Thursday, May 19, 2011

Day of the "Arts"

On Wednesday, May 18, 2011 my manager invited me to her kids' recital which was held at the Teatro ng GSIS. I was excited because I'd be able to sort of practice my skills again... and with my favorite subject, I know this "shoot" would be fun! The show started on time (3:30 PM) and it lasted for just about an hour.  My manager's kids, Ianna and Caela were apart on stage, Ianna was on the left side, Caela was on the right so, being the "unofficial" photographer, I'd have to take a lot of photos even if it meant switching from one side to the other.  For the duration of the show, my shutter count was about 180... A lot huh?!  But only few photos are nice... It's ok, I was just practicing anyway. :-) 
After the show, we checked out the Arts (paintings and sculptures) at the theater lobby.  They're all nice and apparently, the artworks were being sold by GSIS (Government Service Insurance System) so that they would be able to pay their debts (please click for more info).  Some of the paintings were abstract and it looks like it was painted by a kid :-D
The last stop of my "Art Day" was at the Mall of Asia where we watched The Priest in 3D! I won't go into details about the movie but I enjoyed it... With my jumbo Nachos from Nacho King :-)  Oh, by the way, this day also was my first time to run in seven months! I needed to run because it was already raining outside the mall... So, what am I doing outside the Mall of Asia (San Miguel by the Bay side)??? I was actually looking for Nacho King, which at first, we thought was at the other side of the road... Hehe, all in the name of Nachos!
Here are some of my favorite shots of the day...

See the giant peeping?

Just one of Ianna and Caela's classmates happy with her certificate :)


Cheerleader Caela

Ianna The Artisan



















Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Two Down, Ten to Go

Two of the items in my wishlist were already granted...
I visited my ortho-surgeon at Asian Hospital this morning to have my post-op foot checked.  Good thing I didn't have that super lazy ass to postpone the visit and weather today was fine so nothing can stop me from my doc visit.  Anyway, when I arrived the clinic, the secretary told me to get my xray film first from the Radiology Department because only the official reading was forwarded to the doctor.  When I came back (to the clinic), I read the official reading and felt that everything was already normal.  I waited about forty-five minutes before my name was called (I was already the 13th patient considering I arrived early).  AAnd then it was my turn... I was happy seeing my doctor again hehehe... My handsome doctor hehe... Anyway, I asked him if I can already run because I signed up for a marathon this Saturday.  And he said "Yes! Ok na yung foot mo o, no lesions or fracture whatsoever.  Wag mo lang biglain.  Run-Walk-Run ka na lang" and I felt ecstatic!  He even told me that he'll recommend my Vibram to his future buniectomy patients.  At, eto pa isang comment from him "ok na yung paa mo, pwede ka na mag-asawa". HAHAHA! Buset na doctor!  Ok lang, at least ngayon, I'm confident that I can walk, run, jog, go hip hop class or do capoeira normally :-)

I know this is a very late post for the newest addition in our family, but I'm very happy to say that my sister in law gave birth to a healthy (9 pound) baby girl and she was named Carleen.  At first, we thought that it was a boy... And we felt that the baby was a boy.  Then my brother told us that based on the ultrasound, the gyne was not sure if it's a boy or a girl.  Still we felt that it was a boy until the final ultrasound.  It's a girl.  And then I dreamed that my sister in law gave birth to a baby girl but she looks like my brother. HAHA.  Anyway, when I reviewed my wishlist, it was there, right in front of my face that I was wishing for a baby girl. Tee hee! :-)

Now, there's a lot of reasons to celebrate! Yey! After my follow-up check-up, I went to the mall for a little shopping and to eat at my favorite Italian restaurant here in our place-Gotti's.  I had Pasta Bolognese, Chicken Fingers, Pizza and Iced Tea for my main course and this was the first time I tried their Tartufo Nero for my dessert.  Tartufo Nero (English: Black Truffle) is a dark chocolate gelato with cherry in the middle.  At first, I thought, Gotti's' menu was just fooling me because I can't find the cherry after eating half of the Tartufo.  When I started eating the other half, the cherry showed up! :-D

And few of my captured memories from today...

Yummy lunch!

Tartufo Nero

I was surprised to see a marshmallow in the middle instead of the cherry.

Ok! There's the cherry!


Few of my finds from Body Shop

Plus a rewards card from Body Shop :)


Saturday, May 14, 2011

My UST-Dong Bei Experience (03.04.11-super late post)

Wow I missed my blog! So many happy moments happened for the past weeks but then, our office blocked blogger.com; reason why this blog was not recently updated. Too tired to blog at home, sorry. But I promise, I'll try my very best to blog more often.
Anyway, why did I choose my Dong-Bei (or Dong Pei) experience over a lot of other experiences for the past few weeks? Mainly because it's about... FOOD! Yes, food. There's nothing so special about the place, but when we were there, I can feel the Chinese aura! :-D Last Friday, my "soul sister" Margaret decided to go on half day because both of us were uber late. But then, Friday sickness struck us and the next time we knew it, we were already at the Quadricentennial Photo Exhibit of University of Santo Tomas. Right, I was in UST. And, that was the first time I visited the place. I was amazed really, because the campus was so huge! They even have food complex with McDonald's, Jollibee, Hen Lin and other famous fast food places! I just felt bad because I did not have my camera with me to take photos! Well, I'm not ready because it was an "impromptu date" with my friend. Lesson learned: always bring your camera, even if it's just point and shoot :-) From the main gate of the school, we walked several steps to Beato Building (I guess this building is for Fine Arts students) and my cousin welcomed  and lead us to the exhibit. My cousin told us that it was a "mini" exhibit but when I asked her how many photos were posted, she answered "400". WOW! 400 nice, drool-worthy photos! Then I missed my camera... By the way, UST is a nice place for photo shoots :-) After too much ahs and oohs from us, I asked Meg and her boyfriend to bring me to a dumpling place. I told them that there's this must-go dumpling place in Binondo, I just forgot the name. Then they searched it from their iTouch and Dong-Pei (Dong Bei) was #1 in the search.  Before reaching Dong-Pei, we passed by St. Lorenzo Ruiz Basilica and Meg and I were just so happy because a wedding was being held at that time.  We witnessed the ceremonies and then we waited for the second wedding to take place... It was a Christianized Chinese wedding by the way.  After watching two weddings, we finally reached Dong-Pei.  It was just one of those hole in the wall places in Binondo. It was not a fancy place, actually it only has four tables. I was so excited to eat and taste their wonton noodles with dumplings!!! The noodles was "hand-stretched" (Handiwork noodles in their menu) and the dumplings were being made just across our table! We also had their version of "pancakes" and it was so good! Plus, their sawsawan of vinegar and soy sauce was a little bit sweet it compliments the pancakes.  We also had Wong Lo Kat Chinese herbal tea to add "authenticity" in our Chinese Dumpling lunch. After eating at Dong-Pei, we walked and walked and walked on the stretch of Ongpin St., unconscious of the pain on my right foot. We passed by Eng Bee Tin, Salazar Bakeshop and the shop that sells fried Siopao. But we didn't buy any of their goodies because I don't want Mom to know that I did not report to work :-D We also checked out the store that sells a lot of preserved fruits. That time, I was PMS-ing so I was craving for Kiamoy (red plum) and Haw Snow... However, they have it in large packs so I didn't purchase any of those... But I promised myself that if I'd go back to Binondo, I'll buy one bag of Kiamoy! Yum!
After all the walking we did the whole day, was a whole body massage at home! Too bad, I still can't let the masseuse touch my right foot even if it badly needed the massage.
Some of the photos captured by my trusty mobile phone:

The workers making the dumplings.  They're just at the table right after us.

The Menu written in English and Chinese

At the back of the menu was a newspaper clipping about the place

The menu posted on the wall

Yummy wonton-noodle soup!

Dong-Bei's version of pancakes

Chinese herbal tea (it tasted like leche flan's syrup or arnibal in tagalog)

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Pa-rant lang no...

May 12, 2011. Thursday. Sweldo. Ang saya-saya! Even though toxic ang araw na ito sa work, d.e.a.d.m.a. Kasi sweldo... But NO!
http://matthewjamestaylor.com/art/angry-man
Kasi ganito yon... Nagpa-appointment na ako sa suki kong si Mang David's para magpa-foot spa, pedicure at threading. Pagdating ko sa salon... Ayun si Ate, may minamanicure. Hintayin ko na lang daw kasi matatapos na... Aba, I waited for 45 minutes at hindi pa tapos ang customer ni Ate. Yun pala, ipepedicure pa sya. Dapat maghihintay pa ko for another 15 minutes, kaso, after 2 minutes, tumayo na ako from the waiting area at pumunta sa branch head at sinabing "Ate, babalik na lang ako bukas. Pa-appointment ako mga 6pm. Gutom na kasi ako eh". Naka-smile pa ko non at humingi pa ng dispensa si suking manicurista sa akin... Pero ang totoo, asar na asar na asar na asar na ako... So yon, before I went to the salon pala, I had my photo taken (at Fujifilm) for my IELTS exam requirements at binalikan ko na lang sya from David's.  Eto na, sabi ni Ate'ng taga-Fuji after 30 minutes tapos na yung pic ko, aba eh 45 minutes na nakakalipas di pa napiprint yung picture ko! So ayun, sinabi ko babalikan ko na lang after dinner... Buti na lang gwapo yung photographer hehe :-D Ayun, so, I went to French Baker to have a quick bite. Dapat sa Gotti's eh, kaso ayoko na umakyat ng isa pang floor kasi same floor lang ang Fujifilm and French Baker, ayoko na lumayo pa... Eto na... Nagsisisi ako ng lubusan dahil sa hindi pag-kain sa Gotti's. Hindi masarap ang Lasagna sa French Baker!!! What happened to their Lasagna?! Hindi naman dati ganun yon... Masarap yun dati eh... Pero ngayon, ang lamig tapos ang asim! Hay! Kung hindi lang ako gutom, at kung wala lang taong nagugutom, hindi ko na inubos yung Lasagna na yon! C.h.a.k.a.! At wag ka (with matching wagayway ng pointer finger from side to side), to cap the night, pagkapasok na pagkapasok ko sa pinto ng house, yung tito ko na cousin ni mama na ngayon lang dumalaw sa amin at ngayon lang ulit ako nakita after more than 5 years eh sinalubong ako ng palong palo'ng pagbati na "kamusta na ang aking pamangki'ng matandang dalaga?!" GRRRRRRRRR....!!!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

At Last!!!

Ok... At last! Nakapag-blog din.  Kasi naman I was just so busy with other stuff (translation: tinatamad mag-blog). Anyway, I just want to get in touch with my bloggie friends once again and, you know, just to update my very few readers of what I've been up to.
Anyhoo, I gained ten pounds in less than a month, I had a chance to practice my photography skills (my friend's son's 1st b-day and fun photoshoot ng kung ano anong occasions sometimes kahit walang occasion nagshushoot), bi-weekly eat-outs (reason for weight-gain) and activities at church. Yun lang naman.
Tapos, yesterday, my good friend Ian allowed me to "gatecrash" their family lunch at Melo's Alabang. I thought the invitation was hindi na tuloy due to some circumstances, but his brother called him up and told us that we shall proceed to Melo's na. But then, we already had lunch at home so hindi rin kami masyado nakakain ng steak (grade 7 Wagyu & Rib-eye). Well, to start with, I don't eat steak din naman... Uhmm, I eat steak but I'm not fond of it. I'm more veggie and fish person. Sayang, di ko tuloy mabigyan ng reviews ang Melo's but I tasted a teenie weenie bit of the steak and it was good :) Anyway, we still enjoyed our second lunch especially Miggy (Ian's nephew) was there to sort of give us entertainment. Teehee! :) Siya ang star of our afternoon :) Too bad though, yesterday was the first time I met Miggy and it would take maybe a year or two before I see him again. They already left for the States this morning. Awww... Sad.
Anyway, here are some of my favorite photos for the day...
Miggy... cutest! :)

Miggy & his wowa (the celebrator)

So I guess I'm the odd one here...??? :D