History

Dec 23, 2007
“Be, yan na lang o, okay na yan. Kahit yan na lang ang bigay mo sa akin.” (Be, over there, that’s fine with me) Joy was gesturing over at a Silverworks shop in Market Market. She was joking that a silver ring would do for an engagement ring. She joked like this a lot because she had already set her mind that I wouldn’t give her a real engagement ring, since we're in the stage of planning the wedding already. And as I’ve said earlier, this wasn’t the first time she hinted—well if not directly spat out---that she wanted one. B.S. aside, I was really planning to give her one. It’s just that the “OPERATOR” in me worked the whole thing up till I can get her mind off it for a while. Budget is such a pain in the @ss because these things don’t come cheap, that’s why I had to do some delaying tactics in order to save for it. There were a lot of times when I laughed at her, telling her na “di na kailangan yan!” (We don’t need that), or joking what if I got her a lollipop ring like in the movie which I can’t remember, stuff like that. What she didn’t know was that every hint I got from her was my checklist for the perfect engagement ring.

There were times when she would compare her gold ring to her imaginary engagement ring and she’d say something like, “I kinda like my engagement ring to be somewhat like this one, not too loud, the diamond’s the right size, it’s set low…”. That prepared me for my hunt, but of course it was always met with my joke-then-aloof-face-we-don’t-need-that tactic. It breaks my heart to see her frown after that but I said to myself to be strong. I know it will pay off in the end. I scoured jewelry shops, whenever I could with my little free time. Some were too fancy, some were okay but the setting was too high, some had stone settings that looked unstable, some were yellow gold, some had cheesy designs, some looked cheap—even if they were not! Man, I told myself, this will be one big hunt. I had to delay some more… Be, I really am sorry for the times I made you sad and made you think I wouldn’t give you your ring.

Backtrack Dec 22, 2007
My Mom, my little brother and I were at Alabang Town Center, doing some last minute Christmas shopping. After finishing the necessities, it was time for my hunt again. My brother and I left Mom at a lounge, she needed to rest coz she was tired and sleepy, and off we went. I wasn’t really familiar with the jewelry scene at ATC and being men that we were, we didn’t ask for directions. When I was about to ask a guard, I saw ACME Jewelry. Fine, that sounds like where Wile E. Coyote gets his bling, but sure, let’s check it out! After looking at a few rings, I was starting to lose hope again—too expensive, too cheesy, it’s yellow—it was crunch time and I needed a ring, the Perfect ring! Then, a small white gold ring with the classiest diamond setting was given to me. Wow. This is it. The next question was: DO YOU HAVE EPS (Express Payment System)? Now all my fingers were crossed, this will make or break my deadline. ATMs were soooo sucky at that time, being Christmas and all, and I couldn’t make a single withdrawal anywhere! Plan B was to beg Mom to charge it to her card, but I really wouldn’t be comfortable with that. So when Anna said they had EPS, it was like all the blood in my head rushed to calm me and my breathing regulated. Man, you’d never see me give my card so willingly to a stranger. IT IS DONE! FINITO! FINISHED! Well, not quite yet.

They said that I’d get my ring on the 28th, since I had to get it resized. That’s 3 effin’ days after Christmas! That’s 3 days beyond my deadline! Oh well, at least I’ve found The One for The One. I left with the assurance that they would contact me if it was done sooner. That’s fine, I guess.

Fast Forward Dec 24, 2007
The lazy bastard in me woke up at around 1pm. We were busy doing some fixing stuff around the house when Mom told us (my 2 brothers and I) if we could pick something up from the grocery. Being in vacation mode and all, I decided to put my cellphone on Silent Mode. It was about 3PM when I looked at my phone to check if I had messages and AYAYAY!… the saleslady texted me, saying the ring was ready. The mall closes early that day and I still haven’t taken a bath yet. I always shower fast, but man, this was warp speed!

My brothers decided to tag along and just do the groceries in Alabang instead. My alarm screwed up too after we picked up the ring and for a while we were driving with the alarm ringing 'til my older brother decided just to snap the effin’ wire on the alarm horn. It was stressful thinking how long before a police car chased us, but all I can think of is I’M MAKING IT ON CHRISTMAS! Perfect!

This was one of the most fulfilling days of my life! I can’t believe how happy, relieved and excited I was, knowing that in my hand is a gift to make Joy officially mine. And the rest, they say, is her story… I love you, Joy.

Her Story

There comes a time in a girl’s life when she plans on finally settling down. When I was still a kid, I thought the perfect age would be at 24. But when I reached that age, I realized that I still had so many things I wanted to do, so I decided to postpone it especially since my relationship with Bob then was quite young and new.

But then, you can’t postpone it for too long because unfortunately, ang babae habang tumatanda, bumababa ang market value ika nga nila. Sad, but true. Especially when you plan on having kids. Ang dugas nga eh kasi ang mga lalaki, mas nagiging desirable the older they get kasi mas mature na sila and hopefully, sawa na sa mga kalokohan hehehe.

But I digress. So anyway, yun nga. I didn’t want to get married ng too old so I put a deadline on myself (and in effect, kay Bob rin) that I should get married before I reached my 30’s. After years of being together, Bob and I already knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with one another, but having a deadline I suppose put pressure on his part, and maybe that’s why we ended up making wedding plans.

It was definitely not how I imagined it. I’ve always been the sentimental and romantic type; I wanted my engagement moment to be a big surprise, with matching luhud-luhod on one knee, candlelit dinner, music and flowers. Kung pwede ngang may gimmick pa like nakatago sa loob ng cake yung ring or naka-announce sa billboard yung proposal hehehe. What can I say, reyna talaga ako ng cheese :)

Sobrang big deal sakin talaga ang mga special occasions. Whether birthday, anniversary, lalo na Valentine’s day (which if I may say eh sobrang hate ni Bob kasi mashado raw commercialized, bah humbug!), kailangan may celebration yun kahit papaano, or at least bigyan man lang ng konting effort. Eh lalo na kaya ang engagement which (ideally) comes only once sa lifetime ng isang babae.

So you can just imagine my disappointment when we started making plans na for our wedding. Heto na kami nagda-down payment for the church and reception venue, may date at entourage na at lahat… pero walang proposal?!?!? I kept making parinig kay Bob telling him how sad I was na hindi ko na-experience yung surprise moment na yun of finding out na gusto pala niya akong pakasalan. I told him what kind of ring I wanted and how I wanted to be proposed to, tapos ang sagot niya lang sakin eh “Kailangan pa ba nun? Ang corny!”

But I didn’t give up, ayoko naman siyang i-nag kasi sobrang pathetic ko na nun, so at night ipinagdadasal ko na lang na magpropose na sakin finally si Bob (at least MEDYO pathetic lang hehehe), kasi hindi ko talaga maramdaman na ikakasal na ako. I couldn’t even tell my friends kasi the few na nasabihan ko, isa lahat ang reaction, “Patingin ng singsing!” Eh wala akong mapakita, so I stopped telling people na lang. I even tried to connive with our friends to find out from Bob kung may plans nga siya of proposing pero wala talaga silang mapiga kay Bob which for me meant wala talagang plano si mokong! :)

But I kept the faith, only to be met by disappointment time and time again. Until I decided to stop hoping. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, I’m just torturing myself when it’s so apparent that Bob will never propose. Tutal naman pakakasalan ako, okay na yun!

And yet deep inside I could never shake the nagging thought na baka kaya ako pakakasalan ni Bob eh dahil napilitan na lang siya, na-pressure sakin. So even in the midst of wedding planning, I couldn’t feel true happiness. I couldn’t erase the doubts in my head. I felt na kaya hindi nagpo-propose si Bob eh dahil ayaw niya pa talaga magpakasal.

Yesterday, Christmas day, Bob and I made plans to see each other to have dinner (shempre holiday, kailangan i-celebrate!). When he picked me up at home, pagsakay ko ng car, inabutan niya ako ng Starbucks paper bag. Gift daw niya. Since his sister worked at Starbucks, akala ko yung planner ng Starbucks ang ibibigay niya sakin. Pagbukas ko, isang 300-calorie piece of cake na nasa parang luma na na packaging ang bumungad sakin. Initial thought ko was, ito gift sakin ni Bob?! Not that I wasn’t grateful, medyo parang weird lang kasi anytime pwede niya ako bigyan ng ganun, bakit tinaon pa na Pasko. And besides, alam niyang hindi ako mahilig sa sweets. Pero sabi ni Bob, meron pang laman yang paper bag. I looked, and found two CDs of my super favorite Julia Fordham. Solb na ko, props lang pala yung cake kasi yung CDs pala talaga yung totoo niyang gift. I was happy already, until Bob said, meron pang laman yan. Sabi ko, wala na, ang gaan na nung paper bag! Sabi niya, hindi meron pa, check mo ulit. And lo and behold, at the very bottom of the bag was a small velvet box.

Hindi ko napigilan, bigla akong napaluha. I thought to myself, ito na ba yun?? Is this finally it?? Pero at the same time, naisip ko rin na, iiyak-iyak ako tapos mamaya hikaw naman pala ang laman nung kahon or kwintas, mukha akong tanga! Or baka Bob meant to have that box as a joke; sa isip-isip ko, it would be a veeeeerrrrrrryyyy bad joke, unforgivable even. Ang bilis talaga ng takbo ng isip ko nun, conflicting thoughts and emotions, kasi for that brief moment, I allowed myself to hope again and I didn’t want to be disappointed another time.

Nung hindi na ako makatiis, binuksan ko na yung kahon. And what I saw inside made me drop the box on my lap, cover my face with both my hands, and I bawled like a baby. Daig ko pa ang batang nawala sa loob ng mall at hindi mahanap ang magulang sa lakas ng iyak ko. As in hagulgol to the max talaga. Hindi alam ni Bob kung paano ako patatahanin kasi I think I was crying for over a minute yata. I remember him saying, “Be tama na, pinagtitinginan na tayo ng mga tao, baka akala inaaway kita.” But how could I stop crying? Inside the box was the most beautiful white gold engagement ring I could ever dream of. The only time I was able to stop covering my face was when Bob said, “Be akin na yung kamay mo para maisuot ko sayo yung singsing.” And when he placed the ring on my finger, it was a perfect fit! Then Bob said, “Will you marry me?”, I hugged him and started bawling again! Sabi na ni Bob (who was also crying na at this point), “Be, hindi mo sinasagot yung tanong ko. Will you marry me?” And I told him, “Shempre!”

It was amazing, the ring was amazing, Bob was amazing! The ring was perfect, it was exactly how I wanted it to be. The width of the band, the size of the stone… perfect! I honestly couldn’t have chosen a better one. Tumalon talaga ako palabas ng sasakyan and I raced inside our house to show off my beautiful ring to my parents. Apparently I was blubbering kasi wala silang maintindihan sa sinabi ko. Nakita lang nila na sumugod ako sa kwarto nila, humahagulgol habang nakataas ang kamay ko and they jumped to the conclusion na nanakawan ako! My dad was so worried but my mom saw na the ring on my finger and she too started crying! So Dad ko sobrang clueless kung bakit dalawa kaming umiiyak so lalo tuloy siyang kinabahan (sorry Dad!) until my mom and I were able to calm down and start being coherent again hehehe.

When I went back sa car, tinanong ni Bob kung saan ko daw gusto pumunta, isa agad ang sagot ko, “I want a manicure! Kailangan maganda ang kamay ko pag nagshow-off ako ng ring!” Hehe :)

And that is how we spent the rest of the day. Bob got a haircut while I was getting my French tips. Habang nagpapa-manicure nga ako, hindi ko napipigilan, nagluluha pa rin ako. Siguro nga napa-praning na sa akin yung manikurista eh hehehe. I couldn’t help it, pag naiisip ko yung mga pangyayari, naiiyak ako na natatawa kasi wa-poise talaga yung reaction ko hehehe. Kung may ilang beses talaga ako naiyak the whole day yesterday. Up to now a part of me still finds the whole thing unbelievable.

Be, no words can describe how happy you made me feel. Thank you for the best Christmas ever. I love you very, very much.

And to everyone else, let's look forward to a great new year! May you experience that amazing kind of crazy-happiness at least once in your life, and may you find that perfect someone you’ll want to spend the rest of your life with. I did :)

Bob's Post Birthday Post with Joy....

Belated happy birthday bebi!!!

Aww… thanks, bebe. Andito na naman kami sa Mocha Blends near Wilson. Malapit na matapos ang aking post-birthday celebration with my bebe.

It was Bob’s birthday yesterday but we were only able to celebrate it now kasi jologs ang office namin, may work pag Saturdays…

Korek! Jologs!

Hehe ☺ Anyway we know we haven’t been able to write for quite some time, my fault actually. May time kasi na na-addict ako dun sa isang game ni Bob dito sa laptop niya and I would play that instead of writing. Kaawa nga si Bob eh, once a week na lang kami magkita tapos hindi ko pa pinapansin hehehe. Tapos other times naman sobrang antok or tamad na kaya we would opt to go home instead. We almost went home na rin tonight without writing but because of one reader’s encouraging comments in our blog (thanks again Miss F), heto na ulit kami para magparamdam.

Hiya ang tawag diyan… hehehehe!

Medyo naipon ang mga reviews namin, medyo marami na rin kaming nakainan since the last time we wrote here and I dunno if we should cram it all in this entry. Whatcha think, Be?

Isa na lang muna, bebe. Masyadong mahaba kung ilalagay natin lahat. Which really means, marami kaming kumain. Yung kinain lang today, di na magkakasya dito eh. Hehehehe…

Alin sa lahat ng kinainan natin today yung ire-review natin? ☺

I think the one in Rockwell, the one where we had our lunch/merienda. It’s a place called Myron’s. By the way, daming artista kanina dun ah. Excluding us, of course… Hahahaha!

Oo nga, was finally able to see Heart Evangelista in person. Very pretty, kaso medyo na-off ako dun sa permanent smile na naka-plaster sa face niya while she and Jericho were walking inside the mall. It was a nice smile, except it didn’t reach her eyes…

Nakita lang kasi ako nun… Patoiiing!!!

Pasalamat ka post-birthday mo, kung hindi…

Hehehe… yun nga. Sige na nga, mukhang masasaktan ako in less than 2 hours. Back to the review! So we ate at Myron’s. Steaks, ribs and seafood ang specialty ng place. I ordered Paolo’s Choice. Ribeye steak and baked potatoes. And rice. Hehehe.

A little background first. A friend of mine recommended this place to me which is how we heard about it in the first place. It’s located at the lower ground floor of Rockwell Power Plant Mall in front of Milky Way. He said na super sarap daw ng food sa place na to, and mentioned two particular dishes that we should order: the Chili Soft Shell Crabs with Garlic Noodles and the Angus Beef Sandwich with Foie Gras. So we did.

No bebe, you did! Hehehe… wala akong kinalaman sa dalawang dishes na yan ah! Mabuti nang klaro! Hehehehe…

Hehehe, okay I stand corrected. Ganito kasi yung kwento. So I ordered the crab pero si Bob didn’t want to order the sandwich. He ordered Paolo’s Choice which is a 5 oz. steak with foie gras and a couple of side dishes which Bob already mentioned earlier. Bob’s food was super delish! Tikim nga ako ng tikim eh hehehe. Mine unfortunately was…

Wenk, wenk weeeeeenk…… Mahal pa, to boot.

Hindi ah! Mura lang nga yun eh, mga P320. Yung sayo ang mahal, P795!

Sabi ko nga…

Anyway, back to my crab. Sabi kasi ng friend ko, and his exact words were, “…there’s a burst of flavors when you bite into the crab…”

Yun lang di nya sinabi kung pleasant yung flavors…

The crab itself naman was semi-okay, medyo nakakauwa/nakakasawa/nakakaumay (take your pick) lang. The noodles I wasn’t particularly fond of, maybe because I’m not really a fan of chili sauce pero medyo maasim na hindi ko maintindihan.

Di mo ata narinig yung word na “confused” nung i-recommend sya ng friend mo eh, what he really said was “…there’s a burst of CONFUSED flavors when you bite into the CRAP…” Hehehehe... Boinggghh!!

Hay naku. So anyway, hindi ko talaga masyadong makain yung food ko so I ordered the other dish which was also highly recommended, the sandwich. And guess what? Hindi ko rin siya trip! Argh!

Wenk, wenk weeeeeenk…… Mahal pa, to boot. Tama na ba pasok ko? (Standing proud, one foot on a chair, chin up)

Ano ka, feeling superhero?? Anyway, again this might be because of my personal food preferences pero hindi ko gusto yung ginamit na parang barbecue sauce dun sa sandwich. The foie gras was excellent though. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time that Bob and I tasted foie gras, and it was mighty superb! Medyo kailangan mo lang maghilot ng batok afterwards ☺

Bermuda Grass pa lang ang natikman ko before. Hehehe…

My turn, wenk wenk weeeeenkkkk…

Hehehe… Huwaw! What a comeback! Pero Be, no matter what your preferences are, kung masarap talaga yung pagkain, masarap siya, diba? Otherwise, experimenting with food is useless. My point is, dapat pag may dish silang ginawa, dapat swak yun sa panlasa, kahit sino ka pa.

No, I’m just saying na baka may iba diyan who would completely adore their food (like my friend), so they might want to still try it despite my negative comments. The sandwich costs around P750, a bit pricey since I barely touched the sandwich. Hindi na nga namin nakunan ng picture yung sandwich, nawalan na ko ng gana. Even the fries were not good for some reason, and I looooove fries.

It was browned to imperfection. Tutong na eh.

Ewan ko, hindi ko maintindihn yung lasa, parang cardboard. Malas lang yata ako ngayong araw.

Kaya pala “teks” ang naaalala ko habang ngumunguya ako nung fries… now I understand.

Anong teks?

Yung maliliit na cards na pinangsusugal nung kabataan natin. Oh wait, baka di ka naglaro nun? You were busy with your Florida Barbie chorva… hehehe.

Hello naglalaro ako nun no! Akala ko kasi TEX ang spelling nun eh hehehe.

Waw, spelling pa lang, up there na.

OAAAAAAAAAAA! Reyna ako ng patintero nung bata ako no!

(Bob shuts up, receipt shoved down his throat)

Hmph! Lumalayo na usapan. So hayun, that was our lunch kanina. By the way, we also ordered Caesar salad which was good naman. Total bill, including drinks and the super expensive service charge: P2,903. Yup, ganun kamahal! Tapos hindi pa ako nag-enjoy, boohoo! Final verdict, we definitely recommend their steaks which were really good. As for the rest, you be the judge.

Bili na lang kayo ng Teks.

Sira.

Actually, in fairness.

We've been friends for a long time ago. We come from the same alma mother. Actually, our paths crossed one time on another. But it's only now that I gave him a second look. I realized that beauty is in the eyes. The pulpbits of my heart went fast, really fast. Cute pala siya. And then, he came over with me. He said, "I hope you don't mine. Can I get your number?" Nag-worry ako. What if he doesn't give it back? He explained naman na it's so we could keep intact daw. Sabi ko, connect me if i'm wrong but are you asking me ouch? Nabigla siya. Sagot niya, “The!” Aba! Parang siya pa ang galit! Persona ingrata!!! Ang kapal niya! I cried buckles of tears.

Na-guilty yata siya. Sabi niya, isipin mo na lang na this is a blessing in the sky. Irregardless daw of his feelings, we'll go ouch na rin. Now, we're so in love. Mute and epidemic na ang past. Thanks God we swallowed our fried. Kasi, I'm 33 na and I'm running our time. After 2 weeks, he plopped the question. "Will you marriage me?" I'm in a state of shocked. Kasi mantakin mo, when it rains, it's four! This is true good to be true. So siyempre, I said yes. Love is a many splendor.

Pero nung inaayos ko na ang aming kasal, everything swell to pieces. Nag-di-dinner kami noon nang biglang sa harap ng aming table, may babaeng humirit ng, "Well, well, well. Look do we have here." What the fuss! The nerd ng babaeng yon! She said they were still on. So I told her, whatever is that, cut me some slacks! I didn't want this to get our hand kaya I had to sip it in the bud. She accused me of steeling her boyfriend. Ats if! I don't want to portrait the role of the other woman. Gosh, tell me to the marines! I told her, "please, mine you own business!" Who would believe her anyway?

Dahil it's not my problem anymore but her problem anymore, tumigil na rin siya ng panggugulo. Everything is coming up daisies. I'm so happy. Even my boyfriend said liketwice. He's so supportive. Sabi niya, "Look at is this way. She's our of our lives."

Kaya advise ko sa inyo - take the risk. You can never can tell. Just burn the bridge when you get there. Life is shorts. If you make a mistake, we'll just pray for the internal and external repose of your soul. I second emotion.

Before you think that we actually wrote this, let me clarify that this was forwarded to me sa email. I found it so hilarious (and scary that we actually know people who really talk like this) that I forwarded it to Bob and some other friends. Bob and I have been meaning to write an entry concerning other people’s grammatical bloopers and I think this is the best intro to that.

Be, I don’t think that anybody really talks this way. But hey, we can never can tell. Hehehe. Yeah, we’ve been gritting our teeth for too long now. It’s time to write this thing down before we break them. Hehehe…

The! Hehehe… Anyway, I hope we don’t offend anybody kasi baka may matamaan kami unintentionally…

Anong you hope we don’t offend anybody?! Tamaan na ang tatamaan! Hehehe. I think those people will benefit naman in the long run.

That was what I was gonna say, in the end, we hope you will learn something from this entry. We are not claiming to be authorities in the English language, what we are gonna share are basically common sense stuff na baka nakakalimutan na ng iba. By sharing other people’s mistakes (which are meant for fun, not cruelty), we hope you won’t repeat them anymore.

Ako naman Be, I really don’t mind grammatical errors. I’m not a grammar bigot, and I understand na sometimes di rin sila nakakuha ng proper education. But the thing that really gets on my nerds, este nerves, eh, yung mga tao na anlalakas ng boses pag nako-commit nila ang kanilang grammatical booboos. Yung tamang wala pang pakundangan na sunod-sunod ang mga booboos. Para bang di nila napapansin! With conviction pa, kumbaga. Shet. Hehehe.

You know me Be, I’m such a stickler for correct grammar, spelling and pronunciation. Ang paniniwala ko kasi, wag pilitin ang hindi kaya. There’s nothing wrong in speaking in Filipino especially if you know na medyo hirap ka sa English. Kung Americans nga mismo, hindi tama ang grammar eh. If you always speak in English because you want to learn, that’s fine with me. What gets my goat is yung kinakausap mo na in Filipino tapos pinipilit pa ring mag-English. Pag kinakausap ka ng Tagalog, you should respond in Tagalog. Pag English, English. Wag ka mag-English pag tina-Tagalog ka, lalo na kung medyo hirap ka mag-English. That I find pretentious and trying hard. Lalo na yung mga nagpipilit gumamit ng mga idioms, figures of speech, and the like, tapos mali naman. Case in point yung forwarded email na yan. Another example, let’s keep her identity a secret pero I’m sure some of our friends will be able to identify this person…

Grabe… girl sya?! Hmmm… sino itetch?

Secret nga eh! Anyway these are some of the phrases she is well-known for… “Damn you do, damn you don’t!”, “I did my part, now the ball is with you”, “Wag na tayo magpaligoy-ligoy, let’s lay the table.”

Hint naman d’yan oh! Hehehehe… Hmmm. Is she young?

Be, hindi ito blind item! At para namang hindi mo alam. Anyway I was asking Bob kung dapat ko ba ilagay yung proper usage nung mga abovementioned phrases pero sabi niya dapat daw gets niyo na kung ano talaga yung tama hehehe.

Kung hindi, we’re SOOO offending you right now.

Hehehe, Be parang ang sama-sama natin. Teka, hindi pa ko tapos, panalo rin sa pronunciation ang taong ito. For example, Burger King’s Whopper Burger she pronounces as “wooper boorjer”…

Baka naman yan ang pronunciation sa Finland. And to think, this woman prides herself in having taken speech lessons, mala-John Robert Powers. Leche, pag naririnig ko tong babaeng to, di kinakaya ng powers ko. Talagang brutal, matatawa ka mismo halos sa harap nya. Ang hirap kasi n’yan, pag ginaganahan, lalong napapa-Ingles! Pero come to think of it, okay na rin. Parang libreng stand-up comedy with every conversation. Kaya siguro gustung-gusto ni Joy chikahin to eh, nakaka-gather sya ng material. Hehehe…

Uy hindi naman. Sige, ibang tao naman. I just heard this recently, this person wanted to add something to what another person already said and what she said was, “Let me add up…” Oh my. To “add up” is to compute numbers, just “add” is enough. Itigil yang pagdagdag ng unnecessary “up”. The same goes for “cope”. And kung may nagkakamali sa English, marami rin ang nagkakamali sa Taglish. People, there’s also correct use of tenses kahit Taglish. When you use “na” or “nag”, that’s past tense (eg: nakain, naglaro) while “mag” signifies future tense (eg: maglalaba). The same thing still applies if you mix in an English verb.

Correct. Guys, i-factor in n’yo yung Pinoy prefix na mga yan pag dudugtungan nyo ng English. Kasi, for the longest time Joy and I were dealing with “na-brought up”, “na-bored”, at ang hybrid na “na-boboring” sa mga kausap namin sa buhay. Guys, I don’t want to be mean, but mga parekoy, IT IS WRONG. And stupid. Sorry.

Wag naman stupid Be, pero guys, mali kasi talaga so kung ganito kayo, we hope and pray that you will stop kasi ang sakit talaga sa tenga. Double past tense kasi yun, it should be “na-bring up sa meeting” and “na-bore ako sa meeting” kasi the prefix “na” already makes the verb past tense.

Eto pa ang isa, andaming taong gumagamit nito kasi feeling nila tama. Eto ay kasama ng onslaught ng “Basically”, “Actually”, “In Fairness” at kung anu-ano pang pampalamuti sa beginning ng sentence para magmukha syang mabigat sa pandinig… prufisyunal, ika nga: IRREGARDLESS. Mga kababayan kong Taglisheros, there’s no such thing as irregardless. Double negative po ito meaning pag ginamit mo sya, ang katumbas nya ay “with regard”. Kung ang gusto mong iparating ay “KEBS”, “regardless” lang po ay enough na. Wag na nating dagdagan ng I at R sa unahan. Eto yung malala na talaga, yung paggamit ng “in fairness” kalokohan na: “IN FAIRNESS, KUMUSTA KA?” Ina naman, wala namang ganyanan. Anlakas na ng IRITA factor nito ha!

OA naman, meron ba talagang nagsasabi niyan?

Hehe, meron Be. Apparently, isa sya sa mga pet peeves ng mga utaw na pumasok sa top 10 sa RX sometime before. Isa pa, yung paggamit ng “LITERALLY”. Tipong, “OH MY GOD, BINAHA YUNG BUONG BAHAY KO, AS IN LITERALLY”. Tsong pag ang buong bahay mo binaha literally, malamang magugunaw na ang mundo. Well unless nasa Pampanga ka nung kainitan ng lahar. “In fairness”, nakapasok ka pa to tell us about it ha.

Speaking of pet peeves, with the popularity of blogs nowadays, ang dami kong nae-encounter na mga wrong spelling and grammar. Kahit na typo lang yun, hello naman, blog niyo yun, konting spell check naman. It must be the AE in me pero automatic na kasi sakin ang mag-proofread ng lahat ng binabasa ko…

Peeps, yung red na zigzag lines under the word, yun yon. Pero kung rekta kang sa blog na nagsusulat, common sense pa rin eh.

Tapos ang dami naman diyan na ina-abuse ang thesaurus. When we write, the intention should be to communicate, not to impress. Enough with the high-fallutin words, just keep it simple. If you have to consult the thesaurus, at least consult the dictionary also kasi minsan, sa sobrang gustong maka-impress at maisip ng mga taong matalino ka dahil alam mo itong word na ito, mali naman ang usage.

See, people tend to try to make an impression in their blogs. Pero, that would be cheating. That’s okay, just make sure you cheat right. Ang kaso niyan, mandadaya na lang, sablay pa eh. Understand the high-fallutin word first before using it in your high-fallutin blog post. Kasi nga, the more people read the mistake, the more you make a fool of yourself. Buti nga ako may human spell checker, thanks Be, at least lessened ang tendency ko na magmukhang tanga sa buong mundo. Hehehe.

Be, hindi ko na maalala yung ibang mga blooper stories na napagkukwentuhan natin :( Ang dami pa naman nun.

That’s okay, let’s just burn the bridge when we get there. Nyar! Hehehe. Guys, share naman kayo ng grammar booboos nyo dito! It will surely be appreciated!

A date at Café Ysabel

Hellooowww! We missed you guys last week kasi instead of writing here sa blog, we opted to waste our time and money watching Harry Potter. Kung anong ginanda ng Transformers, that was how much Harry Potter sucked.

Well, nasa book 2 pa rin ako hanggang ngayon at di ako avid fan ni Harry. Pero dun sana makikita yung galing nung director, yung makaka-relate pa rin yung audience kahit di niya nabasa yung libro. Parang di kasi ako makasunod eh. O shunga lang talaga ako… hehehe…

Eh ako I’ve read all the books (well, except the last) and I can say na of all the HP movies, there has never been one that was faithful sa book or was at least able to capture it. I know the book from which this last movie was based (Order of the Phoenix) was a bit dragging but there were some really good dramatic and exciting moments that the movie was not able to capture. Anyhoo, this is starting to become a movie review, but it isn’t. I refuse to waste any more time with that movie. This entry is in fact, a food review hehehe ☺

Agree, the last Harry Potter movie sucks.

Even the other HP movies before that Be.

Ako ok ako sa una… palibhasa yun lang natapos kong libro. Hehe. O sya, pagkain na! What we’re going to review today is one of our fave joints ni Joy… pag may pera. Pag walang pera, di namin sya favorite. Hehehe. The price of the food in this place is kinda steep. And we’re talking about…

Café Ysabel. But Be, that’s the price you pay for fine dining and reeaaalllly good food. You have to agree, it’s worth the money we spend naman diba? Sulit naman diba?

I concur my good lady. Patoingg! Hehehe. Sorry, nasa sosyal mood pa ako eh. Anyway, we’ve been itching to write a review about this place since Joy brought me there for the first time. Panalo talaga kasi. Café Ysabel is located at the corner of P. Guevarra and Recto streets. So if you’re coming from Greenhills, go straight Wilson St. then make a left at P. Guevarra and you will see Café Ysabel at the first corner to your left.

Sige, let’s describe the place first. Pictures please…

Okay, as you can see, the place is kinda like your haciendero-grandparents house in the province. Capiz windows, wooden floors, almost wooden everything. If not for the carefully-planned styling, you’d even think it’s a haunted house, right?

I agree. I don’t know about the men’s restroom, pero yung ladies’ room, although looks ordinary, pero parang you get chills everytime you go in. Medyo madilim kasi tapos feeling mo parang may makikita kang nakatanaw sayo na mumu sa may windows or nakatayo sa likod mo pag nanalamin ka. Ang praning ba?

Hehe… I get the same feeling Be, di ka nag-iisa. But you see guys, that’s the beauty of this place. The World War 2 era feel of the place really adds to the whole flavor of dining. Antique (or at least antique-looking) cabinets and lamps decorate the place with old looking paintings on the walls and ceiling. I don’t know if Chef Gene Gonzales deliberately made the floor on the window side tilt a little as if it’s going to collapse, but it makes the feel of the whole place complete. When you enter the Café, on the left side are the tables with booths for seats. This is the prime spot in the whole place. I dunno if I’m just a “vintage junkie” but see, this makes the whole dining experience at Café Ysabel complete. There are times when there’s a piano player, playing contemporary songs done with a melancholic flavor. Ganda. We even tripped one time at the place and did shots with me and Joy looking like people from that period. But we had round neck shirts on (Joy was wearing Giordano) and that pretty much gave us away that we were fakes…(Click Here to See the Pics!)

Old school naman ang Giordano ah, kaya nga Giordano Classics eh mwehehehe. Anyway, that prime spot Bob was talking about is actually a different resto (although still in the same building) called Gino’s. The place closed down but you can still choose to stay there but they’ll be offering you the Café Ysabel menu. Let’s talk about the food na. Upon ordering, the waiters will serve you freshly baked bread which you can dip in Zatar, a dipping sauce made from a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You can add some parmesan cheese for extra flavor but otherwise, it is already very good as is. They have started selling this by the bottle and I bought myself a small one which costs P198. You have to try it, it’s really good. It’s a good and healthier alternative to the usual palaman ng tinapay.

I even think Joy was one of the people who gave Café Ysabel the idea to sell it. See, about a few years ago, when we were first started going to this place, they weren’t selling it pa. And Joy kept badgering the waiters to sell it to her. Hehehe. Ayun, binenta na rin sa wakas! For starters, we ordered our greens. Joy and I really dig the Caesar Salad there.

I would have to say that the Caesar salad here is one of the best I’ve ever tasted (Conti’s being the other one, but that’s a different review). Crisp Baguio lettuce with the yummiest dressing ever! Some bacon bits and croutons complete this heavenly experience. No exaggerations, heavenly talaga sa sarap.

Correct, yummylicious! For the main course, we ordered our usual treat from the place called Tournedoes Rossini. Be, care to elaborate?

This is a dish that was introduced to me by my dad when I was a lot younger and I have been a fan ever since. I, in turn, introduced it to Bob and hayun, addicted na rin siya. Tournedoes Rossini is a fillet of beef with liver pate and a gravy-type sauce referred to as “special Madeira sauce” in the menu. You have a choice of regular beef (P428) or imported beef (P768), I’ve tasted both and frankly I prefer the regular beef not because it is cheaper but because I find the beef to be tastier and more tender. The dish is served with some vegetables but what you see here sa picture will not always be how it will look once you decide to eat there. Café Ysabel kasi is also the home of the Center for Asian Culinary Studies and I think they let the students prepare the dishes sometimes kaya iba-iba ang nagiging presentation. In the picture you will see na merong kasamang mashed potato pero that is not always the case. But rest assured na kahit iba-ibang chef ang nagpe-prepare ng dish, constant naman na masarap yung food.

Agree, never pa namin na-experience na masama ang pagkaka-prepare ng food at Café Ysabel. Minsan lang, mawawala yung fried noodle garnish, or mas marami yung pate, but never mapapasama. Correct me if I’m wrong, Be, but most of the time, mas napapasarap pa yung food. Again, for us, this isn’t a regular thing because of financial restrictions, but I sure wish we can afford to eat here more.

For dessert we tried the creme brulée. This was Bob’s first time to try it, and for someone who doesn’t like sweets too much, how did you find it Be?

Pure creamy goodness. The egg custard was superb and the sugar was blowtorched to caramelized perfection. Sarap. Di siya nakakasawa, parang leche flan na pang may diabetes. Hehehe.

Total bill was around P1500. Worth every penny. Until the next payday Be? Hehehe.

‘Til the next payday. Or so.

Or until our next craving, whichever comes first hehehe. For more info, you may check out their website at www.cafeysabel.com. Ciao!

Hong Kong Travelogue Pt. 3

Haluu! We’re here right now at Café Bola in Greenbelt but we are not going to review them. We’re here to hopefully, finally finish our Hong Kong travelogue so we can get on to other things. Whatcha say, Be?

Yep-yep, Be, before it turns into a total blur. Although we may reserve another day for Café Bola in the future. I think we should finish the HK travelogue, just 2 days left in there, anyway. On the third day, we decided to indulge ourselves on the bacon and scrambled eggs at the hotel’s buffet. The four of us headed to the café and told the maitre’d, “WE WANT THEM BACON!” Hehehe…

Wow, maitre’d… Para tayong nasa Paris ah instead of a cheap ass hotel in Hong Kong where they charge you an additional HK$50 just to eat their freakin’ bacon! At heto kami, nagtakaw mata. 3 plates piled with food ang bitbit ng bawat isa sa amin kasi natatakot mapagsarahan ng buffet. Impacho galore!

Hahaha… and ganun pala lasa ng grapefruit juice. Ang pait. I apologize for my ignorance on fruit juices, but this one sucks ass! Mas masarap pa ata ampalaya juice eh, at least hindi nagtatamis-tamisan! Hahaha. So there, we had our fill of bacon, eggs, salmon even, and cheeses. Sarap. The only thing wrong with this buffet was this fact: WALANG KANIN! For those people who know me, you know I can live without a lot of viand but never, NEVER without rice! “KUNIN MO NANG LAHAT, WAG LANG ANG KANIN” as one would always hear me say. But to be fair it was still a glorious way to start the day, but Joy decided that she wouldn’t be joining us in merchandise-hunting that day. And what did she do while she was left at the hotel? Massage? No! Foot spa? No! Did she prepare her things for the flight the next day? NO! What did she do?... Text Twist. She’s thousands of kilometers away from home and she’s playing Text Twist. Amazing. Amazing.

Uhh… I guess I just wanted to prove to myself that I could still do it. Tagal ko rin kasing hindi nakapaglaro nun, years in fact. Just wanted to know kung kaya ko pa… kaya pa naman pala ☺ I know, I know, I’m such a geek but isn’t that one of the things you love about me? Hehehe ☺

Yeah, I love my little geek. ☺ You know what score she got? 1,056,590. Shit man. If you people know how to play this, 1.05 million is a lot to Text Twisting. Man, and she did it in less than half a day! What’s more, she had to deliberately make herself lose just to end the game. Those were a lot of words, Be. Clap! Clap! That’s the thing with Joy, you can leave her alone at a hotel, and you will find her there when you come back. Pag sinabi niyang “gusto kong magpahinga” better leave her be. Hehe. Anyway, while she was Text Twisting at Eaton, Kuya, Rakel and I went to Tom Lee (again) in Cameron Road. We decided to buy the Ibanez Valbee Mini-Tube Amp we were eyeing since the first day we arrived. See, here, Audiophile is selling it for PhP10,500. At Tom Lee, you can get it for HK$1,200. That’ll be just PhP7,200 back here! Big difference, huh? Since Joy was back at the hotel and Rakel went to another store to buy something, Kuya and I did what gearheads were supposed to do in that dreamland. Test the most expensive guitar on one of the most expensive amps in the shop! Hahaha! It was an effin’ field day for the both of us. We tried a 60’s-neck Les Paul Classic on a Mesa-Boogie Lonestar! After we got bored with the Les Paul, we got an American Standard Fender Stratocaster, then an ESP, then an Ibanez. Weehaw! That’s what you call a great day! Hehehe… although Rakel didn’t share the same sentiment. She got bored. Sorry! But we got the Ibanez Valbee, and headed back to the hotel.

Actually, I really didn’t need to rest. Ayoko lang talagang bumalik sa Tom Lee and suffer the same fate as Rakel. Sorry Be hehe.

Sabi ko na eh…

Hehe ☺ Anyway, after that, nagrest lang sandali sila Bob tapos we headed straight for Victoria Peak. I think this has got to be Bob’s most memorable part of the whole trip, going to Victoria Peak. Care to elaborate Be?

Oh. My. God. Hehe, arte eh no. Pakshet, we walked uphill! Even Kuya, who’s definitely fitter than I am struggled to get to the Tram station! I was sweating like a pig. On a summer day. In Bahrain. At 12:00 PM. Grabe, it was a humid night and it didn’t help with the walk, or the climb for that matter, up to the Tram. Joy and I told Kuya and Rakel. “Heeeehhh! Wheeeeehh!... Sagot na namin! Taxi na tayohhh! Hiiiing!” We decided to tell them when we were just 10 meters away from the station. Shet.

My legs were already cramping from all that walking during the first 2 days, we were all tired na talaga to begin with, tapos ganun pa yung tatahakin namin, kaya medyo tempers were starting to flare na that night. Even the simple task of choosing where to eat dinner was already causing a lot of annoyance. I even almost got in a fight with an older Korean woman who was probably in her late 40’s or 50’s. Ang bastos kasi, when we were boarding the tram that would bring us to Victoria Peak, medyo siksikan na sa loob. I got in first and was trying to save a seat for Bob when this woman elbowed me out of the way so she could seat by the window! I mean, hello, I was already there and she forced herself to where I was already. I was so pissed, kung marunong lang ako mag-Koreano, baka kinilabutan siya sa lahat ng pinagsasabi ko sa kanya kaso unfortunately, wala siyang naintindihan sa sinabi ko. Sana na-detect na lang niya sa tono ko na bad trip ako sa kanya. I know it seems petty na pumatol ako sa kanya especially since she was a lot older than I was, respect your elders and all that, pero I don’t know what came over me that night. Yung pagod lang siguro plus the putok of all the people around me, hala, na-high blood talaga ako! Poor Bob, was left standing.

Hehe… pabayaan mo na, Be. At least I got to stand like Michael Jackson, 45 degrees, babeh! Hell, the tram was going on a 45-degree angle going up, you’d wonder what’s keeping it from slipping from its track. We found out later na may tulong pala sya talaga ng cable pulling it from the top of the hill. Man it was great up there. We were rushing to get to the top, and Joy was still thinking of how to land an elbow on the Korean woman. We have nothing against Koreans, but, this person really sucks ass! Grabeng ugali yan. Nangupal na, kebs pa! Hehehe… tama na nga, bombahin pa tayo ng mga yun. Ah, taga-south ba? Nabomba na tayo nun… ng teleserye. Lech. Anyway, you’ll climb up the building on escalators. The view at the top was amazing. We got to see most of what Hong Kong really is. Grabe, that also was my first time to see what a fully-industrialized country looks like. The buildings here are dwarves compared to the sizes of the buildings there. And they weren’t just hubs of the workforce, they were also decors for the skyline! One building even tells time. It was an experience! Then it was time to go home, all of us beat from the walks and the smell. It was great though. I wish we had more energy.

I was in a foul mood all night kaya when it was time to go home, I really put my foot down and told them, “Mag-taxi na tayo! Kahit ako pa magbayad!” kaya hayun, we took a cab home and the fare was about HK$60-70, not bad for the trek it saved us. Bob, being the gentleman that he is, of course did not make me pay the fare. Thanks Be ☺ The cab ride was an experience grabe talaga ang mga drivers sa HK, super bilis mag-drive! Para kaming sumakay ulit dun sa Space Mountan ride! Saya! Can I just make singit? While doing this entry, Bob and I shared a bowl of homemade shoestring potatoes with garlic mayo and another bowl of rice with adobo flakes and kesong puti here in Café Bola. The food is good, you should try it. But sorry no pictures. We finished the whole thing na kasi before I thought of taking shots. Back to Hong Kong. So the third day was over and done with, now on to our fourth and final day. I would dub this day as our McDonald’s day. During breakfast, Bob tried their Deluxe Breakfast. Sobrang ina-anticipate talaga ni Bob ito na ni-research pa nila ng Kuya niya sa internet kung ano itsura ng breakfast sa McDo. The only difference to our Big Breakfast here is that may hash brown sa kanila. Nung lunch naman, Bob found a short strand of CURLY hair in his sausage McMuffin! We were debating whether it came from someone’s armpit or somewhere further down south. Dapat pala nakunan natin ng picture yun no? Hehe…

Wag na, Be. Mato-trauma yung readers natin, kaunti lang sila. Hehehe. But yeah, I got a Sausage McHair sa Muffin ko. It wasn’t a loose hair in between the sandwich, it was baked with the bread! Gross! So I got up, complained to the manager who barely understood what I was saying and showed her the Sausage McPube. Then, alas! I got a new Sausage McMuffin that day. I was about 40 percent done with the other one when I got a taste of Ronald’s McFollicle. But what can you do, right? Charge it to experience and get the new one done and over with.

Our last day in HK was spent shopping, whether it was for ourselves or our friends and family back home. Bob’s brother and Rakel went to Ikea while Bob and I went to Mongkok. Food may be expensive here in Hong Kong but the rest of the stuff are such great deals.

Even Hairy McMeals are expensive!

Gross Be, enough with that! Anyway, take for example perfumes. Bonjour is a good place to get them. I got a big bottle of Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea which in Philippine peso cost only P600! That like, costs more than a thousand bucks here! Bob got a huge bottle of Davidoff Echo which costs less than P1,200…

The box ata costs like 2,700 here. So I didn’t get the box na lang.

Bonjour also carries a variety of other products like cosmetics, lotions, shampoos, etc. My mom’s only request was to buy her some paper powder, you know, where the paper has powder on it (Papier Poudre)… and it costs only around P35 eh kung dito sa Pinas bibilhin yun, nasa a hundred pesos na yata yun ngayon. Bob also got Dr. Scholl’s heel cushions while I got the Party Feet which was also a lot cheaper. Tapos across Bonjour, Bob and I found a store that sells shoes… For those of you who know Bob, alam ninyo na may pagka-Imeldific itong si Bob. He can’t resist shoes! Hehe…

Uy, di naman. Nagfe-fade na kasi yung Converse ko eh… Patoingg!! Onga pala puti yun, pano magfe-fade. Hehe… oo na, Imeldific na, at least di ko ninanakawan ang kabangbayan! Hehehe.

Bawiin mo yan! Lagot ka sa tatay ko, Loyalist yun!

Oo nga, si Imelda Reyes kako, yung baranggay captain sa Tuguegarao. Hehehe… Joke lang, sino ba yun? Hehehe…

Naku, baka may Imelda Reyes nga talaga, lagot ka. Pero Be naman, kung sana iba-iba itsura nung mga sapatos mo, pero puro rubber shoes lang naman lahat. I mean, how many pairs of rubber shoes do you really need??

A couple… a couple of dozen. PANGGGGH! Yahre! Hehehe… Aray. Tama na itong meron ako actually, may binili pa naman sa akin si Joy na Merrell na pwedeng pang semi-formal. I got a pair of Puma Tempo shoes. Para syang driving shoes na manipis lang, tamang tama lang, para maiba naman sa bulky sneakers that I usually wear. We got the Puma for HK$299 and the Merrell for HK$359. Not bad actually if you compare with the prices here. Joy also got a great deal on a pair of thong-type Crocs for only Php1,300 which when we checked at Rockwell last week goes for around PhP1,750. Great deals, huh? Yeah!

Afterwards, we went straight to Ladies Street for more shopping. We were able to get some neat stuff for pasalubong, and Bob and I were able to get some cool shirts where you can choose a design and they will iron it on the shirt. Bob was finally able to get his much longed-for AstroBoy shirt hehe.

That’s right! We met Kuya and Rakel afterwards in Tom Lee Wan Chai…

Hayy, Tom Lee na naman…

Okay, okay. After we met them was when the McHairy event happened. Hehehe… Then when it was time to go home, we rode the double-decker on the way to the airport. It was fun riding at the frontmost seats of the bus. But earlier, we said we were scared about how the drivers in HK drove. We said they were fast right? So we were expecting another thrilling ride with this one and this time we were elevated! But lo and behold, the driver decided to drive slow that day ata. Boooring, but nonetheless, the view was great. We got to the airport way past the required “2-hours-before-check-in” time. So we got to the check-in counter chop-chop! Man, that airport is huge! The attendant at the counter was Cantonese, so we really didn’t get to pay too much attention when she said that we should go now if we wanted to make the flight. Being the Pinoys that we are, we took our time strolling around Giordano, and even eating dinner at Popeye’s with Ben and Jerry’s for dessert…

Can I just say, I don’t understand what the fuss is with Ben & Jerry’s. Haagen Dazs is much, much better.

Agree. Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream feels like molten bread. It’s freakin’ sticky! I know they want to emphasize creaminess, but hell, this is way too creamy for me!

I didn’t find it creamy at all, I found it too thick! What was the flavor you ordered? Cookie dough? I dunno, baka pangit lang yung natikman natin.

Anyway, we were 10 minutes away from boarding time when we got our asses to walk towards the terminal when we realized as we were on the escalator… WE STILL HAVE TO TAKE ANOTHER TRAAAAIN!! And it didn’t help when we saw our flight number flashing “FINAL CALL” on the screen.

That was how big the airport was. And the architecture was fascinating, nag-picture-picture pa nga si Bob kaya rin siguro kami natagalan hehehe.

Nyaak! Ako pa talaga ang sinisi. Iniiwan nyo nga ako nung nagkokodak-kodak ako eh. Pinoy na pinoy eh no? Kodak. Anyway, as we were racing towards the terminal, our hearts were nakiki-race din. Si Joy, walang opera-opera, HATAW SA TAKBO! Hehehe… Naiwan pa ako eh. Grabe, first sigh of relief namin eh nung nakakita kami ng flight attendant from Cebu Pacific, holding a Final Call placard, waiting for the last passengers… and kami yon. Whew! Home run! Grabe yung saya namin when we got to our seats! We were finally settling, still catching our breaths, still cherishing the fact that we didn’t miss our flight, which would be disastrous if we did, when 3 women, Pinays, walk in. Man talk about Filipino time. And we were scared shitless.

So that was our Hong Kong adventure.

And I promise you, WE WILL BE BACK! Hehehehe.

Hong Kong Travelogue Pt. 2

Hey, hey, hey! ‘To na ang pinakahihintay nyo! Ang part 2 ng Hong Kong trip namin. Feeling. Hehe… As if may pakialam talaga kayo. Hehehe. Alam naman namin na ang inaantay nyo dito eh kung saan kayo makakatipid sa kung saan-saan sa HK. Hehe… Deh, welcome back peeps! Enjoy the rest of the HK review!

Do you think we can cover the last 3 days in this entry? I want to go back to reviewing FOOOOD! ☺ Hehe…

One MTR Station at at time, Bebe, one MTR station at a time… WATENNNG! Onga no? Haba nun! Hehehe…

Sige start na tayo, di ko trip itong couch sa Starbucks Powerplant, hindi comfy. Anyway, day 2. Much-awaited namin ni Bob ito kasi we would be able to finally try the breakfast offered by the hotel. Sa Philippines kasi, sobrang okay ang breakfast... FREE BUFFET! As in hindi magkandaugaga si Bob sa mounds of bacon at scrambled eggs na meron sa mga hotels like Intercon, Richmonde, at Waterfront Cebu. So excited kami i-try yung breakfast ng Eaton Hotel, mataas ang expectations namin kasi shempre, Hong Kong ito diba?

Aww… kawawa naman Bebe. Hindi kumportable. Sige Be, bilisan na lang natin to. Manonood pa tayo ng Transformers and the battery might not last that long. Asan na tayo? Buffet! Yes! Ang Buffet ng Eaton! Ang buffet ng Eaton ay… MAY BAYAD! Hehe… the complimentary breakfast which comes with the room is called “Continental Breakfast”... Bacon, Eggs, Ham… I could almost taste it that I had trouble sleeping on the first night.

So kahit hindi buffet, okay pa rin samin ni Bob kasi nga alam namin na ang usual continental breakfast (at least what’s being offered in the Philippines) has a choice of ham, bacon, eggs, sausages, along with the usual variety of breads, jams, fruits, coffee and juice. So Bob and I woke up early that morning to finally try the continental breakfast of Eaton Hotel, and lo and behold… ano ang sinerve sa amin?

&@^#%!! Kulang na lang eh tie-dyed shirt, pang-hippie na vegan na yung “Continental breakfast” ng hinayupak na hotel na yun eh! They served us (thank GOD at least may KAPE!) tinapay at prutas! WAAAARRGHH! I was beginning to think going to HK was a bad idea… OA. Di naman, bad trip lang nung umaga. Malala pa nyan, may katabi kaming mga puti, kumakain ng glorious bacon at superb-looking scrambled eggs. Tulo-laway na lang kami eh.

We wanted to rush to the nearest McDonalds, that was how desperate we were hehehe. We asked the servers how we could avail of their buffet and they said we had to pay an additional HK$50 per head. Anyway, that was our morning. Not a good start but it had a great ending because our agenda for that day was… Disneyland!

Tegedeng-tegedeng, the magic is here… AT ENCHANTED DIIIISNEYLAND! Jologs. Kingdom pala yun. Pero you get the same feeling the first time you go to Enchanted Kingdom. You somehow get to feel like a kid again. Andun yung kabog ng dibdib mo, seeing the grandness of the place. Entrance pa lang ulam na… Init nga lang. Shet. The first point you get that giddy feeling is when the train arrives at the station. Grabe. Feeling mo, aalis yung tren sa riles (pronounced ree-less, sige na nga, tracks) tapos lilipad. Hehe… Ganda ng loob, there are pewter statuettes of their famous charactes inside the train, the windows are shaped like Mickey’s head, even the handles—Mickey! Alangya… talagang career! So, Be, ako na bahala dito?

Yes Be, paki tuloy na yung kwento. Just don’t forget to mention the spectacular ride na sinubukan natin kahit na bawal sakin dahil bagong opera ako hehehe. Sulit naman eh, kahit nangitim ako sa Disneyland.

Tegedeng-tegedeng! ROCKKK! Hehehe… Sige, you take shopping. I got this. Hehe… so the first thing we did in Disneyland was, you guessed it, EAT! We had lunch at the Corner St. Café (tama ba?). Heniway, Joy, Kuya and I ate the beef brisket and Rakel got the chicken curry. Kuya and I also got the mushroom soup, which was terrific, by the way. And Joy and Rakel got the Caesar salad. Oks din naman. The croutons were shaped like Mickey too! Lupit talaga… up to the last detail. We were even thinking that the cream on top of our soup was shaped like Mickey too, but was destroyed in transit. Hmmm… Anyway, after lunch, Joy and I headed our own way (well, we actually lost them) and got around the grounds. The sights were fantastic, everything is well-maintained, even if the human traffic is really heavy everyday. Dito, yung Enchanted, isang taon pa lang ata, barag na eh. Hehe. Pero after that we decided to go to the rides na, yung di masyado brutal, para kay Joy. Delikado eh.

Asus palusot ka pa, ako pa talaga ang dinahilan mo. Samantalang balita ko sa Space Shuttle ng Enchanted eh tumitili ka na parang babae hehehe.

Uy di ah… nuninuninu… di ah…

Hehehe… and can I just tell you guys? Tinulugan ni Bob ang Disneyland! We paid a HK$350 entrance fee each tapos natulog lang si Bob…

Puyat lang ako! Di nga ako makatulog sa kaka-anticipate ng buffet. Wala naman pala… shiyet! Hehehehe… Zzzzz… Huh? Hehehe… Oo, grabe, talagang nakatulog ako, sa harap nung ride na may mga planets na nagiikutan… Solar System ride? Nyahahahaha! Jologs. Tignan nyo na lang sa picture.

At habang natutulog si Bob, nandun lang ako… nagbabantay sa kanya. Baka kasi makidnap ang bata eh hehehe. Be, kwento mo yung Philharmagic show. Astig kasi sobra.

Asus, kaya di ka makaalis kasi nanghihina na yung tuhod mo sa putok nung mga senior citizens sa tabi natin eh. Feeling ko rin kung bakit ako bagsak eh. Anyway, pagkagising ko, from a smelly sleep, ang una naming pinasok na, di kasi ride yun eh, basta and pinasok naming show yung sa Philharmagic. It’s like Enchanted Kingdom’s 4D theater… only much, much better! It had smell! There’s this part in the show where a bunch of pies and pastries appear onscreen and you can smell them! Grabe, experience talaga! And the wind doesn’t just blow on your face, the strength of the wind changes depending on how it is supposed to be going onscreen. I’m telling you, this is one show you shouldn’t miss over there. The 3D glasses ain’t the big clunky type. Di mo nga aakalain na 3D glasses pala sya eh. Parang shades lang ng bata. Yun nga lang, medyo malangis. Konting punas bago isuot peeps. Hehe. After that we went back to the Intergalactic Area (sorry, di ko maalala yung name eh, basta dun sa galactic Buzz Lightyear-type area) and we went to Buzz Lightyear’s ride. Di ko na naman maalala yung pangalan. This is such a bad review. Sorry guys. Anyway, what you do here is you ride a space pod, and you get two guns and a joystick, with which you can control the pod to swing 360º. The objective is to shoot at Zurg’s Z Targets and accumulate points in the process. Kaming dalawa ni Joy, kahit alam naming pambata to, the ride got into our competitive natures and decided to give it another shot. Pataasan ng score to babeh!

Although mas mataas ang score sakin ni Bob, tingin ko kasi mas maganda yung pwesto niya eh. Parang yung Z’s andun lahat sa tabi niya. Yun lang ang reason bakit mas mataas ang score niya.

Ganun? Hehehe… Be, oks lang kung tipong mga 1,000 points lang ang diperensya eh 200,000 points ang lamang ko eh! Hehehe… ikaw na nga ang humawak nung controls para makakabuwelo ka eh…

May malfunction yata dun sa score panel eh…

Hay naku… sige na nga. May malfunction na. Guys, ganyan mag-isip ang tunay na winner. Pabayaan nyo na lang magpalusot yung mga talunan. Ika nga, whatever floats your boat, babeh! WAAAAAAAZZZZOINGGG! Hehe… oo na Be, malfunction na.

At least di ako wuss sa rides! Mwehehe. This you can’t deny! Bob and I tried this amazing ride called Space Mountain. Roller coaster siya except hindi open-air kundi in total darkness. Which makes it all the more exciting kasi you don’t know what to expect. Before the ride ends, they will take a picture of you as a souvenir. Hehe si Bob ang tulis ng nguso! Kaya siguro hindi niya binili yung souvenir photo para walang ebidensya ☺

De, sinadya ko talaga yun… para AERODYNAMIC! Hehehehe… pampabilis ika nga. Grabe, parang nung time lang na yun ko nakita yung nguso ko na ganun kahaba. Lahat na ng pagalit sa mundo, nakuha ko na, but never, never pa siyang nag-elicit ng ngusong ganun kahaba. Grabe, lampas frame! Sayang, kukunan na lang namin dapat ng pic, kaso, nagkaroon ng black hole bigla yung bag ko, di ko makita yung cam. Shet. Sayang.

Wooshoo, ang convenient naman nun. All the time na kailangan natin yung camera, nandiyan lang siya. Tapos biglang nung moment na yun, nawala! Who’s making the excuses now? Mwehehe... Bebi, mukhang hindi natin matatapos ang days 3 & 4 sa entry na to ah. Ang haba na naman nito eh!

Ganun nga ata Bebe, ganun nga ata… Talagang pinapahaba pa eh no? TATOING! Hehe, anyway, wala na namang ibang nangyari, we just went around, watched another show, an Oscars-like production called “Golden Mickeys” and lastly, we got to see the grand finale of a Disneyland day: The Fireworks Display! Grabe, ang lupit nung fireworks, may mga lightshows pa na kasama na nakaproject dun sa Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Yung apoy, grabe, ramdam mo yung init. O yung kili-kili lang yun nung katabi ko? A hindi, yung fireworks nga yun, walang amoy eh. Tapos ayun, we went back to the hotel. Long day, actually, but we had fun, didn’t we Be?


Super fun! Pero I don’t know about you Be ha, pero ako, parang once is enough. Okay na yung narating ko siya once, I don’t think I would need to go back. Or am I just getting too old? Be, baka ma-late tayo sa Transformers…

Kalabaw lang ang tumatanda Be. Batam-bata ang Bebe ko! Pero ayun nga late na tayo sa Transformers… Transformers ba kamo? Ano ba yang Transformers na yan, ineng? Hehehe… fustiso ko… hehe. Sige next time na lang uli yung days 3 and 4.

Kung maalala pa natin ang details kasi ngayon pa lang hindi na natin matandaan yung mga pinuntahan natin sa Disneyland eh. Anyway, we’ll do our best. But I really want to start reviewing other things na!

Hehehe. Chillax Bebe! Di pa natin nakukuwento yung going-home experience natin. Hahaha! Yung muntik na tayong matulog sa airport! ‘Til then!

Hong Kong Travelogue Pt. 1

Hello! We just got back from HK, well last Tuesday morning… so cut us some slack if we haven’t posted anything since our last entry. We’re not slacking off, I went straight to work and Joy went straight to sleeping! Hehehehe…

Give me a break, you know I’m still recuperating from my surgery!

That’s why they forgive you, right? Hehehe… So that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Days 1 and 2 of our Hong Kong escapade! Woohoo! Hong Kong rocks!... Well except for the B.O… Lufet!

Forgive Bob’s enthusiasm, it was his first time in HK, in fact it was his first time outside the country! Kulang na lang ipa-frame namin ang passport niya kasi sa wakas natatakan na rin! Hehehe…

Kasalanan ko bang di ako lumaki sa may kayang pamilya? Huhuhu… Oo na, promdi na… Hehehe… Okay lang, at least wala akong putok! Yahoy!

You’re so mean! I did warn you na summer sa kanila, kung winter nga may putok sila, eh di lalo na pag summer! Makes you appreciate the Pinoys more no? Anyhoo, we were in HK for a total of 4 days, pero we have so many experiences so we decided to talk about the first 2 days muna. Medyo hazy na sakin actually kung kelan ba ang alin… Be, a little help please? The first day, all I recall was that it rained…

Yes it did, Be, yes it did. Good memory. Umulan nung pumunta tayo sa ating first stop… TOM LEE Music, babeh! Yeah. This is me and my Kuya’s dreamland.

Ah yes, now I remember. Tom Lee. Argh. This is what I can tell all the ladies out there, I finally know the feeling guys get when we girls shop for clothes or shoes or makeup tapos they have no interest in what we are doing. Ganun ang naramdaman ko while we were at Tom Lee, alam niyo yun, tatayo-tayo lang for hours at nakatunganga, habang sila enjoy na enjoy…

At least di ko tinatanong kung “Bagay ba sa akin itong gitara na to? Kuha kaya ako in Brown and Pink?” Tapos, pag sinabihan ka pang hindi, nagalit ba ako? Nyaahahah… WHAPOINK! Heheh… Aray…

Uy hindi naman ako ganyan no! Ano lang ako, yung magtatanong ng opinion mo tapos ako pa rin ang masusunod hehehe…

Onga... parang minsan nga, tatanungin mo na lang sarili mo eh, “Tanga ba ko sumagot?” Kasi naman, alam naman gusto, magtatanong pa… Annyyyywaayyy, so HK, saya! TAGISH! Hehehehe… Peace Keeping Forces, PASOK! Hehehe… magkakagiyera dito, biliiiiisss! Hehehe…

O siya sige, baka nga mag-away pa tayo. Anyway, we stayed at Eaton Hotel along Nathan Road. One tip should you ever visit HK and you have enough cash, never get a hotel with a rating lower than a 4-star. Ang standard rooms kasi ng 4-star hotels are much smaller than the standard rooms of our 3-star hotels in the Philippines. My aunt had an experience where she stayed at a 3-star hotel and the room was so small, pati yung kama super liit nakalampas yung paa niya.

And she was 4’11”… hehehe…

No, she was not! Bebe!

Joke lang, Tita! Hehe… Anyway, the hotel was pretty decent naman. They refilled everything naman everyday, even the complimentary H2O. Yung ibang hotels dito sa atin, one-time lang ata yung ganun eh.

Anyway nung first day, the first order of business was supposedly Disneyland kaso as mentioned earlier umulan nga, so ang naging bagsak, Tom Lee. Be, ikaw na bahala magkuwento ng tungkol diyan.

Hwokey! Tom Lee, man! TOM LEE! YEAHHH! Hehe… sa mga musicians out there, this is our haven. The first one we visited was in Cameron Road, the main bi-atch, I mean branch ng music superstore na ito sa HK. I think it would equal to 2-3 in-mall Audiophiles sa laki. And you get to try the high-end stuff without any questions asked! Grabe, parang living a dream for 3 hours. I got to touch a Gibson Les Paul, a real American one; Strats, a YJM sig series, even the artist relics! Lufet! Talagang walang pipigil sa’yo! Just borrow a cable from the counter and shred away! Take your pick! Take no prisoners! ARRRRRGHHH!! Hehehe… Sorry, got carried away. The prices are lower at Tom Lee, just be sure to remember how you’ll take it home. Baka mag-excess baggage ka, pumareho din ang presyo. Grabe galing, Les Paul Standard, worth Php100k++ nakatugtog na ako, on a Mesa Boogie Lonestar worth around the same price. Now we, my Kuya and I, realized: HIGH END GEAR AIN’T ALL THAT! Nasa indian talaga, wala sa pana. Hehehe…

Akala ko mapagsasarahan na tayo dito sa Mocha Blends eh...

Hehe… onga no, okay! Moving on! Salamat nga pala sa mga pasensyosong waiters sa Mocha Blends dito sa Jose Abad Santos sa San Juan. Thanks, guys! Hehe. We’ll be staying here most of the time for this blog. Shet. Di pa pala tayo nagse-save. Saving…

Bebi nasosobrahan ka na yata sa kape… Anyway, after Tom Lee (which I don’t believe na 3 hours lang kami dun kasi it felt like forever :p )…

Wow, felt like forever… parang kanta… hmmm… san malapit music store dito? WATOINGGGGG!! Hehehe… Aray…

Ay, inaasar ako? Time out ha, mag-aaway lang muna kami…

AFTER 4 HOURS… Hehe… Joke. Di kami nagaaway nyan. Ambait ko kaya?!

Bebi sobra na nga talaga kape mo, tama na yan ok? Anyway nga, after Tom Lee, we went to HMV where original DVDs are sold. Kaso since kami ni Bob suki sa pirata (hi Vincent!), tumambay lang kami sa labas at either nanghula kung sino sa mga dumadaan ang Pinoy or namimintas sa fashion sense ng mga taga-HK. But Bob’s brother Mike and his girlfriend Rakel were able to purchase a copy of Infernal Affairs 1-3 (Rakel, pahiram after nyo ha? Walang pirated niyan eh hehe). Be paki explain what the movie is about...

Infernal Affairs, for those who don’t know yet, is a Chinese movie Scorsese based “The Departed” from. But the movie “The Departed” only covered the first Infernal Affairs installment. The other two parts were, one a prequel, and the other one, I dunno… duhh... Anyway, we’ll review them once we get to borrow the DVDs.

So after HMV, I think we had merienda at KFC, and let me tell you guys, they don’t serve gravy!

HUWAAAAT? NO GRAVYY? GRAVEEEEHHHH… Oo. Walang. Gravy.

Well actually meron but you have to pay for it, mga HK$5 yata. Otherwise, what they serve are small packets of… was that chili sauce or ketchup? Ok, chili sauce. But the good thing about the KFC in HK is that they have more offerings in their menu. Be, tell them about what you ordered... lahat ng inorder mo ha! :p

Patay… andami nun. Deh, di naman. I ordered Chicken and Cheese Muffin and a Ham and Cheese Wrap Sandwich. The funny thing about ordering there is you’ll tend to go turo-turo. Di kayo magkakaintindihan, magtututuro ka na lang kung ano yung gusto mo. “One this, 2 that… Extra this”. Hehehe… kinda odd to see KFCs with a handheld menu. At least, it makes things easier. The money is weird too. They’re in different sizes and different designs from different banks, HSBC and China Bank. Weird. Anyway, the sandwiches were good—and the coffee too! By this time, my feet were killing me. Lupet. Kailangan ko na talaga magpapayat… tapos hayop sa meryenda eh, no?

Food in HK is very expensive. So are the cabs which is why we preferred to walk kung within the city lang naman. Otherwise we take the MTR (mass transit rail) which is very, very efficient. Sa HK nga, kahit na first time mo, hindi ka maliligaw basta marunong ka lang magbasa. Everything is user-friendly, lahat may English translation. This is really a good place to go to for first-time travelers.

Aray.

No bebi, I wasn’t making parinig ☺ Anyway after KFC, we went to a bunch of other places like a supermarket and a Starbucks. For dinner we wanted to try authentic Hong Kong cuisine kasi baka puro fastfood lang ang kainan namin. We tried this place called Tak Kee Seafood Restaurant. Medyo seedy yung place but at least we were eating inside a real resto kasi yung ibang authentic HK cuisine, nasa kalye lang at sobrang dumi talaga. Medyo pwede-pwede na dito sa Tak Kee although yung server namin had this really bad BO, plus he kept putting his fingers inside the dishes he served. In fairness, super sarap ng food. Kaya siguro…

Although, to be clear, di naman nya dini-dip. Hehehe, nagkakataon lang talaga na napapasawsaw yung thumb niya pag hawak niya yung serving dish. Yari yun kung mahaba yung kuko. Anyway, we had beef with broccoli, fried squab (pigeon-like bird) and pork in sweet and sour sauce and fried rice. Tanong nga ni Kuya kung ano kakainin namin, sagot namin Chinese food, sabi nya, “Hinde, dito, tawag dun Food lang”. Parang pwede ipang-forward sa text no?

Sorry no pictures. Can I just share? Alam niyo ba, dati pa dapat namin naumpisahan ni Bob itong review-review ng food kaso everytime ise-serve samin yung food, kinakain na namin agad bago pa namin makunan ng picture. Which is exactly the same thing that happened to us here at Tak Kee. Sayang, napakita sana namin kung saan nakalubog yung thumb nung server dun sa rice bowl, as in nag-leave talaga ng dent dun sa kanin.

Nyahahaha! Astig. Dito, marereklamo mo na yun. Sa kinainan namin, parang it’s the way things are talaga. Pag walang daliri, kadiri! Hehehe… Pero para sa isang resto na parang karinderya, naka-aircon yung place ha? Saya.

Okay, after eating we walked a few paces tapos nasa night market na kami in Temple Street. This place (which is in Yau Ma Tei) is known for bargain clothes, souvenirs, electronics, jewelry… truly a shopping haven! Shempre parang biglang nawala pagod ko kasi shopping na to! Hehehe. The best find were some shirts for Bob…

Yeah!!!

Bebi share ko lang ha?

Yung?

Kung bakit tuwang-tuwa tayo makahanap ng shirts for you.

Just shoot me first. Deh sige, oks lang. Sus, para namang di kita sa pictures. Go…

Hehe... si Bob kasi hindi na, well hirap, makahanap ng sizes for him. We have to go all the way to Baguio’s ukay-ukay in order to find shirts that will fit him. Kaya super gulat namin na may shirts dun na pwede sa kanya kasi diba Asians are known for having small frames? Anyway, hayun, we bought mga 5 shirts na although a bit pricey were worth it naman kasi cute yung mga designs.

Oo, yung mga luma kong T-shirts, nag-aapply na ng pension plan. Hehehe… at least makakapahinga na sila kahit papaano. Pero itatapon ko na ba sila? NO WAY!!! Hahahaha… hanggang may manggas, may buhay.

Be maawa ka naman sa mga damit mo, literally hanging on by a thread na lang sila! Hehehehe just kidding. Anyway that ends our first day in HK. Grabe 1st day pa lang pero ang haba na nito. Pwede bang installment, next time na yung day 2?

Hehe… if we can stop typing! Saya kaya nung trip, kaya ang saya rin ikuwento eh. Anyway a few details here were left out pa dahil sa kakulangan sa oras at sa space. Pero, sige, sisingit-singit naman yun as we remember some of them. Jam-packed day lang talaga ang Day 1 namin. Saya talaga!

At super sakit sa paa!

Korak. Oww…