the ride
took my dad-in-law’s 911 turbo to tagaytay for the day… it was weird having people staring… really… because i was trying to sleep… not cool when you’re in a cool car… they probably thought, what the heck, she’s sleeping when they’re going 200 in the highway?
tristan threw up (as he always does after eating and getting into the car) but thank goodness we had a barf bag. all was well. if not, i think dad would have left tristan in tagaytay by himself. ha ha ha.
our version of disney
i remember going on anchor’s away and screaming my lungs out… asking manong operator to stop the ride so i can get out… but he never did… and i remember crying because i was so scared but also laughing out loud because it was so much fun… to have your stomach do flip flops… fun times…
enchanted kingdom
malcolm’s place salcedo
terrible food. wagyu i think was not really wagyu but kalabaw! it was terrible. tough meat. needs pressure cooker! calling the owner! maybe you should buy one and make the meats really soft like wagyu!
potato wedges on the picture was so so so so much better than the real thing. real potato wedges served was UNDERCOOKED and BLAND. Seemed like they cut up 5 strips of potato (amounting to 1 whole potato) and fried them without putting any seasoning! not even salt!
TERRIBLE. and it was our first time. well, they can’t please everybody. definitely did not please me.
maybe they bring out the real wagyu for the critics only?
or maybe the chef’s sick and the busboy cooked?
let me know if you know!
sleepless night for parma
no not the expensive, yummy type of smoked ham. i’m talking about parma, super typhoon, about to hit the philippines. it’s another sleepless night for the entire city of manila, no, make that the entire country of the philippines.
last saturday, ondoy brought rain nobody had ever seen before! it broke the record for the amount of rainfall in one day! hundreds killed, thousands injured, millions displaced. it was a sad week of search and rescue and rebuilding. disappointing, too, for the evidence of corruption in the government has never been this tangible.
for the life of me, i could not understand why no local government unit was prepared for flooding. this is the philippines, for pete’s sake! we get typhoons all year round! we have places that flood during high tide! how can there be no LGU prepared?! not cainta, not laguna, not marikina, not malabon, not bulacan! and i do believe they have disaster relief budgets included in their financial allocation. and to make matters worse, the national government was not ready either! why the hell is there an ndcc if there is no program in place in times of disaster?! why give them the name national disaster coordinating council if they cannot mobilize and extend much needed help as soon as disaster hits? i could not believe it would take 24 hours for rubber boats to get to marikina from where they were stored. and how embarrassing that the rubber boats were not event motorized? gee. what will you use, paddles?
it was heart wrenching to see, hear stories of deaths due to the late arrival of rescue. i cried tears when i saw bodies of children who drowned, covered in mud. babies bloated as their bodies were recovered by the volunteers. so many innocent lives lost. so many young victims. they didn’t have a chance. how could they? they live in cities that mushroomed with no concrete masterplan. they live in shanties. they live in the foulest, most dangerous and often ignored areas of the city. these young lives who depend on the leaders of the country — from the barangay captain, the mayor, the congressman, the governor — where were you when your constituents needed you? i don’t understand how these people in power can have jetskis, speedboats, heck bananaboats, in their garages not provide rescue equipment for the people they rule over? nevermind the rich and famous, they will find their own rescuers — as evidenced by all the celebrities who were rescued by their own kapwa celebrities.
i’m not into politics, primarily because i don’t think law exists in this country so this post is not really to tackle the political issues surrounding the recent flooding. i’m just ranting. a new typhoon is on its way and are we prepared? of course, now the mayors are mobilizing. umulit pa and maoobvious na sila. too late the hero, if you ask me. people are now living in makeshift evacuation centers with no food, no water, no privacy. i betcha no government official has opened their private homes for their constituents. malacanang doesn’t count. it’s not hers anyway. it’s the people’s.
so we are all awake, waiting for landfall. if it arrives, then government officials can give themselves pats on the back, and praise each other’s efforts. if it doesn’t, they will say, buti ng handa.
and i super hate when they say, even countries like the US was not prepared when Katrina hit, and they had all the equipment. That’s FIlipino mentality for you. SInce pumalpak ang US sa Katrina, ok lang na pumalpak tayo kay Ondoy. kay Milenyo. kay frank.
isla verde
after several cancellations, we finally pushed through with our office trip to verde island. it wasn’t an outing, it really was for work (photos needed and writer’s ocular for brochure content) but since client said we could tag along, that we did! i even brought the hubby and baby — sabi nga ni coy, family outing.
we were late, as usual. we were supposed to leave manila before 5 AM but got to leave makati at 5:40. then south super highway was definitely super — SLOW that is! it was terrible! then batangas exit (i think it was tanauan) was even slower! we finally got to the star tollway at about 8. at the end of the star tollway, our escort met us to lead the way to the client’s office then brought us to a private pier to board a private banka — the type with huge katigs. it was about a 40 minute boat ride to the island.
upon approach, we were all gushing. the part of the island where we were docking seemed so serene, though there were hotel buildings and huts and pavilions, walang tao save for 4 people waiting for us to dock. the water was super CLEAR. there was no need for snorkeling equipment. the water was that clear. you can see the fish while you’re on dryland. yes, my brother was right. verde’s way better than fuego or boracay.
well, according to web searches, verde island is the “center of marine biodiversity” and a favorite diving spot, actually one of the most popular worldwide. it’s very popular with foreigners. the owner of the verde island resort said that when they were still operating, they had a lot of guests from Japan, Taiwan and Korea.
back to verde island resort… the place was nice. iit reminded me of our phuket trip last year, actually. it had first class facilities and from the food we’ve tasted, good spread. what makes it different is that it’s really one with nature. there’s not much intrusion to the natural beauty of the water, underwater and above-land environment. no golf courses, no tennis courts… there’s nothing to do there but swim, snorkel, dive, stare at the vast ocean and daydream!
while the boys were working, us girls went swimming, by accident. we were watching jb and tristan fish for talakitok until we got wet from all the splashing and “getting our feet wet”. as the resort is still closed to the public, we had the wonderful beach all to ourselves. you can wear nothing and nobody would complain… well, maybe the fish.
updates
for one we moved in august! beating the beginning of the “ghost month”, we transferred to our new place in makati on aug. 20. we’ve furnished the place sparingly, knowing that we’ll be buying stuff and collecting stuff over the coming months (trips planned, ya’ know). we moved to a 2-bedroom condo (plus a maid’s room pa!) in makati and it’s been going good. the place is considerably huge, being in the heart of salcedo village. been to the weekend market in salcedo park — did not really get excited about the things there (kala ko mura, hindi pala). been driving to qc almost everyday, to go to work and take kring to school. the drive’s fine, really. it’s takes me the same amount of time to drive from makati to kalayaan ave, diliman and to drive from capitol hills to kalayaan passing through katipunan (imagine the horrendous traffic in the U – Tandang Sora – Katipunan area).
i must confess, furniture shopping was not fun at all. we’ve been to so many blims, play and display, our home, SM, Landmark, etc… it was getting old. i swear, you see the same items wherever you go! i didn’t really want to have anything custom-made (last time i did that, it cost me 20gs just for a bookshelf that would hold my paperbacks!) so it’s ready-made furniture for us. i guess i can’t complain — it’s only now that we’re investing in furniture since we’ve lived with the ‘rents since we came back to manila).
hubby started his full time job (he used to work once a week 
) and we get to see less of him now as he spends the whole day and early evening at the office. kring is adjusting. he still thinks we are in a hotel (the condo having a pool, lots of security guard, intercom, etc.) and he sleeps over at lola’s every now and then.
here are some photos of the condo showing off our new paint job!!! wee hee! our tilework’s amazing, too. love the color combo of the mosaics! galing ko manghula!
syempre these photos we taken when we moved in pa so a lot has changed na. we now have an entertainment center! woot woot! hahaha. will post updated photos soon! i hope!!!
macau surpriseS
my hubby decided to surprise me with a trip to macau and hongkong to celebrate my birthday. after ironing a few glitches in the booking, we settled for a 2-night macau, 1-night hongkong trip leaving manila on sunday. i was pleased that we managed to get the venetian for our hotel in macau and marco polo gateway in hongkong (rush bookings here are always impossible!). the only sad part of our trip was leaving our 4-year old boy behind. we usually bring him along wherever we go (business or otherwise) but since he’ll be moving to a big school next year, we decided that it’s time for him (and us) to take pre-school seriously. we almost balked when we were leaving the house. we thought of bringing him along and to just buy the ticket at the airport. good thing he was still sleeping so we just turned around and hoped we (not he) last the four day trip by ourselves.
macau today is not how i saw macau over ten years ago. i remember my first time to come here via jetfoil (?) with my family. it took forever in the border… it was hot… dusty… and we went to some obscure casino to eat portuguese – chinese food. there was nothing to do, really, except to visit the casinos and when you’re a kid… that could be very, very, very boring. this time, there’s a lot to do and almost all of them, NICE things to do! it’s already monday evening and we leave macau tomorrow for hongkong. before i forget the surprises that came our way, i would like to write them down — well, for those interested (and i guess for my future references!).
we arrived in macau early afternoon, got on the venetian shuttle, checked in the biggest casino-resort in the world, explored the hotel (it’s very similar to the one in vegas) and the shops when we came across the cirque de soleil theater. so far, i’ve seen only seen cirque’s la reve at the wynn las vegas — and that left me impressed, so when we found out they had two more tickets left for the matinee show of the zaia, we did not miss the opportunity to see another outstanding cirque production.
zaia was a bit slower than the la reve. the aerial dances were, i don’t know what the right word to use is, maybe, tamer? i remember la reve to be so upbeat and fast (was it?) but zaia was more classical. it was still good, though. the “couple” dancers were crazy talented. i don’t know how a person (in this case, 2 couples = 4 people) can be that flexible! the stage background was actually the thing i noticed the most — i’m not sure what technology they use but it works like a watch out. it’s projection but the huge screen projects as one — and since it’s space — the stars, planets and comets were moving as one, seamlessly. this technology is what we want to achieve for an upcoming event produced by the office. seeing that full effect definitely made zaia worth the ticket price.
sunday’s dinner was super good at the venetian shoppes’ lei garden. we had the roasted goose because the duck was not available. didn’t know what to expect — never had goose before but cousin jaz said it’s super good. and it was. it was crispier, tastier and just better than the crispy duck! we also ordered sweet and sour pork with strawberries! wow, that was different. it’s a more “sosyal” version of the usual. dessert was also a surprise — had the glutinous roll with sesame paste inside. it tasted funny at first but it would become a favorite after the first piece, i swear! the price was not so bad either. affordable, considering you’re at the shoppes in the venetian.
today, my birthday, we toured the city and got to see the macau’s “must-sees”. it was super hot, though, so we decided that we’ll go back to the hotel to freshen up BUT on our way back, we roamed at the sand’s casino (where we’re supposed to catch the shuttle to the venetian) and saw the special at a chinese restaurant on the 3rd floor (sorry forgot the name). $18 per dimsum order! that was a steal! so there we stayed for an hour and a half eating dim sum to our hearts’ content. hubby said the tripe was to die for. for me, the radish cake and the rice roll were the best. and i drank so much tea, you would not believe it!
birthday dinner was the ultimate, yet. took a cab to taipa village, walked around and found antonio’s (it’s at rue de negocios?). SPECTACULAR. it’s a michelin recommended restaurant and i must say, it was good! the appetizers — parma ham, portuguese sausages, clams were to die for! our main course of african chicken (with coconut and served with potatoes au gratin) was YUMMY and hubby’s bacalhao was super good, too! owner and chef, antonio was there and he greeted and talked to all the patrons — the place was full — a party always arriving when one was leaving and it can only accommodate about 25 people! when he came to our table, we got to talking and hubby mentioned it was my birthday — so towards the end of the meal, he had a server bring out a fantastic chocolate dessert and a bottle of champagne which i opened with a freaking sword (samurai sword!). it was so unexpected! and so generous of antonio (we did not pay for the dessert and champagne, honestly!). really, antonio and the rest of his staff made my birthday memorable. i’ll post some photos later on so you’ll get my drift.
after antonio’s, it was back to the shoppes to what else, shop, before we leave macau tomorrow. macau has really been a surprise. it was a surprise trip, and so far, our culinary experiences have been surprisingly good — no bad meals yet. shopping has been good, too. found UK brand next here at the shoppes (my fave in university) and several stores having end-of-season sales — HUGE!
i’ll try to post more surprise finds, when and if i find them with little time we have left here in macau. if not, au revoir!
160K warranty from kia
wow!
KIA EXTENDS WARRANTY TO 5 YEARS OR 160,000 KMS.
Kia scores a major breakthrough in the auto industry by extending the warranty coverage for its manufactured vehicles from 3 years or 110,000 kilometers to an unprecedented 5 years or 160,000 kilometers. This warranty covers the Kia Picanto, Rio, Sportage, Sorento, Carens and Carnival purchased at authorized dealerships beginning June 15, 2009.
“The warranty extension could not have come at a better time,” says Felix J. Mabilog, Jr., President and Chief Operating Officer of Columbian Autocar Coporation, exclusive distributor of Kia in the Philippines. “In the midst of this financial crisis crippling economies both weak and strong around the world, people are wary of needless expenditures. Whatever money they have, they like to keep as a safety net for unforeseen difficulties. And here comes Kia’s extended warranty offering, taking one less worry off their minds and backs. This is a warranty coverage that is certainly worth the paper it is printed on,” Mabilog adds.
“This is definitely a certainty amidst uncertain times,” Mabilog beams proudly. “When people buy cars, they need the assurance that they have made the right choice. They want a brand whose value is not diminished dramatically with age. With Kia strongly standing by its products a hundred percent and having incorporated the latest engineering techniques in the design and production of its vehicles, Kia is confident that customers will derive full satisfaction from their vehicle for a long period of time,” he ends.
Standard industry practice in warranty protection is for three years or 100,000 kilometers, whichever comes first. A few manufacturers extended this warranty to cover at most, five (5) years or up to 150,000 kilometers only. Kia’s new warranty coverage becomes longer by 10,000 kilometers – clearly the best and the longest in the industry.
Kia’s warranty protection covers all the basic components of a Kia vehicle from the date of delivery to the customers. Exceptions however, are made on items that have differing coverage period such as air conditioning refrigerant, battery, tires and audio system. Full details on warranty protection may be obtained at any authorized Kia dealership.
Kia’s breakthrough warranty protection has been bolstered by its growing reputation as one of the best engineered and manufactured cars in the world today. As the fifth largest automaker globally, the Kia Group manufactures 4 million vehicles a year which are produced in 13 manufacturing plants in eight countries, then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 172 countries.
what’s up?
I’ve been remiss in posting the latest going ons in my life. I haven’t written anything of substance lately. Maybe because nothing great has happened really? Ha ha ha.
Been back in Manila for over a month already and I’ve been trying to catch up with work! Still! Really, how do one cope with the work load when the office staff has been cut in half? Really. It’s still fun, though. And it feels like we’re one big happy family. We eat together, make pasyal together, food trip together and go home together!
Seriously though, been busy with some print ads and event planning so those have been taking up most of my time. And, I got addicted to hidden object games from Game House. Argh. I swear. I spend half the night playing those stupid games. Well, what does that make me? Ha ha. Stupid? I hope not.
Before school started (Tristan’s classes started on Monday, 15th of June), hubby and I were thinking of moving to Makati (a city south of where we live — 18 kilometers south but 1 to 1.5 hours if we talk about travel time during rush hour!). He (hubby) was going to start working everyday at his dad’s office and our house was just too far for him to do the daily commute. Though my work is here in QC and Tristan’s school is in Katipunan, the drive would be better for us since it’s going on the opposite direction of the heavy traffic flow. We looked at some projects (townhouses) that his dad’s office did and we’ve chosen this one cute 3-bedroom townhouse in Metropolitan Ave. to move into. We decided on the house BUT we have not really decided on when to make the big move.
It’s kind of weird to be thinking of moving. Not because I’ve lived in our house forever but it just seems, I don’t know, different, to be living on our own in Manila. We’ve been so used to having lots of people around us that we don’t even think of who will take Tristan to school or even clean the room, or cook dinner. Our house is just so comfortable and it runs like a well-oiled machine, like a hotel where things just happen without you even asking for it that we’re so, oh, I don’t know, dilly-dallying on actually moving house. So I don’t really know. Maybe we’ll let the year finish before we move? Let’s see. I’ve actually made the weather an excuse on making decisions about our move. Hey, it floods in that part of Makati! And our current place is on a hill so NO FLOODS!
For sure we won’t be moving until past my birthday which is in about a month’s time! Yehey! Can’t wait! I’m making my birthday an excuse to travel. I want to go to Macau this time and maybe a side trip to Hong Kong to do a little bit of shopping. It’s been about 10 years since I’ve been to Macau! I don’t even remember anything about that trip! I hope I’ll be able to save some money really quickly so I can bring a lot of people on that trip!
Attaching a photo of an event that we’ve been working on. Hope all you Kia owners can come to Ayala Town Center and take advantage of Kia’s FREE service Check-up!
