• Rock Rizal concert
• Manila International Book Fair (I even dreamt about walking between the aisles and checking each trade show booth and spending a fortune on new books!)
• Mercato Centrale
• UAAP Cheerdance Competition (Would have been nice to be in Araneta to witness it, but I did watch it live on TV)

The concert and the book fair were both held at the far MOA. Had the boyfriend been around on Friday afternoon, it would have been a possibility. But he was out on a road trip with his parents. Mercato would have been possible this morning, but I really wasn’t up to it. After all, that one happens every weekend.

And I don’t really mind missing out on those events. There was nowhere else I’d be than home, so I couldn’t miss out on these:

Amir is growing up so fast! He can stand now and he’s always up. He knows to reach out and ask to be carried. At nearly nine months he’s two front teeth are out. And he makes a lot of noise!

We’re just so glad that he’s still healthy, and maintains his happy disposition.

I love you Amir! And we loved having you home for the weekend!

Lemonade | Orange Soda | Sprite | Coke Float | Water

I wish I could say my drink was the last one, but I guess everyone would know who had the float eh? Water was for the boyfriend.

These were our drinks for our very late dinner at Johnny Rockets Eastwood, Friday last week. We stopped by for burgers and fries before seeing a movie. So if I had the float, and water was for the boyfriend, who had the other drinks?

We had a date with my three nieces! It was September 2nd and Chiki (middle) turned 17. Shanti (left) turned 17 a few days before that. Of course we couldn’t go and leave Dal out of the picture. I hadn’t been out with these girls in a loooooong time. Our last movie date was three years ago! OMG!

So what film did we see? We were supposed to see Zombadings, but ended with up Crazy, Stupid, Love. It was hilarious, even the boyfriend has to admit that he enjoyed watching. I drove the girls home way past their bedtime (3AM). I think we just might do it again too. Next time though, I’d stay away from Johnny Rockets – that meal burned a hole on my credit card!

This morning is actually the first time I’ve felt good in days!

Yesterday afternoon, I forced myself out of bed because of Crazy Idea no. 1: I wanted to see Yeng Constantino in concert at the Aliw Theater that evening. I had to see if I could muster the energy to go the event before committing to it and buying tickets.

First off, we drove to an ATM machine. Then to Pag-Ibig near GMA-EDSA. Alfred got off and paid for my overdue loan payment while I waited in the car. I was hoping we’d go buy tickets after that, but sitting in the car didn’t do me any good – I actually felt more sick and somewhat nauseous. But I could still drive.

Next stop was early dinner. Yesteday’s choice was Jay-J’s Inasal in Timog.

We had Bulalo, one order of wings inasal, and ensaladang mangga. It was good! No photos of the food or the place though, just this crazy photo of badodong wondering what his cup size is (aka Crazy Idea no.2):

Hilarious no?

Jay-Js in Timog pretty much has the same setting as their Ortigas branch. They had very minimal décor, just plain tables and a bench indoor on either side. In Timog, they have an outdoor section at the back – that’s where all those people disappear to! I’ve always wondered how the place could accommodate a big crowd (judging by the number of cars parked outside). Now I know. So yes they also have outdoor furniture bench. That’s also the smoking section (although I’m not sure if they still let people smoke given the new laws on smoking). In Ortigas (I had breakfast there with a colleague last week), they have a small outdoor area up front.

Despite having a wonderful meal, I still wasn’t up for any concert. I regretfully decided to give up on seeing Yeng in concert. The problem wasn’t in keeping up the energy for the concert, but for the drive home.

Rather than driving around in the sunset which was the initial plan B for the day, we headed straight home. But we didn’t really go home right away, we had the iPad with us and decided on an experiment.

We parked outside the house and set up to watch a movie IN the car! Free movie, free aircon. We didn’t have flowing popcorn because we weren’t ready but that’s totally something we’ll do for next time. We didn’t finish the movie though (Inception, haven’t seen the whole flick until now!) because it actually felt stupid to be home but not be home. Haha. But it’s a fun new idea for movie date night, don’t you think?

Dad’s laptop. The boyfriend was playing Black Ops on the PC.

My flat bed scanner. We’ve had this for awhile and it works perfectly. You just plug it into a USB port, install the driver, and you’re good to go. It doesn’t have its own power supply, just USB powered.

It’s pretty quick too. I remember having to scan pages upon pages of a book on the boyfriend’s old flatbed and it was an excruciating experience. This was years ago and scanners were expensive and really slow. I could almost imaging how tough the job of archivists are. Haha.

The OEM CD that came in the box had already been broken so I had download a driver for the scanner. It’s available in the Canon website so no worries. After installing the driver, the scanner worked seamlessly with MS Paint. I think it would have worked with any photo editing software too but I didn’t try. It would have been nice to have the scanning software to work with. That one let you scan multiple photos at the same time and it would recognize and save each photo individually – no cropping needed! Another nice thing about it is that even if your photos were crooked or not lined up straight, it was okay. 

I had the music playing while working on this. But I was also alternately chatting with my parents about the photos. We were supposed to go out for a drive that afternoon, but ended up just staying in. Again, time well spent anyway.

So we walked along and started counting.

We soon lost count. Haha! Seriously. Left and right there were vendors selling food in their mini-carinderias. There were a number of newspaper stands. Need vegetables for your home cooked meals? You can be sure to find whatever veggie you needed from either of the two vendors selling them. Ang daming tindahan! Alfred’s mom and dad have their own sari-sari store too. One can’t help but wonder if they still make anything from it because there’s just too much competition! But I guess they still do.

There must really be a lot of people living in the area that there’s business enough for everyone.

We had a quick lunch of humba (I honestly can’t tell it apart from pork adobo), and paksiw na bangus, with atsara on the side. All prepared by Alfred’s mom. As expected, they were all yummy and was well worth the trip from QC. As expected, Nanay commented about me being bloated again – she said I had gained weight since she last saw me. That must have been on her birthday in September. Yes, I’m afraid I did gain weight since then. Oh well.

Since we were already in Pasay and had the rest of the day off, we decided to go spend the afternoon in MOA and maybe see a movie. We saw Who’s That Girl? but not before a shopping splurge! I hadn’t intended to do any shopping, but well, being in the biggest mall just automatically gets you in that vibe. Right?

It all started with a visit to Beauty Bar where we picked up a big bottle of Purity. The one we got before 2010 ended is almost gone so a restock is in order. This time, we got the biggest bottle they had. The reviews are all true – it is very gentle and possibly the best cleanser out there. I also got The Supernatural for the first time. I haven’t tried it yet but look forward to it. I told the sales lady that I had wanted something for my face because I don’t wear any make up at all, and hardly ever put on powder. I have a Maybelline compact powder in my bag all the time but I always forget to use it. Anyway, she recommended that product for me.

The best part is getting freebies! But I forgot what they were and am too lazy to go up and find out. Last year I got a small bottle of Grace scented lotion and I loved that! When I run out of lotion (I have soooo many bottles in my room) I will restock with Grace.

I was so tempted to try other products in the Philosophy line, and also get a lip shimmer from Burt’s Bees, but I had to control my spending. Ugh. Why wasn’t I born a millionaire?

And then we had to pass by the Gap store. I’d been wanting one for quite awhile, and so yesterday, I did get one.

These are very comfortable flats. They fold in half and come in a nice small bag so you can tote them along anywhere you might need a change in shoes. So next time I wear heels, these babies are coming with me as backup. But I need not wait for such occasions to wear them, of course. I can wear them anytime I want.

On our way to the cinema, we had a glimpse of the sea and the barge that we assumed where the fireworks would be fired from for the pyromusic fest later that evening. People were fixing chairs and there were cables everywhere with technicians busy with wire management and setting up a stage and all that stuff. The breeze was calming and I’d have stood there until sunset, but we were due at the theater so I tore myself away from the scene.

So anyway, my Thursday fused on to Friday and we ended the day very late for someone who goes to work at 3am. We were aware of the tragedy happening in Japan, and the potential tragedy to the Philippines and other coasts all over the world, but I guess we coped with it all by seeing a hilarious movie and going shopping. The MOA was NOT full of people as I expected it would be on a Friday, perhaps people were staying away from the sea though Manila Bay was not in the tsunami watch list.

Tonight I go back to work, hopefully better rested than I’ve been in the past two weeks.

I still haven’t done all the shopping I need to do. Looks like my parents are resigned to taking care of all the Christmas shopping required for our annual gift giving on both sides of the family. I feel sorry not being able to help out in the shopping part, but perhaps I’ll just volunteer to wrap them up. What I don’t feel sorry for is having to decide what gifts to get each person on the list, that’s proven to become harder and harder every year.

But let me digress from talk of Christmas, gifts and shopping, and instead talk about a wedding we witnessed last week.

I will forever think of the bride as my Auntie Leesah’s friend, which is why during the wedding I kept thinking that if there were angels in heaven happy that she found love and happiness again, it would be her departed parents, plus my auntie.

Auntie Jenny was married before, but her husband passed away at a young age. She has two grown up sons now. The groom is an Episcopalian priest who, I think, is Irish. He came here to live and teach at the Seminary a few years ago, and who would’ve thought he would find love too? Their union is a true inspiration that we can’t (and shouldn’t) really give up on love.

Now. Weddings in our small community are mostly simple and traditional. The ceremony is pretty much the same, even the hymns sung. People don’t always wait for a formal invitation, and we certainly don’t look at how many seats are reserved for the guests. Which makes it difficult to plan a budget wedding – because it’s difficult to say exactly how much people will be coming.

But such weddings are fun, because people you really know and who really celebrate your happiness are in attendance. And they don’t care much about how you look, or how they look. Dress code is also something people pretty much ignore. Haha. A lot come in their Sunday best, but for most this also just means jeans and a clean shirt. I know that doesn’t look pretty in pictures, but that gives the occasion a happy, relaxed vibe. Really.

Here’s some of my favorite photos from the Church ceremony:

The happy couple

Lovely bridesmaids

It was really just a fun wedding. I have more photos to post-process, mostly from the reception but I’ve yet to find time for those. Let’s just hope I don’t forget them, haha

On an unrelated note. I’ve been getting messages and calls from two companies who claims to have picked my raffle entry for free hotel accommodations in Boracay. I remember filling up tickets when we were at The Duty Free shop. However, these calls sound too good to be true. They say everything is free and I do not have to pay for anything and no obligation to buy anything else. But we’re pessimistic about these things, so I listened, but I didn’t avail of it. They kept following for two days maybe, and then they gave up.

They remind me of cheap insurance companies who keep pitching their services even after you tell them you already have coverage from another company. Oh well, we all gotta do what we gotta do to earn a living right? I am just so happy I don’t have to do what they do.

I felt Sunday come and go, in fact I even attended a children’s party, but it hardly felt like a rest day. You know what I mean? I feel like I’d just been at work yesterday, and tonight I’d have to be back. Hopefully, I get two straight days off this week already.

But enough complaining. It invites bad vibes.

Christmas is literally just around the bend and we still have much shopping ahead of us. Admittedly, the boyfriend and I have been so busy spending for ourselves that we haven’t really bought much for the people (kids specifically) that we want to share our blessings with. Good thing we still have this weekend coming up.

Oh wait, what weekend? Clearly my rhythm’s messed up. It is just the start of a new week and already I’m thinking about weekends and normal people rest days.

I haven’t even figured out my end of year giveaway for blog readers/visitors, nor have I decided about the future of my hosting services. Too bad I missed the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales for shared/reseller/dedicated hosting services. I’d probably have been able to save up on those rather than the huge sum I’d have to pay for renewal of my 2-year services with Dreamhost. Honestly though, I don’t need to move or look for another hosting company. I’ve had a good two years with Dreamhost with my site going down maybe once or twice and only at very brief intervals.  But it is not cheap. Then again, you mostly get the services you pay for, so I’m not complaining.

Give me leave now, as I enjoy the last few hours of my non-weekend…