My Life In Manggachupoy Street

Manny Does It Again!

2008-12-11T13:41:00.004+08:00

photo grabbed from bbc.com.uk

i know this is late but i just had to blog it.

it was really awesome how manny pacquiao beat oscar dela hoya on the non-title bout last sunday.
it was labeled a mismatched in favor of dela hoya but who would have thought that it was the other way around?

watching the fight was really not much of a thrill as dela hoya wasn't throwing any punches against pacquiao.
he just let himself be clobbered by a smaller guy.

good job for pacquiao and his coach freddie roach for preparing for this fight. as for dela hoya i guess they were too confident and didn't much prepare for a strategy or fight plan. probably just relied on being able to land a powerful punch to keep pacquiao dizzy for the rest of the fight.

too bad. the fight ended(TKO) with oscar his face battered and bruised while manny with no bruises in his face at all.

but i have to give credit to dela hoya for being humble and approached pacquiao's corner as soon as his coach announced that they had enough.
when interviewed this was what the mexican fighter said,

"He was the better man. He deserves all the accolades."
"If it's not your night and a true champion defeats you... there is still another day tomorrow."

Ayannah Meisha's Christening

2008-11-24T15:35:00.007+08:00

yesterday we trooped to san fernando, pampanga for the christening of Ayannah Meisha. ayannah's mom, noanne is a very dear friend of mine when we were in asiana til she transferred to emirates.

as expected we were late again and we weren't able to attend the church ceremony.

aqi had a field day running around the clubhouse and park while i was busy chatting with friends.

this is Ayannah Meisha M. Baluyut... isn't she an angel?

at 1 month ayannah looks like her dad which the mom hopefully wishes that it would change and look like her in the future.

aqi with sleeping ayannah

hubby, aqi ,me, kristian, ayannah, noanne, dulce and alvin
too bad we missed one more friend who wasn't able to make it coz her daughter was just recovering from a digestive problem. this picture would have been complete.

Alpahabet Song

2008-11-19T20:29:00.002+08:00

overheard a yaya with her alaga,

yaya: "kanta tayo! eh-be-se-de-e-ep-je..."

poor baby....

2nd Anniversary

2008-11-18T00:46:00.002+08:00

happy 2nd anniversary hugsy.... ilove you.

Sports Clothing as the It Thing to Wear?

2008-11-17T00:15:00.003+08:00

there are a lot of rules in fashion but at the end of the day it all boils down on dressing for one's own comfort and individualizing each outfit to stand out from the crowd and making it your own.

The Future MasterBaker

2008-11-12T15:07:00.003+08:00

let me tell you that the kitchen was never my territory.
my hubby does waaaayyy better than me in being a domesticated person.

last week i saw a simple recipe on how to make shortbread cookies. it just had 3 ingredients and said to myself that i can do that. the steps seems fairly easy so i decided to make some the other night.

the verdict? hubby says i have a future in baking! the cookies were pretty good and it reminded him of lengua de gato.
aawww.... i felt so happy hearing this..... a future in baking.....
just need more practice. practice. practice.
i can do that!
i'll make some tonight.

My Brother's Psychic Ticket to Fame

2008-11-08T22:34:00.003+08:00

last week was the season for tv programs to feature supernatural stories for their halloween special.

Matanglawin hosted by Kim Atienza had a topic about a haunted house somewhere in (i forgot). together with him to make it more spooky were The Spirit Questors, a group of young, pyschic volunteers, who communicate with human and non-human entities.
everybody in our household waited for this program not because of the story but because Juno, my brother is a spirit questor. yup... his 10 minutes of fame. he even had a spirit stand behind him. creepy!

and oh we also saw them again on another program Chillspot on the ETC channel.

that's about it!

My Closet=The Tambyolo

2008-11-08T00:06:00.004+08:00

i have been very busy lately trying to clear out the clutter that is my closet.
Hubby says it's like a tambyolo for the grand draw wherein you just rely on your luck to get a piece of clothing that you want.
it's taking me daaaayyysss to organize it because i can't let go of some or most of my stuff. it's funny how i feel that way as some of my stuff i haven't used for years and the other half of it i totally forgot that i had them in the first place!

A Trip to the UK (ay-ukay)

2008-11-06T00:14:00.001+08:00

Guess what I found in an ukay-ukay store!

My hubby who is an ukay-ukay addict dragged me to this shop to look for some thermal outfits. I wasn't planning to buy anything but my eyes sparkled when I was able to unearthed these 3 beautiful items:

a black halter jumper
a white sequined top
and an original LV Saumur bag

All of the items were in good condition. I just had to buy them!

Well I still had to haggle some more with the bag and kept on looking at it to check if its the real thing. I was skeptic at first but my hubby insisted that the lining, straps and the markings were just like my Montorgueil.
We haggled some more and got it for a good price.

Now I'm keeping my eyes wide open the next time my hubby drags me there coz I just might find me a vintage Chanel.

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-31T22:02:00.006+08:00

for a 1 year old the whole trick or treat experience was for the parents- especially the MOM- ahem... who so excitedly dressed their little bundle of joy with the child having no choice as to what costume he would like to wear. poor little babies... hehehe...

for aqi's first trick or treat experience we took him to sm southmall, a stone's throw away from our house. he was dressed as a dragon which i got on sale at old navy.

the costume was not presko as it was designed for use in the US but aqi was such a trooper because he didn't attempt to struggle his way out of his costume. he was game with doing the trick or treating while the parents and the yaya enjoying every minute of it.

we decided to eat when we sensed that aqi was already tired and rest he did. as we were giving our orders at kenny roger's aqi was already sleeping in yaya's arms. i think we stayed there for an hour and a half just to have a comfortable place (meaning strong aircon) to stay while aqi napped. he never slept that long in a mall before.

let me leave you a picture of us after aqi woke up- recharged and ready for more kalikutan!

Show Me Your Uvula!

2008-10-21T01:08:00.007+08:00

we noticed that aqi has a signature smile- head tilted a little backward, squinting eyes and a very big ( i-can-see-your-uvula) smile.
where did he get it? we really do not know.

2008-10-20T23:39:00.005+08:00

yesterday we visited Del Monte, Malabon the place where hubby spent his childhood days til he was 7 years old. he would always tell me stories of those days wherein he would just be like any filthy street kid hanging-on to jeepneys passing by and relieving himself of pee and poop along the shallow canals beside the houses.

i have lived in the south all my life so the very long trip was enjoyable for me. it was my first time to reach Monumento!

aqi also enjoyed the visit because the place where we stayed was a busy thoroughfare. there were a lot of kids loitering outside and there were just so many things to look at. aqi was fond of looking at the talipapa and was staring at the lady chopping meat and even wanted to touch the longganissa hanging by her stall.

aqi being aqi was still a snob (especially to his lola) but surprisingly he willingly with outstretched arms went to one of hubby's distant relative and giggled to this man's antics. it was such a funny sight!

let me leave you with a picture of aqi with his cousins

nazh, thor, thea and my hyper aqi

Seoul Survivor

2008-10-18T01:03:00.016+08:00

i've been living in and out of seoul for 7 years and admittedly i have taken it for granted.
i have never truly seen the beauty of the city and have just contented myself with subway trips to kangnam or ehwa university and the usual bus routes from the airport to the hotel.

so to prepare myself for my final days in korea i decided to take a downtown tour via the Seoul Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour.
this bus tour costs just around 10,00won or around $9 and goes around 26 popular tourist spots. you can hop off at any destination and hop on again at anytime. some of the major sites this goes to are the National Museum of Korea which is the 6th largest museum in the world, The War Memorial of Korea, Namsangol Traditional Korean Village, N Seoul Tower, Gyeongbokgung Palace and the National Folk Museum.

i wasn't able to go down at all the stops because i ran out of time! i would have loved to go inside the National Museum and take some photos outside as the place is so beautiful. i also missed some photo ops at the War Memorial which is so grand with all its monuments and aircraft on display.

since i was touring alone i was always on the lookout for surfaces to prop my camera to set in on the timer. surprisingly i was able to get good shots and crappy ones from well-meaning strangers offering to take my picture( i am such an ingrate). it's so disappointing how people can be so poor in organizing a shot. they'd always focus on the person being shot and not the view! geez... i could have taken my picture at home and tell the whole world i was in paris!
let me show you an example

crappy shot

with a use of a timer

i'm so bummed out that i wasn't able to bring the charger of my new canon camera( which is a pasalubong from hubby) so i settled on using my trusty old casio camera which never failed me on its battery life but would always give me sub-par shots. being submerged in icy cold water in Yosemite has something to do with it though but that's another story.at the Namsangol Traditional Korean Village (with the timer)

inside a traditional house

at the National Folk Museum (again with the timer)

gotta fit in the picture!

at the Gyeongbokgung Palace

a building facade, cute huh?

a cover-up for a construction in the middle of a busy thoroughfare

Happy Hyper Birthday!

2008-10-17T00:18:00.012+08:00

we had a party for Aqi last saturday at Madre di Portofino Clubhouse and it was fun! fun! fun!
The Chubster was our host and magician and Partytime Philippines was our caterer and venue decorator. they did great!

aqi surprised us again as he didn't throw any tantrums during the party unlike what happened 3 months ago during Aidan's party he refused to enter the party room in Shakey's and cried his heart out at every attempt to enter the room.
i guess it shows that my son is maturing alright. atta boy!
it's a work in progress though as he still snobs and refuses to interact with other people- even his lola(hubby's mom)- but he's very friendly with kids.

gotta give aqi some credit as he was lively and energetic all throughout the party. his spirit was up and about until we left the clubhouse at 9pm. but by the time we stepped in the car after only a couple of minutes he was dozing off in my arms.

more pictures here at my brother's site.

click here for aqi and his balloon video.

Aqi's 1st Birthday

2008-10-15T21:12:00.016+08:00

we had a simple feast on aqi's actual birthday.
hubby prepared all the dishes and it was absolutely YUMmm-MY!
my gosh i ate a lot as it was an ala- Almon Marina menu:

the melt-in-your-mouth Cheesecake Factory cheesecake uh-hmm

creamy shrimp pesto

grilled garlic chicken

hungarian sausages and schubligs

Aqi's First Haircut

2008-10-15T15:39:00.004+08:00

aqi had his first haircut on his birthday last friday.
hubby had to cut some of aqi's hair to follow his elders pamahiin to keep the baby's first haircut and keep it in a book. you can actually choose what book to keep it in and hopefully the baby will be a genius of that subject in the future. i kept aqi"s hair in 3 books: a Bible, an algebra book and hubby insisted on putting it in a Tom Clancy hardbound book to hopefully make aqi fond of reading.

surprisingly aqi was well-behaved during the haircut. he was a bit fidgety but that was okay because we expected him to wail and cry.

hubby holding aqi during the haircut

mohawk courtesy of the dad

Couch Potatoes--Rejoice!

2008-10-06T09:39:00.004+08:00

i am such a couch potato.
i have a lot of books that's waiting to be opened because automatically i would always reach for the remote and watch TV all day long.
it pisses me off when my next destination doesn't have the program or channel that i religously follow.
i guess i need to choose all my flights because Fall TV Season has begun!

what tv program are you looking forward to? let me know!

Moving On

2008-10-04T00:11:00.003+08:00

i did it.

i have officially submitted my resignation paper and i've got 3 more flights to go before i become a stay-at-home mom.
i received a good amount of crappy advice from the male overseas crew manager when i submitted the paper and said that quitting a job to be a housewife is not a wise thing to do. a lot of korean crew who quit the job to be a housewife regretted their decision of doing so and that being a housewife would mean being stagnant and lessens the opportunity to grow as a person.

WHAT??!!

being a non-korean crew in this company is the same as his description of a housewife- STAGNANT.

in the 8 years that i've been with the company they only increased our salary twice(by a mere $50) and the chances of promotion are close to none. oh but before i forget they did try to promote some of us seniors to business class duty, and it was the first time in history, that it was received by mixed reactions by some of the korean crew. some liked it and some thought that we had no place in their territory. they respect us filipina crew as exceptional employees but that was about it. even if i'm the most senior in the flight they would always go for the next korean senior. we actually don't have a voice. so where's the growth in that?

yes i would miss the travel and earning my own keep and being able to shop everywhere but i wouldn't have it any other way. eversince i could remember i have never imagined myself as a working mom. i'd like to be the kind of mom who is always there for her kids and understands them in all of their phases. i'd like to be the one to teach them good values as well as their ABC's.
i'd like to be the one to witness all of their firsts and be there on every special occasion there is.

the finances would take a toll but that is hubby's problem. it's time for him to be the breadwinner this time and me to be finally be a MOM.

Omuto Tomato

2008-09-24T02:11:00.010+08:00

for dinner i decided to eat at Omuto Tomato-- nope they don't specialize in tomato dishes but in Omurice. Omurice is nothing less but japanese omelet rice, an omelet with fried rice filling. in this restaurant they have around 20 variants of omurice. i was really drooling for the seafood cheese stick omurice but the server said that they ran out of it already so i settled for the burger omurice which is around 8,900won($7).
together with my dish were pickles and radish kimchi.

i know... i know it doesn't look appealing but when you're in korea this one thing that a foreigner would appreciate.

i ate the whole thing off and it was good but i was not satisfied because i was thinking of the dish that i initially ordered which i saw from their display window was drowning in cream sauce...uh-hhmmm.

Visual Talking

2008-09-24T01:25:00.000+08:00

A Corn-y Post

2008-09-23T01:38:00.005+08:00

i've just recently discovered this Corn Loaf bread from Gardenia on a grocery trip on my layover in singapore.
it's smells corn-y (no pun intended, bwaha!).
the bread is as usual consistently soft just like other Gardenia loaves and yummy with corn bits all over.
i'd recommend this variant as it is light and can go well with any palaman.

Funny Hotel Name

2008-09-22T22:57:00.001+08:00

Get the Message?

2008-09-19T23:07:00.003+08:00

Isn't her shirt amusing?
i'll upload more next time.

Interline Tickets and Waffle Shop

2008-09-17T05:01:00.010+08:00

it was my day off today but had to lift my lazy butt out of bed to buy hubby's return ticket to manila. (we would've saved a lot more if he went h0me early before his original return ticket expired).
we decided to get a confirmed interline ticket from china airlines to avoid the hassle of being on standby but almost fell off the floor when i was given the price. i had to pay around $450 for that freaking return ticket from new york to manila. and now i'm contemplating if i should've bought the cathay pacific interline ticket which would've cost around $100. but it's a standby ticket BUT cathay pacific has around 3 flights a day out of new york. surely they would have an empty seat in one of those flights, right?
oh well, hubby deserves to go home without any stress. he has had enough of that.

i stumbled upon a hole in the wall waffle shop near our hotel. it's a takeout counter but can sit 2-3 people inside. it's a cute shop and me thinks i want to do this in manila.i ordered the pork cutlet waffle. so it's just like ordering a sandwhich but instead of bread waffle is used. the price was quite reasonable at 2thousand won($2) and it was quite filling. it's the same novelty as buying in Plato Wraps.their menu consists of waffle with jam (choose between strawberry, orange,melon and choco), waffle with ice cream( walnut, bluberry and grape) waffle with egg, waffle with chicken cutlet, pork cutlet or shrimp cutlet.

i think i'll be coming back for more to taste all of their yummy waffle sandwhich plus the ajumas (old lady) manning the shop were very nice. and oh they have pictures that showed that they were featured on tv. yay!

Last Song Syndrome

2008-09-15T23:26:00.001+08:00