Sunday was a family day

My dad's cousin, Tito Dey, was in town for a brief visit. So we all met up at Ninang Zeny's place for a brief family reunion.


Like every family reunion, even if this one is almost impromptu, super daming food. My dad prepared karekare and kilawin, while my sister made the crabs and the sugpo with garlic and butter.

eyesore or eyecandy?

First saw this huge billboard in Guadalupe a few weeks ago. My jaw literally dropped coz I thought it was some Brazilian model. Si Sergio, este, si Dingdong lang pala. Hehehe. It immediately reminded me of an article in the Plaridel journal that discussed the semiotics of Bench Underwear billboards. But don't worry, I will not get into that.

Eyesore?
The thing is sort of facing the San Carlos seminary so medyo alangan ang dating. As my friend Chetski phrased it -- "mahalay" yung billboard. Hehehe.

Eyecandy?
You can't help but stare at it when you pass the Guadalupe area. Sabi nga ni Cheeky Girl, lahat ng mga babae sa MRT nakalingon dun pag dumadaan na dun ang tren. Hehehe. The funniest thing I've read about the billboard was a tabloid writer saying that marami na daw bading ang nalaglag sa tulay ng Guadalupe dahil dun.

x marks the spot

OMG!!! Tapos na pala ang production ng sequel, wala akong idea na sinimulan na pala last year pa! Folks, you know where I will be on July 25, 2008.

Happy Anniv

Was my parents' wedding anniversary two days ago. We tried looking for a place to eat in Serendra but the restos we wanted to try were full na -- on a weekday ha! Ang daming tao! Tapos na kasi ang Holy Week so I guess most kids are on vacation na. Anyway, we had no choice but to cross to Bonifacio High Street. Ended up eating at New Orleans Bar and Grill (I think that was the name). Okay naman ang food -- Cajun menu siyempre. Most of us had beef -- baby back ribs. I had baked and blackened chicken. Para maiba. Hehehe.


First time namin sa resto kaya kodakan to the max kami. Everyone was eager to participate -- para daw sa blog ko. Awww... I'm touched. Hehehe.

salamat talaga

Sobrang thank you to my friend Balb and her friend who gave me these discs via Balb's mom and our friend Chetski. Marami talagang mabait na tao sa mundo. Paano ko kaya masusuklian ang kabutihang ito?

summer na!

I'm back! Sorry for the 2-week absence, folks. We cannot get internet access for mysterious reasons and we had to wait for IT people to check our PC. Simple lang pala ang problema --- but it wasn't simple for non-techie folks like me. Hehehe.

Pictured above is one of my mom's gumamela flowers in our terrace. The flower's gone now sa sobrang init dito sa Pinas but nevertheless, iconic ang dating ng flower na iyan ha, summer na summer na talaga.

dog's best friend

Boss Man's Holiday

Haven't seen my former boss, Leo, for about 4 years but now I've seen him twice in two weeks! Bullied by his former marketing girls (that's me, Ee ya kin and Amazing Beth) to give a birthday blow-out, ex-bossing Leo gamely treated us to his favorite pizzaplace, Shakey's (the new branch in E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave in QC seems to be their classiest branch). He brought a bottle of red, while Ee ya kin provided the cake.

Ee ya kin, back from the outback!

Old favorites - chix and mojos, thin-crust Hawaiian pizza


When I got home a few hours later, my dad also came home -- carrying Shakey's thin-crust Hawaiian pizza, chicken and mojos. Buti na lang hindi ako nag-take-out.

Fish be with you

Yup, may Oceanpark na dito sa Pinas. Had its soft opening last weekend. Kahit na yung Oceanarium pa lang ang bukas (the hotel, the mall and other interactive stuff later this year pa raw bubuksan), go na rin kami. Much to our dismay, talagang under construction pa ang lugar. Strange nga at open to the public na eh. But we were there to see some fish, kaya game pa rin kami.



Big tank for the big, long fish. Forgot to ask what the fish was. The others in the tank are merpeople (joke!) -- darn their reflections.


Multi-level aquariums outdoors. Good use of a relatively small space. Nice.


A personal first. Held a starfish in my hand! Was scared that I'd be hurting it but the guide said it was fine as long as I didn't lift it out of the water. Made sure I held it gently though.


Loved this huge Japanese spider crab. Look at the size of this one!


Bawal ang flash photography inside the halls. Good thing I still got good pictures of some strange water creatures. Marami pang hindi ko nakunan ng maganda sa lagay na yan ha.




A first in the Philippines -- a tunnel aquarium. Kakatuwa that we have something like this here already.

And the winner for best underwater cinematography is...

The biggest tank in the place naturally had the biggest "pagis"

Look at the tail on this one.

A tank of pagi up on the roof. Something you don't see everyday.

Huge tank of "patings". Siyempre, I had to hum the Jaws theme.

Was about to look for the exit when the guard told us to check out the 2nd level. Yun pala, only the top side of the "pating" and "pagi" aquarium ang makikita so far. Fancy seafood restaurant and souvenir shop still under construction. Great bay view though.

There was a 3rd level pa but the stairway wasn't accessible pa. Great view of the bay on our way out of the oceanarium. Construction of the mall and boutique hotel made the hallway quite dusty.

Sa December na siguro ang balik namin dito -- when everything's done and open na talaga. With the steep price of the entrance tickets, we have no choice anyway. Hehehe.

dibidi! dibidi!

Astrovision at the Podium had an amazing video sale last Sunday. Got to buy about 5 DVDs (some are boxed sets) for P1,125!!! One of the great buys I got was this boxed set of Back to the Future 1 to 3 for only P400! Super worth it kasi loaded ng special features ang bawat DVD. Love it!