Decisions! Decisions!

People say(nakkks)that one will undergo a turning point in his life which involves choices, tough tough ones, that one has to make a real hard decision out of those choices.

I just filed my resignation recently and it was hard and emotional. I never thought that leaving my workplace would be that devastating, it was like breaking up with a loved one, with an ex, and I really can't figure out which was more difficult between the two. Safeway has been my 2nd home for 5 years, not to mention, it was also the project/client I worked with for 3 years prior to joining Safeway, so it's really painful leaving my comfort zone, friends, and wonderful people I have worked with for a total of 8 years.

I have been offered a job in $ingapore. I got my final interview last Sept. 10, was told that I passed the next day, and 3 days after, the contract arrived & I was only given 5 days to sign otherwise, it would forever be gone.

Many factor$ to consider: relationship, age, $AVINGS, family, my pooch, fear of the unknown - work!

Relationship - I am also one of those people not into long-distance realtionships, I have actually experienced this once, 9 or 10 years ago, and true, it didn't work out. But it's all in the mind, if Mike(6 mos?) , Cha(6 mos?), Aline, my best friend(2.5 yrs?) did it, so can I. Besides, I feel (90% sure)like He's the Juan (keso!)buttt we can never tell pa riiinn =p

Age - I am turning 30 this month and have pondered on my achievements. What should mid-twenties or 30 year old women have, (aside from being married of course) in terms of career, relationship, etc? I wouldn't wanna stay here then 1 or 2 years later, regret 'the day I stayed' AND say 'sayang meron na sana akong ganito kung nag punta ako dun 4 months, 6 months ago, 1year ago' or 'ano kayang na miss ko dun?'

$AVINGS - I have one of course, but thinking about what other people have, like my closest cousin, who already has her own house and millions of moolah, it still boils down to ...how much do I have? As they say, money can't buy happiness but it can buy you a house, car, and the like. It can buy your loved ones anything which in return makes them happy so I say it surely can buy happiness! So I am hoping that by going away for awhile, I can have my own house built by age 30++, have my 'own' car by 31, invest into stocks someday and of course, more Dooney bags (lolz) (WAKE ME UP!!! slap! slap!) That is, if I can resist not having...

My Rambo - who always welcomes me at my doorstep and sleeps with me. I can always talk, see and _=)__ my honb whenever I feel like it(thanks Cebu Pac!), go home to family(thanks again Cebu pac, yahoo, and skype), but the absence of my pooch in my bed is soooo sad.

Work - I have already accepted the fact that work in SG is toxic. Safeway has been my comfort zone for 8 years and entering the world of the unknown is fearsome! 'Will I do good? Who will be in my team? May kontrabida, inggitera, at ma pulitika ba?' Bring it on!

Independence - I didn't take much into consideration being alone in Sing because I know that I've got many friends out there and I've got no problem being independent, I can cook, I can do my own laundry, I can do household chores. I am actually looking forward to it.

These are few of the things I have pondered on but my list is countless and goes on and on, I have actually made two pages of the Pro's and Con's (during the last 8 sleepless nights) of staying and leaving and SG wins.

So to my close friends - see you every month.
to my Not-so-close friends - see you in 4, 5 or 6 months!

Why 4 months? I still wanna try my luck in SG by giving myself this timeframe. If I can't make and stand it, I am going back in 4 months. If not, then you'll know. What's important is the fact that I at least tried. So be it!

This is it!

Antonio's finally....

I finally got to experience dining at the most raved about resto in Tagaytay, Antonio's Restaurant. I've always invited Honb here but never got the chance til' last weekend when JA and Z brought us there. They've been to the place several times already but it was my first and of course honb's too. I've been hearing good reviews about their food, especially the steak, which I believe, is one of the specialties of the house. I'm really not a fan of steak (Thank God!) but got my mind made up for this already, it was the dish I was eyeing for.

We had our dinner reservation set at 730pm and at exactly 735pm, we arrived, took some pictures.






We were greeted by their receptionist at the front door and was asked under which name our reservation was. We were then led to our 'already set' table for 4 and were handed the menu. Lo and behold!



As Honb and I were told, the cheapest dish would cost about P1,200 and the steak for two would be P3,500. Turned out we were misinformed, their steak for 2 was already priced @P4,200, quite expensive for a steak but what the heck, there was no turning back and I was sure I'd go for the steak.

Each meal already comes with house salad, soup of the day, dessert, and coffee or tea. J and Z ordered the recommended freshly squeezed Dalandan juice (P200/pax?) for all of us, which to me, tastes like that of Jollibee's, only the latter's sweeter (really!!).


The house salad





The soup is to die for!!




Our medium well-done steak showing a hint of pink in the middle. (My first time not to eat a well-done steak but all of us enjoyed it, it was oh so tender, oh so juicy!!! parang commercial! =) Sorry but this photo doesn't give justice to its real look.






The dessert(s)




Shall I go back? Maybe or maybe not. Maybe if I have extra dough to spend but not in the near future.

And so I shall leave you this.....

"To see, to taste, to feel, and to experience Antonio's fine dining once in your life is a must."

Daños y perjuicios:: P10,560 for 4 pax

Rainy Sunday

This is my third time at at Cantinetta and food was still as good as the first time. I must say that though price is quite high, the food won't disappoint you. This makes it my 2nd favorite Italian resto (Bellini's being the first) in town and I shall be back on another special day.

Happy Rainy Sunday!

*I recommend the crispy Quattro Formaggio pizza and the Tartufo Pasta with Parma Ham. Yummy!

Have a Nice D!

Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. If you don't start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I'm not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived. - William Parish

Nice =)

My First time =)

We were supposed to go to Baguio for the weekend but due to bad weather, we decided to postpone it. And to compensate myself for the cancelled trip, I went to the salon.
For the first time in my life, I had my nails painted..red! A thing I was hesitant of doing cause..one, I always hear how my honb finds his sister's red toenails loathesome.
Secondly, I really don't find red toenails appealing until I had mine painted 'bloody red'.
I was thinking of removing the nailpolish by tomorrow, I just wanted to know how it feels like to have it, but after seeing honb's reaction, I think he ('might' have)liked it and said it's pretty pretty. Besides, I'm lurving it so much I smile everytime I look at it =) =) Look!




Have you had your nails painted red? or black? Maybe Black next time =)

One lucky reader

I've been searching the net for reviews of Murad products and luckily came across this blog which, by just reading it, will earn you a chance to win Gift certificates from Aesthetic Science Clinic worth 10 thousand pesos!!! The Gift certificate includes Diamond Peel, Skin Rejuvination(like a Power peel maybe), Body scrub plus massage, and a Body Reshape. Click here to read.

Hope I win!

Random readings

An Israeli attempted to commit suicide yesterday by lying down on a railroad. The train ran over her but she miraculously survived the incident with only an injured head. Tsk tsk tsk what was she thinking?! If I were to commit suicide, I wouldn't want it to be that ugly and tragic..tsk tsk tsk! (Well committing suicide is already tragic anyway)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MOHggP1VkA

By the way, only 6 months to go and it's Christmas! yohooo!

Anawangin Beauty

Anwangin Cove(05-23-09), Zambales - Where else in the Philippines can you find Pine trees right on the beach but here. Anawagin Cove, as they say, is a virgin Beach, which is perfect for camping - no electricity, no drinking water, no food, no cell signal, no lodging so you have to pitch your own(or rented) tent and sleep right on the beach.





The first of the 6 Jose Cuervo bottles had been opened at 1021am...


And the 2nd...



Playing cards while enjoying the afternoon sun...


Behind these trees is a short trek to a breathtaking lake..





A short dip cured our hangover



and got us ready for the remaining 4 Cuervo bottles, 1 Vodka Cruiser, a Chivas, and a Jagermeister...





A scenic sunset


And the pornographers..


And meee...


Anawangin Cove, we'll be back!

Must-have's:

1) Mineral Water..lots!
2) Sunblock
3) Lots of Food/griller/butane
4) Wipes (especially when you don't wanna line-up for the portalet or the water pump)
5) Insect Repellent lotion
6) Sleeping bag or mattress
7) Flash light!!!!
8) Dishwashing paste
9) Plate and utensils

Overflowing calories

Have you ever noticed how fast food chains serve smaller amount of food than what's expected and how we're ironically thrilled if serving is bigger? Well in my years of existence, only now have I been served (and made happy by Mcdo) with an almost overflowing sundae..tantananan!!!








Amazing, isn't EAT?!!! burp!

Hello my Mr. Big

Sold my Tosho last week and purchased a replacement in 7 hours. Mr. Big has arrived..







I got the laptop from honb and was excited to go home to play with it. I couldn't believe that after hitting the power button, the unit shuts down abruptly after 20 seconds, I hit the power button several times but the same thing happens over and over again. I searched google for answers and to my surprise, I found several posts from Acer users having the same problem! I could not believe what I was reading, the problem could have been the hard drive, BIOS settings, or worse, the motherboard! Then I found and tried 2 simple solutions which didn't sound alien to me:

First, unhook the battery and the power cord.
Hold the power button for 20 seconds.
Plug in the power cord without the battery and turn it on... (but it just shuts off again in 20 secs as usual right after booting up).
Put the battery back in and leave the power cord plugged in.

I did this twice but didn't work.

Second crazy solution, Do make sure power off. then gently tap 5 to 10 times (near by ventilation system). Restart.

I tapped it like a baby while restarting and this trick did it. The fan got unstuck by the slight taps and now everything is working properly, weird eh?!

I am happy with my purchase. I love the body color, the black keyboard, the size, the weight, the OS, the battery life, and the price! It may not have the CD/DVD drive but what the heck...Size matters! =)

Bush!

Toshiba Satellite Photos

Due to insistent public demand, Buyers, buyers! I am posting some photos of my well cared for 'Toshiba Laptop'. This is it pips!






some fingerprints...

Un-holy Week in Boracay (Part 2)

Black Saturday

All parties and special events resumed on Black Saturday. The beach, no matter how big, seemed cramped on this day. Havaianas all flip-flop was throwing free bottomless alcoholic drinks for those wearing their orig brand from 5pm onwards and I got to get a few drinks of course! I wonder how they could distinguish the fake from the orig ones by just looking at them.

My parents were leaving the next day at 445am so we retired earlier but unfortunately, a stage had been setup right in front of our hotel and the party never stopped til 5am. Our building was literally shaking and I could feel the bass vibrating the whole room so I only had 3 hours of sleep. My dad was up at 3am then. My parents left Boracay Island at exactly 430am. My honb would be on his way in 7 hours anyways so I just slept then.

I can say that my parents weren't that satisfied with their stay at Gran Prix Bora Hideaway since the resort we had stayed at last year (which was Seabird) had a better customer service than theirs. They promised that they would check us in at 1230pm but they kept on delaying what was promised since there were guests occupying our room.
When we were finally brought to our 3rd-floor room 2 hours after, I was instantly satisfied. It was spacious and modern, just as described on their website. They prohibit bringing in food inside the room but not strictly hehe. They have a verrrrry huge balcony which I was able to do my jumping rope sessions on. This is very near the restaurants like Manana and Hawaiian BBQ and right beside Yellow Cab! They even have a water dispenser which you could use to refill your humongous empty mineral water bottles 24/7. What more can you ask for?! All in all, I can say that I was pleasantly satisfied with what we paid for. I would stay in this hotel again if given a chance but never again on a peak season since noise is everywhere.



Pros:
> Very spacious and modern room
> almost beachfront
> split-type aircon which is a plus for me
> free water anytime, anyday
> room intercom
> the cheapest 24 hr. massage on the island! where else can you find a room service massage for 300 pesos but here. 1am onwards they only charge 350, this is a steal!
> huge private balcony
> they have a toilet seat bidet yey!
> since they have just opened this hotel, they could improve their service eventually

Cons:
> breakfast is served later than what's been agreed on
> small serving and pricey(though it's inclusive of the promo)
> small dining area so no separate room for smokers so non-smokers, like my dad, will be pissed hehe
> no resto
> thin curtains
> floor is shaken by every small movement(though their bldg. is made of concrete)
> a videoke place is behind the building which can be noisy at times

As I said, if it weren't for the promo, I wouldn't have chosen this hotel and would have chosen intead, Milflores, which was my home and my bf's for the next overnight stay.

Welcome to Milflores




Based from the photos above, it looks like the 2 are similar but no- Milflores, though not a beachfront, resort is way better in terms of everything - service(approved!), room(wowowee!), breakfast(huge servings with fruits), etc. Milflores is just behind Gran Prix Boracay Hideaway Resort so it's not beachfront and just by the roadside. It's surprisingly not noisy here or maybe because the parties were over by the time we got here. I can't say any negative things about this resort. I loved everything about it and my hond really liked it here so we plan to stay here next year. We only stayed here overnight and we were off the next day to Sur Resort and off to meet our friends, Ken&Jayson.



Holy Week vacation in Bora ended with an Easter mass, which HonB and I attended in the late afternoon.

Next stop for the next 7 days..Sur Resort

My Best Friend's wedding

Congratulations to Amphy and Archie! At last! The final wait is over =)



Here are more photos by the way & look at what Boracay did to my skin.








That's all!

Un-holy Week in Boracay (Part 1)

Day 1 - Maundy Thursday

Sunday to Wednesday nights were spent on packing so I only had a few hours of sleep prior to our 1st day in Boracay. My Rambo boarded Makati Dog and Cat hospital on Wednesday night and it became his home for the next 4 nights. I, my mum and papc left the house at around 515am and arrived at the Domestic Airport in 10 minutes. Yes I was excited since it looked like that we were the first ones to have our luggages checked-in but too bad the flight was moved (from 7)to 8am so we had to wait 3 hours for boarding. (Sigh)

Anyway, it was my first time to fly zestair and luckily, we arrived Boracay safely. We checked in at a newly-built, almost beachfront hotel, namely Gran Prix, owned by Vicory Liner, which opened its doors to the public on February. The entrance is beachfront, right beside Yellow Cab, but the building itself is covered by Yellow Cab's 2nd floor so we couldn't really see the seaview though each room has its own balcony. We got a promo price of 2300/head for 3d/2n plus 1k for every pax for extra night and plus 900 for the Suite Room upgrade..nice! If it weren't for the promo, we could have spent 30,300 in this hotel.

While my parents were taking a nap in the afternoon, I met with my cousin, Che and her hubby which were already in Boracay that day. Here's a collection of our 1st day snapshots.

Day 2 - Good Friday

Boracay is known for being a party place, particularly during Holy Week but this year, the government has implemented a new law to ban partying or any loud music in bars on this day. Since I was with my parents on this day, I wasn't that affected by the news since I don't usually go out on a Good Friday night to party. There were even 'stations of the cross' set on the beach for those who want to do the this kind of activity during holy week. Well, well, well, what else did we do but swim! swim! swim! At the end of the day, my mom and I had a relaxing room service massage, which I forgot to take pictures of. Good Friday was indeed good enough!

Supah excited

Two and a half more weeks to go and I (together with my cousin and parents and on the 5th day my Honb, Czarvic, and Kenson) am officially off to my favorite beach in the country..where else?!




This will be the longest stay I will have on the beach and so I have been 'dieting' religiously for 4 weeks now. Been trying to workout for 4 to 5 days a week and aiming for a healthy 1-2lbs./week fat loss, (take note, fat! not water weight). Despite the effort I have been allotting for weeks now, still it's not been the same as the weight loss I've had 6 years ago, when I was at my heaviest at 22 yrs old and slimmest at 23. =) Maybe it goes with age and metabolism slows down or maybe it's easier to lose when you are really really fat since there's a lot to burn hehe! A lot of maybe's but as Honbunch says, everybody gets old so why whine about it?!

Anyhoo, I've been wanting a black or yellow bikini top for ages but didn't chance upon one until 2 weeks ago on ebay. I have bought a plain black bikini top from ebay Australia. It was priced at 60% less than the ones sold here at Stoked. I have been to 3 branches fitting their bikini prior to buying just to know my exact size(hehe). I had bought several items from ebay US stores and once from an individual ebay-er before and had those shipped to a US address but this is the first time that I had an item shipped to the Philippines. The seller said that I would receive the item in 5-10 days. To my surprise, (yes!! I wasn't expecting the item would arrive on time or would arrive at all) I received the bikini yesterday..yohooo! I received a freebie from the seller, too bad it's not really my style..look!!!! (lololol)




So there goes flaunting my freebie item since I have no guts wearing this on the beach but let's still see mousy bee.

Piggy Bank

Last week, my Hon was craving for pizza as usual so we headed to Shakey's Makati Ave to get one, of course pizza for him and Greek Salad for me. While we were waiting for our order, an old beggar was waving at the glass door outside and selling his piggy bank. He really looked old and weak and it was heartbreaking to see him beg while people inside were feasting. I do have the heart for old beggars and would rather give them a dime than those annoying children sniffing rugby on the streets. I remember way back in College when I was driving along Osmena highway on my way to school, when a kid banged my window and aggressively asked for 20 pesos, hello?! There was no way I would give in to that behavior so I signaled 'NO' when all of a sudden, lo and behold! a spit came out flying to my direction. Good thing, I had my windows up. So beware of flying spit!

So back to the old man, I wanted to buy that piggy bank from him to somehow help. Besides, I've wanted a piggy bank ever since I was a child but never had one, I think it's cute. Hon was facing away from him and was asking me the whole time if he was still there since he wanted to give some money too. There were also 3 other people, 2 girls and a guy, on the other table who could see the beggar so I overheard the other girl asking her guy friend to go outside to buy from him. They got the big pig for 110 pesos. I thought it was kind of pricey though. On our way out of the resto, I was ready to buy already from the beggar. As expected, he approached us and sold one happy pig. Up close, the old man looked like he had a disease on his left leg and a cataract. Tsk tsk! At least, he was happy he had two piggy banks sold within 30 minutes. I am happy too with my purchase, it's ccuuuttteeeee!