Irritable Me

The last couple of days, I was sort of looking for a fight. Well, I was still my usual happy self but deep inside of me, I was itching for a fight. I was so irritable. Every little single thing, I seem to mind. Sometimes, I do have a point but then again, I need not argue it to the point of squashing it to a pulp.

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Running across my mind while I was in a conference and listening to the presentations:

"Why didn't this guy put his presentation in a landscape format??? He should use up all the space in the screen!"

"Who chose the color of his texts??? It's neon green! He should have known better than to put a neon green there!" (Later, I realized that there was a problem with the projector itself. I was already calm at that time so I did not rant and say something about having a back-up projector.)

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From a text message:

I texted someone "I miss you" because I did. I received no reply. So I forgot about it.

After two days, a reply arrived: "You miss me? Why is that?"

BONK! I was so mad! Hello, it's a feeling! Do I have to explain every single thing I feel?! Is this person sooo dense?!

Oh well, irrational, I know.

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The other day, I was at a friend's advance Christmas party. As I've brought my camera with me, I took lots of pictures. The next day, after I finished downloading the pictures, we noticed that there were a lot of pictures taken of this one guy from our office. I realized that the guy was always asking me to take his picture. Since I didn't mind at all, I did and naturally, he got a lot of pictures from my camera. For me, it was really nothing but there's this another guy who's been maliciously implying something else, something like me liking this guy. At first, I really didn't mind at all but he kept on repeating phrases like

"oh, i bet you really like him... i'd bet you liked taking his pictures... etc."

Well, he just didn't know me at all! Once, twice, I can take any jokes but when said maliciously, I'm sorry but I'll hit back at you and that is what I just did. Know what I said?

"What is it to you anyway? Maybe you are just jealous because I took his pictures and not yours. Or maybe you just wanted to be the one to take and keep the pictures, huh?!"

Oh! That and my raised eyebrow shut him up! I hate guys like that! More gossip than females.

Observations

Word of the Day: ACCRUE

ac·crue
v. ac·crued, ac·cru·ing, ac·crues

v.intr.
1. To come to one as a gain, addition, or increment: interest accruing in my savings account.
2. To increase, accumulate, or come about as a result of growth: common sense that accrues with experience.
3. To come into existence as a claim that is legally enforceable.

v.tr.
To accumulate over time: I have accrued 15 days of sick leave.

===================================

While in EDSA yesterday, I discovered one thing:

Pinoys can't drive in a straight line. Everybody keeps on swerving. It was scary.

Taken from Exams

In an exam when I was in my undergrad years, I came across this and ever since, I haven't forgotten it.

If you want to be seen
Stand up

If you want to be heard
Speak up

If you want to be appreciated
Shut up.

Another one during my college application exam:

I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining.
I believe in love even when feeling it not.
I believe in God even when God is silent.

Travel Pictures: Corregidor Island

A few years ago, my friends and I started this list of places we want to visit. Since we were earning measly salaries for being RAs at school, we can only cross the names on our list, one at a time. The first trip we made, as far as I can remember, was our guided weekend tour trip at the island of Corregidor, which was a major battle area during the World War II. These are some of our pictures from that trip...

My Life as a Cartoon Strip, Today

Today...

Weddings and Pictures

A close friend of mine got married a week or so ago. I cannot but only feel so honored to be part of their very special day. It was a very lovely wedding and even if I have to wear a dress (which I loathe to do for anything else), no one can stop me from attending this one special occasion. Again, I just have to say that it was really a beautiful wedding amidst a very diverse attendees and very colorful entourage. There were a lot of pictures taken but I guessed I got too happy posing for the camera I forgot to take my own. Here are a few of the pictures I was able to take with my camera...

To my dear friends, thanks for a memorable day! I won't be able to look at champagne, wine and beer the same way again! Cheers!

Another Weekend Fun

As I said to my friend, this weekend was fun and accident-free for me... Should I now name my blog, the weekend adventurer? I am just grateful that I do get chances to go out on the weekends sometimes. It's a great way to forget, even for just a few hours, that I'm not done with my thesis yet (never mind the panic mode when I get back to facing it).

This past weekend, I was again at Baguio with a couple of my officemates. All I wanted to say is this was one of the best Baguio trips I ever had. Great food, good accommodations, great company!

And for my favorite part, these are some of the pictures I took...



Breakfast at Waffle House, Camp John Hay (left) and a look at something that looks like Lantern Waste...

Starbucks At Good Shepherd




I forgot the name of this place but this homey, country style place is located at Loakan Street...

A look of the Zigzag Road (and Zigzag Formation) from the Viewdeck

At the Mile Hi Center


This place is not in Baguio but we went there for lunch before going up the city. Soul Cafe.

The Weekend's Amazing Trip

This trip was planned for months. Tickets were bought cheap from Cebu Pacific. Cost: PhP 1,600.00 round trip.

(And to help you with your future travel plans to Cebu and Bohol, I'm also posting the estimate costs of what I spent there so you would know how to budget your trip.)


July 29
4 AM pick-up at my place

around 530 AM - at the airport for check-in.

we still have plenty of time. met up with friends and bought some breakfast.
hotdog sandwich: PhP 60
hot chocolate: PhP 25
bottled water: PhP 20

The difference of PhP 5 is the worth of getting your tongue scalded.

around 550 AM - announcement of delay in the flight departure.
sure, ok. at least there was a tv in the departure area

around 630 AM - boarding of Cebu Pacific's Mla-Cebu flight

around 730 AM - arrival at the Mactan International Airport

around 800 AM - taxi ride to OceanJet pier to take the boat going to Bohol
Cost: PhP 250 (not metered, but the taxi brought us directly inside the pier terminal)

around 830 AM - we're chance passengers. waiting to see if we can be accommodated in the 930 AM boat. Ticket cost (round trip): PhP 520.00

Around 945 AM- we're off to Bohol!

Around 1145 AM - arrival at the Tagbilaran Pier. we were picked up by our friend's family. Off we go to our Adventure!

First Stop: Hinagdanan Cave.
Entrance Cost: PhP 10.oo
Pasalubong Cost (estimate cost only. you can haggle if you want)...
Tarsier Bag: PhP 120.00
Tarsier cellphone bag: Ph100.00
Ref magnets: PhP35.oo (or 3 for PhP100.00)

Next Stop (coz we were already hungry): Bohol Divers' Resort

Around 2PM: waiting at the resort's restaurant for our food.
Seafood lunch cost: PhP175.00

Around 3PM (?): still eating lunch..

Around 4PM: picture taking along the Panglao coast; started raining.

checked our accommodations. my friend and I got our own room in this chalet which boasts four rooms (3 doubles, 1 single), dining /kitchen room and three bathrooms. not bad for a place which costs PhP5,000.00. =)

Still raining. Now, how can I enjoy the beach??? Simple. Wear your swimsuit and go even if it means swimming in cold waters and in a downpour. Actually, it was fun. It was low tide so I was able to go look around the sea grass for starfishes. There were also some underwater springs, which I'm afraid to go near to because once you get your foot in it, the sand just caves down. It felt like there's something pulling your foot (or was it just my imagination?). If you're going to Panglao, and you're not a diver, don't forget to bring your snorkel, unlike me who forgot to bring one.It was just great that my friends brought extras.

It was really fun to go back to the beach. Oh! I've been to a lot of beaches but as always, there's a first time for everything. I stepped on a sea urchin. Luckily, I was able to remove most of the spines although there were some stubborn ones. Just don't ask me how I took them out! Hehe

When we got back to our room, there's a lady who was offering a massage service. Cost: PhP250 (whole body massage)

Around 8PM - Dinner in one of the restaurants along the coast. Cost: PhP125.00

10 PM - sleeping! (unfortunately, we don't have a tv in our room but it was okay because we had to get up at 5 AM the next day so we could have an early start)

RISE and SHINE!

30 July

5 AM - Awake and waiting for breakfast to be served.
Continental Breakfast: PhP125.00

6 AM - Ready to go on our next adventure...
Tour Cost: PhP3,000.00

First Stop: Sikatuna... Lugar san nagkaroon ng blood compact ang ating mga sinaunang bayani. Cost: Libre. Free.

Second Stop: Chocolate Hills. Maintenance Fee: around PhP10.00

Third Stop: Tarsiers. Cost: Again, libre. Free.

Fourth Stop: Hanging Bridge and Buko King
Maintenance Donation and Buko King's Show: Any amount will do

Fifth Stop: 10 AM - Floating Restaurant. Buffet. Cost: PhP 260.00

Last Stop: Baclayon Church. The only Catholic Church in the Philippines that is made out of corals. It also houses the third bamboo organ in the Philippines (the other two are found in Las Pinas and ... hmm, kalimutan ko... but this is the third). But really, the church is wonderful!

1230 PM - at the Tagbilaran Pier on our way back to Cebu

Snacks: Peanut Kisses worth PhP26/box.

3 PM - Arrival in Cebu.
Taxi Fare to Lapu-Lapu City: Php120.00

After this, I met my friend in this one mall and rested a while.

The next day, August 1, I went to Mandaue City to meet my friends all alone. Jeepney fare from Lapu-Lapu City to SM is PhP11.oo and the taxi to my friends' hotel is around PhP90.00. Our next and last stop before going to the airport for our noon flight is the Taoist Temple.

At the Taoist Temple, the spirits had granted my wish for them to answer one of my wishes. I am happy about my first visit there and the answer to my question.

-The End-

Pictures to be uploaded later... Pictures already uploaded....

Weekend Disaster

Sometimes, you really get 'Dobby(i)ed' and all you can do is to take everything in stride and with a laugh.

This weekend may not be my worst but this must be the most unluckiest one I had in recent time. First, it rained really hard as i was walking after renting a book at my favorite book shop. upon arriving at the tricycle stop, i slipped on the ramp and fell on my butt -- very hard! i'm glad i fell on my butt and not on my arm or else i would have gotten a broken arm, that was how hard i fell. then at last, when i arrived home i realized that i probably dropped my coin purse in the tricycle. i don't mind losing the money (after all, it has not more than 50php inside) but i wanted my school id back! so what i did was get changed and went back to the tricycle stop hoping i'd find the driver so i can have the purse back. but no such luck!

so i went home, wet and cold, without my purse -- and my id :(

Love in the Fields

When I was in my undergrad years, I often hear about a former professor of our Institute who is such a terror that nobody would like to be under his focus for even a second. As years went by, I often see him visit the school or my adviser at the lab. Today, I work for him, with him.

I thought he would really be a terror but not now. He is different and he is such a kind man who's got a patience as wide as the sea to a person like me. I cannot truly say he is fun to be with (because sometimes, I still feel that he could be a terror) but I always feel, when we are together, that he tries to bridge the gap. He is like a grandfather to all of us and it feels nice. But the reason I'm writing this is just to put down into words a joke he likes telling us. The joke was a text message from a friend of his.

The joke.

Why is it not good to make love in the fields?

Why?

Because the corns have ears,
the pineapples have eyes,
and
the beans talk!

Hahaha

Corny, I know. But coming from him, it would really bring a smile to your face. It's just great fun to watch him insist for an answer.

Looking Back, Part 1

Cambridge, England

There are some things I want to go back to (read: pictures I want to post). Here are some of the pictures I’ve taken when I was in Cambridge, England last year.

This college is along the Queens Road (if I remember it right). I’ve always passed by this building everytime I go to the department but now, I couldn’t remember what it is called. As you can see, it has a great architecture, which I bet would date back since the 14th-15th century. Imagine, this place was founded around the 12th century, while our forefathers were still in their bahags and living a peaceful life until the Spanish discovered the Philippines in 1521. I love old buildings and this place is full of them. When I walked around the town, I just have to touch the walls and think at the same time, ‘wow! People who lived centuries before me also touched this wall, must have also slipped in the icy, wet road…’ I am very glad that I had the chance to visit and experience this place.

This is another entrance that I love in Cambridge because of its history. This is the Trinity College entrance. The story is that the statue of King Henry before was holding a scepter in his left hand and the globe with a cross on top on his right hand. But as the story goes, there came a time when ‘drunk’ students played a prank on this statue by the entrance and replaced the scepter with a leg of a stool. Hehehe… Anyway, this is also obviously an old building and you could even see the three coats of arms that is the symbol (or so) of the college. The clock design must also be standard before because this one looks almost the same with other clocks I’ve seen there, including that of the Big Ben.

The next picture is inside one of the two Catholic churches in town, and the nearest to where we were staying (meaning: probably a 20 minute walk). The design again, is very medieval with arches and ‘domal’ structure at the altar, heavy doors, simple wooden pews, exquisite wall carvings, and stained glass windows. How romantic but the one and only time Eden and I were able to get the schedule right and attend the mass, I was reminded that religion is really a big business enterprise. We went to mass to pray and listen to the word of God but what do we get during the Homily? Mostly a discussion of the church’s finances! We were pretty much disappointed so we consoled ourselves by drinking hot choco and checking our emails after the mass.
This next picture is a punting scene near the Bridge of Sighs. It is a big thing to learn how to punt or just to sit back in the punts during the summer although I think it is all year round, weather permitting. Lucky enough for me, I got to experience punting and even tried to go for one of their traditions where you reach up and go over a bridge and then jump back to the punt when it had finished crossing beneath the bridge. For the avid Amazing Race viewer, this scene might be familiar to you. This was one of the detours in one of the legs of the third season.

But what did we really do there? We did research. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the department where we’ve done our respective researches. (Why didn’t we take a picture of it, anyway?!) But let me tell you, I was happy staying at their library with their almost complete set of journals that runs from floor to ceiling (since I am petite, I always get a kick going up and down their footstools and ladders just to get to the journals I need!), very big tables or small tables set against a window or a heater, extra fluorescent lamps, automatic lighting system, free internet, do-it-yourself photocopy system, borrow-it-yourself system, and most of all, the enter- whenever -you- like- with- your- own- key system. I wish we have something like that here in our own department. It would truly make research more enjoyable.

Stroke or Stork?

A friend of mine who's studying in Japan told me of her Japanese lessons and her two other classmates, a Russian and Bulgarian. She was telling me that this Bulgarian was lambasting (her words, not mine) the Russian and their communist dream. I wondered whether she understood what they were saying because I remembered one funny dinner conversation we had with a Bulgarian...

We were having dinner one night at one of the restaurants in town. The table was like a United Nations, a gathering of people of different nationalities and one of them was this nice Bulgarian who looks like Santa Claus. At one point during the dinner, he was really excited talking about his son being in the rowing team. He said:

"It was really exciting. The boats just bum-ped each other most of the time! They have to take the best route down the river so they just bum-ped the other boats!"

Unfortunately, I wasn't used to his English yet so it took me a long time to understand what bum-ped means! Actually, it only means BUMPED. The second was this:

"Really, my time in the Philippines, it was really different. In the province, you can see there are jeeps running around, like kinks of the road! Really, kinks of the road. They even just run through the rice they are drying!"

Hmmm.. kinks of the road? Oh well, he just meant that the jeeps acted like they were the KINGS of the road. The last funny thing I remembered was this:

English girl: "So tell us about your tradition that's happening tomorrow!"

"Oh yes! We wear blue ribbon (I think that was blue, or was it red?) and then we send it off to the stroke for ... (I forgot what for...)..."

"What's a stroke?"

"Oh it's a kind of a bird! With long beaks (at this point he was demonstrating the length of the beak with his hands from his mouth)... You don't have it here in your country!"

"Oh, is it white? Long beak? (In the background: Yes, you don't have it here!")
Oooh, you mean STORK (in the best British accent I heard)?"

"Yes, yes, yes! A STROKE!"

Wow, all I can say is, Amazing! That dinner was really great! I miss that guy!

The End of Another Football Season

I woke up 12 mn Sunday evening just to watch the Finals of the World Cup 2006 between Italy and France. Earlier that day, I watched the replay of the third place match between Germany and Portugal. I was riding on high spirits that day, ever since Germany won 3-1. I know Germany is a great team but I was really impressed with what Portugal had shown that day. C. Ronaldo may not have scored but his skills are very apparent and very impressive. Anyway, it was really fun riding along with friends to watch the games first at Westin for the first half and then at Podium for the second half. At Westin, it was more of a French confederation while at Podium, it was Italian (or so).

The game was really great except for those first few minutes where there were a lot of fouls and sort of "injuries" incurred by some players. It was really frustating to watch that. But the best was when Zidane gave the first goal of the game on the 7th minute by penalty kick. Everybody on Westin were really having a great time except for this single Italian watching the game behind us. He was always muttering to himself and probably cursing everybody else there! Hehe

At Podium, it was a really different matter. Though the company was great, the screen was not. It was too small. For such small people like me and my friend, we had to stand on our toes just to get a good view. And there was this guy behind us, who keeps pestering us with "wash the time, wash the time?," as if he couldn't see it on the screen! We found out later that that guy was one famous actor that got drunk during the game!

Back to the game, my friend and I were really feeling that France will win until Zidane gave his now famous (or should I say 'infamous'?) head-butt! My friend was just saying a few seconds ago what a nice, clean player Zidane was and just suddenly, there it was on the screen, Zidane and the head-butt. It was really a bad end to a great career! I just hope he can defend himself when FIFA makes the investigation official.

In the end, Italy won by penalty kicks 5-3. But nonetheless, the game was great, the company even better. We went home at 5 AM amidst the cries of the French fans: Vive le France!

Well, I will see you in 2010, then. This time, Germany and Portugal will even be better!

By the way, the Adidas' Jose commercial is really great!

Wait Forever

On a day like this, with rain pouring outside, this song just really fits in.

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Wait Forever (Gary Valenciano)

Standing on a great divide
I feel the sudden need to fly
Underneath the open sky
And the river down below

I could keep on running now
I could keep on cheating death
and yet somehow
It all ends up the same
I don't want to be the one who's blamed

Because you see that I don't really have a choice at all
If only for a taste of flight
I'd gladly take the fall

So I say, I love you
I don't want to wait forever
Just to say, I need you
Doesn't even have to matter
If it really matters anything to you

And I'd gladly take this ride
Just as long as you are there on the other side
Not making sense at all
Of making sense of it all

So while I can , I'll take the chance
I'm diving in
If you need me, I will die
To feel alive again

I'm falling like I've never done so before
I'm flying against the wind
And here I go

So, I say I love you
I don't want to wait forever
Just to say, I need you
Doesn't even have to matter
I don't want to wait forever
So, while I can I'll take my chance
So, I'll say I need you
Doesn't even have to matter
When I say...
==========================

Lovely, isn't it? Great music, too!

Life is a Cartoon Strip

Peanuts and Hagar the Horrible. Two of the few cartoon strips I actually like. They are simple, witty and truthful. And most of the time, they just give me a really good laugh or quick smile.

Burden on My Shoulders

I arrived home very late last night. It was a very tiring day with work piling up on my desk like pancakes, stacked one after another. I was very frustrated because I couldn’t seem to prioritize any one of them, which would have been easy given any other day. I ended up starting all but not finishing any one of them. I was just ready to go home and start work on my thesis, which is the most important thing in my life right now, and the thing that is foremost in my mind. But before I could even grab my bag and leave the office, we were told to stay for an emergency meeting that ended up with us eating dinner at the office, discussing informally our supposedly ‘salary increase’ that is the cause for ‘unrest’ among other employees in the office, and me getting home late. Once I got into the taxi, I just couldn’t wait to get home and drop asleep the instant I hit the bed. But it was never meant to be. It was jus the beginning of another nightmare.

The house, for a long time, had needed a repair on the faucet. It was just my luck to have a landlady that has a compassion for tenants the size of a pea. It had been months since we last requested for a plumber who never arrived at all (calling all lawyers! Can I sue my landlady? I think there are provisions under the law for this aside from our immediate contract). I had to look for one myself and ended up with a plumber recommended by our lab driver. He said this plumber was a certified professional. I don’t doubt his credentials but with the way I am feeling right now? Well, he’s really a professional alright (Beep! Beep! Sarcastic mode). I specifically told my middleman that they were not, as in not, supposed to remove the faucet (as per my landlady’s orders) but to just close off the switch of the faucet that’s loose and install control valves under the sink on the two pipes. But hell, what did I see???? Not only was the faucet replaced by an ordinary one (which was the plan in the first place until the landlady told us not to remove the original), but one of the pipes under the sink was cut-off and closed-off by epoxy or something! The water wasn’t even running yet since the seal had to dry well before we could turn on the ‘newly installed’ faucet. We had to pay eight hundred pesos for the labor and materials (which by the way, we have no official receipt of purchase of) for a job that is not satisfactory to me. Where is the handy boyfriend when you needed one?! If I know plumbing, I would have done it myself and would even have done a better job of it. I even have a picture of the output in my mind and probably the idea of repair, the only problem was in the execution.

Another things that frustrated me was my housemate who was there when everything happened. I didn’t see him when I made the plans for the plumber to do the repair so I personally asked his sister to tell him about the coming plumber and the landlady’s instructions. Apparently, his sister did tell him that but he didn’t remember so he just let the plumber replace the faucet without even thinking, “Hey, wait a minute! Are we even supposed to remove the faucet? Are we allowed to do that? We are only renting this place!” But no, he didn’t ask! So, I ended up with a faucet I am not comfortable with because of the argument I will have with the landlady once she finds out what I have let done. The burden all falls down on me!

Most of all, I was disappointed with myself. I shouldn’t have depended too much on my middleman or my housemate. If I wanted a job done right, I should have been there to supervise the work. I should have put on more effort to contact my middle man before the job, to really make sure that he knows what I wanted done. I shouldn’t have depended on the middleman too much just because I knew him for years now. Oh, oh! And you know what happened to the original faucet? The plumber took it with him! I’ll get that back one way or another just for the spite of it. Professional, indeed (again, sarcastic mode)! It made me realize that we may not be an island but when it comes to things such as this, it’s better that you do it yourself, either the supervision or the execution! I learned a lesson last night but it was not the easy way. All I could do right now is let it go, face the landlady, and never do the same mistake again!

On Ref Magnets

I realized a while back that I never buy anything that would remind of the places I've been to the last couple of years. So I'm changing my game plan: I am collecting ref magnets! And to make up for lost chances, I am soliciting all my friends to bring home ref magnets for me. Luckily, most of my friends tend to travel because of the kind of work we do, especially the guys. I'm not picky. The ref magnets could be from some place local or from somewhere else. I'm currently waiting for some to arrive from Australia, US, Hong Kong, Italy, UK, Malaysia and General Santos City. My goal is to fill our refrigerator door with ref magnets. I love it because each has a story to tell.

Time

A reminder of time outside the Our Dynamic Earth Museum at Edinburgh, Scotland. I particularly like this because highlighted is the first thing I learned in my Geology class.

What I'd like to see

... for my country.

1. Good rail transit systems all over the country so that if I want to go to either Abra or Bicol, I will just have to hop on the next train.

2. Underground train system (like the Tube) all over Metro Manila. But for starters, please finish the MRT line going from North Avenue to Fairview.

3. A centralized bus system and very clean bus stations.

4. Cheaper airline tickets and more destinations.

5. Good road system (please fix the one that leads to the Bicol region, the one in Camarines).

6. Less shopping malls and more manufacturing establishments.

7. Increase of state subsidy on education. (Let's not use expired chemicals for our laboratory classes please.)

8. Improved language skills. Pinoys should be multi-lingual or mapag-iiwan din tayo balang araw ng China.

9. Good sewerage systems para wala nang baha lalo na kapag tag-ulan.

10. Efficient solid waste management.

11. Tourism that will truly cater to the Pinoys. Wouldn't it be nicer if Filipinos could enjoy the beauty of their country first? Meaning: affordable travel packages. Remember our minimum wage.

12. Government officials believing and trusting our own scientists first. Look at Al Gore. I've heard that he doesn't even have a science degree but hear him talk about global warming in the Philippines. As if he knows anything about what's going on here in the first place!

13. Acceptance of the mining industry. This is one way of alleviating our poverty.

I think there are still lots of other things that we want to see in our country in the future. Therefore, this list will be updated. You may add to the list if you want.

Richest, Poorest

... to see that the world is not equal after all.

Can NCR share its wealth with those in the southern regions? When will the fighting in the southern island stop so we can see progress. I grew up in Mindanao and it grieves me to hear that people are suffering there because of armed conflicts. Due to the constant fighting, innocent families become homeless. How can they help themselves when nobody's giving them the chance to live as they should, in peace? Mindanao is wealthy. Give it the chance to grow and someday, it will be more than what it should be.

Photo taken from Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Still in the Philippines

Looks like somewhere other than the Philippines, right? Wrong!
Isn't this beautiful?
It's a lonely seaside view of the Philippine Sea (not the Pacific Ocean)
in Sorsogon.

PS (again). I'm posting a lot of Sorsogon pics right now because for me, there are a lot of things beautiful in Sorsogon. I just wish I could see a Butanding soon.

Frescata

One of the very few reasons
why I would take any chance to go to the US

Yes, I have a weakness for sandwiches. I could last a couple of weeks without rice as long as there are sandwiches (or pizza). And this Frescata sandwich do sure looks yummy. According to Wendy's Philippines, they are currently awaiting the results of the US launch of this product. Hopefully, they can bring it here in the Philippines. Hmm... Why does it almost always have to be in the US? The first this, the first that. Can't they also launch it here? Many Pinoys also love to eat sandwiches aside from the rice.

Of Fulgoso and Marimar

Ever wondered about that dog, Fulgoso? Doesn't this one look like him? Or was Fulgoso a white dog? I couldn't help taking a pic of this stray dog while we were taking our lunch in one of the parks in Isabela. After walking the whole morning looking for an outcrop, we thought we needed a break. This dog thought the same too, probably after sniffing over some empty garbage cans around the park. How sad that this quite beautiful dog should have no home, like so many others. Ever wonder if you have a dog pound in your own town? The only dog pound I know is in Marikina. If we have one in each town, there won't be as much dogs running around as we have right now. There won't be dogs flattened by cars on the road, there won't be dog poo for any of us to step on, and best of all, those dogs deserving of a home will have a home. How I wish life could be that simple.

And Marimar? I just wish I could buy the telenovela's complete DVD set at Quiapo! It would be great watching the show that was a hit when you were in high school. And besides, I didn't get to finish the whole show. Waah!

PS (I can't stop writing a PS). The photo was taken when the Wowowee Stampede occurred.

Only in the Philippines

I love my country! It is sometimes the host of the weirdest, funniest and unusual things (well, unusual for non-Pinoys, perhaps). The photo was taken when we were on the road in Sorsogon, about to finish our survey of around the area. I just love this photo! We were trying to follow this tricycle (stacked over with another tricycle) so my labmate can just get a couple of pictures.

PS Thanks Wally for taking the picture. Well, what can we do? You were the one holding the camera!

Rain Furiously Falls

After a day out of the house, this is what we encountered on our way back home. Well, PAGASA did say we will encounter heavy rains most afternoons. Is it also true that we will have three typhoons this June? I could enjoy this weather if I'm at home and I don't need to go to work. I'll just curl up in my bed and read.... read.... read...

Hmmm... Speaking of reading, I have to finish reading my thesis journals first!

I miss playing soccer...

I miss playing soccer. I am not actually good at it but I’m okay. I like to play because it’s fun but most of all, because I get to spend some time with my friends and orgmates. Winning some games is just a big bonus. How I miss those times, especially now that my batchmates have gone and took jobs almost all over. No one’s going to wake me up very early in the morning anymore and ask “Gusto mo bang maglaro?” and I’ll miss the time when it would just rain suddenly and both teams would decide to play on, enjoying the rain more than the game? Hoping we could do this again… FRISBEE na lang! meron ako at di ko pa sya nate-test!

FIFA World Cup Mania

One of the reasons why I created this blog: to be able to post a lot of pictures! And this is one of those times! Ole, ole! The World Cup is here!!!

Go Brazil! Go Argentina! Go Germany!













Pretty colorful, isn't it! This is amongst my 'Things to Do Before I Die' list: to attend a World Cup Championship!

PS. I will need to look for pictures of Germany and Argentina to post here, though!

Photo credits: AP, Reuters and Yahoo!

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