Monday, June 20, 2011

Mekeni sa Pampanga

June 18, yan ang napagusapan naming date ng YA (na nasa Pinas) para pumunta sa buntis naming friend na si Achie. Umuulan pa nga nung madaling araw pero kebs, alam kong titigil din yan. At syempre, tumigil nga sya at mejo umaraw na when I left ParaƱaque. Natotoxic din ako sa thought that I have to ride the jeep to Edsa MRT/LRT station para pumunta sa Doroteo Jose.  Buti na lang, naisip ko na meron nga palang Lawton na van pag Saturday para sa mga students na may pasok. Dun na lang ako sumakay, but only until Central station, then LRT to Doroteo Jose.  Yang D. Jose station na yan ang reason kaya di ako nagdala ng SLR, P&S lang ang dala ko.  Madami palang bus station sa D. Jose (Five Star, Genesis, etc) pero sa Philippine Rabbit daw kami sumakay.  Since di ko kabisado ang place, pumasok muna ako sa Tropical Hut para tawagan si Ann at sabihing di ko alam kung nasan ang Philippine Rabbit at natatakot ako maglakad lakad at magtanong kasi nga mag-isa lang ako at babae pa di ba. So, imeet na lang daw nila ako sa Tropical Hut which was only fifteen steps away from Philippine Rabbit hehehe... Malay ko ba! Ayun, after bumili ng ticket, akyat na kami sa Dau/Angeles na sign board.  One and a half hours lang ang biyahe akalain mo!  Ayun, di pa kami nagkaintindihan sa directions so mejo naligaw ligaw pa kami ni Ann, sinundo na lang kami sa kung saan kami bumaba tapos we went to K-Tronix. Bat ba di ko nakuhaan ng picture ang shop nila Achie, asar... Tapos punta kami sa SM Clark para puntahan si Ken (Achie's husband) at ang car show. Picture picture muna ako ng mga caru at meron na akong personal favorite.  Eto o...
This car won five awards during the show :)
So there, we had lunch at Luring's kasi may authentic sisig daw don only to find out that hindi na sya available. Ayos! So, we ordered yung isa na lang na authentic dish din nila na Crickets at Frogs... JOKE! Yes, they sell authentic foods like that but hanggang fried Quail lang kami. Si Ann ordered Papaitan and yung ginisang gulay with Quail eggs, ako naman Tokwa't Baboy and Chop Suey, sila Achie ordered meatballs, Quail, and yung gulay din.  Ang sarap ng Tokwa't Baboy grabe lang! Ayun simot ang pinggan namin, di naman kami masyadong gutom eh. Hahaha.
Papaitan, Ginisang Gulay, Pritong Quail and Tokwa't Baboy
After lunch, we headed to Marquee Mall na halatang Ayala Mall kasi yung design was like Trinoma and Greenbelt.  Tapos pinatikim sa min ni Achie yung Halo-halo na makakalimutan mo yung name mo.  Sa Kabigting's.  I don't eat Halo-halo, but when I tasted Kabigting's Halo-halo, I craved for more... Kaso busog na ko because we also ordered their Cheese Cake Galore.  Yum! Tapos walang humpay na kwentuhan syempre until someone has to go to the rest room... Di ata kinayanan ang dairy na pumasok sa tiyan nya. Goat's milk ata yung ginamit sa Halo-halo tapos may pastillas pa to tapos yung cheese cake pa. Good luck! Yung Halo-halo doesn't have leche flan or ube, ang lahok lang ay Pastillas, Beans at Kamote ata yon. Yun lang ang lahok pero ang sarap!
After Marquee, Achie and Ken dropped us off to Hotel Valentine Park.  Ang ganda ng hotel! Para kang nasa Victorian castle na parang nasa bahay ng mayaman sa isang Koreanovela! Ganun! Ayun, so punta na kami sa room 216, nagbukas ng TV at nag-channel surfing.  Nagbiro pa ko kay Ann na Korean channel lang ang meron sila, kaso masama magbiro kaya nagkatotoo sya.  Pagtawag ni Ann sa reception, sinabi sa kanya na ang channels lang ay Arirang at ESPN kamusta naman yon! Anong gagawin namin ni Ann, magtititigan magdamag?! Bumaba kami at nakipagusap si Ann sa receptionist.  Apparently, ang hotel ay for Koreans only.  Even their food daw eh Korean (so kung dito kami nagstay eh Korean food ang complimentary breakfast kinabukasan).  Tinanong ni Ann bakit di sinabi ng recep kay Achie na Korean Hotel pala yon, ang sagot eh "hindi po kasi sya nagtatanong" ABA! At syempre, uminit ang ulo ni Ann at sinabing "next time, be proactive, kahit hindi nagtatanong yung client sabihin mo".  Buset di ba, ang lumalabas, eh parang kumita lang sila eh hindi na nya sasabihin ang totoo na for Koreans lang yung hotel.  Tandaan nyo ang name ng hotel na yan, hindi yan Pinoy friendly... Eto na lang ang nakapagpatawa sa min ni Ann while paakyat kami sa room...

Yung Korean characters binasa ni Ann na "Watch Your Step" pero ang translation pala ay "Be Quiet!" Haha

Good thing though, we were able to refund the five hundred bucks na reservation ni Achie.  Tapos nagtanong tanong na kami sa guard at sa magpuprutas kung saan pa merong available na hotels.  Sakay daw kami ng jeep at magpababa sa check point so that's what we did.  Sa Sunlight Hotel kami pinapapunta nila manong guard pero may una kaming hotel na nakita, Tiger Hotel ang name. So lakad to Tiger hotel hanggang sa fully booked na daw sila, tapos lakad konti to Medgar hotel, fully booked din... yung last hotel na pinuntahan namin Executive Suite na lang ang available na out of our budget tapos sinabihan pa kami na sila na ang pinakamurang hotel at mga high end na daw yung sa malayo... Syempre di kami naniwala, mukha kasing manloloko yung recep.  So, lakad uli kami until we reached Sun Moon Hotel.  Ayun! Grabe, hulog ng langit! May available room pa sila at nakapromo sila na all rooms ay PhP999 lang! So there, we settled at that hotel, nagpahinga konti, naghilamos at sinundo nila Ash para magdinner.  Punta muna kami ulit sa SM Clark at, meron palang fireworks display. Inaasar ako ni Kenneth kung nasan daw ang aking SLR. Pang-inis lang! Hinayang na hinayang akong walang dalang SLR! Ang tagal ng display ha... mga ten minutes din yun. Tapos we went to B&D bar and grill para itry ang Ostrich. Na-curious ako so inorder ko ang Ostrich Dumplings... Na hindi available. At wag ka, hindi lang ang Ostrich ang di available, pati yung inorder nila Achie na Pork Bbq, yung inorder namin ni Ann na Chicken Strips at Coke!  So, we decided to just transfer to another bar para magdinner.  Mas tahimik pa sa nilapitan namin. I mean, may sounds pero di sing ingay ng sa B&D.  Name of the bar is V8 Baresto. We ordered Spicy Chicken, Sisig, Nachos and Cheese-stuffed Pusit.  Ang sarap ng inorder namin grabe!!! Kaso di ko naubos yung drink ko... Yung Nachos ang naubos ko hehe.
Ayun, pagod na kami at antok na. Pupunta pa kaming Subic the next day, so we decided to go back to the hotel, shower then sleep.  The next day, both Ann & I were craving for McDo breakfast so dial kami ng 8-MCDO pero di pala sya available sa Angeles kahit na City na sya. We asked na lang for the number ng store na malapit sa hotel namin only to find out that they don't deliver.  Urgh!!! Frustrated kami ni Ann... So, parang nafeel namin ang na-feel ni Achie nung hindi pwede magdeliver ng chicken joy sa house nila nung naglilihi pa sya.  Then nagtext si Achie, natatakpan daw ng clouds ang half ng Mt. Arayat so hindi na talaga kami makakapag-Subic. Also, parang ayoko na rin mag-beach so we went to SM Clark na lang for lunch. Lunch daw sa A La Turka Mediterranean resto but Annn & I ordered for Filipino breakfast. Hahaha!  Sa pagkafrustrate namin sa McDo, ayan ang inorder namin. Sayang di ko na-picturean yung food namin but it was really good! Bakit walang A La Turka sa Manila?!?! Then, since it was Father's Day, we bought gift for Tito Errol (Achie's dad) tapos pinuntahan sa work nya at Yats Restaurant.  Then, Tito Errol toured us around the restaurant and the wine cellar.  Yats has the largest wine cellar daw sa whole of Asia. Wow!   
Tito Errol showing us the Romanee-Conti. A 450K peso-wine!
After the tour and chikahan, we went na sa palengke para bilhin yung tapang kalabaw ni Ann, at kahit na gusto ko, hindi ako bumili ng longganisa at chicharon dahil naiisip ko ang cholesterol.  So, pastillas na lang binili ko and... Cheese Cake Galore!  Achie and Kenneth brought us na sa bus terminal after mamili ng pasalubong.  I can say na kulang ang one day sa pagpunta sa Pampanga pa lang... What more sa Subic di ba? Pinromise namin si Ann na babalik kami dito kasi di pa namin natatry ang iba pang food. Hehehe... I want to try the Fern Salad and the Ostrich Dumplings next time.  But kahit na bitin, enjoy naman kami... Next time, I'll bring na my SLR but I'll make sure na hindi sya takaw-magnanakaw :-)

Thursday, June 2, 2011

I'm a Big Fan!

So, normal lang ang araw na ito I guess kasi busy-busyhan ever... Buti na lang may breaktime. I asked my friend Margaret to accompany me sa Mini Stop near the office to buy some snacks coz I'm getting hungry na and craving for junk food... Eto na, nasalubong namin yung isa kong agent...
Agent: Ma'am si Derek Ramsay anjan sa Starbucks.
Me: Weh? Di nga?!
Agent: Oo nga ma'am, ayun yung Audi nya o...
Syempre, nilingon namin ni Meg at nagdecide kaming mag-Starbucks... Sabi ko pa...
Me: pakbet Meg, wala na kong pera pero crush ko si Derek Ramsay... deadma na, mag-Starbucks tayo!
Ayan na kinikilig na ko grabe... Pagpasok namin ng Starbucks hinanap namin si Derek at di ko sya makita. Pagpunta namin sa counter bumubulong si Meg na asa likod na namin si Derek. Nilingon ko lang sya ng mga five seconds at nung nabili ko na ang Coffee Brownie, we decided to just go back sa office since di ko naman dala yung camera phone ko, ganun din si Meg. As in wala kaming kadala dalang camera... LOSER lang! Tsaka, Derek Ramsay was busy... I think ang kausap nya e business partner nya. Nakakahiya magpa-picture di ba kung busy yung tao, and, I can still remember what my friend Achie told us when we had our vacay in Boracay "bawal magpapicture sa artista"... And di naman talaga ako nagpapapicture sa artista eh... Pero eto... Iba to! Si Derek Ramsay to!!!  Tapos eto pa, nung palabas na kami eh sumasalubong sa kin ang aking favorite boss na si Sir Luis (one of MEDICard's owners). Natameme ako. Jackpot lang, Derek and Sir Luis. Hehehe... (wala naman sigurong taga office ang makakabasa nito... sana hehe).  Ayun, pag-akyat namin ni Meg, we told our receptionist (Girlie) na asa baba si Derek Ramsay, at ipinamalita nya na sa lahat ng babae at bading sa MEDICard... For a sec, nawala lahat ng babae at bakla sa MEDICard at bumaba... para MAGPAPICTURE kay Derek!!! Pakbet, inggit na inggit ako kasi di ako nakapagpapicture... Di ako mapakali, so sinabi ng mabait kong boss na "sige na Avee, go to Starbucks na ulit. And para makabalik ka, bili mo ko ng Choco Macadamia Cookie. Sige ka you will regret this day na chance mo na magpapicture sa crush mo tapos di mo ginawa".  Ayun, si Girlie na meron ng iniinom from Starbucks eh sinamahan ako para makapagpapicture. Lumalabas na ng Starbucks si Derek... Paalis na sya. OH NO. Talagang sabi ko kay Girlie, tumakbo at harangan ang mga tao. May narinig akong isang nagpapicture sabi "Hi Derek, last na, please"... So gumuguho na ang mundo ko talaga kasi last na pic na daw yon... Eto na... Sinigaw ko ang pangalan ni Derek...
Me: Derek! Derek!
At lumingon si Derek!!!! Lumingon sya!!!! Hindi sya suplado! Mabait sya! Sabay SMILE! :)
Derek: Hi!
Me: I'm sorry, I'm a big fan, can we have a picture together?
Derek: It's ok. Sure! (with his million dollar smile na makalaglag panty sabay akbay)
Ayun!!! Pinicturean kami ni Girlie!!!!!!!! I'm just sooo happy!!! Edi nag-thank you na ko tapos... Derek shook my hand and said "Have a nice day!" and I said "Thank you, you too!" At nangingilabot ako hanggang ngayon na malapit na ko matulog...

First INC Unity Games

The first ever unity games of the Iglesia ni Cristo would be on for two Saturdays (May 21 & 28, 2011) and it was and will be held at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. When I first learned about the event and knew that there would be a marathon, I decided to participate.  After all, this was what I was preparing for when I visited my doctor last Tuesday.  Since my foot was already ok to run, then might as well give it a "break in". 
My brothers and I woke up at 3:30am and had a hearty breakfast since we're aware that we need the energy for the 3km run.  We were picked up by my friend, Ian who will (supposed to) be the "unofficial" photographer for the day; I brought my camera too of course just in case I don't want to finish the 3km run =D
We waited for few minutes at the church before we proceed to Manila, then our convoy left at exactly 5:30am.  When we arrived at the venue, the bad weather was already starting to show... Now, how can we run???  I don't wanna run soaking wet!  Anyway, it's a good thing that the rain poured when we were already at the covered part of the complex.  The rain poured hard and it lasted for about 30 minutes, and... You guessed it right!  No one from me and my brothers were able to join the marathon... LOSER!  Nevertheless, we enjoyed watching the opening program--pep rally, presentation of the Velasco Brothers, entrance of the athletes, torch lighting, etc... Ian and I didn't finish the program for the day and before the track & field events were done, we already left the complex.  Too bad, we were'nt able to watch the volleyball game which a lot of my church friends were players.  We were already tired and hungry so we went to the weekend market at Salcedo to have our lunch.  It's a very sumptuous lunch of Creamy Shrimp and rice! Yum! We bought desserts pa of sugar-free leche flan (for Ian) and mocha cake (for me). And because we were already full, we brought our desserts home, took a nap then had the desserts for our merienda... Paired with my not so famous coffee :-) Anyway, here are two of my likey shots from the event...