Another week is almost over. Thank you Lord that though Typhoon Helen did come around keeping us wet and on our toes, there was no flooding this time around.
On Sunday, we drove out to Pansol, Laguna, my team and I. And we just hung out. Here are the photos to prove it (please play the vid so we can get at least 100 views? hahahahaha!):
We were supposed to stay at the LaRoca Resort, and we made it there before the 2PM check in time.
But we decided to find alternative lodgings upon learning that the area where the cottages were got flooded from the recent monsoon rains. The pools are okay, and so are the actual rooms. But the surrounding area of the cottages didn’t look so good.
So off we went to try our luck in other private resorts. It wasn’t so difficult to find one within our budget range.
We ended up Villa Valeta. It has a small hot spring pool, a dining/videoke area, a stove and a tank of gas, and a grill. There were three rooms that could fit 3-4 persons each. There were 9 of us, so it was a perfect fit.
Food was great, and we didn’t lack of booze. It was fun all around.
We’re already planning the next one, haha!
Anyway… here’s a video I saw on the HONY website today. Cute!
This weekend was all about celebrations. On Saturday we celebrated the christening of my newest goddaughter Iverre.
Sunday, the 24th, was my Mom’s day. It was her birthday and we celebrated over lunch at Cyma in Trinoma.
See Amir turning on his charms for Grandma on her birthday
It was a filling lunch and we walked it off right after. Alfred, Kuya and Diane, all had somewhere else they needed to be that afternoon but Mom, Dad, and I, stayed at the mall with the little boy for a while. We had to either take turns carrying Amir around, or chasing after him. He wouldn’t walk because he wanted to run around!
Catch me if you can Grandma!
He was all tired out by the time we got in the car and headed home. He slept without asking for milk, nor any of his favorite pillows!
As I write this, we are 3 hours into a 12-hour road trip home. Perhaps it was about 6 years ago or so, my colleagues from Asia ACTs and I took a road trip across the Cordilleras. We rented a van, and wove our way through Banawe, Sagada, and then Baguio. Then back to Quezon City. On the way home we stopped by Joy’s family home in Tarlac.
I don’t remember now how long it took, probably 3 or 4 days. It was fun because we took our time and there was much chatter on the road.
For this trip, we’re taking public transportation and you either entertained yourself with your own gadgets, or sang along whatever music the drivers and their conductor played. On the way up to Sagada, we slept for the most part of the trip. That was easy, the bus left QC at 830pm and we hasn’t slept since the day before. Now going down the mountains, the trip starts at 3pm. So it’s not so easy to fall asleep, or to stay so for long.
Most people would rather do something else than travel 12 hours to the mountains. I say it’s time well spent when the destination is Sagada. 🙂 Besides, 12 hours of sleep is a gift! Now the time it takes to get back to life, hmm. Well, it’s another gift of time. One can read, or watch movies.
So that’s what I’d been doing the past 2 hours – I watched a movie! That means that this weekend I’ve done quite a lot really:
1. Witness a childhood friend’s wedding
2. Cover a wedding as official photographer
3. Give my niece Shanti another memorable experience before she turns 18
4. Watch 2 movies: The New Adventures of Alice in Wonderland and Rachel Getting Married
5. Get a massage (which I said I should have weekly or at least twice a month)
6. Tried a new diner in Sagada (as opposed dining at all the old familiar places only)
7. Walked everyday in the past 3 days until I lost breath.
8. Met a charming little boy (I must share a photo of little Seth)
9. Say hi to old friends
10. See some of my favorite Baguio boys
And the weekend’s not even over yet!
What have you been up to? 🙂
Time check – it has been about 20 mins since I started writing this post and just when I was about to attach a photo of the mountains taken when we were on our way up, I lost network connection. When I do get to post this it will still be thanks to the mostly excellent Globe 3G signal on my iPhone. No, Cable Tours does not have wifi on board.
This hot Saturday afternoon, I broke routine and did something I don’t normally do: attend a seminar that promised to help me MAKE MY MONEY GROW.
Oh the idea of growing my money! Last year, I got to read Bo Sanchez’ very short but totally eye-opening book: My Maid Invests in the Stock Market… And Why You Should Too! So I’ve been thinking about investing in stocks, but months later, here I am probably poorer than the day I read it. Thinking about it isn’t the same thing as doing it.
Then sometime this year, I caught a rerun of a Pesos and Sense episode. I liked their Facebook page after the show, but again, it didn’t take me any step closer to investing.
A few weeks back, I saw the above image on the Pesos and Sense Facebook page. Minutes later, I filled out the registration form. I paid the PhP 495 fee on Tuesday. I attended the seminar earlier this afternoon.
Am I any closer to investing? I’d have to say YES.
The seminar was held at the premises of Citisec Online, a brokerage company, at the Philippine Stock Exchange Building. At the back of the room, there were sign up forms, which were quickly snatched up by attendees. I didn’t get a single one. No biggie, they’re available online. Citisec is also the company mentioned by Bo Sanchez in his book. The presenter, Aya Laraya, is also affiliated with the company.
But this seminar isn’t specifically about investing in the stock market. Other investment options were discussed as well. What the presenter tried to do was give us basic information to help us decide where to invest. Before he did that, he of course made a quite convincing case for why it is wise to invest your money NOW, and why yesterday was the best time to do it.
Am I any richer for attending the seminar?
Hmm richer in knowledge YES. But I think I could have skipped this seminar altogether, only because I am already convinced that I should invest in stocks. I do recommend this seminar to those who need more info, or even those who are not yet decided on what is the right investment for them.
Would I attend other seminars? If it was more specific to investing in stocks, then yes I would! And they are cooking up more seminars, this is the just the first in a series. For COL, Aya Laraya also holds seminars twice a week.
On Friday morning, my Mom sent me a message saying she was at the Emergency Room with Dad. Daddy had felt light headed and his blood pressure went low so she took him there. He was okay but was being admitted for more observation. I probably should have rushed then, but I finished my shift, went a little overtime (last day syndrome), took time with lunch, before we finally made it to Dad’s room.
He didn’t look sick at all –
Now, in 30 years of my life, I have no memory of my Dad ever being hospitalized. He’s been to the ER several times in the last 10 years, but he’s never had to be kept overnight. So this was definitely something new. He stayed for two nights, and was discharged by Sunday morning. He might have overdosed on his new BP meds, so they lessened his medication. He is also on a strict diet now – dunno how long he’s going to sustain it though.
Mom mostly stayed with him, but he didn’t really needed to be looked after. On the first night they took his blood pressure and blood sugar readings hourly. I only stayed until around 8 or 9PM. The next day, readings were only done every four hours.
Guess who else went to visit on Friday afternoon?
He’s really grown up na! He is 10 years old and he’s wearing a shirt that he and my parents got from their Pagudpud vacation when he was such a small toddler! Haha Anyway, he stayed in the hospital until it was time for me to go home. We had argued about dinner too. He wanted Mang Inasal while I didn’t want to have to get off the car to buy the food. It was too hot outside and I was already up a long time by then – my laziness has been amplified. Hihi. In the end he agreed to Jollibee drive-thru. Chicken Joy for him and the boyfriend, Burger Steak for me.
We ate our dinner together at home while Alfred was still sleeping (his shift wasn’t until 3AM). He asked for extra rice and I was so surprised! He’d worked up an appetite, this kid. No wonder he’s growing real fast. Back in the day he would be so picky with food, and would hardly finish his plate.
Anyway…
I went back to the hospital around lunch time the next morning. All I did in the intervening time was see two movies on Fox Family, sleep, wake, dink water, and sleep again. Saturday morning plans had to be scrapped, it was officially time to catch up on sleep.
Shortly after I got to the hospital, my brother arrived – bearing food and drinks too! Hah! And just in time because I was really hungry by then. Amir was supposed to go in for a checkup but they cancelled it on account of Dad’s hospitalization. Since we were there already, Mom took a few hours to herself and went home.
It wasn’t long until Dad was his nutty self – he actually wanted to go out and get himself some coffee. I managed to convince him otherwise and Alfred went out to get him a cup of coffee without sugar. Still, he wanted to walk around. He wasn’t hooked up to a dextrose by then but the IV tap was still on his hand. He had just taken a shower and we were waiting for a change of linens, so he thought he was free to roam around. I couldn’t stop him entirely, but he didn’t go very far. He wasn’t gone 5 minutes before he came back in again.
He kept talking about going home and I really couldn’t see why – the air-conditioning was such a welcome treat. Imagine not having to roast while you sleep?! With everything covered by the HMO, he hadn’t to worry about cost really. But yeah, nothing beats the comfort of your own home. Or maybe he just wanted to go home so he could eat all the oily and sweet food he could grab!
Seriously though, just so thankful that Dad is okay. Thankful that we live so near the best hospital in the country. Greatful that I have a job with free HMO extended to Mom and Dad. Now Dad really has to take better care of himself now. He needs to get back to his old exercise routine, and a better diet. Hopefully that rubs off on us too.
Anyway, he stayed in the hospital until it was time for me to go home. We had argued about dinner too. He wanted Mang Inasal while I didn’t want to have to get off the car to buy the food. It was too hot outside and I was already up a long time by then – my laziness has been amplified. Hihi. 
In the end he agreed to Jollibee drive-thru. Chicken Joy for him and the boyfriend, Burger Steak for me.