A Thousand Smiles

thanks on my birthday

2012-02-09T22:31:00.000+08:00

Dearest Lord,

Thank you for the year that was - the promises fulfilled. This year I have seen and felt firsthand, your loving embrace, your faithfulness, your grace. Thank you, Lord, for providing me with everything I need and the things that I want, the things that really mattered. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord, for giving me the strength that enabled me to do what I set out to do this year.

Thank you, Lord, for my parents who have always been there, supporting me in all my endeavours, in all my dreams. Thank you, Lord, for keeping them safe and healthy.

Thank you, Lord, for my brother (and his family) and my sister. They are my best fan :)

Thank you, Lord, for all the my friends who made my day a special one - old and new. Thank you, Lord, for friends who took time to remember and wish me well on my birthday. Give them the same love that they have shown me. Bless them with all your grace. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord, for this new day, this new year.

Forgive me, Lord, for the things that I have not done that I should have. Please give me strength and courage to fulfill what you have sent me out to do. May my actions this coming year bring you glory.

Amen.

i will just follow you then...

2012-01-07T23:18:00.000+08:00

after a petty quarrel (which my mom and dad enjoys getting into), my mom asked my dad --

Anong gagawin mo na kung mamatay na ako?! (What would you now do if I die?!)

my dad answered,

Susundan na lang kita, Mama... (I will just follow you then, Mama...)

Aren't my parents so sweet?

So this story had reached some of my father's officemates and apparently, one guy had really a liking to it and this was what he said to his wife:

Guy: Ma, if I die, you go back to your family, okay? They will take care of you when I'm not around anymore.

Girl: So what if I die first, what will you do?

Guy: I will just follow you, Ma.

(hahaha)... and then the girl said, 'Hmph! I know where you got that line! You just copied that from Sir!'

hahaha... but then again, the sentiment is so sweet...

I TRULY LOVE MY PARENTS!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T08:12:00.003+08:00

Early morning in Zamboanga City, New Year's Day 2012

What a beautiful view of the pueblo early morning on New Year's Day. Only the church-goers and street sweepers were awake that early to greet the new year. Hoping this year will be more peaceful and prosperous for us all! God bless us always :)

New Year and Prayer

2012-01-01T08:10:00.001+08:00

Greeting the new year with a prayer early in the morning

Metropolitan Cathedral of Mary Immaculate, Zamboanga City

Woke up at 4 AM to attend mass at the city's cathedral. What a way to start the new year! :)

Also, seeing that crucifix hanging above the altar brought me back to the years when the cathedral was smaller and our grade school was still located at this site. That crucifix had always been there for as long as I can remember. The same goes for the obviously old, but I guess well-kept church organ. Everything has changed but there are still things that are still the same. Amazing :)

fun night

2011-12-29T20:09:00.002+08:00

fireworks at our grade school's annual reunion three nights ago...

(first time to use the fireworks setting of my camera. not bad.)

shadow play

2011-12-28T23:52:00.008+08:00

Before graduating from high school, our class made a pact of meeting every 28th of December. This is one of these days, and tonight we caught up with each other, took pictures and played with shadows. Here, we are spelling our Class' name. Can you guess what it is? :) Reunion night with high school classmates has always been fun. Hope I can meet with them again next year.

Picture courtesy of my classmate :)

Holiday Greetings!

2011-12-28T23:36:00.000+08:00

Felices Pascua y Prospero Año Nuevo estaba aqui na Zamboanga! :)

Plaza Pershing, 1915

Zamboanga City

Every 28th of December, my high school friends usually meet for our annual reunion. Whether we may only be five or twenty, we take this time to catch up with each other and be grateful for the friendship we have kept alive since we were in high school. We also take this time to go around the city and enjoy the festive decors our city government has provided for its people. Wonderful, don't you think?

Kudos to my friend too, whom I later found out, is the head of the parks development in the city. She and her team really worked hard to bring this about. Galing!

mask

2011-12-28T13:26:00.001+08:00

my nephew, the artist, made this one out of the cartons he found at my mom's store --

cool, isn't it? he even wore it on his way home :)

food and conversation

2011-12-27T23:14:00.005+08:00

it's been two years since i've been home and the first thing my friend did was bring me to this new cafe at gov. camins road in the city called witchcraft. it's located on the second floor and is relatively a big place. there was a sizeable crowd (even saw a couple of acquaintances) but what surprised me here was that youngsters, whom i don't usually see in more well-known cafes in manila, also hang out here. i guess it is a good tambayan for them. the food all looked quite nice and the one that i ordered - crab something on croissant is lovely. i tasted my friends roast chicken salad and it was also very good. the cheesecake, although good already, good use a little more cream cheese? well, that is only my personal taste. another surprise also was the way they serve their lemonade - on a jar! i just saw one like it on a food show the other day! :)

i liked the place - the layout, the design, the food and the atmosphere, especially when they raise the blinds on the windows and you will see the open fields leading to the airport. what is a little bit disappointing is that the place is a little bit expensive (more like manila prices) for a small city. however, i didn't mind it much as i was having a great time catching up with the goings-on in town with my friend :)

reunion

2011-12-27T16:17:00.000+08:00

Celebrating our Grade School's 3rd Annual Reunion tonight. Had to go early though to direct the setting up of our batch's tent. It's kinda big so hoping for a big turn-out and happy night ahead! :)

dinosaur on christmas day

2011-12-25T17:02:00.008+08:00

"tita, tita, i will draw something for you," said my four-year old nephew ---

What a wonderful gift from a future master :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T11:32:00.009+08:00

Happy Birthday, Jesus! :)

Guess who came to give us some presents?! :)

christmas loot

2011-12-22T23:53:00.000+08:00

I usually open my Christmas gifts on Christmas Day, even those received from the office. Whenever I go home this time of the year, I usually bring them with me. But this year was different. As I need to bring other stuff for my parents, I decided to open them in advance. And what great gifts are they! I am so happy to have received the stuff I need. I am just so grateful to have friends who know me so well :)

orange chocolate

2011-12-21T14:44:00.000+08:00

Crack it and you've got orange-shape chocolate pieces! It even has orange bits in it. Yummy! What a Christmas treat to those who are already in Holiday mode in the office -- me! :)

oblation's star

2011-12-15T23:34:00.001+08:00

This year, UP lost its "Pasko 20xx" lights for Christmas and instead, created a big star behind the Oblation. At night, it's a wonderful sight! This photo was taken after my friend and I watched the Handel's Messiah concert at the Abelardo Hall, which was just across the Quezon Hall. I couldn't show a picture of the concert itself but believe me, the music was heavenly and the community singing of Filipino Christmas carols was amazing. I hope they would have more like this in the future and I hope I'd get to attend all of their shows :)

lights show

2011-12-14T23:48:00.001+08:00

There are so many activities during Christmas that one would really plan ahead where to go. Every December, I always try to fill my evenings with new things before I finally go home to my parent's house. This year was not really that different. Tonight, my friends who are available for the night and I went to the lights show at the Ayala Triangle. It was a long walk from the train station but we made it in time. The lights and music where fantastic that even the child of my friend had been enjoying it by dancing and clapping her heart out. The best part of it was the green "electro" light that my friend's husband, who is a seaman, said looked like an Aurora. Wow, imagine that! I finally saw an Aurora! :)

beckham bends it in pinas

2011-12-03T23:46:00.000+08:00

So when it was announced that the Nepal game wasn't to be the Azkal's game for the year, I immediately looked for people who would join me in this last game. It is pretty exciting because the team would be playing against the LA Galaxy who has got David Beckham and Landon Donovan in the team. At the time of the announcement, the Galaxy was on their way to winning the MLS Cup (which they finally did). Following their victory, they embarked on the Asian Tour to promote the beautiful game and the Philippines was lucky enough to be hosting a part of their tour. Unfortunately for the fans though, the tickets were awfully expensive! If not for my bonus (which arrived early), I don't think I'd be able to go without feeling guilty about spending way too much for just one game! But come to think of it, the Azkal's first game early this year made me spend much more; but then again, it was my birthday so I guess I'll excuse myself from any guilt. Anyway, my sister was with me and we both enjoyed the trip immensely.

So anyway, back to the PH Azkals vs LA Galaxy game. The game was exciting, especially seeing live Beckham's beautiful goal! The crowd went crazy, but what was crazier was when Manny Pacquiao arrived and almost everybody's eyes went to the bleachers and chanted "Manny, Manny!" I guess that made Beckham stop for a while because later, when he left the field, we were informed that he passed on his jersey to Pacman (which Jinkee grabbed right away, I would assume). The game went back to normal and when all 90+ mins of the game was played, the Azkals lost (dismally), 6-1. Hey, but I had to applaud Phil's lone goal. It was amazing and we get to see it close because the goal was at our side of the bleachers! :)

it's in the air

2011-11-17T07:08:00.001+08:00

37 days until Christmas! can't wait! :)

blessed

2011-11-12T13:11:00.001+08:00

the chinese girl i was close with during the wyd said to me, "you must be rich to be able to afford coming here to madrid and then sightsee some... not all normal filipinos could do that." she herself was sponsored by their church in the philippines although she's a chinese national.

i just told her, "God has blessed me so."

the roman dream

2011-11-06T21:07:00.000+08:00

love

2011-10-16T20:48:00.002+08:00

A love built slowly is a mark of permanence. For nothing lasts that is grown in haste.

- uncle jim, from his own love story

tell me...

2011-10-08T11:19:00.001+08:00

tell me, when have i ever been gone?
never...

=)

other words

2011-10-05T21:38:00.000+08:00

other words that i learned in rome and had sustained me in the metro of madrid:

escussi!

permesso!

in english, excuse me, let me pass!

entrance, exit

2011-09-30T19:29:00.000+08:00

in italian: entrata, uscita
in german: eingang, ausgang
in french:entree, sortie
in spanish: entrada, salida

so these are the words that i found very useful when i took the trains during my travel. however, i don't exactly know why but it seems that i remember the Exit words more :)

the painting

2011-09-17T23:11:00.001+08:00

one of the many things i am grateful for, one of the things i took away from this trip is being able to appreciate art more, especially this one painting -- The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio which was on display at the Prado Museum during the JMJ 2011.

it just happened that there were too many people around wanting to see this painting which was loaned by the Vatican itself. i was able to see this and was just amazed to see how large this painting is or how beautiful the way it was painted, or how wonderful the paints had lasted this long. as most of the time, my hands itched to touch this painting. without any guides, i was just able to admire this but didn't really get the time to reflect on it until i got back. reading about this, especially with the way Jesus' hand was positioned at the stone slab signifying the cornerstone of the Church, and/or how the two reactions of the women signify two types of grief, was really an eye-opener to me. that made me realize that i need to learn how to appreciate art more by putting more thought while looking at it, not just admiring it for their colors or characters. i should have remembered my humanities class. all art wants to convey something, and sometimes, it is up to you to make your interpretation. hopefully, by the time i see myself in a museum again, facing such wonderful work of art, i can fully appreciate it more -- beauty and meaning.

to learn more about this painting, one can check these websites:
Prado Museum on The Entombment of Christ
Prado Museum - the work
EWTN Catholic Canvas

hablas espanol?

2011-09-17T22:30:00.002+08:00

one of the highlights of my stay in madrid was able to converse with an old man who owns a shoe shop - in spanish. my friend and i were walking around when we happened by a shop with so many people. curious, we went in and saw that this old man was selling shoes that are like espadrilles, but at a cheaper price. the pair of plain shoes cost 5euros while the ones with "bandera" cost 8 euros. the shoes were nice (and they have cool colors) so we decided to order one ourselves. the pair of shoes that caught my eye was this plain lavander one -- i just love the pastel color of it -- but i was also looking at the red shoes with the band on it. after much thought, i decided on the lavander.

so i paid and checked my shoes before leaving... and then, i suddenly changed my mind -- i wanted the red shoes with the bandera on it! so how to change my shoes when the guy only speaks spanish?!

"senor, por favor... uhmmm... puedes cambiar mi sapatos -- este con este ? numero siete." i asked, pointing from the one i bought to the new style that i want. numero siete, because i don't know what "size" is in spanish!

"un momento..." so i waited, and waited, and waited...

i thought he didn't understand me at first but then realized that there were just too many people that he didn't know where to start. finally, i was given my shoes and paid the additional 3euros.

great, right? what a feeling, even though i really, really, know very little spanish. but that is not where my story ends.

there's this asian, more likely chinese, guy who was at a lost and the propietor wasn't really minding him because even the english of this guy wasn't really good. when he noticed that i was able to converse with the old man (and saw that i'm also asian), he approached me and asked if i could talk to the old man for him. he wanted to buy the three kings on display but was not sure if the old man understood him since he didn't get all that he ordered.

so i waited patiently for the owner to come back to the counter and i asked him,

"senor, este hombre, quieres comprar los tres reyes alla."

and the man looked at me and said something like --

"si, pero el hombre quieres comprar muy pequeno reyes.... i don't have them, only the large ones."

so alright... i understood him, he understood me. i was able to buy my shoes and even helped somebody else!

i'm glad i can at least speak and understand it while i was at madrid. i think it's time for me to hit my spanish books again! :)

*****

another phrase that i learned, which i think is really appropriate for me...

"he olvidado algo."

after i asked javier and maite "como se dice 'i forgot something' en espanol?"

:) still, even in madrid, i'm forgetful!

lozenges

2011-09-10T22:07:00.004+08:00

in madrid, i had to buy strepsils to keep the colds away. to my dismay, the strepsils lozenges are humongous! and they don't sell it in packs. instead, they sell it in the same form we buy our tablets. i can't describe how it is in english, basta yung silver foil na binubutas mo para lumabas yung tableta. basta ganun!

loving el greco, rubens and a flemish painting

2011-09-10T22:04:00.000+08:00

it's a blessing that i was able to go inside the prado museum. it is where i fell in love with el greco. it is where i was able to appreciate rubens, caravaggio and a flemish painting (actually two of them).

walking distance

2011-09-10T22:02:00.000+08:00

i actually don't get it. maybe they just have longer legs?

in europe, most especially to where i've been like bavaria and salzburg, people would tell you that it's just a short distance to where i am going. only to find out that it's very far!

for example, in the hotel i stayed in at memmingen, i was told that the train station is just about a 10-min walk. in truth, it was more like 20-25 min walk for me. same goes in salzburg where i was told that the garden is only short distance away when in fact, i had to walk a long street to get there. oh, same in paris when i asked if the sacre couer was near our hostel. yes, it's only about 10 min walk. i think i walked for 30 mins.

it's probably they have long legs or it's just me that's been carrying a heavy suitcase?

but then again, i talked to two american girls who also had that impression.

so maybe, europeans just walk very fast.

dreams made reality

2011-09-03T02:02:00.000+08:00

it's almost a week since i've been home. it's a great feeling. but what is greater is knowing that i was finally able to do one of my dreams - travel europe. i realize that i have only seen a small part of it but still i am very grateful for the opportunity that God has given me for i recognize that without His "permission," i won't be able to do it. i guess this is one manifestation that He truly does keep His promise -- even though it takes a long while.

however, it is not only the travel that is the main dream that has been fulfilled but my attendance to the world youth day in madrid. for a while, i thought that i might not be able to go because i have no one to go with me. fortunately, God had answered my prayers and gave me two great companions in madrid - mary and gustavo. i may not have pictures with groups of different nationalities carrying different flags but i do have pictures (and memories) of them that i will treasure as long as i live. i wish that the bond fostered in that one week will last. as gustavo had said, 'keep in touch and if ever you're in south america, let me know coz if you don't, i'll get mad.'

other dreams made reality was to see the places that i have dreamed about for a long time -- neuschwanstein castle in bavaria (germany), giants causeway in belfast (and an extra trip to st. patrick's tomb and the marble arch caves), wicked the musical in london, and the white cliffs of dover. how could i ask for more now that what i experienced was beyond what i expected?

more important though is the realization that family and good friends is the best gift that God could give one person. in belfast, i am so happy to be in a home environment with my kinakapatids and their kids. in kent, i am so grateful to have good friends that are very welcoming. they gave me a warm house, a warm bed, a warm welcome (and hugs), warm food, warm everything. i guess the british weather was the only thing that wasn't warm! they even drove me around. so how can i not be so grateful?

truly, the trip had been dreams made into reality and even more. more than i expected. for this, i thank the Lord for the chance and for my parents and true friends who encouraged me to pursue what i want.

rain (ulan)

2011-09-01T18:38:00.001+08:00

i have been wondering about that. it seems that the rain had been following me since i started my trip from rome.

it was blistering hot in rome but arriving in germany, it was really cold. the following day, rain started pouring down. arriving in salzburg, it was raining hard as i wait for the bus that will take me to the b&b. in paris, rain poured down as i was entering the sacre coeur. in madrid, it was also blistering hot but during our vigil with the pope, we were again pounded with rain. in belfast, rain and sunshine alternates within one hour. arriving in stansted through london, it was again raining. walking back from the other side of the dover cliffs, ice cold rain poured on us. when i arrived back home, i was greeted by rain.

so, is it really summer or what?

belfast morning

2011-08-24T21:13:00.003+08:00

belfast castle

woke up this morning feeling sicker than yesterday. pardon my grossness but today, my phlegm is the green type and i am just so hoping that i won't be as sick as i was late last year/early this year that i had to buy very expensive medicines just to help me get better. this reminds me that i had to see the doctor as soon as i arrive home. but aside from this, everything is great.

today, kuya and i went around belfast city. it's funny because our first stop was at a clothing store where kuya bought me a pink sweater of my own. as i have mentioned in previous posts, i didn't bring any warm clothes as i was thinking that summer would really be warm. i was wrong. so here i am, with a cute new pink sweater, that i don't really need (since ate lent me hers) but still happy to have.

next stop was another surprise. kuya took me to one of his favorite places -- a car dealership :) no wonder. i grew up knowing how his dad and my dad discuss vehicles. for sure it also rubbed on him. so there we were at charles hurst, going around and around looking at cool cars which are sold second hand: ferrari, range rovers, maserati, bmw and other famous european cars. the jaguars were parked in a closed area so we didn't see them. amazing, the cars are really cool! :)

we went to belfast castle next. it's so cool to know that a noble family has lived there and the whole area it sits on was theirs in the "old" times. the estate was really large and overlooks the city. it's cool thinking about how the people who lived there must have raced horses, walked in their walking attires, or partied in the estate lawns. i can just imagine it. it's like the setting for the medieval ages books that i read sometimes. :)

the next thing we went to was the town center, walking around the streets to see the belfast city hall, the prince albert clock, victoria square and it's viewdeck, checking out the perfumes at the department store, and lastly saw the filipino store at this one weekend market building. yet i think one of the coolest things we've done was pass by an asian warehouse where they sell foods that are familiar to me. i guess that it wouldn't be that bad living in a foreign land when you know that somewhere, there is an asian store where you can buy the ingredients to make your comfort food. when i travel, the markets are the one of the places i love going to because i can see in some ways how people live their lives and how they interact with each other. this was one nice experience.

tomorrow, we are going to a new place. it's going to be another great adventure!

Roma - Day 3

2011-08-08T12:36:00.000+08:00

As I've mentioned yesterday, I ventured around Rome today -- alone :)

I woke up early to see the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. As Tita wasn't interested in going as she must have seen it for so many times, I insisted on going alone since I don't think it would be right to be in Rome and not see the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.

Before going to my adventure, I prepared a very sumptuous breakfast (and the same merienda) for me from Tita's stock in the refrigerator -- prosciuto, bun and ricotta :)

Breakfast and Merienda

Just like yesterday, I took the bus going to the Blue Line but this time, the bus took me to the station after Garbatella (sounds like Basilica de Angelo or something). I missed three buses before being able to leap on this one because I kept on changing bus stops. There were two bus stops on different corners of the street so when I see one coming from the other end of the road, I run to the other stop, depending on which bus number it is. Unfortunately, I kept on missing it! Hahaha. So much for my train-catching ability!

On the bus, I wasn't really sure where to get off (I only know I have to look out for that bridge where we went to yesterday on our way to church). Luckily, there was also one old, tourist lady who got off so I went with her and walked the rest of the way. Fortunately, I do have a very good sense of directions and I ended up at Ottaviano station and I walked around the side of the Basilica towards the museum. This was a little after 0700hrs. The walk around the basilica towards the museum was kinda long but I was happy to find out that the end of the queue was just a few meters from the main entrance. I've heard horror stories of the queue running around the building and back if you're late so I really made it a point to be early.

Early morning crowd in front of the Museum Entrance (at the left, off the camera). What looks like the entrance is actually the exit door.

At 0900hrs (yes, I waited that long), the doors finally opened to those who are not part of a tour group and I'm so happy to be one of the first few people there! :) There are some people who cut in the line but even if I want to chastise them, I stopped because that wouldn't do me any good. After all, I also cut in line yesterday at the Basilica entrance.

Just a note: it's really good if you're a very small group, like Tita and I were yesterday, because we were able to weave around the complex queue to the entrance in no time at all. It also helps to act as if you live there and that you're used to the long lines all the time. At the Basilica entrance, there was an x-ray machine and guards to check on your stuff, before being allowed in.

Decided to take the staircase to the left

The entrance to the museums is around 15Euros and that includes the Sistine Chapel. It didn't include though, the headphones which I wasn't able to rent because they ask for your passport before giving it to you, and I didnt' have mine with me at that time. After the entrance, I stood still for a moment and just took a deep breathe, and said to myself: "This is it! Race to the Sistine!"

I only had three hours before I needed to go back to the apartment so I can catch my 230pm bus to Ciampino.

The Vatican Museums is really huge and as I only have limited time, I followed the shortcuts signs towards the Sistine but along the way, I was having a visual overload of the finest arts that man has done throughout the centuries! As I wove my way through the vastness of it all, these were the things that caught my eye (it's not really acceptable I know, but with only three hours to navigate the place towards the Sistine, I kinda had blinders on me):

The first sarcophagus and item I saw upon reaching the top of the staircase

Is this the Jesuit Borgia? Cool! A familiar name in an otherwise new territory. The students belonging to the Borgia class in my high school must really be proud of their patron saint.

A very huge, and yet dark, tapestry depicting the beheading of children after Christ's birth - now known as the Innocents Day

The Ceiling along one of the many passageways of the museum. Each frame depicts a story in the history of the Catholic Church, others the images of Biblical characters.

Just looking at the ceilings will give you a sense of awe -- and a stiff neck afterwards! Can you just imagine the effort put on it by the painters while craning their necks towards the ceiling. Just can't wait to see the one Michael Angelo painted.

Side story: One person I know said, "Why'd you wanna see it? It's just a painting!" Waaah! I truly hope no one else thinks that way. It's such a blatant display of ignorance or apathy towards one of the greatest work (and gift) in the world.

Madonna (1956) by Lucio Fontana on "pietra tufacea vicentia" (most probably tuff)

Some of the many church items displayed in the Vatican Museums

Along the way, up and down I go, then I ended up in the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, picture taking is not allowed inside as they still try to keep the place holy. After all, it is still a chapel, a place for worship. The inside is really simple with an altar with Christ's statue on top. There were no pews to sit on but there are benches located at the edges of the chapel. Here, I stopped, sat and kept quiet. I prayed. I prayed for being always blessed by the Lord. I remembered the times when the Lord has lifted our family and I remembered the joys He brought us. After my reflection, I started writing down what I saw and felt onto the postcards that I will be sending back home. I wished that whatever blessing that the Lord is granting me at that time, I might share with the people I love back home.

On my way back, I ended up seeing other things such as these:

A sarcophagus with an intricate side designs

If one wants to take a break from touring, one can go to the gardens inside the museum grounds

Or one can go have a drink from one of those many watering holes in Rome

An African 'sculpture' of boatmen near the entrance staircase

Finally, I saw the next thing I wanted to see in the museum -- the spiral staircase! I didn't realize that it would be the exit staircase. There was also an Uscito sign but I just can't figure out where because the place that the sign directed to was barred by some woodstands. I only realized later that it really is the exit and you had to go around those bars. LOL.

The spiral staircase

View of the spiral staircase from below. The staircase is a misnomer because this spiral doesn't have stairs

Near the exit doors, there is also a cloak room. Well, just an observation :)

A relatively bigger crowd awaited me upon exiting the musuem. But as I made my way around it, I can see that the crowd had just grown bigger and the line so farther away. As I still had time, I decided to go around the museum complex wall, thinking that I'd end up at the St. Peter's Square (hello, no map here!) and then cut across towards the Filipino souvenir store then to Ottaviano Station.

After so many minutes of walking, I finally admitted to myself that it was really a huge place because I couldn't see the end of it! The road seemed to circle the whole complex and I couldn't see even just one column of the square ahead. I then backtracked to the small alley that had a sign of the metro (50m) and walked towards it. But when I reached the 50m mark, it wasn't there and I had to ask other people. I couldn't speak Italian so I had to do sign language. I'm just so glad that the people I asked were so nice, unlike the resto proprietor I met on the first day who seemed to curse me just because I sat on one of his tables while waiting for Tita, who went to the toilet.

With the directions the kind people gave me, I finally reached the metro and eventually, the apartment. I only had time to take a shower and lunch then Tita and I left again for Termini Station where I'm going to board a bus out of Rome. On to the next leg of my trip!!! :)

Roma - Day 2 in pics

2011-08-07T23:01:00.001+08:00

The neighborhood where I'm staying at

I've been bitten by a mosquito. Eeewwwww...

the colosseum from the bus

Watering hole outside the Vatican City

St. Peter's Square from the Cupola

this painting is one of the many paintings displayed inside the St. Peter's Basilica.

this painting is so familiar, but i don't know who made it

mosaic along the entrance of the cupola

curved wall on our right meant we are nearing the top of the basilica

The St. Peter's Square from the Cupola. The Castelo d'Angelo is to the left of the opposite end of the road leading to the square. Beyond is the Emmanuel Monument and Colosseum.

Inside the St. Peter's Basilica

Micahel Angelo's La Pieta

Blessed John Paul's resting place at the St. Sebastian's Chapel

Swiss Guard

In the Square :)

Columns surrounding the Square. Standing a specific point, these columns appear as single file, instead of three-rowed.

The Filipino store just outside the St. Peter's Square

To the Gelato Place! :)

Motorcycles all over the streets of Rome

I would not have noticed this McDonald's place if we didn't stop here for a walking break

The Trevi Fountain at Plazza Navona

Super crowded, isn't it? This is just at one side.

Tossed coins. One article I read said that one person who collected all these coins earned around 180,000USD/year and the Italian courts ruled that he is not 'stealing' public money. Caritas who tried to stop this person from scooping out the coins collect the coins on Sundays. Cool, isn't?

A bird in its watering hole at the Trevi Fountain

BPI in Rome. Galing! :)

For other Rome travel suggestions, go here.

Roma - Day 2

2011-08-07T22:07:00.000+08:00

written on 6 February 2012

As it is Sunday, Tita and I decided to go to Mass in the morning before going around town again. On our way there, Tita had to go back to the apartment because she left something there for her friend. I decided to wait for her at the bus stop which was only a block away from her gate. While I was waiting for her, I noticed that most of the cars are really small and when I asked Tita about it later, she said it's because of the parking space. People needed smaller cars to 'conserve' parking space. Hmmm... Also, while waiting for Tita to arrive, I was bitten by a mosquito at my left foot! My goodness, I thought I'd be able to escape from mosquitoes in Europe but apparently not.

Before heading to church, Tita and I went to meet up her friend and then buy a one whole chicken to share with the community for lunch. I was told that every Sunday after mass, the community has this little get-together.

The church we went to was a small one whose parishioners are Filipinos, except one - Paolo. Everybody was very welcoming and even the priest, who was also new to the church there, also commented on it. It was a very nice reminder of home, to be with a Filipino community. I also noticed some families there whose children already speak Italian, but whose parents always encouraged them to speak in their native tongue - Visayan. Most of these guys work as nurses, caretakers and house-helps. It was a privilege to meet people like them who work really hard away from home just so their family can have everything they need and want. When spoken to about their families, most of them would say that they haven't been back home for a long time and that they miss their family. What sacrifice these people make!

Anyways, the lunch was very good with food prepared the Filipino way, including the pancit and lumpia :)

After the service, Tita and I headed into town. On the bus though, I really got a bit of a panic attack when these two policemen were making their way through the bus checking out people's tickets. I know I didn't have to worry about anything because my pass was still valid but still, it's quite an experience being asked for your ticket when you don't really understand them. I just handed it to them and luckily, they didn't ask any question. Tita told me that they do that in random because, as I noticed before, people do not always flash their tickets on the ticket machines. They just hop on and hop off. And sometimes, many tourists take advantage of this and do not pay for their ride. There were already instances that passports were confiscated just because of this.

On the bus though, I saw a very, very long line going to the Veritas (a 'statue' of a man with an open mouth and it tells you your fortune - there's one like this in one amusement area in a mall before). Since it was a waste of time lining up for that, we decided to forego this tourist attraction. What we were really interested in was of course, the Vatican City and the walk towards the cupola! I also saw the Castel d'Angelo on our way there! :) Cool! :)

After the Vatican City, we headed out the main plaza to a Filipino souvenir shop a couple of meters away, where I bought Roma tshirts for Mama and Papa, rosaries for Mama and her friends, ref magnets for my collection and postcards. I just wonder how I'd be able to send these cards to my parents when I can't find any stamps for sale and the Vatican mobile post office was closed. Our next stop was the gelato shop a couple of shops down the street. The gelato here was almost a euro cheaper than the one we had at the Spanish Steps last night. We stayed for a while, enjoying our gelato and looking over their stuff for sale, then we noticed this cute little candies at their refrigerators. When asked about it, the owner told us that it was nut sweets that they don't really sell anymore because although it is still good to eat, it was a bit old already. We probably really looked curious because he then opened the refrigerator, opened the pack and gave us some to eat. LOL. Wow, free food :)

After our gelato break, we headed up towards the Filipino shop again and turned right towards the Red Line's Ottaviano station to head towards Barbarini Station, where we would hop off to walk towards the Trevi Fountain. The cobbled, narrow streets of Rome is really wonderful (but sometimes the unevenness of it all hurts my feet) and are flanked by what obviously are, very old buildings. The street leading to the fountain seemed to go on and on, with a lot of hawkers roaming around, some of which would call out to us -- "Sawadika" thinking that we might be Thais :)

So after walking for a while, we just sort of tumbled out to this very crowded plaza and after navigating through it, we finally saw the whole beauty of the Trevi fountain! We were even able to grab some seats on the benches. People said that you should throw three coins onto the fountain so that you might be able to find love and be able to go back to Rome. Tita opted to seat on the bench while I walked down towards the edge of the fountain (the place was kinda huge and designed like a mini-ampitheater). There, I asked a guy to take my picture. Apparently, this guy was a public photographer and he was really kind enough to take my pictures, even directing me on how to pose so that it would look like I'm throwing a coin. Actually, I only threw one, the smallest Euro denomination I could find in my purse. Next time I'm back there, I would not forget my peso coins so I can toss as many as I want, just to have cool photos of me tossing coins around. LOL.

When I had a fill of the Trevi, we then headed back to Barbarini going to Termini. We had dinner at this Italian fast food chain where they served a mass produced pasta that wasn't really mind-blowing. Going home, we changed to the Blue Line at Termini, got off at Garbatella and then took a bus (Ostiense stop) to Tita's place, which is about 10-12 minutes away.

Day 2 has ended!

But, unfortunately, I wasn't able to visit Sistine Chapel at the Vatican Museums so I insisted to go tomorrow before I leave for Germany in the afternoon. Tita decided to stay at home so tomorrow will be my "alone in Rome" day. Yipee! :)

the roman dream - arrival

2011-08-06T23:00:00.005+08:00

Written on November 8, 2011

After a very long stop-over at the Doha Airport, we boarded the aircraft around 08:30 bound for Rome, Italy. It was a very uneventful trip save for the cute Pakistani children who were seated in the seats opposite the aisle. My first thought when I saw Italy as we were getting ready to touch down was that the place is SO DRY. There was not much green but instead a very dry, brown color of grass, which I thought would easily catch fire -- though I never heard of a "bush" fire in Rome before.

AT THE AIRPORT

Upon arrival at the Fiumicino International Airport, we had to take the shuttle train to the main airport. I must really be tired at this time because I wasn't really trying hard to figure things out. All I know from my research was that I had ride a shuttle train and go somewhere. I couldn't really remember much at this point aside from the fact that I just followed the other people going inside the shuttle. I'm just glad that there were English speaking people during that time and I heard them discussing where to go. I guess I was not the only confused person there. After getting my bags and going through immigration - the immigration officer just took my passport and stamped it -- I left the airport and sent my host a message telling her that I might be able to meet her in an hour.

As I left the building, I had to figure out where the Leonardo Express was, the train that is going to take me to Rome. This led me to the upper ground floor of a big, multi-level building where all sorts of transportation services can be seen - air, trains and cabs. I just couldn't see where the Leonardo Express platform was! So I had to go to the Info Center to ask for directions. Fortunately, the person who attended me speaks English but with a very heavy Italian accent so I had to repeat whatever she was saying so I can get it right. Apparently, I had to leave the building at the main entrance, turn right, go up the escalator, turn left going towards the tunnel and there I would see the ticket booth for the train.

When I left the building, the heat was really a surprise. I have never experienced this much dry heat and it kinds of drain you. Add to the apparently long walk I had to take, I had to cart along my luggage and heavy pack.

TICKET BOOTH

I had to get in line when I arrived at the booth ticket located right of the building before you reach the platform. The two guys before me where obviously backpackers from the way they look - uncombed hair, shirt and shorts, flip-flops, bagpacks with their shoes tied outside. They kind of took a while because after discussing what to do, they had to discuss something with the teller, making sure that they'd got the time and train right. It comforts my heart that it is not me alone who had to go through a lot of asking questions and looking so "foreigner." :)

When I had my turn, I asked for the next train going to Rome and that was around 1500hrs, which was still more than 30 minutes away. I paid the 14Euro and got my ticket. I was reminded to validate my ticket before I left but before I got farther, I had to go back because I wasn't given the right change! "Ah bambina!, I gave you the right change!" the teller said. But really, I couldn't find the 6Euro change -- I wasn't holding it nor was it in my wallet or pockets. But because I just arrived and didn't want to have a fight on my first day, I let it go though I was really having a bad feeling about the trip already. I am kind of superstitious and truthfully, if this was how my trip is going to start, it might set the tone of the whole trip. I didn't want that!

LEONARDO EXPRESS

I proceeded to the platform and looked for the validating machine. I was studying the device but really couldn't figure out if it was working so I asked this one guy who was standing near me. When I told him about my confusion (Excuse me, do you speak English? was my first question though), he eagerly told me to wait until the train arrives before validating the ticket. He was told that once the ticket is validated, we only had one hour to catch the train so it is better that we validate our tickets when we see the train.

When the announcement came for the train's arrival, we were "leaping" towards the machine and putting our tickets on the slot. However, it wouldn't turn green whatever we do. I placed my card in the portrait position, then landscape but nothing! And then I looked at the machine again and saw this word -- Sinistra. Well, I know that one from school! Sinistral fault = left-lateral fault. So I realized that the ticket must be lodged at the left side and not in the middle. When I did that, the machine gave this whirring sound and turned its green light on. Finally! Whew!

Inside the train, there's an area near the door which is allotted for bags alone. I sat near that area so I can look after my bag. Yeah, I know, I'm just a bit paranoid, but I just wanted to make sure that nothing bad happens to my bag. I also chose a window seat so I can see the Roman countryside. The train seat was smaller than I expected though and although the girl seated beside me was average for a European girl, the area felt a little bit cramped.

The countryside was really dry and when we were nearing the Termini Station, I could see the buildings covered in graffiti. Partly, it seems that Rome is just another city, prone to dirt and unpleasantness.

TERMINI STATION

Arriving at Termini Station, I was given the instruction to head towards the end of the Termini Station where my host shall meet me. I had been walking and walking and walking with my bag in tow (it seems that the train parked at the very end of the rail tracks) but there was just this endless tunnel until I came upon an intersection in the tunnel which says "Uscita" followed by a street name. I sent my host a message but it took her really long to reply and it seems that I am really lost. Finally, I was just given the instruction to take the left exit and go look for the McDonald's. I went outside but didn't know where to go - left or right - since McDonald's wasn't visible. Luckily, this bartender told me to go right and just go straight and I will see it (not really recognizable because it blended well with the other buildings beside it) across the street. Finally, I met my host. Whew! What a long day and it isn't ending yet.

AND THE TOUR BEGINS!

After settling down at my host's apartment and taking a quick shower, my host and I finally hit the city center! Anyways, it was only 6 o'clock in the afternoon and the sun is still way up! :)

roma - day 1 in pics

2011-08-06T15:15:00.000+08:00

The Colosseo was derived from the gigantic statue of Nero known as Colossus which was situated next to it. It is really the Flavian Ampitheater and begun by Vespian in 72 and finished by Titus in the year 80. It can contain up to 50,000 people who watched the famous games, which are often cruel, and usually includes fights of gladiators, hunting and battles with wild animals and so on.

S.P.Q.R. means Senatus Populusque Romanus

The Roman Forum is the center of ancient Roman life where the Roman citizens conducted their business - assemblies of the people the senate, elections, religious ceremonies and administration of justice

Victor Emanuel Monument dedicated to the first Italian king, Vittorio Emanuele II

Street of Rome

which way to go?

The Pantheon, built by Marcus Agrippa in 27 B.C., has an aperture in the dome which is 9 meters in diameter. It is said that even if there's a hole in the dome, no raindrops enter this building.

Fountain of the Rivers sculpted by Bernini as a setting for the Obelisk at Piazza Navona; the Church in front is the 17th century Sant'Agnese in Agone

a column dedicated to Mary Immaculate

The 18th century Spanish Steps

my first gelatto at this fine shop in front of the Spanish Steps

*descriptions from Rome and Vatican (English Version)

on my way...

2011-08-05T21:27:00.001+08:00

doha, qatar: so sunny and hot

written on 9/21/11, 9:27PM

i left manila on an afternoon flight at the NAIA terminal 1. there were too many people leaving and i was a bit lost as to where the entrance is. was there a queue or what? and then i realized that all those people were just either to early to check-in or were just there to send someone off.

two significant things happened to me before i got to my gate: first, i had a long interview with the immigration officer because he was asking for my company id, which i couldn't find amongst all my stuff (i even had to remove half of what's inside my backpack just to look for it but to no avail). i understand that he was just doing his job but it was so frustrating that he won't accept my social security id nor my professional id. eventually, he probably got tired of waiting for me, and he accepted my jmj confirmation letter as proof that i'm not going as an illegal worker or whatever. finally, he stamped my passport.

second, i didn't notice that i left my umbrella inside my carry-on and when i passed through the last (i mean last!) x-ray machine before getting to the departure gates, the inspectors stopped me. i had to remove my umbrella (which was so way down my pack) and leave it behind. yes, ladies and gentlemen, umbrellas are not allowed inside the aircraft if you're flying from here or even just domestically. it seems that the authorities are afraid that these things can be used as weapons inside the aircraft (i heard that there is such a case but i'm not sure if it happened here or not). yet i didn't want to leave my umbrella behind for the reason that i'd be moving around most often and i don't want to waste my time going inside a mall just to look for an umbrella. i insisted for them to let me take it inside but they won't budge. the only way that i will be able to bring my umbrella along was to go back and have it checked-in. at the counter however, they were a little hesitant of taking it in because it was such a small item and they told me to put it in a bag. i produced my grocery bag, put the umbrella inside, and they accepted. yet something good (well, for me, that is) happened and i was able to get my umbrella when i was inside the departure gate! so lucky!

so after all these troubles, i was finally off to rome. but first, an eight-hour long stop-over at doha, qatar!

visa and more visa

2011-07-29T20:17:00.000+08:00

the days leading today was a bit stressful for me as i wait for my schengen visa to arrive. as i was discussing my dilemma to a friend of mine (who was denied a visa twice), it seems that there are really differences in how embassies handle visa applications. for me, the easiest, or should i say, more friendly and efficient applications was for the uk and australia. i would have also said japan but there were just too many papers to prepare, especially if you are visiting a friend.

let me summarize here my visa application experiences:

uk - my first time to apply for visa for the uk was when i was in university. i was sponsored and my visa was courtesy gratis. the second time was the same. for this last time, i am sponsoring myself so i had to go through the whole process (and they have a different application procedure now, unlike last time). i prepared my documents including the managers cheque made out to the embassy (Php5000+), applied online, set my appointment, appeared on the scheduled time at their visa center at pasong tamo and, here's where it's a bit unexpected, wait for a long while for my number to be called and have my documents reviewed and submitted, paid the fee. then i waited again for a couple more minutes for my biometrics to be taken. after that, i was able to get my visa in just less than five working days! how easy was that?

australia - had to go to australia for work purposes. i filled out the application form, prepared my documents including the managers cheque named to the embassy (i just don't remember for how much), went to the visa center at makati. i was told that a decision will be made after a week but as i was pressed for time, had to write on the spot a letter to the consul, asking humbly to expedite my application process. we were set to leave less than a week. the letter must have work because i received my visa via courier a few days before we were about to leave.

japan - booked our plane tickets to japan when there was a seat sale. lucky for us, a couple of friends live nearby so we were able to ask them to sponsor us. the application was just too "papery" for me for all the documents that we needed to prepare at our end, and for the documents we need to ask our friends to send to us. we also had to prepare an album to show that we are indeed acquainted. however, i do understand the need for these documents so we can't complain. my friends and i lodged our application in one of the accredited travel agencies located at dusit hotel and paid around Php2500. after a week, we were able to claim our visas at the agency. unfortunately, one of us didn't receive a visa.

schengen via spain - this must be the longest and stressful application that i had. it was also my first time to be really interviewed in the consulate. lodged my application through a well-known agent, told that i was to go to the embassy at a certain date and like during my uk application, had to wait for my turn at the window. i was asked a lot of questions regarding my purpose, finances, work, and family. there were questions that i expected and others that were not. it was only later that i realized that they were also important questions. when all the questions were asked, i paid the Php3760 fee and was asked to pick-up my passport at a certain date (12 days after the interview date). i wasn't told whether i'm getting a visa or not. however, i asked that it be sent to my office. the expected date came but there was no passport. i called the consulate and was told it was still being processed. maybe they just have massive applications lately because of the world youth day. it was only after another week (and a couple of days more) that i was able to receive my passport and visa.

what's next, you ask?

a us visa, perhaps? i dread the day that i will need to apply for one. i hear that theirs is one of the most difficult (and may i say, unforgiving?) visa application there is! when that time comes, i hope i will just breeze through it. like my friend said in her interview,

"i only saw your airport before! now, i want to see more of the US of A!!!"

LOL.

saved!

2011-07-29T19:49:00.000+08:00

neil etheridge showing he's got what it takes

2011-07-29T19:40:00.000+08:00

dearest azkals,

i was late last night. i was still in line outside when the whistle blew and i won't lie and say that i was hoping that there weren't any major things that happened while i wasn't at the bleachers yet. when we got pass the security, my friends and i ran to our designated places. from the roar of the people and the way they've been cheering, you were able to make quite impressive attempts on goal. i wasn't disappointed in how you played. you were great, you made me stand on my feet the entire time (okay, except during those times when the medics had to look over players who apparently injured themselves).

at the last minute of the first half, when stephan made that amazing goal, i just stood there, taking it all in, and then i started shouting, hugging all my friends, jumping up and down, rejoicing that wonderful goal. to stephan, thank you! it was one sweet goal, indeed! the kuwaiti players must have been shocked to have allowed that goal. even the kuwaitis who were seated near us were just too shocked and had stopped waving their flags. for us who were seated near that goal, it was like in the movies -- slow motion and then the speed of that one goal hitting the net.

that goal will forever be in my memories, together with chieffy's first goal in bacolod and phil's second goal during the home game against sri lanka.

during the second half, when the kuwaitis equalized, we were there with you, silent. i could see some of you, heads bowed, like in abject misery but i know that will not last. i know, you will stand up again and fight until you can't anymore. and that is just what you did. i can remember chieffy just running his way through several defenders just to make that goal, or phil, or angel. i can remember rob and ray holding off the attackers and aly clearing the ball with his headers and anton bringing the ball back down to the mid-field. manny, james, setting the ball. and who can forget neil's tremendous saves? you were all great last night.

yet we must accept (and we do) that kuwait is the better, faster and more experienced team. they deserve to win but you deserve much more because you showed heart, not only for the game but for honor for our country.

the kuwaiti's second goal, i wouldn't delve on much. the attacker was able to evade neil and hit the ball. from our angle, it was an easy goal. ray tried to save it but he must have slipped and the goal, which was about to hit the net, just changed trajectory. the crowd fell silent, you can feel it. yet one by one, your audience clapped, and cheered you on. acceptance. it happens to the best of them.

when the final whistle blew, all i could do was clap hard for you and the good game that you played. my friends and i waited for your walk around the oval. i clapped hard. my friends and i, cheered for you. for us, you were the best and we all know, you will be better in the coming years.

as for me, i will be here always to support you and i will always make "hatak" all my friends who wish to watch you play and to learn about the game. i will definitely try my hardest to get tickets to all your home games and if fate will make it so, i hope i will have the chance to watch your away games, too. hopefully, sooner than we expect, you will also be there in the World Cup games.

to you, azkals, thank you and i wish you all the best games that you can have (and no injuries, please).

piso

2011-07-28T23:02:00.000+08:00

an online chat with a friend:

kulot: ceebee?
me: kulot?

pause.

kulot: may piso ka ba dyan?
me (confused, thinking of our one-peso-can-make-us-fall-in-love-all-over-again conversation a few months back): huh?

kulot: pwede bang pa-measure ng diameter?

pakshet, kulot! pang-scale mo lang pala ang piso. akala ko, low-eq ka na naman dahil sa love na yan!

:D

tickets!!!

2011-07-16T15:01:00.001+08:00

i woke up early this morning, around 4 am, because of a phone call. i guess it was a blessing because i needed to wake up early so i could go to the mall and try my luck in getting tickets for the FIFA WC 2nd Round Qualifier game between the PH and Kuwait. when i arrived there, the mall was still closed and had to wait quite a long time for it to open. what i didn't expect was the volume of people who were already there waiting and i even heard some kids plan their strategy:

dapat pagkabukas at pagkapasok natin, takbo agad. siguro dito tayo daan, mas mabilis yun.
(once the mall opens and we're able to get in, we must run like hell. maybe we should pass this way so it will be faster).

obviously, he knows his way around the mall.

so when the mall opened, i went in and rode escalator to where the ticket booth is. while on the escalator, i decided to call the reservations hotline. i was so excited when the phone rang and someone answered:

hello! i would like to make reservations for the football game on the 28th.
ay, sorry, ma'am, but we're not open yet. it's not ten yet.
how can you not be open when it's already ten here!
ma'am, we still have seven minutes to go.
can i just wait for that seven minutes on the phone?
no, ma'am. we can't do calls that last that long.
okay, so i'll call again.

when i finished the call, i was already at the floor where the ticket booth is. some people where already there and the others who were just ahead of me either started running or walking very fast. i walked faster. when i fell in line, there were already maybe fifty people waiting for their turn at the counter. i looked at my phone and i still have two minutes for me to be able to call the reservations booth again. so i kept waiting.

two minutes was up. i called the hotline but the network was already busy. i kept calling and calling, hoping that at one point, i'd be able to connect and have my tickets reserved. after twenty minutes (and still no movement in the queue), i finally connected and requested for the central bleachers ticket. unfortunately, i was told that for the number of tickets i'm reserving, there's no availability anymore. i can only buy the 200 worth tickets at the blue and green section. i insisted on the row which i think had a great view (despite it being near the back of the goal post) but that wasn't available anymore, too! then the lady said that i can't stay long on the phone and she'll just reserve the best ticket there is for the minimum number of allowed tickets per person, which is ten. without knowing where we will be seated, i agreed and finalized my reservation. i didn't realize what a good move that would be following the next events that happened...

there were these two guys behind us (my friend's sister has arrived to wait it out with me) and one of them keep going to the counter to see what was happening because the line wasn't moving at all. when he came back, he told his friend (and those who could hear him), that there was this one family who bought thirty tickets, one ten-ticket set for each one of the three family member. we couldn't really believe it. and then we saw this disabled lady in a wheelchair who just recently came from the counter and we saw her holding a suspiciously thick stack of tickets. come on, we don't have any problems with disabled and senior citizens being given special priority, but please, can't you impose the ticket limits?! it was definitely unfair.

while these were all happening, i was still calling the reservations hotline because we still needed five more tickets for our friends. after thirty minutes (it's like one call per thirty minutes), i got connected again. it was just quite sad because by then, the only tickets available were those single tickets, meaning you can't be sitted together. i decided then not to reserve any more seats because i doubt my friends will take the tickets anyway, especially when they'd be without anybody they know in the stands. i wanted to help my fellow ticket-buyers (the guys behind us) so i let them use the connection to have their tickets reserved. i just don't understand though why they were so picky with the seats that when they couldn't get what they want, decided not to reserve any. if i knew that they would be that picky, i would have reserved the kid in front of me the two tickets he wanted since it will be his first time to watch the game! such precious call time was wasted on those guys! *sigh*

after a couple of minutes, a little commotion happened at the counter and then a few more seconds and someone kept on saying, "bleachers seats are sold out already!" this was not even 11 o'clock. disappointed, some just left without even confirming it; others started going to the counter, leaving their places behind. we stayed because we had our reserved tickets. others were already complaining why there were only a few center bleachers seats open for selling. however, lucky really for us, we were able to get our ten tickets.

thank God for that phone call that woke me up super early!!! and thank you for reminding me to make the call. or else, we wouldn't have any tickets for the game.

for those who say that it's unfair for the ticket booth to sell tickets through phone reservations, i'm sorry, but some of us who were able to buy our tickets that way, we also made our share of waiting - by the queue and by the hotline. i guess we were just lucky today. so please don't generalize and assume that we are all scalpers.

to the scalpers, kapal ng mukha niyo! nawala na talaga sa bokabularyo niyo ang serbisyo. pera na lang ang alam niyo. nakakalungkot.

pinoy kakanin sa holy week

2011-07-12T22:48:00.000+08:00

in preparation for the long holy week break, i asked my mom to send me a gelatinous rice flour pack. i was craving for traditional filipino food that i enjoyed when i was a kid -- those that my mom cooked when we had a long break, or during merienda times in the afternoon.

so last holy week, i decided to make two filipino desserts: palitaw and tsikalang, or what is known in manila as pilipit.

palitaw in tagalog means 'to float.' this way of cooking is simply that, letting the rice dough float in boiling water. when it floats, it means that it is already cooked and ready to be served.

ingredients:
1/4 cup baking flour
3/4 cup gelatinous rice flour
water

mix ingredients until it forms a dough. shape into flat circles then drop in boiling water. wait for it to float then scoop it out.

for the "garnishing"

ingredients:
grated coconut and sugar

put in hot pan the grated coconut and sugar. mix well until color of mixture is light brown. serve mixed or separate from the palitaw.

tsikalang as we call it in zamboanga is also known in manila as pilipit. although of different shapes, they have the same style of cooking.

ingredients are the same as that of the dough mixture of palitaw. shape it in braid-style or strudel-shape. once ready, fry in hot pan. remove from the pan when brown. then in another pan, caramelize brown sugar with water (some uses oil with the sugar). once it is a bit sticky, pour in the fried tsikalang and coat it with the sugar. once coated, remove from pan and serve.

remember thought that the sugar mixture must not be too thick so that when it is coated onto the bread, it will not dry thickly on the bread when cold.

chiang mai

2011-06-28T23:26:00.001+08:00

wow, i just realized that i haven't written anything about my trip to chiang mai last february. this is work-related, same as that of the langkawi trip, but under the same program. anyways, let me tell you something about my trip there.

nothing much happened.

although spending almost a week's time at the city, there was not really any chance to see the place as we were stuck in the hotel (we stayed at the imperial mae ping hotel) doing our workshop. the only time we were able to go out was during the opening dinner which was held atop a mountain with a beautiful night view of the below --

on our other free nights, we walked towards the night market. here, one can see a lot of beautiful items sold for cheap (and not-so-cheap) prices. my best buy would be my messi argentina and david villa spanish football shirts, each both for around 300 baht after haggling hard! the original price was at 600 baht. the next best thing i was able to buy was the spices i gave my mom and best friend. hopefully, they were able to put it to good use.

on food, the best thing i probably tasted at the night market was the strawberry shake. we ordered one cup for 30 baht and chose the glass that contains strawberries for them to make into shake. there were no added sugar in my shake, only crushed ice, and it was oh so delicious! another thing that happened there was that when we ordered our shakes, we had to repeat that mine shall have no sugar, but my companion will have. on the next night, we again visited them (that was how much we liked it) and the lady who takes the order took just one look at us and said: "one without sugar, the other have. strawberry." wow, that lady has one good memory considering that she would probably have more than a hundred costumers per night. how she remembered us boggles the mind!

the other food that was recommended to us was the sticky mango rice. on our last night there, we were able to buy one but wasn't able to eat it right away as we were so tired from all those walking we did for fieldwork earlier that day. when we woke up early to leave for the airport, we decided to eat it before we left. i am not sure if it was just because it was already cold, but i didn't like it very much. it's just tastes like the one that i do back home when there's sticky rice and a ripe mango. nothing special to it -- or maybe just the sentimental value of remembering how it was back at home.

another cool thing i saw at chiang mai was this -- an mobile ATM car -- makes you wonder how honest the driver must be to be not tempted to drive away with the money inside it!

on fieldwork, we visited several sites that show deformation of outcrops which bound the basin of chiang mai. we were able to identify structures that indicate direction of deformation and such (sigmoidal features of plagioclase minerals, C-S structures). we were also able to visit a wonderful faulted outcrop which, as our organizer knut had said, is what we have to look for in petroleum exploration -- those sandstones that thin out towards the fault tips (but these are reservoirs -- make sure the whole petroleum system is present though).

note: going towards the left of the road on the picture above will lead travelers to the mountains, where the people who are familiar to us from pictures of those that have long necks reside.

for recreation after the fieldwork, we headed to an orchid garden restaurant. the food was okay, the orchids beautiful but again, it was nothing new to me. maybe it's because when i was growing up, my mom had an orchid garden which i help tend when i can. what is probably different here is that the flowers are somewhat bigger than what we had back when i was a kid --

some of my companions bought seedlings of these flowers placed in a bottle container. hopefully, they were able to grow them successfully as from previous experience, i can say that it is hard work -- there's the boosters, the fertilizers, the shades, the over-all maintenance is just too time consuming (also expensive!).

our next stop was the hot spring where one can boil an egg in just a few seconds. that is how hot it was! but as the day was so hot, we decided to just sit in the shade and eat ice cream. the last stop was to chiang mai's famous paper umbrella factory. the making of the umbrellas is amazing, much more probably than the finish product - although they are very pretty. but the best thing for me here is having my mobile "pimped!"

isn't she pretty?! :)

there's just one story about my phone.

knut's wife noticed that we didn't buy any umbrellas (what for? it's just an extra baggage) so she said we need to do something for ourselves. i decided to pimp my phone. when it was done under ten minutes, i was so happy because the painting of it was such amazing and it only cost me 50 baht! also, i liked the color the lady gave to my elephant -- pink. so anyway, there i was, happy and proud of my phone's new look that i've been displaying it to everybody who'd wish to look at it. the following day, we were at the airport on our way home, when i realized that i left my phone after passing through the xray machine. it was only 5 o'clock in the morning and we had to wake up our friends who were still at the hotel because their flight's not until the afternoon. when they called housekeeping, true enough, i left my phone at my room.lucky for me, my friends (so kind!) will just have to pick it up at the housekeeping (i'm so glad they're so honest! others would have claimed they didn't see anything). unfortunately, i was phoneless for the whole weekend! well, so much for my bragging when i would have just left it at the hotel anyway! LOL.

visa, so fast!

2011-05-18T19:19:00.003+08:00

yehey! finally got my uk visa today! wow, not even a week has passed and i got it.

friday, submission of application form and documents
monday, visa approved
tuesday, passport returned to the visa center; sent through aboitiz2go
wednesday, received my passport and visa

WOW!!! :D

roaming the uk

2011-05-12T20:47:00.000+08:00

i was browsing through my multiply when i realized that i had written quite a lot for my album's description. since i have been remiss in writing here lately, i might as well copy my write-up here and let you know how was the experience back then. hopefully, i get to write new things about the place soon :)

******

12 May 2009. Years after posting this album, I finally decided to add a little more to this album's description. I guess I really had to put down in words what happened during this visit so even I will not forget it years later. And it begins...

The second I was told I might be going to the UK in 2005, I was hoping it would all come true. I was in the middle of exams and report writing that I was certain I had to do a lot of late night work at the laboratory. My adviser even told me that I was only allowed to go if I finish all the things I need to do along with preparing my travel documents and visa. I really wanted to go so I guess I did try hard because here I am right now, writing all about it. The schedule was very tight as far as I can remember that I don't even recall now how I got my passport and visa. Yet it was definitely only a day or two before our actual departure.

I remember though that I was able to let a friend in London know that I am coming and could get her stuff she wanted back home. We thought it was a good reason for us to be able to meet in London and have a little weekend look-see with Eden. On the night before my departure, I went to see this friend's brother to get her things. Wow, there were so many that I had to repack my bag (which I have just packed before meeting him). But I didn't mind because this favor was just a little favor for an old friend :P

Upon arriving at Heathrow in the worst time ever, around 4 A.M., Eden and I were already freezing cold. We arrived on Valentine's Day and it was still winter. My friend offered to pick us up at the airport at anytime we wanted but unfortunately, we had to go to Cambridge right away. This time, we didn't arrange for a cab to take us to the university. Instead, we opted to take the three-hour coach ride into town so we can at least see a bit of the countryside and have a little time for sleep. It was good we decided upon this because we have just realized (or did I just realized it now?) that the gatekeeper at the college might not be available yet if we arrived earlier if we took the train, let's say about 530 A.M. When the coach stopped at Cam, we hired a big cab to take us to our place but as you know, we had to pass by to get the keys from the gatekeeper. We almost got lost looking for Assissi House because I wasn't familiar in that part of the town; we even had to do a little bit of a U-turn after deciding that we have gone far enough. At Assissi, we did have trouble opening the door. It seems that I have a problem with doors in the UK because on my first trip out, I stood up for a long time waiting for someone to open the Department's door because I couldn't open it. I was really embarrassed when a girl arrived and opened the door easily. I thought it was locked but it just needed a unique turn to the handle. How the people manning the CTV must have laughed at me back then! Anyways, when someone finally helped us with the door, our landlady arrived and showed us to our room. However, it wasn't to be "our" room because we were assigned separate rooms, the gatekeeper just had given us one key because I was the only one who claimed the keys. He might have assumed that one of us will be coming for her own set of keys. But the landlady was kind enough to open the other room and it was much bigger than the first one, which was already mine. I asked why her room is bigger and was told that it was the only available room (or something like that). Funny, I remember what she said after that, "No squabbling between the two of you!" in a very motherly fashion. So Eden got the bigger room and me the smaller room. However, Eden says that my bathroom is better than hers! :D

Now I'm just wondering we ever did eat breakfast after that, or where did we eat lunch? All I can remember is that after resting for a while, Den and I decided to go to the visitor's center after letting our adviser know that we've arrived safe and well. The house was far away from the university center and I can remember Eden and I walking for almost thirty minutes (I hope I'm not exaggerating) just to get into the university. Luckily, or out of necessity, Eden found out how the city bus works and we bought our own week tickets for about 10 pounds. That ticket entitled us to unlimited rides around the city for one week. Now we didn't have to walk that much and that far in a freezing weather.

snow at our neighbor's backyard

I told you that we arrived during the winter season but on that first day, it was cold but sunny. One morning, I got an sms from my friend, hoping that I am now enjoying the snow. Groggily and still not really comprehending what they were trying to say, I got up and looked out my window and there it was! Snow! All I can do was cry out loud and in my pajama's run out of the room to wake Eden up. Together, we went back to my room (I guess the snow view from her relatively bigger room was not that good) and had fun watching the snow. She even had her camera rolling while we opened my window and held up our hands out for the snow. It was a pretty amazing moment.

After that great moment, reality descended upon us as we had to go to school. Eden decided to come in later so I went out on my own. As I walked out of the door, I gingerly stepped on the snow, relishing the moment when my shoes came in contact with the snow (although it was just a little less than an inch thick - it is still snow anyway) and it made this crushing sound. I relished the moment when little snowflakes fell down my face, my eyelashes. It was perfect! But after a couple of minutes of walking in the snow, I started feeling the cold in my lungs as I breathe the air and there I decided that snow isn't that much fun after all when you're about to die of suffocation from cold. Hahaha!

Anyways, on weekends, Eden and I decided to see some of the places she wanted to go to (since I've done this already the previous year). Fortunately, it was almost just a repeat of what I did before and it was already easy for me to navigate through the transportation system. On our side trips, we were able to get lost at Paddington Station (I didn't realize there was actually two of them), deliver my friend's stuffs, had a sleepover at Eden's friend in Surrey (yes, the same town where Harry Potter lived), master the Tube, visit the London Aquarium, Prince Albert's Memorial Park (or something), the theater where Les Miserables' Anniversary was held, visit Imperial College and the National History Museum, Buckingham Palace; visit Stonehenge and climb the Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.

Rhomaleosaurus fossil at the Museum of Natural History, London

so happy after watching one of the best shows in town!

At another night, Eden and I decided to go back to London to watch the Phantom of the Opera at the Queen's Theater. As I was not familiar with West End and the only map we had was one that was handwritten, we were not entirely sure where to go and ended up walking towards the opposite direction. When we realized this we headed back where we came from but couldn't quite get it right still. We were already getting desperate because the show will be starting in less than an hour and we still haven't got our tickets yet; we decided then that we'd ask the first person, who looks like a local (because there were a lot of Chinese tourists loitering there), that comes our way.

"Excuse me, sir? Can you please tell us which way is to the Queen's Theater?," I asked. "Sorry, I can't help you. Actually, I'm from New York!"

Oh damn! The first person we asked after getting up all the courage just to approach a stranger and ask that question! The next few people weren't of any help either, even the vendors! Finally, being desperate people that we were, we realized that the theater guide given to me by my friend can actually be used for a map. We were thinking that "if this street is showing Mamma Mia, and then this other street, The Lady in the Water, then the opposite street must be where the Phantom is!" Hurriedly we walked and found the theater. We got there in time to buy our tickets, go to our seats, realize it was way up high, upgrade our seats, realize I left my wrap around in our previous seats, go back up to retrieve it, go back down to our final seats, and then the announcement for the show to begin. Whew! What a night! :D

It was a fun month and productive one, too! :D

we made it -- climbing in the most less traveled way! :)

no trip is complete without a visit to the stonehenge

the land of braveheart, tartans, kilts and clans

2011-05-12T20:02:00.000+08:00

this is just a continuation of my previous blog. i wanted to put it up here because scotland is, for me, the best place i've been to when i visited the uk. it's such a pleasant place, where you are just a stone's throw away a mountain where you can be quiet and think, or a castle where you can reflect on history. i also like the people -- it seems they are friendlier way up there than people in the south (they are busier people, i would guess). well, that's just my opinion. don't get me wrong though. all my friends in that country live way down south :)

*****

Esplanade, Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

where does the bedrock end and the castle wall begins?

Edinburgh Castle from Princes Street

Holyrood abbey ruins at the Holyrood grounds

(just at the opposite end of the road leading to Edinburgh Castle)

the best thing i saw in the national museum, aside from the egyptian mummy and casket, was this millennium clock that is turned by wheels from the bottom up

spring 2004. on my own, i made a weekend trip to edinburgh. started out friday afternoon from cambridge, took a bus at victoria coach station in london and an eight hour long trip to edinburgh. made this trip on my second weekend (i think) in the uk. it was scary, yet exciting. around 2 am saturday, our bus had some problems so we were made to wait outside the stop station where it was freezing cold. we could see the very air we breathe out turn to visible air right away. it was like breathing in ice. luckily, after about thirty minutes of waiting in the outside cold (it seemed like forever at that time), the replacement bus arrived and we were made to go inside right away with the bus driver shouting at us: "mind the gap, please." upon arrival at the edinburgh coach station, i had a quick fixing up to do, a little breakfast, then off i was to this solo adventure! i was just glad i could read a map or else i'd be lost for sure!

1.75

2011-05-01T22:49:00.001+08:00

yey! finally saw my grade from my (hopefully last) penalty course - mining geology. as you can see, i got a good grade of 1.75. i was not really quite expecting this as i left some items in the final exams unanswered (better leave them blank than write something that will surely let the teacher know that you don't know anything!) and some exercises incomplete. okay, okay. so it seems that i was not really a model student and i feel guilty that this is what i'm going to leave my teacher as he retires this coming semester. however, i truly can say that i did my best , knowing that my last ore geology class was almost ten years ago and it was not one of my forte. what i also know is that i learned more and appreciated the class more than when i was still an undergrad. the class was exciting and as proof, let me tell you that i have never felt sleepy at any time for that one semester -- 2 night classes/week! if you know me, that's a big accomplishment! since some of my previous classmates call me "headbanger," where i "headbang" when i felt sleepy in class just the way rockstar's bangs their head to the music :)

anyways, i would just like to thank my teacher, dr. austria, for keeping me interested with he has got to teach, for answering my questions, and recognizing my efforts of coming early to class eventhough my office is 1.5 hours away from the school. thank you, sir!

:)

mga panaginip

2011-04-14T22:04:00.000+08:00

lately, nahuhuli ako ng dating sa opisina. masarap kasing matulog lalo na't medyo vivid ang mga panaginip mo, di ba? ganun ang nangyayari sa akin. yun nga lamang, kung sobrang gising na ako, madalas nalilimutan ko. pero hindi itong huling dalawa. may kasama kasing mga "cute" na lalake. hahahaha. :P

o sige, yung una, nasa beach daw ako at parang may kasama pang jetski at magagandang long journey trains na akala mo ay magsasalpukan na, pero hindi pala. tapos habang umiikot daw ako sa mga floating cottages, biglang nandun si artistang rafael na ang tatay ay isang geologist. malamang nasama siya sa panaginip ko dahil kakabanggit lang ng kaibigan ko na nakita na niya ang original na rafael sa conference na pinuntahan niya noong nakaraang linggo. yung jetski siguro ay nagpapahiwatig ng pangarap kong makapag-aral mag-sail at ang tren naman ay ang plano kong mag-long journey trains ngayong agosto.

yung panaginip ko na naman kanina, ang bida ay ako (syempre) at ang pinakamatagal kong crush. naku, ang sarap pala ng feeling ng ka-HHWW siya! LOL. siguro, na-feature sya sa panaginip ko kasi kakausap ko lang siya noong nakaraang araw.

sana naman, sa susunod, mapanaginipan ko naman ang aking long-time lab op may layp! :) sabi kasi ng pag-aaral, napapanaginipan mo ang taong iniisip ka. sana, iniisip na niya ako ngayon...

train ride

2011-04-08T20:45:00.001+08:00

today marked another milestone for me in my manila living. i've been here for almost half my life now but have never rode the lrt to its northernmost station. so last saturday, i decided to get off the newest roosevelt station of the lrt after my carriedo shopping. the trip took quite a while with about thirteen stations to go before arriving at roosevelt. it was a cool treat because the train cars were very spacious (although there were too many people when i got in at carriedo station). however, the train i rode on has only a monumento sign on it and it made me wonder if there were other trains that i should get into, since monumento is just the second to the last stop. when we reached monumento, everybody was just alighting the train and for a second there, i started getting up, thinking that it really was the last stop and that i had to get on a train again that has a 'roosevelt' sign on it. lucky for me though, because before i could even alight the train, i saw people (very few of them) had stayed behind. okay, so definitely the last stop would be roosevelt and i was glad for it. i didn't know how to get to my destination from monumento! LOL.

there's only one thing i can say (okay, perhaps two). manila is so big that if i get off the train from the stations i don't know and venture away from the train line, i'd definitely be lost! but truly, i love the roosevelt station because it's big, clean and new :) i wouldn't mind riding the lrt from there :)

PH vs Mongolia. Azkals vs. Blue Wolves

2011-02-18T07:01:00.001+08:00

azkals and the big 3-0

2011-02-17T22:46:00.001+08:00

turning another year older, especially reaching the big 3-0, meant that i had to do something spectacular this year. like the previous years, i took time off from work and just did what i wanted to do, stuff that i don't usually get to do in my normal routine. this year wasn't much different except that, it must be a little grand.

a month to go before my birthday, i was also following the news of the possibility of the azkals, PH's national football team, playing their first AFC Challenge Cup qualifying game at home against mongolia. not too soon after that, it was confirmed that they will be playing here and, to my surprise and excitement, it was going to be at bacolod on my big day! isn't that great?

i think the stars at that time were finally aligning themselves for me (and because God willed it so) that day because a seat sale was also under way when the news broke out and without even knowing what time the kick-off will be, i booked my sister and i a flight to bacolod on my birthday just to watch this momentous game.

it was a series of lucky things until the last day because after booking our flight, the PFF was giving away 10,000 free tickets. later, they announced that 4,000 tickets will be sold for the minimal price of Php300 pesos. i think i was one of those first few who placed my reservations. i think the only two "stressful" things that i encountered during this time was finding out that the hotels where fast becoming fully booked on match day and i had to scramble for the number of the hotels my friend suggested and called them one by one. i was so consumed by it all that i had to call the hotel where i finally had a booking to ask them to send me a letter of confirmation since i don't want to arrive at bacolod and finding out that they gave my room to somebody else! the second thing was having to wait for a few days for my ticket reservation to be confirmed. when i tried emailing PFF again (to make sure they get my request), an email came back to me that says 'email is already full!' so this was a practice of patience on my part.

but everything fell into place the week before we were set to leave for the game: i finally paid for my reserved ticket, filed my leave at the office, picked up our tickets at the PFF office, buy white shirts for the "requested color of the day," designed our azkals shirt with the help of my cousin, and had it printed and picked up the next day.

on the big day, we arrived early in bacolod and was able to check-in early at the hotel where my sister and i rested for a bit (we left our place at 315am to reach the airport on time), walked to Church for my thanksgiving prayer, eat at Manukan Country, visit SM Bacolod (whaaat?!) and bought our favorite Bong-Bong's products. in the afternoon, before leaving the hotel for the Pana-ad stadium, we had a very late lunch where i ate pancit bihon (for long life) and blew a candle that the waiter provided while my sister sang "happy birthday" hurriedly.

the game was fantastic, if i say so myself. other people, those who are more expert than me with the game, say that it was not really a good game, that the azkals didn't move as fast as they ought to, or similar things like that, but for me, they were the best! they make the game look so easy and it shows that their hearts are really into it. the crowd was also great, electrifying even. i am also amazed that in my whole life, i guess this was the only time i heard the whole crowd sing the national anthem with great conviction, it makes me want to cry! it was just so amazing!

anyways, so we know by now that the azkals won that game. i was a blessed person that day for being able to celebrate a birthday that grandly. my mom even told me that it was a fantastic birthday because i even had fireworks! :)

so to the azkals, thank you for making my big 3-0 such a memorable day. and most of all, i thank God for putting all things into place. :)

Php500

2011-02-17T22:01:00.001+08:00

last friday, i got lucky and picked up a Php500 bill...

okay, actually, it was not me who found it but a lady who was behind me at the taxi queue. she tapped me at the shoulder and asked if the bill on the floor was mine. i know that i only had a hundred in my body at that time, enough for the taxi ride, so it couldn't possibly be mine. i picked the money up and told her that it should be hers since she found it and for sure, nobody will come look for it anymore especially in that busy area, but she didn't want the money. well, i insisted that she get it but she was adamant. i then offered it to her son but to my amazement, the child had a very high EQ! kudos to the parents! he didn't want the money either - even when i bribed him that he could buy anything he wants with that money!

anyway, at this time, i was the second in line in the queue and since the lady wouldn't take it, i faced the lady in front of me and asked if the money was hers. she didn't even look and just said, 'that's not mine' and left. so now, i was left with the money that nobody wanted to take and my taxi was finally there. i insisted one last time for the lady to take the money but she didn't want it so i told her:

'okay, since nobody wants it and i'm really sure no one's going to come looking for it, i'm taking this money. i hope that is alright with you.' she didn't have any objects so i got in the cab with the money. in exchange for what i gained, i gave the taxi driver my whole hundred dollar bill. :)

*****

today, i bought a bathroom cleaner, bread and dinner with that money. thank you, Lord, for providing for me :)

laguna trip: nagcarlan

2011-01-29T22:28:00.003+08:00

our last stop was nagcarlan to see the underground cemetery. let me tell you, although it has not functioned as a cemetery for many years now, it is still a creepy place!

the chapel. this is where the last station of the funeral rites happen before entombment. the priests gave their last blessing here. the wood on the ceiling are the original ones, which were placed after the restoration of the roofing years ago. the colored tiles on the floor are also the original but the best feature of this chapel is its door which is made of hard, thick wood with the original locking mechanism behind it.

view of the entrance of the cemetery from the main door

below, at the crypt. tombstones that were left behind here dates back from the 1800s. the crypt was also used as a meeting place of the revolutionary leaders of Laguna during the war with the Spanish in 1896.

laguna trip: magdalena

2011-01-29T22:00:00.001+08:00

my least favorite church in the tour despite it's beautiful stained glass and place in history. maybe i was just turned off by two kids who waited for us by the inner entrance, intent on soliciting money from us. when we told them to wait, they looked disgruntled and wouldn't have let us pass, but we were a big group so they couldn't take us all on at once. i trust my instincts and i felt they weren't good kids and would have used the money they were asking "to buy food" for other stuff (e.g. playing in the fair right beside the church). that's a sorry fact.

the magdalena church was finished in a span of sixteen years, in two batches, in 1855. it was followed by the belfry in 1861 and convent in 1872. according to its marker, the sand and rocks that were used in constructing this church was taken from the river by the townspeople.

the inside of the church is very simple with old wooden pews but the ceiling is and altar looks well-maintained. i cannot say that the church is quite solemn compared to the others. it just have this open, and yet confined, feel for me. or maybe i just had the creeps because of those two kids i mentioned earlier?

one of the best features of the church for me are the stained glass. the glass above is located on the left side, just right after you ascend the winding steps to the choir loft. it makes for a good picture against the light, too!

at one corner of the church, just as one enters the side entrance of the church, is a philippine history landmark. this is where one of the influential katipuneros stopped to rest after being wounded in battle. general emilio jacinto was called the Brains of the Katipunan, having writtten the Kartilya, which equals to the constitution of the Katipunan. he also wrote for the revolutionary group's newsletter, Kalayaan, under the pen name of Dimasilaw. he died at the age of 24.

history! this is why i love to travel!

laguna adventure: majayjay

2011-01-29T21:28:00.000+08:00

the best church in the laguna trip i've seen so far. the air is fresh, the church is quiet and solemn. what more can i ask for?

the majayjay church looks like it sits atop a hill. one can feel the cool breeze coming from down the mountains and i think, it's the best atmosphere to pray

according to it's marker, this church has gone through a lot of fires starting from when it was just built on bamboos and nipa palm. it apparently also changed hands from augistinians to franciscans and has gone through a lot of renovations. the americans also made this their base once during the Filipino-American War.

a beautiful entrance

(although i guess the entrance at the other side is frequently used)

the church is so quiet that one could probably hear a pin drop

another solemn church with a beautiful altar

laguna adventure: lilio

2011-01-29T21:04:00.001+08:00

liliw, the home of shoes and slippers

liliw (lilio) church under the scorching heat

the church was seriously damaged in the 1880 earthquake

quiet inside the church

one of the side streets of liliw

*ate lunch here at a place where they say food is good. however, when we ordered things we want to eat, almost nothing was available. we ended up eating the normal food you can also find in local carenderia. the best thing though was being able to buy super fresh pako (which i later made into salad). yummy!

laguna adventure: pila

2011-01-29T20:51:00.003+08:00

spent my first weekend going with friends to tour some of the beautiful churches of laguna, philippines.

first stop: pila

construction of the pila church was finished in 1849 but it's first ministry started in 1578

a view of the inside of pila church from the choir loft

play with lights

inside the second story of a house across the church. one can ask the owner to go up their house to get a good view of the church. the inside of their house remains that of wood and old stuff. this kind of reminds me that houses built around churches during the spanish period are owned by the wealthy.

unexpected fireworks

2011-01-29T20:34:00.001+08:00

this blog is not in reference to the fireworks scare that happened a few days ago in my hometown, leaving lots of injured and a hospital that needed evacuation... for even just for a few seconds, let's think of happy thoughts.

* i pray that the injured fully recover and nothing like that happens again.

here's an unexpected picture of the fireworks display in one of the malls in quezon city on new year's day. we happened by it while we were about to go home.

goodbye, 2010. welcome, 2011! :)

*using nikon L22 fireworks feature

eat all you can buffet

2011-01-25T20:03:00.000+08:00

last evening, i met two of my friends to this new place they discovered at a mall -- yakimix. i thought i was already late since i was coming from the office, which is one and a half hour away. when i got there, they were still on the waiting list as many have come to eat there. luckily, it wasn't long when they called to take us to their table and upon seeing the buffet table, my goodness! what a feast it was. my friends decided to take little servings of all that was offered so we could try most of them. i decided to sit down at the table and watch out for our bags.

almost all meat were raw and had to be cooked at this grill in the middle of the table. i am so overwhelmed since almost all the foods that i want, my friends took -- and we started cooking and eating to our hearts' content. it was all yummy!

but i guess all things must come to an end, including my happiness over the food. as we were on our final stretch, i couldn't eat anymore because i've eaten too much. eating the dessert took me more time than what it usually takes me to eat one. i had difficulty breathing and couldn't walk properly. truly, gluttony is bad for our health. LOL.

just one of the foods we prepared

(photo credit: allanmandy)

on to the next day

2011-01-16T10:09:00.000+08:00

patapat viaduct

we left pannzian resort early in the morning to be able to make it all the way back to manila by ten in the evening. this was our first stop for the day - patapat viaduct. my mother was so impressed by this place and wanted to take a lot of pictures. unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating and the pictures didn't turn out well.

a quiet resort

2011-01-16T10:02:00.000+08:00

a cold, rainy morning at pannzian resort at pancian, ilocos norte

after a full day's travel through region II, we finally arrived at ilocos norte. we stayed at pannzian resort where my cousin once poured her time and effort in helping paint and design the place. the owner is really nice and very committed to her passion in creating a place for family and helping the community to be self-sustainable. i also got the biggest smile during dinner when the owner, while talking to us, referred to me and said "bagay ka dito with your happy disposition!" (thank you, tita bing!) i guess if i need a new job, i could stay here even without pay. that was how peaceful that place was and how soothing for a heavy heart like mine. work was still weighing heavily in my heart during the holidays. the dreary weather during this period was a balm to a heavy heart and for a time, i felt quiet and peaceful. but still, we have to be happy, right? turn to the Lord and everything will be alright. :)

i wish i could re-live that peacefulness here in manila. i can't wait to be there again, just to be quiet --- and happy.

passing by an outcrop

2011-01-16T09:49:00.000+08:00

one of the few outcrops i have seen during our December trip.

i have no idea where this is except that this is found in what our family call the Marlboro country of the north because the grazing land is so unbelievable - majestic and beautiful!

happy new year!

2011-01-16T09:44:00.001+08:00

i have been remiss the past couple of weeks. i had planned on updating this blog but never did get the chance to, considering that i had no inet access during my christmas vacation and work just got too much for me...

anyways, to start the new year right on this blog, i am going back to the reason why this blog was created in the first place -- a photo :)

one of the mountains that surround my parent's hometown.

it's a valley where they grow rice. this was taken last December while walking towards a distant relative's house to celebrate a christening.

ice skating

2010-12-20T12:29:00.000+08:00

for years now, i have been wanting to try ice skating. when i was in high school, i pestered my parents into buying me an in-line skate. after a couple of months of asking (and saving), i was able to convince them to buy me one. i bought a red and black in-skate.

though it was one the best things to do in high school, it didn't take long for the novelty to wane -- and for my brother to crack my skate. that altogether stopped my skating (though i was never a good one).

lately, or more honestly over the years, i have a hankering to try ice skating. this time, i was able to convince my friends to join me and here we are, trying to skate the the International Ice Skating Rink at the Mall of Asia --

it's been over a decade since i've been on skates, and the first time on ice, but it still feels the same. it feels great! here, i'm helping a friend find his balance.

catching snow flakes

*****

one funny moment while i was skating:

me: lei, catch me on video!!! =D

lei: okay!

me (skating away, turning, zooming towards lei): woohooooooooo!

then suddenly, BLAAAAG!

i fell. LOL. all these was caught on video.

UP Lantern Parade 2010

2010-12-18T11:58:00.001+08:00

it's been years since i have been to the Lantern Parade. this year, despite the rain and traffic, my friends and i were there! these are this year's displays --

2010-12-11T14:21:00.000+08:00

Why give up before we try
Feel the lows before the highs
Clip our wings before we fly away
I can’t say I came prepared
I’m suspended in the air
Won’t you come be in the sky with me

-Unthinkable (Alicia Keys feat. Drake)

Perch

2010-12-11T11:34:00.030+08:00

my girlfriends and i have this pact that we will try to have one fancy dinner each month. this is to have time to just catch up with what's happening with one another. being together in the office doesn't mean we get to talk everyday -- work gets in the way. so this december, we decided to try out Perch, where one of my friend's sister is a regular chef together with the owner chef. this also became our own Christmas party, where we also played a White Elephant game. it was great to see friends trying to 'steal' the other one's gift, to see them running around the house! LOL.

here are some pictures at Perch:

family dinner table

mushroom, zucchini, bell pepper squid dish with potato balls and cream sauce

paella and roasted chicken -- yummy!

close up of the paella

welcome to perch!

removed our sandals, running after more gifts :)

and the perfect way to end the night - a cup of creme brulee with coffee...

thank you, chefs golda and hazel! it was one fun night, indeed!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Cafe Perch

22 Ramos St., Carmel 3, Project 6, Quezon City, Philippines

(02) 927 9767 and (02) 427 4707

*apologies for not being able to write the food's real fancy names :)

life, love, time

2010-12-08T21:33:00.000+08:00

the best use of life is to love
the best expression of love is time
the best time to love is now

-fr. conching's sermon today at the parish of the holy sacrifice

the grace of waiting

2010-12-01T23:08:00.001+08:00

i took a tricycle ride on my way out of the subdivision. upon arrival at the entrance, i hopped off the tricycle and proceeded to get my purse to pay the driver. but my purse wouldn't come to my hands (accio, purse!) and i had to rummage through my "deep" bag for that small purse. so i said to the driver,

"kuya, wait lang (brod, please wait)."

and he said with a smile, "it's alright as long as you won't take the whole day."

that made me smile -- what a patient man!

*****

i went to the grocery today to pick up some stuff and when i reached the check-out counter, i noticed that i picked up more than what i planned. it took three packages to put in all the stuff and i had to carry them all on my ride home in a jeepney. as i was about to leave the jeep, i asked the driver to wait, because i could not possibly be fast enough in getting down. i was carrying three packages and my laptop bag. the driver then said to me, "okay, take your time." again, that made me smile.

*****

i took a tricycle ride going to our apartment carrying my three packages and laptop bag. when i arrived at our gate, i had to ask the driver to wait because i had to get out of the vehicle first before picking up my stuff. he didn't say anything but he proceeded to pick up my packages and handed it over to me.

what a nice reminder of patience! i like!

good feeling

2010-11-09T15:18:00.000+08:00

"i've got a feeling... that tonight's gonna be a good night..."

not just for tonight, nor the coming days ahead, but for the coming Year! :)

i really do have a good feeling about it, starting today because finally --- i enrolled in what i hope will be my last penalty course and i started the filing of application for graduation. i have not done the latter before so i hope that will be a good start. according to the grad office, the last day of filing for grades for master's student this semester is on april 11 next year. i am truly hoping to beat that deadline so i could go and march with the rest of the graduating class on the third week of april 2011. :D

to all of you, wish me luck and may we do well this semester! :)

i am claiming it!

2010-11-08T22:27:00.002+08:00

i am claiming it!

next year, i am going to Finish my Thesis and get Engaged! :)

and no negative reactions please. all i need is your wholehearted support :)

i am really happy how this monday turned out to be. i finally got a good feedback on the latest work i've been doing at the office. i thank God for being there, giving me the guidance and strength that i needed to do it. one thing i know, though have not applied yet until now, is this: if you want to be heard, speak up! i've learned that to be able to go on, i had to say what's on my mind or else i'll go crazy and lose interest in what i'm doing. today, i am excited to do my work again.

second, i have finally gained permission to take a leave of absence from work (after numerous failed attempts) to finish my thesis. this is my third year of residency and should have finished three years ago. but now, i am excited to face my thesis again next year, beginning january. my driving force for this are my parents whom i would like to see walk onstage with me when i receive my Master's diploma. i can't wait!

i am owning these words, and i am claiming these things.

next step is to get engaged. to whom, let's just wait and see. LOL.

i think and feel that next year's gonna be MY year! :)

*****

i've read this somewhere before and most often than not, this is true:

if you want to be seen, stand up
if you want to be heard, speak up
if you want to be appreciated, shut up!

fears and getting old

2010-10-21T18:21:00.001+08:00

today, i went to subic to take my refresher course for my offshore emergency training. this was just a one day event where we only had to do the practical test. when i did this four years ago, i was pretty excited and couldn't wait to go on and do all those underwater capsize things and fire escape test. it was all so new to me and felt i was invincible.

but not today.

underwater during the capsize helicopter simulation, i panicked. four years ago, i knew exactly where i am inside out of the simulator. today, i was totally lost. it was a series of little things that if i hadn't really kept my head, i would have drowned. first, i had trouble opening my window; second, i couldn't get out of the window until i realized that i didn't unfasten my seatbelt. when i figured it all out - all in split seconds - i was disoriented. i didn't know where was up anymore and had to swim away from the simulator as fast as i can without knowing if i was swimming up or down. all i could think of, "where was the rescue?!"

it was scary and i don't know if i could do it again.

four years ago, i was raving to do it over and over. what's more was that, i had a girl companion who was just as crazy as me. there were only the two of us in the simulator. now that i have more (guy) companions, i was more scared.

i was not alone today though. my swedish classmate (there were only three of us), was also feeling crazed. he was lost.

the same thing happened during the fire escape exercise. i went in the building alone with only my hands and feet guiding me; the second time even blindfolded. it was just a matter of keeping my panic at bay or i would have lost it there too when i couldn't find the lever to open the door. "if this is true life, would i faint here?," that was what i was thinking. when i got out, the only thing i could only say is "i'm really getting old, i'm scared of doing this already!"

but everything turned out very well. i am just so happy to have good instructors and very, very fun and supportive classmates. so to lars and demi, thanks guys. i think i lived up to part of my bargain - i didn't slow us down and were able to go home before 3p! :)

beauty raw ako

2010-10-20T22:46:00.006+08:00

walking along st. andrew street on my way back to the coach station, i had to stop for a red light in one of its side street. across the road, i glimpsed three guys just coming out of a pub and one of them was a bit tipsy. when the light turned to green, i saw the guys crossing the street towards me. before i can get off the street though, one of the guys stopped and tapped me on the shoulders and said,

"you are very beautiful."

i was stunned speechless for a while and then i replied,

"why thank you!" and gave him a big grin. then i started walking towards the coach station again.

and that, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the reasons why i love edinburgh.

and i know for a fact that it wasn't the tipsy guy who said that to me. unfortunately, i couldn't remember how he looked but i remembered that he was a bit tall (but not too tall) and a bit chubby guy - just the way i like it! :D

-----

note: return ticket (london victoria to edinburgh) the first time i was there cost me around 80GBP.

122

2010-10-20T22:23:00.001+08:00

i am not a bowler but for this year's annual company bowling competition, my friends and i formed our team again. last year, we agreed on just having fun but when we saw that we could hit the pins, we were trying to cheer everybody on so we could get into the finals. we didn't but we had a lot of fun. i scored a bit less than a 100 and it was my personal best (from my days of duckpin bowling LOL).

it was the same for this year, we went to play a competitive fun game. and i scored my ---- my personal best:

122!

maybe next year, when i get to play again, i can score more.

or.... would anyone want to join me in a bowling game soon? :)

15 Books

2010-09-30T22:34:00.001+08:00

1. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
2. The Map that Changed the World
3. Sword of Truth Series - Terry Goodkind
4. Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
5. Love Stories of Great Men and Women
6. Greek Mythology - Edith...
7. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis
8. Prince Caspian - CS Lewis
9. Voyage of the Dawn Treader - CS Lewis
10. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
and last but not least
11. The Bible

11 books written but by count, is more than 15. Goodkind's books in the series are 11, HP's 7. :)

Prayer of Sacrifice

2010-09-16T07:53:00.002+08:00

Good morning everyone!

I've added a prayer to the right side of my blog page. I hope you will also have to time to read through it and pray. It is one prayer that I have always liked and feels strongly with. After all, we have always struggled with sacrifices and the only one that could see us through it is God. May this prayer also move you as it always does me. It gives me comfort and I'm glad that now, I have a copy of it. :)

Again, may the prayer move you, too! :)

japan adventure - day 4

2010-09-01T22:33:00.004+08:00

ticket to nara from keihan station

inside the train station, changing trains

i totally love japan's vending machines!

a monk just outside the kintetsu nara train station (to his left is the road going towards the deers and the todaiji temple

one of the many deers roaming freely on the streets and parks towards the todaiji temple

the temple is so near! there's the rooftop now!

and we were sadly mistaken. this was just the gate of the temple. it's so beautiful. just like in the movies where the gates are made of wood and the color is faded red and brown, weathered by time.

the entrance to the todaiji temple

(entrance fee was around 500Y)

the todaiji temple was created around the middle of 700 (conflicting dates from different sources) by an emperor. it is said that this was created so that people can be protected from epidemics and to be able to consolidate the seat of power in the area. this temple is one of the biggest wooden structure in the world.

the Daibutsu is Japan's largest bronze Buddha and is also found inside the temple

the hole in the pillar is said to be the size of the Daibutsu's nostril and whoever can pass through it will have enlightenment in their afterlife. i didn't try this though coz there were so many people lining up and we were in a hurry to leave because we were all so hungry at this time.

Tamon-ten, one of the standing Four Heavenly Kings

my lunch at this famous Italian restaurant (forgot the name, though). yummy!

would you believe that this is inside a train? we actually thought that this was our train and we were so amazed. unfortunately, there were no other people around and this made us doubt that this is a regular train so we left. we were lucky we did because we realized that if we were inside when it left, we would have to pay lotsa lots of yen for the fare!

this was the right train! so ordinary!

for our last night at kyoto, we just had to visit the Gion district where the Geishas are. we did not see one, though we saw lots of geisha paparazzi. do you know that there are such things as them??? :) they hang around the street hoping to get a picture of a geisha coming out of the "pubs." we went and looked at the "pubs" menu and oh were they so expensive! imagine, steak for 18,000Y?! no way!

lakwatsera me on a Gion street marker. notice the geisha fan.

one of the restaurants with geisha inside

(we know this because security is so tight, we can't even have a glimpse inside!)

09/28/10

japan adventure - day 3

2010-08-31T23:30:00.002+08:00

the first building inside the Kinkakuji complex. just a little note: kin = gold, gin = silver.

entrance was around 300Y

Kinkakuji Temple, also known as the Golden Pavilion. if only i could sit on those wooden floor, look out the peaceful scenery everyday, i wouldn't so stressed at all!

the nearest i could get to a bullet train! they said that the fare from kyoto to tokyo is around 250USD. wow, so expensive, don't you think?

as usual, we were late in leaving the apartment so we had a late lunch (the lunch we took at the apartment was just breakfast, really). so this is my lunch for this day. rice with nori on it packed in plastic and fried chicken which we bought from a convenience store. eating this made me feel so modern japanese, while sitting on an open set of steps outside the fushimi-inari area. just like old times in UP.

the first Tori we saw as we headed to the "real" ones inside the Fushimi-inari complex

we feel like we're in the set of Memoirs of a Geisha despite the fact that we were bitten by too many monster mosquitoes at this place. my sister's legs were so red and so namaga after being bitten by them. luckily, we have brought a Katinko to relieve the itchiness, discomfort and pain. anyways, at the back of these toris are the names of the people who donated to have them built

i think these are the names of the donors in this place. all i can say is that they are beautifully written on these perfectly cut wooden blocks

oh no, oh yes! Wicked is playing in Osaka. but of course, we didn't dare watch it because it's in Japanese. would just be a waste of time. would rather watch it in english and in broadway or west end. when would that be, my guess is as good as yours.

09/28/10

japan adventure - day 2

2010-08-30T23:17:00.003+08:00

at the bus near gen's place at ginkakuji. we're trying to learn how to read the bus times, numbers and stops :)

walking along the famous philosopher's path going towards ginkakuji (silver pavilion). they say that in spring, this place is beautiful is spectacular with the cherry blossoms

zen garden inside the silver pavilion

a wishing pond inside the ginkaku-ji

the silver pavilion was built in the 1940s and was named not because it was covered in silver foil but because that was the initial plan

we really had to take a picture of this forest inside the complex. if only my father could see this personally, he'd be in heaven. this is one of my father's loves - beautiful forests

shijo area where we went looking for the nishiki market :) right in the middle of this place are lots of shrines!

inside the nishiki market where you can find most of japanese goods!

the best new thing i discovered at the nishiki market - vegetables in tubs of miso so they can be preserved

this is one of the street foods that got me curious at nishiki. it's an octopus stuffed with quail's egg. my friend said that in japan, most of the time, when you pick something up for a free taste, you are expected to buy that product. so unlike in the philippines when you can just grab a stick for a taste and just walk away if you don't like it.

shrines right inside the nishiki complex. i guess that if you don't look for it, you won't even notice it

my first sushi meal! this was already cheap at 220Y per plate which includes only 2 sushis

one of the best experiences in kyoto - sushi bar! although sushi are being replaced regularly on the conveyor belt, you can still order what you want on the computer beside your table. it will then be delivered by an express train on the second level conveyor belt, as anni is doing in this picture. the train even looks like a bullet train!

while waiting for my sister's friend near the keihan train station. the houses beside the river becomes a night destination in summer.

geisha statue just right beside the bridge at the keihan station (i assume it was keihan station)

this water fountain is usually found right in the entrance of any temples in japan. i once read that one must wash their hands first before going inside the temple. i noticed that some do not but for those who do, they even drank and washed their faces here!

looking towards the street from the yasaka shrine gate

for those who watched the virgin snow, where a korean guy visited kyoto, this is where the guy met the girl he fell in love with. i got my first japanese fortune here but unfortunately, nobody could read it for me because it's in japanese text!

the nearest i could get to see a japanese cemetery. this is far off the mountain behind the buddha we saw while walking towards kiyomizu-dera

going up and up and up towards the kiyomizu-dera temple. we walked so far the complex beginning from the yasaka shrine. you could imagine how tired we were by this time and we still have a lot of ground to cover. we also had to walk fast so we could make it before closing time at 5p! :) gen's famous lines for those lagging behind was: "we're near, just ten more steps." and upon arriving on the last steps, she'll then say "okay, another walk to the left, but we're near!" LOL. how our companions must have hated us! LOL.

the entrance hall of kiyomizu-dera

the famous tourist photo of the kiyomizu-dera. this stage looks like it's suspended in air

the love shrine's love stone. it's said that when you reach this rock while walking blindfolded from the opposite end, you will find your true love unaided soon. for those who needs help reaching the rock will need help in finding that one true love. the first time i tried it, i was way off and the second time, i was aided by my friends. so i guess that means i need help to find my true love, huh? :)

on our way back, we saw these people lining up for something. when we got closer, we saw that they were drinking fresh water coming way up from the mountain. as tourists, we hurriedly lined up to try it. the mugs we used, for hygiene purposes, are placed in ultraviolet containers for cleaning before being used again by the others

notice that the basement of the temple is only made out of woods that are not supported by bolts (according to my friend). it's like the original bridge of sighs at cambridge.

the kiyomizu-dera gate is so orange, don't you think?

the bus on our way back to the ginkaku-ji area :)

09/28/10

japan adventure - day 1

2010-08-29T23:50:00.001+08:00

a couple of weeks ago, my sister and friend flew to osaka for a visit to our friend who lives in kyoto. we were also to meet another friend who was coming in from kanazawa. this trip has a lot of fun promise and we can't wait to land in japan. below are photos we took during our trip and a little tidbit about it... have fun looking over the photos. i would try to say something about it as much as i can for those who are also planning to visit the place... :)

on our way to osaka onboard cebu pacific last august 28

just landed at kansai international airport. this place is one of the biggest i've seen and the fun part was looking outside the window and seeing this giant ferris-wheel thing, like a landmark at the airport. we arrived around 6pm.

grabbing our bags, we headed to the shuttle that will lead us to the main arrivals wall for our proper immigration check. as usual, there's a separate line for foreign nationals and fingerprints were taken together with a picture. but before all these, we were greeted by this box of diorama showing traditional japanese dolls. later, as i was looking for a foreign exchange counter (1 USD = ~82Y), i noticed several other boxes like this one containing samurai figures and temples.

however, kansai wasn't our final destination but kyoto. to get there, we had to take another one-hour train ride to the kyoto station. we had to go through a bridge going towards the JR express train. since most of the texts were in japanese, we were just grateful that our friend left instructions for us to buy a haruka express train. this ticket cost us 2000Y which was 900Y less than its regular price. this ticket is only available for foreigners staying in japan for at least 15 days.

at kyoto station, we were greeted by our friend the moment we turned the exit turnstyle. it was all so fun! :) behind her, as we were all hugging each other, we could see the kyoto tower and noticed later, astroboy! oh yeah, we were now really in japan. going to our friends place in ginkakuji, we had to take a 45-min bus ride. it was a long trip but arriving in kyoto safely, seeing our friend, and looking forward to the next few days' adventure, was well worth it.

09/28/10

planning things ahead

2010-08-24T21:15:00.002+08:00

sometimes, it is better to plan things ahead. they can't say no to you :)

i am finally set to go with my sister and friend to somewhere new next week! thanks be to God for this chance! :)

will keep you posted soon.

a child in my arms

2010-08-11T22:19:00.002+08:00

held a child in my arms yesterday. it felt so good. can't wait to have one of my own someday. yeah... someday...

thanks, kbq, for bringing your child at the office. he sure was lots of fun! :)

after the cable car tour

2010-08-06T23:45:00.001+08:00

just a reminder to my very few readers: my langkawi trip was very hectic (and internet-less) so the write-ups concerning this trip was written a few weeks after it happened. i am only keeping up with the date it happened so it would appear chronological. if you notice, the tense kind of follows the date when it happened, not when it was written.

after the cable tour, we dropped off a few of our companions to the airport where they will be catching their flights home. as for the rest of us, we later decided to go down the street parallel the chenang beach for a quick lunch. it was already 1 o'clock in the afternoon. so the four us, together with the workshop coordinator and his wife, walked towards the beach to find a place where we can eat. aaaah! the feel of the sand between my toes was heaven! :) well, as you might have guessed, i decided to walk along the beach on foot. heaven, heaven, heaven! :)

the restaurant we went to looked nice but i wasn't able to eat any local dishes because i think they have a foreign clientele who mostly orders food that is familiar to them. that is why i had pasta. i wanted to try out their satay but it was only available after 7 o'clock in the evening. (hmmm... i wonder how the o'clock term originated).

parasailing at chenang beach

present day bioturbation. my slipper for scale.

it was a good place to bum around but we had to go back to the hotel soon because we were due to check out by 3pm and we weren't done packing up yet. it was a very weird arrangement with the hotel (and one we can't change) so after checking out at 3pm, we decided to put our bags to the storage room first, then bum around at the beach side until it was time for us to be picked up by the travel agents for our evening flight to singapore. i thought there was nothing more we can discover waiting there (unless you count the finding out that the hotel wifi didn't reach the beach side) but i was mistaken. i'm glad we became hungry.

enjoying our last few hours at langkawi by the beach

our hunger (and worry that we won't be able to have a proper dinner at the airport) led us to another restaurant just in front of the hotel -- Cactus. it was drizzling when we went there and the rain picked up after a while but that didn't get much of my attention. what did was the football club flags surrounding the place. it was pretty simple, with simple flooring, tables and chairs but to see the flags is pretty amazing. or was it just because i'm a football fan and the WC had just finished? oh well, never mind. the first flag that caught my attention was spain's. wow, iniesta! the second one was portugal's and then a football jersey of torres (#9). i just had to have pictures with it so i prodded my friend to take pictures of me with those items. another amazing "decoration" of this resto is the ceiling with lots of things written on it with chalk from many of their previous customers. the oldest one we saw was from 2003. we would have wanted to write ours but the only place available was at the back and we just didn't think that our writing would make a big impact when it would be written at the back where no one could see it.

the cactus restaurant was riddled with football club flags

one of the writings on the ceiling. liked this one because the lionel name makes me think of messi :)

the most important thing though about cactus is their mean pasta and satay! my friends ordered pasta and me, chicken satay. the pasta has that tomato taste that i always look for in a pasta dish and the satay serving (10 sticks) has very large meat pieces on the stick and the peanut sauce wasn't too strong. i loved it! if i was given another chance to go to langkawi, i wouldn't miss going back here.

chicken satay. Yummy! that's with the capital Y! :)

another thing i liked about this place was the manager (or was he the owner? i don't know). he was very nice (he gave us free fruit dessert) and to while away the time, he gave us puzzles to occupy ourselves with while waiting for the rain to stop. fortunately, the rain did stop a couple of minutes before we were set to be picked up by our agent.

since i have nothing very significant to add anymore, except maybe the time i was held up at the x-ray counter at the airport because of my sand sample placed in a water bottle, here is a bullet of what occurred after our cactus trip:

630p - picked up by the ride to the airport

700p - checked-in our luggages

800p - passed thru immigration; at the pre-departure are

830p - boarding time

900p - got caught in runway traffic; flight delayed

1030p - arrived at sg; found out that there was a mix-up with our bags

1045p - at the lost and found baggage counter of changi airport; left without my bag

1100p - taxi queuing

1130p - arrived at royal park hotel where i'd be staying at a friend's

this is one crazy day, isn't it?!

the baggage story will have its own blog entry soon because it was a learning experience.

written on 08/19/10

cable car

2010-08-06T16:26:00.002+08:00

this is 7 o'clock in the morning, malaysia time

today, we were treated to a tour of the langkawi cable car. yesterday, the guide asked us to be at the meeting place by 9 o'clock in the morning so that we can leave early and therefore, won't have to queue for long, especially since there will be a large group from the sun princess coming in that morning. however, the site opened late today because of the early morning rain. that is why we were able to visit a shop where they make sea cucumber massage oil. they say that this is one of the best known langkawi products in the market and it was discovered mainly by fishermen.

the smell was really bad! but i guess it's the price you have to pay for when you want a massage oil

the cucumber shop wasn't very exciting for me especially since the sales person in the store doesn't speak english. i could ask what i would be buying but i was just not that interested (i prefer my katinko, betet, omega and salonpas, thank you), so i got back to the bus right away.

after thirty minutes, we were on our way to the cable cars, towards the machinchang mountains. on our way, we passed by the yacht club where we were told that waves from the previous tsunami reached the top floor of the buildings there. from what i can see though, the area is full of construction. what interested me the most here where the yachts and the fact that near here was one of the filming locations of Anna and the King.

the yacht club area

the trip took us about half an hour and when we got there, we were the sixth bus. that means, there were already five tour bus passengers from the princess ahead of us in the queue. luckily, when we got there, the line wasn't that long yet. our entrance pass was a sticker "pinned" to our chest and it was color gray. the malaysians have blue tags. i was told that this is because malaysians have discount when they ride the cars. as of this writing, i checked and the cost for foreigners to gain entry to the cars is 25MYR. not bad, i guess.

map of the complex

entrance area to the cable cars

the ride to the third (and last) station took us about fifteen minutes. one of our companions though, had to get out of the second station because she was having a panic attack. the first segment to the ride was a steep one so i guess she couldn't help it when the altitude changed very fast. the ride for me though was really exciting. although i thought we were going fast, i got the chance to see the very green mountains and the beautiful view of the sea. it was like a green earth sandwiched between two blues -- the sky and the sea. along the horizon, we can see scattered islands and it made me think where the country of thailand starts! looking down, we were able to spot the seven wells waterfalls to our right side and another falls, albeit a small one, to the left.

seven wells falls

going up, we were so excited that we just had to move around to see everything. it was a blatant disregard for our guide's suggestion that we do not move much so we won't have to deal with dizziness. lucky for me, my companions weren't that sensitive nor scared. even the two chinese guys we were with were excited (even if they cannot express it much in english :D). what amazed us most though were the granite formation of the machinchang and its structural complexity. going up, we could see large scale fractures all over and if we could only have days and the means to do it, i for one would have a field day doing structural readings. it was that amazing! oh well... that is, if they do not have the same angle and strike directions -- or else it would be pretty boring! LOL.

here are a couple of pictures from our machinchang mountain cable car tour:

going up and up!

looking back down

one of the longest suspension bridge

(we were told that this was built by the brother of a famous race car driver who decided to settle in langkawi)

see the granite fractures? amazing!

the highlands and i love the fresh air!

yeah, we are 705 m amsl :)

written on 08/19/10

the fieldtrip

2010-08-05T21:34:00.001+08:00

let me first tell you that, this is my first time in malaysia. that being said, let me tell you why i am here. i was sent by the company i'm working for to attend a workshop that involves basin modeling as a method for successful exploration of oil and gas. the workshop was held on the first day and consisted of a lecture and application parts. this workshop was a confirmation and a more formal training of a job that i have done (and will be doing again) a couple of years back. it was also a chance to be able to mingle with colleagues who are doing the same things that i'm doing. what is more interesting, and i guess relieving for me, is to see that the people my age in that group know the same things that i do. maybe a little more, or a little less but at least, we are almost on the same footing.

yesterday was the end of the formal sessions and certificates were already given away. today, we went on a fieldwork to see the fractured formations that act as the (analogous) reservoirs for the basin that the three countries -malaysia, thailand and indonesia - are studying jointly.

first stop: steep climb to one of the seven wells (Machinchang Fm)

the falls lie in a fault that separates two formations

large feldspar phenocrysts in granite aligned in a parallel manner

load casts (top view) formed by the difference in weight of sediments while being deposited

fractured limestone have a very good porosity, which makes it a good reservoir

folded limestone formation

bioturbated clastic rocks

ripple mark surface with interference at a different direction

large tourmaline crystals in granite

a boudinage!!! :)

after the fieldwork, we stopped by one of the duty free shops near the underwater world (near chenang beach) and here is what i've found! proudly pinoy!

one of my favorite chocolates - made in pinas!

08/18/10

not so busy day

2010-08-04T23:22:00.001+08:00

today is our last formal session day and we had most of the afternoon off. we spent some of our time lounging at the beach...

the beach may seem nice but the water was brown and the waves were too strong for a leisurely swim. we later decided to just go up and head to town.

08/18/10 (picture from MST's Nikon 5000 camera)

things i learned in langkawi (aside from geology)

2010-08-03T21:32:00.002+08:00

in langkawi, it's a duty free port zone. all chocolates and liquors are cheap.

the movie Anna and the King was partly filmed here and part of the set is still standing.

most of the langkawi people are employed.

it is safe to travel around the island. the only crime committed here was theft but that didn't last long because the thief was stupid enough to hide near the police station! :P

there are no metered taxi in langkawi.

the government provides free housing for the "poor" and landless.

one can only build a house in areas where there are no trees standing there. most lands are governed by the forestry bureau and to build a house in protected areas, permission must be given first.

foreigners can build a house in langkawi but they must be within, from what i understand, the "senior" group.

most people of langkawi buy a boat and sail when they grow old, when they are retired and their children are grown.

finally saw the beach last tuesday, before the welcome dinner ---

08/18/10

arrived at langkawi

2010-08-01T23:30:00.003+08:00

as with my saigon entries, this is written a few weeks after the event. i just had to write this for future reference. :)

we landed at langkawi international airport at around 8 o'clock in the evening today. my first glimpse of the island made me miss my hometown more, with its small runway and green field running parallel to it. the sunlight was a bit unnerving though because i expected to arrive at night but it was light outside. the airport itself looks like the one we have back at home. at the immigration, i was asked where i will be staying and it was only then that i realized that i don't really know where we were staying! so i said that i'd be staying in a hotel that sounds like holiday villa resort (or something). the officer must have known the place so he let me through, but not before asking to see my return ticket. it was a bit confusing for me because for the four of us who arrived together, i was the only one who was made to wait for more minutes than what was usual to the rest. anyways, i finally got my passport stamped and i headed to where my companions, and my luggage, were waiting for me.

the most important stop for me next is the foreign exchange counter. today, 1 USD = 3.11 MYR.

i was so tired from the trip which started at 0430 hrs (for me) today. add to it my six hour stay inside the changi airport since i couldn't go out because of the heavy rain (and because no one was available to meet up with me). however, i joined my companions to a quiet dinner at a restaurant in front of the hotel. it was called Boat and they serve meals until 11 o'clock in the evening, which fortunately for us, was still an hour away. funny thing there was when we ordered rice (as most of us were hungry), we were all thinking of the steamed, white rice but what we got was noodles! it was only then that we realized that it was rice noodles and not rice itself. we had three viands: spicy chicken, vegetables, fish; rice and soda. total was 40 MYR, which was cheap, to my thinking.

first dinner at langkawi, malaysia

it was already late but like small kids placed in a new playground, we checked out the place first: our rooms, the pool and the surroundings. the place looks good but since it was dark, we are reserving our judgment until tomorrow.

holiday villa beach lobby

can't wait to see the beach!

08/18/10

bumming around changi airport

2010-08-01T16:39:00.006+08:00

arrived at changi airport around 1145am. was supposed to meet with ross at the arrivals but got cancelled due to the heavy rain. stayed at the airport until our boarding time at 540pm arrives. walked around the airport, reacquainted myself to o'brien's, met monina at F34 before her flight back to manila, made wood block sketch art near the orchid museum, took a nap and watched tv...

plantar fasciitis

2010-07-24T23:14:00.002+08:00

quick lesson of the day: what is plantar fasciitis?

that is what i have!

according to what i've read online, *plantar fasciitis is a painful condition caused by overuse of the plantar fascia or arch tendon of the foot. it affects the plantar fascia, which is a broad, thick band of tissue that runs from under the heel to the front of the foot.

*the affected portion in red

but how did i know that this is it? a sports science specialist friend of mine suggested i see a sports doctor for my heel problem. i have been complaining about this for the last three weeks although the pain was more pronounced this week. i thought a foot spa would help but when i asked my friend about the one he usually frequents, he suggested i go to see this doctor he knows.

today, i went to the clinic, thinking that this will be a very quick check-up because it was only the heel (a very small portion of the human body, i'm thinking). when i got there, the doctor asked me a couple of questions: when did you first experience it, what were you doing when you felt it, and where particularly? then i felt the same pain when he pressed a certain part of the heel - i said, 'that's it!' and he murmured to his physical therapist "spur." what the heck was spur? then i just found myself down on my stomach on the bed.

a second after that, i felt a cool gel thing being spread on my heel and a certain device being moved around it. when i asked, the doctor said that it was an ultrasound to see which muscles are affected. when they finished with it, the therapist thoroughly massaged my heel musles and then when it was done, he asked me, if the pain manifests itself when i wake up. when i said yes, they were both sure that it was plantar fasciitis because they said it was one of the very common symptoms of this injury. then the therapist had me doing strengthening exercises which, i must really tell you, really hurts!!!!

================================================

*--- the symptoms---

Heel pain, under the heel and usually on the inside, at the origin of the attachment of the fascia. ✔
Pain when pressing on the inside of the heel and sometimes along the arch. ✔
Pain is usually worse first thing in the morning as the fascia tightens up overnight. After a few minutes it eases as the foot gets warmed up ✔
As the condition becomes more severe the pain can get worse throughout the day if activity continues.✔
Stretching the plantar fascia may be painful. ✔
Sometimes there may also be pain along the outside border of the heel. ✔ This may occur due to the offloading the painful side of the heel by walking on the outside border of the foot. It may also be associated with the high impact of landing on the outside of the heel if you have high arched feet

===============================================

--- the exercises ---

first, i had to stand with my feet on a 45deg platform while standing up properly. try it, that really hurts. when i told the doctor this, he said (just like any other sports doctor would say, i think) "if there's no pain, there's no gain." he also said, "you can only know that it works when it hurts!" hmmm... does it also apply to any aspect of life? LOL.

the next exercise was to have me stand on edge of a platform and have me lift my body fast and then go down slowly, to stretch my calf muscles. the therapist said, strengthening my calf will help relieve the pain in my heel. i guess the muscles there are really connected. anyways, i had to do three sets of 20 ups/downs before the doctor and therapist were satisfied.

they let me rest after that while lying in the bed again but the therapist then placed a tool in my heel again, this time a thing which looks like an ecg attachment. when he turned it on, i felt a certain "sting" and vibration. later, i just felt my feet move in reflex. it was kinda cool but weird. when all these were done, they placed a plaster to my sole to support my tendon and foot arch.

tonight, i am still wearing that plaster until two days from now. today was quite an experience and although i'm sad i have an injury, i'm glad it was seen to as early as now. :)

my right heel after seeing the doctor today

* article and photo credit: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/foot/plantarfaciitis.htm

the winning goal

2010-07-12T19:31:00.012+08:00

iniesta scoring the winning goal at the 116th minute in overtime

woke up at 230 this morning to watch the 2010 WC Finals, Espana vs Nederlands. the game was beautiful but at times, excruciating to watch because of the very physical game and the time it took for the team to score! i went back to sleep at around 530 in the morning already! LOL. and during the entire game, i was wearing my 2006 WC Espana t-shirt! i guess it was a lucky shirt... LOL.

photo: taken from my friend's fb page.

it's done!

2010-07-06T23:46:00.002+08:00

i got this last week :) what do you think? i finally made something out of scratch and i love, love it!

my own ref magnet housing

Argentina on to the Quarter Finals!

2010-06-28T21:38:00.021+08:00

i think it would only be fair to mention the other team i'm cheering for this WC 2010 - argentina. :)

on sunday night, i know i wouldn't be able to watch their game against mexico because i was cramming to finish a report i'm due to submit early monday morning. i started getting into the writing late in the evening and after a couple of hours, i was distracted by a very familiar whoozing noise in the background (the tv was just left on for company). when i looked up, i was surprised to see that the game was about to start! when i looked at the watch, it was already a little over 2:30AM monday morning! i decided to sleep then but left the tv on. well, what can you expect with the tv turned on, right? so instead of "forcing" myself to sleep, i ended up watching the first half before finally falling asleep.

it was only in the late morning that i found out that argentina is moving on to the quarter finals! yes! :) i'm sure my friend betch will be happy to hear about that :)

here is lionel messi of argentina at the soccer city stadium on their final 16 game vs mexico

photo credit: getty images (fifa.com)

and we advance to the 16!

2010-06-26T00:34:00.000+08:00

tonight saw portugal entering the final 16 together with the group leader, Brazil. i definitely love the portuguese defenders for stopping the game at 0-0. with many attempts and ball possession of brazil, it was quite heartstopping fom time to time. with the ball mostly in brazilian hand (or for that matter, feet), ronaldo wasn't able to do much of his magic. the play with mareilles was probably the best shot they had at scoring a goal but lucio (well, i think it was him) just had to take the goal away from them! anyways, i'm just glad that portugal is secured a place in the final 16 and that they weren't beaten much by the favorite, brazil.

so now we advance to the 16! it would be a treat to have an argentina vs portugal finals (messi vs ronaldo) but i guess it wouldn't happen now since they would be playing on the same half of the draw. they might play each other but definitely not in the finals. we will just have to watch out for it.

this sunday will be another exciting game -- argentina vs mexico! can't wait to watch it! :)

saigon tops

2010-06-24T22:00:00.000+08:00

food

1. baguette with meat - 10,000 VND
2. black cat - ~150,000 VND
3. pearly - ~ 55,000 VND
4. fried spring roll - ~ 50,000
5. noodles of the pho (not the pho itself) - ~ 30,000

shop

1. night market at ben tahn
2. bags
3. turtle compass

to see

1. motorcycles
2. mekong delta
3. cuchi tunnel
4. ben tahn
5. pham ngu lao st shops

turtle compass

2010-06-23T00:46:00.010+08:00

best buy in saigon