miss Him

I miss Him. Haven't been talking to Him the past years until lately.
Did stations of the cross last night...and just that simple thing lightened my heart. I've come to realize that problems that i feel im facing right now is NOTHING. These are but my illusions of being incomplete. Dwelling on problems, be it work or personal is just a waste of time. I realized that I have more blessings to be thankful for than problems to worry myself with.

Despite the fact that I feel my relationship with Him is not as same as before...He never turned his back on me. He even gave me more blessings that I don't think I deserve. In my prayers, what I can only utter was Im sorry...quite a number of times. For not being there. For not keeping him in the loop (in work terms hehe).

I feel that I'm quick to lose my temper and patience because I dont have Him in my life. I'm even sometimes quick to judge. I dont know if this is just a holy week thing for me...but Im seeing life differently. I feel too that Im starting to thirst for His Words. To guide me. To embrace me again. and perhaps even give my life new meaning.

I am not perfect. Nobody is I guess. I've tried my best to be the best in everything that I want to do...but shamefully I admit I have not worked hard in my relationship with Him. Ive in fact somehow neglected Him...got caught up with worldly issues.

But I thank Him for loving me despite my imperfections. For not giving up on me though we havent been talking. Maybe He's been talking to me but I wasnt listening.

Just realized that maybe some of the things that are happening to me are happening because theres something missing in my life. And i tend to look around somewhere else to fill that gap but in fact maybe its just Him thats not in my life. Or at least Im not there for Him coz He never let me feel that He's not there.

my little toddler

Drei has been walking solo when he turned one…and he loves it! He’s been playing with his “play bike” a lot, turning the handles left and right while he goes “vrrrmm..vrroom!” aaand he also does this while riding the vacuum cleaner. He has mastered eating with his fingers, and asking for his “nyum, nyum” or his rice crispies. He can now follow simple instructions like: throw this in the trash can, kiss mama, give this to papa, give mama a hug, brush your hair, etc. Drei has also mastered saying: mama, papa, t-ta (tita), wuwu (lolo), dei-dei (drei drei). He even loves dancing to Flo-rida and other upbeat songs.

He now recognizes and points to some stuff in his room when asked…like his snoopy clock, aircon, fan, burly (his bear), ball, book. He looks at his feet when you ask where are his shoes and plays with his imaginary airplane when he sees one in a book. Drei loves peek-a-boo and runs like crazy when Chito plays with him.

He’s been a handful but I love it when he kisses and hugs me…it makes me feel like the world will be just fine.

Guilty your honor!

I wanted to blog something about me this time but the moment I was composing myself to write…my mind gets filled with happy thoughts of Drei. Drei keeps me sane. Everytime I get cramped with work and I forget to even breathe, I try to stop and think of him then I’m all fine and happy and all pumped up! Haha!

But then I also feel guilty at the same time since I feel like I haven’t been paying much attention to my Chito. I am TRYing sooo hard to balance everything. I am hoping that those little sweet moments that we have will be enough for now. Hugging him in bed while he’s soundly sleeping after I give Drei to his yaya to drink his milk. Or those times when I goof around, tickling and pinching him while we’re stuck in traffic. After we get home, I am guilty of watching TV after playing with Drei rather than spending quality time with him.

I’m guilty of being too critical. I haven’t been giving him room for any mistake. I wanted him to be perfect ALL THE TIME. I know he is trying to keep up with what I want from him and I’m praying soo hard that I stop being much of a perfectionist, and wanting things done and being thought of MY way. I even question his thought process!! Sheesh, I can’t believe I’m putting him through all these.

This has bothered me for quite sometime. And now…writing about it, admitting it to myself and letting others know about it, is certainly my wake-up call. I’m just so lucky that Chito has been putting up with me. Whew!

Chito is my rock. I will surely falter without him. He’s so much a part of me. As much as I show him how strong I am he just doesn’t know how much I need him in my life. Yihee! I love you hun! Lol!

I’m lucky to have my two boys: Chito and Drei. They both keep me grounded and my constant reminder of what matters most…

Drei on strike

Drei was exclusively getting breastmilk for 8 ½ months until I got quite busy at work and I was required to travel. And travel meant me pumping and dumping my milk. I wanted to cry while I was pouring my milk down the drain while Drei was taking that darn milk formula! He’s been mixed fed for about a month now and I felt like I failed.

And for 7 straight days now, Drei’s on nursing strike. I didn’t know there was such a thing until I opened this up in an online community that I’m in. I was startled when Drei bit me while he was nursing. My initial reaction was to give him a stern No! while giving him the stink eye. He cried and pulled away. This happened twice in a span of 10mins. That was the last time that I nursed him, and everyday has been a struggle. It’s been a week since I last nursed him and I miss it. I miss our 30-minute bonding time where its only me and him…that we have our own little world. And the way he snuggles up to me at night when he wants to nurse while I cuddle him to dreamland.

I feel like breastfeeding is a blessing. Not all are given the opportunity to breastfeed but I felt like I took it for granted. And that maybe God is getting it back from me. The past week made me realize that it is indeed a gift…and I look forward to holding Drei in my arms while he nurses. I hope to win him back and I promise I will try sooo hard to keep nursing him until he self-weans.

Dear God, please help.

my bee's 1st trick or treat

I was excited but hesitant. This will be the first time that Drei will be with so much kids at a time. Considering the number of times we’ll be riding the elevator (which drives him nuts!) and all the noise and confusion, I thought my Drei will go berserk.

It was a good 2.5hrs of craziness! HSBC held a Halloween treat for employees’ kids last week. We registered at the 10th flr at about 1pm. Drei was quiet at first, just looking at the other kids all dressed up. He enjoyed a few minutes of quiet time while he was 10 floors looking down at Ayala ave.


This was minutes before chaos!


Various departments at the TEC office dressed themselves up and their offices. Within the next hour, he was cranky. It was supposed to be nap time but there I was dragging Drei up and down the elevator, through the “trail” of the offices, and lining up for the treats.


He gulped on his milk, and then he was all charged up and perky! Drei got a lot of loot, where he munched on marshmallows and biscuits!


It was a fun but tiring day! But I’m happy that he put up with all the noise, the kids, and the new faces.

my celeb look a likes haha!!

Supplier Ratings

Ive posted this at the weddings@work yahoogroups...just want to share this with everyone
Rating:
5 – highly recommendable…our hats off!!
4 - recommendable…worth your money
3 - good…delivered just right
1 - poor …failed to deliver

CHURCH: Nuestra Senora de Gracia (NSDG)
Rating: 5++
The church was beautiful…as I expected it to be. Downside though was that it was raining like there’s no tomorrow and we weren’t able to take pics outside the church. But almost everyone who saw the church for the first time fell in love with it. I was so happy they loved it like my hubby and I did.

Good thing though that it rained coz we had a cool breeze. We were worried na mainitan yung guests coz the church doesn’t have aircon units but the rains had its benefits kahit papano hehe!

CHURCH FLOWERS: Kuya Melo (in-house NSDG)
Rating: 5++
I upgraded my flowers and added a measly 2k but it came out really elegant. I had calla lilies for my aisle flowers and I loved it!!

RECEPTION VENUE: Wack-Wack Golf & Country Club (Banquet A&B)
Rating: 4
I was worried that a 280 pax accommodation will come out too crowded…but it was just right. The place was worth more than the money we spent for it.

However, they accommodated an afternoon event in our venue so it ended up that VS&F wasn’t able to set up on time; though VS&F still managed to completely set up before majority of the guests came in

CATERER: VS&F Catering
Rating: 5++
FOOD: Superb! Our guests complimented the food…Im happy that they enjoyed it as much as we did.

SET-UP: Despite the fact that they had limited time to set up due to the prior event that wack-wack accommodated, they did good. Their table arrangements was more than I expected. It was actually what I requested…I just didn’t expect that it’ll come our really great…very elegant. I requested long stemmed white calla lilies in tall vases with 3 fishbowls with floating candles in light green colored water and I didn’t pay extra for it. It was sooo nice. That’s actually the first thing you’ll see in the venue. Our guests loooved it!

PHOTO/VIDEO: Chito Vecina Photography
Rating: 5++

Chito and his crew came to our hotel (1) hour ahead of schedule. Haven’t taken my shower yet that time, hehe! They were very professional and didn’t make us feel that they’re waiting quite long na. When they got in, they set-up their equipment and took pics of the rings, gown, etc. Francis, Chito’s assistant photographer made us feel comfortable too. Chito and I had a chat and he asked if Im having jitters etc. Im happy I got them.

They also played a slideshow of pics during the hotel preps and the ceremony, which wasn’t part of our agreement but they played it! We weren’t able to see it but our guests told us that the pics were great specially the candid shots (which is Chito’s specialty). They were the one of the last suppliers who left since they took some pics of us after the reception. I was super touched coz they really waited for us after we had some picture taking with friends and said our hello’s to our guests. Very professional and mukhang hindi pa rin pagod…like us!

OTD COORDINATOR: Posh Parties
Rating: 10!!!
Tess, Erika, and Aline are my dream team. They absorbed all the stress!! Haha! They’re off the charts that’s why I gave them a 10 for all their extra effort. When my couturier didn’t show up during my preps (this one’s a looong story!), it came out that my gown was a bit loose…since I lost more weight from our last fitting. Tess (of Posh Parties), without any hesitation, got a sewing kit and adjusted it herself. She didn’t let me or my mom stress about it. I was really touched…

I didn’t also feel that VS&F was not able to set up on time. Some problems came up but they told it to me after they already made a solution. I didn’t see them sweat! My in-laws and some of our guests told us that they were very professional and organized.

We got our emcee from VS&F about 3 days prior the wedding, but I was surprised that Posh parties was able to brief them well about the whole program and she did well too.

Worth more than the money we paid for them!! Highly recommendable.

MUSIC-CHURCH & RECEPTION: JJS ENTERTAINMENT
Rating: 10++
Oh yeah, they’re way off my charts too! They over-delivered though I haggled to death for the package rate they gave me, heheh! John (JJS Ent. Owner) was sooo easy to talk with. He was willing to work with you on anything. He suggested an acoustic quartet (which my husb and I loved) and it came out really good. He gave me a reaaally worth-it package and added a male vocalist to the acoustic group as a gift. I didn’t expect he’ll give in to my request since I selected some duet songs and some which will require a male vocalist. Ang galing din nung male vocalist…he sang “the way you look tonight” for our first dance…and it was sooo romantic.

I was soo happy too that ALL, mind you, ALL the songs I requested were played. Some of my closest friends told me that the music selection was so me, heheh! Si husband kasi gusto rock eh shempre wedding yun diba so I chose our super favorite songs and mine.


BRIDAL CAR: JJS Entertainment
Rating: 5
I had this packaged with our acoustic quartet. Our driver was on time and was very generous too in assisting me going in and out of the car since it was raining like hell that day. The car was a 2003 S series Benz, something like that…and got it for a REAALLY good deal. John (JJS Ent. Owner) was very very kind! Highly uberly recommended talaga!

ENTOURAGE FLOWERS: Mang Boy of Dangwa
Rating: 10++
Oh, I loved my bouquet…even Tess of Posh parties was surprised how beautiful all the flowers came out. I had about 5-6 dozens of deep red roses bouquet and the ento flowers were a combination of roses, gerberas, lilies, something something. Basta it was really nice… J

HMUA: Faces by Erika Saenz
Rating: 4.5
Erika made me look beautiful…she enhanced my features really well and my make-up withstood our long day and the weather too. She was there during the church pictorials to retouch…she made sure I looked perfect.

Im about to give her a 5 except for the hair stylist she partnered with. My hair looked good though…kulang lang sa hairspray that’s why Erika kept on fixing it during our pictorials. But overall…I’ve no complaint at all.


COUTURIER: Taal, Batangas supplier
Rating: 1
The nightmare of the year! I wasn’t really ranting during the preps here at w@w coz I was wishing the stress we went through were all worth it…but I’d say no. A friend recommended them and we just went to Taal once to meet them and try to figure out some designs etc. I wanted to save kasi and I regret it. The stress is not worth the savings we got. They said they don’t mind going from Batangas to Manila for the fitting coz they frequent Divisoria anyways.

So here it goes:
- our ento gowns are for first time use and was informed they’ll charge us about 500-600 each gown. Not bad huh? So I figured, I made a good find here. When they had the gowns done, they charged me 1500ea coz they used daw a different cloth/material. I let them have the freedom to choose (ano ba kasi alam ko sa cloth) but courtesy says they should have asked me first if its okay for me to pay more with their chosen cloth…the nerve di ba?
- During fittings for the ento and mine, they’d either be late by 2 hours or 2 days!!! Yeah 2 days, they’ll give all the excuses in the world
- Worst part of all, they didn’t go to my hotel preps to make sure the gown fit me well…what could be more worse than that? Buti na lang my coordinator was super helpful and we just adjusted it ourselves

But overall, I had the grandest time of my life…our guests told us that their favorite part was when we had our first dance and hugged like we were the only ones in the room. They said they felt how much we love each other. That made everything so worth it, knowing that people enjoyed our wedding and they felt how happy Chito and I were that day.

I’ll soon share some of our pics…happy preps to everyone!!! Super helpful w@w for clueless brides, and im uber thankful to everyone who has been very generous with tips kahit minsan lurker lang ako, I surely learned a lot.


WAAAHHH!!! Sorry long post po…Hth!

said i do to my bestfriend!

After more than a year of preparation, we finally walked down the aisle last week. It was the happiest day of my life...almost all our family and friends were there, but more than anything I had my bestfriend, Chito to celebrate it with.

It rained the whole day but it didn't spoil the bliss that i felt. Should anything go wrong...i just knew i'd still have that smile on my face. It was a day that we both looked forward to. We exchanged letters during the wedding preps in the hotel. I composed mine in the morning while he did his before he slept the day before the wedding. It was heartwarming, and I cried like a baby hahah!

In his letter he said, "...honestly, I never thought I'd be as happy as I am now. I can't find enough words to describe how I feel this very moment. All I know is this, - I'm so excited to see you later, walking down that aisle and standing right next to me..." Isn't that so sweet? and further he goes - "...we've been together a little less than three years, but it's like Ive known you all my life...I just hope that during the time when we were a couple I was true to my word - that I'd make you the happiest girl in the world..." super heartmelting huh? "...know this baby - I will be with you every step of the way. I'll help you up every time you stumble, be there when you need me. Through all the good and bad times that may come, you're always going to have me to share them with - this is my promise to you which I'll keep you forever..."

Walking down the aisle was a mix of emotions. I said to myself i'll try not to cry a bit but the moment I was composing myself to walk, I was misty eyed. I saw that the church was almost full..saw my friends from college, my relatives, chito's friends and relatives. at the end of it I saw Chito smiling from ear to ear. I can feel his excitement from where I was standing. then halfway I saw my parents...it was bittersweet. I know they knew I was happy but deep inside I know Im leaving a part of me, physically that is...My family who I love dearly. Im close to both my mom and dad and I know they'll miss me.

As we walked, to Chito, his parents, and mich...the feeling was overwhelming. I saw Papa (chito's dad) teary eyed...and Chito giving me a smile that I will never forget. It was a smile that calmed me and made my happiness complete.

The whole ceremony seem so fast and we both cant help but smile and say our iloveyous every chance we could. When the priest finally announced we were husband and wife, we turned around and we were in awe. We didnt expect a church full of friends and family despite the bad weather...all we can say was "wow.."

When we got to wack-wack for the reception, there were some glitches...major that is. Stories on that on my next post na lang, pati our reviews on our suppliers. But i didnt let it spoil our day. I saw everybody enjoying, it was an icing on the cake. I saw some pics from our friends' multiply sites and we felt that everyone was happy...and that they had a fun time.

some friends say that their favorite part was when we hugged after we kissed in the church and during our first dance where "the way you look tonight" was sang really well by our acoustic quartet, and we hugged and danced like it was just the two of us in the room.

I'd say I'll marry Chito as many times I wish I could...I cant imagine having someone else beside me before everyone who means so much to me. He's my perfect match..and Im happy I said "i do" to my bestfriend

53 days til I walk down the aisle...

I can't believe that we're getting married in less than 2 months! I anticipated lesser load by this time since I had one year lead time for the wedding preps but good thing I got a wedding coordinator..at least to just keep me sane, hehe!

These are the things ive done so far...

Church: Nuestra Senora de Gracia
booked since Oct 2005, pending completion of requirements

Reception venue: Wack-Wack Golf & Country Club BanquetA&B
booked and fully paid since Oct 2005


Caterer: VS&F Catering
booked since Nov 2005. 50% paid, flowers and cake for upgrade
-we'll try to achieve a similar look and feel with the pic above
-to finalize wedding guest list...and yes, the closer the wedding date, the longer the guest list becomes...

Hair & Make-up: Faces by Erika Saenz
to book within the month; trial make up done last tuesday















Photo & Video Coverage:Chito Vecina Photography
booked since Nov 2005; 50% paid; prenup pictorial done last tuesday. Pics above our some of our shots...





Couturier:Taal, Batangas supplier
50% paid; 2nd fitting of entourage and bridal gown turnover by Nov25. Share ko lang some of our pics above



Wedding rings: R&B Jewellery, Ongpin
Fully paid...arent they pretty?


Wedding coordinator:Posh Parties
booked abt 2 mos ago...finalizing our concept and working on the reception program and other details

Documents:
Got the marriage license last month! Yey!

Invitation: NONE YET!!!

Entourage flowers: NONE YET!!

I can more or less visualize our wedding na...and I'm super excited. I just know that it'll be beautiful!
Posh parties and I are working on it...I just know I'm in good hands...

and the countdown continues...

Chito mentioned that he updated his blog...and yes, i almost forgot I had one. Ive been so preoccupied these past months and will still be until december.

I just switched to globe and got a new phone!


I've been a nokia user for gazillion years (haha! i meant, eversince)...but i find it easy to navigate. there are of course other nokia features that i prefer. but hey, with such a slim size (i sometimes put it in my wallet) and with the features that i need, who could ask for more. doesnt have 3g technology though but so far it's not been picking up here in manila (or the whole country for that matter), so why fuss?


Chito and I just got from the Makati city hall to apply for a marriage license. We got to see the mayor's office and their really nice conference roomcs...courtesy of Junjun Binay. Naaks! He's actually chito's classmate/friend from high school, who's been really kind and helped us get through the "perils" of dealing with govt offices for requirements. I was surprised that our city hall is really nice. It's like being in one of the good Makati CBD buildings...and even has some floors that can be a four-star hotel.

We've also attended the seminar required by the church (pre-cana seminar). and met some interesting couples. One were once just textmates, another, met through the internet...a couple in their 30s just knew each other 5months ago while the other have been together for 11 loooong years! But we were all in the same boat, taking the next step and putting our faith to our respective partners. Im happy that im going through this with chito. He's been really loving, supportive, caring, and being the bear that he is...super cuddly. hahah! I can't say i like his lovehandles but i really like pinching them and find it cute! (sometimes lang ah, but hey I dont mind some abs here and there!)

I'm a self-confessed Texas Hold'em Poker addict. I have equally addicted friends who bought a poker table and hosts our tournaments once a week (emil and roe-who by the way have a site where they'll post updates from our tournament... www.emilandroe.com/poker), i have my ever "pasaway" boss who doesn't mind if we play until the early hours of the morning on a weekday..and excuse ourselves from the office for just a few hours the next day, and of course Chito, who has been "bombarding" me with WPT videos on his Ipod and never fails to give a tip or two for me to improve my game. Haay, even my parents don't mind me playing. But of course they hate my early morning uwi everytime i play.

I recently joined a ladies poker tournament in QC. I placed 4th with 24 players. Not bad huh, for a 2nd-time tourney player. I'll post another blog i guess for some really interesting hands that i played and some where i've been outplayed...I just hope I'll get better pa...and earn us some moolah! hahaha!

Just finished my first term in grad school and so far so good. I'll be taking one subject this coming term (which starts on monday) since I'll be crammed with wedding stuff na til dec.

Chito and I have checked some stuff for our house..super mahal na appliances these days. We didn't know that a 6-burner stove costs 40K! sheesh, sana ok lang forever take out! We're also starting to plan our honeymoon. Third, (chito's bestfriend) offered us to stay at their place in australia (he and itin recently got a place of their own there). we just have to worry about our plane fare and pocket money na lang daw. Good thing Papa (chito's dad) works for Etihad, and we get plane tickets to any of their destinations. Downside though would be we'd have to stop over at Abu Dhabi before heading to Australia. Well, works for me...who wouldn't want free airfare? Im super excited na. We're still weighing our options. Would really love though to spend time with third and itin as well. Thanks Third for your offer, hope we can easily get our tourist visas (if ever). We'll keep you posted.


Til my next blog in 2007...hahah!

one bed weather coming up!

i hate mondays, most especially if its such a gloomy day like today. Not to mention the rains to match it which makes it such an ideal day to lay in my bed and snooze til its time for dinner, haha!

its been raining like hell, good thing we have quite a light load this past week.

i miss summer...i miss the scorching sun...i miss the beach...

ice cream!!

Your Icecream Flavour is... Cookies 'n Cream!

Smooth and creamy with a few rough bits mixed in, you are a real treat! You are probably very popular amongst your friends. Remember too much of a good thing is not always good! Don't lay it on too thick!

What is your Icecream Flavour?

Find out at Go Quiz

wish i had more than one body...

i recently started my mba classes in LaSalle, rcbc campus. I enroled in two classes and im enjoying it so far. It's a bit different now. Back in college, i remember i understood our lessons and all but i cant seem to fit it in the "real" world. But in gsb, you get to appreciate what you're learning because it helps you understand things that you deal with every day. (aside from the fact that i paid (half kay papa chito) for my tuition fee,..heheh)

Haay...i tend to push myself too much. Stress at work, mba, wedding plans, other "rakets," and this new business my boss and i are trying to put up. Then im on a diet pa. Goodluck na lang on my health.

college reunion

had a long day last saturday! chito and i attended Carlo's wedding and then i met up with my college friends for dinner. I was expecting our usual group and some few others perhaps but i was soooo surprised to find about 10 more people i havent seen in yeeeeears!!

dinner was at thai ginger gbelt 3 and then we transferred to masas for some drinks. One thing u know, about 5 more of my blockmates was just at temple. Instant reunion talaga, we were about 20 there and we all had a blast. It was just nice catching up with what's been keeping us busy,..


sheesh, i almost forgot Leo blanco's first name, i just remembered that his surname was Blanco. they tortured me for quite a while before berl finally gave me a clue! super embarassing

ofcourse, everyone was quite surprised to see april and chey preggy! mommy april is due anytime while chey naman is next month. exciting sobra! saw april's 4d ultrasound image of her baby boy. he looks really gwapo!

Whew! Updates!

Sheesh its been ages since i last wrote. Anyways, some quick updates. Hopefully i can keep it short.

Wedding preparations:
Our approved menu (its reaaaally good..i swear)
Cocktails : nachos,cheesesticks, peanuts, vegetable sticks & iced tea
Appetizer : Spinach cracklets
Salad : Ceasar's Salad
Soup : Clam chowder soup
Entrees : Steamed riceye w/ parsl
Baked macaroni (really creamy)
Lengua with mushroom butter sauce
Chicken teriyaki
Fillet of Lapu-lapu w/ tartar sauce (cooked on the spot)
Mixed vegetables w/ young corn and quail eggs
Dessert : Assorted cakes/pastries
Fresh fruits
Motiff: Maroon & Champagne(chito likes it too, so this should be final)
Theme: Calla lily (i like it simple & elegant)


Wedding dress: I've somehow made up my mind on how I'd like it to look like.
It's something like this:
Make up : c/o Ricci Chan (one of the Magandang Umaga Pilipinas hosts)
How do i look?

Church : upgrades finalized!
Venue : firmed up upgrades
**We dont have emcee yet though..Other details are quite minor and should be easy to handle.

Personal stuff:
1. 1 year na ko in LBC! and it didnt feel like it. time flies coz i really enjoy my work
2. i passed DLSU-GSB MBA exams. Hopefully i can manage my time well for this. Classes start this May
3. celebrated our 2nd yr anniv ni chito last feb.
4. I spent my bday in Bohol! it was really reaally nice and met some new friends too.


a couple from pque that we met there and this really nice Austrian who shared a lot about all the places that she has gone to. Of course we shared some really nice trivia about Filipinos


of course...we gotta go visit them:


and the choc hills,.it was...WOW!


5.I'll be going to bora...for free!! one of our corporate partners sponsored our trip. Pati si chito..free din. We'll be staying at the elizalde's beachhouse..im really excited!!

outreach at PGH cancer institute

In lieu of our christmas party, LBC Development went to PGH Cancer Institute and gave donations, gifts, and some groceries. It was very moving since the children in the pedia ward were still all smiles despite their condition. They were very happy that there are other people who still care and are willing to share their time and blessings.

I guess most of us forget the spirit of chrismas. Its about sharing and sacrificing. I feel ashamed that I felt sad we won't have a company christmas party...but seeing these people who'll be spending their christmases in the hospital and the pain (emotionally and monetary) and fear that they have to go through everyday, makes me take one step back.

Most of us are fortunate enough to have "excess" time and money to go shopping for ourselves, family and friends. and yes, it would'nt hurt to give back to the society..

christmas and the new year

Sheesh…days pass oh so fast. One thing you know Christmas season is over, hello 2006!! I’ve never been as excited as I am know looking forward to the new year. Chito and I will tie the knot next year…Dec 10 at Nuestra Senora in Guadalupe, Makati and reception at Wack-wack country club. We had to move to December so the Ines clan can go home for a 2 week Christmas vacation. We’re scheduling their “pamamanhikan” within the month just to formalize everything following an old Filipino tradition. It’s a bit nerve wracking knowing our families will finally meet for the first time…I mean what do we say when the “awkward” silent moment comes? Haaay…we’ll see.

******
Parties, parties, parties!!
In lieu of our Christmas party, LBC will have a one day outreach to PGH Cancer patients on Dec 15 (its also the birthday of my nephew who passed away 3 yrs ago).

On the 16th will be HSBC’s Christmas party at CCP…and yes…I am inviting myself, haha. Chito will try to sneak me in…I miss my HSBC friends big time. Can’t wait to party with them again. Chito will perform ulit (kina-career na nya to!). This time he’ll be one of the bar girls (from a scene in Miss Saigon) and as Ms. Hannigan (whoever that is) from the play Annie.

Our department will have a Christmas party on the 20th. Dinner, exchange gift lang, and endless chikahan. Then on the 30th, with my high school friends…at macky’s place.

I saw Mig Ayesa of Rockstar INXS about 2 weeks ago at GMA 7’s Christmas party for their advertisers. I almost screamed (if not for my boss who was with me,heheh). Mig’s cute and I so wanted to take a picture of him with me! Kainis, I missed my chance…I just snuck a pic of him with a girl in the venue’s bulletin board...hehe!

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Xmas gift shopping
I finished shopping for all my nieces, nephews, and godchildren. But haven’t finished yet for my friends, officemates, babies for xchange gifts, etc. With all the frenzy in malls, goodluck na lang sa kin if I can finish em all in the next 2 weeks.

kids at heart

I had one helluva weekend this week. Chito and I, with Glad and Alvin had a blast. Coming from his last day in graveyard shift last friday, Chito picked us up and headed to Something Fishy, Eastwood, for their now famous P80 buffet breakfast. Man it was good I should say…I was stuffed. Well we need to have fuel in our tank that’s for sure…we knew we’ll be walking for 2 hours in Avilon. Yeah Avilon zoo, this is at Montalban Rizal. This was far..but worth it. We almost got lost when we lost a turn…and we were already headed for the mountains. Geesh, good thing Chito asked around.





The extent of wildlife here is just...wow! It was my first time to see a Capybara (spelled something like that). It’s like a gargantuan rat…I had to use the word gargantuan coz “large” may sound small for it. Hahaha. They even had squirrels, skunks, raccoons, numerous birds (check out my pic with a reaaaly cute owl), snakes (even an anaconda), a jaguar (which by the way growled coz Glad and I were joking around, growling and all), sun bears, Malaysian tapirs (if I remembered correctly, we only have 2 in the country and its both in Avilon). If you guys have time you might want to visit this zoo. Now, I know how a tuko (gecko) looks like, hehehe…it’s nice.


It was so funny looking at this tortoise who turned over and took him decades trying to flip over..




We had to rest afterwards coz Chito needed some sleep, he was up for 24 hours straight! Afterwards, we had dinner at Chokoy’s. The best sisig in town. It’s near QC circle, I think. Alvin jammed with the acoustic performer and we all had a good time. Good food + good company + good music = good time! Glad meanwhile had too much alcohol intake and ended up “basag” but still wanted to play extreme jenga and taboo…that’s my girl!




The next day we headed to Caleruega in Tagaytay. The church was just breathtaking…and the view…just spectacular! Had light lunch at Hen Lin overlooking Taal, and coffee after at Starbucks, the cool breeze made us wanna stay there na lang…but we had another place to go to…Enchanted Kingdom! (everyday, everyday the magic is here…hehhe).



We rode Anchor’s Away twice, Space Shuttle (it was Glad’s second time to ride this after 8 yrs), Wheel of Fate, Rio Grande and even had some neoprints taken (with jologs behind us singing some Aegis or April boy songs,hhehe). I have lotsa stories of screaming paygots (faggots), ok lang kayo mga prens?, and stop “basa”-ing me stuff!



It was exhausting…but it was sooo fun…It really pays to have a break from work. It feels good to feel like a kid again..going to the zoo and a theme park.

one humiliating night...

I’ll be sharing a recent “embarrassing” moment for me. Mabs, my college barkada celebrated his birthday last Friday in a greenhills restaurant (secret na lang muna where that is). I only knew about a handful, most of which are my blockmates. I’ve seen some of them La Salle and the others are his friends from work, bora, etc. So as we were drinking and making small talks with his colleagues in Colgate Palmolive, Mabs gave us a big bottle of vodka…I actually like Vodka sprite coz its sweet. Anyways, I mixed my own drink, and I was oh-so-generous with my every pour of vodka. By my third glass (btw, it’s a quite big drinking glass), I got a bit tipsy so I told chito, that’ll be my last. One thing you know I was having another glass and a tequila shot after. My tummy started to feel a bit funny so I decided we should go. But I went to the ladies room first, and I blew…bad! I knew I had to get out so we could go home na kagad and what do you know, as I left the washroom I knocked down a divider and found myself lying down on the floor.

I passed out, and then I heard some mumblings something like let’s help her out..etc. So I got up and they let me sit. I felt soooo bad…then chito got to me and took care of me…as well as about 4 more people, 1 staff was massaging my arm coz it hurts so bad, the guard was fanning me, another one was giving me water, another was helping me puke. Super eksena talaga…soo embarrassing. I was lying for more than an hour in 4 chairs.

The morning after, I had to have my arm checked coz it was swollen..and had to re-tell my humiliating story around 4 times as 2 doctors and 2 nurses asked me separately. I should’ve lied na lang coz my xrays and the prof fee were not covered by my health card. I had to tell my parents that I slipped, mama said we should sue the restaurant or file a complaint, etc. I just said that my sandals were a bit slippery na…and the resto had no fault with the incident.

Chito told me I should stay away from mixed drinks na since I tend to overdrink…I guess it’ll be tequila shots for me then, hahaha. Just kidding. About 2 or 3 bottles of sanmig light will do na the next time.

Pinoy Big Brother (PBB)

Yeah, yeah condemn me for this entry,haha. I’m a self confessed reality TV sucker…but with this one, I’d say I am “forced” to watch this. We currently doing roll-outs for our campaign for our new product and we have creative intrusions in PBB. We got in after they had a one-day ban. We rode on its popularity, hopefully gain enough benefits from this.

I’d have to admit, when I first heard about this show, I got curious. I mean how can people stand watching this seemingly “uninteresting” common people? Well.. since as I said I was “forced” to watch this (yeah, yeah ethel keep telling that to yourself), I’d say it’s not boring at all. You get to make fun of them, how they sometimes talk about trivial things “intellectually,” you should hear their opinions, hahah. This gay guy Uma even broke down when he was prohibited from smoking for a day, and had to do with second hand smoke that his housemates are “willingly” puffing him with.

As clients, we got to tour the Big brother house. There’s this camera ring walkway surrounding the whole house. Everyone was sleeping except for 3 people. Sorry me, sam was sleeping as well (he’s such a cutie or maybe bec sha lang ang may itsura, pakshet). It was so funny going around coz it felt like going around a zoo or watching “lab rats.” Hats off to them, geesh I don’t think I can stand staying in one place for almost 2 months now and being with the same people whom you might not even like. But it’ll be hard for the staff as well since they’d have to monitor everything…I mean watch them even if they’re sleeping. Trivia pala:A staff told us it cost them around P120M for everything (including camera set-ups, interiors,etc) for the whole house.

It was so funny too standing outside the house for yb. We’d see cars passing by, actually slowing down just to take a glimpse of the house or take a picture of it. Some would actually go down and take pics (lots of em) and sometimes insist on going beyond the gate.

I gotta stop blabbing about this…I’m sure you think of me differently now..hahaa! Last na, met Marielle (the uplate version host) she is soo cute...very pretty girl.