What? Rain?

Hurricane Gustav threatens he Southern part of Louisiana, especially the Katrina-stricken city of New Orleans. They’re on alert for evacuation over the weekend since Gustav is expected to landfall early Tuesday next week.

Now, my sister and her husband are driving from Florida to spend Labor Day with me..and you guessed it. We’re booked at a hotel in New Orleans this weekend! We’re supposed to spend Saturday night there and go back here to Baton Rouge (where it’s safer) on Sunday afternoon. We talked so much about doing Bourbon St. and French Quarter like crazy!

Having grew up in the Philippines and witnessed so many typhoon tragedy, I feel like going to New Orleans this weekend is pretty safe since it’s not expected to come this Saturday. But people who knows we’re heading to New Orleans thinks we’re mad!

I’m not bothered about the rain and the wind..hey, I grew up in an island that’s being hit by typhoon all year round! I’m fine with rains..what’s not fine though is the authorities in New Orleans would probably be evacuating the locals there so my guess is: roads leading there would most likely be closed..and I would hate that!

But my sister is already on her way here as of this time so heck, Gustav or no Gustav, we’ll head South! (stop us if you can..hehe)

Favorite Places

(Not in order)

1. The Farm (San Benito, Batangas)- very serene ambiance. I’ll trade it for any Sonya’s garden in the world. They don’t have cable TV in their room (which I thought at first really sucked but after the trip, I really thought the TV will ruin the relaxed mood of the place), they have limited cell sites (no cell phones!) but they have a library with REAL books that the guests can borrow. Plus the place was really quiet in a beautiful way! Very Zen. You can choose to have a pampering massage under the sky…with candles lit. Very romantic if you will go with your partner. It was hard to locate, though. But the trip was worth it. Perfect getaway!

2. Divisoria (Manila). The haven for shopaholics. Perfect therapy! Haggling is sooo allowed! You can go with just P300 in your pocket and you can surely go home with so much goodies in your (plastic) bag!

3. Window of the World (Shenzhen, China). I was really dismayed when the tour guide said that the Window of the World “tour” included in our tour package only includes a picture taking at the ticket booth! That simply wouldn’t do. So the next day, a few hours before our flight back to Manila, we called our tour guide and asked her to buy us tickets so we could get inside the park. Surprised (many tourist were just content with the picture taking) but happy (commission!), she even accompanied us and looked after our bags! We were not disappointed. Inside were miniature replicas of historical and famous places around the globe such as Eiffel Tower, Pyramids of Giza, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Taj Mahal, and more! It was like going around the world in one day. If I wasn’t looking so bloated in our pictures, I would have posted some of our photos. Ha.Ha. Anyway, enjoy their pictures!

4. Gadong Night Market (Brunei). I was BORED in Brunei but surprisingly, Brunei is the place that I miss most. I like the simplicity of life there. Anyway, Gadong Night Market was fun! Food tripping there is so much fun! Although few shops sold clothes and bags, etc, it was fun getting busily acquianted with all the weird food they sold there.  There was a lot of kebabs, ABC, smoked squid and smoke! It’s true, the place was foggy and smoky. Which is good. Kinda like Divisoria. Plus, when I get too suffocated, I can always run to The Mall (same as Ayala malls in prestige but same as Ever Gotesco Grand Central in size) which is only a few meters away from the Night Market.

5. Mushroom Burger House (Tagaytay). Although there is a Mushroom Burger House in West Ave., I don’t really understand why I don’t enjoy eating burgers there as much as I enjoy eating in Tagaytay. Probably the ambiance. Anyway, whenever we would go to Tagaytay, Mushroom Burger house is definitely a pitstop! Not only are the burgers drool-material but they come cheap, too! Love that place!

6. Marcos Island (Hundred Island, Alaminos, Pangasinan). Mixture of awe and dread. The sand is fine and white, the shore isn’t too long, the crowd isn’t too big (about 3 more other fisherman), plus there’s a small hill that you can climb too if you feel like stretching those muscles a bit. On top, you’ll see a dark cave where bats live (eerie). Our tour guide asked us to if we want to go snorkling. He’ll charge us free. He offered to even take us “down there”, he was the expert…accroding to him. Down there? Thanks but no thanks! I’d rather not know what lurks underneathe!

7. Punta Baluarte (Calatagan, Batangas). They said they closed it down now. Too bad because I really liked their rooms. Modern yet far from being urban. Sad

8. “Books for Sale” (University of the Philippines, Diliman). Funny because the store has no name. It only has a dilapidated signage near the Shopping Center that says “Book for Sale” and an arrow pointing to this quaint little shop. Why I like it is because I always find bestselling books there at a price so cheap I always end up buying more than I planned! I found 3 of Fulghum’s books there (I’ve searched Book Sale, Powerbooks, NBS, etc and I’ve never seen a single copy of  his Uh-Oh and It Was On Fire…). I can get lost in that 30sq. m shop!

9. Intramuros (Manila). I’m a sucker for anything ancient so aside from museums, good ‘ol Intramuros is perfect! My college classmates and I would used to go down the barracks (where the sign clearly says NO ENTRY) and hide from the Guardia Civil. We tried not to get caught but it was hard with all the giggling and scrambling we made. Anyway, being in Intramuros is like being transported back to Maria Clara era. Noise pollution as an added attraction! 

10. NAIA Arrival (Pasay City). Need I say more?

 

Happy Birthday To My Man

Happy birthday, babe! You should have a blast today. Your bachelor time is near over…bwahahaha! Next year and beyond, your birthday should be celebrated with me (okay, I wouldn’t mind spending them with our 12 children..hehehe).

So..be merry, baby. Game over.

hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Seriously..happy birthday, old man! I love you and you know that. You’ve been blessed with so much..having me is just an icing on the cake haha.

Be happy always, love your life, share your blessings and seize every moment to care, laugh, and love! You are a delight in God’s eyes.. 

P.S.

Eight days after January 1 and I’ve written NOTHING about New Year! My bad. Blame this to the non-holiday atmosphere I experienced in the land of the Sultan.

Well, as a matter of fact, a few minutes before midnight on December 31 last year, I was fiddling with J’s laptop, trying to come up with some new year’s resolution or some blessings’ list but I was very disturbed by the lack of fireworks so I decided not to write at all and dwell on the loneliness of the holidays on a foreign land.

I went to the window and saw a very short fire display at a distance (to which the Bombay couple next door were also watching). Well, that was it. I said a cheerful “happy new year!” to the couple from India and was rewarded with a stiff smile from the guy and “are-you-nuts” look from the girl. Happy new year, girl.

Oh well, it’s definitely not too late to write down my blessings and rant off my “not-to-do’s” this year…

I received so many blessings last year. The Lord gives perfect gifts to His children and I’m so thankful to the Lord that He gave me wonderful gifts! All I can say is that He made 2008 a hopeful year for me. As the song says “the future is so bright coz Lord you are my Light..” Amen! I am very giddy with excitement to everything the Lord has in store for me this year!!

Okay..I know resolutions are BAD and unreliable so what I will do next is to sort of evaluate my weaknesses last year. As I go through my life this 2008, I can have this list as a checklist for improvements Ready?

1. I was so lazy and lax this year.

2. I lived a very unhealthy life–no exercise, lots of fatty and oily foods, less water and less sleep.

3. I still harbor bad thoughts about some people..:(

4. I worried a lot..and

5. I spent more than I earned!

I know there are more but those are only the things I am willing to share in public The rest I will keep in my locked file (called brain) where no one can see..harhar.

Ha-ha-happy New Year!

It Ain’t Over ‘Til The Fat Lady Sings

All I have are remnants of my stay in Brunei. Kuih moor on my mouth right now and 3kgs of excess fats in my body I am frantic to lose ASAP (maybe after this another kuih..)

Gosh! 3kgs of fats in places where they shouldn’t be! Abs! Arms! Thighs!!!

Have you ever asked yourself why is it that when you eat more, you get hungry more. Eat less, less hunger pains. The worse thing is, hunger pains are so hard to ignore!

I must confess, and this is not good, that I ate so much in Brunei. There’s no exaggeration here–I really ate so much that each night of the 15 days that I was there, I laid down in bed with a bloated stomach, breathing difficulty and fear of bangungot. One time, after a bible study night, I ate 3 (sshh!!) bowls of dinuguan and 3 big slices of home-made puto! It was sooooo good I found myself in the toilet throwing up a good measure of those foods in the bowl (I know this is gross but I’m not forcing you to read this haha) so that I could breathe normally. I know it was not bulimia but gluttony! And that’s so bad! I was bad    

I went to my soon to be mom-in-law’s birthday party this afternoon. Last time they saw me was about three weeks ago, before I left for Brunei. First thing they said to me was: “Parang ang taba mo?” I was about to say, ”No, you guys just need glasses” when J’s sister blurted, “Buntis ka ba, ang laki ng tyan mo??”

“Ermm…no..these…uhm..are…(gulp) FATS!!!!”

When I got home, my mum (my mum!!! whose supposed to tell you nothing but the WHOLE truth) told my dad so loudly I think the neigbors heard the dreaded “tingnan-mo-anak-mo-ang-LAKI-ng-tinaba”

Okay! Okay! I got fat! I gained weight! I ate so many fried and oily foods in Brunei and the likes of Nasi Katok and buttered prawn! BUT…no mistake about this…

I. Will. Lose. These. Fats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today’s sing along song: Instant Weight Lose by Sparks