More bday photos

Just a few more bday photos that I was not able to post last time.

This first one here was taken on April 5th itself, when a few friends joined me for dinner at Nando's, Sheikh Zayed branch, for absolutely yummy Portuguese chicken.
In the pictures: Annie, Chat, Romar, Tin-tin, Kit-kit, Tetel, Raquel, Ye and Joel


This second collage was on the Thursday of my bday week - my colleagues held a merienda celebration at the office. We usually buy cake and chips to celebrate each other's birthdays. Sheetal chose a lovely Baskin and Robbins ice cream cake which we devoured in no time.
In the pictures: Ladan, Mohamed, Faizal, Mohamed and wife Sandy, Umaima, Rabiya - Sheetal, where are you?

The third set is for a few Upian friends. Tita Marcela kindly cooked traditional Filipino foods for us, which I brought to Malen and Abet's new place at International City on Friday. It was a yummy, tummy-filling buffet of adobong pusit (squid cooked in its own ink), baked tuna, adobong chicken and pork (cooked in vinegar, soy sauce, usually seasoned with laurel leaves, whole black peppers and garlic), paksiw na fish (fish cooked in vinegar with onions, ginger and salt) and laing (chili, taro leaves cooked with coconut milk courtesy of Mirzi's mom; Mirzi wasn't able to come because she was covering the case of the 137 Pinoys on visit visa, initially contracted to become RTA drivers - but when they got here, turns out there were no jobs for them). Christian and Grace brought a delicious Marble Slab ice cream cake. After stuffing ourselves, we held a marathon movie and TV series watching till 1 in the morning!
In the pictures: Oliver, Yohan (forgot the right spelling), Grace, Christian, Malen, Ena; not in the picture - myself! Abet, Galo, Ernie and Tito Dan

Just gotta say this - I love ice cream cake!

Lola Helen

My grandmother, Lola Helen, passed away last Saturday morning. She was 96 years old.

She was a Spanish teacher, a businesswoman, a mother, a wife, a sister, a grandmother and a great grandmother to Marco and Wig.

The last time I saw her was three years ago when I went to Toronto. As I entered her room, she exclaimed that I looked like Ria and a few seconds later she realized that it indeed was me. We haven't seen each other in years before that. Actually, the last time I can remember that she was in Manila was when I was still in College. She just met my first boyfriend and she promptly called him 'ulikba' (dark skinned) - out of his hearing of course. Who could blame her? Hehe, the guy was tall, skinny and dark. Up to now, my relatives tease me about it even though we have long since gone to our separate ways.

She often made us pray in Spanish and brought us to the Church whether there was a mass or not. Lola (Granny) always had a handful of prayer books and novenas with her. When she was still in Quezon City, she'd sit by the back door of her room where there was plenty of ambient light so she can read off from her prayer book. There's always a prayer to a patron saint within an hour or specific day.

In Toronto, when she became too weak to hear mass, she'd tune in to the TV, and I heard, the priest would visit her at their house to give her the Blessed Eucharist.

She migrated to Canada when I was only in grade school. She, together with my uncle Dan, and cousin Dennis. Before that, we would spend vacations in their house in Quirino watching cartoons, seeing to their houseful of dogs, looking at the half a dozen aquariums, the turtles in their ponds, and of course, running around with the neighborhood kids.

Our Christmases were spent in Silang but New Years were always in Quirino, with Lola Helen. The length of Tindalo street would be lined with candles on both sides - bought from the money the neighborhood kids collected that afternoon. There would be a few bonfires burning in the middle of the street, illuminating certain spots, keeping others dark. Some firecrackers would start early; kids were excited to light up their special treats. But as midnight came to a close, the candlelit street came more alive. Colours rose up into the air as a variety of sounds melted into one deafening sound that heralded the New Year.

I can imagine Lola's passing like that: a peaceful, candlelit street where she waited for her angel. And as she entered Heaven, the firecrackers were lit and and joyous sounds welcomed her home. Love you Lola.

Put in a good word for us up there.

Bday again

Wow. It's been another year. But unlike other years where I usually plan several getogethers and activities with friends to mark another year of my life, I just kind of waited to see what will happen.

Luckily enough, the Gulf Traveller feature on Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay, a section in Arabian Man magazine that explores great areas in the Gulf region, was scheduled on the weekend just before the B day. So it was, most definitely, a treat!

Six Senses Hideaway is true to its name. If you don't have a map to the place, you really will not find it. It was a short drive from the border of Oman (coming from Emirates Road, exit 119). You have to make a left turn opposite the Sultan Qaboos mosque, into a one-lane road seemingly going nowhere, and when that road ends, you have to take a left to the dirt road it's attached to. You drive over a dam, follow the dirt road through rocky mountains and wandering goats until you reach a big stone engraved with the resort's logo and name. A few feet down the road, there are stone structures that mark the official entrance of the resort.


A nice smiling man asked us if we wanted to park our car or if we wanted to just drive there ourselves. Ena, my companion for the trip, was concerned that all her shoes were scattered all over the car. She didn't want to scramble to fix her stuff and end up leaving something she needed. So, she said, "No thanks, we'll drive ourselves."

The guy said, "Okay, just go straight, up, up, up, then down, down, down, then turn left."

Okay. Simple enough. Until we started climbing. We were only a fourth into the mountain when we started doubting ourselves, was that a left turn down there? But they didn't seem to be signaling to us that we made a wrong turn so on we went. The road was a one-lane dirt road hugging the sides of this huge rocky mountain. Most bends were blind, so they placed concave mirrors to warn you if somebody's coming from the other side. Whoa. But Ena and her cool gray cute, little Vitara were great! So we went up, up, up and down, down, down. When we got to the other side, we saw that the cove was divided into two. The resort was on the left side while a small community was on the right.


Ironically enough, while we were waiting at the reception, Ena started shaking -- that's only when she realized how difficult the drive was! But she was game for it. There was just a delayed reaction. Way to go Ens!

We were given a pool villa - a one-bedroom villa with a very rustic but classy finish, great wooden doors from the sides and back and a set of glass doors for the front side facing the beach. The facade was also lined with stones much like the rest of the resort, and it was just rustic, Arabic, lovely. Up front there was a small pool and two areas where you can lounge around with with huge cream, orange and dark red pillows.

Ahh... peaceful, luxurious heaven. So that's how we spent the weekend, luxuriating in this beautiful environment... chilling, forgetting for two blissful days that we were mere mortals who had to clock in at 9 the next day.

Ahh... but I must not forget one of the great treats of the weekend - paragliding! We jumped off about 300 metres up, and Ishto, the expert paraglider was so cool. The day before he did 13 jumps. It was raining that Saturday morning, so I was lucky that it cleared up, allowing me that great, palm-tingling experience.

The rest, including the tummy treatment treat, will be in the June Gulf Traveller and Travel secion of Arabian Man and Arabian Woman magazine.

Lovely.

Thanks Zighy Bay.

Thank you too to everybody who sent me their greetings.

On another note, please pray for my grandmother on my father's side, Lola Helen. I was told earlier that she was brought to the hospital, and is quite weak. Lola, my prayers are with you.

Tagged: The Purse

This seemed fun, so when I read from Frances Amper's Topaz Horizon that she tagged me, I decided to do it. I've also seen this from my good friend Tenshi, but I never really had time before.

Just beware: my bag is a huge mess!

Here's how to do it:
1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you can't go into your closet and pull out your favorite purse! We want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house.
2. List how much it cost. And this is not to judge. This is for entertainment purposes only. So spill it. And if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, we'd love to hear it.
3. List what's inside it and post a picture of the entire mess!
4. Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you're showing everyone your bag.

--
I carry two bags now - one is my regular handbag, and the other is where I put my other mini bags. This is to prevent my real handbag from giving up on me too soon -- I've tortured plenty of purses before by cramming them full of my stuff. I really can't explain how I've gotten to this point that I need to bring these much items everyday. But as you know, when you decide to leave them at home, it's the day you'll need 'em. So I say, just tote it along.













This gray beauty is from Bayo - I really do not know the price because it was a gift from Jim & Tricia (Jim is my sis-in-law's brother and Tricia is his wife). I've never really had the opportunity to thank them because I left for Dubai after Christmas -- so thank you Jim & Tricia, I love the bag!

What's inside:

1. Red Paprika Wallet
2. Pink goodies - generic Ibuprofen
3. Pierrot Dental Floss
4. Brown leather business card holder for OJ
5. Black leather business card holder for AW/AM
6. Amouge lotion long since gone, I've refilled it with Jergens lotion
7. Loccitane hand cream
8. Unipin .3 which I just love for sketching
9. A variety of paper for notes and random sketches
10. Green tea wet wipes
11. Brown and green bag organizer I bought from Greenhills last Christmas
12. Kent Micro Taming brush - this is the first brush I bought for a handbag, tell you a secret - I don't really brush my hair much. It's just there for show.
13. Brown BodyShop liquid eyeliner - a recent favorite with the discovery that a nice, even line can make your eyes look wide awake

Next, is this fresh green bag. I also don't know the price because it's a Christmas gift from my Tita Eya and Tito Dave (thanks!!!).

What's inside is a little more organized because it contains more bags!

1. Astroboy bag - I just fell in love with this when I saw it at Carrefore. I use it as my lunch bag.

2. Black, white & silver bear pouch - a Christmas gift from my godmother, Ninang Enee. It's officially my kikay kit. I have tons of stuff inside it, but I don't use each one regularly, it's just there. You know, for emergencies:
a. Bobbi Brown brush set
b. Inglot Mascara
c. Inglot nude lipstick
d. Tweezers
e. Mikyajy Green eyeliner - I should throw this out, this is more than two years old!
f. Pixi Lustrous Eye primer - same story as h.
g. Estee Lauder Eye brown pencil
h. Pixi Natural Minerals set - contains eye shadow, blush and lip glosses - got this
on a random shopping splurge with a make-up crazy friend. I say random, because
when it comes to make-up, I plan and not shop impulsively, well not the case here.
i. Pixi hydrotint duo - it's tinted moisturizer and lip gloss combo - same case as h.
j. Refillable bottle from Daiso which I semi-filled with Givenchy Envy
k. BodyShop No. 29 lipstick - I usually buy from BodyShop but I've recently decided to try other brands
l. Eye pencil sharpener
m. Mac Cool heat eyeshadow - a gift from a friend when I just felt like a change from my usual browns.

I know... a lot of people wouldn't even believe that I use any of these at any given time. But even if I have this much make-up, I am still usually fresh-faced. I just feel the need to put some on when I'm going to events.

3. Black heart pouch - my gadget bag which I bought from Daiso last year:
a. Ipod video - gift from my mom about two years ago, she sent it to me via regular snail mail, and instead of reaching our office, it reached the DIP Office. Luckily, they called me up to collect it. Use it to record interviews and review Aikido moves (though I haven't been back to class for four months -- I should go back, I should go back!)
b. Belkin TuneTalk Stereo - an Ipod accessory to turn it into a very good quality
recorder. Doesn't fail to impress
c. WD Red passport - a recent addition; replaced my black Toshiba external
hard drive when one of the partitions failed on me
d. 1GB Givenchy flash disk - used to contain press releases, now it's a mule
e. A variety of cables.

There, my mess in all its glory. Hmmm... come to think of it sometimes, this green bag contains my camera bag and and a slipper pouch. Most of these stay in the car when I need to go off somewhere and if I'm extremely lazy, I simply take my red wallet and my phone, and I'd leave everything in the office or the car. My phone! It wasn't there because it's by the nightstand now - it doubles as my alarm clock, of course.

I am quite lazy with bags, so even though I have stashed several in my brimming closet, I use only one bag for days on end (unless it's going to clash terribly with what I'm wearing, which is usually not the case). When I change, I use the new one, again, for days on end. That's why I started using two bags - so it's not so strained with all the weight.

Now, I tag, Tenshi of course, who has done this several times, Grace, who loves designer purses (maybe you can do it as Notes in Facebook?), and Chen.