7 things from bali i wish i could bring home :

a hammock by the seashore -in one of those equally grand resorts beside Westin - sarap matulog hmmm

a wooden lamp that lits the stone steps leading to Westin

another lamp along the gardens of another resort

lamp part 3 - nawala wala kami while walking back towards our hotel, these lamps seems to mistify.

bali food, satay, spicy veggies

and desserts! mawawala ba naman.they're similar to our native delicacies (may sapin-sapin, nilupak tagalog ba to?hehe.

and finally, a painting made of balinese coffee

i thank this person for the instantaneous miracles in my life...

reunited with ying! was it just a year ago, that we met at booze stop for her and rhap's despedida? how time flies.
ying looks fresh out of the beach, while the rest of us -- office na office! haha!



grinning ear to ear. ok this one, though corporate looking, masaya pa rin!

UN-BUSY
I miss the busy days. It seems I always have free time. after work or in between work.
Or maybe my life has just been reduced to work these days and hence I don’t feel so busy anymore.
I’ve quit gym. I’ve deferred school for one term. And my lovelife is decidedly quiet. Hehe.

Most of the time I find myself na nangungulit sa friends (chai knows about it. Toni. Omar. Marlon. Or even diwa.)
Hayyy. A friend kept telling me, is it because I am single these days kaya I have more free time than I can ever afford. NOPE. haha!
It is really school, the lack of it that has kept me UN-BUSY. I told myself am not enrolling because work will be hectic in the coming months with the transition and all – and also because my conscience has been bugging me everytime I leave work earlier than my two team mates. And then it happened, I did not enroll. the work that I do is still the same. And yes I find myself loitering, waiting, bored…
Ok, I realized that no matter how busy life at work becomes, I will always have time for school. Get what I mean --- it seems a natural course, that time creates its own when you’re doing too many things at the same time. Am going back to school in two months. Can’t wait.

my first kayak experience - there goes me and sands, rowing with might as if we knew where to go!!!

big thanks to sands!

i so much want to go back to july 17th to 21st --- it was my first trip to dumaguete, sands' hometown. perfect company, perfect place, perfect food.

see you around
in less than two weeks, dalawa na lang dito sa pic ang mananatili dito sa pinas.
everyone is moving elsewhere in the world, esp. dubai.
ais is leaving for dubai to join emirates airline -- am so proud of this lady and am so hapi for her coz i know how much she worked hard for this and how long she waited for this. totoo talaga that when you wait long enough, something good and beautiful will always come out of it.


now, its not just one friend who's leaving me, but another one, toni!
not just a colleague at work but a dear friend -- one thing that amazes me about this girl is that she lets you be a friend to her. let me explain. she listened to me when i asked her to defer her resignation even when her heart and mind was all set out to do it. she listens and she trusts her friends.ang sarap nya maging kaibigan.


but to you both, i dont wana say goodbye but see you around.
bilog naman ang mundo, dbaaaaaaa.

a dear, dear friend, sands --- college friend, dormmate, sab sis. ill be seeing you in a week's time.. in dumaguete!!!
i can hardly wait.pero before that, ive to finish a term paper and take my midterm exams, complete client requests and decks and.. the lists go on and on.
no such thing as free lunch talaga. grabeeeeeeeeeeee.

my elective teacher is beginning to get in the way of my evening obsession : the piolo teleserye.
minsan tuloy, i'm regretting the fact that i took mba.
well, if only for his practical, meaningful pieces of advice, i would have totally dropped out of mba (an exaggeration of course)
one such advice:
feedbacks are the breakfast of the champions!
true.true.true.

till closing time
one friday nite..
with no plans,
my high school friends, winespirits and pelicanbrief and officemate and dear friend, toni talked over iced tea, then coffee, then a few round of beers. we got home by 5am after crashing into chakiks, a bar along julia vargas ave, whose owner, toni knows and hence the privelege of staying till closing time haha!
an amazing nite, coz how often it is that two completely different circle of friends meet for the first time and in a few hours end up like really close friends.
when's the next party? oopps, no plans...

Toni, a dear friend answered this question.

she said that opportunities become a problem when
..its too much
..it makes things even more complicated

i say,
..when it comes at the wrong time and in the wrong place

i feel like i'm in a rollercoaster at the moment.
since when has opportunities become problems?

11 hours to naga

My easter break is a joy.

I did not have a bus reservation going home so on Wednesday morning, I found myself in the bus station as early as 630 to be a ‘chance passenger’.
Tin texted and hoped, the bus driver gives me a ‘chance’. I was given one. Though at the last row and beside the alternate driver who occupied part of my seat.
The traffic was heavy on holy Wednesday so I arrived in Naga 11 hours later --- my butt was hurting and my tummy and by then I was dying to get home --- and hug my niece.

official babysitter

I’m the official babysitter to my niece, jenny whenever I’m home. She hollers my name – to get her water, to bathe her, change her clothes, make her sleep, play with her --- in short, I was her favorite company (hurrah!).

sandgirl

On Saturday, we spent the nite over at a nearby beach resort along with auntie eden’s family. Such a restful and refreshing break.

Jenny was of course very excited because she loves the pool and calls the sea, a pool anyway, a bigger pool.

What was funny and weird was that she cannot set foot on the sand because she finds it dirty. Not even boracay when she and her mom went there months ago. So the whole time, she was either on the cottage bench or somebody has to carry her.
That night while my sister (her mom) was feeding her, I showed her excitedly how fun it was to dig one’s feet through the sand. I got through her and slowly she reached her feet to the sand --- and there in no time, she was playing on the sand, with the sand and we could not stop her. At 2 ½ years old, she finally learned to walk on the sand.

We stayed at the resort till Sunday noontime. Well that’s Easter Sunday and my sister’s bday too! Jenny sang her a happy birthday which she sang as ‘happy detday.’ It was hard to pull Jenny out from the waters --- she was so brave and would even insist to us to free her up.
Well, that just really magnifies the truth that she was indeed born (almost) on the beach. My sister was at the beach with the whole family when she was rushed to the hospital to labor. Water. Water.

Last Monday night, when I left for naga, I cant help but really really wish I had more time with jenny and my family. Miss them already.

i love cuddling my niece on my lap -- she calls me bibi, that is without 'tita' before it. my mama often reprimands her for it but hey, shes only 2. and she says it so sweetly so...

a must see




Underwater world, Sentosa Park, Singaproe

a must ride



Cable Car, an alternative ride to Sentosa

Merlion Park at Singapore

...Despite unequal ways
Together they mutate
Explore the edges of harmony
Searched for a centre;
Have changed their gods;
Kept some memory of their past
In prayer, laughter, the way
Their women dress and greet
They hold the bright, the beautiful,
Good ancestral dreams
Within new visions,
So shining, urgent,
Full of what is new.

Perhaps having dealt in things
Surfeited on them.
Their spirit yearn again for images,
Adding to the dragon, phoenix,
Garuda, naga, those horses of the sun,
This lion of the sea
This image of themselves.

excerpt from Ulysses by the Merlion)

One of the highlights of our trip was obviously staying at hangout.

And one of the really nice surprises for us, was the breakfast that they offered --- a tiny, simple but delicious buffet.



This is where we had it --- a very cozy, modern setting and with minimal designs.

The sausages and peanut butter on wheat bread were our favorites and their brewed coffee was awesome too – we would have 3-4 cups in one sitting and neither one of us would feel edgy -- we suddenly forgot all about starbucks and seattles and san francisco or ucc!

First stop: Singapore
With who: toni, a.k.a the ‘life of the party’ and very dear friend

…as if we just went back to our province on a weekend.

We flew from manila to kl and landed in kl at 730p.
Took the airport cab going to puduraya bus station where we booked tickets going to Singapore.

It’s a 6-hour drive (plus 3 hours previously on the plane), we looked forward to sleeping on the bus. At 10pm, we were on board and ready to doze off. The bus is called ‘transnational’ --- a three-seater bus with comfy seats (just what we needed) just like the lazyboy seats you find in premium buses going to bicol.

We reached Singapore at around 4am and took a cab again, costs 150 pesos (or SG$4.6) going to hang-out hotel.

This hotel has a funny story with it haha! For one week, toni and I surfed the net for a hotel that we could stay in --- cheap but neat and safe, those were our requirements. When we asked andy, our british expat officemate, his exact words at our choice hotels were ‘shabby and dodgy’ word of advice: take hangout hotel, it’s a small backpackers’ hotel, a nice leafy area, and 10 minute walk from the orchard road.

So we took his advice and true enough, hangout hotel or more clearly now its called hang-out at Emily park is indeed such a nice, nice place!





this is our room - where we zonked out



and veg out...

pagpapacute 101

happy birthday tinsky!
health and happines for you!

practicality
i've been to several ukay-ukay lately and have been really happy, ecstatic is more like it (hehe) because of great finds!!! bags, blouses, cardigans... now, when i enter malls, i find everything exorbitantly priced.
there goes the 'miss practicality' side of me, at last, i finally found you.

i wonder how long this side of me will last --- hmm, for as long as there are generous people who expend their best kept things for sale.

be vague
some people can really be mean with the words they say.

i went through my old cherished mails, and came across this:
'if you can't be kind with a person, then at least be vague'

That's what i'm trying to learn now so that someday i won't make the mistake of making a person feel the way that i'm feeling now towards someone who has been unkind to me and was so clear about it.

i am happy for stirofechoes and hideandseek. they're just so brave.
can i ever do the same and take a chance ?

a lot of things have happened between me and this person --> she was my mentor, a leader i look up to. If there was one person who respected her the most, since the start and till now, that was no other than me. But if there was one person who would be most 'unable' to say face her now, that was also me.

perhaps, one day when time has healed the wounds (cliche but true), i would go see her and we would talk about how things are going with us --- and hopefully just laugh over what happened years back.

the only thing i'm certain of right now is that, as Toni (one of my few dearest friends at work) would say, He has a reason for making things happen as they did. and in due time we will know that reason as well.

feeling high when feeling low
everytime i'm feeling low, i just give my niece, jenny a call, hear whatever she can say, some i wouldn't understand and some i fortunately would. and there, im feeling high again. see ya soon!

i was at this bazaar last week and i bought this oshkosh pink dress for jenny,my niece who i adore so much. the lady had to ask me twice, "are you sure its for a two-year old girl?"
"yes"
"because that size is for a 5-year old"

so the next day, i was at my fone with my sister (jenny's mom) and i begged her to put my niece on diet, the pink dress might not fit her. Please?

lately, life at work has been so emotionally draining, people around me are feeling TOO low and i get to hear their stories --- some asked for and some just given. i sometimes wish i can shut out my senses for just a few hours. then, i can feel myself back in shape.

i wonder how advice columnists do it --- people unburden their problems to them and carry them along with their own problems. is there a limit to how much problems we can carry ourselves?

Best combo

At 230am, we were at mcdo feasting on fries and mcflurry – best combo the world has just like the four of us here who waited for the celebrant (plus 3 tag-alongs a.k.a bf) till wee hours of the morning.
happy bday atty chai!



How does it feel to be 26 and a budding lawyer?:)

Together with my friends, we paid our last respects to Raul Roco – up to his very last moment, he was most private, devoid of glamour – no media men and the likes. For some reason or another, a part of my hope for this country died..

the first in my circle of friends just tied the knot at the time of this shoot.
who's next, ladies!?!

betting on priorities
Some priorities need to be prioritized…
like, if the priorities that we’re talking about are time and space –
is there anything worth prioritizing than this?
I say, we ask hideandseek! Haha! peace my friend!
Just happy that I won the bet, almost!

As of this time...
fortywinks is out diving with the masters,
she wants to follow my footsteps.
heartonsleeve is on abscbn - tv.
twisterfries is in boracay.
winespirits is in binondo having lunch.
it is mother's day and some people have greeted me
(in anticipation for the quite distant future haha)
i greeted my mama, while i'm here in the office --- working before monday.
in self-pity, i asked my d if i can go out with a friend later and
with an understanding heart, he says yes.
thank you for making life a little easier for me.

inggit ako sa friend ko.

Why are some people hired for work to have fun!?!
palawan, you should definitely await for my coming too,
if not this year, then maybe next...

Bangkok, April 2005

Meritus Suites, Bangkok

Moi, by the porch

humbly proud
We're so proud of you pelicanbrief!!!
everyone else will call you now by that certain title,
but we, your dear friends, we prefer to call you 'att chai' humbling right?:)
(was it your idea, knicknacks?)
Now on to a new and exciting path, cheers!

Sweet reminder
A friend just asked for this song for her dear dad and she reminded us her friends to make the most of our time with our parents, everyday that we spend with them coz we never really know when they will be gone from us forever.
Thanks for the kind and sweet reminder, knickknacks.
Your faith never left your side amidst of it all.

Dance with my father
Luther Vandross

Back when I was a child, before life removed all the innocence
My father would lift me high and dance with my mother and me
And then spin me around 'til I fell asleep
Then up the stairs he would carry me
And I knew for sure I was loved
If I could get another chance, another walk, another dance with him
I'd play a song that would never, ever end
How I'd love, love, love
To dance with my father again
When I and my mother would disagree
To get my way, I would run from her to him
He'd make me laugh just to comfort me
Then finally make me do just what my mama said
Later that night when I was asleep
He left a dollar under my sheet
Never dreamed that he would be gone from me
If I could steal one final glance, one final step, one final dance with him
I'd play a song that would never, ever end
'Cause I'd love, love, love
To dance with my father again
Sometimes I'd listen outside her door
And I'd hear how my mother cried for him
I pray for her even more than me
I pray for her even more than me
I know I'm praying for much too much
But could you send back the only man she loved
I know you don't do it usually
But dear Lord she's dying
To dance with my father again
Every night I fall asleep and this is all I ever dream

blogging from the suite

Ok, forgive me for my excitement. Im blogging right here at Bangkok, from my suite at Meritus State Tower, enjoying the view from the 52nd floor and the ambiance of a room equipped with a very cozy living room, two 21-inch flat tvs with dvd component, unlimited internet access, a very spacious bathroom, and a small kitchen even (if you wanna cook at all.)

The breakfast in the morning is even better - american buffet. imagine, french toast, pancakes, bacon, eggs, cold cuts, all kinds of sausages, fish, dumplings, veggies, fruits, cereals, even yoghurt, many kinds of juices, and unlimited cups of coffee !!! and thats why, i give myself about an hour to finish breakfast! Now if you ever see me after the training, dont say a word, i know i gained weight. coincidentally, there's a weighing scale here in the bathroom, meant i guess to challenge me not to gain weight despite the heavy breakfast --- how encouraging! haha!

I know I owe my friends ‘pasalubong’ but that’s exactly why im blogging now, becoz I wanna warn you guys ahead of time, I don’t have any!!! There are tradeoffs, i guess, I have to train the whole day so I have no time for shopping. Not even for myself! Maybe next time, we can do the shopping together, that would be more fun that way, right? well in the meantime how does sampaloc sound?

O.M.G.I.F.

There's a thing called TGIF, then there's another called O.M.G.I.F. --- yup, last friday was it, oh my god, its friday.. hehe:)

Spent a delightful Friday evening with Splash friends and spilt ohmygod stories over mcdo and thai food and good coffee …

a few did-you-knows (as if you didnt know yet) :
Breaking up makes you beautiful
But love can make you even more beautiful (isn’t that right ana?)
and love is sweeter the second time around

Nakaka-miss kayo girls, I terribly missed laughing with you.
Benia, juls – can hardly wait for another ohmygod evening, your turn,ok?!

I've RESIGNed!
I know i said that i'm not resigning yet but there's this kind of resigning that i wanna do..
This one.

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult.
I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year-old again.
I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant.
I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks.
I want to think M&Msare better than money because you can eat them.
I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hotsummer's day.
I want to return to a time when life was simple, when all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes,but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.
All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.
I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.
I want to believe that anything is possible.
I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.
I want to live simple again.
I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.
I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.
So . . . here's my checkbook and my car keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements.
I am officially resigning from adulthood.
And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first, cause.........
"Tag! You're it."

(from an unknown author)

capricorn
Forget being cool and calculated. You're running on high emotionally, and that's not even mentioning your energy level. Better cancel any plans for this evening that involve a guest list of more than one.

haha! i like my horoscope today! :)
well, before you start imagining things, i dont even have plans for this evening, except watch SHREK, watch SHREK and watch SHREK! Is it 5p already?!

some thoughts:
what will papa do now that he’s retired? Is retiring really what we are all looking forward to the minute we start working? What about the boardroom, that certain office aroma, your colleagues, deadlines, meetings, bossy bosses… won’t you miss all that? I heard him whine a few times about work, maybe its really time to go. Well, I cannot count the times I whined too so..

I’m thinking maybe its time for me to retire too. Makes me wonder, am I cut out for work? For this corporate world? The so-called corporate ladder of success seems exciting and challenging too – that makes it exciting I guess, to begin with. I always have this sense of fulfillment whenever I complete something valuable at work and at times I really don’t mind working overtime or spending more than half of my day in the workplace or on weekends even. Well, speaking from that, maybe its not time to retire yet..

holding hands
see the 'hands holding' image on the left bottom corner of this page?
its from my company's intranet. they just donated $250K to UNICEF for the tsunami victims.
i know its not a huge sum but it will help. and there are many more hands out there who have done the same too.

who says you cant have fun in mba?

Christmas lunch 2004 - last school day for the 2nd term
Super busog at Superbowl, burp!

New news
ok to officially welcome the new year -- 2005, here's a new news:
a new gmail account (fantastic! thanks to winespirits!)
a new dvd player
new dvds from my very thoughtful boss (to all art film lovers!)
new officemate (new lunchmate, new gossip buddy, etc)
new hope err renewed hope (d, i know you wont let me down.)
new age (older and wiser and chubbier haha!)
happy new year friends!

Hope
The year is about to end with so much tears and fears.
Nevertheless, there is still so much to look forward to and thank God for.

Charbie's cradle

This was taken the night before Chai's 1st Sunday of Bar exam but you see, while we were enjoying the fotosession, she's at her desk studying :)
Missing in the pic and all, she's now home and enjoying a stress-free life.
Whats up chai?:)

HELLO!!!
Beachbum, how have you been? I’ve been seeing you in everyone’s spot but yours.
Winespirits, I think something is missing in the picture. Thanks by the way for the USB --- small gadget, big possibilities.
Fortywinks, how’s the burppday? Did the heart burp too? wink wink :)
Hideandseek, I’m recommending (1) the incredibles (2) Benjamin Hoff’s pooh series (3) and nickelcreek
Knickknacks, still there? A 30-day polyphonic fone experience is something. Thanks!
Poisonivy, I think your fool part 1 already gives hope in itself, remember your last line? well with part 2…can hardly wait!

happy burpday fortywinks!

wish you an exciting (awwoooo! kidding :p) and gastronomically delightful day!

I’ll be home for Christmas …
for 16 days!
who would have thought that this company gives the most wonderful, priceless perk?
a shutdown from dec 17 to jan 3 ---- wow, exhiliratingly good news!
now to my shoelaces, i guess that would make me chair of this year's meri kidsmas.
take a break, knicknacks.

thanks to blogger. getting into the minds of my friends is just one click away. hi knickknacks!

How does it feel to have a friend who’s a priest?
Heavenly.
The shoelaces invaded San Jose seminary and Fr Nono graciously allowed the invasion. He prepared a sumptuous meal for us --- inihaw na isda, seaweeds, chicken curry, mixed veggies with crabmeat, is this a feast or what?
Then he ushered us to their entertainment room, we had videoke all to ourselves and up to sawa -- with popcorn and yes, red wine on the side (or is it the other way around?) Anyway, as if lunch was not enough, Fr Nono sent in another round of meal --- bihon guisado, cassava cake, and cuchinta.
Ok, we were starved. We asked Fr Nono when he’s going to Naga and he asked,
“Why? Are you going to treat me out?”
“No, father, so we know when to hide from you, paano ba naming mapapantayan ang lahat ng ito?”
With a smile and with a sigh.

Advanced happy burppday d!
Forgive me if I have to get in the way of your traditional gimik with friends.
I promise my company wouldn’t be all that bad.

g-o-o-d n-e-w-s
Saturday’s midterms was postponed by my-now-favorite professor. I asked friends to pray for it and it must be too loud that He decided to listen to it anyway.
You are the best Lord thanks thanks!

Capricorn Daily Horoscope
by Astrology.com

Much as you'll try to concentrate on work, it won't be easy; in fact, it may be impossible. A certain tender promise you've either offered or recently accepted will be all you can think about.

the stars sometimes do know how you are.. wish they can do something about it too..

Hands On Manila, have you heard of it?
my first time to hear it yesterday sunday. they celebrated their 3rd anniv of VIP 2004. VIP stands for volunteer in person. And that day at NBC tent, volunteers, young and old had to forego usual lazy Sundays just to spend time with the less fortunate kids. I managed to get up with much effort though and when I got there, how well worth it was! No wonder peppermint patty who like I was, barely slept the night before, was wide awake and energized playing with the kids. And scoutfinch too, who didn’t mind traveling back all the way from Alabang again on a Sunday morn -- I found her lining up for an ice cream with the kids. There were all sorts of ‘playground stuffs’, ice cream, games and lotsa prizes, drawing stuffs --- the kids were having the time of their lives.
Thanks again peppermint patty and scoutfinch. its always great being part of something bigger than yourself.

for the spotty in the soul and wrinkled in the heart ...

If all else fails, what will make you stay with a company?
lifetime friendships.


michelle's despedida, july 2004

Change of heart
This was taken thru a Samsung P400 cell a few days before it got lost. Two weeks after, it was returned.

the best things in life are free.
thanks to you for making great things possible. you simply are amazing.

my first attempt at photoblogging
lets see if this works..




bag of beans, tagaytay september 2004
(taken by papparazzi geerhap)