profound bliss

We normally have visitors every Christmas – friends, neighbors, but mostly relatives. But this Christmas it was different. By 11:00 AM last Dec. 25, our house was literally full. SRO. 3 vans full of relatives and more. It was fun, but I have to honestly say that I don’t like kids. You know the under-10-year-olds that are literal pain in the arse. It went well, though. But I found myself sleeping in Nanay’s bed in the middle of it all. The lack of sleep from the previous morning masses took its toll. Yes, on Christmas day. Juansen, who I hope is not becoming anti-social like me, joined me in the bedroom eventually. He was Facebooking on his Dell when a friend of his posted that she finished Qwop. What? And he showed me what he and his classmates are currently playing. And Qwop it was. You will be Qwop, the nation’s sole representative to the Olympics. And you will only be allowed to use Q-W-O-P on your keyboard. It was so fun but I have to admit, I’m no good at these flash ga...

Okay, I’m not really a fan of the mall but this is my second post about MOA so perhaps I’m beginning to like it there. My old neighborhood friends and I marked December 4th as our reunion after some years of not being completely together. Well, we were still not complete that day cuz one was in Dubai, the other was in Camarines Sur, and the other one’s 5-year-old bumped his head a few hours before the time we agreed to meet. Okay so, the original plan was just to have dinner at Gerry’s Grill cuz one of us still had to go to work at ten. But when we learned that she took the night off, we immediately changed plans. The supposed dinner became a night out of beer and sounds. Having not gone to a night-out for quite some time, all of us didn’t know what was the in place to go. So we decided to just go to MOA’s Sunset Strip and just choose from there. With all the bars lining up the strip, we were sure an establishment or two would attract our attention. We first looked for a place ...

I haven’t been blogging much. Blame Simbang Gabi for that. LoL! This is how far I was from the church door. I was luckier, though. Others attended mass outside the church gates. No, but seriously, I almost couldn’t concentrate on anything anymore since December 16th. You see, I sleep at 12 AM, sometimes even later than that. Then I have to wake up at 3 AM to prepare for the 4 AM mass. I’ll arrive home by 5:45 AM then after breakfast I’ll have the luxury of another two hours of sleep. No more after that until 12 midnight again. The first two days was okay. Exciting, even. Because this year, I decided to do Simbang Gabi alone. It’s not because of anything but the fact that I really wanna complete the nine mornings. It’s different when you plan things with someone. I’m sure I wouldn’t wanna go to church too if the person I planned to go there with cancels, just like what had happened many times before. And due to my desire to complete the nine mornings, and since I’m already ki...

I don't get to watch much TV these days. But one of my feeds lead me to these videos which I rewatched over and over again. LoL! I really enjoy tv ads done with good tastes. Neil Coleta , who has appeared on a couple of television shows already (Lipgloss, Rosalka), stars in these two Nestea tv ads. He is also on Voice Combo Sandwich's "6 Senses" ad which appeared middle of this year. Sometimes, these TVCs are better to watch than the shows themselves. Don't you think?

Czech American tennis great, Martina Navratilova , tried to climb the 19,341-foot summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro but was taken down by mountain porters due to breathing problems with just 5,000 feet to go. Martina was taken to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre for assessment and was eventually flown to the Nairobi Hospital for further tests. She suffered from high altitude pulmonary oedema - an accumulation of fluid in the lungs. The 54-year-old, 18-time Grand Slam champion was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year but declared herself cancer-free six months after. She underwent 6 weeks of radiation treatment to make sure cancer cells are all killed. The rest of Martina’s Mt. Kilimanjaro team, consisting of 27 climbers, was gutted to know that Martina had abandoned the climb, but they had to continue what they had started. As for Martina, many may think that she failed. But for a cancer survivor to be able to climb 14,000 feet above sea level is quite an achieveme...

November 29, 2010 Sunset Strip, MOA

November 29, 2010 Sunset Strip, MOA

November 29, 2010. Took Princess to MOA's Sunset Strip for a walk. It rained, and the sky was covered with dark clouds the whole time we were there. The dusk, though, was beautiful.

Click here to read Mt. Pundaquit - Anawangin Cove Adventures (Part 1) . So I was able to cross the little patch of water and was soon climbing up the rocky trail towards the top of the hill. K, who was barefoot cuz he thought he’d just go walking along the beach with Gerald and Troy, was walking so slowly cuz most of the stones were sharp-edged. Halfway up, I looked up and was rewarded with this view: Uphill, though, the view was most breathtaking.   At the other side of the hill, there’s another beach much like the cove. There seem to be no activity there, though. There was actually no one in sight. When I asked around, I learned that it is so rocky on that part that boatmen find it hard to go there. After about half an hour, K and I decided to head back. But we couldn’t help but stop by the cove again for some more photos.   Back at the camp, we were divided into groups. I was put in the group in-charge of cooking together with K, Gerald, and Judylyn...

Last Thursday, on my way to the cinema to watch Harry Potter, something at Penshoppe caught my eyes. It was near the entrance of the store and was staring right at me. I couldn't resist.

Who misses Hunter X Hunter ?

One of my goals is to climb Mt. Pulag via the Akiki trail. I know I need to prepare physically for that one. So it will be just a dream for now. So even if I can't join the KPMS on this climb, I'm posting the poster below JSYK. I'm sure, though, that even if I'm physically prepared, Nanay won't allow me on this one. December 23rd is already Christmas in our house.

I love animals. And although I'm not a devoted vegetarian as of the moment, I bleed seeing animals as young as these chicks colored, caged, and sold to kids who don't even know how to take care of them. Some of them end up dead even before anyone care to buy them, and what happens to those bought by the kids, I'll never know. Lucky are those who go to loving hands.

I've always wanted to go to Anawangin cuz I've always read and heard so many beautiful things about it. So when I learned that K's third training climb with the MLQU Stallions Outdoor Club would be Mt. Pundaquit with a 2-day stay at the Anawangin Cove, I immediately begged him to ask their president if I could guest-climb with them. It was a short-notice, though. He informed me Wednesday night (Nov 3) that the club allowed me to go with them; assembly was 8 PM Friday (Nov 5). I immediately canceled my Balagbag Falls day trip with a friend that Saturday. But I couldn't cancel Princess' follow-up CBC that Friday. And I crammed. The itinerary included a boat ride from Anawangin to Capones Island to Pundaquit on the way home, and I don't know how to swim! So after bringing Princess to the vet Friday morning (and learning that her RBC's kinda high which might result into a stroke [God forbid]), I went to the mall to buy stuff including a whistle, soccer socks fo...

Taken October 21, 2010 while waiting for a ride to my sister Leni's house with Angel. It was a busy day which started with a trip to the doctor for me, then an unplanned check-up for Angel. Then I paid BIR at Landbank; went with Angel to SSS; then a little shopping at MOA. My sister's kids were already sleeping by the time we arrived for a little visit. Juansen was having a 39-degree fever. Jansen, though, woke up to eat the McDo burgers I brought them.

I love talented kids, especially those who know what they wanna be as early as 5 years old. Let's just hope, though, that no parent talked him into doing this just for popularity. Now the dance-off:

Good morning! Princess just had breakfast. We're just happy to announce that she had been cleared of bacterial infection upon CBC last Friday at Animal House Alabang. Props to Dr. David Diwa! Now all we need is to find an Elizabethan collar that would fit her and I can walk her any hour without her licking the street. Both AH Alabang and Bicutan branches don't have one. Perhaps I should go to Cartimar again.