songs in my mind

coming back from manila, i realized i need to update myself with the latest songs playing on the airwaves and latest music videos plaguing the channels. i still have that last song(s) syndrome.

WITH YOU by chris brown



BECAUSE OF YOU by ne-yo
i have always favored ne-yo since i first heard SO SICK.




maybe it's time i get my own mp3 player.. i know! SO pathetic! im thinking the more popular APPLE iPod -- shuffle or nano, or something from the CREATIVE line or the minimalist SONY walkman. i want good quality, easy to use, easy to carry, something that will reflect my sense of style (nakng!) and of course, light on the pocket. guess, i'll be preparing my comparison table to decide which one.

nothing is definite. for all i know, i may be buying a digicam instead. haha

oo, pinoy blogger ako!

oh yeah, blogger in FILIPINO! way to go! actually, i still dont know what i can get from this. ala spelling check? against our own tagalog dictionary? hmm, how do you say "edit html" in filipino? ganun ba? blogger has more info here. with the growing community of pinoy bloggers all over, this is one we should be proud of too.

Go P-I-N-O-Y!!!

(was) in pinas for a hiatus

i headed for manila 3 weeks ago via flight 5J143. thanks to cebu pacific's low fares that i got to snatch a bargain deal. for 1000hkd, i was able to book a flight home. i took a longer leave since it's the end of the fiscal year for us and chinese new year was coming.

• 2D/1N - baguio ==> went to baguio country club thanks to lolo pilo who sponsored us in this exclusive getaway
  
• 2D/1N - batangas ==> grabbed the chance for an early summer outing as i know i wont be experiencing it here
  
• 1 D - laguna ==> hied off to the hotsprings in the midst of manila's heat
  
• 2D/1N - tagaytay ==> enjoyed the cool breeze, just a few hrs away from manila. went to picnic grove, cliffhouse, ate at manos greek taverna, bag of beans and tried tagaytay's night life.

in between i got to do some "stuff" - well, it's more like a routine sleep for a half day, 3 hrs bumming (basically, stay in bed and choose among TONS of channel in cable) and preparing to go out. im more of a nocturnal person so in the morning, i take my time sleeping. haha mostly, i visited my friends who are still in manila and bugged (or begged) them to squeeze a few hours of their time to meet me. hahaha all is worth it.


vian, my inaanak, barely 3 years old


my former colleagues, minus agh


tried this greek joint in tagaytay

more pichurs here!!!

in laguna: time for hot spring

as they say, laguna is the resort capital of the philipines. true enough, there are villages here that are mostly private pools for rent. those near monte vista (tama ba?) resort you can find lotsa private villas you can choose from. they have their own "barker" to boot who will aggressively approach you upon seeing you carry with you a battalion of eager shorts-and-slippers-clad individuals. for my family of course, we came prepared. a near relative of ours, knows the owner of a private pool, so we rented it out for the day. it's a 3-bedroom, 2-storey house with 4T&B, 2-car garage and a videoke! i would say it's spacious enough for 22 members of my family. hehe plus we get to sing to our heart's content, if the videoke machine would just play the right songs. haha

the 1.5hr drive from mamuy's place is still convenient because we were early. early enough to arrive there with the pool still being managed to be filled up. since we were only there for the day, we dont get to use the rooms so much. but i went up and inspected it for "future" references. big enough, not cramped for 20 people to comfortably sleep for the night.

the water was not that "hot" as we expect especially, it was a cold and windy day. what kept it warm though is the company of family you care about.

pichur pichurs here!!!

in batangas: shore hopping

together with the WHOLE family, we went to batangas for an overnight stay. originally, i asked mama to help book the kabayan resort coz it seems an affordable place to stay complete with the amenities im looking for - with swimming pool. haha but since 'twas chinese new year, it was already full. we opted to stay in sigayan bay. this resort is owned by one of mama's colleague (so discount, for sure). coincidentally, it's also in batangas.. and it's beach front is along the shoreline, a few meters away from kabayan resort!

sigayan bay is also in san juan batangas, along with many beach resorts batangas boasts of -- sabangan, la luz, laiya coco grove, etc. they are basically the same except for the amenities each resort provides and of course, the beach front you're faced with. hehe unfortunately, for sigayan, it's not swimmable, for me. haha i find the stones a sore.. for the feet and the moss an icky feeling. though i havent trodded the waters, many already said so. and so off we walked to kabayan beach resort front. thankfully, they share the same shoreline. too bad, we can't use their pool.

pichur pichurs here!!!

in baguio: a short sojourn

my family and i were headed to baguio country club for an overnight stay. no, we're not members but merely sponsored guests. thanks to lolo pilo, mama's boss and ninong, we got to feel the ambience of this exclusive club. actually, we rarely stay in the hotel except to eat and rest as we are pressed with time in sightseeing baguio.

however, we managed to visit lourdes grotto, go to burnham park, shop at baguio city market where mama (as usual) bought "baguio" shirts for everyone in the family, shot poses in the mansion, wright park, mine's view park, camp john hay and kennon road view deck.

pichur pichurs here!!!

in manila: reintroduction

imagine going home to this... just plain SIN. hehe one of the first things i do coming home to manila is to eat filipino food. whether in restos or at home. food, entertainment, lifestyle is still different from abroad.

FOOD - authentic pansit palabok from jollibee goes hand in hand with calamansi rather than lemon. crispy pata, bulalo is a staple in every pinoy resto in the metro.

ENTERTAINMENT - went to laffline for a doze of live entertainment. laughter which i only get from streaming tv show reruns when abroad.

LIFESTYLE - since im on vacation mode, i get to wake up late.. and not think of doing any household chores, at all!!!

there will still be more entries to come as i chronicle my stay in pinas.. i have yet to go to places up north and south.. and meet with friends along the way.