quickie

i'm such an internet-slave. 3 days without it and i was having withdrawal symptoms. i even chose to pay HK$100 for 4-hours worth of surfing. bah! this vacation is too tiring to be called a vacation. i will be needing another vacation after this. preferably something that does not involve or require doing touristy stuff. staying in my condo for the next three days would be enough. but still, i'm having fun. and i don't think i have spent much yet, except for food! but then again, i haven't been to HMV (DVD store) yet. i'm too sleepy. my eyes are already closing as i type this. so disappointed that i have not caught up with everything i missed in the last 3 days yet. and i think i still have 2 hours or HK$50 to burn. oh well... publish, before i drift to dreamland...

i am back

... from Hong Kong and Macau. And i'm dreading the week-long meetings, trainings and discussions that is coming my way. I think i would need another vacation after that. I'll be doing a more detailed post about my trip later. For now, here are just some things i would like to get out of my system already!

• most of the people there keep talking to me in chinese. i cannot believe i look chinese.
• 4 days and 3 nights out of the country, 3 different hotels -- i am not doing that again!
• i am not drinking again for a month! i woke up this morning and i was still drunk. good thing i didn't have my laptop with me and i was on roaming, so drunk blogging and drunk dialing were not options.
• for someone who didn't pay for any of the hotels and rarely paid for the food and drinks, i spent waaaaay too much. i won't be eating for the rest of the year. thanks to my friend Richie for all the treats!
• but on spending again, i just want to say i love all the things that i bought. and of course, my "prized finds" were DVDs! wahahah! i bought When a Man Loves a Woman, When Harry Met Sally, Lost in Translation, and Il Mare. :D
• i gambled for the first time in Macau, and i actually won a bit. but again, i already spent all my winnings.
• while in Macau, i received a text from Bibliarch that Fables 10 and Absolute Sandman Vol. 3 which i reserved last week were already available. and they were on sale until Sunday (20% off!). so i asked my sister to claim them for me, and now they are here. triple yay! new babies. ;)

It was tiring but it was also a fun vacation. Now, if only i can find my brain again and get my head out of the vacation cloud...

bora bora boracay... again!

yep, went to boracay again. and yes, i went to the beach AGAIN. i might be unrecognizable to someone who hasn't seen me in the past month. i've got a tan! i am dark! anyway, i went with my ex-officemates this time. and though i've only been to boracay last May, this is definitely a different experience. it's like being in a new place. first of all, we weren't dying of dehydration or heat stroke this time. now, only was there no sun, there were strong winds and some rain. it was not peak season, so there were less people. no lounge chairs on the shore. there were waves -- it'd sure be great if only i know how to skim board! the water activities like parasailing, banana boat, jetskiing, etc. that we used to see last summer was replaced with people kite-boarding. and most fun of all, there was definitely a lot of time for drinking and relaxing! yes, despite all the bitching because of the weather and the constant "who's bright idea is it to come here on September, anyway?!!", i did have fun. thanks everyone for coming! ;) now, on with the pictures!

the jump shots. we always do some everyday.

people in the pics with me are j, parks, paul, vida and kuya bry.saturday night drinking. after devouring 1 liter each of Smirnoff vodka, Kahlua and Baileys. i love these group shots very much. it's so iskul bukul. hehe!wasak pictures on Sunday night. i have never been this red from alcohol my entire life. i even had red spots on my leg! we drank about 3 liters of Vodka, etc.

i also got a new henna tattoo of a celtic cat, which i really liked. however, 15mins of walking later, it sort of got smudged and ended up looking like a fox instead. still ok, i guess.

pics were from Kuya Bry's cam. got lazy taking pictures. blame the weather! anyway, hopefully i get to upload them in my multiply. check them out if you have the time! :)

road trip, part 3

ok, since i'm waiting for something anyway... and this is not much, might as well do it, right? :P Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte we arrived in Pagudpud on Sunday night, tired from the commute and a bit pissed that we missed the sunset. the sun just set and left the sky orange when we finally chose a resort to stay in. the room we had was not as good as the one we had in Vigan, but we'll just be sleeping in there anyway. funny thing though is that half of the bathroom door is just frosted glass, so you could quite make out what is happening or who is in the bathroom. that leaves you the shower area to strip, however the rods and wherever you could hang your clothes are on the side of the bathroom "covered" by the door. ahem, period. we had dinner at a restaurant there, which funny enough is a "Wifi Hotspot". funny because we were in the middle of the province, trying to get away from civilazation... and here it is, on the edge of the country, is a wifi hotspot. anyway, we had bulalo, mini lobsters and bulanglang. food was good enough to restore some of our energy. we walked by the beach afterwards. i was surprised to discover how fine the sand was, almost comparable to boracay. anyway, we didn't get far by walking because we started "writing our names" with Allen's flashlight.

this is what you can do with a flashlight, and some kind of fireworks mode on a point-and-shoot camera having breakfast the next day. last shot before we all got burned for not bringing sunscreen.

we went on a little walk to reach this side of the beach, where there were less crowds, less rocks and more shade. the windmills are still visible from here.

almost 2 hours later, this is what we turned to. last group shot by the beach. too bad we can't get the windmills in the picture.

well, we left pagudpud with a heavy heart as we didn't really want to leave, but we have that 14-hour drive back to manila to "look forward to". it was pretty as boracay, yet it doesn't have that commercial bustle. it's definitely a place where you can relax. ayayay, if only it's not so far, i will be back next week! i can still afford to get a bit more tanned, right? :D

road trip, part 2 - on the way to pagudpud

Paoay, Ilocos Norte

St. Augustine's Church, more commonly known as the Paoay Church, is one of the few remaining Baroque churches in the country.

the side entrance of the church, and the ruined seminary/convent.

the "touristy" pictures

Laoag City, Ilocos Norte we only stopped by Laoag to buy some food as it is the last city on the way up north. while there, of course we had to take pictures of the Sinking Bell Tower.

the Sinking Bell Tower of Laoag. there are old tales that before, a man on a horseback can enter through the vaulted door without stooping. now you can see that Allen is almost as high as that vaulted door.

Burgos, Ilocos Norte

the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

South China Sea as seen from the top

top of the lighthouse. do we look scared? not so much, it was just so hot up there, that's why we all look like that. :P

Bangui, Ilocos Norte

the Windmills of Bangui. and as far as i know, this is the only place in the country where you can find windmills.

Patapat Viaduct, Ilocos Norte our last stop before resting in Pagudpud. we went here thinking of catching/watching the sunset. 10 minutes in the place and not seeing where the sun is, we realized we were facing north. pfft! no sunset pictures then.

this was one long and scary road. but being here really did feel like i was on the edge of the country, which is well... the reality.

anyway yes, we all went to these places within half a day. now, that really is a road trip. some of the pictures here are from Allen's and Angel's cameras. you can tell which ones because they look a lot better. ;) next is the final installment in the road trip series... Pagudpud!

road trip, part 1

Vigan City, Ilocos Sur 10-hour drive, 5 provinces away... need i say more? well, the trip/commute itself was tiring, especially for Allen who was our only driver. but it was worth all that once you get there. the place was sort of dreamy, since it sorts of brings you back to the late 1800s. food was great too, especially the local delicacies like the longanisa, bagnet, tinubong and bibingka. i'm sure the old Crisologo road would have been more impressive for me, if only i have not been to Norway first. the cobblestoned street is sort of what sets it apart from the rest of the city, and well... i've seen cobblestoned streets before. :p anyway, i am too lazy now to go on more details. besides, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, right? well, a short story is coming right up!

touch down at Vigan on Saturday! my road trip companions: Allen, Luz and Angel

time for a tour of the city. of course we had to take a calesa for that! :)

Crisologo Street, Vigan City at night after the rain

well, before leaving on Sunday, of course we had to trash the hotel room. oops, i mean, act like children and jump on the beds.

finally, on the way back to Manila on Monday, we stopped by Vigan again to buy more pasalubong and take group shots

I adore Vigan City. Anyway, for the rest of the pictures, i will be uploading them to my multiply site. Meanwhile, for much better pictures, check out Angel's blog. up next: Paoay, Laoag, and Pagudpud!

bora bora bora boracay

ok, so i'm the third person to use the title. heheh! went to boracay last week. had so much fun. now, it seems so long ago. going back to work does that to you. but still, thanks to the company for sponsoring this great summer outing. i rode on the banana boat, did not fall, so i tried parasailing. so far, that's the most daring thing i've done in my life. it was fun, though a bit scary. but i think it really is worth it. i'll be going there again this September. sana lang walang bagyo that time. maybe then i'll try the Flying Fish and look out for more adventure. i'm sure it'll be great again. anyway, more pics? i have more here. enjoy! :)

updates, updates, updates

ok first of all, i've moved! i've been in my new apartment for 2 weeks now, and i just finished unpacking all my stuff. i still have to get rid/sell some of my things, but at least now i can move around the house. i got a studio apartment, somewhere very near my office. rent's almost thrice my last one, but i think that's the price you pay for living alone (in makati). living alone is quite new to me. i still get late to work because i have trouble sleeping. and i can't sleep because i'm still a bit freaked. i have to leave a night light and the TV on (i need the light and the noise). i've been meaning to invite some people over for some sort of "house-warming party". but my place is much smaller now, so it won't be much of a party if we can't breathe anymore. but if you want to bring a lounge chair for my balcony (see pic above) as a house-warming gift, then you're very much welcome. hehe! i'm on the 24th floor by the way, so just think about that before you decide to look down from my balcony. the view is still nice though. anyway, if you could help me, i'm trying to sell my blue orocan drawers. the condo's got a built-in cabinet so i'm using that instead. besides, i'm trying to make the place less crowded. i initially thought of selling my gigantic sofa, but it's got sentimental value and i can't bear to get rid of it... yet. (sorry for the tons of pics, i don't have a resizing or "collaging" tool right now. :p) ----------------------------------------------------------------- last April 27, after a month of medication, i went back to have my FT4 and TSH levels checked. good news is, the meds seem to be working, my FT4 is down to 53.36 from >100. however, that is not yet normal (ceiling for normal level is 22). but i've been feeling "more normal" lately. i don't feel so warm anymore, sometimes i even feel cold (omg!). i don't pant so much and even the trembling of my hands lessened. i relatively can sleep easier now, if only i am less freaked by my new apartment. but, i became less jolly and still easily irritated. and worse of all, i am still fat! anyway, i still have to go back to ask for new medication. they need to adjust the strength otherwise, i'll have hypothyroidism instead. but i'm currently on a 11-day work week (more about that later) and things are really hectic, so i'm already 2-weeks off medication. i just hope my thyroids did not decide to overwork again just because i'm off my meds and make me start all over again. ----------------------------------------------------------------- we're going to Boracay next week!!! and the best thing about it is, it's free!! well, almost. our company outing will be in Boracay. it's going to be my first time to step on the Visayan region and i'm really excited (though i'm trying not to be). everything is paid for, except for our lunches. too bad i am still fat. but dont wont stop me from partying, drinking and eating! i dont plan to spend too much time on water though since i can't swim. anyway, i still have to buy lots of stuff for the trip. and i still don't have a big enough bag (or a bag smaller than my luggage bag). anyone willing to lend me a bag? :D

blogging again

well, obviously, a lot of things happened in the last few weeks... took a one-week leave last Oct 30 (until Nov 3) and had 9-days of well-deserved relaxation. problem is, my body seemed to adapt to my "vacation-schedule" so that when i got back to work, i was late for 4 consecutive days (ouch!). i felt so guilty i've been trying to make up for it (meaning, trying to be not late) since then. i bought some of Jonas' Sleepasil and popped one of those when i'm still wide awake by 2am. i'm just happy that it seems to be working for me. however i also hope that they have a Wake-asil or something of that sort so i can learn to be up and about by 8am. ------------------------------------------- i managed to find a "lot" of movie-buddies and so i'm happy that i haven't missed any of the big movies (or at least movies i wanted to watch) lately. for the last two months, i've seen The Departed, World Trade Center, The Prestige, Marie Antoinette, Casino Royale, and Happy Feet. anyway, they are already showing Borat... anyone interested to watch it with me?? :) ------------------------------------------- a lot of people are coming back for the holidays... and of course, i've been trying to plan/organize a get-together for/with them. not to mention that i'm also cooking up several "christmas parties" for my different sets of friends. and remember that i am still squishing bugs. where will i find the time to do my christmas shopping when i cant even begin to think of what to buy for who (or is it "whom"?) as well... anyway, i hope everything goes well.. I LOVE DECEMBER!!! ------------------------------------------- advice: if you dont have time to buy things for your friends and family, then buy something for yourself. i got my own baby as well, weheheheehe!! :D ------------------------------------------- to be continued....