~*~

2009-01-20T09:42:00.000+08:00

Watch more YouTube videos on AOL Video

2008-08-20T15:28:00.003+08:00

Seperated - Usher

2008-07-30T14:00:00.000+08:00

It leads nowhere…
I wanted to let go…But I’m afraid to be alone…

2008-06-24T15:22:00.006+08:00

I'm going through a big crisis right now...

Apologize - OneRepublic

My Blog's 1st Anniversary!!!

2008-06-24T15:05:00.003+08:00

June is about to end in a few days and I definitely can’t pass out on the first anniversary of my blog!

Happy 1st anniversary to extraordinarykelly.blogspot.com!!!

And to celebrate my blog’s anniversary I’m featuring a Cosmo interview of myself!
May I have many more years of blogging to come!!!

THE COSMO INTERVIEW

Name: Rain Quililan

Birthday: April 30, 1983
Age: 24
Fave Beauty Products: The Body Shop face-powder, The Body Shop Lip and Cheek Tink, The Body Shop Born Lippy, Faceshop Fruits in Balm, Faceshop Lip gloss, Maybelline Clear and Smooth, Maybelline Full & Soft Mascara, Smashbox lipgloss, eyeshadows,Mary Kay Beauty Products
Beauty Routine: I wash my face with Olay Total Effects cleanser, then I apply olay total effects all over my face before I sleep, drink lots of fruit juices and very important-feel confident and radiate beauty
Favorite Scent: RL Blue, Leu par Kenzo, Victoria’s Secret-Lovespell, Bath & Body works-
Stay-Sexy Secret: being sexy is being intelligent too…I read lots of books in different varieties and search the net…this way I am armed with enough knowledge
Favorite Food: Italian foods-pizza and pasta, steaks, American foods-hotdogs, burgers & fries, any dish with cheese, adobo-siomai, chocolates, mousse-cakes, sundaes, donuts, cinnamon pastries
What is a Cosmo Girl? Dignified lady, oozing with confidence and radiates beauty, sophisticated by all means even in the nastiest situations, wise by nature
Are you a Cosmo girl? Yes I’m a a certified COSMO Gurl!
My favorite body part is: my eyes, my ass!
My worst vice is: starving my self
If I could go out with any guy, it would be: Orlando Bloom
My first kiss was: funny and weird, had it when I was in kindergarten!
My fantasies involve: feeling the raindrops in my face while lying in an open field
If I could, I’d love to get: a warm massage @ Sonya’s garden
I feel most sexy: when I’m dancing
The best way to dump a guy is to: tell the truth and provide an explanation personally
I spend way too much on: make-ups & tops
My choice of underwear: plain colored cotton-comfy ones
The one thing I can’t live without is: understanding
When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up and be a: nun (ha-ha)
If I were to join Fear Factor, the worst stunt would be anything that involved: eating & drinking something yucky

Jelai's 4th Year Anniversary!!!

2008-06-24T14:55:00.008+08:00

It’s our 4th year anniversary!!! Last year, we celebrated it through an outing and this time, we are in the mood for fancy dinner. But to share what happened before dinner…My hubby accompanied me to the office early morning. At lunch we ate buffet at Café Otello one of the Italian restaurants along Legaspi village. I’ve eaten at the said place before with my officemates but this time their buffet was really satisfying!!! For 250 per head you’d get your tummy delighted by not only great tasting pasta’s but Italian dishes as well. We left the place bloated!
My hubby went home to change his clothes, and we meet up at the fx terminal under MRT and we rode a shuttle van to filinvest city alabang. After an hour we found ourselves in Vivere Hotel at the Skyline!!!

This is actually a view in the pool side, really cool and calming...

But the best part of the restaurant is the breath-taking view of the skyline!!! It was just perfect! So romantic!!! No wonder, lots of guys propose to their girlfriends at this wonderful place

As for the food! It was great too...We ordered rib-eye steak and pork steak and we had white wine to toast to another year of togetherness...now that's sweet!!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

2008-06-16T12:53:00.006+08:00

It's Father's Day!!! I would like to share this song...This had long been a favorite...and hearing this song would always keep me teary-eyed. When I first heard this song when I was younger I told myself that before I get married, I would send a copy of this song for my Dad...I am sharing this to all the daddy in the world and daddy's girls as well...

There's two things I know for sure:
She was sent here from heaven and she's
daddy's little girl.
As I drop to my knees by her bed at night
She talks to Jesus and I close my eyes and
I thank god for all the joy in my life
Oh, but most of all
For butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer;
sticking little white flowers all up in her
hair;"Walk beside the pony, Daddy, it's my first ride.""
I know the cake looks funny, Daddy, but I sure tried."
In all that I've done wrong I know I must
have done something right to deserve a hug
every morning and butterfly kisses at night.

Sweet 16 today
She's looking like her mama a little more everyday
One part woman, the other part girl.
To perfume and make-up from ribbons and curls
Trying her wings out in a great big world.
But I remember
Butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer;
stickinglittle white flowers all up in her hair.
"You know how much I love you, Daddy, But if you
don't mind I'm only gonna kiss you on the cheek this time."
With all that I've done wrong I must have done
something right to deserve her love every morning
and butterfly kisses at night.

All the precious timeLike the wind, the years go by.
Precious butterfly.
Spread your wings and fly.

She'll change her name today.
She'll make a promise and I'll give her away.
Standing in the bride-room just staring at her.
She asked me what I'm thinking and I said "I'm not
sure-I just feel like I'm losing my baby girl."
She leaned over...gave me butterfly kisses with her mama there,
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair
"Walk my down the aisle, Daddy-it's just about time.""
Does my wedding gown look pretty, Daddy? Daddy, don't cry!"

Oh, with all that I've done wrong I must havedone something right.
To deserve your love every morning and butterfly
kisses-I couldn't ask God for more, man this is what love is.
I know I gotta let her go, but I'll always remember
every hug in the morning and butterfly kisses.

Butterfly Kisses - Bob Carlisle

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILIPPINES!!!

2008-06-16T12:53:00.005+08:00

Happy 110th Philippine Independence Day to all Filipinos! On this day we are reminded we are reminded of our freedom…but are we really free? Over the years, we are continuously held in captive by the cruel hands of poverty… One question lies though…when will we be truly free???

I'm now a CERTIFIED MAROON!!!

2008-06-10T12:48:00.001+08:00

I decided to take up a bachelor degree in Psychology because for me it is so broad that I knew I can gain so much wisdom. But throughout my course of study, industrial psychology has been much appealing to me. Right then I knew this is the field for me and I envisioned myself working in the corporate world.
Being a psych-graduate, it has been a constant longing to broaden my knowledge through a degree in graduate school. April 2004-right after college, my ultimate goal was to take up my masters. To make it happen, I visited the University of the Philippines Diliman to inquire and then I found myself in SOLAIR (School of Labor and Industrial Relations). I believe I was in the perfect place…I as review their curriculum I know this is for me…
I originally got my inspiration to take up a graduate program in Industrial Relations from my father who was a former Union President. I saw his pain together with the rest of the employees who had no choice but accept a severance pay when the hotel closed down and was then decided upon by the owner to be replaced as a condominium. From my Father and from the said incident, I saw the importance of industrial relations, witnessed how it functioned and longed to know more about it.
When I asked the admin staff of how the process would go, she told me that I should have at least 2 years of working experience under human resources. I was disappointed but I said to myself “I could wait…”
Over the years, I worked as a customer service representative for a couple of call centers. In the world of customer service, you receive complaints all the time and the ultimate goal is to work towards the satisfaction of the customer. I believe my short stint gave great lessons and served as a bridge towards what I would wanted to pursue. With my current employer, I started as an agent and was later on promoted to be a part of the Human Resources Team. 2008- was my second year in human resources... I believe knowledge can never be applied without experience...I am much thankful that I gained the experience in customer service plus the privilege to work for Human Resources where I was exposed to the different facets of hr. This background has supplied me with many skills and an understanding of not only hr but of the corporate world. This has sparked my hunger for additional wisdom. And from here I know I’m ready. . .
I believe the input I’d be able to gain would be very helpful and I look forward to putting my knowledge and experience into practice. I am very much excited as this had been a long term goal and I believe this would be beneficial in building my career path.
And so I now have the guts to apply and I went through the process of preparing the admission requirements plus the dread of asking my boss for a personal recommendation letter. And when everything was ready, I passed the requirements and finally got the test permit bearing my applicant number: 10809028. The number 8 is my favorite number I hope it would bring me luck!!!
The admission test was held last March 29- Saturday. To prepare, 3 days before that, I went to PowerBooks greenbelt and took time to review college admission test reviewers to update and refresh myself. On the day of the test, I felt jitters, aside from the fact that my hubby and I were on the rocks that time. I felt I wasn’t ready enough. And the test started. The format from the college admission test reviewers were the same but the questions were thrice as difficult. None of what I reviewed appeared in the test. What made it more difficult was the essay portion, wherein I’m not sure of my answers because I don’t have enough knowledge of the topic. After the test I meet up with my college friends feeling depressed I told them I’m sure I wouldn’t pass and I will flunk the test. ..I was so frustrated…
We were given a week until the release of the admission test results. Right after holy week, Tuesday-April 8, I called the given numbers to know if I passed the entrance exam and to my surprise…I PASSED THE TEST!!! I was in tears! I just couldn’t believe it!!! April 12- I attended the Orientation… And yeah…I can sense it-the fulfillment of my long term goal!!!
I went through the difficulty of pre-enlisting my classes. I was approved of a late leave and my pre-enlisted classes were not approved in crs. I had to take two more leaves and finally I was able to enroll…although the schedule I got would be very tiring for me as I have to travel all the way to UP after my shift it’s definitely worth all this difficulty. And this is it-I am finally enrolled and now bearing my student number-2008-78083. I guess the number “8” gave me luck but I’m more than thankful to the guy up there, I know he had prepared this perfect time for me… And so now I’m a CERTIFIED MAROON!!! Cheers!!!

My Bday @ Splash!!!

2008-06-10T12:44:00.005+08:00

April 30- was mah burthdei!!!!!! And of course there’s no other better way of spending it than taking a vacation leave from the office and since it’s summertime- my hubby and I decided to go swimming at Splash island with our beloved Nicole since this would be her first outing/ swimming for the year!

With Daddy on the side!!!

Tha’ts Mommy and Baby Nicole out in the sun!!!

Us three!!! One sad thing though- I lost my new pair of havaianas and was stolen at Splash… huhuhuhu….

Fun Day!!!

2008-06-10T12:42:00.004+08:00

Our company Sports fest/ Fun Day was held last March 9, 2008. This is the 1st time for me to attend the said event and might as well the first time for me to bring my hubby and our princess!!!

It was absolute fun especially for Nicole since its her 1st time to watch a live basketball game and cheering competition!!! As we clap and cheer for our bets she was cheering as well!!! I was just so proud of my daughter!!! One of our firsts!

Neyo: Live in Manila

2008-06-10T12:39:00.002+08:00

Another late post...But to share it anyway...Neyo Live in Manila was held last February 29 & March 1. We definitely could not miss out on this!!! We were at the Araneta Coliseum around 6pm and the crowd was huge then. To think that this is actually the second day of the concert. We waited for an hour and the show started.

Who could not miss out on the front acts before the concert? 1st on the line was Kris Lawrence singing a hit from Chris Brown-"With You" and 2nd was Amber... And then it was....NEYO!!!!

He did not fail us..and he sang all his wonderful hits!!!To name a few:

Because of you
So sick
Sexy Love
Do you
Closer
Go on Girl

And a trivia: Neyo is not only a great singer but composer as well...He actually composed "Hate how much I love you" for Rihanna and "Let me love you" for Mario among the many others.

The concert was absolutely fantastic! We really had fun!And we end up singing with Neyo as he sang his songs all throughout the show. More so, had last song syndrome of his songs for the entire week!!!

Surf's Up! Jelai's La-Union Get-Away Part 2- Welcome to Bacnotan!

2008-06-10T12:21:00.008+08:00

It’s been just 2 months when we 1st visited La-union and we missed it a lot! And it’s such a good timing! My hubby got his quarterly bonus and as a pre-valentine gift, he planned for a trip to La-Union the second time around-all expenses paid… by him!
February 8>8pm- we first went to Glorietta to shop for my hubby’s new board shorts and sunglasses. We first had dinner at Food choices then went to the grocery to buy toiletries and food for the trip. We dropped by the office as well coz I forgot some stuff we needed for the trip. From Makati we travelled to Partas Terminal in Cubao.
Its February…a month to go before summer. I was expecting that there would be fewer passengers but to my surprise the terminal was overflowing. Plus, it was a hell long wait to buy bus tickets. My hubby and I alternately fell in line to save our seats. Unfortunaltey the bus tickets we were able to buy were for the ordinary aircon ride since it was the earliest to leave. And due to the long wait, we got hungry again; our bus was suppose to leave at 2:25, so we decided to call McDonalds for food delivery apparently the bus left earlier at 2:15 and we were left with no choice but to cancel our order.
On the bus, we just ate our chips instead to fill our hunger. It was already day break when we had our 1st stop over, we ate grilled hotdogs! I was just so hungry that I ate 4!
Unlike the 1st trip we had last November where we arrived really early, we arrived so late at La-Union. It took us exact 7 hours to arrive at Sebay. Plus we got stuck in traffic since it was San Fernando’s town fiesta. The bus has to take an alternate route as well.
We arrived at 8:30am. First Stop: we need to find a room to stay. So we checked Pfeifer again. But to our dismay it’s fully booked and the only available room is the twin room which cost double than the usual single room. We took our chances by checking other resorts nearby. As we walked along the shoreline we noticed that it was unusually cold at the beachfront and everybody was wearing their jackets. Good thing my hubby and I brought our hoodies! We tried asking San Juan Surf camp, Hacienda & Sebay but they are all fully booked as well. It was past 9 already but we have not found a room yet…we were so disappointed since all the resorts are fully booked when it’s not peak season and you hardly see people at neither beach nor surfers playing. We were left with no other choice so my hubby decided just to take the twin room at Pfeifer.
Funny thing, the room has two beds and it was just the two of us, well I just thought this is good that we have enough space to place all of our things and “kalat”. After settling down and arranging our stuff, we ate breakfast at our favorite place: Seanymph. We saw “Bok” the featured one legged surfer in so many shows and magazines internationally. I was supposed to ask him if we could take pictures but I was too shy…We just went back to the room, changed to our swimwear and enjoyed the beach!
I was frustrated coz I was expecting that the waves would be different but nonetheless it seemed unchanged. It’s as similar to the condition last November: swell was big and fierce and add a strong undercurrent to that which feels a little more or less scary to swim. To cheer me up, my hubby promised me that we’d to try Bacnotan early tomorrow instead. We spent the rest of our time playing with the waves and the sand. And we walked along the entire beachfront as well. Time seemed to fly so fast, it was 2pm already. We decided to go back to our room, clean up and we ate our lunch again at Seanymph. Nothing could beat the view of the beach at this eatery, you can watch the waves while you sit back and relax, drink beer or coffee and just listen to cool music in your iPod-we were listening to Jack Johnson that time. It was awesomely calming…
After our lunch, we decided to take our afternoon siesta…when we woke up it’s already 6:30 pm! We were so dismayed that we cannot play nor stroll at the beach coz it’s already dark. We had a quick merienda-we ordered pancit canton at Seanymph. We asked what they have for dinner, they said they only have inihaw na bangus… apparently I’m not in the mood to eat fish. My hubby suggested trying another place, we thought of “Midway Grill” since we saw that it’s just along the highway during our trip, but our main problem is how to get there since we don’t have a car. We asked a few locals and advised us to ride a San Fernando jeepney. And indeed it dropped us right in front of Midway grill.
The place was filled with many people. Upon 1st glaze you’d know they are surfers. So let me call it –the “surfer’s ultimate food haven”. Food at midway grill is fantastic! And it’s not that expensive! I ordered rice toppings while my hubby was feeling extravagant, he ordered baby back ribs! Back in manila, the meal would cost P700++. Amazingly midway grill sets it at P200 with the same taste and quality of meat. As for dessert I had oreo shake, yum! We left the place with happy and full tummies. Now, the next question is “how do we go back to the resort”. We crossed the street to wait for a jeepney ride but it’s all filled. We decided to ride a tricycle instead, we paid P60. We arrived safely at the resort. We were supposed to order beer at seanymph but we thought it would make us feel groggy tomorrow when we surf instead we just decided to stayed in our room to watch Pirates of the Caribbean at HBO and decided to sleep since we have to leave early tomorrow…

We woke up as early as 6am. We were looking for a place to eat breakfast and since it’s too early the eateries could only offer hot drinks they don’t have meals yet. We took each of our hot drinks-my hubby had coffee while I had milo. After warming our tummies, we are now ready to rock! So from here, our real adventure to Bacnotan began.
Just a preview: Bacnotan is a part of La-Union but it’s a 30 minute drive. Locals would say that when the swell is big at the beachfront surfers would usually go to Bacnotan coz waves are a calm and composed. What’s perfect with Bacnotan is that the there are 2 parts of the sea: the left part has strong current perfect for professional surfers while the right part is perfect for beginners and amateurs.

So here lies the main problem…were just a poor couple looking for adventure…we don’t have a car and we don’t have our own surfboards. We travelled to bacnotan by riding a jeepney. As early as 6:30, we rode our first jeep and the only sources of information we have are the directions from the pfeifer landlady. And we also thought we had nothing to worry since we can always ask the jeepney drivers (they have the best knowledge being “king of the roads”). Plus we have our point of contact: Aniwil (the same guy who was my trainer on our first la-union trip-we can always call and text him with our phones at hand). We had two jeepney rides but take note not just ordinary rides…it turned out to be two long jeepney rides. I felt excited and agitated at the same time as it seemed we were travelling forever. On the way to our destination, there were no signs of a beach or a water body and all you can see are mountains and farmlands. I was scared that we might be lost. Then the jeepney driver signaled us that we were finally there and the ultimate landmark “holcim cement factory”. Yes! we were finally here.

Bacnotan is far different from the San Juan beach front…To get at the shoreline, we needed to walk some more. And to my surprise, there are no resorts to stay nor wash rooms or comfort rooms!!! Now I see the importance of bringing your own car since it would be very difficult particularly for girls like me… Well, where can I pee and changed clothes??? Indeed Bacnotan is awesome!!! Swell is small and waves are calm. It’s perfect for beginners. And I noticed that the waves are calm here coz there is a long cement runway that can block the big waves and strong winds.

We arrived too early, there were just very few surfers warming up. We did nothing and stared at the sea while waiting for our surf boards and our trainers. We arrived exactly 7 am with no breakfast at all. Plus I was too excited I was already wearing my wetty! We waited for a couple of more hours, my hubby was getting pissed off already since we were both hungry and you could not even find a single sari-sari store to buy food. Too bad I didn’t thought of bringing our snacks from the room. We exactly waited for 3 hrs. You know the feeling of just simply starring at the surfers, plus getting envious coz they were all there having fun! We noticed that as the hours pass are surfers kept coming in bringing along their surfboards. Cars, vans and jeepneys are parking in. Now, this explains why all the resorts at the beach front are fully booked when you could not see people at the beach…they are all at Bacnotan. It’s just so amazing I have never seen so many surfers under one place, it just looked so great.

At 10 am finally, Aniwil with his co surfer trainers arrived bringing along the boards we’d be using. They were like 1 full jeepney. He said sorry since he could not teach us but he entrusted us to his co-trainer Larry. Larry was very vocal (madaldal) but it was cool. I learned a lot from him. He gave us lot’s of info. He explained to us that resorts could never be built in Bacnotan coz the entire place is owned by the Holcim cement factory. He shared stories about his co-surfers, surfing competitions plus the recently held one and how Luli Arroyo (the first daughter had always supported them) Larry is 1 year younger than me, he is twenty three but an absolute local surfer, he has been surfing for 10 years now. He even introduced us to his father who was also training a newbie that time. Talk about a family of surfers! That’s awesome!
It was a more difficult task for Larry since he needs to teach me and my hubby at the same time. So this explains why we don’t have pictures of our actual surfing lessons because nobody would take pictures of us since both my hubby and I are being taught. He first taught us the basics. It was some kind off a refresher for me to remember the lessons last November. He actually made us try the board while still on the sand. And then came the real thing- we were on the waters! I took the lead of trying to stand up first, but like before it’s really hard to apply the basics you’ve learned with even smaller waves, I still cannot stand up. Then it was my hubby’s turn, sad thing he still couldn’t stand as well. It turned out difficult for us… After a few more tries…my hubby finally got up!!! I was so proud!!! Too bad nobody can take pictures of us. I felt envious; I told myself “I need to be able to stand-up on my board”. My hubby and I changed surfboards since my board seemed to heavy for me and I was light-weighted compared to my hubby. After a few more tries, whalla! I was able to stand!!! And we both able to stand!!! It was such a great achievement for both of us!!! When you’re able to stand on the board, believe you’d feel as if you’re the greatest surfer on earth…it made us feel proud. And it was sweet…we were able to do it together…
Kudos to Larry!!! He was a great trainer! He was strict and he’s a man with lots of words but he’s being madaldal helped us a lot! He really kept reminding us of the basics; he gave us motivation most of the time and made us feel so proud every time we are able to stand up on our boards and ride the wave!!! And the best thing about Larry, he taught us of a certain leg work that made us stand up on the board!!!

After training was the only time we were able to take pictures. Larry even taught us of the surfers hand sign! Awesome! We had to hurry back to the beachfront since our check-out time is 12nn. Since we don’t have a car, and there is no bathroom to change clothes, we actually rode the jeepney clothes WET. We arrived at our room exactly 11:30. We hurriedly cleaned, bathe and arranged our things. We were so darn hungry…and to give ourselves a treat for a job well done- we again decided to eat a hearty meal at Midway Grill. To my surprise, we even found surfer and actor Jericho Rosales eating at the said restaurant with his surfer friends. We ordered carbonara plus chicken and fries and three cups full of rice- a really big meal. As usual we left the place with smile on our faces. But I had one more request… I could not leave La-Union without having tasted: halo-iloko! We tried to search for the famous halo-halo at the heart of the city and we found this cute eatery. The halo-halo cost 60 pesos and it was awesomely delicious! Plus their place was such a cutie! We travelled back to the terminal and waited for a bus ride in partas but we ended up riding a viron bus since we were running out of time. And after 6 hours, we are back in Manila. This second trip to La-union was one of a unique plus for me and my hubby… It proved our flexibility and our passion for adventure! Imagine we were able to reach a far place like bancotan by just commuting and riding back home with wet clothes! And this is the first time we were able to achieve something together… now that’s what you call COOL! Surf’s Up!

This is Midway Grill

Halo-Halo de Iloko! One of the best Halo-Halo I've ever tasted!

2008-03-24T10:56:00.002+08:00

"The good news of the Easter message is that Jesus can open your eyes to spiritual reality. He can forgive your sinful rebellion, dissipate your fear of what happens after you die, and he can give you life to the fullest right now. All you need to do is turn to him as Savior and Lord. The best way to celebrate Easter is to accept the new life Jesus offers. Trust him as your Savior; surrender your will to him as Lord. Then you will know the thrill, the joy, and the security of the resurrected Christ Jesus living inside of you."

2008-02-14T17:37:00.002+08:00

It’s the season of hearts again!!! As I pass by the malls, you could definitely attest “LOVE IS IN THE AIR” with the presence of overflowing cards, flowers and chocolates. And with that I want to greet everyone a “Happy Valentines Day” May love continue to brighten our lives…

And for the best man in my life…

After years of loving each other and all of the tragedies we shared, my love for you grows strong.
I would be forever thankful for you are all I ever need…
When I needed company…you were always there
When I needed a shoulder to cry on…you were always there
When I needed someone to understand me…you were always there…

I love you from the bottom of my heart…No matter what happens in the future, I’d always be here…to love you…

The Cabrera Family Christmas Adventure '07!!!

2008-01-08T18:20:00.000+08:00

To complete our “holiday lakwatsa”- Jelai’s last stop together with our Cutie Princess is in “Snow World” at Star City!!!
It’s a tradition for us that we have our little Nicoli visit a Christmas attraction. So we definitely could not miss out for this year!
For 160, you could visit Star City plus Snow World! (P60 for the entrance fee and hundred pesos for the entrance at Snow World itself)
It was an absolutely long line specially since we went on a Saturday! But it’s worth the wait! Before entering the waiting area before the door to Snow World, we were provided with jackets, my little Coli too was provided with a jacket though for extra precaution we bought her a jacket of her own. We were counted and asked to stay and keep close so as to keep warm then we were given earlier instructions and precautions. And in a little while…the door opened! Welcome to Snow World!!!
Jeff, Nicole and I were just too excited! This is the real thing! We went around and there was real snow, real ice sculpture plus add the snow slide! Amazing! And it was freaking cold! The entire place was 16 degrees Celsius that even when you talk or breathe smoke comes out from your lips due to the cold. Now we know how it feels to live in the US! (we wondered how can we stand the cold when were freezing at 16 degrees)
As a rule no cameras, cellphones and videocams are allowed but since we were hard headed, we still used our phone cameras to take pics but just a few so as not to get noticed and apprehended. We went around, took pictures and had fun! We were supposed to try the slide but there were just too many people! My poor Nicole only had 2 layers of jacket and I felt that she’s beginning to feel very cold plus both our noses are turning red! So before transforming into a Rudolf the red nose reindeer we headed for the exit door! It was purely fun!

Below are few of the pics we were able to take inside:

The reindeer ice sculptures! Where's santa???Is he missing???Santa where are you???

A wonderful dove sculpture!!!

My King and Princess!!! (freezing beside the Christmas Tree ;-)

Memi and Coli (mother and daughter tandem!both red nosed! hahahaha!)

Our wonderful family: The Cabrera's!

My 2007 blog entries mostly composed of the adventures & trips that my hubby Jeff and I shared. But for 2008, watch out for more of our family adventures and you’d see more of our beloved princess Nicole!
Cheers to 2008!

Saying "hello" to 2008!!!

2008-01-07T18:59:00.000+08:00

I wanted to share this as a way to start the year right...

Prayer for the New Year

Grant me the strength from day to day

To bear what burdens come my way.

Grant me throughout this bright New Year

More to endure and less to fear.

Help me live that I may be

From spite and petty malice free.

Let me not bitterly complain

When cherished hopes of mine prove vain,

Or spoil with deeds of hate and rage

Some fair tomorrow's spotless page.

Lord, as the days shall come and go

In courage let me stronger grow....

Lord, as the New Year dawns today

Help me to put my faults away.

Let me be big in little things;

Grant me the joy which friendship brings.

Keep me from selfishness and spite;

Let me be wise in what is right.

A happy New Year! Grant that I

May bring no tear to any eye.

When this New Year in time shall end

Let it be said I've played the friend,

Have lived and loved and labored here,

And made of it a happy year. ...

Have a Happy and Blessed New Year!May we all have a prosperous year ahead!

A Simple Christmas Greeting...

2007-12-27T13:07:00.000+08:00

It has indeed been a busy month! Thinking of what gifts to give, buying stuff for my loved-ones, the excitement of getting the 13th month pay, Christmas parties! And preparing for noche Buena: buying the food and going to the grocery. Though I was not able to attend at least one simbang gabi…the spirit of Christmas would always linger within me…Just wanted to greet all of you a “Merry Christmas”!!!

JeLai'S Christmas '07Adventures-Part 5

2007-12-27T12:52:00.000+08:00

Policarpio Street

Mr. and Mrs. Cabrera's Christmas would never be complete without visiting "Policarpio Street"!

One of the houses with such a cute manger theme

Neon house...

Believe me the entire house is filled with christmas lights!

The famous "House of Santa Claus" there are other miniature santa claus inside

Last year, we visited Policarpio Street, it was like hustle and bustle-there were a lot of tiange and a lot of people at the same time...But the homeowners agreed on keeping it low, but then again at least it's more serene...

JeLai'S Christmas '07Adventures-Part 4

2007-12-27T11:35:00.000+08:00

The Starbucks 2008 Planner

“December 4, 1997- Starbucks first opened its first cafe in 6750 building”
Starbucks opened 10 years ago…Happy 10th year Anniversary Starbucks!

Starbucks Philippines has been doing this for 5 years now and has been giving away planners for at least 4 years…One of the most awaited times as the Holidays come in would be “passing the cheer” and redeeming the yearly Starbucks planner. This is a must-have for all coffee-addicts! It’s cool to have one of the planners…but there’s more to the “status symbol” that these planners create…behind is a helping hand that encourages us to reach out to the needy. For each redeemed planner Starbucks will make a donation to Project Sparkhope, a joint program with UNICEF Philippines providing early learning facilities and daycare centers for pre-school children in remote and underprivileged barangays all over the Philippines.

For the 1st time, we had the chance to collect stickers, complete it and redeem the starbucks planner!!! This planner is very special to us…Jeff and I shared in buying the drinks and shared the time drinking them! It was more of a bonding moment for us as we share sweet conversations and update each other before he goes to work. It’s not just the leather that appealed to us, I’m actually not so amazed with the design for this year but it’s more of the experience, the fun of collecting…as I open my wallet and peek at the card, I wonder how soon can we complete it. Plus the excitement it gives us as we fall in a long line mostly (btw, our compliments to Starbucks Herrera branch at the back of PBCOM-it is where we spent most of the time buying and it’s where we claimed our very first starbucks planner!). The anticipation before you can finally claim it! And we just woke up realizing that we are already raving about the planner…

The race started November 6, 2007, and since it’s Starbucks’ 10th year anniversary, they had this double sticker promo wherein if you buy your drink within 12-2:30 pm and 8-9:30 pm you get two stickers! And it’s even extended until January 1st!
It just deemed so appealing and more so addicting! You get a nice planner, you enjoy every drink plus you get to help the needy in time for Christmas! So allow me to say: “pass the cheer…”

JeLai'S Christmas '07Adventures-Part 3

2007-12-27T11:07:00.000+08:00

World Bazaar Festival

As we search for gifts for both relatives and officemates, we visited the world bazaar at World Trade Center...

These are the list of all the participating merchants. Too many ayt?

Statues of the characters from Lastikman...(were not a big fan ok?)

JeLai'S Christmas '07Adventures-Part 2

2007-12-27T10:15:00.000+08:00

Global Fun Carnival!!!

And for another christmas adventure...my hubby and I decided to visit "Global Fun Carnival"To enjoy it more, we bought ride all you can tickets! We went to the place on a Monday so its not crowded. Just a short info: Global Fun Carnival is a european carnival. How different would it be from Star City, Enchanted Kingdom and other rides? We are just so excited to find-out!

I guess what we did wrong was not to see how a certain ride works and try it! Out of guts, we tried the flipper and whoa!!! This ride is total "G-FORCE"Its like a cup and it revolves back and forth! After the ride, jeff and I both felt like throwing up! It gave us a feeling worse than a drunk man! Tha'ts how freaky it is-it gave us hell!

After the really head-aching flipper ride, funny but we tried the horror house! It was just me and my hubby, all the while we thought the statues were moved mechanically, I was more than surprised when a live "ghost" was chasing after us! I was freaking scared specially when we reached what I thought was dead end! I was shouting at the top of my lungs and I was holding my hubby's hand real tight! When we went out, my hubby ended up laughing at me for being so silly scared!darn-it!LoL!

Ok, it took us some time to convince ourselves to ride the "RANGER".Upon watching other's take the ride, it got us really scared, but then we said our visit to global fun would not be complete without having tried this ride! so we did, with other 4 guys...And our say...it was ok! The fear you'd have is that your cellphone might drop but otherwise it was fun. It would also make you feel dizzy but not much. Everything is secured and the boat-like ride is locked with metal bars while moving. Well, thank God we lasted 8 turns!

We enjoyed the rest of the night trying out other simple rides and our ultimate favourite"bump cars"! It was ultimately fun! Although there are only a few rides, a european type carnival would give you an exhilarating-breath taking experience...

JeLai's SHIP tRip!-Part 2

2007-12-05T15:43:00.000+08:00

MANILA BAY CRUISE by Metrostar @ MOA

With the Manila Bay Clean-up Project by Mayor Lim, together with the bars, and restaurants…the Manila Bay Cruises were eliminated. ..
But the good thing is! Its now back and it’s located within Mall of Asia premise!
From Doulos, we rode a cab again (good thing we decided to take a cab instead of the LRT) it was a lot faster!
The terminal is not exactly located in Mall of Asia, it is actually quite far since it is past San Miguel by the Bay. The terminal is located at Shrine of Jesus, The Way, the Truth and the Life- the church across yet a little farther from mall of Asia.
We bought tickets and discovered that the terminal also bring people from Cavite back and forth to Mall of Asia.
We are taking the Manila Bay Cruise which has actually two options: the Sunset Cruise or the Evening Cruise. Since we arrived at 6, we took the evening cruise which turned out to be the best!
The trip was scheduled for 7pm. We boarded in the small ship and it started to slowly sail…there was actually a recorded narrator during the start of the tour. We were situated in a not so good area…and the crew where much accommodating to transfer us. We were placed at the open space after the captain’s cabin where we can entirely see the bay. The first thing we saw is the SM Mall of Asia Façade.

In a few minutes, the Mall of Asia Fireworks Display started- it gave both me and my hubby a totally different experience of watching fireworks display! We were like so near…it was awesome! (Below is a video of the Fireworks Display)

Next was a view of the Global Fun Carnival… then we passed by Sofitel as well. As we cruise back, the little ship was a lot faster this time.

The entire tour was amazing, fun and relaxing! This is can be great with your barkadas specially with your loved-one-for a cute date.

JeLai's SHIP tRip!-Part 1

2007-12-05T14:35:00.000+08:00

We never experienced riding a ship…so one Saturday my hubby and I planned to take a “ship trip” and this is the first of our adventure…

Doulos: The Floating Bookstore

FYI: “The MV Doulos is the world's oldest active ocean-faring passenger ship since 1914. She is now owned by the German charity Gute Bücher für Alle (Good Books for All), and is used as a floating bookshop. It was named "Doulos" in 1977 and it is a Greek word for "servant". All the international crew - from the captain to the cooks - serve as volunteers.”

We heard of stories being told about this, we saw it in the net. And sought to see it…We took a cab and we informed the driver to take Roxas boulevard and bring us at the back of Manila Hotel to Gate 1 of South Harbor Manila Pier 13. We reached the place but the taxi can no longer go yonder the gate so we walked, asked a few guards and follow the arrows where it says “Doulos”. And we finally reached this place: Eva Macapagal Super Terminal and there was the the historical ship…

It is an open air bookstore. Entrance fee is cheap-P10. We are welcomed by the international crews- and it speaks for itself “international” since the crews have different nationalites. It was more than just interesting…It showcased huge collection of books: children, chrsitian life, music, cookbook, general health and well being. They also have Christian cd’s,little trinkets like erasers and balls. And for souvenirs, they sell books which tell the story of Doulos, Doulos caps, keychain and mugs.

Bookworms and booklovers should visit Doulos to check out their books. On the other hand, you could also visit Doulos to simply get an experience to board one of the world’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship. We are just so privileged to board the ship!

Doulos would be docked in Manila until December 26, 2007. The opening hours are 10am-10pm Tuesday-Saturday, and 2pm-10pm on Sunday and Monday.

Jelai watches AKON live in Manila!

2007-12-04T20:54:00.000+08:00

Last year 2006, The Filipinos danced their hearts out to Akon’s songs and his album “Konvicted”.

2007- Grammy nominated R&B superstar, Akon had his live concert at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, Philippines last November 29 entitled “Akon – Live in Manila” as part of his “Smack That!” concert! And we were there!!!
Despite imposed curfew due to the alleged Manila Peninsula Mutiny, the concert turned out to be a success! And after watching I had very high praises for Akon-such a great perfomer! He sang songs from his former album and what’s great is he sang all his hit songs even the collaborations!!! Amazing!!!

Below are videos of Akon during the concert...

Akon singing a Sweet Escape and his sorry song "Blame it on me"

Akon singing "Don't Matter"

JeLai'S Christmas '07Adventures-Part 1

2007-12-04T20:41:00.000+08:00

It’s Christmas time again! When this part of the year comes, we get usually bugged out thinking of gifts to give for our loved ones. We get stressed and get to experience Christmas shopping rush. And get puzzled on what to wear on the many Christmas parties. We’ve all experienced that, but my hubby and I are making it different for us this Christmas.
This was not at all planned. We went to Greenhills, last November 24 to simply stroll around and look at prices of gadgets, cell phones and what’s in store in the tiange but I never thought we were just there in time for this traditional and heartwarming puppet show!
I remember when I was a kid whenever Christmas season comes in , my mom would never fail to bring me to COD. But the yearly show was then moved to Greenhills now. And yet it still constantly amaze me up until now that I'm an adult. It never fails to touch the soft spot in my heart and remind me of the true meaning of Christmas...And next year we'll continuously look forward to watching the show again!
You could check out the link fo the story behind the show: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=101589

The Sweet Chill Cravings-Part 4

2007-11-27T14:14:00.000+08:00

BUBBLE TEA

"tokyo milk tea place"

I usually pass by megamall and I was just surprised to see this new place: Bubble Tea. One Friday, I tried the place with who else but my hubby (slash-pig-out partner)! I just got really curious on what’s new with the place and what drinking experience should it give us and how different would it be since it’s pretty much like Zagu & Quickly since they are serving the same lush drink with Tapioca Balls.

My hubby ordered at the counter while I sat down and began moving my eyes around the place…One clear difference though is that, it is a “place” and not just a stall like zagu or quickly. Interior wise, I would generally say that it is cute! It is brightly decorated and brightly lighted as well. It’s mostly colored with pastel hues. Although it is small, the place looked so green with its apple green seats plus crisp white walls and tables. And since it’s named bubble tea- the walls are accentuated with bubbles as well.

My hubby called me to double check what I would order, so I checked out their menu. There are just so plenty of drinks to choose from! There are actually 3 varieties: milk based, iced-tea based and hot beverages but there are numerous flavors to choose from. The price: Bubble Milk teas Php 55-88, Bubble Milk shakes Php 100^. We ordered 2 bubble milk teas- chocolate and green apple. The taste: it is much like green tea and you could definitely taste a stint of bitterness but otherwise the flavors overpower the bitter taste. As for the bubbles ( tapioca balls/ pearls), its soft and chewy compared to the normal ones you buy from stalls which seemed like bubble gums or rubber. And I believe the biggest difference is that-they offer Japanese meals! I’m looking forward to visit the place again and try their meals next time. And it was a really bubbling experience!

Surf's Up! Jelai's La-Union Get-Away!!!

2007-11-21T11:37:00.000+08:00

It’s been months since the last beach get-away my hubby and I had…it was actually Feb of this year in Puerto Galera! Too bad I was not able to blog about it since I just started blogging last June. But I could not miss out blogging our get-away this time around! Surf’s Up for Jelai! As we visit La-La-la-La-Union!!!
I find surfing so cool ever since I was a kiddo. As I watch American shows and see surfers I’m always fascinated! Department of Tourism has always show-cased vacation and beautiful places in the Philippines, but if I’m not mistaken for the past 2 years, Surfing at La-Union has been gaining its popularity!
Funny but I stay up late every Friday just to watch the “travelogue ng bayan”-Trip na Trip! (Channel 2 after Bandila) One time, I really got amazed with their episode featuring surfing at Aurora. “Wow, you could now surf in the Philippines” I said to myself! I remember Vanj’s and her stories of their wonderful province (Vanj is a college friend and is a native of Aurora). Given that we have a resource person whom we could ask info about the whereabouts of the province, we originally planned to visit Aurora. I contacted Vanj to ask about how to get there but she said that the weather might not be conducive since it’s been raining frequently. So we decided to just take the trip February again of next year.
But this event changed my mind…On Sundays I could not miss out watching: Us Girls! In an episode right after Halloween they had a trip featuring La-Union and all the 3 hosts (Angel, Cheska, and Iya) went surfing! After watching, I got so inspired that I promised myself: “hey I must visit La Union very soon!”
After “Undas”- the first week of getting back to work, my hubby reminded me that he is on vacation leave for the entire week and surprised me that he is getting his bonus! LOL! I said to myself: “this can be a perfect time to go up north and try surfing! He got his bonus and it’s my payday on Friday-just enough money to get us to La-Union! So come Monday-we talked about it and started planning…bad news though…typhoon “kabayan” is still up north. Oh my!
I spent the week trying to surf the net, I fished for information on how to get to La-Union, resorts to stay, the surfboard & trainer rates plus the wave forecasts. I even called a couple of the resorts to check on room rates and verify the weather. I also called up the bus stations that could bring us there and asked how much the transport-fee would cost. I also asked an officemate-Karren who’d been there last year-she said that we leave early coz the trip takes 8-10 hours. (For short-we are armed with all the info we badly need!) But what I watchfully checked was the weather forecast hopeful that the typhoon would be gone by Friday so we could finally go to La-Union. And I guess the good Lord answered our prayers, I called up one of the resorts again come Thursday and the typhoon was out of north and it’s sunshiny in La-Union! Awesome!
We packed our things Thursday night, I badly needed to since I’d be bringing my things to the office…we’re going straight from there. After my shift, we went straight to the grocery at landmark to buy our snacks, drinks and toiletries. To save time, we just ate at the food court. Our target time of arrival at Partas bus terminal in Cubao was supposed to be 9pm but then again we were an hour late we arrived at 10pm. But we were really excited!!!

Of course a trip would not be complete without a couple of misadventures, and these were ours: Misadventure No.1: When I called the number of Partas Terminal, I was not informed that there are different types of bus aside from the normal two: ordinary & aircon. There's actually more: deluxe, 1st class aircon, regular aircon and ordinary aircon. I wasn’t really that pissed off but we ended up with the ordinary aircon bus since it is the earliest to leave-11 pm. But when we rode the bus, the chairs are not new-it sucks really… moreover it was freaking hot! The aircon seemed not working. We thought the bus was really supposed to work that way since its just ordinary aircon but when the other passengers began to complain, we figured out the aircon was malfunctioning! Our driver drove the bus to their service station and the mechanics began checking and fixing our bus. While waiting we saw this cool vintage car-Ford 427Cobra, doing nothing we just took pictures of it.

Talk about weird stuff… most of the passengers were Ilocano (LOL! of course the trip is bound to Ilocos ^__^) and they all speak Ilocano dialect that we don’t understand and made us feel discriminated! Even the conductor was speaking to the passengers using the same dialect! Just found it weird but really I don’t want to be bitching out of it, I have to hold my horses. There’s one more-I guess I was traumatized that the entire trip might be humid…I decided to change from pants to shorts. After a few more minutes, the aircon was fixed and all of us went back inside the bus. Damn! This time it was better and definitely a lot colder! It was a totally wrong move to change clothes! I thought I would be chilling at the entire trip, good thing I brought my sarong! “Ugh! All this crap at the start of the trip!”- I whispered.
Blame it on fatigue caused by work plus lack of sleep, my eyes started to roll in their sockets and my melatonin levels are telling me to sleep, so I tucked underneath my hubby’s arms with my legs curled up, I just closed my eyes and endure the chill…
Misadventure No. 2: Contrary to Karren’s statement that it would be 8-10 hours... we had the trip in nearly four and a half hour! After being stranded at the partas service station for an hour due to the malfunctioning of the aircon, we were still at QC by 12:30 AM but this is just amazing…4:47AM the conductor woke us up and informed us that we’re already at Sebay, the place where we were supposed to go down! As we got off the bus, Ugh! It’s still so dark and was freaking scary! We see no people around and wonder where the resorts are and the beach itself. Holy cow! We looked like scared puppies wondering where to go and stay and whether we would just wait until the sun is up. We decided to cross the street, follow the arrow where it leads. We walked a little more and reach this place. Luckily we found a guy who looks like he just got up from sleep. It so happened that he’s one of the caretakers of the resort (lol we are actually inside a resort already!) we asked him how much their room rates are… We twisted our original plan to just choose a fan room to save money since it might be just cold but then we were informed that the fan room has no cr! Hell, I can’t afford not to have a cr in our own room! TT__TT. So, we ended up in the aircon room-which was not bad and was fairly good it has a cable tv plus we have our own cr! Good thing, we made a better choice! We placed our things inside and before trying to catch some rest; we went out and asked the guy who welcomed us how far the beach is from the resort… He said “it’s just at the back”. And so we walked just a few steps and he was indeed right-we saw the beach with splashing big waves and the relaxing sound. We were greeted by the really chilly wind…”we are finally here” I uttered…We got more excited and from here our real adventure began…

La-Union Day 1: We decided to sleep and take a rest first since its still too dark. After 3 hours of sleep we woke up at 8 am! As we went out to check the entire place-it was sunny and hot! There are no signs of rain. We are so lucky! The entire beach front was clean and not at all polluted. November was known to be peak season, but it was peaceful and you could only see few surfers-foreigners and locals at most. It was serene, quiet, very relaxing…away from the stressful Manila. At Puerto galera, the eateries and resto’s are all around. Worry filled us here at La Union, as to where we can eat…As we walked along, we saw this place just near the beach front and our room, the place is named: Seanymph. It’s a simple place- a medium sized nipa hut filled with plastic tables and chairs. It’s not fine dining and it cannot be defined as karinderya since there are no food to choose from. Theirs is a paluto style- very homey. But the best thing about the place is the experience eating with the overlooking view of the beach and waves. It’s time for breakfast-we asked them what they have, they said they can cook hotsilog and tocilog. So we ordered, ate and paid. And the price-P100 for both of us which includes our drinks! When we were in galera, we even share our meals but it cost P300 up! I said to myself:”This is just so amazing!!! LOL!
We changed to our swimsuits and decided to enjoy the beach first! We ran and jumped as the waves came in! I believe this is the best beach I’ve ever visited.Though its not white sand-the water is not salty; the sand was fine and smooth. The beach was really clean. But then-the waves are really strong it will wipe you out! But playing with the waves was extremely fun! We felt tired we decided to sleep again and set the alarm at 2pm.We woke up just in the nick of time and we felt stomach pains which signaled our hunger so we went to Seanymph and we had barbeque for lunch! After eating we decided to stroll and visit other resorts nearby: Sebay and San Juan surf resort. We went back to our room and change to our swimsuits again; I bought my Frisbee and so to bring out the little Mr. and Ms. Sporty in us, my husband and I played Frisbee in the sand.

At around 5 pm, the sun is about to set, I decided to have my surfing lessons! We talked to the same guy who welcomed us early this morning to ask where we could rent a surfboard and who could teach us to surf. He said he’d just be the one to teach us-his name is Aniwil. Back at the beach, everything was being set, Aniwil began waxing the surf board… My hubby was supportive enough to take videos and pictures of me. Aniwil began teaching me the basics and after a few minutes, we went off to the waters to finally ride a wave!
It seemed that the waves are really active and huge…We went further from the shore and my trainer asked me to stay at his side and we jumped as we face each wave coming in. When Aniwil found the perfect place, he asked me to ride my board but hold on to it. It took him sometime to finally release me, as he found the perfect wave he told me “ready” and released me together with the running wave. ”This is it!” I said to myself… this is the time I need to practice everything I’ve learned from the basic lessons. I felt fear coz the board was running too fast it felt like I was riding a very fast car while not clinging on anything and trying to balance myself. I tried to get up, was almost there and whoosh!!! I got knocked off! We tried the second time, but it got worse, when I fell, the leg rope was strangled at my feet. I was not able to stand up right away, so the board hit my nose real hard! A big ouch for that! Damn! It was freaking painful, I thought my nose would break! Plus I lost my silver head band…
Surfing in the afternoon was a totally wrong decision…the current is so strong the waves are so big and fierce-you actually need not paddle! Honestly, while waiting to catch a wave as you see them come, you’d feel scared and at the same time nervous; they seem so big and might eat you up but still you have to face your fear to be able to try the sport.
It felt like hell and I felt so distressed after 30 minutes of trying to face the big waves and trying to get up on my board-I gave up coz still I could not stand! So, I decided to just try surfing again tomorrow, hoping that the waves are a lot calmer than this afternoon. We took a few pictures with us and the surf board and decided to sit back at the sand. While trying to rest…I recalled…I remember while I was surfing the net for info, I came across this blog by a guy who used to surf at Hawaii and Maui. As I read he said that he decided not be trained by the locals since he is a surfer but he really got frustrated since he could not ride a wave! He said that the waves are far stronger in La-Union than in Hawaii and Maui. I agree, as I see in the movies, surfers wait for a really big wave to ride, but its just one big wave, the sea is calm, no small waves come in before the really big wave…but in La-Union! Wah! Big waves keep coming in like every 2 minutes, not to mention the smaller waves that keep coming in every minute. So it is really hard to get “bwelo” before standing up on the board since you’d be easily knocked off and wiped out by the incoming wave!

Misadventure No.3-We tried to take pictures of the sunset so we walked along and stand on top of the stone reefs, but the current and waves are hell strong that afternoon that while walking, one of my havi slappies was shoved away by the waves. Mu hubby was about to swim in to look for it but I was so scared he might be taken away too so I stopped him, plus it was getting really dark. In a few more minutes of trying to find my slipper in the sand, a big wave strucked in, it washed away the slipper I have left, so now I lost two of them! Darn it! We stand looking at nowhere frustrated…”where can I buy slippers?” I asked myself. Then all of a sudden, we saw a shining silver thingy at the sand and as we looked closer! Wah! It’s my havi slappy! Then on a reef near us, we saw the other pair! Oh my! Thank God I found them and I thanked the sea for returning it to me…I could go home with my slippers!

To kill the time, we decided to play Frisbee again until our body ached then bathe to clean up the sand in our clothes. After cleaning up, we watched TV for a while then went out again to Seanymph and eat our dinner! After our meals, we went out and visited the other resorts to check their bar but apparently it is closed and there are no people. When we went back to seanymph, there are more people drinking,we decided to stay there. La-Union nightlife is a little quieter unlike galera where the clubs and bars are plenty and are alive by nighttime; La-Union then is a lot peaceful. What’s great about Seanymph is that aside from the good food, they also offer beers, so we decided to take one bottle each. Since it was getting late, we went back to our room coz we have to wake up early as well for another surfing lesson. I just wish the waves are calmer tomorrow…
La Union Day 2: We woke up around 7and had breakfast at Seanymph. We called up Aniwil to assist me as I try to stand up on my board the second time around. I was looking forward for an awesome day to surf and that the waves would not be so strong unlike yesterday but whoola! It hasn’t change at all even at an early morning!
It was worse this time, I can’t even get up and have a stance, I was wiped out most of the time! I was talking to myself: “Where the hell did I store the basics I’ve learned yesterday?” After an hour of trying I gave up. I felt like shit- I can’t get up at all coz the waves are too strong they always knock me down! I guess, more than anything, I was resigned to the fact that there was nothing I could do about it.
I went back to shore feeling under the weather; I am a failure…A bitter surfer wannabee. But this gave me hope: I asked Aniwil-my trainer about this place called Bacnotan, coz we overheard locals at Seanymph conversing about it. And then he blurted that the waves at Bacnotan are a lot calmer and is best for beginners, he told us that he was supposed to knock at our door last night to inform us if we would like to go and try out Bacnotan so we could come with a group who left early this morning, but he was too shy to ask. I said we were out at seanymph drinking last night. Too bad they already left at 7.
Anyway, we spent a chunk of the morning enjoying the beach and the waves. We were about to check out at exactly 12nn. As soon as we got all dressed up, we took some last pictures of the place…before we go my husband & I agreed into one conclusion- the 2nd surfing season starting November, is not really good for beginners because the waves are unpredictable. Oh well…we’re leaving…Maybe next time, I’d be able to stand. But I felt disheartened as we were about to leave this wonderful place…

Above is a video of my surfing lessons and my unforgettable surfing experience!I'd like to quote a joke by an officemate...Since Lui was able to watch my entire video-she said it shouldnt be called surfing but waving! LoL!
Feeling low, we rode a jeep going to San Fernando- “bayan” as they call it. I was actually planning to visit some famous restaurants or eateries like “halo ilokano” or midway grill” but then again we are running after an earlier trip and a better bus. The jeepney driver dropped us at Partas Station, so there we asked the clerk for the earliest trip first class…I whispered: “I should never go wrong with this or else we’ll suffer the heat of the afternoon on the entire trip!” They said it would be at 12:30. Time check: it was 12:10 on my clock, we need to have a hearty lunch for us to survive a 6-hour drive so we walked down past bayan and saw Jollibee! We ordered, hurriedly ate our lunch and headed back to partas station. Just in time, the bus for cubao was there-were riding DELUXE! We got our seats. As expected, being tired my head drooped in a comfortable position, I held my hubby’s hand, and I drift immediately to sleep. We were both so very sleepy...I whispered: let's us rest, this would be a long trip… We left at 12:30 after a few bus stops; we arrived at 6:30 pm- exactly 6 hours. I whispered: “welcome back to Manila” but I was already missing La-Union…Nevertheless, our trip was fantastic! This gave us a whole new perspective of enjoying the beach outside the alcoholic parties & boasting off your bods & bikini’s, it gave us a whole new drive of learning something new and being one with the sea through surfing! This trip would be added to our treasure chest of wonderful memories that my husband and I shared through the years! La-Union is uber cool! I can’t wait to get back and finally be able to stand on my board! I know I'm gonna go back to my reality in about 24 hours. The world we have created for ourselves while we were In La-Union will have to be forsaken for we’re now back in Manila-the world we are required to live in. And I'm not ready. Not for Monday, not for the days that follow. It’s back to reality again. I don't want this to end. Not yet. I still can’t believe it, I fell for La-Union…I fell for it…But this I swear, I’d surely be back and embrace the waves…until that day again...

Movie Review: BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL

2007-11-06T13:43:00.001+08:00

SYNOPSIS:
Neil (Butler) and Abby Warner (Bello) have the perfect life and a perfect marriage. With their beautiful young daughter, Sophie, they are living the American dream...until that day…When Sophie is suddenly kidnapped, they have no choice but to comply with the abductor’s demands. The kidnapper - Ryan (Brosnan), a cold and calculating sociopath takes over their lives with the brutal efficiency of someone who has nothing to lose. In the blink of an eye Neil and Abby's safe and secure existence is turned upside down. Over the next twenty four hours they are at the mercy of a man who wants only one thing. That they do his bidding. It soon becomes clear that Ryan's demands are all the more terrifying because he doesn't want their money. What he wants is for Neil and Abby's life, the life that they have built over 10 years, to be systematically dismantled and destroyed. Piece by piece.
Prior to watching the said film in the movie house, I initially saw some scenes from the movie as it was being played in the bus I rode going to Ortigas. I found it really amusing at first plus the fact that it was Pierce Brosnan who seems to play a very crucial part. So I requested that my hubby and I watch this as soon as it opens it the movie houses!
As we watched it, it never turned us down. These days when our world has totally turned mad, this movie is a firm evidence of how people think nowadays. The first part of the movie may seem slow and stagnant that you might feel like sleeping but as soon as Pierce Brosnan appears, you’d be awakened and you’d get tuned in right away. Pierce Brosnan’s role is vital to the movie. It would actually appear as if he gave life to the film. Normally, you’d expect him to be the bedazzling agent 007, but from this film he’ll surprise viewers as he plays a psychopath determined to ruin and annihilate. But he really played an award-winning role. On the other hand, Butler & Bello did award-winning supporting roles too as they gave life to the fearing couple
From the trailer which says:“an unfaithful wife…an unsuspecting husband…an obsessive lover…”-you’d definitely assume and suspect who depicts who among the characters. But the movie will give a real twist that might turn your world upside down as it leads you to the film’s end. And it leaves you one question: “Who’s the butterfly on the wheel?”
The movie seemed hefty and overflowing emotional tension is very evident. It defies adultery and would leave you with these questions hanging on your head:
-How do you exactly bring justice to a crime like adultery?
-How grave is it to sleep with someone else’s husband or wife?
-What would you exactly do if you caught your partner having an affair?
-Would you be driven to kill, punish or seek revenge?
The movie actually illustrates the modern day way of seeking revenge and giving justice to the pains of adultery. It destroys the usual norms of endless cries, suicide, or committing adultery as well to be even. It exemplifies revenge in a very intelligent way.
RATING: 9 out of 10 stars
RE-WATCH VALUE: High

Glorietta 2-GROUND ZERO!

2007-10-26T10:15:00.001+08:00

“Manila PHILIPPINES-October 19, 2007 Glorietta 2 exploded and killed 11 people and injured more than a hundred.”
I was actually out Friday-October 19. I ran an errand for my boss-I need to get her mdr at Philhealth office in pasig since she was about to check-out of Makati Med. Ortigas Area has always been traffic jammed especially on a Friday-traffic was more evident since it was the 1st of the 3 day sale at mega mall that’s why I absolutely had a hard time looking for a ride. I was supposed to have lunch with my hubby-I was about to text him that we meet at Glorieta to have lunch there since I’m out on a field work but I received an earlier text from him that he is on his way to the office and he’ll wait for me there instead. I came back to the office and the moment I arrived, my officemate Mommy Elaine informed me that Glorieta was bombed. I was shocked but at the same time thankful and I uttered to myself-“thank God I did not send that text message…”
It was a big shock! As I came down from the office to meet my hubby, I saw fire trucks and ambulances passing by to reach the area so this is definitely for real! As my hubby and I conversed about it these thoughts played in my mind: a mystery behind the said explosion has yet to be unveiled.
A week has passed and yet these questions were left unanswered:
1. who’s the culprit?
Top of the list: the terrorists-yet no one from the group claims.
Second: Muslims- I received this forwarded text message:
BOMB THREAT FORWARDED MESSAGE:
"Magandang gabi sa inyong lahat.. Isa ako na muslim taga-Lanao. Gusto ko po malaman ng lahat para umabot to sa Manila, kakatapos lang ng plan ni Sheik-utak sa Glorietta. Plano nila na pasabugin ang isa sa Trinoma,SM-Mega,168,MRT,Union Bank Quiapo, RCBC, HSBC at marami pa. Wag ipasa sa kilala nyo na muslim, baka malaman nila na may nagkalat before November 1 ang pagsabog gamit van na sasakyan"
Third: Malacañang/ Arroyo Government: they say that this might be GMA’s way of deviating the people’s attention since the opposition has a plot of filing another impeachment case against her. As per Senator Trillanes, he accuses the administration’s military men to cause the explosion due to these purposes: to tighten the human security act, strong point to crush the muslim insurgency in Mindanao and the possibility of a State of Emergency. Former Senators and writers who experienced the martial law during Marcos’ time described the glorietta bombing much similar to pre-martial law days, same incidents pf bombing happened. And in this sense, it could happen again not as martial law but once GMA declares a state of emergency.

2. What caused the explosion?
A week has passed yet the police have no conclusion whether it is a bomb or an lpg tank. But then if it is a bomb, how was the bomb placed and did it explode inside or outside the mall? From here we question the security-how could it happen when there are roving guards even bomb sniffing dogs all over the building and even metal detectors. From here we leave one question as well “ Are the guards trained enough to determine whether a person carries a bomb with him and every time they check bags-do they really know what they are actually looking for?
On the other hand, if it’s an lpg, can an lpg cause such a big explosion? So strong that it destroyed the entire façade of glorietta 2? Reports say that there are other chemicals around that might have caused such a big explosion but from here we check whether the facilities and sanitation of glorietta is checked or monitored daily…

3. What’s the purpose?
If it is the government, there is one clear purposes and the main reason would be hunger for staying power. If it’s the muslims we’ll we have longed suffer the reasons for the cause of what they are fighting for. One question though that would make you wonder…” If it was indeed a bomb explosion created by terrorists-why did they do it on a weekday or why not schedule the bombing at a time or day when people are jam packed. And knowing how terrorists’ work they would have targeted more innocent lives to kill compared to the number of injuries from the recent bombing.

Moving forward in between days…
On being a regular shopper & customer: The event indeed created fear in all of us. Given all the warnings, it would be better to lessen malling & shopping. Or not go to the malls unless you’ll have to buy something really important or dine out with someone really important. Let us be cautious and more vigilant.
On being a commuter: not only will my malling experience be affected (I pass by glorietta everyday) but my commuting and traveling experience would be greatly affected as well. Therefore let us be cooperative- let’s open our bags for checking and not get irritated. Let us brace ourselves for longer and slower bag inspections both in MRT/LRT and malls.
On being a Filipino: through the years, our country has long been infested with incidents of bombing. With resilience as one of our outstanding traits, we will move on and get over this-let us let time heal the wounds all these has caused.
On being a member of the Family:
I wanted to share this heartbreaking email from Carlo Cruz-husband of one of the victims who died from the Glorietta bombing:

Good day everyone,

I wish I were writing under different circumstances.I would like to inform you that my wife Leslie Cruz was part of the casualties in the Glorietta 2 Mall bombing in Makati City, Philippines. She was supposed to have a minor out patient surgery at Makati Medical Center at 230pm.I had taken a leave from work to accompany her there.We dropped off our daughter, Amber, at my parents place in QC to babysit at around 10am. We then proceeded to Makati and was there at 1230pm. Since she had been fasting in preparation for her procedure, she wanted to move around and listen to some music while I grabbed a bite to eat. We parked at the basement of Park Square 2, and headed for the Glorietta 2 entrance. We parted at the top of the escalator, she turned right towards Filbar's while I went left towards the restaurants. That was the last time I would see her.Around 120pm, she had called me so that we can meet at the Glorietta 2 exit just in time to make her appointment. As I made my way there from Glorietta 1 through the connecting hallways, and was about to turn the corner, I heard 2 deep thumps and the shock-wave from the blast hit me. At that moment my heart dropped as I knew that the origin of the blast came from the same place where we were supposed to meet. I tried getting to where my wife was, but the dust was too much and it was as if I was staring at a white wall.I still tried to convince myself that she was able to make it out, and that after ringing her mobile without a response only meant that she dropped it in the confusion. After 6 hours of searching from Makati Med.to Ospital ng Makati, the blast site, and back again to MMC - with the help of all the people I could get hold of, that I was able to get confirmation in what the state of my wife was.My Dad and Uncle signaled me in from the ER of MMC. My Uncle (who's a doctor) asked me to describe Leslie's appearance to another group of doctors. I saw in the eyes of one that the description made sense. Instead of confirming it to me, they huddled together, then brought me to a small examination room. It was only through a digital camera that I was able to confirm (and deny) that she was indeed gone.I have so many regrets. I should have met her sooner.I should have ran instead of a brisk walk. I should have not chose to park where I did. I should have braved the dust and went in the blast site. I should have ...Today's the 4th day. It is still terribly difficult to breathe, let alone wake up realizing that your source of strength, your best friend doesn't lie beside you on your bed. That my deepest worry is when Amber starts asking for her Mama.I am glad that Amber's too young to understand the loss and pain. In time I would like to tell her the details of how her mother died, but more importantly I would like to raise her as how her mother lived - a loving person, strong willed, decisive, caring, and nurturing. She has always cared for her family and friends, and sacrfied her career for being a full time mom and home maker.As with all couples we had our ups and downs - none of which I regret not going through. The sweet is never as sweet without the sour. For almost 4 years of marriage, we've finally hit our balance in life only to be taken away in an instant. I have no regrets about our marriage. She has loved me and Amber beyond her capacity. I will always love her.It is my first time to write to egroup as I've lurked and watched emails being sent to and fro. All I want now is that for each of the couples here is to cherish each moment that we spend with our loved ones. Pretty simple to say, very easy to take for granted.Thank you all for the prayers. I would still like to ask you to please include Leslie in them until her 40th day so that the path to God's kingdom is well lit and she is no longer in the dark.

Sincerely,

Carlo Cruz

I feel the pain of having lost someone very important to you. I sympathize for all the victims and the family of the people who died. My heart goes out to them. And from the letter…”let us cherish every moment we spend with our loved ones” and make the most out of each moment. For we will never know until it’s too late…

Movie Review: Stardust

2007-10-17T12:49:00.000+08:00

Adapted from Neil Gaiman’s four-book 1997 DC Comics mini-series, which later became a novel THE PLOT: The story begins in an English town named the “wall” and a magical kingdom named Stormhold, it commenced with the death of Stronghold’s cagey monarch ( Peter O'Toole), who pits his seven sons against one another for the throne, which can be won only through possession of a ruby pendant and turning it red again. Before the King’s death, he threw the ruby pendant away however it has stricken a star. Meanwhile, there is indeed a long wall separating the real world from Stormhold, which humans are forbidden to enter, although there is only one ancient guard patrolling the breach but Tristan’s (Charlie Cox) father broke the rules and leapt through, Tristan was the product of his dad’s affair 18 years earlier with a witch’s slave in Stormhold. Meanwhile as he grew up Tristan pursues the most beautiful girl in town Victoria ((Sienna Miller), One night on their date, they saw a falling star. Tristan promised to get the star for Victoria so she could choose him and marry him over Humphrey. He then journeyed on a quest to retrieve a fallen star. But his journey takes him to a mysterious and forbidden land beyond the walls of his village. On his quest, Tristan finds the star but the star has transformed into a striking girl named Yvaine (Claire Danes). He found her in a crater and later on becomes her protector. Apparently, Tristan is not the only one seeking the star. Tristan must also overcome the evil witch, Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), the eternal youth and beauty she and her sisters covet can be attained only by cutting out and eating the heart of the star. She led the quest for the star to be captured and slaughtered. Tristan’s second foe is the last standing prince of Stormhold after the fraternal massacre plus the ghosts of the dead brothers and uncles. As Tristan battles to survive these threats, they found shelter in the person of a gay pirate named Captain Shakespeare (Robert De Niro). During their stay, Tristan & Yvaine found themselves falling in love with each other. Still Lamia was able to capture the star and Tristan was out to save her-which also led him to finally meet his mother who was actually the long lost princess of Stormhold & was the witch’s slave. The ending-Lamia was killed, Tristan being a blueblood made the ruby turned red again and he was crowned the new king of stormhold and they reigned for 80 years with his wife-Yvaine: the falling star.

Watching this movie made me shocked but at the same time fall in love with it! It was absolutely wonderful! Upon seeing the trailer in both TV and movie houses, I readily got amused that I was so eager to watch it. Watching this movie made me shocked but at the same time fall in love with it! I was highly impressed! It was absolutely wonderful! If you are a sucker for fantasy and magic this is well-recommended. While watching the film, you’d feel like you are in a journey. I’ve watched so many fantasy and magical movies over the years but I can proudly say it is the next best fantasy movie I’ve ever watched! The movie is like a magic carpet transporting you to another world full of magic and mysteries! Stardust winks its eye at the traditions of the fairy tale. It may be like one of the many “happily-ever after” stories from the book but you would never get tired of hearing it. Stardust is a deliciously sweet tale with chock full of true love

It’s an all star cast but every character has a warm connection and you’d watch each of them closely throughout the movie. They got great stars plus good acting .I love the dawning romance between Tristan and Yvaine, Michelle Pfeiffer's transformation from a decrepit witch into a stunning beauty. Claire Danes shines – literally and figuratively – in her role and the biggest surprise for me was watching Robert De Niro play a gay pirate captain… he steps out of his bristly, bad guy image to play a cross-dressing pirate, he had me rolling out in laughter!

Warning- although Stardust is absolutely magical, its not suitable for children. It’s a bit violent-there are several death scenes and fights with knives and swords. It may even scare kids of the witches’ transformation plus the brothers trying to kill each other would be quite disturbing and brutal. Parental guidance is highly needed.
As for the story line, they say it doesn't follow the book very well but I haven't even read the book. While the story flows and even comes to a good conclusion, the special effects are kind of cool, the plot fun and the cinematography excellent. There is an easy flow to the humor, and the way that the adventure is approached.
Lately I’ve been so stressed and bugged out , but during these times , my only escape would be watching a good movie. In life you may not live happily ever after, but in Stardust, you’ll certainly be happy for slightly over two hours. Stardust placed a smile in my face, stars in my eyes and it' tickled my imagination.I sat in the darkened theater, caught under the spell of Stardust
All in all, I'd give this movie 9 out of 10 Falling stars Re-watch value: HIGH

Movie Review: December Boys

2007-10-08T17:45:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, was a Family Movie Treat for employees of Convergy’s for their PBCom Site, they are actually allowed to bring along two people (either a family member, relative or a friend) for a free movie treat at Greenbelt Cinema. My hubby being an employee of Convergys invited me to watch the free movie with him. The said movie treat is a part of the Human Resources’ incentive program for all their employees. So there I was spending two hours of a Saturday afternoon with the entire Convergys PBCom community- (was a bit shy & awkward since I came from another call center, but then again I’m a guest so I better enjoy it-besides its free!) The said treat has been going on for almost a month now with different movies every week and for that particular Saturday, the featured movie was: December Boys-starring Harry Potter himself- Daniel Radcliffe!

The movie is basically an Australian indie film. For the plot: the story revolved between the friendship & brotherhood of four young orphans. Four orphans -Daniel Radcliffe (Maps), Lee Cormie (Misty), Christian Byers (Spark) James Fraser (Spit) all born in December (therefore regarded as: December Boys) living in the outback during the 50’s traveled to the seaside for a joyous winter vacation as a treat for their birthdays. They lived with a friendly couple of parishioners who own a small cottage by the sea. There they join the tight-knit community of locals—crotchety old man Shellback who’s always fishing for that one allusive fish, the minister Father Scully, an uncle and his comely teenage niece Lucy and a young, childless couple Teresa and Fearless, who works for the nearby circus. When they thought they were having a great time, the vacation then turned troublesome when they found out that the local childless couple next door was planning to adopt one of them. Misty overheard that Teresa and Fearless may want to adopt one of the orphans and quickly works to ingratiate himself by setting the table and painting pictures for his new parents. A hostile competition arose between the four just to win the couple’s attention and gain their trust-the said incident became a threat to their alliance. But the issue does not only spin for the boy’s longing for a normal family and belongingness. There were other issues such as their kindly hostess going through another relapse with breast cancer, Maps having encountered his first sexual relationship (and heartbreak) with the precocious Lucy and Misty having a religious vision of mother Mary when he nearly drowns in the inlet.

One question lies though…would it be nice for kids to watch the movie? I guess not… There are small portions of sex and nudity like the mooning, peeping tom glimpses of bare breasts. Radcliffe’s first sexual experience plus vices like smoking and drinking. There were scenes of violence and light cursing where the boys most of the times fight with each other that Misty almost drowned. The movie seemed too mature for young children; this would be best and better understood by older children who might have a crush or admiration for Daniel Radcliffe and for teenagers, struggling with the turbulent days of adolescence. On the other hand, there are scenes that would catch the attention of older viewers; it serves as a reminder of enduring friendships and the feel of falling in love for the 1st time and the feel of heartbreak at the same time as well. The movie could also serve as an eye opener or point of discussion for religious and healthcare institutions.
As for Daniel Radcliffe, aside from doing Harry Potter, he has done Equus (a movie) and Extras ( an HBO series). From the movies and series he has starred, 18 year old Radcliffe has exemplified maturity and has illustrated pleasantness even in sexual scenes. This is actually the first time I’ve seen Dan out of his magical cloak and wand. He has gone far from being the famous “Harry Potter”. There was never a trace of Harry from the scenes he has portrayed. And I guess his fans would be proud to see him with a refreshing façade seeing their magical hero face real life struggles without using his magical wand but real life emotions. In conclusion-the movie is simple yet heartwarming…

The Sweet Treats Journal-Part 3!

2007-10-02T18:10:00.000+08:00

BURGER KING DESSERT PIES

Jeff and I are regular Burger King customers! Like when we speak of regular, we can never pass a week without eating at the said burger house and indulge in their “double mushroom swiss burger” plus fries which we dip in their tasty gravy (this our all time favorite meal!). One Friday afternoon as we decided to eat our early dinner, we were about to order at the counter when I saw these triangular boxes, I asked the crew what the said boxes are and she said that they are introducing a new line of dessert-Pies. New desserts at Burger King? We can never pass on that! Together with our usual favorite meal, we added the two new dessert pies to go with our early dinner. After eating, comes the taste test…

We started picking on: Hershey’s Sundae Pie (php 75). The pie reminds me so much of chocolate mouse. The pie has crunchy chocolate crust filled with chocolate plus whipped cream on top and tiny Hershey chocolate chips. It may be so sweet yet still awesomely delicious!

Jeff is a lover of butterfinger on the other hand I don’t like butterfinger that much but when I get to taste the pie-I fell inlove with butterfinger! Very much similar to its name- its tastes a lot like the chocolate bar version but a lot better! Its filled with peanut butter-crunchy and crispy! The verdict for the second pie-totally good and satisfying!

With this new innovation at Burger King, it gave me a totally new feel of fast food dining! But they say the pies are for a limited time only so hurry and try their newest pies! Delicioso!

The Sweet Treats Journal-Part 2!

2007-10-02T17:20:00.000+08:00

FUNNEL CAKE FACTORY

As my hubby and I look for food to eat at Food Choices in G4, we always pass by this stall and I’ve always been curious. One Tuesday evening, after our dinner at food choices, we were then craving for dessert and I suggested we try Funnel Cake Factory, and he agreed. We asked the sales lady of their best-seller and she informed us that it was the “mango graham funnel cake” (php 90). And so we ordered it. While she was preparing the cake, there was a small white laminated board with information about how funnel cake started. It says that funnel cakes are associated with Pennsylvania (Dutch region of US) and has been very popular around ball parks , country fairs, and festivals.

As the preparation was done, we were just so excited to taste it! It’s fried and crispy, and creamy but its not that sweet though! And I agree that this would definitely remind you of our local “maruya”. This is absolutely something different! And our final verdict-excellent!

The Sweet Treats Journal-Part 1!

2007-10-02T17:12:00.000+08:00

SANFO TREATS

I ultimately love strolling at the mall! And every time I pass by Glorietta, I just can’t help but stare at these coated apples at Sanfo! One day , I decided to try it out. The coated apples whether with caramel, chocolates and nuts costs from P60-85. But one thing stopped me from buying the apple: the fear that it might be rotten since I don’t know how long has the apple been in their display. So one piece of advice I guess it would be best to ask the sales lady to cut the apple to double check whether its rotten or not.

And since I changed my mind, I bought the frosted banana (php 35) instead. Rot-proof though since it is refrigerated. The coating was great but since it’s fresh from the fridge, the banana seemed too cold. But otherwise tasted sweet and good still.

The Sweet Chill Cravings-Part 3

2007-10-02T14:59:00.001+08:00

RAZON'S

I’ve tasted so many halo-halo in the entire 24 years of my life-from both fast foods like chowking, mall food courts, even the normal halo-halo sold in small stores in barangay or the streets but halo-halo never tasted this good until I tried-Razon’s! So what’s the difference? The ingredients are not as grand as the usual halo-halo but just a simple mix of saging na saba, shredded macapuno and leche plan with dayap rind. But as you stir it, each of the ingredients plus the milk and shaved ice blend into a sweet taste so unique. What makes it perfect is that it turns out to be very smooth, even and sleek! Razon’s halo-halo is definitely the best! You’d be strucked by it’s simplicity but it would leave you with its suave mark! Absolutely excellent! Plus it costs P60. Not bad for a great tasting halo-halo!

Aside from their fantastic halo-halo, you could also try their merienda meals like pancit luglug , dinuguan and other Filipino dishes. Razon’s originated from Guagua Pampanga now you could check out razon’s in Greenbelt, Makati Ave, Trinoma and MOA!

The Sweet Chill Cravings-Part 2

2007-10-02T12:36:00.000+08:00

CEREALICIOUS

When I heard of this place, I was so amused that I tagged along my hubby/ pig-out buddy from Makati to try Cerealicious at their SM the Block branch. As we reached the place the 1st time, I found it cute-very childlike and colorful! The interiors are more of the American style, and the inside seems sunny and bright! Although the place is quite small and always jam packed, it would never fail to give you the same coziness and relaxing ambiance that coffee havens bring.

And the menu:
There are 14 varieties of garden cereals, 5 premium cereals, 24 different toppings, 17 special toppings to choose from! If these drive you crazy, you could choose from 20 cereal blockbusters whose names were derived from famous movies! (Which actually adds cuteness to their store) just a few sample names:
Jumango (from Jumanji)
Charlie and the Choc-nut Factory (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Nutting Hill ( from Notting Hill)
Mona Kissa Smile ( from Mona Lissa Smile)
Cashew Blanca ( from Casa Blanca)
Oreo Afraid of the dark (Are you afraid of the dark)
Erin Broko Peach (Erin Brokovich)

Talk about size, they have Trailer Bowls (medium) and the Blockbuster Bowls ( large).
My hubby decided to order Charlie and the Choc-nut factory (Milo balls, banana, choc-nut) while for a twist I ordered Jumango ( corn flakes, mango, honey crumble). It was so yummy that we finished the entire blockbuster bowls! Absolutely yummy plus its really something healthy!
One thing I noticed though is that the milk they place is not your usual kind of milk- It’s a special blend that makes sure that your cereal does not get soggy right away.

I was truly amazed by the concept! From the success story they say it started out as a thesis by a couple of UST Students and after the success of their 1st branch in UST, they opened more branches! Concept was truly original and fun!
Cerealicious is truly addicting! It’s healthy and fantastic! I’d definitely return and try to create my own mix concoction next time!

The Sweet Chill Cravings-Part 1

2007-09-21T20:51:00.000+08:00

FIVE COWS

After a tiring day of interviewing at the Job quest fair at Mega mall last Saturday, my hubby and I head-off to Trinoma for a different ambiance. It’s my 2nd time to stroll around the mall and this time I wanted to fulfill my tongue’s desire for ice- cream! Since this has long been planned, we tried it out at Five Cows Resto and Ice cream bar.
They have such cute interiors which fit for the name of the resto- the colors are a combination of white and beige. The place is filled with warm light and would make you feel cozy.
The menu is extensive in the sense that you’d not only be amazed with their wide assortment of desserts from ice cream and cakes but with other mouth watering dishes as well. Just a small info- the resto was named Five Cows since there are five partners and the menu’s are mostly made of cow’s meat and milk.
But since I’m craving for ice cream and I’m just born with a sweet tooth, we decided to focus on desserts mainly: ice cream!

We decided to try: ice-cream tacos (php 55 per piece). Beware-this dessert might fool you since from the menu they look much like a taco but it’s really ice cream with a cone shaped like a taco! Yum!

For our separate orders: My hubby decided to try Ferrero Crunch Supreme (php 155). Its vanilla ice-cream mixed with crunchy bits plus a concoction of choco hazelnut filling. You might expect that it contains actual ferrero rocher but it has none. Yet, you could never miss it coz it would really give you the feel of ferrero! Plus the fact that it’s the best seller!
On the other hand, I tried Flaming Alaska. I was curious of how they’d be able to mix cold ice-cream with rum! More so I was truly amazed and impressed with the presentation! Upon serving my order, they closed down all the lights and pour the flaming rum over the cake and all the staff uttered a cheer-“huuha”!

Flaming Alaska (php 285) is actually a sponge cake filled with 3 assorted ice-cream flavors-chocolate, vanilla and strawberry plus meringue, cookies and nuts. Truly delectable!
Five Cows is the 1st branch and we are so looking forward for them to have a branch in Makati. So, if your craving for great-tasting desserts:ice cream in particular, try Five Cows and you’d never be disappointed!
Five Cows is located at the 4th level of Trinoma-near the cinema level.

A trip to the Universities Finest Eateries! La-Salle Part 1

2007-09-13T20:17:00.000+08:00

DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY -TAFT

RAP'S STEAKS & CAKES

My hubby and I meet up with a friend in McDonalds La-salle but instead of having lunch at Mcdo, we ended up trying the famous student pig-out haven Rap’ Steaks and Cakes ! From the engineering gate, we just crossed the street and in two minutes we arrived at the place which was then was filled with students even on a Saturday.

The interiors were also a canteen set-up but the whole place is air-conditioned. Every table has this big jar of hot yellow gravy and a bottle of Worcestershire sauce.

They have extensive steak menu’s to choose from-pork, chicken and beef-pick your choice!
My hubby ordered his favorite liempo (php 92) on the other hand I ordered T-bone steak large (php 128).

As we received our order, we just can’t miss out trying the special hot butter yellow gravy, since from afar it definitely looks mouth watering! As we poured it over our meals all I can say is “its so yummy!!!” It is indeed something to die for!!! My hubby also tried mixing the yellow gravy and Worcestershire sauce, I tasted it and it would give you double heaven!!! We continued eating our meals drizzling the sauces on both the meat and rice and we ended up having the whole bottle of yellow gravy used up. We went out of the place with happy faces with the thought of having a superb satisfying meal! Plus the unique yellow gravy truly amazed us. I’ve eaten in numerous restaurants and fast food but believe me up to this date I have never tasted anything close to their yellow gravy!

I definitely recommend this place. A must try if you happen to be around Taft Area-delicious steaks and reasonable prices . I just can’t wait to comeback the second time I’ll try their cakes!

RAP'S STEAKS AND CAKES

879 Dagonoy St. Manila

Tel: 525-5589

A trip to the Universities Finest Eateries! UP-Part 3!

2007-09-13T20:13:00.001+08:00

RODIC'S DINNER

Rodic’s had long been a famous name in UP. When I heard that they had branches here in Makati, I just got so excited that I can’t wait to visit UP again. Instead I hurriedly asked my hubby that we eat dinner at the Legaspi Village branch which is merely walking distance from our office. (Fast Facts: Rodics has 2 brances in Makati -one in Salcedo Street the second in Adelantado Street).
The place is much similar to a canteen and with very familiar menus since they serve “jollijeep” type of food but still includes all Filipino Favorites!
Then our orders- for us to be unique, my hubby order liemposilog while I definitely could not miss out on the house best-seller: Rodics Tapsilog! Food was fast served and was sizzling hot! The liempo was as good as the favorite tapsilog-it was tasty and good! The tapsilog on the other hand was very surprising since it doesn’t look like your normal tapsilog with small slices of beef, tapsilog at Rodics is shredded bits of sweet beef which moreso looks like adoboflakes sprinkled on top of the rice.

Talk about the price- all silog meals costs P60 and it comes with free iced tea! Now I know why people rave about this place-good food that fits your budget.
Interiors- its more of a canteen so you’d see the usual set-up of plastic chairs and tables. But moreover what would keep you amused would be the “Spice of Life Mural” inspired by Larry Alcala which illustrates life in UP in a humorous way. And definitely one of these days, I’d try to visit the original store in UP!
Rodic’s Dinner since 1949

A trip to the Universities Finest Eateries! UP-Part 2!

2007-09-13T19:52:00.000+08:00

MANG JIMMY'S

Around February of this year, my hubby and I felt so tired of strolling around the usual malls that we decided to take a trip at UP Campus Diliman, we visited the usual sunken garden, tried to watch a free movie from UP theater, catch the ever-famous bar-b-q and the ever famous-Mang Jimmy’s!
As we walk to reach the place, when you happen to have a car and it is your first time to visit, it is not easily noticeable.Mang Jimmy’s is located at the MWSS compound in UP Diliman near Katipunan Avenue. The said eatery remained a famous name in UP because they serve the best and inexpensive sizzling food! And the place is so famous because of their money-saving meals. Also truly unbeatable is their unlimited rice scheme!
Interiors? Don’t expect fine dining.Since it’s a “karinderya located inside the owner’s very own backyard! Inside you’d be able to see simple decors mismatched chairs and tables plus plastic table covers (with smudged of toyo, patis or sauce). Justified- since if they change the decors and place fancy tables they would totally go out of context, since the place defines: simplicity. The homey & unpretentious atmosphere, add the Filipino ambiance made it stand the test of time. Once you’re inside just feel free to select a nice spot.
The menu-you could choose from the satisfying sizzling menus which include fish, meat and chicken and you might find a favorite too! What would be fantastic is that the entire sizzling menu’s are priced the same add their unlimited rice scheme! All served by the plate! Plus menu’s are served fast and efficient so no need to wait for long!
Mang Jimmy’s gives you the feel of Filipino home-cooking and would never fail to keep your tummy full & satisfied with the promise that it would never strain your budget!

A trip to the Universities Finest Eateries!

2007-09-13T19:41:00.000+08:00

University of the Philippines-Diliman QC

Sidetrip away from the mall, fulfill your desire for luscious greens, UP Diliman would be a great place. To distress ourselves we visit UP. Practically every street has a stand for street food: isaw, squidballs, fishballs,chickenballs, kikiam, cheese sticks, bar-b-q, hotdogs. You could have a picnic or just simply sit and relax at the sunken garden or try to watch a free Movie at the UP theater. But you could never miss out on these famous eateries if you visit UP!

UP PART 1- CHOCOLATE KISS

I was assigned to man the booth at the UP Jobfair which was held at the UP Bahay ng Alumni. Since fast foods are quite far, we decided to have lunch at the nearest place-Chocolate Kiss! I am just so thankful that I was able to try eating at this wonderful place twice! Although I was not able to try the sweets (which was the best as they say), nothing can be sweeter than having lunch for free!!!. All our menu expenses were paid by my boss the 1st time and our Hr-Recruiter the 2nd time! Haha!

I had my meals at the ground floor branch which is a smaller café that sits 50 people where breakfast, lunch and afternoon merienda are served. On my 1st time since it was lunch, I ordered their Salisbury steak which was very good.

The second time, which was by the way the last day- I ordered “chiken a la kiev” which was absolutely great! It’s much like cordon blue with mashed potato and gravy! The best thing-while cutting the meat, you’d see a generous amount of butter inside.

Truly unforgettable is their bottomless iced-tea sweetened with honey! ( the best seller)
I am just so looking forward to eating at the place again. But I am quite far since I’m from Makati and Laguna. But I just can’t wait to try and dine at the 2nd floor since they say it’s a perfect place for a date-by past 7 a violinist would be playing and this time I swear I’d try the sweets: devil’s cake kahlua, dayap, blueberry cakes.
And my say…a totally awesome place! Great food, right prices and comfy ambiance!

Chocolate Kiss

UP Bahay ng Alumni

Book Review:Getting Control of Your Anger

2007-08-29T11:43:00.000+08:00

Ok…I must admit I am a certified “self-help books” addict! And in addition to the series of my self-help quest, I finished reading another great book that I believe all of us could relate with since all of us experience this feeling on a daily basis. This book is so informative and self-awakening that I wanted to share a few excerpts from the book:
“ANGER is a natural reaction to a failure in homeostasis. An angry outburst usually makes it more difficult, not easier to find a solution. Anger often gives you less control over a situation. Ability to withhold anger is a sign of psychological strength not weakness.”
“Humans feel angry whenever we perceive a threat to our physical or psychological well-being. An advantage of anger is that it serves as a kind of psychological warning device. We express anger because we imitate the same behavior we see with our same sex parent (scream yell, passive aggressive anger). Don’t buy the principle that ANGER is something that accumulates and requires a release.” Anger does not go anywhere, no organ and any part of our bodies for storage. As long as you are no longer in contact with an anger provoking stimulus, anger does not exist. It would only be reactivated once you think about the event.”
“If angry count to 10, if very angry count to 100, go for a walk, take a bath, go to a movie-do whatever it takes to remove yourself from the anger provoking scenario so you won’t say something impulsive & furious that you may deeply regret later.”
“A crucial aspect of anger management is understanding when why and how you may have to take yourself out of the situation so you will have a chance to reflect on how best to respond and not simply react to anger provoking stimuli around you”
“Fair Fighting-entails keeping the focus on the issue, not the other persons short comings, not making generalizations “you always…” don’t bring up the old grudges, not engaging in name calling and not making accusations against the other party.”
I’d also like to share a few helpful steps from this amazing book:
DR ALLAN’S ANGER MANAGEMENT FORMULA
Don’t react in anger-respond instead
Don’t buy into the myth that you will explode if you don’t express your anger
Accept that anger management is not easy, it has it’s ups and downs
Breaking the family anger cycle begins with parents
Do not threaten separation or abandonment when you are angry

3 STEP PLAN 4 OPTIMAL ANGER MANAGEMENT
1. Identify “hook”- lures that triggers anger
TYPES OF HOOK
Injustice-actions that is unfair, immoral, and selfish
Incompetence- anything and anyone inept lazy, selfish to identify and recognize
2. Recognize the need-we get angry when a need is frustrated
Types of need:
Respect-when others do not try to understand us, fail to keep promises, make decision without our permission, and impose values on us
Territory-someone takes our belongings, make too many demands, too much intimacy, loud noise, encroaches personal space
3. Fill the need
STEPS to CONFLICT RESOLUTION
State your position
State opponent position
Present proposal
Make an agreement

And this is one excerpt that really striked me:
““I learned a lot from my parents but not necessarily what they intended to teach me. I will never resolve all my anger issues with my parents, some of my needs for respect and understanding will never be met. I focus on one important outcome; I recognize I have had the power and knowledge to do better with my own children.”

I’m looking forward to being able to perfect anger management skills but I know it would take time and a lot of practice. That in the future, I’d be able to control my anger and be a role model for my own children and create an angry-free environment for my family.

Benigno Aquino Day

2007-08-22T12:58:00.000+08:00

“Why can’t I go home?” was Ninoy’s question. Even with the warnings from close family and friends, with the country’s economy in a rage, and the iron hands that imprisoned the country and despite a vocal threat from Marcos himself to wear a kevlar vest should he go back to the Philippines-nothing…no one has stopped Ninoy from coming home…
August 21, 1983- he found himself lying at the airport, blood-drenched, shot and murdered… The death that made him an honored martyr for the rest of history.
But the said death served as a key to very important events in Philippine history: his death dethroned Marcos…his death initiated the bloodless revolt-the first that the world has ever witnessed and never thought would be possible …his death placed his beloved wife to Malacañang and given the highest position-President of the Philippine Republic. But most importantly…his death liberated the Filipinos…
And the ever famous line from the courageous and wise Filipino who was exiled, imprisoned, and returned to his country only to die for his country men and brought a dictator down…words of challenge and goodbye:” Filipinos are worth dying for…”
24 years after… we commemorate his death, his bravery and heroism but it is a sad fact that as the years had passed it seems that the Filipino’s had forgotten what the words exactly meant and the sacrifice that Ninoy made just for us to achieve the democracy and freedom we are enjoying right now.
Let me quote a few lines from Kris Aquino’s interview in late night news, as she was asked of what his father’s message would be at these present times:
“Thank you for supporting Noynoy and placing him in the senate…he would continue the principles I’ve fought for”
“Parents are really working hard and are persevering to send their children to school and educate them. They sacrifice leaving their families and the Philippines, they suffer the cold and loneliness a foreign country brings. The children must study hard, aim for good grades and make their parent’s sacrifices pay-off”
“The newly elected leaders should not use their positions for personal gain but instead serve the country well” –Had he been alive today, it would be very nice to hear.
May we always be reminded of Ninoy’s heroism together with his idealism. And let us all together help make Ninoy known to the new generation that all Filipino’s living should be grateful as Ninoy’s sacrifice gave us our liberation and that he is a true hero and not just a face in the 500 peso paperbill. His martyrdom depicted the perfect example of “love for country”. His sacrifice was made out of love. Rest in peace Ninoy…we’d always walk through your path and principles…

Fat Michael's Place

2007-08-16T13:27:00.001+08:00

It was an absolutely stormy day and most of the places in Makati were flooded but nothing can stop me from storming hidden restaurants with good food! Besides, it was my Hubby’s payday so I could definitely demand for a nice treat for dinner! So we decided to visit Fat Michael’s! We took a cab going there but I called them first to ask for directions-the restaurant is actually near Evangelista in Pasay. We passed by South Super Highway going south. Landmark was Makati View Apartelle and we turned right-on the 1st corner, we finally found the place! Again, it won’t look like a restaurant from the outside but as we pass through the wooden sliding door, you’d be amazed to see an intimate beautiful space. We got this small table for two beside the wall and cute funny design with my hubby.
Interiors were a mix of American, European and the family’s own pictures. The place is filled with warm light, wooden chairs, tables, dangling curtains and books! (Which you could read while waiting)
The menu- we were handed with laminated menus but if you want it with a price, you need to refer black board frames hanging on the walls. They have flexible menus to choose from-main dishes to pasta and breads. One thing though that bothered my hubby was their explicit signage: 'We cook slow. Live with it.' -at the back of the menu.

But we weren’t really affected for us the menu arrived just on time and we didn’t wait long. We decided to order:
Beef Salpicao (Php 205)- very tasty with added mushrooms

Rosemary Chicken with Gravy (Php 135)- a good meal as well

And one of the favorites- Seafood Pizza (Php 205)- soft mouth watering kesong puti spread on top and delicately placed tomato and shrimps was really good.

All in all Fat Michael’s does not only provide you with a hearty good food but also gives you a magical touch! After a day's work if you feel harassed and stressed, dining in the place would transport you to a different world outside the hustle and bustle world of the city. One magical restaurant to try!

Fat Michael's Place (843-1953)

115-A Rodriguez Ave., cor. Gen. Lacuña Street Bangkal Makati City

Cafe Juanita

2007-08-16T12:53:00.000+08:00

One of my HR tasks includes transmitting government forms to the agencies. And every Friday I usually transmit forms to Philhealth. As I searched the net, I found this restaurant located in Kapitolyo Pasig and I mused about visiting the said place since it’s just near Philhealth. Finally I did had the time together with my Hubby last Friday! I finally got to try Café Juanita located on 21 United St. West Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City. Just a little warning-location is a little bit difficult to get to, especially if you're not familiar with the area. It's easily accessible via Pioneer or Shaw Boulevard so it would be best to call them for directions. And limited street parking is available.
Although at first I was dismayed, since it doesn’t really look like a resto since they just have a very small sign,but when we entered-wah! The place was amazingly beautiful! It can’t be exactly classified as “fine dining” but if you’re searching for a nice quiet intimate place this is the best place! Just a small info-the restaurant is owned by Dr. Boy Vazquez and cafe juanita is on Philippine Tattler's list of Best Restaurants in 2005.
We arrived during tea time around 4:30pm and dinner usually starts at 5:30pm so we waited but had a good time wandering all over the place. The restaurant reminds me so much of the movie-“Moulin Rouge”. I agree…it’s like dining in your “Lola’s house” add the oldies music to that! But more so it gives you this unique homey feel…
As for the interiors- The place is chockfull of old china, antique chairs, tables, cabinets, and other sorts of Filipiniana hemmed clutter. And true to our national heritage, there’s also a lot of Spanish, Chinese, Americana bits and pieces scattered around.They have elaborate chandeliers made of little Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling, Coke paraphernalia mounted on the walls, and kitschy little European ceramic figurines all around.
They also have old wine bottles scattered as a design all around, trinkets, old lamps and butterflies! Just make sure you look closely since all of the items do have price tags which means they are all for sale.
Now for the food- there are so many choices to pick from the menu, it is a straightforward interesting mix of Filipino, Mediterranean, Thai, Malaysian Japanese, Spanish and Korean dishes. We tried to be more asian, and here’s what we tried that day:

MY hubby selected a good-asian inspired dish- beef rendang (Php232)

On the other hand, I tried to remain nationalistic (haha!) but with a twist! I love Italian food and pasta but this time with a Filipino mix-I ordered Pasta Filipina (Php 175)-angel hair pasta with taba ng talangka.The food was cooked slow and arrived quite long yet it was worth the wait! Our food tasted excellent!

Overall, I’d be more than willing to come back and dine at Café Juanita-it has a great ambiance & absolutely great food! Not bad for a very nice place with dishes priced for P200-500. The bathroom is clean, although quite small but cute. And the dining experience at Café Juanita would keep you coming back for more!Cafe Juanita would transport you to the old ages bringing you back memories of the past... serving you with great meals that would remind you of your very own mom or Lola! I’d definitely be back soon!

Café Juanita is at 21 United Street corner West Capitol Drive, Barrio Kapitolyo; open daily, 11am to 2pm; 5.30pm to 10pm. Fridays open until 12 midnight. Call them at +63 2 6320357.

Book Review: Get out of your own way at Work

2007-08-15T12:11:00.001+08:00

I’ve been working for roughly three years now and recently I’ve been trying to reflect…what I am now? How has the industry created a new me? What lessons did I learn? What career path should I take? And what mistakes have I committed?
Psychology and Self Help Section of PowerBooks Greenbelt is my favorite and since I’m reflecting my ways in work, this book caught my attention; I started reading and found it “amazing”! All praises for the book! I found myself in deep realization and self-analysis…Most of the self-defeating behaviors applied to me and moreover I also discovered how certain actions could actually ruin me. All the self-defeating behaviors were well-explained and add the psychological roots that would make you understand yourself better. From here, I realized that how you were reared and brought up by your parents, the atmosphere at your very own home could affect the way you act may it be at school and all throughout work. It is one book that every yuppie or working employee must have and read! And this would help you succeed in your career and have a harmonious relationship with your co-workers and moreso understand your bosses! This book helps you become more cautious of your actions so that you’d not put your job likewise your reputation in jeopardy. This book indeed helped me change my view of the corporate world and my behavior-“from self-defeating to career enhancing.”

Pinoys Rocked the WORLD CUP!

2007-08-15T10:23:00.000+08:00

I started to be a boxing fan during the start of Manny Pacquiao’s big fights but as the years passed, I realized…I’m turning out to be a boxing enthusiast! I don’t pass on watching every featured game in TV and I’m looking forward to hopefully watching a game in the big screen and soon in the arena or ring side itself (hopefully in US or Vegas)! Wow! And as an enthusiast I am so looking forward to the Boxing World Cup-Philippines versus Mexico and indeed it made my heart beat rise up until the end! But of course! 6 Filipinos are fighting to make us proud!
Held at ARCO Arena Saturday night, the first fight was between Diosdado Gabi and Jose Angel Beranza. And after powerful shots and punches, in a unanimous decision the Filipino boxer Gabi won the the first match giving the Filipino’s the 1st streak of its victory.

1-0

The second match between Miguel Roman- undefeated fighter from Mexico and Michael Domingo of the Philippines. After an electrifying fight, still in a unanimous decision, Domingo won so its now 2-0!

2-0

The third match AJ Banal-a very young Filipino Boxer age 18 versus Jorge Cardenas ended with a knock-out which leaves us all sighing for just one more to finally get the cup!

3-0

The fourth match Z Gorres vs. Eric Ortiz, a threatening but much awaited fight since if Gorres wins this, the World Cup would be under the Philippines fists. And indeed, the world cup has been decided and the Philippines now holds the crown! Gorres just sealed the deal. And we all rejoiced! It was such a great achievement!

4-0

Then again we have to hold our breaths, the fight between Jhonny Gonzales and Gerry Penalosa instills fear and hope, and although the Philippine Team is now secure, then again we hope for the best for the two remaining title matches. Round 7 swept us with surprise! Penalosa fired off a sweeping left hand that landed perfectly under the rib cage of Gonzalez which led to a KO! I felt so happy for Penalosa! And more so very proud! At 35, physically fit and a very good man with no vices-he managed to hold another title and held the WBO Bantamweight Belt. You could see how enormously happy Gerry was with the tremendous smile in his face! I’ve always admired him and I agree indeed Gerry is a “thinking fighter”. From his fight with Ponce de Leon, he managed to weigh the circumstances, although he lost, all throughout the fight he held his guard so he was not much beaten up. I can say he is smooth, savvy and smart boxer -add the years of experience to that! Hurray!

I wasn’t even over with the victory of Peñalosa, when the fight of the night came in, Ponce de leon versus Rey “BoomBoom” Bautista”. Upon seeing De leon, I felt fear and I just whispered a silent prayer that it won’t matter if Boomboom does not win this title, as long as he does not get beaten up. But much to everybody’s dismay, Boomboom lost upon the first round and was knocked down by Ponce de leon. Filipinos may indeed be disappointed but my opinion… it was a great mismatch…Boomboom was 21 and Ponce de Leon is 27, a lot bigger, heavier and has longer arms. Indeed “De leon is too much for Bautista”.

On that note, it would be a blessing in disguise for Bautista, its better that he got knocked out from the 1st round than experience severe and total damage say he’s able to last up until the 12th round. From here let us not place much dismay in Boomboom, hey the guy is so young and this is a great lesson for him which comes with a great challenge- to correct, rebuild and start all over. After all he is only “21”…As the old Filipino saying goes “marami ka pang kakaining bigas boy…”

But all in all, it’s not bad! Hey! We’re bringing home the bacon! And we are now the title holders! And with a promise from Oscar “Golden Boy” de la Hoya that he will hand the fully-crafted trophy to our President personally. There is much to rejoice and the world cup only proves that the Filipino’s are indeed the “King of the Ring”. To all the boxers who fought –thank you for making us all proud! Congratulations Philippine Team!

The WILL YOU Questions

2007-08-14T10:11:00.000+08:00

I saw this in one of my favorite and my friend's blog...I tried it and it was really funny! Humorous!Just sharing! Try it too!

Kelly --

[adjective]:

Benevolent to a fault

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

MISSING: KELLY

Was last seen trying to light your hair on fire

'What will you last be seen doing?' at QuizGalaxy.com

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

SimpsoNIZED!!!

2007-08-09T09:19:00.000+08:00

Finally!!! I found a way to save these pics in my pc!

Meet the new generation of the SIMPSON'S family!

The Cabrera Family!!!

Meet Jeff Simpson...

Meet Kelly Simpson...

Meet Nicole Simpson!

Fun right? Try it yourself!
http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html
http://simpsonizeme.com/

Enjoy!!!

My Cure-Dress to Express

2007-08-07T11:52:00.000+08:00

Each of us undergo phases in our life where we have low-self esteem and for women in particular; having low self-esteem makes you feel like you never look good enough. I admit…I long suffered from clothing anxiety- claiming I have nothing to wear when my closet is bursting with choice and much worse, I’m sick with closet trauma-the out of control feeling that comes from not knowing what to wear or how to dress to reflect the real me. One day as I browsed through the racks of my fave crib-Powerbooks I found a heaven-sent book that could help me overcome my illness-DRESS TO EXPRESS by Tracy McWilliams. Everything I learned from the book is summarized through these steps:

-Understand the emotions that may have held you back from realizing your dressing potential
-Define your image
-Know your clothing personality type
-Identify and understand your body type
-Pay attention to colors in your wardrobe
-Clean out your closet
-Take inventory by making a list of items that you own
-Keep it clothing simple
-Go through your accessory items and take inventory of what you own
-Fill the gaps in your wardrobe
-Try on clothing items that are on your inventory list and begin to put outfits together
-When you go shopping fill in the gaps in your wardrobe
-Keep your clothing emotions under control
-Visualize yourself beautiful
-Control your communication style
-Remember to dress form top to down

-Step in your power as a woman and believe in how beautiful you are

Through this book, I finally understood that I’d always be the best judge of how I want to be perceived. And very important, I learned that: Dressing your best is about matching your inner beauty with your outer self when the match is complete looking fabulous is the by product and clothing bliss is the result. Clothing Bliss is the feeling of calm that is achieved when you are confident that your clothing choices really do reflect your best self. And I’m working my way out to achieve it! For all the ladies out there- I totally recommend this book specifically for the “lost and unconfident ones”. Gurlfriends! Let’s all journey into finding our clothing bliss…

Cinemarathon!

2007-07-31T17:12:00.001+08:00

Ratatouille
The movie was fun and heart-warming. And no wonder it is well-recommended by MTRCB and it got very good reviews because of the many values both kids and adults could learn in the movie! You’d fall in love with Remy-physically a rat but a true son, friend and hero by heart! He is just so adventurous! Very goal oriented and passionate, he pursues what he wants which is generally what life is all about…Following your dreams, fulfilling your passion. Secondly, I also loved Linguini’s character-originally a garbage boy but was Chef Gusteau’s long lost son. Despite the success he brought to the restaurant, he remained down to earth and humble enough to admit that he’s not really the one who’s doing miracles for the restaurant. And the best part of it would be the friendship between Linguini and Remy- initially partnered together out of desperation but in the end became the best buddies who would not leave a friend in need and in both ways they could count on each other… The real recipe of a lasting friendship!

Simpson’s the Movie
This movie they say is 10 years in the making. You would definitely laugh all throughout the movie because of Homer’s crazy antics. It tackles mixed values -the importance of having a family, father-son relationship, on being environmental and love for nature. Moreso it depicted love as well, in the scenes where Liza finally found a boyfriend and the love that Marj and Homer had shared through the years. Remember: “In a marriage, you say this once…i want you to be with me in this…” tough line right? The movie revolved into saving the whole Springfield and the Simpson’s being re-united. All in all the movie is fine yet they had a very funny line in the start: “ Why pay for something that you could watch in TV”. Then again it would laugh your heart out

Good-bye D-Tour...

2007-07-31T14:00:00.000+08:00

At exactly 8 pm, I switched to studio 23 with the hope that I could still watch D-Tour. But to no avail, a different show was aired. It has been 7 long years of D-tour and now its over…They aired their last episode-Sunday July 22. I’m surely gonna miss this show! They had been so informative. And they had always been my guide to everything that’s new…everything that’s latest. Digital Tour has been a great guide to technology, gadgets, websites, and modern living. This 30-minute tele-magazine show had featured the latest on e-news, gave reviews on the hottest gadgets and gear and offered tips and suggestions on how to become more tech-savvy. Each week, the techie guides, Iya Yotoko, Manu Sandejas, and Archie Alemania helped me and many others keep track of the latest trends in digital living. But now…was the end….One message they left though: “Keep on updating yourself, keep on surfing the net for anything that’s new…” We’ll surely will! Thanks for the 7 wonderful and informative years!

Answering questions from "Inside the Actor's Studio...

2007-07-28T17:21:00.001+08:00

1.what is your favorite word?

acceptance

2. what is your least favorite word?

worthless, useless

3. what turns you on?

POSITIVITY, humility, simplicity,commitment

4. what turns you off?

ARROGANCE, boastfulness, stupidity

5. what sound or noise do you love?

the sound of a gentle rain, the sound of the waves at the beach at both daytime and nighttime

6. what sound or noise do you hate?

being nagged at

7. what is your favorite curse word?

F**K S**T

8. what profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

a fashionprogram host!

9. what profession would you not like to do?

medical representative

10. if HEAVEN exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Welcome, you deserve to be here

55 Random Questions

2007-07-28T16:58:00.002+08:00

01 real name: Raquel Quililan

02. nickname: Kelly, Kelai
03. single or available: in a relationship, attached, married
04. zodiac sign: Taurus
05. male or female: Lady
06. elementary: Sta. Catalina College
07. college: St. Paul Univeristy QC ( former St. Paul College QC)
08. high: Same as elementary- Sta. Catalina College
09. long or short hair: long
10. . shoe size: 5 -6.5
11. asthma? No
12. do you have a crush on someone: a lot! For me having a crush is simply admiring someone so I admire the beauty or personality of both guys and gurls but I’m not necessarily a lesbian
FIRSTS
13. first surgery: eyes
14. first piercing: ears
15. first best friend: dyan correa
16. first award: kindergarten “best in conduct”
17. First sport you joined: tennis doubles –district meet ‘99
18. first pet:puppies
19. first vacation:bicol
20. first concert: boyz 2 men & brian mcknight valentines concert
21. first crush: can’t recall
CURRENTLY
22. eating: CANDIES
23. doing: i’m about to- encode new hires details for philhealth form er2
24. listening to: jack Johnson
25. waiting for: next payday
26. wearing: black polo shirt, checkered Capri pants, black slip ons, timex watch, dogtag, yabang pinoy bracelet
YOUR FUTURE :
27. want kids? I already have one… my princess coli! I want another-hopefully a boy but not now
28. want to get married? Definitely….as soon as I am converted
29. careers in mind? Yep! Hopefully be a specialist in the field of human resources or employee relations, the academe- I want to be a college professor majoring in Psych
WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
30. lips or eyes? Both
31. hugs or kisses: both..I want more!
32. shorter or taller?taller
33. romantic or spontaneous? both
34. stomach? Lean
35. sensitive or loud: halfway
36. hook-up or relationship: relationship
HAVE YOU EVER...
37. kissed a stranger: no
38. lost glasses/contacts: no
39. ran away from home: yes
40. broken any bones: no
41. broken someone’s heart: yes
42. been arrested: no
43. turned someone down: yes, many times in the past (ha-ha)
44. cried when someone died: yes..when my favorite grandma died
DO YOU BELIEVE IN?
46. yourself: yes I’ve gained enough confidence through the years
47. miracles: yes
48. love at first sight: no
49. heaven: yes
50. santa claus: no
51. fairies: no
52. kissing on the first date: no
53. angels: yes
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY
Is Superman really better than Batman? I don’t agree..i’m a batman fan
Do you believe in God? yes!

The Ultimate Threesome...

2007-07-28T16:40:00.000+08:00

Three Names you go by:
1. Kelly
2. Kelai
3. Rain
Three Screen names you have had
1.bluesonnet
2.mp5-e
3.black raven
Three Physical Things you like about yourself
1.my eyes
2.my ass
3.My feet (it’s size 5 but my height is 5’4 ½”, easy to find shoes even in the kids section!)
Three Physical Things you don’t like about yourself
1.my teeth
2.my nails (the type that’s quite short to place a nail polish)
3.the hairs all over my body (I’m “balbon” so now that I’m a grownup, shaving and waxing is so time consuming)
THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE
1.Filipino
2.Spanish
3.Chinese
THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU
1.something bad that could happen to my family and loved ones
2.hostages-hold-ups
3.creepy crawlers
THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS
1.face powder
2.foundation
3.liquid blush on
THREE THINGS THAT YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW
1.polo shirt
2.shorts
3.earrings
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS
1.Brian McKnight
2.Boys 2 Men
3.D’ Sound
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS
1.Again-Lenny Kravitz
2.Tattooed on my Mind- D’ Sound
3.I wanna be with you- Mandy Moore
THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP
1.true love
2.commitment
3.loyalty
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
1.I’m obsessive compulsive
2.I’m goal-oriented
3.I’m bitchy
THREE THINGS ABOUT THE PREFFERED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU
1.eyes

2.nose

3.body
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES
1.reading
2.malling and shopping at the same time
3.spending quality time with king and princess
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW
1.Have a career
2.take up my masters
3.live together with my family
THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION
1.Paris
2.Hawaii
3.La Union
THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING/HAVE CONSIDERED
1.Psych professor
2.Writer
3.Human rights lawyer
THREE KID NAMES YOU LIKE:

GIRLS
1.Nicole
2.Cloe
3.Peachy

BOYS
1. Bry
2. Pat
3. JT
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE
1.Travel the world
2.Open up my own art and painting exhibit
3. Write & publish my own book
THREE THINGS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY
1. I admire girls (ha-ha)
2. I easily get pissed off
3. overflowing pride
THREE THINGS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL
1.I like fashion
2.I love pink
3.I’m mushy & cheesy, I cry upon watching dramatic scenes in the movie
THREE CELEB CRUSHES
1.Orlando Bloom
2.Josh Hartnett
3.Leonardo di Caprio
THREE PEOPLE I’D LIKE TO TAKE THIS QUIZ
1.my best friend-Bianca
2.Grashia
3.Stephy

Survey!

2007-07-28T16:38:00.000+08:00

*TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey*
Name:	Rachel
Birthday:	April 30, 1983
Birthplace:	Quezon City
Current Location:	Makati
Eye Color:	Dark Brown
Hair Color:	Black
Height:	5'4 1/2"
Right Handed or Left Handed:	Left
Your Heritage:	Spanish-Chinese-Filipino
The Shoes You Wore Today:	bronzeflats
Your Weakness:	chocolates
Your Fears:	illness or any form of sickness that could happen to my family
Your Perfect Pizza:	thin crust with 5 cheese, mushrooms and Pepperoni
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	to have a career path
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	wazzup!
Thoughts First Waking Up:	Its another working day
Your Best Physical Feature:	eyes
Your Bedtime:	11-12 midnight
Your Most Missed Memory:	Sta. Catalina College & St. Paul Days
Pepsi or Coke:	Coke
MacDonalds or Burger King:	macdonalds
Single or Group Dates:	Group dates
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	Nestea
Chocolate or Vanilla:	Chocolate
Cappuccino or Coffee:	Cappucinno
Do you Smoke:	Yes
Do you Swear:	Yes
Do you Sing:	Not much
Do you Shower Daily:	yes of course!
Have you Been in Love:	Yes
Do you want to go to College:	I'm actually planning to take my masters degree
Do you want to get Married:	Yes
Do you belive in yourself:	a definite Yes!
Do you get Motion Sickness:	Yes
Do you think you are Attractive:	a big yes!
Are you a Health Freak:	No
Do you get along with your Parents:	somewhat
Do you like Thunderstorms:	No
Do you play an Instrument:	I play the guitar, drums, flute and harmonica
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	Yes
In the past month have you Smoked:	Yes
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	definitely No
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	Yes and with Hubby of course!
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	Yes, actually after office hours I'm actually at the mall
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	No
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	No and I don't like it
In the past month have you been on Stage:	No
In the past month have you been Dumped:	Nope and I would not let myself experience it
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	No
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	Definite No
Ever been Drunk:	Yes
Ever been called a Tease:	Yes
Ever been Beaten up:	Yes
Ever Shoplifted:	No!
How do you want to Die:	in my sleep
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	I want to be a human rights lawyer
What country would you most like to Visit:	U.K.
*In a Boy/Girl..*
Favourite Eye Color:	Brown
Favourite Hair Color:	Black
Short or Long Hair:	short clean cut
Height:	taller than me
Weight:	130-140
Best Clothing Style:	simple casual yet comfy
Number of Drugs I have taken:	none
Number of CDs I own:	too many to count
Number of Piercings:	3 on one and 2 on the other=5!
Number of Tattoos:	none
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	1
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Getting to know me...

2007-07-28T16:10:00.000+08:00

1. Tell us about yourself...
There’s nothing perfect in this world…it may not be perfect but my family is wonderful. We had endured so many storms together. I owe them a lot and I’d always be grateful. My family had always saved me from all the mess I got myself into. I also have a foster family-my tita nanay, my tito tatay who’m I’d be grateful as well, they are a big part of my life. I was an only daughter for 13 years, I have a sister and we have a 13 year age gap-she is only 10 yrs old and is now a grade 5 student. I’m a psych grad and I’m currently working for the human resources department. I am a self-proclaimed writer & artist by profession. I’m goal oriented and a certified OC too! I live by my weirdest principles. I’ve been through a lot… I am proud to say that I am a “survivor” & I’ve mastered coping skills that shielded me from pain & shedding more tears. I am grateful for everything in my life…I have been blessed…with two special people who made my life meaningful & complete…because of them I’m more eager & enthusiastic in facing each day & our future with courage…I am a mother and a wife-a role I would always be proud of…
2) Describe yourself in three words.

Emotional, goal oriented, passionate
3) What makes you happy?

Seeing my family happy, the feeling of security that everything would be fine, spending quality time with my King and my Princess
4) How long have you known each other?

My hubby and I have known each other for 3 years now
5) Describe each other in three words:

Hardheaded (ha-ha), committed, loving
6) Describe one particular moment you've spent with each other that is one of your favorites...
There are two of which, everytime I rekindle it still gives me butterflies in my stomach and a spark in my heart-our date in: josephine’s tagaytay, there was an ongoing wedding that time and it was raining a bit, just love the feel of raindrops in our face and sweet moments…the second one would be in puerto galera where we lied at the sand and just looked at the stars…sweet….
7) What are your pet peeves about each other (if any)?

Honey, Honhon, Chukuli
8) Describe your ideal first date.
I actually have an ideal date but I don’t feel that it would be nice on your 1st one. So on a first date…an ideal one for me would be a dinner in a fancy restaurant and a deeper conversation in any coffee haven afterwards…
9) What’s your favorite vacation destination? Where’s the one place you’re dying to travel to?
When I was a kid, I was really fascinated by the pyramids in Egypt so I would want to visit Egypt
10) Have you ever had a job? If so, what was it? What’s your dream job?
My dream jobs would be the following: to be an ER Specialist and a professor of psychology for a university. I would want to be a writer for Cosmopolitan and a fashion host like Angel Aquino.
12) What are your three favorite movies?
Wedding Singer, 50 first dates, Notting Hill
13) What’s the best party you’ve ever been to? Where was it, who was there and what happened?
The best party I’ve been to would be my parents church wedding. It was fun because all of our loved ones were there; both friends and relatives that were really close to us, I was the maid of honor and the host of the program at the reception and in that event I really felt that my dad was so proud of me
14) Name five hottie celebs that are on your "wish list"?
1.Leonardo di Caprio
2.Josh Hartnett
3.Johnny Depp
4.Orlando Bloom
5.Keannu Reeves
15) What are your favorite hobbies?What do you do in your spare time for fun?
I love watching TV!!! I oftentimes get scolded for it. I love to read, I could stay the whole day and spend my time reading at powerbooks. I love listening to music, on my way to work or back home I listen to my mp4, even during office hours, given the opportunity, I play some songs since it is a form of relaxation as well…a great stress buster. I love to eat @ new places and restaurants, try out something new with my hubby, long walks and sweet conversations with him, and most importantly spending quality time with my princess
16) What items could you not live without? Name some beauty/style items, some accessories and/or clothing items you love?
I could not live without wearing earrings, I just can’t imagine myself not wearing one coz indeed wearing one adds up tp a woman’ s beauty, I can’t live without my mp4 and cel, a brush or comb. I love white tops, I love raspberry scents, I love calendars, flats and slip-ons
17) Who do you admire? Who’s your role model? Who would you like to meet if you haven’t already?
I admire these women: Mother Teresa, Princess Dianna. My role model would be my cousin, Ate Christy. Since I was young I always admired her for her simplicity and sincerity. I’d like to meet, local: Bianca Gonzales, Lea Salonga & Angel Aquino. International: Jennifer Anniston, Anne Hathaway, Maria Sharapova

Kelly-"That Gurl"

2007-07-28T16:02:00.000+08:00

34 Random Questions

1. whose picture is it that you keep in your wallet? of course who else but my “Princess”
2. what time do you go to bed? 10-11 pm
3. what was the last thing you did before filing this survey? encode information
4. who’s the one you always meet the most? my princess
5. who’s the person you’re gonna call if you need help? my hubby, my parents, my foster parents, my bestfriend
6. what’s on your mind now? I want to eat
7. who’s number on your speed dials?house, hubby, mom, dad
8. with whom do you wanna be to have fun?my gurlfriends and my partypips
9. what’s your latest movie? harry potter and the order of the phoenix
10. when was the last time you went out? last Saturday July 21
11. who do you hate the most for now? haha! Too many to mention
12. when was the first time you slept alone? did’nt experience it yet
13. what do you wanna do for now? Finish the book I’m reading at powerbooks while drinking oreo javacinno at java man, write blogs for my site
14. what do you do for everyday besides eat and sleep? Work, travel, read, surf the net, text, listen to music, walk
15. what things piss you off: when I’m misunderstood, back fight, encounters with stupid people, my job at the reception area
16. fave pet: joggart…a dog but he’s dead for 8 years now
17. colors that make you happy: black, chocolate brown, red, white, navy and baby blue, deep pink, violet
18. most fave things in your room: my soft and fluffy pillows,
19. what was the last thing you bought for your room? A pinkpig cellphone holder
20. any instruments in your room? a guitar, a flute and a harmonica
21. do you cook? Not yet but I plan to learn very soon
22. miss someone: my princess
23. plan to buy something? Yup! A lot- a new hot pink mp4, longsleeve blouses for the office, flat shoes, chucktaylor, havaianas
24. are you satisfied with your life right now? Honestly, I’m starting with a new phase in life and I could not answer yet since I’m trying to reach my goals
25. Do you like seafood? Not much, I only eat small deep fried shrimps soaked in 7-up and baked clams with cheese
26. breakfast or dinner? Breakfast-bacon & eggs! Yum!
27. what do you usually eat for dinner? When I’m so tired from work usually none, but the usual dinner at the house would be adobo and rice
28. did you eat breakfast today? Nope… I was really hurrying I decided to skip
29. do you recycle? Environmentally speaking, I don’t have enough means, clothes yes I do
30. do you have a laptop? Nope I don’t, but I’m planning to buy one in the future!
31. what’s your favorite fastfood restaurant? On being nationalistic definitely –Jollibee!
32. cats or dogs? Dogs…cats have the tendency to stow away…I dream of having a chowchow or Chihuahua
33. salty or sweet? Sweet…it’s so addicting
34. what’s your favorite kind of jeans? Faded or worn-out jeans

It's all about ME series!

2007-07-28T15:50:00.001+08:00

W.A.R.N.I.N.G.

This is the start of the "All about ME series"-where I've dared to answer the most-talked about questions.

Get to know me-because IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!

Origin: Rachel Quililan

Supername: Extraordinary Kelly!
If I were a cartoon character I would be: snoopy
My best ever outfit consisted of: Plain white top, jeans, nike rubbershoes
The sound track of my life would include: Let me Fall (Jude Harrison)
If I was invisible for a day: I'd go to the office and sneak
The worst thing somebody said to me: I was abusive and good for nothing…
I’m saving up for: the future, a house, Nicole’s education
My biggest indulgence is: jackets
My current state of mind: boggled, worried
If someone would play me in biopic it would be: Jennifer Aniston
My 5 fave words : love, simplicity, understanding, loyalty, commitment
The thing about fame is: it can get into your head, occurrence of crab mentality, its not permanent
The thing I love most about what I do: I’m able to practice my field
I wish when I started off I’ve been told that: “I could not please everybody” I could not live-up to everybody’s expectations
The worst thing that ever happened to me: Spending Christmas and new year alone
And what this has taught me: family is very important, would embrace you despite all your imperfections
My super Saturday night consists of: being all dressed up in a party get-up, clubbin dancing all night to super cool sounds at a club and cold vodka on my hand
The world would be a much better place: if there would be no nepotism and greediness
My heroes are: my parents
The thing that make my life worth living: my princess, my hubby, my parents, my foster parents, loyal friends who loves me and stick with me through the years, through thick and thin
My fave moments: special mushy moments spent with my princess and hubby
When I’m gone they’ll say: we’ll forever remember Kelly- a person who’s always been there for us…
I aspire to: Help the victims of injustice and share my knowledge
People might be surprised to know that: I’m a frustrated lawyer
When I retire I would like to: paint and write my own novels and books
If money was not an option: I’ll make sure the jobless would have jobs
The thing that makes me most angry: not being appreciated
The secret to happiness: giving love and returning love and making sure that you don’t hurt anybody

Payday Friday @ Cafe Otello

2007-07-27T20:38:00.000+08:00

Its payday! And since this has long been planned but never pursued (because of me…I go back to the office late because of transmitting forms to government agencies) this time I decided not to transmit (and besides I’m only up with 5 pages if I pursue it) for this Friday to finally have a nice dinner with my officemates/friends. We’ve long been debating into where to eat but one thing we were really definite about is that-we’d eat in an Italian resto. After quite a few number of days searching the net for a nice resto, Mommy Jo suggested that we eat at “Café Otello” I checked the details, found it interesting and so I agreed. From our office in Pasong tamo, just quite a long walk, we finally reached our destination. It is hidden on top of a Starbucks, corner of Rufino St. and Dela Rosa. Cafe Otello is the newest Italian café; it just opened March according to the servers. They have a cozy environment and nice interiors. We arrived around 6 pm just an hour early for dinner but it wont matter, we were the first to arrive and of course the first customers to be served. The dishes are not so expensive - All the dishes are around P200 less and the prices in the menu are already inclusive of VAT and service charge-very nice! Although they offer lunch buffet-11:30-3:30 since we arrived 6,we were left with no choice but to order alacarte. While waiting for our meals, drinks were served and as an appetizer we were served with potato chips

Soon after the bread was served… one by one our meals arrived.

Daddy Eric is a seafood lover and a sucker for tomato based pasta he ordered spaghetti pescatora ( seafood in tomato sauce) P180. We tried it to and it was indeed good!

Mommy Joan ultimately loves pasta in white sauce, so she ordered spaghetti carbonara (P180). It was also good and they gave us a cup of parmesan cheese to make it cheesier

As for me, I loved the taste of risotto so I ordered risotto funghi (Italian rice in poncini mushroom sauce) P175 very creamy and was really good and it was indeed heavy in the stomach!

And the best way to end a meal was to have a dessert-we had chocolate cake, which was sweet and yummy too!I really love paydays! ( and who wouldn’t?) besides the money-we’ll I definitely have good company!

The Controversial Anti-Terrorism Act

2007-07-27T19:58:00.001+08:00

The Anti-Terrorism Act (Republic Act No. 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007) is part of the global wave of fascist legislation and state terrorism generated by the so-called global war on terror under the Bush regime of the US government. On February 8, voting 16-2, the Senate passed on final reading the Anti-Terrorism Act, euphemistically titled, the Human Security Act of 2007. March 6, 2007, Arroyo signed the bill into law. And now the entire nation is debating about it.
Defining Terrorism
Section 3 of the terror law defines “terrorism” as an act of “sowing and creating a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace in order to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand.”What parameters would define the act of terrorism? It is quite vague and very confusing. The following crimes can fall under terrorism: piracy, mutiny, rebellion, insurrection, coup d’ etat, murder, kidnapping, serious illegal detention, arson, illegal possession of fire arms and explosives.
The said law initially would like to protect the people but on the other hand…it would definitely create fear. But honestly the said law could get really scary once it is abused…
How scary could it get? The said law is a clear violation of principles and standards of human rights-right to privacy and fundamental rights and freedom. It also sets aside due process and presumption of innocence.

On this post I divide the ATA violations into two categories:

-violation of right to rebel

-violation of human rights

Violation of Right to Rebel

From the Arroyo's side, these would be a definite threat mainly to the following:

-Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)

-New People's Army (NPA)

-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP)

It is very obvious though that the above three are considered "enemies of the state". But on a deeper thought, the Arroyo regime violates the political offense doctrine that recognize and respect the right of the people to rebel against tyranny or oppression and the political integrity of the national liberation movements which were initially founded on the sufferings, demands and tears of the people.

Since the start of the Arroyo regime, violation of the right to protest has been evident. We've seen party list groups, human rights activists both religious and non religious being shoved away may it be with water or by force. Likewise the numerous media people who'd been murdered. Officers,even simple symphatizers and members of any organization that opposes the administration can be suspected of terrorism due to a plain conspiracy. They can be pressured,persecuted or punished. From here they could be easily arrested and detained. With the reality that in the near future, these can happen, the said law would serve as the "official punisher" and "berdugo of the leftists".

Violation of Human Rights

How does ATA affect us as ordinary people. Anybody can be merely suspected. And once you are eyed, the following could possibly happen:

Under Sec 19: "In the event of actual or imminent terrorist attack, suspects may be detained for 48 hrs without warrant."

Section 26 states:"Restriction in the right to travel- in cases where evidence of guilt is not strong and the person charged is...granted bail, the court shall...limit the right of travel of the accused to within the municipality or city where he resides. He or she may also be placed under house arrest by order of the court...While under house arrest, he or she may not use telephones, cell phones, emails, computers, the internet or other means of communications with people outside his residence until otherwise ordered by court."

Section 7: legalizes the surveillance of terror suspects. Authorities may intercept and record all communications of suspected terrorists and their alleged conspirators. Wiretapping and other forms of electronic surveillance need only the approval of any competent Regional Trial Court.

Under section 27: bank deposits, accounts, and records of suspected terrorists and their alleged conspirators may be examined by authorities.

Section 57: bans extraordinary rendition but actually authorizes it under certain conditions. The practice of "extraordinary rendition" allows terror suspects or vital witnesses to be rendered or transferred to a foreign government as part of investigations into terrorism.

They say "if your not guilty no need to fear..." Yet this creates a climate of fear for the entire nation and could be a definite start of the dark ages. It seems very clear that ATA is yet another form of undeclared martial law. And as one nation lets hope and continually pray that the said law though approved would not be abused and that the shadows of the past would not creep and stain its nails with blood...blood of the Filipinos...

The Harry Potter Craze

2007-07-27T15:33:00.001+08:00

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I watched the movie last July 14 with my officemates-Steph, Vanj & Daddy Eric. It was absolutely fun! I definitely liked the movie, I guess it’s the 2nd of the HP Movies that I terribly liked! I loved the scenes when Harry, Hermione and Ron were actually teaching the gang and created the so called “dumbledore’s army”. Professor albus wulfric brian Dumbledore was really getting in my nerves during the movie! She just soo pissed me off! The kissing scene between Harry and Cho Chang was cute then again she was just so irritating when she betrayed them. Loved the battle between the Death Eaters and the Order in the Ministry of Magic. Love the chase between Harry and friends-lucius malfoy and company inside the department of mysteries. Loved the battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore! And I ultimately love the blossoming friendship between Harry and Loony Luna Lovegood, I hope they end up together…they look so cute!!! On the other hand Sirius’ death was too fast and was not given much scene. Moreso, I love the way Daniel Radcliffe acted everytime Voldemort was inside him, likewise when Harry got possessed by voldemort near the movie’s end-well crafted! And I liked the lesson it left the audiences “ the significance of friendship in a person’s life” All in all the movie is great and as expected it always brings you a totally different magical world! And from here I just can’t wait until the next movie!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The much awaited book launch of the last of the Harry Potter series book happened last Saturday July 21, 2007. Most of the power book stores are all geared up for the said event. The staff is all in Harry potter costumes and they actually had a set-up very similar to Hogwarts school of witchcraft & wizardry. The place was so cool and it was similar to the movie!!! And indeed the Filipino’s loved the HP Series may it be the movie or the book. Filipino’s indeed love wizardry and magic!

Nida Blanca-The Long Unresolved Story

2007-07-27T10:03:00.000+08:00

“November 7, 2001- The actress Nida Blanca (Dorothy Jones) was found dead inside a vehicle, bruised and beaten up at Atlanta Center Condominium Building Annapolis St. Greenhills San Juan. In 2001, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) pointed to Strunk as the brains behind the killing, based on the testimony submitted by self-confessed assassin Philip Medel. The suspect later retracted his statement, claiming that he was tortured by the police to claim responsibility for the crime and to point at Strunk as the mastermind.”
2007… Nida Blanca’s husband Roger “Rod” Strunk allegedly committed suicide and died as he leaped to his death from the balcony of Tracy Inn.
Coincidence? Nida’s body was found blood-drenched in a parking lot, Rod Strunk’s body was found in a parking lot as well, so both their life ended in a parking lot and emersed to be very tragic. The two deaths still left so many questions unanswered.
One question though…what could have led him to commit suicide?Loneliness-he has no family and just volunteered to work. Or would it be because he was indeed guilty of murdering his own wife?
From here no justice could still be found…if he was indeed the culprit, killing himself is no justice at all but a way to free him from all the scrutiny and charges. But would he still be free from the flaming gates of hell?
Through all these we can’t help but await one voice…Kaye Torres’ Statement…Nida being in heaven would have been very proud of her daughter as she continues to radiate dignity…
And her heartfelt statement:
“I offer my deepest condolences to Rod’s sister, Sharry, and his two kids, Christine and Derke."
“It’s very tragic that Rod’s life had to end this way… whatever his faults and shortcoming may have been, I have never wished this kind of misfortune or tragedy on him.”
“I feel that the case should not end with the death of Rod Strunk; especially since his innocence or guilt has never been proven. Rod may have avoided extradition here, but now he will have to face a much higher court.”
“As my mother’s murder case continues to remain unsolved, one vital case to the solution of the case is gone…Rod’s death only makes it more impossible for those answers to be obtained,"
“The authorities should continue the pursuit, investigation and ultimate arrest of those suspects still at large,"
Let us continue to hope and pray that justice for the death of Nida Blanca would prevail…6 long years had passed…wherever she is, we continually pray that she finds the light and peace she deserves …and may the loved-ones she left find the same peace and light into this long unresolved story…

PBB Season 2-A Cinderella Story

2007-07-04T21:01:00.000+08:00

Pinoy Big Brother…what can I say... Its Wendy’s show…everywhere you go, when you speak of big brother season 2, people just can’t help but comment against Wendy. I’m not a Wendy fan and I as well totally disapprove of how she acted in the house towards Gee-Ann and Bea. Everyone had their own opinions may it be pro or against her, I’d leave it all to them… Let me share mine…despite the meanness, bullying, trash talking, and unfounded accusations the same old saying still prevails “ang api nagwawagi pa rin sa huli” And indeed despite Wendy’s bitchy attitude, Bea emerged as the Pinoy Big Brother Season 2 Winner.
PBB itself, mirrors how Filipinos still believed in the same old notion that makes telenovelas click and their lead turn to superstars in the long run like Juday. I totally agree “ PBB is drama ng totoong buhay-no drama without kontrabida and the kontrabida always makes the bida well-loved by the masses and the viewers. And to quote: “ The Big Winner will represent what kind of ordinary Filipino we look up to and what kind of actions we socially accept. The Big Winner will represent the kind of people who we see ourselves to be. The Big Winner would be another huwaran ng mga Pilipino.”
One thing positive here would be the continuous hope that “life would be better for us in the long run and we would rise triumphantly over poverty. PBB Season 2 ends and it leaves us one message: “let’s all keep the fire burning- hope and strive for a better life and never stop even though they say Filipinos had always been “isang kahig isang tuka”. As they say “libre mangarap” lets all try and make an effort and persevere into turning all those “pangarap” into reality.

Awesome Transformers!

2007-07-04T20:57:00.000+08:00

I’m not really so familiar with the animated series when I was a kid and since I’m a gurl, it didn’t catch my attention. I just knew transformers then as a “boy’s thing”. And then at the break of new year, on a light conversation a friend told me that he is so looking forward to watching “transformers the movie”. But then I said “Hmm…I’d rather look forward to spidey and harry flicks this year…” Not until last Saturday, I proved myself totally wrong! And I’m telling you…all throughout the movie I stared with awe! Aside from the movie being action packed, combined with awesome cinematography, great effects and sounds-the story line itself was really wonderful! It’s a tale of both heroism, friendship, courage, bravery, and a lot more! The movie also depicted the “revenge of the nerd” syndrome but more so values that are heart-warming.
Meagan Fox in the movie was really hot! She really had gone a long way. And Shia Labeouf was absolutely cute here! And of course who wouldn’t be charmed with Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee!!!My ultimate favorites! (I find them so cute that I’m actually planning to buy Jolly kids meal to have them) it was just unfortunate that bumblebee did not appear in his original look-as a Volkswagen but I don’t mind it, he is still so adorable! Remember how he plays music that’s perfect for every incident “baby come back…” wowee!
Truly, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg are GENIUSES! And this movie would always leave its mark throughout generations! I love TRANSFORMERS! They absolutely rock!!! Astig!!!

Antonio Trillanes: The Modern Day Katipunero

2007-06-21T12:54:00.000+08:00

Four years ago, a 32-year-old captain who wrote a masters thesis on corruption in the Navy at the University of the Philippines led a group of soldiers and accused the government of corruption and supporting terrorism, and of mismanaging soldiers’ pension funds. This turned out to be the so called “Oakwood Mutiny”
Three Years later, the said Navy officer decided to run for the upper house of congress…And last Friday, June 15, 2007…the Navy Captain front man named “Antonio Trillanes IV” was proclaimed the 11th senator elect.
His victory was a total surprise for all the rest since his name was not even included in the surveys and the people were not so amazed with the Oakwood Mutiny more so, how it turned out to be a failure, plus his major constraint-being held in captive, therefore he could not campaign personally and make himself known the people.
. Yet indeed the heavens favored him and faith led him to be a Senator. But behind it lies a more powerful force: it is “People Power”- the voice of the people. It is the voice that cries out for reform…the voice that has been the very same victim and has been failed by the government all these years.
While other candidates spend millions for their campaign and TV ads, Trillanes on the other hand had limited funds. He was actually the lowest spender having spent roughly 5 million, 500,000 of which came from his own pocket having sold his watches and cars and the rest from his supporters. Yet despite the said adversities, he emerged triumphant because of the following factors:

1. “The people had faith in him”.
You may rarely see his campaign ads or flyers but thanks to the power of the internet, bloggers and net surfers supported him, more so, ordinary citizens who volunteered to campaign for him, not minding whether they would be paid or not for what they do. (My dad was actually a volunteer and an advocate).
2. His being the numero-uno “Anti-Arroyo”
From Oakwood, until his TV appearance for debates during the campaign period, he had been consistent and vocal of his main goal to oust Arroyo from her throne
3. His platform of “fighting corruption and clean act”
The people has been long tired of being victims of corruption and so from Trillanes and the act of mutiny they saw a modern day hero fighting for a cause

But there is more to wonder from how Trillanes won his battle…It is the fact that his proclamation is another proof, that in our country-freedom and the people’s voice still prevails. And I am so proud to be able to witness that in these modern times…
I have always believed in Trillanes, he caught my attention way back in the Oakwood mutiny days! I truly admire his bravery and courage that actually during the elections, I did not vote for any other Senator except him…this is because I know my other choices would eventually win even though I don’t vote for them, but my one and sole vote for Trillanes would create another step in the ladder of victory.
There is a saying that “we could not please everybody” and so it is for Trillanes. For his detractors, He won and was proclaimed and the least we could do is hope that he would be able to live up to our expectations. Let’s hope that he does not turn out to be another “junior gringo” in the making.
And might as well let’s share with him the vision of building a republic free of corruption and join him in his crusade to fight everything that’s corrupt. And as we bestow our trust, hopes and dreams to our modern day “katipunero”, let us also offer our prayers that despite being detained in his jail cell may he continue to be filled with courage and humility and serve us the best way he can.
And if one day Mr. Trillanes comes across my blog… I just wanted to say “Sir or if I may say Senator…please don’t’ fail us…”

Something to rekindle...

2007-06-19T19:22:00.000+08:00

Two months after I gave birth, I already started working and easily found a job where I could apply what I’ve learned in college. Not that I don’t want to spend time with my daughter…it was because that time…I had no choice, we had to manage our finances so the least I could do was to find a job and help with the expenses. I admit I enjoyed working…at first. I could earn money, buy stuff that I want, and get in tuned with what’s new and the latest compared to being a plain housewife but I never thought I would suffer its consequences sooner that I thought. When I got promoted, time became an ultimate conflict. I would need to work longer hours…I experienced working 16 hours straight, go home at 3 because of work and work the whole day of Saturday and Sunday. And because of that lifestyle, my relationship with my now two year old daughter changed. She clings to my mother (her grandma) more and pushes me away when she sees me. She chooses to sleep beside her grandparents than sleep beside me. And I’m having a real hard time handling her restlessness. It seems I totally lost track of rearing her.
I was reflecting these days… I strolled at the mall and surprisingly found myself in Papemelrotti reading this poster and later on tears begin to fall from my eyes… I’d like to share these with the rest of the working or busy mothers out there. This indeed served as a total “awakening” for me…that nothing would be more precious than our children… and today I would rekindle the rocky relationship I’m having with my princess…

For My Child...

Just this morning,
I am going to smile when I see your face and laugh when I feel like crying.
Just for this morning,
I will let you choose what you want to wear, and smile and say how perfect it is.
Just for this morning,
I am going to step over the laundry and pick you
Up and take you to the park to play
Just for this morning,
I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me
How to put that puzzle of yours together
Just for this afternoon,
I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off;
And sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles
Just for this afternoon,
I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and
Whine for the ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by
Just for this afternoon,
I won’t worry about what you are going to be when you grow up,
Or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned
Just for this afternoon,
I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won’t stand over you trying to fix them.
Just for this evening,
I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you
Just for this evening,
I will let you splash in the bath and not get angry
Just for this evening,
I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars
Just for this evening
I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows
Just for this evening
When I run my finger through your hair as you pray,
I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.
I will think about the mothers and fathers, who are searching for their missing children,
The mothers and fathers who are visiting their children’s graves instead of their bedrooms,
And mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children
Suffer senselessly and screaming inside that they can’t handle it anymore.

And when I kiss you goodnight I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer.
It is then , that I will thank God for you, and ask him for nothing,

Except one more day…

A NiCe WeEkEnD TrEaT!

2007-06-19T18:38:00.000+08:00

It’s my hubby’s payday! And on these days…well… it is usually his treat! So this is how a Saturday weekend went for us…

Being a certified bookworm, a day could not just pass without browsing through the pages of books or magazines… and when I am able to read something that interests me, it gives me bliss! PowerBooks has always been my “fave tambayan” where I get to read everything I want. Its where through the years of working here in Makati-(the so-called New York of the Philippines), a day could not pass without passing by at the said bookstore. But never in the said years did I ever thought of trying out “Java Man”-the in house café-resto of PowerBooks until last Saturday. My hubby and I were actually debating over where to spend lunch and we finally decided to try Java Man.
I was actually surprised that their menu is mostly Italian. All the while I thought they offer coffee and pastries alone. As for me, I sampled the 3 cheese with Fettuccine Combo, it has a generous serving of fettuccine alfredo served with 3 cheese panini and potato chips! The said combo fits me best since I love fettuccine and cheese and I definitely enjoyed what I ordered. My hubby ordered the Ham and cheese with Pomodoro Combo which on the other hand has a generous serving of pomodoro pasta served with ham and cheese panini and potato chips.
The drinks…we decided to order the Coffee Caramel Javacinno. And I can say it’s quite different from the coffee or frap other Café offers coz its extra smooth and definitely yummy! I just love the feel of milk, coffee and caramel combined with the sweet cream.
We were so full that our stomach has no place for desserts,but definitely we would try their desserts the next time we dine in.
I totally enjoyed the meal plus the ambiance of the place that made it cozy and if you do want to enjoy conversations with your friends or enjoy a meal with a book at hand, this would be the perfect place!

I was not able to watch the first one, neither am I into watching flicks about superheroes… (Honestly I just watch superhero movies to get in tuned with the latest! ha-ha!) But I must admit, I surely enjoyed the 2nd and I am sooo looking forward to the 3rd
Like what would happen to the:
· blossoming relationship between human torch and the assistant general
· Mr. Fantastic and Ms. Invincible having their own kids
· Would Thing’s girlfriend ever get her sight back?
· Would there be a chance for Thing to somehow look normal at certain situations
· And the BEST would be: would SILVER SURFER live again and be an ally of the four?
I more so love the flick’s simplicity. No other hard to grasp scenes. And the thought that they all have the same goal: which is to save the world, be of help to the people and live the so called “superhero life” despite its adversities. And the unity & cooperation of the four-added to the cool attitude of the team!
One of the funny antics would be: when Thing touched Human Torch right after his atoms got disorganized because Silver Surfer touched him…really funny when they exchanged looks!
One dilemma though would be how Jessica Alba (a.k.a. Ms. Invincible-now Mrs. Fantastic) looked. I guess majority would agree that she looked awful in the movie. But all in all the movie was fun and would definitely make you look forward to its sequel. And I can say it is an absolutely “Fantastic” flick!
(For a replica of “Silver Surfer” you could check out G4, it looks really cool that you’d want to take it home!)

Happy Father's Day!!!

2007-06-17T16:23:00.000+08:00

My family had gone through pains and struggles over the past 24 years of my life...But through it all, I've always been proud of my father and believed in his principles that I actually wanted to fight and live with the same advocacy. Like some other dads , he may not be so vocal of what he feels neither be appreciative enough but I've always respected and loved him despite that. Today is "Father's Day"...One of the many important days in the year that we take time to acknowledge the importance of having a Father and the difference they made in our life. To my Dad I'd like to say "thank you for everything and I appreciate all your efforts for our family to survive". To my Hubby " thanks for staying with me..." and to all the Fathers out there I'd like to extend my warmest greetings: "Happy Father's Day".

I'd like to share this letter by Pamela Koehlinger to all the other Dads out there who may not be that expressive, we would always understand that the "love" would always be there..."

You Are My Father and You Always Will Be

Over the years,
it's been difficult for us
to understand one another,
and sometimes it has been hard
to make meaningful connections.

So much time has passed
marked by words not said,
missed opportunities,
and good intentions gone awry.

But I have always known
that you love me,
and I hope you know that
I love you, too...

Love takes many different forms.
For some people, it means
spending time together
talking, laughing, and working
alongside one another.

For some, it is a hug
or a word of praise.
For others, it is simply an
unspoken understanding that
family is forever;
it is a bond that can never be
broken, no matter where we go
or what we do

As the years pass,
I become more and more aware
of how important that bond really is,
and although 'I may rarely say it,
I become more appreciative
of your role in my life.
You are my father, and you
will always be my father.
And because of that,
you will always have a profound
place in my heart.

FreEdoM DaY!

2007-06-13T00:28:00.000+08:00

It was my off for Sunday and I was watching ASAP and I just so enjoyed their theme for this Sunday; “All Pinoy Party” Watching all the featured bands, and dancers amazed me that indeed our race has been blessed with this much talent. I went to the mall with my mom, sister, and my princess…I saw all the shops with the Philippine flag posted on their walls which reminded me…Ei Tuesday is Independence Day! Probably did not have much feel of it since the holiday was moved Monday for us to have a longer weekend then again, how I could forget, this is the day that we were granted our precious freedom and formally regarded as Filipinos…
On being nationalistic… When asked “Are you still proud to be a Filipino?” I could strongly attest “Yes I am…” And there are definitely so many reasons to be one… Just to name a few…Aside from the fact that our race is indeed blessed with rare talents and an ultimate gift of intelligence, Filipino’s are naturally resilient, hardworking and the greatest survivors! We’ve pass through the toughest colonization in history and emerged triumphantly. We are born fighters and today had been a living witness of how we fight for democracy and exercise our rights to be free… We are naturally flexible and adaptable and not to mention…being enormously hospitable. And top it off with the wonderful places and tourist spots that our country alone has…definitely incomparable to what the rest of world has…
Then again reality bites, we have to admit, our country has its own imperfections, but in the light of the adversities our country is facing and will continually face, I guess it’s high time to reflect and analyze how we could actually contribute and help…
Today is Independence Day. This day signifies our nation's unity; it remains a mark, a remembrance of what truly binds us –our freedom, our heritage... Then again, all of us might be guilty about this, but the truth is… we oftentimes just think of this whenever June 12th of every year comes. But for me, June 12 of 2007 would be different…
I’ve always had this dream or let me say a goal… Since I am a psychgrad, I am hoping by next year I could find the time to take the entrance test for masteral studies at UP Solair and if it’s God-will that I pass, I’d like to major in Industrial Relations, eventually become a professor and share my knowledge and help the common Filipino employees exercise their rights. Fight for the underprivileged Pinoy local workers. In the course of it, I’d like to be a member of Gabriella as well... Then again that would be a long term goal…
But today as I browsed the net and found this article in clickthecity about “Yabang Pinoy” I was totally moved. I’ve heard this long way before as I read through Bianca Gonzales’ blog (she’s my favorite! ultimate crush too!) But today I was so convinced that I’m actually planning to buy the “band of glory” ASAP!
“Yabang Pinoy is a small but truly meaningful step in instilling a sense of nationalistic pride in the youth of today. It may not be a grand act such as heroism or other radical means, but small steps made by everyone in changing their attitudes in life are collectively making a huge difference”
But buying the band would do more than that, as I browsed through site of Yabang Pinoy itself, I thought there is so much to do…more people to help…I guess, my long term goal would be quite hard to reach for now but let me start by showing genuine concern for my fellow Filipino’s, let me start from there and who knows the rest may follow…But let this thought live with me as each day pass “I am a Filipino taking pride of my Filipino heritage while in the midst of the worst political condition, poverty, economic instability, irreconcilable convictions & worst calamities. I can still stand proud!”

mY LosT sMiLe...

2007-06-13T00:21:00.000+08:00

The jolly English-speaking Guard (well. I can say he does speak pretty good English) spoke to me and said: “Mam, smile…Every time I see you, worry seems to cover your face and you are so close to frowning.” I replied, defending myself a bit and trying to be a little funny: “Kuya, it’s because the only time that you see me is at the end of the day, when my entire energy is drained and I’m so exhausted I can’t even afford to smile. You should see me in the morning! I’m really pretty and fresh!” Thinking aside I told myself: “Ei, what a great excuse…”

When people ask me “What’s your job?”…I get startled coz I could not give any definite answer…and I’m left thinking… I am a receptionist, front desk officer to make it sound better but there’s more to being one at our office since I play both the role of a receptionist & an hr assistant. I man the reception from 8am to 3pm then attend to my other hr duties from 3 pm onwards… I can proudly say I’m really close to being a super girl with everything I’ve been thorough because of this job! But believe me; being a receptionist in our office is no joke! You’re talking about the call center recruitment set-up which is really “blood-draining”.Let me start by giving you an idea of how an entire day at the reception goes for me…The moment I sit upfront, without having placed my bag down nor even arrange the registration clipboards, both agents and applicants would swarm you with questions. Well, I would then try my best to provide them the best answer. What comes after would be giving these applicants instructions on the process of application and checking their names on our system for previous application, then the proctor would be asking for the applicants, you call them one by one and direct them to the testing area. Most often, the proctor is so demanding that she becomes so annoying then. You think that’s all? We’ll brace yourself coz on top of that would be the ringing phones that you would need to answer, entertaining queries for agents, providing them the forms they need (coz reception would be the sole source) directing both visitors to the place they needed to be, calling people for interviews-initial, staff & exit, clearances…all at the same time (at times I feel like a human megaphone…). And all of this I’ve been doing for almost a year now…) that’s why I can say... “I can withstand anything!”

Here are the things I really hate about being upfront:

1-A mix of the characteristics of applicants-they could be so knowledgeable that they think they know better than you… and they could be so stupid that even at the point of giving them the clearest instructions…they still don’t follow.

2-Agents processing their clearances & exit interviews-you set the rules, allot a particular time for the said process, but they come so late. They make the usual “pakiusap” then give you the darnest reasons to convince you to break the rules and if they don’t succeed… they nag at you, shout at you, frown at you and even say cursing words… One more thing... Even though they are registered they won’t stop to make “kulit” if they would be next, when you’re actually the busiest person in the world and to think monitoring them is not the only thing you do…

3-The registration and releasing of Coe- you give them the forms with all the instructions but they would really expect you to explain to them where they would need to give the form & when they could get it. And then come “Friday” the release, when the Coe’s are not yet signed… They would express their disappointment in the nastiest way.

4-The fact that you really have to explain everything to the agents when in fact they could actually read the instructions or the process themselves

5-The fact that they would never understand that payroll & hr are two separate departments, every little mistake payroll does, they account it to hr & especially to me coz I’m the 1st person they see upfront.

6-The fact that you only get to enjoy exactly 1 hr break, say good-bye to your 15 minutes break. And you’d be autistic and not get in tune with what’s happening co’z the idea is that- all I have to care about is the reception area.

And the top three qualities you should have to survive:

1-Self-righteousness- they should always think that you know better coz your from HR and they should never catch you off guard not knowing the process or the information co’z believe me they would bring you down and make you feel so stupid. So, though you are not so familiar, better yet speak like you really know it!

2-Super Confidence- no matter how harsh they could get, you could never be dethroned. They think that playing nasty talk with you could bring your confidence down? They have to think twice.

3-Drop it all attitude-just leave all the hurt in the workplace…all the excess baggage should stay where they should.

I could definitely attest “life at the reception is like a battleground where you should always be in defense”. And to quote Tim Yap “I am the type of person they love to love and love to hate…”which is true... I can be the nice and sweet but I admit I am at most time “masungit” with the pressure and stress that I’ve lived to for the past 1 year…Who wouldn’t? So when Kuya Guard tells me “Mam, smile…” I’d rather say… “I hope you understand… I’m so stressed and tired… the day had been like hell for me…” No more explanations…no further questions asked…

Not so nice ending? Think again...

2007-06-05T20:09:00.000+08:00

I am a fan of Nicholas Sparks Stories. I not only read but watch the movies as well. I’ve watched: Message in a Bottle, A Walk to remember, and the Notebook. All three made me cry and eventually turned out to be my fave movies. By the way, I am a certified PowerBooks Bummer too! I ultimately love the greenbelt branch where it has cozy seats for you to bum around and read…plus the thought of “pagtitipid” instead of buying the books & magazines, just stay there & you get to read everything you want and get updated with recent issues of magazines every month! And I forgot to say I’m a certified “Kuripot” too! My hubby and I actually spend long hours not talking to each other as if we were strangers and concentrate on reading.
Now, my recent goal is…to finish Nicholas Sparks new book “Dear John”. I was really persistent that I go to PowerBooks after office hours. And sad thing for me that I lost my phone which I barely used for just 2 months in PowerBooks too, but nothing stopped me from reaching my goal which I did yesterday, then again I somehow got disappointed with the ending… Sorry to divulge it for the recent readers of the said book but I just could not accept the fact that the lead: John actually sold the gold coins his departed father had given him just to let the husband of the girl he greatly loves continue to live… I said to myself “that’s crazy”. Some guys may have just waited for the husband to die so the girl becomes a widow and marry her, but for John… it was a total reverse… I really could not get over it! The thought remained with me until I came to work… I actually debated with Mommy Jo (she’s my favorite! I always get words of wisdom from her... she’s like a guru to me) I got startled when she uttered “Rain, that’s what you simply call...true love…unconditional love…” Indeed…seeing the one you love happy with the one person who gives her eternal bliss instead of spending her life with you…Amazing! Super “selfless”… This is probably one of the many more mysteries love has… As I go through my journey…I guess, I would be able to unfold more mysteries too... Experiencing it on my own…

A SoNg tO ShArE...

2007-06-05T11:05:00.001+08:00

An officemate forwarded this song in mp3 format together with the lyrics in my e-mail. "i said to myself "hey this song sounds familiar..." I might have heard this as a background music for certain TV shows but I never thought it would sound this good in full length! I haven't watched the movie yet but now I'm planning to... Just wanted to share this song to all the loveless...and for the ones who once felt love but somehow got lost in the way... Let's all try to find our way back into love...

Way Back Into Love (Music & Lyrics)
Haley Bennet & Hugh Grant

I've been living with a shadow overhead
I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed
I've been lonely for so long
Trapped in the past, I just can't seem to move on

I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away
Just in case I ever need em again someday
I've been setting aside time
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind
All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
Oh oh oh

I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine
I've been searching but I just don't see the signs
I know that it's out there
There's got to be something for my soul somewhere
I've been looking for someone to shed some light
Not just somebody just to get me through the night
I could use some direction
And I'm open to your suggestions

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart again
I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end
Oh oh oh

There are moments when I don't know if it's real
Or if anybody feels the way I feel
I need inspiration
Not just another negotiation

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart to you
I'm hoping you'll show me what to do
And if you help me to start again
You know that I'll be there for you in the end

Way Back Into Love - Hugh Grant - Haley Bennett

mY wEeKeNd...A LoT LiKe HeLL

2007-06-05T10:16:00.000+08:00

This weekend...I've learned a lot about anger management…and the beauty of controlling your emotions...Well, the weekend has been a lot like hell for me...The set-up I have with my family is really weird...it would probably end up like a novel if I wrote it down... But then it always make me agitated when I am accused of being a burden and as if I’m doing nothing … It was really hard not to listen and just let it pass…but then I really did my best to keep composed…I slept it over! Ha-ha! … I was really heated up that time and if I choose to defend myself…I would have made things worse…Indeed, anger is a problem many people face, a problem that can seriously disrupt someone’s life, cause distress & wreck relationships…Controlling anger? Time would be a great factor… Each second between the ’’unfair’’ event & your reaction, the chances of making a healthier decision are greatly increased. “If that child paused for a few seconds when told he was being punished, he might have come up with a less-damaging alternative action. When your boss makes your blood boil…waiting, instead of immediately reacting, will almost always produce more positive results.” So I guess I did the right thing…say nothing…keep cool and let it all pass…but then it doesn’t end there…Right now…I would like to act on the problem and think of ways to make a change…but then these are things I would really need to have a deep thought and reflect in the next few days…

I've finally decided!!!

2007-06-05T08:40:00.000+08:00

My first blog ever! i have accounts almost in every networking friends site (e.g.-myspace, hi5), as of the moment I only keep my accounts for both friendster & multiply and post my updates there but then, I don’t write any blogs. But this time, I’ve finally decided! “Hey, I want to write a blog!”“Blogs are cool… And I agree…It gives you a sense of purpose since everything you write would be of value to people as they place comments and make “pakialam” haha!But moreover…what actually made me decide to finally have one is the freedom blogs give you. You could actually write about anything under the sun… I dunno if people would agree but it serves as an “outlet of your soul” placed into wonderful words… Writing has always been my first love and I’m more than happy to have a blog now and write about my thoughts and finally share my world!Why extraordinary? Hmmm…I find myself unique…and my friends too…am I weird? I guess so… I have so many routines and my taste buds are very picky that’s why they say I am “extraordinary” but then, there is still the human part of me that craves for ordinary things… stuff that every ordinary gurl does and keep me normal…So join me in my journey as I share my thoughts…Hope you have fun and feel free to post your comments!