just thinking aloud...

Hay...

Ang dami na namang nangyayari sa Pilipinas. Kung hindi ka aware, eto magbasa ka:

a) 2010 election - Ngayon pa lang e nagbibigay pahiwatig na ang mga taong gustong tumakbo sa darating na eleksyon. Nagsimula yan sa mga streamers na nakasabit sa kung saan-saan. Merong Maligayang Pasko, Happy Valentine's Day, Masayang Pagtatapos, atbp. Sumunod naman ang mga commercials na tumutulong daw sa mahihirap sa pamamagitan ng mga OFW/itik, pagmamaniobra ng tri-bike, at yung magandang kalagayan ng mga taong nakatira sa Makati. Puede ba! Sobra na yan! Kung ang mga pinambayad nyo sa mga streamers, posters at commercials na yan e pinamigay nyo na lang sa mga talagang nangangailangan e nakatulong pa kayo sa bayan. At sa bawat Pilipinong boboto, pakiusap... wag sana kayong magpauto at wag sanang maging tanga!

b) Katrina Halili at Hayden Kho sex scandal - Ilang araw o linggo na ba ang issueng ito? Hindi na ba puedeng tuldukan ang kuwentong ito? Nag-setup ng video si Hayden ng hindi alam ng mga babaeng nakaulayaw nito, kumalat ang video, nakapagsampa na ng kaso si Katrina na suportado naman ng GABRIELA at ngayon e makikialam pa ang Senado? Okay, sabihin na natin na gusto ni Senator Bong Revilla na tumulong at magkaroon ng bill para sa pagsupil sa mga taong nagkakalat ng unwanted videos sa Internet, cellphone, etc. pero puede bang wala ng hearing sa Senado at bayaan na lang ang mga abogado na sa korte ito pag-usapan? Ano na ba ang mga nangyari sa mga patung-patong na kaso na pinagdedebatehan sa Senado katulad ng ZTE, extension ng C5 at kung anu-ano pa? Aksaya lang ng panahon kung idadagdag ang sex scandal na ito di ba? Gumawa na lang kayo ng batas, i-implement ito at siguradong marami pa ang matutuwa sa inyo.

c) AH1N1 virus - Dalawa na ang taong infected nito dito sa Pilipinas. Yung unang kaso ay isang bata na nagbakasyon sa US at Canada. Ang problema, hindi na-traced ng mga thermal scanners na infected na siya kaya nakauwi pa sa bahay nila. Ngayon, naka-quarantine ang buong pamilya niya at pinaghahanap pa ang 17 kataong katabi niya sa eroplano. At kung hindi ba naman tanga ang mga may authority sa NAIA, balak pang magdagdag ng bagong thermal scanners para mas masiguro daw ang kaligtasan ng mga taong lumalabas at pumapasok sa bansa. Ano yun? Pang-kickback na naman? Hindi ba nila naiisip na may problema ang mga device na ginagamit nila na pang-check kuno para sa mga taong infected na ng virus na ito? Stupid! Talagang kagaguhan ang mga pag-iisip! Leche!

Sabi ko nga, I am just thinking aloud. Bahala ka sa buhay mo kung sumasang-ayon ka o hindi.

New Moon (The Twilight Saga) posters...

Come on! Where is Taylor Lautner's solo???

Rosche and Nicole's Santacruzan

First Santacruzan ng aking mga pamangkin last Friday. Sila lang ang cute sa mga pumarada, I swear! Rosche does not even want to wear his costume, buti na lang at napilit dahil nag-promise si Mother to treat him/them sa Jollibee! Si Nicole naman e hindi binitawan ang pinsan niya. Super holding hands sila. So sweet! :p

Inayusan din namin ang bike namin just incase they get tired of walking and that was a good move for us. Nakaabot kasi kami sa kabilang barangay at dun na bumigay sa pagod ang mga bata. Buti na lang all smiles pa rin sila.

Calamianes Group of Islands expenses...

our expenses for a group of 5:

NAIA Terminal fee = 1000 pesos
Busuanga Terminal fee = 100 pesos
van airport service = 1500 pesos
------------------------------------
total = 2600 pesos

accommodation for 3 nights = 4500 pesos

Coron island tour:
boat = 2000 pesos
guide = 500 pesos
food = 1500 pesos
islands' entrance fees = 2900 pesos
coordination fee = 200 pesos
Maquinit Hot Springs = 500 pesos
-------------------------------------
total = 7600 pesos

Malcapuya/Banana Island/Bulog Sand Bar/Culion tour:
boat = 4,000 pesos
food = 1000 pesos
islands entrance fees = 1000 pesos
Culion Island = 500 pesos
coordination fee = 200
-------------------------------------
total = 6700 pesos

2600+4500+7600+6700 = 21,400 pesos

21400/5 = 4280 pesos each (total expenses)

- total expenses does not include bus fares (pampanga-manila and vice versa), tricycle service, breakfast, dinner, snacks, snorkels and pasalubong. actually, i spent more than 7 thousand pesos. woah! gotta save more money for my next trip, kung saan man yun! :p

papparazi mode at NAIA Terminal 3...

Since separate ang pagbo-book ng ticket ni JR, hindi namin siya kasabay sa ame plane pabalik ng Manila. The problem was, JR's flight back from Busuanga was almost 2 hours delayed. Ang baggage ni Karen e nasa kanya so we have to wait for him before kami umuwi sa Pampanga at Tarlac.

Mahaba-habang oras ang hihintayin namin so ano pa nga ba ang dapat gawin kundi maghanap ng gwapo at mamansin ng mga taong kabababa lang sa kanilang planes. Marami kaming nakita na Koreans/Japanese/Taiwanese lovers na terno ang suot. Cute tingnan pero di ko pa rin type hehhehe. Hindi ko na rin ipa-publish ang pictures kasi medyo blurry ang kuha.

Akala namin e wala kaming makikitang pogi ng bigla na lang dumating ang matangkad na mamang ito:














Nag-model ang lolo mo sa harap namin habang hinihintay ang baggage nya. Lowbatt na ako kaya naisip ko ang camera ni Henry. And since mas advanced ang camera nya, ginamit ko ang ZOOM feature nito at super picture naman ako. Kaya lang napansin yata ni "Greek God". So para hindi obvious na pini-picturan ko siya, kunwari e pino-point ko ang camera sa ibang tao.














Pero si Greek God, napansin yata talaga ako. After nyang makuha ang baggage niya e dumiretso sa mismong tabi ko. Wala namang extra chair kaya tumayo na lang siya sa may kaliwang bahagi ko. Tuloy pa rin kunwari ang kuwentuhan naming apat para hindi siya makahalata at habang nagpa-papparazi mode ako. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang balak niya (kung magtatanong ba or talagang may hinahanap lang sa bag nya) pero I faced the lens of the camera in front of him and started clicking. Click pa rin ng click ang lola nyo and hoping to get a clear picture of him. At eto na nga! Ay naku!!! Ang gwapo talaga wahahahhahah!




















After na umalis si "Greek God", wala pa rin si JR. Kaya naman naghanap kami ng makakainan sa 4th level ng Terminal 3. Since gutom kami ni Joks, type namin ang kanin. Problem is, 20-30 minutes pa before maluto ang chicken ng Jollibee. So ang ginawa naming dalawa e nag-ikot kami sa foodcourt. Pumasok kami sa MiniStop pero hindi rin nagustuhan ang mga food. Saktong pagtalikod ko sa stall ng mga food e napako ang mga mata ko sa gwapong nakasalubong ko. Nagkatitigan kami ng lolo nyo at bigla akong nag-about face ke Joks at sinabing "PARANG KILALA KO YON"! "Si MICKEY", sigaw naman ni Joks. "Sinong Mickey? Hindi! Parang sa PINOY BIG BROTHER TEEN EDITION yun! Si... ALEX (Esmoso Anselmuccio)"!!! "Yun nga!" sabi naman ni Joks, "pero si Mickey (Perz) yung isa". "Ah, yun ba yung kasama niya? Hindi ko napansin e", sagot ko naman. Para lang ma-prove na si Mickey nga yun, sinundan pa namin sila sa bandang likod ng convenient store. Super focus sa phone si Mickey, nagtatanong pa ng cigarette e puede naman siyang bumili sa store na yun!

Anyway, nanghinayang naman ako kasi nga hindi ko na dala yung camera ni Henry (binabantayan niya ang luggages namin), pero biglang litaw si Karen galing sa restroom at binalitang nakita rin niya yung dalawang guys. Napansin namin na andun pa rin sa vicinity yung dalawa kaya pinakuha ko kay Karen yung camera from Henry at nagpa-papparazi mode ulit ako. At eto na nga ang pictures:

Kaya lang parang di yata type ni Alex ang style ko at nakasimangot sa mga pictures. Para bang sinasabi niya na bakit di na lang kami mag-ask ng permission, pero dahil mahiyain nga ako (MAY GANUN??? lol) e hindi na ako lumapit. Nakakainis lang is parang papansin din ang dalawang ito. Akyat-baba sa food court at ito namang si Mickey, hindi nilubayan ang phone niya. To think na halos isang oras din namin silang nakita mula sa foodcourt hanggang sa labas ng airport terminal. Ang laki ng phone bill niya sigurado (or nung kausap niya). Nakita rin namin si Gee Ann Abrahan at Dionne Monsanto na kasama nila.

Nga pala, talo pa rin kami ni JR kasi nakasabay naman niya sa plane si Ms. Melanie Marquez. O di ba? Ang taray!

back to reality...

kakalungkot...
miss ko na ang palawan...

This would be the last set of pictures of my awesome trip in Palawan. We boarded a smaller plane. I believe it's a 40 or 50 seater plane. I sat next to an American reading James Patterson's 2ND CHANCE novel (7th picture). He stayed in Palawan for more than a week and has a connecting flight to Cebu. Ang yaman ng lolo nyo. Mag-isa lang niya ha! Musta na kaya siya? Hehehehe.

going home...

some pictures of the road going back to Busuanga Airport...

more pictures of GranVista Lodge/Resort...

These set of pictures is all about GranVista Lodge/Resort again. I still do not have the exact address of the place but we always look for the signage (first picture below) for clues that we were in the correct direction.

The pathway...

JR's bed at the attic.

Girls room...

The attic...

Kitchen and sala...

And the view!

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 15...

Culion is beautiful but we only have a limited time so around 4:00 pm, we asked our boatmen to bring us back to Coron town to buy some pasalubong.

First picture below is the "hollywood signage" of Coron. They need to trim the branches of the tree under letter R to see it clearly or else it'll be read COPON lol!

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 14...

CULION

- It was not part of our original plan to visit this place but Mang Jonathan and Loverboy Dodoy were very eager to tour us around their hometown for an additional 500 pesos. I believe they are really trying to boost the tourism in this place, so off we go!

It is actually an hour ride from Coron town. A lot of tourists ignore this place but the history of Culion should not be overlooked.

For more info of the place, please visit this site: http://www.culion.net/index.html

Fort Culion was created to stop Muslim "Moro Raiders" from attacking the island. Within the fort is the PURISIMA CONCEPCION de NUESTRA SEÑORA church. One of the canons is still there but I was not able to take a picture of it.

The island was also called the leper colony. The church began the place for worship for thousands of segregated patients so Theodore Roosevelt ordered to reconstruct a bigger church but also preserving the old walls (made of corals) and the main door.

Father Javier Olazabal helped in fighting leprosy with ANESVAD (a non-profit and non-governmental organization, which supports health and social development projects in Asia). As a tribute, his body lies inside the church.

Today, there are only 5 leper patients living inside Culion Sanitarium.

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 13...

Instead of going to Malaruyroy Island (and to avoid paying another 100 pesos for the entrance fee), we visited BULOG SAND BAR. This is the best part of today's trip! The breathtaking view and the sand bar was all ours.

We were supposed to just take pictures of the place then proceed to the island of Culion but Loverboy Dodoy knew that we instantly loved the place so he let us enjoyed the cool water under the heat of sun.

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 12...

BANANA ISLAND

I immediately remembered PUTIPOT ISLAND of Zambales when I saw this place. I just love everything about it: clear water, blue sky and the bench! I wanna bring home that bench! ;p

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 11...

Day 3

Masarap ang tulog ko sa second night namin dahil lumipat na ako sa tabi nina Joks at Karen pero ang sakit ng katawan ko!!! Sa sobrang kaka-swim yata at dahil na rin sa lifevest, halos di ko magalaw ang aking mga kamay. Pero dahil excited kami sa activities namin for this day, tuloy pa rin ang lakwatsa!

It's another Coron islands tour but this time, the places we visited were farther. It took atleast an hour to reach our first stop: MALCAPUYA ISLAND. A beautiful white sand beach newly opened to the public. Of course you need to pay again for the entrance free. Another 100 pesos each slashed from our pockets!

Good news is that the owner recently bought a lot of giant clams and placed it in an area where everyone can see it. It is located in the sand bar area of the island. At low tide, all you have to do is walk and you'll be able to see it up close. But it was high tide when we visited the area so it was atleast a 15 minute swim before we were able to see these creatures. It was exhausting but definitely worth the energy. Two thumbs up!

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 10...

Seventh stop for the day: MAQUINIT HOT SPRINGS

After our Coron Islands tour, it's time to relax. We decided to go to Maquinit Hot Springs to heal our aching body.

Since it's low tide, it is not possible for us to be brought there thru boat. So we were brought back to the port to ride a tricycle for 500 pesos.

It took us atleast 30 minutes to reach our destination and 100 pesos each for the entrance fee. It's a salt water hot spring. They said that a lot of people goes here everyday. It seems that everyone who had an island tour for the day automatically goes to this place to freshen up. Hindi ko alam kung ilang fahrenheit or centigrade siya pero hindi ko kinaya ang init!!! Pero may mga nakita pa kaming Koreans or Taiwanese na lumalangoy! Grabe, kaka-bathhouse siguro kaya sanay sila.

The seaside view is spectacular! You can explore the whole area by crossing this mangrove bridge.

There's only one pool but it can hold more than a 100 people.

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 9...

Sixth stop: SIETE PECADOS

It means 7 sisters. I believe there are seven islands where you can snorkel and do fishfeeding. Entrance fee is 100 pesos each. JR and I were the only people who snorkeled among the group. The rest got tired from the Kayangan Lake hike and swim. My cam also crashed during our fifth stop. It was a good thing that Karen's cam fit with my underwater casing. That means that most of the pictures that you'll gonna see from this part of the trip would be from under the sea.

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 8...

Fifth Stop: KAYANGAN LAKE

- 200 pesos each for the entrance and conservation fee. You need to climb up then go down for atleast 30 minutes to reach the pristine lake. You'll also need lots of lotion repellants for mosquitoes.

The first cave located at the top of the climb...

Before you go down and swim in the cool waters of Kayangan Lake, don't forget to stop at the top and look back at where your boat docked (picture below). Cool, ei?

The destination... Kayangan Lake.

Inside the second (underwater) cave...

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 7...

Fourth stop: BARRACUDA LAKE

- 100 pesos entrance fee. They said that barracudas still lurk in this area. Good thing we did not encounter one! Once your boat docks, you need to climb a little but be very careful cause the rock formations will immediately give you bruises. But once you've reached the lake, the water is so clear and refreshing!

Pictures courtesy of Henry.

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 6...

Third stop: TWIN LAGOON

- no entrance fee. We were supposed to swim under a small hole to reach the other side but too bad, it's high tide. This area has a combination of salt and fresh water.

There's the entrance! Just across that big rock.

This is Niño, one of our tourguides.

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 5...

Second stop: BANUL BEACH.

We had our lunch here. It is guarded by the Tagbanua tribe and needs to pay 100 pesos each for the maintenance. It's a very small white sand beach with a 200 year old TAMARIND tree.

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 4...

First stop of our Coron Islands tour is the SKELETON WRECK. It's an almost 45 minutes boat ride from Coron's port. You need to pay 100 pesos entrance fee but we got a discount so we only paid 80 pesos each.

The boat wreck is about 20-30 feet below. I was able to capture the boat's nose(?). Creepy... but amazingly beautiful.

Just click the pictures for a better view.

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 3...

- start of my Coron Islands Tour

DAY 2

I only had a total of 4 hours sleep.

JR, Henry and I stayed at the attic while Joks and Karen stayed downstairs. Aside from the fact that electricity (powered by a generator) only provided us from 6 pm-2 am of power, we only rely with fans to keep us cool and mosquito nets to keep us from any kind of bugs. I also heard the TU-KOO sound (tokay gecko or tuko in Filipino) every 10 minutes and all kinds of insect noise. Grabe! Talagang orchestra ng mga insekto ang nangyari.

Sa sobrang inis, lumabas ako ng kulambo at tiningnan na lang ang moon and stars sa may bintana. Nakakatakot pa mandin ang mga windows sa attic kasi kasyang-kasya ang isang tao or manananggal! Full moon pa man din. Paranoid na kung paranoid pero yun ang na-feel ko!

The attic window...



















By 6:30 am, everyone is awake and is ready for today's Coron islands tour. We waited for our trike to bring us downtown to have breakfast first but he was almost an hour late! We dined at TRINING BACSA's carinderia. I believe this eatery became famous not because everything is delicious but they offer more than 10 varietry of viands as early as 7 am. But I do agree that their sinigang na maya-maya and pork are good and in a very reasonable price. That day, I ate beef steak, 1 egg and 1 cup of rice for 65 pesos only.

Before going to the port, we bought bread (50 pesos) for fish feeding and rented 3 snorkels (150 pesos each).

And now let's start the real journey:

Tricycles by the port:
















A quick turn around at La Sereneta (restaurant).















A group of foreigners waiting for the start of their EL NIDO-CORON trip coordinated by TAO PHILIPPINES. Mahal ang tour nila kasi accompanied by their own chef and their tour will take more than 5 days.















One of our boatmen: LOVER BOY DODOY! hehehehhe (with the CORON ala-hollywood sign)



















Mt. Tapyas!















Our boat! It's big. It may even carry more than 14 people. Super comfortable.

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 2...

- GRANVISTA LODGE/RESORT and MT. TAPYAS

Before our trip began, we e-mailed, texted and called a lot of lodge/hotel owners about their accommodation and island tour rates. The cheapest offer that we got came from GRANVISTA LODGE/RESORT. So nung nakita namin ang name ni Henry na nakalagay sa karatulang hawak ng isang driver, sumakay kami agad at pinuntahan ang place. By the way, if you are wondering about our expenses, let's start with the van. It's 150 pesos each. Lahat ng drivers ganyan ang offer.

The first room that we got costs 400 pesos each but when we learned that there's a cheaper one (300 pesos), we immediately transfered and was pleased because it already has bathroom and kitchen inside. We also have the dining area all to our selves because we were the only visitors at that time.

Granvista Lodge/Resort pictures courtesy of Henry
















Going up the attic!



















The viewdeck area with Joks, Karen and JR.



















Picture below is one of the beds in the viewdeck area. This is the coziest part of the place because it is just near the viewdeck but it was not advisable to stay there at that time because of the insects and possible rain storm. As in mababasa ang beauty mo pag nag-stay ka sa areang ito kapag umuulan pero hindi mo na kailangan ng fan anytime of the day kasi super presko dito.

Nga pala, nakakainis yung caretaker! Unang gabi namin, namatay ang generator ng 1:30 am (instead of 2 am)at napansin din namin na mahina ang ikot ng electric fan. Yung last night naman namin, napansin namin na biglang lumakas ang ikot ng fan nung dumating ang owner ng resort at mga pamangkin nito. Pagkaalis na pagkaalis nila e biglang humina ulit. Para bang pinlug mo ang fan sa 110 volt instead of 220. Last day naman namin e nawalan kami ng tubig. Kaming dalawa lang ni JR ang hindi nakaligo. Buti na lang at naligo na kami before matulog pero hindi pa rin excuse yun para tipirin kami.

It's a promising lodge/resort but they really need to have 24 hour of electricity, water and cable tv for their guests because some people still wants to be connected to the "outside world".




















Not to waste time, nag-change outfit agad kami, boarded a tricycle (since service sya from our lodge, 20 pesos each ang bayad. If you are located near the town, you'll only pay 9 pesos each.) and went to MT. TAPYAS.

Below is a picture of Karen and Joks at the Coron bus, jeepney and tricycle terminal. Pero hindi kami sumakay diyan, pinicturan ko lang yan. The real thing is that we were waiting for our Zagu refreshments dahil sobrang init nung araw na yun. =p




















Playing with my cam inside the trike!















That's MT. TAPYAS!



































Mt. Tapyas is a 700+ step (or 900+ step?) mountain with a big cross at the top that lits up at night. A lot of people are climbing this mountain because of the beautiful sunrise/sunset. Plus the pounds that you'll lose if you'll climb it everyday. =p




















I love this picture. It is one of the shelters located at the left side of Mt. Tapyas.
















These are the "mineral water kids". They carry ice chests with mineral waters in it available for 20 (small) and 30 (big bottle) pesos each. Sa tingin ko, magandang business ito kasi marami nga ang umaakyat sa bundok. Dalawang grupo lang sila na nag-aagawan sa pagbenta ng tubig. Buti na lang bigayan pa rin sila at sana naman e wala ng makigaya kasi ibang klaseng hirap ang dinadanas nila makabenta lang.

We were supposed to visit MAQUINIT HOT SPRINGS but it was already late and it'll be a 30-45 minutes trike ride so we opted to have dinner at KAWAYANAN GRILL. We ordered sizzling squid (overflowing with ketchup), chopsuey (na sobrang konti), pork bbq (ito lang ang masarap para sa akin) and a pitcher of iced tea. We paid 232 pesos each! Too expensive and the service was also not good.

Since the lodge owner's house is just across the street, we coordinated with the person-in-charge, Jen, for our next day's Coron islands tour.

Calamianes Group of Islands - Part 1

Sarap! :P

I just came back from my 4 days vacation and we went to the Northernmost part of Palawan.

Here's how it really went:

We stepped foot on Busuanga airport, toured the islands of Coron and a quick visit in Culion. Sayang, we were not able to visit Calauit Island Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary where some of the endangered animals from Africa are located. But there are so many things to see in the Calamianes Group of Islands so we already vowed to go back. :-)

Now, on with the story:

DAY 1

Most of us booked our tickets last February, availed the Cebu Pacific promo and paid it for less than 900 pesos each only.




















We were a group of 5. There's JR, Karen, Jocs, Henry and I.




















Buti na lang at hindi kami binagyo. The sun was shining all throughout our journey.

So let's start:

We all asked to be seated separately and near the window so that we can see the view and take some pictures.

Some of the texts maybe off. I will still update the articles from time to time. Please click the pictures for better viewing.
















Silip-mode with JR.



















Taking pictures of anything because there's nothing to do since we were all seated apart. Hehehhe















For the guys, one beautiful stewardess...















Madumi ang windows ng plane kaya malabo ang pictures.

At last! Coron!











































Beaches, islands, mountains...




















The runway...















Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived!

sweet corn...

brownout with naning chiyo

avatar and quotes...

when i was a Netscape Internet Service Provider (NISP) agent, we were fond of creating email avatars and quotes. we spent a lot of time creating avatars and searching the net for quotes from books, poetry, movies, songs and even tv series'. i was checking my old netscape mails and found these:

i am someone who is looking for love...
real love...
ridiculous...
inconvenient...
consuming...
can't live without each other love."
- carrie bradshaw (SATC)





"At some point you have to make a decision. Boundaries don’t keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That’s how we’re made. So you can waste your life drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them. But there are some lines that are way too dangerous to cross. Here’s what I know: If you’re willing to take the chance, the view from the other side is spectacular. "







Some get hurt to see someone they like to be dancing with someone else...Some get hurt to see someone they like act as if they like that someone they hate...Some get hurt for seeing their old fling still an old fling...Some get hurt to see that old love happy...Someone gets hurt everytime.










Okay here it is. Your choice. It's simple. Her or me. And I'm sure she's really great. But… I love you…. in a really, really big … pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window…unfortunate way that makes me hate you, love you. So pick me. Choose me. Love me. --- Grey's Anatomy
















"The man of my dreams has almost faded now. The one I have created in my mind. The sort of man each woman dreams of in the deepest and most secret reaches of her heart. I can almost see him now before me. What would I say to him, if he were really here? Forgive me, I have never known this feeling. I've lived without it all my life. Is it any wonder, then, that I fail to recognize you? You-- who brought it to me for the first time. Is there any way I can tell you how my life has changed? Any way at all to let you know what sweetness you have given me? There is so much to say...I cannot find the words. Except for these-- I love you! Such would I say to him, if he were really here."








I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.











bring nothing but silence
show nothing but grace
seek nothing but shelter
from the great human race
take nothing but pictures
kill nothing but time
leave nothing but footprints
to show you came by




‘Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.’

selecta's chocolate truffles

i was not able to properly attached these pictures in my post bday article so here it goes...

















thank you, chef laudico. you are truly a heaven sent.

my post bday blog article

NOTE: i was supposed to publish this yesterday but something happened so here it goes:

today, i turned 30...

and i still feel the same.
still horizontally-challenged
paranoid
ill-tempered
clumsy
lazy
bitchy
alone...

but let's not talk about that. i am happy. FOR REAL! and it's my day right? it's all about what i want for this very special day.

hmmm, what could it be?

1) well, i wished for a day off before my birthday but i don't have enough vacation leave balance because i already saved it for my CORON trip this coming sunday. but my MAY 4 work shift turned out to be a funny one. i was asked not to take calls the whole shift, by the manager of our queue! you see, i made a violation with one of my calls last april. they said that i was rude and impatient blah blah blah. what can i do? my caller was so dumb! he does not even know how to use the right-click of his mouse!

anyway, to cut the story short, i was waiting for someone to tell me to go home and just wait for the clock to strike 12 midnight and enjoy the very first seconds of my birthday with my family but they told me to stay put and i immediately became my supervisor's assistant, RTA and errand girl of the whole team. i don't mind it at all! it was actually fun instead of just sitting around.

what i am actually worrying is that my status at work is currently in a limbo. i don't know if i'll be sent home come MAY 6 and take a forced vacation for i don't know how long or just a suspension for a couple of days. i've been wanting to resign for a long time now and maybe this is the answer that i am waiting for. FREEDOM... but with no money??? nah! i'll survive

2) Chocolate Truffles by Rolando Laudico. i am not exaggerating. this is the best ice cream that SELECTA has ever made! i bought my first 800 ml size a few weeks back, ate it with my sister and mom, and we all fell in love with it. it is indeed super creamy and the generous truffles...ugh! i just can't get enough of it. nagkakaubusan na nga e! i bought another of it last Friday but kept it in the fridge until now. i am planning to eat it tonight while watching movies, hehehehe. i just hope it won't melt coz i saw an electric interruption announcement from our cable tv provider which will happen today from 8 am to 5 pm. (this one's a success! hehehehe)

3) A kiss from any of my boys (kahit sa panaginip lang! - never happened hay):

wu chun of Fahrenheit











wentworth miller
















enrique iglesias



















matt dallas of KYLE XY



















taylor lautner as Jacob Black in the Twilight saga series




















ah, the number 30. "malapit ka ng mawala sa kalendaryo", that's what most people will say. so what's the big deal? just stay happy and everything will be alright! as my favorite quote goes: Work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt. And dance like no one's watching.