one fine morning

it was a beautiful day. i was in our home in sto. niño. mike was in their home in cavite. i decided to go outside and take a nap at our american (or was he swiss?) neighbor's bamboo cottage in front of the sea. the wind was blowing perfectly. i could hear the hypnotizing waves nearby.

i woke up and saw that the american (or swiss) neighbor arrived, but i just pretended to be asleep. surely he wouldn't mind that i was sleeping in his cottage. he didn't shoo me away. he just went inside his house. i went back to my siesta.

when i opened my eyes again, i saw that the sea water is slowly creeping towards the land, like that tsunami video i watched. i thought, "this can't be good," and ran to our house where lola, wawin, and our house help were.

when i got there, the waves were already violently crashing to the exterior of our house. it was a wonder, a miracle, why the water never went inside the house, otherwise we'll be engulfed! we could just see wave after wave hit the house. we went aboard a boat - yes, a boat inside our house - as the water found its way inside, and was slowly, but violently, rising.

lola, wawin, and i navigated the boat like pro surfers. we fought every wave. outside, waves continue to slam our house. surprisingly, the waves were crystal clear, almost inviting, unlike the murky waves i've seen in tsunami videos.

when the waters calmed down a bit, we went upstairs. elevate, elevate! we thought we'll be safer there. the waves were still angry outside though. we were all thankful that our house was sturdy despite its age.

finally, the water went back to
the sea. we were resting when we received a news: my lolo pepe died due to heart attack. :( he was in a hospital and we have to go there despite the chaos outside.

we went outside the house. it was peaceful. no trace of tsunami. odd, we thought.

suddenly, we heard people screaming. they said there was fire everywhere. true enough, there was a big fire on the street coming toward us. we decided to run to the opposite direction but there was also fire there. we had no choice but to run to our house again.

"to the bathroom!" i told lola and wawin. we don't know where our house help was :( we locked ourselves in the bathroom. i can't remember if we prayed. then i blinked...

and i was back to my comfortable room in sg. no tsunami, no fire. just me and my comfort. i felt thankful.

dreams, why are you so weird? why are you so scary?

happy hours

we're establishing a tradition. we're being happy on fridays (if time permits) during friday happy hour. cast: kuya, april, cat. wow ang dami! :)))

we found a sweet spot at far east square. it's not crowded probably because the place is being renovated. plus there are a number of bars/restos offering happy hour promotion. akala mo naman manginginom ako :) e isang bote pa lang e nahihilo na ako! that's fine. i still want to participate hehehe.

another reason why we say tgif! :)

human shredder

my mami has this habit of tearing docs that have no use. on general cleaning days, you'll find her slumped on the floor, tediously tearing up paper waste or confidential docs. human paper shredder ang dating :) she said she does it for 2 reasons:

a. so nobody could reuse or steal any information from you. it might be a good idea to scatter the waste in separate garbage bins.
b. it's therapeutic. yes.

i never dared to ask if she wants a paper shredder as a gift because i know the answer. in fact, i have inherited (not deliberately) the habit. on general cleaning days, i also feel compelled to gather all paper waste, find a comfortable spot on the floor (it has to be on the floor, not on a sofa or bed), and tear each one into pieces. i love the sound of paper being torn and i love the sight of the heap of shredded paper.

last sunday, i started cleaning my room in preparation for the move. look at my art work/therapy! love it!

indeed, i am my mother's daughter!

human shredder

my mami has this habit of tearing docs that have no use. on general cleaning days, you'll find her slumped on the floor, tediously tearing up paper waste or confidential docs. human paper shredder ang dating :) she said she does it for 2 reasons:

a. so nobody could reuse or steal any information from you. it might be a good idea to scatter the waste in separate garbage bins.
b. it's therapeutic. yes.

i never dared to ask if she wants a paper shredder as a gift because i know the answer. in fact, i have inherited (not deliberately) the habit. on general cleaning days, i also feel compelled to gather all paper waste, find a comfortable spot on the floor (it has to be on the floor, not on a sofa or bed), and tear each one into pieces. i love the sound of paper being torn and i love the sight of the heap of shredded paper.

last sunday, i started cleaning my room in preparation for the move. look at my art work/therapy! love it!

indeed, i am my mother's daughter!

moving out (sure na)

after a number of house viewings, we've finally found the perfect unit! this is it! we're moving in on the 20th of april! :) and we're so excited... and we just can't hide it!

it was love at first sight. everything happened so fast last saturday afternoon (are we still talking about a house here? hehehe).

we were greeted by the owners, an indian couple, and their local agent. when we entered the house, we knew this is the unit for us. it was renovated, not the type that you would see on the pages of a magazine, but it was great too and we really like it!

my favorite spots are the kitchen counter, my room, and the bathrooms. lovely bathrooms! there's also a study room, but the desk is fixed so it can't be used as an extra bedroom. wasted space in my opinion. hello. we don't study and we don't need a study room hahahaha! anyway, it will remain as a study room. and fine, i'll try to study there. hahaha maipilit lang.

we quickly offered and finally closed the deal at around 4pm last saturday. yay!

the only downside is that there are only two rooms. there's a little nook near the living room though. we'll just need to transform this into tita's bedroom since we can't use the study as a bedroom.

hope everything turns out fine. still
excited for the move!!! woohooo!

orq

one raffles quay (or suntec)
maybe someday we'll meet again
i still miss you

asuuuuus!

sabong mabango

when i was a little girl, i remember so well that my lola used "sabong mabango" as her body bath soap. she wouldn't call it any other name but "sabong mabango". it's not a mystery soap though. it's just lux bar soap :) the green one.

life then wasn't so complicated. there were just three types of soaps:

sabong panlaba - this is the detergent bar soap (aka tide) and we would use it to wash the dishes and wash the clothes. o diba! wala pang joy joy noon. and this was the pre-washing machine era, so we're talking about mano-manong paglalaba c/o ka choleng the great lavandera. :)

sabong pang toilet - i don't think i have to go into details. you can find this soap in the toilet and you know what purpose it serves :p safeuard, nothing less, is the brand.

sabong mabango - lola's bath soap. lola was so meticulous when it comes to washing her clothes. when washing her undies, she would handwash using detergent soap but for the third rinse, she would use lux to ward off the detergent smell. isn't that a good idea? :)

it all came back to me now because i found some lux soap bars in our supplies. i took one. lola, this sabong mabango is for you :)

<scream>reboooooooooond!!!!!!</scream>

"look on my face, not on my chest!"

"my eyes are up here, mister!"

so say well endowed-girls. and no, i don't get to say these lines hehehe. ok, maybe i do say them most of the time, but only in my head, and my lines go like this:

"look on my face, not on my hair!"

"my eyes are down here, mister!"

my hair was so straight and shiny when i was a kid. then the genes started to interfere when i was on 3rd grade and decided they wanted to make my hair wavy. hahaha. ok, genes! you know better. do your thing!

i had my first rebond on the early 2000s. since then, it's been a yearly thing for me. i don't really want the walis-tingtingy super straight look. i just want the waves to tone down. hahaha they're so loud! i'm really fine with waves buy not the disarray! haha parang mga riot lang! you could be wavy if you want, but could you just all wave in one direction? hehehe. if only...

so... my rebond session is late by 3 months now, thus the chaos. march 30, please hurry up. they're screaming and pleading for a rebond!!!

the compassionate auntie

there's this small rental/sales book shop at kk hospital. if you want to rent a book, you have to pay and return it within 2 months. otherwise, you could just throw the receipt and keep the book.



last tuesday, i decided to return the book i borrowed last month (grisham's "the summons"). the auntie at the cashier was a local elderly lady. she wasn't the one looking after the store when i first came to the shop last month.



she greeted me with a sweet good morning. ayos. friendly si auntie :) then i handed her the book i was returning. she scribbled something on a paper. apparently, she was computing the number of days. i didn't care much about the mechanics because i had no intention of returning the book. it's just a bonus if i could return it, but i would be happy to keep it too if it was overdue.



she said that i was late by one day and i had to pay $1. then the magic words started to flow like the water from river piedra (maka river piedra lang haha). she said, "i know you did not do it deliberately so i'll let you go this time. my boss will scold me (then she did a pingot-ear motion... so cute!!!) but you know i have to be COMPASSIONATE sometimes." she was just so cute! like a little child.



compassion. i love the word. these are the days i get to sing "what a wonderful world" in my head. :)



i gave my words of gratitude and proceeded to scout for a new book. after a few minutes, she called me and said that she computed again and realized i was late for a month, not a day. so i really had to pay. hahaha! nalusaw ang magic moments, natuyo ang river piedra, that imaginary music inside my ear stopped playing.



then i also realized i can't be late for a month because i got the book just a month ago! after a few talastasan and friendly reasoning, auntie was very apologetic to admit that i was right. and in fact, i didn't have to pay $1 in the first place because i returned the book within 2 months.



auntie was embarrassed :( i want to cuddle her and say, "it's ok, auntie! don't fret!"



to make up for her "mistake", she approached me and recommended a really good book (according to her taste). she gave a summary of the book, with those twinkling eyes and chuckling voice. i love her already! hahaha. this is her choice:

and this is mine:

i bet you could guess which book i'll read first. ;) kk is so far away from where i live, but maybe i'll try to return the books just to see auntie again :)

good to go

today was my follow-up checkup at kk hospital. this is the day when the results of the ultrasound and blood tests will be discussed. my appointment was 9:45am. i was there at around 9:30. i was scared. what will the result be? do i need operation? do i need to take meds? talk about paranoia!

i waited for less than an hour and then the moment of truth came. my number was called and in i went to the doctor's room.

ALL NORMAL! and we could try to have a baby soon! these are the sweetest words!

however, there is a small cyst within my right ovary. doc wasn't worried about it though. so this means we shouldn't worry too :)

i am now certain that we can do this and we'll try with all our might! so help us God!

next checkup is after 6 months :) let's do this!

moving time (or not)

our contract is ending this april. as much as we want to renew and just stay here, we are forced to look for a new home because of the painstakingly low water pressure in the bathrooms. as our agent put it, the pressure is urine-like. hahaha gross comparison but true.

we've had a couple of house viewings for the past weeks. the units are rather old AND unreasonably expensive. there's one unit that we loved so much, but we became suspicious about the agent. something was fishy so we had to cancel the initial check that we issued. he turned out to be legit. we lost the unit. paranioa hit us. it's fine. we're just convincing ourselves that it's better to be safe than sorry. well, we're safe. and we're sorry hahahaha!

i now appreciate our current home. i'm thinking i could live with the urine-like water pressure for now. we survived for 2 years, right? just thinking of the hassles of another move-out makes me tired... plus the expenses!

let's see. we still have some time. we have some more houses to view. let's see where the urine... este, the wind takes us! hekhekhek

the summons

there's a song i heard in church. i love it! i thought: how am i as a person? what have i done? what have i NOT done? where am i going?

maybe i'm going past the border of "normality". why do songs like this make me cry? hihihi

my fave line: "should your life attract or scare?"

----------------------------

Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known,
will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?

Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?

Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show.
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me.

source

one hit combo

my father's temper
my lola's pride
my mother's sharp tongue

i have a little bit of each "wonderful" trait
running in my blood
not a good combination

reconciliations are just so sweet
all is well :)

turi beach - take 2

we went back to turi beach last feb 22-23 for another quick beach getaway with the camacho (wawi) and the caliolio (mami) hehehe.

we had the same strategy - we went for early check-in and brought snacks, but we skipped bringing lunch. medyo hassle kasi marami na kami :)) our rooms were adjoining. aliw!!!

before lunch, we headed to the pool area and everybody enjoyed. keyla enjoyed the most. ikaw na ang iitsa sa pool ng tatay mo nang paulit-ulit :) saya diba!

there were signages that say "beware of monkeys. do not feed or
tease the monkeys". and we saw quite a number of monkeys roaming around. nakakaaliw! close encounter with the monkeys! spot the monkey! hehehe. side note: kuya was trying to achieve candid looks on these head shots - with wind violently blowing on our hair. sige good idea. tama bang itabi ko sa monkey ang pics namin? hehehe

after lunch, we had a good sleep and roamed around the island. we specially liked the hut cottage where we stayed for the rest of the afternoon. it was sooo windy! feel na feel ang chikahan.

then we had dinner at the nogusuya teppanyaki and grill - where the food was ok and the waiters were very caring! charing hehehe. the chef also did fire stunts... that frightened ms. keyla away! hehehe. i had beef overload. i believe i'm still burning the beef in my system up to now.

when we went back to our rooms, we played pinoy henyo for a good 3 hrs at the balcony! that's way better than having tsunami talks... while you're on a beach... not a good idea. everybody enjoyed!

the next day, we had a quick swim. too windy but kebs. then off to the breakfast buffet and then home sweet home.

family bonding is such a sweet blessing. thanks be to God for times like this!

pics courtesy of kuya and mami :) i got them from fb :)

ps: please excuse the balabals. it was really windy and cold. di malaman kung tagaytay ba o beach ang pinuntahan namin hahahaha!

night lights (and sounds and bubbles and fire and water and trees and love)

parang di na kailangan basahin ang post. benta na ang title :p

fun times with mami and wawi!!! we visited the gadens by the bay one fine evening. there's really not much you can do here but marvel at the super trees and walk around. but the spot sure looks good in pics. :)

and then we went to see the lights show in front of marina bay sands. the combination of lights, sounds, water, fire, bubbles is amazing :) reminded me of kiki in sentosa (ages ago!)

i wish we could have more family visits and pasyal! life is short. we should always spend it with the ones we love.

moving a mountain

2 years into our marriage. while most couples our age are happily
building their families, we are still trying to formulate where we'll settle and build our nest. for the meantime, we thought it might be best to also try to have a baby (read: shumoshonda na ang mga itlog ko) :)

how we'll do that across the distance we'll never know, but we could always figure things out. hahaha! for starters, i thought it would be wise to have a check-up with an ob to see if anything is odd. if anything is misplaced, missing, or extraneous, if i'm healthy to attempt to bring forth new life.

in my entire lifetime, this is just my 3rd visit to an ob. i set up an appointment at kk and the consultation happened last feb 19. i won't go to the gory details for obvious reasons. all i could remember was pain, pain, and more pain. oh, and kaching kaching. i had the following done: pap smear, consultation, blood extraction for hormone tests, and ultrasound.

i had to wait for about 4 hours because the staff was kind enough to put me through an open slot for the ultrasound. thought this was better than going back on another day for the test.

what to do for 4 hrs while waiting? my phone was at its final breath hahaha. i decided that while i'm cut off from the rest of the world, i will eat leisurely, buy a book, and read away. sulitin ang 4 hours of being alone and try to go to a different dimension. asus.

while waiting and reading, pakiramdam ko nilalagnat ako sa mga naunang procedure hahaha. pero deadma. sige read read lang. ultrasound na lang naman and we're done!

thanks to grisham! he kept me company for hours until the time for ultrasound came. the ultrasound lady was pinay and she was friendly and kind. nahirapan kami pareho. period. hayayayayayayayay.

and it finally came to an end. i need to go back on march 19 for the results and a follow-up consultation. but hey! i got the smear results last week and they said i don't have cancer. so 1 big step done :) let's start moving this mountain!

a few days after the blood extraction, i had these serious bruises. scary.

dear Lord,

my earliest memories were of me being a daughter. i learned how to obey and disobey. i know that i pleased my parents well, and there were also a lot of times i disappointed them.

i was a daughter first, then a sister. i was the apple of my brothers' eyes... on good days. and on bad, i was the bella... bella flores :)

i am now a wife to my husband, and i do my best. i do my best. we are still
growing together and my husband and i plan to do this until the last days of our lives.

while it is my heart's deepest desire to be a mother and a parent, to bring new life, to raise a child (or children), i know it is also possible that you may have other plans. we'll just try our best until you reveal that perfect plan to us. until then, we'll anticipate cheerfully.

always, your will be done.

always your daughter,
cat

wawi's day

mami and wawi visited us for a week last feb 16 to 23. when was the last time we've been complete like this? i think that would be 2010 during our wedding.

feb 18 was wawi's birthday. we had dinner at din tai fung (the default dinner place hehehe). everybody was happy. :)

wawi is now 27. life had been a little tough on him. i remember praying that if only other people could bear the hardship of other people, then i volunteer to take all the pain. parang anak ko na yang batang yan. but life doesn't work that way. each person is buffed to his/her perfection. each person has a different "perfect state".

when he was still young, i was his tutor. i even signed his assignment notebook! we would wake up early to study for his periodic exams. i read each page to him... he would fall asleep. he passed the exams anyway.

wawi is a carbon copy of papa - physically and everything that's inside. papa is very much alive :) (and i am the girl version hehehe)

wawi, may you find your perfect state and may you enjoy the process of finding it. life is good! God is good!

happy vday

valentine's day. kuya, april, tita, keyla, and i had a group date at the peach garden in pasir ris. thanks for adopting me :) i spent the day with people i love :) masarap ang meal. (overpriced) lechong kawali. hehehe!

and i got flowers from the huzbund. maraming salamat! ayun ang teddy bear inangkin na ng ibang bata dyan :p

the layover

last january, philip, mike's best man, migrated to new zealand to study. on the way there, there was a one-day layover in singapore. mike asked me if philip could stay here for the night. of course, dear. :)

the press release was that philip will go here alone, and that i will take him to the merlion area for a quick tour before his flight to new zealand. while mike was so sweet to brew up a wonderful surprise, i somehow sensed that he will show up on my doorstep :)

and my pagfifeeling was right. there they were waiting outside our door at around 2am that friday. :) sorry, love! dapat pala nagpanggap akong nagulat. hehehe pero the gesture was appreciated 1000%

the next day, we took philip to the main spots here in sg.

we realized this is our first pic at the merlion. pic courtesy of philip, the best man.

sige makiki tourist mode muna kami with philip. the esplanade area...

one of the many bridges...

love this green wall!

the united colors of benetton...

art work in a tunnel...

clark quay at day - minus the lights, loud music, crowd...

the fort canning park...

an empty bus with philip...

and then we rushed to the airport to bring philip a step closer to his dreams.

it was an interesting tour. the weather cooperated. maybe it cooperated a little too much. hehehe. it didn't rain, but boy was it sunny outside. we walked a lot, but nobody really complained. good good :)

dear philip, may your bold step bear fruits. may you get what you want and need. may you be a fighter and survivor. may you be united one day to the woman you love. may life treat you kind, but not spoil you. all the best!

dear mike, thank you for the surprise. :) loved it. i want more of that. hihihi. may we find ourselves closer to our dreams each day... wherever that may be.

fiesta

3rd week of january marks the feast of sto. nino. i have very good memories of the fiesta. during fiesta, the entire barangay is closed for vehicles. there is only one traffic and that is human traffic bwahahaha! from morning 'til night, sige lang sa kalalakad ang mga tao na di ko rin alam kung san galing and san papunta! :)))

kahit walang pera ang mga tao, all homes will open their doors for visitors. there was a time we invited mami's work colleagues. heto na. nag brown out. ang mami, shinowcase na ako to play the piano. hahahaha! what can i do? anak lang ako. sige play the piano with a heavy heart. gawin ba akong intermission number dahil nag brown out? kulit! :)))

outside, streets compete for the banderitas contest. i am proud to say that i have helped a couple of times in making the decors. we never won though. :)) winning is not important. so said the loser. bwahahaha!

madaling araw pa lang, nanggigising na ang mosiko. they pass by the street every hour or so. when we hear the music, everybody runs in panic mode, "andyan na mosiko!" all eyes are glued at the legs of the majorettes. but my eyes are fixed on the tubas. how mighty they look and how powerful the players' lungs are!

there was the karakol, it's a procession of passionate people carrying statues of the infant jesus while dancing with all their might. there are two things here. man makes infant jesus dance AND infant jesus makes man dance. the surge of passion, energy, and faith always makes me cry.

there was serenata in front of the main chapel at night. cool wind blowing, a band serenading you, sinong mag-aakalang nasa barangay sto. nino ka? hehehe. love it!

mami sent the pics below from the 2013 fiesta. first two pics are from the karakol. just seeing them gives me goosebumps. i wonder why i've never joined this in the entire 27 yrs of my life.

the pic with the girls dancing is called the bati-bati (sayaw ng pagbati [as in greetings]), and this is done during easter. i could see now that they dance for the fiesta as well. ehem, i was once a bati-bati girl. during the, ehem, olden days (ca 1989), our dresses were pure dainty white. my hair was in a pusod, my face was espasolish, and i danced with all my might, even if dancing is not my forte :p

how i miss fiesta in sto. nino!!! someday i'll be home again!

the fantastic five

it all started last year. noel, an ex-officemate, was visiting singapore and he invited us (jan, ajit, vijay, and me) for dinner. it was an odd mix, really. 2 pinays, 2 indians, 1 brit. we have nothing in common but work. then the dinner happened. actually, the wine happened. hehehe. what started with "how's the weather?" talks ended with compulsary sharing about your lovelife. sharing with almost strangers? nothing could be more liberating. hahahaha.

after a year, noel visited singapore again. that was last january. we had another dinner - the same group of groovy people hahaha! we established the fact that we could do this every year, the five of us. this time, we had drinks at one altitude (pic below) and then dinner at sam's curry in dempsey hill. the night was concluded with ice cream in holland village.

folks, this could be our yearly thing. :) the grooveeeeey group. wassup?! :))))

three months today

three months ago, i joined this new company in tanjong pagar. i had anxieties moving out because i loved my old office, i loved my old work, i loved my co-workers. i guess that's what happens when you start mixing emotions in the workplace. you tend to build your comfort zone in a "paradise" that you invented. and you tend to use the word "love" a little too much than normal. :p

so now i am a 3 month old baby in this new company. i am happy to be building new relationships. i have lunch with an all fil group. lunch is always light and happy. we just laugh and make fun of every little thing. i really am blessed to be with happy people. it dates back to spi days - God always surrounds me with cheerful people :)

the working environment is very different this time. before, i am used to just chatting or calling my teammates. i am the lone team member in singapore, while the rest of the team is in zur. now, we are all in a room and electronic chatting becomes obsolete. live chatting is the in thing here! hehehe! at first, i was grasping for space and silence, but i guess i am not that old. i could still learn new tricks, you see :)

i also thought that it would be impossible to hear mass on days of obligation. last ash wednesday, we all heard mass at the singapore chinese orchestra, which is just across the street! love moves in mysterious ways :)

so... i just have 2 conveniences that i miss:
- that you could go to and from work without getting soaked when it rains. city hall mrt is magically linked to suntec. tanjong pagar isn't linked in any way to our new office building. bringing an umbrella is mandatory :p
- that you could go shopping anytime! sale ba kamo? you need to buy ingredients for dinner? you need pampa byowti? hehe you want it, you get it! hehehe! in the new work area, the nearest is 7-11 and there's still the rain you have to fight in bad days!

here's my view...

turi beach :)

we went to turi beach, indonesia for our post anniversary celebration. it's just a 30 min ferry ride from the tanah merah ferry terminal so why not? :)

this was our game plan: take 8am trip on a friday and do an early check in instead of the usual 2pm check in. they would be lenient since guests start flocking in on saturday mornings. and the plan worked :)

we arrived at the ferry terminal at around 6am, which was very oa sa aga. we learned that counters open at around 7am. so we had quite a time to kill at the deserted terminal.

at around 8am, we boarded the ferry and said our temporary goodbyes to sg. side note: i wonder why there were many elderly passengers. as in! i was confused for a while if we were on the right vessel. looked like a group tour for the groovy lolos and lolas :) back to regular programming, i loved the mangroves on the bay of nongsa, id.

we arrived at 8am local time (they are behind by 1 hr), and they generously granted our request for early checkin.

we loved the simple, maaliwalas room! comfy bed, a big mirror on the wall, resting chairs, big bathroom, balcony, and a view of the pool and the sea (that's semi obstructed by the roofs of the other cottages, but i'm not complaining). special mention goes to the overhead shower that is just divine :) i have to do this because from where i came from in pasir ris st 21, our shower sucks with very low water pressure.

we learned our lesson well when we went to bintan last year. food was over priced and even failed to impress someone like me who could eat grass if i have to hehe. this time, we thought of bringing a ton of sandwiches for merienda and packed lunch - our favorite lumpiang mami and rice. the dilemma was: there was no microwave. on that day, innovation was reborn! we reheated our food in any way possible. we could say we had one of the best meals of our lives in the balcony with our fave food and our view. even the ants agreed and celebrated with us!

after stuffing our tummies with good stuff, it was swimming time! the weather was perfect! we had a light rain in the morning, but later that day, the sun said hello and we had our cold, perfect swim.

in the afternoon, we roamed around the place and found good spots. we noticed they have lots of statues and icons. this is coming from the perspective of someone who doesn't know any background: i think the statues are a bit scary with big eyes and uninviting stares.

we also had a much needed massage in their couple room. 1.5 hours of pure massage bliss :)

for dinner, we went to the buffet restaurant. food was ok. not great, but ok :) naks. entertainment was provided by a local band. we were specially impressed by ate's rendition of whitney's "i will always love you". pasado! naks.

breakfast buffet was ok too. i got just a little bit of almost every dish. so i could taste them all. bongga diba?

we found out that they have another pool that's being renovated. sayang :) maybe one day we'll come back.

then it was time to go... we loved this short holiday!!!