we have a new president

i was not able to vote during the may 2010 elections due to work. but, honestly, if i did have a chance to vote, i would not have voted for noynoy aquino. but he is president now and somehow he gives me hope.

let's support our new president and hope that he'll make a change in the philippine government and in the lives of the filipino people.

on adorable little things

i am not really fond of buying jewelry. i do appreciate (very much) them but i don't spend that much on them. to illustrate,  i only have two pairs of earrings - white gold danglings with heart charms, which i wear everyday and pearl ones for formal occasions. really, i can make an inventory of the rest of my 'collection' without having to check. that's how few they are. not to mention most are gifts (thank you very much!).

but last night while i was gift-shopping for my sister and friends who celebrated their birthdays this month at market!market!, i came across these adorable (and cheap!) finds that i wasn't able to resist. yes, i was charmed!

will these earrings help me sing in tune? we'll find out this friday - my friends from my previous work and i will be having a videoke night.

g-clef earrings, P50

i've been wanting to buy this necklace but my officemate has one like this so i was hesitant at first. last night, however, the store now only has one piece left so i gave in, haha!

necklace with heart pendant, P150

kim and i were looking for my favorite store that sells cute korean stuff when i saw this stall that has interesting vintage-looking accessories. i was ecstatic when i saw this because i've always wanted one and those on etsy store are too expensive!

necklace with camera pendanr, P150

after shopping and dinner at reyes barbecue, we caught the last full show of karate kid. will smith's little boy jaden is so adorable with his martial arts and dancing. he's also especially cute when crying, hihi, but. is it just me or do you agree the film should have been titled kung fu kid? anyway, i did mention before that i don't really do reviews, right? so, if you're so curious, just see it for yourself, haha.

chasing summer

june 19 to 21, 2010. while it was raining on other parts of the country, particularly in manila, kim and i were very blessed to be enjoying a sunny three-day beach fix at bantayan island in cebu. this trip was still part of our ninth anniversary celebration. we had an early morning flight to cebu city via the philippine airlines. from the mactan airport, we hailed a taxi and headed to the north bus terminal. from there, a three-hour road trip took us to the hagnaya wharf for our first roro experience to sta. fe, bantayan.

we had three trucks and a car as co-passengers

bantayan, island

upon the recommendation of my friends who went to bantayan last year, kim and i stayed at st. bernard resort, which is just a few minutes from the pier by tricikad (a bicycle with a sidecar, more commonly known as pedicab). 

beachfront cottages and restaurant

our cottage (no. 5), albeit small, is really neat - with air conditioner, toilet and bath en suite and bed and living room area with a cabinet and mini component. the resort also has a tv and reading room, restaurant and mini bird zoo.

all our meals come with gumamela flowers

our first day was spent being lazy on the beach. 

while waiting for the sunset, we found a tiny fragment of corals shaped like the letter y. we then thought of challenging ourselves to find other shells/rocks/corals to form the sentence 'i love you' and we succeeded!

i knew i love you before i met you <3

on our second day, we went island hopping and snorkeling. we were not able to take underwater photos because my underwater camera is still with the service center. i borrowed my roommate's regular point-and-shoot digital camera and my friend's digapac but i was too scared to damage either the camera or the casing. or both, haha. still, thanks to them for lending me their stuff.

a boat for two (and manong boatman)

virgin island

on our way back to the resort, we made a last stop on an island (its name escaped me now) to camwhore, haha.

summer kiss <3

our third and last day fell on the summer solstice. we woke up around 5 a.m. to wait for the sunrise.

right in front of our resort

and of course, our trip wouldn't be complete without the requisite jumpshot:

fifa world buko cup :))

bantayan, cebu might be the last beach destination we'll cross out from our list this year. so, goodbye, summer! see you february next year in davao! *\0/*

not my usual work day

june 16. i was greeted by a member of our employees union and she asked me to wear this sticker to show support for the collective bargaining agreement negotiation. this is my first job that has a union so the cba issue is new to me.

go pdieu!

we were also asked to dress up for a special dinner later that night, which turned out to be our editor-in-chief's way of thanking everyone involved in the election 2010 coverage (a.k.a. the inquirer dream team).

french menu <3

i was also informed that i have a coverage the following day - the rotary club of manila's journalism awards 2010. the inquirer won newspaper of the year.

i am an inquirer *\0/*

my story landed on the front page of the newspaper on friday. read the online version here.

nine mornings, nine years

in december of 2000, i completed the nine mornings and wished for someone. and six months later, that someone turned out to be kim. nine mornings, nine years. maybe that's why our relationship has been blessed from the start. so what happens on the 10th year? hmmm... 

so, anyway, kim drove us to tagaytay for our ninth anniversary yesterday. never mind that i have a fever. it felt like a korean telenovela and i was praying the whole day that i am not going to die, haha. there's really something about being with the one you love that takes away all the pain. i have proved that many times. once kim is beside me, i feel okay no matter how sick i am.

kim drove along the whole stretch of emilio aguinaldo highway, we just talked and admired the beautiful wooden and brick houses we passed by. it became very hot by noon so we went up "the sky" for some cool wind.

the first time we went here together was in 2003

 i dream of living here (tagaytay highlands) 

view of taal volcano from the people's park

we then had lunch at buon giorno! caffe bistro at the cliffhouse. the food is good and reasonably priced. the resto smells like italianni's and the menu reminded me of l'opera ristorante in the fort.

view of taal volcano from the cliffhouse

it rained later in the afternoon, so we thought of going to alabang town center. we accidentally took the long route, passing by imus, cavite. in short, we got lost. but we know this song that says when you're lost in love, you never want to be found, haha, so we just enjoyed our roadtrip.

at our favorite tambay spot in atc

we had dinner at california pizza kitchen. fact: we discovered and fell in love with cpk at this atc branch in 2005.

while waiting to be seated, kim suddenly asked me what i like most about him. he demanded that it should be something very specific (i.e. not just that he's kind or sweet). i don't know why but i became teary-eyed that i just know i would burst into sobs if i speak out. it's on moments like this that i feel i love him so much, hihi. i told him to first tell me what he likes most about me so i would have an idea what kind of answer he was looking for. he said he likes how i have this way of talking to and looking at him when he is down that really comforts him. he mimics that particular look on my face and voice, haha.

i then told him i like how he always holds my hands. he once confessed that when we were still just friends, he'd always think of wanting to hold my hand. that is why he taught me a few guitar chords that one time he had the chance. there was also this one time in church, after the our father song when i thought he wouldn't let go of my hand, haha. isn't it sweet? he just wants to hold my hand. you know, like in that beatles song.

when we became a couple, i realized how he really likes holding hands. he first held my hand when we we're about to cross the street. he suddenly pulled my arm and held my hand but it felt so natural. since then, he would always hold my hand when we're walking. he holds my hand when we're seated side by side (or across each other) on a bus, jeepney or tricycle. he even holds my hand when he's driving. he holds my hand during theme park rides. he holds my hand across or under the table when eating. he holds my hand when sleeping. he held my hands when they had jellyfish stings and rashes from allergies. and now that my hands are rough and dry from the allergies, he still holds them as lovingly and caring as i remember.

we wrote each other love notes <3

108 months. nine years. counting them never ceases to amaze us. nine years but everything always still feels like the first time. here's to more years together filled with love, life and happiness <3

our love is like our old pairs of chucks that fit us and each other perfectly <3

this friday is not in love

this morning, i woke up rather later than i should and had to skip breakfast so i could get to work on time.

in the office, i accidentally scratched my left cheek with my left index fingernail. it left a mark that probably might scar.

by lunchtime, i realized i left my house keys in my bag which i left inside the house. i had to go home and check how i can force entry into my own unit. fortunately, our maintenance person was able to help me. but it also made me realize how easy it is to break into our unit.

after work, i got home to a leaking faucet in the cr. i panicked. i pushed the pipe into the hole in the wall very hard and prayed - lord, please make it stop. i can't fix this on my own. as of writing, the faucet is as quiet as a sleeping baby, tired from a whole day of playing. but i still have to cancel my bataan trip tomorrow so i can wait for the maintenance person to check the faucet tomorrow morning. because once in a while, it still cries like a baby, awaken at an ungodly hour.

a few minutes ago, my movie date with my angels got canceled because cy got blisters and ice was discouraged by the bad weather.

i really think this friday had her heart broken.

not a french film review

last night, i went to the french film festival in edsa shangri-la mall with my thesis partners cy and ice. the 9 p.m. show was l'heure d'été (it's english title is summer hours but my langofone iphone app translates it as summer time). 

i was sort of panicking during the first few minutes of the movie because i was so confused! you see, in french class, we were trained to listen to conversations in french. so, i was both trying to comprehend the movie in french and reading the english subtitles. i don't think i got to relaxed while watching. it was like a test to me, haha!

but the film was good (plus we watched it for free!). it has a simple plot revolving around a typical family scenario with a little play up on the arts and history. sorry i am not really fond of writing reviews.

anyway, if you have time, go catch a french film/s for free. the festival runs until next week. here's the schedule.

dancing the night away

i had super fun with the girls at edz's birthday celebration in il ponticello last night.

paakkk! with birthday girl and ice 

awesome discovery: kahlua with milk is legen... wait for it... dary! kuddos to pogo for bravely buying two cartons of cowhead from the 7-11 store below ponti and sneaking them in. super win! *\0/*

cheers to edz!

but much as i love dance nights, they also make me a bit sad because dancing always reminds me of kim. and it did not help that last night a number of girl-boy pairs (i can't say couples because i can't be so sure about that, hehe)  ended up dancing in front of me. they made me miss kim more. to distract myself from thinking about how much i miss him and how i wish we were out there dancing the night away together, i had to just dance and dance and dance, even to songs that i don't have an idea ever existed, and take in alcohol like there's no work the following day.

dancing the night away with kate

thankfully, i did not wake up with a hangover this morning.  i did have a hard time pulling myself out of bed, though. well, not that it isn't like that everyday, haha.

all photos nicked from my gerpren cy. thank you!

my lazy days off

i planned on getting my hair rebonded but suddenly went on kuripot mode so i just had my hair cut and then styled by clara of tony & jackey - buendia. after curling my hair, she suggested that i perm my hair next time because she said it's maganda and mas bagay

i was supposed to go to the dentist but i overslept and woke up around 11 a.m. i just had to have something to do instead so i thought of getting my nails done. it is most fateful that i have been growing my nails the past week. i wasn't ready to be bold as far as painting my nails is concerned so i chose a light shade of pink.

pedicure (P70) and manicure (P60) by pink lady (a neighborhood salon)

my lazy days off also involved:
1. shopping,

white strappy sandals, P699 (shoebox)

printed white dress-shirt, P995 (zara)

2. doing the laundry,

well, this was me after i did my laudry, haha. modelling my new dress-shirt.

3. and having dinner dates with the boyfriend.

at kenny's trinoma

alavet! <3

pseudo-laundering

after work last night, i dropped by shopwise before going home to buy rubber gloves so i can do my laundry again. yes, i miss it so much that i just have to do it again very soon.

i found this pink pair so adorable, hihi. they are lined with flock and comes in small, medium and large. you can guess what size i got, haha.

around 2 o'clock this morning, i was awaken by the sound of water and the smell of laundry soap. my roommate was panic-laundering for a boracay trip tomorrow. i got back to sleep thinking how envious i am of two things: doing the laundry and going to boracay!!!

so, anyway, i finally tried washing my clothes earlier before going to work and it wasn't as much fun with the gloves. i can see my hands, well, my gloves, getting wet and my clothes looking all nice and clean but i can't feel anything. it was like doing the laundry without really doing it. like dreaming knowing i am only dreaming. who would have thought somebody could be this dramatic over not being able to do the laundry? i know many people who would be forever grateful if they wake up one day to find out they won't have to do their laundry ever.

aside from having to wear my rubber gloves when doing the laundry, i also have to wear disposable plastic gloves when shampooing my hair and washing my face.

ohwhatalife!