West River Side

Driving to and from Makati has me experimenting new routes. I am always on the quest to discover new faster and better route than to bear more than an hour traffic in EDSA- with all the red lights looking back at you, it;s hard not to go insane and start ramming cars left and right from frustration. Aside from routes, there are actually days when there's minimal traffic and it's better to bring a car than suffer from unscrupulous cab drivers. I go to work from Monday to Friday hence the rush hour really applies to me especially when my road trip takes me from North to South on a daily basis. Here goes:  FROM QC TO MAKATI:  Route 1: (Araneta Ave - V Mapa - Zamora - Zapote - Ayala Extension) BEST ROUTE 1 HOUR from Banawe to Ayala corner Paseo Take Araneta Avenue (quite a long stretch depending on where you're from) and turn right to Aurora Blvd. Straight and turn left at the first corner (V. Mapa)  Turn right at the dead end this will lead you to a string o...

Life's been so hectic these days that weeks seem to fly by. The next thing I know, it's almost Chinese New Year and a year since my Dad passed away. On a lighter note, I'm so glad that the "extra work" is over - which basically means no more daily clearing, waiting for your turn (which never seems to happen) and weekends spent inside the office. But no matter what the outcome may be, I learned quite a lot from that experience. I can drive normally again (by normal I mean with a calm heart) since I got my driver's license yesterday! Yipee!

Despite working the weekend until the jittery bug presentation yesterday, I woke up early to renew my expired license - I have been driving my car for 2 days with an expired license since I really really had no choice. My aunt told us that if we want to renew our license, we had to line up as early as 7:30. I woke up at 7:30. hahaha... Finally, I decided to leave the house at 8:15 and slowly but surely drove to SM North EDSA. After encountering slight hicks in my trip - Baler was closed so I had to experiment taking another route by following random cars - literally until I found the street I was looking for - I finally made it there at 8:35AM. I also saw that there were NO LINES! and the place wasn't even open. After taking my time inside the car, I went down to the officeand passed by the Drug Exam place beside it - there were people there already so I hurriedly picked up a form and started filling it out. I was done so I just left it at the counter. The staff finally came ou...

I'm so busy these days that that I can hardly catch up with my emails when I saw the email from groupon from a couple of days back, I got excited. They were selling a cute limited edition red dragon usb for only 529 and I wanted one. So cute (hahahaha I get swayed by cuteness) anyway when I reached their website,turns out that it was already sold out! Since I'm quite persistent when I want to be, despite my busy schedule, I searched high and low on what other sellers or websites are offering the USB at the same price. Thankfully a few minutes later, I was able to find one and it was such a coincidence that the seller was my friend! Hahaha. Such a small world. I'm quite happy with my purchase. it's sch a cute addition to my desk - never mind the USB, I wouldn't want to lose one of its parts. Kingston limited edition dragon USB flash drive just in time for the Chinese New Year. *picture taken from another website - Sorry, just got mine today and I'm excite...

This morning, Mo Twister posted a question on-air. He asked everyone if there was something that you would stand in line and wait hours for. Thank God I was not the one driving because once i heard the question, answers kept cropping up. - 30 Seconds to Mars concert- 2 hours with only flimsy umbrellas to protect us from the harsh rain - Another 2 hours in line being moved from different places for the photo opportunity with Jared Leto! hahaha - Forever 21 opening in Megamall! - 3 hours of waiting time in the superbly long cashier queue back in the days of Mango sale 2005 - Oh Lord, I just remembered! Celebrity Louis Vuitoon Sale! I waited 2 hours for that and I wasn't able to get any. What a shame. I think I'm willing to wait in line for bargain deals and have the opportunity to be one of the first ones to choose.

My day started out well, I was still high from yesterday's positive comments and honestly, nothing  will get me down. Bring in all the work and it is okay. However, when I got home from work, one single phrase that I uttered change the ending of my day - unfortunately. I just said, Mom are you angry? The sentence before was I'm going out with Chris tomorrow = doomsday for me Well, I can say its my fault - for uttering the wrong phrase again! Needless to say, I've learned my lesson. Staying positive, D

This is the time to look back at all the things that happened in 2011 and make a new list for 2012. While this may be the most painful year so far, it also marks several milestones that I have accomplished. 2011 1. Drive on my own 2. Transfer to a new and challenging group 3. Buy a new car 4. Visit a new province - CamSur 5. Participate in something worthwhile - ICC 2012 1. Eat Less 2. Be happy and contented 3. Less moody 4. Comb my hair more 5. Be  a  game changer 6. Keep an open mind 7. Sustain writing 8. POSITIVITY!!! Before the clock strikes 12, we immediately switched on all the lights in our house. At the stroke of midnight, we were outside our house, watching the fireworks. I forgot to jump this year. Hahaha Happy New Year, D

December 24 started a little woozy, you see at one point last night, my fever reached 39.2 and my body hurt everywhere! I was really contemplating on cancelling the bridal shower for my cousin because 1. I may not feel well enough to host the shower 2. If ever I do host the shower with a slight fever, I may infect my cousin with fever and she had a flight to catch on Dec 26 Decisions, decisions. But thankfully, come morning, the fever was gone - viral fever only! I quickly got dressed and had breakfast with my mom at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Kim Po. Feeling a bit better, I decided to prepare for the bridal shower which was scheduled at 3PM. We finished breakfast, congee, and headed to Trinoma and prayed that I can hopefully find everything that I need. OKAY. I got this covered. I was a bit nervous, being December 24th and all, I was quite afraid of the Christmas rush. We arrived at the mall at 10AM and we actually waited outside the door before the mall opened and...

First of all, I am in no way, related to the owners of Pisobid.com at present (it's a small world after all) and I'm writing this blog because I like to analyze and figure out how things work :) I was reading through my Ymail when I saw this ad for Pisobid.com. The name caught my attention and all that was running through my mind was the thrill of bidding - Ebay alert hihihi. When the website opened, I saw that there were a lot of gadgets up for grabs, among the lot was an iPhone 4 which I really wanted but didn't have the heart to spend Php 40,000 for a cellphone. Upon closer inspection, they are giving away ipads, LV bags and GCs. Hmmmmm.... let's give it a try! I never did like reading instructions and policy agreements so I just purchased a 35 bids for Php 500 so that I can start bidding. It's actually pretty easy to bid, all it takes is a click of a button, money is gone. HAHAHA In the pisobid, you actually use real money to buy bid, in this case, 1 bid ...

A exchange of vows by Lennox and Nel ... A full whimsical themed wedding ... ... a couple watching TV cake topper ... a home video of the couple dancing to the tune of Party Rock Anthem ... a rock-on bride and groom entrance ... tons of videos - i lost count at 5 ... wedding game ans cellphone give-away ... the intricate beadwork of the dresses the only traditional part was the food - 9 courses of Chinese food at none other than Gloria Maris at Greenhills.

A throng of AE's rush by as we near the long weekend, I can only see them move but not hear what they said. I was in a place where I was envisioning what and how we can decorate our big room to recreate Peter Pan for our annual Halloween decor competition - then everything fell into place. If I can picture it in my mind, then I can re-create it :) I have always enjoyed decorating rooms, I think my mom's passion for decorating has rubbed off on me. Creating, decorating styling has always been my main passion, this year will not be any different. Since we had a big U-shaped room full of office desks (DUH! offices should have that) it was kind of difficult to manage along with people's workload on top of decorating. After brainstorming with the team and filtering some basic ideas, we finally have the final concept: IMAGINE Along with Wendy, John and Michael, get to travel with them as they go to Neverland! When you enter through the door, you are invited to the room of the Da...

I was so excited. This was the first wedding amongst my cousins from the mother side and the first time to reunite - glamorously that is - with cousins I seldom see. The wedding reception was held in Annapolis Seafood Palace - a flurry of videos and food overload to cap the night off. Here's to happily ever after. :) Best wishes to Hubert and Joanne! Red Herring (dress), Vintage Oleg Cassini shoulder bag (carried as a clutch), Ann Taylor pumps (shoes) A gathering of beautiful cousins :)

Just before the crack of dawn, I woke up bright and early, took a bath and prepared for the drive to Makati. What usually takes me an hour to an hour and a half took only thirty minutes with parking and all to reach the meeting point. BUT, had I known that the college students would be late, I would have left at a later time!!! I was in the lobby patiently waiting at 5:30AM and the bus left at 8AM! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. More than 2 hours is enough for people to cry out in frustration! Thankfully, the time passed by quickly due to panic- for some backward reason, I don't have the numbers of my other teammates so I was patiently waiting while looking out for the bus. Four hours and some heavy rain later, we finally arrived at Bataan. I even bought rain boots the day before to prep for this day, unfortunately, it was not put to good use but instead as an added weight to my already heavy backpack. What I thought would be an easy trip to the mangroves (with me thinking the buses would dro...

I can still hear the instrumental bridal march ringing in my ears as the Church doors swung open to reveal a shadow, standing in the bright sunlight. All eyes were focused on her, all breaths were held, it was as if time stopped still. As she slowly walked down the aisle, I saw my friend looking divine in her white dress. A tear escaped my eyes as I see a vision in white with her parents and even more so when I saw all the love in the world in the groom's eyes - the second aisle suddenly turned into ladies in royal blue with tear stricken eyes. I can still remember the moment as if it were yesterday, my friend for the past ten years, got married to her boyfriend for ten years during their tenth year anniversary. A perfect ten, one might say. Rewind to 10AM earlier that day, I was a nervous wreck for some reason. It felt like as if I was the one getting married. It didn't help that I had to drive from my house to Alabang by myself (Note that I just started driving long distance ...

Hahaha. Somehow, saying/writing apple apps makes me laugh. :) Anyway, here's a rundown of my current favorite apps: - Pic Stitch (Collage made easier) - PopBooth (photobooth with customized lenses) - Sosocamera (process pictures in four quadrants) - Dermandar (360 panorama and it's free) - Cartoonatic (cartoonized pictures and video) - Chic Feed (One stop app for fashion) - Stanza (Read epub, word and pdf) April Post of favorite apps

I have always been wary of telemarketers even since I fell for the free insurance scam - Yes, I was a victim of time, unfortunately. They called my Dad up for free insurance and being the dutiful daughter who happens to work in Makati, I decided to drop by. I was ushered in to a room filled with other victims and then they explained that they are raffling off insurance policies. After I picked up a slip of paper from the roulette, they whisked off the slip of paper and told me they will process the papers. While waiting, they tried to sell me a new insurance policy and gave me time to review time of new policy. I didn't bother to review. (Hello, at my age, insurance was the last thing on my mind.) After what seemed like an hour, I followed up the free insurance only to be given a handwritten name (fill in the blanks generic format) insurance. The name was incorrectly spelled and on crap paper and crappier envelope. The service plummeted from then on. I showed myself out the door a...

10 Stories Beautifully Told with Animated Typography [VIDEOS]

Another bright Monday morning. Never mind the traffic. It's always traffic in Manila. I learned a lot of new things this morning and was inspired. We should all learn self-control. Be a thermostat than a thermometer. We should look at long term value than short term. Success should not be based on the material things that we have. We should not attach value to material things. There is no shortcut to success, it's all about the process more than the success. We should all be life-long learners. We should wake up early and walk fast. Excellence should be a way of life,in family career and love. There is only one life to live, Live everyday as it were your last. Make today better than yesterday. Gratitude can make you appreciate the little things in life. Awareness leads to having a great sense of direction, motivation and appreciation. Life is not about chances. It's about choices.Your life right now is all about the choices you've made. Rich people challenge and keepon ...

Christopher LAO video goes viral. It is currently the number one trending topic on Twitter. Not to mention, a lot of FAKE Chris Lao accounts have cropped up. Poor guy. FEARLESS FORECAST: Everytime it rains, Chris Lao's name will crop up. Tweet from FAKE NOYNOY : Chris Lao, there is a 2.4CM flood in Espana. You are now informed.

Sunday is normally the R&R day but I committed to go to a children's brithday party so I had to go. Initial plan was to drive all the way to Wack Wack Golf and Country Club but I actually didn't know how to go home from there. So my brother dropped me off instead. When I arrived, they were saying grace, the party just started! The place was packed. It had around 14 tables and filled with people, and kids running around. I dropped off my gift at the entrance and was lost in a sea of unfamiliar faces and pink-ness! Finally, I was able to get a seat. I was in the same table with three kids and they all were playing with an ipad each and since the parents were all busy attending to their kids, I just ate - a small cup of congee, a piece of pandesal, a slice of ham, and some dessert - Halo-Halo With no one to talk too I was bored and way out of my comfort zone. If only I had a kid to babysit. So I asked the country club receptionist to get me a cab. It was raining and the place ...