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Valentine

Okay. So I’ll be like everybody else who writes and tells the world about what they did on Valentine’s Day. I never spent V-day in a special way, yeah…it’s true, I’m not a party pooper nor cynical about it. I’m just not a V-day person and if you were to ask me why – one of the reasons I guess is you can always make every day a Valentine’s Day – you can always treat your lady to a nice restaurant, give her flowers and make her feel special on any given day. There are a lot of things that I consider nice during V-day nevertheless – like it’s nice to see a spectacle of beautiful flowers displayed in the malls or held by the ladies with happy faces, restaurants are filled with flower and balloon decorations just to make a romantic ambience.

Much to my shopaholic nature, a few days before V-day I have told Teejay not to spend money on flowers, in fact, I told him that I would prefer to get a bag or a nice pair of shoes instead of flowers and he just flashed me a sinister smile. It’s very usual for us not to plan on doing anything on V-day but when V-day came, I thought of going to Tagaytay for an overnight stay in a nice hotel. Get a soothing massage and experience almost all that’s included in the spa package. I surfed the internet and saw the rather enticing package of nurture spa, so I called for booking unfortunately they are fully booked, the same with the other two hotels so I have gave up on the thought of going anywhere outside of Manila.

So I decided to look up The Spa. I called the one at The Fort for booking and unfortunately I got the same scenario, I guess everyone had a spa indulgence on V-day. tsk tsk. Anyway. I finally decided to watch Marley and Me instead, which surprisingly made me and Teejay cry LOL. It’s a funny movie but very touching at the same time. It was our first time to cry together over a movie, I guess it’s because we have also developed a unique and intimate attachment to our first pet Cheebah and so it made us relate to the story of the movie. For me, one of the downsides of getting a pet is to face your pet lying lifeless on the ground one day. Deep Sigh.

Anyway. I just have to tell you that prior to watching the movie, we had a sumptuous dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. There was a long queue and we were among the many couples and families who stood outside waiting to get seated. After that highly delectable dinner, we stopped by at Lancome to get my new make up set hihihi. We then went to Sarabia Optical and got Teejay’s costly spectacles because the previous glasses were chewed by their voracious dogs. ugghhhh. We then watched the movie, went home and had some. Hush!

A Retrospect

I woke up whining this morning like I always do. The unwillingness to open my eyes at 6 AM every day is hurting my precious gut. I have set my daily alarm at 6 AM but I have always ignored it and end up waking up at a later time. I woke up today at 7 AM, I ran to the shower and had it quickly. I had a nice morning nevertheless, the sun was gentle and not in his usual ferocious self. As I was on my way to the office, I was accompanied by my constant comrade called music. I was surreptitiously humming and singing with the songs in my mind when I suddenly realized I was also musing. I thought of the greatest personal secrets I have kept all this time and one of them is something that I would like to share to you.

This may be obscure to some but I grew up in my grandmother’s care. My mom used to travel around Asia compelled by her job. I was in gradeschool then and it lasted for about 6 years. She was always away and as we all know technology at the time has not made the internet breakthrough widely available yet so we communicated via phone and the legendary snail mail. She would always send me pictures of her and the places she had been to. At a very young age, I have understood all the reasons why my mom had to be away. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for her hard work. I can say that I am one of those lucky people who spent their childhood days the way a child should spend it.

For the record, I didn’t have an ideal relationship with my stepdad as I used to dislike him when I was younger. One time my mom was at home for vacation. She had to go somewhere so I was left alone at home. I opened one of her luggages and found it unloaded. I saw a pile of photo albums very well arranged inside the luggage, much to my snoopiness, I picked the blue album right in the middle and opened it. It brought a smile on my face because I found myself looking at the pictures I sent my mother, as I was browsing towards the middle, I saw the pictures of my stepdad. I remember those four pictures of him, he was riding a bike on a pink shirt and faded jeans.

I used to dislike my mom’s relationship with my stepdad for many unselfish reasons. I have always thought that my mom could be happier with someone else but as I grew older and reached maturity, I was able to grasp things rationally. At that moment, I felt nothing but rage and preclusively, my eyes gave in and tears fell down. I couldn’t think of a way how to express my anger so as I was staring at his pictures I thought of something. I took out the four pictures from the photo album and stared at it blankly while holding a strong grip to it. At an instant, I ran to the kitchen and found a match. I then went to the backyard and lit up one match stick. I brought the pictures close to the blue flame and suddenly I saw the blue and orange flame burning through the pictures. I had let go of the match stick while my right hand was holding the pictures.

I held the pictures and stared at it with conviction until I saw nothing but burned paper. Three days after, my mom unloaded her luggage and found out that the pictures were missing. She asked everyone in the house except me. She didn’t know what happened to the pictures even until this day but her silence speaks a lot. In retrospect, had I not burned the pictures, I would’ve done something else.

Love me Again – Land Down Under

Teejay’s undying admiration for Angel Locsin drove us to watch her latest movie with the beautiful Piolo Pascual. Despite time constraint as I am having the inability to manage my time lately and the mentally strenuous day I’ve had last Sunday, we decided to hit ATC mall to witness their first movie together. Piolo’s versatility in acting is very exceptional, we all know that but I must commend Angel for a job well done.

I’ve seen a few scenes of her acting career when she was with her previous TV network and kudos to Angel for making a remarkable improvement in her acting prowess. The movie has evidently showcased her acting skills and potential. The movie is very endearing and it made me shed some tears LOL. I had spicy shrimp spaghetti and deluxe pizza from Brooklyn Pizza while watching the movie.

After watching the movie, we stopped by at the activity center hoping to catch Regine Velasquez performing for her Latest Album promotion – Low Key. Unfortunately, the show has ended when we got there and people were in a long queue just so they could take pictures with Regine. It was my first time to see her in person, I’m not a fan but I dont dislike her. I think that she’s one of the most talented people here in the Philippines and I admire her for that. I think that she is pretty in person compared to when she is on TV and she is also undoubtedly nice to her fans.

…….Continuation

We woke up early on Day 7. We went to Mambucal Mountain Resort located at Murcia Negros Occidental for an overnight stay. We had so much fun watching the fruit bats hanging on the tree branches that if you look from afar, they look like unrecognizable fruits. It was gruesomely beautiful. We visited the butterfly farm and saw the different species of butterfly, it was amazing. We also had boat riding in the boating lagoon and hiked the mountain to visit the 7 falls. It was strenous but the breathtaking views were all worth it. The clan never dared to take a plunge at the freezing cold swimming pool but I did for a little while. It was mind blowing so I decided to take a rinse of hot shower after 10 minutes, then we played domino after dinner.

 

We woke up the next morning with the obscure sunshine trying to fight the overcast so he can shine unrestrainedly. We drove to Don Salvador Benedicto to visit Pandanon Resort but we decided to head back the opposite direction as it was too stiff to drive there. The mountainous way prevented us from going there. We opted to take a drive to the lands of Northern Negros instead. We drove all the way to Cadiz City to buy some dried fish, etc. as they are well renowned as the dried fish (tuyo) capital of Negros but due to the bad weather and excessive rains, prices were staggering high and not a lot of products to choose from. We stopped by at Merci Breadshop for a round of siopao for lunch, it was funny. As we were heading back home, a very unfortunate event has happened. Our car broke down along the highway and we were merely 2 hours away from the city. If you look to your left, you can see nothing but a plantation of sugarcane and to your right is the same. My mom immediately called her mechanic, so we opted to ride the bus and they stayed there to wait for the mechanic to rescue them.

 

Day 9 was pretty sluggish, we took a plunge at Sta. fe in the morning. We then went to the office of my house developer to finish all the papers and requirements that they need from me. Evening came and we met Cel for a fabulous and sumptuos dinner at Bar 21 along Lacson St. We had a succulent steak and a delightful mango shake. After dinner, we went to Starbucks to meet my college friend Mayen and my cousin. After a brief moment of talking and catching up with our busy lives we then went to Mushu for some wine and good music.

 

We spent day 10 on packing and buying stuff for pasalubong. Evening came and it was time to take our flight back to Manila. It was a scary flight. We had turbulence every minute, it was as if the plane would crash down anytime and it made me pray. It really scared the hell out of me, I was holding Aldolito’s hand the entire time. By the time the pilot announced our arrival, my spirit perked up like hell. I think I’m not going to fly anywhere, anytime soon LOL.

 

To sum up everything, it wasn’t a grand vacation nor an extravagant one, it was fun nevertheless. I was able to see my family and some of my old buddies. It was just sad because I wasnt able to attend our Highschool reunion party as they held it on an earlier date and I havent seen some of my friends due to some conflict with time and place. And we were not able to visit a lot of places because the weather was bad. But I am definitely going back there in the summer or maybe October for the Mascarra Festival.

Starting the Year Right in Bacolod City

They say that as you face the new year, you have to start it right so I started mine with a nice vacation to my beloved hometown the city of SUGARLANDIA – Bacolod City which is renowned as the city of smiles because of the colorful and spectacle parade of smiling masks every second week of October commemorating the festivity of the city. We had a peaceful flight on the way to Bacolod but my heart was a little sad leaving my Cheebah behind for merely 10 days. Upon arrival, I was amazed with the new Bacolod airport protruding amid the mountain range of Northern Negros and the vast land of sugarcane haciendas. It was great seeing my family picking us up at the new airport. Newly built structures are evidently rising in Bacolod including the costly starbucks. We went straight home to unload our things. My mom cooked an Ilonggo style nilaga (beef with young jackfruit, batwan and tanglad) for lunch, Teejay loved it.

Day 1 was spent at Uma Cafe beside L’Fisher Hotel, we had a fabulous dinner with Cell – Teejay’s former officemate who happened to be an Ilonggo also. Uma Cafe’s pizza and pasta are to die for. Their espresso based drinks are also great combined with a tiny piyaya that is great with a big cup of cappuccino best served with muscovado sugar. All in All it was a delectable treat. We then went to Majj at Mayfair Plaza where we expressed our whiny demons through a delicious red wine and a delightful platter of buffalo wings. Had a few great laughs while our spirits are surreptitiously dancing in the sound of house music. My place is located in the suburbs so it’s not advisable to travel late at night so we checked in at Business Inn located at the heart of the city. It’s an inexpensive hotel that offers a good comfortable sleep and a lounge that shows a live band at night while you are sipping a highly delectable Kansi (bulalo).

We had lunch at Lions Park restaurant on day 2 with my cousin and sister. Relax though, as it is not a literal Lions Park. For me, they have the best Inasal in town. We feasted on Chicken Inasal (pecho – breast, paa – legs, baticulon – gizzard) and a bowl of fresh oysters best served with tangy and spicy sinamak (vinegar with chili). We have enjoyed every second of it. We then went to SM City for a little shopping and came back to the hotel for a power nap. Evening came and we went to Pendys for coffee and chocolate cake. We then went to Pala Pala, it’s a local seafood market where you can haggle for fresh catch of the ocean and have it cooked by the restaurant. It’s just an array of nipa huts that doesn’t resemble any ostentatious design nor an elaborate facade but the way they cook the Tinola nga Isda (Sinigang na isda – boiled fish) is to die for, with unique ingredients only famous in the islands of Visayas. We had Sinigang na manumbok, half a kilo of buttered prawns and half a kilo of grilled native squid. We only paid Php 750 for everything. We then went back to the hotel lounge with a full stomach. We watched the live acoustic band, had some tea and relaxed with the gentle pour of the rain.

We checked out from the hotel on Day 3, we spent the rest of the day at our store in the market as it was the concluding day of the year which means, it’s the busiest day for our store. We helped my mom at the store, Aldolito enjoyed selling fruits and toys and taking random pictures at the same time. We had lechon (roasted pig) for lunch. We went home late afternoon watched some dvd and waited for the new year to come. As the first hour of the first day of the new year came, we went out to watch the festive lights of the fireworks. We then feasted on lechon manok and fruits as our media noche. we didn’t prepare any special food as all of us were dead tired, it was fun nevertheless.

Day 4 was filled with adventure, want to know why? We had breakfast at Pala Pala once again. We then went to a place called The Ruins in Talisay.“The structure of The Ruins is of Italianate architecture with neo-Romanesque columns, having a very close semblance to the facade of Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The mansion was built in the early 1900’s by the sugar baron, Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson (1865-1948) and was home to his unmarried children with his first wife, Maria Braga Lacson (+1911), a Portuguese from Macau. The mansion was the largest residential structure ever built at that time and had in it one of the finest furnitures, chinawares, and decorative items, as the father of the Maria Braga was a captain of a ship that sailed across Europe and Asia and would cart with him these items. One of their daughters maintained a beautiful garden of lilies in and around the 4-tiered fountain fronting the mansion, all brought in from abroad.

One of the sons supervised the construction of the mansion making certain that the A-grade mixture of concrete and its pouring was precisely followed.

The mansion met its sad fate in the early part of World War II (1942) when the USAFFE (United States Armed Forces in the Far East), then the guerilla fighters in the Philippines, burnt the mansion to prevent the Japanese forces from utilizing it as their headquarters. It took days of inferno to bring down the roof and the two-inch wooden floors.

To this day, the 903 square meter structure still stands tall amidst sugar plantation and continues to awe both local and foreign tourists. Truly, a picture-perfect backdrop and a magnificent sight to see.” We made a little joke while we were on our way to see The Ruins, Aldolito said that it is only right to call it The Ruins because you’ll get ruined as you enter the road that leads you to the place. It’s a long, narrow, unpaved and undeveloped road that made our ride downright bumpy. But once you get there, you will be amazed and say to yourself that its all worth it. After taking numerous pictures, we then went to Silay to see the heritage houses and had lunch at Manokan Country and went striaght to SM City. As we were strolling down the mall, we decided to watch Ang Tanging Ina Niyong Lahat.

Day 5, we had coffee at Cafe Uma and took advantage of the free wifi brought by the nearby L’Fisher Hotel. We headed to Goldenfileds Commercial Complex to have some Kansi for Dinner – our very own version of bulalo. After a brief greasy dinner, we then went to MO2 to see my friend Cynthia. We had a few drinks, watched the live acoustic band and had a run-of-the-mill talk with Cynthia. It was nice seeing college friends like her still kicking it in the city. We ended the night at McCafe for a cup of coffee and a chocolate cake.

Day 6, we had lunch at Chicken House in Singkang for a different taste of Inasal. We then crossed the street and bought some fresh piyaya for dessert and drove around town for sight seeing. Evening came and we stopped by at Robinsons place and had a nice hot chocolate and some muffins. We then went to the supermarket, grabbed some pringles, breads and doritos and headed back home for a fun evening. We had chicken tinola for dinner and it was very satisfying.

To be continued…….

Twilight Movie Hits the Box Office

Twilight movie opened with $69,637,740  this weekend. A vampire romance movie based on New York Times Best Seller Novel by Stephenie Meyer. The movie is said to be the fourth highest opening in 2008. Now, who cares if it’s a low-budget film. Edward Cullen is to die for. haha

Today

Wow, time flies… really. It’s 11th of November and we have 43 days before Christmas. This is a sluggish Tuesday for me, everything is slow and as I gaze upon the ground from the 42nd floor of this building, I can see a thick cloud of smog surrounding the entire city. My day started with annoyance once again, GOSH, whatever you do, there will always be people who can ruin your day in a snap.

I was on my way to work, I was sitting on the rear part of the FX (shuttle service) and as most of you know, it should be seated by four people, so can you imagine if each of those four, weighs a minimum of 160 lbs., can you get the picture, I’m not saying I weigh 160 lbs though, LOL of course I weigh lesser than that. Anyway, so there were four of us sitting on that area and three of us were squashed terribly to hell. Only God knows how we suffered from back aches, sore shoulders and legs and feet pains. However, there was this one guy who was sitting in the corner beside me, his long legs were spread like someone is going to eat between those legs and his heavy and broad shoulders were resting like he’s on his own private vehicle. The lady in the other corner had asked him to move a little bit, so she can sit better but he didn’t do anything.

GOSH why do inconsiderate people exist. To my utter annoyance, I frantically bumped him with my shoulder and so he realized that he needed to move and he was enlightened. He fixed his posture and I exclaimed “HAY SALAMAT” (THANK YOU), and everyone was happy.

Halloween Masquerade and UFO

I got an E-mail yesterday from HR announcing that we have a Halloween Masquerade today. Employees were advised to wear something spooky (but to those who are already looking spooky, you may come as you are) HAHA! I know a few wink wink. I haven’t seen anyone wearing anything spooky yet. Well, I’ve seen some with those horn headbands that light in the dark and whatsup with those red ribbon ties that look like those of the chippendales, I also saw someone with some lucid wings and a head dress that looks like a bird’s nest, damn I want to see a vampire, a mummy, a werewolf or an alien will do. Oh let me tell you something……

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Last Sunday, we had a power interruption at home and it lasted for an hour or so. Aldolito opted to stay in the terrace as it was windy and the splatters of light from the moon, clouds and the overcast created a magnificent facade so he took out the tripod and set up the camera. And then I heard him calling me abruptly “BEH! BEH! BEH!” I was in dismay, I thought something bad was happening to him, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I went to the terrace to check what happened, and there he was telling me that he saw an object flying in the sky, and he is confused whether it was a plane or something else. He said that there was a light coming from it and it was flashing but not like the usual flash from the plane. If you have seen the typical light from the plane, it flashes constantly like every other second, the object however was not flashing like that as he described. It flashes a light in a certain spot for a second, and then its gone and at an instant its visible again – it moves in an unbelievable speed. Damn, the moment I heard it I thought he was just making fun of me or perhaps he was hallucinating. I also made an assumption that maybe it was just a falling star but he was utterly convinced that it was something else and so there goes my alien fascination once again. I started to ruminate like maybe, that’s why we are having a power interruption because they are visiting us and they are absorbing our power. Damn, its so cool. I stayed in the terrace for a brief moment even if I wasn’t feeling well because of my flu just to raise my hope of finally seeing a UFO. After 30 minutes or so of looking up and keeping my eyes open in all directions……..no flying objects were found…much to my disappointment…I went back to my room with pouting lips.

Manic Yesterday

I stood up from my workstation at 6:55 PM last night and walked to the computer where the logs are gathered I typed in my ID and hit LOG OUT and then to my utter disbelief I stared at the computer once again to make sure I have typed the correct ID, and yes it is correct but the error was still there showing idly “YOU CAN’T LOG OUT BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT LOGGED IN”. Do you know what does this mean? It means that I have to file for my timesheet and have it approved from my two superiors and subsequently forward it to HR for another approval – approval from HR will take a minimum of three emails just to make a follow up, if I won’t bug them and get on their nerves they will never take any immediate action. I remember I have forwarded this exact message for three times just so I could get a response “Please let me know if my timesheet has been approved”. So sick sick sick. I’m starting to think that their previous jobs are from a filthy government office where they do nothing but chitchat and wait for lunchtime so they can sleep, pick their noses or whatever the hell do they indulge their pathetic selves, GOSH!

 

——

 

After a brief episode of vexation, I got out of the building and walked to Greenbelt 3 or 4 Oh I’m not sure lol, Greenbelt can be confusing sometimes I can hardly identify 3 from 4, although I’m pretty sure its just me who is having this difficulty. Anyway. I entered Abenson Avant and looked for a new set of headphones and mic as I need it pretty badly. WHY? Because. There are a lot of odd things that have happened lately particularly in my family. My long lost cousin has shockingly contacted everyone in the family, well she’s not really lost its just that she had lose touch to each and everyone of us a long time ago like I say maybe 3 -4 years back, i’m not sure if its long enough although it seems to me that it was a long long time ago because it feels like it, sometimes people can make you feel like this – the last time you have spoke to each other was like 3 years ago but to you it feels like centuries. Anyway. Knowing her, she’s not internet savvy nor deeply anxious to whatever is happening to the family but shockingly and suddenly she is concerned. I got an email from her saying that she has a webcam and a mic and she is ready to talk via yahoo messenger if I have the time. For three consecutive days until today we’ve been talking day and night; so now you know why I had to get that mic set. Another thing is, just when I was thinking about possible ways on how to make more money BOOM!!! the answer is laid out on me in a form of an email once again – one of my previous clients contacted me and offered me another writing, translation and podcasting freelance work. So thats another reason why I needed the mic set. GOD IS GREAT INDEED.

 

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Going back to Abensons Avant. After testing my fabulous mic set, I hurriedly got my receipt and hit off the door. As I walked through the door, I was busy responding to Garnet’s message, we were supposed to go to the church together but he has this habit of changing his mind at the very last minute everytime arrrrgggggggh….I was walking parallel to BodyShop which is the second store next to Abensons Avant when I suddenly remembered that the guard from Abensons Avant politely bade “Thank You Maam” when I darted at the door. I realized, my behavior was utterly not acceptable and it was very mean of me not to even consider on acknowledging his amiable way of courtesy in a form of a response to “Thank You” which is “You’re Welcome” or if I was too busy I should’ve just gave him a smile, after all, he’s been standing there for nearly 9 hours just for a little consolation of a minimum wage. For the first time in my life that I felt so bad like that, although that was not the first time that I have ignored someone like him I’ve been doing it to anyone who wishes me courtesy when I hit off the door of a store or a mall. Today however and onwards; I know what to do.