2008: The Year That Was

In a few minutes, 2008 will be no more. I'd like to take this time to think about what happened over the last 12 months. No, this is not a memoir or a day to day chronicling of my year. I've decided to list down just those things that stand out--the ones I can remember with ease when I think about the last 366 days.

January marked a big change in the office. Our erstwhile section chief resigned last year and was then replaced by a new one. He started this year. Big change I'm telling you... not all for the better. I miss my old boss, if only because she at least cared for the job. And along with February came our first problem. We hold our annual Walk for Life celebration for our patients on this particular month. Sure we always do the bulk of the job (that's what staff do after all), but this is the first year we had to do everything ourselves. Just one of the signs of the tricky times ahead.

Also in February, I participated in a speech contest representing my Toastmaster's club--UEC Toastmasters. I joined the Tall Tale category which I messed in no small part due to my inability to make people laugh, and because I went overtime. Oh well, I'm chalking it up to experience. (There's a clip in that link I gave if you're curious at how my speech went.)

Last March, we went to Grand Villa Resort in Bae, Laguna for our annual youth camp at church. This year's theme is Gospel Fever where each one is encouraged and equipped to spread God's word.

I know that a lot people are wary of Christians because we seem to want to evangelize (read: preach to and convert everyone), but we only do this because we care. If you're really not interested, politely say so and we'll stop. (That doesn't stop somebody else from trying though.) Realize that in our belief system, it's the most important thing we could do for someone--share our faith with them. We consider it a personal failure to never have tried. So don't get offended, we are not judging you, merely sharing the good news--something you'd expect friends to do. Imagine if there was a sale on a mall your friend has just been to and they're practically giving away their goodies, would you be offended when your friend comes up to you and tells you about it? Would you think "What does this ass think of me? Like I need a handout or something?"? Of course not.

Anyhow, it was a fun camp, lots of lessons learned on top of the beautiful place.

This photo was taken from the balcony of our tree house.

April was another special month for me. That was the month I started this blog, in no small thanks due to I-Blog 4. Since then, I've posted 100 entries, and due for hundreds more this coming 2009. I've participated in maybe a dozen blogger events and I loved every minute of it. I love the people I meet and the stuff I get to try (not to mention the food I get to taste hehe..) What's more, I enjoy writing about it afterwards. Turns out not all bloggers are as geeky as me.

Yeah, I was the guy in that "chicken" costume.

May is my birth month. Had lots of celebration and consequently burned a lot of cash. That was the first time I joined photohunt too! I've posted one every week except a few weeks here and there when we were moving and in December when I was really busy, but it's been fun and I'm looking forward to more of it next year.

June turned out to be a fun month as well. We had a long weekend courtesy of Gloria's holiday economics, and we decided to skip town and go to Pagsanjan Falls! The trip going to the falls all by itself was well worth every peso. But the falls! Wow, it really was majestic!

You can take a look at the other photos here.

Boston beat LA 4-2 to win their 18th championship, Pacman beats Diaz becoming the first Asian to win 4 titles in 4 different weight categories. A successful Cardiac Rehabilitation Week celebration and an unsuccessful attempt at a midyear self-assessment--but no matter, there's always next year. (At this point, I will minimize details as I've mostly blogged about these things anyway.)

July had me boycotting Coke, hosting our high school reunion and found me on a page of Star Studio Magazine. A series of totally unrelated events. It was a fun month though! Oh and August! This month had me winning a cooking contest, attending a play with Randy David and Jun Lozada, and our toastmasters club winning Area Club of the Year.

September was pretty busy with us moving to our new home. An adjustment that continues to this day. I have yet to resume my earlier pace of posting as I try to adjust to my new environment. October was the month where I lost my long time roommate but gained a new sister--the month my brother got married. I felt this last couple of months was just a whirlwind. I don't really recall any thing in particular but I thought it was busy. December was of course marked by lots of Christmas parties and expenses galore!

Looking back, I'm glad I started blogging this year. I never thought I'd be blogging before I did, but now I can't imagine not doing it. Sure some days it's a pain, I'd rather read stuff or watch tv. Yet I realized now how much it helped me chronicle the different highlights and low points of my year. It gave me a chance to look at the bigger picture that is 2008. Made me realize how blessed I was... I am.

Now I'm looking forward to the next 365 days! I say bring it on! God willing, there'd be more challenges this year and more sources of strength to overcome them. More milestones to set while we continue to pick up the pace. Here's hoping it would be fruitful time for all of us.

Happy New Year everybody!

Photohunt: Squeaky

That's me trying to squeak through an igloo hehe...

Nah, we don't get a white Christmas down here in the Philippines. That's from snow city in Singapore (who don't get snow either hehe...) . Seeing as how people often equate Christmas with winter, I just thought this would be fitting.

Merry Christmas y'all!

N.B. You might want to check out my previous post if your Christmas wasn't merry enough.

UPDATE: The Golden State Warriors just squeaked past the defending champs Boston Celtics who just lost their first back to back this season. Oh, and Jax is back. I just thought it's appropriate to mention them as the Warriors are still the undisputed "Squeak King" (whatever that means) of the NBA who squeaked into the 8th and final playoff berth of the Western Conference during the 2006-07 regular season and then topping that by beating no. 1 seed Dallas Mavericks who had the regular season's best record.

PhotoHunt

Merry Christmas Y'all!

How'd your Christmas go? Mine was ok. Probably not as fun as the previous ones, definitely not as fun as when I was a kid--though I can't say I can actually substantiate that claim. Perhaps it's all a matter of perspective. Much easier to have fun when you're a kid than when you're old enough to have to worry about cash and meeting deadlines and stuff. I guess that's why people have kids. Sure they're a source of endless worries but they're an even better source of laughter and joy.

Just yesterday, while I was on the commute home there was this cute little kid of about 3 sitting by the driver (his daughter I would imagine). I smiled at her like I usually do when I see little kids. And she shyly smiled back. Boy, you should see her smile! She's pretty common looking when she's not smiling, but when she does, she smile's easily worth a million dollars. Anyway, after that shy smile, she kept spying on me, checking out what I was up to. My response to which is a big smile. Until after a few more minutes, we were just playing around. She would look up ahead and then suddenly turn her head to look at me to which I would pretend to catch her doing so and she would giggle. I know it sounds silly but it was fun! So fun in fact that some of the other passengers were observing us with a little smile of their own.

I can just imagine how much joy she brings her parents. And she's lucky, her parents love her very much nevermind that he's just a jeepney driver. I know just by the way her parents were laughing at her antics.

So what is the point of all these? Really quite simple. While happy moments might be hard to come by during these hard times, it still manages to just sneak up on you. This blog's been silent for a couple of weeks now. I purposely withheld my 100th post until today (last night actually, but I was too tired hehe) because I wanted to make it special.

How? I haven't quite decided yet. I want to make someone happy. One of you to be specific. So here's what I'm going to do. I want you to post via the comment section one wish, something that would make you have a happier Christmas--an ungranted wish so to speak. That plus why it would make your Christmas happier. I'll pick one that I'll grant and we'll go from there. Lets try to make it realistic now ok? Don't go wishing for a girlfriend (a date is more realistic) or a sports car.

Easy enough right? So give it your best shot. I'll announce a winner before New Year. Oh, and if it's easy and cool enough to do, I might even grant more than one. That's it for my 100th post!

A blessed Christmas to all of you!

NB Please feel free to post your prayer request as well--as many as you want, and I promise to pray for all of them. God bless!

Photohunt: Breakfast

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's Eggs Ben--a concoction of Rosemary focaccia bread with cheese, turkey ham, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce.

Although this one's a bit pricey for breakfast (at close to P150 if my memory serves me right), it is nonetheless visually appetizing, which I suppose makes it apt for this theme. This was ordered by somebody else from our group when JC was kind enough to treat us at CBTL during his birthday so I personally didn't get to taste this. My feedback weren't all that good though. They said the taste was ok, but not really good value for your money, but the serving size really left something to be desired. Of course, he did eat this for dinner so you might want to try it out yourself though.

Tosilog: Tocino, Sinangag at Itlog (Honey cured pork, Fried Rice and egg!)

Now this is a more traditional Filipino breakfast. This is what we ate when my friend Chin and Khloe came over here last year to see the country. While in itself not visually appealing, it is more satisfying and a whole lot cost-effective at just P32 per plate. Of course us Asians prefer rice to bread, so that might explain the increased satiety of this one compared to the first one.

(This last one is not actually my photo. You might want to check this out to see the source and to read more about her experience with this and her other adventures here in the Philippines.)

PhotoHunt

Happy birthdays!

I'm sure a lot of people are celebrating their birthday today. If the figure 6.7B is an accurate estimate of the world's population and assuming birthdays at this level can be safely distributed to all 365 days of the year with negligible statistical difference, that's 18.4M people celebrating their birthdays!

Not that I'm inclined to want to actually greet 18.4M people nor do I expect them to care that I did, but if you happen to be one of them, this entry is partly for you. Happy birthday! If you're curious, you share the same birthday as, F. Sionil Jose, Brendan Fraser, Daryl Hannah, Julianne Moore, Andy Williams, Kim Dae-Jung, and if you must know, Ozzy Osbourne. That's among a handful of top artists, head of states and curiously nobel laureates.

(WARNING: Cheese ahead!)

I personally know 3 friends who celebrate their birthday on this particular date. I'd like to greet Runaway Cat. May you find the peace you're looking for and the fulfillment of your evil plans hehe... Now go to sleep!

The second is my good friend Fenalon. He was my bestfriend back in the days when the term "bestfriend" is still used. We have drifted apart these past few years moving along in different circles now, but we've remained quite good friends. To Fenalon, may God bless you and prosper you in all you do.

The third and last person I'd like to greet, the main course if you will, is none other than...

(drum rolls please)

My dear mother.

Sure we don't agree on a lot of things, at times I just feel like pulling all my hair out in frustration at the times I can't understand her or when she refuses to understand me. But for all my ungratefulness and general pain-in-the-neck-ness, she's managed to tolerate me and love me even. And while I may not say it often enough (believe me, there's no one sorrier than I that I'm just not cut out to be able to say it as often as necessary), I love her. Oh and if you run into her, feel free to tell her I told you so (she doesn't read my blog you see), maybe somehow that will compensate for my hardheartednesses.

Happy birthday December 3-ers.
Happy birthday Ma!

Photohunt: Metal

A metal screen door is a common sight on front doors here in the Philippines.

This is because we live in a tropical country, and it gets really warm sometimes, a practical way of addressing this is leaving the door open to allow fresh air in which unfortunately attracts thieves and mosquitoes, best response? Attach a metal screen door. It allows the air in and keep the pests out.

Here's the man we hired to build us a screen door.

PhotoHunt

Christmas List (My first Christmas post!)

Tagged by Ceemee

This didn't really come with instructions. My liberal interpretation of this meme is that I try to put up my Christmas wish list and you try to make it come true. Ready? Go!

Material stuff:
1. Books always work for me... I still haven't read Books 9, 10 and 11 of Wheel of Time Series... I've always meant to read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, Blink (see update below) and his new one The Outliers.

2. Practical stuff works too... I don't like buying clothes, so if your fashionable and think you can rub some of your fashion sense on me, feel free to try.

3. I've been meaning to get a foldable bike.

"Big" stuff:
1. Gift of your time and your ears. I'd like to share someone really important to you. He's someone who gives me hope and assurance and I I'd like you to meet Him too. It's the perfect season too, after all it's His birthday.

2. If you want to give me a gift that's really a gift for you, just go ahead and sponsor a kid at World Vision. (If you're interested and want to ask questions, feel free to contact me.)

3. Discipline and drive. Honestly, if you have a suggestion as to how I'll manage to get these 2 things, I'll appreciate it.

Others:

1. Hmm... something really helpful like inside information. If you have any tips to give me, say Oscar dela Hoya is throwing the match, maybe a certain stock will hit the roof, or whatever... that would be most welcome.

2. Hard cash!

3. If you still can't choose from those listed above, easy choices include a new phone, a laptop (or a mini notebook hehe), a car, Wii, a job that pays 7 digits/annum (ok, so this one is pretty serious--if you want to pirate me, please, I'm willing.)

Super wishes:
1. Ability to fly (if you can grant this, forget the car but I still want the bike).

2. Ability to read minds (not hear them like in What Women Wants mind you--that would be maddening).

3. Charm... oh wait, I already have that, except I'm somehow only able to charm the young ones and the young once... can't figure out the ones in the middle.

Oh, and if your planning to get me something that's not on this list, just go ahead and surprise me. (WARNING: Pens, towels and mugs are not considered surprises.)


Hmm... let me see, let's see if we can tag these people out of their lethargy: Cams, Miss Elle, Kaycee, Runawat Cat, and Rian. To you 5, if you want to avoid receiving mugs and pens this Christmas, do this meme. Let that serve as my warning to you.



NB If you don't know me and came across this list and somehow think, "My, how cheeky! Maybe I should grant a wish or 2 (or 3)..." You're more then welcome to do so.


UPDATE: I managed to acquire a copy of blink in a bazaar I attended last Saturday for only P150... it's a little below half the price because it's pre-owned, but it's in very good condition! Yay! To anyone who's considering giving me a book as a gift? It doesn't even have to be new! I'm of the philosophy that it's the content of the book that matters, not the cover. Oh, and I'd been wishing I could get a hold of a copy of Freakonomics too hehe... That's all folks! (12.01.08)

Photohunt: Reflection (Pasta Scientifique)

Today I had the opportunity to reflect on the science of gastronomy with Pasta Scientifique!

Pasta Scientifique is part of a series of creative and informal fora designed by Cafe Scientifique to reach and teach a variety of audience to see and appreciate science in all aspect of our lives. They discuss the science of everyday things in this case pasta preparation! Cool huh?

Here we have Cibo's very own Margarita Fores (middle) teaching us a few of her recipes and Mitzi Borromeo (left), Philippine coordinator of the Cafe Scientifique as moderator.

They showed us how to prepare 3 of Margarita Fores' own recipes and gave us insights on pasta preparation.

Farfalle alla Genovese, a ribbon-shaped pasta with sauteed mushrooms, cream and Pesto Genovese--a basil pesto made in the classical way using mortar and pestle.

I'm not sure I'm gourmet can tell the difference between hand prepared pesto as to a food processor prepared one, but this is definitely yummy! This is also the first time I was able to taste pasta that actually had it own taste. Apparently, the secret is to actually put a lot of salt in the water used to cook the pasta. She said if it doesn't taste like sea water yet, there's not enough salt.

Spaghettini al Pomodoro Crudo, spaghettini in raw marinated tomatoes with garlic and sweet basil.

This is a culinary delight indeed! So good yet so simple to prepare. Basically, she marinated tomato in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper for an hour and voila! She suggested that when choosing tomatoes for this you should pick the overripe ones, ones that are soft and plump and easily bruised for these are the sweetest ones. She also suggested leaving the tomato seeds in.

Fettuccine al Bolognese

Here she used fresh egg pasta. Again, I can't say I can tell the difference except that again this is good. She says that when cooking pasta, it's important to use enough water (5L per 500g of pasta) at the right temperature (i.e. when the water is boiling vigorously). Don't use oil, to prevent pasta sticking from each other, just give it a quick stir right after you put the pasta in the water. And while one is advised to follow package instructions as to the time it takes to cook, one should always check the pasta to see if it's al dente (i.e. soft enough to eat, but firm enough that it bites back).

It really was a delightful learning experience. And what made the whole thing even more interesting is the presence of the scientists! Yeah, there were physicists, and chemists who were there because they wanted to help clarify certain concepts or rather misconceptions.

That's me being creepy and asking for an autograph and a photo-op hehe...

Cafe Scientifique is supported by the Mind Museum--a science museum project by the Bonifacio Art Foundation set to open in 2011 at wherelse? Global City, Fort Bonifacio--near Bonifacio Highstreet just across Market Market. Isn't that something to look forward to? (Check out the video on their site, really exciting stuff!) If you want to participate in some of their future activities (like I hear they've planned a session where they tackle the sciences of shopping and the physics of magic) you may email them here.

NB If you have questions or if you want copies of the recipe (which they graciously provided) feel free to leave me your email address and I will attend to that as soon as I can.

PhotoHunt

Photohunt: Together

Question: What do beads do when they get together?
Answer: I don't really know, but they sure turn out beautiful adornments!


The Chandelier


Victorian Style


Spiral Bracelet

These intricate beadworks are actually crafted by my friend Kat. I thought I'd post some of these to help her promote her work. In case you're wondering, yes, they're all for sale. And there are much much more stuffin her multiply but I only posted these three because I personally took these photos. Feel free to go there to contact her. You can also visit her as she's set to make an appearance at a few bazaars over the next few weeks.

• November 17 to 21 (Monday to Friday) 8 to 5pm, she'll be at the UST Education Building where the College of Music is celebrating their college week.

• November 29 (Saturday) at Hope Christian High School for the Hope Foundation celebration.
  

• December 19 t0 21 (Friday to Sunday) 12noon to 10pm at the Noel Christmas Bazaar at the World Trade Center--her shops name there would be Pumpkin Gift Shop.

PS If you don't know these places feel free to ask me for directions. Have a great week everybody!

PhotoHunt

Photohunt: Blue Three!

Sky blue! The hue that lifts me up from being blue.


Clever marketing technique if you ask me. (Here's a close up.)


Here's something that I'm not sure is blue, but might make you blue. (That's the exact package for the stopwatch.)


And here's how much we paid for it. Now P85 may not seem much, but who knows how many P85 gets filched that way?

N.B. In case you wondered, the title is in fact a reference to Bioman's Blue Three.

PhotoHunt

Potpourri (including my photohunt entry last week)

Yes, I understand I've been gone quite a while, I've been rather busy. It's not even over yet, so kindly pardon me if I make a lazy short entry for now. I intend to make up for it in the coming weeks.

• Now one of the reasons I was busy last week was because my brother got married last Sunday.

Yep, took that myself! Oh yeah, that's my new sis, Minnette. (More photos here.)

• Also our friend Roger who's been in Melbourne for the past 8 years came to town to attend the wedding. We had a couple of dinners with friends chatting about old times--fun times! (Here are some photos.)

Got Roger to demonstrate his Aussie accent for us.

• Oh, I remember asking for suggestions regarding my brother's bachelor bash. We did manage something at the last minute (i.e. last Friday evening). We had a cheap steak meal first at Slice and Dice which JC says you're better off cooking one on your own--cheaper and yummier. The sisig was alright though, crunchy and really not bad for it's price (P70+ if I'm not mistaken. We then went to Remote World¹ where we played Wii, sang a couple of songs and ended up battling each other for Counter-Strike supremacy. I was teamed with JC and another friend against my brother and one of his friend. We let the groom-to-be win of course, it is his party after all.
  

• Speaking of Wii, how would you like to win a Wii party package for 5 at Red Box? Now I'm talking top-of-the-line comfort, eat-all-you-can buffet for you and your friends free! If you answered yes, go ahead and head on over to Chicken Mafia for the details. You might want to hurry though, contest ends on November 15. (Here's my entry for the last time we went there.)
• Oh, and if you love that, you might enjoy winning a bag too! Just head on over to Chicken Mafia "Bag a new bag from Bratpack" contest, share a funny story of yours that involves you and a bag, and you might be on your way to win a cool bag! You ought to hurry though, contest ends on November 14.
• I realize that I wasn't able to post an entry to photohunt last Saturday because I was rather busy. The theme then was scary, here's my entry (though being 1 week late, I suppose this doesn't count anymore).

I don't know about you, but those electric lines sure look like a disaster waiting to happen to me.

• Oh, and the NBA season is upon us! And do you know what that means? Fantasy basketball! Ok, so I finished 2nd to the last in my league last year, but that was my rookie year. I didn't do too bad considering I got invited to a more competitive league this year. This season I'm playing in 4 leagues: one using a PFC style selection where I managed to snag both 3rd round picks (out of a possible 14) and Stephen Jackson of the Golden State Warriors(not bad considering the guy who got the 1st pick had to choose Josh Boone in order to pick that high); the other 2 at ESPN, the Mafia League (the league I was in last year), and the more competitive Teo Invitational. And the last is a public league in UFC that I accidentally joined. I hope I do better this year, I bet I would win at least one, most likely the public league seeing as no one really takes UFC seriously anymore. Why? Because they suck! It's a shame that NBA.com own game sucks big time.
  

¹ Hmm... About the place, it's not classy or anything. The Wii sets were fine, the TV's were big enough, but there were no air-conditioning to speak off (something you know you'd need if you've ever played Wii before--though they do have a shower room), no soundproofing so you hear the drunk next door wailing My Way, and the rooms were more like partitions. Still the place wasn't bad for it's price. We spent maybe 3 hours there drinking and playing and all it costed us was P500 something bucks--total! I guess it's an OK place to go if you want to just hang out with the guys. Oh, and they are open 24 hours a day.

A close encounter with Veronica Domingo

I was casually strolling along Morayta¹ last night basically minding my own business when something happened that caused me to stop minding my own business. Now I will try to narrate what happened as accurately as possible--unfortunately a lot of what happened is now a blur to me.

Now I'm not sure if I noticed the lady about 10 paces in front of me first or right after a group of college students literally stopped on their tracks after she walk passed them. I'm using the word she, but truth is, I'm not really sure at this point if she was a she. See she was tall, nice long hair, rather sexy in my opinion, nice legs (she was wearing shorts) and all, but she looked a bit too tall and she had broad shoulders. She could easily have been a model type or a pretty gay guy (see it's hard to tell looking at her back especially when she's ten paces away). I only heard a few words from the group when I walked pass them, but my interest was especially piqued because I heard one of them (a seemingly gay guy come to think of it) say something about coming across people like her or something to that effect.

So what did I do next? I did my best to overtake her so I could have a look. Trust me, a lot of men do this. Inasmuch as I was a fast walker, I couldn't overtake her--it was a good thing she went inside a 7/11. I went in and I purchased something just as she was--accidentally bumping into her in the process--it was really an accident, honest! I said sorry, and she was all nice about it and even gave me a smile. That's when I saw that she couldn't have looked like a gay guy if she tried. See she was rugged, probably tougher than some guys I know. She's got a few nick and bruises here and there. She looks really tough but still very pretty--she had this gorgeous pair of eyes and a really lovely smile to match.

Now getting back to my tale, I apologized and left. That's when I saw the same group of students and they're now hanging outside the store. And this time I heard what they're talking about loud and clear.

Hey, do you know Veronica from Survivor Philippines? That's her in there.

Guess what I did next?

This.²

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in love with her or anything. Sure, I might have a little crush on her. I mean how could you not? She's pretty, and nice (and that was before I shamelessly told her I'm a fan) and she's tough. I like tough women. She reminds me of that girl in My Sasy Girl (not that I think she's anything like her).

And my, this has got to be the most star-strucked I've ever been. Heck, I've never felt giddy about a celebrity sighting ever before--and she's not even a big celebrity yet! I'm just sorry I haven't shaved in a while. Man! I must've looked like a bum to her. Oh, and I'm sorry I didn't ask for her email address then tell her I'd email her a copy of the photo (not that I'd want her to have a copy nor did I imagine that she'd want one). She was pretty nice about the whole thing after all... and who knows? Right?





Nah! Guess not.



¹ Morayta is University Belt in Manila.
² I know that's not exactly a flattering photo of her, so here's another one.

Sorry, this is all I could find online, just go watch the show so you can see her better. Oh, and you can read more about her here.

Photohunt: Family

I know this is late, and I'm sorry. I was busy the whole weekend. That's why I couldn't post an entry until now. Let me just say though, that what I was busy with is totally related to this week's theme.

See, my grandfather's youngest brother and his wife arrived recently from Canada. He's only here for a week, so last night we all gathered at my uncle's house and had dinner together.

That's him 2nd from left wearing the blue shirt.


Here's a photo of my cousins and their moms.


Of course, no family gathering is complete without food. Lots and lots of food!

Now you might be wondering, Saturday night? Why didn't I post an entry Saturday morning or afternoon then? Unfortunately, I was stuck at home cleaning for Sunday's activity.

A close family friend who's also a priest, Fr. Alfred Yap, just came home from Australia to join us for my brother's wedding. My mom thought it might be cool to have him officiate the house blessing.


That's my room! You see 2 beds because I still share this room with my brother at least until next week.


And how can I forget? More food!

PhotoHunt

You can visit here to see more photos!

I'm not lazy... just a little busy

I know, I know... I haven't been blogging much--not since I move anyway. I'm still trying to get used to the new setup I guess. I'm still trying to get used to the new time I need to be up and stuff too. My travel time is now 1hr, and that's still pretty tight. There's too little time for error, and very little I can do to make up for lost time once I lose it. Unlike before where I can easily hail a cab, and reduce my travel time by almost half, now if I take a cab I actually increase my travel time. Still I'm not complaining. Everything's new and I love the feeling of trying things out for the first time. The sense of exploration is makes each day interesting.

Speaking of new things, something big is about to happen to our family. My little brother is getting married. Yes, you read that right, my little brother. I don't care that he's getting married ahead of me. Anyway, he's not so little anymore of course, he's turning 26 at the end of the month. And guess what? He's getting married on the 26th! Hehe... corny I know, and it really has nothing to do with that.

Yeah, that's them. Aren't they sweet?

It's exciting, yet a little bit disconcerting as well. Sure we love Minette (that's my soon to be sister-in-law's name), and she's been part of the family for almost 9 years now-- well less than that really, since she's rather shy, and it took her a while to warm up to us, but that's how long they've been together (and how long I've known her add a couple of years or so). Still there's bound to be a lot of changes--one which is the roommate I'm losing. I've shared a room with my brother for as long as I could remember. Heck, we shared a double deck bed when we were kids, and when it wasn't safe for me to be on the top bunk anymore (not safe for him hehe...), we still used the same beds (disassembled of course). We've moved houses more times that I care to remember, but we always shared the same room. Not that he's going far away though, he'll be at the room across the hall in a couple of weeks. It's still a welcome change after all. Much much better than if he suddenly lives miles away.

I'm not really in-charge of any parts of the wedding so that's good. We have yet to finalize plans for his bachelor party though. We're thinking of a nice cozy place good for perhaps 1o maybe 15 people. Not necessarily cheap, but nothing expensive either. Some place where we can maybe drink a few rounds, sing a few songs, maybe play poker or something. Right now, I'm eyeing Red Box, but I'm still looking for a cheaper place--I'd appreciate any suggestion you might have. Also, since we're at it, perhaps you can suggest a nice package for his honeymoon as well. He wants to go to Hongkong. He hasn't found the perfect date yet (as in cheap flights, inexpensive accomodations) nor tour package. If you know anything about this kinds of stuff, if you own a travel agency and think you can help--please, don't hesitate to drum up a little business for yourself.

Anyhow, I might not be back in full swing bloggingwise until after the wedding I suppose--that's a couple of weeks from now. I'm still almost always online though, so feel free to shoot me a message or something. Thanks for reading this, have a good week you all!

PS Another thing that's keeping me rather occupied is the impending start of the NBA season. I play fantasy basketball you see, and we do the draft around this time of the year. By the way, if you play too, me and JC are starting an auction roto league, shoot me an email if you want to join us (or want to know more).

Photohunt: Lazy (Wii Party at Red Box)

Too lazy to play sports? Play Wii Sports!


Now I've never really played tennis before, but this looks like a fun way to try it.

Wii Sports your choice...


The get-out-of-my-way-because-I'm-crazy mode (not-so-lazy-me stage left) and the really lazy way (JC stage right)

Now I'm sure you'd have lots of questions (or not), so here's the answer to some of the most frequently asked questions. (Feel free to ask me some more via the comments if you're left unsatisfied by the FAQ's.)

FAQ 1: Was it fun?

Do I look like I'm having fun? You bet! Btw, that's me preparing to catch a serve.

FAQ 2: And where did we do this fun thing?

Why at Red Box of course! Yep! They offer Wii now! Weee!

FAQ 3: So who won?

Marcelle won the costume contest with his best impression of Solid Snake (aka person-hiding-under-a-cardboard box) of the Metal Gear Solid fame (not that they have it on Wii mind you)

Now if you mean the Chicken Mafia open, it ended with one chicken beating another chicken 2 set to 1. Oh, and did I mention I took the opening game--my Wii sports debut?

FAQ 4: Aside from playing Wii, what else can we do at at Red Box?

That's the best part... eat, drink and sing all you can!

Oh, and one last thing!

Buffet rules! Yeah baby!

Check out their website or just go visit them at Greenbelt 3 or Trinoma to have your own fun! And please feel free to invite me!

N.B. You can also check out their Daily Super Promos! And feel free to visit my multiply site to see more photos.

PhotoHunt