boracay '08

Boracay at high noon. Lovely and serene.
Photo by Rikkiyum

This is long overdue I've been really busy lately. Anyhoo, as always Boracay's awesome. The weather was fabulous despite the rain forecast. As in zero rain. It felt like summer minus tons of people. Perfect!

Let me start with the hotel. We stayed at The Tides and it's great. They welcomed us with drinks and cool towels. I love the simplicity of their rooms and the minimalist design. The used of white, black and red as the main tones give the place a peaceful and zen-like appeal. They have internet stations at the lobby area available for everyone's use but the connection was extremely slow. Oh well, it's an island what do you expect? The rooftop pool bar was ultra posh. Love it! Oh did I mention that they have a nice bathroom? Really nice. Imagine yourself under a waterfall shower, enjoying the light mist on your face and the warmth of the water... then you heard a loud thud. Only to find out that the shower handle fell off. Kaloka. And don't let me start with the cable channels. But at least the room service was fast and efficient. Overall, my experience has been quite positive despite the drawbacks.

We actually didn't spend greatly on food. Cheapskate! Haha. We even had breakfast at Andok's. Hehe. On our first day, we had lunch at Gasthof, a restaurant that served mostly Filipino dishes and seafoods followed by a late dinner at Oles Tapas, a mexican bar. The next day we had a hefty lunch at Puka Beach (love the garlic/chili crab!) and had a spicy dinner at True food, an Indian restaurant. We had pizza and bufallo wings at Yellowcab; a fish taco, double meatball spaghetti, fish and fries and a hero sandwich at Jammers; a hot roast beef burger at Big Bites and an Ice Monster fix everyday. For the boost, we tried Ole's Mojito but we never liked it because all we can taste was the alcohol. We had a Mai Tai at Hey Jude which we all loved so much we ordered the same drink at Tides only to regret it. We never got drunk and had no plans to begin with because hangover has no place in Boracay. We'd rather have a tan than a throbbing headache. One thing I regret the most was not having the time to stop by at Jonah's. Oh well maybe next time.

Underwater shots!


The Mafias and besToni.

Our cardboard cut-out friend, Che and a funny pinoy sign.

We went snorkeling and reef walking where we got our great underwater shots. Walking on the sea bed and feeding the fishes was an amazing experience! Medyo I found the gear nga lang heavy for my size. Some of my friends tried ATV and parasailing. So, basically we swam and binged all day long. But boo I went home with these nasty itchy bites from "planktons" as my friend Mj puts it. One of the locals said the jellyfish were to blame. Actually, I got the same dilemma in Galera but the bites were severe I had to go to a dermatologist. Oh well.

In those 4 days and 3 nights, there were times that the Mommy in me wanted to pack up and go home. I missed my baby so much that without my crazy friends who kept me sane the entire trip I wouldn't last a day.

Vacation doesn't have to be a bank account-breaker. Some of our best times in this trip were sitting in the sundeck talking about any kind of chismis under the sun and fooling around for the camera. I super enjoyed our paparazzi shots, the Mafia games, the pig out sessions, everything! I'll definitely come back hopefully this summer with Hubby and Hamypoopi. I would love to experience celebrating the New Year's eve at Boracay. It must be really fun. I can't wait on my next trip!

So there. Still enjoying my tan lines. Cheerio!

Paparazzi shots!

Photographed by moi

Tyra!

the latest update

The much-awaited Eraserheads Reunion Concert is no longer free! In accordance to the law, DOH prohibited Marlboro/Philip Morris in sponsoring the event. Radiohead Media Solutions, Inc. handles the promotion now. Tickets are available at Ticketworld starting today and are priced at P800 (General Admission) and P1300 (Patron).

Same time. Same place.

This is actually a good news. I don't mind paying for the concert. It's better that way. At least may sistema na at may karapatan ka magdemand if something "unacceptable" came up. Eh pag libre, naku wala kang karapatang magreklamo!

But then, I'd rather be in Boracay! I'll be in "hibernation mode" starting tomorrow. I will be leaving in the morning and I'm trying all my best to pack light.

Wooohooo!

boracay countdown

In 7 days, we'll be gallivanting around the Boracay Island. Wooohooo! After much deliberation, we've decided to stay at The Tides Hotel. In fact, we've booked their Exceptional Room just an hour ago. OMG. Dizizit I am so excited! The room looks very posh. Lovely.

The Exceptional Room
Image from The Tides Hotel Boracay
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And just when I thought everything's going perfect, I got an email from Cebu Pacific saying that my departure time to Manila has been moved an hour late. The thing is, they wanted me to confirm without explaining the reason behind the change. I asked them why it was moved but no one even bothered to return my email. What the?! Now, that's customer service. I'll give them a ring tomorrow and they better come up with a good excuse or else... Erm, I don't know maybe I'll scream until their ears bleed? All I'm asking is a simple explanation that's it. No run around please.

On the lighter note, I had Mj downloaded the Hed Kandi Beach House 81 for me (it's ridiculous to download anything with my Smartbro-ken connection). I love the tracks in this compilation!! I can't contain my excitement despite the crappy news.

Eeeeeeek I can't sleep!!!

hello boracay!

"The soul has an absolute, unforgiving need for regular excursions into enchantment. It requires them like the body needs food and the mind needs thought."

--Thomas Moore, 1996

Image from www.scubadivephilippines.com

Boracay with friends on the 30th... Woohoooooo! Mommy's making time for herself. She can't make it to the Eraserheads' concert but not a biggie. This Mommy would rather have a tan!

the moroccan mint delight

What could be the perfect way to end a long day? A steaming cup of Moroccan Mint Tea. Hmm...

Friday, I went to this training at Madrigal Business Park which started at 9 am and ended at 4 pm. It's been raining all day and the whole time I've been dreaming of a nice hot cup of tea. Thank god Atong picked me up early or I have to walk in the rain to Town Center to slake the thirst.

*Sigh* Pure bliss.

mamma mia!

20 year old Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is preparing to marry her boyfriend Sky(Dominic Cooper) at her mother's hotel on an island in Greece. She seemingly has it all; a carefree life, loving boyfriend and happy friends but one thing has been missing all her life; a father.

Her only wish now is to be given away by her dad at her wedding. By reading her mother's diary she discovers that she has three possible fathers. Sophie then secretly invites all three men in a desperate bid to discover which of them is her father before the wedding bells start to chime!

But not all goes to plan, old loves are re-kindled, new loves are formed and Sophie risks everything to discover the true identity of her father.

- Image and synopsis from IMDB

Seen this movie with Mj dear last Friday. I didn't know it's musical kasi we didn't plan to watch it naman talaga. So when the movie started and Sophie (Seyfried) began to sing "Honey, Honey" by ABBA with her two bestfriends as chuwariwaps, naloka ako nasabi ko na lng "Ay, ba't kumanta". Hehe.

I loved the movie kahit na at first I found it cheesy. It was so fun! The songs and the casts were great but sadly the story line came up short. It has a very interesting plot but they didn't execute the idea very well. The movie didn't even reveal who the real Father was. If not with all the singing and dancing of ABBA music, it will be a very boring movie. Pero OMG. It made me realized how I love ABBA! When I was still little, Daddy had this ABBA collections that he keep on playing over and over and over until halos makabisado na namin every song lyrics. So tell me, how can I not love ABBA?

One of the things that made the movie awesome was having Meryl Streep to play the lead role, Donna. She's amazing! I didn't know she could sing and dance. She has the grace of a jazz dancer despite her age. Amanda Seyfried has a sweet angelic voice and a very nice face. Oh how I loved her wedding dress! Sam, Donna's first love and one of the three possible Fathers was played by Pierce Brosnan. He's good but he look strained and uncertained when singing. The rest of the characters were great. Donna's two crazy bestfriends were really funny.

Hay. I want to go to Greece and have a small hotel on a beautiful remote island. Haha! Wish. I score this movie 3.5 stars with 5 as the highest. Fun and nostalgic.

time-out for mom

Oiled and sated, sipping my tea latte after a delicious aromatherapy massage. Pure bliss.

The night was young, Hubby's home and we got a new yaya, ergo a perfect opportunity for Mommy to sneak out. My SILs and I went to Westgate, had dinner at Conggo Grill and headed straight to The Spa for a treatment. Grabe I never thought I badly needed a back massage. I had lots of knots in my back probably because of all that baby lifting and carrying and it was heaven talaga when the masseuse worked her magic on it. As always, nakatulog ako halfway the session and woke up refreshed. We capped the night with a big mug of tea at Coffee Bean. You see I'm not a coffee person let alone a tea drinker but I super loved their tea latte.

I had a great time! I really should be doing this "ako naman moment" more often.

are you ready for a new do?

Whenever I see my hair in the mirror, I am dying to make a change. I had long hair for years. In fact, it hasn't been shorter than my shoulder since college. I took it as a sign that maybe it's time to shake things up and go for a big, bold cut. I wanted Katie Holmes' hair the minute I saw her cute chin-length bob but Atong abhor the thought of cutting my hair that short. He wanted my hair long exactly the reason why I kept it long for many years. With a determination of spartan, wala siyang choice but to drove me down to the nearest Jesi Mendez. And thank god I listened to myself this time. Cutting my hair short was a truly liberating feeling. It was like I went into therapy. No bad hair days for weeks -- Awesome!

To add to Hubby's misery, we go see "Sex And The City". I pictured him getting bored out of his wits and have frequent banyo breaks but to my surprise he's glued to the movie right to the very end! Hubby loved Samantha's craziness. Grabe we both enjoyed the movie!

Alright, take a look on my before and after. This is my best wash and wear hair by far.


Our Camy has been pimped, too! A new set of 20" mags... Go foxy!

I am absolutely loving our new do!

divi the great

Yesterday, we flew to Divisoria land after my 2-year hiatus as a shameless tawadera. I am a sucker of flea markets and I sorely missed them. Cheap quality find was gratifying. It's like stumbling upon jewels amidst chaos.

This time around I didn't shop for myself which is partly a lie. Hehe.

Went there with a main objective to buy toys and prizes for my Tia's luau party. But then I got myself two hot shirts, one summer dress and a hobo bag at 168 mall. Can't help it! It sure does feel good to find a great buy. Hehe.

We got the knickknacks at Bodega Sale. A real toy kingdom only hotter and dustier (I know bad picture). All toys imaginable big and small right in there. If you go for no-fisher price toys, this would be a great place for toy hoarding. We went home with 2 big big bags full! Got some hula hoops, jump ropes, blowing bubbles, water guns and the list goes on and on! Oh, did I mention a touch screen Tamagotchi? Really cool good find.

I enjoyed toy hoarding. If only this happened 20 years back, I'll be the happiest 7-year old toothy kid in the whole wide world!

Head home bone-tired but with a smile on our face. Thanks to my SIL for serving as a map. She knew Divi well by heart. And we shall return for more. Harhar!