quick pic: glutton

Next to lust, gluttony is my favorite sin. haha!

MOU: mall of uyanguren

this afternoon, as i was walking around uyanguren on my way to buy supplies, i saw a couple of my age. the guy was sporting a hiphop get-up while the girl was wearing a straight-jacket skimpy shirt and an ultra-mini-skirt.

and while the guys arm was around her waist, the girl asked, “unsa ning lugara dire?” (whats the name of this place?) referring to DCLA, a bargain haven of everything that is china-made. theyve got everything you need, everything you want, and anything you can think of -- and not think of. yup, God created the world, and the rest is made in china.

but even before the guy had the chance to answer...she blurted out, “ahhhh SM!!!”

ting!!!

what?!? since when did Henry Sy erected a mall in the middle of uyanguren???

after the ting sound effects faded in my mind, i immediately looked her way and saw her staring at a sign which says:

KSM Enterprise.

KSM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But actually shes got a point. SM may lack some items on their racks but DCLA definitely got it all for you.

tweets

*two of my bestfriends are sick. CJ and Jeric both have flu-like symptoms. A(H1N1)??? I dunno. hope not! But the two of them are already on house arrest...err...i mean self quarantine. and the last time ive heard, spc already have 3 positive cases. yikes! ima need to boost my immunity.

*had a dose of my guilty-pleasures yesterday... cheeseburger + large fries + large coke. burp!

*i was on an impulsive-buyer-mode this afternoon. dont know why, maybe because i was hungry and tired. whattalamereason!!! LOL. lately, ive been lookin for some plain tees. any color as long as its plain and simple. and this afternoon, i was store-hopping AGAIN in the mall. and i saw this plain white vneck shirt. i so love vneck. it makes me look taller! haha!

see! i told ya ima make more posts like this. LOL.

good buys

yesterday, i accompanied CJ to shop at SM. being madly in love with the Philippines and being Filipino, she was so envious with my havaianas with the Philippine flag on it and the iconic jeepney. and so she got herself a pair too.

she also looked around for some new outfits. maybe something she can wear in Finland... or maybe something for Manila or Palawan... Ima tell you the details about that soon.

shes asking me for some fashion advice. i dunno if i should be flattered or what. hehe.. so we dropped by every store in SM in search for something...anything...that she likes...and that i like...that will look good on her.

after hours of flipping clothes and fitting em, she was able to buy a nice hooded black shirt/blouse for less than 400 bucks from bench.

but of course i couldnt help it but to try some stuff as well. for example...

nice shirt right? it looks like im layering two shirts but actually its just one. so love it, it totally matches my vans. but i didnt get it. had so much purchases lately. LOL

and speaking of vans... im so loving my new pair of vans.matched with my jeans-turned-shorts.

gonna make more posts like these in the future. watchout. hehe

dejavu

YUP, IT SURE DOES FEEL LIKE ONE.

JUST LIKE BEFORE, IT WAS CJ WHO DROPPED THE BOMB. BUT NOW, IT WOULD BE HER WHO WILL BE LEAVING. SHE WILL BE LEAVING FOR FINLAND SOON TOGETHER WITH LUCKY AND LR.

HONESTLY, I AM QUITE HAPPY FOR THEM. BUT OF COURSE, I CANNOT DENY THE FACT THAT I AM DISAPPOINTED. FOR THE SECOND TIME, STILL NO TEDPEN ON THE LIST.

I AM GLAD FOR CJ ALSO CONSIDERED MY FEELINGS. “BITTERSWEET”, SHE SAID. BUT I DONT REALLY LIKE TO DWELL ON THE NEGATIVE. I TOLD HER TO JUST BE HAPPY AND CELEBRATE FOR THEY HAVE THE RIGHT AND THEY TOTALLY DESERVE IT.

NOW WHAT? I DUNNO.

I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW MY PARTNER IN CRIME IS LEAVING. CJ HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE IN TIMES I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO. CJ FILLS UP MY WEAKNESSES THE WAY I FILL UP HERS. WE WORK LIKE A WELL-OILED MACHINE.

I FEEL LIKE IM GONNA LOSE A LIMB. NAKS! WEVE ALWAYS MADE PLANS TOGETHER. AND TOGETHER WE ACCOMPLISH OR FAIL THEM. THROUGH GOOD AND BAD TIMES – CJ WAS THERE. WEVE ALWAYS SHARED JOY, CONVERSATIONS, LAUGHTER AND A LOT MORE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE SHARE THE SAME WAVE LENGTHS.

I GUESS I HAVE TO FACE THE UNCERTAINTIES ALONE. I HAVE TO BE STRONG AND STEADFAST. MAY GOD GRANT ME THE DIRECTION AND GUIDANCE I NEEDED. GODSPEED!

going once... going twice...

BUSINESS IS TOUGH. IT TAKES BALLS TO OPERATE ONE. IT REQUIRES GUTS – A LOT OF IT.

THIS MORNING WE ATTENDED OUR VERY FIRST BIDDING. BIDDING ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA IS AN OFFER (OFTEN COMPETITIVE) OF SETTING A PRICE ONE IS WILLING TO PAY FOR SOMETHING. THE ONE WE JOINED WAS OF THE ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE STUDENT BODY ORGANIZATION OF ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY.

THE SET TIME WAS 4PM BUT WE GOT THERE AROUND 4:30PM. DAMN! I WAS SO FREAKIN ANXIOUS. I HAD NO IDEA OF WHAT TO DO OR WHAT TO SAY. I WAS SO NERVOUS THAT IT WAS OK FOR ME TO BACK OUT. COLD FEET YOU SAY!?! *NODS HEAD*

WE WERENT EVEN PREPARED. WE BROUGHT SHIRTS OF DIFFERENT COLOR. GOOD THING I PREPARED SOME SORT OF A PRICE MATRIX. BUT WHILE OTHERS HAD THEIR PRESENTATION USING LAPTOPS, WE HAD OURS ON PAPER. OTHERS EVEN HAD ACTUAL PRINTS OF THE LAYOUT.

AT FIRST WE WERE HESITANT TO CONTINUE WITH THIS, BUT WHAT THE HECK, AT LEAST WE EXPERIENCED BEING IN AN ACTUAL BIDDING.

AND AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS, I RECEIVED A TEXT MESSAGE FROM THEIR PRESIDENT TELLING US THAT WE PROVIDE ACTUAL PRINTS OF THEIR LAYOUT. AND THAT THEIR LIST WAS NARROWED DOWN TO TWO AND WE WERE ONE OF THEM. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? WE ACTUALLY MADE IT. WELL, NOT ACTUALLY MADE IT – MADE IT. BUT IT'S ALREADY A BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR US. THIS IS OUR FIRST BIDDING AND WE WERE CONSIDERED.

I HOPE THEYLL PICK US. *FINGERS CROSSED*

laag sa cebu

just like what Ive said in my previous post, weve got no itinerary in our cebu trip. but now that im back home, i can now post the things that filled our 6 days and 6 nights vacay.

062409

delayed flight. our supposed 1525H departure was moved to 1700H. so we were stuck in the terminal with nothing to do. we were bored in the boarding area! and add to that our pestering stomachs. we were already hungry but cringed from buying over-priced food in the terminal.
i dont know what happened but our flight was combined with the next. so the result – a jam-packed piece of cylindrical metal! sardinas for short. all seats were occupied. even the seat plan was not followed! everyone was scrambling. and did i mention we were on a plane and not on a bus?
we landed in mactan around 1745H. and the welcome band marched in. the streamers were hailed. and the confetti dropped. ok, ok! sorry for the exaggeration. actually it was just tomas who was there to fetch us up.
come dinner time, I had steak at mooon cafe. and gelatissimo's chocolate truffle ice cream for dessert. then we chilled at starbucks.

062509

lunch at sbarro, ayala.
coffee at coffee bean, ayala.
dinner at tara's, IT park.
strolled at the IT park then headed to waterfront hotel for some camwhoring. hehe!

062609

had casa verde's baby back ribs for lunch which is totally far from the definition of baby. it was humongous, almost human-like. it was yummy of course but i couldnt consume the whole serving.
our hosts attended their review class so jeric and I went to SM.
window shopping.
coffee at starbucks, SM.
met with tomas and caezar at ayala.
dinner at sizzling pepper steak, the terraces.
watched transformers at ayala. double the price of tickets here in davao but finally experienced having reserved seats in watching movies.

062709

gelatissimo again, forest fruits.
coffee bean, IT park.
pizza for dinner at da vinci, IT park. yummmm! roast beef pizza and mona lisa plus shawarma sauce – the best!
headed home to change and have some rest.
went to vudu but was shocked by the fee. a staggering 500 bucks! partied at the loft instead. nice crowd and nice place.
after-party chow at mcdo, fuente osmena.

062809

had kebab for lunch in robinsons. then we finally visited basilica de sto nino after being postponed for a couple of days.
jump shot at the magellan's cross.
lit a candle and said a prayer.
toured the basilica's museum.
toured the basilica itself.
waited on a cue.
viewed and prayed to the original figure of sto nino.
visited cebu cathedral.
lit a candle again.
headed to ayala again.
had desserts at dessert factory. pista shew ice cream cake is a must-try.
bought myself a pair of havaianas filipinas.
bought CJ a nice filipinas shirt as well.
had dinner at larsian beside the chong hua hospital.

062909

had a feast at STK. their baked scallops are lip-smacking, mouth-watering and stomach-gurgling.
toured around chong hua hospital.
went to sm again.
bought some brownies unlimited for pasalubong.
went to ayala alone. and shopped!
headed to crown regency hotel.
CAMWHORING.
edgecoaster and skywalk are a must-try. wanna do it again!
had buffet dinner at the hotel.
bought otapssssssss at shamrock hotel.

063009

ayala again. shopped again.
lunch at dessert factory c/o tomas. thnx kol!
running late for our 1400H flight. tomas was driving in a frenzy. traffic was heavy and airport is still in another island. damn!
checked in around 1345H. good thing tomas has an uncle working in the airport. good thing they still allowed us to get on the plane.
bid farewell to our friendly hosts / tourist guides – tomas and caezar. LOL
touched down around 1455H.

weekend post

6.20.09

CJ and I were supposed to go church hopping (bisita iglesia) today but I received a text from a client that they have new orders. So after visiting only three churches, we decided to first meet up with them and maybe continue the bisita iglesia later. But on our way to the rendezvous, a wardrobe malfunction occurred. The straps of my havaianas ripped! Good thing we were near the mall and CJ was kind enough to buy me a new pair of slippers (read: spartan). After we collected the initial payment from our client, we went directly to Uyanguren to buy supplies. We bought 64 pieces of shirts and hell yeah, they are quite heavy. And btw, we do not have wheels, so we have to commute by jeepney. And being kuriport that we are, we'd rather walk a hundred meters or so rather than taking multiple jeepney rides. Seven pesos can go a long long way. So there we are hungry and drained, carrying for God knows how many kilos of shirts. And nice thing is that near our personnel's place where we were supposed to deliver the supplies is a Minute Burger chain. Buy 1 take 1 burger!!! Imagine..you get two burgers for only 24 pesos. That's 12 peso a piece. Thank God for Minute Burger. And after delivering the supplies, we now have to deliver the finished products to another client. At least it's just 20 shirts. Carry lang! But unfortunately, it started to rain, and we still have to walk, and we still have to wait for a jeep. CJ and I would always joke around and comment that it is really hard to earn a living. Now we know! It was already dark when we delivered the product. Heck, that was a loooooooong day!

6.21.09

It's a Sunday. And guess where we went to shop and dine????????? Just in the uber-sosyal and hippest place to be...
Where else but in Agdao Public Market! My sister needed a new pair of school shoes, so we went to shop in the ukay-ukay. She was able to buy a pair of cute doll shoes for only 100 pesos. Yeah, as in 1-0-0.
And because the air-conditioning system was not functioning, our throats all went dry. So we decided to enjoy some thirst-quenchers. We had buko juice served in chilled goblets! And after shopping, what's good to do is to dine and eat. So we went to a fine dining restaurant where they serve Filipino cuisine specializing in local delicacies. We had rice cake (puto maya), hot choco (sikwate), sweet treats with ice shavings (halo-halo), noodles with seafood sauce (palabok) and noodles with beef stock (mami).

Dream on tedpen! Dream on...

I know...I know, been climbing again, socially that is. haha!

Juggling

I have been thinking about a myriad things lately. So much things to do, so little time. Even before this month started, most of the days are already scheduled and packed. And add to that some unplanned and impromptu things.

Number 1:
Just lately, CJ and I started operating our nano-enterprise. Originally, it was Miguel's but because he is already busy with a lot of stuff, he handed it to us. Whats good with it is that we do not need finances for capital. All we need is a lot of guts. And good thing CJ and I know a lot of people and the right people. That's what you call good connections!

And just a couple of weeks ago, we had our very first client. Sweet thing the result was good and they're planning to add some more. And now, there are more clients. Orders are pouring in. Hope everything's gonna turn out well. We still need to plan for that bidding next month. And we still need to buy materials, contact the clients, contact our personnel, calculate prices, follow up orders and a lot lot more. But I'm not complaining. I am actually enjoying every second of it. I feel like I'm Henry Sy, Jr.! And good thing CJ and I mesh and work hand in hand because if not, guess I am already knocked down. I really cannot handle all these stress alone.

And if you might ask, all of THESE is for us to be able to sustain that “uber-cool-out-of-the-country-vacay!” Refer to previous post. Heck! The things you do just to have a vacation.

Can you repeat what you just said? Louder please... C-L-I-M-B-E-R!!! I totally agree. hehe!

Number 2:
Speaking of vacay, I still have that planned out-of-town trip with my kalog bestfriend. Where you might ask? Cebu! O yeah!!! Mark your calendars coz I already marked mine. June 24^th to the 30th. Six days of fun and whatever things that pop into our minds. We actually don't have anything planned yet (and I don't know if anything's actually gonna be planned). Itinerary's totally blank. Let's see where our feet takes us. Hope we will have lotsa fun in the land of danggit and dried mangoes.

Number 3:
Days ago, CJ received a message from MM that there are new job orders coming. So this afternoon, we dropped by our school-cum-agency. And boy, there is! They're hiring a total of twenty nurses to be deployed in Finland. But here are the requirements: at least 25 years of age; with at least 1 year experience; and with a level of A2 in Finnish Language.

God bless us!
Age requirement: X (sound effects *eenngkk*)
Experience: X *eenngkk*
Language proficiency: doubtful

So what to do? I don't know! Guess, we have to sit in class again. Rehash and review the language. That means we have to be in school every Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 4pm. Whew! Wait for some cerebral overload.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaays.... That's definitely a lot, right?

And did I say I still go on duty???

God bless my soul. I will endure. Good things come to people who persevere.

Godspeed!

vacay planning

yesterday ive learned that cebu pacific is having some kind of a happy hour where domestic flights are at 299 php while international flights are at 599 php.

my heart skipped a beat. is this for real?

and so i immediately texted CJ, the lakwatsera, about it. ok, for this post, lets just call her CJ, the explorer to give it a bit of formality. i like the sound of it, just like Dora.

but she's NR (read: no reaction) about it.

and so a while ago i told mike about it. he then researched about it. at first we thought of palawan. coron to be exact. but the two of them had already been there. and so mike suggested hongkong.

our hearts skipped again. HK? why not, right? with just 599 bucks, my passport will already have its very first tatak.

and mike being the OC-type, got a pen and some paper and jotted down the budget for the trip. hes already been to HK that's why he knows. the initial budget was around 12k, inclusive of food, lodging, disneyland, ocean park and the likes.

not bad right? with 12k, you can already have an uber-cool-out-of-the-country-vacay for three days!

and now, CJ the explorer and i are totally excited.

but first, we have to find ways to pay for our plane tickets because as you know we dont have any income/pay. we totally rely on our stipend. the fare would cost about 1,800+. but were already having a big problem were to get such amount. and for the pocket money, we still got around 4 mos to accumulate that staggering 12k.

CJ the explorer and i are now scheming plans to have the necessary finances.

plan A: business deals

ive already contacted some people to be our potential clients. and to refer some people to us and do some networking. if we can make a deal, then thats it. but if not, then proceed to plan B.

plan B: make some solicitations

from whom you might ask? i dunno. this is CJ the explorer's plan. I gladfully proposed a suggestion to make some letter which goes like: dear maam/sir, we would like to ask for your financial support for we will have our vacay in HK. how bout that for a solicitation letter.

weve also thought about begging from our moms, dads, relatives, friends.... modern day beggars/social-climbers!

plan C: night duty

in san pedro st. that is. i dont know if how much i will earn from this. for a couple of nights, maybe i can already have enough cash to go shopping. note to self: look for my pink card. kidding!

plan D: sponsorship

go and meet people who are willing to be our sponsor. in exchange of what? some ol' good lovin'. haha! weve met before some people who actually have such sponsors. i dont know how much they get/earn and whats the mechanics of their so called game. we also heard of a story in which someone found a sponsor through chatting online. s/he was even able to tour around asia with the help of his/her sponsor. well, if s/he can do it, then why cant i. i bet i can even do it better. haha! kidding again!

see how desperate we are... if theres some kind soul out there who is willing to donate, you can contact me through this site. i accept cash and all major credit cards.

i hope and pray though that mike can make the necessary bookings later. for sure their site will be jampacked by people who will also take advantage of this promo. hope he can get through their site and that there will still be available seats for the three of us.

Godspeed!