dawg days are (almost) over

im feeling low just thinking that my vacay days are coming to an end. this means leaving pinas and going back to HK. :( if money is not an issue and i have work back home i wouldn't leave. well, i guess that's the situation for most people going abroad. sigh. i dont know if it's just because im on a break so i like my lifestyle here.. or what. but i just feel more relaxed and i can communicate better with more people. i miss having that stable support foundation - that outside work, i know i can talk to friends, spend time with family. it feels good to hangout with my younger cousins. they were sooo young then, but now, they handle drinks wayyyy stronger than i could. seriously. hhahaha i guess i grew out of it, as one friend said. let the young ones have fun. i had my time. it feels good to just reach out to them despite our big age difference. i would like to imbibe some good vibes to them given much more time. but i guess, this is enough for now.

i would miss my lazy lifestyle here. i dont miss doing household chores. haha but thankfully, while being away, i learned a few. i miss driving esp now that we have a few more cars to drive. but that would mean, mama asking me to pay for the additional car. tsk tsk! i hate to admit, but i will miss april, our dog. i havent carried her around yet but am able to give her a belly rub. tee-hee

'time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted'. if wasting means, not doing anything.. and i enjoyed every minute of it.. then so be it. it would've been better if it was more fruitful. hahaha meaning, if i looked for a job.. and fortunately got one. back to the drawing board for me.. on that one. for now, what matters most to me, is to happily spend my days.

going back to hk is not all sad though, coz i have some friends whom i truly miss. i look forward to merging in the same office location with them. i look forward to reconnecting with my newfound friends although they give me nosebleed hahaha it's easier to explore different cultures coz expats are everywhere. im still amazed at how vast the possibilities of meeting a person with exactly the opposite of who you are, what you believe in.

meeting CnD... i know right?!

eeeeekkk! visited Chico and Delamar in their studio in ortigas. i have been wanting to meet them every time i go home. i just have this difficulty of waking up early especially when in vacay mode. it's just not my style. haha well, for chico and del, i would, i guess.

i woke up a lil before 7.30am, deciding in my half-awake state whether to go or not. after trying to condition myself, and realizing that i wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, i texted my friend to meet me in ortigas and to just do it... off i went. 9.20am, i was waiting in our meeting place while my friend is still in 'roxas boulevard' at that time! 10am, we were on our way, hoping to catch whatever we can. we went inside the building, calmly directed ourselves to the right floor. alighting from the elevator, turn left and there it is. i approached the reception, asked for "chico and del". "pasok lang kayo", the receptionist said. wow, so casual, eh. and there she is.. delamar talking to a guy, not chico. waited for a few minutes coz we didnt want to interrupt. i talked to del then, (feeling close), "hi del, where's chico?" hahaha she asked if we're there for an interview.. i was .."nope, just dropped by to say hi" hehehe maybe thought we're college students for a career interview thingy. we waited inside the booth while chico and del finish their stuff. the radio booth is just a small room that comfortably fits 10 people including the DJs. on-air were rico robles and jude rocha then. chico finally finished his recap and we just talked, chika like old fwends. haha FC talaga! we talked about hmm, about hongkong, CATS and lea salonga, etc. too bad we have to cut it short because there's one group waiting for them. *bummer* oh well, i just handed them some hk souvenirs.

leaving the place, we're still ecstatic. well, i am! hahaha i was amazed at how i breezed through that.. meeting them, the conversation. i thought i wouldn't be able to talk. thankfully, they're approachable and down-to-earth. parang old friends lang, oh. hahaha next time, i will surely drop by... earlier.

POST SCRIPT: of course, i had to befriend chico in facebook.

LKF changes

is lan kwai fong having a face lift? it's been a while since i last went there. i read about the upcoming changes esp with the rumored addition of Hard Rock Cafe. to my dismay though, the cavern, hongkong brewery and finds will find its way out of the swanky nightlife hotspot.

itacho sushi: taikoo shing

yummy sashimi: salmon, yellow tail, tuna

i'm sooo loving japanese right now. had sashimi, sushi, miso soup, cold noodels, etc.. from itacho sushi for dinner the other night. what's even better is that it's FREE! hahaha (i guess, that's why) i've been here twice already... given the accessibility being a few minutes walk from my place. japanese restaurants abound in the area to cater to japanese expats residing there. we sat in the bar area so we would eagerly await if the next dish being prepared is ours already. we're a tad hungry so we can't wait for our food to arrive. we started with miso soup, then came one by one the sashimi, hand roll and sushi arrive. love them all! LOL. one 'different' dish we ordered is the the warship style sushi, as they call it. rice wrapped in nori, topped with lobster salad, or fish roe, or sweet shrimp, were handed down to us by the chef. i couldn't finish it in 1 bite, though. still, all is well. haha love love love their grilled salmon, which arrived last. it was complemented with a sorta mayo that removes the 'suya' taste.. thus keeps you yearning for more. hmm, maybe that's why...

BBQ @ shek O

we took time out one night to go for BBQ in shek O. from the office, it's around 30ish minutes travel as we have to go to shau kei wan first then board the bus from there. too bad for me; i had to go to chai wan mtr and realized that there's no bus to shek o in that area. it was a hot summer night so we prepared to be mausukan from the grilling food.

BBQ in honor of our guests.. mara and mheann (ooppss, not in this picture yet.)

meat, meat all meat bbq selection. ohh, didnt know there was cuttlefish ball (i got there late na kase)

migs just couldn't stand the heat... obviously! hehehehe

us, enjoying BBQ.. for a change.. (from the usual steamed, pan/fried, soupy chinese lunch)

playtime with migs... if his folks were not there, i would've made him sakal hehehe

migs likes to take pictures with his gurls... he even called us to pose around him. hahaha

maraaaa, we'll see you again. soon! and mheann, hang in there! hehehe

how to go to shek O beach:

1. take the mtr and alight at shau kei wan station.
2. proceed to exit A2, if i'm not mistaken.
3. take the mini bus to shek 0.

this will cost you 9hkd.

dinner @ crystal jade la mian xiao long bao

we ate at crystal jade, a shanghainese restaurant in world trade center causeway bay. it was a packed night so we had to wait in line for a party of 8. some pictures to remember the night. too bad, no food pictures coz i was too engrossed eating. hahaha

here are the early birds... hehehe

the kids are playing.. not too keen on eating this kind of food.. well, they liked it eventually hahaha

here are the yayas... day off so we just had to treat ourselves..

enjoying mamma mia gelato in the upper floor of the building. good ice cream la!

good food, good company.. twas a good night.

up and about: MTR lift

shot in tuen mun station of the MTR (red line, i think)

i gotta feeling..

that tonight's gonna be a good night.. and i think it was. i thought i already lost touch with a friend. after years of just ignoring each other, we came to realize that we're both too cautious of what the other would say, how one would react. it feels good talking, bonding. it's as if we never parted.

random musings

>> if you lie to yourself, you will lose what you truly value.

>> to a sailboat that doesnt know where to go, any wind will do.

>> obstacles are put in the way to see that what we want are worth fighting for

>> time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted

our journey to sai kung

for the july 1 holiday, we opted to go to sai kung to get away from the usual crowded places in the island. however, a lot of people were there, especially it's a day off. i guess we just have to settle for some scenery, apart from the usual buildings, crowded streets in the city.

to get there, we met in tiu keng leng station of the tseung kwan o line of the mtr. it's 2 stations away from quarry bay crossing the victoria harbor. we boarded bus 792M traveling around 40 minutes to sai kung public pier. it was sooo hot arriving at the place. fortunately, the breeze kept us cool while having picnic lunch in the playground nearby. while the kids run around to play, the adults ate, rest, made chika to the max. hahaha it was a hearty meal, with adobo in tow and the famous almond chews from ate caryl. yummy!

after the kids finished playing, (uhm, will they ever? haha) we rode the boat to kiu tsui beach. it was 20hkd round trip for a 20-minute ride. not knowing what is in store there, we just went. though we didnt really plan on going for a swim, seeing that the beach area is occupied with dogs (and their owners), it was a good decision for us. hehehe as in, the dogs were swimming there... and i wouldnt like to be there with them. hehe just let them be.. and enjoy. we looked for a cool spot to bum around.. and eat of course. it feels nice to trifle away time without caring for anything else but the cool breeze touching your face, the leaves of the trees shading you from the sun's heat, the sight of the calm waves and the beach bodies. (haha) we left the beach around 5.30ish and cozied up in one of the restos and had a late afternoon tea.

this is life.

meeting with other expats

got back from a geoexpat language exchange meeting.  it's just a casual meetup with a little english-cantonese exchange.  i mean "little" coz it's not really a formal lesson.  besides, i don't even have a pen and paper to write down notes! haha i organized the meetup mainly to meet people and get a few cantonese expressions.  we're 5 in the group, just enough to talk with everyone.  met with 2 aussies and 2 chinese (1 local and 1 UK-bred).  that leaves me - a filipino.  we met in starbucks ferry pier (i was late!) and headed off to IFC for dinner.  i forgot the chinese restaurant.  but it was good.  i was expecting it was expensive, but it wasn't.  we sat and talked for 3 hours.  nothing very formal learning.  there's this one guy though, that kept on mentioning to me why i DONT have a plan.  i didnt realize i HAVE to have one.  i merely wanted to meet casually and talk.  turns out that he's quite a veteran with these eyeballs cum meetings and every time, the event organizer ALWAYS has a plan, itinerary for those joining.  well, i guess my plan was simply to go with what others would like and not impose.  simply put, we decided right there and it turned out fine for my "first time".  

shopaholic morning

it's saturday.  woke up early to catch the first screening of "confessions of a shopaholic" in UA cityplaza, at 9:40am.  AM shows are cheaper at 35hkd and as the day progresses, it becomes not-so-cheap, pricing as high as 65hkd in the evening.  i liked isla fisher in "wedding crashers".  there's something natural in her brand of comedy.  i think she fits to a T as rebecca bloomwood.  her personality as isla seems apt to what her character requires.  however, there's still something off which i can't pinpoint now.  i love to shop.  can't say im a shopaholic coz money is always my issue. hahaha we each have our own sense of fulfillment, sense of high.  whatever that maybe, let's not lose ourselves and take for granted the things that really matter.

cheque this out

i applied for a new account in hsbc (mainly because i'm qualified naman).  i collected my card and along with it is my own checkbook (didn't know it's included)! huwaw!  MY VERY FIRST EVER!  hahaha!  didnt feel the need to have one since coz i think it's for those with lotsa money who are afraid to transact in cash.  hmm.. i can't wait to sign my own cheque! 

pichurs

i've been trying to locate my pics.. but got too lazy to locate my digicam cable to download the pics.. im still short of peripherals for maxxie. was able to scour for a few though...

halloween 2008 in lan kwai fong.. of course, we took photo ops with those in costume. kahit sino lang makita namen interesting, pose lang. haha there was this one guy, ala phantom of the opera. he was was about to wear his mask but we all shouted "no mask, no mask!" lolz. too bad, i can't find his picture. eto na lang with the mad hatter. 

jack's birthday, unico hijo of ate ai and kuya j.  supposedly children's party... so here they are.. the kids at play.. 

hmm.. what to do in macau tower..

might as well, just sit down and let the others do it... hahaha 

inside "the venetian"

macau at night

ruins of st. paul

... and the colorful night lights

101... and counting..

well, sana... hehe 

i've been on hiatus for toooo long.. well, i realized this is my 101st post! yay for me hahaha

gotta get back on my feet now.. just wanna give updates .. and see how i've been the past months.  hmm.. i wondered what happened with my life? or me nangyari nga ba? 

October 2008

i forgot what transpired or if anything interesting happened last october.  nothing really, i guess. forgettable, ba.. ohhh, waitttt, i went to singapore! how can i miss that??!?!!? baka magtampo un mga host ko. shout out to anshe, jeff and mon for accommodating me. :)  i went there on short notice lang.. i've been wanting to visit singapore.. see how things are there.  so finally, i just did. i emailed anshe less than a week.. and i told her to make some 'plans' .. and sooo, i arrived at the airport, met with mon.   waited for anshe and jeff at the ferry terminal to bintan, indonesia.  stayed overnight at bintan lagoon and resorts where we did kayaking and go kart.  it was sooo fun! the next day, anshe and mon took ML to accompany me to sentosa.  went to palawan beach .. but i missed the siloso beach.. we also rode the luge twice! no thanks to mon who coerced us kase me promo ata. buti na lang we only had to ride the ala ski lift once. hahaha it helps to ride at night if you're afraid of heights.  i went to bugis street which is like mongkok in hongkong.  saw the esplanade, singapore flyer, and of course the classic merlion.  ate the famous chicken rice in lau pa sat and roamed around clark quay.  all in all, i felt so at home in singapore.  i can go around on my own, not that anshe need to worry.  i would love to visit them again.  they have no choice. haha  super duper thanks to you guys :)

November 2008

i was bent on watching "cinderella" with lea salonga at the helm.  i bought my ticket at the last minute hoping someone can watch it with me.  but then again, not even this circumstance can stop me. i went by myself. yeah yeah, pathetic na!  but i had a good time. wala lang akong mapagsabihan na katabi how proud i am, seeing a fellow pinoy being applauded, recognized, appreciated by foreigners.  lea's proud moment, is mine too (nakisawsaw ba?!) 

December 2008

bought maxxie.  finally, my new macbook! after intense research, comparison between available notebooks in the market.. i decided to switch to a MAC.  what gives?  primarily coz i've been reading not-so-good reviews about vista.  plus, i wanted to try the look and feel of owning a macbook - coz of the OS X, and the prestige that goes along with carrying an apple studded laptop. hahaha i just purchased the lower end unibody 13" macbook 2.0ghz.  

January 2009

went to macau to explore.  havent been here before even if it just takes 1 hr ferry ride.  i wasnt really keen on going coz my fwends say it's just "ok".  not so many places to go to.  still, i wanted to make the most out of it.  went to macau tower first to try to do the skywalk where you will traverse the outside of the tower X storeys high on a harness. but damn! i cant!  i got scared. hahaha plus it's expensive!  i can't even look down the glass floors of the indoor observatory! we just roamed around the deck.. and lo and behold!  2 people had the guts to do bungee jumping! hurrah for them!  went to the venetian macau where we ate late lunch and played few rounds in the slot machine.  dropped by the fisherman's wharf, rode the bus to senado square to see the ruins of st paul.  walked to the area of the casino hotels to take pictures.  they're sooo colorful at night with grand lisboa, hotel lisboa, wynn hotel, MGM as backdrop.  we went inside those hotels just to take a peak, and played slots again.  that's the only thing we can afford.  or if we get thirsty, free drinks in the casino. hahaha lastly, we chanced upon the dancing fountain show of the wynn hotel.  just amazing.  now, i wondered why they say they didnt enjoy macau?

February 2009

was in manila for a couple of days to pay my last respects to my dear mamuy.  wasn't really expecting her death this soon coz she's always been a survivor.  i know she's becoming weak coz of age.  doctors could not find anything wrong with her in the numerous times she went for a checkup.  i guess she just didnt want to become a burden coz she just stayed in the hospital for a few days... and never left.  sabi nga ng uncle ko... "sulit na".. but it still hurts.  i will not be able to tease her about selective hearing anymore.. na pag pera ang pinag uusapan, naririnig nya.. otherwise.. it falls on deaf ears.  hehehe wala ng magbibigay saken ng pocket money everytime i would go back to hk.  wala na ang paborito kong lola. (ako raw kase paboritong apo. hehehe)  hers is a life well-lived.  moreso because a lot of people love her.. and always will.  i will miss you mamuy.  *hugsss*

pics on my next post.. hopefully soon.. 

... in pictures

went to the restaurant for early dinner... didn't know what to order so pichuran na lang muna!
actually, this is what we came here for... the freebie!!! hahaha uhm, chicken, i think.
... and of course, pizza!!! this one's not free na. four-flavored pizza so we can have a sample of each kind. with tabasco shempre.
angel hair pasta, as recommended by sistah. i thought palabok fiesta ng jollibee. hahaha with tabasco ulet.
lastly, pichuran moment again... sino raw ang spoiled?!?!?!

rochness in hongkong

i met roch, my F1 neighbor, HS buddy and long-time friend. she and family are in hongkong for some RnR. it was fun catching up with her... we had a LOT to talk about. no holds barred, diba roch?! haha

enjoying after dinner coffee and chitchat in starbucks, LKF

as usual, kwela... kahit ang banana leaf decor ng starbucks di pinatawad. hahaha
the birthday girl! happy and pleased amidst the LKF crowd
shempre, photo op ulet!
receiving birthday calls in hongkong.. (ouch, roaming yan! haha)
bye roch! till next time... in singapore or in manila or bangkok or bali? hahaha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

modern toilet in mongkok

we scoured the streets of mongkok to look for this toilet-themed restaurant. this concept originated from taiwan (as i have read) and now in hongkong. and what do you know...

there were many people waiting in line (or maybe it's in the adjacent resto nearby?) but we took the chance of lining up in queue just to go for the experience.
we waited for a few minutes - thanks to their organized method of handing out wait cards. they have different cards for different # of dinner groups - for 2s, for 4s and for big groups. empty toilet seats, este table waiting for us.
hanging on the wall, instead of a painting, are toilet seat covers to choose from!
enjoying our strawberry-blended ice. this is good enough for 4 of us.. more even, as we didnt get to finish it. all that ice makes us wanna just open up our toilet seats and do your thing. hahaha

we didnt really ate there as we have some other agenda that night. we merely tried their snacks and this dessert. the food is served in toilet bowl-like or soap dish-like plates. experience-wise, it's a unique and refreshing one.

Modern Toilet
3F mpm building
portland street
mongkok, hk

off to big wave bay

big wave bay is one of the few beaches in hk which you can enjoy for free. most beaches here are for public use. though devoid of any n-star accommodations, the facilities are well-kept and maintained - shower area, changing rooms, toilets. BBQ area is clean. lifeguard service is on till 6pm.

i know 2 ways to go to big wave bay: 1) via mini bus or bus # 9 from shau kei wan terminal or 2) hike up the mountain near island resort in siu sai wan. since we were looking for some adventure, we opted for the latter. we were "warned" that it takes 45mins - 1hr to reach the beach. jayson, our guide (hehehe) took us up to the "view compass" site until we parted ways. he would've just told us where to start our trek but i was too cautious coz 2 of my fwends "lost" their way up. took them 2 hrs before they reached big wave beach. anyways, after jayson left us we were on our own in this very very long plight of stairs. seems never ending at some point. there were even counters on the steps. lost count of how many there were. thousands, i'm sure! all in all, it took us 1 a lil more than an hour to traverse the path - with our pace, stopovers for picture taking. haha

soon the beach is now in sight. we were so excited. our steps now were faster, eager to feel the sand and water soothe our aching feet. finally finishing our hike... we set foot on the sand - the fine sand is soft and rejuvenating. the weather is a bit overcast with temperature around 24degrees. the water is cool, the waves, not high but enough to do surfing for beginners. hehe the place is abundant of restaurants, and everything you may need for the beach. it's convenient. even the location itself. coz a few minutes from big wave you will get to the busy city life. hopefully, this wont be the last time i'll get to enjoy the beach this summer.

pichur pichurs!

out with da gurls

since may 1 is labor holiday, i urged my fwends to have a ladies night in wanchai on april 30 night. just hang out, enjoy... the FREE drinks. here, most bars serve free drinks to ladies on wednesday nights. looove it. though im not a big drinker now, not spending on a gimik night is a blast! unexpectedly that night, there were a LOT of people in the bars, along the streets. then there's this big signage in one bar.. "welcome US navy/US military" . that's why! a lot of foreigners hanging out. maybe some ship docked on the pier and so wanchai clubbing industry is livened up anew.. if you know what i mean. hahaha well, it's HK's red light district.

we strolled in the area, hoping to find a not so crowded place coz we don't wanna be squeezed amongst those big bulky-looking beings. we tried going in "spicy fingers" first. there's live band, a place to sit. but the crowd... can't really blend in. a lil bit older. we just had one round of drinks. coz it's not free. haha we moved to "swindlers". free drinks and entrance for ladies! wuhoo .. DJ music but it's all good. danceable tunes. plus the crowd is younger. we settled here for the entire time and enjoyed dancing, chatting with other expats like us. haha didnt notice the time until the crowd got thinner. after that.. our usual ritual was to eat in "boracay" (yeah, i wish) -- that small pinoy joint around the corner where we get our dose of goto to prevent hangover. haha

here's how we enjoyed the night. pichurs pichurs!