my freebies

Who doesn't love freebies? I do! Whenever Kyo attends conventions I always ask him to bring home stuff like pens, pencils, notebooks, notepads...whatever he can get his hands on. So today, I am going to start a list of all the stuff I get for free starting with....

1. 5 Philippine postcards, 9 Hong Kong postcards - from Vilma Z. (7/15/08)
2. 4 Swiss postcards - from Christel B. (7/16/08)
3. 9 Beijing Olympics postcards - from Guangdong Qu (7/21/08)
4. 3 Disney postcards, 3 Las Vegas postcards - from Maria O. (7/21/08)
5. Intuit water bottle (7/28/08) 6. Instant hand sanitizer - from Lucille Packard Children's Hospital (8/23/08)
7. Lightup pen - from SLA convention (6/22/09), I don't know who put in on my desk :)
8. 7-night All-Inclusive trip to RIU Palace Riviera Maya in Mexico - from abc7 (6/11/09)

happy new year!

This is a long overdue post. Anyway, I still would like to greet everyone a very Happy New Year! I hope this will be a great year for everyone. I have been busy over the holidays (as I'm sure everyone is) with all the shopping, wrapping gifts, parties to plan and attend as well as getting involved with this postcard exchange project - http://www.postcrossing.com/. I have been absolutely addicted to postcards! I'm also into stamp collecting and digital scrapbooking. Check out my other sites - http://postalcollection.blogspot.com/ and http://scraphaven.wordpress.com/

I just joined a very cool online community project. Check it out at Shai Coggins' site.

Enjoy!

labor day weekend

Didn't think that we'd have so much fun without going away for the Labor Day weekend. Usually when there's a 3-day weekend coming up, we'd be planning a trip somewhere. We've been quite busy the past few weeks and it's really a welcome relief to just stay home and chill. However, the weather was nice and we wanted the kids to have fun. So on Saturday we drove to the other side of the bay and went swimming at Joinville Swim Center. Earlier that morning I was able to purchase a swim vest for KatKat so we didn't have to hold her all the time when in the pool. I'm glad I did since she had a blast "swimming" by herself while big sister Kamille practiced her arm strokes and side breathing.

On Sunday, we were at a Safari themed birthday party for my college friends' son. He was turning a year old and had a party at Commodore Park in San Bruno. The kids enjoyed it. KatKat even sat still to have her face painted with a little bumblebee and her hand with some flowers. They got to take home a cute loot backpack filled with toys and candy.

Monday was the official holiday so we just slept in. It's nice not having to wake up early for a change. Hung out at home most of the day. Did some grocery shopping later in the afternoon and had dinner at my sister-in-law's house. We have this thing of celebrating monthly mini-birthdays till the baby gets to be a year old. Nothing fancy but we always have noodles for long life. Happy 2nd month Carl!

back to school

It was the first day of school yesterday. My baby is now in 2nd grade. How time flies! She's had a fun summer this year with art camp, swimming lessons, trips to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Great America, Monterey and Napa and hanging out with family and friends. She finished her required reading list for school but I guess the highlight of her summer was watching High School Musical 2! You know how kids are these days.

Now it's back to sleeping around 8:30pm so she won't have a hard time waking up in the morning. She was so excited to be back in school with all her friends. The night before, she expertly laid out her uniform and hung it behind her bedroom door. She checked her supplies to make sure she had everything she needed. She did all these without me telling her to.

I dropped her off in school at around 7:40am. This time there were no more damp eyes for me. I guess the tears are now reserved for my other baby who'll be starting preschool next year. Anyway....It was a short day and I had to pick her up at 11:00am. She was a little disappointed they did not learn anything the first day but was happy to report that they each got a cool desk that opens to reveal a storage space for their supplies.

Check out these photos from her 1st day in school.....

busy weekend

Saturday was a busy day for us. Left the house at 8:00am to have my fingerprints (for my Citizenship application) taken at the INS Application Support Center in Oakland. My appointment was not till 9:00am but decided to leave early so I could get a street parking spot right outside the building. I was surprised that there were already people inside when we arrived. At least the wait was not too long. It was a little past 9:00am when I finished. We had planned on having brunch at the Legendary Palace since they open at 8:00am on the weekends. This restaurant was recommended by my co-worker/friend who knows a lot of good places to eat (especially Chinese Restaurants). For $25 (w/o the tip) we had an assortment of dim sum, complete with a nice steaming pot of Jasmine tea.

This past week, Kyo had prepared himself a Taste of Asia Hot and Sour soup for lunch. Since he enjoyed it so much he went online and checked out their website. That's when he found out about the Oakland Chinatown Streetfest held last Saturday. Since we were already in the area we decided to take a look at the happenings. There were lots of booths, even some with free tastes of moon cakes, drinks, etc. Kamille enjoyed it because of the freebies she got to take home.

It was my first time in Downtown Oakland so we made the most out of our little trip by stopping by Jack London Square. I've heard of this place for so long and have seen it on TV several times. When we arrived there was an event going on - Back to the Schoolhouse at Jack London Square. It was a "free community event with helpful health and safety information and all-day family entertainment". There was a magician, a performance by a band (I forgot the name) and several interesting booths. We all got to spin the wheel at the Monterey Bay Aquarium booth and Kamille won 4 admission tickets for us. How cool is that!

We didn't stay long. After taking several photos and getting their goodie bags, we left Oakland and headed straight to San Leandro. Earlier in the week, we got an invite to a send off party for a friend in college. Jax is a dentist now and was called by the Army to serve in Germany. He'll be there for 3 years with his family. After 12 years we finally got to see each other, spend time even for a bit and catch up. We both live close by but our schedules didn't permit us to hang out. Anyway....it was really nice seeing you again, Jax! Take care and God bless you and your family always.

sisters

I haven't seen my sister for almost 5 years now. I don't even get to talk to her as much as I want to. However, I know that she cares for me as much as I care for her. Like all siblings, we had our share of fights and arguements. When we were kids I would sometimes have these moments when I would say to myself that she is not my real sister. Technically, she is my half sister. My mom died when I was 5 years old and my dad remarried.

The word "half" sort of got lost along the way as we grew up. She wasn't my half sister anymore. Just a sister. I am happy that I have her in my life and that someone calls me "ate". She has been through a lot of trials in life and has always come out stronger than ever.

Now I have two daughters of my own. Like any other family, my kids would play a bit and then start getting on each others nerves. But they can also be very sweet and loving to one another. I hope someday these sisters will become best friends for life.

napa day trip

Last Sunday we decided to take Tita Minnie to Napa. Since she has visited this place last time she was here, Kyo had researched other places we could visit. We arrived around noon at COPIA - The American Center for Food, Wine and the Arts. They had an Edible Garden Festival that day. There were food & wine tastings, art exhibits, home & garden booths and cooking demos. We got to take home quite a few goodies.

Next stop was the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena. Visiting this place makes me want to become a professional chef (I wish!). Maybe someday....

book, movies, etc.

Whew! Finally, I finished the last installment of the Harry Potter books. I still have a few questions, though but I'm not about to ask them here. I know some of my friends haven't even started reading it yet. Don't want to spoil it for them.

Next on my reading list is The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri while I'm waiting to get my hands on Stephenie Meyer's new book, Eclipse. Eversince I read Meyer's first book, I have been fascinated with vampires and werewolves. I watched the movie Blood and Chocolate one very late evening. Usually, if I start watching a movie late at night, I would end up dozing off. But for some reason I was able to keep my eyes open till the end credits. I didn't know what to expect when I rented this movie. Didn't have much of a choice when I was at the video store. I just knew it was about werewolves. Kyo was even asking why I got this movie. Turns out he enjoyed it too. "'Di nakaka-antok" is what he said. I just might watch The Lost Boys while I'm on the vampire and werewolves fascination streak.

We were at the library yesterday. Our local library has quite a number of Filipino books and DVDs. I haven't watched a Tagalog movie in a long time. So just for kicks I borrowed a few titles. For some reason I found a lot of Tagalog DVDs on the shelf. I got so excited that I borrowed 5 movies. I could have borrowed everthing if not for the restriction of only 5 DVDs at a time can be taken out. Upon arriving home, I settled comfortably on the couch and popped in the first movie...Mano Po 4, Ako Legal Wife. Followed by Let the Love Begin and finally, Bcuz of U. As usual panay lang kami tawa ng tawa kahit na drama scenes na. Corny mga dialogue....o sya sige....aaminin ko na....may mga kilig moments din. One thing I noticed, especially dun sa mga trailers ng Pinoy fantasy movies, di pa rin maayos ang mga computer generated images. Hay ano ba yan! Wala pa rin pagbabago....mga cellphone parating updated pero sa paggawa ng movies.....hmmmm.....

memories of UPLB days

Taong 1991 nung una akong nakatungtong sa UPLB. Ayoko pa sanang gawing 1st choice ko sa UP application ang LB pero dahil meron kaming family friend na dun nag-aaral pumayag na din ako. Isa pa makakasama ko dun sina Badette at Myra na matagal ko nang ka-barkada high school pa lang. Unang taon tumira kaming tatlo sa St. Therese dorm. Siyempre dahil mga madre ang nagpapatakbo may curfew - 9:00 pm kaya! Dun sa dorm kelangan maaga ka gumising para makaligo o magpuno ka na ng isang timbang tubig sa gabi at itago sa yong kwarto. Kung hindi wala ng tubig pag gising mo sa umaga. Ang refectory kung saan kumakain ang mga dormers ay nasa ilalim ng kwarto ko. Kaya naman pag biyernes at bukas ang aking mga bintana nagigising ako sa boses ni Joe D' Mango na nagbabasa ng Love Notes. Minsan nakaka-iyak, minsan naman nakaka-kilig (baduy 'no?). May oras lang ang meals kaya pag di mo naabutan sorry ka!

Hindi ko naging roommate si Badette o Myra kasi magkaiba kami ng course. Silang dalawa ay Econ samantalang ako naman ay Bio. Siyempre Bio student din ang naging kasama ko sa kwarto. Mabait si Edel (naks tanda ko pa name niya!), masipag mag-aral at maayos sa kwarto. Sa kanya ko nga siguro nakuha ang pagiging OC. Siyempre kahiya naman na maging makalat kung sobrang linis ng kasama mo. Ang dami naming Freshman sa dorm na yun. Natakot siguro mga magulang namin na kung saan lang kami mapalagay kaya inihabilin kami kina Sister.

Pero isang Sem lang marami na sa amin ang naglipatan. Napunta naman kami sa Gonzales. Siyempre magkakasama pa rin kami ni Badette at Myra pero nadagdagan na kami ngayon. Kasama na namin si Arvee na pinsan ni Badette. Siya na ngayon ang Freshman at ang tinaguriang baby ng grupo. Paglipat namin ng Gonzales dito nagsimula ang mga gimik. Sumali kami ni Badette sa NSOP para naman daw tumulong sa mga bagong estudyante. Bola! May hidden agenda pala kami.....hehehe! Niyaya kaming tumakbo sa Student Council (Si Badette College Rep ng CEM at ako naman College Rep ng CAS) - nanalo naman kasi walang kalaban! Sumali kami sa Six Sigma at nagtayo rin ng sariling org - ang Red Lions. Marami kaming nakilala at naging matatalik na kaibigan - may mga sosi, tibak, nerds, fratmen, probinsiyano at siyempre mga locals or tubong LB.

Simple lang ang mga gimik namin pero walang tatalo sa saya. Patak-patak sa pagbili ng pang-inom kay Mang Pogs. Lahat yata ng mga babae sa LB ang tawag niya seksi! Pulutan na namin ang Fish Crackers o kaya naman ay Kropek (ang pringles ng LB). Pag lasing na magyayaya na na mag-ober da bakod papunta sa swimming pool ng Baker Hall. Kung hindi sa apartment ang inuman, sa field o kaya naman sa hintayan ng Tritran. Kung merong may sasakyan sa Panicles naman ang pupuntahan. Naghigpit na lang ang UPF (University Police Force) dahil sa nangyari sa dalawang upperclass na estudyante (di na ako magbibigay ng detalye at ayoko nang maalala). Kaya minsang gumimik kami sa may Tritran hinuli kaya kami ng UPF. First time ko makasakay sa sasakyang pampulis. Pero di naman ako masyadong natakot dahil kasama ko naman mga kabarkada ko. Pagdating sa presinto kanya kanya kaming chika sa mga pulis. Ayun pinauwi lang din kami at ibinalik naman nila ang aming mga inumin.

Mura lang ang pagkain sa LB at marami ka pang mapagpipilian. Nandiyan ang Batcave na kilala sa kanilang pamatay na Lechon Kawali. Ang Ellen's na hanggang ngayon pinipilit ko pa rin si Kyo na hingin kay Elfredy ang recipe ng kanilang Fried Chicken. Gusto ko rin ang Baked Macaroni sa SU. Miss ko na rin ang mga ulam ni Tita Ann sa Catalan. Favorite din namin ang Tapsilog sa Big Mak. At pag paubos na ang allowance mag Lucky Me Batchoy ka na lang sa may Purefoods stand sa Ilag's. Siyempre hindi kumpleto ang linggo ko pag hindi ako nakatikim ng Isaw ni Mang Nic sa may tapat ng Agrix. Sarap din ang mga pagkain sa Bug-Ong. In between classes kung type mong mag-merienda bili ka lang sa mga Bidani carts na matatagpuan sa mga sulok-sulok ng BioSci at PhySci.

Pangatlo naming tiniran ang White House (3rd floor, pinakadulo). Dami din naming gimik dito. Naaalala ko pa pag bumabalik kami ng weekend at inihahatid ng magulang ni Badette, nagmamadali ang isa sa aming umakyat para itago ang mga bote ng beer at alak. Linggo ng gabi pinaplano na namin ang mga lulutuin for the week. Kung sino ang may vacant period siya ang nakatoka na magluto. Pero pag ang lulutuin ay menudo or spaghetti asahan mong inuunahan na namin si Myra na magluto. Kami kasi ni Badette gusto namin ang Filipino style. Yun bang manamisnamis. Eh si Myra mala-Italian ang type. Pag wala kaming klase after lunch makikita mo kami ni Myra na nakahiga sa sala at nanonood ng Mara Clara sa aming 15" Black and White TV. Favorite yata namin ito at talagang sinusubaybayan. Pag minamalas ka meron kang mga siyam na exams sa isang linggo. Naranasan ko na 'to at sobra talaga ang pressure. Minsan isang hapon sawang-sawa na akong mag-review kaya nagkayayaan na lang kami ni Badette na uminom. Ayun karipas kami ng baba sa tindahan para bumili ng Junior Emperador at Coke 500. Di pa nakuntento at gumegewang-gewang pa kami papuntang org house namin sa Catalan kung saan itinuloy pa ang inuman kasama ang mga brod at sis. Nang mahulasan balik na ulit sa pagre-review para sa exams. O di ba?!

Masarap maglakad-lakad sa LB. Presko at sariwa ang simoy ng hangin (pwera na lang dun sa buwan na may kakaibang amoy ang hangin - galing pala sa isang puno na ngayon ay tinatawag na nilang Semen Tree). In between classes tatambay lang sa Humanities steps, BioSci, PhySci, likod ng Main Library o kaya sa SU. Pag walang magawa pupunta sa Grove at mag-wi-window shopping sa Maces at Bookshelves.

Pero kahit na ma-gimik kami alam din namin kung hanggang saan lang ang dapat. Lahat sa aming grupo ay nakapagtapos at ngayon ay magaganda ang mga buhay. Paminsan-minsan ang mga barkada naming nasa Pilipinas ay nagkikita-kita, gumigimik pa rin pero ngayon ay kasama na ang mga asawa, gf/bf at mga anak. Kung meron man sa kanilang napapadpad dito sa may bandang California ay pilit naming ginagawan ng paraan para magkita kahit gaano pa man ka-hectic ang schedule namin dahil sa trabaho.

Nakaka-miss ang UPLB. Dami kong naging karanasan dito na hinding-hindi ko ipagpapalit kahit saan, kahit kanino. Hindi na yata ma-i-aalis sa pagkatao ko ang LB. Dito ko yata nakilala ang taong ngayon ay parati ko nang kasamang matulog sa gabi. Pero sa ibang Blog na ang kwento tungkol dun.....abangan ang susunod na kabanata!