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A year that will be
1/17/2010 6:17:00 AM
2010. It was a bad welcome for me.
New Year's Eve, Andee was taken to the emergency room due to vomiting and loose bowel movement. January 2nd, it was Diego's turn. January 3rd and 4th, I was running a fever. Then now, for 3 days now, my allergies are more like a burning sensation on the skin.
But getting that aside, there are major looking-forward-to's for this year. February 20th will be our high school reunion's Silver Jubilee! Wow, 25 years na!!! Our batch holds reunion every 5 years. Each year handled and organized by a specific barkada, then 'assigning' the next barkada-organizer during the event. This time, everyone pitches in. As usual, I get to design the main tarpaulin for the event and take care of the physical arrangements. I will be (hopefully) posting a separate entry for that (fingers-crossed).
The next main event will be Lola's 90th birthday on August. It's going to be a grand family reunion, and everyone will be going home to Puerto Princesa. Exciting!
The last quarter of 2009 left a 'hole' in My Scratch Pad. After the Ondoy incident, phone and internet access are still non-existent. There were quite a few events that I should be blogging about, and of course, pictures to post. That might need to wait, I'm afraid, as I don't normally visit internet cafes.
So here's to 2010! :-)
Christmas Colored Mung Beans
12/26/2009 6:31:00 AM
Can't believe that Christmas was just yesterday!
Had to rush home from work, got home at around 10am. Caught cousin Angge cooking her specialty "Pad Thai" (she also arrived a few hours before me from work too!); had to gear up as well. My turn to cook (Dory Fillet with Asparagus cream sauce)!
Every year, Christmas Lunch is tradition for the family. We don't celebrate Noche Buena like what most families do. Normally we'd just spruce up the house, bringing out all plates and utensils, finish our cooking marathon. We'd then open a bottle of red wine and toast at midnight, Christmas Day, wake the kids and open presents! That was then. Sans the wine toasting and gifts opening, this year, sleeping early was the agenda. I was at work when I called at midnight expecting to hear the kid's excitement opening their gifts. Ha! everyone's asleep-- Mama answered the phone, a bit groggy--sorry, woke her up kasi. Anyway....
Our house becomes the venue for a grand family reunion. I remember about two weeks before. Mama was really down to tears, not wanting to plan the celebration anymore. Mainly because we (literally) have no chairs for our relatives and visitors to sit on! --thanks to Ondoy. And to add to mama's frustration, she has scanned the Marikina Yellow Pages for chairs and tables for rent..but everyone's booked! Good thing Yaya Wilma chanced upon a flier somewhere last week that rents out tables and chairs. Lo and behold! Problem solved :-)
Like clockwork, our relatives (and my brothers and their families) arrived like, just a minute apart-- and I am not exaggerating! After one family comes in and the beso-beso's were done, the next family arrives. This cycle continued on 5 times! 5 families! Enough to make everyone smile.
By mid-afternoon, we all went to Loyola Park (Marikina) to visit Papa and Lolo. Our ride has my kids and all my pamangkins. We are the schoolbus. Kids' ride. We call them the 'Retazos' --hahaha! A strip from the original!
It was a riot going to and from Loyola. Christmas concert ito. Singing ABS-CBN's Christmas staion ID, "Star ng Pasko, Salamat sa Liwanag Mo"... the 'RETAZOS' (aged 2-10):
"Salamat sa liwanag mo.. Muling magkakakulay ang munggo!"
Huh?!?!
Jacob and Bella
12/12/2009 1:11:00 AM
These are my two 3-month old choco point siamese kittens, Jacob and Bella (yeah..New Moon, i know!).
I am also testing the email posting feature.
Sent via SE810i
Sorry....
12/12/2009 12:52:00 AM
It has been an eternity since my last entry.
After Palawan, Andee's birthday, followed by Diego's antics, then finally Ondoy. It has been more than two months now and still, Globe has not yet reconnected our internet.
Tahgaaalll ..............Tons of stories to tell, lots of pictures to share.
I'll be back.
Island Hopping
8/17/2009 7:21:00 AM
Suntan oil and bathing suit? NADA.
Me and my cousins went on an impromptu island hopping the morning after Lola's birthday. I had no plans whatsoever in taking a dip, that's why I didn't bother to bring anything fit for the beach. *sigh* (next time I'd better pack beach stuff WHEREVER and WHENEVER I go to a place near water!)
Anyway, headed off to Sta. Lourdes at around 6:30am where we are to take a motorized boat ride through Honda Bay. The banca costs 1,500Php for the whole day. The one we got can accommodate up to around 10 people. Snorkeling gear is rented out at 100Php. Entrance fee to the islands varies from free to 50Php/person. Our bankero asked if we have specific islands that we wish to go to. Cousin Ian opted for Pandan Island first, then Snake Island, lunch at Starfish Island, then the last stop is a new spot for snorkeling.
O
ur first stop is Pandan Island.
Got its name apparently because the water is green.. not because of a pandan plantation there (LOL) that's what most of us thought. The sand is white and very fine. You'll actually see a lot of what looks like crab skid marks or 'footprints'. And the water is very, very clear. 
There was a particular section 'buoyed' out for snorkeling and there where like baskets attached to a couple of buoys. This we found out is where the caretakers keep live rock lobsters and squid for sale for grilling!!! Ian says that this beach is also operated by the Legend Hotel, so I guess they would have facilities for an overnight stay here.
Second stop was at Snake Island.
It was so called because it's sand bar looks like a
snake from the air. While my cousin Lala and her boyfriend snorkels, Ian and I went on a hike up to the snake's tip.
The sand is coarser. There are a lot of sand dollars and other shells, and it was very hot! Mangroves are abundant to the right. There's no crowd too, since it's almost a 20-minute walk from the main beach area. Very ideal for skinny dipping I may say, or nude sunbathing! LOL!
It's hot, windy, and very tranquil. The wind is all you hear. It's surprisingly very quite..you'll not even hear the waves. At the tip of the sandbar is a house on stilts. You'd imagine seeing just the house during high tide. On our way back to the main beach, that's when I realized that I already have a mean sunburn. OMG. Removing my shirt leaving my bra on should have been better--tan-wise (now why didn't I think of that?!?!)
Our third stop and lunch destination is at Starfish Island.
Starfish Island has been a favorite destination since I was little. Whenever I visit lola, our beach trip would always be at Starfish. But it has changed a lot! The sand isn't as white as I remember.
We were halfway eating our lunch of grilled squid (from Pandan Island) and 'pares' --hehe take-out yun...no time to prepare kasi eh-- when it rained. And it rained hard. We were sort of stranded in an island at Honda Bay in the middle of a storm (I swear you won't see those mountains anymore because of the rain), and there was I calling my mom and buddy about it! MAY SIGNAL ANG GLOBE AND SUN!!!!! Mama said that lola was a bit worried already because it was also raining hard in Puerto. It's past 3pm already and we have one more destination to go before we head home. There is a second party at Lola's house at 6pm.
Unfortunately for us when the rain stopped, and our bankero decided that it is already safe to go on, it began drizzling again and we had to fore go the final stop--which is at a location only for snorkeling. I'm hoping to go back especially to Pandan Island. The soonest.