S.O.S. for Southern Luzon
we interrupt this blog's sabbatical for an important announcement...
Typhoon Reming has left death and destruction in its wake. Many
families have lost their homes and property after a series of
mudslides and flash floods struck their villages. Schools and other
makeshift centers are now crammed with thousands of evacuees with no
other place to stay. They are in dire need of your help. You may send
you donations to the Philippine National Red Cross through: Metrobank
Port Area Branch
1) Peso Account
Account name: The Philippine National Red Cross
Account number: 151 – 3 – 041 – 63122 – 8 – MBTC
2) Dollar Account
Account name: The Philippine National Red Cross
Account number: 151 – 2 – 151 – 00218 – 2
Swift Code: MBTC PH MM
B. Globe G-Cash
Just text: DONATE
<4-digit MPIN>
RED CROSS then send to 2882
C. Globe Donate-A-Load
Just text RED then send to 2899
Try option C--it's very convenient. manila was spared but now it's time to share especially since christmas is just around the corner.
boobtube boycott?
i've noticed that i've been watching less tv these days. i'd rather read or do the crossword (am not into sudoku--hate numbers anyway) the only times i turn on the boob tube are to watch the following:
+
nip/tuck it had its 3rd season finale last sunday and i'm glad it wasn't much of a cliffhanger. finally they revealed who the gruesome "carver" is. i had an inkling before who but there was an added twist i didn't see coming. i love this show--it's very provocative, intelligent and disturbing--not a relaxing sunday night show but quite addicting. bernz got hooked na starting this season and if you want to start making this show a habit, season 1 starts on axn on monday, august 14 at 11p.m.
+
philippine idol we've been religiously watching the show(auditions pa lang at this point) and i don't find it a copycat at all. it's quite entertaining. the real strength of american idol aside from the singing is the stories of the contestants behind it and the pinoys certainly don't lack in this department (even in talent, of course) the judges (francis m, pilita and ryan cayabyab) though kinder than their american counterparts have the credentials to be on the panel. ryan (agoncillo, not seacrest) is an effective host, too. we were shocked not only by the talent but how wacky the contestants get just to be chosen. this weekend, it's the davao audition. do give it a try...
so while waiting for the next season of nip/tuck, (bernz is waiting for the next
project runway) our sunday nights will be solely devoted to philippine idol, i guess. we're also looking forward to season 2 of
prison break (which technically is already set out of prison)--i hope the story doesn't suffer. there's a sophomore curse like what we're seeing with
desperate housewives. i've stopped watching
lost because the plot is dizzying (and going nowhere? jj abrams, will this be an alias part2?) we might start on
grey's anatomy and
kitchen confidential soon. the shows i'm rewatching are sitcoms:
seinfeld (never get sick of the gang), coupling (labeled the british sex and the city--it's a riot) plus the favorite in our office,
arrested development (tv's most dysfunctional family--i can't believe this show got canceled!)
hmm...i guess i'm watching a lot of tv
rin pala...except some are on my computer screen. ahh, you gotta love technology...
onli in da pilipins...
on the news last night, typhoon glenda's aftermath was shown in the low lying and perenially flood prone area of malabon. a couple was interviewed while rowing on a boat:
reporter:
"sawa na ba kayo sa baha dito sa lugar inyo?" couple:
"SAWANG-SAWA NA!"and here's the kicker....they both break out into a smile!
are you still wondering why we're still high on the happiness index?
5 down, 5 to go...
I found travel+leisure magazine's annual lists on someone else's blog today...
2006 World's Best Cities:
1 Florence, Italy 87.09
2 Rome, Italy 86.15
3 Bangkok, Thailand 86.11
4 Sydney, Australia 85.94
5 Chiang Mai, Thailand 85.62
6 Cape Town, South Africa 85.39
7 Buenos Aires, Argentina 85.03
8 New York, USA 84.75
9 Beirut, Lebanon 84.38
10 San Francisco, USA 84.29
so far i'm lucky to have been to 5 cities on the list: new york and san francisco when i was ten (g.i.joe and thundercats
pa lang mundo ko nun so i didn't care much for anything else), rome last year on a pilgrimage with my folks and sister plus sydney and bangkok for my honeymoonie early this year.
i haven't been to florence but since it's in italy i'm sure it's beautiful. if italy were personified, she would be a classic beauty like monica belucci (plus twenty years pa). i totally agree with rome being there, it's really the eternal city...your mouth will be eternally gaping with such history. sydney has its great harbor, natural beauty, great food plus the ozzies' "no worries" laidback attitude. bangkok is a great sensory overload plus it's affordable--your peso really goes far.
tomorrow (weather permitting, fingers crossing) bernz and i will be spending her birthday (on sunday) in a new city--puerto princesa in palawan.
abangan nyo na lang blog ko about the country's last frontier.
i leave you with another list (i haven't been to any of them but maybe i'll insist they add palawan to the list when i get back)...
World's Best Island:1 Bali, Indonesia 88.48
2 Kauai 86.47
3 Maui 86.21
4 Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia 85.97
5 Mount Desert Island, Maine 84.90
6 Tasmania 84.88
7 Hawaii 84.72
8 Galapagos Islands 84.69
9 Santorini, Greece 84.17
10 Phuket, Thailand 84.06
a pine city
there's still no place like baguio! everyone waxes sentimental when they think of baguio (which in my book is still THE summer capital of this country) and when you come back you can make new memories. the flowers...the fresh fruits and veggies...the pine trees...the cool air...cafe by the ruins, john hay, even the ambience at sm city baguio is different. despite the pollution and overdevelopment, her charm still remains.
we hied off to the summer capital during the long labor day weekend with my folks who were celebrating their 45th anniversary plus my mom's birthday. bernz and i enjoyed having a much deserved respite from work. it's great to just admire nature, hugging a tree, jogging with the fresh air in john hay, savoring fresh salads and enjoying hot tea with the nippy weather. thanks mom and dad for inviting us. we really needed it plus it was great bonding with you guys.
salamat gid!
oh yeah we finally got a digicam just before holy week. a canon ixus 60. yahoo! we're in the digital age finally! we wish we could redo our honeymoon coz our pix on our analog camera weren't too nice. oh well, towel...
discovery weekend
the sun may have evaded us this weekend with my
tukayo caloy bringing summer to a halt. however it was a great weekend for me and bernz as we made some great discoveries...
+SHANG CINEMA. i reconsidered my earlier plan to boycott tom cruise's M:I:3 over his annoying tomkat antics and boy was i glad i did. the movie was a great two hours of escapist heaven. the storyline was simple yet the execution and the action scenes were great. michelle monaghan and maggie q were more than just eye candy and in general, the whole cast was great--even tom. kudos to jj abrams who made it feel like "alias" during its heyday. what made the experience even more enjoyable was we were watching it at shangri-la plaza's cinema. it was my first time to watch in since they majorly renovated it. the screen was clear and big, (makes me wonder how big the imax in mall of asia would be) it wasn't too crowded, the seats were comfy especially for the neck and the legroom was very spacious. just choose your movie well as it can set you back 170 bucks. i only wish that holy kettle corn was available coz it would've been perfect with the movie.
+CHOC.NUT. at sm makati there's this
tsokolate batirol cafe that i've been curious to try out and i finally did yesterday. for 55 bucks you can have great tasting pinoy
tsokolate made the old style. had a brownie with walnuts to go with it and for 20 bucks it's a steal! they also serve other pinoy food to go with that cup of heartwarming hot choco. next time, i plan to try the
suman and mangga and chorizo hubad (like how they do it at home in bacolod) with rice. if you're sick of coffee, this is worth a try especially with the rainy days. it's a great place to relax after scouring the neighboring surplus shop's great bargains.
+LOTUS SPA. thank god bernz had to go to a video editing studio on perea street in makati this weekend. we stumbled on this little piece of eden called lotus with their tagline "my massage place." its main pull is that almost all their massages cost 350. wow bacolod spa prices in the heart of makati! for the price, the ambience was really nice and relaxing. the thai decor, the dimly lit setting, soothing music and the great foot massage on a comfy chair had me dozing off in no time. i had originally wanted to try their thai massage (they have 3 kinds--traditional, royal and a combination of the two called wat po--hmmm interesting) but the masseuses who specialized in this type of massage were all busy so we got an aromatherapy massage instead. this one costs 450 but we were very happy with the strokes and the oil. as i mentioned earlier, we had a 30 minute thai foot massage for 175 only (it's cheaper when paired with a body massage) we'll certainly be back for more in this well kept secret spa in makati.
+PIZZA HUT. i was never a fan of pizza hut or their pizzas--except in college when they had that eat all you can for 79 bucks promo. i'm really a thin crust shakey's sorta guy. however me and the missus discovered that you can have a great meal in pizza hut WITHOUT pizza. if you haven't eaten there in a long time, you'll be happy to know that their menu is more diverse now.
the service isn't fastfood too as they've become more of a casual dining place. the service is very attentive. while waiting for our meal, they served us breadsticks with sour cream plus they gave us a tic-tac-toe toy to play with. the bread sticks weren't great but it was the thought behind it that we appreciated. we had a tomato and cream penne and barbeque ribs with rice and it was satisfying for the price.
the mind of a married man
WEDDING POSTSCRIPT
like any other groom, i'm glad that the wedding's over. phew! in contrast, bernz misses planning the details, the OC creature that she is. in hindsight it was really one of the happiest days anyone can have. you are just beaming the whole time plus you feed off everyone's genuine happiness as well. what struck me was how the ceremony went by so quickly. the reception was great but the sad thing is you don't have time to mingle with all the guests or enjoy the food for that matter. oh well, such is life. at least i conquered my chandler (bing of "friends") smile curse at least for that night. i could actually smile...amazing!
everything just went as planned and even the things that didn't (like our first dance/dunce) you can laugh about and have good memories. thanks to everyone who came and were a part of our special day. we're happy to hear people had a great time with the food (buti kayo naka-kain!:-) and the tropical ambience that we originally planned. glad that it wasn't one of those formal and stodgy weddings but an intimate, fun and kalog one that showed the real us. anywayz here are some wedding pix on the flickr badge on the right to whet your appetite. i only uploaded a few pix on flickr but don't worry friends, i'll e-mail you much, much more photos to be hosted on yahoo soon.
THE NEWLYWEDS (no apologies to jessica and nick)
time does flies. it's been three months already since that fateful day in january. everything's just great with me and my wifey bernz. we are relishing the fact that we're no longer 40 kilometers apart from each other. we love planning our weekends now coz basically we can go anywhere and do anything we please! plus we get to pester each other everyday...haha. we enjoy being each other's sabads (Ilonggo for pest) thankfully though, it's been a very easy adjustment period--the effect of being a decade-old couple no doubt.
once in a while it still strikes us na "i can't believe we're married already!" coz i guess we're still at the proverbial honeymoon stage. even if we don't wear our wedding rings everyday (being the unconventional couple that we are) we don't need to be reminded that we're hitched. i also don't yell "GONZALEZ!" to bernz as much to remind her of her new last name. we've also gotten used to calling each other's in-laws "mom" and "dad" which weirded us out at the start. as of now not much bills to pay yet plus no kids to feed yet (just our naturally takaw selves muna) but soon when we move to our own place we'll meet the likes of meralco, pldt and others. real life na kumbaga at least we can decorate our own home and finally use the wedding gifts we've received (thanks everyone!) am sure our moving out will be very blog worthy. abangan...
