High School Life ay exciting, kay saya!

 Met with my high school barkada and classmates last Friday night. Sa Teriyaki Boy Eastwood (suggested it, hehe, favorite ko kasi) kami lahat nag-dinner. Before the reunion, after my meeting with a client, uwi muna ako to take a bath and choose outfit. Siempre, tagal ko na di nakita my classmates kaya extra effort sa pag-aayos. Met up first with my barkada Techie and Jessica sa Monte Vista bago sabay na kami in one van to go to Eastwood. Puro daldalan, ha ha. After dinner, hanap kami ng venue for our picture taking (as if di pa enough yung sankaterbang pictures while eating dinner) and found a stairway. Tamang-tama, paakyat si Jericho Rosales (sh?t ang gwapo! Anyways, he’s a local artista who did a remake of ‘Ang Panday” for TV) and nahila namin sya to join our picture-taking. Ang aking mga sosyal na classmates, naging baduy, ha ha After dinner, coffee sa Seattle’s Best (pero ako chocolate drink) then inuman at Dencio’s (pero ako soda lang… kj eh). Hay, nice to meet up with old friends and reminisce and update and swap kwentos!
 I was able to snag a copy of my high school annual picture. He he, mukhang tokneneng ang itsura. According to my annual, I was an “efficient prompter of seatmate”. Bukod sa nagdidikta ako sa mga kaklase ko during recitation, nagpapakopya pa ko. Eh one time, yung nangopya sa kin, essay yon, sakto ang pagkakakopya. Eto pa, hindi sinoli sa kin ang papel ko kundi sya na ang nagpass. Eh di magkasunod ang papel namin, ayun, nahuli ng teacher. Pinatawag kaming dalawa at tinanong kung sino sa amin ang nangopya. Di ko nga sinagot, nakakainsulto ang tanong eh. Ayun, bagsak ako sa World History, nyok! 

Dilaw na buhok

Nung Biernes, pumunta ako sa Saint Luke’s hospital to submit my urine sample (collected over a 24-hour period). Ni-collect ko urine at nilagay sa isang wine bottle. May dala pa akong cooler with ice ha to keep the specimen fresh. Yung mga kasabay ko, cup lang ang mga dala eh ako isang bote, he he. Aligaga ang mga tao sa ospital nuon at daming cameras and media people dahil naka-confine si GMA since yesterday. Hmmph sumabay pa sa akin, hirap tuloy makapasok. Hinarang pa nga wine bottle ko at bawal daw yung sa loob, sabi ko di wine yun kundi urine sample… hayyy. Hinihintay ko nga na may mag-interview sa akin eh para masabi ko naman ang aking reaction a biglang pagkahospital at aking message para kay GMA. Sasabihin ko na sana ay magpagaling sya agad at ipagdadasal ko na mabuhay pa sya ng matagal at ng matigil sa pag-salivate ang mga taong gustong alisin sya. Heniweys, nag-taxi lang kami ni sister to St. Luke's. Si Manong driver, bright yellow ang buhok. Character baga. Halatang mong fun syang tao pati sa pagkekwento. At pag may nakatabi sa kalye na taxi din, binabati nya yung driver nun. Ok tong si Manong pwedeng manalo ng Mr. Congeniality. Sayang di ko nakunan ng picture, kakainis…

Milestones:
FATHER'S DAY
With Switham, niece, and cousin
Walang sawang paggi-games pa din hanggang gabi :)

PAMAMANHIKAN
Catered ang food
Huling-huli habang nagte-take home ng spaghetti, he he

Layas Itinerary

Visited Nanay in Bulacan
At the waiting room for my annual physical exam
Cheap but great finds at a toy store sale… origami papers, kaleidoscopes, butterfly pens, face paints, jackstones, and more (mga diwata, alam nyo na kung ano ang makukuha nyong gifts, he he)
Back home... my favorite tree... the firetree And my favorite spa... La Veranda... just a few minutes walk from my house

Tag from Tokyokuni

4 things I’d rather be doing right now
spa session
light reading – food or showbiz mags
taking a vacation in tagaytay
lego assembly with my nephew

4 things I always carry around
Johnsons baby powder
Eyeglasses
umbrella
camera

4 of my favorite foods
Brazo de Mercedes
Sampaloc candy
Porkchop and fried talong combi with bagoong
Bananas – Banana Split, Turon, Banana Q, Saba con Hielo, shake

4 jobs I’ve had
1 and only 1 job ever – IT Specialist

4 places I’ve lived in my life
Mayon St., Manila
Quezon City
Marikina
New Jersey

4 movies I could watch over and over
The Kid
While You Were Sleeping
Executive Decision
IL MARE (Korean)

4 TV shows I love to watch
Quincy, Medical Examiner
Love Boat
Voltes V
Muppet Show/Donnie and Marie/Charlie’s Angels Marathon every Sunday (when I was still in grade school)

4 places I have been on vacation
Stonehenge
Disneyland
Windows of the World
Philly

Expressions so pure

Ang saya-saya!

Hapi Bertdey

 
Meron bagong game dito called Pinoy Henyo. You will have to guess the word taped on your forehead within a time limit (2 mins). Bibigyan ka ng clue. You have a partner or teammate na pwede mong tanungin about the word. Ang pwede lang nya isagot sa yo ay Yes or No.
Sample --- word is "SPOON"
you: Tao ba to?
Pakner: no
you: hayop?
Pakner: no
you: bagay?
Pakner: yes
you: nakikita ba to sa bahay?
Pakner: yeeeesss!
... and so on until you guess the word or you run out of time. Nakakatuwa tong game na to kaya every family gathering-- Christmas, New Year, birthdays eh nilalaro namin to. Recently, attend kami sa 60th birthday ng Tita ni Switham. May game na ganito eh boys vs girls. Reklamo kami ng reklamo na nandadaya ang mga boys eh di nila alam mas madaya kami. Alam na namin kung ano yung mga words, tawa kami ng tawa kasi siempre nung turn ko na, pretend pa kunwari na tanong ako ng tanong. After 20 seconds, sinabi ko na sagot, he he.
 
Attended a Mcdonald's children's party. Ang shop ang gumawa ng princess gown ng celebrant na si Rizza and Lizzie Mcguire attire ng aking pamangkin na si Dominique.
 
Sumali ako sa games, kakatuwa kasi nanalo kami eh :) Won a toy binoculars na inarbor naman ng pamangkin kong si JC. Ang sarap ng McDonalds specially their caramel sundae, grabe. Buti na
lang may 24 hours open na McDonalds kaya minsan madaling araw eh dinadayo pa namin yan :) 

Obra Maestra

 Pilit lumalabas sa rehas
  Kamukha ni Mona Lisa

Bunggambilya ni Atilapya

 
  

10 of life’s simple pleasures (tag by Atinapa)

1. taking a bath in the rain
2. eating matamis and malamig na pakwan sabay dura ng mga buto
3. melting chocolate in my mouth
4. relieving ear itch with cotton buds
5. toilet paper
6. buffets
7. smell of sampaguita
8. finding an empty slot in a full parking lot
9. water fountains
10. breakfast in bed
more pa, he he…..
11. ice cold water
12. chilling in church habang tulala
13. amusement park rides
14. eating fresh pineapple dipped in champoy powder
15. lego
16. talking to a child
17. big supermarkets
18. watching American idol armed with lots of chips
19. taking pictures
20. hotels
21. climbing an aratiles tree and eating the lilliputian bunga
22. sight of a snow-covered garden
23. a drink from a freshly harvested buko
24. ice cream cone
25. driving an automatic car 

Eulogy-a spoken or written composition in praise of a person’s life

 
My Lolo Tisyo (my dad’s uncle) passed away last week. My sister and I went to the wake and joined in the “paghahatid” (convoy from the memorial chapel to the burial site). At the site, the family released butterflies and balloons. All the butterflies flew away except for one who lingered near my lolo’s casket. It was the butterfly released by my Lola Miling (my Lolo Tisyo’s wife).

My Uncle Cesar, my lolo’s eldest son was tasked with giving the eulogy. Listening to him speak evoked memories of my father. When my dad passed away years ago, the task of giving the eulogy was assigned to me. I found an empty bench and began with a blank notebook, trying to list all of my father’s qualities, one on every page then expounding on each. My Kuya, upon seeing the several pages that I have completed commented “wag sobrang haba, mga ten minutes lang”. My task then became difficult--- how do you sum up a man’s life in ten minutes? Impossible. Unless you take out all the details and you’re left with just the frame of the life he has lived. At the church, I think it took me longer than ten minutes to say my piece because I broke down in tears several times. Looking back, the trip to the hospital, the wake, the eulogy, the interment, those were easy. The most difficult part was coming home and he wasn’t there anymore. 

Government at Work

 
Harapan ng aming abode habang hinuhukay ng mga Manong taga-DPWH. Notice that the tasks like paghuhukay at paghahakot can be done by machines pero dito manu-mano. Pero at least may trabaho sina Manong, di ba? 

Scenes from Enchanted Kingdom

 Sweet Ham with my pamangkin Dominque on a Dinosaur ride
 
 
  
Was able to score free tickets to Enchanted Kingdom when we watched the movie "Exodus" starring Bong Revilla last December. Sarap sa enchanted. The 4D theater-"Bane Manor" haunted house was so scary, napabulahaw ng iyak ang aking pamangking si JC while watching. I love the Rio Grande ride- parang white water rafting. There was also a 3d ride na cartoons-- remember Wacky Races? Si Dick Dastardly and Muttley? Also Yogi Bear and the Jetsons? The lines were so long kasi we went on a Saturday but sulit! Also not as tiring kasi I got to rest while waiting in line. I love, love, love amusement parks :)

If tomorrow never comes

 

"If Tomorrow Never Comes"

Sometimes late at night
I lie awake and watch her sleeping
She's lost in peaceful dreams
So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark
And the thought crosses my mind
If I never wake up in the morning
Would she ever doubt the way I feel
About her in my heart

If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she's my only one
And if my time on earth were through
And she must face this world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes

'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel

If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she's my only one
And if my time on earth were through
And she must face this world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes

So tell that someone that you love
Just what you're thinking of
If tomorrow never comes


A song from "American Idol"  

PitongKantaKongTo

 
Seven songs I am currently listening to (tag from Anenamay ):

I’m picking my 7 favorite songs from 3 CDs na nakasalang sa aking player

1. Close to Where You Are – Jonalyn Viray
She’s a new singer who won a singing contest ‘Pinoy Pop Superstar’ (ala American Idol) here. She’s only 15 years old pero galing na ng voice.

”So I set my eyes to finally reach my destiny
Through my lonely nights, your love will always shine on me
Every path I take, every step I make
Will lead me closer, closer to where you are”

2. Bridge – Sitti
This is from her album Café Bossa where she revived old songs na ka-genre ng “Girl from Ipanema”. Saw her perform live at one of the free concerts that raised money for Guinsagon. Pretty na, ganda pa ng voice. And to top it all, she just graduated from UP.

3. Lost in Space – Sitti

4. One Note Samba – Sitti

5. At 17 – Sitti

6. Afraid For Love to Fail – Jose Marie Chan
My forever favorite singer and composer. Need I say more?

7. A Love to Last a Lifetime – Jose Marie Chan

 Bawal Engmimi Keni 

Coconut Plantation

 
 
 
 
Officially, it's summertime! Sarap ng buko juice specially pag kaka-harvest pa lang at binuksan, ang tamis. Kahit walang ice, haaaayyy :) 

Salamat po...

 

5 things I am thankful for today

1. 2 stix of BBQ
yummy!!! with sago gulaman courtesy of tindera sa kanto ng palengke

2. Computer oido
ayaw gumana kanina computer ng client so I made tulak-tulak sa chips and the switches inside the cpu, ayun, umandar!

3. Kerygma article with the reminder--"Don't you remember who you are?"
felt down for the past days, dami work tapos mga receivables namin di ma-collect. saka the time of the month pa. the article was an upper :)

4. Electric fan
hay, malamok na naman. nilagay ko sa number 3 ang electric fan para akalain ng lamok, may hurricane at nang di na lumapit

5. New cell phone
old actually, nakipagpalit lang ako kay sister. nakakapuyat kalikutin ang features :)

Oops...
6. Pahabol-- back on the blog. so thankful to get back on-line and read kablogan ng mga kapwa diwata :)

p.s.s
Last na, i'm so thankful for toilet paper. sobra :) 

A heart's journey

 Remember when... Flashback 1985... Josie's debut

Watched concert of Jose Marie Chan last night. Not a powerful belter but a soothing and cool singing voice. I don’t know why but it always makes me feel good after listening to his songs, parang life is so beautiful. Grabe, na-miss ko music nya. Will buy his Golden Hits CD when I get the chance. Kagabi sana eh at may libre autograph and picture pa with him kaya lang nagmamadali kami kasi punta pa kami casino, he he --- slot machine lang naman ang kaya kong laruin dun, won 500 pesos, yey!!!

A love to last a lifetime (do you remember this Joe Marie Chan song?)

We're all merely passing through
Doing what we can do for a lifetime
We have more than one adventure to take
More than one dream to make in our lifetime
...