supplies 25th
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today was just perfect. i don't even know where to start. i woke up early to get breakfast, but cheryl found me online and asked me for lunch. but i have a date with mom na, so i just asked cheryl to join us in chili's, morato. the food as usual was great, we had chicken crispers and some mexican salad. i had coke lite.

went home to pick up ken in school, he begged to stay in the playgroud for a few more minutes, so we stayed inside mother goose. just seeing him having a blast, it was all worth it kahit mainit. bon sent me dulce de leche cake, he was saying na naghahanap siya ng cheesecake but couldn't find one, kaya iyon na lang daw, masarap naman daw eh.

time for dinner, was waiting for ags and dad, since we were suppose to have dinner at shangri-la with my relatives. i saw some cousins arriving already, so i went down thinking that i will just ask them to wait a while, wait for ags to arrive and sabay na kami to go shang. but pagbaba ko, they were shocked, and all of a sudden, they were singing na.

after 10 minutes, it dawned on me na surprise pala yon, planned by twing and ags. they were all there though go-lim fam wasn't kasi dyan daw is in cardinal, having dengue. (i talked to her on the phone, she's okay naman daw, recovering, mababa pa kasi ang platelets)

i had a wonderful time, they are great, i had a blast laughing with them, and just making fun and chika with everyone. basta masaya. plus lester arrived around 10pm to join me for dessert sa house.


mom and dad making sure that everything went well, and that everyone is well fed.


the organizers and me.


i got 3 cakes today, one from mom and dad, the other one from tita bebs and family, the third one i got from bon. everyone sent me dulce de leche or caramel type of cake. is it uso?


cousins with me today!


singing me a song..

thanks to those who have greeted me today and remembered.. i am truly blessed to have met such wonderful people.

LORD, for giving me one more year to grow and share my blessings and myself to others. mom and dad (i love mom and dad!!) ags and cho; tita bot, tita bebs, bespwet, ako aida, ako belma, marj, ahya mike, achi jas, achi mich, ahya ichi, ahya ival, achi cathy, achi ice, adu, lin, leo, auntie gi, k4, tj, tris, etc; bede, lester, jasper, marc, kathy, jac, bon for the cake; roms, mic, trace, che, lilli and teri; julette, julia, kaye, angel, paulo, mayette, ena, ainee and joan; joui, reb, alisha, des, mech and sel.

its the big 25!
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i celebrated my birthday last year in krabi with mech and sel. from then on, i was thinking, every birthday should be like this, go to a new place and just relax. i remembered on the day itself, we went to tour different islands, and we were planning to have dinner on this nice french resto.

we came back around 5pm, so we thought that maybe we could get some sleep first then wake up na lang for dinner. but, sa we were so exhausted that we just slept the rest of the day na lang.

this year is different, as luckily, tomorrow, i will still be in manila to celebrate my 25th birthday, i have nothing planned, and i just want everything low key and very celebratory in a way. haha!

we had dinner at highlands steakhouse in MOA, i have never tried the one in highlands, though i think my family was able to try it na before, except for mom kasi she was in HK that time.


aggie got rib-eye steam, 10oz, big chunk of beef.


mom got clam chowder soup which was great with highlands ceasar salad.


dad chose betwen norweigian salmon, thisgrilled hallibut fish and chillean seabass. sabi ko sa kanya, no to seabass cause its an endangered specie of some sort, so i opted for the hallibut fish, which dad loved naman.


dad and mom insisted that i order steak, but ags and cho ordered steak na and i want to try something na di beef, so i got this, in fairness, masarap siya!


bread galore, they have different kinds, but naubos na yung isang klase.


and can i just say hello pupung! haha!

well, last day of being 24, and tomorrow, i am 25 na, am excited. sana di totoo ang sinabi ni john, na you'd get quarter life crisis, and na-depress siya for 2 weeks. i don't think i'd get depressed though.

3,4,5 cows...
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swerte ni cho, dahil every wednesday, half day ang xavier high school, during my time, not applicable yon. so he went home early last wednesday, at nagyaya to go to trinoma daw because he wanted to check out zara, cause zara is on sale until, 4th feb.

we picked up mom at timog office around 4.30pm and went to trinoma. it was my third time ata to go there, the stores are okay naman but some of them medyo limited stocks.


nachos as out starter, masarap siya, konti nga lang.


fish and chips; i liked the fish better than the chicken.


you have to try their grilled corn, with butter and some herbs together. i think i saw one episode from bobby flay, na hinalo niya the butter and herbs nga, and it goes well with barecued meat or grilled stuff daw. so, i think okay ang pagkagawa nila don.


mom liked this blueberry cheesecake ice cream; okay lang siya.


eto mas masrap, rocky road, nuts, vanilla and chocolate ice cream. if you ask them naman they will reco you their best sellers; they did with me, i just didn't pick it. haha!

SAMU't SARING PAGKAIN (part 1)
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being here in manila is like having cute little surprises in every turn, lalo na when i go to the grocery, or food stalls sa tiangge. i am sure to find something thats great tasting, gives me good memories, and endless appetite. i also love receiving food as gifts, or presents, fact naman talaga na ang mga pinoy loves to give food as presents or pasalubong, kasi talaga din namang we love to eat.

this is part 1 of my post, some of the photos are those of my favorites.


food channel's shawarma rice, before when they were still in viramall, i would order shawarma, and ags would order the one with cheese. i have posted about them before, and just the past two days, i was craving so i drove off somewhere near (thanks to franchising of food channel) and get my fix.


one of my favorite cakes, would be hizon's mocha cake. all time favorite ko ata yon, and its the first time that i tried their ensaymada. they have 2 types, (1) quezo de bola cheese, Php 95; (2) cheddar cheese, Php 70. (mahalia jackson, pero masarap!)


eto ang budget cupcake, lemon square cheese cupcakes, Php 52 for 10 pcs. masarap siya with milk, midnight snack ba?!


hopia dice ay matagal ko na ding favorite, i remembered during my 23rd birthday, sheryl gave me one box kasi fave ko yon. thanks thanks! at love ko talaga yon.


eto pa, may chocolate pa sila.. but ang hopia for me ay dapat monggo lang.


yellow cab is one of my fave pizza joints, there's no pizza place in singapore that i really fancy. pero yellow cab serves good pizza talaga, all meat, and i do love their charlie chan chicken pasta. (yum!!)


i found out CONTI'S through teri, before i use to bring her home kasi sa BF, and hindi pa nag-expand ang CONTI's nun. i love their turtle pie too, and they serve good brunch.


mom loved the cake; at sabi ng ni teri, the cake is not for me. FINE! ;)


chocolate kiss serves good blueberry cheesecake, Php98, proven na masarap talaga siya because si ags ay nag-take out. i ordered carrot cake naman.


breadtalk, mom love the hot floss; dad likes the pizza bread (which i introduced to them in singapore). so nung nagutom kame one sunday afternoon sa MOA, we decided to get some snacks. actually sawa na ako dito, i'd usually get breadtalk for dinner in SG, pag wala akong matinong dinner. HAHA!

i'd definitely post more food shots, my 'ama' or lola celebrated her 80th birthday just this evening. i'd still go and visit some places here before i fly off. i hope na di masyadong malungkot sa pag-alis ko, baka nasasanay na kasi ako here. hay, buhay!

ay shucks, mag-25 na ako next week! di ko naiisip masyado.

SUPER TUESDAY
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i got up realy early last tuesday morning around 5.30am lang naman(side note: i never woke up this early since nung highschool ako), since i promised my aunts i would accompany them and my lolo to luneta park. so together with the driver, the yaya and my 3 aunts, we went there with nothing but an 'antok' face. you see, my lolo's health was deteriorating last 2007, he was hospitalised, depressed, he was 90. he stays in the province, but since the hospitalisation, they needed to bring him here in manila para ma-supervise mabuti.

now, he is really doing well. he eats a lot na, can walk a bit, laughs, and just has a new outlook in life, which is all the more better, sabi nga ng "the power of subconscious"; and i'm very happy to see him better, though wala ako here to visit him when he was hospitalised, i prayed for his health.


quirino grandstand, 6.30am. actually, there's a community of people there, jogging, walking, etc. my lolo has his group, mga chinese elders, who goes there everyday, 7-8am to exercise, and them have bruch after. i want the brunch part.


old style tindahan sa park, and no, this is not my brunch. haha! we had yam cha or the usual chinese dimsum breakfast with coffee and tea in tong ah (ongpin). we ate siomai, hakao, chicken feet, steamed pork and raddish, coffee for my aunts and me (we badly need coffee in the morning), angkong had his radish cake and fish porridge (lugaw).


i snapped a picture of tita bot, tita bebs and ako belma while exercising. haha! si tita bot, ayaw magpakuha at natatawa. haha!

got back home, mga 10am, since we all needed to sleep, but while am trying to doze off, i was watching SIS, kahit baduy, it is so much better compared with 'boy and kris'. sa totoo lang, i don't know any new artista na, but this was one funny person. i snapped a picture..


they call him "manny" ala manny pacquaio kasi magsalita, and he was so damn funny. pinagtri-tripan din siya talaga sa show. i catched the cooking segment din pala and saw the ka-toque chefs, can i just say na na-interview ko na sila before for conprobe, and they are so funny as well, cool sila.

--

later that night, i went to watch AVP 2 premiere night at rockwell, thanks to bede for the tickets. actually, i enjoyed the movie and the after movie, 7 of us high school friends all went to catch the film (les, bon, jas, marc, bede, at ako; di pala nakasama si jeff cause of work) haha! went to have midnight snack at north park, then stayed there dahil sobrang kwentuhan lang. the point is, it was fun and masaya lang talaga to have old friends and reminisce high school (stupid high school!!)

YUMMY piece of cake
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i have been eating like there's no tomorrow, but yesterday, we (lin, tita bot and me) did some power walking in damar for almost 2 hours, but still walk lang yon kasi di na ako sanay to run. hingal to death na ako.

anyway, nung bumalik ako last july, i have been craving to try yumi castrillo's yummy piece of cake (cupcakes) but to order and to pick it up from far flung areas ay isang malaking hassle sa akin. so, i thought, its okay, i do love sonja's naman and i can get my fix there.

until recently, i did have time to order and pick it up sa saber street in taguig(?!), ang layo, i ordered 2 boxes, one for me, and the other is for lin since she celebrated her birthday last sunday.



i ordered 6 flavors, 2 pieces each.


box with my name


red velvet, stawberry, bluberry, carrot cake, peanut butter, lemon.


here are my top 3 flavors. (red velvet, lemon and carrot cake)


snacking my sonja's red velvet while watching tv. chicho kasi keeps taking picture of me, para na akong lamon lang ng lamon ng cupcakes.

well, when it comes to cupcakes, i dont really like those chocolate flavored, i like it simple, mild yet sweet, lemon cream cheese icing works best for me. i need to learn how to bake, (or i should get my own oven) before i learn to bake cupcakes, pero since back to diet mode ako, wag na lang. haha

COOK! at your own risk...
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so since medyo marame akong free time here in manila, i decided to cook one of aggie's favorite pasta. i have a vague idea of how to cook aligue pasta, since i have tried it when ting cooked for her first SG bday, and when i went to try it sa cafe juanita.

ags have been asking me to cook it for her, so i went to the grocery the other day, and bought the ff:

- angel hair pasta, and linguine, 500g each pack.
- 2 cans of aligue
- 3 packs of nestle cream
- kani sushi (i use the original one, kahit mahal sha)
- garlic
- sana baby prawns but naging sinigang na siya (HAHA)

so after much perspiration (ang pangit ng word, i do get stressed everytime i cook naman kasi), eto na ang pasta..



aligue pasta sauce


pasta + sauce (all together now)


making sure that it taste good


baon for lin and twing (cousins), i want to make sure they try this new one.


my younger cousins were able to try it, and surprisingly they loved it, kahit di siya matamis na sauce (think, jolly spaghetti) haha!

saya!

what's in the name?
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i got this off from kaye, and since am bored to death (not really, am enjoying my life right now, B-U-M!!), eh di post ko na din!

i will be updating my blog the next few days on what have i been doing (pictures, pictures and more pictures!!), and also an update on my birthday wishlist, and etc. am not so excited yet, but am thinking of a birthday project, actually! haha!

so, click and find out the meaning of your name! i have to read mine first to comment!

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What Anton Archivald Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very hyper. You never slow down, even when it's killing you. You're the type of person who can be a workaholic during the day... and still have the energy to party all night. Your energy is definitely a magnet for those around you. People are addicted to your vibe. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

MANILA update
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i am still enjoying my extended vacation in manila, it feels good, and its really a blessing to still be here, thinking about it ah. i know na they need me na sa work, but no one's fault naman kasi eh, so maybe talagang blessing na nga ito. kelan kaya ang next vacation ko? baka august na! planning to go back to HK with mom and ags eh, and i finally want to go to boracay this year.

i just want to share some of my fav photos from different gatherings, etc.



iya and julette at KITCHEN. (di ko gusto food nila, and that time, ang bagal ng serving, we waited 30 minutes ata for our food to arrive, bad service, im sorry!)


julia and me smiling kahit oversa gutom na!


midnight snack with agd and cho, they had nuggets, i had chicken mcdo, kasi naman wala sa singapore nyan.


i asked mom to get me estrel's cake kasi namiss ko na siya...


... it came with a dedication, mom was so funny!!!


sa bongabon, it was a fun new year.


family picture sa bongabon. dad, cho, ags, mom and me.. i will print pictures nga to give to each families para may remembrance. haha!


went with cho to the optical shop yesterday kasi his head is always aching daw, and meron pala siyang astigmatism, kaya kailangan nyang magwear ng glasses. so there..

well, i will still post random pictures at i have a few more days to spend here.

HEY 2008!
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delayed flight ako, dapat am flying off na on the 9th(tom) but hindi pa naayos EP ko, so am flying off on the 30th of jan. actually am kinda happy bout it na i get to celebrate my birthday in manila with my family and friends. saya! such a blessing in disguise.

my HK and MACAU trip was okay, visit my multiply for the pictures. went with alvin and cheryl. lesson learned: wag na magtipid sa hotels. i booked USA hostel (iba ang picture sa totoong room, it was like a shank from hell, GOD) and i dont advice people to book it, kasi putang ina sila at kadire, pang squatter, so we ditched the hotel that we paid for and stayed at the minden. (really nice)!

i love having breaks, and this is the longest break ever, 6 weeks. am excited to start work, but i feel na okay na din ito, so super ready ako to start work on FEB.

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looking back at 2007, masaya naman siya, i went back to manila for a total of 3x, visited malaysia, thailand, etc. met a lot of great friends in singapore, maintained close relationships with old friends. loved and appreciated my parents and family more. i am thankful once more for everything that came my way, i think there was sort of a plan for me, and i am going with the flow and loving everything that there is.

LORD, marameng salamat ulet. and am looking forward to 2008, with your blessing and guidance. i dont want to sound preachy but YOU are the reason why am here, and just because of that i am forever grateful, and i will be a better person.

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i look forward to:
(1) excelling and loving my new work.
(2) really doing charity work, kasi wala pa akong nagagawa.
(3) growing my faith, and less sa waist line.
(4) being a good friend, loving son and sibling, and being a better person
(5) making myself and friends happy

yon na.