Hong Kong - Day 1 (Novotel Citygate)

Toilet & Bath for Matt & Kyle, originally uploaded by gratitude.

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LP: Ang Pagwawagi

Hindi pa tapos ang pakikipagsapalaran sa akademiya ng aking mga anak. Sa bawat taon na napipili sila bilang honor students, para sa amin, ito ay representasyon ng tagumpay sa bawat baytang na kanilang daanan.

Pasintabi lang po sa mistulang pagyayabang sa lumang larawan na ito pero nais ko lang ibahagi ang para sa aming pamilya ay isa sa mga simbolo ng pagwawagi.



Batiin natin ang mga litratistang nakilahok sa linggong ito sa tema ng Litratong Pinoy.

Less One Day

Monday! Work was okay save for one annoying incident when the accounting firm erroneously deposited the funds to another corporate account. They were not even aware of it until I tried tracing where the funds went. Ugh! Anyway...

That didn't stop me from having a generally good day. In fact, I've been "wearing" this silly smile on my face. Here's why...

Rihanna - Chris Brown Concert in Taguig

We were at the venue 2.5 hours early! We stood the whole of 3 hours watching CB first, then Rihanna with a brief fireworks display break in between as they completely changed the stage set-up.

Verdict: Best concert I could remember. Hehehe (as if I watch too many!)

A few pics and a vid here.

When Cute is Not

Me: Hmmm... *kiss, kiss*...*hug, hug*...(Smothering my 4 year old son)
Me: Why is my Jake so cute?...*presses cheek*
Me: Why is your skin so soft, hmm?
Me: Mama wants to hug you... always.
Me: Cute cute cute....
Me: This one is cute (presses cheeks)... this one is cute (pats his tooshie)...and this too (points to his male organ).
Jake: No! That's not cute.
Me: Huh? If it's not cute, then what?
Jake: Big.
Me: Oh!

And then in my peripheral view, I saw my husband laughing.


Jake and me (using Photo Booth)

Fashion Watch

I don't really consider myself a fashionista. In fact the closest I'd get to being one is when you see me browsing some fashion magazines or watching makeover shows on Velvet or Lifestyle channels... You can say I'm not the type to want to be first in sporting the latest trend since I'm already comfy in my jeans and shirt and basic footwear.

So... when I received an invite for Fitness.Fashion, at the Waterfront Hotel (Lahug), I was confused. Hahaha. What do I wear to such an event??? The dress code said: "Wear something chic". Right... What's chic these days? That's very ambiguous.

After deciding on a top I already had and a good pair of jeans (yep, dark skinny denims) and stilletos, off I went with my friend Dahlia.

The show was a mixture of collections from several designers, the likes of Joey Samson, Louis Claparols, Tonichi Nocom, Protacio Empaces, Jun Escario, Rajo Laurel, Philip Rodriquez, Vic Barba, Rhett Eala, Arcy Gayatin, Randy Ortiz, Cary Santiago, James Reyes, Lord Maturan, and Edwin Ao (list of designers lifted from StyleCebu.com).

There were really nice clothes on the ramp but Dahlia and I, along with our other lady-companions on the "green section" were aww-ing and ahh-ing at the buff and lovely (male and female and Cebu celebrity) models more than the collection. Hihihi.

So much for fashion watching. It was a new experience for me and taught me a bit about style (which needs to be put to practice I suppose). I hope I don't see myself in pictures with a blacked out face and labelled "what not to wear to a fashion event" or "caught by fashion police". ;)

Touring Terraces

We've been frequenting the Terraces for the past few days until the last weekend. It's a nice venue to take my Manila-based parents to. They're impressed that there's something like Greenbelt or Glorietta in my Cebu home-base. Hehe... For city-dwellers like them, malling is a staple activity. Yep, I should know. :P



Here we are, enjoying Yellow Cab pizza and calzone a few hours after a filling lunch at Big Mao (both at Terraces)

Playing Catch Up (2) - A Night with Marcel

With friends distributed around the globe, every chance we get to meet up with a good friend, we really give time for it. One such occasion was when Marcel Fernan flew in (Cebu) from the US a few days back.

We all met up at the Tinder Box for wine and pica-pica and then moved to Z Bar where the men had a few more drinks, hmm, as usual. They had the perfect excuse.

Funny that (almost) everyone (except for myself and Monica Climaco), were in black garb that night.... Trying to show a slimmer silhouette perhaps? Try harder guys, just kidding.



From left to right: Rene Ybanez, Henry Lopio, Marcel Fernan, Jerry Rapes, Manny Climaco

Playing Catch Up (1) - Mama Sol's Birthday

The past weeks have been busy for me at the homefront with my youngest and me getting sick one after the other, like a tag-team of sorts. Then to add to that, we also had major movements and changes at work. Think, paperwork and tighter coordination among all groups.

To cut the chase, I'm posting pics of other events that happened in between. So this is part 1:



We got invited to Mama Sol's (aunt's) dinner party at the Marco Polo where we were served a fusion of Japanese, Italian, Chinese and native food. Yummm! However, the al fresco dinner was mildly rained on and prompted most of the guests to wear the table napkins on their heads ala "hat" party. Wehehe... I guess that was what caused me to get sick for a week. :P


When the mild drizzle stopped, the dances began. One of the dance numbers was from a belly-dancer, to the men's delight. As the music commenced, I threw side-glances at my teenage boys who seemed to enjoy the serpentine moves of the curvaceous dancer. Ah boys... My Papa Lalo (uncle) was regretful of the fact that he left his eyeglasses home! Haha! That was amusing and definitely good news for my Mama Sol!


Since it was a Tuesday, with work the following day (my sons were on school break), we left at about 930pm. That was when most of my uncle and aunt's contemporaries started boogie-ing and chacha-ing the night away...

LP: Maalaala Mo Kaya

Isa ito sa unang pumasok sa aking isip para sa tema ngayon sa Litratong Pinoy.


Litrato ko at ng aking kapatid, mahigit 35 taon na ang nakalilipas. Wehehe, ang tagal na nun!

Ito rin ang litratong kasama sa feature sa nostalgia bloggista noong isang taon.

LP: Kadiliman

May mga ibang lugar na sadyang madilim para mas maganda ang dating... gaya ng bar. Ang lahok ko sa linggong ito sa Litratong Pinoy ay kuha sa Treff Bar sa loob ng Waterfront Hotel & Casino sa Cebu. Ang bar na ito ay glass ang bubong kaya "see-through" ang mga bituin sa kalangitan. Pag tumingala ka, ganito ang view mo:

LP: Liwanag (Light)

Kung ikaw ay nakarating na sa Manila Ocean Park, kapansin-pansin ang lugar na kung saan nakapuwesto ang mga kwadradong upuan na ito na gawa sa plastic. Madilim dito at ang nagbibigay ng bahagyang liwanag ay ang mga upuan na merong ilaw sa loob. Ang maganda, nagpapalit-palit pa ng kulay ang ilaw ng bawat isa. :)

Ayan, nagkaroon ako ng lahok para sa linggong ito. Teka, tingnan naman natin ang ibang klaseng liwanag na ibinahagi ng mga ka-litratista sa Litratong Pinoy?

Litratong Pinoy: Bago Nga Kaya?

Noong ika-12 na kaarawan ni Kyle, minabuti kong bilhan siya ng mga libro bilang isa sa mga regalong galing sa amin. Nang mabili ko na ang mga libro, pati ang aming 15 taong gulang na panganay ay na-engganyong humiram nito. Nakakatuwa dahil sa kabila ng mga makabagong electronic na gamit nila gaya ng cellphone, ipod, kompyuter, Playstation at PSP, nahihilig pa rin sila sa pagbabasa.

Ang mga bagong librong hard-bound na ito ay nabili ko sa halagang P375 (suma tutal). Mura diba? Naka-sale na kasi, taong 2008 pa yung almanac gayong patapos na ang taon at papasok na ang 2009.

Ikutin natin ang mga litratistang Pinoy/Pinay para tingnan kung ano naman ang bago sa kanila.

Litratong Pinoy: Luma Na

Ang Coloseo ang isa sa mga kilalang lumang istruktura na magpahanggang ngayon ay nakatayo pa. Ginawa noong AD72 hanggang AD80 (ayon sa nakatala sa internet), ito ang ginamit na arena ng mga Romano para panoorin ang paglalaban ng Kristiyano at leon o kaya naman ay mga "gladiators".

Taong 2003 nang makita ko sa unang pagkakataon ang pamosong atraksyon na ito sa Rome at tunay na kamangha-mangha ang tanawin na aking nakita. Pakiramdam ko noon ay parang nagbabalik ako sa lumang panahon ng mga Romano.

Sana nagustuhan ninyo ang napili kong ilahok sa linggong ito para sa Litratong Pinoy.

Litratong Pinoy: Aking Kompyuter

Ilang taon akong nasanay gumamit ng kung ano-anong brand ng computer, mapa-laptop man o yung ordinaryong desktop. Pero sa kainitan ng aking pagkahilig sa photoblogging noong 2005, naisipan kong bumili ng sariling laptop. At sa pange-engganyo ng aking kapatid, napag-desisyunan kong bumili ng aking unang Apple na produkto, ang iBook.



Inspirado akong magtrabaho. Bakit ika nyo? Ang ganda ng laptop tapos ganito pa ang view ko sa maghapon...



Simula noon di na ako gumamit ng non-Mac. Tuluyang naging Mac convert na ako. Sa kabutihang palad, noong lumipat ako sa aking bagong employer noong 2007, MacBook ang naging standard equipment naming lahat. O, di ba? Ang saya! :)




Nakaka-curious din makita kung ano naman ang mga computer ng mga litratista sa Litratong Pinoy. Tingnan natin dito.

Litratong Pinoy: Puti at Itim

Ilang Huwebes din akong napahinga sa pagsali sa lingguhang Litratong Pinoy. Mabuti at may konting oras para makapagblog bago maging abala ng tuluyan. Ang tema para ngayong Huwebes ay "Puti at Itim" at sa aking paghahanap ng litrato sa aking koleksiyon, nakita ko ito...



Litrato ito ng kamay ko, ng aking kapatid na si Junnie at ni Jake OR Zia sa ibabaw ng umiilaw na upuan sa Manila Ocean Park. Sa katunayan, "colored" ang shot na yan kaya lang against the light kaya naging parang anino ang kulay ng aming mga kamay. Puede na rin di ba?

Dalawin natin ang ibang lahok sa Litratong Pinoy dito...

Moooning

I didn't misspell the title of this entry. That's just playing with the name of this new place at the Walk. It's a Mexican fusion resto-bar named Mooon.

It's open (almost) 24/7. And on some Sunday afternoons, my family and I lug our macs, psp, gameboy, and the newspaper and spend time doing our own thing there while sipping Mooon's fruit cooler.

I like that it's near enough to my workplace that I could actually get wifi signals. Hehe... Perhaps on some days, this could be an extension office for when I need a change of scenery....

Well, just maybe...

Face, Manga, Avatar

Yes, I work in an IT company but I'm far from being a developer or a software engineer. I belong to the hr/admin/finance group. But when you're surrounded by the young and the tech-y, you couldn't help but try what they've been up to.

Take for example the Faceyourmanga site. I noticed contacts in my Twitter and YM accounts have changed their avatars. So I joined in the fray and made an avatar for myself as well. Hahaha... Gaya-gaya. Though the word "manga" seems strange to me, however, the site wasn't really anything complicated. Check out the image above. Do I look (even remotely) similar to the avatar I made? Would I change my avatar pics on Wordpress or Twitter or Yahoo Messenger using this?

I guess not. :) The avatar kinda looks cute though... Hehehe...

Litratong Pinoy: Mithi

repost ng aking paboritong panandaliang aliw

Simple lang ang pinaka mithi ko sa ngayon - mas maraming oras para makapag-relax. Heh. Mayroong mga pagbabagong nagaganap sa aking trabaho sa darating na mga araw, kaya mukhang luluwag ng konti ang aking schedule.

Magkakaroon na ako ng oras para mag-spa. Ang babaw ba? :D

Gawin nating malalim ng konti... Mithi ko rin na magkaroon ng oras para makapagbakasyon kasama ang buong pamilya kahit ilang araw lang...


Ang sarap gumising sa umaga kahit sa isang lugar na malayo basta kasama ang buong mag-anak.

Ano naman kaya ang mithi ng ibang litratistang Pinoy? Paki-click dito nang makita...

A Little White Lie

In the car after a trip to the mall....

ME: (Tapping Matt's knee as he was listening to his iPod) Matt, don't drink Jake's Chamyto alright? Please tell Kyle...

MATT: Yes, Ma...

ME: Did you hear me Kyle? (Just making myself clear.)

KYLE: Yes Ma. (goes back to listening to his iPod)

ME: Ok... If you want to, you ask Jake's permission.

JAKE: But, but... I will say no!

I told the youngest to share what he has as long as the elder brothers ask his permission... but I realized he sure knows how to fend for himself.

---

Earlier this afternoon, while walking in the mall between my two elder boys...

ME: Ugh, I feel my tummy jiggling as I walk *chuckles*

Kyle laughed but Matt chose to say something:

MATT: Yeah Ma, I see it!

ME: Che! Boosit. :P

And all three of us started laughing. Sometimes, a little white lie goes a long way, I figured. :D


Jake, Matt, Kyle - eating mami noodles and halo-halo with gusto