end: 2005

2005 was a pretty interesting year for me...
twavel took most of my time this year... and i hope to be able to continue this passion in the years to come! :þ
it allows me to have time for myself, my family, my friends... time for adventure, for learning, for sharing.

N-E-WEIZ...
how did 2005 end? definitely with a lot of get togethers... with a touch of surprise too!

get2gether number 1:

driving to the unexplored city of cavite

lizeth's birthday was celebrated in their new home in cavite city 'new and improved' canyons> where we were able to meet some of her other friends and of course spend time with her family as well.
seth's mom is really sweet! she prepared a huge dinner for us and we were stuffed!!!

thanks seth for a great partee!

get2gether number 2:

dinner and drinks with kalbo > finally!

december 20 >> the official last day for school was our night-out with good friend robbie Ü finally, our year-long plan to go out and spend laughing time materialized! ~ we weren't really planning on prolonging your agony, robbie! hahahaha!

surprisingly, robbie was the tiangge kinda guy so we spent an hour or so going around the karl edwards bazaar at the fort... browsing for last minute gifts...

we then headed off to red kimono to start our Christmas Tummy-Stuffing! yum! really love their agedashi tofu!

after more jokesÜ, we went around the bazzar at the fort strip where robbie saw he was nagulangan at karl edwards where he bought the CDs...
hehehe...
drinks came after at gourdo's...

night ended soon after since my compatriots reg&seth had to twavel extra miles home...

thanks y'all for a fun night!


get2gether number 3:

Christmas Lunch with the Mercado's @ the Yniguez'

the family gathered up at the Yniguez household for the annual Christmas Reunion Partee! It was mucho fun... especially with all the kids! my pamangkins~the youngones excuse me... and my apos! all five of 'em! gift-giving, yummy lunch , and picture-taking with the fam makes up a great Christmas Lunch!

get2gether number 4:

Christmas Dinner with the Purugganan's @ Metrowalk

Big Surprise! Mike is home for the holidays! MomPrecy was mucho surprised to tears! hehehe!
so... we've been spending the bulk of our time with him and Mike, mike's fwend from the US, to show them around the city and bring them shopping!

Christmas Dinner of 2005 was spent at misato <best to try their green fried chicken! yum!> and of course coffee and tea at Starbucks


>>It was a great year... mostly filled with laughter... tears were shed but the year woudn't have had meaning without 'em. I thank God for the blessings that I've received and praise him for all that I have experienced. My family, friends, my travels, books, conversations, have taught me much. All of these allowed my to be appreciative of everything around me.<<

WOW ~ Davao!

nothing beats a great vacation...

va·ca·tion n.

• A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation, especially one with pay granted to an employee.
• A holiday.
• A fixed period of holidays, especially one during which a school, court, or business suspends activities.
• Archaic. The act or an instance of vacating.

my friends and i waited for a month to finally fly to DAVAO for our long weekend vacay...

finally ~ october 29 - 31 ~ our davao escape

day 1: Manila ~ Davao International Airpot

time of departure: 0430 hours... arrival: 0630am ~ proceed to Waterfront Davao for the 45 minute boatride to The Barcelo Pearl Farm Resort ~ Samal

day 2: Davao City Tour

rented a van that will bring us around the city ~ to see what ought to be seen (supposedly) ~ which turned out to be practically a waste of our time. Got the chance to go around Aldevinco Mall though, and got our supply of malongs. We were also able to visit Colasas for a taste of their old favorite ~ bbq! *yum!

we also dropped by Jack's Ridge ~ a bar/resto/cafe set atop a hill with a beautiful view below. story has it that ages ago, the area below Jack's Ridge was completely underwater... they even had leftover giant clam shells and corals there to prove it! ~ it is best visited during sunset or at night when the city below glows with the sparkle of the lights...

day 3: Davao ~ Manila Domestic Airpot

we had the chance to savor what was left of the vacay at Samal, go about buying last minute pasalubongs for friends and family, and juz have that peace and quiet before coming back to the reality of the bustling life in the city

:: a diary of experiences ::

• spectacular view of nature ~ Davao is super clean, it has the slight hint of that (in)famous smell of Durian once you go outside the beautiful airport, it does have that country-side feel

• arriving at the pearl farm, we were welcomed with the freshest pineapple juice i've ever had and the view of a magazine-esque landscape

• the water was teaming with marine life... corals, starfishes, fishes of different sizes ~ and with more colors than the rainbow

• we got there in time for brunch and we were starving! grabbed our plates to head for the buffet tables! reg was the only one with her head still straight to juz order a la carte... the rest of us were so hungry we didn't mind paying extra... *food was hella' expensive there!

• rested in our hilltop suites to get ready for our first swim in the renowned fuego pools and also took a short&mini 'snorkeling' session with reg and chie in the beach. swam after our 'bora' fishes with our butts swaying here and there! hahaha!Ü ~ remember this seth?

• swimming relieved me of all the tension... it was a relaxing moment for all of usÜ and it gave us 2 good nights' rests...

• the pearl farm is a sight to behold and every angle is worth a snapshot... words and yes, even the pictures are not enough to capture the beauty of the place!

• bottomline: davao is a beautiful city, worth visiting a second time around. the experience is a memory that will always be present in our hearts.

::stumbled upon::

How You Are In Love

You fall in love quickly and easily. And very often. You tend to give more than take in relationships. You tend to get very attached when you're with someone. You want to see your love all the time. You love your partner unconditionally and don't try to make them change. You stay in love for a long time, even if you aren't loved back. When you fall, you fall hard.

How Are You In Love?

~boitday bash~

13 october 2005

official count: 25 years

ms. 25-yr-old-gurl writes:

forget the drama!

there isn't any drama!

heehee...

this year is probably one of my best birthdays ever!

years ago, i've consistently ignored my birthday...

always thinking that it's nothing but another regular day...

but this year was a H-A-P-P-Y birthdayÜ

thanks to the kids in school who made the day so much fun!!!

thanks sweeties ~ for the cakes, the gifts, and especially the 'love' notes

and thanks for the surprise: flowers from anonymous...

~ hmm ~

moving on...

15 october 2005

official count: 25 years and 2 days

event: overnyt getaway at Sta. Elena

attendees: special people

fam: mom, kuy gary&'te melissa, arianna&roque, kuy ryan&tricia, vino&sofia

fwends: chie, seth®, ci-chey, emg, rinah

minutes of the event:

• lunch at PANCAKE HOUSE, marketmarket with seth®, cj, emg, chippy
• off to sta. elena guest house by 1400hours
• side twip to Bicutan to pick up Rinah
• sta. elena by 1500hours
• swimming with the kids!!!
• off to sta. rosa for dinner at the jap resto by 1830hours ~ busog!
• back to sta.e for some cake cutting ~ desserting
• cranium&pokeno ~ chie won! woohoo!!!
• snoozed by 0030hours (?) 16 october 2005
• up and about by 0730hours... breakfast with the fam and later on with the gang...
• transfer to banahaw pools by 1200hours
• swimming and lunch ~ yum!
• off to manila by 1700hours

whew!!! it felt like a long weekend despite it being just an overnight stay! thanks to all for spending my boitday with me... really means much...

can't imagine how we were able to eat so much!!!

here are some pix:

~ fun@the pool with a view ~



~ tres~

~ sardines ~



~ boitday gurl's lone candle :P ~

tra-ba-ho

TIMESTAMP: 1855 hours
LOCATION: ~iskul~

yes, believe it or not, yours truly is still in school -- tra-ba-ho-hing

for those of you who don't know... my working hours are from 700hours to 1600hours and for this whole week, i've been at work till way past my usual time-out hour... and i've only had a chance to dindin with the fam last night...

THE CULPRIT:

~parent-teacher conferences~

~attendance policy~

~grades~

and i'm not slacking off now... i'm working with this slow computer, waiting for my printouts to finish while blogging...

reg gave up and decided to leave... she has a dindin date with an old friend... can't blame herÜ

so it's me, all alone here -- oh wait, here comes our friendly neighborhood custodian and security gal...

coz it's time to clean up...

so it makes me think... are all these tra-ba-hos worth my time?

i don't really have much complain except for the drained feeling i get at the end of the day...

without the kids around to make us laugh,

we wouldn't be able to live with this job...

but when you really stop to ponder on how many people you get to help everyday, and how many people you've given the chance to smile, you feel good about yourself, and of course, of the job that you do.

i may find work frustrating at times... but it's fun and i'm happy in the environmentÜ

as i've said before,

i don't think there's a job quite like mine...

TIMESTAMP: 1915 hours

LOCATION: ~iskul~ pdn

~passion for xocolat~

my iS buds and i have had the same *gtalk* profile for this week

~ undecided = confused ~

and the last i needed for the end of the week was another talk on past experiences, present conditions, and future plans...

~ i needed to unwind ~

~ i needed a doze of xocolat ~

yup, that's right: X-O-C-O-L-A-T

i believe that next to diamonds, chocolate comes next as a girl's best friend...

so my best bud, chie and i decided to get an overdoze on chocolate...

the elixir brings you to different high...

it could be overpowering especially after a long, stressful day...

but it could also be a relief after a week of deep thought.

here's our yumyum xocolat desserts:

***fondue for two***

***frozen "hot" chocolate***

well, the chocolate did it's job ~ and m ready to take the weekend off ~ and start the next week with a boost!Ü

~ visit XOCOLAT at greenhills promenade or megamall bldg A, 2nd level ~

~undecided~

lizeth: lids, what's up with your gtalk status...
lizeth: why are you ~undecided~?
reg: what's up nga ba?
reg: you're undecided about?
lids: ~undecided~ sa madaeng bagay
lizeth & reg: ako din e...

i hate being in a state of limbo...

when you thought you've sorted out your life...

friends shake you up and crank up your brain gears into thought...

and then you get realizations...

and end up ~confused~...

hmm... but so far my path has been paved

and as reg and seth would say...

all you gotta do is wait...

VISA BULLETIN: Priority Date ~ Feb 1997

and i would reply, "yup, wait, and cross the bridge when i get thereÜ"

but the wait kills...

coz the wait attaches you to so many things...

...things that you are beginning to get used to... while you're waiting.

but ho hum... it might be more difficult if i had more choices.

and as a matter of fact... m excited Ü excited to try new things and start my life again from scratch Ü

how much more vague can i get?!

hahaha! yes, this blog will be only for the consumption of those who are aware.

those that have heard my thoughts Ü ~seth&amp;reg, chie&cj~

now, all i do, is live the moment...

and always have something to look forward to...

that's what will get me throughÜ

long break coming up... what to do?!

october 29 ~ november 4...

plans...
what to do with this long break?
TRAVEL!!!
yes...
as usual? hopefully not so much like the usual Ü

choices:

first: BANGKOK...

but it seems that the plans are not progressing, tsk!

at ang presyo... d kaya ng bulsa

and then another window opens:

DAVAO...

'been wanting to go... cheap fare ~ BARCELO PEARL FARM pa!

so san ba talaga?!

huhuhu!

emg already booked for DAVAO...

so gotta say soyee to buds Seth, Reysy, Anna & Mia :c

coz m backing out from Bangkok...

not enough "mula" for 2 bakasyons e.

so

a month to look forward to

and prepare for

a chance to visit

MINDANAO...

watch out for the pix!Ü

*vietnam~cambodia* ...undated

as promised... here's a pix-filled blog...

~waiting @ the airport... terminal2 rocks! * finally in vietnam~

~1st walk: buko juice, anyone? * 'te melissa's "souvenir" for her "bola"Ü~

~dinner out: HOT POT!~

~ notre dame * war remnants * cu chi tunnel ~

~cambodia! at the airport * angkor hotel~

~buddha me * apsara * hallway~

~angkor wat view * my bros&i with the "reflection"~

~made it up angkor wat & back!~