West River Side

Okay, I decided to play with my ipod touch app and at the same time reminisce my adventures in Japan. Cold weather and Hello Kitty = love love love!!!

I miss travelling. I was supposed to go to 2 trips this first quarter of 2011 but since my Dad passed away, I cannot travel and leave my mom by herself.

Aside from Manny Pacquiao and Charice, another Filipino is taking the stand. Thia Megia in American Idol Season 10! A little searching got me this. Turns out Thia Megia was a breakout star from America's Got Talent and was part of David Foster and friends concert in Vancouver. A clip from Balitang America where Thia performs her own song.

The top 24 results of American Idol Season 10 1. James Durbin 2. Karen Rodriguez 3. Robbie Rosen 4. Tim halperin 5. Julie Zorrilla 6. Scotty McCreery 7. Rachel Zevita 8. Lauren Alaina 9. Stefano Langone 10. Brett Loewenstern 11. Thia Megia 12. Casey Abrams

Was in a meeting almost the whole day, the meetings being scheduled 2 hours apart. First meeting started at 10am and concluded at 1pm and the second started at 3pm. Since it was too much of a hassle in the two hours to go to Makati and back, I stayed in Robinson's Pioneer to kill time. What I really don't like about going to the Manda office? Taking the tricycle! Boni Ave is quite polluted and when you're on a tricycle, you are bathed in pollution. Since I had a gap in between meetings, I had to take the tricycle three times! The first on my way to the 10AM meeting. I had to ride on the motorcycle. The second to have lunch in Robinson's Pioneer and the third on my way to the 3PM meeting. Ha! If not for my clients, I wouldn't want to take the tricycle that many times in a day in office attire! The things I do for my client! :)

A lot of things have changed since I came back and a new restaurant has opened in Greenbelt 5. Toast Box! This is not my first time to dine in Toast Box. They have a branch in Trinoma. My favorites are Milo Dinosaur, Kopi Teh and Kaya Toast. But I have never tried their meal sets yet. Tower of Butter So for lunch, we all went there to sample their lunch offerings. Each of us ordered a different thing from the menu and we were able to cover all from sandwiches to Nonya Laksa. Naturally being a newly opened restaurant, the queue was a bit long and there were only few seats left. The six of us had to sit in separate tables because of the lack of group seating inside. ORDERS: Finjane had a tuna sandwich which was so-so (nothing special) Donna, Rommel and April ordered Haianese Chicken which they say is ever better than the ever famous Wee Nam Kee in West Triangle Noj had a bibimbap I ordered their Nonya Laksa I was quite disappointed with my order. Even after adding a couple of tablespoons...

Spas and massage places are sprouting everywhere. Simply drive by D.Tuazon and you'll know what I'm talking about. I used to be happy that there are more affordable options available now but when I stop to think about it, I realize that the demand for massage places is increasing. Simply put, more and more people are getting stressed out and I was one of them. So when Sustagen Premium's Body Age Challenge booth visited TEC, my officemates and I eagerly took the test. The Body Age Test uses a Heart Wizard which tells you to follow the pacer when breathing in and out for one minute. At the back of our minds, we all wanted to be younger than our calendar age. Lo and behold, my body is actually older than my real age!!! I have a three year gap!!! Oh no! Did something go wrong? Did the Body Age Assistant's chatting and basically no briefing on what to do lead me to this? Haha... I will not pass the blame. :D So when the "nutritionist" briefed me about the do's ...

*Ama means Grandmother in Chinese Losing my dad has taught me to celebrate everyday as if it were your last and really celebrate and enjoy one’s birthday. Tomorrow is my grandmother’s birthday and instead of being sad, we celebrated her birthday a day early. If Actors and actresses can celebrate their birthday for one whole month, then I'm sure someone who reached more than seventy years old can celebrate a day in advance. After all, everyone has something to be thankful for each day. Another chance at life, another shot at conquering the world. We celebrated this momentous event (not everyone has the privilege to live at 70+) at Shangri-La in Times Street corner West Avenue . We used to go to Shangri-La every weekend when we were young. For us, it was the best Chinese restaurant in Quezon City . Their sweet and sour pork was the best we have ever tasted. My grandfather used hand signals to order because we were patrons of the resto. But over the years, the food did ...

a hectic Sunday it is! Woke up at 6:30AM to be early for this year's round of blood test and ultrasound. We were done by 10Am (finally!) When we got back to my grandmother's place, we got a call from my uncle who is due back to the States, inviting us over for lunch. Since we only see him once in a couple of years, and he came back just to see my Dad, we had to go to the send-off lunch. Lunch consists of Lechon Cebu (suckling roasted pig) Lechon originated from the spanish term leche - Melts in your mouth succulent pork meat Pancit Malabon Pancit Malabon is a stir-fried noodle dish, which originated in Malabon City, Philippines. It has a yellow-orange color due to a sauce that includes patis (fish sauce) and crab fat. Toppings may include fresh shrimp, squid, oysters, and hard-boiled duck or hen eggs, as well as pork or chicharon ( dried then fried pork rinds) View from the 5th floor. Their Ashitaba plants Ashitabas are seen as a major contributor to the supposedly healthier, e...

... ever since I came back (five days after my dad's internment), there were a lot of changes around me. On the way to work, the aircon jeep fare is now at Php 13, traffic is as horrible as ever. Flat rate of taxi's is now at Php 40. Inside the building the decor was for Valentines Day. Our floor smells like flowers and after a few days the smell of decaying flowers - reminds me of my dad's wake. In my area, the first thing I noticed was the overdue stack of Summit magazines that were waiting to be read. Under my table was a belated birthday gift from TV5. Our office CR now has 2 doors before we can enter not to mention the cabinets in the hallway have been cleared. There is a round table in the lobby. Work-wise even more. There is a stand for block buys and not to mention the program changes that happened in a few short weeks. The segment has started on the day of my return. but good to note that the goodie bags are still there. If they don't get picked-up, more for us...

For more than a week now we have been in agony. Days seem to trudge by slowly and it seems that the wait will never be over. In that one week, we have speculated, deducted, attempted, concluded, discarded and made fun of whatever that 9.6CM is. Little did we know that it was laughing at us. January 25, 2011 The results of the 2 CT scans were in and we were dreading the results. At the back of our minds, we all hoped that the result would be a bunch of worms who are hungry. I stayed in our office that dreary Tuesday morning. I think the weather was a reflection of how our feelings were. By 1pm, my parents came back from the testing and we were waiting for immunology and alpha beta test results before going to the doctor. 1:30PM The results were in. Immunology results were at 58. Normal was below 19. Something is terribly wrong. My dad was too weak to make the trip to the doctor. We decided that my mom and I would go to the doctor and I will drive. Before we left it was dr...

January 16, 2011 I was sound asleep one Sunday morning and I woke up with my mom shaking me and crying at the same time. They went to Hi-Precision for their yearly check-up and the radiologist discovered a 9.6cm mass in my Dad’s liver. My mom feared the worse. The radiologist asked my mom to go to consult a doctor. 9.6cm is bigger than the size of an ear ad. 9.6cm is the size of a big fruit. We were really afraid. I saw my dad cry quietly in the corner. I was in denial but I couldn’t help crying by myself in the bathroom. The liver is the second largest organ in the body. It controls the flow of blood to the rest of the body and the liver is hard to treat. Panic set in. It couldn’t be. We couldn't believe the results that we were seeing. My dad doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, nor does he eat fatty food. He watches his weight and exercises daily. I feared the worst. We all feared the worst.

It has been more than a month since I last posted. You see, a life-altering event happened in my life. And everything happened within a month. The anxiety, depression, joy, hope and the roller coaster of emotions, all encapsulated in one month. I used to say that a day just flies by but now, days seem to drag on as if tomorrow is still light years away. But, I will be STRONG. I will be strong for my mom and brother and relatives who are still with me and who have my back. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe in the future, I will look back at all this and realize God's plan for me.