Category: personal

“well?”

Interesting. I don’t even remember using this service.

This popped up in my Inbox today:

The following is an e-mail from the past, composed on Thursday, October 19, 2006, and sent via FutureMe.org
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Dear FutureMe,

Have you won a Palanca already? Have you published a book?

Are you happy?

Well, 2006 self: 1) Yes. 2) Yes. (Though Jeremy’s Magic Well was published after winning a contest. I suppose that still counts, haha.) 3) Yes.

The girl who wrote that letter back in 2006 was very lonely and unsure of her talent, but at least she had hope.

twelve

Jaykie and I celebrated our first anniversary together in Tagaytay. The weekend! The wind! A quiet hotel stay! Food! Alcohol!

I’ve been to Tagaytay before, but that was back in grade school, back when I still hated buses and long rides and was prone to paralyzing motion sickness. So of course I had no fond memories of the place, except that it was cold. Since then I’ve learned to love looking out the window while in transit, so when Jaykie mentioned Tagaytay months before the anniversary, I was excited. We needed a weekend away from Metro Manila. We needed a good view and a cool breeze.

We settled on Taal Vista Hotel. Around the time we were planning to place a reservation (end of September), Taal Vista had just wrapped up a promo, which was sad because their room rates were a bit pricey. When October rolled in, I called their sales office in Mall of Asia to ask if there was going to be a promo extension. I was delighted to hear the sales agent say that yes, there would be another promo. Starting October 15.

The exact day we planned to go there. This is a siiiign.

We immediately placed a reservation for a De Luxe room (3,999/night) from Oct. 15 to the 17th. Note: You’ll need an SM Advantage Card or other SM membership cards (BDO, Prestige) to avail, so go get one first. You’ll also need a credit card, because this is a book-and-buy promo. But they won’t charge you yet; they just need a guarantee. You can choose to pay in cash when you get there.

Tagaytay, Day 1

We arrived too early. The sales agent I spoke to said if the room’s available we can actually check in by noon, but the front desk was adamant in saying that check-in was at 2 p.m. FINE! Jaykie thought the front desk was masungit, but meh, we might as well just drive around and have lunch first.

Pictures!

Lunch was at Buon Giorno.

I was very very very happy with my salad. (Foie Gras Insalata.) I loved the pecan caramels. :D

Jaykie had a risotto. (Pollo E Funghi.)

We had a slice of chocolate espresso torte for dessert.

We got back to the hotel at half-past one, and we were finally able to get into our room.

Jaykie looks guilty here. What did you do? Haha.

Unfortunately the room didn’t have a view of Taal Lake. Oh well.

Dinner was at the hotel’s Cafe on the Ridge, plus welcome drinks (calamansi juice) and alcohol at the Lobby Lounge. (You can use your SM Advantage Card to get a 10 percent discount.)

Good night, Tagaytay!

Tagaytay, Day 2

Good morning, Tagaytay!

The Lobby Lounge in the morning.

After breakfast, we went out for a stroll. The weather was nice.

The wind!

It was basically just a day of lounging around. We dressed up and went back to Buon Giorno for dinner, then went back to the room and watched something scary on Discovery. We ended up sleeping with the lights on! Ha!

Tagaytay, Day 3

I woke up with this stupid vertigo, so Jaykie was kind enough to get up and buy us breakfast from McDo, just across the street. While outside, Jaykie sent me a text saying he had switched the papers between our room and the next, because we were given [a certain newspaper that I shall not name]. Jaykie snatched up the Inquirer and put it on our door handle, and I got up and took it before somebody realized this folly. LOL.

It was a day of errands, but Jaykie’s driver took care of it. Mahogany Market, then Rowena’s. You should go to Rowena’s! I sampled their tarts, apple crumble, and sylvanas.

We had lunch at Antonio’s Grill. Sizzling bulalo!

Oh, it was delicious.

Then back to the metro. We had a mall date at MOA, saw The Town (Ben Affleck, that was a pleasant surprise. You should direct more movies!), had some Mediterranean food, and bought each other books!

My anniv gifts from Jaykie:

Here are the books I gave him:

So, yes, that weekend rocked.

* * *

Love,

We should do this again.

Love,

 

healthy living

Still not the kind vegans will be proud of, but hey, we’re trying.

Friday

Breakfast – Oatmeal with dried mangoes and coffee

Lunch – Romain lettuce with dressing on the side and chicken fingers; yogurt for dessert

Lunch # 2 – For me:  Seafood tempura meal at Tokyo Tokyo

For him: None.

Heh. Jake had an exam, and I still had at least half a dozen SM GC’s, so I went to the mall and shopped. I was so hungry. But at least I didn’t order a steak. Hence, the meal at Tokyo Tokyo.

I bought three tops, a pair of sandals (that looked like those fake pairs you see in Philcoa hahaha!), and a dress.

When Jake and I met up later for an early dinner, I found these babies at Comic Quest.

The Philippine Genre Stories Horror and Christmas issues. Excited to read them. :)

Jake was feeling down after his exam, so we decided to really eat, and headed to Burgoo. While waiting for the food, he worried over a Math problem.

I don’t know what’s going on here.

Dinner: For us: Burgoo Stew

For me: Chicken Steak (with potato wedges and corn salsa)

For him: Chicken and Seafood (with rice)

Late at night, we had homemade margarita and Baked chips (less fat) while watching Flight of the Conchords, the perfect show for drunken folks.

Saturday

Breakfast – Romain lettuce with dressing on the side, toast with cottage cheese, coffee

Lunch – Hotdogs and eggs with rice; yogurt for dessert

Carrot chips with dressing on the side for snacks while watching some TV shows.

Dinner – Cheat meal!

For him: Chicken and ribs meal (with soup, salad, side dish and brownie)

For me: Ribs meal (with side dish and choco mousse)

Sunday

Breakfast – Hotdogs and eggs with rice and coffee

I’ll have a couple sandwiches later. :)

in photos

Wednesday. Cupcakes by Sonja at the office. Via City Delivery, P500 minimum. Yummeh.

Thursday. Kate borrowed this copy from the office library.

Because a close-up shot is necessary.

Friday. I went with my brother to have his eyes checked at an optical shop in SM North, and we saw a dancing robot.

We’re all bespectacled now. (Save for my mother, who needs a pair, but refuses to wear them. Istorbo raw.)

Saturday. Yakimix date!

We went to the Tomas Morato branch. They open the dinner buffet at 5:30 p.m. during the weekend. The place closes at 11 p.m., so you can actually pace yourself.

The remnants of my first plate of food (which, to my defense, mostly had tofu, veggies and seafood):

Sushi!

I wasn’t able to take a picture of my dessert, but I sampled their small chocolate cakes, a cream cup with fruits, and candy. Lots and lots of candy.

After that craziness, Jake and I will again try to eat healthy. (This is the nth time we’ve promised this to each other.) Oh well, good luck?

I am excited:

1) to buy a bunch of books by local authors and review them in the near future;

2) to go shopping this coming weekend;

3) to greet mid-October with our first-year anniversary celebration (We’ll probably go on a food-trip, lols.); and

4) to open November with my 24th birthday. *cartwheel*

updates and stuff

So, the weekend. I stubbed my toe. The last time I did something so stupid was in grade school, when I stubbed my toe while jumping rope. I broke it and it swelled like a tomato and I had to hop around the house for a week because I was too proud for crutches. This time Jake and I were walking around Greenhills after a glorious lunch at Gloria Maris with his family and a Starbucks stopover with his mother on Friday, and the fellas in front of us stopped and Jake stopped but I didn’t stop soon enough, so my toe hit the back of his shoe and my toenail cracked and almost got ripped off the nail bed. The pain was excruciating, but my first thought was, “My pedicure’s ruined!” I only noticed the blood when we got to the car.

Thank you to Jaykie for this care package. My bleeding toe was very grateful:

(Greenhills, I shall conquer you some other day.)

The logical thing to do was to stay home and rest the toe, but I wasn’t logical, so out I went with Jaykie to meet up with my high school friends. We had dinner at Abe (great food and the service staff was really helpful) and dessert at Golden Spoon and strangely enough, nobody took pictures. Why is that? Were we really that hungry? Or have we reached that age where camwhoring was frowned upon?

Saturday and Sunday were spent in Bulacan. Toe got better and I read some and watched some and I ate my mother’s cooking. No writing done, since I thought I deserved a break after all that pain. Ah, melodrama. But having a toenail almost ripped off your feet is really fucking painful, so there.

* * *

I finished the one and only season of Fear Itself. It’s a horror anthology series and I want more of it. (It got canceled, unfortunately.) Now I want to check out Masters of Horror. My favorite episodes: The Sacrifice, Family Man, In Sickness and In Health, Skin and Bones, Community, and The Spirit Box.

Other TV-related blabbering:

1) I’m glad Glee got its groove back with that season opener. It got boring and dull after the break in Season 1, but now I’m excited to watch again.

2) The How I Met season opener is blah, but I’ll keep watching.

3) Mad Men! More Mad Men! Yeah, I’m watching Season 4, even though I haven’t seen Seasons 2 and 3 and I haven’t even finished Season 1. Eep.

4) Wait, wait, I haven’t seen Big Bang Theory‘s season opener, but I will soon. Also: Modern Family!

* * *

Hey, have you seen Roman Polanski’s Ghost Writer? Tight political thriller. Stunning last scene. (I’ve always thought of Kim Catrall as Samantha, so her British accent here just sounds wrong to me. Other than the fact that it actually sounds wrong – she drops the accent every now and then.)

* * *

It’s a year after Ondoy, and Rocket Kapre’s charity anthology is available for free till October 8. I have a poem there. :)

eleven

Eleven months since the day, which means just one more month and it’s the anniversary! Here’s a picture of us before heading out for the Serendra date on Friday.

Another solo for meeeeeee.

There.

Early dinner was at Chelsea Market Place & Cafe. Great ambiance. We had the Chelsea Fritto Misto Collection (appetizer) and the Three Mushroom Truffled Fettucine (one of the specials). We tried one of the boutique beers, but I can’t remember the name now a glass of Stella Artois. Ooh fancy, lol. (I wasn’t able to take a picture of the food because we were starving by then, heh.)

They also sell cakes, but I wanted to have dessert elsewhere.

Cupcakes by Sonja!

I’m a big fan of Mint Condition. Mmm.

I looked around A Different Bookstore not planning to buy anything, but I saw a cheaper copy of Joe Hill’s acclaimed 20th Century Ghosts, so I bought that. At Fully Booked, I claimed my free Signature Chocolate drink at Starbucks (they have a promo) and Jake picked up a Warhammer novel about the Space Inquisition.

I also saw a copy of Under the Dome, and wow I didn’t know the novel’s more than 900 pages. That’s a huge book. I’ll probably get it next time.

Then we sat at our usual spot, just outside the bookstore, facing Serendra, and peoplewatched and talked about whatever.

* * *

Saturday. We could have gone to the Open Gaming Meet or the Book Fair at SMX, but we were lazy and weren’t exactly in the mood to deal with crowds (lol), so we just watched Better Off Ted and Through the Wormhole and ordered takeout. Later in the day I had this huge craving for Starbucks chocolate (again!), so we went out for a short walk and ordered our drinks and shared a glazed donut and pandesal.

* * *

For your Moment of Zen, the new sign of the University of the Philippines! Ang yaman!

* * *

P.S. I got my medical exam results for the year, and I’m overweight and my cholesterol level is seven points higher than what’s acceptable. ARGH.

P. P. S. Hey, you: Thank you for making the weekends so special.

Even though most of the time all I do is eat and sleep while you play the PSP. Haha!

Still. :)

here be some homemade margarita

The weekend, as always, was awesome.

Friday

Mall date! We haven’t done this in a while, finding greater pleasure in staying indoors, watching one sitcom episode after another, and ordering takeout. But Despicable Me was already in the theaters, so we decided to go to the mall.

Requisite camwhorage before we headed out.

I went book shopping! Oh, it was heaven looking through the books even though I only ended up buying two: Jessica Zafra’s Twisted 8 1/2 and Joshua Ferris’s second book, The Unnamed. I wanted Pacific Rims, but there’s still no paperback available, and the Hunger Games books I decided to just borrow from friends to save money and space. I saw Tana French’s third book, Faithful Place, but gah STILL NO PAPERBACK, and Veronique Olmi’s Beside the Sea was nowhere to be found. Poe’s Children was out of stock, and so was The Monster of Florence. Hay.

Lunch at Five Cows, which I thought was just an ice cream bar. They serve real food (I had their chicken and fish combo), but I only took pictures of our desserts.

Jaykie’s order, Ferrero Crunch.

My After Eight (choco mint chip ice cream cake):

It took us several minutes to choose our desserts because there were just so many excellent choices.

Then, Despicable Me. As promised, it was full of fluffy goodness. Cute film. I want: 1) a copy of Sleepy Kittens, 2) Minions, and 3) Minions that glow in the dark. “SO FLUFFEH!”

Saturday

Having seen the lovely Nigella make margarita ice cream on TV, Jake bought tequila and decided to do his own mix right at home. (Thanks Wiki!) So after seeing the sweet and dorky Eagle vs. Shark:

Those were mint candies from Candy Corner, btw. The margarita’s excellent! Wasak!

* * *

For your Moment of Zen (or, Why You Shouldn’t Trust the Audience, or, Look At These Assholes Who Answered “Corn Cob”) –

Haha! Till next week! :D