Merry Christmas! Hohoho... :P

I felt like Santa during Christmas day while giving gifts to my god-children. I definitely enjoyed capturing the funny moments. All my cute nephews, nieces and grandchildren (Oh yes.. the horror... I'm a young grandma) were so game to pose for the camera. ;)

Good thing that I was okay during Christmas, because last December 23 I had a fever. It went down the next day but it came back to haunt me today. :(

I wasn't even able to go to mass. I was really hoping to hear the mass with my nephew and niece and then strolling in Market Market as soon as I'm finished with my volunteer work. But noooooooo... I'm down with a runny nose, tonsilitis and coughing like crazy every few minutes. I blame Manila Bay. Why? Because I couldn't say "No" to the cute kids asking me to come with them to SM Mall of Asia. (You try doing that.. I'm telling you, "No" is not an option to them. @_@)

Ate Amphie was going to meet Ate Grace (a long lost friend) and her kids there. So I went to MoA and woah! There was this pretty nifty place near the Manila Bay where a playground and lots of food stalls stood. It was really nice. Anyway, long story short... I ended up baby-sitting three kids. It took a whole lot of energy to play with them. We played "Simon says...", "The boat is sinking..." and "Agawan base". I had to entertain them for 3 hours... really long bonding time for Ate Amphie and Ate Grace. By 11:30pm we finally found them hanging out at one of the bars and listening to old songs. I was soooooo tired. I barely had any energy left but the kids were chanting "playground!" so off we went. Around midnight they finally decided to leave, but Angelica and Mikaela (Ate Grace's kids) were poking me and clutching my arms, asking to play with me. @_@ Er... am I some sort of toy? Anyway we chased each other as we walked to the jeepney stop. I like those kids, they were so friendly and active. Maybe if I was feeling a bit better we could have stayed longer. :)

By the time I came home, I felt like my throat was burning. But I couldn't sleep because Kuya Edu came and we were bonding over stuff at the province and stuff at his shop. By the time I went to sleep, I kept waking up every 30 minutes because my throat was super itchy and I was coughing so much. It was very, very hard to sleep. :(

So here I am, sitting in front of the laptop. My cousin bought me dalandan to help fight the sickness. My boss wants me to report at work tomorrow. And the kids want to play.

I just want to sleep, sleep, sleep. :D

Ooooff... and Kuya is home! Yaaaay! My present was a bag of Kitkat. Yum! :9

Er... new month?

I'm currently looking for Tales of Legendia stuff because I don't want to spend a lot of time going wherever just to find the crystals I need. Haha...

And yaaaay! Happiness is getting some rest. After working on a holiday, they all decided to not let me work for today. Uber happy. Rest, rest, rest! Today I slept up to 12noon. *plops on a pillow* :D

It's already December. Time sure flies. In a few weeks, my nephews and niece will be spending their Christmas break with us, and Kuya will be coming home. While I was in Trinoma this afternoon, I was remembering how Kuya and I always fought over the silliest things. But when he went away, it's like our closeness went up a notch higher. Weird. Maybe it's me missing how I annoy him to death. :P

And now I leave with this quiz I got from Kimi (not the one from F1). XD

Your rainbow is intensely shaded white, yellow, and green.

What is says about you: You are a contemplative person. You appreciate optimism. You're good at getting people to like you. Those around you admire your fresh outlook and vitality.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Do you know the feeling when you're about to snap and so stressed out?

Mom said I should just suck it up and be glad I've got part time jobs. But I think, sometimes I spread myself too thin. WAAAAAY TOO THIN.

But having some money is good.

So.. hmm.. I guess this is how it is when you work and get to go back to your own home. I didn't feel too much stress during the OJT days because I had enough rest. I only felt homesick back then.

Right now, I only sleep an average of 6 hours a day and work 6-10 hours a day excluding the travel time... and the travel experience... urrrrgh. There was a time I had to shout "OMG! I CAN'T GET OUT!!!" in the MRT because the doors were about to close and I couldn't get out of the MRT in Cubao Station, people were entering while I was still inside. It was horrible. T_T

My laptop is heavy and I get paranoid whenever I'm commuting. Gah...

O well... I just have to keep reminding myself that having some money is good. ("Some money" because "too much" = "too bad" for me. Hehe..)

I smell Christmas. Oh happy day~! :D

One month...

...huh?

One month of not posting anything. Wow.

I'm not busy, in fact I spend most of the time playing PS2. But right now, I don't feel like playing. Heh... :)

But I finished Kingdom Hearts 2! And I now officially love Riku and Sora. *fan girl squeal* And I'm almost finished with Tales of Legendia. Right now I'm contemplating if I should create a new game to get all of the side quests or just go with what I have. Hmm...

I also went cosplaying last month. Yeah.. I love this picture. Credits go to moonlightbomber.


On another note, I'm finished buying gifts for my god children. Gaaah.. I have too many god children for my age. T_T And no, I haven't bought anything for my friends. I'm kinda broke after that. ^^;

We have new neighbors! Our old neighbors moved out before November... and new ones came. Actually they're not really new people, I've already met them a few times. ;)

And a big congrats to Nikki, she got her website published in a book. Yay! Go Nikki! (Btw, she made my layout... *beams proudly* She is so cool!)

That's it for updates. I guess... Let's just hope it won't take me another month to post. :P

"Congratulations on your melamine collection."

That's what kuya told me after giving him details on the amount of contaminated milk I've ingested.

Thanks kuya. I can feel the love. Haha... :P

Now, I no longer eat anything that came from China. Good bye pancit... I shall miss you. T_T

*sighs*

When will BFAD ever learn to test EVERYTHING? Isn't that supposed to be their job? Even cosmetics now have lead and cadmium, and they know nothing about it. Argh! *smacks face*

The newest addition to my growing number of mugs...

My CBTL coffee mug! :D

In other stuff, hello new me... It looks cute. LOL.

Milk scare.

I drank Yili products a few months ago. Monmilk last year. And now I'm on Jolly Cow.

How can these Chinese businessmen sleep at night knowing that their products could ruin someone's life?

I'm praying that there's no melanine in the products I drank. T_T

I'm such a fresh milk lover and now.. Oh noes... :(

God is good. :)

I'm so relieved. I just heard good news that my cousin doesn't have any brain damage according to her CT-Scan. One part was swollen hence her unconscious state after the stroke. She finally woke up and could talk!

Thank God. He truly is good. He gave me a miracle. ;_; *tears of joy*

Last night, I couldn't sleep. I kept turning in bed, feeling guilty for the things I've done. I kept crying and asking for forgiveness. I never wanted this to happen to her. Never.

She was supposed to work in Japan and she's leaving this week as soon as she pays for her ticket. But I guess God has better plans. :)

Thank you guys for all the prayers and support. Super duper thanks! *hugs*

My foot was almost runover by a car.

T_T

I went to SSS with my Mom this afternoon because she wanted me to get my SSS number. When we got off the jeepney, I thought there were no more cars so I proceeded to walk to the other side. Wrong move! A metallic yellow car suddenly came and my mom tried to pull me back but my left foot got caught under the front tire.

I screamed. O_O

He pulled back as soon as he heard me scream. After that he asked me if I was okay and if I needed to go to the hospital and if there was any blood. He continuously apologized while I was crying because it really hurt. I could still walk, so I declined the hospital offer.

But my foot hurt while we were at SSS. I couldn't stop my tears because it hurts SO MUCH! T_T I finished filing for my SSS number and then we went home.

Back home, I quickly applied ice over my foot. But it was still painful, so I thought there may be broken bones. We rushed to Delgado Hospital ER and asked them for an x-ray.

After a few minutes, we got the x-ray results and there were no fractures. Thank God. However, I had soft tissue inflammation so they prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. :(

It was ironic that my Mom just got Philam Accident Shield yesterday, then this happens to me. I think I need that. @_@

Our house is now kid-free.

Feels a bit lonely. Gosh, I love teasing those kids. And playing with them. Haha... Yay for flash games. :D

Other than that, here's a nifty quiz I got from the internetz!

Your dating personality profile: Religious - Faith matters to you. It is the foundation that you build your life upon. You trust that God has a plan for you. Athletic - Physical fitness is one of your priorities. You find the time to work athletic pursuits into your schedule. You enjoy being active. Conservative - You take a conservative stance on most issues and aren't shy about saying so. Your political views are an important component of who you are.

Your Top Ten Traits 1. Religious 2. Athletic 3. Conservative 4. Wealthy/Ambitious 5. Traditional 6. Sensual 7. Adventurous 8. Romantic 9. Stylish 10. Intellectual

Your date match profile: Religious - You seek someone who is grounded in faith and who possesses religious values. You believe that a religious person can enhance your life. Practical - You are drawn to people who are sensible and smart. Flashy, materialistic people turn you off. You appreciate the simpler side of living. Traditional - You need someone who is a bit old-fashioned. A person with traditional values and beliefs will perfectly compliment your lifestyle.

Your Top Ten Match Traits 1. Religious 2. Practical 3. Traditional 4. Athletic 5. Adventurous 6. Romantic 7. Big-Hearted 8. Conservative 9. Intellectual 10. Shy

Take the Dating Profile Quiz at Would I Date You

Yay tables! Haha! :P

Today I almost died...

...out of worry. T_T

When I woke up, I didn't see Aragorn with Luke while I was at the kitchen. I thought he was probably resting at the yard. But when I went out because I was going to buy some medicines, I found out that he wasn't at the yard, or in the dog house, or anywhere in the house.

Then I started to panic. @.@

Turns out my mom didn't notice that he went outside with Luke this morning. She was too busy cleaning. =_=

So I looked for him around our subdivision, and outside our subdivision. I even went as far as 30 blocks away from our subdivision asking security guards, tricycle drivers and people on the street if they saw a brown dog pass by. It wasn't very comforting when the tricycle drivers told me that it's probably pulutan by now. I was praying while I was walking around, hoping that he'll turn up at the next street. But I couldn't find him. I went to the market, looked around but still no sign of my dog. I was crying at this point because I don't want to lose my dog. T_T

A thousand things were running through my head, like "What if he can't find his way back home because he doesn't go out at all?", "What if he was run over by a car?", "What if someone already took him and made him pulutan?", "What if I never see him again?", and so on...

After 90 minutes of searching under the hot sun. I didn't find him. :(

So I went home... and there he was! My mom said that he came home on his own. I was so emotional at this point that I knelt at Aragorn's side and cried so much. All the worry and frustration became overwhelming that all I could do was cry until my eyes hurt.

I don't want this to ever happen again. T_T

Tita Lorie was buried today...

Know what the really sad part is? I don't know her that well. All I know is that she's the eldest daughter of my grandma who also passed away early this year. I think I only saw her for 10 times in my whole lifetime. And I could remember that she always asked what my name is, she probably doesn't remember it because we don't see each other that often.

It's sad that I wasn't able to know her that much. Her loved ones told me today that she lived a fulfilling life. It wasn't that happy... but she made the most out of it. Ain't that something? :)

(And also.. it's Kuya Mic's birthday today! Happy birthday to my favorite big brother... because I have no other siblings to choose from. Hehehe... :D)

I'm so disturbed. @.@

I just watched "The Dark Knight" at Trinoma. It's my second time to watch a movie alone. Yay, another "brave moment" for me! :D

I guess Batman dealing with a psycopath was definitely something else. Heath Ledger gave an astounding performance, but as for Christian Bale. Well.. it was just okay.

I love their gadgets, everything was so high tech. When they showed the microstructure of the samples to pinpoint something (I'm not going to spoil you) I was squealing with delight. Wow! They had that much money to buy super duper cool analytical devices. Geek delight! Rawr! XD

After the movie, I went straight home. I didn't see all the credits because I was the last one to leave the cinema. I was a bit embarassed to stay all by myself just to see if there's something after the credits. LOL.

Next movie on the list... Wall - E. :D

Because I miss putting meme in this blog...

Got this from JM.

The rules are simple.
At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was in second year high school and still adjusting to QueSci. I had a big fight with my closest friend (we didn't talk for over 2 months) and we patched things up during Biology because of a fish. Hehe... silly stuff really. And I was also one of the randomly chosen people for the school's achievement test to determine if were capable of being the Regional Science High School. Yay for us, we passed the test! :)


2. What are the 5 things on my to-do list today?

Check emails and reply to Kuya, feed the dogs, close my account at DBP and transfer the savings to another bank, go to SM to buy SmartLink and other things for Dad, then I have to buy a magazine before heading home.


3. Snacks I enjoy:

Omigosh... I love junk food (candies, chocolates, potato chips.. you name it!) and fruits (apples, banana, pineapples, lychee, buko... and the list goes on)!


4. Place where I live:

Quezon City. It's so accessible to malls, schools, and the MRT. :D


5. Things I’d do if I were a billionaire:

I would donate 100M to different churches and charitable institutions. I would use around 50M to renovate our house and then buy house & lots (or condominium units) at different locations. I'd use 100M to invest in different companies (or maybe put up my own). Then I would use 1M to treat my friends. Another 1M to treat my relatives. And around 2M to treat my family to a trip abroad. Then I'd have the rest under UITF, stocks and T-bills. :D

I'm tagging Chrissa, Ivy, Nikki, Tin, Eugene and James.

The previous post was an entry for TCBTL's contest: http://www.whatsyourcoffeebeanandtealeafstory.com/

Anyway, haha.. that's not fiction. We really did that last October 17, 2007. (Aha! I remembered the date! LOL. Actually I wrote it down in lj. :p)

I love TCBTL because they have tea lattes! Yay for Chai Tea Latte! XD

Right now, I'm on page 152 of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye". So far, I like it because it affirms the beliefs I have. :)

And I have finally endorsed the S-Lab to my adviser and the apprentices yesterday. Yay.. one down, one more... After the turnover ceremony, I went to the pictorial sessions and talked to Pat for over 2 hours. Haha... Managing ed to managing ed. It was fun. I was that harrassed last year. I'm so glad that I finished everything... Thank God. :D

Although I feel a bit sad about leaving the lab yesterday. It has played a big part in my college life. I felt like crying. :(

But I believe the new apprentices will do well. I hope they take good care of the equipment in the lab. :)

THIRDNOTCHER

“That movie was so good!”, Ivy gushed to us.

“Yeah, I want to shine too!”, I chimed in.

We just finished watching “Stardust” at Trinoma. The three of us – Ivy, Phin, and I, were freeand we decided to spend it watching a movie together.

“So what do we do next?”, Ivy asked.

“Why don’t we treat Phin to some Turtle Pie cake at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf? She deserves it after the board exams.”, I suggested.

“Wow! I want to try that!”, Phin said happily.

Phin smiled at us and we all went to hang out at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf located at the 4th level of Trinoma. The barista greeted us as we entered the café. We ordered some Chai Tea Latte and of course, the celebration cake – Turtle Pie! We shared the cake while we talked about the movie and other future plans.

“I’m so proud of you Phin! You’re the thirdnotcher!”, I blurted out. Then we all laughed. I accidentally said “thirdnotcher” instead of “third topnotcher”. I got a postcard from the table and wrote down “Congratulations Phin! Love, Katherine”. Ivy wrote a note, too. Phin thanked us as she finished her turtle pie and we gulped down our drinks.

We finally parted ways and I just smiled thinking that even if the celebration was small. I know that Phin would definitely cherish it in her heart.

Road Trip + Food Trip = One happy me! :D

Today I went to sleep at 3:30am and got up at 5am. My mom was frantically waking me up because we were supposed to be out of the house by 5am. We left at 5:30am. XD

We went to Lipa, Batangas! Why? Well, my Mom and ninang wanted to attend the mass at the Carmel Church. It was my first time to go there and tour the place. Although I feel bad because I was only able to grasp the main bits of the homily, my mind was flying somewhere else. After hearing the mass, we went to the Adoration Chapel where I prayed for a lot of things. :)

Carmel Church

Outside the church we saw a lady selling Tamales. Mom bought 5 so we could give the others to our neighbors. Then we found an old lady selling Maja Blanca. I was hungry so we bought 4 slices. Then we went to San Sebastian Cathedral. The altar there was sparkling. @.@

San Sebastian Cathedral

Altar at San Sebastian Cathedral

Then we had lunch at McDo before heading off to the market to buy vegetables and other native delicacies. We went home after that and I fell asleep as soon as the bus got out of the terminal. I was sound asleep until we got back. XD

I <3 today. :)

Senior citizen.

My ninang celebrated her 6oth birthday last Sunday. And she does not look like a senior citizen to me. :P

We had lunch and dinner together. Lunch was just with me and my mom, then dinner with all her friends and us (me and my mom again.. XD). We met her friends from all walks of life, I already knew some of them (like Tita Aei who made my grad dress).

Me, Tita Cel (my ninang), Tita Christy, and Sister Merly

It was fun. I was the designated photographer for the day, but it's okay because I enjoyed taking their pictures. And I love old people, they just have a lot to share about life. It's always nice to hear their stories. :)

Cheers to my ninang! Love you Tita Cel, mwah! ;)

From now on, I'll bring her to all the restaurants because of her discount. Haha! (I'm kidding!) :D

19 hours online.

Oh yeah.. I've been here for so long my eyes hurt. >.< But I'm happy! I got all of David Cook's songs (except the ones from his Axium albums) and Amber's song (thanks to Eugene who helped me download it, if you want to hear it here's a link). I've kept playing Amber's song over and over and over so I could dance to the beat. I remember we spent 30% of the Street Dance class to memorize the steps for some parts of this song (104 steps, I think). I love love love that class! :D

Well I better go and let the laptop cool down. Hehe... :)

My mom was rummaging through her things and I was just trying to distract her when I chanced upon an old copy of their Bible reading guide. I browsed through stories of triumph, silliness and heartaches but one story struck a familiar chord in my heart. I'd like to share this story. :)

An Angel Named Marie Kei

In 1996, I prayed over and asked Mama Mary for the gift of a child for Farah and Yoshi (a Japanese). Their wish was granted. They were given a child whom they beautifully named Marie Kei (which in Japanese means "blessing from Mary"). She was born on December 12, feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was a joyful day for the whole family, made more joyful with Yoshi's announcement that he, too, wanted to be baptized on January 5 together with his child.

But suddenly, joy turned to sorrow. The baby became very sick and I was called to giver her emergency baptism at the hospital on December 15. Yoshi, really wanting to be one with his child, wanted to be baptized as soon as possible. I administered adult baptism to him on December 23.

The next day, Christmas Eve, Marie Kei died at St. Luke's Hospital. She lived for only 12 days but she had done her mission. In Farah's own words, Marie Kei has brought her father, Yoshi, to the Lord.

Marie Kei's mission was accomplished in 12 days.

How about you? How long have you been here in this word? Have you done your mission? Are you doing your mission?

- Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD (Didache, May 11, 2004)

I had a slight fever yesterday morning. I felt so sick, like my tonsils were on fire and I couldn't get back to sleep after waking up at 7am. So I got up, ate some cereals, and loaded up some vitamin C and water. Then I got back to sleep and I woke up at 1pm. :O

By the time that it was Nas' birthday bash, I was feeling okay. Ehehe... although a bit hungry because they gave us the wrong food. We were like wah.. That's only good for 4 people. Are you people blind? There were ten people on our table. TEN. @.@

Nas playing with the DS

Phin and our birthday girl!

Here are the guys at the left side of the table.

Other half (of the table)

Anyway, I was really stuffed with all the food and laughs while we were at North Park. I can't believe I was brought to tears because Nas kept on joking about the food while my mouth was full and I was trying to stop laughing. XD

Phin (wearing Ivy's jacket) and Chrissa

Ivy and me after drinking a whole glass of Tequila Sunrise.

A last wacky photo of Nas

Then we had some drinks at Dencio's. I already ordered a glass of pineapple juice but Tin and Ivy really wanted to see me drink so I ordered what I knew (meaning: what I drank at the Grad Bash). I got my Tequila Sunrise and it tasted like... cherry-flavored medicine (the one's in Fiamma taste a lot better and sweeter). But I finished the half glass in one straight up drink. Just to get it over with.

When we got out of Dencio's, that when it hit me. I was feeling a bit woozy and I had erratic actions. (I almost thought I could float on water... ALMOST.) By the time I got home, my heart was beating like crazy. It was as if I ran a mile, but I only walked going home. Around 2am, I was ready to sleep but my heart palpitations wouldn't stop. It was driving me crazy. T_T So I got up, measured my heart rate and woah... 102 beats per minute. No wonder I couldn't go to sleep (normal heart rate is around 80 bpm). :(

Eventually, after a lot of prayers and calming meditation the heartbeats finally slowed down and I got to sleep. Serves me right for drinking that much alcohol. :(

And I woke up today with a cold. Ooff...

Birthday post..

So for today, I was armed and ready to be home alone because Mom has a seminar for the entire day. Then I received a phone call from my Tita, turns out Ate Amphie is coming all the way from the province and she brought Mavik with her.

At first I was shocked. And then I felt happy. Yay for not spending my birthday alone! XD

And so here is the my birthday gift for this year...



They brought me a dozen roses and this doll. It dances, sings and does silly stuff. Haha! XD

So.. someone asked me, "Have you ever been in love?"

Wow. What a question.

Of course. I'm always in love! :D

You see, every time I wake up in the morning. Every time I rise and greet my Mom. Every time I play with my dogs. Every time I can hear Birdie sing. Every time I meet friends. Every time. Those are the moments that I say, "Thank you for your great love Lord!". :)

Thank God for all the blessings he has showered on my family. I have everything I could ever hope for. Loving parents, supportive brother, caring cousins, adorable nephews/nieces, understanding friends, and smart pets!

I love life! :)

Owwie!

I have a major headache right now. I HURTS A LOT. The last time I had this was when I was working on my thesis documentation for days. Right now, I'm just resting at home and when we went to the grocery store. That's when it hit me.

I can't sleep. It feels like someone's drilling my skull.

T_T

My week in pictures...

What started off as a boring week turned out to be one of the most devastating and memorable days of my life.

The first few days of the week, I was bored out of my skull. I was really happy to finally get out of the house and watch Prince Caspian with friends but they are busy with work. Guess I'm the only one with a lot of free time, huh? :(

Anyway, by Friday I was back in UP... not to enroll, mind you. I had to finish teaching those apprentices how to use the ISE with different settings. And I am just glad that I don't have to wait for long hours for the form 5 and other enrollment issues. Yay for being a graduate! Turns out that one of the apprentices had an emergency, one had to finish filing for student loans and I was left with only one apprentice to teach. Wow.

Friday night I watched MMK and cried buckets of tears because of their featured story. I surfed for a while and fell asleep while the laptop was turned on. I woke up around 4am because I suddenly remembered the laptop and quickly turned it off. Then there was a phone call...

It was the most heartbreaking news I've ever heard. Ate Lhet was crying and saying "My house... it's burning..." I was completely shocked. We went there last week and they were still renovating their house. Not only that, they were 6 families living side by side so my 4 other cousins and my uncle were left with nothing. Absolutely nothing but the clothes on their backs.

I was so shocked for about 5 minutes and then I asked my mom what do we plan to do. I told her we should get the kids and keep them in the house for the meantime and then she said that those people need food and shelter. I was still in my sleeping attire (meaning tshirt and shorts) and I just changed my pants, got a taxi and rushed over there.

By the time we got there, the firefighters were still trying to control the fire. All their houses, all their things... everything... burned down to the ground. They were not even able to grab slippers because of panic. Thank God that no one was hurt. Some kids suffered a few scratches but nobody was hurt.

I'm super close to my cousins (on my Mom's side) because they've been taking care of me since I've been born. We even lived with them until I turned 1 year old because our house was under construction.

It was so painful to see all of them crying while sharing their stories on how they barely survived and got out of the big fire. The kids were terrified, I was so worried about them. I tried to make the kids eat, but they all refused. Genevel was throwing up because of shock and fear. They were wet and shivering because the firefighters were spraying water all over and they got soaked. Mom asked me to go with Ate Lyn to buy some food from the market for their lunch. Ate Lyn was still crying while we were on our way to the market. :(

After breakfast, Mom and I went back home to gather clothes that they could use. Then we stopped by the terminal because our cousins back in the province were able to send rice, clothes and pillows. Thank God for their speedy reply. As soon as I texted them, they called me and offered their help. :)

We brought the clothes and other supplies to my cousins. Then we gathered some of the kids and brought them home. Right now, they're all sound asleep... which is good because after the incident they were unable to sleep or think about anything else. :(

Another thing is... school starts in a few days. And all of their things... books, uniform, school supplies... everything... gone. :(

Please pray for my cousins... that they may be able to recover soon and get through this hardship together.

Happy birthday to my very first inaanak, Lee Adam!

Here is a slide show of what they did at the park last May 30. I was taking pictures using my camera phone so the pics are kind-of grainy.

I'm going to miss these kids. They went home a while ago after staying here for over a month. I love them sooooo much. XD

In other news, I called Ate Lai's Cyprus cellphone (she's my cousin). She was crying a while ago because she was homesick, broke up with her bf and she was still at work. My dear, dear Ate Lai... I miss her a lot. :(

Sagada... :D

My friends and I have planned to go to Sagada, Mountain Province since last month. We almost canceled the whole outing because of the typhoons before the weekend. Fortunately, we were able to push through with the plans because Albert already bought the bus tickets. :P

The bus ride going to Banaue was the longest and COLDEST bus ride ever! We boarded it on Friday evening. I was already wearing a jacket, a cap, and I had to get a towel from my bag to cover my arms. The aircon was on full blast. I wasn't able to sleep at all. T_T The bus ride took 10 hours and we were in Banaue by 8am.

When we got there, we booked our tickets for Monday afternoon. Then we got inside a van going to Sagada. We stopped over at Banaue Rice Terraces viewpoint to take some pictures. It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The rice terraces were amazing! :D

Going to Sagada was a long and bumpy 3-hour ride. I slept for about an hour and just watched the mountains for the remaining time. We were brought to our destination, George Guest House. Chrissa picked this place because it has hot/cold showers! (Very important when going to cold places. :D)

After eating lunch at Haddekus and resting for a while, we went to the municipal hall to register and get a tour guide. We went spelunking in the Sumaging Caves. It was one of the most dangerous and coolest thing I've ever done. I never thought I'd be able to use my amateur rock climbing skills to hang on for dear life. There was a pool of water at the bottom of the caves and the water was freezing! It was fun to take a dip in that pool, it was like facing your fears and just trusting the people who are there to help you. Sounds like a team building experience. XD

After that, we were completely exhausted. We went back to the guest house to take a shower and change clothes before heading off to Bana's Cafe for dinner. We stayed there up to 10pm. When we finally got back to the house, we finished planning for our adventure for the next day then plopped on the bed and went to sleep.

The next morning, we woke up around 8am. But we finished taking a shower and having breakfast around 11:30am. Then we went to the municipal hall for our tour guide for the day. Turns out it was still Kuya Ruben who helped us at the cave. First on the list, we had a 2-hour trek down to Bomod-ok Falls. The falls was so beautiful, it was just... awesome! I took a dip in the cold waters before we decided to go back because it was raining. It was another 2-hour trek going up which was definitely harder. I was so tired when we finally got back to the van. But we still went to our next destination, the Kiltepan Viewpoint. It was a 30-minute trek up the slopes. The view from that place was great! You can see the whole Sagada. We took a few pictures and videos before going back to the van. Next stop was Lake Danum. It was unfortunate that the water was murky when we got there because of the rains. There was also a lot of cow poop... haha! XD Anyway, we just went to our last destination... the Echo Valley. We saw the famous hanging coffins and we took lots of pictures. We also tested if the valley would live up to its name and shouted lots of silly things. XD

By the time we went back, we took a shower and went straight to Yogurt House for dinner. I had tuna fried rice and strawberry yogurt. Yum! :D Servings in Sagada were good for 2 people but you had to wait for an hour for your order. @_@

When we got home, we watched American Idol reruns, the movie 300, and played cards before going to sleep. I couldn't sleep so I just packed my bags. The next day we woke up and washed up before getting ready to leave. We had brunch at Masferre and bought a few souvenirs.

By 11:30am, we were already inside the van going back to Banaue. It was another bumpy ride and the roads were a bit slippery because it was raining. At least I think it was raining, or maybe it was because we passed by a rain cloud? :P

I was quite disappointed when we got to Banaue viewpoint because we were not able to buy choco flakes and other delicacies. So we had to stop at the local market to buy some. I bought a few vegetables and other things that my Mom told me to get. It was fun to go shopping there! XD

We finally boarded the bus going back home around 5:30pm and we were back in Manila by 3am. :)

Some pictures can be found here. I'm still waiting for pics from my friends cameras because I was only able to bring a video cam. :) It was one of the most memorable trips ever. I have a deeper appreciation for the beauty of nature after that adventure. ;)

Yay!

I finally graduated from college! Wheee! The graduation ceremonies were mostly boring, especially the Univ Grad Ceremonies.

Here are the pictures from the College Graduation, University Graduation and Grad Party. The past few weeks have been used in preparation for these events. The Grad Party was a blast! I stayed at Fiamma up to 4am because we had to wait for everyone to leave and Mina (who was giving me a ride home) forgot to call her parents so we had to wait for over an hour. But when we finished the Grad Party, I was super happy... it's finally over! :D

So, what else is keeping me busy these days?

This kid! XD


This is Mavik, my super kulit niece. She's having a vacation with us. :P

Right now, she's learning the different parts of the Philippines. She finished reading and writing Regions 1 to 3. She's a smart girl. (It runs in the family. :D)

She's my little teddy bear because she loves sleeping beside me. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and her foot is in my face, she's like a helicopter. Hahaha! XD

I love that kid. ;)

Yum!

I had a hearty dinner at Cabalen with my groupmates and our teacher. We were supposed to eat at Banana Leaf but it was already closed so Roc said he wanted a buffet. :p

We ended up talking about restaurants and statistics. Haha. How toxic can we get? XD We also talked about our business plan - what needs to be done and the feeling that there's still something missing.

And our teacher escorted me (and only me!!!) up to Tandang Sora, because he was driving up to there. We talked a bit about music, family life, my big EEE to MMM switch, and other things. *kilig* What a way to end this day, considering I also had my first sleepover in UP. (Haha.. I've never done it for my thesis, but I did it for the yearbook.)

I hope to see him on Saturday. I'm definitely getting a picture with him. :D

Zoom!

Life is just zooming before me. I slept after my thesis and when I woke up, it's already the middle of April! @_@ I have a lot of things to finish and I'm not even halfway there. T_T

Anyway, look at my newest toy! :D


When I'm not using it the lights are just blue.


When I move it, the lights become brighter!


It's really cute, I love it! (Look at those books and that hard-bound thesis. I'm a graduate but my table is still swamped with school related things!)XD

So where did I find it? Somewhere in Dad's trunk. Mom remembered that he has an extra mouse with him and so I looked for it, ta da! :D


These are some of my favorite chocolates. My niece gave them when she got home from Japan. I've just opened Macadamia. I love it when the chocolate melts in your mouth and the texture of the nuts just blends in with the creamy chocolate. Absolutely delicious! :9

I also tried my hand in making chocolate ice cream with marshmallows. It was very creamy and I was able to moderate the sweetness. I love the ice cream maker! XD

I just want to say.. this has been a very informative evening.

And I got to be in the passenger seat of my teacher's car (a Honda City 2007 edition I think.. really cool black!). Everything was just, amazing. Haha! If I could have asked him to take me straight home... that would have topped this whole evening off!

LOL

Ah yes, what should I do?

I'm smitten. XD

And no, we were not on a date (even though I wanted something like that). He just drove us to safety after partying for our contest. My drunken (at least I think he was drunk) groupmate was at the back of the car.

But we're going out next week. With all my groupmates and our teacher for dinner. His treat.

CHANCE!!! XD

It's my time to SHINE! :D

UNO!!!

Anyway, before I go to the post on why 'the sad face'. I want to say... I GOT 1.0 on my THESIS!!!

I was jumping up and down for about 2 hours this morning and then crying the next hour. It has been an emotional year, with all the hardships on the thesis, yearbook, erg and acads. And I felt so overwhelmed that I got a high grade with all the blood, sweat and tears I've done for my thesis. All worth it! :D

So okay, now we go on to why 'the sad face'.

Everyone knows that I'm graduating this April. (And if you don't know it.. well.. now you do. XD) I'm pretty excited about it. All those years of hard work, it finally paid off!

Unfortunately, my brother was sent to Qatar last April 1 and he'll stay there for a year. Then my Dad will be leaving tomorrow for Europe and stay there for 9 months. They won't even see me graduate.

Hence the sad face. :(

Only my mom will be able to be there on my special day. If I could have my way, I wish they would leave after my graduation but I can't be selfish. My heart feels heavy. ._.

:(

Who would have thought?!

I've never been a fan of S-T-Relationships but... waahhh... I have a big crush on one of my teachers. He's just awesome. *drools*

He's older than me by 3 years. Hehe.. so I have some hope.. hahaha! XD

I even greeted him on his birthday and he said thanks... OMG. I feel like I'm back in high school. I'm never deleting that thank you message. Never ever! :D

I also got a part-time summer job because of him. And as far as I know, he's not attached. He even wore black on V-day to emphasize that he was single. Whee! :P

Post valentine's day post...

Valentine's day was fun. Started off with me lacking sleep and having lunch at the office. In my afternoon class, I gave chocolate mallows to Abbee because its her birthday and Chocnut to my other groupmates. Then I got out of school with a rose and a balloon (funny story how I got it) which I just handed to my Mom. I think my Dad wanted a rose and a balloon too. After dinner he was muttering that we forgot about him. Haha.. :P Kuya treated us at Kamay Kainan and he brought Sheila (his gf). I was so full after that night. XD

Anyway, fast forward... I went to the studio today and found out that our accounts did not tally. How did that happen?! It was an "OMG, where did that money go?!" moment. Anyway, I will be reviewing the records I have and I'll check it with theirs. I'm sure we'll be able to work things out.

No class on Monday! I'll be in La Salle on Wednesday. I've got meetings for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Busy bee...

Goodnight Barrett...

Barrett is the blue parakeet that we captured while he was flying around house. We kind-of think he was here because he wants to visit Birdie, our green parakeet.

This morning, the birds were noisy but we were about to leave so I didn't really take any notice. Little did I know that it was the last time I'd see Barrett alive. We got home a few minutes ago and I saw Barrett just lying down on the cage, I was quite alarmed and I called my mom. I feared for the worst. I thought they didn't have enough food but there were still a lot of bird seeds. Then I noticed the bite marks on Barrett's neck. He was murdered! T_T

Barrett was a hyperactive little bird. He loves fluttering around the cage and singing. He has this white stripe in his neck, white with black spots on his head, and he looks so cute. He doesn't like me touching him (even though he's so soft!) but at times when I feel down, he cheers me up by chirping a lot.

I'm going to miss him. :(

Lost in transportation...

Yesterday I went to La Salle. I've been there once so I had a pretty good idea of what rides to take.

So around 6pm I went to Trinoma, hopped onto the MRT and then stopped at Cubao. Then I took the LRT2 going... well, where exactly? I knew I was supposed to go to Vito Cruz but why is Vito Cruz not on LRT2's map? Well, I took a risk and just got a V. Mapa ticket. (It has the same letter V like Vito Cruz, so maybe this is it?)

While I was on the train, I tried to look for the signs that were posted on top of the windows. It tells the station and the nearest schools, churches, and other landmarks in the area. I couldn't find it. Then I finally realized... I'M ON THE WRONG TRAIN! I should have gone all the way to Taft and took the LRT1 line! @_@

I was thinking. "Oh no! I'm late for the event! Should I go back and take the MRT to Taft? What should I do? How can I get back?" Took me a few seconds to stop my panic attack and then I saw this station map where it says that LRT2 is connected to LRT1. I'M SAVED! :D

So I just waited until we got to Recto and I went to Vito Cruz (So my memory is correct. I just wasn't paying attention.) I got off the train, went to La Salle and UP rocked the dance concert! They bagged 1st (Diliman) and 2nd (Manila) places. They were just amazing! Even other people in the hall were convinced that UP will win the competition. :D

And now a meme taken from JM. I've done this before, last October 26, 2006. :p

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

2. Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.

3. Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

4. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Here goes nothing...

1. I love my pets. So much that I spend some time with them at least once a week and at most... every moment of the day! They're just so cute, furry and squishy! Haha! And best of all, they always love me. I am their favorite master! XD

2. I love taking pictures. I want a camera and video phone with lots of memory. That's first on my list when I get a job! *eyes Nokia for new phone models*

3. I don't like having calluses. That's why I avoid high heels like a plague. I also get a lot of blisters after using sandals, so I use them on VERY special occasions only.

4. I hate mosquitoes. I go crazy over a mosquito bite. :(

5. I listen to AM stations, because my parents like the AM better than the FM. And I don't bother to change the modes. :P

6. I love DQ shakes. Strawberry Banana is my favorite, next is Pineapple (but it's gone).

7. I love my nephews and nieces so much! They're just so sweet and playful. Although I am more strict than their parents, especially when they're playing outside because I don't want them to get hurt.

I tag anyone! Hehe..

BREATHE

I was so tired when I got home from school that after dinner and relaxing on my parents bed, I fell asleep. @_@

Well, stress stuff started last Wednesday, escalated by Saturday and started to diminish yesterday (Monday).

Stressful things:
1. Lola's funeral - Spent the whole Friday night up to Saturday morning. No sleep. Parents were not home for the past 3 days. ^^;
2. Thesis - Not yet finished. Target to finish the first draft by the end of January.
3. Academics - Report for 151, Interview for 197, EEE exam and homework, and Presentation for 173
4. Yearbook - For the ads and barkada pages and marketing stuff.
5. Jobfair - Where am I going to apply? What am I going to put in my resume? O_O
6. Gifts - Ahaha... last minute shopping! XD

De-stressers:

1. Barkada Bonding - Yay for Nikki's comeback! So sad I wasn't able to bring a camera, I forgot all about it because my parents used it that the morning and I didn't have any sleep. We didn't get to go to Global Fun Carnival because it was raining, but the seafood feast, cheesecake galore, exchange gifts and Monopoly more than made up for it! (I really wanted to go to the Carnival. ^^;) :P
2. My nephew and nieces - I love them to bits.
3. My pets - Because fun-loving dogs are so cute! Birds do the silliest things. XD
4. The Secret - Positive thinking gets you EVERYWHERE. ;)
5. Shopping - Enough said. :D
6. Internet - It's always nice to unwind by just browsing stuff.

Yesterday, I was in school by 8:30am for our report and got home around 7:10pm because we had to finish our interview. That explains the super tired feeling. ^^ Right now, I'm still researching for the homeworks. Ehehe... good thing I got some sleep before working. :)

Let's go!

Please pray for my Lola.

Amalia Infante Ong

She passed away peacefully in the grace of our Lord today, January 9, 2008, at the age of 87 years old. Her remains lie at the Holy Trinity Parish and interment will be on January 12, 2008.

Around 8:05pm, I received a call from my tita that she just had her last breath. The last time I saw her was last Sunday, after the baptism of my cousin Con-con. She was really weak but she still greeted me with a smile. She looked happy to see her youngest grandchild (Con-con) too. Before we left, I held her hand and said goodbye. She was resting that time so she just nodded.

And for the past few hours, I've been trying to do other things. Just to keep myself from thinking too much. To keep myself from crying.

It hurts.

Happy New Year!

So far... I've been spending a lot of time and money for the first week alone. Haha.. Let us hope that this year would bring me lots of success (financial, spiritual, emotional, and educational). I feel dead-tired. I was feeling lethargic last January 2, but now I feel like I've been under a rock and I have to crawl out. Nyar.

Anyway, tons of things to do. Multitasking is the key. Haha! Let us hope I can survive unscathed with the first month. Ahaha.. I want to sleep right now. Really I do. XD

Okay so maybe I'll polish the technical reports when I wake up later. Yeah, that would be better. :P