Semi-sweet life

Things People Do

2008-01-16T18:15:00.000+08:00

What do you think these guys are doing?

Looks like they're trying to break open this taxi. The two guys on both sides of the car look like they're twins... Or maybe they own the taxi and accidentally left the keys inside?

Sabi nang bawal umihi dito eh. Kulit!

The Day I Got Robbed by the Police

2008-01-08T07:54:00.000+08:00

Ever since I graduated, I don't get to pass by taft/quiapo area as much. Somwhere in between the end Taft and the bridge before Quiapo was a new stoplight. I saw a tamaraw parked in the middle of the road but it didnt really give me a clue because that place was a common site where public transportations stop in the middle of the road and wait for passengers. Being in the main road, I went straight ahead not noticing the red light. I just realized what I did when all the cars from the other direction was heading towards me without even stopping. Then I heard a police car chasing me. realizing that I was in the wrong, I did not try to evade them. "Luckily" I wasn't in a very good mood that I was sure I gave out a negative aura. The police were really nice. Both of them were smiling, explaining the situation and appeared to be very concerned. They even gave me a bottle of cold mineral water. I apologized but of course, apology won't get you a free pass. After a little chit chat, I ended up giving them half of what they wanted. The money didn't really bother me compared to what the police commented after having seen my driver's license... "Ma'am, ang payat niyo dito ha."

Roadkill 2007

2007-12-31T23:35:00.000+08:00

I only have two pictures for now but I promise to have more next year!

Dead rat found lying on the sidewalk.

Cat cat cat, kakalat kalat kalat.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T00:00:00.000+08:00

D40x

2007-12-19T03:01:00.000+08:00

They compensate it with material things...

not knowing that it can never make up for feelings.

Ghost Begone

2007-12-13T23:55:00.000+08:00

A month ago, a Chinese guy went to our house for a Ghost Feng Shui. He found out that I had a ghost in my room so I had to smolder incense in my room everyday for a month! Finally it's all over. Goodbye ghost, I will miss you... heheh >=D

Petron Fuel Truck Crash

2007-12-13T22:44:00.000+08:00

A Petron fuel truck fell off Malaking Ilog bridge in San Jose, Batangas. Some believe that the truck was hijacked because they found a gun inside the 'head' part of the truck. Good thing it didn't explode.

Hair in my dessert!

2007-12-09T23:08:00.000+08:00

Don't you just hate it when you find hair in your food?

Pictures of my car

2007-12-01T02:22:00.000+08:00

Pictures of my poor poor car. Looking back at what happened, I still consider myself very lucky! Things could've been worse.

Our country is about to have a coup and I'm in a freaky car accident. How messed up is that?

2007-11-30T04:32:00.000+08:00

Despite of all the chaos that has been happening around Metro Manila, I decided to go back home tonight. I left Batangas at 7:45 and exited the South Luzon Expressway three hours later. Normally it would take me two hours to get from Batangas to my house but traffic was really bad in some areas. The government has announced the 12-5 curfew so I'm sure we weren't the only ones who were tired of traveling and were in a hurry to get back to our houses.

We were at the overpass near Mabini Bridge ( formerly known as Nagtahan Bridge) when a ten-wheeler truck hit the side of my car. I wasn't the one who was driving, the driver was with me. The acted as if nothing happened and kept going on. Of course, my first reaction would be to tell the driver to block the truck so that we can go down and talk. We drove a little faster and stopped in front of the truck when we got hit again!!! WTF right? My driver got down, and because I was starting to get really pissed of, I got my camera phone to try and take pictures of the truck. I was shouting for him to get down and talk to us. If only I had a bat, I would've hit his truck hard. The truck driver never attempted to get down. Instead, he backed up and sped away. By this time me and my driver were just really... argh... frustrated and angry. So we tried to follow him.

It was around 11:30 now, and curfew's about to start in thirty minutes. We trailed the truck and finally at the Laon-Laan and Maceda intersection, we were able to get ahead of the truck because it was having a hard time turning to the right. The truck was at a complete stop when we blocked its way. Then AGAIN, because the truck driver was an uneducated a-hole, he bumped into our car for the freakin' third time!! I couldn't help it, I had to get down to shout at him. He backed up again and sped away. I can't believe truck almost hit me! $%*#$U&)#*$U@!!! Waaaaaa!!! AAArrrrrrgggghhhhh!!!

This time, we went ahead of them so that we could get help from the police. The police car and my car were looking for the truck. It was around ten minutes after twelve and were already nearing the North Luzon Expressway. Unfortunately, there were two trucks of the same kind and the police had gotten the 'innocent' truck. The one that hit us was way ahead now. We had no choice but to back off. ...for now....

Our next plan was to go and get a police blotter. The traffic police station was located at the pier near Intramuros. Sooooo even if we were exhausted, we had to go back and file a report. Now that the police blotter is done, I have no idea what to do next. The police said that they will give us information on the owner of the truck so that we can file a case against them. I just hope the driver gets jailed for this. Well, even if he gets away with this, I'm sure God will find a way.. =D

To add to that, earlier this afternoon I was irritated by this sign that says "Exit" which turned out to be a cover for a hole that I accidentally ran into. Then this guy said that I can still squeeze through the exit so he started guiding me through and I got irritated because I kinda scratched a little part of the car. It turned out that the car really can't get through.

Here are some pictures of the truck that hit me.

You can clearly see his plate number: XMN 661, Isuzu 10-wheeler truck. The side of my car was bumped into already.

The back part of the truck doesn't have a plate number on it. The other truck we saw didn't have a plate number at the back too. On the right side you can see the company that owns the truck: Mega Radial. I searched it on the web and found their website: http://www.megatires.com/intro.php?l=en Their company is under the name Mega Tires. They sell tires but their truck couldn't even stop properly! You think the tires were faulty?

The police station where we wrote our salaysay and krokis (sketch). =D

It's 6am, birds are chirping outside my window. I better get to sleep. Soon to post: pictures of the damages from my car.

Red Kimono Experience

2007-11-11T02:43:00.000+08:00

Kait and I decided to try out Red Kimono's Eat All You Can. Since it was already late, the food attendant informed us that they were only accepting last orders for their EAYC. Well, we still decided to go for it. Requirements of the EAYC service is that for every two persons, you would have to eat one order of Kamameshi rice (equivalent to about 2 cups).

Here's a picture of us and our orders.

Do we look like sisters? Everytime we go out together people ask us if we're sisters. We got asked by two people today. Probably because we're the same size! Hahaha :P

We ordered a total of ten dishes plus desserts! The ones I like best are the salmon and cream cheese maki, fried sushi and wrapped kani in wasabe mayo. I was disappointed with their tofu steak because they used Chinese tofu instead of the silky tofu.

Somewhere in the middle of our dinner, I started giving up. The rules included that there should be no leftovers. I had no choice but to eat all of it...

Luckily, I remembered that I had kept a plastic bag earlier that day and it was still inside my bag so I called on my magic powers and made some food disappear....

Tadaaah!

Cua's Gen. Merchandise

2007-11-07T13:09:00.000+08:00

Okay, wala lang, naaliw lang ako.

A Hollywood celebrity spotted in Baguio!! Plus other celebs too!

2007-11-03T22:10:00.000+08:00

Remember the movie Karate Kid? I believe I just saw Mr. Miyagi in the streets of Baguio City and he hasn't aged much.

Here's a poster from Karate Kid.

Here he is now, selling local magazines, newspapers, etc.

Other celebrities include Erap and Gloria as shown in this really cool "Philippine Political Chess Set"

Weekend in Baguio

2007-11-01T23:37:00.000+08:00

Baguio is still the same as before, lots of local tourists on vacation just enjoying the cool weather.

At a park somwhere in Camp John Hay Manor, you can find Lincoln's statue. Poor Lincoln, I think he caught a cold from sitting in his chair all night.

Ever since I was a kid, I always thought that there was a real pet cemetery in Camp John Hay. Yes, there is a cemetery in Camp John Hay but animals weren't buried there. I learned that this cemetery called "The Lost Cemetery" was a cemetery of negativism.

Camp John Hay describes says that it is "where the greatest negativisms of all times" were buried In the early 1980s, base commander John Hightower enjoined all camp employees to think of the negative thoughts and attitudes that impeded their productivity at work, and symbolically buried them all there. A mock funeral was even held to complete the act.
-http://www.cjhhotels.com/dev_facilities_landmark.htm

Our picture at the Bell House.

On our second day, we ate at Rose Bowl a "Chinese" restaurant near Session Road. The food didn't taste Chinese. Very unsatisfactory. Check out their 'Wanton with meat...' I'd describe this as wanton wrapper with meat the size of a chewed gum.

Don't let Baguio down, Support the Rule of Law!

oookayy...

Nangangaluluwa Po!

2007-10-31T22:53:00.000+08:00

In Batangas, it has become a habit for us to leave the doors open to allow fresh air to go into our house. It was Halloween Eve and I was alone, watching tv when I heard a girl singing near our place. I didn't look out the window to check out what was happening. I just thought that it was a little too early for Christmas caroling. The voice grew louder and louder until I was sure that she was standing outside my doorstep. Then I hear her shout something I couldn't understand... "Blahblahblah Po! Blahblahblah Po!" Thinking of my safety, I didn't dare go out.

It was only the next day, when I told some officemates about it that I learned that in some provinces in the Philippines, children celebrate Halloween by knocking on other people's houses singing and shouting, "Nangangaluluwa Po!" It's just like the regular trick or treat but I don't think children here wear costumes. Too bad, I would've prepared for it had I known this.

Here's Halloween with my family :)

Singing Cashiers and Dancing Baggers

2007-10-30T13:42:00.000+08:00

To celebrate Halloween, I witnessed SM employees singing and dancing inside the supermarket. Some were wearing masks and costumes.

This guy was swinging the girl around.

Salesladies and cashiers dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller"

And this one loved posing in front of the camera.

Barangay Elections 2007

2007-10-29T15:21:00.000+08:00

Our Barangay elections looked like a big fiesta. It was held in a public school near our place.

Banners, flyers, posters everywhere...

Street vendors selling dirty ice cream, calamares, fishballs and anything you could think of...

Here's the voting room...

And the cheapest way to campaign?

Add your name to someone else's flyer!

Chickboy Truck

2007-10-28T00:59:00.000+08:00

The owner of this truck must be a real heartbreaker.

PLDT poster in Batangas

2007-10-25T15:51:00.000+08:00

Ala eh, bat ka ga tawa ng tawa?

Boom

2007-10-19T22:40:00.000+08:00

My sister was in Glorietta when the bombing happened. I was on my way to meet some friends when she called asking me to pick her up. At first I just thought that there was a bomb threat but when I heard police cars and firetrucks going the same direction as I was, I checked with my sister and there really was an actual explosion.

Big Bird Poo

2007-10-17T12:12:00.000+08:00

After having a late dinner at Tagaytay, I saw something on top of our car. I figured it was a gift from Big Bird...

=p

Funny posters

2007-09-25T17:35:00.000+08:00

Found this posted side by side. I was trying not to laugh because the store owner was standing in front of me as I read this.

At least they got the double "L"

Shux, I might get karma na from doing this.

Funny name for a tutorial service. Kinda makes sense though. You think?!

This one got the word "tutorial" right. hehehe..

Sperman

2007-09-23T02:17:00.000+08:00

Cute shirt.

Out with the old, in with the new

2007-09-15T00:12:00.000+08:00

Goodbye to one of my favorite bags. This Cole Vintage bag didn't even last for a year. Too bad, I really liked it.

Oh well! Time to buy a new one. Out with the old, in with the new.

Laki sa Bear Brand

2007-09-13T14:02:00.000+08:00

Bear Brand event at Bauan, Batangas.

This event was held at one of the schools in Bauan. Nestle, together with Governor Vilma Santos promoted Bear Brand (or as others would pronounce it... br brand) to different schools all over the Philippines. There was a conference for the school children and their parents. Here are pictures from the event.

Children dancing to Bear Brand's theme song..

Adults are taught how to eat right and to teach their children to drink Bear Brand..

Everyone was well behaved until...
Governor Vilma Santos arrived.

I heard that there were other celebrity appearances, someone named Amy and some actress whose name starts with a letter R.

Anyway, after this event, we had a press conference. Again, photographers struggled to get the celebrity's best angle...

I had my share of pictures with the celebrities too.

Ate who?

It was really nice of her to let me put a V sign on her head. :)

Picture with Mr. Nandu, the president of Nestle Philippines.
More of these "V" signs...

"I have one important advice for you. If you want to stay with your business for a long time, get your hands dirty." -Mr. Nandu

You think this is dirty enough?

Got my feet dirty too. ;)

Anyone hungry for some kambing?

2007-09-11T21:28:00.000+08:00

I dare you!

Saw this "Ulo ng Kambing" at Banay-Banay restaurant. Apparently, people eat this here. They say it's good. I will have to brave this sometime.

Me? A chef?

2007-09-10T02:00:00.000+08:00

These spinach triangles we ate at a Spanish restaurant in Shangri La tastes like the one I made at home. :) yay!

coloring time

2007-09-08T21:16:00.000+08:00

Sheila brought her daughter to work today. Here's my biggest output for the day. kidding!

Religious much?

2007-09-08T11:57:00.000+08:00

ASDC's anniversary giveaway turned into a cellphone accessory.

Feeling a little green and horny

2007-09-07T23:43:00.000+08:00

It was cool of Bishop PJ to let us take this picture with him even if we put horns on his head.

After the Mass, we went straight to Kozui in Tomas Morato. Kozui is a green tea coffee shop. I'm pretty sure all their meals, drinks, snacks and desserts are infused with green tea.

A half-eaten green tea cookie. It was nothing special, just tastes like a regular cookie with a hint of green tea.

Mint Jelly, Strawberry, and Oreo Drinks! All with green tea. Mint tastes like grass, but I liked it anyway. Strawberry was the best one among the three, but the mint jelly seems to be the healthiest.

This Japanese halo-halo is one of their bestsellers. All of us liked it.

Butas na buko

2007-09-06T15:26:00.000+08:00

Ate at this restaurant in Lipa, funny, the buko they served had a hole on the bottom. Aren't they supposed to be experts by now? I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that they should've put the straw on that bottom part.

See the plate under the buko? Tumapon tuloy. Sayang.

Anyone needs a tuttor?

2007-09-06T01:04:00.001+08:00

Funny sign found somewhere in Lipa City.

highlights for the day

2007-09-04T21:24:00.000+08:00

a bird's poo landed on my windshield today.

Oh, and I met up with Kait at SM Lipa for the first time. Just tagged along with her inside the supermarket.

mojos

2007-09-03T21:35:00.000+08:00

Mojos by GZ. Yum yum!

Today, GZ and I got to watch my grade school super duper fave movie, Cutting Edge. Haven't seen it since I was in grade 6. I remember watching it 2-3 times a day and memorizing every single line from the movie. Thanks for downloading GZ!

work

2007-09-02T11:29:00.000+08:00

This week has been a good week at work. It was not the most productive but at least I stayed positive about it.

Here's a little preview of what I've been doing for the last two months.

We had two conventions for the month of August. I think these are the yearly conventions, done in the middle of the year because they follow the fiscal year. haha I'm just guessing.

These are pictures from the SC Johnson Convention which was held at Holiday Inn near Robinson's Galleria.

Team building. I had a few acquaintances, and hopefully I get to see them again.

We were the "MR. MUSCLE" team, with orange as our team color. My dad was the team leader.

This picture during one of the challenges. It was taken at the old Dreamscape place, now called Tom's World or something like that..

The theme Go For One was revealed at the last challenge where all the teams work together to form one big picture.

Dinner and awards night at the ballroom.

The Perfetti Van Melle Convention at King's Hotel in Pampanga.

This was an overnight convention with a lot of seminars blah, blah. They also showed the upcoming products for the year. I got to taste a yoghurt flavored mentos candy. Too bad they won't be importing them here.

I didn't have group pictures on this one, mostly candy photography. Please forgive the quality of the pictures, I don't have a digital camera right now. Just using plain camera phone.

Didn't meet a lot of people too, but overall the convention was fun. It was a good break from the "work dramas" that I've been going through.

Yum, yum, yum!

Overflowing candies from the bar!

Oooohh... guess what is this?

This dish is called Cameron, or is it Camaron or Kameron or Kamaron?! haha! I forgot, but it is sort of a cricket cooked adobo-like style.

I've tried this before. No biggie. :p

This one's a new drink! It's a fly-trapped iced tea. The waiters would serve a glass of iced tea, then you will have to drink half of it then catch the flies by yourself.

I've never tried this one, and never will.

New discovery: Flies can hold their breath for a few seconds.

Aside from these two conventions, I also had a little adventure in Batangas. This was the first time I got food from a restaurant that wasn't located at the main highway. I think this is in the bayan of San Jose.

Forgot the restaurant's name but I ordered lomi for take out. The serving was huge. For 35 bucks, I think this is sulit.

"Lomi" Flat noodles with liver, quail eggs and chicharon. The sawsawan is composed of toyo, sili, fried garlic bits, chopped onion and calamansi.

Just this week, I went to Makro in Batangas City. I finally got an office table for my computer at home. Can't believe I survived two of the most stressful academic terms without a table for my computer.

Now that's better!

Hello to everyone

2007-09-02T11:23:00.001+08:00

heyHEYhey! :) blog people!

como estas? kamusta?

ok, wala ako magawa.

Welcome to my life

2007-09-02T11:18:00.000+08:00

Mithi Ni Mercedes

M – Mercedes ang pangalan ko.
A – Ako ay mahilig sa pagkaing Pilipino.
R – Rellenong Bangus aking paborito.
I – Ito ngayon ay niluluto ng aming kusinero,
A – at siyempre para sa aking lang ito.

M – Mahilig akong lumangoy sa dagat,
E – eto nanaman ang bakasyon,
R – ready na akong maglaro sa buhangin!
C – Cebu ay siguradong pupuntahan;
E – excited na excited na ako!
D – Dadalhin ko ang aking bikini,
E – ewan ko kung makakasama
S – sina Kaitlin at Jessica aking mga kabarkada.

R – Relo ay biglang tumunog,
O – o, aba, ako pala’y nakatulog!
L – Lesson ay hindi naintindihan,
L – labis akong papagalitan.
Y – Yikes! Ako’y natatakot kay Miss S_(titser namin)___,
C – cheesecake ang pangsuhol ko.
E – Estudyante pa lamang ako.

Made this for my Filipino class. Hahaha :p