Nap Time Rocks!

family coffee

during those rare times that my family go out for coffee (since we usually don’t because my mom is one big fan of “cost efficiency” and besides, it’s not like you can’t brew coffee at home yourself that tastes as good as the commercialized ones), it usually ends up as a photo-whoring session with my 2 brothers as the stars.

you just gotta love these moments. and now that we have another star in the making, the results are more than the usual kulitan.

my family and i don’t always get along. what with having someone like me in the brood is enough to make any mother wish for a barbie doll for a daughter instead. just kidding. i’ve been a fairly bad little girl but i do try to make amends every now and then; like coffee times like these, when i put on my best behavior and enjoy the company of those who accept my quirks unconditionally. you don’t get those quite often.

in times like these, i just say a thankful prayer to God that He gave me these people to spend life with, however flawed we all are and however hard it is for us to accept each others’ differences. it had been hard, and i figure it will never be easy, but it’s a challenge i’d be willing to take on anytime knowing that time on earth will always be short.

this is a self-check. next time we go out for dinner, ask them out to coffee.

the number 7

7

got a tag from chuckie and from bloghopping alone, seems like this is one challenging tag.

the mechanics: name 7 things about me that has something to do with the number “7″

my lucky number sevens are:

1. the letters of my last name number up to 7
2. my birth month falls on the seventh month of the year
3. i have 7 social network memberships (flickr, youtube, multiply, friendster, del.iciou.us, facebook, and imagini). i hope that counts

much as i try to think of all things seven in my life, it’s just really hard to. this blog post has been saved as a draft for 3 days now and i do not mean to keep it any longer lest it gets forgotten. sorry chuck! my mental capabilities are just not cooperating. and honestly, this is hard!

my name tag

got tagged also by ate pao to come up with the craziest names:

YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Cookies ‘n Cream Oatmeal (doesn’t sound gangsta at all, more like my name if i was part of the mickey mouse club)

YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
Icam

YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Orange Dog

YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Del Rosario Quezon City (is it just me or is this tag really just for those born other than the Philippines?)

YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Camir (now that’s a more acceptable)

SUPERHERO NAME (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Green Mango Juice

NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Cenon Alberto

STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Armani White Cadbury

WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names)
Marcelo Templonuevo (hahaha!)

HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Pan de Sal Acacia (my tree vocabulary is quite limited at this point)

YOUR PORN NAME: (First Pet + Name of street you grew up on)
Tetchie Bignay (hahaha ang panget)

let’s see your names then: patty (sorry for lots of tags, hehe), ate jen and kuya tops

the project

i recently joined a fellow blogger’s project to promote Pinoy bloggers. if you want to expand your blogging horizon, go check these people out (link above).

this is a project of Dexter of TechAtHand dot net.

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Tags: pinoybloggers

“Gold” in time-space warp

Gold – My Videos

this is a very belated post. it was a friend’s birthday a year ago last oct 30 and we were celebrating in makati and much to my embarrassment my friends were in the mood to be crazier than usual (of course that’s just an exaggeration, but you get the idea this is what happens when we’re all together, which is rare).

this is 2 of them trying to render “gold” in the most decent way possible. in time-space warp.

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the carnival

the carnival

i have never been fond of carousels. they just go round and round and round and round and round… you get the picture. but for the sake of making memories, i rode on it with mia, and pretended that it was just her and me in our own little world.

she enjoyed the ride, though, and didn’t even put up a fuss when the seahorse/dragon she was riding started bobbing up and down. she was enjoying the wind blowing on her cute little face and would touch the seahorse’s red mane (its having a mane is also a mystery to me), and she would smile at mommy.

but anyway for my brother’s 16th birthday, we spent the entire afternoon at the Global Fun Carnival at the area beside SM Mall of Asia. (It was called the Euro Carnival a year ago when it was first set up at the Fort).

and might i say that you only enjoy the best things in life given only 2 prerequisites: that you have the right companions to enjoy it with, and that you have the right attitude to enjoy it with. these 2 things i believe, i had when my brothers and i went to goof around in the giant inflated playgrounds.

good times.

sanfo caramel apples

i’ve been getting ready for mia’s first birthday and christmas, coming up with nice gifts to give away. fortunately, i came across this stall in robinsons’s galleria.

ingenious treats and they make nice gifts too. those coming to mia’s party are in for a nice surprise. i just hope they have special prices for bulk orders though.

tags!

aaah tags! i’ve got 2 but can’t find the time to answer them yet. mia’s being kulit again and nappy times are getting shorter. (i’m actually typing this post with one hand because mia’s sitting on my lap and nibbling on my usb cable) .

Cool inventions

this is pretty cool. how would you like a shoe drawer inside your staircase? or a minimalist ‘melted’ lamp to go on your sidetable? these cool inventions are so ingeniously funny and cute, you should see them for yourself.

how about a penguin teaboy or a straw to make your pucker much more dramatic?

compiled by zuza.

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New Species Found

there’s a weird little creature staring up an (equally strange) underwater camera lens and it’s not a bit shy. the surprise at finding each other was probably mutual as scientists plunged into the deepest parts of Celebes Sea.

A team of filipino-american scientists has discovered several unknown species in that remote sea south of sulu, and this square jawed semi-transparent fish is one of them.

“The animal’s deep red hue is actually common among these jellyfish, according to the Woods Hole team. Although it is not visible in the ocean’s dark depths, the color masks any bioluminescence given off by prey trapped inside the jellies’ guts.” -NGC

sinister. and that, my friend, puts the philippines on the map once again.

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Tags: ocean, celebes sea, sea creatures, national geographic channel

pagudpud

i remember going on a roadtrip with my friends in summer last year. (i don’t remember blogging anything about it, so here’s my more-than-a-year belated post). we went all the way to the northernmost part of luzon, which is most famous for its pristine beaches, killer waves, and untouched landscapes. pagudpud is actually just a small town in ilocos norte and is 561 kilometers away from manila, one way. it can be reached via air where you land in laoag, ilocos sur, then take a 2-hour bus ride to the town.

i still have the itinerary i compiled from a lot of resources on the web, but this one was the most helpful. with just this in hand, a couple of printouts on probable acommodations along the way, my friends and i set out on an adventure.

we left early morning on a thursday and got as far as laoag by nightfall. amazing, because the road all the way to pagudpud was cemented and we had no problems at all (all that investment of imelda marcos paid off). we just had a lot of stopovers kasi, that’s why it took us that long. we stayed there overnight and set out again in the morning. by around 10am, this awesome sight greeted us:

if you have the cash to burn you can stay in one of the beach’s prime hotels, Saud Beach Resort, which hosted the Bb. Pilipinas candidates a few years back. If not, there are several places to stay in that are really quite affordable and comfortable enough. we stayed at Arinaya Beach Resort. we had a great view of the beach and had the perfect spot to play cards and eat our own cooked meals!

my only regret is that we weren’t able to visit the tourist spots of pagudpud like the patapat viaduct, the lighthouse, the mairaira beach (or the blue lagoon, and i can only imagine how breathtaking the place is), kabigan falls, and the bantay abot caves. we just contented ourselves lounging on the beach, eating whatchamacallit crabs (sarap ng fresh!), and getting henna tattoos. we visited the windfarm, though.

overall, these were good times. nothing beats going on a road trip with people who get your drift for adventure and who know how to have fun. so kahit saan ka pang paraiso pumunta, pero kung ang kasama mo naman puro killjoy, wala din diba?

—-

p.s. if ever you’re planning to go to pagudpud and you need an IT of sorts, email me at iris14@gmail

cheers!

Doing Selena a great dishonor

Dreaming of You – Selena

a Discovery Channel special

this is what happens when species of the same breed are put together inside an enclosed area for long periods of time.

(trip to majayjay, laguna last june 2007 with cousins)

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7 (anonymous) wonders

i was tagged by k to do this; it originated from chimeric day dreams. im supposed to write about seven blogging people who inspire me, but i’m not supposed to say who they are.

(hirap mag-credit anonymously)

• 1 this person is on the top of my list because she so generously gives a lot of her time, effort, and resources as i find my way around the blogging world. and when i say a lot, i mean a LOT. she never grew tired troubleshooting for me, and because of that i know that technical difficulties are just temporary setbacks and not something to throw tantrums about . but more than my tech support, she is also a friend. she is always a reasonable person to talk to when advices (for my problems, technically, spiritually, and emotionally) are wanting.

• 2 this person is also on my list because if not for her, i would’ve been tempted to grow old and forget that we have a promise to ourselves — that we will be the ones to never grow old. with her, i know that peter pan and neverland are real. with her, i always feel like there are a lot to be happy about if you look at the simple things that actually matter in life — family, friends, and love.

• 3 to 5 these 3 people inspire me to believe that love is real. that stories can take wonderful turns and that God always knows what (or who, for that matter) is best for you.

• 6 he inspires me because in the modern world of cynicism and failed ambitions, he is an epitome of success in his chosen profession. though i have known (and read) about him just recently, i realized that one can always do what he loves most, get paid for it (not just monetarily but also with the richness of experiences), and actually make a whole lot of difference in the world.

• 7 last but not the least, he inspires me to write, to pursue ideas in my head no matter how insane and how out-of-this-world they are. and even if not a lot of people may get what you mean, there are always some out there who appreciate the genius that you create, which is always relative, as in beauty. and because he is such a renowned uber talented writer, i think he deserves special mention

tag, you’re it: patty, kuya tops, ate ida, azrael, jayme, meeya, ate kengkay, ate pao

beyonce live on the show – ring the alarm

have you ever seen anyone sing and dance this good?

deym, i would love to learn these moves. beyonce is so ahead of the game and it seems like a good thing that she went solo, don’t you think?

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i’m a flockstar

Flock, Inc. The Social Web Browser!

gone are the days when i was scared of rss feeds and media streaming. it’s the era of convenient blogging, streaming, blurking, networking (and stalking? haha), and file sharing. and flock has just opened up a new world for me.

with flock it’s so much easier to keep track of news, blogs, social networks, and even your email. i don’t have to click on the links on my sidebar one by one to see updates on blogs i read; flock does that for me since its feed reader keeps everything in one place so you can view what’s new anytime.

what i love also about flock is the media bar. unfortunately i’m subscribed to just flickr and i only have a few friends there so it’s still not loaded as much. but for the photojunkies, it’s a sure winner.

(why do i sound like i’m in a commercial?)

this is really one of the best stuff i’ve discovered on the web (thanks to ate pao), and for a non-techie person like me, that’s saying a lot.

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i’m one freakin happy blogger now

DSL news 

i cannot contain my excitement.

my connections are all working now. akalain mo yon, pagbukas ko ng laptop ko a few minutes ago, it started to search for wireless networks within range (im supposed to connect to my cousin’s myDSL account that we’re sharing thru a router) at bigla nalang nag-log in yung YM ko! automatic! it didn’t prompt for anything like it usually does before.

yesss! it’s finally working!

tag you’re it

and now, finally, i can work on a pending tag from jayme for reading her blog (i was so pissed off before i decided to boycott blogging until the freakin dsl works)

this is my workstation at home. im not posting the one at the office anymore for confidentiality purposes anyway, gulo no? you really don’t want to see the rest of my room. hehe. pero as i always say, i’m organized in a messy sort of way. im the only one who can find anything in my room even if it’s all cluttered. but i love my room even if it’s up in the attic, it’s quite roomy and i get lots of sunlight so i don’t really need any light in this corner.

so i’m tagging patty, moks, kuya john, ate ida, misha, meeya, yang, k, and the love coach

happy tired

happy tired 

yup you read that right, i’m tired but happy. just got over that weekend hangover with mia and some friends. i just had to pay a really high price for having fun. i got bedridden-sick last sunday and had to stay home till yesterday and i thought i had dengue. the fever’s gone now, but i’m still feeling a bit sluggish (and my insides aren’t that all functioning well) so i might have something else.

anyway, i finally tested my supermommy powers to see how far i can go with just mia and me. i thought, ‘this is a piece of cake. i’ll just put her on her stroller and push her around’. by the time we got to leslie’s i was a bit on my nerve’s ends because mia wouldn’t sit still on her high chair and would grab anything within her reach.

or, she would reach out to mommy to take her somewhere else where she can see the dancing lights and tree leaves a little closer. mariel, tin, and jeff tried to be the sub but mia wouldn’t last that long with anyone else because she wanted mommy, mommy, mommy!

i did manage to enjoy the bulalo, bangus belly, and lechon kawali i really had to be a party pooper afterwards for asking to go home because i was really tired by then. we didn’t even stay for coffee anymore to wait for one of our other friends, aurie.

lesson learned? never dare to tag the little one along on long trips without a certified untiring yaya (like lola). hehe

love DSL?

finally we got broadband internet. yeah yeah you can call me ancient for getting dsl this late when everybody’s up to wireless broadband already! me and my cousins finally decided to split the bill to have everyone connected to pldt myDSL. they bought a router and finally tested it last night. it works! i was asleep (trying to, actually) already, though, so i wasn’t able to test if the wifi works on my laptop.

by the time i post this entry, i would’ve found out already

after one night and one day…

and yeah, i did find out that it sucks. either that, or we’re just trying to troubleshoot the connections by ourselves and we suck. my cousin who’s already techie enough couldn’t figure out what else is wrong with my network settings. para sa mga hindi techie, you’d know how i feel. gusto ko ng itapon sa labas tong laptop ko.

flash report

news bit #1: stonefreak!

had a really great time catching up with 2 friends, onee and joey, at shangri-la last night. i had to meet up with ons because i’m the lucky one who gets to surprise them with two avps for their wedding in january. though ‘surprise’ isn’t exactly what onee would want for her perfect wedding, so i guess i’ll be having the first screening for her first. good times.

and of course me being at the shang means there is an ulterior motive. just a secret, but i really wanted us to meet there because stonefree was playing. *wide grin*. loved the band’s rendition of beautiful girls (originally by jojo and this dude…).

i miss watching live bands, really. i think the last time i was at a concert was in UP pa. Ang tagal na non! *hay* i miss the feeling of being in the middle of a crowd with pounding music especially when the act’s not a show band. good music, good times.

newsbit #2: lights, camera, action!

there’s a tv commercial shoot right out there on our dead-end street.  

it was a little bit irritating because as early as 530am they were banging those metal things around and mia naturally woke up because of all the ruckus. i mean, they can’t just come parading into people’s sleeping neighborhoods can they? ano ngayon kung shooting pa yan nung kung sinong pontio pilato? i mean, for us who have sleeping babies, it’s just not appreciated much. pero in fairness, maganda yung model ng tvc.

direk erik matti: “cut! i loove-et!”

newsbit #3: exhausted

and because mia was awake really early, i didn’t have to meme her to sleep again around 10.

she just did while playing with her milk bottle. hehe

newsbit #4: letters from the crypt, este, highschool

i was cleaning old stuff in my room and i came across these letters from way back in highschool from my bestfriend, nat.

and i just realized how fun it was to write letters with your own hands back then and you found even the littlest pieces of scrap to write on. those letters don’t even have any of the “important and adult” stuff in them like, “To whom it may concern”, “Cc:”, or something like,

This is in clarification of the note sent earlier at 0900 hours during English class regarding plans of extended bonding hours at the mall. Will it be suffice to provide 5 minutes after class before proceeding with the activity? The undersigned is concerned that some academic authorities might intercept the plan and have them undergo extreme detention penalties for said assignation. Please advise.

that would be very scary. imagine if we were all adult-thinking when we were in highschool. true, a lot of teenage pregnancies would have been prevented, and a lot of adolescent angst would’ve been non-existent, but it would’ve been utterly boring.

newsbit #5: my frustration

so while i’m at it, i unearthed some story boards i did for an advertising class back in college. i loved that class. i especially loved my prof, since he always gave good grades (and i mean i keep getting 1.0′s hehe). i learned a lot, so that’s not all bola. actually that’s when i decided i wanted to go into marketing or advertising when i graduated. 

i really want to produce this still. those papers aren’t really much, after all, i’m not a good artist, but i really think they’re good. (hehe love your own). it’s just one location per story so not that much off-site production. all my friends are in the film/advertising industry so what if i bring this up with them no? tamang-tama over coffee in tagaytay

direk iris: “cut! ano ba yan dingdong, ayusin mo naman!”

 :)