How about That?!

Woke up at 7:30 today. I immediately went to the bathroom to do my business and showered. After my preparation, I went to the kitchen. Faye and Boy were already done with their brekky. Faye cooked bacon and eggs for us. Sweet!

Called Dad to confirm that he already got the money I sent 'em. Am really happy that that problem has already been solved. I thought my money is gone!

One of my work mates informed me that I can now open a new bank account in a Chevy Chase bank. I just need to present my passport. That's great news! I don't need to go to the Phil Asian mart and pay an extra 22 bucks for their service. I can do bank-to-bank transaction through xoom.com. I think this time they will only charge like 5 bucks.

E-mailed Linda about where I could get a new company mug. There is one on my desk but god knows how long it's been sitting there. I don't wanna risk my health ;oP Anyhoo, after a few minoots, she dropped by my desk to give me a new one. Sweet! I immediately washed it and got me-self some hot nice chocolate before luncha ;oP

We're all planning to have a lunchout today. I asked the peeps where they wanna eat. I suggested "Pho Royal" and "King's Buffet" (Faye, for the longest time, wanted to eat here).

While waiting for the other guys to prepare for lunch, I saw Lieu with Faye. She asked us where we're having lunch and she suggested "King's Buffet" too. Well, I told her that we can go with her while the rest of the guys could follow. This will solve our car problem for today. Turned out that the boys except Alwyn couldn't join us because they're still busy.
So the five of us (Lieu, Faye, Boy, Alwyn and I) went to Sterling for our buffet lunch. Oh my god, I ate so much. I had seafood soup, chicken honey, black peppered chicken, veggie noodles, rice (I miss it!), shrimps, crab rangoon, and veggies. If those weren't enuff, I had ice cream, creme puffs and melon for dessert. I felt so heavy afterwards.

Of course, it ain't a Chinese meal without the infamous fortune cookie. I cracked mine and here's my message, "You are one of the people who goes places in life." How about that?!

Around 4, I went to the bank with two officemates. I received my paycheck for next month and I was able to open an account. Yay!

Classic Knottydon

Super thanks to Alwyn for producing this great shot. Just like my friend, Alistair, he's got that EYE. You should check out his devianArt gallery. I personally like the signpost shot.

I dunno if I can be a good photographer. I only like being in front of the camera ;oP

Watch out for the outtake of this shot. It's so hilarious!

The Terminal

My work ended a few minoots before noon today. So Dennis, Emily and I bid goodbye to the client, bought our lunch and drove over to Fort Wayne airport. I'm supposed to fly at 4 but I put myself on standby. Dennis and Emily are both flying Continental. I'm on United. I tried to get a seat but was unlucky. Oh, another problem, I still don't have a ride home. Crap!

So, as of this writing, I'm killing 2 hours at the airport. Good thing, there's wi-fi connection around here.

I just saw Regine's performance at StarStruck. Thanks to YouTube. Am now watching last week's episode of "Lost".

Left Fort Wayne around 4:30. Reached O'Hare at 4:00. Weird. I'm supposed to fly at 5:30 but my flight got delayed. While waiting, I saw Naj. He's waiting for a chance to fly earlier than his original sched at 6. Bought my snack: double cheeseburgers, fries and coke.

After waiting for 3 and a half hours, my plane left for Washington DC. I feel so tired. I told Naj that I already miss my bed so much! Oh, hours before, I was worried that I didn't have anyone to fetch me at the airport. God made sure that Naj was able to get a seat in the same flight so he can also drive me home. Thanks, Naj!

It's so good to be back home. Talked to Faye for a bit before having my long overdue warm bathtub session.

Went to the other apartment for my light dinner and to catch up with the boys. Alwyn cooked nilaga. Yum-O! Went back home to have a couple of beers with my buddy, Boy.

Show Me The Money!

Slept much better today. The alarm clock didn't quite bug me anymore. The wakeup call was useless since I was already awake before 6. I was a bit disappointed with the brekky selection. They offer the same thing every single day!

Met Sumit today. He's from our Florida office and he asked if I work with Anbby. Apparently, Anbby is doing support on one of his eLearning projects.

Found out that the money I sent to my family last Sunday hasn't reached its target yet. I called my dad last night but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't call the Filipino store where I had the transaction because I was in another State. I couldn't explain it to my dad so I just told him that I'll be doing some calls tomorrow (Friday). I dunno what happened with my money. Hopefully it will arrive soon. I have to confirm if it has arrived already and dad wasn't there to receive it. Now, that's a bummer!

Do I Make You Proud?

Woke up at 6 am. I didn't get to sleep much because every 30 minutes my alarm clock would go off. I couldn't find the right button so I kept on pushing all the buttons. It's not very user friendly at all. Anyhoo, around 2:30 I finally got it to turn its freakin' sound off. I don't wanna oversleep either so every now and then I wake up and check the time.

Took a quick shower. Got dressed. Made my way to the lobby for my brekky. Made my own waffles today. Put some whipped cream and choco chips on top. Yum-O! I also got some sausages that look like burger patties, eggs, and pancakes. After my two cups of coffee, I went back to my room and continued my preparation for work.

At 7:30, Dennis, Emily and I went to the client site. It takes less than 30 minoots to get there. The office is big. I could get lost here easily. We went inside this big conference room. Dennis said that they normally stay there. He wasn't kidding. We spent the whole day inside that room!

At lunchtime, we went to the office cafeteria. I had a spaghetti meal for like 5 bucks. While eating, a client expressed how thankful they are of my company. They didn't know about a software that could do both product info maintenance and publication. Am really glad I got involved in this project ;oP

After work, I tried to scout for the latest K-Swiss shoes that I saw in a commercial. Remember the last James Bond film where a guy was doing some street acrobatics in the first major scene? Well, K-Swiss did the same thing. And the guy who was performing the Parkour was wearing a K-Swiss. The moment I saw it, I was like, "I'm getting that shoes!". Didn't find it in any shoe store in Indiana so I went online and bought it. It will be delivered on Tuesday. Freakin' excited!

Welcome to Fort Wayne

At 8 o'clock, I was already prepared to leave so I called Linda to pick me up. Bid goodbye to my roommate, Faye. I'll miss our nightly chat.

Got to the airport after 30 minoots or so. When I reached my gate, I saw Dennis reading by himself. We chatted a bit. I found out that he's visited the Philippines years back when there's still a US base in Subic and Marcos was still president. And yep, he's an Aussie. Emily joined us later.
We boarded the plane to Cleveland at 9:40. While taxiing, we saw this huuuuge airplane called A380 Airbus. It's bigger than Boeing 747. It can fly 500++ passengers. I told Dennis that it looks like an airplane in steroids!

Our plane, on the other hand, is pretty small. It can only seat 16 passengers at most. Well, Dennis told me that they normally fly in a much bigger plane. But since not too many peeps fly to Ohio, Continental Airlines decided to use a smaller plane. Small plane = Less fuel. If they reach 4 passengers, they will fly ;oP

Reached Ohio before noon. I was getting hungry. I only had cornflakes for brekky. One more hour to go before I see Fort Wayne.

At 1:30, I finally got to enjoy the warm weather in Fort Wayne. An ole lady was giving away free cookies at the airport. Got one, of course. Emily also informed me that granite is big in in Indiana. I saw quarries on our way to our hotel.
Residence Inn is a perfect place for visitors who want a place they could call home (away from home). The suite is complete with kitchen, a nice living room with fireplace, and a queen-sized bed. Can't wait to try 'em all. There's even cookies and lollies waiting for me! Sweet! It reminds me of my old place in Sterling.
Around 2 pm, I gave Emily a call. I asked if they will have lunch. She told me that she could accompany me. She and Dennis normally skip it. Anyhoo, we found Chick-Fil-A. It's my first time to eat there so I immediately asked her to take me there. Got some burger, fries, nuggets and coke. Mmmmmm...
Speaking of food, the breakfast and dinner at Marriott are for free. Sweet! Around 6, I went to the lobby and got myself nachos for dinner. I've never had nachos for dinner in my life. But since it's free, I cannot complain. While I was eating, Dennis came by and we had a little chat. He also gave me some Michelob beer. Now, who can refuse a free beer! Tomorrow I'm gonna try the Merlot ;oP Later on, Emily joined us and introduced me to Sudoku. Very addicting!
The free dinner closes at 7 so we continued our fun at a local brewery called "Mad Anthony". I've tasted their Black Lager, some Ale, and Irish Stout. Mmmm, I miss drinking with friends. Well, at least, it's a bonding time with Emily and Dennis. Went home around 10.

Phil Asian Food Market

For the past two weeks, I've been looking for a way to send moulah to my family in the Philippines. It's difficult to send money because my per diem here in the US is not given in cash. Instead, I get an American Express gift card. I tried to use xoom.com but they don't accept AmEx. I even tried sending money through my HSBC credit card but only cards issued in the US are accepted. Western Union is an option but they charge 22 bucks for the 200 dollars that I plan to send. And then I found out about "Phil Asian Food Market", a Filipino store in Chantilly, VA. I researched on the net where it's located. It's only less than 15 miles from Ashburn. Sweet!

I asked Richie and Faye to accompany me. From Ashburn, we took VA-7 East, 28 South, then 50 West. When we saw Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, we made a U-turn. It's a bit challenging to locate the Asian store because their shop is not visible from the highway.

When we entered the store, I immediately asked the woman at the counter named Linda where I could send money. She instructed me to fill out a form. She told me that the money will be delivered to our house in Bulacan on Wednesday. They charge 15 bucks when the recipient is in the province. 7 bucks for people living in the Metro.

Afterwards, I checked out the store. They sell so many different spices, noodles, sauces, snacks, etc. Too bad they don't have Purefoods hotdogs. At last, we found a bagoong (fish paste). They also have a canned calamansi juice. It's already sweetened so we cannot use it for our "sawsawan".

There's also a teevee showing "The Buzz". Piolo Pascual was being interviewed. They showed a screenshot from his movie with Regine Velasquez. I hope they show the movie here in the US.

In the Navy

Last Sunday, I bought a pair of black shoes (one on the left) that Tom and I fought for. Today, I got another one for free (!) from JP. The shoes came from his friend from the Navy, a chief mate of USS Bataan. His friend only brought sizes 6, 7 and 8. He's got a size 11 shoes. Bad for him. Good for me ;oP

The shoes are the actual shoes being worn by Navy personnel. It was designed to be a slip-on since laces can get entangled. It's kinda difficult to wear because the entry is narrow. That's why it has loops (in front and back) you can pull while pushing your foot further inside.

Am happy with my new shoes. Thanks, buddy!

Off to Indiana

Last Tuesday, I couldn't contain myself when I got an invitation to go to Fort Wayne, Indiana. We have a client there and for the first time, I'm gonna meet them. I'm goin' with Emily and Dennis (he's an Aussie British so when he's talking, it's like having Max around here). They advised me to wear a shirt and tie. Good thing, I brought a few with me. I'm flying back home on Thursday night.

The good news is, Joy, my evil twin sister from Chicago, might come to visit. Sweet!

Now, the last time I visited Indiana was several years back. My friends and I went to the Lighthouse Outlet. I don't think I'd do any shopping this time but I wanna see nice places for my blog ;oP

The big question is, what is there to see in Indiana? Any tips?

Lotion Freak

I don't normally apply lotion on my body. Back in Manila, I prefer powder over lotion. Lotion + Sun don't quite match (unless it's a sunblock). I feel icky and sticky.

Ever since I got here in the US three weeks ago, I've noticed that my skin is dryin'. I started applying my BodyShop Olive Body Butter on my hands and arms 'cause they freakin' itch. Then one day, I was shocked to see my legs and thighs dryin' up too. I forgot all about them. So starting today, I'm gonna pay attention to these guys too.

Faye has given me a moisturizer from her old hotel and an Apothecary Herbal Hand and Body Lotion (Raspberry Scent). I sometimes use the moisturizer on my hands. Every time I come back from the restroom, my hands feel dry. I will try the raspberry lotion after my bath tonight ;oP

Tomas also gave me some Bath and Body Works lotion (Orange Ginger) samples from one of the hotels he has stayed in. When you apply it on your hands and arms, you'll say, "oh my god!" It smells so freakin' good! Initially, Tom only gave me 2 samples. Before he left last Sunday, he gave me some more ;oP

If you have any unused lotion there, donate it to Knottydon's Drying Skin Foundation. I'll gladly accept it ;oP

Haberdey, Nikks!!!

HSBC Security Device

I was surprised to receive a package today from HSBC. A coupla weeks ago, I e-mailed their customer service requesting them to send my security device to my US address so I can do my online banking while I'm working abroad. I"m happy that they fulfilled their promise. Unforch, I couldn't access my online banking now because my password ain't working anymore. Crap! I'll call again tomorrow.

Watched "American Idol" tonight. I like Blake's performance, as usual (voted for him, as usual). It's so funny that Simon Cowell asked if Melinda's the real deal. Meaning, she's really nice in person. I saw an E! show wherein they joked about Melinda's humility. There's this girl, in a clip, whose ego inflates every time she receives a compliment. The voice over suggested that she goes to "Melinda Doolittle School of Humility" wherein she could learn how to react like she has never heard a compliment in her entire life, complete with the shrugs, the showing of dimples, and the "oh, really?!" facial expression.

Back to Idol, Sanjaya should freakin' go home tomorrow. Watching his performance was like hearing nails against a blackboard.

Who's the Cook?

This is my third week in the US. So far, I don't miss the food back home yet because we cook Filipino food at our pad all the time. Alwyn and Richie cook so well that I gained a few pounds since I got here. Now that Rene's on board (notice that I didn't include Noel 'cause he doesn't cook), we have another person in our Chef pool.

We decided that it would be a lot easier if we could also cook our lunch for the following day at the same time we're cooking our dinner. Like tonight, I'm gonna cook my stir-fry beef with oyster sauce while Alwyn is cooking his pork dish. Since we now have 2 pads, the two chefs can cook simultaneously. Pretty neat, eh? That way, we don't have to rush our prep and cooking during our one-hour lunch break. Also, we devised a way that we won't cook the same type of meat/dish consecutively. It's gonna be like, beef -> pork -> chicken -> seafood -> pasta. To make it more fun and exciting, we might have an Experiment Night wherein, someone would cook sumpthin new and nobody's allowed to criticize the dish ;oP Also, whoever cooks the most delicious meal in the week might get a day off (no cooking, no cleaning up, no nuthin).
On Mondays, we have an officemate at work named Steve who invites us for a lunchout. That is why we don't cook during lunchtime on Mondays. Two weeks ago, we went to Famous Dave's. This time, we had Japanese at Tokyo Sushi. I got myself some chicken teriyaki box, composed of chicken teriyaki, a single tempura plus veggies, a scoop of rice, salad, miso soup, 6 California rolls, and some weird looking coleslaw stuffed inside a tomato. The chicken fillets are big and tender but the sauce ain't that good. I enjoy the rolls and the tempura.

Shopping with Tom, Part Deux

After brekky, Tom and I drove more than 37 miles to Potomac Mills in Prince William, VA. Reached the shopping place before noon. According to my friends, I would enjoy shopping here. That got me super excited ;oP
First store that I saw was Lego. I was planning to get a simple shirt with a Lego logo but they don't have it. Crap! At Abercrombie & Fitch, Tom and I found some nice shirts. I bought 2.

We entered a Levi's/Dockers store. I finally found a pair of black khakis. Found a nice pair of glasses at Tommy Hilfiger too. At American Eagle, I found a Western shirt for 20 bucks.

When I saw the shop, Hollister, I got excited again. It's my first time here to shop. It reminds me of the A&F store in Dulles Town Center because the place is a bit dark. That didn't stop me from getting 3 discounted shirts ;oP

Continued shopping at another new (to me) shop called Aerospostale. I got a spanking white polo shirt that looks good in my 501 jeans and a long sleeve shirt worth 8 bucks only. What a freakin' good deal!

We're getting hungry already so I bought some Auntie Anne's pretzels and a pretzel-covered hotdog for Tom.

Since I already got my black pants, I wanted to get black shoes. We found Hush Puppies but I had reservations in going inside. I thought they don't carry leather shoes. Tom insisted that we check it out 'cause he thought he found some leather shoes. I'm really happy that I went in because I found a high-cut leather shoes for only 44 bucks. It looks good in jeans and dress pants too. I really x 100 love it. The saleslady gave me 30% discount too. She told me that she has 2 pairs left. Then Tom asked me if he could try it on. He liked it too. I asked the lady if we could get both pairs. She informed me that the other one is not an 8 1/2 but a 13. Awkward moment. Tom said, "Don, panget naman yan". I told the lady that my friend likes it too. She got the joke that if I didn't get the shoes, Tom would get it instead. She suggested that Tom gets the size 13. Or I could sell it to him for a much higher price ;oP

On our way back home to Ashburn, the major topic was Tom wanting to get/buy my shoes. He's offering 145 bucks to get it from me. Of course, I said no ;oP
Around 6:20, Tom bid goodbye. He plans to visit again next month. Before he left, we had our last photo op.

*** Quick shoutouts to my friends, Weng and Joey. Both are celebrating their birthdays this weekend

Shopping with Tom

Cooked franks and fried rice for our brunch. Faye is finally moving to our apartment. Richie and Alwyn started to move their stuff to their new pad. I just moved from my old room to Richie's old bedroom. I immediately noticed that there's no mirror. What! That sucks. I need to rely on the bathroom mirror across the room for my vanity. I asked Tom's help in folding my clothes. Around 1 o'clock, I'm finally done with my own simple move.

Tom and I went to Leesburg to do some shopping. I found the Levi's store where I bought my first 501 6 years back. I was so happy I found a pair of 501 jeans for only 16 bucks. If the price ends with .98 cents, they offer 50% discount. Got a nice long sleeve shirt too. We checked out other shops like Guess, Banana Republic, Adidas, CK, but we didn't find anything to buy anymore.

Shopping can make any professional shopper hungry ;oP so we found a place to eat. Tom wants Chinese food. We left Leesburg and visited Sterling. I told Tom that I used to live around the area.
We found Cheng's Oriental Restaurant. The moment I entered the resto, it hit me. I already dined here with Miguel Picornell and Aster! We ordered Hunan Pork, some fried noodles, and the house special fried rice. The food is great. I like the spicy noodles a lot. We opened our fortune cookies. I got "Great thoughts come from the heart".

At 3:30, we went to Regal theatre and watched "300". For a matinee show, it costs 7.50. Normally, it costs 9.50 bucks.

The movie was a delight to watch. Noticed that LOTR's Faramir (David Wenham) is in the cast. I didn't recognize Lost's Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes. I want to see a fight between Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and Gladiator (Russell Crowe).

Went to Giant to buy some chicken tinola ingredients for tomorrow's lunch.

Around 10:30, the group of Noel, Rene, Alwyn, and Richie dropped by for dinner. It's unfortunate that Jun was denied entry to the US =o(

A Visit from Tom

Around 2 pm, Alwyn sent me a yahoo message that it's hailing. We checked outside and it was hailing alright. A coupla hours later, it started to snow... badly. I'm so happy I'm indoors. It ain't fun when you're caught in a snowstorm.

Then I got a call from Tom. He's already in the vicinity. I can't believe he's here already. The last time I saw him was a coupla years back. Before I visited my friends in Singapore, I spent the night in Pampanga with him.


He commented that I look like Maddox (Angelina Jolie's kid) and he looks like Chris Richardson of "American Idol". I introduced him first to my officemates. Alwyn speaks Kapampangan and he & Tom chatted a bit.

We went to Giant to buy some booze and chips. I reminded Tom to drive slowly because snow was blowing hard. We headed back home. I cooked some fried rice. He cooked some scrambled eggs. We opened a can of tuna. That's our dinner.

We started drinking and the videoke session. Alwyn and Richie joined us later. We sang a lotta songs we used to sing like "Kahit Kailan", "This I Promise You", etc. Later in the evening, we played poker. We didn't have chips though but we agreed on "pitikan" as our blinds (maximum of 5). "Ang sakit pumitik ni Tomas! Potek!"

A Good Day

Spent 40 hours on testing. Am happy I'm finally done with the first phase. A coupla days ago, we hit a snag. I couldn't proceed because of some problem on our system. I went home feeling frustrated and bothered. After talking to one of our senior architects, I finally solved the problem.

Tomorrow, Tom is visiting me from Philly.

I Volunteer

When Richie requested that we have a quick lunch, we thought of trying out the cafeteria on the ground floor. I got myself some Caesar Salad Wrap. I asked the guy preparing my food if he's gonna put bacon in it. He misinterpreted my question. He told me that he'll put bacon in my wrap only if I wanted to. Of course, I want bacon!

Anyhoo, eating outdoors was a different experience. We saw some kids playing nearby. We saw some vultures (according to Alwyn). It wasn't cold even. We're not in a confined space for a change. I like it ;oP

While walking around the office, I saw a poster of a missing dog. My heart melted. His name is William. He's been gone since Saturday. He got loose from his foster house and peeps have been looking for him since then. According to my officemate named Brenda, he's a shy dog and he limps a bit. She's afraid that he's so hungry and scared by now. Then she talked about this organization called Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA) where she is one of the volunteers who takes care of cats and dogs. She walks 'em, feed 'em, and play with 'em. Sumpthin in my head clicks. This is the closest thing I'll ever get in owning a dog in the US. I get to play with different breeds too! I checked out their website, www.foha.org, and saw some adorable canine friends. My favorite is Molly Brown. She reminds me of me when I get my photo taken ;oP

American Idol Updates

Watched the "American Idol" last night while cooking sarciado. They had a Diana Ross theme. I only know a few of her hits so I wasn't 100% fully interested. I noticed that most of the contestants got bad reviews from the judges. Doolittle and LaKisha delivered. I also like Blake's arrangement. While Jordin Sparks was singing, I got a call from Tomas. He's visiting this Friday. Sooo excited!

I think Sanjaya is the first to go.

After the show, I tried voting for the first time. I voted, of course, for Blake!!!

Bonding Time

Chatting with friends has always been one of my favorite things to do. Whether I'm on my way home, eating my lunch at the pantry, in a car, having my macchiato at Starbucks, riding the Metro, having dinner, staring at the stars and counting the falling ones, there's never a bad time to hear other people's ideas and opinions. I'm the type of person who listens and asks questions. It's the reason why peeps come up to me and just share whatever stories they may have or problems they ar facing. Oh, I'm really good at keeping secrets too ;oP

Last night, I got a new batch of friends to talk to: Alwyn, Richie and Faye. While hearing each other's stories, we had a good time because everyone had some funny thing to comment. I truly enjoyed our after-dinner chat.

A Day of Shoppin'

Woke up at 7 am today. Well, technically, it's not really 7 am anymore because of this Daylight Saving Time. It officially started at 2 am today. We need to advance our clocks by an hour. This would make our day "longer".

After the 12 o'clock mass at St. Therese, the gang (including Marsha) had a late lunch at IHOP. This is one of those things you gotta try when you're in the US. Love their pancakes. I ordered their Breakfast Sampler: 2 pancakes, 2 bacon strips, 2 eggs (had 'em scrambled), 2 ham, 2 sausages, and hash brown. Got some apple juice too. Marsha doesn't eat meat so she gave me her bacon, which I shared with Alwyn ;oP There are 5 kinds of syrup for our pancakes: maple, strawberry, blueberry, butter pecan and boysenberry. Alwyn joked that the last one tastes like paint.

When I excused myself to the restroom, I found an automatic tissue dispenser. When you wave your hand near the sensor, it sticks out a new tissue like paper coming out of a fax machine. How cool is that!



We, Pinoys, love picture taking. Of course, we need souvenirs ;oP

Then we headed to my favorite place in the whole wide world: Marshalls. Oh my gawd! I just couldn't contain myself when I walked in the store! I felt at home ;oP I quickly went to the Men's section. I got myself a nice Lucky Brand polo and two underwear. I found a nice American Eagle shirt but I thought I saw it being worn by Ogz or Boyette so I didn't get it anymore.

Next stop was Dulles Town Center. The reason why I like this place is that it carries one of my favorite brands, Abercrombie & Fitch. We got there around 5:10. The gang decided to re-group in an hour. Since I only have an hour to shop, I rushed towards A&F. Found this nice shirt worth 20 bucks.

Continued my shopping at Spencer Gifts. Found this fedora hat with 3 Rasta-colored bands. I told the guy at the counter not to put it in a paper bag anymore 'cause I'm gonna wear it. I really x100 love it.

Went inside a shop called Pacific Sunwear. Saw one of the salespersons wearing a nice shirt so I asked him where he bought it. He told me that they sell the shirt and he guided me where I could get it ;oP The item is already on sale and they added another 50% discount. What a great find!

Gap was next. Prison Break star, Wentworth Miller, is one of the models and he's got a huge poster inside the shop. While shopping, a Mexican saleslady asked me where I got my shirt 'cause it's nice. I told her that it's from Manila. Another saleslady approached me and told me that she likes my hat. I told her I just bought it. Then the first lady asked if I designed my own pants. Told her that I got it from Singapore in a European shop called Topshop. They commented that I must be a traveler. I told them that my work takes me sometimes to different places. They thought I was smart. Told them just a little ;oP Anyhoo, I bought 2 shirts.

There's a Wrestlemania promo goin' on and my immediate thought, if OJ was here, he'd love this. I found a handprint of Andre the Giant and it was freakin' HUUUUUGE! There was a lotta merchandise being sold too.

Last stop was American Eagle. Found a nice plaid shorts and a very nice but cheap shirt.

Ahhh, the joy of shopping.

Dinner with Faye's Relatives

Faye joined me in the kitchen while I was having my morning cornflakes. She spent the night at our pad. We (along with Alwyn and Richie) had dinner, a few beers and sang our hearts out last night. Faye occupied Richie's room. Richie slept on the couch ;oP

Faye wanted to know what's for brekky so I gave her some cornflakes (minus the milk 'cause she doesn't like it). I also prepared some pancakes. While cooking the first one, I noticed that the pancake was sticking on the bottom of the pan. Meaning, I put the batter prematurely. I poured some more butter to rectify the situation. When Faye sensed that I was having a problem with my first pancake, she requested that she'd continue my cooking. She also told me to get out of the kitchen.

Some minoots later, Richie and Alwyn woke up and joined us for brekky. We also shared the Kahlua brownie that we bought at Famous Dave's yesterday.

Around 10:30, we dropped Faye off her hotel. We'll meet her again later to go to her aunt's house sumwhere past Tyson's Corner.

For lunch, I cooked sinigang na hipon. We had no kangkong so I used spinach and some leafy veggy that looks like pechay. I had to put 3 small sachets of sinigang mix 'cause I couldn't find the right sour taste.

Around 3, we got a call from Faye's aunt named Aida. She's already downstairs. Since Alwyn hasn't prepared yet, Richie and I, along with Tita Aida and her friend, JV, went first to meet Faye at her hotel. We'll pick Alwyn up in a little while.

Since we didn't have enuff gas to go to Tyson's Corner, we filled up our gas tank first. Alwyn saw some nice subjects to take photos of. Of course, I joined him.


Along the way, we saw a Hummer. Saw one of these in the show, Entourage. What a nice ride! I requested Alwyn to take photos because these things are sumpthings we won't be seeing back in Manila.

When we reached our destination, the first thing that we noticed was her aunt lives in a beautiful townhouse in a quiet neighborhood. And it was hard to park because all the slots were already reserved.

We finally met the other relatives of Faye. It's fun to hear them because they sometimes speak in Kapampangan dialect.

We were given plates so we could start dinner. I had some rice (of course!), kare-kare (I sooo miss bagoong!), lumpia and some lemon grass soup that tastes like Tom Yam soup. I was so full afterwards that I couldn't eat anymore the cassava cake. I was given a glass of red wine later on. Perfect!
Lots of stories shared with one another. Pictures were taken too. They also invited us for another party on the 31st. Hopefully, Boy and the other guys could join us too.