because this is our 8th and i'm more than happy

Tye-mela'ne, a’maelamin...

I wasn't a big fan of surprises, yet life holds millions of unexpected twists and turns.

I certainly didn't expect you.

But if life's surprises come falling down like the way you did, I sure don't mind getting one every single minute.

A blissful 8th anniversary, Pangga...You're another proof in my life that God does whip up miracles.

(26 November 2006)

ho-hum-dee-dee-dum

Today, as well as the past week, has been boring. Not that I'm complaining (because the last time I complained, I got what I wanted and it kinda sucked). Let's just say it's so hard to pass time doing nothing. Well, not exactly nothing – I surf the net while pretending to be busy. Again, I don't mean it as if it's a bad thing. Months of crunch time are now over, so I'm grateful for the peace and quiet I have now. Yehey!

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I'm missing Ginger and Clapton again. Yesterday was a happy day as I didn't come to work due to that excruciating monthly pain. So sis and I lounged around the house and played with the pups. Of course, we took the opportunity to finish watching the first 12 episodes of Lost Season 2. We were planning on finishing the remaining episodes, but because work calls the following day (for me), we were forced to stop. Sad, sad.

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Last Monday's KATHA Songwriters' Night was a bang. Conspiracy Bar was jampacked. And Noel Cabangon rocks!!! Can't wait for Dec. 11 (it's Christmas-themed. There'll be a big Christmas pageant, and I get to be a reindeer. Yes, I'm kidding, but it'd be swell if it were true! Haha!) Seriously, if you're interested, do drop by and be amazed at the many talents we have here on our shores. (This is shameless plugging.) I wish to upload the videos of our performance, but I don't think I should: Uploading would take up lots of bandwidth, which would spell ISD trouble for me; then, there's IPR.

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Francis is posing a threat to my songwriting/poetry writing career. He's now composing his own lyrics (the new composition we performed recently at the KATHA event). And I must say his recent work is brilliant! So I must be prepared and more cautious. I should think of ways to outdo him.

So Francis, I know you're reading this, don't come to me for help with your syntax issues. Hahaha! Naah, I'm proud of him. Very much! Way to go! Here's to more word romancing! Teehee!

And because he's now into free verse, let me segue to this fantastic short letter/poem by e.e. cummings. He wrote this for his father when he was just, get a hold of this, SIX YEARS OLD!?!?!

FATHER DEAR. BE, YOUR FATHER-GOOD AND GOOD,
HE IS GOOD NOW, IT IS NOT GOOD TO SEE IT RAIN,
FATHER DEAR IS, IT, DEAR, NO FATHER DEAR,
LOVE, YOU DEAR,
ESTLIN.

Man, the guy must be such a nerd, and I'd give anything to have his brains and his pen. Hahah! But really, he's such a brilliant poet. Magnificent, awesome, genius! And did I say he's brilliant?

So I should work on my e.e. cummings creations now. --poof--

we got new babies and my sis is now an engineer!

Yep, yep! I got a new reason to want to go home early every day. We have two cute pups at home, loitering around and chasing each other and littering our terrace with their tiny droppings! Hahaha! I don't mind cleaning up after them, really. They're soooo adorable!

Nap time after playing and eating a lot!

Meet Clapton (the cream one) and Ginger (the chocolate brown pup). They're so hyperactive (especially Clapton) and I always get a kick whenever they would rush up to me and lick my feet! And when they're really hungry (they eat a lot), they'd jump at my feet as if begging for food. Teehee! So, so, so funny! I miss them already. And you won't believe how protective I can get. Whenever I hear one of them whimper, I'd rush to see if something's wrong. Like the other night, they each went a step down our terrace stairs and couldn't go back up, I had to carry them back to their "territory". And early this morning (as in 3:30am), I heard one of them crying out. I got alarmed by this crashing sound so I really bolted out of my bed, only to see Ginger trapped in this narrow space between my room and our terrace. It took the contortionist in me to get her out of there. I got so worried!

Yay, I could go on and on about these two babies of ours, but I'm afraid I might bore you readers to death. Hahah! Sorry, I just can't help it. It's been more than ten years since we last had a dog (now we have two soon-to-be doggies), and about two years since my beloved Netherland Dwarf rabbit, Gimli, passed away. I do hope to post lots of Clapton's and Ginger's photos in my flickr site soon.

By the way, thanks to my Pangga for suggesting such cool names inspired by the band, Cream – (Eric) Clapton and Ginger (Baker). Another dog and it'd be Bruce (Jack Bruce, that is). Oh yeah, and Ginger Baker (the human one) rocks!!!

Thanks also to my sis, Erma, for making the ultimate sacrifice – giving up her old pair of slippers just so the pups can have new toys to play with.

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Congratulations to my sis, who's now a new Chemical Engineer!!! Thank the Lord for guiding her during those crucial (not to mention mind-bending) days of review and exam. And come next Monday, she'll be another JG Summiteer (she'll be working at Petrochem)! Now we can look forward to more gift certificates! Hahahaha! Can't wait for her first-pay treat! Harhar! (I'm so full of exclamations here! Yay!) (Oh no! No one would be left to look after Ginger and Clapton! Oh dear...)

there we go again

Another copycat....tsk, tsk, tsk...and it's so strange that Toni Gonzaga seems to always be in the picture (literally; please see previous entry on this). My, oh my!

and all went cold

Wahahahaha! Bliss, bliss, bliss. Our 3-day, 2-night stay in the City of Pines proved to be very, very rewarding. Man, I'm still in vacation mode right now. Thursday found me, Francis and his sis, Sugar, on the road to Baguio. A few hours from our destination, it rained. We were expecting it'll be colder because of the downpour, but to our surprise, the cold was bearable (compared to last February).

En route to paradise

Friday afternoon, Francis and I met with Mari-an, my "predecessor". Had a long, fun chat and a long list of itenerary, thanks to you, Mari-an dear. (And because of that list, we had a hard time deciding where to go! hahaha!)

Friday morning photo op at Milet's place (she's Francis' and Sugar's godsistah)

With Mari-an at SM Baguio

Dinner was at Vocas (located on the top floor of La Azotea Bldg. on Session Rd.). The place is fantastic! Lots of artworks that are really cool. Kudos to Kidlat Tahimik!

A sweeping shot of fabulous Vocas

Saturday morning was spent taking more photos in Maryknoll Sanctuary. It was a day communing with nature ang getting exhausted from quite a long walk. But because we're in Baguio, getting tired does not necessarily make your sweat glands work overtime. In fact, our sweat glands went on vacation, too!

Welcome me!

Maski ako malilito....hahaha!

Lunch found us at Little John's at Mile Hi Complex in Camp John Hay. Their tapa's yummmmmy! And their chocolate fondue is superb! It had us craving for more, more, more... A little after that, our small group headed off to Tam-awan Village. We failed to go there last Feb., and so we made sure to drop by and feel the mountain air. True enough, it's a quaint village that offers more artworks and more nature-tripping. Due to my insistence, and the intriguing fact that one can see South China Sea from this place, we went on a small hike. Though we weren't really able to locate the exact place where we can say hello to the sea, we had so much fun taking in the view and being shutter-happy. Want proof?

The brady bunch

When we got back to lower grounds, we were treated to a couple of Igorot performances. And whaddaya know, I was able to spot this cutie who looks like Matsumoto Jun (that cute guy in Gokusen). That makes him my official Baguio Boy Crush. Hahaha! Francis says he's got big teeth, but who cares! My mom says he's cute, too. Harhar!

Performance level!

This is a zoomed-in shot of BBC with his two front teeth.
And he's looking at my cam! Wahaha!

Come early evening, Francis and I went our own way and had dinner at 5o's Diner. Because we ordered the wrong food (we were soon to learn that the resto's specialty are pizzas and shakes), we tried to satisfy our hunger at Café By The Ruins. It wasn't a grand fare, really. Just two cups of hot choco and a plate of mango crepe. Mind you, we still can't get Little John's fondue off our head...and so we made a plan to have lunch there again before we say tah-tah to Baguio.

Froth, froth

We dreaded the next morning, simply because we're a few hours away from leaving that cold, cozy place. Still, we forced ourselves to wake up early just so we could do some last-minute shopping. And with the many plastic bags, we hurriedly made our way back to Little John's tapa and fondue. Terrific!

The gastronomic tapa...

...and the fantabulous fondue!

Then it was goodbye... Thank the Lord typhoon Paeng didn't find us there. We left at 1pm and was back in hot, chaotic Manila by around 7:30pm.

Long and winding and foggy road...

How I would love to spend many of my days in Baguio....

P.S.
Many thanks to Milet for the wonderful accommodation everytime we're up there!

Oh, and do drop by my flickr site for more photos (as of this moment, I'm still not done resizing the whole lot!) I'll also be uploading some more goofy ones in my multiply site. Heehee!