home mode

saturday 5pm, kuya and i decided to go to ikea to get some home stuff. masaya pumunta sa ikea. i feel kahit na wala kang nabili, ma-coconsider pa ring fun (and amazement) trip ang lakad mo. here are our good buys:

bed sheet, pillow case, quilt cover -

iisa set lang ang gamit naming bed sheet, quilt cover at pillow cases. this means walang reserba bwahaha... matagal ang labahan ng mga pangsapin. either that or kinakailangan naming matulog minsan ng walang sapin dahil basa pa ang mga nilabhang pangsapin. red ang theme ng sheets namin noon. now, we found some nifty sheets in blue theme. can't wait to wash them up and use them. hmmm i think malamig sa mata ang bagong blue sheets namin! woohoo!

anti-slip mat -

madulas sa banyo namin. i think kung may iskoran ang pagkadulas, may tig-isang points (yes plural ito, points) na kami ni kuya. meron na kaming anti-slip mat na 1 pero bitin ito. kaya bumili kami ng 2 pa. kung may madulas pa dito, ewan ko na lang...

bread container -

maraming ipis sa bahay namin. nakakainis. ang mga bread namin, minsan iniipis! eeew! as in may kagat yung plastic! susmiyong mga ipis, patay gutom! naisahan nyo man kami nang minsan, mas malaki naman ang utak namin sa inyo! bumili kami ng container na may takip. good bye ipissss!

rattan chair -

kiddie chair ito. yosi chair sana ni kuya sa terrace. it's a small chair, really comfy but i guess kailangan ng unan kse habang tumatagal ang upo mo, may pagsasakit na mararanasan sa puwitan. ayayay. but i love this chair! dun na ako magbabasa ng book sa terrace yey!

my good old comb

this is my old untangler. i see two bristles have a tiny tinge of rust now, the plastic edge snapped years ago when it fell for the nth time, and yes, the bristles are not aligned anymore, but this is still my dear comb and i wont replace it for a very loooong time. why will i if it still serves its purpose of untangling my tangly hair day after day after day?

i remember wawin gave it to me for an occasion. i'm guessing it's christmas. he was probably in elementary and i was in college. i consider it a sweet gift because it was my favorite color and it is something i could use everyday.

since that day he gave it to me, i have never misplaced it. i know where to find it and it is in my bag. if it's not there, it's somewhere still see-able. i tell you, i have NEVER misplaced it!

the second time i went home to pinas last july 7, i almost lost it. waaaah! i looked for it all over the house but i didn't find it. and then i had to buy a new comb. :( it was a black plastic comb - won't ever replace my dear untangler. btw, i never liked brushes because i electric-fan-dry my hair after taking a bath and i don't want to use a brush when i do this.

i packed my things with a heavy heart on the 8th of july as i was about to head back to SG from thecx's wedding. i know i lost my best comb but there was nothing i could do but move on with the new black plastic comb.

it was only when i got here and opened my suitcase that i saw it there. i swear i saw it smiling back at me. :) i love this comb. wawin gave it to me. :)

on aquariums, jose mari chan, and memories

there is a fish shop near our place. i see it on my way to fair price whenever i buy groceries. i know deep inside that i would never want to maintain an aquarium. first, i'm not really crazy about fishes... although i have to admit that it's very relaxing to just stare at a pretty aquarium - with all the green plants and bubbles and lid-less fishes and their very smooth moves. second, i don't like the fishy smell. :) as simple as that.

i saw jose mari chan on asap earlier today. i think he never looked a year older. same smile, same cool voice, same smiling, chinky eyes. same old him, except his hair has gone thinner. but he's still the same charming man with the charming voice.

what's with aquariums and jose mari chan? these are stuff i so associate with my papa.

when i was young, my papa had this gigantic aquarium complete with the oxygen setup and all. there were gold fishes - those were all i could remember. i'm not certain if there were other kinds of fishes but i'm sure there were gold fishes. he would feed them everyday, and most likely on a weekend, he would change the water. it was a long process, but he did it anyway. i didn't have this "fishy" passion that he had. it seems it was only looks that we shared. :)

my papa was also very fond of listening to jmc's music. there weren't cds back then, only casette tapes that had lyrics on the covers. i remember i would sing along to constant change (i love constant change!), can't we start over again, sing me a song again, daddy, pls be careful with my heart, christmas in our hearts. soothing songs. :) i would listen to whatever i could find at his racks so somehow, i learned to love his music (and music itself :)).

aquariums and jmc... they just stirred up in me good memories of my father. i know he was not the perfect father and he may not be someone i would wish my kids would refer to as, "when i grow up i want to be like my grandfather". nah. but he's my papa, he may have had a lot of mistakes but who didn't, and who doesn't? i would rather dwell on the happy memories with him. :) on the tidbits that made up his papa-ness...

Have we outgrown our Peter Pans and wings?
We've simply grown too old for tales of knights and kings
'Cause life's a constant change
And nothing stays the same, oh no

-constant change (a senti song i must say ;))

dead

friday night. kuya, ashley, and i had tuktuk dinner. i love this thai restaurant. the service is good, the food is good. not just anghang but there's also great lasa. yum.

our energies were sort of low last night. must be because we slept late for the past nights - spent precious sleeping time watching heroes, oc, dh. after dinner, headed straight home to rest. yes, the plan was to rest (well, after doing the laundry).

once home, we spotted ashley's tequila. shining, shimmering, splendid like gold - enticing us to take it in our lips and in our system. we gave in and decided to have an inuman session.

no lemon, we resorted to all the calamansi (some rotting and all) we could find in our ref.

no shot glass, we resorted to this tall slim glass. it was all we could find hehe.

we were all ignorant. i say this because we didn't know how to open the tequila bottle! either that or something is wrong with this bottle. the boys managed to open it by brute force anyway. :)

so there we were, kuya, ashley, sonny, louis, and liz (hindi uminom :p) taking shots of the devil i came to know as tequila.

i have fond memories of tequila: the last time i took a dose i wasn't aware i couldn't handle, i became dead to the world. that was the first time i felt the sensation of being drunk and bangag. they said i was super hinhin and mayumi when i got drunk in coco beach hehe. and i do recall every second of it. :) the bangag part was semi-good, but the puke part was hell.

so now i know better. last night, the moment i felt the traitor is starting to hit me, that was about 4 shots, i stopped drinking. :) simple. amazing how the tama lingers for hours and hours even if you stopped drinking. around 11pm, i decided to take just a short nap because i was super hilo na. ok, wala pang shower, wala pang toothbrush, just a short nap. promise. at na-dead na ako. :) ang sunod kong gising ay 2am para magwiwi. at 8am para mag rise and shine.

yan. yan ang story ng dead moment ko last night :) ako at ang tequila.

nirwana = heaven daw

can't remember the last time i went swimming... access worldwide stormy outing in laguna?

oct. 6 to 8 was a good break for me. break from all the stress in work, break from all the regularities and predictable pattern of my SG life, break from all the drastic moments of my love life, break from everything. :) getaway... like my world suddenly stopped and yet it moved vigorously and cheerfully in this little haven i'll call nirwana.

puerto galera and boracay are, by far, more heavenly than this beach but i guess it was the great company and just the total relaxation (amidst strenuous but super fun activities) that made it extra-ordinary.

detailed account follows... the 3 days deserve a good documentation. :) and the following people deserve good credit for making the journey enjoyable: janise and mike, marco and anne, and of course my kuya and dear friend liza!

saturday

meeting place was tanah merah mrt station at 7:00. eventually everybody met up at the ferry station. breakfast was ham sandwich (complete with lettuce and tomatoes) courtesy of anne and marco. thank you, thank you! travel time (ferry and shuttle going to resort) was around 1.5 hours.

check-in time was 12 noon, the cottages were just right. not too extravagant, not too jologs either. just right. :) lunch was good but a bit expensive. nevertheless, all good!

after lunch, no time to waste, the pack headed off to the pool area and swim swim ang drama! woohoo! enjoy! ang saya saya! bilad kung bilad, kapit ang itim kung kapit ang itim! so what? i love swimming!

afternoon, banana boat fever! too bad jan had "monthly visitor" (ang sabi ni mike) so she just stayed with manong bangkero, ala rich girl on a speed boat! sosyal! while the rest of us wanted the boat to capsize bwahaha! too bad it didn't. i swear, namaos ako after banana boat kakasigaw ng capsize capsize, left left, right right! susme... kagugulo!

dinner time and then inuman galore na. cocktails on jacks (aka jugs) ang tinoma ng tropa. wa epek, walang tama hehe... para ka lang nag juice ba. not just your regular inuman! janise brought hundreds of strips of paper with questions on them and you are required to answer the question no matter what. :) hay ang saya, learned a lot from the group. funny moment talaga ito! susme! walang kj, walang kf. hehe. sundan mo pa ng 1-2-3 pass gamit ang mga barahang hubo ni marco. halay!

sunday

good morning sunshine! rise and shine! time for breakfast buffet. yum sarap ng food! good as brunch na ito hehe tipid.

ay umulan! never fret, charades is it! fine! panalo ang boys. magaling na kayo kung magaling. basta walang iskoran hehe. hmmm... tulog si anne sa mga panahong ito. favorite ko ang: species, gremlin, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, lost in translation, kapag puno na ang salop, original sin... hehe ang dami

beach mode naman ang mga bata nang lumabas nang muli ang araw. matapos mang-agaw, magnakaw ng bola, laro ng taya-taya sa dagat ang marco, mike, liza, at caths. habang ang anne at ang kuya, nagbilad sa araw. at ang janise, hmmm... nawala. hehe. masaya palang maglaro ng bola sa dagat ;) hehehe. syempre pa how can i forget the monster moments by liza and mike.

next stop, pool ulit... lazy pool? we just babad there at the edge of the pool, kulitan galore. aha! kangaroo humping moments nina lolo and lola! ang hahalay! at kung anu-ano pang mga imoral na pangitain. bwahaha marurumi! judgmental! hahaha!

wag ka, may volleyball moments pa kami! feeling athletes... pero bugbog ang braso ko ay-ay-ay.

this is the day marco and anne had to bid goodbye. :( byebye marco and anne, fun still for the rest of us. foosball and billiards ala tournament ito! hehe ang saya-saya!

next stop was seafood dinner. kamay kung kamay! ang sarap ng crab at shrimp :) at syempre pa, videoke! everybody had the chance to sing. makapagbagbag-damdaming mga awitin. mwehehehe! and yes, even kuya sang a couple of songs... memorable ang it might be you ;)

at oo, kami na ang nagsara ng pub. halos ipagtabuyan na kami (in a polite way) ni manong waiter. hehehe.

monday

after breakfast, kayak naman ang naisipan ng tropa... hehe, i had a kayak experience years ago with wendy and len but i guess it doesn't count because i didn't row. hahaha! prinsesa effect?! bwisit

wow naman after kayak, feeling ko e super punit naman ang maskels ko sa braso at likod! susme... maraming oa moments... na baka tumama kami sa mga bato at mamatay, na baka may shark, na baka ma bermuda triangle kami, na baka maanod kami ng alon! mwehehe... yep we're alive naman. oa lang.

we are human after all. we bleed, we become tired, we have urges to rest after a long day, we need to stay still even for a while - in short, nag siesta kami. hehe

4:30 pm, this is the moment. ang mga turista, go go na ulit sa bangka pabalik sa little land of SG. haaay pagtungtong ko ng SG, muntik pa ata akong makulong for bringing a pack of cigarette. susme, si manong halos halukayin ang bag ko kung meron pa akong tinatago! anobuzzzz! saksakan ng oa si manong!

all good things come to an end, and the end is the bountiful dinner at cafe cartel. i say bountiful dahil naman... baby back ribs ang order (pwera k liza na chicken at pasta na mukang masarap!) ng lahat! kalaki! at wag ka! ang soup ni liza ay soup ng lahat hehe... salamat liza for sharing your soup to the needy hehe.

...

ayan, ayan ang summary ng amazing trip namin. oh, did i say i had just 1 swimsuit and i wore it on all three days?! keber! haha! i loved every moment of it.

pics? pics!

!!!CLICK HERE FOR PICS!!!

ps: wala kaming cam ni kuya, naki picture picture lang kami bwahahaha! kawawa naman :( salamat sa pics!