Manila; Fruit salad.

Manila is a real Fruit salad. You cant really isolate one adjective to describe life in Manila. It is a beautiful mix up of things good and bad or plain different.

Yesterday afternoon, I took a cab home. Ryan said I should text him when Im about Arranque Market already so he can anticipate meeting me down Benavidez Building. Well I was anticipating texting him so i pulled out my phone from my bag though the cab was still stucked in Mendiola traffic and typed in, I thought I would just click send when the cab get to Arranque.

I was sitting on the back, when I looked out the car window and caught the eyes of a guy in red whose hair was parted in the middle looking back at me from accross the street, as if he was looking for something behind me. I didnt think of it as anything but it did made me turn around to look behind me, and there i saw that the other door from my left wasnt locked, and Just as the idea of being robbed was about to enter my initiative, I was startled to see two men (one of which was the guy in red- he crossed the street fast, didn't he?) thugging at the door of the front passenger's seat and mine as if pulling to open it and knocking on the glass window simultaneously.

I was startled at what they were doing and stared. Just froze for a minute or two. I was still holding my phone. The driver waved his hands at them, signing them to go away. Of course it was still afternoon so there were still a lot of people going about, when they realized that the doors were locked securely, and after some time of knocking, they quit and acted as if they just didnt know there was a passenger already and was just trying to catch themselves a cab and was surprised to see me. Which was doubtful and weird, because the glass sure wasnt tinted, and i am very sure I have not turned into an invisible ghost and they were really thugging at the doors. When they left us alone, they resumed their post accross the street. The driver told me those were robbers trying to mobbed us in the cab. He also quoted it was impossible they didnt see me, 130lbs of me was there looking straight back at them while they thugged and knocked plus, the window glass was not tinted, in any degree. (yes somehow, i had to mention my fat ass mass :P)

He relayed to me a story of a recent taxi passenger victim who was robbed in the same strategy, and almost stabbed when she didnt want to let go of her bag. My heart palpitated a little, I didnt have much cash on me then but i'd sure missed my 2 months old 'Coach' hand bag, my memory stick and my phone. phew! I realized they probably saw the door from my left was unlocked and thought I didnt lock any doors at all.

Moral Lesson : Lock all doors. I usually do, but yesterday I was feeling carefree. It really is true, the ironic timing, just when you are letting your guard down, something happens.

Well, other than that, I arrived at our place in one piece thankfully. I was able to send the :Arranque na ko- text message successfully prior to arriving at home :P.

I looked at the taxi meter. My Taxi bill was 140 php. I gave the taxi driver another 10 peso as tip for being smart. Hahaha :) 10 pesos lang? Ryan laughed wow im a big tipper noh? :) hehehe. Pwede na yun noh.

The day ended with my memory of 4 isaw na bilog to taste. and watching re-run of Hannibal that night.

Nyaw's Beerday :)

I did not had the time to remove the red eye, this was taken from Glen's cellphone. Its me and the girls minus Ava. Miss u girl.

Busy busy. Ryan and I met up with my UST college friends at Fat Johnny's last night. Glenn had long hair. Rolan looks the same. Jovel is still quiet and Don has a girlfriend. It was Precious's despedida. Nyaw's and Ruth's Post beerday. Nina was there, I think what stuck to my mind was the '2-seconds topic' 'all nighter miracle drug'. Other facts would be: it was beernight but then I was sipping on mango Juice and H2o. Ryan was having carbonated soda. Im not trying to be goody-goody, I just didnt feel like drinking beer (-for quite a very long time since). Beer is a social drink I am not a fan of these days. Siguro next time... we'll see. Anyway, I learned that Carlo went back to the US for good. Anne is going back to school. Jen is getting married. Ava has been a no-show in all parties they invited her to. Shally was on the phone, she'll visit Manila next year. :) Im glad I dropped by.

(L-R Me, Nyaw, Thine, Che, Precious, and Ruth)

It was nice to see them again, although Glenn and Rolan cant help but notice the weight i gained. you mean guys you. ;)(hey i lost weight already) :P Their reaction made me feel like I was 200lbs again.. :P guys give me a break, its not like its easy coming down from a whooping mass of 200lbs right?. At least Jovel said he saw me on TV once, no sense but it was probably the nicest comment of the night :P. (haha I was probably standing in for Juday that time ;p)

I waited until Don got there before we left. I,too was curious about the girlfriend. ;)

Im happy for him.

So there we were, we kissed-cheeks each other goodnight,then Ryan and I were on our way home.

We stopped at 7-11 to buy Czesca's babyfood. As I was waiting for Ryan to fill his cup of slurpee,I spun around to find Manilla's dad behind me. I smiled and and recognized him. Her dad, her mom and I chit chatted a little.

I forgot to tell them to say hi to Illa for me. anyways "Hi Illa". :) She is selling some pretty nice genuine accessories, visit this page http://www.manillascollection.multiply.com/, another friend, Camille is selling commercial accessories, http://www.xarixari.multiply.com/ Okay..back to normal blogging. :)

***(",)***

At home much later that night, just before Ryan popped in 'Zodiac' in the DVD player. I was playing with Czesca (who wasnt asleep yet). Czesca was having so much fun she was crying :p. Im a saddist mom, office mate said. uy ah I love Czesca, I was just making baby fun of her, dont drag me to the police station or Bantay bata yet. DSWD dont confiscate her from me. :) She was afraid of a cartoon fish - sticker. She'd freeze for a while at the sight of it and then make baby whines, which we found cute until Daddy thought it was enough with the she's-scared-over-some-fish-sticker-cuteness and had to take her away from evil mommy. okay here's the clip: (Note: No babies or any fish was harmed during the recording of this video, No water was needed in the filming of this video. ) you may click on "The Fish" link below:

The Fish

Anyway after the terrorism ( which i am sorry na), She went to sleep while Ryan and I stayed up until 2 am to finish the movie 'Zodiac'. I bet Im gonna be sleepy on the bus that morning and I was. :).

Saturday noon

I realized I like saying 'actually' in a repeat manner, meaning i tend to say 'actually' every other sentence when i am actually (see?) speaking to anybody. Maybe I am more concious when im writing or composing a blog, than when i am literally in the act of conversing orally/verbally or maybe i havent reviewed my previous blogs yet for traces of the said- annoying 'actually'. hahaha :p. okay.

Last night we watched 'Eyes Wide Shut' an old film starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. Story was somewhat dragging, I think it was trying to portray poetry when it gave 10 seconds to show Tom cruise arriving in a cab to a place, when it spent 5 seconds each to take a shot of 'doubt' and other reactions by the characters. DRAGGING rather than poetic. I like the stars though. I think during the time when they were running this in the Cinemas, it was a hit movie. Considering before, showing a lot of skin is a bold act by the stars of the movie, I think thats what made the jaws dropped back then. In fairness, the way they were all naked was effectively un-porno and whatever trouble they were trying to implicate was read and can be read by the viewers. But given today's execution of films and scenes, it was lacking (if you dont agree, well its just me then) :) I hated how when the story started to become interesting, that was the end. Maybe that was part of the plot. The troubles were implicated, the conspiracy proven but the ending was rather lacking. But its no wonder why Tom made Nicole, Mrs. cruise back then.

Ill be back... my cousin needs to chat with the boyfriend. :)

PeAcE? :)

It snowballed into a good thing after all.


" when you pray for something, lets say for patience, when you pray for patience, does God give you patience? or does He give you the opportunity to be patient?". A good rhetorical question.

Harvey Mabaho Humirit ;p

Friday. Ryan and I went to SM Megacrap.
The mall is nice.
But I think that place and me is a bad combination. Im not exaggerating. promise. Next time i'll explain why. ;p

Anyway Saturday and Sunday was better. :)
Harvey picked us up around 6pm. But since my cousin was celebrating her birthday, we had dinner at their house, first. Together with us was Kareen and 'Au'. Ryan and Harvey devoured so many crabs, by the way.

During the stop-over at NLEX, Elouise and her Ryan met us up.
Benny and Denise was there. Vince, Rem, Dennis (w/gf Dorothy), Arby, George, Mark and Manuel.
I finally got to see them again. I think the last time I did was way back 2005 end of 1st term. (except for Elouise and Ryan). I missed them slightly, I realized. I missed tearing apart Benny's high marking test papers and results among other things. HAHA. ;p

When we got there and we had settled our things,
they turned the night into a drinking fest. They had beers and tequila, which Ryan and I skipped. (Kill-Joys ;p) anyway Harvey was enough to make us think we were already drunk. Ang baho talaga ng hirit mo harvs. He filled the night with his almost-a-compliment-really-an-insult- comments. Harvey is just like that but he is a good friend, he compensates. and He doesnt really mean to hurt you or mean bad with his awkward one liners. Even Ryan knows this. I remember when Harvey learned Ryan was asking for my number way back when we were still in High school. He called me up to warn me that Ryan is so bisaya, he's tagalog is so bad he pronounces "defense" as "dipins". Now that we are all friends (Ryan Me and Harvey), natatawa na lang kami. Naaliw kami ni Ryan. hehe
I say Harvey is Sayad. He on the other hand say I'm topak. We laughed. Ryan and everybody else who knows Harvey as a friend will agree. Haha. In fairness, may topak rin siguro ako Ryan knows my Topak, I love him for being patient to me.

Anyway back to Harvey's hirits. I think the latest I could remember was Saturday night, while drinking with the other guys, He turned to notice that **** was somewhat appealing and cute ( which actually he told us earlier already). He also noticed how slim she was. So in his appreciation he pops the question "****, Babae ka ba talaga?.." I am not sure if he said this aloud or only in his mind as he just narrated this to us. "o bakla?" something like that. You never say that to a girl you think you like. Buzzer. Harvey you are out. :P

I didnt join the drinking session.
Base on experience hahaha :P Bad things are more likely to happen when you drink. A lesson I learned a long long time ago. I dont speak for everybody, just for myself. I dont know.. (",) maybe i just over associate drinking with negativity, thats why. "Everybody went kung-fu fighting" - you guess. I do drink (moderately). but not for a long time now. And Maybe i will, uy naman sometimes i do say yes. But until then,my choice :) Depends. (Ryan on the other hand, just didnt feel like it) Au drank for us. Representative. hehe ;) Anyway the night was spent reminiscing old times and sharing controversial revelations. Si Harvey pasimuno. (uuy. naintriga. :) )

Sunday morning. We were taking pictures. I found Kareen and Au (Auschnacher ---a.k.a Aurelio. ;p Harvey asked what 'Au' is short for, we said Auschnacher hehe) outside the house,taking each other's pictures.

Afternoon. We went swimming. Actually I was just either walking or hanging on to a salbabida. hahaha ;p. Summary details:

Elouise and Ryan went swimming. Benny and Denise went swimming. Vince just sat there and went sight seeing :P. Harvey went swimming and sight seeing and almost stalking. Kareen and Au went swimming and picture taking. The others stayed at the house shaking their hang-overs.

Ryan wanted to go up the long slide, i said im tired (actually i was just scared, which he guessed right) haha. give me a break, i cant swim. :) I almost semi- drowned in only 3 feet of Chlorine H20 once. (i think im going to have to buy 'swimming for dummies' first. We'll try the slide next time. haha.
Little Czesca was afraid of the fountains and the artificial falls. Ryan claimed I was the picture addict, but he was the one searching for good spots and posing all smiles. :). Sana next time, pag nag swimming kami maka pag swimsuit na ako hahaha. :) 2-piece. kapal.





Nag enjoy naman kami. Nakakapagod nga lang yung biyahe pauwi.

Pinya. Bow.

sukatero at sukatera na ang ginagamit ay mata. Maari ko bang tanungin kung tao sila o pinya? balita ko kasi maraming mata ang pinya (joke joke joke).

Often when you measure someone base on what you see, how you see, what your limited sight can cover, do you never doubt your Madam-Auring conclusions, your SOCO-evidences? Some people go about like they are true and correct in everything ..you might just start to think they have an answer to how many cc of water is the oceans,stubbornly believing everything they have not yet confirmed but is hypothetically affirmative of and without hesitation walks right onto the stage of righteousness, detailing who you might be, who you are, who you were without even knowing you. Behold. another Ripe Pinya. and you have just been disected.



Ilan ang pinya sa buhay mo? may pinya ba sa buhay mo?
O di kaya ay pinya ka?

FoReVeR LoVe *wink

When Im being a kid and you are losing it,
and Im pouting like I do holding back my baby tears,
You will take one long hard look at me
And when i look back at you, my face is as it is.
my stubborness as it is, then everything comes back to you
and you smile at me like im the cutest thing you have ever seen.
Then you hug me and you tell me im the cutest thing you have ever seen.
and you say you love me like the cutest thing you will ever see.
I wonder if we can be like this forever.
As childishly in love like this forever.

When you are eating and im eating off your plate,
and you start complaining because im eating more share..
and i look at you like hate is about to well up in my eyes,
you will spoon feed me the best part of the dish
you pour me my glass of cold juice..Im happy again,
and I love you.
Until after a few days when i start feeling fat,
i depress myself with reminders, i do not fit in my clothes no more,
but then you put your arms around me and tell me how lucky you are,
I am your beauty queen and you make me feel like one every day.

And when you touch your scars which ruined your abs,
and you look at me and ask if you are pogi...
I tell you how exactly the same you are to me
the first time we looked at each other.
Sinong Pogi? shempre Ako.
I wonder if we can see each other this way forever
As ageless and timeless in love like this forever.

Bolero and Bolera like this forever.

When you dont listen and then you get sick,

I get mad , worried at the same time,

and then when i dont listen and i get sick,

you get mad when i lie im already fine,

but what i wonder about is if we could live forever

if i can still lay my head on your shoulder and see our grandchildren together..

looking forward.. we could do just that.

When i tell you to wake me up in the morning
and i hate you for doing so in the morning,

we wonder why we are so annoying :)
The intensity has never been shaken.
All my wonderings come to cease,
That I could live like this forever.
and we could love like this today.

Because Forever is simply every tomorrow.
If it is not ours to tell...Maybe the day today can.

Talamak. Talamak. Pirated DVD

"DVD copy na ba yan?"

"Malinaw na ba yan"

"Clear Copy Lang Sir"

Every morning

Kapag naalimpungatan ako ng gising, hinahanap agad ng mga mata ko ang pamilya ko at kapag nakita ko nang sila ay mahimbing na tila ba hindi ko raw alam na sabay sabay naman kaming natulog kagabi, at saka lamang ako muling babalik sa pagkahimbing. Another Monday. It is really hard to leave home every morning. I get out of bed and do the morning routine. When im almost done i stop the clock, a few minutes before i tap Ryan for a goodbye kiss, I watch them. And the thought repeats in my head and the feeling is replayed in my heart " It is really hard to leave home every morning".

I would rather never be anywhere else in this world. Sigh. But we all have places to be and things to do.

I took this picture just before i left, we really are 'malikot matulog'. hihihi.

Everyday when i go to work, coming home is the most exciting thing i look forward to. ;) hahaha I have become pretty boring to some, but i cant helpt it, i find it most dull when i spend my time away from them. God, I am in love.

They are my joy,my hope, and my greatest fear.

Sabado Sa Ongpin

When i woke up today, Ryan was already up to trimming Czesca's fingernails. I washed my face and brushed my teeth then pulled out my old pair of rubber shoes, which has been sitting inside the shoe cabinet for i think almost 2 years. I have worn them less than ten times. I was feeling like burning some calories,but Ryan said it was already 11am, not an ideal time for jogging. anyway i ended up putting them back in the shoe cabinet, and taking a nice shower.

He said he was going to take us (along with yaya) to "Everything At Steak". He ate there with some Harbour Players and wanted to take me there eversince. He said the steaks there are monstrous (exxagg...)yet affordable. The branch they ate at was located at Wilson St. Greenhills. There's a newly opened branch in Ongpin. whoopee he quoted, we wont have to go all the way to Greenhills anymore :)

So we took pedicabs ( 1 for ryan and 1 for yaya, czesca and me). When we finally got to "Everything At Steak". I looked around and felt familiarity. why wouldnt I? the branch opened along San Fernando St. and was only a few steps away from an old place of someone i used to really know. (mystery. mystery :P)

The place was rather small. every table was fully occupied. We made our way up to the second floor and the area was also almost full as well. There was one empty table but it was reserved. Of course we made facial expressions saying "customers, customers". and yep, Luckily, they decided we could have the table. I took my seat and when they handed me the menu, I told the waitress I'm having whatever He's having. After a few minutes. I realized the Rumors were true.


The steak made the rice look like kimchi. Comparing it to Western Steaks, of course it was still way smaller. But comparing it to Philippine regular cuts of steak size. This is pretty big already. (You might have noticed that i defined it big rather than thick. ) Even TGIF's steaks arent thick. Filipino style. Unless you really demanded it be thick or you happen to be eating your steak meal in a 5 star restaurant. It can become 'thick'. :) Anyway, It made me realize that chewing can be tiring. I didnt finish the steak. It tasted okay by the way. Try it! :) pero mas feel ko ambiance sa Lime Tree

(Czesca also had fun, she was walking most of the time, too bad they didnt have high chairs for kids) Ang Kulit mo Czesca!

When we went down, waiting customers eagerly anticipated our exit, as Ryan continued with his marketing talk of how the steak was delicous and all. (I'm beginning to think he's being paid for it...haha) Anyway, during the ride home i kept thugging at the camera and clicking away. Ryan said it was annoying and people might think..."na spy ako?" i joked. I didnt really had a good shot because we were crammed inside one big pedicab, Csezca was sitting on my lap, leaning on my tummy and chest, while yaya's knees and my knees were head-to-head as she sat by the side infront of us. Ryan sat on my right. sa Pilipinas talaga, okay lang mag mala sardinas na siksikan :)

I told yaya "welcome to Ongpin". I love Chinatown. It's a messy place but i love it. The Kalesa is becoming quite an expensive ride these days. From 20php before. They are now charging 40-50 php. The Kutseros are no longer up to outdecorating each other's chariot. They are just regular working people trying to earn some money and get some G.I (Genuine Intsiks) to pay higher than necessary. They are losing chivalry. Its sad. I think the streets of chinatown would be even more entertaining if we keep the culture up.


The Binondo Church. ( the transparent plastic interior of the pedicab made the light reflections in this picture.) It was also hard to keep the pedicab driver's ass off this photo because He was just within range and I already have limited movements. Some Facts - This was built in the 16th century and the first Pinoy Saint, Lorenzo Ruis started here as an altar boy. (uuy...you learned something) At present one can also say, Chinatown housemaids now make this place a sunday venue for eyeballs (meet-ups) with their boyfriends or textmates. "ma'm magsisimba lang po ako" the famous lines. Its not so bad. Think of it as a teleserye love story.And not to worry, one can still go here for the church and its mass. Weddings are also frequent here. Romantiko lang talaga ang makipagtagpo sa simbahan. Kahit nga sa mga palabas noong panahon pag ang mag nobyo nagkikita, sa simbahan. Pag nagtatanan sila, sa simbahan rin.

In the heart of Chinatown.
Fruitstands, Chinese drugstores and groceries, people loitering around, sleeping in the streets is a usual scenery. What we may call Chinese
ghetto. The sounds of tapping horseshoes, the buddha-bless-you chants, the color of red and gold. The calligraphy. The motion. The restaurants and receptionists wearing high slitted one piece chinese costumes. The delicacies. Old men wearing white sandos tucked in their blue clothman pants sporting spartan like slippers , carrying chinese newspaper. The bargains. The paper lanterns. The lion statues. The bridges. The culture. You are the same.. anywhere in this world.

Sure i enjoy the high rising buildings of Makati. The wide roadways. The bright lights at night. The life. The Billboards. But when its time to come home. Take me home to dirty Chinatown.

this guy looks tired. nobody seems to care though! snore for the camera. :)