Unpublished Mementos

My weekend started with a dozen of beautiful white roses. Oh di ba?! What an extraordinary way to start my rest days... (weekends).

So ayun na nga, I get to take some rest! Kasi naman for the past week I've been so busy with a lot of things. My Mom visited Manila and at the same time we're busy processing our papers in preparation for our future plans. Hayy... ngayon lang talaga ako medyo nakapagpahinga so I spent most of my time here at home...

I just realize that I've been living here in our pad for more than 7 months and I haven't even published some snippets of a place I called home... well let me make "yabang" about our pad. Since kakalinis lang namin, I thought this is the best time to take some pic-pic kesa naman ipakita ko yung untidy version.

So there. Diyan din napupunta most of my salary. We frequent Home Store, Ace Hardware or Handyman everytime pupunta kami sa mall. Ako nga madalas din sa Makro to check out some cheap stuff I can add up to our interior. We have a small collection of Japanese-Oriental stuffs from stuff toys, display items, memorabilla, and even placematts. Yung center table dapat Japanese table yan kaso ang taas ng pinasadya ni Papa. Balak ko nga lagariin yung paa... haha!

We woke up Sunday morning to catch a 9 o'clock mass at Sanctuario De San Antonio kaso dumating kami 9:30 na. Malas pa is kakatapos lang ng mass and next is 10:30 pa. So we just decided to go to Market Market, take a heavy breakfast and go to the Tech Tiangge. I want to check out some MP4 players kasi.

Anyway, habang naglalakad-lakad we saw this cute cactus on sale... 3 for 100 ang labanan... quality na yung mga flowering cactus so panalong panalo di ba?! Mahilig kasi ako sa plants... sa pad I have flower pots lined up sa window... dun ko nga lang na discover na Euphorbia pala tawag dun sa flower plants ko na inuwi ko from Iloilo when I went there last August 2006.

So far I have a yellow and a pink-red Euphorbia. Nakakaaliw kasi hindi siya nawawalan ng flowers. Everyday may nahuhulog na flowers at may tumutubong bago kapalit. I also have a couple of cactus galing din sa Iloilo yung iba sa window din nakalagay but meron din sa comfort room namin. So when I saw this man selling these nice flowering cactus... bili na agad! Wala siyang kasamang pots so we went to Ace Hardware and bought some pots. Since our unit is at the 14th floor, pati fertilled soil kailangan naming bilhin dahil wala kaming pagkukunan sa bahay.

So there pagdating sa haws... I kept myself busy with my creation... ang ganda niyang tignan. We bought the ones na magbu-bloom pa lang yung flowers kaya exciting. I can't wait to see it bloom. Sa ganda ng quality na nabili namin... we decided pang center table siya. And yung isa naman katabi ng mga euphorbia. I just used my aquarium pebbles to cover the soil. Parang expert gumawa nu! I just realized also na mahilig pala ako sa matitinik na plants, hahaha! What the hell that means?

Well, I cannot end this blog entry without including my favorite marine aquarium. In fairness, my clown fish is 7 months old na rin. I also have a few damsels there and a couple of sea anemone.

So ayan nasama pa sa pic yung CVG ID. Ok na rin yan. That's one memento I also want to keep since I'll soon be leaving a lot of my friends and mentors there... I'm gonna miss you all! Hay Monday na naman work na naman... absent kaya uli ako?! Hihi...

// UNO

I remember then..

At first, I even hesitated...

Should I let go of one good thing that I can maybe keep for a lifetime... just for something or someone not really worth my time? I don't think so...

And I did made the right decision...

Indeed, sometimes we have to take risks.

Indeed, there are times that we needed to sacrifice.

Indeed, my 2006 are not just challenges...

Because there is also this gift that I will treasure for a lifetime!

A Clip from the Side Trip

(Click here to view the rest of our Boracay Trip Album!)

Fun-fun Dinagyang... and a Bora side trip!

I've been celebrating my birthday for the past 11 years at my parent's hometown, Iloilo City. That's actually since we moved there back in 1995. Even up to now that I'm back here in Manila, umuuwi pa rin ako. It is not really to celebrate my birthday there but mainly because of Dinagyang Festival. Mas gusto kong umuwi ng January kesa Christmas because it's much more fun. The city is in its festive mood and you can hear the drum beats everywhere. This year 2007 though is much more different. Like last year, I took 13 days off from work to join this year's Dinagyang and of course to celebrate my birthday. This time though I brought someone with me... Louie.

I arrived morning of January 18 at the airport. Supposedly 19th pa ang dating ko but since I wasn't able to go to work (due to my hoarse voice and severe cough), I took an earlier flight para sulit ang vacation.

What makes my trip more special is January 21st, when I celebrated my birthday, I was with my bestfriend's first baby's christening. It is actually a multiple celebration. Birthday din kasi ng fwendship kong si Nelma and wedding anniversary din ng besfriend Jane ko, all-in-one celebration at Max's Resto in SM City Iloilo.

I took more time resting after that day since di pa rin tuluyang magaling yung sakit ko (I'm taking antibiotics na nga!) and also to make sure pagdating ng bisita ko, I'm well enough to tour him around my parent's hometown.

It was January 24 when Louie arrived at Iloilo Airport (straight from work). I started touring him around Iloilo - from Fort San Pedro to Villa Beach Resort where I usually frequent with my barkada back in college. Parehas kaming excited with the trip - me because he's witnessing the city and the people who mean so much to me; and him because it's a new city... a new place... and I'm sharing my life.

We woke up at 2AM the next day to catch the first trip to Caticlan, Aklan - it's our side trip to Boracay! Sarap ng feeling when I got reunited with my favorite island. It's been a while since my last visit because the last time I went there was holy week of 2004. It was just a 1 and a half day trip because we have to rush back to Iloilo for the Kasadyahan and Dinagyang Festival and to also spend more time with my family and friends.

(Click here to view the rest of our Boracay Trip Album!)

We took a lot of pictures there to capture every memories of the trip and there was even a time when we reached Station 1 and I'm running out of camera batteries. We have to rush back to Station 3 where we are staying to quick charge our camera battery so we can capture the magnificent view of the sunset (sobrang nakakapagod yun... it's a few kms walk!). Awww... sunset in Boracay... what more can you ask for?!

(Click here to view the rest of our Boracay Trip Album!)

Saturday, January 27 - di na kami nag-join sa Kasayahan Festival - sa TV na lang kami nanood sa live telecast. Nakakapagod kasi yung bus ride from Caticlan to Iloilo (when we reached the city I even have to meet an old friend at Villa beach). We went to the busy city at about 11AM with my friend Jane and spent time roaming around - madaming tao... masikip, mainit but everyone's smiling and enjoying the festivity. We had lunch on one of the food fest area in the city and then Louie and I decided to leave the busy, crowded city behind and visit the zoo in Racsus, Guimbal.

There we went and took more pictures... hay puro na lang solo pics since dalawa lang kami nagpapalitan ng camera. After a couple of hours, we headed back to the city... went to the mall... watched Eragon and went home... KAPAGOD!!!

Then the highlight of the festival... January 28 - Dinagyang 2007 Ati-atihan contest. We actually woke up late. Sobrang pagod kasi and we also need to save our energy since I know for sure that it's going to be a whole day activity from the carousel-like competition to merry making, food fest and concerts at night. Normally, if you really want to witness the festival you have to wake up before 5AM and be at one of the five judging area at 6AM (late na nga 'yun) to get a better view of the tribe's performance. In our case, we woke up at 8AM watched the live telecast of the few tribes and then went to the city at 10AM. We didn't watch the tribe's performance. We just went there to take some pictures... it's actually more fun! We had lunch at SM City Iloilo... pinatikim ko kasi kay Louie our famous Ted's La Paz Batchoy and then we went home after that to rest for the night's food festival.

Sobrang nakakapagod di ba, but we're enjoying every moment of it. It was past 8PM nung bumalik kami sa city and this time together with my parents. Nandun na kasi si Christian, my younger brother, sa food fest waiting for us to have dinner. So there we went... food trip... some beer... while watching the band.

I always have a memorable experience everytime I visit Iloilo that's why everytime I reach the last day of my trip it breaks my heart. I am leaving a portion of my life... the happy and simple part of me... then I'll be back to reality... to the busy-complicated-confusing-life. Yes, indeed, we reached our last day. We spent the whole morning buying gifts and pasalubong and dropping by to some of my friends to bid farewell.

5:40PM is supposedly our departure time back to Manila...

6:00PM... we're at the waiting area...
6:17PM... still waiting... tired...

6:43PM... exhausted... we even had a petty fight at the airport...

Past 7PM... we finally boarded the plane...

Our flight was over an hour delayed...

My vacation was extended for more than an hour...

Then it was again over...

I LOVE Iloilo... I MISS Bora!