The Story of my Life

A month ago I wrote about Jom fixing up his rented place. He’s done with the renovation and yesterday, he had the first official housewarming party with his family. Housewarming parties for friends will be held separately as the place cannot accommodate a lot of people.

So if you’re wondering what his place looks like, here are some photos:

Front door Living Room
Dining Room
Mini Bar and Kitchen

I think some got confused with my last blog entry. My apologies for not being clear and accurate. So just to clarify, he's renting the unit. It's at Bonifacio Heights. He can't buy this unit primarily because the place is exclusive for the Military. He's renting it from a military doctor who's assigned somewhere else. He renovated the place nonetheless as he wants it presentable. He and his housemate, business partner Teban, shared in buying the furnitures and appliances. That's he's investment na daw. :-)

More pictures from the housewarming party can be viewed here.

...do you think she will like this?

I don't remember the last time I gave her flowers, so I bought this as a present when we visit her tomorrow.

I love you Mame. :-) Mwah! Mwah!

Thanks Ryah!

When God Made You - Newsong

It's always been a mystery to me
How two hearts can come together
And love can last forever
But now that I have found you, I believe
That a miracle has come
When God sends the perfect one

Now gone are all my questions about why
And I've never been so sure of anything in my life

I wonder what God was thinking
When He created you
I wonder if He knew everything I would need
Because He made all my dreams come true
When God made you
He must have been thinking about me

I promise that wherever you may go
Wherever life may lead you
With all my heart I'll be there too
From this moment on I want you to know
I'll let nothing come between us
I'll love what ever you love

He made the sun He made the moon
to harmonize in perfect tune
One can't move without the other
They just have to be together
And that is why I know it's true
You're for me and I'm for you
Cause my world just can't be right
Without you in my life

I wonder what God was thinking
When He created you
I wonder if He knew everything I would need
Because He made all my dreams come true
He must have heard every prayer I've been praying
Yes, He knew everything I would need
When God made you
When dreams come true
When God made you
He must have been thinking about me

1. What is your favorite word? Love.

2. What is your least favorite word? Pwede “words” or phrase or sentence? Where na you? Here na me? Kainessss….But seriously, DEATH.

3. What turns you on, spiritually or emotionally? Faith, love for family, patience, perseverance, humor, respect.

4. What turns you off, spiritually or emotionally? Selfishness, cowardice, arrogance, hypocrisy.

5. What sound or noise do you love? Clicking sound of a camera; sound of my keyboard. Can’t think of anything else.

6. What sound or noise do you hate? Sound of a breaking glass.

7. What is your favorite curse word? Powtah.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? A landscape photographer or as an athlete.

9. What profession would you not like to do? Embalmer. hehehe

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Welcome home, my Daughter.

I tag the HBs, Jake, Dyosa.

For the past four months, Jom and I have been going to malls looking for the right furniture that will fit in his condo. That’s what’s keeping us busy. (Yes, Jom will be moving out from his parent’s house to live on his own.) We’ve been through every furniture shop in every mall and depot in Makati, Quezon City and Ortigas, and very few designs caught his attention. But last Sunday, while Typhoon Frank was making his way out of Manila, we (more like “he” -- I was there for second opinion, no financial investment) found and bought the last piece of furniture we need to make the living room more functional (meaning pwedeng kainan, upuan etc.).

Yesterday, his staff started working on the interior of the condo. And today, he said that the dining table and cabinet have been delivered, while the sofa (which was supposed to be due in two weeks) will be delivered on Friday. Soon, he'll be living there full time.

I'm proud of him for this achievement. A couple of years ago, he mentioned this as one of his future plans (over booze), and now he’s almost there. Who would have thought that wasn't usapang lasing?

Great job, Hon! Hope I’ll still get to see you even though you’ll be living at the far end of EDSA.

Joined a team of engineers in their summer outing last weekend at White Coral Beach Resort, Bataan. This is the last in our calendar of summer activities. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be active in sports.

Goodbye, Sunshine! Hello, Rain!

We took a break from all the fun and summer getaways we've been doing the past couple of weekends to spend time and serve Kuya Jess through the Yuppie Days with the Lord.

This is one of the most memorable Weekends I had with Days as I was turned over to being Rector. The highness of all highs. I was dead tired when I got home, but it was all worth it. Being called to serve Jess this way is a great honor that I will forever cherish and be grateful for.

+BIL

Jerome Odsinada, you’ve been rated.

After an in-depth analysis of the performance indicators set out at the onset of this partnership, I am pleased to inform you that your contract, which was initially drawn from 21 October 2007 to 21 July 2008, has been extended...INDEFINITELY.

Happy Monthsary, Hon! I love you.

ps. I'm not putting end dates this time, baka ma-disappoint ako ulit eh. hahahaha

So who said they only exist in the Philippines?

We are trying to maximize summertime, so last weekend we travelled from South to North for a short vacation.


We were in Tagaytay last Friday night to join the Yuppies for the Recharge. It was an intimate recharge with just Carlo, Camille, Jom and I present, the rest of the Yuppies went the following day.

On Saturday, we drove from Tagaytay to Clearwaters Country Club in Clark Field, Pampanga to join ADB Volleyball Club's Beach Volleyfest. Storm signal no. 2 was up and we were still playing. Mga addict talaga!

Meet Sungha Jung from South Korea. This 11-year-old dreams of becoming a professional acoustic guitarist and at the rate he is going, it's not unlikely he'll achieve his dream.

More of him here.

...we took this photo at Malate Church. Jom and I were suprised we looked fair in this photo. Then I started thinking...bagay kaya sa akin ang maputi? hahahaha

Dang! I'm soooooo bored!

1 May 2008: Visit to Mayon

Arrived in Guinobatan Town around 5:30 am. Then we headed straight to Tita Judy's (Jom's mom) house for breakfast. We were served various suman and tsokolate, Bicol delicacies, for breakfast. Slept for two hours, freshened up then went to Tito Roy's house (Jom's dad) to visit some relatives. After some hi's and hello's we were off to see Mayon Volcano.

Mt. Mayon is taken from the word Magayon, a bicolano word which means maganda. It was shortened to Mayon siguro for recall. hehehe. To see the enchanting view of Mayon, we went to Cagsaua ruins. Cagsaua church was buried by lava when Mt. Mayon erupted in 1814. Historians said that about 1,200 people died during that time. What's left of the church is the Bell tower seen in this picture. Unfortunately during our visit, parts of Mayon were covered with clouds. We just contented ourselves by taking pictures choreographed by one of the tour guides. Please check my Multiply for more pictures.

For lunch, Jom took us to Lets where we ate two of the famous Bicol dishes. Pinangat and Bicol Express. Pinangat is the local name for Laing. But unlike the tagalog Laing, their Laing or Pinangat is all vegetable and gata. No meat nor fish. And the gulay was tender and juicy. You only need to chew a few times and it will slide down your throat easily. Bicol express was ultra spicy, para syang siling nilagyan ng meat! I had a small bite and man, it was really hot!!!!! I'm not a fan of spicy food so I can't describe it to you first hand. I can only tell you that Archie liked it so much that whenever we ask where we're eating he'd say, "sa Lets"

After lunch, we went to Hoyop-Hoyopan Cave. Hoyop means ihip in Tagalog. It is called as such because they say that when you're inside you can hear the blow of the wind. Inside the cave (and just like in any cave), are several stalactites and stalagmites. There was also a man-made dance floor inside the cave (okay diba!?). They said that during Marcos' time, the locals built that dance floor so they can party despite the Martial Law. Maabilidad ha! hehehe

Our last stop was the Mayon Resthouse and Observatory. It's situated a few feet from the foot *(that sounded funny!) of Mt. Mayon. From the resthouse, you can see Bicol province. :-)

We were all tired, nanlalagkit at amoy araw so we headed to our resort after Mayon Resthouse. Jom got us one night stay at The Black Sands Resort in Sto. Domingo town. The resort looks fine. It's clean and the furnitures are okay with native look. But the service crew are not that efficient yet. I heard it's a year-old resort so I hope in our next visit, we can rate their service excellent.

2 May 2008: Interaction with the Butanding and Bigg's

This is the part I've been waiting for. Ever since I heard of the Butanding, I kept bugging my friends to plan a trip to Bicol. Good thing I have a Bicolano boyfriend who so willingly arranged this trip for us. :-)

We checked out of the resort around 5:30am as we were told that there are more sightings of the Butanding from 8:00-10:00am. Towards noon, when it's hot, the Butandings go deeper into the water so you won't see as much Butandings.

The drive to Donsol from Legaspi took about 1 and 1/2 hour, its a long and winding road. When we arrived, we already got in for 2nd batch. Which means the take off would be at 10:30. But we were only able to take off a little past 11:00am. I was getting both excited and worried. Excited to see them, but worried that I won't get to see a single Butanding.

The drill was, when the Spotter signals to the guide that there is a Butanding in sight all passengers should (1) put on their mask; (2) ensure their lifevest is tightened; (3) sit on the lower side of the boat; and (4) jump into the water-- all this you have to do quickly. In the water you have to wait for the cue of the guide to look down. When he says look down, it means you're either swimming side by side with the Butanding or you're right above the Butanding.

The first sighting was quick. I didn't get to see the full figure of the Butanding because I was fixing my cam. The next thing I know it was gone.

The second sighting was unsuccessful. The guide, Randy, grabbed my hand and we tried to swim with the Butanding. Napagod ako kaka-swim sa sobrang bilis nung guide. Sa sobrang pagod ko, hindi ako naka-concentrate. When we got back to the boat. He asked, nakita mo ba? I said, hindi eh. Tawa kami ng tawa. Sabi nung guide, "kala ko naman nag-eenjoy ka na dahil ang tagal-tagal natin syang sinundan yun pala wala kang nakikita." Super comedy. Jom and our friends were all laughing. Super napagod lang ako pero wala akong nakita. Randy said I don't have to swim the next time kasi hawak naman nya ako.

The third sighting was clearer. Randy grabbed my hand and Shawie's. This time we saw the full figure of the Butanding. Pero medyo malayo pa din. Then when we got back, we told the boys, who were still unsatisfied with their sightings, that they should go with Randy so they can catch up with the Butanding.

The fourth sighting was super fun and successful. Randy jumped with Jom and Archie. Shawie and I stayed on the boat as we wanted to rest. Then Randy got back and asked me to jump, so I did. When Randy asked me to look down, the Butanding was right beside me! It was huuuuugggeee!!! Sobrang laki nya. Grabe! I was overwhelmed by its size. And sobrang galing ni Randy because eventhough the Butanding was flocked by people, he still managed to bring me closer to it. Sobrang laki talaga, they said it was approximately 9 meters long. Width? I have no idea. I was really this close. Then we moved closer to the mouth, which was open. I got a bit scared cause I felt it was going to swallow me. Super galing! Super fun experience.

We called that last Butanding a show off Butanding. Because it stayed there, motionless. We didn't swim. It just stayed there for people to see him/her.

After that last sighting, we went back to shore. We were more than contented.

We ate late lunch at Bigg's Diner. When Jom was planning the itinerary, there was a time for Bigg's. I wasn't that excited because I thought, it was just an ordinary burger tapos Bicol pa. I wondered what would make that burger special if it's locally made. But when we tried it, we were all satisfied. It tasted different because of the dressing. And the burger patty also tasted good. We wanted to bring home a few burgers nga sana pero baka masira.

We spent the night at Tita Judy's house. Had a few drinks then dozed off with smile on our faces for a very fun day.

May 3: Kneeboarding at CWC

After lunch at Tito Roy's house, we headed to Camsur for the much anticipated Wakeboarding. Though, I'm not that confident I could do it. Andun na rin naman kami, so why not try it.

We only have one hour to do it so I have to do good on my first try. I tried kneeboarding first and what do you know?! I almost finished the track. :-) If it weren't for my helmet, which was blocking my sight, I would have finished it. On my second and last attempt, I completed the track. Woohoo!!! Not bad for a beginner. I'm so proud of myself!

The trip was more exciting and fun as I've expected. I am so happy (thanks Hon!). It was definitely worth my time and money. And it is one experience I would recommend to my friends. So, tara na! Biyahe na tayo!

We're off to Bicol tonight...

All my bags are packed...

All my cams are ready...

I will finally get to meet the whale shark...

Got to strike that one out from things-I-want-to-do-before-I-die list...

My mind is shutting down...

Don't want to work...

Cler on vacation mode...

Will see you when I get back....

Ciao!

Picture from http://www.mayonecotourism.ph/

Love is knowing you will spend every day, of every week, of every month, of every season, of every year for the rest of your life with this person, and thinking, "This is exactly what I want".

Marriage doesn't promise a smooth sailing ride. It will be a rollercoaster like it was before. You may still feel a deep and abrupt plunge at times. One that makes your stomach sick. Other times, you will be on top and nothing can put you down. Like you hold the world in the palm of your hands. But through it all, know that God is with you. And as my friend put it "you were brought together by God and it is only by His grace that you will remain together".

So here, the long and short of what I want to say is the family that prays together, stays together. :-))

Seriously, congrats Marsy! I'm happy for both of you. We look forward to your silver. :-)

ps. Click here for pictures from Mars' wedding.

We stayed in Discovery Shores (DS) on our first night. Then we transferred to a more affordable resort the following day. The stay at Discovery was more for experience. We wanted to know what was in store for us in such a luxurious hotel.