April Fools'Day

Happy April Fools’ Day everyone! ( Or should you be happy if someone has played a trick on you ? You wonder.)

Although it is not a holiday in it‘s own right, it is observed in many places around the world during April 1. People play practical jokes, pranks or hoaxes not only on their enemies but on friends and family members too. The purpose of which is to embarrass and make a fool of somebody, as the name of the celebration suggests. So be careful today and don’t be so gullible! But if you happen to be a victim of some joke, I still think you just have to be a total sport.

Monster Radio

My Fave station of late. I love listening to the Morning Rush. I would wake up every morning (2:00 a.m. Dubai Time) just to listen to Chico and Del. It makes me feel like I am just home driving on my way to work. And I get some updates about what's happening back home too.

The Station is a consistent Golden Dove Awardee and has won Catholic Mass Media awards too. And I just feel like I just fit into their customer demographic. Just please click the link below.

www.eradioportal.com/index.php?p=2&aid=1&sid=19&tid=2

The Rolls Royce That is Yummy

Just a couple of months back or so, an old friend of mine introduced to me this gem of a chocolate when he gave me two boxes as a gift. He was damn right when he said that I will never look at another chocolate again with the same desire and craving in my eyes as I would the Royce'!

It is a Japanese product and as such it is made into perfection. The package is very impressive because aside from the classy box it even has a cooling dry ice to help preserve its content's freshness! And there's also a plastic knife that comes along with every box to help you pluck out the chocolate that is sliced in small cubes and dusted with a heavy powder of cocoa or some other flavor.

The texture of the chocolate itself is very subtle to the taste and very smooth that it melts so quickly in your mouth leaving just the taste of chocolate tarrying in your taste buds. A taste that is not so sweet yet not too bitter. It is heavenly!

Absolutely Vanilla!

I am no sucker for booze except for red wine (which is good for the health) and maybe Baileys. But I am a huge fan of vanilla in every form especially in ice cream and Oreo! And I finally realized why I never liked the original Absolut vodka. It's because I prefer his younger brother, Absolut Vanilla more. I love this new version which comes in a classy bottle too that even looks yummy to me.

I was having dinner at a friend's house and she let me taste some left-over of it from her previous booze party the night before. I fell in love right away on the first sip. It smells so deliciously sweet and it's smooth to the taste too.

We all know that if you've had enough of vodka you'll get that alcohol stench in you for some time, but not this one. And it does not feel like its burning in your throat. I just super love it!

Photofunia

Smells like Sweet Spirit

Omnia Green Jade By Bvlgari (as if there is another color of jade other than green or is there?). This is the newest scent that I love to wear. Not only do I love the packaging, (I find it so unique and attractive) I also love the shade of green that exudes an enchanting freshness. The floral scent is just so sweet yet light, which is delicately feminine but gives an aura of seduction and innocence at the same time. Just perfect for my taste.

Don't Bother Sweating it Out!

My latest good read. I love the humor and I love the cover too! In a nutshell, it's just saying that the only thing that needs fixing up after a breakup is not the one that's already broken and hopeless but the one who has been binging on a pint of ice cream- YOU!

Family Bonding

Our Bonding Moments

Missing Kay

I decided to ring Kay, my niece, around 8:00p.m. today. It's her birthday after all. The girl just turned seven years old and as I remember, she sometimes is bratty and would not take my calls especially if she's in one of her not-so-good moods. But today should be a happy day so decided to give it a shot.

I called up her mom's mobile phone, since she's not allowed to own one yet. Her mom, my sister, whom I call Pax, answered the phone right away. I asked if I could speak with Kayla. While Pax was shouting to Kayla to hurry and take my call, I was crossing my fingers and silently praying that she's in a good mood and that she'd take my call. I was calling from overseas after all, which could cost a lot if it takes a while for her to answer, especially that it's off peak. And besides I have not talked to her for seven months now and I really would love to hear her voice!

She was in a really good mood and took the call. Thank God for that!

I said " Hi, Kayla! Happy Birthday!"

She was silent for a moment trying to put a name and a face to the voice on the other end of the line. Then she suddenly recognized me and blurted out:

" Hey Tita, I miss you! Could you come home now?"

Isn't that sweet? Anyway, I told her:

"I miss you too but I could not go home just yet. Will see you in a week's time though."

She sounded sad upon hearing this and replied:

"No, next week is still far off. Just come home now."

See how bratty she can be sometimes? But I must say that she often reminds me of myself. I was a brat too when I was her age.

To please her, I told her that it would not be long until I get home. It'll just be a mere week after all. She was skeptical. To brighten her up, I asked her what birthday gift would she want to receive from me and she said something about a play money. I wonder what that is. But I am glad it is not "real money" she was asking...ha ha. I told her that I will buy her one as soon as I get home. But she did not seem thrilled about that. She just wanted me to go home for her birthday.

And then unfortunately the line went bad and I could not hear her anymore. I know she's still on the other end but I just could not make out what she was saying. I kept barking my "hellos" and "are you still there?" but sadly the line just went dead on me.

I am so glad we had the chance to talk even for just a while but I must admit that I also feel this terrible longing to see her after talking to her. I can't wait to fly home.

Can't Wait To Be Home

I have been away from home for about seven months now. And I must say that I have survived really well. I decided to make some life changing decisions last year after faced with a conundrum, and going away to work abroad is one of those. I do not regret doing so, especially that the whole world is facing some economic crisis lately. I certainly am better off here now than when I was sticking it out back there in my old job that sucked. I have never been happier and contented with my life until now. Finally, It seems to me that my life is really going somewhere and that is a very comforting thought to keep.

But no matter how happy I am now, there will always be moments when I think of home. Always. And lately it has gotten a bit frequent, maybe because I am scheduled to go home really soon for a vacation. And I can’t seem to contain my excitement any longer mostly because I have been planning to accomplish a lot of things or do some things that I have missed doing for the past few months. I really do intend to make the most out of my precious time at home! I am just so excited!

For starters, I am going to finally go home to my new house in Greenwoods! How exciting can that be? There is nothing that I love most than coming home to a new house. And being neighbors to my nieces is like an added bonus to me! Then to top it all off, my Aunt from the States is also coming home for a vacation! She wants to go places like Baguio for the scenic view, Vigan for it’s historical touch and Cebu, because it was once a home to her and hopefully Bora for the beach. So just imagine how hectic my vacation would be. And of course, it will also be my sisters’ birthday and my mom’s too! And finally, it’s the Lenten season as well! I know that I also have to do some of my religious obligations. I have not been into a church for a long time after all. So there’s really a lot of reasons to come home to and it was a right decision to go home in April.

Aside from the things I have already mentioned, there are a few more things that I plan to do and places I want to be and of course people I want to see. Here goes…

Renewing my driver’s license and my passport too. My driver’s license will expire in 2010 but I am not sure if I can go home by then before it expires. Anyway, it won’t hurt me if I do it a few months earlier, would it? And besides renewal would not be as hard as it was before since I can now just go to SM Hypermart and can already do it from there. By the way, speaking of driver’s license, have I already told you that I really miss driving? I am as excited to be behind the wheel again as I am excited to see my good friends!

Equally important assignment would be to visit the bank and say “hello” to the Branch Manager who is also a friend of mine. But seriously, I just need to fix my accounts, like take everything out for instance(I know he will insist that I should stay, but will see...) and make some good investment elsewhere.

Next on the list is undergoing a physical check up and maybe getting some shots of that cervical vaccines that they have been advertising over at RX93.1. I just feel that it won’t hurt me to be prepared and careful when it comes to these things.

By the way I realize I am already on a roll here...but will you just allow me this exuberance for now?

Anyway, another stop would be the salon and the spa. I am really dying to pamper myself and get a hot oil treatment, a haircut, an acrylic nail job, a new hair color, a foot spa and a relaxing whole body massage! I really miss these simple pleasures! I am even thinking of visiting the dermatologist and trying out Obagi. Hahaha! These things cost a really huge fortune here in Dubai. I don’t mind spending a good deal of my salary if its value for money but often times, it’s not when you‘re here in Dubai. It’s just that everything is really overpriced over here than it is there back home.

And of course, how could I miss eating Japanese? I am dying to eat the salmon and tuna sashimi of Saisaki and Terriyaki Boy! Oh Boy! I would not miss it for the world! Just thinking about it now makes me drool in excitement! I also would love to eat the crunchy and tasty sisig of Dencio’s and the shawarma of Unlce Moe’s! And of course, the Halo-Halo of Chowking and Razon's! And maybe the fresh and juicy fish dishes in Dampa, the tasty kare-kare of Max‘s and the chicken wings of Avenetto! Whew! Just thinking about it now makes me want to binge! I also plan to drink as many Starbucks Chai as I can and devour as much Pesto pasta from Figaro as I can!

I am not suppose to let this opportunity to party pass me up, right? That is why I intend to go a bit of clubbing too when I get home or maybe watch some concerts. I just miss hanging out with my old friends. And of course I miss the malls and the movie houses too. I might just drag my little nieces to the malls and spend some time there. And since I was away for seven months, I will have to visit some of the new places that sprouted in the metropolis, new malls and new restos. I have seen this new Chinese resto in the internet called Fu by Hai Shin Lou at Bonifacio High Street and I think I might just give it a visit.

And of course, last but not least is shopping! I need to shop for some new outfits, shoes and of course some important things too such as new pairs of contact lenses and solution.

I just might run out of time though. I suddenly realized that I have a lot of things to do and have very little time for everything. Hahaha! Well, I can always go home again around the last quarter if fate allows. But in the meantime, let me just get wrapped up in my excitement. And soon I will certainly share the details of my vacation here when I get the chance. But until then, I am just excited to be planning this trip back home.

The First of Many to Come

I could not sleep no matter how hard I tried and it's already 4:42 a.m., Dubai Time. Maybe it's just as well because I practically slept the whole day yesterday. Coming from my night duty at work, I usually spend my first day-off snuggling in bed. I woke up really late in the afternoon already and found myself enjoying a good book which my colleague at work loaned me. They all say I should read it and fast! The book's title is "It's called a Breakup Because It's Broken". Talk about another self-help book! I initially thought to myself that there's nothing in there that I didn't already know. But I guess there's nothing compared to hearing, or reading for that matter, a confirmation of these things from someone who call himself an authority, thus has the license to give some insights and advice on the particular subject of relationships and it's demise. But hey wait, who said that I needed it?

I almost finished the book in one sitting which I didn't want to do, so I saved some chapters for the next day. Not that it's not amusing me, because surprisingly it does, and a great deal too. And I also realized that there are indeed a lot of things that I did not know much about after all. (who am I fooling anyway?) But that would be another blog entry all together. But I just want to save some good lessons for another day.

So I then decided to distract myself from the book by watching a movie in my notebook- New in Town, which starred Renee Zellweger. The movie was so-so. There was nothing much of anything. It was supposed to be a romantic comedy but I found it lacking in both aspects. But it could just be me. Although it did get me occupied and engaged for a while there, so it must be okay enough after all.

Anyway, I just wanted to remember this day and mark it in my calendar, not only because this very blog entry is going to be the first of many to come but because it's also my niece's birthday. Kayla, my fave niece is celebrating her 7th birthday today! I could have been there with her on this particular day if only I did not leave home last year. But please don't get me wrong. There's not a tiny trace of regret there at all. But I am just sorry though that I could not go home for this particular celebration. It's really a big day for her. She used to talk about this special day a lot and she was so sure then that she will be celebrating it in her new home in Greenwoods. And the little girl had been damn right about that! I am just so happy that her simple wish had come true. But it could have been better if I, my sister and my parents were there to see how happy she must have been today.

Aside from Kayla's birthday, today is also a day when the whole of the world will observe the Earth Hour. Everyone is invited to turn the lights off between 8:30 to 9:30 tonight. Countries with developing and emerging economies are calling for action on climate change. So wherever you are on planet Earth today, let's participate and vote for Earth.

Happy Birthday, Kayla! And Happy Earth Hour to all of earthlings too!