Estrels makes everything better!

We all have bad days and yesterday was one super bad day for me! I learned that people I expected to be upright and honest turned out to be the complete opposite -- assholes and liars. I'm pretty sure there's a special place in hell for people like them (the one closest to the fire!).  Don't worry, I'm okay now -- with lots of help from family and friends :) I'll let karma take my revenge nalang (with the help of a mangkukulam bwahahaha!)

Anyway, when the Panda saw my tear-stained face and puffy eyes yesterday, he whisked (naks hahahaha) me away to Romulo Cafe somewhere in Quezon City.

Romulo Cafe's interiors; and the most amazing panda!
Thank you for trying to make things better :)

While we were waiting for the food, I was sobbing and telling him about the asshole/s who was making me so miserable --

Me:  Huhuhu.. sob sob...  I can't believe they would lie grabe!! Bakit may ganyan na tao sa mundo?! (more dramarama and wailing here)

Panda: Let's sue ______! Grabe, pa-disbar mo! 

Me: Ummm grabe ka naman... you have to remember I'm nobody lang noh huhuhu sob sob..

Panda: O sige, bugbugin ko nalang!

Me: Okay! Pero pwede wag ikaw ang mambugbog.. pabugbog nalang natin :D

Gangster Panda hahaha!
source

Hahahaha, I married a gangster and I love it!

Here's what we ordered:

Honey-garlic pork spareribs, P260;
Tinapa Roll, P145.
Not in pic - Monggo soup, P130.

I didn't enjoy the food because I wasn't in a good mood, I guess I just have to go back to this place when I'm feeling better.  The interiors were really nice and classy though and service was efficient and fast.

After lunch, we passed by Estrels to try our luck and see if they had caramel cakes left -- and they gave us the last available one! I think the universe decided to reward me with Estrels caramel cake after all my suffering (yes, I'm dramatic. hihihi!)

Estrels caramel cake, P650.
Thank you! This seriously lifted my mood :D

Okay so the moral lesson of this blog post is:  Make sure you surround yourself with the right people because sometimes life (and people you deal with) sucks and when you turn into one crying sobbing mess, you want to be with someone who will take you out to a nice lunch, offer to maul the asshole/s and buy you cake. *bow*

UPDATE: Omg, I have the sweetest office friends in the world! They surprised me with this cake for merienda this afternoon. *touched*

Death by tablea from Chocolat! Yummers!

Meanie - Wannabe

By Bin

Kung may left out meanie (look), may Wannabe-meanie rin! Hahaha! Hi ate Heidee and ate Gelle, gusto ko rin po maging meanie. Hihihi

The Jingle Bag

Introducing my new favorite thing -- the Jingle Bag! :)

Jingle Bag, 4 pcs, P157.50 lang!

 

The Panda and I chanced by this thing while we were "shopping" in Mercury Drugstore and our lives have been better since then bwahahaha!  You know how it is when you're stuck in heavy traffic and it's raining, your brain just instructs your bladder to urinate di ba?! So pre-jingle bag, we would either sing loudly to distract ourselves or.... ummmm, let's just say those Gatorade and Sola bottles were put to very good use. LOL!

The box instructs you when to use the jingle bag (not that you need to know that pa di ba? hahaha):

 

This is how it looks like naman (and no, don't worry I won't demonstrate how it's used!):

After the iphone, I think it this the next most important invention hahaha!

The instructions read as follows (super cute and funny hehehe):

"Disposable Mini Pee Toilet - Instructions:

Answering the call of nature is no longer a problem with the help of Jingle Bag.  Use it in the privacy of your car.  Just roll up the windows of your car and lock the doors (note: ummm sana lang naka-lock ang doors mo!), if your windows are not tinted, cover it with a magazine or newspaper (note: hahaha great idea LOL!).  To cover yourself use a jacket, newspaper, towel, now you have a private room (nge, private room na yan agad?! hahaha!), where you can answer the call of nature.

For Men and Women

1. Tear Plastic

2.  Remove Jingle Bag and make sure the absorbent aide is inside.

3.  Form an open inlet by bending the top end of the flexible spout.  For females, sit on the longer edge of the spout & pull the lower abdomen to avoid spillage.  Urinate on the bag.  Urine will turn into gel in a few seconds.  Solidification may be accelerated by simply shaking the Jingle Bag (note: yes, this is true, it turns magically into a gel-like substance hahaha!).

4.  Secure the used Jingle Bag in it's plastic bag"

 

I'm sure you all want to buy this too (aminin na!!).  To all my friends, you all know what you're getting for Christmas -- Jingle bag, Jingle bag, Jingle all the wayyyy! :D

 

 



Isteytside!

by Ngangi

Remember how I said I'm on a personal travel ban this year? And how I've been itching to go somewhere (anywhere, really)? Ang bait ni Papa G, He gave my my first-ever business trip! To the US pa! I know that for a lot of people, going to the States isn't a big deal; for me, though, it's a huuuge deal! As a child I never really even dreamed of going to the US, that's how far-fetched it seemed to me then.  As a probinsyana kid from Zamboanga running in ricefields, even going to Manila seemed like a big deal already. And even when I got a taste of traveling (thanks to Cebu Pacific!), a visit to the States still seemed hard to orchestrate -- tickets are expensive, hotels are expensive, plus you have to get a visa pa! Hasslehoff.

But now I'm here, and I'm glad the blog is back up to chronicle my adventures in the Land of Milk and Honey. Hihi.

First on the list of stuff to share - traveling business class on my first long haul flight! I'm used to CebPac's cramps seats (I've mastered the art of sleeping in the shape of a small ball that's roughly half my size), no food (or even water!) policy, no checked-in luggage, everything that makes my budget trips exactly that... Budget! So I was excited and wide-eyed in the Delta lounge, stuffing myself with whatever food was there. I don't drink much anymore, so sayang ang free-flow alocoholic drinks!

Delta Lounge at Narita Airport

An Asian taking pictures of food!  How cliche.  Hehe.
I had 2 platefuls of this plus soup and a bowl of yakisoba.

I was again wide-eyed with wonder when I saw the pod-like seat I was assigned on the flight. Omg nahihiga sya!

And omg ang saraaaap ng food that they serve! I ate so much that I was nauseous when the plane was landing. *patay gutom blues*

Almost everyone around me were hardcore business men, so I was the only one taking pics. Hihi. I was trying to be as discreet as possible!

I spent the first week in California, and I'm now in New Jersey. I keep on falling asleep as soon as I reach my hotel so my blogs are delayed. Sorry, tandercat na! More kwento about Pleasanton and San Francisco and New Jersey soon!

P.S. Daddy, I still get confused of the punctuation mark - parenthesis rule. Please forgive me for any mistakes! Hihi!

Happy Mother's Day Mumuy!

People say that you only really learn to appreciate your mother when you have children of your own. Hmmm... I disagree -- I've always known that I have a mother with superhuman powers (promise!) and I've always had the notion that "my mother is better than your mother" hahaha! If you get to know mumuy, you will understand why.

Who else can look at that ugly baby with so much love?! Hahahaha!

Mumuy the Magician

We grew up not having much but by some sort of magic, Mumuy always made ends meet -- I actually didn't realize that we were poor (yes, feelingera ever ako!). When I told her I needed school costumes or art materials at the last minute -- sure, she would grumble about it heehee -- but she would always magically produce what I needed! As I grew older and as I moved to Manila for college and law school, without fail, my weekly allowance would always be complete and on time.  Now that I know and realize how hard it must have been for her, I really can't help but get all teary-eyed with the commitment, love and perseverance that Mumuy has displayed all these years.

Mumuy the Disciplinarian/ Moral Compass

Mumuy may not be the most soft-spoken person (hehehe she actually has a very sharp tongue -- which I think I inherited  Patay ka pandabells :p) and I used to resent that, I always thought I wanted a mother who will coddle me and who will always let me off the hook easily, but now I know better.  Because Mumuy was very quick to point out our mistakes, I now know how important it is to distinguish right from wrong and that even if you're an expert liar, you will get caught (yes, she is a mind reader too LOL!).  

Mumuy as my Wife peg

The day I became a wife -- she was laughing as I was crying because I was just too nervous
and overwhelmed hahahaha!

You should see how Mumuy serves and loves Daddy -- she is beyond amazing! I guess it has something to do with her "siga" image that's why she's not that mushy when it comes to expressing her feelings to Daddy but it shows in other ways:  like how she panics when she sees that Daddy does not like the ulam for dinner  or like how she puts moisturizer on daddy's face every night (exception to this rule: when they're fighting daw hahahaha!) or how she makes sure that Daddy looks presentable and smells good.  Little things really, but she's been doing all these for about 36 years, amazeballs!!

Mumuy as our Pillar of Strength

I don't know how she does it or where she gets her strength from but the moment one of her children is in trouble, she will always be there! Mumuy was with Ate Dei when she gave birth to her 2 kids; Mumuy flew to Manila to be with Anoop when she was sad, just so she can hug her; Mumuy listened to all of Binby's woes about life and love; Mumuy again flew all the way to Manila when I took the bar exams -- I will never forget how she cooked pochero for me (I was too nervous to eat at that point though) and how she made chicken sandwiches for me.  I learned later on that while I was taking the bar exams, she was crying the whole time because she was as nervous as I was hahahaha!

Mumuy as my Bestfriend

She really is -- she knows me inside-out and loves me nonetheless because she actually has no choice hahahaha! Kidding aside, she just gets me -- she knows when I'm sad even if I try so hard to hide it from her, she texts or calls when something's amiss.  Mumuy's sixth sense is always spot on, it's scary na sometimes! You know how it is when you hug your mom, you just feel whole?! That's what I feel every time I see her again after a long time and she would just wrap her arms around me -- it always feels like coming home.

Happy Mother's Day to the best mother in the whole universe! I love you very much, always! :)

Mister Kabab with Binby

Yes, the Binby is still here and still struggling through her internship blues in Manila.  Thank God our offices are near each other (but with the unforgiving summer sun, heat and pollution -- it sometimes feels like I walked miles and miles) hence we can easily meet up and have lunch together.

We had lunch at Mister Kabab (Pearl Plaza) today and it was a pretty good discovery.  I don't normally like Persian food (amoy putok e hahahahaha!) but this one was tolerable and cheap too!

First, here's Binby's outfit of the day shot:

Dress from Cotton On (from her fave Ate); cardigan from St. Francis Square tiangge;
Bag from CLN (from her least fave Ate hihihi Anoop joke lang); Ballet flats from Tomato;
Cotton On shades (borrowed from her fave Ate hihihi)

Ugh, Binby is proof that when you're young, thin and still glowing, anything you wear will look amazing on you! :)

Binby with her Beef Beryani (P120) and
Mango Yoghurt (super yucky taste ewwwww!!)

The Beryani was too spicy for me but Binby seemed to enjoy it as she finished everything. Hay, to be young and to eat without gaining weight -- that is the dream hohoho :D

While this is what I had naman:

Special Chicken Chelo Kabab (P110)

I really enjoy doing mundane things with Binby and finally getting to know her again as a "person" (hahahaha yes we thought she was just a "poop machine" kasi before. Joke lang binby!).  Since I left home right after high school, it is only now that I get to see her everyday again.  So even if she hates this part of her life, I love it because I get to spend time with her again (naks Binby, please be touched hehehe!).

On dreams and real life

By Bin

Why do we let facts and figures and anything but dreams rule our lives?

^ Sad realization but realistically, well, facts and figures are important. This summer internship has led me to the realization that real life, like real-real, is going to be tough. I'm getting the vibe that dreams will always be only dreams. Viable, yes. Realistic, no. I guess I'm settling with a variation of what I've always wanted nalang.

However, I can't help but think that maybe, in some surreal way, my childhood dreams aren't quite beyond my grasp. Ironic 'cause when you're a child, you believe you can be anything you want to be, go wherever you want to go. When you're young there's no limit to what you can dream. You expect the unexpected, you believe in fairy tales, in possibilities, in happy endings. Then you grow older and that innocence is shattered and somewhere along the way the reality of life gets in the way and you're hit by the realization that you can't be all you wanted to be, you just might have to settle for a bit less.

But what if you just aren't reaching out far enough? But then again some dreams might just be beyond our reach after all. Bwahahaha gulo noh! What am I sayiiing zzzz

I've always dreamed of making a name for myself. Like Princess Chiara, or Chiara the great. Hahaha! Atty/Doc/Ma'am sounds so boring and hirap to get hahaha! Oks I'm settling for Her Excellency Ma. Chiara Espano, ambassador of beauty. Hahahahahaha

Ahhh, I think I'm going crazy. Hahaha! I guess I'm not ready to leave school just yet (I still have a year though, yipee!), I like going to class, I actually like studying. I like having long breaks and weekends with friends!! I like it that way. School, pls stay. Don't leave me. Haha, imagine, to actually wake up early every day, go to work, come home tired and alone. Repeat the next day. Please na, panic with me!! Pag working binby na ako, I'll need something to look forward to everyday. Maybe a pet. -.-

Ay. 'Yan lang sana point ko. Hahaha! :) K kidding. :) Source