Giant Lantern Festival 2013 - Schedule of Activities

The best giant lanterns come from Pampanga. And since it’s the Christmas season already, the most awesome lanterns will be on display as the Giant Lantern Festival 2013 kicks off on December 2, 2013.

Pampanga is a little far from Manila, and if you’re going to watch the competition on December 14, make sure to go there early to avail of tickets. You might end up traveling far only to watch on TV screens.

Here’s the Schedule of Activities:

• December 2
  • Flag Raising Ceremony and Unveiling of Schedule of Activities, City Hall CSFP, 8 AM
  • Press Conference, City Hall CSFP, 10 AM
• December 2-5
  • Inter-Village Christmas Decoration Competition, CSFP, 6 onwards
• December 6
  • Lantern Parade Competition (Elementary and High School), High Blvd. CSFP, 6 PM
• December 14
  • Giant Lantern Festival Competition, Robinsons Starmills, City of San Fernando, 6 PM
• December 15
  • Giant Lantern Exhibition for Diplomatic Corps, Robinsons Starmills, 7 PM
• December 15-21
  • Lantern Exhibition, Robinsons Starmills, 7 PM
• December 15-23
  • Lubeas, Poblacion Area (Every Night)
• December 20
  • Christmas Diskwento Caravan, in front of City Hall, 6 AM - 6 PM
• December 22
  • Lantern Exhibition, Telabastagan, 7 PM
• December 23
  • Lantern Exhibition, Greenfields, 7 PM
• December 24
  • Lantern Exhibition, City Proper, 11 PM
• December 25, 2013 - January 3, 2014
  • Lantern Exhibition, Robinsons Starmills, 7 PM
• December 27
  • Lantern Exhibition, Nepo Center, A.C.
• December 28-29
  • Lantern Exhibition, Marquee Mall, A.C.

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Jejeshorts

For me, it's not really the gift that matters but the thought of giving that came along with it. So I gave my two nieces a HerBench handkerchief each and I got a pricey t-shirt from one and a jejemon shorts from the other. :D

Today, I decided to wear the jejeshorts for the first time...

... making me feel like a Paulinian. Haha!

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MRT-3 Holiday Sched

Do you ride MRT-3? If you do, and you're riding the train on Christmas and New Year's Day, here's the MRT-3 sched on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1.

Just remember that wrapped gifts need to be opened for inspection. Such hassle, but is needed for protection and safety of the passengers.

Other things not allowed:

• deadly weapons
• bulky and long objects (my imagination runs wild on this part)
• food and drinks
• inflated balloons
• flammable materials

Aside from the "no inspection, no entry" policy, those who are under the influence of alcohol and drugs will also not be allowed entry.

Little Christmas Tree

Angel and I wanted to buy a taller Christmas tree but Nanay wouldn't let go of the three-feet tree we've had for nearly two decades now.

And yea, green walls for Christmas. LoL!

Hello, September!

Because yuletide in the Philippines starts with the arrival of the BER months, I should say that the Christmas season is officially on.

And with that, let me be the first to greet you "Merry Christmas!"

This is an old pic, as she's in no mood to dress up at the moment. Will post new Santa Princess pics soon.

Qwop

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 games. So for 4 days now, I find myself playing Qwop whenever I can. And this is the best I’ve done:

55 meters. But I have to warn you it’s very addicting (read: time consuming).

Play it here.

Christmas Trees are Love

Went to SM South Mall yesterday after my day 3 vaccine (for dog bite) at RITM. It’s funny how the stores are dressed up both in Halloween and Christmas decorations. But, of course, I prefer Christmas more.

And I love this Christmas tree better than the bigger green ones. I know, though, that Nanay would insist on using our old Christmas tree from 20 years ago and won’t let me buy a new one. And besides, I think this tree would be very hard to store after Christmas. Imagine not wanting to deform the branches.

But I love this tree just the same.

Anyway, the follow-up vaccine was so itchy I always find myself scratching that part of my upper arm. Good, though, that it didn’t leave a red mark afterwards.



Angel went with me, perhaps because she knew I’d be roaming around Festivall Mall and SM South Mall afterwards. Those two malls were part of my younger years, actually. Lotsa good and bad memories. But it’s not the memories that I wanted to go back to at those malls. I was looking for a dri-fit shirt that would fit me. Every brand, it seems, only has Small for the smallest size. I can’t wear just small. As Nanay puts it, “parang kalalabas ko lang daw ng ospital” because size Small shirts look so big on me. Shirts have to be XS.

After those two malls, though, I still don’t have a dri-fit shirt.

iSurvived

The nephews (with their towering cousins) have just gone home, while the other cousins and their respective families actually stayed only until 4 pm. The only visitor left now is my oldest niece's boyfriend. Two nieces live with us and the one with the boyfriend is sleeping in her room. She has work tonight so she must sleep. The boyfriend stayed in the living room, watching Naruto Shippuden (spell?) on the PC. Now he's already asleep on the arm chair. Good thing not the couch.

Before lunch (which means before the visitors arrived), I treated the kids of the neighborhood with a little something. I always believe that when it comes to small children, it's not what you give that matters, but the idea that they are receiving something from you. It's just pancit and bread and softdrinks but I could sense the happiness in them. Also I gave out handkerchiefs (rolled up and tied with ribbons) as a token from me. I've been giving out handkerchiefs for four years now that majority of them already know what they're gonna receive after eating.

It's good, in a way, because they can easily remember me when they see a hankie. But I'm thinking that perhaps I should put something else with the handkerchiefs next Christmas in order to be not so predictable. Ballpens, maybe? Hehe.

Anyway, I miscalculated. There are more than 10 hankies left.

Instead of wrapping the handkerchiefs, I just tied them up with ribbons because a) it's easier to do, therefore, not so much time consuming; and b) ribbons are cheaper than gift wrappers. And yes, I did them myself.