Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The Ultimate Road Trip Part 2

Everytime I go back to Manila, I always make it a point to drop by my favorite steak house inside the Subic freeport. Ella and I discovered it a couple of years ago when we took our first north luzon food trip with Peter back in 2005. This year is no exception. I woke up early (6am!!) to meet up with Gidiyap at the Shangrila LRT station (marunong pa pala akong sumakay ng jeep. para mama!). After giving him a tour of UP Diliman and having breakfast at the stall fronting rodics (which unfortunately was closed), we waited for Classmate and Ella to arrive at my house. At around 10am we were finally off to Subic.

We took the new SCTEX (with a brief stopover at Petron or caltex ba yon?) and arrived in Subic at 1230pm just in time for lunch. Sleeping beauties kami sa likod ni Jay since mga puyat ang mga balikbayan. Si ella ang naging designated taga aliw ni driver classmate. There were a lot of people in queue for the restaurant but since we travelled close to 200kms just to eat steak, we were willing to wait. We all ordered the NY cut steak, medium well with mashed potatoes and veggies on the side. Classmate had an additional rice (carbo diet daw siya!). Yummy. Sulit pa din ang byahe. Andun din sina Billie Joe Crawford at Nikki Gil na pinagkakaguluhan ng lahat. Care naman namin kasi for us ang star ay ang steak ng meat plus!

After resting briefly and taking pictures at the new Subic Lighthouse, we were once again on the road. Di ba road trip nga to? The road trip was now heading towards QC for a session at the Ace Water Spa. Despite the traffic we were in good spirits when we reached Del Monte Ave at around 6pm. We had merienda first at Le Ching Tea House (i missed this place!!!) and laughed our way to eating dimsum and noodles. ("Waiter, mai tan!") Ella and I introduced Jay to Le Ching's famous Shark's fin dumpling. It's still the best dumpling for me. Classmate was so hungry, he literally inhaled the wanton noodle soup (walang mainit sa vocabulary ni classmate!).

Inside the spa, Ella and Adrian introduced us to the wonders of hydrotherapy. I tried different water jet massages (my favorite was the bubble chair and the bubble bed) that was truly relaxing. Sulit ang instant shopping ni guru. hahaha. We went for a short swim in the lap pool and classmate showed us his famous breast stroke (but dahil walang flippers, balyena stroke daw yun). Lastly we took a dip at the heated herbal pools. alam ko na ang pakiramdam ng manok na tinitinola. hehehe. We loved the 38 degree pool (just right). After dipping in the 40 degree pool, we all jumped into the 0 degree ice cold pool to close our pores down. Gising ka talaga bigla!

After nearly 3 hours in the spa, we were done. But the road trip was not over. We went for a midnight snack/dinner ni classmate at Dencio's in Capitol Golf. We chose the place for its location (near my house where the pit stop was ). Unfortunately they were about to close so most of the stuff we wanted to order was gone. No more crispy pata and sisig (WAAAA), no more calamares (WAAAA), at later on no more Red Horse (Ay nako magsara na kayo!!!!). Still we managed to eat lechon kawali, inihaw na liempo and sizzling mushrooms and 2 buckets of beer-- red horse and san mig strong ice. Before we knew it we were being asked to vacate the place already. It was 230 in the morning!. hahaha. The road trip went on overdrive again. Ella and Classmate dropped us off and Jay drove home after. I finally fell asleep at around 4am after making sure all three of them got home safely.

This morning my uncle asked me if I am not yet tired from all these road trip. And I told him "Tito, bawal mapagod sa Pinas! Sa KL na kami babawi ng tulog." hehehe.

1.5 more weeks in Manila, more roadtrips to do so little time left.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Ultimate Roadtrip by the Balikbayans

After spending the day at Corregidor, one would think we would be tired. But no, Bawal ang mapagod sa Pinas. It was just the start of what would be a 22 hour roadtrip by the balikbayans. Naconvince namin si Chu33y3itch na magdinner sa MOA (yup MOA lang po) kaya after magikot sa intramuros (at kumain ng taho sa manila cathedral), nag drive na kami papuntang MOA. Medyo mahirap ang parking but we managed to find one then we met up with Jom sa National na may sendoff brigade. Kaso ang MOA ay stopover lang pala. We decided to go to Pier 1 in PICC but last minute decided to go to Island Cove bago mag Tapsi sa Kawit. First time kong makita ang island cove so enjoy na enjoy kami bilang mga tourista (may libreng driver at tour guide pa!). Nag picture taking pa kami sa gate ng Island Cove. hehe.

We had a round of beers and the ultimate pinoy pulutan fare of Crispy crablets, calamares and sisig (walang tahong!huhuhu). Syempre isang masarap na inuman pag may San Mig Light. Ahh.. this is defining happiness. sarap! We decided to call Charles and Cecille para imbitahin ang aming mga sarili sa kanilang hacienda. Ang passport ay Red horse, inihaw na liempo at manor mula sa Andoks (sana may ganito sa KL!). Go naman sina C&C so off we go kami. Walang nagawa si Chu33y3itch dahil nakidnap na siya! hahaha.

We stopped over one bakery on the way to taste what Gidiyap described as the best pandesal. He also introduced us to the Bonete (tama ba? basta masarap siya!). Shucks! Winner talaga. My car smelled like bread. Heaven! After another stop over to Jay's own hacienda (detour) tumuloy na kami sa pittstop (a.k.a. Charles' place) where the Abedejos family was already waiting. We set up the inuman table in front of their gate and drank the night away.

Habang lumalalim ang gabi, may isang nagtratransform to a tikitext. We didn' know kasi na may date pala kaming sinira (peace lah!). But it was fun nonetheless. Laglagan lahat. Walang kampi kampi (merry christmas jom!). Si charles ang kulet! (sino daw si diego lisang?) Pati si cecille nakikulet din! Lahat sila lasing except me since I was the designated driver. I drank a glass only of red horse then was placed on strict orders not to drink anymore.

Time flew by and before we knew it, it was already 2am. Imagine I was already awake at 4am. Career na ito! hahaha. After a long goodbye (may humahabol kasi), Jay, Jom and I finally left Charles and Cecille to their "date". Jay drove and we dropped him off at his place. I dropped jom off after.1 hour later I was finally sleeping in my bed. It was already 330am. May mga manok ng tumitilaok!

Iba talaga ang impromptu gimik. Natutuloy. Mahirap ang planned eh. hahaha. Nadala lang ata si Chu33y3itch sa min, kasi MOA lang daw eh. hehehe.. Kasi naging Imus. hahaha. But it was worth it naman. Finally the KL gang got to be on true blue Pinas mode. Kulang na lang yung mamak na pupuntahan after the inuman.

And my tapsi craving was not yet sated. Funny, sa dinami dami ng inisip naming kainin at kinain, di pa din naming natupad ang wish ko for the ultimate tapsilog. So what does that mean? Roadtrip again!!!

Walk through history

Sabi ng department of tourism wag daw maging dayuhan sa sariling bansa. Kaya naayon sa thema ng pasko na "tara byahe tayo", naglakbay kami sa isla ng corregidor nung December 28. Ang aga ng gising ko, 4am ata nung narinig kong tumunog ang " you got message" sa cellphone. Blank text (may secret code?). tumayo ako ng mga 5am (tawad ng onti). Past 6am ata nung dumating ako sa Roxas blvd na ubod pa ng dilim. Matapos ang ilang blooper (Asan kasi ang Jollibee sa Vito cruz? ay asana muna ang vito cruz?hehe), nagkita din kami ni Jay sa may CCP.

Matapos ang breakfast (san pa eh di sa Jollibee!), pumunta na kami sa sun cruises terminal sa loob ng harbour square. 1 hr 15 minutes ang byahe (tulugan time!). Pagdating ng corregidor, pili na kami ng tour bus (gusto namin sa 5 kasi nakakaaliw yung tour guide). Tangan ang mga camera, sinimulan din ang corregidor adventure.

Inikot namin ang buong isla. Sabi ni Mang Carlos, "its an island that is the shape of a tadpole" (aba looks like nga!). Madami akong natutunan gaya ng corregidor pala ang pinaka malaki sa lahat ng isla sa mouth ng manila bay, 5months bago sumuko ang corregidor at bataan sa mga hapon, at marunong palang mag mura si Quezon. Nagstart ang tour sa middle portion ng, umakyat sa top at nag end sa tail. Ilang army batteries ang inikot (di daw yun dry cell kundi mga gigantic canons) namin, plus pa ang mga ruins ng mga barracks. Parang naimagine ko yung panahon ng gera. Ang ganda siguro ng mga buildings na yun bago ito nabomba. May pagka eerie ang dating ng lugar. Madami daw espiritu dun. Pero sa totoo lang, parang pumasok ka sa pahina ng history book natin nung college/hs. Mararamdaman mo ang pagka Filipino mo dun sa lugar na iyon (naks!).

After lunch sa best hotel in corregidor (its the only hotel in corregidor), nag malinta tunnel tour kami. scary at nakakatindig balahibo yung light and sound show. feeling mo talaga asa malinta tunnel ka nung gera at binobomba kayo sa labas. Teka, lam niyo ba bat Malinta tunnel ang name niya? Kasi Madaming Linta! Ayos talaga mag bansag ng pangalan ang mga pinoy.

Pauwi ng Maynila, di ko maalis sa isipan ko ang kasaysayan ng corregidor. Nakakatuwang nakakalungkot. Nakakatuwa kasi nakita mong napaganda niyang lugar. Pero nakakalungkot kasi ang daming buhay ang nabuwis dun.

Pero ang masasabi ko lang.. sulit ang bayad.Di lang maganda ang tanawin, maganda din ang matutunan ang kasaysayan ng bansa natin. Saka sabi nga ng DOT, dont be a stranger to your own country. Kaya tara! byahe na tayo!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Revisiting Lupon

The last time I went to our family's farm in Lupon, Davao Oriental was back in 1990. Today I visited the pride and joy of our clan after 18 long years. Lupon has always been considered our family heirloom. It is not only huge but also it is home to our family's dreams, blood, sweat, and tears. Papa Ernie started the farm from scratch after retiring from his office job. And now it is being managed by my uncle. 

When I was younger we used to go there more often. Back then, the roads were much more rough and we had to ride a Kia truck all the way from Davao City to Lupon. Talk about a bumpy ride! By the time we get to the farm, our hair would be plastered all over our faces. Unfortunately we all started growing up so the thrill of a 3-4 hour bumpy ride lost its zest. At the same time issues about security started to arise. There was a time when the farm was raided by armed men thus our visits became less and less. 

So last night when tito joey asked me if I wanted to come with him to the farm, I immediately said yes. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Imagine, to be able to go back to one of my childhood playground? That is a dream come true. 

The ride was still long but more comfortable. The roads were much better now and our car was definitely more high tech (Tito Jo's new Sportage was taken for a test drive). But the place remained as beautiful as ever. When we entered the rough road leading to the farm itself, I saw farmers planting rice amidst the background of mountains. It was just such a beautiful sight. 

After arriving at our farm, I tried to refamiliarize myself with the old surroundings. I saw the old copra trees covering most of the land along with other fruit trees such as mango, suha, and mangosteen. I didn't get to see the lanzones and the fish pond because we didn't have time to go around.I It was still the same old place I remembered from 18 years ago. The trees may look slightly bigger but it was still the same old Lupon that my cousins and I used to roam around in while riding a makeshift carriage dragged by a carabao. 

2 hours later we were on our way back to Davao City. I slept most of the way as I was dead tired by then. I silently said goodbye to the farm and left a promise-- that I won't wait another 18 years to come back. 

Monday, December 22, 2008

Holiday Bum

I've been home for a couple of days now. I flew to Davao the day after I arrived in Manila. So I've been feeling a bit of jet lagged for the past couple of days. On the day of my arrival I immediately went on gimik mode and met up with ella, adrian and anthony at our favorite coffee place in corinthian hills. Nakakamiss din ang coffee dates namin. We stayed till about 12mn before heading home just in time for me to repack my suitcase for Davao.

Here in Davao my gimik mode got curtailed a bit. The lack of people to go out with and the early bed time of the folks around me makes me feel more of a bum than a bakasyonista. Buti na lang I managed to go to the beach twice to see the sea. One thing nice about Davao is that the beach is so near. Just a short 10 minute drive and you're already there. Yesterday we took the ferry to Samal island and had lunch and dinner at two new resorts-- Blue waters and Blue jazz. Both were nice but I still favor paradise island. The best pa din ang orig.

I managed to do some "musts" like shopping (a bit pero kulang pa) and parlor (kulang pa din) in between driving for my uncles and my mom and grandparents. I'm so in love with the new Kia Sportage and its automatic transmission that makes driving so easy even on rough roads. My uncle let me drive his new SUV kaya naman game na game akong maging driver. I still have a long list to go through for my must do's (call bank, buy pasalubong, more parlor, etc..) not to mention a pile of checking to finish.

Talking to ella earlier over th phone, I told her how I miss our hanging out together. Hopefully we get to do that when i get back to Manila on friday.

3 more days and its Christmas!!!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Saturday Night Dinners

One of our long running traditions in the Llaneza clan is the Saturday night dinner at Mama and Papa's house in Mallard. Everytime we are in Davao, we always have that Saturday night reunion when everyone would be there for dinner. Tonight was no exception. We had lechon, lapu lapu, nilagang baka, and inihaw na blue marlin. Yummy. Simple dinner lang daw. Wala kasi yung cook. Nagbakasyon. 

Through the years, the dinner's composition changed. Old faces left, new faces came in. When we were younger, there was a kids table for the young ones ( I got elevated to the adult table when I entered HS). We had our special mini table near the toilet. When we got older, the girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands and wives started joining the dinners. This year I introduced everyone to something new too-- the malaysian sambal (hehehe.kala nyo sino noh? Something po not someone!)

Nevertheless it is still the same old dinner with the same faces. We share the same stories (sayang wala si ves to tell her famous mitra/cory jokes) and laugh at our past misadventures. It's fun to have these kinds of traditions. Makes you realize that at the end of the day, the memories and bonding we share with our loved ones are the ones that matter the most. 

Friday, December 19, 2008

209K

Almost 6 months after I landed in the ER for itp relapse,I was declared on remission last wednesday.My platelet stood at 209,000 after being taken off prednisone 1 month ago.Dr Rudy said,he hopes not to see me again till 6 months from now.Barring any hitches, I am hopeful too. I am now back to normal.Well, almost.I still have the pred weight to lose.But that's just a minor issue.
It was a wonderful early christmas present.Moreso a pleasant surprise because despite the stressors recently, project platelets still worked miracles.

believe.hope.dream.
wishes do come true.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Double Eww with icing on the side: Lisensya adventures in KL

Yesterday neighbor and I went to the Malaysian version of the LTO to get our driver's license. Wala lang gusto lang namin maging tunay at wagas na legal driver sa Malaysia. Saka na isipin kung san kukunin ang kotse. Who would have thought na hanggang dun pala eh aabot ang makamandag kong charm? hahaha.

The line was quick. 140 people in 15-20 minutes. Wow. Talk about quick service. When my turn came up I was feeling good. Mabilis lang to. Tamang tama na-ccr na ako. But of course kelangan maging complicated. Kaya nga adventure ang title ng blog na to diba? It started with the picture. The girl said my pic was too big and that I had to have another picture taken. She directed me to this photo me booth (meron pa pala nun?!). 7RM for 2 copies. Major harang but sige na lang. saka in fairness maganda ako sa picture. hahaha. When I came back with my newly developed picture, she told me to go to this other booth where two supervisors were. One was a girl (i saw her making chikka before) and the other was a guy (na thundercats na..). They started questionning my certification from the embassy, even insinuating na it was a doctored one. Syempre I argued back. I did not issue that certification. Sa loob loob ko, ang mahal nga ng cert na yan eh. kung pwede lang eh ako na lang magtratranslate. I finally introduced the "Dr" card so medyo nashut up siya. Parang spinach ni popeye yan eh. aatras si brutus once lumabas ang "I am a Dr." card. I was getting pissed since neighbor got hers in less than half the time and they never questioned her picture (na kasing laki ng aking orig) nor her certification (na identical to mine).

To make the long story short, kaya lang tumagal ang proseso ko dun eh kasi si manong thundercats ay gusto makipag friends. ANAK NG.. EWWW EWWW EWWW (reminiscent of Joana's voice). He used the two chuwariwariwaps under him to talk to me. Sabi ni girl super, "can my boss be your friend ah?" That is probably the worse pick up line ever! May kasama pang " does he look young? " at dinagdagan ni manong thundercats ng "can i call you sometime?" EWWWWWW. But syempre dahil goal oriented tayo, kelangan sumakay ng onti. Sabi ko, "you want to be my friend? sure. i have a lot of friends!" hahaha. baliw. Pero mas favorite ko yung sagot ko sa can i call you line-- "if im there i will answer the phone. but today im not in so i cant answer the phone" (makikulit daw ba?) Aba! torture ata syang tingnan so dapat lang makuha ko ang lisensya ko.

All the way to KLCC, reg and I were laughing like crazy. Talk about charm. Lumevel up ang charm ko kahapon. hahaha. Neighbor said that pang ms universe ata ko sa mundo nila. Angeli says its the hair (my highlights really makes me look more local now). For some reason I guess I am a hit to the weirdo community of KL. Haay. I know it should be flattering, but NO! isang EWWW talaga. Matatake ko pa yung mga janno gibs na pahello hello sa tabi tabi tulad ng aking mga guard fans (btw, nadagdagan na naman sila kagabi) Kala ko worse na yung si manong kindat nung sat sa pertama kompleks at si manong jani na pa hi hi sa LRT. di pa pala! hahaha. Eh si manong thundercats pa naman eh pwede ng maging bangkay sa shake rattle and roll part XX ang itsura.

Ewww Ewww Ewww Ewww.. Ang mga balahibo ko sa braso nagtayuang muli. Even when the orig girl was already printing my license, manong was still leering in the background.Sabi ni Jay and Angeli balik kami to get their license. Sana wala na si Manong dun. WISH KO LANG. Or better yet maghanap na lang kami ng iba pang branch ng JPJ. hahaha.

As I was leaving the dreadful booth with my newly laminated 2 year license (cheapitita. di man lang card type.), Manong thundercats said goodbye with a wave and smile. Eww. anong goodbye? good riddance kamo! hahaha.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

If the Shoe Fits: Fashion Disasters

Last month I made a resolution that I will not buy any new shoes till 2009. It was my attempt to curve my semi addiction for foot fashion. sabi ni neighbor, pwede na akong maging stockholder ng vincci sa dami ng sapatos ko. So I told myself, no more new shoes. I will make do with my current stock.

Unfortunately, I was forced by fate to break my resolution. Last monday while out with the guys on an extended lunch break (hmm.. gym?haha), I broke the strap to my ever reliable grendha slippers and was forced to make that stopover at my favorite shoe store and buy myself a new pair. Funny, I actually felt so guilty about buying and breaking my resolution that I could only choose one pair (unlike before na I can buy 3 or 4 pairs at a time). Pero sabi nga ni Angeli, its a sign.. I really have to buy shoes. That fashion disaster was actually fashion disaster number 3 in just 2 days.

The first one came on Sunday as I was walking to Bukit Jalil LRT. I tripped and the strap gave out so I had to walk all the way back home and change. Nalate tuloy ako sa aking breakfast dahil ang tagal ng LRT. A few hours later the replacement shoe (my favorite charles and keith flats) started smiling after tripping (again). Anak ng.. define clumsy! ah.. its the sour thing that you put in the pancit canton? hehe. The replacement shoe made it home thank goodness. Thus last monday's fashion disaster 3 was the icing on the cake already.Or so I thought.

Last night on my way home, I realized fashion disaster 4 was about to happen. May isang sapatos na nakangiti na naman. Buti na lang pauwi na ako. At the rate I am going, I'll be shoe-less by next week!

Its time.

It's time to go shoe shopping.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Breaking Walking Records

Lizda once told me that if I could walk the entire KL, I'd probably would. They're all amazed in the office at the amount of walking I could do in a day. One time I walked from Hang Tuah to Chulan Tower which is unheard off for a lot of my local friends. Another time I walked all the way from Imbi plaza in Bukit Bintant to KLCC in a little over 10minutes time. I was meeting up with some friends for dinner and I didn't want to be late. It just never occured to me that it was that far. Heck I walked half of London in a little over a day's time in my quest to see London in its entirety over one weekend.

Yesterday I broke another walking record-- I walked from Pudu Plaza in Jalan Pudu all the way to Wendy's in Raja Chulan. If you take the LRT/Monorail that's a total of 5 stations in all. And it wasn't a straight forward walk. It included a stroll in 3 malls (Pudu plaza, times square, sungai wang) and several stop overs along the smaller side streets of jalan pudu. Before that I already walked from my apartment to the LRT station (10 minutes), and from Masjid Jamek to St. Johns to Kotaraya.

And what was in my mind when I did it? wala lang. naisipan lang namin mag explore the world. I realized yesterday that you discover a lot of hidden stuff when you're walking (i.e. ang lechon pala sa malaysia eh may ribbon sa buntot at tenga--ay ginawang girl si babi). You discover a lot of new places (may isa pang camera shop sa pudu plaza kaso closed pag sunday ng umaga at may short cut sa eskinita ng jalan pudu papuntang times square) and learn new things (dapat marunong tumiming pag tumatawid kundi matitigok ka ng maaga!) It was super tiring but it was so much fun. Wendy's frosty never tasted so good after a long day's walk.

When I finally got to PWTC for the education fair, my legs wanted to fall off. At least nabawi ko yung di ko paggym during the weekend. Major cardio workout. Angeli and Reg were laughing about my fashion disasters (that's another story) amidst my walkathon. I was so hungry at 530pm that Angeli and I finished a pizza and an order of wings in no time at all. I'm entitled to it she said. After all that walking I truly deserved to eat. hahaha.