Our Wedding Video!!! =)

So happppeeee to finally see our wedding video! Obviously and undoubtedly, we loved each and every second of it... yeah, even the part where i surprised Jon with a song - i was off-key and so off-timing (oh, the shame!!! :D)!!! On our first viewing with REALTIME, i thought of editing this part out but eventually came to my senses and the romantic side of me won... I realized that without it, our wedding video would be incomplete.

The package we got from Realtime included 2 DVDs (1 with jacket cover), 2 VCDs, 1 VHS tape, and the 6 mini DVs - the raw wedding footages. The DVD copy even has menu and chapters! They also added in an MTV-style production plus the on-site video (they played this during the reception - which many people absolutely loved!) and even included the AVP prepared by my brother-in-law (played also at the reception)! Galing talaga!

And have I mentioned that I so looooooove our wedding video? :D

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{the weekend update}

Watched Madagascar (hilarious movie!!! - go watch it!) with Aion and Gina Friday night at ATC and had midnight snack afterwards at Hen Lin.

highlight of the bonding session: "LO-HI???" and "Anong NE-MO?" ...did i get it right, Gina? hahaha! :D

The rainy Saturday afternoon was spent at Festivall Mall (it's been so long since we went here). Had an early dinner at Teriyaki Boy, went shopping, bought office supplies, and then, Jon finally gave in to his desires (hehe) and bought his own badminton racquet - complete with titanium strings and overgrip! My homeboy was so happy with his purchase all the way to our badminton game that night. Maybe that's the reason why he and Aion have finally beaten Marlon and i...??? hmmm....

Jon and I went to the market early Sunday morning. In the afternoon, we wasted time surfing and browsing blogs in the internet. And then, I cooked spaghetti for dinner, then we got back to being couch potatoes and watched television all night long... :D

Seduced by the Dark Side of the Force

Sorry folks...i just couldn't resist naming this post with this title. =) But I think it suits the pics above... right? hahah!

Well anyway, except for another luncheon videoke session at Red Box Saturday (after we dropped off the music cd needed for our final wedding video edit to REALTIME), the entire weekend was devoted to watching 4 Star Wars movies... yep, you read it right... 4 Star Wars episodes for 3 days! Mind you, i'm not even a real Star Wars fanatic...

Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith was preceded by dinner at Sentro (after choosing between this or Bubba Gump) with Marlon, Mauie, Aion and Gina. Fortunately, we had reserved seats so we were able to savour every morsel of food we ordered. Delicious food, btw (as always) - my fave, of course was the sinigang na corned beef!

Many people (including my husband) didn't like this installment that much. But... i DID like it. Heck, to each his own, right? =) I'd have to say episodes 1 and 3 are my favorites... heheh.

Now, i've watched all the first 3 (or should i say, last 3) episodes when i was a kid. And i never really understood any of it nor did it stay on my mind for all these years. All i could remember were the cute, cuddly and lovable Ewoks (which, during high school, was a pet name for me... heheh)! So, imagine my eagerness when i learned that we had DVD copies of Episodes 4-6 at home which Alex bought a long time ago which were all digitally edited and remastered! It was a STAR WARS marathon weekend for us! =)

And I immensely enjoyed watching the movies! Especially with Jon pointing out some things which were not in the original films. I wouldn't even notice any of those if it weren't for him... so, thanks hun! =)

I did see one obvious change, though. Anakin Skywalker (Christian Haydensen) made an appearance at the Return of the Jedi! My heart skipped a beat when i saw him. I just wished Ewan McGregor was also there... hihihi ;)

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Let me end this post by another picture...

Anakin's "serious" apprentices

--- MAUIE!!! sabi ko SERIOUS!!!! :p

A Sudden Expense

Fuck! Where's my damn phone???

I rummaged through my bag, anxious and irritated at the same time. We had just arrived at the meeting place after the long trek from the Majayjay falls (see previous post - The Pahiyas Festival)...

Shit! Andito lang yun hun eh...

I remember placing my 6600 at the very bottom of my long pink bag earlier. The last time I've seen it was when i received a text from Dionne, informing us where they were at that time... I continued looking for it... but to no avail. It was... GONE.

......

Days (even weeks) before going to Lucban, we have all been forewarned that there were lots of pickpockets during the fiesta. And believe it or not, i came prepared. I brought a long bag and didn't bring any unnecessary valuables, except for our digital camera and my cellphone, of course.

I have never lost something as important as this one. So imagine my frustration when i found out that the phone i got for free (oh, it was a SMART promo a year ago) disappeared without trace. There was not even a slash on my bag!!! The bastard must really be an expert! tsk tsk tsk.

The recent pictures, downloaded games, important notes and reminders, and most importantly, the contacts i've gathered and saved over the past years were all gone in a flash. But there was nothing else i could do but to let go...

Fortunately, SMART replaced my sim card and didn't change my number (an advantage for plan holders). I just had to fill up some forms, sign some documents for call barring and other stuff and voila, 3 hours later, my number was already activated.

Of course, i had to buy my replacement phone. *sigh* Jon and i searched in several malls before heartbreakingly purchased this one. haaaaay... the added bills!!!

As for the bastard who took my phone.., i hope he fuckin rot in hell!!!

Snippets

on our way home after our badminton game at Anvil...

him: I was watching you kanina...
me: Really? Bakit naman?
him: Wala lang. I was watching you play...
me: So.., am i good? *grins sheepishly*
him: oo naman...
me: *smiles from ear to ear*
him: Na-realize ko lang, kung di mo pa siguro ako asawa ngayon, i would still fall in love with you all over again...
me: *looks at the mirror inside the car - sees a scruffy looking, sweat-smelling, and hair-all-over-the-face girl looking back at me* ...looking and smelling like this???
him: yup, no doubt about it...

awwww... =) - now i'm convinced. I have a BOLERO husband... =)

The Pahiyas Festival

It was the first time for both Jon and I to attend the Pahiyas Festival at Lucban, Quezon. I have long been wanting to experience Philippine festivals such as this one and fortunately, my friends at work came up with this idea for our summer escapade. =)

Got up at around 3am this morning and excitedly prepared for the day's adventure. At 4am, we were ready. There were hardly any trikes in the village at that ungodly hour but luckily, my BIL was still up. He gave us a ride and dropped us off where we could get a taxi. The meeting place was at Shell Select EDSA-Buendia and we got there in no time at all. We had breakfast, bought some gum and chips, and waited for the others (there were more than 20 of us) and the arranged vans to arrive.

At 5am, we were off. The trip to Lucban was pretty much uneventful (well, 'cept for the beautiful sunrise at SLEX which we were all trying to have good shots of, amid the traffic).

We arrived at Lucban at around 8:30 a.m. We had a trike ride to get to the town proper coz the vans we rented were already asked to park elsewhere. The first thing i noticed after the short ride were the famous longganisang lucban which lined up the streets! I had to buy some of those before we get home, i noted.

After a short walk, we finally saw the beatiful houses adorned with kiping. They were fantastic. Never before in my entire life have i seen a place so colorful and so alive. WOW!!! The entire houses were decorated with different colored kipings, many of which were shaped like lanterns or flowers. But there were also some which were decorated by vegetables and fruits (sitaw curtains, tomato walls, etc,etc). Other materials were also aplenty; like palay, crepe papers, coconuts, banana leaves, and many many more which exhibited the creativity, ingenuity and resourcefulness of Pinoys. Truly superb!!!

The sweltering heat would never in a million years stop us from going house to house. Of course, we took thousands of pictures!!! We were even allowed to go inside some houses and took turns taking some shots. Ang saya! After an hour or so of non-stop posing, we paused for some snacks and had our first taste of the famous pancit habhab! Dee-lish! What made it even more so was the sukang maanghang and the way it is eaten - doggie style!!! Yeah!

While eating, the procession passed by us. Even the image of San Isidro Labrador was adorned by kipings. We followed the procession, but we made a detour and took the short cut going to the old stone church of Lucban. After some quick prayers and 3 wishes (i do that everytime i visit a new church =) ), we joined the others and went to some relatives of Bon's to answer nature's call. Bon's tito and tita were very accommodating, they even offered us juice, suman ng lucban, and yema. We rested for a while before going back to the gazebo in front of the church to join up with all the others. On our way there, i saw some pretty hats and decided to buy one (the one i brought was not enough to cover the sun, and well, for a more tourist-y feel...hahah!). Jon bought his own straw hat later, of course.

It's a hot, HAT day!

All 24 of us had an early lunch at an al fresco restaurant - Cafe San Luis. The heat and all the excitement must have made us all hungry again. Hahah! After lunch, Jera and Bianco informed us (thanks to the tourist map given to them) that nearby was a falls we all could visit. After making some inquiries and haggling with the trike drivers, we were off to Taytay Falls in Majayjay. I wasn't aware that the trip was going to take us an hour! The trike we were riding (with Dionne and Joven) had a lot of difficulty with the rough and winding roads and at last, more than halfway to our destination, the motor overheated and gone kaput. We were stranded in the middle of nowhere!!! (sino kaya ang may balat sa pwet... hmmm...:p)

Our other companions were passing by us one by one... We had to wait for the first tricycle to go back and take us to where the others already were.

We paid 20 bucks (entrance fee) and started the long trek going to the falls. The trail was slippery (yep, i slipped once! ouch!) and narrow, that i started to regret agreeing to this part of the trip. After about 30 minutes or so of walking, we finally saw the falls... and it was truly breathtaking!!! Yup... definitely worth the sweat!!!

At first, Jon n I were just taking in the beauty of nature (minus the thousands of people buzzing like bees, of course), just taking pictures and watching everything that's going on. I saw some of our companions making their way closer to the falls and noticed that some of them were swimming already! You see, going to the falls was not really part of our plan and not one of us brought swimming gears, or even extra undies (we were only told to bring extra shirts). But the lure of nature (and my officemate's cajoling) was strong and inescapable... I threw all my cares away and went in the water.., maong pants, blings and all! Damn, the water was so cold!!! The splashes of water i received from my officemates as a welcome treat, somehow helped my body temp adjust easily. Jon wasn't as brave, though. He stayed on top of the boulders and designated himself as the photographer for the time being. I kept on pleading for him to join me but he said he was happy and content where he is. Oh well... it was bonding time with my officemates then!

After some time, the cold was getting too much for some of us and so we got out and started wringing our clothes. Jon and i decided to go ahead of them and join the others who didn't swim. The long trek back was not as hard although I was dripping wet and my pants were getting a little uncomfy. Fortunately, the sun was at its hottest and by the time we got back to the town proper (this time, we boarded a jeepney), my clothes were a little bit dry already.

We were to have merienda at another relative of Bon's but on our way there, we came across a gown parade. And just like the decorative houses all around, the gowns and barongs were colorful and oh so beautiful. After all those feast for the eyes came the feast for our grumbling stomachs. And what a bountiful feast that was! It consisted of spaghetti, pancit, hardinera, puto, dinuguan, kaldereta, fruit salad, etc. etc! Man, we were stuffed!

After some rest and a little freshening up, it was time to buy pasalubongs! Jon n I did some exploring of our own and we were able to buy kipings, longganisang lucban, and uncooked pancit lucban.

At around 5:30 pm, it was time to go home. We passed yet another parade, this time, of the higantes (bearing some sponsors' name). I excitedly ran in the middle of the street and posed beside one. The TJ higante gladly stopped walking and posed while Jon took this shot. Heheh. =D

Another trike ride and then we hopped in to our rented van at last. We got back home at around 10pm tired but with smile on our faces. =)

Even the thought of losing my cellphone could not take away the joys of the day's exciting escapade... yes, people, i lost my phone in Lucban... :( ...but more on that on a later post.

**To view my pahiyas photoblog, click here. **

Happee Birthday TWO you...

It was another enjoyable evening with the gang last night. We met up with them at Dad's to somewhat celebrate Aion and Mauie's birthday. We stuffed our faces at the crossover buffet (my husband was the last man standing eating... :D); and had the bday celebrants greeted and sung to by the roaming band (there was an extra Kitchie Nadal song, but of course, we had to tip them afterwards).

Our stomachs were about to burst when we were finally through so we had to stay at the carpark for a few minutes and waited for all those food to be digested before deciding where to go next...

Marlon suggested a place at Mamplasan and we decided to go there using just one vehicle. We all hopped in the van and Jon drove off. But as it turned out, the place was already closed so we went all the way to Paseo de Sta. Rosa at... well, yeah, Sta. Rosa. =)

The place was lined up with bars and coffeehouses. But what was more interesting was some of the outlet stores (like Adidas and Nike) which sell items at great discounts. Too bad the stores were already closed.

Anyway, we came all the way to Paseo but we stayed at Figaro at the gasoline station just across from it. =) I think the noise there was just too much for us...

During the "coffee coffee", we were able to plan for another summer getaway, this time at 8waves waterpark. Luckily, I had some free time that day coz the gimmick with my old friends was cancelled. I really hope it pushes through... uhmmm, aion, sana tamaan ka... hehehe. :D

Five

"Time flies when you're havin fun"

In a flash, we're already celebrating our 5th month of being together... It's been a great and fun ride... and i'm at the edge of my seat, craving for more..! =)

We both took a leave from work and had some business taken care of this morning. We were thinking of going to the mall to watch a movie or something but just before lunch time, we thought of driving all the way to Tagaytay. It was one of those spur-of the-moment decision which made the trip more exciting and fun!

Our first stop in Tagaytay was People's Park. The last time we've been here was two years ago. We were kinda optimistic that the park had changed already but we got disappointed. The place was just as what i remembered it... dirty, unkempt, and just plain ugly. :( But there was one redeeming factor... the view at Peple's Park was magnificent!!! The view there made up for the P20 entrance fee which at first, i thought we were being robbed of... =)

After our (quick) stay at the People's Park, we drove off to find some place to eat. We wanted something out of the usual (Leslie's, Josephine's are out) and cheap (goodbye Sonia's and Antonio's). When we passed by the famous Mushroomburger, our search was over. Jon hasn't eaten here yet and i remember this was a favorite when i was still in high school so, we quickly made a u-turn and ordered our food. There were lots of new items on their menu, but we settled for the mushroom burger royale and longganisa meal with the adobo egg (back then, it was still century egg)...

After the yummy lunch, we proceeded to the newly-built Magallanes Square and went to an ukay-ukay shop... There were rows and rows of clothes to choose from but because the place was so humid, i didn't have the patience to browse everything and decided to go somewhere else. That "somewhere else", of course, was another ukay-ukay shop at the rotonda. I only got a simple top here. There were still lots of clothes to check out but i saw Jon getting bored so i dragged myself out of the building already. =)

Next, we had some coffee and a salad at Starbucks. We stayed there for more than an hour just talking and enjoying the view.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back home. But Jon promised to buy me my favorite fruit, so we stopped by a fruit stand on the street, and bought a kilo of mangosteen. We ate some of it on our way home and just as i predicted, Jon loved it too! Yum! =)

The long drive was just as fun, singing along (more like having a concert inside the car! haha!) with our CD (Corrs and Cranberries songs combined) 'til we got back home.

It was a great, albeit simple, 5th month celeb and i can't wait for more months and years of wedded bliss! =)

Mothers Day

I received an early present for Mother's Day from Jon Saturday night...although technically, I am not yet a "mom". =) He got me this very nice necklace and i wore it immediately on our date that night.

Initially, we thought of going to Red Box for another night of non-stop videoke but we remembered we still didn't have gifts for our moms so we browsed the shops at Glorietta instead. We found kikay earrings and bought two pairs. =)

The videoke was replaced by dinner at Marina. The sumptuous meal consisted of bulalo, grilled tuna belly, and a bucketful of grilled oysters ( i still say steamed is the best, though)!!! We finished everything off eventually and headed home right away. We were supposed to watch a movie and have coffee afterwards pa, ...but you know what they say about the oysters, right?! bwahahahaha!!! :D

This morning, we woke up early to buy some fresh roses for our moms, lola, and ninang. When we got back, Mama, Lola, and Ninang Roma were all having breakfast and surprised them by giving the flowers and the gift. I heard Ninang Roma say, "Thank God for Jon and Yax". Nakakataba ng puso d ba?... =)

Afterwards, we went to my old place and gave Mommy our gift and the flowers. She and K8 prepared spaghetti, roast chicken, and crema de fruta; my sister's boyfriend brought tiramisu and we had a very delicious lunch. Had a few hours of bonding moments with my family (while Jon spent time in front of the computer) and went home at around 3pm to cook one of my specialty, EGG ROLLS.

Unleashing the BitCH within...

Pardon the rage people... i just hafta get this off my chest...

~~~~~~~~~

This is for you... and you know who you are...

You've got something to say to me...??? Then why don't you SAY IT!

TO. MY. FACE!!!!
Oh, I get it... you are that insecure of me, aren't you??? poor, poor you...

I've done NOTHING to deserve your immature actions. We've shown you only kindness... and yet... tsk tsk tsk. Ang plastik mo, sobra! ...And you are such a USER!

I never imagined u would actually do it, but you outdid yourself this time.. You're actually worse than the others. In fact, you're 10 times worse than all of them combined. You're a user, a parasite and a pathological liar! Ang laki ng bilib mo sa sarili mo... And u actually think you're popular... well gurl, think again...

But you know what? I pity you... but.., i pity him more.

Oh, and one more thing...

I wish you'd fuck off and die, you BIIIAAAATTCCCHHH!!! :p

~~~~~~~~~

Whew. There! :) See? I'm smiling again..! :)

Long Chill-Out Weekend! =)

After lunch Friday, my sister, my niece, my tita n I went to the newly-opened Makro here at Las Piñas. Missed Jon (who was still at work) coz we usually shop together. I saw C2 which were on sale for only P57/6 bottles. I heard many people who were currently addicted to this green tea drink so i'm quite curious bout it and bought one pack.

Afterwards, we headed to an ukay-ukay store coz we heard that the items were on sale. Buy One, Take One for 100bucks. I'm not really very optimistic about finding good items there but not only did i find 1, but 4!!! So happy bout my new-old-clothes! =)

Spent Friday night at home browsing the net (I was looking for a place to go to coz of the sudden looong weekend) and changing the template of my husband's blog. Then, Diner Dash ulit. =) Slept at 3am already.

Saturday morning, I went to my workplace for our volleyball practice. Another great workout! Kaya lang, I got so mad that morning! There were these men kase at the side of the volleyball court who were playing basketball, and at the middle of our game, without warning, I just felt the (fuckin heavy) ball bounced on top of my head!!! The sudden jolt and the pain I felt made me cursed so loud at the court...twice! When i turned to look, those men disappeared all of a sudden. Di kase makapag-intay eh... Bad trip! While waiting for Jon to fetch me after practice, I still felt a little dizzy. And i felt like i lost 1 inch of my neck! :p

Jon n I went straight to my old place for lunch. It was my sister's birthday. =)

We went home around 3 in the afternoon and I took a nap for a few hours. We were supposed to go to Libis with Aion and Gina but Marlon n Mauie had a family dinner so it was cancelled last minute. There was nothing else special planned so Jon n I thought of having another DVD marathon. Right after we showered, we received a call from Marlon inviting us out coz the dinner finished early. We agreed to meet them at the Fort in an hour.

The "post-dinner" with Marlon and Mauie at an Italian resto at the Fort Strip was undeniably, a delight. =) Add to the fact that we had a "change of scenery", we had great food, great conversation and great company. I enjoyed every minute talking, confiding, laughing and joking with them. The night really was a welcome change! =)

me n the birthday gurl

Sunday morning, I prepared lunch at home (the usual sinigang) but we had no kangkong leaves so Jon n I decided to go to Makro for some quick grocery shopping. We both loved the C2 i bought days before so we bought 2 packs more(that's one dozen bottles! Woohoo! =D ).

After siesta, we went to SM Southmall to buy the replacement for my expired contacts. I was also able to buy a cute top at Sari2. =) We were supposed to hear mass right before our badminton sked but we've forgotten about the time and we just went straight to the court. Ang bad noh? :(

The entire Monday was spent at home. We rested, watched DVD (LXG) and rested again. We changed my hubby's blog template again, and i was satisfied with the results this time. Do visit! (it's pure kalokohan, mind you...) =)

Just before i was to sleep, Jon gave me a relaxing massage (in return for my time fixing his blog, i bet! haha!)... The long weekend rendered me fully recharged and ready for the 3-day work ahead!