My iBook Gives Me the Creeps

It suddenly won't turn on. I know it's a dinosaur but I need it and it has all my files!

I was getting nervous every second. The battery was fully charged and it was even plugged in to the wall when it shutdown on me without warning. I switched it on but it won't power up. I removed the battery pack and put it back in, pressed the power button and was relieved when it started up. However, after a minute or so it went off again. I did the same steps and this time it was on for 30 minutes.

I went to the all mighty Google to search for an answer fast. I luckily found an article that has the same dilemma and it prompted me to reset the Power Management Unit (PMU). It sounds technical but really all you need to do is shut it down, hold Shift+Ctrl+Option and the power button simultaneously for 5 seconds and then power it up. It worked! Hallelujah.

For a minute there I thought my iBook was dying. I hope I have it completely fixed. If not, I wish it's not a logic board failure or else I'm dead. I heard it's frighfully expensive to have it fixed. Looks like I have to be extra careful with Dino from now on. Oh and yeah backup all the files every chance I get. Whew.

Farewell FM

Baby Grasshoppers by Francis Magalona

"Mga Kababayan" was the first cassette tape I bought and it was also the last. I remember I had my Uncle buy it for me since I was only 7 years old then. I had to save half of my allowance just to buy myself a copy and be part of the cool craze. Yes, I was a big fan back then. Come to think of it, I never stop being a fan. I still love his music.

Did you know he's also into photography? And man, he's one good shooter. He bagged two trophies for the Camera Club of the Philippines 2008 Annual Awards and the photo above was one of the winning shots.

Just like everybody else, I was completely shocked hearing about his death. I didn't know he was under a very critical condition. Did some research and turned out the overall cure rate for patients with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) is likely lower about 20-45% survival rate.* According to news, he got the worst of its kind.

Reading his blog where he chronicled his battle with cancer was heart-rending. I admire his courage and determination. Despite all the pain he went through, he didn't lose hope and stayed positive all the way. He did fight a good battle.

Francis Magalona will surely be missed but he will always be remembered as his music and legacy lives on. I'm happy that he won't be in any more pain and suffering now that he's at home with his Master.

We offer our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the Magalona family. May you rest in peace FM.

http://francismagalona.multiply.com/
http://happybattle.multiply.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/francism/

*Source: Wikipedia

I'm Back!

Yep, I'm still alive! I just took a long break from blogging. I've been extremely busy the past few months.

Okay, let me go through some of the things that I haven't had time to write about:

• Our New Year's resolutions. We had health and fitness on top of our list along with saving a bit more for the future pledge. My own personal resolution was to be more organized and I'm trying all my best to stay on track. A on the other hand said he'll quit smoking for good but then he keeps on putting it off. Well, he's not completely ready yet.
• Our four-day trip to Bangkok. A and I went to Bangkok for a convention. We didn't get to tour outside BKK much to our dismay but we had a good time. We gorged ourselves on two things without guilt: food and shopping!
• My very own DLSR. Finally! We bought a Canon 450D on our trip to BKK. I was originally leaning towards the Nikon D40x or the D60 but upon holding the 450D, I found it easier to navigate. It was a good buy, too! We got it 17% lower than its market price here. It also had a free 8GB memory card. And to top it all off, we went home with at least 2,000 baht worth of tax refund. Sweet deal. Oh, it has a name. A named it Muymuy. Hehe.
• Our first time at Bag of Beans, Tagaytay. And here I thought it was just a small coffee corner. I heart the tenderness of their Roast Beef. The yummy gravy sauce went great with it. A loved their huge and tasty Porter House Steak.
• Our second wedding anniversary. We didn't plan something big because we already had a pre-celebration thing at BKK. We just had dinner at Outback because A was craving for steaks again. We're supposed to go bar hopping after the dinner but A was a little under the weather so we decided to continue the celebration at home. We brought Cuervo Gold and Vodka Ice packs home and drink the night away!
• My Hamy's first time at Enchanted Kingdom. It was super fun! My baby enjoyed all the rides. She even wanted to try Anchor's Away. We'll be back on summer.
  
• Our first trip to the beach this year. We went to Canyon Cove (aka White Cove) to celebrate my father-in-law's 62nd birthday. I was surprised by the development. The place was awesome! I loved the big pool. The rooms were not in mint condition though which was a little surprising for something that went under reorganization but that's okay. It's still lovely.

So there. I welcome myself back!

rosaries for hannah

(L) Hannah at 11 months; (R) Hannah at 10 months, hooked up to a respirator.
Photos from Hannah Ysabelle's Bassinet

http://hannahysabelle.multiply.com/

In the spirit of prosperity the lucky number eight brings, please make a place in your heart for HANNAH YSABELLE, a little angel who is born with a CONGENITAL CENTRAL HYPOVENTILATION SYNDROME (CCHS). CCHS is a rare and a lifetime condition where the central nervous system fails to control breathing while asleep. Hannah actually doesn't breathe at all when asleep.

When Hannah's barely a month old, the doctors had to put a tube on her throat that had to be attached to a ventilator/respirator to keep her breathing. After almost 9 months in the hospital, she finally went home with the same hole in her neck and a mechanical ventilator that her Mom and Dad rented for her. The rental costs an arm and a leg but they have no other option.

As a Mom, my heart aches at the sight of babies who suffer from any illnesses. But watching Hannah from the sidelines, amazed at how good she's holding up, awed by her bravery and her strength to fight back, I realized that she doesn't need our pity much less our tears. What she needs is prayers and any other help we can offer.

It would be really nice for Hannah to experience life outside home and do things other babies can do. So, Hannah's Mom and a friend is in a mission to raise a fund for her own portable respirator by selling exquisite handcrafted rosaries. If it's not too much to ask, let's help make Hannah's life a little easier. Please buy one of the rosaries and offer a prayer for her family.

If you are among those people who were touched by Hannah, you may visit her online store here (or go to the link above) to check more photos and stories of her and see what a beautiful baby she is and how she deserves to live a happy life like everybody else. She is God's little warrior but she needs more prayers and help from people with good heart to help her stay and fight the battle.

sunny side up

At the farm

This is how our morning usually started. We get up early to keep track of the egg inventory. At kung may oras pa, we go to this small karinderia and eat goto and tokwa't baboy as breakfast. How simple can life be?

Our tasty breakfast!

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.

food trip ni hamypoopi

The other night I was thinking of Hamy and all the smorgasbord places she's been to. After much thought, I came up with this list:

1. Yellow Cab Tagaytay
2. CPK Alabang
3. Gloria Maris Alabang
4. Gloria Maris Rockwell
5. Chowking Petron SLEX
   
6. Greenwich SM Molino
7. Don Henricos Filinvest
8. Tomy Roma's ATC
9. Leslie's Tagaytay
10. Super Bowl MOA
11. Pancake House ATC
12. King Bee, Gen. Trias
    
13. David's Tea House, Salitran
    
14. Super Bowl Blue Wave
    
15. Sonya's Garden
16. LZM Silang
    
17. Orchard
    
18. Ponggo's Grill at Magdaragat
19. Pizza Hut Eastwood
20. ATC Food Court
21. Yellow Cab Macapagal
22. North Park ATC
23. Kenny Rogers SM Bacoor
24. KFC Rockwell
25. KFC SM Molino
26. Kaya Korean Resto Rockwell
27. RSM Tagaytay
28. Balinsasayaw Silang
29. Sbarro Filinvest
30. Mongolian Quick-Stop Filinvest
31. Coffee Bean ATC
32. Shakey's Rockwell
33. Seafood Island Market! Market!
    

Whew! The list made me realized that she's been very gala. By the way, I let her try different tastes and textures with the general rule of "too much is bad". If the food is too salty or sweet for my taste, then it is a big no-no for her. Some foods may not be as nutritious as home-cooked meals but at least I'm not feeding her junk foods. Now, does it make me a bad Mommy? Hehe. Funny, she's never been to Mcdonalds and Jollibee -- that is if take-out meals don't count.

high buhay

Saturday, we went to Rockwell to watch Hancock and much to our surprise, there was no traffic in EDSA. Rarely in my life I see EDSA traffic-free. Tsk. Must be the result of the ever increasing prices of oil. Every weekend na lang may increase! And I heard on the news that it may jump up to as much as P70 t0 P80 per liter in the not too distant future. Horrible. Now, motorists would rather stay home or commute. Many lives were changed over the weekend.

In my all honest opinion, with all the rallies and protests, ousting GMA at this point will not help. Don't get me wrong, okay? I am not pro-Gloria but blaming it all on her is not fair. Come on! We all know that oil price hike is a global issue. It's a slap in the face to us and I understand that the government should at least do something to cushion the blow but must we put all blame on GMA? According to the law of supply and demand, the price is determined by a balance between the production and the product demand. The increased fuel consumption in US, China and India [high demand] caused shortage [low supply] thus contributed to the rise in oil prices. In simple words, these countries used too much oil than expected and other countries suffered the consequences. So kung sisihan na lang, we should point our fingers at these countries, right? In basic economics, the solution to a price hike is to cut down the demand or add more supply. In theory, if we lessen oil consumption or produce more oil, either way will cut the prices. I wish it were that simple. Anyway, even if the oil price hike has been resolved, we still have to deal with poverty, the irresponsible media, the corrupted officials, the value-added tax, the global warming and yeah the Oust-Gloria campaign. Hay buhay.

Ayoko na mag-isip. Let's all move to another planet.

betamax

Wala pa nung myx wala pa nung MTV
Wala pa nung internet
Wala pa nung ipod at mp3
Wala pa nung cable
Wala pa nung cellphone
Wala pa ring cd or dvd
Meron lang betamax

- betamax by sandwich -

Wow. This has got to be one of the most nostalgic songs ever. Reminds me of the old times when life was much more simple. The music vid brought me back to my childhood years when street games [and playing Nintendo] were among the few fun things . Now, with the advent of internet games, psp, wii, xbox, etc., ang dami ng choices. Tsk. Dati brick game lang masaya na. Anyway, some part of the song was pertaining to a much older time 'di ko ma-gets lahat. So, this goes to say I was not born on the same year as the singer or the composer, okay? Hehe.

This song is everywhere but if you haven't heard it, you may want to check the music video here and connect. If you ask me, simplicity is all it takes. But in today's world, a life without internet and/or cellphone disconnects you from the world. Nah! A modern life can never be simple, right? Oh well. Ipagpatuloy ang daloy ng alon.

today marks the world ufo day

I didn't have the faintest idea about this until I read an article that World UFO Day is celebrated each year on July 2nd which is apparently the same day the Roswell Incident happened. I am not a UFO aficionado but the thought that there might be extraterrestrial life out there was too engrossing to pass up. After all, the universe is vast and really there can be other entity created other than us.

Today is also the very same day Amelia Earhart disappeared during her attempt to be the first woman to fly around the world. Her body was never found and some people have suggested that she was abducted by aliens. Okay, I just made the last part up hehe. Pero what if she really got abducted and then reappeared a hundred years after, have not aged physically and came with a super human power? Haha! What's this The 4400? Kalerka. One thing's for sure, there's more to universe than meets the eye.

Happy World UFO Day!ü

our hamster finally walks

At one year and one month Hamy finally stood and began to walk confidently. Ambilis ng pangyayari. We were watching the TV and then she got up and all of a sudden decided to walk. She went to our room and then slammed open the door like a cowboy in the swing doors of the Wild West saloon! Grabe I was so shocked I forgot to grab a camera. Tsk. Sayang I didn't capture the moment. I don't know what got into her but whatever it is, Dada and I were definitely happy and proud that she has achieved another milestone in life. More to go anak!

Came from a stroll with bestfriend Barney.

and the superman award goes to...

Atongski the great! A super great and a super proud Dad, a super wonderful husband, a super friend, a super movie buddy and a super shopping companion, a super driver, a super errand boy, a super clown, a super generous financier and everything super that falls in between...

Thank you for your unconditional super love. I am so proud of what you have become.

Happy Father's day lub!

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!

moms are the bestest!

"Motherhood brings as much joy as ever, but it still brings boredom, exhaustion, and sorrow too. Nothing else ever will make you as happy or as sad, as proud or as tired, for nothing is quite as hard as helping a person develop his own individuality especially while you struggle to keep your own."

- Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons

I wish I could claim these words as my own.

Happy Mother's Day to all tough moms out there!

Let's tough it out, eh?

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!

support earth hour

Alright so I was all giddy, happy, peppy, excited for summer only to find out that the humidity and heat was unforgivable. It was getting hotter and hotter every year! And now I was like will it ever rain?

Global warming is really started taking its toll on our weather. And it's no laughing matter. Understanding the effects of global warming on Earth is WHOA overwhelming. Polar ice caps melting, the spread of disease, more typhoons, droughts and heat waves not to mention the economic consequences scared the hell out of me. It threatens our health, natural resources and our children's future.

In less than an hour, some participating area in metro will shut down their lights and join the rest of the world for Earth hour - an event that will create awareness on climate change and prove that people around the world working together can make a difference in the growing fight against global warming.*

If an hour can make a difference then I must take part on it.

Lights off!

*Source- http://www.earthhour.org/cities/manila/
Earth Hour 2008 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qczUcQ-VjM

missing daddy

I nervously walked from the hospital lobby to the ICU telling myself this all been a bad, bad dream. But when I saw daddy wrapped in white cloth from head to foot in his bed, I went numb.

It's been 7 years since.

It was a sad journey for our family. We tried to move on and stay strong with the nagging fear of losing one another. There were hardships but we went pass through it all. We are warriors just like mama. Nothing and no one can put us down. It's stamped in our DNA.

And I'm glad to say we are pretty much in good shape now. Every so often I can't help but think what would it be liked if daddy is still here with us. Would he be happy for us? Would he be happy for me? I think he will. He was stubborn but he had a soft heart. I know he will love Tia as much as he loves us. He'll be like any loving and doting lolos to their apos.

His life was not all peaches and cream. And I wish he was given a chance to live life longer. A life with less troubles and worries. But I know in my heart of hearts that he's in good hands. I constantly dream of him young and happy.

I know he lives a way better life beyond.

Miss you daddy.

restored to life

Yes, I am starting to blog again after a long hiatus but now I'm on a different chapter of my life. I'm now a Mom to a one adorable daughter and a wife to a loving long-time-lover-turned-husband. From here on, I will blog on my everyday struggle as a Super Mom to our little girl and my happy-sad yet fabulous average everyday Mommy life!