ima try blogging with my bb

Been a busy december and just a few more days and its new year !
Whew 2010 went by so damn fast!

Vaughn Singing Oh My God on Skype! =)

Finally, I Got Rostered for a Japanese Flight!

Shanghai, China

It took 8 and a half hours to reach Shanghai, and the timing is horrendous. I was really really tired when we got to the bus, but I had an involuntary nap and some episodes of drooling during the ride. I know. I'm disgusting. Everybody looked like a horror story when we got to the hotel. But the nap did me good and the thought of groceries, kimchi, yakult and Ajisen Ramen, gave me enthusiasm! It wasn't freezing yet in Shanghai, and the weather is chilly but nice. =) Before the flight, I packed some winter clothes without thinking. When I was changing in the hotel, ready to go out, I couldn't zip my freaking jeans!!! I was mortified! It wouldn't close, I tried jumping, I tried not breathing, I tried evrything! But it just wouldn't zip the fuck up! SO. I left it open! thank heavens my jacket was just long enough to cover the nasty zip that wont close and my fatness, but shame on myself, I eat like a pig and I expect clothes and old jeans to still fit. Tsk tsk.

My plan was, to buy something my current size so I could go out the next day to do my Christmas shopping with the rest of the crew. And so I did. Im so happy I found a cute pair of shorts that were a little off my budget, considering my budget is ONLY for food but had to reconsider to avoid the embarassment that was about to unfold if and when somebody sees my unzipped ex-jeans. I bought all the groceries I needed and ate at Rajisen Ramen. I could not stop myself from having THE porkchop, my favorite porchop in the whole wide planet... =( I'm so guilty, but I still ate so plenty.

I ordered room service massage hoping cellulites will be massaged away =) And it was sooo sooo good. I recommend their foot massage, it was almost orgasmic. =)

Hence, I woke up at 6 pm the next day, I slept for seventeen hours straight, that's how good the massage was. I wasted money on the skirt and wasted the whole day that was meant for shopping! With only 2 hours left in China, I went out to go to my favorite Veggie Market =)


Just look at all these veggies, SO FRESH and so colorful! =)




And fruits too =) Fuji Apples from CHina haha and kiat kiat!


ANd just because I have not yet shamed myself enough, I decided to stop by at TOUCH. Definitely should not be the store's name. It should be LEAVE!!!! but I couldn't. =(


So I bought "some" of the yummy pastries. I love their egg tarts, and their meatfloss bread. The choco roll and milk cake is not very highly recommended by glutonous me. I freaking ate all of these would you believe! arrrrrggggh!

Mother House, Kolkata, India

I love the quote on Mother Teresa's tomb. Hands to serve and Hearts to Love. =)
I said a prayer to Mother Teresa, a very personal one. That she gives me a change of heart. And I know that she did already. I can't explain what I felt in Mother Teresa's home. I can say that it is not a life changing experience, but it is very moving. To see how she lived and why she chose to be there. She is amazing in every way.

Her smile... can pierce through any one's soul. Next time I'd be in Calcutta, I would love to visit the Orphanage and The Mother House for the Sick and Dying. But for now, I am happy I was able to see the convent where she used to live. I was so happy to see her room, and how touching it is to see how simple and humble it was, I will never forget a note she wrote beside her bed, it said: VOCATION IS LOVE..
Sigh, I know I whine about my job many many times. But these are some of the times that I could really say, I love my job. It was nice to have met you Mother Teresa, your love and presence was very much felt =)

Ninang misses you Vaughn.

Missy and Me =)

Enjoyed Vienna even more because of Missy. =) we had good conversation and good laughs. So nice to keep in touch with people youve known for a long long time.She's a breath of fresh air. I like it that I got to see her workplace, how similar it is to mine. I was out til late but she convinced me to still go out for cocktails. I'm glad I did. It was fun =)

I had this drink called fallen angel. It's very refreshing, I really really liked it.


I was really really full when I met Missy but she insisted on ordering this for me, and who am I , to say no to a FOUR for ME. It'superb! I like the idea of very small portions. It's very colorful, interesting and yummy.




This is pumpkin soup with ginger. It was a little bit salty for my taste but i liked it.





This a miniature fillet of beef cooked really really nicely and very tender. It was served in I don't know which sauce but my gosh, it was so tasty. =) Look at how tiny the steak is, this is how I should have my steak all the time, tiny and tasty, and guilt-free.


This SCHNITZEL is THE schnitzel of all schnitzels! soo sooo crispy and light. Very very yummy. Schnitzel is a traditional Austrian dish which is consisting of an escalope coated in bread crumbs and fried. This one that I had may be tiny but it is not lacking of authenticity as a Viennese dish, it came with creamy potato salad, which I could not finish no matter how I tried, I was just too full.



But not that full to refuse a beautiful chocolate mousse hahaha. =) I can't believe I ate all this when I was really trying hard to have abs for my Mauritius flight at the end of the month. AAaaaaaw, who am I kidding, abs in my dreams maybe.



Perhaps I was already a little tipsy to remember which drink I was having, but this last one, I liked as well. =)

Here's a photo of me and Missy with Bambi at Novotel in Vienna City. Thanks Missy, I had so much fun. =) thank you so much for the treat, i really enjoyed evry minute of it. Next time I'll make sure to bring a not so shitty camera. hahaha

24 Hours in Vienna

Vienna is just beautiful.

And a beautiful place becomes even memorable when you get to spend it with good company. =)

It is my second time at St. Stephen's Cathedral. It is located at the heart of Vienna, and strategically behind our hotel, which is why it's always the first stop for me every time I come here. I remember the first time, I even saw Gary V. infront of this church. I like that the church is gothic.



It's almost Christmas so we were hoping we could have a sip of warm and oooh lalahh soo good gluhwein. =) I missed it. I like how it goes down smoothly down your throat, and warms you up. It's amazing how openly it is sold especially in Germany and one could just walk with a hot cup of gluhwein. You'll definitely see the walls of jail if you pull a stunt like that in Dubai hehe.

The weather is chilly and I love it. Makes me want to stay throughout winter and makes me want to have cups and cups of gluhwein. Warm alcohol is yum.


Now here's what I ate :

Roasted Pork with Cabbage and Dumpling. It's weird. The pork is very bland and the cabbage is even weirder. I did not like the dumpling, it was yuckky. The consistency is just not right. Yuck, if I wasn't very hungry and it it wasn't 11 euros, I wouldn't have touched this meal, but hey, people are starving all over the world as they say. So i ate it against my will, haha.



And I managed to make the meal even worse by having pils... yuckkk! So bitter.



Maybe, we just dint know where the right place to eat, we were all craving for pork knuckles, but we just couldnt find it anywhere. =(

But STill...

I baked I baked I baked =)

Happy Halloween Everyone! I Miss Undas in Pinas =(

Today I woke up and called my mom right away, because I know that they would be in our province in Bulacan and would be at the cemetery in the afternoon. It's tradition. We celebrate All Soul's Day, to remember and honor our loved ones and friends who have passed away and are now with Our Creator. I love it because this is one of the holidays where we meet up with our relatives and friends and would just sit together and spend the day or even the night at the cemetery.

My last All Soul's Day in the Philippines was in 2006. Ate Nene, was still with us, and I would never forget that she would be the first and the last person at the cemetery watching over Kuya ( her late husband, my uncle). I remember she made the best, the very best chicken sotanghon. She was a very kind aunt to me. I'm sad that now, she is one of those who we watch over during halloween. =( My Lola who just passed away is also now in her final resting place, this is her first All Soul's Day. I also remember, one of my very good friend Rhea who was murdered when we were 17. i would visit her and give her flowers every Halloween, but now, I could only pray. And how I miss my Lola Inang who raised me when I was small. They have all left us, but memories are alive in our hearts.

I miss buying flowers and candles and cooking for lunch and dinner and eating out at relatives' houses. There's just so many things I miss about home. And it's sad coz where I am right now, the highlight of Halloween would be costume parties, house parties and clubs. I love it too, but I get to thinking when I have kids in the future, I want them to know and feel for themeselves the value and meaning of Halloween, All Saint's Day and All SOul's Day. I don't want to spend it like any other normal day, I don' want to celebrate it with booze or costumes, I want to spend it in prayer, with loved ones, with candles and with flowers and with love for the those who left ahead of us. I want every tradition to be alive, I want it spent with family ties in mind.

Today, I spent the day with Racine, we shared stories about how we used to spend Undas in Pinas over tapsilog and bulalo and bistek tagalog.

BurP!

I am in Johannesburg South Africa and I just came back from the scrumptuous meal we had in Bull Run. I had Rump steak today. With beautiful beautiful potato wedges, crisp from the outside and soft in the inside. We also had thr creamiest creamy spinach and some sweet pumpkins.

with a glass of red of course.

Oh the steak, melts in your mouth. it's the best!

How I wish I could bring my husband and my family here for dinner. They would love it. Well, for the moment, I'm just taking as many bites of the world as I can.

The only problem is, it all goes to the cheeks =(

but no worries, can't NOt have Steak in South Africa! WAKA WAKA Eh EH!

Andre

The night before Angel's labor day, I had a very vivid dream, and I told my friend Monet about it. In the dream, we were having a vacation, my family and Jojo's. And Angel was still pregnant, in the dream, she looked exactly how she was when I last saw her, with a full bump and walking like a drugged penguin... ever so slowly, ever so carefully. haha. Nway, in the dream, I called them in their room, and they said they were in the spa, I said, ok wait for me, I'm coming. I got there and the Spa was the werdest Ive ever seen. The room was filled with hay stacks, the ones you see in fields and farms. Some were just standing by the room and the rest were like seats, and when I saw Angela, she was lying on a bed of hay stack, and I told her, how come you're not yet having the baby? and she said I don't know. and then I told her, let me help you and I held her tummy and rubbed it and then I woke up!

Weird dream, I know.


Then in the evening I received an sms. It said: Pok, nasa labor room na si Angel. My heart skipped a beat. I said a little prayer, Lord, keep Angel and Andre safe, and please make Andre look like Angela, joke, haha. It's a good day to have a baby today! =) I called Jojo and asked him what was happening, and his voice was filled with excitement and worry, but more of excitement =) I immediately messaged my other bestfriend, Mindy and she too was so excited and happy. After hours and hours of waiting, I was constantly checking Jojo's wall updates in Fb, and I was becoming agitated. I had a chat with Mindy, and I told her I was getting worried. My husband even called me Madam Auring. I called Jojo to check again and he said the doctors said evrything was going normal. With that thought in mind, I decided to sleep because I was going on a flight the next day. I know tomorrow I will wake up and there's a new baby pic on Jojo's Fb. So excited to see Andre. =)


When I woke up, I wanted so much to check Fb but I was running late, as usual. I told myself I was gonna call Jojo in the bus. But in the bus I had to put my make up on cause I was running extra late. And so after briefing on the way to the aircraft I called Jojo. His voice, cracked and was filled with worry. I heard my own heart beating like a drum. I couldnt process what Jojo was telling me, partly because of the noisy crew next to me, I wanted to yell SHUT THE EFF UP, stoopid, cant you see im on the phone, nway, I tried my best to listen to every word Jojo was saying. Angel had a hard time at labor, and had to have a CS operation, i just typed in Cs because I dont know how to spell the long term of it. Anyway, He told me other worrying stories, which I'm not sure if I can blog about, so Im not going to. I struggled not to cry as I was wearing cheap mascara. BUT the most important thing was , THEY WERE BOTH OK, and ANDRE IS BORN!!! =) yehey!!!

Thank You Lord, for a beautiful beautiful baby boy--- Andre. =) ANd thank you Lord for keeping Angela safe, and for making Jojo strong amongst the challenges of this day!

I'll be a ninang again! =)

What's somebody like you doing in a plane like this???

Just Because RTA hates me.

I want to go back home.
I want to see blue skies
I want to smell the rain. 
I want this summer to end
... Feels like it never will. 

I'm tired.
Maybe I've just been having a bad day.
Or a bad month, or a bad year even. 
but what I really am is pissed.
Is my time here enough? 
Or is it just me who's had it.
tired of taking crap.
From passengers, from cab drivers, from Rta who wouldn't give me license to drive.
Need to eliminate taking cabs or I'm gonna be blogging in jail. 
Everyone here seems to be having a bad day.   Everybody seems unhappy. Nobody cares. Nobody wants to care.
Or is it just me feeling shitty.
I feel like cutting my hair today but scared I might regret.
I don't know what to do today.
I'm so bored. Tired of this place.
Tired of not going anywhere else but the mall.
I want outdoor activities to begin!

Thank God for my good friend, i almost went bonkers today.
but Monet and KFC saved the day!

Another junk filled day has passed.
I will be in Jakarta where I will not sleep of paranoia.

 
 

Halal Near Hilton in New York

It's Halal Chicken with Rice. It's the one where you have to queue for a few minutes before you get your halal. Near Hilton behind Crew hotel in Sheraton Manhattan.

Careful with the hot sauce, it is very very spicy!!! but yummy.

Nag iitkool n ko ninang--- vaughn

My Hubby's 26th... and The 3rd Birthday That I'm Not Around =(

I bought a cake, blew the candle and ate it too, except, I wasn't with you beh. =(
I'm sorry.

I know, I'm a bad bad wife.
But this blog is not about me.
It's about my hubby who begs me to write about him almost every night. =)

But I don't know what to say.

Except that I love him so so much. And I hate myself evry time I have to leave him. My job requires me to leave and it just sucks cause I miss him. It's been 4 years, and you think I've gotten used to it, to leaving him, but seriously, it only gets worse. I miss him more and more. And it gets harder and harder to leave. and I could only sigh.

They say that you'll know it when you meet the person you'll marry or end up with. And many would ask, how? And the answer would be, you just know.

It's cliche. But it's true. When I met Sonnie, I just knew. I just knew that he is the guy I wanna spend the rest of my life with. I just knew he is the person I want to be with through whatever. Even I ask myself why. Haha just kidding.

They say that you should marry someone who you could have endless conversations with. I would like to say that I did, but we're really not having any conversation, I would do the talking, and the talking and the talking. And he... well he does all the listening. Haha. I hate that he does not talk as much as I do, but I do love the fact that he can stand me blabbing about evrything and anything every single freaking day. I love him for that, but that's not why he is the one.

They say that you should marry someone who makes you laugh. Sonnie does. Some people may find him serious, but he is funny. Every little thing he does with his face, makes me laugh. He dances and I laugh, he moves his head while driving and I laugh. I just find evrything that he does funny. Which is good for me. Cause I am most of the time sad. He is the one who can make everything seem okay for me. He makes me happy. And believe me when I say it's hard to make me happy and keep me happy. But everyday, Sonnie would. Little things, like saying hi beh ko in his own special way makes me happy. But things like me missing his birthday for three consecutive years and not hating me for it, just makes me feel so blessed. He is probably the most understanding person one could meet. And I'm probably the luckiest because he married me.

On our wedding day, there are not so many things I remember. Everything was a blur. It went by so fast. But there's one funny thing that would always make me pissed and laugh at the same time. After the wedding, when we got to to our suite, I went to the bathroom to take off my wedding dress and change. I was taking my sweet time, I changed into a cute little dress. I was imagining him waiting for me in anticipation. I opened the door and was shocked with what I saw! He opened all the envelopes with all the monetary gifts, and he aligned all the money on the bed! Without even checking who gave them! He just opened each one of the envelopes and took the money! And his smile was from ear to ear. AAAAAAArghhh! We dont know who gave how much. And i was pissed and he was just laughing. I thought he was waiting for me for our honeymoon, and he was ripping envelopes with excitement the whole time! hahaha, still makes me laugh to this day. Oh i love him.

Ther are just so many things that I love about him. And just about as much that I hate =) But he is the one for me, the crazy me, the stupid me, the lazy me, the grumpy me, the evil me, the nice me, the crappy me, the shitty me, ALL OF ME.

And everyday, I thank the Lord that He gave me Sonnie, because it's one of many proofs that He loves me. =)

I WILL LOVE YOU BEH EVEN IF YOU LOOK LIKE THIS, IN 20 YEARS HAHAHHAHAHA!



AND I HOPE YOU LOVE ME STILL WHEN IN 20 YEARS I LOOK LIKE THIS! =)

Seafood Island in Ayala Techno Hub

Sisig Kapampangan


Sinigang na Baboy sa Sampalok


Rockefeller Oysters


Adobong Baka ng Batangas

.... it's so hard to accept the fact you're gone forever. =(

Super Saver sa Layover! Sarap ng Baon ko: Sweet Longganisa with fried Rice and hardboiled Egg ! =)

May Miniature Patis pa! =) sarrap. =)

Accra, Ghana in Africa

Hello Africa tell me how you're doing? =) interesting drum set !


at the lobby of golden tulip =)

Hopkee with Gen in New York... Yum Yum

Prawns in White Sauce with Walnuts and Broccoli



Pan Fried Flounder - so so so good. =)



Yang Chow Fried Rice Of course!



And a fortune cookie for Gen and me.