The Northern Adventure with Surprise Guests!

Just got back from a 2day trip to the north pole, este, northern part of the Philippines, Ilocos Norte. Ang masasabi ko lang, PANALO. Sulit ang 3 shades darker skin tone ko and the possible infection/ UTI/ diarrhea dahil sa tubig.

At kamustahin mo, nakita namin ang Aegis, not once, not twice, not even thrice but four times! Parang ini-swak talaga ang schedule namin dahil arrival and departure, kasabay namin sila. Sila rin ang aming mga 'lunch buddies' dahil nagkikita kami sa pinag lalunch-an namin (take note, magkaibang resto ito). Baka akala nila, stalker kami ni Sol. haha. Muntik na nga naming sabihing

"Excuse me but do we know you? Why are you following us? If you want our pictures, just say so" kaso lang baka ipa deport kami ng Laoag ng di oras.

Bago ako makalimot, nais kong pasalamatan ang aming sponsors, Jing (Kathy's beloved) and si Bons (friend ni Sol). Ang tyaga ni Jinggoy na ipag drive kami papuntang Pagudpod (2 hour non stop drive from Laoag) at hayaan kaming magtampisaw for 15 minutes (at tiisin ang aming tilian blues pagkatapos naming magpatintero sa alon ng dagat) at mag drive ulit ng 2 hours pabalik. Saludo kami sa'yo. You are now worthy of my precious blessing (as if hinihingi)

Kay Bons at sa pinsan nya na nagsilbing tour guide namin on day 2, na pinagtyagaan kaming ilibot/ ipagdrive sa katirikan ng araw, maraming salamat sa inyong hospitality. At shempre, malilimutan ba namin ang Pamulinawen resto, La Preciosa, Java Hotel's Eagles Nest (Java the Hut, ika nga namin ni Sol) at empanadahan sa Batac na bumawas ng 3 taon sa aming life span dahil sa uber sarap at unhealthy food na kinain namin. Matapos ang isang toneladang bagnet at longanisa (na pica pica sa kanila), crispy dinuguan and fried isaw, parang gusto na munang maging vegetarian.

Shempre, ang pinaka importante, Nais kong magbigay pugay kay Mirasol na aking Laoag buddy na kahit na nakalibot na dito ay sinamahan pa din ang first-time turistang tulad ko.

Eto lang ang ayaw ko kay Sol:

1. Si sol ay isang maninira ng mga pictures- minsan lang ako pumunta ng Pagudpod at ang mga kuha nya sa akin ay either sobrang lapit (na walang background) or sobrang layo (na hindi mo na makikilala kung sino ang kinukuhanan). Mahilig din shang mag picture na animo'y mag aapply ako sa agency.. Gitnang gitna, full body shot.

2. Si Sol ay takaw-kidnap- pumapasok sha sa van ng may van, nang hindi tinitignan kung yun ba ang tamang sasakyan. Magnet din sha ng mga taong may history of violence.

3. Si Sol ay isang magnifying glass- Sa sobrang nipis ng babaeng ito, nagmumukha lalo akong obese.

Mula sa kaibuturan ng aking puso, iniaalay ko ang award na ito. I thank you.

My Mom, the Kill Joy.

My mom and brother (Kuya Paul) derive this queer sense of happiness bursting the bubble of unknowing people eagerly anticipating a much awaited ending. I think they have a term for that- Sadism.

I'm not an avid fan of boxing but its part of the Filipino pride that at least you watch Manny Pacquiao fight. And it never fails that whenever there's a match, my mom would prance around the room and tell everyone that she already knows the winner, even before it begins playing on tv. And every single time, we would ask her to shut up (kindly, of course) and she would say "wala naman akong sinasabi", but would give so many hints that she practically gives the answer away.

This time, I was quite relieved to learn that my mom and dad had a lunch date with a family friend, thus, I could watch the fight in peace. However, just when the game was about to begin, they arrived. I felt a bit safe because my mom would have no means of knowing the results. She's been out of the house and has no means of getting a "leak".

I went to her to make "mano" and she told me that there's something going on with her phone and that I should check it. Then she showed me a text message from my aunt in the states stating the winner of the match. She did this, WITHOUT WARNING.

And that's how she ruined my Sunday afternoon.

Our 2nd!

Wala na akong masabi kay Erik. He got what he aimed for when he said he wanted to give me something special for our 2nd anniversary. Well,well, well. He just gave me a brand new TechnoMarine Geneve! Whatever craziness got into his brilliant head, there's no way im complaining.

I have got to be the luckiest girl alive. Imagine having someone who gives you the sun, moon and mother of pearl. ;-)

He just makes my heart melt.

Watch or no watch, I'd still say he is the most amazing guy in the planet. He just fills me with so much love and happiness, its unreal.

Makes me feel guilty that I didn't give him anything for our anniversary except our dinner date yesterday at Outback.

I'll just make bawi someday :-)

Annabanana's Attempt to be Romantic.

This is so effing cheesy but I seriously have no idea what to give/ do on our anniversary.I am totally clueless. Any help at this point will be very much appreciated.

I, thank you.

When Passwords fail you...

Fek. I hate it when I forget passwords. I cannot open two of my accounts because I don't know which password is which. For my other personal account, I cant even remember my login name.

This is what I get for being too lazy to check my emails and other online stuffs.

No Whining about Amy Winehouse

Okay, I must admit that I was intrigued about all the buzz that she's getting. She's a wreck but everybody seems to love her. I read her from the Rolling Stone Magazine and she got really great reviews. Michael Kors loves her as well. There was even a listening party. Hmmmm, maybe Amy Winehouse is someone worth listening to. I only know the chorus to the song rehab and I thought it was a crap. But then again, maybe I was influenced by all the media attention she's creating. If you look at her and see her drunk and slurring, you'd immediately see her as a big mess.

Thanks to MTV Live's Amy Winehouse Special for enlightening me. Yes, she was chugging alcohol after every song, and yes, I couldnt understand half of what she's saying/ singing, but her songs are really catchy.

My personal favorites are:

Stronger than Me
Me and Mr. Jones (I thought this was a revival of Marvin Gaye's song)
Back to Black
Do me Good
You know That Im No Good

Yes, she's a mess. But so are we.

An Afternoon Tea Party

I realized that with the way things are going, coffee would kill me in 10 years tops. Thus, I need to cut down my coffee intake and drink decaffeinated teas instead.

yup, since the asian cruise, I have been gulping down gallons and gallons of tea instead of my latte. Its not easy, especially when I'm trying to fight off the sleepiness I feel during late night gimmicks.

Today being the 20th, it would have been nicer if I held my hunger for a little bit so Eriko and I can celebrate our 22nd Monthsary stuffing our faces with food. But Erik came to the office later, thus, he can only leave the office after 6:30, giving me an hour to do the pigging out on my own. In this case, Jen was my very eager accomplice.

Only with the intention of drinking our afternoon tea, Jen and I went to Dome right after office. I'm just so addicted to their Twining's Apple Cinnamon and Raisin pot of tea which I cant seem to find in the grocery. Too bad that there's an ongoing buy 1, take 1 promo for their waffles, therefore, our good intention to cut down our food intake wes thrown out the very chic window of the cafe.


**There's something so funny/ cute about having "tea" with a friend rather than having "coffee". Felt like we were some characters from a historical romance novel, with our parasols and corsets. Haha. With Jen dressed in her very corporate attire, and me, clad in my blue uniform and flat slippers, it looked more like a socialite and her yaya, waiting for their sundo.

I always find ways to humiliate myself.

Lazy Songs for the Lazy Weekend

If you are looking for great songs, er, singers to listen to during the long weekend, try downloading songs from:

Leona Naess- Lazy days is most noteworthy ;-)
Ingrid Michaelson- If you're a fan of Grey's anatomy (which Im not), you probably know her song "Keep Breathing"; but I do like her other songs
Aimee Mann- my old time favorite

you could also try downloading songs from Joshua Radin and Iron and Wine.

A Song for the Perks...

eunice.abby.sam.japhet.atoy.bonandpaul.george.

On The Side of Me
Corinne May

I'm not the easiest person to love
I'm often the one who lets things go unresolved

Yet you choose to be
On the side of me
On the side of me
Yet you choose to be on the side of me
On the side of me

I'm not too proud of some things
I've done in my life
The skeletons in my closet
Are too big for me to hide

Yet you choose to be
On the side of me
On the side of me
Blessed Charity
You're on the side of me
On the side of me

Everyone needs a friend to hold
When it's cold outside
And there's no place to go
Everyone needs a friend to hold
All alone I cried
There was no place to go
I remember when nobody cared
But you

I'm not the easiest person to love
But you, you've opened your heart to show me what I'm worth

'Cause you choose to be
On the side of me
On the side of me
What a mystery
You're on the side of me
On the side of me

Everyone needs a friend to hold
When it's cold outside
And there's no place to go
Everyone needs a friend to hold
All alone I cried
There was no place to go

I remember when nobody cared
Nobody cared
But you...

Yeah you choose to be
On the side of me
On the side of me

Chronicles of a First Time Turista Part 3

Where was I?

Day 2: leaving Singapore (land)

After having breakfast, we immediately packed our bags and prepared to leave the hotel to board the ship. It was hard for me to leave the marshmallow like bed and pillows and the luxurious bathtub, but the thought of being 'home alone' in Singapore for the next four days is not my idea of having fun.


We had to do some last minute shopping before we boarded the ship .Laurice and Abby were immediately drawn to the Singapore souvenir shops selling items at a really really low price. I, being the pathological crammer, insisted that there will be better buys when we get back from the cruise. Ha-ha, guess what? I'm wrong, as usual.

With our baggage at hand, we left the land of singapore to taste and feel the waters of South East Asia.

(Still) Day 2: All Aboard!

Being heavily dependent on what the media is feeding me, I had this notion that cruise ships are filled only with gorgeous and fabulous people clad in long gowns and tuxedo (not that I actually brought a long gown, nor am I uber gorgeous/ fabulous). All I could say is that the group of people was, er, colorful, to say the least.

Although we were the only Pinoy group in the cruise, it was a relief to know that more than half of the cruise staff were Filipinos and being around them felt like we were back home.

Since not all rooms were ready for lodging, we decided to eat our late lunch at the ocean deck of the ship. If you are on a strict diet, a vegan, anorexic or hypertensive/ diabetic, I advise you NOT to take this cruise. SERIOUSLY. Just looking at the buffet table made my BP skyrocket and my neck to hurt.

We then headed back to our room after eating to take a short rest before the captain's welcome cocktail which is around 6pm. Since Laurice and I didn't have enough sleep the night before, and because the ship's movement made us feel like babies in a cradle, we instantly fell asleep.

It was the knock on the door that woke us up. That's when we realized it was a quarter before 6 and we had little time to fix ourselves, gala style. So after a quick preparation, we hauled our asses to the lounge where the Captains ball was being held.

and we were misled...

I remember specifically being told that the captain's welcome cocktail was a formal event. When we got to the venue, it surprised us that the other passengers were short of wearing pajamas/ beach shorts inside the lounge. To say that we were overdressed is an understatement. We were better dressed than the captain himself (a little short of exaggeration, as the captain is required to wear the captain's uniform but you get my drift). So just to make the most out of our attires, we decided to be the life of the party. After the welcome, we left the lounge and ate at the fancier part of the cruise and had dozens of picture taken. We also rocked the videoke area with Gerry's rendition of Careless Whisper and Sir Mike/ MJ's duet of Higher. After that, we celebrated Sexy Patsie's bday by dancing the night away. So what if everybody's looking at us? We're Pinoy and we're loving it.