2016 Week 30 Recap: Priorities vs Commitments

July 18-24, 2016

Work

Our HR department, who are the process owners of the systems we are deploying decided to delay it to two weeks because of employee readiness. According to them, not all employees have attended the training still. This impacts 15K+ employees and this translates to their payroll so it is really important for employees to undergo the training. Keri lang. We are slowly implementing what we can implement in advance. We will still get there in two weeks. Why in two weeks? Because we also need to time our implementation based on Payroll cut-off. Ours are  days 7-21 for end of month and 22-6 for the 15th. So all implementations should be guided by these days to lessen/totally avoid risks.

Basta kami sa team, keep calm and deploy pa rin hehehe.

Priorities vs. Commitments

Eto medyo nawindang ako last week hehe. Months ago, I said yes to a 1st birthday party on the 23rd and a wedding on the 24th. Last Monday, my favorite tita messaged me to go to their place last weekend for their house blessing. I declined at first because I don't want to be stressed of choosing between the events and going through the process of letting those people know that suddenly I can't go to their events anymore. Plus, nakabili na nga ako ng dress na dapat susuutin ko sa wedding eh. 

But I felt guilty. Event ng tita ko yun eh. I was looking forward to that event kasi milestone yun ng family nila. Yung tita kong yun and her husband, sila kasi yung madalas sa bahay namin talaga. Ilang years nang sa bahay sila lagi for New Year. Nung nawala yung nanay ko (na ate ni tita), sa bahay pa rin sila. Almost always present sa lahat ng invite ng nanay ko. Yung tito ko pa nga ang kasama ng nanay ko nung inaasikaso ni Mama yung house blessing ko rin (Oo, nanay ko talaga ang punong abala don. Hiyang-hiya ako kaso nasa Manila ako eh so di ko maasikaso talaga so sya na lang). At sila din yung nandon to guide us nung nawala ang mga magulang namin. So big deal talaga sa akin yung pagpunta/or di pagpunta sa event nila.

Come Wednesday, my officemate and I were talking about how to go to the venue. She mentioned that the wedding was on the 23rd. Nawindang ako at napakalkal ng FB messages. At 23rd nga talaga  so conflict na sya don sa birthday party :(. Na-confuse ako sino na ipaprioritize ko since umoo na ako sa 2. Thursday night, my tita was asking me again if I really can't go to their house blessing. Tinanong ko sya if magtatampo ba sya if di ako nagpunta. Silent treatment ang inabot ko. Mas lalo akong naguilty. Come Friday, I really felt uneasy na. I told my officemate that I was having second thoughts. Sabi ko, I think my best option was just to go home and don't attend both events na lang. Ganon. Syempre drama-rama with my officemate. I decided until the last minute possible. Umuwi pa ako ng apartment para maglaba. Nakapag-games pa ako. Pero come 3AM, I decided to go home na. I remember nasabi ko in one of my blog posts na first come, first served na lahat ng events na pupuntahan ko, unless may sumingit na pang pamilyang ganap. Eto na yun. Family comes first. And so....

Weekend

Carrots....ng kapitbahay nila hahaha

Eto ang view nila. Tanaw ang garden ng kapitbahay hahaha. Carrots yung tanim. So refreshing! Surprise ang pagdating ko hahaha. Di ko na sila sinabihan. Kasi nga di ba, ni-silent treatment na ako hahaha. Anyway, so glad I made that decision. At syempre kailangan matulog sa kanila. Sa lahat ng galing ng Baguio (sa Atok sila nakatira), ako lang nagstay for the night hahaha. Single eh. Pero eto ka. Nung medyo naka-inom na tito ko, nagsabi syang magtatampo raw talaga sya sa akin if di ako matutulog sa kanila hahaha. Hokey.

The next morning, I need to leave early dapat for the 10 AM mass sa Baguio. Early as in at 7AM, dapat nakasakay na ako ng bus. Kaso alam nyo na, ang sarap matulog don kasi malamig lamig. Plus ang sarap lang tumambay sa labas at magkwentuhan habang nagkakape. Aga kong nagising eh. 6AM. Kaso kumilos ako 8AM at 9AM na nakaalis hehe. Buti na lang, nakasakay ako sa bus agad after 10 minutes of waiting siguro. 

Bakit nga ba kailangan kong makabalik ng Baguio? Kasi may lunch date kami ng jowa ko hahahaha. Napakahirap magschedule with him since he works on weekends. Tapos may supposedly lakad pa sya ng Sunday night so lunch na lang yung option namin. Natuloy naman kami. Gusto kong kumain kami sa labas na kami lang at makapag-post anniversary celebration man lang dahil 1 year na kami last July 13. Akalain mo yun hehehe. While it was not always smooth sailing, milestone yun for us so big deal sya for me, kahit di big deal masyado sa kanya ang mga ganon. Ayun. Simple lang pero  masaya naman.

I asked him to take our selfie/groufie...whatever. Sya dapat para mas malayo ako sa camera hahaha! Basa nyo nakasulat sa shirt ko? Yan talaga ang ramdam ko especially kahapon. 

Hirap nung una kasi malaki raw phone ko...pero nawili nung kalaunan at click lang ng click :p

"Sir, bakit po parang ayaw nyong ngumiti?" Ay...baka gutom na sya pero pinagpicture ko muna yung server bago kami kumain kasi hahaha.

Palaparan ng mukha, pasingkitan ng mata :p

Tawang tawa ako dito kasi nahuli ko sya kung paano mag-selfie. May nalalaman pa syang tingin muna sa malayo, then tingin sa camera, smile, click. Kaloka! Hahaha!

Blessing in disguise din that I was not able to attend the 10AM mass. Don na lang ako sa 4PM na sakto, yun din ang schedule ng preggy friend ko. At least I was able to see her pregnant before she gives birth to her baby boy. Malapit na kasi yun! 

Anyway, yun lang ang mga chika ko. Nobela. Have a great week ahead.

P.S.1. Napaka-aligaga ng morning namin because some friends are trying to book tickets for the Wicked show in February 2017. Upon opening dapat since there's a 10% discount if you use Visa to book. Sayang din. Php1,645.88 yung final price after discount, kasama na dyan service charge. Yung original price ata is Php1,700++. 

P.S. 2. Gusto kong manood ng SONA ni PDu30. Sang link kaya pwede? Hehehe.

2016 Week 25 Recap: Staying Home

June 13-19, 2016

Short update.

I was still not feeling well early last week so I opted to go on sick leave on Monday. I also requested to work from home on Tuesday and Wednesday since I was dreading the commute to work, especially that most students were already back in school starting June 13. Yun lang, I missed my teammates' (s', kasi several of them) birthday treat hehe. Keri na. Health first before anything else. Meron pa kasing konting trembling and feeling of weakness nung Wednesday. By Thursday, I was already bored staying at home so I went back to the office. Thanks, Uber hehe. 

On Saturday, one friend wanted to go out and do something, anything so I suggested that we meet on Saturday night for dinner and movies. Saturday night since she works on night shift so day time talaga ang rest day nya. Also, it was Father's Day on Sunday, so there might be too many people.

I attended an anticipated mass before we met, in case I will get lazy to go out on Sunday. 

We had dinner at Lombardi's (again) at Shang. Gusto ko uli kasi matikman yung cherry walnut cheesecake nila hehe. Plus all the other restos were full that time. Dinner time na kasi. We watched the last full show of Me Before You, after. Nakakaiyak huhu. But realistic naman. Pero nakakaiyak pa rin. I was planning to read the book pero after watching the movie, huwag na lang. Nakakaiyak talaga kasi hehehe.

That's it, pancit. And now, more than halfway of this week has gone by again.

2016 Week 23 Recap: Happy Birthday, Kiddos!

May 30 - June 5, 2016

Work

All of us are really just trying complete everything before the big launch. Aside from the final stages of testing, we still have the reports to finalize. Deployment planning meetings are more frequent nowadays too. I just can't wait for this to be completed. Maiiyak siguro ako pag natapos na ito hahaha!

Travel

I received a call from Discovery Tour last Monday, informing me that my NSO-issued birth certificate is not readable enough so they were requesting me to submit even a certified true copy from my local registry. Good thing that I still have extra copies of the one my father requested for me more than a decade ago (as in January 2001). I asked if that was ok and they said yes so I sent it over last Wednesday. I did not receive any other calls so I'm assuming that the copy I sent would work. Still crossing my fingers that our visas will be approved.

Up next, my friend and I would need to finalize our itinerary so that we can start searching for the most economical train tickets to buy. My boss mentioned before about JR pass and that might work for us depending on our itinerary. Research, research, research! Am I excited? Mixed emotions, to be honest hehehe. But I'm sure I'll enjoy this trip no matter what.

Weekend

Our former colleague's kids turns 1 and 3 this June and so they had a combined birthday party, which a friend and I attended on Saturday, just so we have something to do on a weekend hahaha! Plus, the event was near our apartments so dyahe namang mag-no pa di ba? My friend and I met first at Shang to buy gifts. Thanks to an ongoing sale at Osh Kosh, we were able to buy cute dresses for 50% off and 30% off. We decided on "group gift" so we just split the total amount. Hay buti na lang. Medyo nakatipid ako don, pero yung naitipid ko, ipinanood namin ng sine after the children's party hehehe.

Realizations during the party:

• We also need to be bibo as parents because we need to help our children during games hahaha
• Hats off to the dads who were game to participate in one of the games. Pinasayaw pa sila nung host at wala lang, parang normal na lang sa kanila hehehe. Aliw.
• Parang gusto ko na rin ng anak. Nuninuninuninu! :p

And speaking of children's party, may isa pa akong pupuntahan sa July naman hehehe.

We went back to Shang at around 6:30 PM to watch The Nice Guys. It's a comedy film and it did not fail to make us laugh. Also, I have a lot of "anong katangahan yan?!!!" moments hehehe. We went home after the movies. 

I'm trying to spend as much time as I can with this friend because by God's grace, she may be leaving for the US later this year. I'm praying that her and her fiance's plans and application be granted. She deserves it. But before that, I hope we can also go back to Caramoan. We went there in 2012 and it was just so beautiful and untouched that we greatly enjoyed everything about the place despite being scammed by the promo we got from one of the groupon sites. Can't remember anymore which site was that. Sana matuloy.

I went to mass on Sunday and spent some time at the mall looking for doll shoes. My problem however is that, I can't wear super flat shoes because it triggers my plantar fasciitis, something that I don't want to have again because, ouch ouch ouch! It was an unfruitful search so I just treated myself to beef stew and pecan pie for lunch at Almond Marina. I dropped by Watson's later for some toiletries. Oh, I also was able to buy Treseme conditioner for a 30% discount! From Php 399 to Php 289! Pwede naman palang ganon kababa, bakit ba nila tinaasan presyo nito. Ang ganda pa naman sana. I'm thinking of buying more hehehe. Anyway, went home after that and spent the rest of the day watching TV while checking things online.

Another story...while on our way to Shang, we passed by a couple on the road. The girl was foreigner, the guy looks Pinoy. It looks like they were about to part ways and the guy was being sweet but looks like the girl was not happy as she was searching for something in her bag. I don't know why but I have a bad feeling that the guy may just be using the girl. I seriously hope I am wrong though. 

Anyway, I hope you all had a great week. Cheers to another great week ahead.

2016 Week 22 Recap: Japan Japan!

May 23-29, 2016

Travel

My friend and I are pushing through with our Japan travel in July. I can't believe July is just around the corner. Time flies at over-speeding pace hehe. Anyway, I learned that all Japan visa applications can only be processed through accredited travel agencies. We coursed ours through Discover Tour, the same agency my friend used when they went to Mt. Fuji in 2015. Processing fee per person is Php 800.00 plus DHL's delivery charge of Php 300.00 per package but this we still have to confirm because the change may have changed. Crossing our fingers for our visa's approval hehe. We'll know after 7 days. 

Next up for us will be to finalize our itinerary and buy tickets in advance as applicable.

Weekend

I missed Makati so I asked my friend to accompany me roam around it on Saturday. I was able to buy a skirt at Landmark bazaar for less than Php 200.00 hehehe.  I'm not really into dresses and skirts but I'm keeping some pieces for those times I need to. We also enjoyed Dad's merienda. Lamon pa more hahaha. 

On Sunday, it was just supposed to be mass and window shopping for shoes for me but my other friend requested if we can go out. She needs distraction since her fiance just went back to the US on Sunday morning and she didn't want to be alone and just cry all day hehehe. So out we met at Shang for lunch, nail spa and movie. 

We ate at Lombardi's, an Italian restaurant the the East wing of Shang. It was both our first time and we both agreed that everything was good. We feasted on pizza, pasta and cherry walnut cheesecake. Haayyy....the cheesecake was so yummy! It's now my new favorite hehehe. Expensive though hehehe. But I think everything was worth what we paid for.

We went to Nail Spa, the only nail salon in Shang, after lunch for a much needed TLC for our hands and feet. 

We also watched Money Monster after. I did not know what the movie was all about prior buying our tickets but it was just the only movie we both wanted to take a chance on since it has George Clooney and Julia Roberts in it haha. But surprisingly, I enjoyed it because of the financial market component. 

Went home after and spent the rest of the evening watching Sunday shows in ABS-CBN. Vizco's, where I had breakfast on my birthday last March, and some other eateries in Baguio were featured in Rated K! A friend and I are now planning to try those hahaha. The question is, when? We'll see about that.

TOTGA

My TOTGA (the one that got away) to this date was a dress I saw and liked in December, but did not buy because it was expensive and was not what I needed. I saw it again in April, but still hesitant in buying it because it was still not discounted. Now, I consider it my TOTGA as of Saturday because I might be attending a wedding in July and that dress would have been perfect for the occasion haaayy. So good luck with the dress hunting again hehehe,

Anyway, I hope you all had a great week. Cheers to another great week ahead.

2016 Week 21 Recap: Work Updates + Meeting Mr. Law

May 16-22, 2016

Work

We have been doing this one project for the longest time and I really really really want it out of my plate na. I want it deployed in July. Kaya kahit mahirap na, pinipilit ko na lang talagang tapusin lahat ng kailangan tapusin so that our team won't be the cause of all delays. It's always a roller coaster ride for this project. Everyone's becoming restless (and more short-tempered) while they catch up with all their deliverables. There should be zero room for errors because of the big scope of the project plus the amount of data to migrate. One small mistake will surely impact the rest of the project's components. Therefore, the deployment should be well planned, well thougt of and all resources MUST be aligned at all times. In short, bawal nganga hehehe. Basta gusto ko na lang madeploy ito. Siguro maiiyak ako after ng deployment. Hehehe.

Weekend

My friend's American boyfriend was in town for the first time, to visit her. She invited us to have lunch with them last Sunday, just few hours upon his arrival hehe. He's staying here for a week so their schedule is jampacked. I feel that he is a good man. I hope everything will turn out well for him and my friend. My friend deserves only the best.

After lunch, another friend and I went to S&R Shaw to check out the items on sale. We were able to buy Tresemme shampoo and conditioner. Hopefully, it will be good to our hair because it is our first time to use the Split Repair variant. It's not that our hairs have split ends. We just love the smell of this variant among the items on sale hehehe.

Went home after to just rest aka watch the Sunday shows. It's been a while since I last watched TV that long hahaha. 

Late post yet again.

2016 Week 20 Recap: Movie Marathon

May 9-15, 2016

Monday, May 9 was election day. I was planning to go early so that I can leave for Manila earlier, but well, hello sleep hehehe. It was almost closing time when I reached the precinct but at least there were no more lines. Done voting in less than 5 minutes. I double checked my receipt and it had all the names I shaded. I was relieved.  

I am also glad election is over. It is our responsibility as Filipinos to support the new administration, regardless if it was our candidate of choice who won or not. Again, it is our responsibility.

I proceeded to town after voting. I had an early dinner at Vizcos and then was able to ride a 7PM Victory Liner trip. No long lines this time, thank God. Arrived in Manila at around 1AM so at least there was still enough time to rest before the new work week.

Project MTM

I haven't gone back to graduate school yet since after my father died in 2015. Until now, I'm still contemplating whether to push through or not. Contemplating because, I think I would like to take a new path now. But while I haven't fully decided yet to stop, I met up with a classmate to copy her reviewers. We spent the whole morning discussing about her new venture and sometimes about our future plans. I wish her well. 

Unfortunately, it seems like the USB got corrupted huhuhu so I need to copy from her again. Bad thing though is that, my most recent financial files are there and I haven't backed those up in the laptop. Hay naku.

Weekend

I can't remember the last time I watched a movie. I think I wanted to watch a movie in February but was not able to do it. I also have 2 tickets I won last December during our team party. It did not have an expiration date but better to use it now just to be sure. And so, my friend and I did a movie marathon. Not 2 but 3 movies hehehe. In between the movies were spent eating and window shopping. We also availed of Dad's merienda buffet, the bill paid by my friend hehe. We also checked out some of the shops and tried some clothes. No buying. 

Speaking of buying, I want to buy a Samsonite luggage. Citibank has a 15% discount promo until May 31. However, I don't know anyone who owns a Citibank credit card. My previous applications were always denied. According to HR friends, it is because I work in a BPO. Huwell. Let's see about the luggage din.

Since it was a payday weekend, there were a lot of people at the mall. Daming pera mga tao hehehe. Sana lang nakapagtabi na muna sila for savings bago sila magwaldas. 

I hope you all had a great week. Cheers to another great week ahead.

2016 Week 18 Recap: Team Building

April 25-May 1, 2016

We had our team building last April 29-30 at Terrazas de Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas. I'm happy that my boss allowed us to just take Friday off, anyway, team building is still an office activity. We stayed at one of the private beach houses there.

What I liked about our accommodation:

• Spacious for 24 pax
• Super cold aircon in the bedroom. Hay, sarap lang magkulong sa kwarto lalo na if naiisip ko init sa Manila hahaha.
• It has its own pool so if you don't want to stay at the beach kasi medyo may kalayuan, pwedeng tumambay dito lalo na sa gabi.
• The food...super sarap! And more than enough. I was second batch in all 3 meals pero ang dami pa ring tira. And complete with juice/coffeee and desert! Grabe. Busog lusog hehehe. Ang sarap nung cheesecake baked by one of the staff. We ordered the night before for take home the next day. Unfortunately, walang nabake na cheesecake. Super sulit sana non kasi Php20/piece lang pero ang sarap talaga. At sa food talaga pinaka marami kong nasabi hahaha. 
• They have a terrace so syempre, automatic na don yung mga nagyoyosi hehe.
• Their living room is spacious. Sarap tumambay don.
• The house is surrounded by mountains so it's still a little cooler given that it's summer.
• The staff were all attentive of our needs. They even prepared a spot for us at the beach for our activities.
• With entertainment room and game room. Ang hindi ko lang masyadong gusto is that medyo malayo sa beach. Around 15 minutes walk daw papunta, pero pag pabalik, for sure mas matagal kasi puro paakyat yung road. Plus, it's steep. But it's not a problem if may sasakyan naman.

I haven't attended any team building in the past 5 years. Either I have other activities scheduled or ayaw ko lang hehehe. So I was pleasantly surprised when my presence was mentioned several times hahaha. And my boss really appreciates it daw. Hehe. Nagulat ako pero syempre secretly, natuwa rin ako.

It was pure fun and chill lang. No talks about work. We had one group dynamics and then the rest was free time. Some of us went swimming on Friday afternoon. I just stayed by the seashore and waited for sunset. I specifically requested that in case we still had group activities by the time it was sunset, we stop a while to watch it hehehe.Wala lang. Gustung-gusto ko lang talaga kasi manood ng sunrise at sunset. Nakakakalma ang ganda.

Swimming at the beach was only until 6 PM so we went back to the house after sunset and proceeded to the pool to keep cool while waiting for dinner. We had card games after dinner. May nagdala rin ng shot. May masipag nagtimpla ng punch. Two kinds of mixes - gin and juice and rum and juice. May tanggero na pagkabilis bilis magpa-ikot. Nagulat silang malamang umiinom daw ako at ang tibay ko raw hahaha. Well, I'm a social drinker. Di naman sugapa. At depende rin sa mood. At during that time, feel kong uminom. Plus, di naman ganon katapang so masarap.

May isa akong teammate sabi nya pangarap daw nya magmodel. Akala namin nagbibiro sya. Hindi daw. Pinagbigyan namin at instant photoshoot session sya. Nung una, tawanan pa kami. After a few minutes, kinarir na ng iba. May isa talagang binubuhat pa yung electric fan para lang may lipad hangin ang hair effect hehehe. Kaming 2 ng isa pang teammate ko, tawanan until matapos. Yun lang contribution namin hahahaha! It was all fun. Pero surrender na ako ng 2AM. The rest were still all wide awake. Not sure what time they all went to sleep. I allowed myself to just sleep longer. No pressure of going to the beach. Ayun, nagising kami 9AM na. Just enough time to have breakfast, wait for our turn in the shower and get ready for our trip back to Manila. Some still went to the beach for another dip. Ako, pass na. Nagkulong ako sa room dahil sa aircon. Ma-mimiss ko kasi sya.

Some wanted to pass by Tagaytay for lunch. Pero the one with car needed to go back to Manila for another event. Nakipagswap na lang ako since parang nasad yung isang batang teammate na di sya makakasama dahil sa car assignment hehehe. Anyway, Tagaytay is my home away from Baguio home kasi taga don hipag ko and I can just go there anytime. Plus, I wanted to go back to Manila earlier because I wanted to meet up with another friend. 

And meet up with the friend I did. I just went home to leave my things and went straight to Megamall hehehe. Ang balak ko sana was manood ng Just the 3 of Us ni JLC and Jennylyn Mercado kaso nareschedule pala ang opening! We think it was because of Captain America kasi puro yun ang palabas hehehe.Anyway, we just roamed around for a while then transferred to Shang to have dinner at Rustan's. Don kami medyo tumambay para magkwentuhan.

On Sunday, I met up with another friend and went to our friend's dad's wake. Unfortunately, our friend just left when we arrived at the wake. Her mom said she went home to rest for a little bit. We stayed for around one hour to try and wait for her pero mukhang nakatulog na so hinayaan na lang namin. The mom entertained us. Hay. Nakakalungkot kasi pinatay sya :(. What a waste of life if it's not natural death. Rest in peace na lang po, tito.

Anyway, we went to Starbucks para magpagpag at para makapagkwentuhan na rin since matagal din kaming di nagkita hehehe. We called it a night by 9PM because both of us wanted to rest as early as we can. 

Speaking of patay, may namatay din daw na kabarangay namin sa Baguio. Younger than me. Looks like he died in his sleep. At kakastalk ko sa FB, kakakasal lang nya last April :(. Hay. And for some reason, natatakot ako hahaha. As in di ko mapatay ilaw ko sa gabi. I planned to go home early last Friday because I was not able to buy tickets but I changed my mind. Ayaw ko kasing dumating sa amin ng gabi. Madadaanan ko kasi yung bahay nila pero malalagpasan naman ng taxi. Pero basta, ewan kung bakit. For sure nalibing naman na yun kasi bata pa per weired talaga. Maybe because it brings back memories to when we lost our parents. Anyway, may he rest in peace din. 

P.S. Super late post na nito hehehe. Ngayon lang sinipag magtype.

2016 Week 17 Recap: Weekend Lakad

April 18-24, 2016

Last Saturday, a friend and I went to BGC to check out the World Street Food Congress. There were a lot of interesting dishes from the different parts of the world. Everything looks delicious. However, there were a lot of people, the order and claim lines were long in almost all of the stalls, the heat was just so unforgivable (at least to us) and the prices are abit steep for our wallets hehehe. A 500 ml Wilkins water alone costs Php50.00 hehehe. The cheapest I've seen if I'm not mistaken, was Php180.00. Setting aside the price though, my friend and I were willing to at least try some of the food stalls. However, it got a little windy and dust was all around hehehe. So we got disappointed and decided to just leave the place. 

From BGC, we went to S&R Shaw. We just missed going around the place and inspect each and every item hehehe. We also missed the pizza and chicken so we had our late lunch there. Most of my breakfast staples were also available and cheaper so did some grocery shopping. It's just too tempting to shop there though, so shopping discipline is a must, otherwise, you'll end up overspending.

I am a little restless these days because of a lot of things going on in my mind so I just stayed home on Sunday. I was about to go out in the evening but I remembered it was the 3rd and final debate of our presidential candidates so I opted to watch it instead. But politics is one that I am not that passoinate about. Let's just say I already have my choices and I respect others' choices. To each his own. Regardless of who wins, I will still continue to strive to be a good Filipino.

I also got hold of news in FB that my uncle in the US (my dad's brother in law) already passed away. Hay. Nakakalungkot. May you rest in peace, uncle. While you are already gone, I know that you will continue looking after auntie. It's time to party in heaven with all the other folks who went ahead of you. I'm sure they all welcomed you in style, I mean the Igorot way - dancing, gong playing, butchered pigs, and a merry feast! Til we meet again.

2016 Week 16 Recap: Weekend Getaway

April 11-17, 2016

Work

Last April 14, my boss asked me to attend a dialogue on her behalf, as requested by one of our partner schools. In summary, the school's goal is to get information and inputs from its industry partners so that they can bridge the gap between their curriculum and the chances of their students being hired after graduation.

It was the school's first time to do it, and it was my first time to attend such an event. It was an eye-opener for me, most especially on the difference of the academe and the industry. And while there are glitches, I'm happy to know that there are schools who initiate such dialogues for the improvement of their curriculum. I'll try to write more about it in another post.

Weekend

Finally had the chance to get out of Manila. A friend invited us to spend the weekend at their home in Lipa. We traveled to Lipa on Saturday afternoon. Sumptuous lunch was waiting for us upon reaching their place hehehe. Lamon galore ang weekend na ito. 

After late lunch and few minutes of rest, we proceeded to the Bluroze Farms Parks and Wildlife. It's a mini zoo in Lipa where the animals can freely roam around in their provided wide open spaces. The area itself is big. However, we were not able to roam around the place because we arrived there at 6PM and they close at 7PM, and even before 7PM struck, it was already dark so we had to leave hehehe. By the way, we paid Php120.00 entrance fee.

We proceeded to the San Sebastian Cathedral next. It is a big church with beautiful architecture. From the Cathedral, we went across the street to check out the night market. It's a mixture of cooked food and more food and more and more food and some stalls also sell mostly clothes. While we did not have any intentions of buying, it was fun checking out the stalls and be amazed by all the delicious looking food hehehe. In fairness, there were a lot of people that night. Maybe it's the usual time for the people of Lipa to spend time outside.

Because we wanted a sit down dinner, we avoided buying food at the night market. We went to LBN bar and restaurant for dinner. We wanted to order lomi but the restaurant only serves it until 7:30 PM. We arrived at 8PM. We settled for the usual pork sisig, grilled tuna belly and chopsuey. We also had one glass of margarita to cap the night. There was a live band while we were there so it must be our lucky night hehe.

On Sunday, my friend and I attended mass at the Cathedral. After a hearty breakfast, we proceeded to La Virginia Resort and Hotel for a much needed dip in the pool to at least beat the summer heat. Entrance fee for day tour is Php320.00. We did not rent a cottage since we did not have packed lunch. We just had lunch at their restaurant.

The place has 4 or 5 pools so even with the many guests, the pools were not crowded. We surveyed the place a little before settling to a pool with lesser people. We just wanted to stay in the water and exchange stories so the lesser the people, the better hehehe. We stayed in the pool for about 3 hours before taking our late lunch. We planned it that way so that we don't go to the restaurant together with the crowd. 

One store at my friend's place sells halo-halo in buko. The buko juice and the buko itsself becomes part of the hal-halo. We tried it even if we were still full from lunch and even if we also had halo-halo at the restaurant. It was my first time to see such so buy na!

We left Lipa at around 6:30PM and back in Manila by 8:30PM. Thank God for a quick and traffic-less travel. And thank you for generous friends who are willing to host you even for just the weekend hehe.

Some pictures of the weekend.

BluRoze Farms

Pinks and whites

Dusk at the province

San Sebastian Cathedral in Lipa

Overlooking Taal from La Virginia Resorts and Hotel

Castle at the resort. This is one of their accommodations.

Weeeee! Time to dive, oopps dip only. 

Halo-halo in buko! Yum yum!

Bluroze Farms
4217 Lipa, Batangas

La Virginia Resorts and Hotel
Brgy. Manggahan, Mataas na Kahoy, Batangas

Braving the Pay day Weekend

It was a pay day weekend so most malls are on sale. My other friend Des, was also planning to go to Megamall on Sunday to check out the sale so we agreed to just meet there. I also messaged Glo to join us. Good thing she was available as well. This time, I didn't have anything on my list. I just wanted to check out how things were hehe.

However, it was one of the mall trips I didn't enjoy much because of the traffic and there were a LOT of people. Unbelievable. It seems that even those from provinces came to check out the sale as well. Glo and I arrived first but we decided to just go to Shang and just meet Des there because the crowd is giving us a headache already. However, Des wasn't able to buy something at Shang so we went back to Megamall, praying that people have thinned out by then. Fortunately, the crowd was more bearable this time. But then Des wasn't lucky enough and wasn't able to buy anything still. We just proceeded to dinner and they went home after. I don't want to wait in line for taxi for long so I just watched a movie first. Good decision. After the movie, I was able to ride a cab without enduring the long line.

Thank God for friends and weekends. :)

Rockwell Moonlit Bazaar

Hungry and disappointed a bit, we went to check out the bazaar. I've learned about this in the beauty blogs I read. I had 2 items in my list: Inti-Mate (bra converter clip) and Clutterzap EarBones (for a tangle-free earphones) from Beuatynomics. I was successful with Inti-Mate but not with Clutterzap since I'm using a different type of earphones. There were quite a number of shops selling different items.

I also saw Suelas which is only available online. I wanted to try one shoe but my size was not available. Sayang. Looks like the style was a best seller that time.

I was also able to buy a passport wallet for Php150 and toiletry travel kit (which I was looking for the longest time) also for Php150. I did not notice the names of the shops though.

There were food stalls available as well so we tried Brooklyn pizza. Finally, I was able to have a taste of it. I heard of this yummy eons ago but haven’t got the chance to try it. I ordered the cheese pizza and loved it. I bought a beverage over at Tea Ology to partner it with my pizza. Perfect combination. :)

All in all, it was a worthwhile trip.

Hello Rockwell. It's Been a while...

Had a great weekend with high school friends.

Last Saturday, Glo and I braved the strong rains and visited Rockwell Powerplant simply to check out the mall itself and the Rockwell Mooonlit Bazaar which was scheduled that weekend. Rockwell happens to be our (me and my officemates) favorite hangout in my first job since it was just near the office. Walking to the mall at night after office hours was our way of de-stressing during those days. And the last time I was there was in 2006 simply because Glorietta, which was our first option, was bombed.

Upon arriving at the mall, we were first asked to place our umbrellas in plastic which the mall provided. That was cool for me since I was able to put the umbrella back in my bag hehe. Just hoping that the plastic is biodegradable.

Anyway, we first checked out the different shops. We were amazed with the Tempur products displayed in one floor and we excitedly planned to give Tempur pillows as Christmas gifts. But our hearts were crashed when we learned of the price haha. Just to give you an idea, one regular-sized pillow costs more than 7K so...dig that. But the quality I think is good hence the price. If I have much money to splurge in the future, I'll buy some items from them. :)

And oh, there's a Royce shop in the mall! A friend gifted me with these chocolates a few weeks ago when she came home from her trip in Japan and I super liked it so it was heaven when I saw the shop hihi. I was so ready to buy even though it was expensive but did not have enough time so maybe next time. It wasn't meant to be :).

Chillax mode: Angels and Demons

Date with Anne and Mira on Saturday, May 23.

After regenerating a report that’s needed to be sent to the vendor, I rushed to Gateway to meet with Mira and Anne to watch Angels and Demons. I arrived few minutes before the movie started at 7:30 PM. Buzzer beater hehehe.

I haven’t read the book. I got feedbacks from others who have already watched that the book is better than the movie. But I enjoyed the movie. And now, I want to read the book ehehe.
After the movie, we had dinner at the food court. And of course chit chat. We called it a night at around 12 PM.

Chillax mode: A visit to Kwebang Lampas in Quezon

On Sunday, off we went to Kwebang Lampas in Quezon. It was an activitiy initiated by Anne.

Participants are some of her friends and mostly from Choral and Outdoor (clubs in the office).

The place:

• Isolated so it was a perfect weekend getaway. You need to walk for about 30 minutes before you get to the beach. The trail at that time was muddy. At one point, we had to remove our slippers because it was really slippery.
• There were only a few people that day so it was not crowded.
• There’s a cave in the area. Chorale rehersed inside the cave. Trip lang nila hehehe.
• There’s also a cliff where some enjoyed diving. For others, it was the time where they were able to conquer their fears and realize their dreams-that is to jump from cliff and dive into the water.
• There’s a CR in the area but no shower room. You can take your shower in the place where you start your trek. I was not able to get the name of the family who lives there.
• You can also rent a boat going to the beach if you don’t want to walk.

I was quiet most of time-due to lack of sleep hehehe. I was just contented watching the others’ antics and laughing with them. And no, I still did not conquer my fear of the deep waters, and I think I never will wehehe.

Was back in Manila around 1AM. Tiring but fulfilling.

Chillax mode: IS APAC Teambuilding

Yes, it went as planned last May 15-16, 2009, held at Noah’s Park, Montalban Rizal.

So what was in store for us?

• Side trip in one of the markets in Rizal to buy ice.
• Passed by Gelo’s home to get the rice.
• Rough road for the last 2 KMs going to the place.
• Lots of food food food, most of it prepared by CJ and family. Thanks CJ. As always, YUMMY!
• Ihaw, ihaw, and more ihaw – hotdogs, bbq, bangus, tilapia. It took us hours to cook everything hehehe. One icebox was filled with just ihaw. I helped a bit in the ihaw. It was so hot. But then again, we use firewood in Baguio so I’m used to it-no big deal.
• Rewards and recognition for Q1 projects. Impromptu for all of my lines. I didn’t know it would be that way hehehe.
• Games-garden maze and putok balloon using airsoft gun.
• Was not in any of the games. Was on the phone addressing an issue. Yes, we got the call from Server team before the program proper. I was only done long after the finished the games. Amp. But it was resolved so I’m glad.
• Videoke videoke videoke! Emie and I sang to our heart’s content up until 7 AM wahahaha. Adik! Bitin pa yan sa lagay na yan. If I was not sleepy, and if it was not for the hot rays of the morning sun, I would have wanted to sing some more hihihi.
• Swimming! We tried all of the pools I think. I didn’t try the slides though. :p
• Take home food hehehe. We weren’t able to consume all our baon. Sa dami ba naman non hehe.
• Of course, jump shots (emphasis on the S) in midday. Whew! So hot!
• Back in Manila by Saturday, 3PM.

So there. I think everybody enjoyed naman. ‘Til our next chillax days.

Cafe by the Ruins

I met with Eden and her hubby for gimik tonight before igoing back to Manila. Their choice of place is at Cafe by the Ruins. I said yes right away since I haven't been to that place although I read that it's a must see in Baguio.

Based on my readings, part of the place is a wall of one of the governor's mansion. Itwas converted into a cafe where artists can meet and showcase their artworks. Some are for sale, others are just for display.

Though it is located just beside a main street where vehicles frequently pass by, once you enter the place, it's as if you're transported to a different world. The place is made up of bamboo, sticks (yes, those that we use in the garden as support for the beans and the sweet peas hehe) and the roof is made of cogon grass. Their tables and chairs are made of pinewood and bamboo as well. The ambiance is artistic and laidback. People there were just as quiet, simply enjoying the tranquility of the place. I think we were the only ones who were a bit noisy hehe.

We did not enjoy our orders though hehehe. But then again, we were there for coffee and desert only. Eden’s hubby ordered the civet cat coffee but to him, it tasted like Nescafe (3-in-1 or 5-in-1? Hehehe). Eden had the dark chocolate something but I don't understand how it should be consumed. It's listed together with the other drinks so I' assuming it is for drinking but it has a thick consistency so I'm not sure hehe. Onei had the sorbet something in strawberry. I think he liked it. He said it's made of pure strawberries. I had fruit tassi (mango) and I like it. I did not taste the yogurt though. According to the menu, it's yogurt but it' just like a smoothie. I also had the foca cheese samdwich. I didn't like it that much because it was too oily for my taste and the only thing I can recognize of the filling is the egg. I don't know the other ingridients, if there are any. So there. But I think their main dishes are worth trying. We keep on looking at the dishes served in other tables and they look yummy enough. So I'm not closing my doors. I still want to go back to try their other dishes.

Address is 23 Chuntug St. Baguio City. The place is just below the city hall, and it’s also near the La Trinidad jeepney terminal (just a few steps). The entrance is along the street as well. When you see an area fenced by sticks, that's already part of it. There's a signage, though it' quite small. They have a small parking which I think can only accomodate around 6 cars. It's near Rizal Park though so that’s another option on where to park.

Chilling in Baguio

After the wedding, Jen and I went to town for some shopping. Hihihi. We wanted to check out the Ukays. Unfortunately, it was brownout for the whole of Baguio so we only got to visit those that have generators huhu. And there were only 3 freakin’ shops we were able to check. Amp! Frustrated, we decided to just have dinner then proceed to SM where we’re sure there’s generator. It was a good thing that SM was on sale so they were closing late last night. SM…where an interesting thing happened as well but it’s in the post next to this hehehe.

At around 10 PM, we met with Jen’s sisters and proceeded to Music Magic for some nightlife. MM is a bar where bands usually play country music. Yes, it’s most of Baguio folks’ favorite kind of music. We were surprised to see some Koreans though. At talaga naman. They were the center of attention simply because, well they made themselves the center of attention hehehe.

Jen and I were so busy checking out the cute singers that’s why we were surprised when a guy came to our table and asked Jen for a dance wahahaha! I didn’t even notice him checking out our table wehehe. Prior to that, I was also kidding Jen about that same guy because he looks like her ex hihihi. That’s why when he came to our table and asked Jen to dance, I could barely contain my laughter wahahaha! Since Jen was a little tipsy already (courtesy of Red Horse weh!), she declined and was actually pushing me to just go with the guy. Sorry, I just wanted to listen to music and not dance so I stood my ground hehehe. But unfortunately, the guy was persistent even though we already promised him that Jen will dance with him later. He told us that if it’s still later, the music (which happens to be his favorite daw hahaha) would be ending soon. And all he wanted was to dance with my friend but because we kept on refusing, he felt that he was being put to shame. Alarmed, we tried to convince Jen to just go with him and for her sister to accompany her. Well, the music ended and good thing the singer started singing an upbeat song when they went to the dance floor hehehe.

We left the place a little before 1 AM. Surprisingly, there were still a lot of people along Session Road. Well, as they say, Baguio is already become little Manila. I think I don’t like it. Sniff.

Since this weekend was for friends, I slept over at Jen’s place hehehe. I just got home at around 7 PM tonight wahaha.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Friend's Wedding

My elementary friend, Mary Ann, tied the knot yesterday. Wuhoo! Congratulations! It was a garden wedding with Pentecost rites (I think). It was a little different from a Catholic wedding rite but most of the components are there like the entourage is the same. They also have the candle, veil, and cord. I think the only difference is the sequence of the ceremony. It was unusual for some people here (since they are used to having the ceremony in churches) but I think it was also an experience for them to experience a garden wedding.

Though Mary Ann’s hubby and family are already Christians, I’m glad that they still allowed the Igorot dances to be part of the program. I danced! Weee! And I realized that I missed dancing our cultural dances! (When I was in elementary, part of our school’s curriculum was for us to be aware and be proud of our cultural heritage so I was exposed to it. Plus the fact that some of our relatives still practice these traditions so these traditions has become part of me.)

I don’t know how it happened but we did not get to the part of the program where the bride throws the boquet. I think people started leaving earlier. So that when I and Jen were saying our goodbyes to her, Mary Ann handed me the boquet wahahaha! Sabi ko si Jen muna kasi sya na yung susunod sa aming 3 (sya kasi yung susunod na pinakabunso sa aming 3, next to Mary Ann hehehe). Pero katwiran ni Mary Ann, meron na raw boquet si Jen (abay kasi sya) kaya sa akin talaga nya ibibigay yun. O sya sige. So I’m next?! Weee! Good luck sa inyo hahaha. Maghihintay kayo ng matagal kasi wala pa akong groom :p. Kaya Jen, una ka na kasi talaga. :D

Again, congratulations and best wishes Mr. and Mrs. Bebet! God bless you both. Proyd, take care of my friend/sister.

Dinner at Leslie's on Balentyms

We immediately left EK after having our snacks of hotdog sandwich. We were expecting to reach Leslie’s after an hour but que horror! It was traffic. We were thinking at first that maybe it’s because it’s Valentine’s Day so many are on their way to Tagaytay for the night. But it was still unbelievable because traffic started just a few minutes after we made a right turn from Sta. Rosa. Huwell. There’s nothing we can do except to continue with our pang-ookray hehehe.

We saw a Ferrari! Ang taray ni Lolo. Bigatin ang ride. Si lola ay hindi mukhang lola. Siguro many years younger talaga sya hehehe.

One of the passengers of the Starex van in front was gay. Nagpapacute kay Sol ahahaha. Nginingitian at kumakaway pa talaga wahaha! Astig ka Sol. Isa kang magnet…gay magnet? Hihihi. Nung hindi sya tumitigil sa pagpapacute, pinakitaan namin ng L sign. Ang ganti sa amin? Pinakita lang naman nya ang kanyang flowers at balloons! Plural tsong. Hindi lang isang pirasong flower at balloon. Bouquet of flowers with matching elegant plastic wrapper at sangkatutak na balloons in different shapes and sizes formed into a design. Syet! Ni isa man lang sa aming mga babae walang flowers huhuhu. Wala. We are really losers…losers on the loose bwahahaha.

After 10 years, nakarating din kami sa Leslie’s. Good thing may available na upuan that time. Di pa ganon karami mga tao. Kaso naman, olats yung waiter na na-assign sa amin. Hindi attentive. Anyway, we ordered Bulalo, Crispy Pata, Kangkong and Ginataang Kalabasa, Sitaw at Hipon. Tsalap tsalap!

Habang naghihintay ng orders at para hindi maisip ang kagutuman, nagpicture-picture muna kami. Si Sol, nagkaroon ng love-hate relationship with my camera :p. Love nya pag maputi sya sa pic, hate nya pag sobrang itim wahahaha.

Sa kalagitnaan ng aming kaguluhan, bigla kaming may narinig na fireworks! Weeee! Ito yung isa sa balak naming hintayin sa EK e pero pinagpalit namin sya sa Leslie’s hihihi. Buti na lang may fireworks din dito. Nangyari lahat ng gusto namin. Di nga lang ako marunong kumuha ng fireworks. Low batt na kasi yung magandang camera ni Gelo :p.

Nung finally may food na, tahimik nang nagsikain ang lahat. Hindi na nakuhanan ng pic yung food kasi pagkalapag, kuha na agad wehehehe. Nung medyo nabawasan na ang aming kagutuman, kwentuhan at hiritan naman. Ito lang yung mga na-note ko hehehe (literal na ninote-nakasave ‘to as draft sa phone ko).

• Kaya ako single ngayon kasi ganito ako kumain.
• This is life.
• This is single blessedness.
• Love will find a way kaso wrong way tayo.

Quotable quotes from losers hahaha.

After ng dinner and bili ng pasalubong, sibat na kami. Temporary amnesia ako dito by choice hihihi. Ang natatandaan ko lang, muntik na akong mapaiyak dito ni Gelo huhuhu. Sa aking mga EK buddies, wag nyo na akong piliting ilagay dito. At wag na rin nating pag-usapan sa comments wahahaha.

After a few minutes of traveling, biglang nagtanong si Sol kung tama pa ba yung dinadaanan namin. Upon checking the place, mukhang tama naman so sabi ko tama. Pero bigla kong naalalang itanong kung nag-left ba kami after naming madaanan ang rotunda. Hindi daw. Bigla akong napasigaw ng “Mali! Papunta na tayo ng People’s Park. Balik”. Hehehe. Muntik pa kaming maligaw at mapadpad sa kung saang lupalop wahahaha.

Pagkatapos non, kanya-kanyang diskarte na ng pagtulog habang si Sol ay nagmamadali na sa pagda-drive. Di ko na namalayan ang iba pang pangyayari. Nagising na ako nung malapit na kami sa C5. Dumaan kami kina Emie para isoli yung sasakyan ng tita nya and lipat sa sasakyan ni Sol sabay harurot na. Late na sya sa kanyang date ahihi. Namamatayan si Sol nung una kasi nanibago sya sa sasakyan nya. Di daw sya sanay wahahaha. Take note, isang araw lang na iba ang nadrive nyang car ah hehehe. Ibinaba kami sa SM Pasig then kanya-kanya nang kumuha ng taxi pauwi. Sabay-sabay kami nina Gelo and Jen. Drop off ko na lang sila sa kung saan man sila bababa.

Home sweet home at around 12 AM or a little past 12. Sisimulan ko na sana magblog kaso inantok na ako. Nagawa ko lang idownload ang mga pictures from my camera at panoorin at balikan muli ang mga kwentong kaakibat ng bawat larawan. Neks! May ganun? Wahaha.

EK on Balentyms

Warning: Long post because it’s more than 12 hour’s worth of stories. Read at your own risk .

Weeks ago, some of our officemates planned to go to EK on Valentine’s Day. They extended the invitation to everyone who is single wahahaha. It’s a date for loosers daw hahaha. We were supposed to be 8 in all but 2 backed out at the last minute. Mga corny.

The final cast: Sol, Emie, Pam, Jen, Gelo, My

We opted to just rent a car so that it will be more convenient. We were able to rent Emie’s tita’s car and Sol became our official driver hehehe.

On Friday, we were all set. We will be meeting at OSMA the next day at 9:30 AM. We all agreed to just help wake each other up by 6 AM. Hehehe.

As for me, Anne and I went out on Friday night so I was expecting to have a hard time waking up . By 6 AM, Emie already sent a wake up call text message. I was still asleep that time . By 6:30, she sent another one to me. She sounded like she’s already panicking because I was not able to reply to her text right away wahahaha. Anyway, that text woke me up. Good thing because when I checked my cel, I failed to set my alarm wahahaha. I got up at 7 AM to start preparing. I texted Gelo but he was not replying. I tried calling him but I can’t get through. Maybe his phone is acting up again. It was not yet time to panic so I just decided to call him again by 7:30. Anyway, even if he wakes up that time, he will still be on time. I continued with my preparation and by 7:30, I tried calling Gelo again. This time, he answered. He’s already awake. And so is everyone else. Thank God.

By 9:40, I was already at OSMA. Sol and Emie were already there as well. A few minutes later, Gelo, then Jen arrived. Pam was late!!!! We bombarded her with missed calls and text messages hahaha. When finally, she arrived, we started our trip. That was around 10:15 already. Nasa Market-Market pa lang kami, may nakita kaming guy na may hawak na flowers. Sigwawan kami ng uyyy sa sasakyan hahaha. Dito pa lang lumalabas na pagka-loosers namin wahahha. After approximately 1 hour of travel, we stopped for gas at Petron station. We also decided to just take an early lunch there because food at EK is much more expensive. After a hearty brunch, we headed straight to EK!

On the way, we were spying on other commuters as well hahaha. We saw a couple in another car na super dikit yung girl sa bf na nagmamaneho. Duh! May iba silang kasama. Sa isang car naman, natutulog yung girl habang yung guy was driving. Na-sense ata nung guy na tinitignan naming so bigla nyang ginising yung girl by letting her face him wahahaha. Walang kasing timang na guy! Amp! Inisip naming chickboy yung guy and yung kasama nya is the legal wife hahaha. Lahat ng nakita naming pairs, ginawan namin ng kwento. Syempre may kasama nang okray yan. Mga loosers wahahaha! Yung iba naman na walang kasama, tinatag namin as loosers like us hahaha. Yung ibang may itsura, pine-pair namin kay Pam .

We reached EK at around 12 PM. After some picture taking at the entrance, we bought our tickets and went immediately to 4D. Tawang-tawa ako kina Jen and Pam kasi napapasigaw talaga sila tuwing umaangat or bumababa yung upuan hahaha. Sobrang pinipigilan ko tawa ko kasi feeling ko, kami lang yung tawa ng tawa. Yung ibang kasama naming nanonood, deadma lang. Corny nila :p. Ako nandiri sa spray of water na kunwari daw tae ng ibon hahaha. Inisip ko kasi talagang totoong tae ng ibon yun. Iwww. Hahaha.

Next was the jungle log jam. Habang nasa pila, nag-aargue na kami kung sino ang uupo sa harap hahaha. Lahat kami ayaw don eh kasi sya ung pinakamababasa wahaha. So unahan na lang nangyari. Since si Gelo ang first sa amin, sya ang umupo agad sa gitna. Ako sunod sa likod nya. No choice si Jen so sa harap na sya hehehe. Sa kabila naman, si Sol sa harap, Pam gitna and Emie likod. Alam kong may camera somewhere so I made sure na nakangiti ako don sa part nay un. Before namin marating yung highest drop, inhale-exhale na ako hahaha. Si Jen ang bida dito! Wahahaha. Para syang nagtratransform sa pic namin! Si Gelo, sigaw kung sigaw, ako nakasmile pa! Hahaha. Nakuha ko tamang timing! Pero mas panalo sina Sol and Emie (uuyy hihihi). Si Sol nakarockstar sign, si Emie naman, pang-Miss U ang kaway. Si Pam, nagtago kay Sol wahahaha. Pero wala talaga akong masabi kay Jen. Para syang dinaanan ng signal no. 4 na bagyo after nun hahaha. Sira ang make up! Hahaha. Peace Jen! Binili na namin yung mga pictures namin kahit may kamahalan. Natuwa kami sa mga itsura namin eh hahaha.

Next pit stop – Anchors Away. Ayaw ko dapat sumakay eh kasi di ko nagustuhan nung first time ko. Sobrang sya yung pinaka-ayaw kong ride. Pero I was feeling adventurous so go pa rin. Mga kasama ko, gusto sa likod so likod kung likod hahaha. Si Sol, nakayang magpicture kaya may pictures pa kami habang sumisigaw hahaha. Tinatawanan ako ni Jen kasi one time na nagpeace sign ako habang nagpapapicture, kita nya nginig yung kamay ko hahaha. Susko, feeling ko pa rin kasi talaga malalaglag ako any moment hahaha. PERO! Si Pam ang panalo dito. Umiyak! Wahahaha. Literal na umiyak. At ako na katabi nya, nakuha ko pa syang tawanan ahihihi. So insensitive of me. Sorry Pam. Kaya daw sya naiyak kasi feeling daw nya, mamamatay na sya nung time na yun. After nung ride, umupo muna kami para matapos ni Pam magrelease ng takot hehehe.

Next to Anchors, pumila na kami para sa Ferris Wheel. Chillax ride naman hehehe. Nagsiksikan kaming anim sa isang car (or kung anuman tawag don). Nagkulitan lang kami dito. Si Gelo, inikot ng inikot yung car kaya hilong-hilo kami. Amp.

Rio Grande dapat kasunod pero biglang nagclose for maintenance daw. Amp. Sayang. Ready pa naman kami lahat mabasa that time hahaha.

So don na lang kami sa Flying Fiesta. Chillax rin lang dito. After ng turn namin, wala pa naman kasi nakapila so stay put lang dapat kami for the 2^nd ride kaso pinaalis kami ng attendants kasi kailangan daw namin pumila uli. Amp. Ininsist namin na bakit pa eh konti lang naman tao sa pila and kasya pa rin sila kahit nandon pa kami pero rule daw dapat pumila uli so no choice kami. Exit then pasok uli sa entrance. Amp. Seat color of the group: first ride – green, second ride – yellow.

Next on the list: Space Shuttle! Mahaba-haba pila dito. So as always, naghanap na naman kami ng mga pwedeng punain hahaha. Nung kita na namin yung platform, may nawitness ako sa isang guy rider. Super pikit sya nung start ng ride. Nung natapos yung ride, pikit pa rin sya. Nung nagstop na at babba na sila, bigla syang tumayo sa seat nya at sumigaw ng wooohoooo with matching raise of the hands bwahahaha. Ayan na…kami na! At syempre, dahil single naman kami and walang masyadong responsibilities so pwede pa rin kaming magpaka-adventurous ng todo. Pinili naming sa pinakalikod haha. Sina Sol and Emie, pinakadulo, Gelo at ako, second from last, Pam and Jen, 3^rd from last. May nagpipicture taking dito. Yung isang photographer, tanungin daw ba yung isang girl kung mag-isa lang nya talaga. Pakialam ba nya hahaha. So bitter of me hihihi. Anyway, di ko alam kung san yung camera dito so di tuloy ako nakatingin amp. Si Gelo, tawang-tawa. Si Sol alam kaya ayun, mega-pose uli. Si Emie ganon din. Pero! Tignan nyo naman si Jen! Hahaha. Sigaw with all her might hahaha. Si Pam, taimtim na nagdadasal mwahahaha. Binili rin namin yung pictures namin dito. At dito lang kami nagkaroon ng group pic! Wahaha.

After ng Space Shuttle, bumalik kami sa Rio Grande pero close pa rin. Amp. Ramdam na rin namin ang gutom namin so pinag-usapan na namin kung saan kami kakain. Lahat kami ayaw kumain sa EK and gusto naming somewhere sa labas. Suggest ni Gelo Leslies sa Tagaytay at naexcite lahat. Ang kaso! Si Sol may date ng 11 PM kaya medyo hesitant. Sinabihan namin syang abot na abot sya kasi aalis na kami that time and dinner lang so mabilis lang hehehe so napa-oo pa rin namin sya. Ang original plan was hintayin ang fireworks pero hindi na namin ginawa. Para di magutom, nagmerienda na lang muna kami then sibat na at around 5:30 PM. So bye for now EK. Nag-enjoy kami! Hehehe.