Ogz and I went to Italiannis last night for dinner. Cathy and Sym were supposed to join us later. Since we're there first, we checked out the menu right away and ordered their appetizer platter, some mango with grapes salad, and their classic pizza. We were kinda hesitant to order the pizza because it doesn't look appetizing at all. I ordered an apple shake for my drink. Sheena was our table attendant for the night. While waiting for our food, we had some of the complimentary bread.
After a few minoots, Cath arrived. She was just in time because food was then served. The calamari in the appetizer platter was good. They also have this stuffed mushroom that is also tasty and delish.
'twas bad that we ate almost all of the free bread. I was already full when the salad was served. The pizza was good also but I only had 2 slices.
After dinner, we briefly watched Side A performing their signature songs at Greenbelt 3.
Our main plan for today is to shop for our 3 friends who just celebrated their natal days. After our hefty lunch at Shakey's with Aedner and Tofs, Nikks, Joyish and I proceeded to Bench for Pao's gift. At first, we got our friend some boxer briefs but decided to get him a nice shirt instead ;oP
Next stop, shoes for Joyish. Nikks and Joy were in charge. They sometimes ask me if it looks good or not.
Last stop was at Adidas. Found out that my Adidas One is now worth 8K. Crap! Bought Table a nice shirt. On our way back to the office, Table and Dots were on the same FX that we boarded. We gave her our gift.
Last night, I did a Survivor: Cook Islands marathon. When Candice and Jonathan abandoned their Aitu tribemates, I was like, "oh my god!" The team of Ozzy, Yul, Sundra and Betty was so kawawa. But when the four-member team won challenge after challenge, I was super happy. I just love the underdogs. I also became an instant Ozzy fan. He reminds me so much of Ethan. He swims like a fish. He climbs trees like a monkey. Would love to have him in my team anytime. Well, as long as he doesn't get cocky.
I think Sundra is beautiful. Candice is also a beauty but I don't like how she plays the game.
And Yul could definitely win the million bucks. It's quite interesting that he didn't keep having the idol a secret. Not sure if that will be his demise.
If you're in a tight budget and you wanna give someone a classic guy gift, well, I found a section in Rustan's, G4, called Discovery.
I found some nice money clips that are perfect for the budget conscious. They have 4 different designs to choose from. One has a horseshoe design. One has got leather in it. I got my friend a nice one with an interesting ball design.
Aside from clips, you can also find in the shop some nice desktop accessories and kitchen gadgets (a doglover bottle opener is sumpthing I wanna get for the holidays). Wish upon a star!
Continued my shopping at CK. For the boxer briefs fans out there, they have one priced at 1250. Sumpthin to wear for "special" occasions ;oP
A very sweet lady... a shopaholic like me... idol ko sa driving and finding the best parking space... a very caring sister... and lastly, try to ask if she knows where Amici is and you'll get a freakin' answer ;oP
Since 3 of our friends are celebrating their birthdays next week, the barkada decided not to have a gimmick last night. Instead, Joyish, Nikks and I went out with 2 of the most interesting guys at work: OJ and Anbby (I still get confused whether it's double N or double B). Destination: Pier One @ the Fort.
We didn't mind the traffic going there because OJ entertained us with his impersonations of Mama Ricky Reyes. I also kidded Joyish and Anbby 'cause they look good together ;oP
Anbby ordered kangkong with garlic, sisig, sizzling tokwa't baboy, and pork sinigang. After ordering our food, I noticed that it was all pork. Oh well....
The boys ordered beers (got myself some Cali Ice, what do you expect?!). After 2 rounds, we left the place. Before going home, Joy and OJ bought some GoNuts donuts.
I was absent last Monday, the day my officemate's (Joyce) friend will bring some Krispy Kreme as part of its initial promotion. Bummer! I was really x3 looking forward to tasting this donut again.
But luck is on my side because when I reported for work yesterday, my good friend, Nikks, informed that I have a box of Krispy Kreme inside the refrigerator. Oh my gawd!!! I was sooo happy. I grabbed one for my brekky ;oP Mouth-watering indeed....
Around 3, I received a call from Nikks. A couple of friends wanted to have some donuts. I asked Joyce if she still has some more. Unforch, she plans to give 'em to her own friends. Anyhoo, I got two from my own box and gave 'em away.
Then it's Table's birthday yesterday so, as a gift, I gave her a piece too.
Remember that luck is still on my side? Well, before Joyce went home, she gave me another box!!! Sweet!!!!
What can I say to the lady who can reach the high notes effortlessly, to my friend na masipag maghatid dati sa akin sa citiland, na ka-default namin ni Nikks sa salad at pagl-lose weight, na mabilis malasing sa GinPo, na lumulundag-lundag pag-sugar high, at may attitude pag naka-corn rows... thanks so much for being a very good friend!!!
Before my friend, Apaul, went back home to the States, she gave me these wonderful gifts: a Rasta bracelet and a cutey patootey display ;oP I will miss you, gurl!
After my FEU visit yesterday, Allen and I proceeded (I walked very slowly) to SM Fairview. I went first to the Forex section to have my 100 bucks exchanged. The counterlady asked for my ID. I showed her my EA card and my gold credit card ('cause those were the only cards I brought with me). Apparently, I have to have a valid ID. That sucks big time.
So we looked for somebody who could exchange the money for us. Since Allen goes to school nearby, he sometimes see familiar faces in the crowd. After awhile, he saw a girl named April with her friend. I let Allen do the talking. She smiled and agreed to do us a favor.
As soon as I got my money, I asked them what their plan is. April told me that they wanted to eat at McDonald's. I told them that we could eat together and it's my treat ;oP
After our snacks, I thanked April for the last time and proceeded to my shopping.
Recently, I just discovered this boxer briefs from Bench Body. If you remember the commercial where this model named Andrew Woolf gets his head shaved, he was wearing this camouflage boxer briefs in it. I bought and tried one and it was ultra comfortable. If you plan to give your boyfriend or just a guy friend sumpthing for Christmas/birthday, get one. It only costs 329.75. I don't mind getting a new one for Christmas too *wink* *wink* (XL for me)
The fact that I couldn't move anymore without crying was a sure sign that I needed to go to the hospital. Since mom was on her way to work, she accompanied me first. Our neighbor, Allen, wasn't doing anything so I coaxed him to join us. I tried to ride on a tricycle but I couldn't bend so I walked with Allen to the jeep station.
En route to Lagro (where we planned to hail a cab), my back was in pain everytime the jeep hit a pothole.
It's my first visit to FEU hospital. Before getting off the cab, I requested Allen to ask the people there if they accept credit cards. I only have 100 dollars in my money case and my gold credit card.
When Allen gave me a thumbs up, I was wheeled in right away to the emergency room. An intern with his clipboard appeared at my side and interviewed me. Told him about my back history and that I'm undergoing anti-rabies treatment.
After waiting for sometime, I was advised to have an x-ray. They will not give it to me until I pay so I was wheeled to the cashier. Hmmm, this is what I don't like about hospitals. You need to have money first before they do sumpthin for you. Freakin' bad.
Outstanding Balance: 775 (x-ray)
After payment, I was aided to the x-ray table. A technician asked if I have zipper on my shorts, I said yes. He told me to remove it. Since I was on Commando, he covered it with a hospital gown ;oP
I was brought back to the ER again. I was given a small cup for my urinalysis. After relieving myself, I told Allen to give it to the lab.
Oustanding Balance: 775 (x-ray) + 120 (urinalysis) ------------ 895 I was informed that I'll get my results around 2 pm. Since we haven't had lunch yet, I requested Allen to buy us some lunch. Mom paid for it. I got myself some chix noodles and siopao.
Instead of waiting on a wheelchair--where I get muscle spasms every now and then--I requested a bed.
It was already 3 pm and still no sign of my urinalysis results. My doctor, Dr. Desiderio, informed me that my spinal cord was interestingly straight due to the muscle spasms. There wasn't wrong in there. Thank God.
After a few minoots, my results were brought in but my doctor was nowhere in sight. He appeared after more than an hour.
He gave me a list of meds to buy. He also advised me to have an ultrasound ( I might have gall stones). I thought only preggy women have that?
Outstanding Balance: 895 + 1,186.50 (meds) ----------------- 2,081.50 Last step was to pay for the ER fee and look for my doctor again to have my med certificate signed.
Outstanding Balance: 2,081.50 + 550 (ER fee) 20 (med cert fee) -------------- TOTAL: 2,651.50 Around 5, I was able to take my medicine and felt a bit better. Allen and I found a jeep that would take mom to SM North while we boarded an FX to SM Fairview.
I have such a high tolerance for pain. Yep. That all changed today.
After cleaning out my closet, I felt something is wrong with my lower back. I quickly sat down but an excruciating back pain made me lay down helplessly.
I have a history of muscle tear and when it strikes, I'm totally paralyzed. The last time I felt this was when I played frisbee with friends. Bok, the hubby of Sym, threw the frisbee at me at a long range. I quickly bent down and felt pain shot on my lower back. I told my friends I couldn't move. It was so painful that I had to be carried at the nearest hospital. Cathy and Pasaway stayed with me through the night.
Now, I feel that the pain is even stronger. Every time I try to move, I cringe in pain. It's sooo unbearable. I tried to stand up to go to the bathroom but I can only move an inch at a time. I was already crying and sweaty. I shouted, "dddddyyyy!". My dog, bravo, appeared and was whimpering beside me. After a few minutes, Dad came to my aid and asked what's going on. I told him that I'm having severe back pains. He immediately rushed upstairs to get Mom.
They helped me reach the bathroom. After relieving myself, they carried me (one on each arm) to the bed. Dad put some plaster on my back while Mom was in charge of wiping my sweat off with a towel. I asked Dad to buy me painkillers. Instead, he got me some medicine for UTI. Mom thought I need to cut down on soda and salty food.
It's really a scary feeling that there are things you cannot do anymore when you're paralyzed. It takes me 20 minutes to stand up because it's very painful. I couldn't even reach stuff only a few inches from me. There's also a time when I had to pee inside a CheezWhiz jar because I couldn't walk to the bathroom.
Last night, I went to watch the latest Bond film with my friend, BJ. Don't ask me, that's his actual name. Anyhoo, if you haven't seen the film yet, proceed to my other entries.
I thought the movie is divided into three parts: Action-Drama-Action. The first major scene was when Bond was chasing this "Spiderman" guy who can leap buildings like crazy--found out later that the guy is Sebastien Foucan, a co-founder of Parkour. 'twas an adrenaline rush. Noticed right away that when bullets rained on Bond, he hardly flinched. Now, that's my freakin' secret agent!
As for the Bond ladies, the lady (Eva Green) that Bond fell in love with wasn't as hot as the other woman, Solange (Caterina Murino).
I like how they showed Bond in a tux looking at himself on the bathroom mirror. He can really be suave in a suit. He's also smoldering in his skimpy bathing suits. I guess, the ladies dig that ;oP
I really love the raw fight scenes. You can see that Bond is getting cuts and bruises unlike the previous versions. But my favorite was the scene where Bond was revived by his leading lady. 'twas funny.
Woke up at 8. Brushed my teeth, prepared our hot water, and took a shower. Left the place around 10. I asked the guys to find this place where I could buy Angel cookies. I've been craving for this for some time now. These cookies are made of leftover hosts. One caretaker told us that there's a nearby Good Shepherd convent and that's where we could buy these yummy cookies.
At the convent's pasalubong shop, I bought one first so the guys could taste it. Not sure if they all bought but they liked it ;oP Bought some goodies for my family back home. It's my Daddy's birthday today (November 18th).
After reaching Makati, we had our late lunch at Inasal. Bid goodbye to our good friend, Apaul. I'll surely miss her.
Every now and then, it's pretty good to spend a Friday evening far away from the busy streets of Makati. Two of our good friends, Apaul & Jun, are here for the holidays. We cannot just spend our time without a memorable gimmick with 'em. This time, we picked Tagaytay.
We left Makati around 7. I came with Table, Apaul, Aedz, Ogz, and Dots. Jun with his girlfriend, Joyish, Kendz, Pao, and Nikks were in the other van. After passing by Enchanted Kingdom in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, our topic focused on the English translation of "tsubibo". Table and I thought it's "merry-go-round" but the rest of the guys in our van were positive that it's "ferris wheel". Apaul even called her mom to verify. Most of the people we called thought it's ferris wheel indeed. Oh freakin' well. I and Table lost 40 bucks ;oP
Traffic was slow moving on the south expressway. The whole ride wasn't that boring because we've got Holy Kettle Corn (thanks to Table), Apaul (to keep us in stitches), and lotsa stories. Peace of mind, baby!
Reached Tagaytay at half past 9. We chose Leslie's to fill our hungry tummies. We ordered bulalo, sisig, tawilis, chopsuey, and pakbet. Sadly, when the food arrived, the soup wasn't even warm (freakin' hate that) and the tawilis' bone almost got stuck in my throat.
After dinner, I had smoke... just bought my Gudang Garam ;oP We also had our picture taking galore. We also talked about our Christmas presentation plan that involves the song, "Sway". The song is still in my head. The image of Table dancing is forever etched inside my brain. Nikks taught us the half-moon step too. We also made fun of the couples in the group.
We found an area where there was a shallow pool of water. Apaul, Kendz, and Aedner all threw coins in the fountain. Another photo op at the hanging bridge. We just love the camera ;oP
Around midnight, Jun excused himself. He needed to go back to Manila. That means, Aedner, Table, Kendz and Pao had to go with him.
The "Peace of Mind" group was still intact except Aedz was replaced by Nikks. We scouted the area for a place to stay for the night. We found this nice place (forgot the name) where the guard offered us a house for only 2500. They have a small tv where we could connect our MagicSing.
Ogz sang "Bakit pa ba?" and "Run to You", Dots did a splendid version of "Breakout" and "Paalam Na", Nikks requested for "I'd Still Say Yes" and "I Love You, Goodbye", Table brought the house down with her "Endless Love" version, and I sang "Runaway" (with Apaul) and "Bakit ako Mahihiya?". We called it a night at 4 am.
After I got back from the States last 1999, I heard about the latest craze... cellphones. Everyone was sending text messages. Now, the last time I owned one was back in the early 90s when Motorola MicroTac was still the IN thing. Those things look prehistoric now!!! I was so excited to get my very first Nokia model, 6150. I can clearly remember it was 13,500 bucks in Greenhills. I got a dark blue one while my evil twin sister (Joyish) got the maroon.
Years has passed and I got myself better and smaller models: 8890, 6260, N90, and now N93. Because of this, I instantly became an Elite Nokia member. A few days ago, I received an e-mail inviting me to a training on its features. For sometime now, I've been playing with my phone. I know how to use it as a modem, how to customize my own ringtones, and how to shoot nice pictures & videos.
When I arrived at the Glass wing of the Ayala Museum, I was surprised to see only a couple of people working on their phones. I was already late so I was expecting a lotta people there. I saw a few Nokia ads. There was also a flat TV, a small projector, and a portable printer. Tables were setup too. Free dinner, I assumed. Sweet!!!
I surrendered my invitation to the lady at the registration. I was introduced right away to our trainer, Myke. He asked if we have questions. Aside from me, I met a doctor named Hanz and a pretty lady named Tin. We're all owners of N93 so that was cool.
Myke explained how to setup our e-mail. I haven't done this before so I listened carefully. When he got to the part where he's downloading his e-mails, I told him about my experience with Globe. My bill shot up when I tried to use my phone to connect to the internet. Tin informed me that she uses Smart because they only charge 10 bucks every 30 minoots. Globe sucks in this department BIG time!!!
I heard about this thing called accelerator. When you experience slowness every time you send your messages, it doesn't mean there's sumpthin wrong with your phone. All you need to do is to install this accelerator. Myke installed it for me. My problem was fixed!
He also talked about Lifeblog. I've been a blogger now for more than a year so when he talked about this application, I was all ears. With Lifeblog, you can retrieve messages, graphics, and vids you sent and/or even deleted. Sweet!
Myke demonstrated how I could watch my recorded videos on teevee. Since I didn't have a vid to present, I quickly made one. 'twas amazing.
Before we had our dinner, I tried printing a photo from my phone. I asked Myke the cost of the HP printer--7 to 8K. Not bad. The only drawback is that, you cannot print images that were taken from a digital cam.
Dinner was composed of guava scallop sinigang (highly recommended), soy calamansi marinated beef ribeye (very filling), and for dessert, creme brulee trio, mango sticky rice, and brazo de lemon. My favorite dessert was the creme brulee. It looks like chocolate but it has siling labuyo, ginger, and basil. The consistency was thick. When you eat it, you'll be tasting sweetness and the spicyness afterwards. A must-try!!!
We were joined by Rhomel Marcojos (Head of Product Marketing), another guy, and the nice lady at the registration. I asked if they offer training that involves photography. Myke told me he attended a similar one before but they don't offer it yet. I told 'em about my experience with Nokia service center in Glorietta. They also wondered why I often take pictures. Told 'em about my blog and that I would post an article about this event.
I asked for brochures so I could advertise Nokia to my officemates and friends. I remember Aedner was thinking of getting an N80 or N73. Well, if you know someone planning to buy a Nokia phone this Christmas, tell him/her to approach me. You're actually gonna get a free Airborne WIFI access for 6 months and free car charger. What a freakin' deal!!!
Before we called it a night, we were informed that we could order some more food since many people didn't show up and food has already been paid for. I got myself some adobo foie gras ;oP
I had a quick chat with Tin and Hanz before I went home.
Now, the next time you receive an invitation from Nokia, don't ever miss it. You'll learn sumpthin, you'll get sumpthin, and good food comes with it ;oP
An old friend dropped by yesterday at the office. She's been gone for four years. Her name is Apaul. I gave her a good tight hug to welcome her ;oP
Ogz had to do some errand so we had our dinner/break at Tapa King. Apaul missed the food here. She had Tapa King plus a side order of tapa. She gave her egg to Butch. I had Tapa Queen as usual. We plan to eat at Sentro later so I reserved a space for that. Nikks & Ogz shared their meal. We had a very interesting and hairy conversation at Tapa King.
At Sentro, we were joined by Table, Aedner and Joyish. We teased Table and Aedz the whole night. For dinner, we ordered the house specialty, sinigang na corned beef, and tofu sisig. Joyish also ordered some tasty cheese balls.
Apaul treated us for some free desserts: lemon meringue torte (my fave), some coffee thingie (joy & ogz), creme brulee (aedz & tabs), cheesecake (nikks & butch), and halu-halo for herself.
After our sumptuous dinner, we continued the fun at Red Box. It's been a while since we last visited a videoke bar. It was quite an experience to be singing my favorite songs again. Ogz and I did our infamous duets, "Used to Be" and "The Prayer". Table and I sang "Last Night of the World" and "Call Me", Nikks and I delivered "I Can", and I was happy to see "Till I Met You" in the list so I sang it too. We finished our concert around 1 pm.
Before heading home, we had our endless photo ops at Greenbelt. We were a bit embarrassed because there were still people around the area ;oP We didn't care where we took our photos: in the park, along the walkway, and even inside the elevator. Am excited to post some of 'em here. Watch out!!!
