0319…The End Of A Friendship

Ours wasn’t a classic “boy-meets-girl” fairy tale. Ours was a case of mistaken identity turned mayhem.

It all started in a movie house. We were both there to watch a movie premiere and by some weird coincidence, we bought tickets from the same person. I happened to be with a date and he happened to be with his friends.

Since we got our tickets from the same person we also sat on the same row. After some introductions were made we took our places to watch the show. His best friend was the one seated beside me and it didn’t escape me that this guy was a..well..hottie.

Little did I know that my future Prince Charming was a few seats away and was not enjoying the movie but was, instead, enjoying another view. It was a case of love at first sight and at first whiff.

Not many words were exchanged that evening so it surprised me when I got a call after a few days from “some guy I met at the movie house” asking me out on a date. Unfortunately, it happened to be the “Undas” weekend and I had some family obligations to fulfill so I politely turned down the invite.

Not to be swayed by my letdown, he called me again the following week to ask me out one more time. This time I had no excuse so I said “yes.” I immediately called the person who sold us tickets and asked for a backgrounder on the guy.

Lawyer, good job, good family, nice car….GREAT!

In my mind I was seeing the guy who sat next to me so you can imagine how excited I was. And so on “date night” there I was all prettied up and fidgety while waiting for the doorbell to ring. And when it did I took my sweet time getting up to open the door so I wouldn’t look too excited….and when I opened the door…”WHAT THE…? Who is this guy?” All I could say was..”Hi! You’re?”

He introduced himself but in his mind he was thinking “Ang laki pala niya! Parang Amazona!” If I had read his mind then I would’ve probably kicked him in the balls but since I didn’t I just got in his car with every intention of scaring the living daylights out of him since he wasn’t the guy I thought would turn up on my doorstep.

Fast forward 4 months later. After having to withstand a bout of chicken pox (I caught it a month into the courtship), constant ribbing of friends that he wouldn’t get anywhere, and constant ribbing from me that I could outdrink him….the courtship would soon come to a grinding halt.

Without warning I received a dozen Orange Lilies with a card that read..”I’d like to end this friendship.”…WHAT THE…?!?

And the rest, as they say, is history.

The date..March 19…0319…the day when a friendship ended and a fairy tale began.

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This is my entry to the Lovestruck Writing Contest of Noemi.

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Update : This entry was chosen as a runner up in the Lovestruck Writing Contest!!

Adi’s Birthday Celebration At Ocean Adventure

Last Saturday was officially Adi’s 3rd birthday. Since she is not a big fan of parties and entertaining, we opted to treat the whole family to a day of fun at Ocean Adventure in Subic.

We’ve been wanting to visit this park for the longest time but whenever we would be in Subic, the zoo would always win whenever we would take a vote. This time there was no more showing of hands. We just herded the herd and drove off.

We got there a wee bit too early and just passed the time by looking out into the ocean and convincing Adi that Sinigang was not exactly the most exciting thing to have for her birthday dinner. Seriously, she wanted to have Sinigang when we asked her what she wanted to eat.

Anyway, as soon as the park’s gates opened we were running like mad people on a stampede. And to think we weren’t racing with anyone because…well…there wasn’t anyone yet.

Since the shows wouldn’t be starting until after an hour or so, we just amused ourselves in the giftshop. As usual, Gaby asked for another “squishy toy” (a baby seal) and Adi asked for this dolphin keychain that would squeal..”eee..eee..eee..I..love..you..I..love..you!” Not to be left out, the hubby asked for a ref magnet shaped like a purple squid.

The first part of the tour is the Shark Feeding program. Honestly, this isn’t too exciting since the sharks never really make a real show. It’s just a bunch of trainers throwing fish which, by the way, are flown all the way from Canada. And the sharks are small so no excitement there.

From there you are led to the Aquarium. Here there are several huge tanks housing various species of sea life. The girls loved it here and were probably the noisiest guests as they had a blast identifying who was who in the tanks. “Who” was in reference to the characters in “Finding Nemo”.

Next we were brought to an outdoor arena to watch the Sea Lions. This was fun!

A set of giant Sea Lions posed as members of the “Sea Lion Marine Patrol” and performed several tricks before espousing the need to keep the oceans clean.

Next on the agenda was lunch. The park has an excellent cafe that serves both local and international dishes in a “cafeteria” style dining area. It’s a little bit expensive but we really had no other choice. The food was good, though.

From there we made another mad dash to the Dolphin arena so we could secure prime seats for the main attraction, THE DOLPHIN SHOW. Again we were the first ones there so we passed the time by just resting and still trying to convince Adi that we were not having Sinigang for her birthday dinner.

A few minutes later, the show was on!!

A few minutes into the show one of the park attendants approached us and asked if they could ask Gaby to be a guest volunteer for the show. This got her all excited because that would mean that she could go up close and personal with the dolphins. They asked for her age and when we told them that she was 2 months shy of turning 5, she was turned down. Apparently she was too young. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes so I promised her that we would have our own dolphin encounter, even if I had to pay for it.

As luck would have, you can pay for a dolphin encounter! It costs Php500 for the first person and Php150 for every person thereafter. Up to 3 people can do the encounter so that meant Gaby, Adi, and myself. The hubby volunteered to be the photographer or more like he didn’t want to get near those dolphins.

When the call was made that reservations were open I ran down the arena steps as fast as I could but managed to get the #2 spot. The #1 spot went to a little girl who arrived on a yacht with her Lola and a coterie of servants. (she’s the one in the pink hat)

And when we were called…

Sadly, Gaby chickened out after a few minutes. She kind of got sea sick as the floating bridge was, in her words, “too wobbly.” Adi, on the other hand, stuck it out and even managed to feed one of the dolphins.

And that was our wonderful adventure at Ocean Adventure. At the end of the day we were all happy and we were finally able to convince Adi that Sinigang wasn’t the best bet for a birthday dinner. We had……

Adi’s Birthday Celebration At Ocean Adventure

Last Saturday was officially Adi’s 3rd birthday. Since she is not a big fan of parties and entertaining, we opted to treat the whole family to a day of fun at Ocean Adventure in Subic.

We’ve been wanting to visit this park for the longest time but whenever we would be in Subic, the zoo would always win whenever we would take a vote. This time there was no more showing of hands. We just herded the herd and drove off.

We got there a wee bit too early and just passed the time by looking out into the ocean and convincing Adi that Sinigang was not exactly the most exciting thing to have for her birthday dinner. Seriously, she wanted to have Sinigang when we asked her what she wanted to eat.

Anyway, as soon as the park’s gates opened we were running like mad people on a stampede. And to think we weren’t racing with anyone because…well…there wasn’t anyone yet.

Since the shows wouldn’t be starting until after an hour or so, we just amused ourselves in the giftshop. As usual, Gaby asked for another “squishy toy” (a baby seal) and Adi asked for this dolphin keychain that would squeal..”eee..eee..eee..I..love..you..I..love..you!” Not to be left out, the hubby asked for a ref magnet shaped like a purple squid.

The first part of the tour is the Shark Feeding program. Honestly, this isn’t too exciting since the sharks never really make a real show. It’s just a bunch of trainers throwing fish which, by the way, are flown all the way from Canada. And the sharks are small so no excitement there.

From there you are led to the Aquarium. Here there are several huge tanks housing various species of sea life. The girls loved it here and were probably the noisiest guests as they had a blast identifying who was who in the tanks. “Who” was in reference to the characters in “Finding Nemo”.

Next we were brought to an outdoor arena to watch the Sea Lions. This was fun!

A set of giant Sea Lions posed as members of the “Sea Lion Marine Patrol” and performed several tricks before espousing the need to keep the oceans clean.

Next on the agenda was lunch. The park has an excellent cafe that serves both local and international dishes in a “cafeteria” style dining area. It’s a little bit expensive but we really had no other choice. The food was good, though.

From there we made another mad dash to the Dolphin arena so we could secure prime seats for the main attraction, THE DOLPHIN SHOW. Again we were the first ones there so we passed the time by just resting and still trying to convince Adi that we were not having Sinigang for her birthday dinner.

A few minutes later, the show was on!!

A few minutes into the show one of the park attendants approached us and asked if they could ask Gaby to be a guest volunteer for the show. This got her all excited because that would mean that she could go up close and personal with the dolphins. They asked for her age and when we told them that she was 2 months shy of turning 5, she was turned down. Apparently she was too young. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes so I promised her that we would have our own dolphin encounter, even if I had to pay for it.

As luck would have, you can pay for a dolphin encounter! It costs Php500 for the first person and Php150 for every person thereafter. Up to 3 people can do the encounter so that meant Gaby, Adi, and myself. The hubby volunteered to be the photographer or more like he didn’t want to get near those dolphins.

When the call was made that reservations were open I ran down the arena steps as fast as I could but managed to get the #2 spot. The #1 spot went to a little girl who arrived on a yacht with her Lola and a coterie of servants. (she’s the one in the pink hat)

And when we were called…

Sadly, Gaby chickened out after a few minutes. She kind of got sea sick as the floating bridge was, in her words, “too wobbly.” Adi, on the other hand, stuck it out and even managed to feed one of the dolphins.

And that was our wonderful adventure at Ocean Adventure. At the end of the day we were all happy and we were finally able to convince Adi that Sinigang wasn’t the best bet for a birthday dinner. We had……

Adi’s Birthday Celebration At Ocean Adventure

Last Saturday was officially Adi’s 3rd birthday. Since she is not a big fan of parties and entertaining, we opted to treat the whole family to a day of fun at Ocean Adventure in Subic.

We’ve been wanting to visit this park for the longest time but whenever we would be in Subic, the zoo would always win whenever we would take a vote. This time there was no more showing of hands. We just herded the herd and drove off.

We got there a wee bit too early and just passed the time by looking out into the ocean and convincing Adi that Sinigang was not exactly the most exciting thing to have for her birthday dinner. Seriously, she wanted to have Sinigang when we asked her what she wanted to eat.

Anyway, as soon as the park’s gates opened we were running like mad people on a stampede. And to think we weren’t racing with anyone because…well…there wasn’t anyone yet.

Since the shows wouldn’t be starting until after an hour or so, we just amused ourselves in the giftshop. As usual, Gaby asked for another “squishy toy” (a baby seal) and Adi asked for this dolphin keychain that would squeal..”eee..eee..eee..I..love..you..I..love..you!” Not to be left out, the hubby asked for a ref magnet shaped like a purple squid.

The first part of the tour is the Shark Feeding program. Honestly, this isn’t too exciting since the sharks never really make a real show. It’s just a bunch of trainers throwing fish which, by the way, are flown all the way from Canada. And the sharks are small so no excitement there.

From there you are led to the Aquarium. Here there are several huge tanks housing various species of sea life. The girls loved it here and were probably the noisiest guests as they had a blast identifying who was who in the tanks. “Who” was in reference to the characters in “Finding Nemo”.

Next we were brought to an outdoor arena to watch the Sea Lions. This was fun!

A set of giant Sea Lions posed as members of the “Sea Lion Marine Patrol” and performed several tricks before espousing the need to keep the oceans clean.

Next on the agenda was lunch. The park has an excellent cafe that serves both local and international dishes in a “cafeteria” style dining area. It’s a little bit expensive but we really had no other choice. The food was good, though.

From there we made another mad dash to the Dolphin arena so we could secure prime seats for the main attraction, THE DOLPHIN SHOW. Again we were the first ones there so we passed the time by just resting and still trying to convince Adi that we were not having Sinigang for her birthday dinner.

A few minutes later, the show was on!!

A few minutes into the show one of the park attendants approached us and asked if they could ask Gaby to be a guest volunteer for the show. This got her all excited because that would mean that she could go up close and personal with the dolphins. They asked for her age and when we told them that she was 2 months shy of turning 5, she was turned down. Apparently she was too young. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes so I promised her that we would have our own dolphin encounter, even if I had to pay for it.

As luck would have, you can pay for a dolphin encounter! It costs Php500 for the first person and Php150 for every person thereafter. Up to 3 people can do the encounter so that meant Gaby, Adi, and myself. The hubby volunteered to be the photographer or more like he didn’t want to get near those dolphins.

When the call was made that reservations were open I ran down the arena steps as fast as I could but managed to get the #2 spot. The #1 spot went to a little girl who arrived on a yacht with her Lola and a coterie of servants. (she’s the one in the pink hat)

And when we were called…

Sadly, Gaby chickened out after a few minutes. She kind of got sea sick as the floating bridge was, in her words, “too wobbly.” Adi, on the other hand, stuck it out and even managed to feed one of the dolphins.

And that was our wonderful adventure at Ocean Adventure. At the end of the day we were all happy and we were finally able to convince Adi that Sinigang wasn’t the best bet for a birthday dinner. We had……

Adi’s Birthday Celebration At Ocean Adventure

Last Saturday was officially Adi’s 3rd birthday. Since she is not a big fan of parties and entertaining, we opted to treat the whole family to a day of fun at Ocean Adventure in Subic.

We’ve been wanting to visit this park for the longest time but whenever we would be in Subic, the zoo would always win whenever we would take a vote. This time there was no more showing of hands. We just herded the herd and drove off.

We got there a wee bit too early and just passed the time by looking out into the ocean and convincing Adi that Sinigang was not exactly the most exciting thing to have for her birthday dinner. Seriously, she wanted to have Sinigang when we asked her what she wanted to eat.

Anyway, as soon as the park’s gates opened we were running like mad people on a stampede. And to think we weren’t racing with anyone because…well…there wasn’t anyone yet.

Since the shows wouldn’t be starting until after an hour or so, we just amused ourselves in the giftshop. As usual, Gaby asked for another “squishy toy” (a baby seal) and Adi asked for this dolphin keychain that would squeal..”eee..eee..eee..I..love..you..I..love..you!” Not to be left out, the hubby asked for a ref magnet shaped like a purple squid.

The first part of the tour is the Shark Feeding program. Honestly, this isn’t too exciting since the sharks never really make a real show. It’s just a bunch of trainers throwing fish which, by the way, are flown all the way from Canada. And the sharks are small so no excitement there.

From there you are led to the Aquarium. Here there are several huge tanks housing various species of sea life. The girls loved it here and were probably the noisiest guests as they had a blast identifying who was who in the tanks. “Who” was in reference to the characters in “Finding Nemo”.

Next we were brought to an outdoor arena to watch the Sea Lions. This was fun!

A set of giant Sea Lions posed as members of the “Sea Lion Marine Patrol” and performed several tricks before espousing the need to keep the oceans clean.

Next on the agenda was lunch. The park has an excellent cafe that serves both local and international dishes in a “cafeteria” style dining area. It’s a little bit expensive but we really had no other choice. The food was good, though.

From there we made another mad dash to the Dolphin arena so we could secure prime seats for the main attraction, THE DOLPHIN SHOW. Again we were the first ones there so we passed the time by just resting and still trying to convince Adi that we were not having Sinigang for her birthday dinner.

A few minutes later, the show was on!!

A few minutes into the show one of the park attendants approached us and asked if they could ask Gaby to be a guest volunteer for the show. This got her all excited because that would mean that she could go up close and personal with the dolphins. They asked for her age and when we told them that she was 2 months shy of turning 5, she was turned down. Apparently she was too young. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes so I promised her that we would have our own dolphin encounter, even if I had to pay for it.

As luck would have, you can pay for a dolphin encounter! It costs Php500 for the first person and Php150 for every person thereafter. Up to 3 people can do the encounter so that meant Gaby, Adi, and myself. The hubby volunteered to be the photographer or more like he didn’t want to get near those dolphins.

When the call was made that reservations were open I ran down the arena steps as fast as I could but managed to get the #2 spot. The #1 spot went to a little girl who arrived on a yacht with her Lola and a coterie of servants. (she’s the one in the pink hat)

And when we were called…

Sadly, Gaby chickened out after a few minutes. She kind of got sea sick as the floating bridge was, in her words, “too wobbly.” Adi, on the other hand, stuck it out and even managed to feed one of the dolphins.

And that was our wonderful adventure at Ocean Adventure. At the end of the day we were all happy and we were finally able to convince Adi that Sinigang wasn’t the best bet for a birthday dinner. We had……

Sunny Days And Moonlit Nights

Ours was an impromptu vacation. Why?

Valentine’s Day and Adi’s 3rd birthday, that’s why.

Last Friday we hied off to one of our favorite vacation destinations, Subic. We originally planned to go to Tagaytay but my kids’ school declared a no-school day last Friday so we changed plans and went on a 3-day mini-vacation to Subic.

We got there just in time for lunch. While waiting for our food the kids ran out to the beach and started collecting shells. They managed to collect a few puny ones but that got them all excited just the same.

The rest of the day was spent resting to charge up for the next day’s activity. But I’m reserving that for another post.

As evening rolled in, the husband quietly whispered, “Where do you want to have dinner?” I suggested Chowking because of the kids but he countered with, “No, lets just the get the kids food and lets go out alone.” Woohoo!!

So, after grabbing some food from Chowking for the kids and the yayas, we were off to some secret destination for our post-Valentine’s date.

The thing with having so many restos to choose from is that you can’t seem to decide where to go and what to eat. All I had in mind was to go to a place by the beach. That’s it.

After hemming and hawing for a good 30 minutes, not to mention the number of times we drove around in circles trying to find a good place to eat, we settled on seafood. And why not…the beach…the sea….what else could be better than the fresh bounty of the ocean.

We went to Seafood By The Bay, quiet apt for our destination.

I haven’t tried this place yet so I was excited to eat here. They have an ala-carte menu featuring mostly Chinese entries and they have a fresh seafood spread where you can choose your preferred seafood and have it cooked to your liking. Very “dampa” style.

My hubby gave me full authority to select our dinner so I went with Grilled Tanigue with Lemon Butter and Prawns in Chili Sauce. I also ordered Salt and Pepper Squid for our appetizer. All this with some garlic rice….gastronomic nirvana. And the bill came to only Php1300. Not bad.

After dinner we decided to take a stroll by the beach. We didn’t want to waste the beautiful evening by heading back to the hotel and calling it a night. Besides, a little HHWWBTB (holding hands while walking by the beach) wouldn’t hurt. This was also the perfect time for the hubs to give me his belated V-day present. And as usual things couldn’t be more perfect…I got a pair of flip-flops (the one’s I’ve been trying to get but they never had my size).

Aww…..

I woke up this morning to find 3 huge roses waiting for me. Well, they weren’t exactly Ecuadorian. They looked more like cinnamon rolls, actually. Still, they got me all mushy and giddy like a school girl receiving her first flowers from an unnamed admirer. If I remember right, I felt that way too a long…nope..a looooooooong time ago.

Ok, ok…I admit…I’m a sucker for this kind of romance. It may not seem like I’m the type of person who likes the whole flowers and chocolates thing, but I am. And it’s a great thing that my hubby indulges me whenever it’s possible…which, lately, isn’t too often.

But anyway, since it’s Valentine’s day, allow me to wallow in my giddy world of flowers, chocolates, and mushy cards. Allow me to partake of my silent fantasies of being whisked away to some far away island where my hubby and I can share a wonderful dinner under a starrry and moonlit night. I’m keeping my fingers crossed….

For now I am perfectly content with my 3 cinnamon buns…err…roses.

To you all…

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

The Last Frontier

You might have noticed that I’ve been a bit negligent in posting for my blog for the last week or so. Well, I had a very busy week last week and to top it all off, I had to make an unscheduled trip to the country’s last frontier…the beautiful island of Palawan. Think lush, green, forest, clean air, unspoiled coastline…Palawan has got it..and more.

Welcome banner with Mayor Hagedorn

The reason for my trip was to check out an old mining claim that I happened to dig up among my father’s papers. Apparently, the claim was still good and my Canadian partner wanted to have a go-see to check it out. Of course, I had to go too despite my lack of expertise on the technical side of the game. Never mind that I didn’t have the faintest idea of what to expect. I just went along.

When we met up at the airport the first question my partner threw at me was, “So, will you be joining us later when we hit the bush?” I was like, “Duh? Oh the bush!! Yeah, yeah I’m coming.” Then he said, “So, did you bring sturdy boots and a hat? It can get mighty hot up there.” and I was like, “Umm, no but I did bring an umbrella and I think my Crocs will do. What do you think?” He just gave me a puzzled look that said “Whatever!”

An hour later, we landed in Palawan. The last time I was there was in the late 80’s when my Dad was operating a Chromite mine somewhere southwest of the capital, Puerto Princesa. That mine closed around the early 90’s so there was no reason to go there.

Anyway, after a quick lunch we were off. We headed to the town of Tagburos which is still within the city limits of Puerto Princesa. We picked up one of the town’s officials to act as our guide for our trek.

Let me tell you, the scenery is fantastic. And the air is so clean.

Initially I had some doubts that I could make the climb but surprisingly, I was able to do it and without much effort. Really. In fact, I’d do it again if I had the chance.

Geologists taking rock samples

The mountain ranges of Puerto Princesa

An old mining pit turned lake

Aftermath of a hill climbing expedition

Pure iron

The following day I had to make a trip to the town of Narra which is 92 kilometers southwest of Puerto Princesa. This may not seem like a really long distance to go but if you have to pass through several stretches of rough road and several kilometers of zigzag roads that can put Kennon Road to shame, then that is pretty far. Nevertheless, I went.

The reason for my trip was to check on my Dad’s old property in the town of Narra. He bought some property there years ago and put up his company’s office away from the actual mine site. I was informed that the town is to be declared a city in the next 2 or 3 years so I felt that I needed to fix up the property’s papers soonest possible.

The place is pretty rundown but the building is still intact. One of our old mine supervisors has been keeping an eye on the place and is occupying what was once the laboratory.

The coastline is only around 150 meters away from the property and has been developed into a major port where all the cement and construction needs of Palawan passes through. There is also a very clean beach right beside the pier. All this has got me so excited and I am planning to visit again sometime in March.

The old office

Panacan pier

Unspoiled coastline

Anyway, I have some more on my Palawan trek in my next posts…so till then..

Think About Our 25th

Feeling ko parang it’s too soon to plan for our 25th, but then I realized that so many of our classmates are living in other countries and may take as long as a year (or more!) to organize themselves to possibly come home for our 25th anniversary.

So, let’s think about saving up to come home, keeping our eyes open for a good place to celebrate 25 years of Jasmsness. December I think is the traditional month that reunions are held, but it is also the official party month of the year so any ideas about date and venue will be much appreciated.

Romano! I used to be so scared of you when we were in H.S. Thank you for spending time with us. Hope you can read this yourself when you join our site. It was good to see you again… You’re not scary pala eh Uwi ka ulit sa 2010 ha and hope you can bring your whole family with you (kasama na ang mga alaga mong pan-sabong).

Belated Birthday Greetings

Beginning February I will list down the birthdays of our classmates. Since my reference is our oh so beautiful year book some of you might be ommited. SO, you people who did not graduate with us please send me your birth date, leave out the year if you want (as if a year or two matters, no?!).

Sorry to our classmates born in January, here they are:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND ALL THE BEST John Bonoan (1/10); Laura! (1/18); Regi Litonjua (1/8)