Maldita!

I have to confess something...

I deleted one "person" in my friendster list today. And I can say that this is another maldita attack! I'm just annoyed with her "kaartehan" and corny pictures, shoutouts, etc and... and.... and well, everything about her (Ang co-corny talaga ng mga posts nya, pati pictures nya..promise...ang paplastik ng comments, hahaha...I'm being childish now!). She's not actually my friend in person... she's just ummm... better not mention it! So, I just decided to eliminate her... after all, I'm not really attached to her and I don't really care about the updates in her life...(Friendster serves me the purpose of keeping me updated with my friends' current statuses).

So, wanna guess who I deleted?

hahaha...you better check your friendster list...if I'm no longer there, then it's YOU! hahaha... Kidding aside, drop me a note if you feel like you're the one... baka naman kasi nagkataon lang na nagloko ang friendster at nabura ka lang ...

X's: This girl also said something before that is somehow not so nice about my group of friends. Though, not directly pertaining to us, but...she should have been nicer... *wink*

On being appreciated

I posted in the last survey that I answered that my day today went out really great. So, I now truly believe that we need to start the day right. The moment I woke up today, I was smiling. I don't know why but that is the first time that happened to me ever since I came here. I usually wake up feeling drowsy and lazy. But this morning, I felt different. It really feels good when you're not pressured with work. This is already my 2nd month (Today, to be exact) here and that means also my 2nd month in my current client. For those 2 months, I've been kicking my ass off with tons of work...I usually work everyday for 10 hours at a minimum (PwC people, don't react, okay? Our life in Pinas is overly different with our own lives today, hehehe)...plus I also spend 1 day of my 2-day weekends working. Okay, I know, I know...it's morbid.

During those times, I felt so gloomy and heavy-hearted. It seems that I'm carrying all the problems in the world. But that feeling ended this week!

This week was our first week of execution (actual audit/testing of the system software). And my boss told me to stop rendering overtime and rest...he noticed I've been very busy...killing myself with workloads.

And today is the best day of all! I got some appreciations from my client. My client is running problems in the software and he keeps on sending me IM about his problem and of course I keep on sending him solutions to his problems. For the last query that he had...he IM'd me with... "You know what, Lei...I don't care what Chris says...but YOU ROCK!" Then I just replied with, "Hahaha..." Then he told me to go home already and sleep since he thinks I can do my work even with my eyes closed. It really feels good to have something like that from a client.

Well, that's not the end of my luck for today. My boss was reviewing my executed test scripts since this morning and he had been telling me that I'm doing a great job. Of course, I did not believe him because I just can feel that he's only saying that to somehow appease me. But before going home, he went to my cubicle and had a chitchat with me. He told me in a serious tone that he just talked to my company's CEO and the CEO was asking him about my performance. And he just wanted to inform me that he gave the CEO a "super positive" (that's how he calls it) feedback. According to him, he told the CEO that I do well in making presentations with the client, creation of protocols, protocol execution and the client respects me as a trusted consultant. Whew! That was really good...yeah, baby!

And my boss also told me that he just wants to tell me straight in my face how he thinks about my performance since he's not the typical exec. vice president who will usually keep the appraisals in high confidentiality. He doesn't want others to think that he's the 2nd highest stockholder of the company (hahaha..Im not too sure if he's boasting at this point, hahaha) and a highly reputed individual within the company. Then, we just talked about some corporate attitudes and some corporate policies that I'd rather not post here, hehehe... :)

Well... that's my piece on being appreciated. But I guess I'm not really too lucky today...

I slipped hard, right knee first on ice today (on heels)...which resulted to terrible bruises on my right knee and I think a mild fracture...huhuhu! It really hurts... huhuhu...I'd better stay at home for the next coming days... :(

Grabbed from LC

1. Were you smiling when you woke up
this morning?
~!~ yes! It surprised me by the way...and because of that, my day went out great! Super great!

2. When was the last time you met
someone new?
~!~ Hmm...let me think about it. Just few minutes ago? Had a chitchat with the saleslady in coat factory.

3. When did you last eat pizza?
~!~ Thursday this week. Lunch party at the office.

4. Do you drink beer?
~!~ occasionally yes.

5. Do you wash your own clothes?
~!~ right now? most of the time, nah. I have my personal labandero...with TLC...hahaha!

6. Are you tired?
~!~ tired...but satisfied.

7. Besides your bed, what is your
favorite thing in your room?
~!~ laptops and cameras

8. Pepsi or Coke?
~!~ Pepsi

9. Would you ever take someone back
if they cheated on you?
~!~ No

10. Do you enjoy piercings and tattoos?
~!~ I've been planning to have tattoo...by L.A. or Miami Ink.

11. Taco Bell or McDonald's?
~!~ McDo...sawa na sa beans ng Taco Bell...kakasuka na, promise!

12. Are you restless?
~!~ most of the time

13 . Is your computer desktop or a
laptop?
~!~ laptop...believe it or not, I never owned a desktop...late bloomer ako at nakikidesktop lang ako kay Randy nung di pako nagwowork.

14. How many multiply views do you
have?
~!~ Hmmm...ignorante ako...san ko ba to makikita? sa friendster lang alam ko, hehehe...

15. Want to be a prince/princess?
~!~ Let's give it a try.

16 . Do you believe dreams come true?
~!~ yes

< br>17. Last song you heard?
~!~ Latin song sa McDo.

18. Do you like Batman?
~!~ No. Not a fan.

19. Who is in the room with you?
~!~ Randy

20. what r u wearin on ur foot?
~!~ None..im sitting in our bed.

21 . What was the last thing you ate?
~!~ lots -- ice cream, shrimp, chinese rice, etc...had a chinese dinner buffet in a nearby resto.

22. What were you doing before this?
~!~ We just arrived from shoe shopping and coffee drinking.

2 3. What is the closest item near you
that is blue?
~!~ comforter

24. In your opinion what is the
weirdest thing listed on
goofyicons.com?
~!~ I don't know.

25. What instant messaging service do
you use?
~!~ YM

26. what is ur fav website?
~!~ Multiply, Blogspot, Friendster, Pinoyexchange,

27. Whose house were you at last night?
~!~ None

28. What do you wear more, jeans or
sweatpants?
~!~ jeans

29. What is the last movie you watched?
~!~ Ehem...ngayon ko lang maipagmamalaki to, HITMAN! hahaha...sa wakas, naging semi-updated din sa movies! Bukas ma-update ulet yan...sa wakas! Yessss!

Payperpost -- up and running!

I started blogging when I started our wedding preparations last year. I'm a type of person that usually say in front of your face what I usually don't like or like about you. My blog usually serves as my outlet of how I feel for each day that passes. Also, since I'm working abroad and I left a lot of friends and family in my home country, they usually ask me to blog about anything related to my current situation. So, I really made it a habit to blog to keep my friends and family updated with what's in and out of my life.

But then...I never thought that this blog would somehow become an extra source of income. I never had an inkling that I can somehow earn money from just sitting in front of my laptop and just writing about how I feel or think about a particular subject. Isn't that amazing? You can earn money in the comfort of your home and doing what you really like....which is blogging.

Before, I was really unaware that there's this certain opportunity to earn extra money thru blogging...until all my blogger friends started posting some sponsored posts in their blogs. At first, I thought that they need to apply personally to the company for you to be able to blog about their product. And I thought..."I won't do anything like that...It would be a great hassle for my schedule!" And besides, I'm not even sure if there's an existing facility like that in UAE since I was in UAE then. So I just kept on reading their posts. Then, at one time, I just saw this post of one of my friends that she earns money thru blogging and that's where I got the full information about payperpost! I clicked on the link on her post and I applied...then got approved!

This facility offers good opportunity to let the people earn money without having the hassle of personally applying or something like that. It just requires some clicking here and there in your laptop! That's just easy! Who would not want to apply for this kind of money earning facility? See!

Now, I need to think of the things I can buy for these extra earnings...hmmmm...and hmmmm again. Let me do the counting...shoes, bags, clothes, gadgets ... oh, I lost count...let me do it once again...

I'll better start making a list now...


blog reviews

Move back!!!

Hey y'all! Move back! I feel like exploding...believe me!

Grrr...

Why are there so insensitive people in this world???

Can't I just ignore them? Nope...because they still owe me...

They owe me every single mess they brought in my life...

Ungas talaga! Sige lang...sige lang...tingnan natin...

Lazy ass...

I'm uberly lazzzzyyyy today! The moment I woke up from bed, I felt like going back to sleep and spend the rest of the day just sleeping. But then, I can't. This week is the first week of our validation execution -- the most awaited event. And to what or who should I blame this kind of feeling?

Take a look -- I hate cold weather! Grrr

I'm waiting for my taxi here while having my coffee to somehow wake me up. And this is how our surroundings look like today. Who would have the guts to go to work with this kind of surroundings? Now, tell me!

But I should be thankful enough for the cab driver, IGOR, to bring me to office safe and sound! Okay, I need now to get back to work. Grrr...

Let it snow...let it snow...let it snow...

Just another snowy day. When I was still a child I've been dreaming to actually see droplets of snow. But now that I'm a grown up, I no longer like snow. I can't go outside...I can't eat ice cream (...while outside. I now do this on a daily basis in the comfort of our room just to satisfy my sweet tooth)... I can't go to downtown...

...oopps..who said I can't go to downtown?!? Well, I just want to share what happened to me and Randy last Saturday. As early as Monday last week, there has been too many news advisories warning people that a strong winter storm will arrive by Saturday afternoon. And on Thursday last week, an interoffice memo was routed informing us to stay indoors on Saturday and to keep enough food stocks at home and to prepare for some possible power outage.

Come Saturday, Randy and I went downtown. Kulet namen noh?!? Hmmm...not really. Because we really need to go to downtown since we need to claim our cards in the bank. And we have scheduled to buy some more winter clothes (kelan kaya matatapos ang shopping ng winter clothes? hehehe) since it's really getting icy.

During the early part of the day, the weather was bearable. Though, I can barely move my hands and they are turning red already and ready to crack my skin open, I can still say that that is still the best part of the day. We were able to claim the ATM cards and proceeded to the shopping arena.

We went to several shops...and we can see that the snow is slowly falling. We were somehow delighted at that point. Then, we entered another boutique...but when we were done at that boutique and decided to transfer to another, we were shocked with the surroundings! We can see "ICE" everywhere...take note...not snow, but ICE!!!

We ate lunch and decided to go to Magnificent Mile. But then, on our way, we were carried by the strong winds and I kept on slipping on the ice. I didn't mind the snow, but the ice, wind and rain are terrible! So, we immediately decided to go home.

Our way to the train station was the hardest part...Randy's umbrella got broken...Randy and I slipped for "n" number of times which left my non-water proof boots soaked in ice and snow! I was very envious of Randy's shoes since I just got him a water proof pair of shoes during the Thanksgiving...*sigh*. Because I could no longer stand the frost, I told Randy to stop once in a while. It took us a while before we were able to reach the train station.

It was indeed a horrible experience. And everyone's saying the same thing -- "You haven't experienced the worst, Lei".

Oh c'mon!

Welcome home!

For the past weeks, I've been saying that I want to buy another external hard drive. My external hard drives are running out of capacity and since I also recently upgraded to Leopard, I need a space to utilize the Time Machine function of the OS.

I know I've been making a great deal of this recent purchase...counting down the days before its arrival to our doorstep. But this is because...this was really a GREAT DEAL! If you only know how much it costs! Oooopsss...not because it's too pricey...but because it was unbelievably CHEAP! Believe me! I was supposed to buy a 1TB hard drive but the greatest deals are with 500 GB drives...so I had to make a choice. Prices of 1TB drives did not offer great savings so I just opted for the 500 GB.





Now, I'm happy that I will be able to use this function...



...and the price? Just $115 which already includes the 3-day shipping! Isn't that amazing?
*Note I just saw a SALE item today in the same website where I bought my HD... 250GB for $189.99...hahaha! I really got the best deal ever!!!

Long wait is over

I'm currently here at work...and I got this YM message that I've been waiting for the whole day!


..can't wait to go home! :)

End of innocence for MAC fans

Just stumbled upon this article in BBC news.

...but this did not change my impression on MAC and OSX.

Best way to keep your PC or MAC virus-free: "COMMON SENSE". Don't open or load any file that you don't trust.

Here's the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7079777.stm

A world without friction

The moment I decided to work abroad I told myself that I will never be an employee forever. I will start saving for my own business in the future. When I was a child, I can still remember that I was fond of selling any kind of things/food items in my school. I would sell stationeries, home-made sampaloc candies, choc-nut, hany, renting all my pocketbooks & nursery rhyme books, etc. Even though I was not making any profits with these, I was still having fun...maybe some of the ladies here would agree to this when they were still young. And the silliest thing I did is whenever my uncle would give me Php10, I would buy different kinds of candy, put it in a recycled container, make a "FOR SALE" placard and I would sit outside our gate and position myself as if I am one of the vendors in the wet market. And I would just end up crying because no one in our subdivision would bother to look at my merchandise for sale. My siblings and my parents would just laugh at me and would tell me that time will come that I will be a great businesswoman.

I never lost that dream. I've been seeing myself to become a successful businesswoman someday. So, to pursue that dream, 10 months ago, Randy and I began planning about a business. The first business that we thought of did not push through because of different newly enacted Philippine legislations that would increase our start up and operating expenses and would somehow become detrimental to the success of our business.

So, we started all over again in the month of July/August 2007. At that time, I also joined an oil & gas company. And I never thought that I would inscribe in the industry that I was then employed.

Last September 2007, we officially launched our business. At first, I was very hesitant to start this since I've been hearing many sad stories from those who just started putting up businesses in the Philippines. But I realized that that's just part of life...I wouldn't be able to start any business if I would be very cautious all the time. We sometimes need to take risks (as what my "Rich Dad" always say...you better read the book, this has also became an eye-opener and inspiration to me).

To make things simpler, we are selling "motor oil" that protects the engine and fuel system of vehicles. Our market are mostly taxi companies/operators in the Philippines and sell the products in "drums". But because of increased demand, we started selling in "gallons" for small enterprises/individual users.

Supposedly, we are the sole sub-distributor of Bardahl Philippines - Caloocan/Valenzuela. However, there are emerging unauthorized resellers of the product (as always...tsk..tsk..tsk..). So just to give everyone a heads up, as of the time of writing of this blog, "we" are the sole reseller of the Bardahl products in the Philippines (Caloocan/Valenzuela).

For more information of our products, visit BARDAHL.

Aside from the fact that our product is way cheaper than the standard/well marketed oil brands, I will no longer indicate any more marketing statements here. Just let the website above do the talking.

For orders, please contact:
MR. ERMILANDO BAYTIONG
09194005465
We deliver within Metro Manila area.

MAC 101: Printscreen in Mac

I still consider myself as an amateur when it comes to mac apps & functions though I've been a mac user for more than a year now. So, there are still tough times for me where I couldn't figure out how to do some commands in mac that I can seamlessly do in PC. So, I decided to document each discovery I encounter. For those who already know this, good for you... just ignore my post and do your own thing, hahaha! No need to comment... just a caution for "mr/ms know-it-all".

So, here's the story: I was about to post a blog entry today regarding something that I'm excited about. To do that, I had to capture printscreen. But I'm using mac right now...as I was about to hit Apple command key (functions just like the Ctrl key in PC) and *Prtscrn* button... I was like..."Where's the Prtscrn button?" I forgot that I haven't seen in my mac keyboard any button similar to the PRTSCRN button of a PC keyboard. Then, I started researching about it. As always, mac never fails to amaze me with its capabilities. Here's how to do a print screen in mac:

TO PRINT JUST A SPECIFIC AREA IN YOUR SCREEN:
Hold down the key and the key and press the numeral <4>. Your mouse pointer will now look like a shooting target symbol (don't know how to describe this but this is the symbol you get when you try to aim at a subject using a shotgun while looking at the eyepiece of the gun) with numerals that keeps on changing as you move your mouse. Position the mouse pointer and drag over the image in your screen you want to capture. Once you release your mouse pointer, you will hear a faint click, like a camera shutter. The Image will be automatically saved to your desktop as a .png file in OSX 70DPI. And on the hard drive in OS9. Here's the outcome:



TO PRINT THE WHOLE SCREEN OF YOUR MAC:
Hold down the key plus the key and press the numeral <3>. This will give you a full screen shot that is saved to your desktop as a .png file. Here's the outcome:



Now, the question is...What's with the FedEx screenshots? Wehehehehe...

Let's wait til Friday... or maybe Wednesday...who knows! :)

Ivy's last...Lei's first ...for today!

1. Who is the best hugger that you
know?
--> Randy (safe si Ivy sumagot sa tanong na to, hahaha)

2. Do you believe in love at first
sight:
--> a big NO!

3. Is there something you want to tell
someone:
--> Yes..."pakiayos at pakifinalize nga yang work instructions nyo nang matapos na rin ako sa ginagawa ko...buset!"

4. What brand of shirt are you
wearing?
--> New York & Company

5.How many kids do you want to have?:
--> 2

6.Do you wanna change your name?:
--> mmm...wag na lang.

7.What did you do for your last
birthday?:
--> sumakay ng erpleyn

8.What time did you wake up today?:
--> 6:50am

9.What were you doing at midnight last
night?
--> sleeping

10.Name something u cannot wait to
do:
--> rest! tagal naman magpasko!

11.What is one thing you wish you could
change about your life?:
--> nothing

12. Which hand do u like better?:
--> right...mas may silbi ang right hand ko.

13. What are u listening to?:
--> server...hahaha..sandamakmak tong nasa tabi ko eh.

14. Have u ever donated money for a
good cause:
--> yes

15. Have u ever talked about someone
behind their back?
--> sabihin mo nga sakin kung never mo pa tong nagawa! sige nga! sige nga!

16. Who's getting on ur nerves ryt
now?:
--> hmmm..right now? wala naman. peaceful ako ngayon.

17. Most visited website:
--> multiply, pex, blogspot, friendster, gmail, yahoo, flickr

18. Coke or Pepsi?:
--> pepsi

19. Do u have a crush?:
--> yeah..

20 Have u kissed or been kissed by
anyone in the past 3 days?:
--> yeah, baby!

21. Do u disagree with alot of things
going on in the world?:
--> I definitely think so!

22. Do u enjoy your friendship with
your friends?:
--> yeah!

23. Do u think flirting is bad?:
--> of course!

24. Do u flirt with anyone?:
--> No.

37. Do you regret telling anyone
something?:
--> Yes

Sunugin ang mga manggagaya!

Just to be warned...

May gumagalang imitator na blogger...kinokopya nya ang entries ng iba't ibang tao and claiming as if she's the writer. She even posts yung mga layouts ng digiscrappers. Ang masama eh verbatim ito...so pag kinopya nya ang post mo at may binanggit kang relatives mo dun, magiging relatives nya rin :lol: Pati pictures ng relatives mo na nasa LO mo, kokopyahin nya rin...problema, pixelized na ang post nya so halatang *trying hard copycat* sya talaga...(lol).

Sunugin ang mga manggagaya!

This reminds me of *iPod Nano*...(lol)...wanna know who's iPod Nano? Send me PM, hahaha!

Here's Mai's entry regarding this culprit....

Midnight shopping hang-over

My lips are soo dry...My eyes are drooping...My body feels sooo depleted... My wallet thickness slimmed down...but nevertheless...

I'm HAPPY!

As the clock struck midnight (November 23, 12am), we went off our place and hit this "place".
We were all new to the place but we never cared (Thanks to the irritating GPS voice that guided us in all our maneuvers and to the untiring effort of QOSMIO) . The traffic was brutal...believe me! And there was no available parking space by the time we got there. The place was full-packed with people and cars. No one cared about the 15-degree Fahrenheit temperature and some ice (and I mean ICE here) on the road. And here's the best thing -- they endured the long queue for each of the brands while freezing in the coldness of the early morning. And I said "they" because I never attempted to enter these brands with long queue.
What did we buy? (The question that keeps on popping in my screen from my IM window...information that my friends want me to divulge now since there are still 2 days more of shopping). Well just pieces of clothing for the winter season...with the killer boots, winter office attire and all...but mostly are for Randy. Why? Because I had to draw his attention to some other things rather than being pushy to buy PS3, hahaha! If you want to know the great deals (with prices) that we got, just send me PM. Hurry -- there are still 2 more days!

We haven't hit the electronics shops (of course!)...but I don't plan to buy anything spectacular. I tried buying online this morning a 1 TB external hard drive (because this is what I really need right now and I'm too tired to go outside) thru this site. But the hell...all the things that I want are already "sold-out"! Tsk...tsk...tsk...

At 5am, we hurried off to have our breakfast at the nearest ihop. And at 8am, I started to close my eyes and doze off.

Though the shopping is somehow tiring and exhausts our savings... the activity becomes more meaningful when shared with friends. See you again in LA, qosmio, our all-time travel buddy! 'Twas nice to meet your wife!

So, that's how we spent our Thanksgiving...how about you, how did you spend the holidays?

Walang mag-iisa ngayong pasko

My friend, Barry, my kapamilya has been bugging me to view the Abs-cbn's Christmas station ID for 2007. Because of my hectic schedule, I never had the chance to visit youtube and take a look at this station ID.

And because I was very emotional last night because of the snow thingy, I decided to watch the Abs-cbn's station ID.

...I hate to admit that I almost cried.. *almost pa ba yung konting kurap na lang ng mata eh lalaglag na yung namumuong luha ko*

First REAL snow experience...

Today is the night before the thanksgiving day! Because of that, nagcutting ako sa client ko, hahaha! Everybody was in a vacation mode already so I decided to go home by 12nn. At 4pm, we went to the nearby shopping mall and did some shopping for some more winter clothes.

It was forecasted this morning that today will be the "first drop of snow". At 8:30PM, we already decided to go home. It was raining hard when we hopped inside the cab. When we arrived at our place, Randy was shouting with joy outside the cab while I was handing our payment to the cab driver. To my surprise, he was jumping for joy because it's snowing already! Hahaha... we were like crazy jumping and twirling around under the drops of snow!

hahaha...nakapagski dubai naman kami...but then, this is our first real snow experience...with matching umuulan ulan ng snow! Sayang, it's dark na kasi outside at malakas talaga ang hangin so I can't take my cam outside and take a picture. Maybe tomorrow, I can somehow take snapshots...

But then...I don't like winter season. Lamigin kasi ako...plus the fact that this reminds me na malapit na ang christmas... and I am away from my family. :(

Career realizations

I can vividly remember during those times that I would say that my current job is the most boring job I've ever had. But it's really surprising that right now, I am starting to realize the importance and the challenges that my job tends to offer. Some say that this is very much different from my professional degree and license...but right now, I was able to realize that yes this is very much different...but that is why I'm having the edge from other people who has the same license/degree with mine.

With my current job, I'm learning how the system works (particularly SAP)...not only in UI...but also how it works in the background! I'm just surprised at times that I am now able to configure and to troubleshoot some of the system errors on my own. And since I am dealing with FDA regulations, I am also exposed to different Goods Manufacturing Processes (GMPs), Best Practices and other business processess across all manufacturing modules. My work is actually beyond understanding the business process (which is more likely to be Internal Audit) but also deals with how the system executes those business processes.

...but then I still cannot erase the fact that I am somehow depressed when I don't usually understand the terminologies/jargons that my co-workers are using -- of course, I'm dealing with system/IT professionals and I'm not one of them! And it really sucks when the system stops working for the reason I can't really figure out! Grrr...

But then, at least I now learn how to appreciate things... :) That's one thing to be joyful about right at this moment.

Oh...speaking of the devil...batch determination of my SAP environment didn't take place...Grrr...need to dig this out of my system!

sick puppy

I'm sick today!

Grrr... I really hate having colds. My father would always complain when I was a child na "amo raw ako ng sipon". I easily get colds. Especially now that we have negative temp here...

I'm hoping that I will be well soon...I have tons of work to do... :(

...and also, thanksgiving holidays are up this coming week. I want to enjoy the holidays!

38 Qs

I was tagged by LC.... so here's mine!

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? Randy. Kasi ginagaya nya si Bear Gylls ng Man Vs. Wild. Nakakatawa kasi yung pagsabi nya ng "Veetamin C". Hanggang ngayon natatawa pa rin ako...


2. What were you doing at 0800? Travelling in Highway 45
   


3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Tinatapos ko ang Production Planning Module ng SAP. Laban ka? hahaha...


4. What happened to you in 2006? Married my bestfriend (for 9 years)
   


5. What was the last thing you said out loud? (Ran)- deeeee...(diko na matandaan kung bakit kasi palagi ko yan sinasabi kahit wala naman akong sasabihin kay Randy. Trip ko lang syang tawagin palagi.)
   


6. How many beverages did you have today? Two - Veetamin C juice at tubig, hahaha!


7. What color is your hairbrush? Black na binili ko sa Spinneys-Mercato, Jumeirah, hehehe. (Nilalagyan ko ng kwento para mas masaya...hehehe!)


8. What was the last thing you paid for? Ang hirap naman...diko maalala. Basta pagkain siguro kasi naman di pa ulet kami naggrocery, marami pa laman ang ref.
   


9. Where were you last night? Nasa kama, nagtatrabaho habang nanonood ng TV.
   


10. What color is your front door? Brown.
    


11. Where do you keep your change? Kung saan-saan lang. Tamad ako magtago ng sukli.


12. What’s the weather like today? Sunny ngayon, kaya masaya...ay hindi pala..malas pala ko ngayong araw na to.


13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Jamoca Almond Fudge ng Baskin Robbins pa rin.
    


14. What excites you? Christmas & New Year holidays!


15. Do you want to cut your hair? Yes, sobrang haba nya na ngayon.
    


16. Are you over the age of 25? No. sakto ka lang.
    


17. Do you talk a lot? Depende kung sino kausap.
    


18. Do you watch the O.C.? No


19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Aba, oo!
    


20. Do you make up your own words? Oo minsan...
    


21. Are you a jealous person? Yata...
    


22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Alvin


23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kaye
    


24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Chris
    


25. What does the last text message you received say? Your balance is now 547 minutes..ek..ek..ek...nagload ako sa fone, weheheheh!
    


26. Do you chew on your straw? No


27. Do you have curly hair? Yes...salamat sa teknolohiya ng rebond.
    


28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? Kama, tulog na.
    


29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? ha! Andami kaya...kalimutan na lang natin sila. Hindi sila dapat inaalala at dapat ay binabaon sa limot!
    


30. What was the last thing you ate? Ice cream!!! Salamat, jessamyn at dahil sa status mo sa YM, naalala kong may ice cream pako sa freezer, hehehe!
    


31. Will you get married in the future? I am "married" already.
    


32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Pwede bang next week mo na ko tanungin nyan? Next week na lang ulit ako makakapanood eh.
    


33. Is there anyone you like right now? Oo naman noh.
    


34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Kanina lang.
    


35. Are you currently depressed? No


36. Did you cry today? No


37. Why did you answer and post this? Kasi ayoko nang may pending work to do, hahaha!
    


38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey. Emtee, Ab, Chachung, Ibyang, Gy

Architecture Cruise

Yesterday, finally, Randy and I were able to meet with Arbour Dubai officemate, Edward. He has been here in US for 1 month already but we haven't met ever since he came here. We were just 10 days apart of departure from Dubai in October. I came here last October 7 and I think he arrived here last October 17. He was assigned in Indiana which is 3 hours away from Chicago.

So yesterday, after so many research on how he can reach Chicago by train, he finally was able to come to Chicago! Our first stop? NAVY PIER! This is also our first time to go to Navy Pier. By the time we got there, it was already full-packed with sooo many people. So, we tried the number 1 activity that Chicago is boasting about...the Shoreline Architecture Cruise. Actually, this is Edward's idea since he only had 1 day to spend in Chicago. Sobrang layo ng travel nya from Indiana to Chicago. Supposedly, he will be joining us in our place, however, he parked his car in the train station in Indiana na hindi pwedeng overnight parking. So he had to come back at that day also.

This cruise showcases Chicago's architectural heritage. The guided Architecture Cruise departs from Navy Pier and travels for one-hour on the historic Chicago River. We were able to see more than 40 of the world's most celebrated buildings in Chicago. During the cruise, what made us proud is, the tour guide mentioned the BURJ DUBAI Tower and another building soon to be built in Abu Dhabi!

And another funny thing is (shift to t-a-g-a-l-o-g) naglipana na naman ang mga bola-bola na mga Pana (yung may pulang marka sa noo nila!) sa cruise! At syempre nagpapakaepal pa rin at pilit na isinisigaw ang bansa nila...bwahahaha! We were laughing so hard!

The cruise was great since we were able to learn so many things about the architecture in Chicago...which is also needed by Randy since he will soon start to find jobs here. Actually, he started already but he can't start to work until he receive his EAD (work permit). For now, houseband muna sya...and I can assure you that that is only for now...hehehe! (Minsan, naaawa din kasi ako sa kanya na nasa house lang sya eh...)

After the cruise, we ate at Navy Pier and headed to Millenium Park...dropped by to some souvenir shops and did some shopping.

Next Friday, Edward will be heading back to Dubai and will just come back here on 1st December.

I will post some of our pictures soon!

First christmas outside Pinas

While everybody's busy preparing their christmas list and doing some christmas shopping errands, I am busy planning for our first christmas outside Pinas and away from our family. I have accepted this fact since the beginning of the year (while busy preparing for our wedding) but then, I was thinking of celebrating christmas in Dubai with friends. But since we're already out of Dubai, I thought of coming up with some other plans. But definitely outside from where we are right now. By December, snow might already be covering our place with several inches thick! I don't wanna experience christmas just staying indoors. So, I planned this trip:

After the Fight, Criss Angel has something to say...

I posted last week about a fight that happened on LIVE in the tv program, PHENOMENON.

Well, here's the explanation of Criss Angel why he reacted that way...

http://www.nbc.com/Phenomenon/video/#mea=178444

And...I totally agree!

After the Fight, Criss Angel has something to say...

I posted last week about a fight that happened on LIVE in the tv program, PHENOMENON.

Well, here's the explanation of Criss Angel why he reacted that way...

And...I totally agree!

PHENOMENON -- What a riot!

I am currently watching this show, Phenomenon in NBC and I was shocked with what happened! This show is a competition for all mentalists (I'm not sure what term to use, honestly. They are the ones practicing mentalism as form of magic).

This so-called "Jim" performed his magic by acting or seemingly possessed by a dead person who according to him will tell him the object to write in the white board (while being possessed by the dead person, he was writing something in his whiteboard). At the end, he guessed the object inside a box by showing what he has written in the whiteboard. The object by the way was selected by a guest celebrity before the show from hundreds of options of objects. So that was his trick/magic.

Two of the judges are CRISS ANGEL and GELLAR. Gellar commented that he was amazed by the performance. However, Criss Angel commented that it's like a comic act and started challenging the contestant and his co-judge to guess what is inside his envelope and he will give $1Million to any of them.

Jim, the contestant, suddenly became hysterical and they started yelling and challenging each other to a great confrontation.

And I was like, "Ohmigod!" The show is on LIVE and they had no choice but to cut the voices on air and even the host acted as mediator of the confrontation!

Tsk...tsk...tsk...all I can say is...the performance is indeed a comic act! hahaha... I like Criss Angel more...hehehe =)

Ceiling poster for HALLOWEEN!!!

This is my post for the halloween season! hahaha...

Nice ceiling...but I will never have this kind in my house!

Wedding Invite...not from Randy's mom though, hehehe!

To those planning to get married, don't ever let your MIL (Mother-in-law) do your invites. Hahaha...

Yeah right...I look like a kid!

Now I have proven...I look like someone below 18 years old!

Randy and I went to supermarket today and just the usual, we bought 6 bottles of Bacardi. This time, I was the one who paid at the counter while Randy was packing our goods. To my surprise, somebody from the customer information approached me and asked for my ID. And I was like, "What the..."

I showed it...and he said, "OK."

It took long before I came to realize that he thought I was below 18 years old...and should never be allowed to buy liquors! Hahaha!

...I thought I was in Dubai or something that I need to have a license before I can buy alcoholic drinks.

Yun pala...... baby-face lang ako, bwahahaha!

Lipat-bahay

Haaayyy, kakabwiset na tong blogger na to! Palagi na lang palpak! Hindi sya nagko-cross post sa Multiply account ko...grrr....

Mabuti pa, I'll move permanently na nga lang! hmph!

Please visit me here --- http://lvillanera.multiply.com

See you there!

Divalicious will resume!

Ohmigod...just got hold of this news early this morning from another blog...



This was published in the August 27 issue of Manila Standard, page C1...tsk..tsk..tsk..iba na talaga ang journalists ngayon, makabenta na lang. Kunsabagay dahil sa isyu na to, sobrang laki siguro ng step-up ng number of readers ng Manila Standard and People Asia. Buti na lang di ako nagbabasa ng dyaryo...hahaha!

Not feeling well?

Can anyone tell me the message of this poster?

All geared up...to work out!

Last year, Leisure Unlimited LLC has started opening various branches of their fitness club, Fitness First here in Dubai. Of course, syempre, dinumog to ng maraming kababayans...for diverse reasons. According to the critics, nag-eenroll lang daw ang mga kababayans dito just for "show-off". But I do believe, that though there are SOME na ganito nga ang reasons, still there are many people who are also dedicated to being fit...and now they wanna do it more religiously. That's why they decided to enroll in Fitness First. Pero kahit ano pang mga rason nila, wala tayong pakialam, hehehe. Pera nila yun eh, keber!

Even when Randy and I are still in Pinas, we usually visit this club and do some trial work-outs...but we never enrolled, hahaha...And now that FF is already here in Dubai, we have received several calls from consultants in FF offering us various membership promos. Kahit na andami na naming friends na naka-enroll, hindi pa rin kami nag-enroll. Kahit na, lagi namin pinaplano na mag-enroll, hindi pa rin kami nag-enroll...I think we just had so much alibis for doing this...

(1) Ang mahal..saka na pag nakalipat nako ng work!

(2) Ang layo naman ng branches! Tapos ang traffic pa!

(3) Busy kami eh!

But it seems na ako lang pala ang nag-aalibi...hehehe. Randy kept on bugging me about joining this club. Sa Pinas kasi, nagwowork out sya sa may *kanto* sa lugar nila (*yun kasi tawag nya dito, nakalimutan nya name ng gym). And since feeling nya eh he's getting fat already, he's really keen on enrolling here.

And finally...last Thursday, naubusan din ako ng alibi. For sure, my officemates will criticize me for doing this ... since we already have 2 free fitness club memberships. But then, ang layo naman ng Novotel at The Club from our place...and hindi rin makakapasok si Randy dun dahil hindi extended to family members ang membership. Plus the fact na most of my friends are working out in FF, siguro mas maeenjoy ko sa FF. And super fabulous din ng benefits and amenities...sarap din tumambay kumbaga.

I started working out yesterday...some are asking, "Bakit kelangan mo pang magwork out, eh ang payat payat mo na?" I usually answer, "Sinagot mo na rin tanong mo eh...ang payat payat ko". And sige, gagamitin ko na rin ang reason ng aking evil sister na si Emtee... "Bonding na rin namin ni Randy to, " hahahaha!...and syempre bonding na rin with w@w sisters, Emtee & Shelai! See you at the gym...

I'm keeping my fingers crossed na maging devoted sa goal na to... =)

Update: Malu Fernandez

Few weeks ago, I sent my YM friends a link to a certain blog discussing about a Manila Standard article authored by Malu Fernandez. The article expressed derogatory opinions about OFWs especially to those who are based in Dubai - UAE. Of course, this resulted to alarming comments, movements and actions from different parts of the world -- mainly from OFWs...and even from fellow Filipinos who are based in the Philippines.
Here's an excerpt of the article:




And now, as an update, I just heard that Malu Fernandez finally resigned...

I didn't feel excited about this news...because I want the Manila Standard/People Asia to withdraw her directly... The damage that this woman had caused is irreparable.

Here's a link to a blog which featured her resignation letter.

Various videos are also available in Youtube...

Turok at E-Vision

Obvious na walang ginagawa noh? Hehehe…This is my 3rd entry for the day. Pag sinipag kasi ako magblog, tuloy-tuloy…pag tinamad, tuloy-tuloy din. Kaya take advantage na ang kasipagan ngayon.

I woke up @ 7am today. Randy and I had a fight last night…so I woke up without even being kissed or hugged by Randy before he left for work. Alright, the feeling is different. But that’s fine. He should learn now…he should be more cautious to all the words that he tends to utter when we’re fighting. I’m his wife…let me just remind him of that. But this is not really a big deal…normal na sa min ang magtalo…kiss and make up din to later…ganun lang kami, parang bata. Kaya I really enjoy our relationship…we know our mistakes, and we both know how to feel sorry for what we’ve done…I just hope he’ll feel sorry later, hahahaha!

Anyways, at 7:45am, I went straight to Al Baraha Hospital. I had to undergo Blood Testing as part of my visa processing. At an early age eh naexposed nako sa mga TUROK na yan. I, together with my siblings, have complete set of vaccines. For the past years, I never experienced the numbing and pantal-pantal and pagpapasa (may diin, as in pasa) nung tinurukan na parte ng arm. But this time, dyos ko…ang sakiiit nya! Plus nagpasa, namaga, at nagpantal pantal na parang measles yung turok! Namamanhid din sya paminsan minsan…I can feel that there’s something wrong. I feel a little discomfort. I feel having fever…ang tindi kasi nung Nurse eh. Maskulada tapos hinila ba naman yung syringe na ubod ng lakas na na-feel ko na umangat yung ugat ko at sumama sa pag-angat ng balat! Ang sakit talaga!!! I also feel cold today…feeling ko talaga lalagnatin nako neto…haaayyy…

After going through the dreadful experience with that Nurse, I headed towards E-Vision office at Khaleej Center in Bur Dubai. I was going to apply for the transfer of our E-Vision package to our new flat (yep, we’re transferring once again…reason? This would require a new entry.). I was in high hopes that I will get this settled once and for all (this is also one of the many causes of our (with Randy) fight last night). But lo and behold, the E-Vision rep told me that since our new flat is in a conspicuously new building, it is not yet covered by their service. Punyeta! But then, I calmed down. I asked, “What are our options?”. She told me that it’s either I will transfer it to one of my friends within Dubai OR pay the cancellation fee of Dhs744! Huwaaaatttt???? Isa pang Punyeta!

We availed the one-year contract promo…the reason for the huge amount of cancellation fee. Oh well, ayoko pa problemahin yan ngayon…kung hindi ko ma-transfer, eh may choice bako?! E di bayaran ang punyetang Dhs744!...tutal one time lang naman yan, ang kapalit naman eh more comfortable living. Pero I just wish na macover na ng E-Vision yung building namin…naadik na rin ako sa wowowee… =)

So, if anyone is interested to a TFC Package (E-Vision) account, just drop a note! Wala na kayong babayaran pang iba…basta itutuloy lang yung monthly bill na Dhs99 lang naman and mata-transfer completely sa inyo ang ownership ng decoder and everything.

Gusto kong matutong magdrive...

Obvious naman sa title ng entry noh? I just started my driving lessons (after almost 5 months of waiting after initial registration) in Belhasa Driving School last August 3. Kung hindi pako nangulit kay Ashish…eh hindi pako mabibigyan ng schedule. Syempre umiral na naman ang ka-malditahan ko…sabi ko, wala silang ‘word of honor’…sabi ko rin, ako ang tipo ng tao na hindi pinapalagpas ang mga to. Tapos pinagkukuha ko lahat ng pangalan ng mga nakakausap ko sa phone na nangangakong tatawagan ako...na never ako tinawagan. After so many pangungulit, I finally got called! Whew!

Last Friday, I went there in the driving school, expecting na classroom training lang muna. But then, nakuuu…pasakayin daw ba ako sa driver’s seat! Then, ayun nga, pinagdrive at pinagpark ako…so far, ok naman. Ang prob ko lang eh hindi ko palagi matantsa ang pagliko ko at nalilito ako sa kung saan ako unang titingin.

Honestly, hindi ko alam kung maipapasa ko to…ok sana kung sa Pinas eh. Eh dito sa Dubai, naku, pahirapan ang driver’s license. Hindi problema ang kotse ng mga tao dito…ang problema eh ang lisensya…haaayy…Sobrang tuwa ko na kung maipasa ko to ng 2 to 3 takes lang. Nakakatakot din ang gastos, imagine, for every failure eh halos Dhs650? Gravacious!

Actually isa pa to pala kung bakit ako tinatamad these past few weeks…I really feel demoralized ata…haaayyy…

There’s something in me na ayokong tinuturuan ako, gusto ko ako mismo ang nagdidiscover or nag-aaral. =(

iPhone mania

The first time I heard about this iPhone coming up, I truly salivated. I told myself that I would buy that phone the moment of its 1st release. But my problem then was how could I possibly get hold of it if the initial release will be done in the US only in June 2007. Yeah right, I was able to go to US but my stay is short by 1 month, sigh...I just stayed there until my birthday, May 2007. And to make things worse, iPhone is locked with AT&T (ayoko namang maging timang na flaunting ever ang iPhone samantalang diko naman nagagamit ang main function).

So, I've finally decided to let go of it...I will just wait until 2008...when it reaches the UAE market. Oh well, in relation to this, one of my colleagues in one of the forums where I am a member posted this list. This enumerates all the bugs discovered in the first release of iPhone.

1. Bluetooth is ONLY good for connecting a headset. That's it.
2. There is no file browser on the device at all. Data must be organized (if at all) in the appropriate application.
3. The camera is a simple application that has ONE button: the shutter. Pictures come out okay on the device, but nothing too fancy on a monitor, especially if it was an attempt at a macro shot.
4. SIM card is damn near impossible to open, if at all. I didn't look into it extensively.
5. Web browser is slow, even over WLAN. Even the simple OneList web app that was created takes around 20 seconds to load over WLAN. You can not highlight, cut, copy, or paste and text from a website, and you can not save any images you find from a website either. The only nice thing about it is the tabbed browsing, which crashed on me when I went to Engadget and YouTube on two tabs. This is the only application that allows you to use the keyboard in landscape mode.
6. The keyboard sucks. It gets slightly better after the iPhone "learns" you, as the employees said, but even then, it's not a device you can use with one hand comfortably, much less without looking.
7. You can only send one picture at a time in an email.
8. No custom ringtones (yet, as we were being told) and the alert tones can not be changed whatsoever.
9. The default ringtones are incredibly lame.
10. The only form of customization outside of a lame default ringtone is the wallpaper, which you'll only see when you need to unlock the device or when you get a phone call.
11. "Picture pinching" or using two fingers to zoom on any content is certainly fun to play with, but not practical whatsoever. This operation depends solely on using the device with two hands.
12. No document editor or native viewer. You can not store documents on the device to be viewed, they can only be viewed as attachments when they're sent to your in an email.
13. Visual voicemail is laggy and reacts about the same way as pushing the fast forward and rewind buttons on traditional voicemail systems. The only advantage is for those that get that many voicemail messages a day that they need to sort them according to priority.
14. NO games. None.
15. No voice dialing.
16. No speed dialing (which can be made up by the "quick list", but getting to that quick list isn't as fast as holding a single key on a real keypad).
17. No video.
18. No MMS.



...and the bottomline? Don't buy iPhone at this time...kumbaga, Beta version pa lang...but then, I am really eyeing for this phone...with the condition na magagamit ko ang pagiging PHONE nya (kaya nga iPhone eh!) at hindi lang pangdisplay, =)

I dreamed about RAT!

It's really weird. Last night, I had a terrible dream...I can't exactly remember the full details of the dream. But one thing's for sure, I caught a RAT! ewwww....fyi, I'm ok with cockroaches but not RATS!

So, as I usually do, I googled it...and here's the result:

"A rat, or rats, in your dream points up the fact that someone is very jealous of you and/or your accomplishments and will work against you in any way possible, it is a dream of warning to be on the alert for enemy attack, (the backbiting kind). If you see a white rat it means the same but you will have help from unknown forces. To hear rats running, or gnawing in the walls, shows that you have been wasting your time and should move on to greener pastures."

hmmm...makes sense, huh?!?

And oh by the way, this morning, my carlift was late. And the reason? She found a rat in her cupboard and tried her best to catch and kill the rat! What a coincidence!

Anyway, I do believe that my dream has a meaning...it's very usual for me that I always dream about future happenings...some are tragic...some are good. I dunno...some fortune-tellers say I have a third-eye...but I don't take it seriously....or is it just "I don't want to discover more?"

Oooopppsss...I'm having goose bumps here! nyiiiii

Carlift experience

If you're from Dubai, you might be familiar with "Carlift". Carlift is a term used like "carpool" wherein a private car will take you anywhere you want for a fee. The fee is usually lower than the usual taxi meter cost...but sometimes, it's even higher. It depends whether it's a "rush hour" or the place you want to go to is a dead spot (meaning, the driver won't have customers going back to the place you came from). Actually, this is illegal. If a private car/driver get caught, he will be fined Dhs4,000. So, what "carlifts" usually do is just spread their mobile numbers and ask the customers to call them whenever they need carlift.

Since I just joined to my new company which is supposed to be a 10-minute drive from my place, I needed someone who will bring me and fetch me to/from my office. Initially, I was just hailing taxi cabs everyday...but during rush hours, it's very difficult to get one...even if you call the hotline...the line is very hot, believe me!

So, I decided to look for carlifts in Gulf news. I happily found one. I called him and after many conversations, we agreed on the timing and fee. It was all set. He should be picking me up by 8:00 am in my house. So, the next day, I hurriedly went down to the lobby of our building. I waited there for 5 minutes before calling him. When I called him, I was surprised that the receiver was telling me that he doesn't know me, blah blah....I got furious!!! But I said nothing to the person...I just hung up the phone without saying goodbye!

Good thing, I was able to catch a cab outside our building who's waiting for hours for his customer.

Ngayon, magtatagalog na ko....galit na galit talaga ako sa carlift na yun! Napakahusay kausap! Walang word of honor!!! Pero sabi nga ni Randy, iexpect mo na yun....dahil ang kausap ko ay isang PANADOL! Bakit nga kaya ganun ang lahi nila? Pasensiya sa panlalahi pero maraming ganun sa kanila...magulo kausap, mahirap makaintindi, at higit sa lahat medyo may pagka- bobito at bobita! Pero kahit na niloko ako netong hinayupak na taong ito, hindi ko naman sila nilalahat. Meron din namang mahusay kausap sa kanila...gaya ng mga officemates ko at yung isa ko pang carlift. ...yun nga lang majority ata sa lahi nila eh maliit ang utak...

Pasensya sa terms ha...ganyan talaga ako pag nagagalit

....after the loonng period of hibernation

Hi people! Been out for quite a while. Well many things have happened. I've formed so many decisions in life...this time, this is for long term purpose.

Last Sunday & Monday, I already reported to my new company. So far, so good. And this coming Sunday will be my official joining date. This will going be a new environment...and a new challenge. Just hope that everything will be fine, though.

I have no significant post for today...that's it for now.

Lately, I've been too lazy posting blog entries... sooorrryyy...

Save the Auditor, Save the World!

I am really fascinated with TV Series...but my latest indulgence is the TV Series, HEROES! On the night of June 17, 2007 I finally finished its volume 1. This series really excites me...I really like the various twists in the story. I can't wait to start the volume 2.

My favorite character is PETER PETRELLI...not only because of his power (which is to absorb other people's powers) but ultimately because of his good looks! I crush him na... (hahaha!)...but believe me, it's been a long time since I last sooo admired a celebrity...and now, it really feels good. I so so so so love PETER PETRELLI..or let me say, MILO VENTIMIGLIA, his real name. Aside from being PETER in Heroes, he was also Jess Mariano in Gilmore girls.

Some artics from Wikipedia:

Ventimiglia was born in Anaheim, California to Carol and Peter Ventimiglia.[2] He is of Sicilian descent on his father's side and a combination of Irish, English, Scottish, French, Cherokee, and Indian descent on his mother's.[1] He was born with dead nerve endings in his lower left lip. Ventimiglia attended El Modena High School in Orange, California, where he wrestled and held the office of president in student government (ASB). He graduated in 1995.

At the age of 18, Ventimiglia received a scholarship to study at the American Conservatory Theater for their summer program.[3] He attended UCLA as an English major for four years but dropped out to pursue an acting career.

By the way, I also like Claire Bennet...primarily because of her power...SELF-HEALING/REGENERATION. I wish I can have that power...indestructible!!! Ooooppsss...I'm not Sylar...hehehe...

Sorry for this post...I'm not really like this...but this series really got me hooked and addicted! Now...SAVE THE AUDITOR, SAVE THE WORLD!*

*For those unfamiliar, the original quote is SAVE THE CHEERLEADER, SAVE THE WORLD...which is the main theme of the TV series.

8 working days left...

I am slowly counting the days left for me here in my desk. The desk I occupied for more than 1 year (not amusing, huh!)...the desk where I started gaining friends in Dubai...the desk which has been a witness of all my tantrums, videoke-while-working moments and my other extra curricular activities (wedding preps & photography)when I should be working at full time.

I'm not sure whether my next desk would be as good or as bad as this desk...actually, I am not even sure if this current desk has been good or bad for me. But one thing's for sure...I am leaving...but I'm still grateful for occupying this particular desk next to Edward's and "then Ryan's" desk.

8 working days to go...

Rich Dad woke me up...

It is very usual that every Sunday (which is the first working day here in Dubai), my officemates would ask, "How's your weekend?". And I just often say, "Well, as always, went to the mall and did some shopping...". And they would say, "Again?!?" and I would just say, "Yes!"

Going to the mall is our favorite pastime. Eventhough we sometimes do extraordinary things like desert safari, out of town, dhow cruise, swimming, etc...majority of our time is spent shopping and shopping and shopping. Sometimes I also do shoots (whether prenup or just for my own portfolio) on Fridays.

Last Friday, since I was able to buy clothes last week, Randy and I decided to go to Magrudy's (together with a couple of friends). We often go to Magrudy's if we feel like buying some books which are often related to our being "techie". Since I've been a dedicated auditor for such a long time, last year I already lost the appetite in buying books related to my career dev't. I sometimes feel guilty about it. It feels like I'm being 'happy-go-lucky' with regard to my future or our future. I just often buy any thing that I want...gadgets, books, magazines, clothes, shoes, bags, etc...without me noticing that I've been spending so much money on these short-term assets (I know some of them are long-term assets if we would apply some applicable accounting standards). But what I;m really talking about here are the assets that would help me shape my future or our future.

I love books. I really love books, ever since. I can still remember that during my childhood days, I am getting excited everytime we visit MAKATi. Not because of the toy stores or whatever...but because of the huge National Bookstore in Glorietta. I have tons of books back in the Philippines. Here in Dubai, I did not plan to buy so much books because these would just eat much of our space in our house. But still, I couldn't resist the temptation...seeing the books just sitting in the shelves of the bookstore...I've got to have some of them...Since I started to love gadgets and photography, these are just some of the books I was able to keep here (some of them were already shipped to the Philippines...because as I've said, they're eating so much space...too bad I have a husband like Randy who's really fond of throwing things back to the Philippines...sigh)

The only constant in this world is change...

Oooppsss...yes, you read it right. I've changed my blog title...now I'm including my hubby to it! He has gained enough knowledge (from me, hahaha...ayaw talaga patalo...) and I do think he is also enjoying my hubby...(pakitingnan na lang ang friendster account nya: "Ang hubby ni lei ay hubby ko na rin".).

Plus, plus, plus...we will be enrolling this Friday to a formal class in Photography...now, this is getting serious...para naman may ibang kwenta ang buhay namin bukod sa pagdodrawing nya at pago-audit ko...hehehe...

Supposed to be naka-enroll na kami sa Photography class last April, but then because of this US relocation thingy eh napostpone...hopefully, this time, wala nang aberya!

Oooppp (ulet)...daming tagalog sa post ko noh? BELATED HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, mga kabayan!

...and also, HAPPY MONTHSARY, HONEY! (Oct.13, 1998 nang magsimula ang "Randy & Lei" lokohan at kadramahan, ahihihi!)

Re-inventing my niche

Last March 18, from Jumeirah 2, we finally transferred to our new place...BUR DUBAI! I just want to shout to the world that I'm really loving our new place. It has complete amenities. We have swimming pool with jacuzzi, sauna, gym, children's playground, lawn tennis/squash court and a 24-hour security service. So, I'm inviting my friends..if you feel like dipping into the pool and have sauna bath afterwards, come to our place...just send me a 1-day notice, okei?! hehehe...

Aside from that, we're now very near Burjuman Shopping Center! Super convenient...we're just behind the shopping mall. Well, I haven't also told you that we're also near the banks and gadget centers ... oh so much for this...sorry for that, I just love our new place...

Last Friday, we went to Ikea to shop for table and chairs. Before, Randy and I don't usually buy these bulky furnitures. But now, I was surprised that Randy initiated the idea of buying those...hahaha! We were able to buy 1 long table, 2 chairs, and curtain (na parang kulambo...if you can imagine..hehehe) and some other house stuff na mga kaartehan. Since my childhood, I really love rearranging things at home. Supposedly, I should be taking up Interior Design @ UP before. But then, my mom did not agree to that...eventhough I was already enrolled @ UP then, she still insisted for me to pursue BS Accountancy @ PLM, her alma mater.

But now, I'm soo happy that I was able to make our room look like what I have in mind. I soooo love our room. This is what we call a "true room"..."home sweet home"...even our housemates loved it! I still haven't put the "curtain na parang kulambo" sa ceiling to put some dramatic effect on our bed. But maybe next week, I'll be putting my hands on it. I won't post pictures for now...too lazy to shoot..hehehe... =)

PRENUPTIAL SHOOT: Rico & Emtee_Part 2

It's been a while since I last post pictures I have taken. What's new?!? For the past few days, I've been kicking my ass off to this night shifting arrangement. Thank God, for this coming week, I won't be on night shift. The client is on vacation...yipeeee!

And It's also been ages since I tried a prenuptial shoot. Well, here's another one...still with the same subject...but different location. Here are few of my favorite shots:











Blogger seems to be having problem in uploading...so I was not able to post much pictures. You can take a look for some more in my multiply site: http://lvillanera.multiply.com

Rico and Emtee are co-w@wies (hindi wowowee ha, Rico?). This is the 2nd time of holding prenup for them. The first time was held @ Burj Al Arab open beach, while this one was held @ Dubai Festival City. Before we started the shoot, we ate breakfast @ Ikea. While I used my Canon 400D, my hubby on the other hand used my old Sony DSC-H2. My hubby (Randy) has his own set of shots..which are also good, I should say. I will post my hubby's shots if time permits...medyo nagloloko talaga tong blogger. During the prenup shoot, Rico was having colds...and at the end of the day, guess what? After eating in Nando's for lunch, we were all sneezing na! hahaha... Right now, Randy has colds, Emtee has colds, and I have cough! hahahaha...talagang iba ako, ganun?! Supposed to be, after DFC, we would proceed to Madinat Jumeirah...but since Rico's colds was getting worse, we decided to call it a day @ 3pm.

It's really nice to hold prenups like this. Aside from the fact that I enjoy taking pictures, we are also having some bonding moments...to Rico and Emtee, Congratulations and Best Wishes...and of course, since I am a w@wie: HAPPY PREPS!!!

P.S. We already moved to a new place...a week ago! I'm no longer a jumeirah jane...but now a certified BUR DUBAI migrant! yey...I really love our new place...It's a 2-bedroom flat with hall which was converted to a "room" ...so that makes it 3-bedroom flat na. The other 2 rooms are occupied by the main tenant while Randy & I happily occupied one room! Yey, no more "attitude problems" to bear with roommates! hahahaha...

Flickr is back!

Sorry for the absence for a very long time...as always. For everybody to know, I'm now a 'stay-at-home' professional. And I'm not happy about it. My nerve-wracking, stubborn, and demanding client wants me to sync with their timing. And that also means to be in a conference call with them and webex for 6 hours every single night...that is from 6pm til 12am. Aside from that, she also wants me to finish the "scripting" (just like creating an audit program) by end of June. So, tell me, how can you finish the scripting if you're always on conference call for 6 hours every single night??? Let me remind her that my normal number of office hours is 8...so that means, I only have 2 hours remaining to do the scripts! Because of that, I've been rendering 12 hours of work everyday! This is not right...

So, just to take a breather, I decided today to visit my flickr account. Fyi, flickr has been blocked for ages by Etisalat (UAE network provider). Take a look what I got!



Take a closer look at the picture. Yes, I was able to access the site thru my pc laptop. But hey, when I tried it in my mac : waaaaahhhh! "SITE BLOCKED". So, I guess this is another assignment for me to accomplish. I tried Safari and Firefox...but none of them worked!

But, people from the UAE, why don't you visit my flickr account, http://www.flickr.com/photos/irobot773 and let me know what you got? So that I can somehow validate (hehehe!) whether flickr is really 'unblocked' or is it just my privoxy working on the background? hmmmm...

I shall return...

Yes! I'm back in Dubai!

Get a mac!

I just wanna share this link... a full punch for those pc protagonists, hahahaha...joke!

http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

Have fun watching the ads!

Then, go get a mac, hehehe!

My flickr badge!

Just want to share my flickr badge! Yey!

Look what I've got!

Yey, 3 more days and we'll be heading back to Dubai! Of course, before going back, I should have something that will make me forever remember Boston...aside from pictures and all the branded clothes at the very lowest price I've never imagined! Last Sunday, Randy and I decided to go to this IL PENO Resto, a mexican restaurant that offers delectable dishes! Eventhough it's too far from our hotel, we still decided to go...just for lunch. After lunch, since we're there already, we went to "Best Buy" just to check some gadgets...we had no intentions of buying since we're saving up for our business and my upcoming resignation...sssshhhh...

So, we went...everything was just normal...until I saw the price of their lenses! ohmigod...very cheap! To cut the long story short, we went home...me salivating with the lenses. When we reached the hotel, I started checking out prices and other outlet stores around the vicinity for photography materials and equipment. Until Randy came to this outlet store...CALUMET...and guess what, it's just a stone's throw away from our hotel! Yey! Only that...it closes @ 5:30PM.

So, this afternoon, after office, we hurriedly went to CALUMET...(we had no intentions of buying...but I can't really help myself...can't resist the temptation...sobrang mura!

That's me, waiting for my new lens....

And here's what I've got:





I was planning to buy 28mm-135mm at first. But it really costs a lot...it's way beyond my budget for now. So I just decided to buy the lens I really need for now...I was also planning to buy speedlight, diffuser and battery pack...But then, I still have to think about it. My savings are fully used up now...anyway, I still have 3 more days to think about it, hehehe! Pero mura talaga, promise! =)





Those are my first shots with my new telephoto lens! And this is Randy's first shot with my new lens (hehehe):



We were still not able to practice the main function of the lenses...to maximize it's focal length...maybe in the next coming days (If only I can watch a Red Sox game...that would be the best opportunity for me!). Right now, I'm still in the 'adjustment' stage since the lens is a little bit heavy for me...and I still find it hard to focus in low light conditions. Maybe I'll just use my 18-55mm lens for these lowlight conditions.

And oh, I was also able to buy 2 Quantaray filters during my 1st week here in US: (1) Polarizer (PL) and (2) Cross screen. My next aim is 50mm lens since it's cheaper (hehehe) and if circumstances permit, maybe I can buy the 28mm-135mm next time or 100mm macro lens...but I think I will just focus first on battery pack, speedlight & diffuser next time...hmmm...gulo koh!

If only I have enough moohla to spend now...sigh...sigh...sigh...priorities...priorities...priorities

X's: By the way, I posted some pictures I took last Saturday using my 18-55mm lens and polarizer...follow the link -- http://lvillanera.multiply.com

Fortune cookies

Ok...I owe each one of you a lot since I haven't posted any pictures from our trip last weekend. Promise, I'll do that this coming week. But I just can't help myself to blog about a certain happening when we had dinner (yes, you read it right..."we"... with randy) just few hours ago. We decided to try the subway and we went downtown. We walked and walked and finally reached the "Chinatown". We ate at Grand China Restaurant...and the food and serving were really great! But oh, this is not about that actually. Of course, after eating we were served with 2 pcs of fortune cookies. For those not familiar with this type of cookies: a Fortune Cookie is a thin folded cookie containing a slip of paper with a prediction or aphorism written on it, served in Chinese restaurants. So, Randy opened the 1st cookie...while I opened the second one. We were really shocked by what were written on the slips of papers...I guess it was a mistake that Randy opened the 1st one and I opened the 2nd one. It should be the other way around...since, the predictions really matched our current situations right now (if only I opened the right one, which is the 1st fortune cookie!)...So, here's what I got:

Randy ever since has been saying to me that whenever he's up to something, he first needs to experience real hardship in achieving it. So I guess, this prediction is really for him.
And here's what Randy got:

Okay, I've posted several blog entries about the offer of my boss to relocate me permanently here in US, together with Randy. My family, relatives and some friends are saying, "tanggapin mo yan, sayang yan!" But then, just recently, I decided to forego it...finally. I'm now fully decided to just stay in Dubai, pursue my career, and build my family...anyway, whatever happens, we'll still be going back in the Philippines. Truly, we must stick in the saying, "Kung san ka masaya, dun ka." Imagine, Randy is already here with me in the US...but still....I'M STILL NOT HAPPY. Parang may kulang...

But, what's the meaning of this prediction of our fortune cookie????Hmmm....