knocked up

Kids' Party (Dec 24)

This is the first time that we held it in a public place, as it was supposed to be just inside the compound like in the past 6 years. The swelling number of kids this year, however, prompted us to look for a bigger venue. And the street was the only place we could think of, it was free anyway. A bit of Christmas decors here and there was all we did to turn the place into a party venue. We also got two "No Entry"signs from the barangay, and placed them on both ends of the road, just in case. And when the clock struck 6pm the party kicked off.

It wasn't really that big. There was food, spag and sandwiches and orange juice, but was only good for 50 kids, and more came than expected, so it was really a riot. But my friends in charge with the food committee managed to solve the problem, by getting additional supply from homes. I gathered later on, they also victimized mine.

All in all, the party was a success. For this year, though, we were not able to give them toys each (we only had a few for the games), because of financial constraint, so instead, we added more candies to each of their goody bags. And I think the kids still loved it. For all those who've helped us in this little work we have, thank you very much. :)

my life's a beach

Malayan Beach (Poblacion, Talisay City), Dec 25, 2007, 5:45pm

I remember as a child I walked on the beach a lot, and took a dip in the salty waters everyday of my young life, bec we used to have a house by the sea. That actually explains why I love the beach and the sea so much even if we already left the place decades ago. In this particular beach alone, I've swum here a million times, with my childhood friends and family. Just a walking distance from my place, I just realized that although the place is littered with a lot of trash after a day's romance with the beachgoers during a weekend, a Christmas day for this picture taking, it still has its charm on me. The ever calm waters that greeted me that late afternoon while I zoomed my way here for a relaxing treat with a friend, and the splendid view of what remains of the sunset far beyond it were just so amazing, I even thought I was elsewhere. :)

the sore throat on a merry Christmas

i probably got this sore throat--which prevented me from getting enough rest lately--from eating sweets the past days, and probaby from drinking just too much tubig lang naman. but this does not mean hindi tuloy ang pasko. tuloy na tuloy, in fact, we're already done packing all the gifts for tomorrow's party for the kids, both the indigent and the not-so indigent (that's how we play this game, patas). and so, we are now broke, which means goodbye, Starbucks planner. lol! fyi, i'm still 9 stickers away from that thing, so tabang, people.

anyway, sore throat or not, we should all have a merry Christmas, I will definitely have a happy Christmas no matter what (i'm actually in charge with the cooking tomorrow, so this already smells a fun Christmas to my family and to a few people i've invited over to share my treat). so you guys better have one, too. to all of you: fellow bloggers, friends, and former friends, have a happy Christmas!

sensya na, tao lang moment

Sa usa ka radio station, napaminawan ni namo sa akong higala samtang nagsakay sa taxi ganiha lang.

Guy caller: Unsa diay imong work?
Girl caller: Cashier.
Guy caller: Ha?
Girl caller: Kahera gud.
Guy: Aw! Akoa, dili ka mangutana?
Girl caller: Unsa man imo work?
Guy caller: CG!
Girl caller: Ha?!?
Guy caller: CG gud, security guard.
Ako ug ang akong higala: TOINK!!!

giving

I was watching Oprah a few days back, and chanced upon the guesting of former US President Bill Clinton in that show. The guy actually has a new book entitled “Giving.” From what I gathered, the book is a compilation of inspiring stories of groups or individuals who have taken an extra mile to reach out to their fellows. One of the people Clinton featured in his book is tennis superstar Andre Agassi, who, I just learned from that interview of Oprah with him later in the show, operates a school--the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy—for the community's challenged children. It was great listening to the retired tennis player talk about how he envisions the school to become a venue for these kids to start hoping and dreaming, it even uses Winston Churchill's famous quote: “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.” in its website. This school, which assists every kid there to overcome all the challenges and be responsible, is now considered a model institution in Nevada where it is located. According to Andre, affecting these kids' lives for a lifetime gives him more joy than what his 21 years of playing tennis did. Wow!

Another person who was that day's episode's (and this modern day) heroes was a senior college student, who first guested in the show in 1997, when she was still a little girl. From a quick replay of that episode I learned that that little girl started a small charity, with the help of her father, wherein everyone in their neighborhood was asked to give a penny for her then small foundation dedicated to the indigents. It was actually from that episode, and from the girl's spirit to do something, that Oprah was inspired to follow what the little girl was trying to accomplish. The saying that goes, if you can why can't I truly applies to that situation. And ten years later, Oprah's Angel Network Foundation has funded 60 new schools in 13 countries. While the little kid's “penny” foundation has actually gathered US$9M as of that interview. A wower!

Other “givers” who guested in that episode were couple Matt and Jessica Flannery who founded Kiva.org, a website that helps people from developing countries to start their own small business by getting a loan from individuals from across the world. One lender was also there to say that the organization has not only helped her help other people through its website, but made her find the meaning of life, in the process of giving. Her $25 dollar loan to someone in South Africa some years back was already returned to her with interest, it is in fact multiplied to hundreds of dollars after lending it to several other individuals in need of capital money. This is more than just investing, it is giving and seeing how that simple click of the mouse changes the life of those people from the opposite part of the world. So great!

And for this part of the world, exactly in my city, we also have our own brand of giving. We're on our 7th year now. This Christmas eve my friends and I will be hosting a party for the kids in the neighborhood and those from outside it. This is where we have a little party with games, some food, et cetera, and at the end of it, we hand out gifts to each of them. As of this morning, there are already 189 in the list, and according to my friend, I should keep extra packs “just in case.” I expect more than 200 kids this year, they were about 180 last year, and there's always an increase of the number, I've since noticed that. There'll be no more toys this year though, because Unitop no longer sells cheap toys, and there's no more time to search for shops with toys within our budget. If we continue the “tradition” of putting inside each pack a toy, then I'll be broke starting today until months from now. That's scary, I don't like! (But we need donations. Seriously.) So instead, we'll be replacing the toy with more candies and whatever chocolate-flavored bits I can think of later on when we do the real shopping. I started the first shop yesterday (I could no longer stall it bec the clock is ticking!), and wowowee, shopping bags filled both the passenger's and the back seat of the cab, cramming!. That was not even half of what we need. What I'm actually looking forward to right now is the night of the 24th. I don't care if we are fast forwarding the night where I'll definitely lose my voice from shouting (200 kids, yay!), I really don't care. I just want to skip the shopping part for goodness' sake! So there, we are also giving because...wala lang! :)

Happy Christmas!!!

nightlifing

The nightlife is both expensive and tiring. Im actually still groggy now from last night’s laag. But it’s always good to go out once in a while. The last time I was up for more than 24 hours was last month when I was in Subic, but last night was way too much fun compared to that out-of-town escapade.

The story (I might as well say the details here for future use. Lol!). After the company party, eight of us went straight to Mango Square to chill out. We had a kiddie party that night, and most of the people who attended were in kid’s costumes, and a few of those kiddie-costumed workmates joined us in the second leg of the fun. So imagine our group joining the “properly” dressed individuals in the Square. We actually did not worry that thing until our cabs got to the area. Almost everyone standing in the square was looking at my workmates who first got out of the first cab. The car brought in two of the four girls in costumes, one was with a simple girly outfit with two red stars on top of her turban while the other one was in a baby girl attire complete with a milk bottle and a pacifier clipped on her baby blouse (plus two balloons attached to her baby bag!). As for us in the second cab, we got the chance to inhale the moment while still inside the cab and saw the expression of the people who were looking at our friends. Oh God, for laughing out loud! But we were all game that night. So we nonchalantly walked towards Gimik Barkada to start a night of drinking and videoke. But the place was already full-packed by the time we got there so we moved to Numero Doce (I don’t remember the exact name), but it was also full. We actually met some stares and giggles from the people we passed by on our way there, one gay could not hide his amazement at us that he said to my workmate, who had these two stars in her head,:”Teh, nindot ta na og naay suga.” And I answered,:” Wa na may battery,” with a sad face. I was wearing a Santa hat with blinking starts on it while at the party, maayo nalang akong gibilin. The entire square was just too public for our group, so we looked for an enclosed area where we could have fun minus the stares and the questions.

First stop was Beat Family KTV. This is just in the area of Mango Square, at the back part of Gimik. Each room is P150/hour (on the weekend), and we stayed there for three hours singing all the songs in the list. I did not know until that night Jasmin Uy could sing so well the national anthem ng mga bading--“Hindi Ako Bakla.” Well, she chose the song for our new workmate, the most bakla in the group, but she ended up singing it herself because she knew the song full well that she did not need to glance at its lyrics on tv, while the rest of the girls were dancing, and grinding. Dear, winner imong show! Hahaha! It was actually a night to remember, singing in a concert-performance level of Spice Girls hits (complete with the correct dance steps, lol!), even heavy metal and Tagalog ones gipatulan. The room is approximately 3x5 meters, it was too small for 8 people (plus one later that night), but it was exactly what we needed to exhaust it all. It only happened once in a while, you know.

Past 4am we jumped to a tapsilogan in Guadalupe. This requires a good amount of walking from the square to Boulevard (near the Capitol) to supposedly catch Carlo’s Batchoy, but it was already closed by the time we got there. So we had to take a cab from there to the tapsilogan, which is just P32.50 away from where we hailed it. We already forgot how to walk at this juncture, so yay! Only four of us got to this part, the others had to go straight home after the concert and too much water drinking (unfortunately, Nature's Spring water in that videoke place has got some “drugs” in it, or so my workmate said after it got her nerves fiery on the first our of the show that actually resulted to her transforming every pop song she chose for herself into a heavy metal one.) It was really a riot!

The tapsilogan. It would have been the best time to drink coffee to give me another hour of strength for my travel back home, but the darn place had no hot water as of that moment. Crap! In fairness, the food is really good, and it’s cheap. There were actually several people enjoying their fill, after a long night of beer drinking, while we were there. And we were still there when the sun rose. Too bad I could not appreciate it, but I had to say to my workmate whom I shared the cab with, at least we got to see the sunrise. That was actually rare for the both of us. I actually could not see it with my problematic eyes, but at least. Fun ended when I hit the bed at 6am.

The Spice Girls!!!

A series of concerts highlights the girls' comeback. But for those who can't make to any of these performances, like this blogger, they have a special treat for us. The coolest music video of their first single (after the hiatus) Headlines, that is now obviously making waves in the music mainstream after climbing number 10 in today's Myx's Top 20 countdown (the reason why I almost got late in this morning's engagement!), from number 17 last week. It's plain obvious that these girls still have that girl power thing, I miss them! Their site--http://www.thespicegirls.com/--has also been updated for their fans, and it now includes blogs by each of the girls (I just wish they'd continue posting in the days to come). I wasn't so busy the past few hours and here I did an extra effort of compiling some quotable quotes from them. Here we go...


Last week we performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. It went brilliantly and was well scary. It was the first time we'd performed together since 1998! The response was overwhelming. The crowd were cheering so loudly when we came on stage, I had to hold back the tears. My legs went all stiff and at one point if I hadn't been standing next to Emma I would've fallen over! Not a good look.--Mel C

Let me tell you, the Spice Girls are now Spice Women – full, sensual and stronger through their life experiences. It’s fantastic to be around the humour, and although the pressure is on, being part of a group is a wonderful thing. I receive a lot of support and encouragement from the other girls.--Geri


Rehearsals are going really well, I can’t believe that there are only a few weeks until the first show in Vancouver. It’s really scary but exciting at the same time. David and the boys have been laughing at me because I’ve been wandering around the house listening to my iPod and practising the routines. We are including some parts of the old routines but bringing them up to date a bit.
All of the kids have been down to rehearsals. We have an area where they all hang out… its a Spice creche! My boys are so excited about the tour, they can't wait and I'm really looking forward to them seeing me up on stage. I just hope I don't get over emotional when I see them!---Victoria

I’m back in LA now as I’m Dancing With The Stars. I was so pleased with the judges’ comments this week. I was really nervous about the performance as I had such little time to practice but I think the other girls brought me luck. I really enjoyed dancing to Spice Up Your Life. My dancing partner Maks was with me in the UK so that we could practice our routine in-between takes of the video. Although I think the other girls scared him a bit – but that’s what Girl Power is all about.--Mel B.

With each show I'm getting more confident singing live but during Mama I got so carried away looking at the video playing behind us of all the mothers and babies that I forgot some of the lyrics! Mel B also has a thing for pinching our bottoms… which makes us all giggle!--Emma

bad parenting

my Christmas wishlist, among others

A pair of Crocs cleo sandals. This is quite expensive but I saw some people's feet looking good in it, and I'd like to have one pair, too. I know my feet are not dainty, but at least the brand would compensate for that. lol! Seriously, it's perfect for me, I who love to go to work in slippers. It's P1,600, more or less. With my current situation? Nah, I can't afford it yet.

A surfing suit. A women's suit almost exactly as this one is about P2,000 in Speedo. This is really good for fun dives. I've never bought any clothing of this amount, so forgive me, self, if we'll just have to wait for that most wanted item to be given to us as a gift. Anyway, Christmas is almost here. Btw, SM has a Speedo outlet.

A mask and snorkel set. It's a little over P1,000 in Speedo. I was supposed to buy one before we traveled to Camiguin last October, but a friend rescued me then into spending some hard-earned cash by lending me his own set. I just hope someone would do the same before I finally get the impulse to buy one. I mean really buy one for me. Pasko bitaw. ^-^


A few days ago, I saw a roll bag that was really cool. When I checked the price, it's over P4,ooo. It's Lacoste, my bad! I told a friend about it, and she said she'd give me a first class imitation of the thing as a gift. I so understand. At least, I've something to look forward to for myself this Christmas. Yay!

To the Ukay-ukay shops...

Yesterday, my friend and I went to the ukay-ukay shops at our place's commercial district. Trip lang, we always do that when we're bored, and when there's nothing good to watch in the movies.

I got for myself a nice bag (not the fancy one, please) for P100, and when I googled for the brand's name, weeeh...jackpot! I didn't know about the Jill Stuart brand until today. He-he!

The next grab is a pair of cargo shorts for P70. My friend is really good at haggling, lol!

A Nokia 1100i. This one was bought at a mall, just a walking distance from the ukay-ukay shops. I had no intention of buying just one yet, well, until my old phone finally retires. But the price was already a come-on, so I immediately bought it without second thoughts. I really don't know how much this old model costs these days, but if to compare it to those of the nearby cell shops that sell reconditioned units, the price I got for my brand new model is almost a steal. I got mine at RC Goldline for only P1,650. Other shops sell the same yet second-hand model for more than P1,800. Who are they kidding??? And to think these shops, RC Goldline in between them, are just close to one another. We were really having fun that day.

love and care

" Love and care" is Meddah Spa, that's the very one in Crossroads, Banilad. And they sure give you that, from the sauna down to the last minute of the 90-minute session. I (together with some friends from work) last Monday availed for ourselves the stone massage. Funny thing is, while we were at the sauna, where you can see that heating machine with stones on top of it..., well, you'll get the drift later. And we finally settled to our respective beds, and heard the sounds of the stones from some bowl, I heard some laughing from one of the girls, and screaming when the stones hit their backs (I even screamed a hot stone touched my skin. lol!). Ang mga pango, nituo diay when I told them the stones they would be using on us were exactly the ones heated in that sauna chamber. lol!

Well, it was a very relaxing experience. Thanks to Meddah Spa. Sa uulitin. :D