3 in the photo, you know! :D

weeelll, what a weekend it was! with that killer work-out schedule, i'm pretty sure this get-toghether is at the top of my Most Healthy Gimmick list. not that i'm planning to lengthen that list any soon now. :D

mike, thanks again for the treat! and tet, thanks for a very fun (and energetic!) weekend! till next gimmick! :)

Who Moved My Bread?

2006-10-29T22:49:00.000+08:00

we have a monster in our house.

not the growling, gnashing, roaring, foot-stomping kind. our creepy-crawler is furry, squeaks, and scampers about when no one is around.

right, a rat.

house rats are old news to most people but the one living under our roof is no ordinary rodent. this dude has special powers.

what kind of powers, you may ask?

for starters, he can squeeze himself into tight openings and extremely narrow corners. yes, their species has this ability. but i'm talking about a rodent the size of a cat. you know, like those you find in a farm or field.

because of its sheer size, it can turn on the switch of our living room table lamp just by running around it. when i spotted our lamp on, i almost freaked out. not because it's almost Halloween and a ghost could have played a trick on us. but i was extremely worried somebody broke into our house (again). when i asked gelli about it, she said, oh so matter-of-factly, that seeing the lamp turned on has been a regular occurance and that it was that rat.

whaaat??

then, just this afternoon, i went downstairs to get a glass of water. as i got to the middle of the stairs, i saw that the plastic container where we keep the bread was wide open. i usually place my red lunch box on top of it but, for some reason, the lunch box was lying on its side, on the oven right beside the bread.

uh-oh.

i ran down the steps and looked inside the container.

yes, the monster strikes again.

it ate through the plastic and took several bites of our bread. the bread that papa just bought.

arrrgggghhhh!

after i calmed down, it dawned on me. the rat opened the container by itself.

great. i realize that we have a smart monster. is this Jurassic Park, Family Edition?? maybe rats have special weapons that can open plastic food containers and turn on lamps. but then again, it could have used its weight like cavemen do.

well, i don't care what technique it used. i'm not taking any chances.

now if that monster can still lift this green plastic dome (that, mind you, is tightly squeezed between the oven and the rice container), i don't know if i should call the mice exterminator or the police.

an Aby birthday

2006-10-25T19:09:00.000+08:00

the blessings just came pouring in.

i swear, i have never been so overwhelmed the week of my birthday.

It's An Explosion! (yuck, baduy! hehe)

it all began with a text message from robert (rareimages) last monday, just two days shy of my bday. he told me to check the FPC site and discussion thread because - take this - I JUST WON FIRST PRIZE IN OUR FIREWORKS FUN PHOTO CONTEST! as i mentioned in my previous post, i never expected to win. so my initial reaction was total disbelief.

"Ows?? Talaga?" were the first two words in my text reply.

i had a feeling robert isn't the type to joke about these things but i still couldn't believe the good news. i think his reply to my questions went sort of like this - "Oo. No Kidding. :)"

wow...WOW!

i never won first prize at anything!

i did win a different online photo contest but there were a lot of winners that time so this most recent one is different.

a few hours later, i was able to check the discussion thread. and sure enough, i won 1st place! :)

the winning photo

and thanks to the generosity of celina_d and joel, i got a GC from Ceragem Philippines and a 1-year Flickr Pro Account respectively! thanks again, guys! i've always wanted a Pro account but my current finances can't support it (plus the fact that i don't have a credit card ^_^.)

the next few days, i was finally able to update my photo sets. :)

the Flickr meet was included in the FPC blog, along with the results of the contest. pat (Hocchuan) even linked to my blog post. aand speaking of blogs, the guys (robert and pat) invited me to be a contributor to the FPC blog. what an honor! :)

i still pinch myself until now.

RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!

the morning of my bday (Oct 18), my family surprised me with a brand new Nokia 6020! i couldn't believe it! (again!)

my old phone, a beat-up Nokia 6510, has been begging to be replaced for a looooong time. again, because of my current financial state (i sound like a broken record), a new cellphone is just out of the budget.

i think my family felt my (and my phone's) pain and chipped in for the new phone.

wow, first prize, a Flickr Pro account, Ceragem GC, a new cellphone....i must be dreaming!

thankfully, i wasn't :D

i felt like a kid in a candy store. better yet, i felt like a kid opening her Christmas gifts and getting everything she ever wished for. sniff.

Magnifico!

since tonet was still in Pampanga last wednesday, i decided to move my family celebration to sunday and spent the rest of my day with the SOLV sisters.

flor, my cellgroup leader, gathered the other members and a few sisters for our dinner get-together in A Veneto, Glorietta. perfect because i love Italian food. (next to chocolate, of course. hehe.)

i thought it would just be our cellgroup, so imagine my surprise when ate marla, an "institution" in the community (as i joked her), irene, and ems joined us for dinner. i was honored that they were there to celebrate my bday.

ate marla, flor, and irene

we still had a hang-over from our recent sisterhood (my next post!), an obvious observation from the general discussion that night. we talked about the games, the sharings, our love languages, and other anecdotes that made us burst out laughing.

ems, ross, and leah

we had a great time and the food was terrific!

we had seafood pasta in tomato sauce, assorted pizzas, and another tomato pasta dish with chicken cutlets. mm-mm-mmmm!

ang takaw ko no? :)

ang paglamon ni ross (hehe)

when we were almost done eating, the sisters gave an honoring. it has been a while since i was the receiptient to our community tradition and it really felt encouraging and humbling to know how much i touched the lives of my sisters, particularly during those moments that i've taken for granted.

group peeectuuuure!

we closed the night with the restaurant's Decadent Cake garnished with the words, "Happy Birthday" in sweet caramel icing.

happy birthday to meeh!

Tayo na sa Tiendesitas...

i capped off my week-long bday celebration with my family at Tiendesitas last sunday.

mama and i went ahead (since we attended an anticipated mass the day before, separately) to Tiendesitas. while waiting for papa and my sisters (they went to mass at Christ the King), we went around the tiangges (me, searching for new cellphone accessories) and spent the rest of the time watching the awarding ceremonies in the cat show (didn't catch the title of the event, though).

right after the show, mama and i met up with the rest of the family and headed for the food court for dinner. the menu? grilled liempo, sinigang, and tuna belly!

while eating our sumptuous dinner, we watched the live band sing songs from yesteryears. oldies but goodies, indeed.

we spent the rest of the night checking out the other stores, particularly the pet shops. if you're a pet lover, you better check out these rows of shops. they have everything, from pet accessories, clothes, grooming, toys, gadgets, food, and even photography! the only thing they don't have is an inhouse vet.

adorable doggie booties ^_^

it's doggie retail heaven!

Tiendesitas is also a pet-friendly area. my sisters and i actually look forward to seeing the dogs visitors bring with them, rather than checking out the celebrities (you'll always spot one when you're there.)

pet avenue

cuuuuutttteeee! :)

a favorite pet shop of ours has a big display window with different animals featured everyday. that time, there were two adorable poodles.

i had a grand time watching them play with each other. they looked so cute in their outfits that a lot of people were taking their photos (me included).

we went to another pet store that had Chow-Chows and Bulldogs (tonet's favorite breed.) they even had my favorite - the Siberian Husky. the staff allowed us to carry two of the dogs. i was seriously thinking of dognapping the Chow-Chow. i mean, who can resist that face??? :D

Whew!

what a week! it was definitely an Aby birthday for me! ^_~

Mabuhay ang bagong...

2006-10-14T10:45:00.000+08:00

...uwi! MABUHAAAAAY!!! :p

last wednesday, we (the sigma and tna peeps) celebrated mildred's return from singapore. she arrived last saturday and only stayed in the country for a week (boooo!). actually, ang totoo nyan, tumakas lang talaga sya sa boss nya. hahaha!

i was the official organizer of our dinner get-together. but before i talk about the major boo-boo that i did, i just want to say that this week was pretty hectic. really! not that i'm being defensive... :D

anyways, eto kasi nangyari. when mildred and i last talked about the dinner, i said that i'll inform the people through e-mail. she mentioned that joy, flor, doins, and dennis confirmed already. since ayie texted me back that he was good to go, i decided to send a general e-mail to the sigma group only. when i was finished typing my (short) invite, i started to enter the sigmaLang yahoogroup. eh sa address book ko kasi, may List ako na Sigma. i haven't used that list in a while and when it came out while typing, i thought that it was my shortcut for the yahoogroups email. so i clicked on it and sent my message.

so 2 days passed and we were all set. i wasn't able to check my e-mails during those days so i wasn't aware of the invite. pagdating ng wednesday, i thought - no, assumed - that others informed flor and dennis about the venue.

anyways, when i got to Gerry's Grill @ Park Square, joy, doins, flor, and dennis were there and already ordered appetizers (calamari and tofu). aba, nalaman ko nalang na hindi pala yahoogroups ang naka-save sa list ko kundi yung individual e-mail addresses nila!! waah! kaya tuloy, late na nung nalaman ni mikelec and rex na kasama pala sila!

kaya guys, i'm so sorry!!! valid naman explanation ko diba?? (di naman ako guilty e. medyo lang. :P)

ok, tama na explanation at baka may mangbato ng sapatos dito. hehe.

joy and i brought our cameras and were the official paparazzi of the night. while waiting for our guest of honor, we killed time by taking photos....

joy, anong tinitignan mo??

doins and boss dennis (may asungot o! :p)

...and, of course, catched up on the latest gossip, er, stories. lagi naman ako huli sa balita, e! :D

at dumating din ang guest of horror, este honor. :D

aba, feeling artista talaga! mildsky, pwede ka na sa The Buzz magazine (yung may mga paparazzi photos). and the hair! let's not forget her newly relaxed tresses. iba talaga pag ikakasal na noh? ^_~

later, mommy bernie arrived. grabe berns, parang di ka nanganak! (naks) after ordering, talking about bernie's new baby, and grilling doins about her new "gerlash," tipen showed up. i just wish i had a recorder that time. panalo talaga ang q&a portion namin nun. i can't remember the exact dialogue but some of stephen's questions went:

kasal na si bernie? kay mon ba? (dude, may baby na nga sila e! mas huli ka pa pala sa balita sa kin e! :p)
(to doins) may asawa ka na ba? (yeeessssss!)

pero teka. ba't ako, never mo tinanong kung may asawa na ha?? hehe.

a few minutes after our orders were served, ayie came. tamang-tama ang timing mo!

our orders? pinakbet, pancit bihon, grilled squid, baked scallops (my special request ^_~), kare-kare (joy's special request), and sinigang na hipon. yes, i'm not allergic to shrimps anymore! sorry ka nalang, ayie at napasa ko sa yo!

si rex nagtampo kasi di ko raw sya nasama sa e-mail ko. (sorry na nga e!) anyways, i talked to him over the phone and explained everything. oo, nagpaliwanag na ko sa lawyer mo! hahaha. dibale, nalibre naman sya ni mildsky the next day e so ok na rin yun. :D

what's a get-together without more photos right? kaya si ayie, nagpresintang photographer (paparazzi lang kami ni joy e. hehe.) and took more shots of the group.

mga bungisngis

walang magawa

nice hair, doins! :p

we spent the rest of dinner talking about former officemates, mildred and donna's straight hair, joy's previously curly hair (sayang di ka namin nakita ni mildred nung sexy days mo!), and more tsismis - as usual.

after that yummy dinner (thanks, mildsky!) we capped off the night @ The Coffee Bean, Greenbelt. unfortunately, tipen had to leave early for a "meeting." (yan na ba tawag sa date ngayon???)

from local tsismis, the topics turned to Prison Break, Grey's Anatomy, and my break-ups with Wentworth (Miller), Brandon (Routh), and Brad (Pitt). see tipen, ang dami mong na-miss! ewan ko ba kung ba't ayaw maniwala nung iba. honest naman ako magkwento diba???

at around 11, we called it a night.

salamat ulit, mildsky! sana bumalik ka kagad. but i have a feeling the next time we meet, sa simbahan na! (yi-heey!) sa kasal ko, no. anong akala mo?? o bawal kumontra, blog ko to! :p

p.s.star, bigyan mo raw ng tips si mildsky on long-distance relationships and marriage! ayaw na ni flor e. hehe.

FPC @ MoA? Ok!

2006-10-08T16:50:00.000+08:00

i attended my first Flickrs Photo Club meet yesterday!

held at the Mall of Asia (yep, i'm there again!), the get-together was organized by pat (Hocchuan, FPC's founder and moderator). the purpose of the whole meet was to do a fireworks photo shoot and have a little bonding session afterwards. of course, my objective was to learn how to really shoot fireworks. i've photographed fireworks before but never with a tripod. i was really psyched because it was the first time i used papa's tripod for my digicam. alhtough i have my own tripod, it's too tiny for the photo session (my tripod's literally as tall as the whole length of my hand!)

we're fortunate that four members (siblings squarefoot and doy and their cousins, archie and aris) of FPC are part of Starmaker, the company who runs the fireworks show in MoA. thanks to them, we were easily permitted to set-up the shoot in the fireworks area.

although not everybody who confirmed were there, i got to meet some of the members of FPC: karen (angelynne), jen (Lady_G), ed (Ed's), robert (rareimages), shutterglass, janzedrik, mtxtremist, and Starmaker's aris and doy. i thought we were going to stay in the fireworks zone but they advised us that it was too close for photographing the show. so, the ladies, ed, aris, and i positioned ourselves in the Music Hall, right across the fireworks zone. we didn't have any idea where the rest of the guys went but i'm pretty sure they chose prime spots.

before the shoot, i asked for photo tips from doy (who also has a p&s camera) and ed. finally, i understood how some of the manual settings in my camera worked, particularly the shutter speed i adjusted my camera to Manual mode and set the shutter speed to 2 seconds with an aperture of 8. now, all that was left for me to do was to wait for the show to start!

as i looked at ed and jen's 350D cameras and karen's 30D, i realized that, more important than the fact that all of us are Canon patriots, i was the only one who has a p&s camera. hahaha! my A520 sure looked pretty "cute" beside their humungous SLRs! :D too bad my camera was screwed in place on my tripod or i would have snapped a picture. fortunately, ed was able to take a photo of my baby beside karen's 30D. :D

oh, did i mention about the photo contest? pat decided to add spice to the Flickr meet and organized the contest. celina_d was kind enough to donate Gift Certificates for Free Massage Treatments from Ceragem Philippines to the top 3 winners while Joel, a.k.a., From the inside looking out, offered to give the 1st price winner a flickr “pro” account. i really don't expect to win so there was absolutely no pressure for me. hahaha!

finally, after making small talk with karen and jen, the announcer's voice boomed over the excited chaos. the show was about to start! i quickly turned my camera on and waited to take my first shot.

in tune to High School Musical's Breaking Free, the fireworks display was a sight to behold. aris, who was standing at my right, told me that the whole show is choreographed according to the music. all they needed to do was to press a few buttons in their computerized switchboard and the magic begins. cool!

my excitement slowly diminished and turned into frustration as i waited for my shots to appear in the LCD screen. for the nth time, i wished for an SLR! the processing was slow but i remembered that the shutter speed was set to 2 seconds. i guess that explains the lag (at least i hope it did).

after about 4 shots, my finger accidentally brushed my lens and i realized that it was partially opened!! waah! my first few shots look like tilted panoramic photos.

thankfully, the song just started so i still had time to take more shots.

then, it was over.

i wasn't ecstatic over my photos but they're not too bad. at least now i have an idea how to set my camera when another fireworks photo opportunity comes up. thank goodness MoA holds weekly fireworks shows! i will definitely be back!

after poring over our shots, some of the guys bid goodbye to spend time with their families. meanwhile, karen and i joined jen's family - her husband, Lord Jaime (hehe) and their two teenage sons, who also serve as Lady G's all-around bodyguards, assistants, and photo directors.

during dinner at Teriyaki Boy, we talked about photography, their cameras (they're lucky i didn't drool over their babies. hahaha!), and their Flickr experiences. karen shared the photo workshops she's attended and explained a few of the technicalities in photography. jen kept us laughing with her funny comments and stories.

after dinner, i went along with them as they went to the Canon store to buy accessories for their cameras then headed off to Odyssey to look for the latest Evanesence album. after a few minutes, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

to the FPC guys, thanks for welcoming me! and to MoA, i'll be bahhhhkkk!

typhoon of the Milenyo

2006-10-01T20:33:00.000+08:00

the last time Metro Manila was directly hit by a mega typhoon was in the previous millenium (early 1990's). how appropriate is it that the most recent storm that shook the city was named, Milenyo?

in case you lived under a boulder (a rock wouldn't suffice) for the past week, Milenyo is the tropical storm that wreaked havoc in the metropolis, leaving
hundreds homeless, a death toll that is continually accumulating, broken down homes, and, not to mention, a clear reason why billboards should be banned. at least along major thoroughfare.

by wednesday afternoon, i really didn't know what to expect. PAGASA reported a typhoon signal 3, something that shouldn't be taken lightly. we haven't experienced a storm that strong in years and i was hoping that the findings were exaggerated. when i woke up the next day, i could hear the wind whistling, the trees flapping their branches, and the rain slowly turning into a downpour. and Milenyo hasn't hit MM yet. looks like PAGASA was right.

a few minutes later, NAPOCOR and Meralco shut down electricity all over MM. it was starting.

by noon, the wrath of Milenyo bombarded MM with winds powerful enough to topple 10-wheeler trucks, old mango trees, and those pretty Baywalk lamposts that i photographed last year. after the storm, majority of those posts were bent like a stick of bubblegum.

A River Ran Through It

our street has been flood-free for the past years. Milenyo changed that. our family was worried that the water would reach our front door.

Mico and Boogie, whose playful romps and barks are a daily event in our house, were uncharacteristically subdued and could only look helplessly as the flood quickly entered their playground.

i checked the street scene from our balcony and could only get a couple of hurried shots since the rain was splattering on my poor camera. i'm just grateful my digicam couldn't talk or i would've been dogding nasty expletives for hours.

our street looked like a miniature Pasig River. i saw that my uncle's dog, Batman, took an unexpected bath, minus the bubbles. when i noticed the flood was creeping in our garage, i prayed it wouldn't reach my car, even if it was in desparate need of a bath.

luckily, the waters subsided.

Burning the Evening Oil

despite the brownout, mama, gelli, and i kept ourselves busy. mama had to finish some drawings for her client. how she was able to measure and draw the dimensions of the house with three small candles lighted in front of her is beyond me. gelli "studied" her notes for her upcoming college exam (i think it was more of "stared").
i kept myself busy by finally re-reading Steven Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. this time, i wrote down notes. oh, and papa? he was in the office (across the street), of course. tonet was working in pampanga that time and, according to her, completely oblivious of the storm (which really didn't leave a path of destruction in their area).

ahhhh, such was the life of a workaholic family.

by 6:30 pm, the electricity was back. like clockwork, gelli and i dropped our books and sat in front of the TV. hm. did i just say workaholic?

The Aftermath

as quickly as it came, Milenyo was out of the Philippine shores the next day.

but even if he was gone with the wind, the whole of MM still felt his presence. it'll take months until the homes, roads, buildings, and structures are fully restored. i wish i could say the same for the grieving families, though. those hours have completely changed their lives, at the expense of so many others.

it is at this moment that i am reminded of what Oprah said in one of her episodes. "Your life didn't end. It was altered."

Milenyo forcibly altered thousands, of lives. but the Filipino people are resilient. and i know that we will rise above this with our heads held high and spirit strong.

weekend dining

2006-09-24T15:20:00.000+08:00

Let's Do The Twist

our toddler class had its first parent dinner last saturday at twist, eastwood. i was pretty excited because it was my first time to actually set foot in the restaurant. the interior was relaxing and subdued, with a Zen feel to it. i loved their chairs with the tall backs (although if you're short like moi no one can tell you're there from behind. hehe).

the class has 9 students but only 6 pairs of parents made it to the dinner. despite that, we still had a lot of fun. since they're used to seeing the teachers in school, looking harassed and sweaty, the dinner was a breath of fresh air for them - and much more for us. the initial topics revolved predictably around their kids but with the relaxed atmosphere, eventually everybody loosen up and talk about other things that weren't school-related.

i found out that one of the dads is the older brother of a former officemate, ryan bonilla (remember him, star??) and he was also a college classmate of mike lectura! i almost sang "it's a small world after all."

the food was great, btw. i ordered a pasta dish while the rest ordered buffet. and after about 3 hours of sharing laughter and exchanging stories, we called it a night.

no, i'm NOT pregnant! darn those gartered midriff tops!

In Da Club(house)

gelli's turning 18 on november 29! and she's having a party on dec 2. of course, since i'm such a great sister, i volunteered to be her party planner.

last sunday, my mom, gelli, and i dropped by the Mayfield clubhouse. the 2nd floor, where the party will be held, can house 100 guests (with the tables included). the place was just right for gelli's guest list (about 80 people) but the downside was the time. because the clubhouse was inside the townhomes area, they have a rule that parties can only be until 9:00 pm. and we all know that for a teenager, the real party begins after 10:00 pm...well, that was during my time. i'm pretty sure the time changed as years passed by so it might just be midnight for the young 'uns. (i feel so old!)

but we already thought of the other possible places and this is the only one that gelli likes. guess she and her friends have to deal with the fact that they have to rock the house from 4 to 9 pm. hahaha!

gelli was a bit pissed by it but she had no choice. in the meantime, mama was busy talking to the people from catering. our timing was perfect because when we got there, the staff was already packing away the stuff from an earlier party so we were able to get the contact number of the caterer.

after our occular at the clubhouse, we headed for our dinner at a nearby village. my lolo's sister, charing, just celebrated her 93rd birthday! i haven't really seen her for a loooooooooong time because she stayed in the US most of her life. but since most of our relatives are here, she decided to celebrate her special day with all of us.

it was a simple dinner. good food. good people. and the cake! my cousins couldn't help but to get into the action.

happy birthday, lola charing! (i'm tempted to say her first name again just to be funny but i'm keeping my mouth shut :D)

our weekend Hyatt-us

2006-09-12T23:46:00.000+08:00

free for all!

my family and i spent the weekend at the Hyatt Hotel - for free!!

last year, a family friend gave us a Club Hyatt booklet, with 2 vouchers of free overnight stays and food freebies (lunch buffets and dinner). the booklet also comes with a membership cum discount card. whoopee! :D

so, we tossed our domestic problems out the window and, for two glorious days, basked in The Hyatt experience.

i was actually looking forward to check in after lunch but we had to wait because the people in room 430 haven't checked out yet. grrrr. it was a good thing they gave us welcome drinks because we waited for an hour. a glass of fresh calamansi juice and a blueberry muffin later, we were finally ushered in our room.

room 430 is the second to the last room at the end of the lengthy 4th floor corridor. the room is simple, understated, and, according to my parents (who are architects), needs improvement in the interior design. my papa couldn't help but comment on the huge mirror and bulky lamp on the cabinet in front of the beds. instead of placing the mirror on the dresser where we could actually use it, the mirror was used as an aesthetic piece. it annoyed my dad to no end. he complained about it at least 3 times, i'm sure. everytime we had to brush our hair while watching tv, we had to stand on the bed just to see ourselves in the mirror. they had a full-length mirror actually but we still wanted a dresser mirror so we could primp while watching tv (we're a multi-tasking bunch). so, if you know Hyatt's interior designer, please tell him that we appreciate his/her efforts, but we want cash. ay, labo! haha!

the other areas in the hotel weren't that bad. the lobby was elegant and cozy. i liked their use of the dark wood and neutral colors. it made the accents, like the lamps and centerpieces, pop. the design extended to the Calesa Bar, which was right next to the lobby. i also loved their huge windows! when i took a quick tour saturday morning, the windows were glazed with frost from the centralized aircon. it made a beautiful backdrop to the furniture and created the perfect touch as you gaze at the garden.

anyways, enough of the design. let's talk about the food. ooh, the food!! i'm drooling just remembering our dinner and lunch at Cafe Al Fresco, where we used our 50% discount (dinner) and free lunch buffet. i just wished i could bring home all the wonderful dishes in their buffet tables. i was so caught up in my gastronomic experience that i forgot to take photos. hm, that's been happening to me recently. i'm beginning to think i'm getting old.

well, at least i remembered to use my underwater camera when gelli and i swam in their pool. finally, i can have the film developed! yes, it's the same camera i brought with me when we went to puerto galera last summer. i'll post the photos as soon as i have the negatives scanned. i hope the previous shots are still clear!

but, of course, the underwater cam wasn't the only camera we used. hehe.

i suddenly recalled my previous post about my narcissistic nature. weeeeelll, it definitely runs in the family. :D

gelli and i were so excited to swim because we were the only ones there! well, save for the hotel staff, that is. but we really didn't care. we certainly made the most out of our morning break. :)

wait, before anyone thinks that all we did was take photos, i just want to make it clear that this pictorial happened after we swam for an hour. from all the photos we have, i have a feeling our pictorial took an hour, too. these are just some of the photos. konti lang, ano?

tonet, my other sister, wasn't able to join us because she slept til noon! tsk, tsk, tsk...at least now she knows how we spent our morning - we used her digicam as well. when she opened her camera's gallery, she was immediately bombarded with photos of gelli and me.

that woke her up in an instant. hahaha!

not to be outdone, tonet also insisted to be included in our Hyatt photos. there you go, sis.

oh, we included the parents, too. hehe.

Mall of Asia, revisited

after checking out, our parents had to go to their own appointments. papa went to the dentist while mama had a full-body massage (lucky her!). tonet had her own gimmick with her high school friends and just dropped us (gelli and i) at the mall of asia where we killed time until our parents came back.

unfortunately for gelli, she had to study for her college entrance exams next week. so while she was reviewing in starbucks, i decided to take a stroll around the mall. now, a normal stroll usually involves casually walking around and taking in the sights with a sense of relaxation and calm. shopping at the mall of asia is most definitely NOT a leisurely stroll! that place is HUGE! even if the buildings (i think the mall has four separate buildings) are just two-storeys high, they cover a wide expanse of space that you can easily get lost while shopping. not that i got lost. or went shopping.

from what i know, the mall of asia is SM's second mall that offers al fresco shopping. i've already been to the baguio branch but unlike baguio's completely aircondition-free buildings, mall of asia only has several strategic locations facing manila bay that are open to welcome the fresh and salty breeze. but they do have something that the mall in the summer capital of the philippine's does not - two viewing decks that stretch over the street and onto the bayside. so if you want to take a romantic stroll along the bay, you just have to pass the bridge and you're there before you can say HHWWPSSP.

oh, did i mention the skating rink? much bigger than the one in megamall, mall of asia's skating rink is set against a beautiful winter backdrop. the snow-capped mountains are a perfect reminder of the philippine's recent Mt. Everest conquest, a definite confidence boost for the amateur skaters. even if reaching the top of Mt. Everest and learning how to skate are two different things, they both involve a lot of ice, perseverance, and courage (especially if half of the mall's population is watching you make a fool of yourself in the skating rink).

after i went back to starbucks to check if gelli drowned in her green tea frap, we got a text message from our parents that they're already in the Shrine of Jesus for the anticipated mass. oh, ok. at least we can rest tomorrow.

the mass ended just in time for us to find a spot along the staircase facing the bay for the weekend pyro show. i just want to commend the SM management for this brilliant idea. i mean, what can be more perfect than ending your shopping spree with a spectacular fireworks display? it will surely take your mind off the money that you just spent. at least for 15 minutes. :)

a free hotel stay, free food, and free fireworks. the best things in life are so free!

out of the closet

2006-09-04T14:30:00.000+08:00

The OC

"OC ka, ano?"

my friend asked me that one time when she saw me adjusting our table, which had a slight gap against the wall, while we were having dinner in Pizza Hut.

"hindi, no!"

me, Obsessive Compulsive? of course not! i thought to myself as i checked the table for crumbs.

she then proceeded to give me a quick personality test that she learned that day. turned out i'm the analyzer/organizer. ah, big surprise there.

ever since As Good As It Gets came out, the term, OC, has been used so liberally. in fact, i hear it as often as nerd, weird, and jerk (well ok, it was probably because they were usually used in reference to me - except the last one). but really, just because a person is organized, doesn't automatically make him/her Obsessive Compulsive.

anyways, what exactly is OCD? to be diagnosed as OC, one must have obsessions and/or compulsions (as the term suggests).

Obsessions are defined by:
Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.
The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems.
The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action.
The person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind.

Compulsions are defined by:
Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or are clearly excessive.

from Wikipedia

as i was poring through the checklist, i realized how serious this disorder is. have you seen As Good As..? Jack Nicholson's character was a genuine OC. he brings his plastic utensils to restaurants (probably because he's afraid the in-house utensils are dirty). he likes his order served in a particular way and arranged on the table to his specific liking. when i saw the scene where he was avoiding cracks (or patterns) on the pavement, i got a little scared. i was reminded of my childhood self avoiding the dark spots on our wooden steps as i ran down the stairs. i'm not kidding. it was only in high school when i caught myself in mid-step. i didn't know why i avoided those spots. i just didn't like stepping on them. but i knew it wasn't a normal thing to do so after that, i consciously climbed up and down our stairs without avoiding those "problem areas". and my trip up and down our staircase has been OC-free since then. i'm weird, i know.

after that whole OCD term came out, it became a convenient label for us. well, it's definitely easier to say than organized. anal, or neat freak, right?

wanting to have things in order is just a part of a person's personality. it doesn't necessarily scream OC but when you actually obsess over those habits of yours and do them over and over and over, well, you need to see a shrink! seriously. it's the same case as alcoholics. just because you drink, doesn't mean you're an alcoholic. but when you drink excessively, then that's a different story.

being organized is not just something you acquire when you're old and mature. one of my students in my first toddler class is a perfect example. just 2 years old then, this boy always made sure our toys were arranged by a specific characteristic (color, size, etc.). he didn't like getting his hands and feet dirty. it took a while for him to take off his socks while we were playing in the Mat Area. he made sure to eat all of his snacks, even if his other friends were already doing something else.

my partner and i were joking that he's OC. until we met his parents. that's when i believed that this personality trait can really be genetic. his mom is the single most organized and meticulous woman i know in my entire life. making weekly journals of her son was pretty challenging because she keeps a daily log of his progress, complete with the actual quotation (what he said at that precise moment), the time, and date. it put our narratives to shame, i tell you. but it kept us on our toes. and as for his dad? one of their relatives (the boy's aunt) told me that his dad is just as particular. so combine two very orgnanized, anal people and what do you get? an extremely organized toddler. :)

last year, i had another student who wasn't as organized as my former student but she was still particular about certain things.

this is a shot of the toys she arranged. notice that the horses are lined up by color? nobody told her to do that. thankfully, i had my camera with me and i was able to capture her work (which we placed in her portfolio at the end of the schoolyear).

are they OC? nah. they're organized, that's for sure.

as for me? i admit i probably had OCD tendencies when i was younger. but i overcame it. well, some of my habits, that is. by the time i was in college, i didn't care if my things were all over the place, my closet wasn't arranged, and that it took me a while to look for something in my bag. of course, living with 11 other girls in one room for four years probably did the trick (diba, rica? :D).

lately, i find myself getting more organized. is it because i'm a teacher? probably. i think my change of careers catapulted me back to my OC-esque years. alas, my clothes are already arranged by color in my cabinet (haha!). before you say i'm hopeless, just realize how practical it is to have your shirts arranged this way. it's so much easier to look for something to wear when you're in a hurry.

so that's my excuse now. i'm just being practical. :)

Vanity, the name is...

admit it. when you look at a group photo, the first person you check out is yourself. and then you look at your friends.

huuu, don't deny it!

you know what? i believe that we all have a shred of vanity in us. some may have more shreds (mountains, to be exact) than others but there is always that narcissistic urge to be beautiful (i'm talking about men, too).

why do you think millions of women buy a lot of make-up, clothes, shoes, and accessories? and why do think men love to collect perfumes, shoes, caps, and shirts?

even if it takes me about three minutes to get ready (no joke) after taking a bath, i admit i still have a hint of vanity in my blood.

case in point.

yesterday was our annual family day. with the 80's theme in full swing, the event was an instant hit! we had the theme down pat, from the backdrop, to the decor, to the games, and our outfits. now, i didn't want to spend a single centavo on my attire so i ended up borrowing from my sisters (thanks, tonet and gelli!). i suddenly regretted giving away all my old clothes. who knew i'd need them after 20 years???

of course, i brought my camera with me. but...and i mean, BUT, we (the teachers) were so busy decorating, arranging, and organizing the whole event that i forgot to take photos. not that i had the time to. when i realized that my camera was still lying in the car, it was too late. the place was cleaned, the decor was packed away, and the people were gone! it was a sunday so nobody really wanted to hang around after the event.

i had a camera with nothing and no one to take pictures of. hmm, not quite, actually...

rica, alam kong lagi mong nirereklamo yung mga candid shots mo na kinuha ko so...this one's for you! hahaha! pero rica, kahit gusto kong ma-picturan, ikaw pa rin favorite model ko. :p

it was my unofficial coming-out party. and i had myself to celebrate it with. how very narcissistic indeed.

fine, make fun of me. i don't care.

admit it. you're vain, too! :D

movies to the (I)Max!

2006-08-27T16:34:00.001+08:00

last friday, my family and i went to Mall of Asia to celebrate my sister's birthday (happy bday, tonet!). the highlight of our night was watching Ant Bully in full 3D. it was my first IMax experience and i absolutely loved it! yes, it was 300 pesos per ticket but it was totally worth it. of course, the fact that tonet treated us didn't hurt, either. hehe....

IMax is definitely a movie buff's paradise. i can't wait to catch T-Rex! i saw the trailer and i swear i almost fainted when that t-rex roared in front of my face (how rude!)...until i saw my papa reaching out to touch it and i ended up laughing instead (good thing he was too busy gawking to notice).

it was also my first time to go to MofA and i realized that you have to be there the whole day to really make the most of your malling experience. this mall is so HUGE it should have its own zipcode. my parents, who are both architects, are amazed at this architectural wonder (they should get paid for their never-ending compliments on the design). i can't wait to come back next month!

shameless plug

i have a photoblog!

i've wanted one for a long time but i told myself that i'd wait til i get myself a dSLR. this just goes to show that i'm impatient. and broke. (haha!)

this site is actually a visial representation of my journey in learning photography. that's why the photos i've been posting are from last year. but i'll update as i go along (and when i've posted all my old photos).

anwyays, feel free to drop by and leave a comment or two. the links page is still under construction but it'll be up soon. (star, kasama ka dun ha! hehe....)

got a life!

2006-08-13T03:15:00.000+08:00

i've been pretty busy the past few weeks (as you can tell by the frequency of my posting).

TGIF!

last friday, my partner and i finished our toddler checklists for the first Parent Teacher Conference the other day. although it wasn't stressful because we did it in her condo unit while watching Girl Interrupted and pigging out (sour cream and potato chips heaven!), i still ended up going home late.

the following day, Tet and i celebrated her birthday with a movie (The Break-up), dinner at Cafe Mediterranean, and a sleep-over in her place.

if you're looking for a cheesy, romantic flick, then The Break-up is not for you! it's a realistic take on relationships that have gone way past the honeymoon stage. i love the quirky dialogues, particularly the ones where the couple had their spats over mundane things. the "show lemons" scene cracked me up. it was so familiar, like watching a scene from my family (except ours would be in Tagalog with a few expletives flying here and there. haha, too much info!). i'm pretty sure a lot of people hate the ending but i celebrate it! (ok, spoilers alert! if you want to watch it, just jump to the next paragraph...) it was about being loving to yourself, basically. brooke couldn't stay with him because, according to her, she just didn't have anything left to give. so she broke away from a relationship that she knew didn't deserve. and gary? thankfully, he got a much needed push in the right direction and he fixed up his life. but what i loved about it was that he did it more for himself. even if they weren't together anymore, he stepped up. and who can forget their first meeting after they went their separate ways? that last look they gave each other was promising, to say the least. aaahhh, don't you just love the realistic unromantic movies? hahaha! for the couples (especially the married ones) who haven'twatched it yet, you better catch it while it's still in theaters! and ladies, bring your guy with you!

dinner was a Greek affair for us. Tet ordered the Chicken Gyros while i was craving for the Moussaka.

yum!

we ended the night with a DVD show of "Take The Lead." this movie just made me want to take ballroom dancing lessons! :)

just this friday, i celebrated another birthday. we (the teachers) organized a surprise birthday bash for our good friend and co-teacher, Nat. it was the first time for me to prepare a themed party and i had great fun! since Nat's into gardening these days, we stuck with the Garden Theme. we brought food that had either fruits or vegetables (my contribution was mango ref cake. yum!). the party was held in Janna's house, just a few minutes away from school. Rinna and i went there ahead of time to set-up the place. we covered the two tables with pastel-colored crepe paper. the centerpieces were plants we bought just outside the village - one was a potted floral plant (ok, so i forgot the name!) and the others were small fortune plants that we lined up in the long table. it definitely made the whole setting very elegant. unfortunately, i left my camera and wasn't able to take photos. drats.

the highlight of the whole party was the birthday cake! our boss (who's also a great cook) baked a chocolate cake - in a big pot! it was so cool. she covered the chocolatey "soil" with melted choco fudge and added "dirt" (ground milk chocolate). the finishing touch was plastic tulip flowers. again, i'm beating myself up for not bringing my digicam!

Unpretty

ok, my face is getting back at me for the few hours of sleep i've had during the last two weekends. i only had about 3 hours of sleep at tet's last saturday. since i got home early yesterday (early morning, that is. haha), and i had to go to DLSU in a few hours. well, you can imagine how much (or little) sleep i had.

now, i have zits on my right cheek, with an enormous one right in the center! argh. i know, i'm being such a girly-girl but i can't help it! i was such in a lousy mood that i unconsciously took it out on my outfit. when i got to the DLSU parking lot, i just realized how baduy i looked. am i a masochist or what! so i quickly grabbed my denim jacket to cover the offensive shirt. it was a good thing the sky was overcast or i would've died of heat stroke.

and things just went downhill from there.

the school's network was down so i couldn't get the reprinted EAF for this term - the sole reason i went to school in the first place!! well, at least i was able to get the info i needed for my courses next term. never mind that i can actually get that from the website. i'm trying to make myself feel better, ok??

i dropped by the restroom before heading for the parking lot, just to check if i still looked decent. i really hated my outfit! what does a girl do to cheer herself up? put on some lip gloss! hahaha!

lip gloss and concealer - my only claim to vanity. i don't own a make-up kit because i'm not really into it. but i do love dressing up during special occasions. of course, yesterday was an exception.

so, after psyching myself that i didn't look that bad, i walked to the parking lot. on my way there, somebody in white blocked my vision. argh! it was an old friend! his timing was impeccable.

i didn't even catch his friend's name because i was busy trying to act normal and praying that he doesn't notice the retro shirt i had on. or the gigantic zit on my cheek. after a few minutes of chatting and joking around, he squinted his eyes and looked at my face.

oh no! don't talk about my pimple, pleeaaassee!!

"May dumi ka sa tabi ng mata mo." ("You have dirt beside your eye.") he pointed at the space just above my pimple. i rubbed the dirt off with a grin. yes, there was something beside my eye. i was never so happy to have dirt on my face. ever.

anyways, we talked for a few more minutes. i asked him how his business was going (he's part owner of a famous night spot in Makati), he asked me where i'm working now. thankfully, the chat didn't end in bloodshed (that would be his blood if he ever mentioned the words, zit or pimple, to my face).

as i made my way to the parking lot, i just had to smile. what did i learn that day? when life gives you zits, pray for dirt on your face.

happy zitless weekend, everybody!

click and win!

2006-07-24T17:19:00.000+08:00

i'm joining my fourth photo contest.

last year, i took a plunge into the world of photography. of course, i'm no professional (just look at my camera. haha.). but i'm learning. and i've learned a lot.

the first contest i joined was the January 2006: Unforgettable Faces for the Digital Photo Forum, a site for amateurs, hobbyists, and pros alike. and i won! :D never mind that i wasn't the only winner. at least i was one of them. and the prize? a copy of the book, 267 Simple Tips for Sensational Photos, by David Peterson, a professional photographer and the owner of the forum. i haven't read through all the topics yet (maybe i should just print it out...) but i already used some of the tips here.

the second contest was still with DPF. i didn't expect to win here (and i was right) but i joined for personal reasons. it was my tribute to Miggy, our puppy who was stolen a few months ago.

i feel fortunate that i took shots of him while he was still with us. and whoever took him better make his deed worth it for our loveable pet - or he'll pay dearly! (that is, if we still find him)

my last two contests are for Photodoto, a great site dedicated to anything and everything about photography by one of my favorite and admired Flickr photographers, John Watson or fd, as he's more popularly known (yes, he's the guy who makes those fantastic Flickr Toys)

the theme of the most recent contest for Photodoto is Adventure. the entries are amazing! and so are the prizes! i'd be extremely happy to win a one-year Flickr Pro account. of course, a gift card isn't too shabby, either. hehe. :D

for all you Flickristas out there, join us! the more, the merrier. who knows, you might just snag that $250 B&H Photo gift card.

good luck and happy clicking!

News Schmews

2006-07-13T18:27:00.000+08:00

Bellissima!

the 2006 World Cup final match between Italy and France was amazing! I'm sure the audience paid a fortune to get prime seats in the Berlin stadium and, man, did they get their money's worth! my only wish was that i was there to celebrate with them.

penalty shootout aside, the highlight was undoubtedly the Zidane head butting incident.

what the heck was that all about? was this a Ginebra-(insert any PBA team here) game?? (my apologies to all Jawo fans :D) i waited for any flying coins or bottles but the crowd held their dignity (at least while in the stadium). now, the association is investigating the captain's, uh, unsportsmanly conduct. my sister told me that, apparently, Materazzi provoked Zidane by saying something that bordered on the French team captain looking like a terrorist (oh, this isn't a PBA game, it's a junior high football match!!). but, of course, this could be entirely false so i better lay off on the childish side comments.

anyways, whatever it was, Zidane ended his career in style

and the Italians still had their last laugh. while carrying that golden cup, too.

congratulazione!

*check out the msn.foxsports.com website for more amazing photos

Rocking On With Supernova

Dilana, the intense rocker chick with the big, raspy voice is my automatic favorite after watching the pilot episode of Rockstar: Supernova. her rendition of Lithium (Nirvana) was spine-tingling. and she did not disappoint with her own arrangement and performance of the classic, Ring Of Fire by the legendary Johnny Cash. she really is one of a kind.

it would be cool to have a female vocalist for Supernova, right? :)

Yeah!

i knew it!

Chris Daughtry just signed up for a record deal with Clive Davis' production company. he actually beat Elliot and Kat to that oh-so-coveted record deal (i left Taylor out because, hello, he is the reigning American Idol).

it's truly gratifying to know that Chris' talent didn't go unnoticed. he was even offered a spot as Fuel's vocalist but he declined (a smart move, if you ask me). he's currently forming his own band and working on his album, which will be released at the end of this year.

rock on!

More Than Meets The Eye

the Transformers are back!

i can't believe they're finally making a movie (not a cartoon) of my all-time favorite childhood cartoon! i'm so excited to see the whole gang in their CGI glory. check out imdb for the complete cast list.

who were your favorite Autobots? i was always fond of Jazz, Ironhide, and Bumblebee (and they're all in the movie!!). the only Decepticon i liked was Starscream, and only because he was funny everytime he was pissed off by his boss (shudder) or Optimus Prime and his guys. will the Dinobots make an appearance? who will prevail in the end? will there be a sequel? will Laserbeak be a CD instead of a cassette tape? (hey, they better catch up with the generation, you know)

July 4, 2007 is such a long wait!

Captain Jack Is Back!

and, boy, is he back!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest just broke box office records with the biggest opening in history. our favorite swashbuckling anti-hero just bumped Spiderman off the plank.

i actually thought Superman would reign in the charts but i guess my Spidey senses needed fine tuning.

and speaking of the Man of Steel...

Look, Up In The Sky! It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's Superman...And His Girlfriend

sorry to disappoint all the Brandon Routh fans out there but the star of Superman Returns is taken.

(sigh)

ok ladies, you can stop screaming/crying hysterically now.

Courtney Ford is both his on- and off-screen partner, the lucky gal. she and Brandon are starring in the indie flick, Denial.

hmm, i wonder how she's taking his sudden rise to heartthrob status. of course, if she was me, i wouldn't mind. much. :D

she looks Asian, no? weeelll, maybe i still have a chance if, you know, things don't work out between the couple...oh wait. she's chinky-eyed.

oh well, a girl can dream right? >:)

3 Weddings and a Robbery

2006-07-03T18:30:00.000+08:00

June is a month of firsts for me:

1. first time to attend three weddings in a month,
2. first Baguio wedding,
3. first time to attend two consecutive weddings of couples in the same circle of friends, and...
4. first time our house was robbed.

read on...

Like, the Coolest Wedding Ever!

hehe.

well, it was held in the Summer Capital of the Philippines. although i missed the occasional fog in Baguio City, it was cold enough for us city girls. :D

i went on a 5-hour midnight drive with Rica to Baguio City on June 2. while the rest of the bus population was asleep, i was twisting and turning in my seat, owing to a bad stomach and an aching back. sigh. i truly missed my bed.

meann and her family went ahead and spent the day sight-seeing while Greg, Jiji, and her mom took the midnight trip (like us :) ), except they rode the deluxe bus (unlike us :( ).

before the trip, rica already scouted for affordable hotels/inns. our first choice was Harrison Inn, where they had rooms for two for only 750 a night! unfortunately, the rooms were already taken when we got there. the receptionist wasn't sure if somebody will check out that early (we were there before 7 am) so we just decided to look for another hotel. finally after walking for several days (i'm exaggerating, of course. but it felt like that for both of us!), we checked in at La Brea Inn.

i was glad that we ended up there because the inn is right smack in the middle of Session Road - walking distance to the market, several restaurants (Don Hen, McDonalds, Yellow Cab - oh, this is right below us!), the Baguio Cathedral, and Shoemart!

since we were tired from our long drive and walk, we spent most of the morning sight-seeing...in our dreams, that is. haha! it was already past 10 when we woke up. although we still had time to kill (the wedding was at 2 pm), we didn't have enough time to go around.

so we finally decided to have a relaxing brunch at Chowking and lounge in our bedroom until meann picked us up after 1 pm.

the wedding was solemn and romantic.

we couldn't help but smile as choy (our college friend) said her vows. iba talaga pag kinakasal na, nagiging feminine bigla. hehehe.

meann and i joined the singles contest during the reception while rica took her sweet time and ended up never leaving the table (style mo bulok! :p) then we found out they upped the stakes (a 300 peso GC @ Gloria Jean's!). what can i say? this was the first time in my adult life that i wanted to win this kind of contest so badly! ah, what a cup of free coffee can do...in a cruel twist of fate, the battle was already "sealed" from the start. the bachelors (mostly the groom's friends) wanted choy's older sister to win and did everything in their power to make sure that she did. oh well...we tried :)

for me, the highlight of the evening was definitely the chocolate fountain! haha! i'm such a chocoholic. hey, i wasn't the only one who wanted a taste of this sweet creation.

but you have to congratulate me because i was able to resist until the end of the reception,when there weren't people hogging the fountain. :D

the following day, rica and i spent the whole morning buying the expected pasalubongs (ube jam, peanut brittle, ube jam...) and touring the only Shoemart that is air conditioner free, thanks to Baguio's fresh air. now that's one pasalubong i'd want to bottle up and bring home with me!

Double the Fun

i just love attending weddings!

during the last weekend of June, i went to two weddings where the couples were members of our community, Servants of the Lord's Vineyard (SOLV).

saturday was Pam (a SOLV sister) and Ralph's wedding held at the very popular Manila Cathedral. it was my first time to actually enter the church - and i forgot to make a wish! (darn!). the minute i was inside, i felt like i was transported back to the Spanish era, where the friars gave their homilies in the pulpits, the men stood stiffly in the pews, and the women hid half of their faces as they fanned themselves demurely. the fact that their wedding was Filipiniana inspired only added to the whole ambiance. now, where did i place my maria clara???

everytime i attend a wedding, i make it a point to watch the bridal march. unfortunately, last saturday was also Araw ng Maynila and a big bulk of Roxas Blvd was closed off for the festivities. since the wedding and reception were both in that area, we had to brave the temporary routing scheme and the traffic. so, by the time we got to the church, Pam was already marching. ah well, at least we still got to see her back.

going to the reception area was another ordeal for us. we had to travel a narrow side road where the public vehicles also passed, making the traffic so harrowing. it was already around 9 pm when we got to the Ramon Magsaysay Hall, we were famished, and we didn't have a table! :O turned out that some guests didn't confirm and they ended up occupying some of the tables. thankfully, one of our friends from the entourage was able to arrange for another table for us - and we got prime seats! we were situated right in front, next to the restroom, and just across from the buffet table (which was the most important fact i took note of :D). a sister jokingly said that it is true that whoever comes last will be first.

the reception celebration was simple, touching, and so romantic. instead of the usual bouquet and garter toss, a prize was given to the oldest married couple. the cute pair are actually celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this month! wow, now that's inspiring. i loved the video presentation about the couple. and aside from the usual photo slideshow, they also had separate interviews with Pam and Ralph, each talking about how they met and fell in love. :)

this was actually the very first reception that i attended to where the couple donated their money to a foundation in lieu of souvenirs. i've read about that somewhere in a foreign website and i'm glad the idea is catching up in the Philippines.

the following day was Cindy and Dennis' wedding. actually, the same group of people i was with last night were also to this wedding. and then some. just based on the number of tables SOLV occupied that night, i can safely say that there were about 80+ guests just from our community alone. the couples were there, sisters from abroad were there, bros and sisters who i haven't seen for eons were also there...it was definitely a reunion for most of us!

this time, i was able to witness the whole wedding march (yey!). their wedding was held in the Guadalupe church, again my first time to be there and yet i still forgot to make a wish. ah, i am getting old and forgetful by the minute...

i recalled the other weddings i've attended and i can't name one where majority of the people in the church were standing up and cheering during the march. none at all. i believe it was the most fun church wedding i've been to. :) not that we didn't respect the solemnity of the whole ceremony. everybody was just feeling the love and excitement as we watched our two good friends tie the know. and it was also the first time i cried when the bride marched (why did jane have to sing Ikaw while Cindy was marching?? why??). the closest i ever got to shedding tears was during star's wedding. of course, since i was the commentator, i had to control myself. nobody wants a bawling lector.

i finished the church ceremony with dry eyes (thank God, hehe) and spent a few minutes chatting with the brothers and sisters before we all headed to New World Hotel, which i just recently found out, is now Renaissance Hotel. since we had a good two hours until the reception, i helped out our resident wedding coordinator, Jackie, with the preparations in the ballroom.

the couple had around 400 guests, mostly family and friends (majority from SOLV). the celebration was a blast! i was a bit frustrated with my camera's night mode because it required either steady hands or a sturdy tripod (which i both did not have).

so i just let our photographer brothers, Elmers and James, do the job (makikikopya nalang ako ng pictures. hehe.). i did manage a few decent shots of my table mates and the other bros and sisters during the after party.

since this was probably the first time in years that most of us got together, we insisted that we have a class picture of sorts. although most of the couples left after dinner, we were still a big group. by the time it was my camera's turn, most of the people were either chatting with one another or posing at the other gazillion cameras around us. is it obvious who the owner of this camera is? i'm the only one looking! hahaha!

forget the fact that it was a Sunday and we had work the next day. we still danced the night away, thanks to Ramil's smooth dance moves, of course! :D

this photo by Elmer Medalla

i got home just before midnight with a big grin on my face. ah, i just love weddings :D

Cops and Robber

a few weekends ago, i remember that we (my sister and i) had an argument with papa about our gate. aside from the fact that it's pretty rusty already, we haven't been using any padlock for as long as i can remember. my papa was a bit upset about our request to have the gate repaired because we never had any problems before. so why change things? we live in an area where everyone knew everybody so papa always had that mentality that our neighborhood is safe.

well, it's safe...from our neighbors. but from outsiders, that's another story.

the wednesday after that, a thief broke into our house.

it was a blessing in disguise that i came home early. papa just left a few minutes ago and i was the first one home. when i got to our opened gate, i immediately spotted our missing doorknob. it was forced open!

something was definitely wrong.

so i ran back to the garage and called papa to confirm if he suddenly had a change of heart of improving our security at home.

nope, he never took out the doorknob.

fortunately, he was only a few minutes away from the house. after my call, he rushed back home. just as i suspected, there was somebody inside our house. we spotted a figure in the second floor.

in a heartbeat, papa rounded up the workers in our shop and told them to get any weapon they could find. so, armed with wooden planks, the men marched in front of our house. the commotion already caught the attention of our neighbors, who started trickling out to get a piece of the action. since we got the whole area covered, papa drove to the nearest police station and came back with three men in blue uniforms.

the thief was already outside the door. and much to everybody's surprise, it was a she. to be exact, it was a lady, who was stark naked, and had a glazed expression on her face.

naturally, everyone thought she just the decoy. after all, an insane person (and a woman, at that) couldn't have pried our doorknob off with a pair of scissors and a long piece of metal. so the police and papa searched the house for the real thief. after countless searches, they didn't find anyone.

who would have thought that this lady was the sole thief after all.

so, after commanding her to put on her clothes, they brought her to the police station for questioning.

i just realized the sheer brilliance of her modus operandi. because she apparently seemed mentally challenged, the police required the assessment of a psychiatrist if we want to press charges. if we can't prove she's sane, then there's no case. papa was so tired after the whole fiasco that he just gave up any plans of pressing charges. so, the thief was released after 24 hours. how unfair is that!

my mom was telling me that she saw a similar case in TV Patrol one time. a thief was caught while still in the house and when he was ordered to come out, he was naked and acted insane.

is this the new strategy of thieves nowadays? probably.

it's really frustrating that they can actually get away with it. is our justice system that naive and blind??? ok, i'm not even going there...

anyways, friends, i just pray this never happens to any of you. right now, papa already installed a new (and more sturdy) doorknob, with a matching dead bolt and barrel lock. i was tempted to launch into an "i-told-you-so" tirade but i decided it wasn't worth it.

anyways, take care, guys. oh, and don't forget to triple lock your doors!

Soul Patrol!

2006-05-26T13:51:00.000+08:00

from the beginning of the season, i never expected it...but it happened! and his last performance definitely sealed the deal.

congratulations to the new American Idol, the Silver Fox himself, Taylor Hicks!

of course, i still think Chris is the man (sorry, bo).

last night's AI is, by far, my most favorite finale. i actually watched it FOUR times yesterday. hey, was it my fault they kept on replaying it?? (if only they were going to make a DVD copy...)

the highlights?

1. the Golden Idol Awards! it was too hilarious! my favorites were:

- the Best Impersonation Award. i haven't laughed that hard in a long time! (Cher, is that you???)

- the Proudest Family Moment Award. Elliott's mom is such a sweetie-pie. made me a bit teary-eyed. just a bit. :p

3. the guys' number. the best part was when Taylor came out and grooved with his harmonica. that was pretty cool 8)

4. of course, my night wouldn't be complete without a number by Chris! he rocked the Kodak Theater with Live last night! (woo-hoo!) i'm pretty sure he'll strike a record deal soon. i can't wait! :)

until then, i guess i'll just have to grab my harmonica and get on board the Soul Train...

Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol!

Wooo!

*crack*

uh, i think i gave myself a stiff neck!

*all photos courtesy of the American Idol official site.

Papa's Girls

2006-05-23T23:58:00.000+08:00

papa used to be so passionate about photography.

you see, he isn't a very expressive nor affectionate person. but he made up for it with out-of-town trips, food (hehe), and, of course, photos.

instead of paintings, our living room wall and hallway is decked with rows of his favorite pictures from our childhood.

he never took classes (didn't have the patience for it, actually. hehe.). he just learned through trial-and-error. well, as they say, experience is the best teacher.

sometimes i catch him reminiscing about his camera collection. ever since our family went through a financial crisis, everybody had to make sacrifices. he had to sell two of his cameras. the other two (his favorites), thankfully, he kept safely tucked in his closet.

i can't recall the last time he used his babies.

when i started to learn photography, i considered using his FM2. but the years of hiding in the closet earned his prized collection a lot of dust and molds that i can't even begin to describe. when i had it checked in one of the local photography outlets, i found out that the cleaining will cost about 2.6k - and that was two years ago. this was excluding any other repairs or replacements needed (i have a feeling his lenses need some cleaning, too...)

sigh.

it would have been a great gift to have it repaired and see him shoot again. but then, i realized that the cost of film and developing will set him back to even more financial problems.

ah well, i tried.

i'm not giving up, though. when the right time comes (and i have the resources), i'll have his babies fixed and running smoothly in no time. of course, that's just my excuse to hog his FM2. hehe...^_^

to our one and only papa,

happy birthday!

mwah! :-*

Veni. Vidi. Beachy!

2006-05-10T18:24:00.000+08:00

I came. I saw. I beached. :D

finally, after two years, i was back in Puerto Galera!

The Beach

a lot of things have happened in the years that i was away. the last time i was there, there were already rows and rows of souvenir shops, henna tattoo booths, bars, and restos. now, there are even more shops, bars, and restos! they're like mushrooms! i was a bit saddened when i saw the narrow strip of sand that was free of these establishments. there were two volleyball nets set up along the shore. before, you can easily avoid these areas. now, you have to get your feet wet in order to manouver yourself around the net. ahh, the price we have to pay for having a hipper and cooler beach.

well, the beach front may be a congested pile of commercial space but i'm extremely happy to say that the water hasn't changed a bit. it's still as gorgeous and clear as i remember it to be.

and you can't mention water without talking about the water activities. Puerto Galera is truly the affordable Boracay. they have jet skiing, scuba diving, wind surfing, and banana boating!

ah yes, the banana boat.

now for those who haven't tried out this exciting water "sport," i just want you to know that tipping the boat is really part of the package. who wouldn't want to fall splat in the middle of the ocean, water in your ears (and mouth) and all? it would've been a boring, boring ride. my favorite part was actually sitting right in front of the giant banana while the motorboat spinned us around the water. it was like riding a roller coaster, only this ride ended with me gulping down a gallon of salt water. hahaha!

Royal Treatment

we truly felt like kings and queens last weekend.

the minute we got to Batangas, we got the VIP treatment. my uncles drove us to the San Miguel Brewery branch in Batangas to park the car and van. Uncle Nhat is a manager at SMB and one of his supervisors' area is Mindoro. so, we, the lucky ones, got a discounted rate in Agbing Resort. we took two adjoining rooms, one with a kitchen. the best part was the free food! tons and tons of fresh seafoods (fish, squid, and shrimp) and vegetables. we were even given a complete set of ingredients for sinigang! i got to hand it to uncle nhat. it sure to know people and high places (and to actually be one of them, too).

Child of the Corn (Rows)

i've always wanted to see how it feels like to sport corn rows and dreadlocks. i got my chance last weekend. i had so much fun! i felt like a celebrity, actually.

artists fixing my hair as people crowded around me to watch and take photos. of course, 100% of my fans were family but that still counts, right? :D

it turned out great.

until the banana boat fiasco, that is. somehow the braids got loose so i had to take them off saturday evening. well, it was great while it lasted (and i still have the photos to prove it :D).

Just Keep Swimming, Swimming, Swimming...

and swam we did! it's been a loooong time since i bonded with my cousins. it's just too bad that two of the families from my mama's side already migrated to Canada. it would've been doubly fun with my other crazy cousins around.

i was so excited about the trip that i even bought myself a disposable underwater film camera. it only has 27 exposures and i'm still using it on my next trip to Galera with flor in two weeks so i had to use my shots wisely. even before the trip, i was already daydreaming about our snorkling adventure...

unfortunately, unforseen circumstances burst my happy bubble. uncle nhat's family had to leave early so that left us with two families. also, we ran out of tickets for the 2 pm trip back to batangas so we were forced to buy the 11:30 tickets. which meant that we had to schedule the three-hour snorkling trip to 6 am, sunday morning. Sun Cecullar had an event that evening so, understandably, my rocker cousins came back in the wee hours of the morning, groggy and extremely tired. so that left us with only four people - mama, my sisters, and moi. my contact didn't want to push through with the trip because we were too few. sigh.

well, this only means that flor and i really have to make our trip happen, even if it'll be just the two of us. it'll be like our Cebu trip a few years ago. bonding to the max!! too bad star and mildred aren't here to join us (umuwi na kasi kayo e!)...

From Dusk Til Dawn

dusk is definitely my favorite time of the day.

when the sun was ready to set, more people gathered around the shore to take photos and admire the view. it was like an unspoken agreement. i suddenly felt like i was in Baywalk, except there was less PDA and even less clothing (hahaha!).

Celebrity Sightings

1. we ran into Tado on our way back to our room. much to our delight, he stayed in the same resort. he was so nice and funny. our pictorials ended with my lola chatting up a storm with the popular comedian. naks, close na sila! :p

2. my uncle and cousins spotted Christine Reyes while we were strolling along the beach front. i'm not that familiar with her, actually. i just learned that she's Ara Mina's younger sis. of course, the boys (and my uncle ;) ) couldn't help but give her a second look (and a third, and a fourth....)

3. "Uy, si Gladys o!" my cousin exclaimed.
"Oo, nga!" Gelli replied, pertaining to Gladys of the now defunct Gladys & The Boxers.
it was K Brosas, of K & The Boxers. hahaha!

you guys better hope that she didn't hear you! :p

4. spotted Don during our last swim sunday morning. naks, celebrity daw o! hi, bro! hehe.

Time Sure Flies When You're Having (Too Much) Fun

at least that's what i felt as we rode the boat back to Batangas. i think we did have too much fun because we were the last ones to load the boat...and we were 15 minutes late!! to think i was the one who always waited for my ride in my past trips. i actually felt the negative energy radiating from our fellow passengers. i can't really blame them. hehe.

why, why, why do good things have to end??

of course, the best thing is that it gives room for new and greater adventures!

Puerto Galera, you haven't seen the last of me!! bwahahaha!

(see you in two weeks!)

Life's a Beach!

2006-05-04T21:48:00.000+08:00

Puerto Galera, May 2004
Canon Ixus Z65
scanned photo (thanks for the scanner, ma!)

i love the beach!!

when i was much younger, we (the families in my papa's side) make it a point to go to the beach or spend the weekend at lolo's fishpen almost every summer.

can't remember when this was taken. wasn't i a cute kid? :p the groovy lady in the shades was my glamorous tita lina. we will always miss her, especially on trips like this...

somehow, that out-of-town tradition was set aside as we got older. but when i began working, my friends and i often went on out-of-town trips.

the most memorable so far was on july 2000 when we were stranded for a week (!!) in Puerto Galera because of two typhoons that struck the island. and we were only supposed to stay overnight!

i can't think of any other beach trip that can top that!

that may have been our first visit to Galera but it sure as heck wasn't the last.

i've been there every summer until 2004. :)

and after two years of waiting....i'm finally coming back this weekend! my relatives from mama's side and i are all going to Galera for Lola's despedida (she's migrating to Canada).

i'm so excited! :D

artsy fartsy

2006-05-03T22:16:00.000+08:00

5..4..3..2..1..Blast Off!

we launched the maiden issue of The Vineyard last night. i was pretty excited because it was my first project as editor-in-chief (i don't think i'll ever get used to that moniker) of my community's newsletter.

because joel (the Publications co-lead and Creative Communications Ministry head) and i decided to have monthly releases, we kept the newsletter simple (one spread only) but action-packed:

front page: articles of recent events, entries on saint of the month, and additional trivia (if there was still space)
center spread: calendar of activitiesback page: teachings/sharings

after spending those days finalizing the lay-out, design, and articles, i realized that it's a pretty challenging task. but i always tell myself that if the fulfillment outweighs the difficulties, then it's always worth it! (hey, i'm still teaching aren't i? :D)

For Art's Sake

well, whoever this Art is has a lot of explaining to do! because of him and his movement, i've been under a lot of pressure to raise his banner and prove myself.

of course, most of the time, it was my idea in the first place.

like that scrapbook. :D

but...i'm happy and proud to say that i've finally accomplished my mission. just in time. although if you ask jeanne, i'm pretty sure she'd say it took longer than she hoped. :D

i think i'll leave all that artsy fartsy stuff for schoolwork first. just to keep my creative juices flowing, instead of overflowing and leaving me empty of ideas. hehe.

Trippin' (Volume III)

2006-04-30T00:39:00.000+08:00

guess where i was last tuesday... :D

Mabuheeeey!!!

tuesday marked several firsts in my book:
1. i had lunch at Cafe Lupe, Tagaytay (yes, you guessed right. Tagaytay again...),
2. the yeye superfriends finally got to meet the infamous mike, and (more importantly),
3. it was tet's treat (hahaha!).

oh, i almost forgot.

4. two words: cherry stem :)

i slept over monday night at the hotel with the sweet couple (oh, yeah, that's another first for me. don't ask. hehe.). i had a chance to grill, erm, talk to mike before he met the other girls the next day. the three of us had an interesting discussion about life, love, and family (particularly tet's). and all i can say about this is: life is definitely full of surprises...

anyways, we had an amazing breakfast at the Mezzanine of Best Western Hotel.

the food was simply delicious! of course, it didn't hurt that breakfast involved two of my favorite words in the dictionary: buffet and free. ah, i'm so easy to please. :)

we picked up mommy jeanne in bicutan and caryl in alabang. speaking of caryl, i just want to congratulate her for being such an early bird that day :p

the couple were actually our guests of honor during our lunch trip to Tagaytay (congrats on your engagement! ^_^). Cafe Lupe was a good choice. their sinigang na bangus was yummy! and we had an excellent view of Taal Lake, too.

i wasn't too thrilled with my order, though. but let's not go there.

after stuffing ourselves like there was no tomorrow, we ordered dessert (hey, there will always be room for that, full stomach or otherwise). the lovebirds shared a bowl of halo-halo while us girls gorged ourselves over the leche flan and banana split.

it was the first time for me to have leche flan with chocolate syrup on it. and a cherry.

ah yes. the cherry.

it was a pretty long discussion (and debate) but, suffice to say, it was an exciting experience for me (please refer to item 4 above. hehe.). we were only supposed to dare caryl (who, unfortunately for her, just couldn't keep her mouth shut :p) but, what the heck, i just had to try it out for myself. what can i say...not too shabby for a first-timer. ^_~

i haven't been to Picnic Grove for a long time (around 7 years, i guess). the last time i went to the place, there were flea markets and lots of food booths. i got a reality check when we got there because all those clothes and food stands were gone. even if i didn't have any money to spend, i still wanted to check out the merchandise (i'm such a window shopaholic).

so, after admiring the view (i liked the one in Cafe Lupe better), we took the 500 m. hike around the area. it was after 2 pm, the sun was scorching, and there weren't any beverage stands. but because we were a bunch of insane people, we took the hike anyways. caryl wasn't too pleased (who wears 3-inch clogs to Tagaytay anyways??? :p) but she was such a trooper that we didn't rub it in...much :)

well, the walk around the mountain was a good place for pictorials, too, so it was still worth the hike.

it was a tiring afternoon but we all had fun. as usual, sa uulitin!

D'Lagoon @ Lagundi

SOLV held our annual family day event @ D'Lagoon Resort and Spa this weekend. our very generous brother and sister couple offered their resort in Morong, Rizal (thanks, Patrick and Tess!). since the venue is pretty much in my territory (Rizal), i drove straight there instead of meeting up with the others in Crossing.

our day began with a short worship and prayer (which i almost missed) and several games that made my tummy ache from laughing too hard (the perfect warm-up for swimming. hehe.). i mean, who knew we could come up with all those uses for a piece of tissue paper, a mineral water bottle, and a long piece of string. i was definitely surrounded by creative, resourceful, and crazy people. :D

the best part of the day was...swimming! the resort had two pools. a large family pool with a froggy slide and a smaller but deeper one for the adults (with a whirlpool). we stayed in the larger pool at first but after lunch, everybody transferred to the other one. it was fun bonding in the whirlpool and being showered by our human-powered sprinkler (hahaha!).

at around 3:30, we all headed to the multi-purpose hall for the Lord's Day celebration. it was a pretty solemn event, the perfect culminating activity to our fellowship. after, some of us watched the tree-planting activity, courtesy of the Casanova family.

the family that plants together...

uh, grows a tree. (??)

after much kulitan

and Kodakan (i swear, my bros and sisters have to be the most camera shy people i know...),

we all bade goodbye to our housemates for the day

and looked forward to our long weekend (hurrah for Labor Day!).