Back to regular programming

Husband went to work today. He still feels weak but he said he needs to snap out of it or else mawawala ang aming kumikitang kabuhayan. I was able to go to the wet market and nearby grocery too today. For the first time I didn't feel dizzy anymore. Salamat at malamig ang panahon dahil di ko na kailangan magpayong kahit medyo tanghali na. I dropped by the church too, to pray and to light candles for my family's well-being.

Magaling na nga ako. Here's the proof...

Day of National Mourning

May justice be served...

pic from twitter

Salamat at Saludo sa #Fallen44

I can't contain my frustration regarding the biggest issue that is hounding the Philippines nowadays. Grabe lang. A peace process, Bangsamoro Basic Law is ongoing and yet a mission conducted by the SAF(elite police officers group) against the MILF who believed to be harboring the suspected terrorist (and failed) last Sunday. Bakit sila may mission without the Interior Secretary and Chief OIC of Philippine National Police knowledge? At bakit walang tumulong sa kanila when they needed reinforcement which resulted to a massacre of these courageous men?

To add insult to injury, the President has been avoiding answers to a lot of questions. He lacks the tooth to assure the populace that they will come after these terrorists. The lack of empathy is quite evident too, in his recent dealings with the aggrieved parties. Parang pakitang tao lang.

Salamat at mayroon kaming tagapagligtas katulad ninyo. These young souls did not die in vain. To the grieving families, our sincerest condolences. May the loving and comforting arms of God embrace you profusely. 

I wish our country well. We had enough.

Australian Open

If there's another thing that I'm thankful of during these past days is that I get to watch the second week of this tennis open while I'm on my sick lair. I root for the world no.1 all the time, Novak Djokovic, though I'm consistently in awe of how great the other players, too. It would be a lonely sport without the likes of Federer, Nadal, Murray, etc. If my memory serves me right, it was in the late 90's that I got to fell in love with this game. My husband whose very sportsminded, introduced me to it. Panahon pa ng mga tennis greats like Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, etc. My husband even attended some trainings in our village clubhouse, pati ako binilhan ng raketa. But I didn't able to play that much. Badminton na lang. Naging favorite spectator sport ko na lang siya. Sa sobrang hilig din namin noon pati mga aso pinangalan namin sa kanila. Our then labradors were named Andre and Steffi. Imagine how happy were we nung nagkatuluyan yung dalawa. 'We found love in the tennis court' ang peg. There would be times that when I'm too lazy to exercise, kapag tennis season na na-iinspire ako mag-workout uli. Kahit yung legs na lang ni Steffie Graf o Maria Sharapova mapantayan ko. Sa ganda, wag na umasa.

photo by AustralianOpen twitter

Currently, my favorite Novak is gunning for a position in the finals. But he has to beat the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka first. *Brings out the popcorn*

Better

As much as possible, I don't want to take meds whenever I get sick. For the first time in many years, I'm down w/ a flu. I can't even remember na di ba sa tagal. Baka nga ten years pa. I'm an advocate of having a regular exercise regimen and a good diet, which means I really value what goes into my system. Kaya lang my immunity wasn't that consistent from the last two months as I've said. Ayun nahawa ni Mister. This respiratory illness must be treated drastically. So, no choice but lumaklak ng antibiotics. Thankfully, I'm better today than yesterday. No fever na. My husband is slowly recovering mas advance daw ako ng three days. Competitive talaga?

We thank our son for being our nurse the past days. We don't have immediate house helps but our office staff here in the compound is always available too, whenever we need a hand for some errands.

This will pass.

Manic Monday

Our sickness is back with a vengeance. For the first time in our 22 years of married life, my husband and I contacted flu at the same time. As in pareho kaming helpless. Hoorrrific, indeed.

Stay tuned.

Health concerns

Woke up late maybe because of yesterday's activity.  Husband went out at 6am with his bike friends. It's his 'me time' activity every Sunday. He asked me to join him two days ago but I begged off. I want to sleep longer. 

Auditing + Back to the gym

I spent half of my morning trying to account all my expenses from last year. I usually do this at the start of the year para malaman ko kung saan ako mag-a-adjust in the new year in terms of our family budget. By this, I would know too, kung may savings ako from last year's. It seems as expected, a big chunk of it napunta sa vacations. Our three major out of town trips- Baler, Aurora,  La Luz, Batangas and Baguio(twice). I didn't include Subic during my birthday because we didn't stay overnight, a minor expense. Our SG plane tickets + Universal Studios are included too, because ako na ang sumagot doon and I booked last November.

Typical Friday

Bank errand after lunch. Of course, this means too that I got to have a quick chat with my sis. Then I gave her my pasalubongs from SG. Got to visit my Mom too, after my transaction at the bank. Drove thru first at Starbucks for my pasalubong for her. She has an appointment also for her warts' removal in a nearby clinic so I was able to send her off.

House of Minis

Every time we visit Greenhills, we always try to drop by and dine here. This restaurant has a lot of memories for me and my family. My husband and I were still dating then when we got to experience this resto. Even when we frequent Shangrila Mall many years back, nung di pa gates of hell ang EDSA, we always patronize their branch in the food court there. Oo, loyalista kami. 

Tenderloin and steak ala pobre served with soup, coleslaw salad and ice cream

My boys love steak no doubt, thus our extreme fondness with them. Nagulat kami ng anak ko newly renovated na pala sila. Akala ko naligaw kami. But they still have the same faces. Natuwa kami sobra. We even asked the oldest waiter how many years na siya in service. He replied 38 years already. At dun na raw siya malamang till the end. Wow, such dedication. Sana makapiling pa namin siya for may years to come.

Greenhills part 2

It's just right to go back to the shop that tried to repair my cellphone. We paid him and we rightfully deserve to be given a just explanation why my phone broke down once more. To make the long story short, wala na daw pag-asa. Dead as in double dead na yung phone ko. Ang lungkot. Gumastos pa kami tapos ang kauuwian din pala, wala? Life is unfair.

Anyway, I didn't believe him. I told my husband for us to go somewhere else to have my phone repaired. Huwag sa Greenhills. Feeling ko kasi vultures yung iba. Maaaring sinasabi nilang wala na pag-asa pero bibilhin na lang daw nila at kakatayin baka pwede pa ibenta ang ibang parts. I'm sure gagawin nila tapos ibebenta sa mas mataas na presyo. Que horror.

Flatliner

We tried to resurrect my phone so off we(with my husband) went to Greenhills this afternoon. The problem was overcharging the battery. They replaced it for p1400.00 and ask for a labor fee of p400.00. I was ecstatic that I don't need to buy a new one. It's not my priority right now, not in the near future actually. I believe that one should not waste too much funds on gadgets alone. Nasisira din at nag-dedepreciate ang value. Not a wise investment, indeed. I bought it for p34,000. last Jan. 2013 and yet after two years, it got busted just like that. And they were telling us that once repaired, I could to sell it to them for p10,000 na lang daw. Fastbreak daw ang tawag doon. Ano, hilo?

I was able to use it while we're eating in Cafe France. I even took a shot of our merienda. Plus, I was able to send my SG pics thru email again. Imagine my disappointment when we got home while I was charging it, it went dead again. As in flatline. 

dead cellphone

Today is a sad day. Natuluyan na yung cp ko. I learned about it while we're still in SG. Sa kakagamit at lagay sa bag, plus my bag was full of other things.

For the record, ngayon lang ako nakasira ng cellphone since my Nokia 2110 days. I'm so frustrated.

RIP my Iphone 5. Sana not forever.

Back to reality

Woke up from the noise care of our neighbors. A renovation is ongoing. Nakakainis yung may kumakanta pang construction worker singing along sa music on top of his lungs. Ok lang naman kumanta, but not at 7:30 a.m. and on a holiday. Que horror!

Tama, nasa Manila na nga ako.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel tired at all kung yung legs ko ang tatanungin with all the walking na naganap sa SG. But my backache is a different story. Having a mild scoliosis might be the culprit. I'm not used to lugging around a crossbody bag that is heavier than usual. Bottomline, I slept last night ahead of my boys after a quick shower because I can't take the pain anymore. I didn't sleep soundly. It was too cold that I looked for our comforter middle of the night because the blanket doesn't suffice anymore. 

Ion Orchard and dining at Ion Food Opera

It's our last full meal in Singapore. My son explored Bugis Junction mall while me and my husband decided to go back earlier at Funan mall and Ion Orchard. After exploring Ion Orchard and Wisma Astria we decided eat lunch at Ion's food hall at the basement. We will miss this authentic dish that's why we ordered Hainanese Roasted and steamed chicken rice. 

Touchdown, Manila

Back to traffic, pollution, and inefficient transpo system. Yes, Manila no less. Can't hide ranting because we immediately experienced this as soon as we got out of the airport. We need to catch a taxi but as usual, grabe ang patong ng mga taxi na hindi authorized ng airport as in thrice the regular price of an ordinary fare which is p400-500, for us living in the northern part of Manila.

After waiting for almost thirty minutes for yellow metered taxis authorized by the airport, we we're able to rode one. Drove-thru KFC and took out some for our late dinner.

Masarap mamasyal pero magastos at nakakapagod. 

dining at Rasapura Masters Marina Bay Sands

After window shopping at the Marina Bay Sands shoppes, we indulged ourselves in Rib Eye steak, Seafood Penne and Grilled Salmon at the food court  of Marina Bay Sands known as the Rasapura Masters. It was yum!

Mustafa and Funan Mall

I asked my boys to visit this malls once more. I enjoyed going to these places last 2010 kaya I went them to experience it too.

Mustafa mall for our pasalubongs...

Gardens by the Bay

If there's one thing that I want to explore on my second visit in SG, this is Gardens by the Bay. I love plants and for me this is the best venue for me to indulge myself into. We went here after our Rasapura lunch. It was midday and the heat was a little unbearable. I wanted to visit the Cloud and Flower domes but my boys were tired from all the walking. So, we just visited the Super trees. 

Suuuuper ganda!

Fatbird at Bugis

Famished, we explored the nearby streets of our hotel for dinner. We never thought that a lot of eating joints are just a three minute walk. It was a Friday kaya maraming lumalabas. Ang daming magagandang kotse ang dumadaan. Lamborghini, Benz, Masseratis, etc. Kinikilig ang asawa kong mahilig sa kotse.

Anyway, we can't decide where to eat. We wanted something different. My son is a picky eater, I guess ako din. Food is expensive here in SG, kaya it's fine that we pay a little higher but we want to make sure that we'll enjoy it.

Universal Studios Singapore + Sentosa + LUGE + Merlion

We booked online at Asiatravel.com and paid SG$66 each with free food voucher for SG$5. After purchasing EZ link cards, we rode the MRT from Bugis and a Resorts World bus to Sentosa. Went to the Kiosk #9 to exhange our printed receipt for our USS tickets.

My boys rode the Transformers ride without me. Yes, not a fan. I chose to make gala and people watched while they queue for an hour. This is my second time here in SG, so not that excited na as it was the first time. Anyway, they enjoyed naman daw.

On the little red dot

Touchdown, Singapore! We arrived at little past seven. Immigration line was loooong. Initially, we want to ride the MRT to the hotel, pero sa pagod at dami ng dala namin, we changed our mind. We went to the taxi bay, lo and behold ang haba din ng pila! After 45 minutes, we're cruising the super clean highways of Singapore na. Love, love the green path streets of SG! Nakikita mo agad how they value nature at ang urban planning. Pinag-isipan talaga. How we wish this is the same with Manila. Collective sigh kami lagi buong pamilya thinking about this.

arrival, departure

This trip is memorable for my family because this will be our first out of the country trip with our son. He was only three years old when my husband and I went to Hongkong August of 1996. Through the years, it's either me or my husband ang nagbibiyahe internationally. Locally, we have countless trips.

As I've said, this is a graduation gift. I booked last November as soon as I knew that he'll be graduating that semester. Overjoyed, I mistakenly booked on the same days that the Pope will be in the Philippines. Honest mistake talaga.

pre-departure

Had to finalize everything for our upcoming family trip tomorrow. I'm very excited because this will be our son's first out of the country trip. This is our gift for him because he graduated from college last Nov. 29, 2014. Traveling for me is not just like sightseeing but more than an education itself. Hope our son will gather enough learnings from this experience, too.

Ouchie day... not!

Aside from going to the dentist, isa pa ito sa mga aktibidades sa buhay na kailangan mong magbayad para masaktan. Facial, bakit nauso ka pa?

But I was wrong. This is my lucky day. Surprisingly, it went smoothly. I mean, hindi lang yung kinis ng mukha ko pero the whole process, I didn't feel pain AT ALL  unlike in my past experiences. Thank you, Cielo. You're heaven sent.

bank errands and visiting Mom

I wasn't able to finish watching the Golden Globes. 'Coding' ang car kaya I have to go out during the window hours. Anyway, may replay naman sa gabi.  I needed to go to the bank to exchange some foreign denominations for our upcoming trip. As I've said, I'm blessed to have siblings working on a bank. I just texted my sister to prepare my desired amount and just text back if it's time to pick it up.

Next on my list was visiting my Mom. I gave her share of my Guinataang bilo-bilo that I cooked last Sunday and my sis' pasalubong, Rowena's tarts, from her family's Tagaytay trip last Sunday. 

It's a good thing that everything was in close proximity. I don't have to go thru 'hell traffic' just to realize these activities. Simple things that I'm grateful for. 

Golden Globes

It's that time of the year again. The awards season kicks in with the Golden Globes. We are Hollywood movies afficionados, aside from my husband likes to watch TV series a lot. Some of them Game of Thrones, CSI, Criminal Minds, etc. Me, I follow the Newsroom and the Modern Family. Sa local, anything from the Kapuso channel.

Golden Globes + an unusual breakfast = wonderful 

cooking roll, 18.9 temperature, earthquake

Was on a 'cooking roll' today. Went to the market and prepared adobong pusit, tinolang manok and ginataang bilo-bilo.

Learned that we're experiencing a below 20 degree temperature nowadays, plus a 5.9 intensity earthquake at 3:30 am. Kaya pala nakapulupot ako sa husband ko nung nagising ako.

sinful J.CO

This was husband's pasalubong which served as my midnight snack. 

Lord, patawad.

on favors

Asking favors isn't part of my vocabulary. I broke that rule today. Ayun, pinagbayaran ko ang consequences. Never again.

Charlie Hebdo + Max's

The recent terror attack in Paris is disheartening. Hanggang ngayon talaga may nag-aaway away pa dahil sa relihiyon. Being a student of history, feeling ko walang pinagbago yung sinaunang panahon at sa ngayon. Pumapatay nang dahil sa relihiyon. How crude can we get? Sabi nga, this shouldn't be. We should see Jesus Christ in each and everyone of us. We should love each other according to his image and likeness. Kung nasusunod ito, friends tayo lahat kahit walang Facebook. I hope this will be solved immediately.

In other news, we had errands late in the afternoon that required us to go malling. We chose Max's after debating on where to eat. We ordered for kare-kare and opkors, the famous fried chicken. I realized how I've missed Max's. Simple to the palate, yet, sarap to the bones. No overkill coatings and pampalasa unlike others. 

Really just like old times. Simple at di complicated ang buhay.

Looong lines

I've observed that everywhere I go, more often than not, aside from heavy traffic, I deal with queues. With 104 million as the current population of Filipinos, magugulat pa ba ako? Instead of stressing over this which is a waste of energy, I chose to go out during off peak hours like when I go to the grocery or malls which tends to be crowded already in the afternoon.

But there are situations that you can't avoid sometimes like going to the bank. One needs to really wait for one's turn. I'm privileged that I have two siblings employed on separate banks. I get to enjoy a few perks like when I need to deposit cheques or cash, I just leave it to my sister's care and just check it online. 

My sister is in her final stretch of her maternity leave so I've no qualms of waiting for my turn today regarding my bank transactions. Imagine my surprise when my name was called out ahead of the others. Ooops, my new kumare pala(we became Godmothers of my niece just recently) saw me. Suddenly, I felt I'm part of the preferred client circle. 

I'm blessed. 

Solo

Going solo today. Boys are attending their individual activities. 

I'm back to a no-rice-in-a-bowl kind of lunch.

stir fired chayote, mung beans and shrimps

PBA Finals

'Tis the season for local basketball. Ang ingay my boys!

mindset 2015

Positive psyche, goals and achievements rather than resolutions n promises.

At my age, making a list of resolutions doesn't apply anymore. Pambata lang yun. I used to have my students make a list of their own as soon as classes start after their Christmas/New Year vacation. Syempre, ang mga teacher may hangover din. The best activity is to ask them to make one. Then konting sharing and counseling. Di ubos agad ang homeroom time namin.

Kidding aside, mas makabuluhan at effective sa akin ito. In recent years, I make a list at the back of my journal. Last year, I listed ten and ticked off seven from it. Not bad!

brunch at Midas Hotel

As I've said, husband came from a bout of flu during the holidays so aside from our bike ride, this is another sort of celebration for getting healed. 

We rarely eat in hotels(we reserve this on our out of town trips). You may consider this already as a BIG thing for us. I love the ambience in the lobby, so fragrant, as if may nakabasag at tumapon na pabango. Naku, guilty ako dito. Ilang beses na nangyari sa akin ito. But unlike me, my boys are like Wolverines, they didn't like the idea. Ang sakit daw sa ilong. Mabuti naman ang mabango kesa mabaho.

bike ride

It was a bike kind of Sunday for my family. And our first this year. It was a sort of a celebration for getting healed. We went to MOA(Mall of Asia) and blended with the community of bikers there which is a familiar sight during weekends. 

 We rode for 18 kilometers. The cough never bothered me anyway.

unbeatable Manila fireworks

Is this a good or a bad thing?

“@mashable: Sorry, NYC, London,Sydney, but Manila kinda has u beat when it comes to fireworks..."

Achoo!

My husband got sick during the holidays. In our line of business, the BER months are the most demanding of all. Hindi niya kinaya ang toxins brought by lack of sleep, stress, etc. 

Ang ganda ng timing. Christmas day talaga. Kung kailan ang mga tao was in jolly spirit, kami naman mixed emotions. Excited because the day that we've all been waiting is finally here which is Jesus Christ's birth, but on the other hand, medyo stressful because I'll be nursing someone alongside with my preparations(baking/cooking, etc.). So, on the day itself, he was in bed with a low grade fever. It was a good thing that I shopped  and wrapped all the gifts earlier last year. This helped a lot. Daig ng maagap ang masipag. Indeed. 

I assumed na ako ang susunod. My resistance was running low, too. I wasn't able to go back to my daily exercise regimen because of my tooth problem that needed medication and repair buong three weeks of December. Plus, we all know that during the holidays, we can't really track our diet because of 'Holiday eating'. Bottomline, I woke up with no voice on New Year's day.

Speechless.

resurecction

Welcoming 2015 with a renewed spirit to chronicle my life's(and other's lives) imperfections in this site. Ideally, I would like to post everyday, malilit o malalaking bagay that I encounter even without the necessary nitty gritty na bahagi ng buhay. Twitter and Instagram doesn't suffice anymore. 

Yes, you are invited to take a peek.

Happy New Year!