Mark and Jane Wedding MTV

Finally, I was able to upload through flicker Mar and Jane's wedding MTV. This is Vlad's first full blown MTV project - and hopefully not the last!

Enjoy!
http://vimeo.com/39452836

Valentine's Day 2012

This year’s Valentine’s Day had been another one for the books. That’s why I’m posting this in my blog so as everything is on record (for future reference for my husband lest he repeats his surprises).

The day before Valentine’s Day, my husband and I already made a pact: we would have dinner (c/o a group voucher) and he would not buy me any expensive stuff (i.e. flowers, jewelry, etc.).

Come morning, I woke up with a long-stemmed rose on the pillow beside me. Sweet eh? When I went out of our bedroom, I saw spread on our dining table this loot:

Above the chocolates is the single rose which made me smile

My favorite dark and mint chocolates

Yey! I commended my husband for being such a good boy and for following our pact. He actually spent his money on something consumable. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE flowers. But I just can’t accept how expensive flowers get during Valentine’s Day.

So far so good right?

Well, I was really so happy throughout the day. But when I called up my husband and told him that I could just go undertime so we wouldn’t get stuck during the Valentine’s Day rush, he told me that I have to wait for the flowers he ordered for me.

Okay, I should be thankful right? Yes, I’m thankful. But I had this really awful experience with flower deliveries every Valentine’s Day.

Last year, I got the wrong delivery. Instead of tulips, I got pink roses. I had to wait until 7 p.m. until the mix up got sorted out. By the time my tulips got delivered in our office, I was fuming mad, and the tulips were so dead. Suffice it to say that I was traumatized by the whole thing.

I hope you understand why I was really apprehensive about this flower delivery.

Okay, so what happened? 5 o’clock came and went but still no flower was delivered. You can just imagine how angry I was by that time. By 6 p.m., I had no choice but to proceed to our date.

What really happened? The flower company (Flowers by Sylvia) really didn’t deliver the flowers my husband ordered. They just delivered my flowers the next day, February 15, after I personally called them up and gave them my piece.

Still in plastic

I have to admit that  these are beautiful!

Perfect blooms

What is really annoying about this company is they are so arrogant in handling customer complaints. I asked them when my flowers would be delivered and they just simply replied, “Nagyon na po.” But when I asked where they would deliver the flowers, they nonchalantly asked me, “Saan ho nga pala ito idedeliver?”

What kind of company is this?! Haaay…

So did my Valentines’ Day turn out to be okay? Yes it did.

We spent the remaining of the night dining in Hotel H2O. The dinner setup by Makan Makan was weird since we had to sit in groups of 10 (ala wedding reception) and fall in line for the buffet. Check out the pictures of that Valentine’s night.

Corridor outside Hotel H2O

Entrance to H2O and the Ocean Park-Manila

The central lobby of the Ocean Park where one could appreciate the light display of the dome above

In real life this dome changes color :)

Prom slash wedding reception sign

 

The weird table setup

Buffet attack

Confused waiters

"Sana nag-Pancake house na lang tayo. Mas intimate pa," said my husband.

By the way, this event was done in the Pacific Ballroom of Hotel H2O. There was this mermaid show, which we didn’t get to see, for we were seated way way far from the aquarium. The food was good, especially the squid dish. There was also an acoustic group that serenaded the audience.

My husband and I just noticed how the entire evening seemed to be like an On the Job Training final exams for Hotel and Restaurant Management students. It was actually hilarious how the receptionists got confused with the sitting arrangements of couples. Some families were separated into two tables while some couples demanded for a new table setup for two to have a sense of privacy. You can just imagine waiters carrying these heavy glass tables and steel chairs from I don’t know where just to appease disgruntled couples. Good for us, we were one of those few who got to be in the venue ahead of time so we were able to choose where we could seat.

Again, did my Valentine’s Day 2012 turn out to be okay? Of course it did. Actually, in retrospect, that day really made me appreciate my husband more. Can you imagine how difficult it was for him to placate a livid Tina? Even I would find it terrifying to face me in my tantrums mode.

Valentine’s day this year was just lovely because I got to spend a wonderful night with my man, hold his hand, and laugh at all the strange and funny things life hurl at us.

The first cake from my kitchen

     It has been a long time since I planned to bake. After some tests and trials, I finally baked my first cake. Feb. 3, 2012. What are my goals for baking?

1. I want to celebrate the birthdays (or at least practice candle-blowing) every weekend with the children in our family.
2. I want to bake cakes for my friends (to earn bragging rights, hi-hi!).
3. I want to eventually bake a wedding cake.

      Check out the first ever creation from moi!

Hey, it's not mud! 

Gummy bears and hearts!

Check out the candle!

  

      How did that cake taste like? Hmmm... A cross between a sponge cake and a cardboard - sweet and hardy. Haha! I swear, I'll get better! Well, the best part of that experience was when our nephew told me, "Yummy. Thank you, mommy." Aww! 

Jollibee Gift Certificate Challenge

     I don’t know if it’s just me, or is there really a proliferation of Jollibee gift certificates? We got ours from Shell (for every 2,500 peso accumulated receipt you get a 50 peso GC). Our own company also gives away these Jollibee GCs. Apparently, companies do a tie-up thing with Jollibee, then Jollibee issues discounted GCs to them.

     So last February 3, as a personal challenge, we went out on a date aiming to use just the two GCs we have. So what were we able to buy? Large fries, mushroom soup, and a regular coke. All these amounted to ₱121.

     Did we get full? Haha! Not really. But since Jollibee has their other rice meals that cost ₱39, we might probably did not spend our GCs properly (haha!).

     Happy eating next time!

The GC challenge - date food for 2!

     Saturday, January 28, was a Saturday full of surprises. First, I ran smack in the middle of Bourne Legacy’s shooting at the MRT-LRT Taft bridge way. There were a lot of people (a.k.a. miron), which made walking difficult. As I was about to whip out my camera to take a picture of Jeremy Rener and Rachel Weisz, a bunch of guards came and told us not to take pictures. One even threatened that our cameras would be confiscated if we get caught taking pictures. Well, I was in a hurry and I wouldn’t want to get in trouble (in short, I was a chicken), so I just went inside the MRT station.

     Actually, my real goal that Saturday was the first book signing event of Chico and Delamar for their Best of Top 10. Yey!

     So I met with my bestfriend at Robinson’s Galleria at around 11 a.m. Take note, the actual book signing was still at 1 p.m. According to my bestfriend, there were still no people at the Rob’s Activity Center when she arrived, which was about 10:30. So, upon arriving, I just bought two copies of the book and then we proceeded to eat at Tokyo Tokyo in the foodcourt. At around 12:30, we decided to go back to the activity area, and boy, were we surprised! Check out the pictures!

The line that wasn't there before we ate!

The stage area

Gino Boi posing with fans

He was kind of nice to accommodate all those ladies and babies!

The hopeful horde waiting to catch a glimpse of Chico and Delamar

Finally, Chico and Delamaaar! Yeeey!

Books up!

Various views - from behind

People still buying The Book

And the line went on and on and on

     Okay, my bestfriend and I are in our late 20s and we really are not into falling in line to get signatures from some random celebrity. However, Chico and Delamar are different. Their pair symbolizes our student years. We have been listening to them during their 93.1 stint, then the 93.9 years, then on their 93.1 come back. It has been a ride with these two radio jocks, and I could actually say that I and my friends mentally (smarter hehe!) and emotionally (stronger, hehe again!) grew up with them.

     I still couldn’t believe that we actually stood in line for 5 hours! I mean, I wouldn’t do that for anyone else. Maybe it was just adrenaline or just plain adulation that we were able to stay in line while patiently waiting for our turn. I got assigned with number 329 for goodness sake!

     Well, when it was our turn to go on stage to have our picture taken with Chico and Delamar, I found the moment so surreal. I mean, wow, I was actually face to face with the two people whom I listen to almost everyday since high school! Really, wow! Chico and Delamar never age in my mind, and when I actually saw them I found that they really look young.

     Save for some people who cut in line, I would say the book signing went really well. Nobody really complained and everybody participated everytime the host, DJ Cerah, would ask the audience.

     That Saturday was really for the books (pun intended), I must say. Some random friends turned up in the signing. And from Bourne Legacy, to Chico and Delamar, I got to hang out with my bestfriend as well! :) Happiness! 

NAIA 1

                   NAIA 1 has a lot of things to prove not only to the foreigners who arrive in the country but also to the Filipino people. Poor infrastructure is one thing, but the whole ‘aura’ of NAIA 1 really calls for a serious rehash. How many times have you picked up someone from NAIA 1 and realized how bad its parking area situation is? How many times have you experienced the poor state of the waiting area and comfort rooms there? How many times have you been asked by the “beggars” for money? Or worse, how many times have you seen “beggars” harassing foreigners who are still groggy from their flight?

                   Last week, we picked up someone from the airport and armed with our camera, we waited for the best moment to film these “beggars” in action.

                   What is really irritating about these “beggars” is the way they attack balikbayans and foreigners. They are so systematic in boxing in their prey! Also, the guards at the airport ground are not enough to ward these “beggars” off. 

It’s so terrible to have people like these in the airport, where security must be the primary concern. Also, it’s also terrible for these fake “beggars” to take advantage of the situation.

We know that there are millions of Filipinos who fall way, way below the poverty line, and these are the real people we should be actually helping. On the other hand, those fake “beggars” are nothing but out-of-school youth taking money from people who are probably too happy to oblige or are too disoriented to think properly.

NAIA 1, please prove that it still can be fun in the Philippines.

                  

Inasal Joe : making foodcourt a place to eat again

Last night, before watching Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, we went to Glorieta to have our 2011 photos compiled. Kodak has this Photobooking service, wherein you’ll just submit your photos (quantity of photos depends on the kind of photobook you’ll choose) to them, and then they’ll do the rest. We deposited our pictures on a Monday, so according to them, we’ll get the finish product on Saturday.

After submitting our pictures, we went to Landmark’s foodcourt to find something to eat. We deliberated on where to eat and finally settled on Inasal Joe. And this is the reason why I’m writing this entry. Inasal Joe would make eating at a foodcourt worthwhile again.

Inasal Joe at Landmark Makati

For just ₱77  for the boneless bangus, and ₱79 for the liempo meal, the food at Inasal Joe is definitely a steal. The garlic and what I presume the reddish sauce in Mang Inasal make Inasal Joe’s rice heavenly, and I’m just talking about rice here people! The bangus and the liempo do not taste like the normal stuff you get from other karideryas. They have this smoky taste, and they are still juicy unlike other restaurants’ dry food. The meals come with drinks and soup.

 

Boneless Bangus at 77 pesos

Liempo meal at 79 pesos

 According to Spot.ph, Inasal Joe serves the 3^rd best batchoy here in Manila. This is the reason why we’ll try to locate other Inasal Joe’s outlets outside the foodcourt, so we can really enjoy the ambiance and the food