Dec 24

CA to NV

US Life, family, vacation 2 Comments »
Atsi, Jamie, Ditsi, Arnel and I were spending Christmas in Reno with Ahiya, Aileen and mama. Before we could get to Reno though, we made a few stops first.

We started out later than we should have the morning of the 22nd.

First, we had to finish our laundry.
Second, we had to finish packing.
Third, we had to fit all of our stuff in Jamie’s jeep. We had A LOT of stuff.
Fourth, we had to go to the gas station to fill up the tank and check the tires.
Fifth, we had to go to Macy’s to pick up my jeans.
Sixth, we had to have breakfast (Jack in the Box, yum!)

Then we hit the road but had to stop several times along the way…

To check out the Coach outlet store.
To buy Chinese food.
To buy cheapo earmuffs at the dollar store.
To buy extra supplies at Raley’s.
To buy burger and pies at Ikeda.

It was already dark when we got to Tahoe. We were hungry and tired, especially Jamie who drove for almost 10 hours because we made too many stops. We stayed at this beautiful place called Granlibakken and it was too bad we could only stay for one night because we had to go to Reno the next day. It was so cold. It was so freakin’ cold. It was so very very cold!

Swimming pool in the middle of all that snow!

Hehehe. Mga baliw!


23rd:
After a very filling buffet breakfast, a snowball fight ensued but it didn’t last long. Neither of us had the stamina to withstand continuous snowball assaults on each other. We ended up taking lots of pictures instead. Then we headed to Squaw Valley to check out the ski resort. Oh boy, I will definitely try skiing next year, even if I have to rent everything right down to the ski goggles. On our way home, we passed by Emerald Bay and even if it was already getting dark, pictures must be taken. While Jamie and Arnel were taking pictures, we just sat on the rock to admire the view… and freeze our butts off.

Thank God for Jamie’s portable heater

We arrived in Reno a few hours later tired and hungry. Everyone wanted to eat sushi so we went to Sushi Pier, but there were so many people that by the time we were seated, it was already 9pm (their closing time!) The waiter told us that if we were going to order, we better order everything in one go since the kitchen was closing. Sushi Pier is an eat-all-you-can sushi place so when we were told that we could order only once, we… over-ordered a little bit. By the time we were done around 10pm, we were all close to puking our guts out. Gluttony, thy name is the Sy family.

The Different Looks of Hunger

We ordered at least 7 trays…
Dec 21

Sister Act

US Life, family, vacation 2 Comments »

After staying with Ahiya and Aileen in Reno for a few weeks, I went back to California to thaw out a bit and eat another slice of Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory before Christmas (I’m in the process of elimination, therefore, I have to try each and every single slice of cheesecake they have, some I even have to try more than once!)

Ditsi and Arnel flew in a couple of days ago and we’ve been really busy shopping and sightseeing. I’m very happy that I’m with my sisters this Christmas and that we’re almost complete as a family this year. We have a special bond that no amount of bickering, fighting, or hair pulling could ever change.

The Systers - Mary Ann, Pebbles, Chelle
Feb 21

Green is a Good Color On You

Taiwan life, holiday, vacation No Comments »

It’s Chinese New Year again and I’m off from work for a week and a half (You can’t see it, but I have a very big smile plastered on my face). I had plans for the long vacation, such as: (1)a trip to Kaoshiung via the new bullet train (2)a visit to Leofoo, a theme park (3)cook mechado for my friends - this will take a whole day because I have to chop a lot and give my mom a call to ask for cooking directions again. So did I push through with any of these plans?

Nope!

A reason would be because I’m almost flat broke and my boss forgot to give me my red envelope, although this would have been remedied by asking Jeff to lend me some money BUT! A throat infection has been plaguing me for the better part of 2 weeks as well. I’ve already visited our friendly neighborhood doctor and I did feel better afterwards but after a few days, it came back. Since my doctor was already on vacation by then, I did what my family has been doing for decades. Self-medicate.

Well my throat still hurts a bit and I still feel faint whenever I exert any kind of effort so I don’t think the antibiotics I’m taking are working. My friends don’t believe me anymore whenever I say I want to throw up or my head feels like it’s exploding from the pain, but I swear, no, I REALLY swear, all of my complaints are valid! If I don’t eat on time because I’m feeling too lazy (yes, it happens), I get a headache. If I’m in a stuffy room, I get a headache. If I smell something or someone malodorous, I get a headache. If I get tired, I get a headache. If I’m riding a cab, I get a headache. All of these headaches have but one outcome: one big, nasty barf-o-rama.

I’ve probably puked all over Taipei by now but last Friday was the first time I came close to puking in front of small kiddies. I met Gina for lunch that day and we went to Costco for some grocery shopping and since we bought a lot of heavy stuff, we decided to take a cab back to Hsinchuang. So you know, cab ride, stuffy, smelly driver all rolled into one. When I got home my head was already pounding and I had to go to class in an hour and a half! So I took a nap first thinking it would drive the headache away enough for me to teach for a couple of hours that night but when I woke up…damn! I had no choice but to go to work though because I was subbing for Joyce and it would really be embarassing for her if I don’t show up at the school. So anyway, halfway through the first class I was turning green until I couldn’t hold it anymore and ditched the classroom for the toilet. I did this a couple of times until the Chinese teachers took pity on me and sent me home.

Well now it’s a week later and I’m still lacking in energy units so I haven’t really done anything much but back-up my files and weed out useless files from my hard drive. Oh, and also watch lots and lots of movies.

I’ve often dreamed of becoming one of Jane Austen’s heroines. I mean, all they do is sit around the house, tinkle with the pianoforte, knit, visit neighbors, gossip and wait for some hot men to come to their neighborhood. Living without a computer would be a blow true, but then I’d have more time to read books so it’ll be ok. I’m reminded of this character in Pride and Prejudice called Anne de Bourgh, the daughter of the mega rich + mega bitch Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She’s described as this pale, small, thin girl (1 out of 3 for me is not bad, I AM pale) - one of a sickly constitution you know? So people around her understood that she should not exert herself too much, not even to learn how to play the aforesaid pianoforte. But now in the 21st century, that ain’t gonna fly. You feel like shit? Well take a pill, get over it and go back to work is more the thing. I’m hating the 21st century all of a sudden.

Dec 23

Shower at Sonya’s

vacation No Comments »

As soon as I arrived in Manila last December 20, my sister and I headed straight to Ann Cuatico for my gown fitting. We debated about adding sleeves to my gown or whether I should cop out and just do a Sharon Cuneta. I chose the Sharon option and still looked like a female version of Michelin in the end. Oh well. I couldn’t really expect a miracle even if it was Christmas. I had to do fittings for like 3 straight days so Ann and her worker bees could finish my gown before their Christmas break. There’s no way I could gain even a couple of pounds from the time of the fitting until the wedding (which was 2 1/2 weeks away). Torture, pure torture. It didn’t really stop me from eating though, but I could only eat so much and I had nightmares at night (which weren’t unfounded as it turns out because when the wedding day came… well that’s for a different post).

The next morning, we headed straight to Tagaytay for ditsi’s bridal shower at Sonya’s Garden. We were going to have lunch there as well as stay overnight at one of the beautiful cottages so I was really looking forward to that. Lunch consisted of yummylicious salad, pasta, dalandan juice and all the mangoes you can eat! I was in mango heaven I’m telling you. Mangoes here in Taiwan are the size of papayas but they cannot compare to the sweetness of our mangoes. While gorging on the feast before us, there were also servers fanning us with these huge leaves to drive away the insects buzzing about and make us all comfy. While I’ve said before that I’m not entirely comfortable about being waited upon, at that moment I couldn’t give a fig about caste systems.


After lunch, we took our overnight things and went straight to Lavender house, which was the biggest house there with 6 queen-sized beds and a single one for a yaya/maid. The house was beautiful, airy, and the antique furnitures really added to the charm. I was really into the tokador until I saw that Karma movie starring Gretchen, Rica and Angelica. In Angelica’s story, the haunted antique looked a lot like the tokador in our room. Freaky.

Our stay at the Lavender house cost about P2,500/pax, dinner and breakfast included so it wasn’t so bad. I didn’t enjoy the dinner half as much as I did our lunch though because they served squid (eyuch!) and some beef tripe-y dish (eyuch again!), I ate the mango salad instead. After our dinner, Marge, Liza, ditsi and I spent the better part of the night playing scrabble and talking (while chomping on my big bag of Doritos Cooler Ranch courtesy of Arnel). We stayed up so late that as soon as I went to bed, I was out like a light. It could have been the best sleep I’ve ever had if only it wasn’t interrupted by the damned alarm clock and breakfast. I could’ve slept until late aftenoon because the bed was so comfy, the sheets were so soft, the pillows were so firm, and the air wafting from the huge window beside my bed was so cool. Next time I come home, I’m staying here longer!

While I was slightly irritated about having to wake up early, breakfast more than made up for it. The fish was salty and crunchy, the adobo fantastic, and the mushroom omelette so creamy! Er, I was still on a diet but it was breakfast and it’s the most important meal of the day right? So I kinda had my fill… besides I walked it off by exploring the place and taking lots of pictures. Our stay at Sonya’s Garden was a really enjoyable, relaxing break. Thanks to Marge for suggesting the place!

Dec 19

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Christmas!

food, holiday, travel, vacation 2 Comments »

Christmas time:

Christmas is in the air so they say. Bus drivers here are already wearing Santa Claus suits and shops are full of Christmas decorations. Christmas cards, Christmas gift wrappers, Christmas lights, Christmas trees, snowmen, snowglobes, ribbons, and pretty lights are everywhere… the only thing missing from the Taiwanese way of celebrating Christmas is to actually celebrate it by not having to go to school or work. Normally this would piss me off especially since the 25th falls on a Monday, but this year I won’t be here because I. Am. Coming. Home. Tomorrow!!!

Celebrating Christmas:

This will be the first time I’ll celebrate Christmas back home since I left for Taiwan a few years ago and I am excited, but I would have been more excited if I wasn’t on a diet. Yes! Diet during the holiday season!!! I may cheat but not much, and it’s not because I have a lot of self-control but because my sister Pebbles is getting married in January and I’m the maid-of-dishonor! I have to wear an actual gown(!) No pictures of me wearing the damned thing would be posted anywhere near here unless by some miracle it was shot at an angle where I looked slender or ditsi’s friend comes through and he photoshops the hell out of it.

The food I will miss:

I’ll be home for almost 4 weeks and 2/3 of that time I can’t eat. I told ditsi that as soon as we get to the reception… fuck the diet. I can’t believe I won’t be able to eat the traditional fare at Tita Inday’s house on Christmas day. There’s the KFC chicken, spaghetti, salad, chocolates atbp. I’ve been listing down the restaurants I’m gonna go to as soon as I’m able, to name a few:

1. Jollibee - spaghetti, palabok, chicken joy, peach mango pie, even jolly hotdog
2. McDonald’s - longganisa meal, quarter pounder (they don’t have it here), twister fries
3. Shakey’s - mojos
4. Dominos - baked spaghetti, apple crumble
5. Kimchi - beef stew
6. Pancake House - spaghetti, grilled cheese
7. Mister Donut - spaghetti (yes, I love love love spaghetti)
8. Red Ribbon - chicken empanada, coffee crunch, chocolate mousse
9. Hotshots - Bacon cheeseburger
10. Tokyo Tokyo - red iced tea! potato balls, gyudon, tonkatsu, yakisoba
11. Aristocrat - pork bbq, java rice
12. Cafe Med - chicken kebab
13. Kaya - beef bulgogi, chicken bulgogi, chap jae
14. Little Asia - the beef with cheese thingy, fish
15. Hap Chan - wanton, fish fillet with lots of garlic on top!
16. Le Ching - siomai, shrimp dumplings, spareribs
17. Italiannis - spaghetti
18. KFC - gravy gravy gravy, mashed potatoes
19. Donuts!!! GoNuts, Krispy Kreme, Dunkin, Mister Donut - lahat yan!
20. Luto ni nanay - mechado, sabaw ng baka, adobo, chicken curry, beef steak, beef stew, Cobb’s chicken

I need to breathe. All of that in 1 week, I’ll have to get on a wheelchair to board the plane back to Taiwan when my vacation ends.

In preparation for my vacation:

I’m very worried about leaving my little kiddies for such a long time. I have set this time table for them from the time we started the school year up to July next year and I don’t want it to get all fucked up because I was gone for a long time. Hopefully my sub will do a good job in taking over my duties. We are already starting with long vowels and longer and more difficult words so it’s pretty exciting haha! So since last month I’ve been planning three different lesson plans (for three different English classes) for the teachers who will sub for me including notes about who’s naughty or nice ;) I also finished this AVP that the boss has been asking for to show during the Christmas program and I truly hope she remembers to use it because I slaved away in front of the computer for hours doing that.

Next was Christmas gifts. I’m always on a tight budget any time of the year, any year of my life so shopping was a bit of a challenge. I didn’t want to buy anything heavy because I’m bringing home a lot of things already but I fear that when I get to the airport tomorrow, money will be parted from my wallet as I pay for my excess baggage. I’ve been buying assorted snacks and trinkets and bilins and I hope I remembered all of them because I’m not going out of the house anymore tonight because it’s raining and so frakkin’ cold. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past few weekends, just shopping - sometimes alone, sometimes with Joyce, sometimes with Jeff and sometimes with both!

I was also panicking a few weeks ago because I still haven’t found a pair of shoes that I will need to wear with my gown. Ditsi said it had to be light gold and I said meh! No problem! There are tons of pretty shoes here in Taiwan from the seediest nightmarket to the poshest mall. Wrong! Well, partly wrong because there are a lot of shoes here but finding one that would fit my ginormous feet? Not so easy. I’ve been so used to wearing rubber shoes and flat sandals that finding a pair of delicate, ladylike shoes became this whole ordeal. I was trying on so many and nothing would fit I felt like one of the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella! I was about to throw in the towel when one day some of my friends and I went to Taipei to do the things we needed to get done when Joyce spotted a pair of light gold shoes in this poshy shop. I was busy buying my ice cream cone at McDonald’s at the time (I had no lunch! That was my excuse) and when I went out, they were gone. Yun pala, they inquired na about the shoes for me so when I went into the shop, I tried it on and it FIT! Then I looked at the price tag and almost fainted. I was thinking, how much do I love ditsi? Hmmm, more importantly, how much pride do I have left? Even if I look like a pale longganisa in my gown, at least I’m wearing really nice shoes. So I closed my eyes and handed the saleslady my credit card. Kaching!

Delayed start in preparations:

I’m in a bit of a rush now because I hit a few bumps at the end of November. First, I got a cold, then the flu then an ear infection. One after another for more than 2 weeks!!! I hate getting sick and I never used to get sick when I was back in the PI. The occasional fever o
nce a year and that’s it! This year has been bookeneded with trips to the doctor. I hope I fare better next year.

May 15

3/3

travel, vacation No Comments »
Sisters, reunited!

My atsi (oldest sister) was coming home on the 17th, a week after I came home. It was sort of a coincidence but we had our reasons. I had to renew my visa and she had to conduct a seminar for teachers in Guimbal, Iloilo.

So on the 17th of April, ditsi and I picked up atsi at the airport. Ditsi has been to the States a couple of times the past few years but I haven’t (thanks U.S. Embassy). The three of us have not been together for almost 3 years now. For some sisters it’s no biggie, but I’m close to them so you can just imagine the anticipation I was feeling waiting outside the airport… and waiting some more… and then some more (Note: PAL). Eventually I saw atsi exit, at least, I thought it was my sister because this one had blond hair. Ooops, yeah it’s atsi with blond hair alright. I’ve been a reformed dyer for about 5 years now, but what I would give to have blue hair, even for just a month.

We had lunch at Market Market and made a quick stop at the Fort to check out the bazaar and told myself not to eat anything or buy anything anymore since I’m quickly running out of moolah. I bought donuts from GoNuts, Mary Grace’s ensaymadas, and a pair of very pretty sandals. Later that day when we went home, papa welcomed us with a very well prepared meal (papa is a good cook, or at least, good at ordering and preparing food). He can be a bit tense though.

Pop: o, kain na! ano pa ginagawa nyo dyan? Lalamig na ang ulam!
…after a few seconds…
Pop: hoy pssuuut! baba na kayo, lalamig na ang pagkain!
Us: Yes, pops!
…after a few seconds…
Aning (the maid): chelle, baba na daw kayu sabi ni ser.
Pop: ooooy! kain naaaa!

Sister Bonding
After a couple of days, my sisters and I set aside some time to talk about things without the parentals around. How could we possibly talk about them if they were? I remember an interview of Natalie Portman where she said that while it’s good to be an only child there are times when she would have liked to talk about her parents/family life to someone who is in the same position as she is, that is, someone who has also shared the same experience of being a part of her family. No one could understand better than my sisters the feeling of having my parents for my parents and having my brothers for my brothers and just being part of the Sy family in general. Having grown up in a relatively large family has had an inverse effect on all of us. It’s no coincidence that my parents don’t have any grandchildren yet.

Three years is a long time and you would think that we would be quite different now than when we were last together. I do feel that I’ve changed a lot in the past few years, and the same might also be said about my sisters but our dynamics have not changed. It is my pet theory that whilst a person continually evolves as an individual, he/she usually reverts back to his/her old self when surrounded by a group of old acquaintances. I know who I am as an individual, but put me in a group of old school friends and we’re back to a 16-year-old Michelle talking out of her ass (as opposed to a 26-year-old Michelle talking out of her ass yeah yeah). We assume the same roles, too. So there we were: robocop ditsi the organizer, stressed-out atsi the perennial worrier, and me the mediator who cracks jokes and official gofer when syoti is not around.

Going back to bonding time, we went to a nail spa for starters since that’s what girls usually do right? Spa, shopping, whatever. Dinner was at Masa in GB3 where I satisfied my beef tapa craving and atsi satisfied lots more (mango shake, lumpia, mangga at binagoong atbp.) Griping and moaning about life takes a bit of time so we stayed there for a while - even raising the ol’ Sy temper by having our plates removed by an obsequious waiter before we were even done. I decided to have dessert at Bubba Gump and we almost finished the mud pie! Below you will find a picture of ditsi with the mud pie, and a picture of me last year also with a slice of mud pie. There is a reason why ditsi is thin and I’m not. I’m more enthusiastic when it comes to chocolate.

Guimbal
>
The next few days were spent getting ready to go to Guimbal, Iloilo. Atsi was giving a 3-day seminar for the English teachers in that part of the country, the topic being… wait, I think it would be best to type it down than explain, it’s self-explanatory anyway: Training on Techniques in Teaching Language to Improve Literacy Amongst English Language Learners, Slow Learners, and Students with Special Needs. Whew!
When we got to Iloilo, it was friggin’ hot! But it was still the Philippines because aside from paying an airport fee to have someone carry our bags and boxes (book donations), we also had to give hefty tips for the kargadors, so in effect we had to pay twice to have the same baggage carried from airport to vehicle. Sweet huh? It was hot, sticky, sweaty and there’s no beach around, I knew I wasn’t in for a relaxing vacation. The nightmare doesn’t end there though. When we got to the “best” resort in town - Racso’s - we found out that “best” in Guimbal means that this is the best that you are lucky to find. The rooms there! The horror! The horror! We retreated to the opposite resort called Bantayan, this had the advantage of being near the ocean but it shared the same owner as Racso’s. We had to rest and atsi’s seminar was going to be held at Racso’s the next day so we chose to stay. And moan. And complain. And bitch. Sorry, atsi.
Lodging and heat aside, Guimbal is a curious little town peopled by very friendly and helpful natives. It was amusing to find out that the owner of Racso’s and Bantayan was Mayor Oscar Garin, Jr.’s family (Oscar spelled backwards is…). You could also find a Racso’s bank, Garin ice buko (very yummy), Garin bread, Garin mineral water, Garin…Garin…Garin. Apparently, Garin Sr. was a farmer enthusiast ergo the produce. They may control the town’s economy but everything seems to be working just fine. The people seem to be happy and content, and most of whom respect and look up to their leader. Our guide who works in the city hall mentioned that they were given a cellphone each by the mayor and were also treated to a boracay vacation a few summers ago. Filipinos have the enviable quality of being happy and content with their lot, no matter how little or how much. Life could be worst.
Guimbal is known for its mangoes and you can bet your bottom peso that we had more than our fill. Racso’s rooms suck, but the rest of the resort was alright. The pool was big and inviting and then there was the woodland. The resort is unusual in that it is also a mini zoo. There were a lot of interesting birds and animals to be found, also dogs (there was a chow-chow who must be dying from the heat). Our stay in Guimbal produced a lot of pictures and videos, very few of which included me because I was the offical photographer and videographer. My right hand had cramps for days.
The Bora Fiasco
After atsi’s seminar, my sisters and I cooked up an idea which we have probably regretted since then. We decided that we needed a vacation from this Iloilo vacation so we decided to go to Boracay for a couple of days before our flight back to Manila. It’s at least a 7-hour drive from Guimbal to Caticlan but we still went ahead with the plan travelling Saturday night over bumpy roads, dangerous curves, maniacal driver, oh, and through a dark and foreboding Capiz. I kept my eyes open for any tik-tiks, just in case.
By 6am Sunday morning we were ready to get on a boat to Bora and when we got there, I saw the green water. Eep! Lumot! Getting off the boat made me regret bringing so many things with me on our trip to Iloilo. The bottle of Asti was with me from Manila to Iloilo to Caticlan to Boracay to Caticlan and back to Manila again, unopened. I wanted to smash it on my head. Dammit! I also brought my laptop, speakers, dvds (Monty Python, Seinfeld) none of which we got to watch. Dammit! I was thinking that Sunday morning that I was going to make the most out of this 2 day bora trip and the first on the list was to go to Barracuda for Rosti. It was closed. Dammit! I wanted to swim even if there was lumot but I got my period. Dammit!
At the end of the day I calmed my nerves by getting a massage in front of the beach while drinking banana-choco-peanut shake from Jonah’s.
The next day, which was our second and last day, I suggested we check out Barracuda again and was glad to find out that they were open. In my excitement, I ordered rosti and carbonara and almost finished the latter! Around lunchtime we got ready to go back to Caticlan to catch our Cebu Pacific flight (Kalibo) to Manila. Halfway to Kalibo, mama and atsi realized that they left atsi’s papers regarding the seminar in the boat. All the research, the surveys, attendance sheets - gone! Ayyyyiiiiiieeeeee! Atsi went spastic!
The long and short of it is we got the papers back due to the unfailing kindness of the boatmen who went back from Bora to Caticlan sans passengers to give back atsi her papers which they put aside just in case. Oh, and we missed our flight.
In conclusion
It took a while to finish this third part because so many things happened and I didn’t know where to begin. My 2-week vacation was enough to make me want to come back to Taiwan again. A week was not enough last year, so next time I’m going to try a happy medium and go for a week and a half. Half of which will be spent drinking shakes and eating Chippy in my cottage facing the beach doing absolutely nothing.
May 07

2/3

travel, vacation No Comments »
A Tearful Reunion, 1 Big Bowl of Spaghetti w/ Meatballs and an all-nighter at a Karaoke Bar
I met my cousins Chesca and Me-Ann the next night at Itallianis GB. It was what one would call a reunion since I’ve been away for a while and I haven’t seen them for ages. It was wonderful seeing them again and discovering how much they’ve changed. For the first time in my adult life, I felt like my relatives and I were on the same page. That night was filled with stories, revelations, laughter and tears - definitely a night to remember.

First up though, there was that question of whether Chesca was going to even show up or not. Based on previous experienceS, Ches has been known to stand people up. I was in an unforgiving mood as I told Me-Ann, it was this or never again! It was already 15 minutes past 9 and I was not going to wait any longer. I’ve been dreaming about Itallianis for months and I had to order or I will expire. When our orders arrived, I noted the generous serving of spaghetti and concluded that I will only be able to eat half. Halfway through our meal, the great diva herself arrived and all was well. 20 minutes later, my plate was as clean as a whistle. No noodle was left, nor remnants of 2 giant meatballs. I’m a pig.

As indicated above, most of the time that night was spent catching up. We talked about our collective past, our present dilemmas and our hopes for the future. Talking to family is wholly different from talking to friends in that there’s more history. No one could possibly know me better as a kid than these two whom I’ve played Barbie, bahay-bahayan, luto-lutuan and takbuhan with (among other things). There were so many things we needed to talk about that a night was not enough, so the next night we agreed to go out again.

I picked up Me-Ann at U.E. around half past 9pm and we got to Hillsborough more than an hour later because I was driving at a snail’s pace haha! Anywhere past Makati is alien to me and I hate driving at night. As soon as Ches was able to come up with a good enough excuse to go out so late that night we were off to I.O. We sang and ate until the wee hours of the morning. I’ve added another song to my repertoire (Bongga ka ‘day!) , sung old favorites (Sheryl Crow, Tamis ng Unang Halik) and danced to “Dancing Queen” with matching tambourine which brought down the house, yeah!

All that singing definitely made us hungry again so we had an early breakfast at North Park. It was already almost 6 am by that time so we decided to crash at Chesca’s house before driving back to Caloocan. I was completely knackered.

Thanks to my two cousins, you’ve renewed my hope of normal family relations.

Brunch with the Elites
As soon as Me-Ann and I got back to Caloocan around tennish, I washed and got dressed because I was having brunch with the Elite girls at Sab’s house that day. So with barely any sleep I drove myself to Sab’s new domicile near Banawe. She’s now married and pregnant. Sab is not feeling well. Bad! Their house looked great. Good! They were on the 3rd floor. Bad! There’s an elevator. Good! I met her mother-in-law. Bad! I saw Jo after a long time. Her son Elijah was doing well. Good! We ate lots of yummy food. Good! I had to leave early. Bad!

Rose is getting married in October to her long time honey, Peng. Congrats!

Enchanted Kingdom
After a quick lunch at Sab’s and speedy chika, I was off again to Makati to meet my sister, Arnel and Patricia to go to EK. By the time we got there, I was green. No sleep and non-stop eating could only result to one big barf-o-rama. Awrrrfffff! Ahhh, much better!

Which leaves enough space to eat spaghetti, burritos, nachos and a slice of Choclate mousse from Red Ribbon.

We got on the Ferris Wheel and Flying Fiesta but did not have enough time for Anchors Away and Space Shuttle. Also checked out the new 4D Discovery Theatre, but was disappointed to find out that the audience consisted mainly of the SM moviegoer type. Before you scream “Elitist!” I only meant to say that it’s usually the C or D type who is insensitive and uncouth enough to disrespect other moviegoers by being needlessly noisy. The one in front of us was an imbecilic moron who couldn’t keep her trap shut. I really wanted to pull her hair and beat her up good. But that would be too uncouth of me noh(with French accent)?

We saved the best for last by trying out Rio Grande Rapids, wahey! The line was looooooong but eventually, we got what we came for. Thrills and a soaking! A clothes shop was strategically located at the end of the exit (mandatory pass-through). They were racking up sales because almost everyone were soaked to the bone after the ride. Bought unreasonably priced board shorts which I still feel bad about up to now. All in all though it was a fun time. We were planning on watching Nina live that night at Hard Rock but was later scrapped because as soon as I sat on ditsi’s über-comfy recliner, I was down for the count.

Before I left for Taiwan, I bought Nina’s live CD. Apparently she’s H-O-T right now and I couldn’t get her cover of Love Moves in Mysterious Ways out of my head. The reason could probably be that most of the time I was home, I kept hearing it all over the place. At the mall, in a restaurant, in the car, on TV, while riding a passenger jeepney etc. Right now, I’m playing I Don’t Want to Be Your Friend non-stop. Good song. Will sing it next time I go to a karaoke bar.

Apr 28

1/3

travel, vacation No Comments »
You know that bit about needing a vacation after your vacation? Well…

What seems to be becoming a tradition, as soon as I came out of the airport and a quick lunch at Pazzo, my family and I suited up to play badminton near ditsi’s apartment along Tordesillas. And what also seems to be becoming a nasty habit, as soon as I walked into The Zone, I found something I wanted to buy. Now what seems to have become a foregone conclusion, I bought it immediately after we finished our game. So what was it that made me spend money again after only being home for a few hours?

A pair of Havaianas rubber sandals a.k.a. overpriced Islanders
The next few days were spent meeting friends, family and being in a food coma…
When I came home I immediately launched into homemade spaghetti and camaron. They were soon followed by misua, binagoongang baboy, mechado, beef steak, sugpo with cheese, Excellente ham, special longganisa, cordon bleu, Cobb’s fried chicken and papa’s prawns specialty as the days wore on. Oh, all family members were doing fine by the way. Ditsi looking slimmer than ever (South Beach!) and still busy with work. Syoti is filling out quite nicely and leaving some traces of totoyness behind. He will be attending Ateneo this June and I did what any self-respecting sister would do, I helped him get ready for college life by bringing him to Grand Central to have his left ear pierced. The parentals were also A-Ok. Mom has lost quite a bit of weight due to constant gym visits. This should really shame me into going to the gym more.
The Bubba Gump story
After a couple of days, mom and I went to Greenhills and I was surprised by some of the changes. Viramall has closed down! I couldn’t find National Bookstore despite detailed instructions from the guard so I consoled myself by purchasing 3 pairs of cute earrings and several fake lacoste shirts. A badly needed derma visit was out of the question though since I still had other things to do. Dr. Gatan would just have to wait for another year I guess. Afterwards I went to Pioneer where the Globe offices are located to visit old chum Quennie and pick up my sister. We had our nails done at Nail Spa and I gave my manicurist a hefty tip because my nails were an absolute disaster! Ok Chelle, no need to share that bit. After an Express Foot Manicure, we headed to Bubba Gump at Greenbelt. Highlights of the night were (1) my Delta Sunset drink and (2) my winning a Forrest Gump trivia contest. The wait staff usually quiz you personally (with no prize, natch!) but this time they held a contest for the whole place to hear. Below is a reenactment.

First question: What’s the name of Forrest’s boat? (dead silence from the crowd…you know what’s coming next)
Me: Jenny!
Waiter: That’s correct! One point for you Ma’am. (note: 3 points to win)

Second question: What was Forrest drinking before he met President Kennedy? (dead silence again…what else was there for me to do
Me: Dr. Pepper
Waiter:That’s correct again! Two points for you Ma’am.

Third question: How many bottles of Dr. Pepper did Forrest drink? (now this I wasn’t so sure of)
Several people: 10! 12! 16! 18!
Me: 14!
Waiter: Close, it’s actually 15.
Me: Ah shit.

Fourth question: What medal did Forrest get from the war? (dead dead dead silence)
Ditsi (whispering): Medal of Honor.
Me (to Ditsi): Sabihin mo.

Ditsi: Ayoko nga!
Me: Medal of Honor!
Waiter: We’ve got ourselves a winner!

Winning was nice but I suppose I was expecting too much regarding the dessert prize. I thought it was somewhere along the lines of yummylicious Mud Pie, we got a barely edible strawberry sherbet instead.

Jollibee, Allen and One boring movie
Met up with Allen the next day at GB. Allen!!! I missed my Allen very much indeed! The fact that he is also other girls’ myAllen only goes to show how popular he is and how possessive other people can be when it comes to him. To Che and Me, he will always be our boy. ACheChe!

As was to be expected, we had lunch at Jollibee and gossiped about The Firm. We then segued into other things and talked about stuff I could only talk to him or Che about. After Jollibee and catching up we watched Sahara. I thought I was the only one getting bored and sleepy watching the movie, but a quick look at Allen showed that I was not alone. He was already sleeping. Coffee had to be had.

Present and Past
The long and short of it is, I miss our threesome very much. Hopefully we could all go to Bora next year. Are you there, Che? Either that or a costume party…or both.

p.s. Thanks Allen for lending me the Daria DVDs! Seasons 1 to 5 of glorious Daria episodes plus specials kasama pa ang Takeshi’s Castle? Whoaaaa!

A Little Taste of Asia
That night ditsi and I met up with Elaine who was her college friend from DLSU and my email pal. Books are what Elaine and I usually talk about and true to her word, she brought me another supply of books to read when I’m back in Taiwan. Thanks, Elaine!

Dinner was at Little Asia and it was filled with yummy food and gossip. Both of which were spicy but the latter is classified so on to food instead. I missed the beef with cheese so much I ate it almost exclusively. So while ditsi and Elaine were talking, I kept on eating.

Elaine and Ditsi
Elaine is what you would call a very organized (obsessive-compulsive) multi-tasker, so she really had ditsi and me in stitches with stories about her home life and quirks. One of which is about the labeler she got as a Christmas gift from her husband Fre. I must stress again that Elaine is a very organized person. I have seen first-hand how she organizes her albums at home, she can give Joey De Leon a run for his money.*

*Joey De Leon, featured in ? month of Yes! magazine is apparently a great traveler and chronicler. He has chronicled his rise to fame with Tito, Vic and Eat Bulaga via news clippings and video recordings. He’s got boxes and boxes of the stuff all labeled and tucked away. He also travels a lot each year and each place he visits has a corresponding album devoted to it. His albums actually look more like scrapbo
oks. One of the things he does is take an exact picture of a scene from a postcard and displays both of them side by side in his album for comparison. Basta, he’s very creative and organized. Galing!

Oct 24

Home Sweet Home, part 2

vacation No Comments »

Day 3 - 10/18:
My day! Damn I feel old.

Shopping; books:
Today I shopped. I shopped for the things I can’t live without like Close-Up crystal toothpaste, Ponstan 500 SF, Knorr seasoning etc. Also pirated dvds and cds at Northmall, sarap bumili! Gusto ko yan tsaka yan tsaka yan tsaka yan… I passed on the Sopranos box set though, neck time na lang. Oooh speaking of tv shows on dvd, I read in a magazine that Northern Exposure first season has been released on dvd - another item to be added on my wish list.

Also went to the bookstore to stock up. I swear over bagahe nanaman ako because of the weight of the books. I bought Jessica Zafra’s Twisted books to entertain me through the cold, lonely, humorless nights; The Da Vince Code paperback edition so that I can read it over again; Paolo Coelho’s By the River Piedra…; Neil Gaiman’s American Gods because it looks really interesting. I really wanted to buy Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex and Nick Hornby’s latest but I didn’t think it would fit in my luggage anymore. Oooh also Cecilia Ahern’s books and Jasper Fforde’s latest. Rats. A limit of 25 kilos is really unreasonable!

Dinner at Chili’s:
After shopping, my family and I went to Chili’s for dinner since I really miss their Country Fried Steak. All of us were really feeling matakaw so we didn’t share… much to our regret. Thank God syoti was there to help us out. Besides his cheesesteak, he also ate half of 2 orders of country fried steak and half of my chicken and mashed potatoes. Note: he is a growing boy.

Day 4 - 10/19:
Okay, this is the day I’ve been dreading. The day I have to go to the dentist to have my impacted tooth pulled out. It took me 10 days last year to partially heal and stop taking painkillers. Let this one be a breeze please!!!!!…not.

Oh the pain. Oh the excruciating pain. When the anesthesia wore off when mommy and I were in Glorietta, I had to have a mocha frap to ease the pain - brrrr! After having my pictures developed at Island Photo, we split. If only we had an Island Photo in Caloocan…

Day 5&6 - 10/20 & 10/21:
Zombie. Antibiotics. Zzzzz. Ate mama’s misua. Painkiller. Watched dvds. Read magazines. Antibiotics. Ate papa’s fish fillet specialty. Muni-muni. Painkiller. Zzzzz.

Day 7 - 10/22:
Went to Makati to meet ditsi and Arnel for dinner and IO. Dinner was at Pazzo to satisfy another craving - carbonara! Yummy! After which we headed straight to IO since we’ve been meaning to do that for ages. We discovered a few things: Arnel found his niche, 6 letters ladies and gentlemen - OPM and APO haha! With more practice syoti will be able to sing South Border’s Kahit Kailan well enough to make girls swoon. Ditsi did well with OPM songs too, and also acquitted herself well when it came to 80s songs - Manic Monday! And me, hmmm, still put people to sleep when I sang Tina Paner’s Tamis ng Unang Halik. Sorry Tina, I try and I try…

Day 8 - 10/23:
Ay me! My last full day. Went to Makati early to shop for breakfast near ditsi’s apartment. The park near Tordesillas has been turned into a market during weekends! Had yummy bbq and fish for brunch. Afterwards we went to Santuario’s bazaar and then Pricesmart (where I bought a huge body pillow, my brother was able to roll it tight enough to fit into my luggage). We were on a roll since we also went to Greenbelt for some last minute book shopping and then to the Mandarin Hotel for a buffet dinner which I would definitely not forget for some time. Oh my, the salmon. The sushi. The szechuan chicken. The pansit. The roast beef. The baked oysters. The desserts.

When I step onto the weighing scale tomorrow, I will cry.

Day 9 - 10/24 2:30 am:
Just finished packing.
Writing emails into the wee hours of the night.
Blogging.

Gosh, I wish I had another week. I will have another 6 months to miss home all over again.

Oct 17

Home Sweet Home, part 1

vacation No Comments »

Day 1 - 10/16:
I clicked my rubber shoes three times and I was back home. I can’t believe it has been 6 months since I left. In fact, I can’t believe that I’m back here in my old bedroom and using my old computer again. It feels strange that I feel like I was only gone for a few days… maybe it’s because my mom left the bedroom pretty much the way it was before I left (messy ;p). My clothes are still in the closets, my books still in the cabinets, my papers still on the desk…thanks mommy :)

Before I left Taiwan, fall was just starting so the weather was pleasantly cool with temperature ranging from 17 to 22 degrees Celsius. So the 30 degrees that greeted me when I landed did not go down well, but then after a couple of minutes, I saw my family and all was well in PinoyLand. Stifling heat be damned! I gave my mommy a big hug and we followed pinoy tradition by going straight to the Duty Free shop to buy chocolates for pasalubong. After making a quick purchase we headed to Market Market which was new to me. Yes we had the bbq, yes there was a long line, yes we ordered seafood,and yes, we had the halo-halo. I was immediately able to satisfy one of my food cravings - cheesy baked oysters. We were able to squeeze in a visit to one of the bazaars afterwards before heading straight home. I was really excited to be home, not only because I haven’t seen it in 6 months but also because my mommy was going to cook my favorite mechado for dinner. Ooooh I’m milking it aren’t I? But then I’ll only be here for a week so what the hell!!!

Day 2 - 10/17

Badminton:
Today was probably the busiest, most exhausting day of my life. My siblings and I woke up early to play badminton with ditsi’s bf, Arnel, and some of his friends somewhere in Mandaluyong and I was really excited since it’s been 6 months since I last played. As per usual when ditsi, Maverick, Arnel and I play - ditsi and I only give about 60 percent and let the boys do most of the work. After a couple of games, I was panting like a dog but I was glad that I didn’t play as badly as I expected but I still made a lot of whoosh shots. After resting for a few minutes Arnel and Maverick played with others and ditsi and I played with these bitchy girls from *bleep bleep*. We had to work it like we never had to before since hindi kami papayag magpalampaso! The Sy girls are veeeeeery competitive oh yes! The score was 1-1, we could live with that.

Rockwell:
After more than 2 hours of playing badminton it was time to eat which is what the four of us usually do before I left for Taiwan. Work up a sweat for 2 hours then blow it all away eating like there’s no tomorrow. Since I’m only going to be here for a week, I’m the queen, the dictator. I wanted to eat at Café Mediterranean because I really really miss the chicken kebab! So we headed to Rockwell and had a huge lunch! After eating we crammed a couple of hours to watch a movie (Shark Tale) to make up for all the movies I missed while I was away.

Haircut:
After the movie we headed to my sister’s apartment to wash up and get ready to go to Glorietta since ditsi and I needed to go to the salon and I was meeting the Elite girls later that night. My hair was really long already, mala-curtain nanaman. For the first time in like 10 years, I went to a different hairstylist (sorry Doris!) My sister suggested H-Salon, so to H-Salon I went. The result wasn’t in vavavoom proportions but then again, I shouldn’t expect miracles to happen.

Dinner at Gerry’s:
Went straight to Gerry’s near Park Square to meet the girls for dinner. To Rosey, Emy, Cresta, Lyneth and Sabrina: you guys looked great! Thank you for coming over to see me, I will have another 6 months to miss you all over again. And Ems, by April I will be home long enough for us to squeeze in a badminton game or two, mag-practice ka na ha!

Another movie, really:
After a quick dinner which I’m still feeling guilty about, I met up with my brother and sister again to watch our second movie for the day (Sky Captain…). The movie had interesting visuals but what I liked the most was Angelina Jolie. I wish she had a bigger part because she kicked ass! Gwyneth had her moments too, one word I won’t be forgetting anytime soon: Lenscap! Guffaw!

I was half-asleep already when we drove home from Makati to Caloocan. Thank God we got home safely because I was a real zombie by then from all the exertion.

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