Getaway Fever. - Northern Release.

Yep I'm back... back in the writing mode again or mood whatever suits you. It's been months since my last 'real post' and had a couple of fillers prior to this post. It's been months alright but the summer getaway was so well spent and so memorable that it didn't even sink in up to this very moment. I promised ga to give her an unforgettable birthday and I sure did. Our plans, the northern and southern itineraries were indeed followed. These were the experiences neither I nor ga could ever forget.

• Eating galore @ La Union - ga had her first taste of the native Ilocos dishes along with the traditional Filipino cuisine. The dinakdakan (pig's ears), pinapaitan, egado, pinakbet, sinigang na malaga and baboy made her drool all prepared by dad himself, manang and her associates (Hehehe). Sobrang dami na ang magluluto kung sisingit pa ako. Even one of my brother's friends who is in a discipline (no second plates) can't resist the famous egado of manang eventually breaking his rule.

• Pangga's Mahjong Experience - ga actually played mahjong against my uncles, aunts and cousins. I taught her the basics and she easily grasped it. Later, she's already screaming 'pong', 'chow', 'kang' and the 'todas' cry. Promil user ata si pangga e. Did I mention that there are pusta and money pot here? Claire beware! :)
  

• Trip to Baguio - we went up to Baguio to drive dad's friends and at the same time visit the city of pines on its peak season of summer. We strolled to Camp John Hay and had a great lunch @ Dencio's. Everything's great except the traffic though, tough luck since the president was @ Baguio that time for the Holy week season. Ga and I explored the haunted mansion where the caretaker narrated eerie stories and even showed us pictures of the spiritual world to his heart's content. He was really into it until the crowd began to pull away from him. The flower garden was next as the sun sets happily.
• Vigan Trip - the historical place of Vigan puts me back in time when I was @ London. Cobbled stones and gothic architecture that withstood time. You'll feel the reverberation of history around these magnificent architecture as we did. Ga loved the friendly atmosphere offered by the town's folks, the food (empaynada and longganisa) and the historical city's entirety.
• Manaoag Shrine - this place is known in the north as a famous place of worship for Catholics. It's been our family practice to visit the shrine whenever we go home for a vacation. We attended the mass and got ourselves sprinkled with the holy water afterwards. It was a week after the holy week, we do need spiritual healing from time to time not just our physical being. On our way home, ga experienced the buying of bangus (milkfish) @ the stands of Bonuan, Pangasinan highway road adjacent to the fish ponds The prices are good that lives up to the freshness of the fishes being sold @ these stands.

• Food trip @ Manila - ga introduced me to Kopi Roti, UCC, Country Style and Italliani's. I call these restaurants and cafes the Big Four. Kopi Roti offers the best combination of the local pandesal-coffee 1-2 combo, commercialized version. UCC offers my favorite mango crepe. It's comparable to Pancake House's but it really beats up the later in the creamy and mango taste meters. Country Style offers the best sausages and hotdogs I've ever savoured, from Hungarian to German franks. And Italliani's? It became my instant favorite fine dining restaurant the first time I've tried their dishes. No wonder ga always insists on the salad being served there. Loved the salad, salmon and the steak!

• Ga's Bankai - bro's graduation celebration @ La Union was never complete without the tossing of shot glasses. We had the usual drinks, tequila, bailey's and alfonso trese. Laughter was everywhere that it blends well to the videoke. After a few shots, ga and I sung songs and play billiards like there's no tomorrow. It was one heck of a night. That night, I've seen ga screaming 'bankai' (nasobrahan ata ng inom). The battle cry of Bleach anime's Ichigo that means 'second stage' of his sword's power. I was a bit surprised... but it's never a surprise that whatever she does, it always makes me smile with that feeling.
  

Harley The Easy Rider (not the motorcycle this time).

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Nash Attack.

Summer Getaway.

In two weeks, I will see gia again for a summer vacation I-would-never-forget in the making. The lady once that I had crush on is now the lady who's going to fetch me at the airport with my brother. Yup we are together and for the readers out there (if there are) if you are wondering how and when, just wait for the concluding part of my special saga (ala Peter Jackson). I'm serious here. :)

Pangga (it's what we call each other, it means 'love or sweet heart' in Visayan language) already planned the itinerary we're going to have. We had an agreement of her taking on the planning for the Visayas region whereas for me, I will be handling the Luzon region. Hmm.... There is no such thing as boundary when that mysterious entity called 'love' comes into picture. Being Ilocano and her being a Cebuana, we are geographically separated but that didn't stop us in being together.

Okay, enough of that mushy stuff and let's go back to the itinerary that we've planned. I personally wanted to visit Cebu again and the islands around it and Bohol being the closest is in it. Besides most of her relatives are residents of that beautiful island and might as well visit them for the reason that she wanted me to meet them together with her mom and lil sister sugar. I do have gut feeling that all eyes will be set on me (gosh!), the same way we set our eyes on the Alona Kew resort in Panglao. Hence, pangga already made a reservation on that resort for the snorkeling activity and probably dolphin watching too. Hehehehe.

But before embarking for that fun filled trip to the Visayas which is the 2nd week of April, was holy week. I promised her to take her to La Union and Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines. And oh boy, Baguio during the holy week is heavily crowded. Foreigners, low landers especially people from Manila wanted to experience the cool climate (European summer weather). Aside from that, I will be taking her to places of interest. She mentioned the last time she was in Baguio was a stormy day, messed up their excursion plans. So this time, I will be her tourist guide. I stayed there for 4 years and since it's an hour and 45 minute away drive from our place in La Union, I was exposed to what Baguio has to offer. And of course, pangga will meet my dad who's also coming home, get to meet my relatives, will have the chance of playing billiards against me and sing her heart out to videoke to-sawa and of course, savor the lutong-bahay cuisine of manang, dad including myself in La Union. ;)

I'm wishing that everything will go according to what we've planned, and if it does, it would be the best summer yet for the both of us, a great gift for my beloved pangga who is celebrating her birthday this April for her to remember.

Two - Sweet October.

The smile she gave me exhilirated me for a moment and she looked stunningly beautiful in a red blouse. I thought she's going to give me a sarcastic smile for being late but it wasn't, it was a cheerful smile and I exchange her with one too as we approach each other but deep down inside saying to myself, busted na ito dahil late sa unang date but I was carefully eyeing her reactions. I had perfectionist gfs in the past relationships and I don't want to be in the same seat again. So I told her that I was late due to traffic and she just nodded without any hesitation. That's a good sign because I'm the type of person who don't put the best foot forward first at all costs. But that day, being late was unintentional, and clearly she understood that. Lucky me.

I invited her in a Vietnamese restaurant called Hue. The ambience is romantically good and so far the best fine dining restaurant in its cuisine lane I've ever been to. The waiter handed us the menu. While she's carefully making her choice, I stole glimpses of her. 3 to 5 second glimpses to be exact before surrendering my flag and decide what I have to eat. I can't take my eyes off her. I wanted to impress her pretty badly that I ordered 2 glasses of red wine filled with one of their house specialties. That time, I said to myself I have to make it up to her being late in the first date. :) And besides, red wine is good for the heart although, she already captivated me. So then we had a lovely dinner. Really glad she enjoyed it. We decided to take a walk around greenbelt area.

We talked about a lot of things, we shared a lot of stories, talked about our own views in life, families and other things. Talking with her is so light and easy. She's the type of person that encourages you to be the real you to impress her. No pretensions. No masks. No goody goody-two-shoes acts... I felt that I found my bliss in her. Whatever we do and wherever we go, how many times we eat, went in and out of convenience stores, mcdo, jollibee and chowking that night until dawn, I had fun... we both had fun.

It was already 6 am when we call it a date. I walked her home until we get to her place. As we get there, I thanked her for the marvelous time and the pleasure of her company. She smiled and uttered the same line. We agreed to go together for a mass that afternoon and I clandestinely have my own intentions about what I feel for her. I smiled.

Time to go back from Makati to Quezon City where I momentarily stay with my brother. MRT is not crowded since it was a Sunday. I know it's a long journey but short in my world... like the time I've just spent with her, barely noticed the time, I was in a bliss.

to be continued.

One - Sweet October.

It's been months since my last post, the month of October to be exact; it's also the month of the much awaited october fest for the drunkards who drink 'til dawn and rockers bang their heads like there's no tomorrow. I was so preoccupied and stunned with mind boggling ideas when I met gia for the first time, and how our paths crossed again for the 2nd time.

It all started way back to June 2001, as one of the pioneering engineers of our company branch in Manila which is under construction during that time, the managers have no choice but to dump as in the island paradise of Cebu for 6 months of training adventure. That was the time when I first met her. On the way to our lunch on the upper floor where the restaurant is, as my buddies and and I stepped out of the door and approach the elevator door, in front of the elevator panel was a gorgeous lady with glasses standing and gazing at the elevator floor indicator. Her pretty and angelic calm face while waiting for the elevator is a sight to see. Sounds like exaggeration but cupid's arrow must have played a part to get me attracted to her. Kumbaga iba ang aura niya. =) Yup, she was my crush that time in Cebu. I never gave it a meaning since I was on a relationship that time and I know that she was too. How I knew it? Her name is popular among the engineers and a name that is a word of mouth including the engineers back in Manila! Grabe jud ang popularity niya. So whenever I hear her name, my head's light bulb lights up of one thing, she's the crush ng bayan of Cebu.

Year 2006. After 2 failed relationships, I've decided to give myself a rest since those relationships really battered me. October. Dan, one of the best buddies that I have told me that he's going to hook me up with her gf Ria's friend. I was really reluctant that I really don't want to be a part of it but just to make my friend happy, I agreed. It all started with chat and emails. She's smart and I can easily tell that. Kind and thoughtful, relatively easier to tell that too. Then came sms and soon phone calls. I never thought this lady would really entertain me but whenever I talk to her, a light and calm feeling embraces me. Yup, she captivated me with her traits and amazing character, and how could I forget her good sense of humor.

October. Ramadan. Every season of it I go home to Philippines to relax a little. I had a 2 week break to enjoy it which is already enough for me. I had my plans set which includes the highlight of meeting her personally again after 5 long years. It was the 20th of October, we've decided to meet at Greenbelt Powerbooks around 7 pm. 6 pm I was already out of my brother's place, rode a jeep all the way to the nearest MRT station that I thought of is a breeze getting to Makati. My big mistake. Traffic was terrible and it took me 30 minutes to get to the said station. I forgot that it's a weekday rush hour I'm about to engage battle into so long queues for tickets delayed me for 15 mins. It took me almost 40 minutes to get me to Ayala station and yup I was running late, she already sent me sms letting me know that she's already waiting. Darn! Good impression is drifting away from me. Almost there, and as I about to send her sms asking her whereabouts, there, a lady standing, I saw the same angelic and calm face but this time gazing at me, smiling.

to be continued.

Clicked.

Early this week, I had the chance to see the the movie flick 'Click' and since Adam Sandler is one of my favorite actors in terms of comedy, I watched it in no time after 12 am. :) I thought it has the same typical humor Adam delivers in his movies I'm a big fan of but I was partially wrong. First parts made me laugh my heart out but at the end I didn't expect that it draws strong emotions out from the spectators who are in the same shoes as him, a middle aged workaholic father who only cares of providing his family a general father dreams of for his family, all in one gush though. With the help of the 'universal remote', it provided him the power to control time, made sure he's 'present' at the time of his promotions for that big bucks and other milestones in his life. The 'universal remote' learned his routine (what an AI!), rewind and fast forward whenever he likes and yes he's in total control until the time it destroyed his life, his neglection of the simplest things like the birthdays of his son and daughter, the years raising them, the quality time with his beautiful wife, good old parents and loving kids... yep he missed all that. He wasn't there when his father died and how much his father wanted him to teach the coin munching trick. He wasn't there to watch his son laddered his way up to the corporate world. He wasn't there to see her little princess grew up to be the 'hottest chick in town'. He even lost his wife to 'Sam' the red thong guy.... lol. The only thing he possessed that was not destroyed was his love to his family. He struggled to catch things up with them, to get his wife and life back but it was way too late. Boom! He woke up on a bed somewhere in a furniture store and realized it was just a dream. Lucky him...

So what's the lesson here? We should stop comparing ourselves with other people as a friend of mine always remind me of. I think she already mentioned this a google times. :) Peace gia! If Adam was not envious of other people (the O'Doyles), he would have been contented with his life and appreciated what he already has and let time 'work' with him in providing the best to his family without overlooking those priceless moments with them. We have to accept the fact that there's always someone better than us or in better situations than us, this is what humility is all about. Another figure to draw here is of course the ever popular saying 'the best things in life are free'. These are just small things noticeable to the human naked eye but felt big by a human heart. Consider them as the priceless moments in your life but in God's given time.

Be The One.

This song has been on my mind for many months now and if I have my own billboard charts, it would have shattered records for topping my list, not to mention my ipod number of plays! Its pretty nice tune and good set of lyrics mixture puts me in a good mood to start my day (ala nescafe :)). RNB/Soul genre lovers will definitely love this and I already began considering it as my all time favorite song from the artist. (It's best when you listen to the song as you go through it.)

BE THE ONE
TONY RICH PROJECT

I should be the one...

I can think of nothing better
Than to know the one you love
For as long as we've been together
We should open up my heart yeah

[Chorus:]

If I gave you my heart
Would you be the one that I love
If I told you my feelings
Would you be the one that I trust
Would you make sure everything's fine
Would you hold me close tonight
Would you be the one that I love
Will you hold me tonight

I feel like breaking down the walls
Welcome you into my world
I'm not afraid of what you find in me
I just want us to be closer, yeah

[Chorus:]

Confide in me, tell me all your fears
I wanna be, the one that you
depend on
To share a dream, forget about the
hard times that we'll face
Let's go all the way

[Chorus:] 2x

One Lazy Afternoon on a Saturday.

Today is supposedly my rest day but I couldn't refuse our department manager's request to report in the office to coordinate things before we move things to production tomorrow, and besides I need to jumpstart my workaholic nerves before weekdays start again. Here I am, sitting on my desk gazing out of my window, i see a calm ocean and just across the street is a lush green park and beside me, the afternoon rays of the sun partly lights up my desk. The person I am coordinating with just left me out for an Iftar meal, an evening meal for breaking the daily fast for Moslems in this holy month of Ramadan and promised he'll be back by 8 pm. Every Saturday, we go to mass but here I am in the office listening to my playlist over and over again, letting time pass by before I go to the church and meet up with my family for the scheduled mass. The result? My first blog entry. HOOYA!

I've always wanted to be a blogger but work, time and other factors hindered me from starting it. What's the feeling of having one? Well, it's a cool feeling. Finally have onE (Look Ma! I am a blogger now! lol) Imagine you have your life (not entirely) published on the internet what you usually do and sharing your life's experiences. Imagine yourself as Truman in the 'Truman Show' or Ed in 'EdTV'. The only differences are they are on the TV and watched every second and they cannot choose what they can televise, whereas here on blogging as a channel, it's text based and you can cho0se what you can publish.

Before ending my first blog entry, I would like to share to you partly the lyrics of the song that I am listening right now courtesy of Mr. Edwin McCain, one of my favorite artists, 'these are the moments, I thank God that I'm alive, these are the moments, I will remember all my life, I've got all I've waited for and I couldn't ask for more.'

All of us have certain dreams, we aspire to be someone, to be somebody on the chosen career that we are into. Most of these dreams are self-centered I admit it even I, aspire to be someone, to be somebody, excel in my field and successful in my own understanding. We all have the right to dream but we should never let our selfishness take over us (remember Gollum from LOTR? good way to motivate huh? :) ). As the sun's rays shed light on my back casting a shadow upon my wall facing towards me, I've felt that God is just right behind me embracing me with HIS warmth... I went into a deep thought, HE knows what is best for me according to HIS own understanding not my own. Right now, I'm already feeling how much I should be thankful for what HE had given me as the greatest gift, LIFE. At this very moment, I've realized deeper how grateful I am to be alive, to be here and to share you what I've just experienced...