Ending 08 and Christmas

So I'm trying to think -- my journal website is almost out of date. Do I keep it and continue blogging in 09 using the same one, or do I migrate the blogs into a more generic website name?

I'm still thinking what to decide. But nevertheless, I will continue here and if I should change sites, then I would love it if you follow me! I will post any changes on this website so don't worry, you will be informed no matter what.

I'm having fun posting dances and cool stuff lately. I feel like a kid. And what better timing to feel that - it's Christmas! I'm so happy and I thank God for my happiness. I thank God for family and friends like you during the holiday season. I thank God for sending his only Son to save us. And I would like to celebrate Christmas remembering the birth of Jesus Christ.

Take care y'all and Merry Christmas everyone!

Disney Celebration

Having fun

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Holidays!

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Merry Christmas

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Nielsen's at The Peninsula

I just got back from breakfast. The hotel does know a Filipino stomach, the buffet was lined with endless choices. I was just a bit disappointed that the mangoes ran out. I am glad to have had 3 slices though. They're as good as always.

I am back in Manila for 5 days. The trip was packed with unwanted events... flight delays, cancellations, airline transfer confirmations. And then when I got to the hotel, found out that the client was unable to make it. Talk about shock! So I made calls, my boss who's only just arrived made arrangements to travel back the next day, but I didn't. Not yet. Then the good news, the client will be arriving a day late, but arriving nonetheless.

So I called mom and met with her and Kuya Jhun for lunch. That was after I've had about 4 hours of sleep. After a quick trip to SM (what would a Manila trip be without it?), we went back to the hotel to rest before dinner at Kuya Eisen's. It was good to see family, share stories, add pounds (the food was great), and just be there.

Today, meetings start at lunch so I will talk some more a bit later.

Awake at 2am

So I've been sleeping but apparently, my siblings were not (it's day time in what Gabriel now correctly refers to as the "Eastern Hemisphere"). So they decided to give me us a call through Skype. Jojo answered this time (I answered 2 previous calls sometime during midnight). I do know when it's my brother calling me coz I can't seem to hear him at the end of the line. He says he hears us fine though. Too bad.

So after 15 minutes of not being able to get back to sleep, I logged in. And there they are, my siblings chatting. After about 5 minutes though, they suddenly had something else to do, and so I am left here... online and alone. How about that?

Well, let me instead write down how the week has been. Gabriel turned 8 last Thursday, he was really happy as his classmates gave him handwritten birthday greetings, tons of bookmarks, and $1. They are so sweet, he was really happy. For dinner, Gabriel wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A and as it was his day, he's the boss. Definitely, low key.

Friday night around 6pm, we went to Dealey movie night featuring "Kung Fu Panda." It was my first time to watch the movie from beginning to end and I realized that I missed the middle half of it before. And yet, I have put it down as 3 stars in my list. Oh well, the rating didn't change even after finishing the movie. Once again, we sat with Margaret although this time, a few of Gabriel's other friends joined our blanket: Gabriel and Dominic; Olivia; and Andrew.

Earlier this week, we dropped by Vera's Bakeshop to reserve Gabriel's birthday cake for his party on Saturday. He chose a dinosaur-themed one and I hope I remember to take a picture before it gets eaten. We also went to Party City for his goodie bag stuff. We hope it's a success, and at last count, 28 kids are coming.

The other day, we saw the trailers for Twilight. Looks great, I can't wait to watch the movie. These past few months, I would rather wait for the dvd to be available on Dvdplay kiosks, but I don't think I can wait for this one. So we probably will watch it in AMC. As we will be in Houston when they open, we might go out one night while we're there and catch it. If not, definitely when we get back.

Some friends of ours are planning to have a "bowling night" and I just hope that with our schedule, we'll be able to make it. So far, we're booked for the weekends through Dec 13. Mostly chess tournaments and parties.

We also had an early Thanksgiving Potluck at the office. Good times, good food. And what's even better, I was able to carry out a bag for dinner. My family enjoyed it.

Cyndee invited Gabriel to join Julian's indoor soccer games, and so he now has soccer practice from 6:45 to 8:15 every Tuesdays and Wednesdays. He'll be exhausted but we imagined this will be good for him as it is getting to winter and he won't be able to play or even stay outdoors at all.

Wow, so much has happened this week. And more tomorrow. See you later.

What a day!

It's been another one of those busy days. Started early in the morning to go to Gabriel's chess tournament. As we were getting in the car, I saw our neighbor Glen. So finally, months after the incident, I was able to thank him for knocking on our door one early morning, and letting me know that I left my keys on the keyhole. Where it stayed the whole night. If I didn't write about it before, I was probably too embarrassed to admit it. But now you know.

Gabriel's chess was good, he got a medal along with a few kids for ending up with 3 wins out of 5. We met a few other people and I did a good deed today. Let me not tell you what it is, but it was a good deed.

After chess, we took Andrew to the soccer field for the last game of the Fall season. Andrew's dad was there to meet us. I'm not sure whether we won or it was a tie, but the season ended good, that's for sure. Cheers to Coach V! Cheers to Dealey Dragons!

At this point, I only had a hotdog to fill my stomach around lunchtime. Definitely not enough, so I'm thankful we still have leftover roast pork, roast duck, and kinilaw. The best, I say!

I popped in the West Wing dvd from where I left off but immediately fell asleep. Bad, I only just ate. But I couldn't help it. Now I'm wide awake and telling you how my day went.

Fall back victims

Monday night, I slept with Gabriel in his room. We both woke up at around the same time the next morning to go pee, and realized after looking at the clock that it was already 7am. So Gabriel said It was time to take a shower and prepare to go to school. Jojo on the other hand was still snoring.

While Gabriel was in the shower, I prepared his school uniform and then went on to our bedroom. I checked the clock and it said 6:15am. That's when I realized that the clock in Gabriel's room was not updated to reflect the standard time.

Oh well, we all had a laugh. It was great waking up so early.

Happy Day

Yesterday was a happy day. I was in the office when our Systems Manager announced that old laptops are on their way to recycle centers. If anyone is interested though, there are 8 that are working. No catch. So after a moment of crazy, I went home and presented Gabriel with his first laptop. He was really excited. Jojo immediately configured the wireless and installed Glubble to manage and monitor the websites that Gabriel can access. It's perfect. Gabriel said, "I triple love you, Mommy!" Doesn't get any better than that.

Also contributing to it being a happy day, I got the West Wing complete season dvds that I ordered in Amazon. And even the Guitar Hero Aerosmith Wii game arrived. Amazon is awesome. Times like these when I know that life is a dream I'm living.

I cooked crabs and shanghai rolls for dinner and although the crabs didn't turn out as I would like them to, it's alright. Didn't even dent my happiness. I just need to improve on the recipe and it should work next time.

Eating out

After Gabriel's dental appointment last Tuesday, we had dinner at Maxim's. Yum chicken feet and spareribs! It's really a treat. Gabriel, who just had a tooth extraction did not mind at all and ate chicken feet with gusto. I'm happy to say -- we live to eat, not eat to live.

And today, Jojo and I just drove to Fuel City to try out the much-reviewed "best tacos in Dallas." It was small, but what can you expect when you pay $1.16. It was good though. I tried the beef fajita, chicken, and barbacoa. I liked the beef fajita best. If we decide to drive by again, I'll order beef fajitas exclusively. I'd still say the fish tacos in Half Shells are the best tacos, Big Shucks grilled tacos coming in as a close second.

Which reminds me, we still have that Cheesecake Factory gift card to use. Oh, I'll try out the ribs and not order the miso salmon.

On another topic, we tried the Hong Phat supermarket in Saigon Mall yesterday. Very clean and big, but I would still prefer to go to Hiep Thai next time. However, we did order roast pork for take out. Yum yum. It tastes like lechon, in fact, I know for sure I won't miss lechon now that I can buy roast pork here at any time. Too bad we missed the roast duck coz they ran out.

I bought ingredients for kare-kare. So we'll probably have kare-kare for dinner soon. Maybe tonight.

Reading and drugs

I really like the book - The Pillars of the Earth. Got it as a birthday present from Aileen and Bong (thanks very much!). It makes me think about a different kind of life. A simpler one, if you will, but not that much different to our lives now. The story is set in the 1100s, and offers the author's views on how it was years ago. I've learned a lot just by reading. If you find the time, pick up this book.

This morning, it was mid-40s outside. So fast - the winter has come. Maybe it's one of the reasons why I got the cold. Julie recommended that I try Airborne, a vitamins or dietary supplement for the immune system, and so I did. Nah, it didn't work, I still have the colds, but I don't feel that bad. So maybe it helped a little. Jojo recommended that I start taking multivitamins, and so I will. 

For now though, since I feel a headache coming and feel really tired after a long day, I'll get myself to drink Theraflu which usually knocks me out after 10 minutes. Gives me a good night's sleep too.

I am my father

So listen. I was sitting in the passenger's seat of our van and decided to take a quick look in the mirror. I had to double take. I thought I saw my dad, and of course... it was just me! I do look like my dad. And for all the tears I've cried when I was little, insisting that I did not look like him, all a waste.

I still miss my dad. I wonder what he'd be doing if he were still alive. He's one of the smartest men I know. And he knows how to spoil a kid. I sure fell into that category [a spoiled kid] growing up. I love you, daddy!

I want to write more about sitting in the car though. I recently bought the Bare Minerals make-up kit in Ulta. I don't normally put make-up on, especially since there's always no time to do it anyway. I'm always in a hurry to leave the house. But since I've bought the kit, and when I don't drive, I apply it while we're headed to either the soccer game or to a party. I like Bare Minerals. It's nice and easy to apply, and it does brighten up my aura (I'd like to think!).

So while in the car, I would do that. Or pluck stray eyebrows. Or else just sing along to whatever's playing. And there usually is [something playing] coz my boys are such music lovers. I like the quiet sometimes but I like music the rest of the times. Does that make sense?

Gabriel won first place in a chess tournament in Dallas

Last October 11, 2008, Gabriel won first pace in the K-2 division Chess Tournament, here in Dallas. We were ever so proud. He received another trophy and we're seriously running out of table space to hold them. He's been very happy though, and so have we. The next tournament will be in his school, Dealey Montessori.

After the tournament, Andrew, Gabriel's friend from school, joined us for lunch and stayed with us until half past 7 that night. The boys practically spent the whole day together, and just the day before, Gabriel was over at Andrew's after school for his birthday celebration. So, not just one day, but 2 whole days together!

Cowboys 4-3

We had a horrible last 2 games. I sure hope we bounce back from this negative momentum.

Cowboys 4-1

Last Sunday, we had sort of a mythbuster episode part 5. The myth: whenever we (Village People) watch a game, the team we're rooting for loses. The result: busted! Cowboys were playing the Cincinnati Bengals, and you gotta hand it to them - they played hard. But we played harder.

It wasn't the best of games but it wasn't a joy to watch either. We were leading 17-3 at one point and they caught up, 17-16! So that's where the excitement was, and I even proposed going home in the middle of the game, lest the myth was true. But we didn't go home, and after the nail-biting and cheering from the top of our lungs, we were victorious. The Cowboys won.

(To answer those who ask, where y'all together when that game was lost, the supposedly walk-in-the-park match against the Washington Redskins? Yes, we were. But come on, we've proven that there is no jinx. So let it go.)

How 'bout them Cowboys?

Rhode Island and Connecticut

As luck would have it, I was scheduled to travel to New London, Connecticut on Tuesday. Had I known what a tooth extraction would feel like, I would have postponed it till after the trip. But you gotta do, what you gotta do. So on Tuesday, right after the biometric scanning for my UK visa application, we headed to the airport.

Side note. Before Jojo dropped me at DFW airport, we had lunch at a new place. I Love Pho (or as I would call it, I heart Pho). I loved this place. Tooth or no tooth, it's good. We started off with fresh shrimp rolls, and then Jojo and I shared the beef stew and crispy noodles. Yummy!

So going to a Connecticut meeting proved to be a challenge in terms of getting good flights. I ended up taking a 1-stop flight via North Carolina and arriving in TF Green Airport (PVD) in Rhode Island. Going home, my stop was at Reagan Airport in Washington DC.

A total of 16 hours of travel for a one hour meeting. The things you have to do. Oh, and of course, I was still on medication because of the tooth extraction the day before. C'est la vie.

Boredom at the dentist

Well, I've written about anxiety on a dental chair but not about boredom. See, when the local anesthesia kicks in, your mouth and gums go numb. So you don't feel anything. They put a bracket of some sort to keep your mouth open so even that is not a conscious effort.

So what to do? I tried staring at the doctor's eyelashes. Nice lashes. Revlon or Almay? Hihihi. I bet she saw me and smiled underneath her mask. But there's a limit to that. I can't stare at her eyes the entire time, not that I was trying to hide it. Besides, it's not proper to stare.

So your eyes drift to the ceiling, then the wall and you've memorized the few lines on the posters. There's got to be something more to do. Then you start thinking about work, but that only frustrates you a bit coz you'd rather you had something to write with because eventually, you'll forget all these bright ideas. So I tried not to think about work.

I tried singing songs in my head. I even tried to sleep. No luck there.

Anyway, I really marvel at the way the dentist attempts to engage you in a conversation while you're on the chair. It's not a matter of answering yes or no questions. It goes deeper than that. You try to answer back and realize after a second that you actually can't answer back. Hmm. That's probably what they call a trick question.

And the worst part of it? It's when the anesthesia wears out and she's still working on you. Previously, she asked you to raise a finger when you feel pain. I raised both hands.

Tooth extraction

Last Monday, I went to Jefferson Dental Clinic here in Dallas for a scheduled tooth extraction and a couple of fillings. I spent about 3 hours there. Phew. Talk about anxiety and boredom. Anxiety because I know that somehow there will be pain involved, and I always tense up when I see instruments coming into my mouth. So yeah, the dentist will say, "You'll feel a little pinch, ok?" I know that she doesn't exactly expect me to answer that... yet in my mind I can't help but. "No! It's not ok! Get me out of here!" Truth be told, I was terrified to death.

And now that it's over, I had every right to be. For the past 3 days, I've been sporting a brand new look. Ok, an exaggeration maybe, for no one can actually see the "new look." But there it is, I can feel it everyday... a gaping hole in the middle of numbers 19 and 17. Ugh, disgusting if you ask me. It hasn't exactly healed yet, or maybe I just don't know what to expect. I really don't know.

So now, I've been presented with options on how to deal with the hole. A bridge is not possible, according to the dentist, as the molar that would eventually support the bridge is tilted and not fully erupted. She suggested checking with an orthodontist on how I can fix that. So the options are: dentures or another tooth extraction.

Dentures is strongly recommended. I should not have problems with it, if and when I decide to go that route. Except that I do have problems with dentures per se. I don't like them. I always associated them with old people. Yeah yeah, that only means I'm old too. But the thing is, I don't want to be old and I will fight it as long as I can.

Now the other option has to do with the side effect of having a hole in between the teeth. The teeth naturally shifts to fill in the gap. So I can expect that my molar and other teeth will slide side ways. Not only that, the tooth on top of it will slide down, trying to fill the same gap. No, I've been told, it won't happen overnight. But it will happen.

And now that I'm writing it down, it does seem like I do not have any good options here. There's only one thing to do. Expect that it will involve a glass partly filled with water and something in it during the nightime.

Skype users unite

Staying connected when you're globally situated is a must. Thanks to Skype, we are able to communicate and keep in touch almost hassle-free with family and friends. Now the tricky part is to get a schedule that fits 3 time zones. Some sacrifices will really have to be made, and if you are willing, then it's not going to be much of a problem at all.

Another cool feature that Skype has that we use (not abuse) is by subscribing to a monthly fee of $2.95, you can get your calls routed to your landline and cell phone. Your Skype contacts merely call you through Skype using your Skype account, and whether you're online or not, you'll get the call via pc/landline/cell all at the same time. In fact, last night, I was using Skype on our landline when we got another call through Skype and Jojo picked it up on his cell. That's having 2 separate conversations with just one Skype account. Awesome, isn't it?

Twilight Saga

I've read all four books on vampires and werewolves (or not, according to Edward) by Stephenie Meyer. The first 2 were pretty good, they kept me engaged and awake reading till the wee hours of the morning. The last 2 though did not have the same impact. I don't know. But I still can't wait for the movies.

Permanent residency

There's so much to say, so many good things have happened. But let's start with the obvious (based on title alone). We finally got the green cards. After only 9 months from submitting the application, we received the notice last Sept 11, and then the actual permanent residency cards a couple of days later. Life is sweet.

And then more good news for Gabriel - as he prepares for first communion (and subsequently first confession). He's quite the American boy now, when just the other day, he mumbled something that I didn't understand and so I asked him to repeat. He told me politely, "It's nothing, mom. It's just a random thought."

Gabriel also made the Dealey chess team, where only 24 students get to represent the school. Awesome. After having enrolled him to the United States Chess Federation (USCF), we only hope he can play tournaments and improve his rank. We're definitely excited for him.

And then there's soccer and orchestra. This year, Gabriel switched from violin to cello, and his music teacher says this is good for him. If he's dedicated enough, he can apply for scholarships for college later on. Gabriel gets to practice his craft with the 4th graders as the other 2nd graders are all violinists. I think this is a good thing, him playing with older children.

So all in all, this is looking to be a good year for Gabriel.

In church the other day, Gabriel was being friendly with the baby who was seated in front of us. He would make faces, and managed to get a couple of peek-a-boos. I remember my dad. When I was little, no more than Gabriel's age, I would remember him being friendly with kids in the church too. I bet my dad would be happy with all these good news.

Arriving in Manila

The flight travels from Dallas to Manila was uneventful. We watched a hundred movies, ok maybe only 3, and slept soundly (akin to snoring) the rest of the flight. It was rather difficult to stay awake in Japan for the 3 hour layover so Gabriel and I stretched out on the lounge chairs and slept. Jojo watched over us, although at one point, I awoke and saw him with eyes closed too! Can't be helped.

Ate Fe, Kuya Tommy, and Nana picked us up at the airport. When we called to say we were already at the arrival section under the DEF sign, they said they were on their way. Little did we know they were still in Bonifacio Heights and didn't expect us to call so soon. We waited a few and didn't mind looking at the crowd before us who were patiently waiting for their family too (I'm guessing). At one point, Gabriel and I waved our hands to the crowd as if we knew someone there. Hello!

We got to Boni Heights and had the surprise of our lives to see Ate Lelou, Keem, Meg, and Ate Tess over there, pretending to sleep! A most wonderful surprise. We were welcomed into the new home of Ate Fe and Manong Danny and for this we are truly grateful. This was to be the "base" of the Ferrer family as we begin our 17-day stay in Manila. Ate Fe gave us the tour of the 3-bedroom/2 bathroom unit, with spacious patio where -- and this fact didn't escape both Gabriel's and my mind as we continued with the tour -- they had a hammock! It's looking so good already!

A few staple favorites have been prepared like manggang hilaw and bagoong and cherry tomatoes for Gabriel. I also ate ensaymada as I found myself suddenly hungry after the long flight. Totally missed the meal served in Japan Airlines as I was dead like a rock by then.

We went to SM Makati the very next day. Ate henlin siomai and siopao, got our driver's license renewed, and ran a few errands like buying towels and new sim for Jojo's phone. All in a couple of hours, I'm impressed.

We had an appointment in the US embassy the day after. The appointment time showed 9:30am although we were requested to be at the site an hour before. By 8am, we just found a taxi that would take us so yeah, there was a little bit of pressure. And that proved to be the least of our worries that day because we made it on time. The biggest hurdle was that the embassy no longer allowed cellphones or any electronic device and we didn't know about this. We were asked to get rid of them either by leaving them inside our car or with people we're with. Unfortunately for us, we have neither.

Time still being a factor as it is now approaching 9am, we went back outside into the comforting arms of... women with vests selling candies and cigarettes on one hand while getting our attention, "Iwan ninyo phone ninyo sa amin. 150 lang, bigyan namin kayo ng claim stub." Yeah. Uhm, in what planet is that ever going to happen?

So I checked the surrounding area and saw a Starbucks and a Yellow Cab Pizza place. I suggested that perhaps it is the wiser to leave the phones and iPod with someone who works there. So we crossed the street and saw Bayview Park Hotel. A good place to meet trustworthy people also - so in we went.

Went straight to the Front Desk and asked if it's possible to rent a vault or a safe. 'Course the guy said no. So we explained to Richie our situation and while he did not readily agree, he eventually did to safekeep our personal belongings while we are at the embassy. And yes, we ended up paying more than 150 pesos. But it was well worth it.

Back at the mbassy, first they didn't allow the pictures we have with us so we had our pictures taken and mine came out the worst. But I can get over that. Haha. The other rather significant thing that I have to deal with is that my fingers won't scan at the biometric machine. I mean, they can't seem to read the lines on my fingers, and the officer on the other side of the window was getting a bit impatient. I got comments like "Please wipe them dry." to "Are you peeling?" However, they are dry and no, my fingers are not peeling. He finally gave up and stamped a "Check Finger Scans" on my application.

There were no problems with the interview and the minor problem was trying to remember the address and phone numbers to include in the Delbros forms. We don't have our electronic gadgets so the information need to come from memory. Memory worked under pressure, thank God.

Oh, and we saw Dingdong Dantes. Haha. He looks just like Jojo.

We took another cab supposedly going to Glorietta but the driver convinced us that Mall of Asia was the place to go. Fine MoA it is. We first had lunch at the foodcourt, I had sisig, Jojo had katsudon and Gabriel ordered ebi tempura. Then we went to the Smart Center so they could take care of Jojo's problems with his newly bought sim card. And a little later, Egbert came to meet us.

And it was so great to see Egbert and Lavina again. Good conversations and getting caught up while in the office, and we continued this during dinner in a Korean restaurant in Manila. Gabriel fell asleep but he too had a great time.

Jetlag, a necessary evil

We have just returned from our trip to Manila. We arrived on a Wednesday night, and after 24 hours of plane ride and layovers filled with multiple naps and a thousand winks... we finally made it back to our home. So what do we do the first 4 days? Sleep! We can't believe it ourselves, this is the hardest hit of jetlag that I know of that ever happened to me.

Finally, I woke up at 5am on Monday and said to myself that I better stay awake and prepare for work. While I lay on the bed, constantly opening and closing my eyes for about an hour, I'm thinking (and probably psyching myself) that finally, I'm ready. I couldn't sleep anymore. I did not want to sleep anymore.

The day proved to be a long one but I made it. I caught up with a lot of people and was focused the whole day. I read a lot of emails, managed to answer some, and ate salad for lunch.

I can't believe it, here I am talking about a regular day at work when I should be writing about seeing family. The 17 days we were there were spent with family period. We didn't see anybody else. And we would have wanted to see more family but there were just too little time. Gabriel enjoyed himself too much. I'll be posting some pictures very soon. Watch out for it.

We didn't have any problems getting the US visa which was the main reason why we left, but there was a lot of stress involved when trying to renew Jojo's passport. I'll tell you more about that in a separate entry. The good news is, the three of us traveled back to Dallas at the scheduled time and that makes all the difference.

I'll be blogging more soon. See you later.

Free slurpee

Just got my free slurpee today. If you go to any 7-11 store (in the US at least), you can get your 7.11 oz of slurpee free! Awesome deal, huh?

Let me get back to work. I'll catch up with you later.

Overburdened

I really should not be blogging right now as I am up to my neck in paperwork. But I just need time to organize my thoughts and come up with a killer document. And to be able to do that, I need to take my mind off work for a minute.

Jojo and I watched The Fountain last night. I couldn't figure it out and neither could he. So it's not us, right? We finished the movie and all, but really, it just didn't make sense. I didn't get it. And perhaps it's because of all these work that I'm doing, I could no longer process a storyline that is much more than 2 people meeting, falling in love, and living happily ever after.

So, uhm, for right now, I should get back to constructing takt time and line balancing. So yeah, off I go, I can't wait. Not.

Tulsa, Oklahoma

I've never been to Tulsa until last night. My flight was re-directed to Tulsa due to bad weather in Dallas. We had to wait for a couple of hours until the sky cleared. We arrived in Tulsa around 8pm, and the flight attendant announced that while we can choose to leave the plane, we need to take all of our carry-on with us when we do according to TSA regulations. She also went on to explain that while we can stretch our legs a bit at the gate, we are not allowed to go past security as the Tulsa airport security has already left for the day, so much so that if we choose to go past the security, we won't be able to come back in. I didn't think Tulsa was that small.

Anyway, I didn't leave the plane. Instead, I listened and sometimes joined in the conversation around me. A couple of pilots (one was seated beside me) were passengers and were talking about the protocols for such cases. The other pilot was with the Air Force, so he was talking about handling some of the bigger planes in the nation.

The visit to Phoenix was good except for the fact that there is more work involved. But that's exactly what we want so why am I complaining? Because in the back of my head, I'm already thinking about the vacation in the Philippines.

What a fun, fun day!

And we needed it so much! Last night, we had a blackout in our neighborhood and although I waited (in vain), it didn't get fixed until 6am today. Our friends were out of town, and we couldn't crash into someone else's place now, could we?

Anyhoo, I got diverted there for a sec. I was going to tell you about our day, and what a great time we had at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Arlington (about 30 minutes drive from our home). We first tried the Raging Rapids and the Atlantic Panic, and then ventured to the newest attraction -- the Mega Wedgie! Woohoo! What a ride!





There was a lazy river and the wave pool that offered comfort from the crazy rides. And we didn't know what got into us, but we lined up for Banzai Boggans... sounds easy enough. But it didn't feel like it.



(That isn't my picture, we had our camera in the locker the entire time. I just really wanted you to see what I'm talking about here. This is serious stuff.)

What's really amazing is that Gabriel went through each and every ride with us. He really loved the Hook's Lagoon, and I like that one too -- if only for the huge bucket of water falling on your head! Don't look up!



Happy 4th to y'all...

Planning a trip

Planning a trip for business has suddenly become regular. I just booked and reserved flights and hotel for Phoenix for a couple of days in less than 10 minutes. Perhaps I have become so used to doing it.

On the other hand, our trip to the Philippines is drawing near. I am excited and although I have not really had the chance to prepare for it, like what to bring back or what exactly to do while I'm there, I'm sure it's going to be a blast! I just want to go to Boracay although with the ferry sinking and the typhoon season still very much present, maybe not. We'll find out when we get there, as soon as we have our visa appointments sorted out.

Gabriel got another trophy for chess as the camp closed today. He told me he could play me and his dad at the same time, so once I get some spare time, we could do that. I'm not sure anymore if it was chess or boghouse he was referring to.

We had buffet lunch at Maxim's and we've decided we won't be going there for buffet lunch again. Their dimsum remains to be the favorite though (especially since we don't know of any other place that serve chicken feet and spare ribs).

Wii Rockband and new food

We've been so busy playing Rockband the past couple of days. The only rest I had last Sunday was when we went to church and I worked some on a document that I sent out to a client. Other than that, we were rockin'-away. It's so much fun, I fully recommend!

We have no plans for July 4th yet, but we'll figure something out. It's going to be a long weekend, 4th being a Friday. Maybe take advantage of a good sale, but at this point, we can't fit anything anymore in our tiny apartment.

I need to cut Gabriel's hair, but he insists that today is not the day. Maybe I can convince him a bit later. He's now reading his Bible and so I don't want to stop him from doing that.

Now that I've sent the document I was supposed to do for a client, I'm freer to think about our travel to Manila. I'm so excited, I get to see family and I get to eat Filipino food again! Yahoo.

Speaking of food, we tried out Maxim's in Richardson twice last week. We had dimsum: siomai, spare ribs, chicken feet! It will be the restaurant to go to just to get our dimsum fix. I've been in Dallas for 3 years, and this is the first Chinese restaurant where we had dimsum, imagine that! So we definitely are going back.

There's another new restaurant which we tried last week: Sushi Sake. We dined there with Renee and Kevin and we had fun. We are probably going back there again, and although it's a little bit pricey, the hand-rolled spicy tuna was great!

Leon and Blue

Have you met Leon and Blue? Blue is Gabriel's code name for the radio while Leon is Jojo's. There's a story that goes with Leon's name (for sure). So when we were thinking up of names to name our bikes, I picked Valentine (because it's red). Well, Jojo insisted to call his Schwinny de Leon. His bike is a 21-speed Schwinn. Haha. Come on, I know you're laughing too!

So while thinking of a code, we were in our bedroom where the bikes are propped against the wall. Jojo couldn't think up of a name, so Gabriel volunteered, "How about Leon, Dad?" And you should hear Gabriel say that, it's sounds like Lee-Yon. And Jojo definitely did not pronounce it like that, but your rather typical pinoy pronunciation.

Which brings me to another story. One day, Jojo and Gabriel were talking about watching Kung Fu Panda. Naturally, Jojo pronounced Kung Fu like koong foo. So Gabriel was beside himself with laughter... I asked him why. He merely said, "Dad, it's not koong foo. It's k-ugh-ng foo (or kang foo, I'm not sure what spelling is more accurate)." The three of us laughed so hard after that.

We're raising an American.

Still busy but at least finding time to write

The weekend was a blast, well, at least for Gabriel. Saturday, we went and took him to back-to-back parties, where he had so much fun. In one of the parties, he was able to see his classmates after a week out of school, and he was able to experience the Big Kahuna! Hold your horses, nothing too much to be excited about. This is a waterslide setup right in the backyard, but it was huge, and kids his age were bounced right to a puddle of water below. Cool!

Here's an image if your imagination is a little faulty this time of day.



And then Sunday for Father's Day, we accidentally met up with a couple of friends in our favorite restaurant for lunch. We also took a dip in the pool, and it feels so good to be able to do that as it was really hot and humid.

Travels and being sick

I was in Phoenix the first half of the week and going back to Dallas, I may have caught a bug on the plane. I woke up at 5am Wednesday morning very sick, sore throat + fever. I thought I could fight it off, so I started to work in the morning, did a couple of conference calls. Then at noon, bam! it hit me. I was freezing to death in Dallas spring weather and my joints were starting to ache so much. My muscles too. And did I mention that I vomited during the next two days? Eeew.

The next day, Jojo took me to the clinic and after waiting for 2 hours, I was diagnosed with throat infection and got prescribed with 10 days of twice daily antibiotics. I thought I felt better after that, but my voice have not recovered and certainly not my body. Still, I had so much work to do, so I found myself engaged in calls and working, rather typing away on Friday. I really did not have any choice. People depended on me.

What is the worst part of being sick? I don't know but I sure don't like the whole idea. People who've seen me sick can attest to this. Haha. I cry, I'm so emotional I would cry if you so much look at me. So no eye contact when I'm sick, ok? My colleagues said I sounded terrible, which I probably did. And you can forget about how I look. I could wear the same clothes for 3 days, if only they're not soaked with sweat. And did I already mention crying? I cry all the time.

Gabriel was the nicest boy ever. He would tell me over and over, "Mom, I'm just here ok? If you feel anything bad, let me know, ok?" And he would pat my back in the bathroom while I do the nasty stuff, and tell me he loves me. Ok, so after the bathroom incident, he told me, "Mommy, when you were vomiting, I almost puked too. It almost makes me vomit to see others doing it." Poor baby.

And Jojo, he was laughing half of the time. Which made me cry all the more. But the other half, he was taking care of me and doing everything for me. Thanks hon. I owe you.

Lazy Sunday

The family just stayed home this Sunday. Gabriel watched the Heart concert on TV and was earnestly waiting for Barracuda to be played. Now he and Jojo are working on completing the South America map.

I, on the other hand, have been doing some cleaning. Now, I'm just surfing the web. This is nice, no pressure to do anything.

For the past week, my thoughts have been filled with going home to Manila. We've already made the visa appointments to renew our visa, we've been checking out tickets and flights, we've been looking at making additional trips while there (just one really, Boracay). And I need to make a list of all the restaurants that we need to go to while we're there for the brief time that we've scheduled to be there.

So busy.

I've been looking at the photobooks that we've created and deciding which one to bring back. Almost makes me sad to think that there are more pictures and memories than photobooks, but there's just not enough time to make them. I hope I manage to make a couple more before the trip, but it does seem highly unlikely. I've got so much stuff to do at work that I would rather just play the Wii whenever I'm at home.

I need to prepare for my trip to Phoenix tomorrow so I guess I'll see you later. Have fun!

Good food and friends

The weekend has been good.

Last Friday, I finally got to meet Jojo's friend, George, who visited Dallas with his Tita Dulce and Tito Ped. It was great! We had lobster buffet at Plano, which was enjoyed by all. We spent the whole night eating and drinking, and the next day, more of the same, without the drinking. Haha. We had lunch at Bistro B and that was a hit. Even Gabriel finished his Com Thit Nuog Xa (grilled pork with fried egg).

Sunday was just spent at home, after going to church and lunching at Bangkok City. Played the Wii, and also managed to sort clothes that will need to be shipped to Manila.

Oh, and I did color my hair! It's now yellow - eeew! But I like it, and Gabriel says I'm now officially a rockstar! Well, I'll take that as a compliment since we try so hard with Guitar Hero. We love Wii! And we can't wait for Wii Rockband to arrive. Mental note to pre-order in Amazon before it goes out.

I'll see you later.

How are you?

So this is what my blog looks like. Haha. Guilty as charged! I've been away and now, I've come back to blog for good.

Much has happened in the past and I hope I remember all of them and write them down. For now, I will write about what's been keeping me busy of late. I've been doing a project that has kept me off my blog for a long time, but you know that already.

I'm taking the latter part of the day off, going to Gabriel's school for Field Day and then much later, meeting my secret pal. The school has this (secret pal stuff) set up so that the teachers may have a chance to get a surprise gift here and there, and especially on special occasions. I think this is a good idea for motivation, although I am guilty of not paying too much attention to the gift-giving. Haha. I did not forget about special occasions though, or should I say, Jojo did not forget to get her something. I must admit, I'm really bad at this. At least, I am here today and will meet her this afternoon. What fun!

I almost did not make it because I had a flight yesterday bound for Phoenix. However, flights were cancelled due to bad weather so I'm here. A little side note here, I was in a conference call working from home, when Jojo's tornado-alert gadget went off! Of course the folks on the call asked me what it was, and I had to tell them it's the tornado alert. Turns out, it was not, but instead was a flashflood-alert. Not a good thing either, but I guess I was warned. So flights were cancelled whole day yesterday.

I haven't spoken to my mom in ages, so I plan to call her soon. I remember just last week, Gabriel was telling all our friends that he liked Mommy's sunny-side-up eggs better. He said it was different from how I do it. So I probably need to ask her if she has any other secret ingredient other than salt! Gabriel misses her so much and told me that he wished she was back here.

We also managed to clean Gabriel's bedroom last Saturday. Whew, it was a full-time job but with the 3 of us helping out, we were done by mid-day. Now that his room is clean, I have to say it looks real nice.

So I better get back to work, but I hope I find time to blog later. I miss you too!

Toronto, Canada

So I've been here in Toronto for a couple of days now. Yesterday was busy with work, we were in meetings from 8am, and of course I had to meet Renee even before that so we had breakfast in the lobby at 7.

What can I say about the city? Really have not seen much of it except the 7 blocks we walked from the Novotel Hotel to Sheppard Ave. It does have the look of being provincial but not really, if you know what I mean. Today I'm meeting Renee at 8 for breakfast so I better get going then.

I did talk to Lyn who I haven't seen since college. She said if I wasn't doing anything on the weekend, they'd like to show me around. Tita Norma remembered me from years ago and I heard is also excited to see me. That's nice!

I'll blog soon enough.

Christian in the office

I'm in the office today, second time this week since I have been keeping strange hours the past few days because of this crazy work schedule that has fallen into my lap.

Anyway, Christian, Diana's 4-year-old came to the office with her. So we were having fun, and I guess we got pretty loud because Michael had to shut us up. Haha.

And I suddenly felt this urge to blog and only then realized that I haven't in such a long time. So you've been missing a lot of what has been going on in my life lately, I guess. I hope to be able to get the time to get you caught up.

Let's see. Last Friday, Gabriel spent the night at Joel's and I heard it was a blast. Jojo and I, in the meantime, had a great time at Diana's party and I get to try some new stuff that I've never before tried in my life. Well, there's always room for a first-time, right? Like I already said, it was a great party and we met a few cool people over there too. No time wasted.

Saturday, Joel and Paolo decided to come with us to see Gabriel play soccer. Their team lost but the important here is the kids had fun. So, we tried to tell Gabriel that. The kids played some at home before going home.

On Sunday after church, we bought some fish and crawfish and liempo, so we had a feast over at Anne's. We truly enjoyed it. It was my first time to like eating crawfish. One batch we cooked using the boil we bought which was a Louisiana favorite. The other batch we cooked in gata. Yummy!

And then the next update is, I will be going over to Canada on Sunday for a 2-week client workshop. It will be a long one and I will truly miss my boys. But I'm thinking there will probably be more time to blog over there than here. So see you again soon.

A phone call can change your whole schedule

So it has happened again that a phone call completely and drastically changes the day, or in this case the evening, for us. I just received the good news that Jan will now be able to get out of the hospital. In the meantime, his kids are at home on their own, so they asked us if it's possible to go and accompany the kids while the nanny goes home for the weekend. I readily agreed, of course, knowing that some of the other plans that we now have will get affected by it. But, I'll do what I want to do, and this time, I want to help out in as much as I can.

I'm right now waiting outside of Gabriel's building while he finishes his violin lessons. Then the fun starts! We'll take him to Joel's for the sleep over and head on out to Frisco. Hopefully, we'll still be able to make it to Diana's birthday party in Plano, but it won't be a big problem if we don't. Besides, the party doesn't start till 8pm, and there's plenty of time between now and then. I heard Jan is just waiting for paperwork to get done, and then he can leave. All is set.

I'm so happy. This is after all, good news. I'm sure Jan won't be back to work soon, but I know his recovery will be fast and smooth.

I was at Kohl's yesterday buying a present for Diana (yeah right, ended up buying a present for me!). Suddenly, they was power outage and after about 10 minutes, we were all asked to leave the store. There were real nice about it though, so there was no cause of complaints. Only that I left the store empty-handed. Haha.

By the way, since I want to say that the battery power of this Dell latitude 620 is better than my last one. It probably lasts a couple of hours at least. Still, this is a loaner laptop and I shouldn't get too attached.

Finally, last night we received word that Jojo's uncle, Tito Nonie, passed away while at the hospital. It's a difficult time and Jojo knows that my sympathies and prayers goes out to the whoel family.

Too tired and beautiful

I'm swamped! It's 11pm and I'm still working, what's wrong with me?

But it's never-ending work in sight and I need a break!

I guess I just wanted to tell you that.

No coke on Dell laptops

So one morning, I was working from home and drinking coke. I accidentally spilled it on my laptop and guess what? My laptop died. Like instantly. I immediately unplugged the power cable and Jojo tried to help me dry it, but didn't work. That same day, I found myself using a loaner laptop and having no access to archived email and no back up files from my hard drive. Shannon said that she'd had water spilled on laptops before with no problems, and I told her, if it's any consolation, it's diet coke.

I'm still using a loaner laptop. And it does seem like I'll be using it for quite sometime, until I get my upgrade. I hope it will be soon as I want to customize the settings and what-have-you to suit my taste. I did get my archived email and some back up files though.

It has been a relatively relaxing weekend. We were able to bike around White Rock Lake again and it was pleasant, except for the little body aches. I have to say, I like biking. Wish there are more days. My only complaint now is the grip and hopefully we'll find some type of gel-solution to wrap around the handle without affecting the gear control.

Well obviously, we worked up an appetite after the workout, so I hurriedly cooked dinner for us three. I asked Jojo to put the quail in the oven, and sauteed some shrimp with coke. Gabriel loved the shrimp and ate almost the entire serving. I on the other hand, feasted on the quail as usual.

I got a call from my aunt today who lives in New York while we were out visiting with Jan in the hospital. It was nice getting caught up with family.

To end the day, I baked strawberry cheesecake. Hope it's good. I'll let you know.

Gate F79, Tampa Bay Airport

I was waiting in line in security, thinking whether to take out my laptop first, or my ziploc of cosmetics. The kind of troubles you face when you travel, and you never get used to. Or maybe it's just me. I think to myself whether, 30 years from now, I'll remember this feeling of routine as I go through the motion. Take out my shoes, my coat. Get my driver's license out, but remember to put it back in. Check out the gate I'm departing from before wandering off. Hearing the plane's engine as it pulls into the gate. Looking at people - blank stares, chatting on the phone, reading a book, sleeping.

Attention please, this is your final boarding call...

I travel a lot. Maybe not as much as some people at work, but definitely more than most people I know - family and friends included. Sometimes I ask myself, do I like to travel? And always the answer is yes. But sometimes, the yes is followed immediately by I'd like it better if I travel with family.

When I travel for work, I seldom get the chance to bring my family along. I actually kid myself. Only once did it happen that my family was with me, while I happen to be traveling for work, and that was when we traveled to Phoenix. I'd like for that to happen again, but it's not common and not inexpensive. And there's Gabriel's schedule to consider as well. So no, it doesn't happen often.

My plane just arrived and I look at the people getting out. Anxious, smiley, serious faces. Jeans, coat and tie, flip-flops and high heels. Strollers, wheelchair, elderly, teenagers. The business man, a family going home (or vacationing, I don't know really). People on the phone.

I'm so used to it now. It's common. But I wonder, will it be something I will miss when I travel no more?

Time to board. I'll see you soon.

Not just April, also the weekend

Happy birthday, Ate April!

Wow, I have not blogged for quite some time. That wasn't a plan, it just happened like that. And in the meantime, there's so much that has happened so let me tell you before I forget.

Last weekend, Friday night, Vangie and the kids slept at our place. Jan had to go back to get intensive care and so we tried to make it up to the kids and have them play the Wii. We also sampled Diana's macaroni with ham and cheese, and it was ok. Not as tasty as I would have liked though.

Saturday, Gabriel had another chess tournament and he won second place. Another trophy for him, yehey! He's really doing a good job, and we certainly know now how serious a player he is. Even with the knowledge that there are 4 kids in our house whom he can play with the whole morning, he chose to compete. We're so proud of him. He knows his priorities.

After the tourney, we went to his soccer game. They lost but no biggie. I'm just glad he's enjoying himself. And because he's been wanting to go watch Horton Hears a Who forever, we went to Studio Movie Grill both for the movie and the food. I liked the ribs better than the movie, is all I can say.

Sunday, after hearing mass, we accidentally bumped into Anne's family in Linens N' Things. As we were on our way to lunch then, they decided to join us in Best Buffet. Then, we talked about trying out the bike trail in Rowlett Creek Preserve while the kids play Wii. I liked the trail, at least what little I saw. I only did Loop 1 because Aileen wanted to go back feeling that her bike is not up to par to mountain biking. We went home after dinner and had a wonderful time just spending time with them.

A whole new different schedule

The past few days were like completely different from the regular days I used to have. I would consider myself conscientious, but just yesterday, I missed a call that has been sitting on my calendar for the longest time. The Pub meeting. It just totally slipped my mind.

And today, after one of the participants dropped from a conference call, I asked out loud who dropped out, knowing full well that it's highly unlikely that person will be able to answer. I had to laugh at myself. I knew others were laughing at my stupidity too. But I don't mind, I'm not myself.

In the meantime, there's work to be done. More work than I bargained for really but there's no getting out of it. I can only do my best and pray for success. I need to be working with a bunch of people I've never worked with before so I am being very cautious about it. And the right-hand-not-talking-to-the-left-hand is totally not working for my benefit. But it does seem that this is the way they're doing it and I just have to make sure I know both sides of the story. No, I don't want to be caught in the middle, but I do want to keep my eyes open.

I wish we can get away for a few days and get some sun. I feel exhausted. I'm thinking the whole emotional rollercoaster ride is getting to me after 5 days. I'm thinking about my son who must be tired to be going to the hospital all the time.

But here's a diversion. Tomorrow is Elastic Day once again and for the first time, I'm bringing something I'm making. That should give me some sense of relaxation after all that we've been through these past few days.

I know, even my writing is affected. You're bored. You want to see some action and perhaps a little bit of fun.

I want that too.

Change of pace

I must admit, I have been slacking at work a little bit. And I do not mean that intentionally, however, I missed going to the office today and totally forgot about an internal call that I should have been in on at noon. I had early calls this morning which I managed to join, and then prepared to go to work, deciding to drop by the hospital to visit with Jan. I brought my laptop, thinking I can work there, but the news that he has finally left the Intensive Care Unit was just so big. I decided I'm going to stay for awhile and visit, and then get on home to work a little more. So that's what I did.

As soon as I came online, there were hundreds of instant messages at once. Everyone wants to know how Jan is doing, and I am just so happy to bring them all the good news.

It's funny how something like this changes your perspective in life. You see and value your friendship more, and yet realize that these friendships are in fact built from your career or work-network. So I just want to say to all my colleagues out there, I value you!

Monday updates and visits to the hospital

Ever since Saturday, my whole family's lifestyle has changed. From either work or school, we go to visit with Jan and Vangie in the hospital. Today, I visited twice because I accompanied Michael and Diana to the hospital, and then later on during the day with family.

My time at the office was mostly giving updates to everyone who wanted to know how Jan was doing. I managed to squeeze in some work time, and even managed to cancel my flight for Philly (which should have been tomorrow). Good thing too because its value would have been lost had I not done that. Phew.

On another note, I was able to call mom to greet her a Happy Easter. I think she wasn't too pleased with me, as I have not been able to call her for quite sometime. Still, we talked and I hope she has forgiven me for not calling. I told her she, too, can pick up the phone and call me, if she misses me enough. Haha. Excuses, excuses.

I guess without me realizing it, my body was tired. I did not mean to sleep early but I did.

Happy Easter!

God is the greatest!

Yesterday was a tough day for us emotionally. I got a call from my boss' wife letting me know that Jan was in the hospital and is needing surgery. We went to the hospital as soon as we can and was able to see Jan before he was brought to the theater. We'll see you in a bit, Jan, was all we said.

The rest of the day until midnight was spent at the hospital with Jan's family.

Today, I called the hospital and they've said he woke up about 10 minutes before I called and the nurse on duty said he was doing great. Awesome, in fact, was the word she used. So I immediately informed Vangie and we'll be seeing her soon.

It's Rome's birthday today. I didn't even realize it until I opened my Outlook. And I was already on the phone with her this morning talking about Jan. Nonetheless, I know I will be forgiven. Happy birthday, Rome!

Too bad we will miss Chloe's baptism today, but something much more important has come up. We're the only family Vangie has right now.

Visita iglesia

I was going to take Friday off so we can go visita iglesia. But Jojo has convinced me it should be on Holy Thursday so I guess we're going tonight. I'll need to plot the 7 churches within the day, on top of everything else that I need to do for work. Let's see how I manage that.

I went with Diana and Shannon to Target during lunch break. I ended up buying stuff for the house, that I think will sit nicely under the frame we bought at Michaels yesterday. It's a relatively short 3-tier bookcase, but I also bought a wicker basket where I think we can put our weekly ad thingies. I'll see how it looks and decide if we're going to keep it. If not, we can always return.

After-office shopping

I bought a new dress for Easter Sunday. We're also invited to luncheon at the Francois, so it's double the worth. I like it a lot, it's yellow. Gabriel picked it out and said it's sunshine-y.

I saw this hobo bag by Jessica Simpson at the mall. I couldn't make up my mind whether to buy it or not. But here I sit, still thinking about it. You think I should go back and buy it? It's brown. I don't have a brown purse. The last purse I bought was at one of the airport shops in one of the cities I was in last year. It's a red Tommy Hilfiger. I don't know if it's obvious enough but I'm actually helping myself reason out why I need to buy the purse.

(PostScript): I don't know why I bother, it has always been rule of thumb for me that when I'm still thinking about something after one day, it's worth it. So yes, I'm going to buy it later.

Rainy day on Tuesday

The weather is awful. It's been raining all day and a few thunderstorms broke out. We even had a few seconds of power outage, but that has been managed rather quickly. I'm glad. I don't mind the dark at night, but when you expect light during the day and you don't get it, I feel rather ill at ease.

Today, we go to Gabriel's school to talk with the teacher in one of those one-on-one meetings. We just received Gabriel's school card, and I must say the grades are pretty familiar. Hahaha. All rated sections are E [for excellent], and there doesn't seem to be any trouble in school at all. I'm a proud momma.

I realized that we do not have the equal number of magnets (on the fridge) as the shotglass on the shelf. This is due to the fact that I stopped buying fridge magnets when we decided to collect shotglasses. Now, I'm thinking maybe continue on with the magnets as well. We'll see how the budget goes. Perhaps we're at the stage now where we have most shotglasses anyway, so that means I only need to buy magnets.

We played Friends Scene-It dvd game yesterday (yes, the 3 of us including Gabriel). I won, of course.

We've also collected quite a few dvds, and I saw some unopened ones which I will want to take a look at in the next few days. I'll get to that later, and perhaps add a review section here (I've always wanted to be a movie critic).

Almost like rain

The weather forecast is thunderstorms at 3pm today, and the day began very gloomy and dark. But not one drop of rain has fallen yet. Maybe I should be going home. I will soon enough.

I get home and my boys aren't home yet. Turns out they made a quick stop at Wolf Camera and Panda Express.

Hey, I'm looking at this digital frame that's still sitting on my desk (and I think I have decided more than a week ago to send it back to Amazon). I probably should be taking care of that so I can check that on my mental list of things to do.

I also need to run a couple of errands, go grocering and shopping for shoes.

Patrick's last day

And so we got on Diana's car for lunch and headed to Angry Dog. To be expected though, the Dog was full and we decided we couldn't wait and ambled on to St Pete's Dancin' Marlin. I had fish and chips which was forgettable. Diana said the tuna steak sandwich was very good, so I sure know which one to try out next time.

I need a visa for Canada so I will take care of that first thing next week. Looks like the rest of the month (March) and April will be full. Such is life, eh? See, I can do the Canada accent already!

I managed to get a lot of things done today, and I'm glad. I'm still singing the song from watching the Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon video clip, so that certainly puts a smile on your face. It's just so hilarious. I couldn't still make up my mind which one is funnier - that or the response by Jimmy Kimmel and Ben Affleck. Find it in YouTube if you're interested. It will make your day.

Knock, knock. Who's there? I'm Fu. I'm Fu who?

Time for Tiff's Treats now. So I'll see you again later.

Hanging at the FSD airport

Today of all days - I decided to go to the airport early to perhaps try my luck in getting an early flight out. Instead I was informed that the flight to Chicago was cancelled and that I have been re-routed through to Denver to my final destination, Dallas. I tried to disagree, but really, there was no other choice and she couldn't route me anywhere else. Like I said before, Sioux Falls is quite rural. If you miss the flight, then you stay the night. I wasn't up to staying another night here. No thank you.

Whoa! What was that? I have to check.

4 fighter planes (don't ask me to describe the body of the plane, but remember Top Gun? The rear of them planes looked exactly like those in the movie. Yeah, flames and all. And that's why I deduced those were fighter planes.) just flew out one after the other right outside terminal 5 of FSD. Definitely not commercial planes... the loud noise reverberated through the small airport.

Cool... I just saw a few birds flying in the direction that the planes took. And immediately the thoughts start whirring and I imagined if they could ever catch up. Nah.

Oh, by the way, I have confirmed trips for Philadelphia on the 25th of this month, and then tentatively flying to Tampa on Apr 3rd.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Sioux Falls is rural. Everything is within 10-minute distance from the airport and the people are warm.

The meetings with the client went well and now I can relax a bit and not worry about any report just yet. It was a working lunch and so that meant there is not much good things to be said about it, except that the sandwich wasn't bad at all. And I did have a chocolate-chip cookie, which only made me miss Tiff's snickerdoodles (sugar with cinnamon cookies).

Although I brought the camera with me, I haven't taken any pictures yet. Yes, it is my first time in Sioux Falls, but again there's really nothing extraordinary. And it's not like I have a lot of time outside. I got in pretty late last night (past 10pm) and was out early for 8:15am meetings. Tonight, I may just have dinner down at the lobby. I'm not sure yet whether Sadhik (who I met for the first time today) will be joining me, he said he'll give me a call at around 7pm.

I'll probably head early to the airport to buy the usuals - magnet and shotglass.

I'm just writing as the thoughts come into my head. I know that there were a couple of items that I wanted to write about, but now that I'm online and actually writing, they've escaped me.

Date on Friday and the rest of the weekend

Last Friday, I decided to take some personal time off and went out with my husband. We first went to a couple of Borders Music Store to look (and buy) some board games that were on sale. Then off we went to watch a movie, Vantage Point at Cinemark. The movie was not bad but it wasn't good either.

We had lunch at a chinese buffet restaurant nearby, and although we probably won't be going there again, it wasn't bad. We certainly had worse (read: Loop 12 Buffet in Dallas). But the Best Buffet in Plano have already set the bar for us as far as chinese buffets go. There was a time when we pretty much go there every weekend for the crabs. We don't anymore but this year alone, we've probably gone 4 times already. So it's getting to be a trend again.

We picked up Gabriel in school and headed towards Dick's Sporting Goods to go looking for heelys. Unfortunately, none were available so while I took a quick nap in the car, Jojo drove by Best Buy to buy extra dance mats for DDR.

The weekend was pretty much uneventful for us. We stayed home, bonded, and I made blueberry cheesecake again. We visited with Aileen's family Sunday night (Gabriel practically begged us to go). So even though I've already had a glass of strawberry margarita, we still went. We ended up staying till almost 11pm and because it was the kids' spring break, it wasn't a biggie.

A different side of Texas

It's March in Texas, and it's snowing! I'm not kidding. The snow flakes are too real and temperature too cold to joke about. I'm actually working off of Jan's home office today, and I called Jojo to pick me up instead of me driving home with Michael. And the reason? Because I would love for Gabriel and Jojo to experience snow falling on their heads. The snow in Arizona was already on the ground. It was deep, it was cold, but no actual snow fell on our heads then.

This will be a first for them. I hope they get here in time.

(Post Script): They were in time for light snow, and we had fun making a snowman! Will be posting pictures soon.

Travels and Amazon puchases

There seems to be a lot of projects that will start this month, and after the trip to South Dakota next week, I have travels lined up for Philadelphia, Florida, Minneapolis, and Amsterdam. So listed in order of priority and then percentage of chance that I'll be going. Small chance of going to Amsterdam though, too bad.

I was disappointed to receive the digital frame that I ordered in Amazon, which means to say I will be returning the item as I am not particularly happy. As a consumer, I have a right to be satisfied and if not, then I will exercise my consumer right to return the product. I haven't done this yet with an online purchase though, so let's try my luck.

On the other hand, I also got my DDR game today and have actually tried a few songs. Not the best that I imagined I could do (in my sleep!) but with practice and perseverance and a lot of sweat, I will conquer. I just know it. I need to pick up another dance mat though. Whoever is brave enough to go against me can do so at their expense. Of course, at the rate I'm going now, they'll probably have the last laugh!

I also just discussed the renewal of my visa here in the US with my boss, and it does seem like we will be traveling back to Manila to get the visa stamp as soon as the visa is approved. Maybe not as soon as, but it definitely means that when I travel out of the country after the visa expires, I will have to go get the visa stamped before I could come back. This actually is good news because that means I would get to visit Manila soon! The bad news is, I'm not sure we are financially prepared for this. I still haven't talked to Jojo about it (as I've just found out myself) but I'm guessing we're gonna have to cross the bridge when we get there?

It's quiet in here

I'm in the office and it seems pretty quiet. Maybe it's the weather (it's chilly today with a foreboding promise of snow by 6pm). Which means I'll be out of here earlier than usual to avoid the rush hour. 5pm and rain just don't mix well in a city full of highways.

Can't believe the weekend's over, it's just too soon! And what's this I hear that it's March already? That was quick.

My friend and colleague, Patrick, just tendered his resignation effective 2 weeks from today. I wish him good luck and it does seem like he's going to be getting some. He got an awesome deal from a previous employer, so it won't be so much like he's going to be moving on to completely new things.

St Bernard

I keep forgetting to tell y'all about the time when I told Gabriel that I like St Bernards (yes, the dog). We were on our way to the Grand Canyon when we stopped for a quick snack in Mickey D's. I saw a girl with a St Bernard and hastily pointed out to Gabriel that it was the breed that I really liked. He looked at the dog and then at me, and said, "That's a pony, mom."

Well, it was huge. Hahaha.

Hunt for the DDR

Woke up and showered just in time to take Gabriel to CCD. Then our hunt for the Dance Dance Revolution began in Circuit City. No dice. Back to church for Sunday mass and afterwards lunch buffet in Plano. Just us but it was fun times.

Then we probably went to all the closest Circuit Citys and Best Buys in the DFW metroplex, trying to look for the video game. We weren't lucky and finally decided to call it a day and went home (just before 5pm).

But the day did not end there - we cleaned the apartment. I'm glad we did, now everything's clean and organized. Well almost everything anyway. At some point, we just sat down.

And oh, I've ordered DDR in Amazon. They'll deliver it on Wednesday.

Headache

I still couldn't sleep and I still have the headache. We were out last night drinking and didn't go home till the wee hours of the morning. It was a great night though, a lot of fun. Meghna and Jan combined is just a riot, and with Jojo with them... pure entertainment! The highlight of the evening was when everyone started talking about a monkey's digits. You should have been there, it was hysterical.

Then we all had to get out of bed earlier than I would have wanted for Gabriel's first soccer game for the spring season. As Gabriel said, "I can't be late, mom. Wake up!" He's really focused. They won, yahoo!

I had to call Patrick to cancel because I was in no mood to socialize, but couldn't get out of Joel's birthday party so we went. We did make it back home early.

The past couple of days is tiresome. I hope I get to slow down a bit tomorrow.

Impulse buying and dad's death anniversary

Who of you knows how it feels to go inside a store, not really intending to buy anything but manages to walk away with a bagful of goodies? Oh, I just feel defeated as I thought I've already kicked the habit, but I guess not. Once a shopper, always a shopper?

Remembering dad and how he was when he was still with us. I was not able to go to church, not even to light a candle, but I did say a prayer for him. He was the best dad ever.

Blueberry cheesecake

I tried out a new recipe for blueberry cheesecake and it was good. I had some of it last night, and I'll be having some more tonight (unless Jojo finished it all). I actually asked my sister for her recipe but it turns out I may not have to use it. If you want to make your own, I will add the recipe for your reference later on. Come visit again.

Well, I'm really just waiting for the fire alarm to go off, and seeing that I didn't want to be engrossed in my work when that happens (we got the email alert about 5 minutes ago), I decided to relax a bit and blog.

Anyway, on to other things. I'm going to need to change my schedule for March as the trip to South Dakota will not be happening until March 11th. But taking care of this is easy enough as I will just need to call the travel agent and he will handle this from his end.

I've been watching American Idol Season 7 for the past several weeks and voting. Sweet huh?

White Rock Lake Bike Trail

We spent most part of the weekend by the White Rock Lake. Remember I told you about the mountain bikes? Well, we finally got a good break from winter, so we headed off to the lake. Saturday, Alan joined us. Gabriel still had his training wheels on at that time as we weren't sure he'd be able to do it without, but we were quite mistaken.

Sunday, more friends joined us and without Gabriel's training wheels, we made it all the way around the lake. Yup, all 9.2 miles of it. It was fun! I truly enjoyed it. The bike trail was very family-friendly, and the view of the lake was just awesome. There were geese, swans, and I'm sure there were other aquatic creatures that I did not recognize.

This spring, I'm seeing that we'll be spending a lot of time at the lake. Make good use of the bikes, and really, just spend the day outside enjoying the lake breeze, birds chirping, smell of the grass, and great food (that we'll tote with us in our picnic baskets).

In the meantime, it looks like the coming weekend will be cold. But we have made plans to be indoors already so it should not be a problem.

Vindaloovs. tandoori

We had buffet lunch at Taj Mahal today and for me, the beef vindaloo was way better than the chicken tandoori. I had to have second servings. The tikka masala was ok, and I really liked the mutter mushroom (I've never tried this dish before).

Anyway, our thoughts wandered to the meaning of Taj Mahal. Jojo said mahal should mean the same thing as in Filipino - love. I just checked online and it means Crown Palace or literally, the exalted one in the palace.

Our conversation also drifted to Asian restaurants in general, and how we don't have a good Filipino restaurant here in Dallas. We've tried a couple of restaurants before, but the not-so-nice thing about it is, it's turo-turo. So to those of you who understand, you know immediately that you get almost-cold food, matigas, and really that alone takes the fun out of eating. And we love to eat! So, we've crossed those out. If we don't find one, maybe we'll set up our own. (If only it were that simple.)

Booked on United

I don't remember the last time I was on United Airlines. I always fly American, or if going to Manila, it's always been Northwest for me. But AA doesn't fly to Sioux Falls. Anyway, most of my time after lunch was spent looking for a good flight in Orbitz, no non-stop flights sadly. And I didn't realize it was going to be harder than I thought. So I had to resort to going to our trusted travel agent to help me out. Five minutes on the call with Motty, and voila! all's done. He even took care of the hotel reservations.

Nice! So now, I'll be able to go back to work.

Uploaded new photos

I finally did it, I uploaded new set of photos from Houston, Galveston Island, Arizona, and a couple ones from MystiQal - the Dallas premier Mardi Gras. Now I haven't gone through each one and did not add any caption yet, so please bear with me. I won't be able to add them today so please don't expect. And oh by the way, I've uploaded tons of pictures so prepare to spend some time going through them.

So yes, definitely we had a lot of fun.

What else has been happening? We've been busy hanging out with friends mostly. We truly enjoy the company and Gabriel is able to spend more time with kids his age (more or less). He's still bugging us about getting a baby brother or sister for his 8th birthday, which at the rate of things, is not going to happen. But it will in a couple of years, I hope.

We're double-booked for Mar 1st, which isn't pleasant and I kinda have a feeling we'll be missing one of them. We agreed to a game night at Patrick's (a colleague) prior to being invited to Joel's (Gabriel's best bud) 8th birthday party. It's tricky because Joel's party starts early (5pm) and Patrick's at 7pm. I don't think we can wiggle out after 2 hours, but we'll do our best, for sure. Gabriel has already asked me to tell Pat to re-schedule the game night. Haha, like that's ever gonna happen.

Photobooks

I've been waiting for the photobooks to arrive the whole day, the suspense is killing me. However, it's the end of the day and still the UPS guy is a no-show. So I should take this as a sign and accept that I will get the books tomorrow, not today. And I was so looking forward.

Today is a happy day, I was able to catch up with 3 of my colleagues early in the morning, and in the afternoon, I was able to chat with Madie. It's always a pleasure and I hope we'll get the chance again sometime soon. Thank you for your time, Madie!

I also got an offline message from my sister in New Zealand who I haven't spoken to for quite sometime. The message, although very brief and made no mention of how she was doing, was so welcome since it reminded me so much of the way she is. Which reminds me, I still have not responded to my other sister who also left me a message on my phone. I should be doing that now.

(Postscript: Btw, the photobooks arrived past 6pm.)

Income tax filing and surf & turf

For the third year in a row, I have completed my US "resident" duty in filing my annual tax returns. This year was different though since my family was with me the entire year, and we are able to file as a family unit. Once our residency here is more permanent, in other words once we get our green cards, we will need to revisit the previous years to make sure we are in accordance with the IRS regulations.

I am cooking halabos na hipon and in about 20 minutes, the baked ribs will be done. For dinner tonight, surf and turf it is! I am expecting the two boys anytime now since Gabriel's private violin lesson finishes at 6pm. So they should be on their way home.

Finally, I had time to print some photos for the frames on our coffee table that have been sitting empty for quite sometime (I picked one from Sedona and the other from Grand Canyon). We've also got the large prints going, and I am thinking that this week, we'll have them hanging on our wall. I will take a picture of this new project of ours so you'll see them soon.

And I know, I have constantly said I will add more pictures here - and I fully intend to fulfill this promise. Very soon... please be patient. There's just so many things to do and not enough time.

I'll see you later.

Most romantic day ever

Valentine's Day, in my book, has never been special. I mean, yeah there were the flowers, the candies, the concerts... these were commonplace. So ordinary. Today was special and very different. Today was from the heart.

I woke up to a dozen red roses arranged in my vase, on my home desk. Then I had to hurry to work for a 9am call and so forgot all about V-day until it was time to go home. I called Jojo to pick me up and you know how someone sounds when you catch him doing something not ordinary? Well, that's exactly how he sounded like. So I kept asking where he has been until he finally admitted. He was looking for ingredients to what would be our Valentine dinner at home.

And quite amazingly, he pulled it off. He made miso salmon and it was quite good. I loved it. And he even set up the table with flowers and candles and dimmed the lights. And since Gabriel fell asleep early tonight, we just let him. And we enjoyed our dinner and even got to watch a movie afterwards.

I'm telling you, this day means the world to me. I'll never forget it.

p.s. I'll be adding a recipe page to my blog so you can try the miso salmon. Not tonight though so visit some other time. Cheers!

Working from home

Nowadays, the concept of working from home is very common. And it's not the same as bringing work to your home (which begins after you've done your hours in the office), but actually starting and ending your workday from home.

And I like it. It gives me the liberty to work in my jammies (or ok, shorts even) and my tank top, and not mind taking calls as early as 7am. After all, I won't be driving to work so I can postpone the bath for later in the day.

Even better than that, I can also cook breakfast while thinking about an email, mentally taking down notes on how to compose my response before electronically sending them out. In fact, I can even watch a little bit of tv while I edit documents, focusing on the documentation of course and not the horrible remarks being given out by Simon Cowell as the dvr-recorded American Idol is on.

My only complaint would be the lack of interaction between colleagues, sharing a story here and there as you take your lunch, looking at e-photos of their family displayed as wallpaper on their desktops on your way back to your cube. Yes, I have a corner cube and although it lacks the privacy of closed doors, I don't mind. I'm inspired to work even harder to get the much wanted corner office with a view someday. I'm still young.

Besides, I travel a lot. So I'm not even there most of the time.

Life has been good to me. And to my family. I'm very grateful. Thank you, God.

Creating a photobook

I've decided to work on a new project: creating a photobook. Jojo had already created one for our Michigan trip and I used that as a pattern of sorts to organize our photo collection in San Antonio. I've actually thought of buying a scrapbook (I've more than toyed with the idea, I bought a scrapbook only to return it the following day). And then realized that the times and the technology have changed, so I should be more adaptive to using them to my advantage.

And I have. I've created one for San Antonio (took me all of 3 days) and today I started working on Galveston Island and Houston.

I'll just order them at the same time. Once I receive the photobooks, I'll share them with you. Don't worry, it shouldn't be long now.

(Postscript) I've already ordered the 2 photobooks, but as I've only selected standard shipping and processing (cost-effective), it will take at least 10 business days to deliver.

Amazon books

I recently got the Amazon books I ordered online and realized that I need to schedule some time to read them. I bought Persuasion by Jane Austen and The Color of Water by James McBride. Both considered a classic in their own rights, I believe. I've skimmed through both books and know for certain that the one by Austen will pose a challenge to me. Having said that, I have managed to read the trilogy by Tolkien so it's a challenge I'm willing to take on.

Which reminds me, I still have to read A Thousand Splendid Suns which has been on my top list to read for quite a number of weeks now. And I haven't gotten to it yet.

Still on the topic of books, if you like reading and have the time, get a copy of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It's very inspiring and tugs at the heart. I remember my dad who I loved, and still love, dearly. If only I have the chance to tell him once again how very much I appreciated everything that he has done for me. I love you, Daddy.