West River Side

What a way to usher in another week with a crazy monday morning commute. My commute would normally start with being dropped off at the Quezon Ave MRT station then sharing a cab with 4 or 10 strangers to Makati. But this morning was my last and hopefully the best presentation of my life, so I wanted to be a bit early so i can compose myself before the meeting starts. After all we were under probation and we needed to step up. I didn't want my last remaining weeks to be a train wreck! I woke up at 6:30Am, actually I was awake at 6am but I wanted to lie down a bit more, left the house at 7:10Am, was at the MRT by 7:25AM. I actually skipped four trains before taking the next one because the train simply couldn't fit more passengers. The passengers from North Ave were more than enough to fill the train. The fourth train was stuck in Quezon Ave for quite sometime. There was a defective train in Kamuning because passengers kept shoving at the doors. Hence, they had to unload. I was qu...

Another Saturday at Chic-Boy My uncle was getting hyped up from all my auntie's stories of our dinner in Chic Boy last saturday so after mass, he invited us to Chic-Boy for dinner. The first time in Chic-Boy , I was quite famished so I'm pretty sure everything would taste fantastic. I'm glad Chic Boy did not disappoint the second time around. POSITIVE: 1. It was good to know that Chic Boy participated in Earth Hour. I spent the last couple of hours yesterday hearing my officemates negotiate packages for Earth Hour. And it would be such a pity to let all their efforts go in vain simply because establishments ignore a simple plea to get people to think about climate change. The staff properly informed all the tables that they were participating in the Earth Hour and as such would switch off lights from 8:30-9:30PM 2. Their pork BBQ tasted better this week than last week. 3. The staff is still friendly 4. They freely offer a second helping of rice - some resto would say they ...

As I write, the Sweet Valley jingle is playing loudly in the background. Almost every girl I know has somehow, one way or another, read or saw a Sweet Valley book. A lot may have changed over the years but nothing brings the NOSTALGIA back than Sweet Valley. I have spent countless hours, reading and re-reading Sweet Valley books from Kids to University and in a couple of days, the first book that takes place ten years later is about to be released! I remember back when I was in Grade School, the Sweet Valley twins visited our school! I was so ecstatic! I bought posters and caps to be signed by them. God knows where they are now. Oh my, I think I even had my picture taken with them! hahaha :D March 29, 2011 - an epic day in the lives of the tweens and teens in the 80s and 90s. Who's your favorite twin? Jessica or Elizabeth? Mine's Elizabeth. :D Here's a teaser from the book : ================================================================== CHAPTER ONE New York Elizabeth ha...

We can finally go home in a couple of days! I do miss going home. Since we bought most of the contents inside our refrigerator to my Grandma's house, we were running low on supplies. We had to take pit stops in different markets to stock up. First up, the wet market. And look at the goodies we found! Twin bananas We also passed by a Korean supermarket and I saw almost all of the grocery items I bought in Korea. Here's the Ginseng Chicken I bought. Snacks galore Melon ice cream the store also came with a cute Korean kid who was playing with barley. we also stopped by another supermarket and bought snacks. Tostitos ;D So many hotdogsto choose from! My stash and impulse buy for the day. A Korean snack which I'm unsure whether it's cheese or sausage but I still couldn't figure out which after eating the lot. Not cheap too. Set me back Php 70 for the small stick. I still prefer going to the supermarket where it's cleaner. Although the wet market had fresh stuff, I ha...

Chic-Boy Chicken and Baboy - the latest resto to hit the Metro with it's rapid expansion. There are two branches nearby that I pass by - every single day. One in Roosevelt and the other in West Ave. There signboard says: Cebu Lechon Manok, Cebu Lechon Liempo and Chicken Inasal We ordered the following (prices in parenthesis): Pork BBQ (99), Cebu Liempo (?), Cebu Chicken (210), 2 Kang Kong (30), Diniguan (?), Calamares (150) My brother had a hard time deciding what to get because they all look mouthwatering! The interiors reminded me of Mang Inasal (table set-up) and Gerry's Grill (design) Their very own lechon sauce - which we didn't use. We didn't want to expire from high cholesterol! The best thing about the resto is the BBQ - hands-down. So juicy and tender. I'm craving for it as I write this. As in! The calamares (squid) is not bad either. Crunchy on the outside, warm and moist inside. We were quite hungry that I didn't have time to take the picture of the w...

A company that is worth working for and buying stuff from. Taken from Kevin Rose's Blog : Dear Alex L, David, & Kevin, Hi this is XXXXX in Japan. As you all must have heard, the 5th largest earthquake in recorded history hit us on Friday, 2:30pm Japan Time. As Alex often says on TWiM, stories on the ground are often quite different from the stories in the news, and there is a tech story that I'd really like to tell: the story of Apple Inc in Japan. Full disclosure: I work at Apple at one of its stores in Japan. The earthquake hit while I was working on the first floor of one of their stores. As the entire building swayed, the staff calmly led people from the top 5 floors down to the first floor, and under the ridiculously strong wooden tables that hold up the display computers. 7 hours and 118 aftershocks later, the store was still open. Why? Because with the phone and train lines down, taxis stopped, and millions of people stuck in the Tokyo shopping district scared,...

Horrifying. At 1 minute and 25 seconds, there is a person struggling to go up as the tsunami water is rushing up behind him. A few seconds before he escaped, waters engulfed the place where he stood a couple of seconds earlier. Meanwhile on the other side of the world, I'm sure rebels are pissed by their lack of media coverage from CNN and BBC World.

I have been receiving text messages that says: Nuclear Power Plant in Fukumi japan was in blast 4:30PM. If it rains tomorrow or later, don't go outside. if you are outside, be sure you have rain protectors. ACID RAIN yun. Don't let it touch you. You may burn your skin, lose hair or have cancer. Please pass. And an email was circulated in the office: Japan government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions. Remain indoors 24 hours. Close doors and windows. Swab neck skin with betadine where thyroid area is, radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precaution, radiation may hit Philippines starting 4pm today. Please inform/send to your loved ones. The email is more believable since the radiation leak is iodine which does affect thyroid. From wikipedia: the thyroid gland or simply, the thyroid, is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body. The thyroid gland is found in the neck, inferior to (below) the thyroid ca...

Dad, I miss you terribly. If only I can turn back time and change things I would have. But sadly, I can't turn back time. Time flew by too fast for you. Today is your 40th day. I hope you're with Jesus and in his Heavenly Kingdom. Keep me in your prayers, Dad.

It is finally happening. After six years with the same group, a new opportunity has opened up. I really don't know if I forced it to be or the Universe conspired and things seems to be falling into place. It is all happening really fast, like a ball up a hill, once it starts rolling, it's kinda hard to stop it from going. In a span of 3 days, boom! Answers left and right. direction, inspiration, igniting the passion. A letter on Thursday, several chats with a couple of people on Friday and a text on Saturday. Nowhere to go but up, baby. :) I'm praying that this is the right way. Wish me luck, Universe!

OMG! My favorite country has been hit by an 8.9 earthquake, followed by a 4 meter high tsunami! What is happening to the World? I feel like the world is ending! I pray for all the Japanese people who were affected by the earthquake and tsunami! Tsunami warnings issued in the Philippines: Batanes, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Quezon, Aurora, CamNorte, Camsur, Albay, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, N. Samar, E. Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Surigao del Sur & Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur Phivolcs: Tsunami alert level 2 raised expected to arrived at 5-7pm UNBELIEVABLE! Reports have emerged of a 33ft tsunami smashing into the port in the country's Sendai city, while cars, trucks, houses and buildings were swept away by a 13ft wave in Onahama city. Deaths have been reported following the earthquake, which has obliterated Tokyo's Disneyland car park Large aftershocks continue to hit the capital of Tokyo, following a quake so strong it was felt 1,500 miles away in the Chinese cap...

Yesterday, I took a BIG leap. I have finally decided - whether or not there is something out there for me. At least I took a step. Here's to the new me :) On a side note, Donna had Lucky Me Pancit Canton for breakfast. Okay, the TVC served it's purpose.

I was moved by this video. I saw the passion and sincerity in his work. Watch: I have been looking for something that will ignite my passion for work. Or to have an answer to the big What and Where? Actually, I envy him. hahaha

I was surprised when I saw this lady bring out a huge magnifying glass and peer at her cellphone for several occasions. I thought she was just trying out her magnifying glass. After all I did see my Uncle use the magnifying glass on his cellphone. Well, to each his own. What is your favorite cellphone?

They say that the best things in life are free. I say its FREE FOOD! :) I met up with Sarah for lunch to discuss her wedding details. It's been a long time since we saw each other and I have yet to know the details on her proposal down to my role as MOH. We had a long lunch at Amici in Ayala Triangle. Normally when we go to Amici, we have a hard time getting seats because the place is quite packed during lunch. Thankfully, Sarah's Dad knows the manager and we could reserve a seat. We had the Spinach Lasagna for lunch (my favorite) to add to the lovely meal, the manager gave us free ice cream! Oh, I love it! :D At 6pm, we were surprised when Eds and pinky came in toting two bags from Yellow Cab. Eds decided to treat us to Yellow Cab as a post birthday celebration. The chicken wings were so yummy! Yellow Cab Pizza - the best! Therefore I conclude, MONDAYS wont be blue, if we have free food to chew :)

If you happen to be in Quezon City, I suggest you take a trip to Manila Seedling Bank. It's located in a small street, quite hard to see unless you are in front of the sign but there is literally a whole block of landscapers and pocket gardens. A feast for the eyes! There were so many things to capture that it's hard to walk the whole stretch. Since Manila Seedling is near SM North Edsa, we decided to make a quick stop at The Block to walk around. I like this Toyota SUV in Toy kingdom. But that'll set me back around Php7,000! How adorable are these Hello Kitty Toys? Finally, earphones that look like earrings! The things you see in a children's toy store. It's fun being a kid again. Manila Seedling Bank is an environmental NGO (non-governmental organization) that was founded in 1977 initially as a seedling producer. Now it continues to be a strong and dedicated partner in saving the environment Visit Manila Seedling Bank at Quezon Avenue Extention Corner E. DeLos San...