13 November 2010

After two years, K and I are together again! He was supposed to come here in July, but certain family events made him postpone the trip 'til November, the same month when he traveled here in 2008. A few days before his trip, internet connection at his place was acting up, and the worry-wart in me started thinking negative things, because I still haven't received any messages from him. I was so relieved that he finally sent me a message a few moments before he went to the airport.

His estimated time of arrival was 2:20pm, and because I still have to meet up with a friend's office mate because I borrowed my friend's Internet USB stick, just so I have something to use in case the hotel or the resort has no Internet connection. When I got to the airport, I saw that his flight has already arrived, so I am sure it would take just a few minutes for him to come out - after getting his luggage and a little queue at the Immigration office, of course. Butterflies were flying in my stomach (so to speak) while waiting for him, and I was so ecstatic seeing him walking towards my location. After some tight hugs, some kisses, and the obvious, "How are you" questions, we took a taxi to our first "home" - Sohotel in Malate, Manila.

It wasn't what I hoped it would be, but it was home.


After a much needed rest (for him), we decided to go to Robinson's Place Manila to eat dinner and to book our flights to Iloilo (and back to Manila). Unfortunately, K would pay using his credit card and he forgot his passport at the hotel. The airline staff was kind enough to pre-book the flights and just asked us to come back first thing in the morning so we can avail it. The staff told us that airline fare changes day to day, and he just wanted us to hold on to the current fare. We were thankful about it.

Dinner... we walked around the mall, and when we got to the 4th floor, we saw Max's Restaurant and K remembered his dining experience in Max's Restaurant in Vigan two years ago. It's been a while since I last ate there, so I agreed when he asked me if we can eat there. My meal was okay, but I was a bit disappointed.




From the mall, we decided to take the taxi to Rajah Sulayman Park, which was walking distance from our hotel. Going to the mall, we took the pedicab - a bicycle with sidecar run by a person, and at first we were told fare there is 30 pesos, but when we gave 50, the driver said 30 each. I felt a little upset about that, so going back, I just told K we'd take the taxi, because flagdown rate was 30, and because it was just near, it might not go up to 50 pesos total. However, traffic was bad, and the taxi driver acted as if he didn't know where Rajah Sulayman Park was. Realizing the driver might take us in circles, I asked K to get out of the taxi so we could just take the pedicab again.

The pedicab driver was a teen, and for a big woman like me, I felt sad that he had to drive us to the park. He didn't complain one bit; he even talked to me asking why we got off the taxi and all that... so when we reached our destination, I told K I'd pay the driver. I gave the teen 100 pesos, just because he didn't complain, and I could see his discomfort - having to drive the pedicab standing up so he could get momentum.

The fountain in the park didn't have much water, but K and I still liked taking pictures of it. After a few shots, we decided to walk back to the hotel so he can have an early rest - his flight took about 11 hours total.

Day 01 didn't have much pictures... but just being with K makes me real happy. I am so blessed to be with him again after two years.

*** Jenn ***

06 November 2010

...a life event I forgot to share. :)

Ever since my mom watched a 4D short movie in Singapore circa 2007, she has been fascinated with IMAX and all that. I told her that films shown on 3D cinemas don't have the water splashing in your face or the wind blowing in your body. I don't know the difference between IMAX theater and 3D theater, but even if there's no water, wind, or the shaking seats, mom still wanted to watch a movie on 3D.

It took 3 years for us to do that, simply because the nearest 3D theater was way too far from our place. Good thing, SM City Fairview now renovated the cinemas and they now show 3D movies! When we found out Megamind is shown in 3D, mom and I quickly went to the mall to watch it.

It was an animated movie, but mom and I enjoyed it so much. Not only was it fun sharing this moment with her, it was also great to feel like a child again. The movie was cool, a different approach to the superhero stereotypes. It tells the viewers that not all bad people are truly bad, maybe they just didn't have the chance to show their good side.


After the movie, mom and I had snacks at Chowking. The cinema was really cold, and mom wanted some noodles to warm her up. It was my chance to taste Chowking's Orange Chicken, and it didn't disappoint. Thinking I was only having a small plate of food, mom also ordered an order of siomai for me (awww sweet). I was actually thinking of buying myself some, but I cannot leave our table because there were quite a lot of people. I guess my mom and I were on the same wavelength that time, and yes, I am happy.

Good bonding moment with mom. Totally priceless!

*** Jenn ***

It's been five Sundays since I last updated the 30 Days of Truth, but since the last question doesn't jive with the other four, I decided to just make this a 4-in-1 post, just so I could catch up.

Day 7 - Someone who has made your life WORTH living for.

Without battling an eyelash, it would have to be my family. When I was younger, I knew I have a big brother, but when my parents let my late Aunt Dada take care of him, somehow I forgot I have a sibling, until we met again during his pre-school graduation. Our relationship wasn't that good from the start - we would fight every now and then, and sometimes it could be very violent. I remember throwing him a small plant pot, and he threw it back to me and hit the side of my forehead.

My sister was born 8 years after I was born, and because sometime in my life I knew how it felt being the "only child," adjusting to a new member of the family didn't come as an easy thing for me. I felt then that my sister stole my late childhood away from me - as I cannot play with the neighborhood kids anymore, and at times I would think of hurting her, and at times I did.

Despite the sibling rivalries, it's so amazing that we became really, really close as we grew older (and wiser). People around us often times commend our close relationship, and I really am thankful they're my siblings. Actually, I am very thankful I am born into this family - I have the best parents - who took care of us, understood us, and loved us unconditionally.

We are originally 5 people in the family. In a household of 5 people with different passions, different preferences, we seemed to jive really well. I guess bottom line is respect. Respect that each one of us is different, and that even if buttons are pushed at times, we know in our hearts that we love each other and nothing can really tear us apart - even dad's death.

The picture above was the last Christmas of us together. Barely three months after, daddy died... but the family is still united and more closer than ever.

Day 08 - Someone who made your life HELL, or treated you like SHIT.

I am very thankful that no one has really made my life a living hell, but I could say of someone who has made my life somewhat like that. I met her on the last few months of fourth grade, but her attitude changed in the fifth grade. I don't want to tell much about it - what she did, what her name is - because this blog is public, and I don't want to open the "Pandora's Box" anymore, although I have talked about this in this blog sometime ago.

A year or two ago, I got to watch some episodes of "High School Reunion," an American reality show. In that season, some girls still carried their grudge over a popular cheerleader who treated them like garbage during their High School days. When they confronted the cheerleader, the cheerleader then defended herself saying, it was during High School... she was young, she was not mature enough... but when she got married and had kids, her outlook and attitude changed. I guess in a way I could relate this to my former friend. As kids we tend to do nasty things to each other (I did that to my sister), but as time pass, all of us get matured. She hasn't or didn't say sorry to me, but me receiving her wedding invitation in 1998 healed all wounds. In a way, I am thankful that despite the years of not speaking to each other, she still hasn't forgotten about me when she got married.

Day 09 - Someone you DIDN'T want to let go, but just drifted.

In year 2000, my brother acquired his very first cell phone - a phone that doesn't just make calls, it can create text messages as well. In the next few months, he cannot keep up with its expenses, so in a way, I inherited the cell phone. With cell phones being new, Filipinos started sending text messages blindly - in the hopes that someone would answer the message. From pen pals to phone pals, the word "text" pals entered the scene.

I have "met" quite a lot of people through this, and one person I could never, ever forget is the man named Lei Paras, who sent me a text message after my number appeared at a book of different text message, of which my brother forwarded a message.

To segue a bit, there's this article I saw from a magazine of which I copied. First parts went,

Sometimes, people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be (possibly your room mate, neighbor, professor, long lost friend, lover or even a complete stranger), but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that moment they will affect your life in some profound way.

Well... I never met Lei in person - we just exchanged text messages. Being the very emotional, negative, fragile person that I was back then, Lei helped changed my life. I didn't get to know him long enough, but one of the things I remembered him telling me was to search for this book, "The Greatest Miracle in the World" by Og Mandino because it will be a life changing book. Actually, he said quite a lot of good things that help me start my path to change, but as he sent me some great advices, he just suddenly stopped talking to me. I don't know what happened, but I guess I could regard him as my angel. Maybe his purpose was already done so he just left.

Wherever you are, thank you so much!

Day 10 - Someone you NEED to let go, or wish you didn’t know.

I will keep this one simple - same answer as Day 8.

*** Jenn ***

Now that I am back from my holiday, I see no reason for me not to continue with the articles I needed to post. Today is Saturday, the "All About Me" day, and for this week, I will tackle about Days 18 - 20.

Day 18: Your wedding / Future wedding / Past wedding

I am still single at age 30 (yeah, it's sad)... and I am not in a relationship either, so wedding and marriage are two things that are still hazy for me. I don't know if marriage is for me, but of course, being a normal person that I am, I also hope, wish, and pray that in the future, I will meet the right man for me, the one who will love me unconditionally, and would spend the rest of his life with me.

I am also the type of person who has her own dream wedding.


These pictures I saw in 2006, and I instantly fell in love with it. I know and I acknowledge that I am a plus size woman, so seeing a wedding gown that looked great on a plus size woman, I immediately saved it, so when my turn comes to walk down the aisle, I will ask a dressmaker to pattern a gown from this one.

I was in Grade 4 when I first entered the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, and since then I hoped to get married there. Until now, I still hope that I could get married there, but like what I wrote in a blog post sometime back, if ever my future husband and I can't afford a wedding at the said church, I would be happy for the two of us to sit in one of the benches in the church and exchange our vows.

Wedding march? I would like to walk down the aisle to the violin version of "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, and yes, I got the idea from the Brad Pitt movie, "Meet Joe Black," when I watched it in the cinema in 1998.

These were just hopes and dreams. I don't know what the future holds for me, but should these dreams weren't realized because of certain things, I would be happy being single or being married to the right man for me. I guess the wedding itself isn't important, it's the marriage in general. As long as I will have a marriage filled with love and respect, I would be the happiest wife in the world.

Day 19 - A Talent of Yours


I don't get to do it that often, but I love to sing. In elementary, I was part of the school's glee club, and in high school, I was one of the select students who was part of the choir during the first Friday masses. I cannot sing like Celine Dion, but I take pride that I can carry a tune.

Actually, when we first had our broadband internet connected, I start my day by logging on to YM Chat, and in certain OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) chat rooms, I would join the list of chatters who would entertain other chatters by singing some songs.

This picture above was taken nearly a year ago, when my friend Ela and I decided to have a Videoke Day. We decided to make it a Beatles' day, and even if we only had about 20 songs that time, we really had a great time.

Day 20 - A Hobby of Yours


I am not always on the go, but one thing I love to do is to travel. Whether it's here in the National Capital Region or somewhere out of town, I always find pleasure in exploring different places and be awed in the beauty of my own country.

It's quite funny, by the start of 2010, I told myself I won't travel much because I want to save up for a laptop and / or a DSLR camera (or a high end point and shoot camera with telephoto zoom). Even if I already planned to mellow down on traveling, I was still happy that I was able to travel much. Just two weeks ago, I went on a holiday with my dear K and aside from the places here in Metro Manila, we went to Baguio City, Puerto Galera (where the picture above was taken), and Iloilo. We planned to cross over to Guimaras from Iloilo, but we realized Iloilo was quite big of a place that we decided to explore it more. Fourteen days with him was really a great experience, and I could never thank him enough for taking me with him.

The last month of the year was just around the corner... I don't have any more travel plans, but I still am looking forward to some unplanned trips here and there. I guess the itch in my feet will never go away. :)

Other hobbies I have related to traveling are photography and food tripping. I love to take pictures as I go along, and I also love to taste different cuisines. For me, traveling, photography, and food tripping are three things that go really well together.

*** Jenn ***

09 November 2010

After I made a rave about our food trip at BBB, my sister said I might like Wham! Burgers, too. As always, it's during her day off when we can go out and bond, so it was this day that we were able to try this one.

I went for the Kapow burger, which had the salsa in it... and sister went for the Double Whammy with Cheese. I liked my burger, but I thought it had too much salsa and jalapeno in it. :) I took the food and my sister's picture, but my picture was taken by my sister using her Nokia C3 cell phone. I didn't know she took the picture, until she told me she just shared it in her Facebook. Hahahaha.

I always love being with my sister - sharing foods and stories with her are always awesome!

*** Jenn ***

31 October 2010

It was a little past 6AM when Ria and I reached Viron Transit's Cubao terminal, but we didn't leave yet because my brother and mom were about to travel to La Union, and during that time of the year, it gets a little chaotic in the bus terminals because people would like to travel to their own hometowns in time for the All Saints/Souls Days. I didn't want my mom and brother to have a difficult time traveling, so I told my brother I'd stay for a while, secure their tickets the soonest time it became available, so by the time they arrive, all they had to do was to ride the bus.


Unfortunately, there was some sort of a mix up in the terminal; the guard said he had the calling numbers with him, but all were for the Pangasinan trips. As we were waiting for the tickets to become available, mom and bro arrived, so after a short chit-chat, Ria and I left the terminal.


It was already past 7AM, so we decided to eat breakfast first, and our choice was the Country Style (again). We obviously chose different foods, and I had the ham sandwich, and she had the sausage. It was so interesting, we started our vacation with a food trip at Country Style and we ended it at the same food shop. I guess all has become full circle. :)

We got home in about an hour and half after, but instead of sleeping, I transferred all my files and went online a bit. I was basically alone for the next few days as my sister will travel to La Union that night, but all was okay; it just gave me some lazy wind, though.

*** Jenn ***

30 October 2010

Personally, if I am to do this travel alone, I would have stayed longer and watch the three day festivities of the Surfing Break, but because I am with a companion who cannot stay that long, I had to cut my trip short. Ria told me I could stay longer if I wish to do so, after all, she is much older than I am and she can certainly travel home alone, but because part of the reason of her coming with me was for her to visit Vigan City, I cannot really come with her to Vigan City, let her take the bus home with me dropping off in La Union. It was also my choice for us to travel home together, simply because we traveled together in the first place.

As a college professor, she has to be at the University in time for the enrollment (second semester), so we decided to use Day 4 as our last day. From our house in La Union, we left around 6AM so we can visit as much places as we wanted.


Asuncion de Sta. Maria Church (Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur). Our first stop. The first and the last time I visited this church was in 2008, and it was really part of my plan to visit this church this year, so I found it really beautiful that I wouldn't be visiting alone. We took our time checking the place, even walked to the back part of the church, and as we were about to leave, we were able to talk to a nun who let us in the convent. It was a very good start.

It was quite difficult to get a bus from the town because from what I know of, there were two roads, and sometimes, if there were no passengers getting off in front of the church, buses would not really take the route near the church. Ria and I walked to the diversion road, so that even if the bus would pass by the highway or by the church, we would be able to see it. It was quite a long wait, but we were happy to catch a Viron Transit bus straight to Vigan City.


Felicitas Kusinas at Grandpa's Inn (Vigan City, Ilocos Sur). Our first stop in Vigan City was actually the pottery factory owned by Fidel Go, but it was really unfortunate that we got there exactly 12NN, which is the start of the lunch break. Since we were quite hungry as well, we decided to head straight to Grandpa's Inn to eat lunch. We had the Igado and the Pinakbet with Bagnet, two of the well known Ilocano dishes.


Bantay Church (Bantay, Ilocos Sur). With tummies full, we resumed with our itinerary. We took a tricycle to the Bantay Church, since this was a very known landmark. Often mistaken as part of Vigan City, this church has got to be one of the most interesting churches I have seen - one, the main image in the altar can be rotated to face church visitors who walked to the back of the altar... two, there were church staffs touring people around, and three, visitors can climb up the bell tower to see a good panoramic view of the place. Unfortunately, visitors tend to be abusive with the perks, that they leave hideous marks on the floors and on the bells (as well as the walls). I really cannot understand the reason for them to do that - ruining centuries old materials - the guides were very apologetic about that... saying even if they clean the bells, and even if there were guides going up the bell tower with guests, there were still people leaving vandals especially if they came in big groups. Sad, really.


St. Paul Metropolitan Church (Vigan City, Ilocos Sur). From one church, we went to another church, this time we entered the Vigan Cathedral. There was a celebration that time, so even if we weren't able to roam around and we weren't able to take pictures to our heart's content, I was still happy because it was my first time to see the bishop.


Padre Burgos House. From the Cathedral, we walked to Padre Burgos House, which was turned into a museum. We just gave it a quick tour, took pictures, and left afterward.


Baluarte. One of the places in Vigan Ria wanted to see was the Baluarte because she knew there were a lot of animals there. Although we weren't able to have a picture next to the tiger (both of us were a bit scared and wouldn't want to pay the fee), and that weren't able to take pictures of butterflies (there weren't that much butterflies to begin with), we were able to touch different caterpillars, and we were able to pet some animals - including this camel, which is one of my favorites here in the zoo.


The Perfect Cup. We were supposed to go to Crisologo Museum, but it was already closed, so we just went to Crisologo Street to get some refreshments. Ria told me she will treat me out for some cakes and coffee, so I took here at the Perfect Cup. It was sad that they only had the blueberry cheesecake available, but it was still a nice snacking time for us.


Crisologo Street. We then took the time to shop for souvenirs and gifts, as well as enjoy the good view of the rustic street. Highlight of it maybe, was that I was able to sit in my favorite bench. :)


Cafe Leona. We decided to have an early dinner so we can go to the bus terminal earlier. We weren't able to eat outside of the restaurant and that it took quite a long time before we were served our foods, but eating at Cafe Leona proved to be a good idea, because not only did we get to eat good food (which was worth the wait), the waiting time did give Ria a chance to check her list. Seeing she forgot to buy one thing made us go back to Calle Crisologo.


Halloween Street Party. We were just about to leave Calle Crisologo, when we realized that the Halloween Street Party was just about to start. We still had time, so we watched it for quite sometime before leaving.

Since roads were somewhat closed because of the street party, we were glad to still be able to get a tricycle going to the bus terminal. Around 9:30PM, the bus rolled, but because there weren't that much passengers, I decided to take the seat behind the driver, while Ria sat behind my seat. Owning two seats for ourselves was a good thing to have - we can stretch and put our bags in the seat if we wanted to.

It was a very great vacation, and I was extremely happy to have shared the moment with Ria.

*** Jenn ***