South Korean Trip: Done!

My Out of the country trip after 10 years! I cant believe it. It still feels like a dream. :)

Day 1: 1.15.2016

Worked half day and left for NAIA at 3am. It didn't sink in that i was really leaving until i passed by the immigration officer's booth. I wasn't even dressed up for the winter. We travelled 4 hours by plane. Felt giddy seeing snow for the first time in real life on the plane window. We got of the plane and there was fog on my breath :) . *kilig

We stayed at the airport for quite awhile figuring out what to do next. Where to go next. We ate at Burger King, korean style.:)

Finally, we bought our Tmoney for our train rides. We rode the train going to Gongdeok and transfered to the brown lane going to Itaewon- our home for 6 days. 

Day 2: 1.16.2016

More snow! We woke up really early to prep for our Jisan trip. Snowboarding day! :) we left the guesthouse a bit too early (like 2 hours from pick-up time) so we have more time to look for our pick-up place. Since it was too early, we had coffee at this cute, eccentric coffeeshop we found across our bus stop. 

It's amazing. At exactly 7:45am, the Jisan bus took us as scheduled. Off we went to the skii resort. It's so weird to see airconditioning with heat coming out of it. 

The line was pretty long when we got there. It felt reaaaaally cold. I just learned i was wearing the wrong clothing when we got there. Therma shirt on top of a turtleneck shirt and a jacket on top of it (that actually didn't help to keep me warm). I wore 2 layers of trousers which later i learned it wasnt enough. Brrrrrr. Never felt sooooo cooooold! But i embraced it. Loved it. We don't have it in PI.

Queueing

This is how the experts do it. Watch and learn.

After a half-day of snow sledding.. (Yup... Snow sledding... Snowboarding was too 'amateurish'.) off we went to Icheon, some province outside Seoul. I think, it took us around an hour going there. I even fell asleep. We took a cab to go to the Pottery Village.

We were clueless how to get back home to Itaewon... It was a real challenge to communicate because of the language barrier. So we just decided to take a cab going back to the nearest train station. Well, the nearest one was an hour and a half away from Icheon. We had no idea. The cab driver didn't knoe english. Just realized the metrotrain was just for Seoul :/ ohwell. Goodbye 78,000 won. The cab driver got frustrated too. He gave us 2000 won for coffee. We took the train and got home safely. It was an adventure :) 

The cab driver who gave us tissue. I dunno why.

Day 3: 1.17.2016

Woke up kind of late but it still felt like early morning. Chilly weather still outside. We had a tour at the Hanok Village (replica) with Mr. Chang. It was a nice tour. Got to know korean architecture and culture. 

This is me with Mr. chang, the tour guide. :)

They have this time capsule around this area. They will open it after a decade, i think. So sentimental. I remeber the "my sassy girl" movie. 

Right after the tour, Ria and I hurried our way to go to the other palace to wear the hanbok.

Yep, feeling like a princess here. Nyahaha.

We didn't have a tourguide here beacuse the place was almost closing. With the palace was open. The windows and doors were closed but i love the woodwork. I wish i had the opportunity to stay in a real hanok house (not sure if that's how you call it) hehe. 

5pm, we went to Insadong, the the place to be for souvinirs and food and artwork and such. I really enjoyed the strolling. :)

Artwork in the streets.

More artwork at the background. 

Bought souvinirs for family and friends. 

Dinner time, Ria and I ate korean style. :) soooojuuuuu!

Taste was awful but the tipsy was great. Just right. 

Day 4: 1.16.2016

Sanmontoonge Cafe was our main destination it's famous because of the the korean drama entitled "Coffee Prince". I remember Gyun-woo. *smile. Ok. So before going to the coffee shop, we went to the   

Gyeongbokgung Palace and watched the changing of the guards. Weird that they dont allow selfies. But i got a pic with the guards with fake mustaches. It's funny.

The guard and I. Hehe. I should've taken one home. they're cute. :) 

And off we went to famous coffeeshop. While walking in the city, looking for the bus station, i found myself stunned by the view. I mean, it's the city like makati. But cleaner and colder. Waaaay colder. And the people around. How they look when theyre cold. Amazing. 

I dunno what this building was but this was taken in front of the palace. The sky is blue an sun shiny but really cold. It's weird. 

Hiking up the hill.

The said coffeeshop. Beautiful stone structure. 

Scenes from The Coffee Prince Drama

The basement :)

Let's have a cuppa. :)

Phew. So i just bombarded the blog with pics of the hike. After Sanmontoongee, we visited the real Hanok village. We had to keep it quiet. Traditional locals there. And of course, for respect. 

Then, dinnertime, we ate again at a local restaurant.. A sitdown on the floor diner with loud korean men drinking soju behind me. They were fun to look at. Like those i see in korean films. I felt like i was in a korean film. Only in 3d and without subtitles. Funny to think about it. Haha.

See the shoes. We cant eat with shoes.

I didn't get to ask why they use a lot of plates.  And why the spoons are longer than usual. I didn't get to use fork for 6 days. Congratulate me.

Day 5

Myeong-dong day. Hrmmm. Nothing much happened. Just went grocery shopping. We should've done that after going window shopping. Anyway. Highlights were: Mozzarella babyback ribs and the hellokitty Cafe and the visit to the Cathedral. It was a grand structure. Like Hogwarts. Ria was too tired to go out when we arrived the guest house. I needed to go out to find a plastic box for my banana milk... ME TIME! I had the best dinner ever on my stay there. It was like a karindirya. I'd like to save some and take it home for Ria but im not sure about the culture there re taking home food. It might be offensive or something. So i just didnt. 

Only in korea! Banana milk!

Hot stone pot pork backbone stew. The bestest korea dinner i had. Lurve it!

Day 6. 

Oh well. Time to go home. We went again to Insadong for last minute shopping for pasalubong and then went back to Itaewon to fix our stuff. At 2pm, we headed to the airport. . :( i got teary eyed on the airplane. When will i ever see snow again? Hrmph... Anyway, it was a great trip! 

Manila lights.

January 2016 - late post 1.2.2016 entry

Events happening this year/ planning to do:

1. South Korea- January

2. Kwebang Lampas- Jan

3. Mt. Pulag - Feb ?

4. Cambodia - May

5. Surfing, La Union- March

6 Bagan, Myanmar - Nov.

7. Zambales ?

8. Baguio ?

Others: 

1. Apply for US visa

2. Look for a work in POEA

3. Hopefully to have my solo travel

4. travel with a  friend

5. Jam on stage with my djembe and old bandmates

5. Hiking, trekking

6. Make an artwork

7. Meet new people

And meet old friends too

8. Will be happy

9. More positive vibe

10. Will not be hopia. :)

Restaurants:

Peruvian cuisine- Don andres

Turkish - FETA med.

Lebanese- Teta grill

(And more...) :)

Recapping 2015

1. Medical Mission with Some great medical professionals from Michigan, USA. Thanks to my TIa Trining and Tito Romy for encouraging me to join them. Met amazing people and befriended them. I hope to join them again this year but chances are small. Im not sure if they will allow me again to have a long days off. Let's see.

2. I'm unable to go to the beautiful island of Calaguas but was lucky to be able to choose Caramoan as my place of destination. It was an epic getaway for me and my roomie. :) the most beautiful place i've seen so far. :) just wait for me, Calaguas... Who knows, i might just pay a visit over there. :)

3. Cambodia didn't happen in November, but my Cebu trip did, along with officemates, friend from previous work and 2 white dudes. I know, it's a motley crew. I was expecting more but i had a great time. 

4. I bought my own Ukalele and learned some pieces like Somewhere over the Rainbow, I'm Yours, etc. I'm not ready to play on stage but, heck, im glad i learned this instrument. It's cute. And it's a good stress reliever too. 

5. I did go out on a date with this french guy who lives just a few blocks away from my place here in eastwood. He seemed nice. We had a nice, civil conversation. But for some reason, we're not even friends now. We just saw each other once. My ego got hurt a little bit but i know it's normal. Oh well. I've moved on.

6. Yeah, i have a little saved for my trips in 2015. So i'm going to continue that. :) 

7. And yes, i've met interesting foreign friends. I met him last November with his friend. Super happy i met him in person. He's not exotic but he's funny :)

8. I did use my big camera on my trip but unable to use much. 

I almost forgot about this list i made. I'm glad i read this post and realized i did make things happen.

So.. Here's to 2016! :)

#2015bestnine

Ert's post-wedding joyride- missing MARIAS (July); after work tambay with the fax team- my breakfast club buddies :) - (all year round) ; Mt. Maculot with GANENY- we conquered the summit! (September) ; Bus ride with dad to visit lola bats (Febuary); Enjoying the company of Maam Marrah and the gang (katas OFW, haha- December); tagaytay with long time friends in PS- love these guys (September); goofing around with Stephen :)(November) ; after-work bonding with the Minor Surgery team- medical mission, Antique- best ever team (Febuary); gave way to  Kaye's buffet addiction with Hicee :)- (March)... Nine is such a small number for all the best things that happened in 2015! - kulang to!

Thanks y'all, for being part of my 2015! 

Hello, 2016!

I'm so clueless, i feel like crying. 

Photo Upload Weekend

Ugh... what an excruciating time to upload. i had 3 sets of photo albums to upload (as i am expected to do this weekend) and the internet is just... sooo... slow. Thank you, Smart Bro! What's up with that anyway?

Nevertheless, while savoring the sluggishness, i read some of my  previous entries on this blog and thought of writing again. nakakaaliw kasi. it's fun to read your own writing and correct your own grammar after (hehe.. and of course, reminisce on the past).

ok. i'm going to start writing again... i hope i won't get lazy.

The Holidays: 2015

Events and trips happening and/ i'll be planning for this year.
1. Medical Mission in Antique. - Feb
2. Calaguas Island- May
3. Ert and Vince's Wedding- July (note: the speech!)
4. Pagudpud- ?
5. Sagada- ?
4. Japan/ Cambodia- Nov
5. USA- why? one can dream to be there on Christmas... pffft. and if this doesn't happen. i shall put a smile on my face. see Christmas 2014.

others:
1. I'm gonna learn how to play the Ukalele.
2. I will go on dates. as i quote from Ert, "if it turns out you like each other, great. if not, at least you got to be friends with a cool guy." hmmmmk.
3. will save up for my trips. *control: mind over matter (shopping and extravagant food bingeing)*
4. will meet interesting foreign friend(s) and learn their exotic cultures.
5. i will use my large camera more (i hope) and stop complaining how heavy it is. (oh and have my lenses repaired)

ps. i found 200 pesos on my pants pocket. ayos!

The Holidays: Bawi

Saturday, 12-27-14
So, i did not have the happiest time in my life on Christmas Eve or Christmas day 2014 but i sure did made amends. after work, Carel and I went to the market where clothes are priced half compared to the malls and tiangges (in Eastwood and St. Francis Square). The market was HUGE jam packed with people! There were 2 atriums which made it more confusing. We may have not gone to the other side but i'm not sure. I spent P855 on 11 pieces of clothes. To me, it's already a great deal. I'm not big on brands anyway, so that's fine. The cheapest I bought was a 35 peso blouse which was super cute. i bought 3 identical designs with different colors. the most expensive one was the overrun Zara pants which cost P250. Good thing, i tried it on despite the ocean of people in front of me. Inconvenient, but i had to.

i have never appreciated pancit until that day. it felt like i was going to collapse due to extreme hunger. Thank goodness, there was a carenderia somewhere in the market. pffew!

I went back to the condo, happy. Satisfied. Fine, I sound materialistic. Sorry. But not so sorry. It's the Holidays for crying out loud.

Sunday. 12-28-14
BTW, i slept the entire day after the splurge in the market. Woke up in the middle of the night to do some chores and then slept again. What was i to do?

So, Sunday came. such a beautiful day. i had to go somewhere. was scrolling on Facebook and saw this  photography- themed cafe located in Maginhawa St near UP. I did go, tagging Jen along as she lives near the area. The place was so cute. It's really small but i love the concept. It was nice to hang out with Jen and made chikka about love and relationships. Argh. I'm fond of talking about these stuff, dreaming about it and traveling across the parallel universe with it... but it also frustrates me and pressures  me at the same time. If singlehood is for me, fine. It just saddens me a bit. I should at least try to be in a relationship once, right? Fine.

We had dinner at a cute place called Arty Cafe. It's interior looks like "The Early Bird". it's quite expensive but not as expensive as the menu in The Early Bird.

I returned to Eastwood at around 8:30 PM and met Maam Phame and her college friends @ Starbucks. They had lots of catching up stories.

And then, off we went to the Eastwood Park. While sitting and chatting about stuff.. these happened:
1. the Planet Zips guys were there again. Thought bubble: those toned muscles are hot.. but i'm guessing they're gay. but good looking really, i say, all three of them. it's just a thought bubble. they could be straight.
2. 1:00 AM and still these planet zips guys were still playing with their batons, hoola hoops and poi things... do they have a performance or something?
3. Megaword staff looks so young! they looked like highschool kids with ID's on and monitoring/ supervising the setting up of the stage for the 2015 countdown.
4. Are we in the dark alleyways in Tondo? Some wasted kids were fighting at the far end of the park. The -Kid- looking supervisor and some security staff pacified the situation.
5. A man with a different nationality was stalking mam Phame. It was so obvious! it's weird and scary. not because he's from a different nationality, ok? it's because he was stalking.

That was my Sunday.

PS. Monday morning, had a sort of photoshoot with my roomie. it's my Christmas and Happy new year gift to her.

The Holidays: the Scrooge

I was reading my blog entriy from last year's Christmas (2013). I was happy despite of being alone. Now, i am kind of regretting i was resentful and scroogey on Christmas 2014 due to the fact that i was ALONE AGAIN! It felt unacceptable and unfair... But i should have decided to be happy or made a little more effort to make myself happy... come to think of it... i did try.
1. I ate dinner lavishly in a Greek restaurant. Wait. "Lavishly" is an overstatement. Yes, the meal was expensive. Way expensive. But it was just OK. i had a fillet mignon.. the rarest beef i've ever eaten. there was still blood when slicing the meat.
2. Went window shopping at the night market. i didn't buy anything. didn't see anything nice (at that time when i was all scroogey).
3. i did not stay outside much as i did in 2013. Missed people watching. and animal watching.
4. had my dessert at CBTL. They ran out of beverages. I was stuck with the usual triple decker cake, which was yum anyway. can't complain.
5. Thanks, Ert, for keeping me company online. Thanks for the invite though. ( i was invited to their home on Christmas day. but i thought i'd just fall asleep and then wake up with my sleeping hosts at night time.)
6. oh, wait! i did buy myself a Christmas gift. i went to Fully Booked and bought a 2015 planner. :)

I went back to the condo, feeling meh. but.. oh well, what was i to do?

Moral lesson: Do not ruin your holiday next time. Let us practice positive mantra to shoo away unwanted feelings.

Longweekend

I have to blog this... I have to! Before i forget...

So, i had a pretty long weekend last week... I filed for leave last nov. 7 and 

 It got approved! :) Nov 7, that was a Friday... My Lola Estay's birthday too... Maam Phame organized an open house party as part of her work. I didn't feel like going. I just wanted to rest and sleep my sniffles away... But.....

Friday

.... I just can't sleep on a friday night. No way! I had my little rest and left for megamall at around 6pm to meet sir Harvey. I didn't see him for quite a long time. Took us awhile to arrive at the party because of the loooooong line at the taxi bay. It was worth the wait. We did a lot of catching up. When we got to the taxi, it was soo awkward to say where we were going. "San nga tayo pupunta? Kuya, sa Victoria Court po, sa Pasig..." *face on palm with shame*... The stigma!

We arrived... Ate the dinner buffet. I went back twice for the main dishes. Yeah, i was famished! I got to eat just one cream puff, though.. I loved the cream puff. So tasty. :) i didn't really understand the party... It was ok but it lacked something... I just can't put my finger on it ... but... It must be the band.... And the neon theme.... And the  photo area.... And the buffet with the flower arrangement... Or maybe the crowd? Ok.. So what? It was free anyway. :) i got to eat a lot.... Oh, the pasta was great! 

Sir jovan and the Gang arrived. How i missed those people. It was a rehab nurses' reunion party. :) we didn't get to catch up much bec of the loud music and photo sessions. The party was done at 3am. All of us were supposed to go to eastwood but the others have work later in the morning. I went to eastwood, mam phame tagging along. Went to starbucks and chitchat some more. I wanted to tell her my feedback re the party but she didnt ask.. So i kept my mouth shut. My sniffles was still there.... I didnt get to sleeep.. Mam phame went home 5:30am. I tried to sleep for my next adventure in a few hours.

Geez. Why didn't i wear heels.

Saturday

... The much awaited day.. My sniffles, still was there but my tastebuds were not impaired by it, thank goodness! VIKINGS DAAAY! Hoooorah! I arrived with seeing Kaye with 3 stacks of dirty, empty plates. She has been devouring since 10:30am. I arrived 11:30am. I came admiring the place. It was food heaven! Name it, they have it! I didn't get to eat everything but i was satisfied. :)

Bundat. 

After vikings, aiza went shopping.. I accompanied her as promised. She was satisfied with her purchaesd stuff. Good thing! Hooray, i just bought 1 thing.. It was a need , not a want. Aiza went home, happy..

I stayed longer at SM, sleepier than ever, waiting for my sister's instructions where to meet her and my relatives... I stayed at St. marc Cafe. Finally i got to have greentea latte  and a chococro. Yum. But i kind of forgotten how it tasted like. I was half asleep eating it. Sister said we'll meet at SM Aura.

Another eating spree. Met my relaives were at Mesa, Filipino contemporary cuisine. I ate fish and rice and..... i dont remember anymore. And then, starbucks....

And then, we stayed at my cousin's, played with chip the dog..

Sunday

...woken up by chip the dog.. I wondered who was trying to open our door. When i checked to see, it was him... The very excited puppy dog. I let him go up and down the bed. All of us woke up late. Richelle, kuya Eldie's better half, cooked a nice meal: chicken wings with bell peppers and sauce. Again, i had my construction worker appetite mode. :) we went off to Batangas.

Going back to San Miguel brought back childhood memories... The surroundings really looked different though.. Going to the farm used to be a long arduous experience, esp for the car. Used to have a very rocky driveway, like th moon. It used to be so rural with bahay kubos. Now, you'd see large houses like those you see in BF or Ayala Alabang... 

I saw again my Granny's old house, destroyed by the typhoon. The ruins made me think of the walking dead... Sad it's gone. I remember, when we stayed there for vacation, i always ransacked the old photo albums, and saw how my dad looked like when he was young.. And also my titas and titos and lolo and lola. I remember reading someone's old journal. It was reading someone's life. That's awesome. In a mysterious way. :) i remember lolo amd lola's dusty bed with the yellow and red quilt. I remember it was cold every morning... You'd hear a gecko go toookoooo, toookooo... And when you want to pee, you have to get out of the house and go to the scary loo.. I just realized it's scary now... It was creepy. It was creepy to think that when you go out to pee, a geckoo jump on you and will get stuck to your skin and wont ever let go. I remember playing with the fat frog stuck in the canal. I was looking at it all day... Tried to poke it with a stick to let it out... Superstition: if you try to play with a frog, your armpits will get rashes and it'll be very painful. Geez. I dunno, but it happened! I remember, the really angry mother hen, protecting her eggs.. I tried getting the eggs, poking it with a stick. I remeber that chicken's face. Like, grrrr face. Haha. Nothing happened to my armpits... I remember, my lola preparing a boiled avocado leaves, she said it was good for my asthma.. I get attacked by asthma all the time, sadly... I remember watching tagalog movies on local tv, specifically "dyesabel", on a wednesday night at 8pm with all the other kids from the neighborhood. My lola was the only one with a television back then. I remember going to the vegetable farm, looking at the picturesque view: the morning sun hitting the beautiful green landscape with the locals harvesting vegetables. It was like painting. I tried harvesting too... But i was out of breath because of asthma. Damn asthma. I remeber the coffee fruit... I was helping daddy harvest the red ones... I remember playing with our neighbor at their elevated bahay kubo. i have always thought it was the coolest thing. i felt like i was in a doll house. :)...  Aahhh, childood memories.... 

I called the place, Hacienda Juanita (my lola's name). It's not really called that.. It's just a nice name for the farm.it sounds expensive. Hehe...

Mang andong, the care taker, did us a favor, prepared coconut juice and meat, fresh from the husk... Ahhh. Super nice! :) then, we went to ate del's house (i think she's a relative, im not sure.). Food trip again. Turon, Lomi, caldereta... Hmmmm :) i met my long lost relative. I dont know why they remember me... Ate del's grown up kids, who may be mu cousins said, "...oo naaalala ki shempre sila.. Si ate rochie at ate anna..".. Errr, im like, yeah? So i just stayed quiet and pretended i remembered them too.. Maybe i do remember them...  But i dont know.. I was quiet.. I was sleepy.. I tried to stay awake... Eyelids, heavy... And then we left with our fat stomachs... The night was young. Mamang, our oldest tita, had bpnever been to Nuvali and it was time go show her around. Starbucks again. This time, i drank the cold stuff. Kuya eldie brought chip the dog with him... I volunteered to walk him around... Arggh.. I dunno how to tame a dog like cesear milan. He kept sniffing around and running in all directions and then stopping like he just got tired of doing what he did... Crazy dog.. But cute. I'm still a cat person. (Remembering Patches). Mom called over skype. Funny line mom said, "yung parang candy?", referring to the camera button on skype. :) haha..

First time to walk a dog.

Ate and i went home... Excited to post all the pics...  

Anyway, it was a heck of a weekend! Thank you! :) 

Monday... I was grasping for air... Sniffles and asthma and my almost cough. The AC was blasting on my head, thank you very much. My pale lips were dry and cracking, snuffly voice and pimply face.. An sleepy, sicky eyes... But i still got to work. :) amen to that :)

Pained

Hey, pig. I know how you feel.

Lesson learned: do not assume and do not expect anything from anyone...

Weekend in Eastwood- late post 10/11/2014

Saturday

It was Hazelnut's special day because it was the day she was about to marry the love of her life. Too bad, i missed the chance to witness it. :( car issues.

Anyway, i slept early and woke up at 2:00pm bec janina and i planned to go bonding and pamper ourselves (pigout and go to a massage therapist). Unfortunately, she said it was raining so hard from where she was coming from. We decided to call it off. 3pm, i was hungry and bored, i had to go out. My roomie and i had our late lunch at Goodah, ate spicy sisig and unlimited rice. Wish the viand was also unlimited, oh well. Then, went to the tiangge. Thank goodness, i didn't buy anything 'cause im really on a tight budget until pay day! 

The stage was being set up for a show. I realized it was QC day. There were light dancers, poi dancers, illusionists and a line of bands playing for the event. The light dancers and illusionists were familiar. They showed up on "Show Time". Also the korean teenager, who was playing with his curved stick, whom i saw in the event, moon rise festival, was there too. There were a lot of kids doing the hoolahoop, imitating the girl who looked like an expert with it. It was fun watching them do their own ramdom stunts. i got to use my camera also. I missed twiking my cam :) i used manual mode, 50 mm. Yey! :) will upload stuff on fb when i go home to laguna.

Then we went to kfc to have dinner. Went back to the event area and watched The Dawn. They're quite really old. In one of their songs, they incorporated POT's song, 'Sige na'. I missed Karl Roy. Then there were fire works! Maam Phame sent me a text, saying she wanted to go to eastwood and have a drink. I was not up for drinking at that time, but what the heck. She came over at around 12mn, just after the fireworks. We headed to Jack's Loft. And so, we talked about stuff.. About people, places, current events, lovelife, career, meeting new people, advising each other off, venting.. Ugh, so many... I wasn't even tipsy yet. I just drank a small glass of white russian. I wanted bailey's but there wasn't any. Maam Phame, left me for around 45 minutes and met someone... A friend of hers while i stayed inside the loft, relaxing and facebooking.... Facebooking.... I want to quit facebooking too much...

White russian and strawberry daquiri...

She did some shopping. She bought 2 tops and 1 shorts. They were nice stuff. Oh, geez.... If only i could shop... But it's fine.. I didn't find anything that said, buy me buy me! 

I thought we were done. But she refused to go home. It was 3am already.. I told her to stay in eastwood until around 5am just to be safe. We ate at mcdo and killed time. Another set of endless conversation. And then we went to Kwagos to drink another set of alcohol. We ordered a bucket of tanduay ice. The sun came up and we were still chatting and finishing our drinks. 5% alcohol so it was just like juice... It didn't give me a tipsy. Thank goodness, no hangover too.

She left at 6:45am. I hurriedly went back to the condo to prep for my next hangout with Janina (since we agreed to move our RnR on Sunday). I showered and slept for 1 1/2 hours. I was at mcdo again @ 0927am.

Bonding with maam phame, check.

Sunday

RnR with Janina. It was my first time to hang out with her for 12 hours! We went to church at Padre Pio. Very solemn place... But we stayed outside. Failed to start the mass. Then, we went across the street at a spa. Massage only costs 200 pesos but no therapist was available yet. And so we canvassed for other different spas that offered affordable service. We ended up at Bikram Yoga. 320 pesos. Aaah it was nice... Favorite part was the head massage.. Always my fave.

I wanted to stay and sleep but i guess we weren't allowed to. The ground was wet when we went out, It rained. We walked, window shopped, ate pasta at bigoli, drank red velvet drink at cbtl, thought to buy the long black skirt i've been eyeing for a few days- still didnt buy it, went to the office to finish some required stuff and then, chatted the whole time going to and from the places we went to. 

While walking, saw this headless man, drinking...

Janina went home with her sleepy head. Me? I ate pizza with my sleepy head before going home.

Bonding with Janina, check.

Nail it!

Lurve my candy nails. Can't stop staring at it until now. It looks like chicklet, bathroom tiles or car paint.  It's pretty. Good job, Ate Bubbles. :) btw, just to mention, i think this was my sister and i's first nail polish bonding. So girly! 

Pampering thyself on a cushy couch with Ate Bubbles, doing my nails. 

We ate at Kai Japanese Cuisine. I've been hearing Mr. Ramsey babble about sea bass on his shows. Hrmmm, sea bass... Familiar.. So that's what i ordered. It was really soft and juicy. Like it melts in your mouth. I also got to taste several sushi ... Errr... Flavors! You call them flavors i guess.. Or types.. But they were really good. I like the one with cream cheese. Thanks to my sister's treat. My turn nest time.

That's what i was talking about. Cream cheese sushi!

It took us awhile at the nail salon. I panicked and thought i'd be late for work. I was still wearing my street clothes (shirt, skirt- pretty short for office, and slip-ons). I would have had not made it if i went back to the condo and changed... I just had to make do with what i have with a little twick. Since i panicked... I did panic buying of a pair of shoes that i think got away from being too casual. The shoe made magic and made my street clothes look acceptable for office. I just had to pull down my skirt a little bit to reach the acceptable length and wore my jacket. Magic!

Zombie mode. But i managed. :)

Annabelle

What a silly movie... But scared the crap out of me... But it was really silly.. Geez... 

Image above: from princess sarah memes on facebook

Back massage was awesome! It was just a back massage for 30 mins. The blind woman who massaged me was way better than Nuat Thai. (Still the best i experienced was from the touch of thai in pagsanjan). After the massage, the blind people outside were singing, "kahit konting pagtingin". And one pf them made a comment, "e pano yan, bulag ka?".. Ahahahhaha. Kuleet.

I was about to eat at St Marc's cafe when they sent me a text that they've arrived already. And so arvie, ria and i met at megamall.

Fancy fancy... I have to try one of these! - St. Marc's Cafe

Then we watched the horror film. Arvie was squeezing my arm so hard. We were both screaming ever so loudly, it's funny. Ria, i think, fell asleep on some portions of the movie. No reaction on the scary parts. 

i wanted to hangout more after the movie but it was getting late. So i just bought these Unhappy paos (see the frowning?)

Thank you, Lord, i made it home safe. :)

Bday weekend

My birthday just ended. Thank you, Lord, the nice weather on my special day. 

Saturday:

Post flying. (From left to right: one of the trainors, me, sister). That guy at the back's Will, the owner/ founder of the trapeze school. I saw him on Sports Unlimited, a show on tv, that's why we got there. It was fun. I didn't get it at first, to swing forward backward forward, and then letting go. It was all timing so you'd get that smooth spin and landing on the net. It was a bit scary on the first swing. The plank was narrow, 30 feet above the ground and it's just your hands holding on to dear life on the bar.. I'm exaggerating. We had ropes and harnesses on, too, and there was a net beneath us of course. It was fun. I love the feeling of the wind on my face everytime i swing. :)

We had our dinner, after flying, at Ihop. Yum. 

Sunday:

Bday party with the fambam! 

Super Mario

They said, super mario, the storm, had even heavier down pour than Ondoy. But i think people are more prepared now than before.

Friday morning, after shift, it was raining hard. People were stranded everywhere. Tet, my friend and officemate, stayed in our condo.

So we went shopping for her clothes and toiletries, ate breakfast in Mcdo and painted my nails cherry red before sleeping. I can't stop looking at my shiny little nails. They're really pretty :)

Ugh... Queueing at work. Not all got to work, so we just had to deal with it.

Saturday morning, it was drizzling a bit. Gem and i went shopping at St. francis Square. oh, the temptation! I had only 100 pesos on my pocket and i saw this really nice dress, i cannot not buy it. 

We just couldn't go home that early. We dined and window shopped and gossipped (not really, just told her about my recent sentiments).

Ok so, that's gem and i, respectively. Pardon me with my ipad plattered on my face. It's just too big.

Look at those biceps. Didn't know i had it formed like that. Haha. Love the dress.

(I dunno if i fit to be a daisy. Haha)

Anyway, that's pretty much it. 

Monday

I'm on leave today. Was thinking of where to go and what to do. But it's rainy outside, so decided just to stay home and rest. 

It has been a productive weekend. I am on my domestic self mode. I cleaned my parent's room, biboy's room and our room. I washed the dishes and folded clean clothes. I bought ingredients for my planned menu today (unfortunetely, im short with butter and potatoes for the mashed potato recipe a friend taught me. I'll do this next time.) and some pandesal and eggs. I cooked my breakfast (longganisa from Laoag and red rice). Later, i'll make myself a chocolate oatmeal porridge. Wish i could make a real champorado but sticky rice is unavailable.

Looks like a scene from "Mystery Manor". I know, it's messy. But i've already decluttered the house.msorry. Don't have the after-pic.

Delicious! :)

 i tried to alter my red, star studded dress this morning to make it longer. It's half way done but i tried it to check if it was a success. It's still short at the back! :( i'll just have the professionals take care of it. Too much of my effort, pfffft.)

Still too short. Can't ride an escalator with this. I'm photobombed by the plastic boxes behind me.

I took out my violin and tried to play again. I forgot the pieces i've learned before. Also tuned it. Can't find my tuner. Where is it anyay? Also tried if i can do the vibrato. *shakes head

Told myself, i'd watch a movie. Still, here i am, blogging away.

See? I'm preoccupied.

I Am A.....

.... Living contradiction.