Things to do during my maternity leave

Hopefully I can:

• watch TV series (Heroes Season 2, Prison Break Season 3, Desperate Housewives Season 3, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Las Vegas, CSI, Friends)
• watch movies
• read books (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) and magazines (old Cosmo and FHM magazines)
• oragnize photos
• learn SAP overview
• learn to cook new food recipes

Eksena sa pagkuha ng OEC

Dahil sa na-experience ko kahapon at mejo meron akong time para magkwento, na-inspire tuloy ako magkwento.

Pumunta kami ng asawa ko sa Lucky Plaza para kumuha ng OEC. Para sa mga nde nakakaalam ang OEC ay isang exit pass para sa mga OFW na gustong umuwi ng Pilipinas para magbakasyon. Dahil mahaba ang pila sa Lucky Plaza, nagdecide kami na kumuha sa Philippine Embassy mismo. At dito iikot ang kwento ko...

Pag pumunta ka ng embassy, bibigyan ka ng papel at may isusulat silang number...queue ticket kumbaga, nde nga lang eletronic. Sasabihan ka ng guard "Don't cut queue" meaning wag ka sisingit dun sa pila. Limited lang ang chairs kaya kung ang lahat ng upuan e may nakaupo na, no choice ka kung nde pumila. By batch tatawagin ang mga numbers at pupunta kayo sa counter para gawin ang inyong transaction.

Eto ang mga characters sa kwento ko:
Guy 1: binigyan ng queue number 317, 318, 319 dahil meron pa shang ibang kasama
Guy 2: binigyan ng queue number 320
Ako: binigyan ng queue number 321
Guy 3: binigyan ng queue number 322

Nakatayo kami sa pila, shempre sunod-sunod kaming nakapila based sa hawak na queue number. Makes sense naman di ba? Tuloy ang kwento...sinilip ng asawa ko ang counter at ang pila...mahaba nga ang pila talaga. Siguro dahil maraming kukuha ng OEC dahil uuwi lahat sa Chinese New Year. Habang sinisilip ng asawa ko ang pila, si Guy 1, inabot niya ang numbers 318 at 319 kay Guy 2 at sinabi niyang "Sa iyo na lang to, umalis na kasi yung mga kasama ko e". Sa puntong yun, ang inisip ko "Bakit kelangan pa niya ipasa ung papel. Ah..siguro tinatamad shang maghawak ng maraming papel. Or ayaw niya lang magtapon ng papel". Kinuha naman ni Guy 2 ang papel. Hawak na niya ang number 318, 319, at 320. Medyo natagalan shang isipin kung ano ang gagawin. Hanggang sa Ting! Nag-decide na sha na kunin ang 318. Tumalikod sha sa akin at inalok ang number 319 at 320. Sa puntong iyon nakikinig si Guy 3. Sabi ko kay Guy 2 "Nde ko na kukunin kasi ang importante sunod-sunod pa rin naman tayo." (with matching turo sa kanya, sa sarili ko, at kay Guy 3). Sa isip ko kasi, bakit kelangan pa ipasa ng ipasa ung papel na sobra (319 at 320), bakit nde na lang itago o itapon. Tutal kapag natawag ang number na iyon at walang magpunta, e di tuloy pa rin naman sa susunod na number...321 pa rin which is ako na tapos 322 which is si Guy 3 naman. Logical naman di ba?

Eto na ang bida (o kontrabida)... si Guy 3. Dahil nakitang niyang nde ko na kinuha, sabi niya: "E since nde mo kinuha, e di ako na ang kukuha." At kinuha niya ang number 319 kay Guy 2. Take note, narinig niya ang paliwanag ko kung bakit hindi ko na kinuha ung papel kay Guy 2 ha. Sa inis ko, nasabi ko talaga sa kanya "Ay pasaway ka ha." At mejo nasabi kong "Leche!" pero nde ko sa kanya nasabi dahil tumalikod na ako sa kanya. (Nakita ko na kasi ang asawa ko pabalik sa akin. Akala niya nakikipagkaibigan ako. Yun pala nakikipag-away na.) Humabol pa si Guy 3 ng isang ngiting aso at sinabi pa sa akin na "E tumanggi ka e" na talaga namang feel na feel niyang nakalamang sha dahil naunahan na niya ako sa pila. Siguro naman obvious naman ang punto ko di ba, nakapila kami, ako lang din naman ung nasa harap niya. Ano ba naman yung maghintay ka tutal kung tutuusin, nabawasan naman na ng 2 tao sa pila. Pare-pareho kaming Pinoy at naghirap pumila...un nga lang may manggugulang talaga.

Dahil mahaba ang pila, nag-decide kami ng asawa ko na sa Pinas na lang kumuha ng OEC. Marami pa rin kasi kami gagawin at hinahabol din namin ang Australian Open Tennis finals. Pag-alis ng Embassy, inis na inis talaga ako. Ngayon lang siguro kasi ako nakakita ng garapal talaga na nanggulang sa pila. Nasanay kasi ako sa buhay sa UP Diliman. Uso ang pila, mula registration, bayaran ng tuition, at pagpila sa sakayan. Naisip ko agad, siguro nde tinuruan ang batang yun na pumila (kawawa naman). Or sadyang tuso or manggugulang lang sha.

Kung kayo kaya ang nasa lugar ko, ano kaya ang gagawin ninyo?

2 reasons to be stressed yet be thankful

Yesterday, Raffy's wife gave birth to Samantha Gabrielle. Amy was supposed to have a normal delivery but when they found out that the cord was coiled around their baby's neck, she went into emergency caesarian. Samantha was born at 2:45 PM. Why was I stressed? Because I'm scared it might happen to me. Haaay... I hope it won't. In any case, welcome to the world Sam! Thank you Lord and you're safe!

Around 3:45 PM, just after I got out from a meeting with my manager, Alain sent me an SMS informing me that he left his passport in a cab on his way to the exam center for his Singapore driver's license. I called him up and tried to ask for details so that I'd know what to write in the lost and found report. Shempre kunyari cool raw ako. I just don't want to stress him (pero ako na-stress talaga). In my mind, I'm thinking: "Paano kami uuwi next week? Maiiwan sha? Pag nagrequest kaya kami ng new passport, makukuha kaya agad?" Good thing he knows that the cab color is yellow, the driver is a lady and the fare is SGD12. In fairness, naalala niya ang mga details ng cab (pero ang passport number, nde niya alam...haay, nastress ako lalo). He was late for the exam because he was contemplating if he should take the exam or not. Good thing he was only asked for his driver's license. He finished the exam after 10 minutes and perfect pa! (Partida, natataranta pa yun ha.) Fifteen minutes after I reported the lost passport, Alain told me that they found the passport already. Thank you Lord that Alain passed the exam and his passport was found! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

8 days to go!!! Uwian na sa Pinas!!!

2 reasons to be excited

The past 2 days have been exciting for me. Last Wednesday was my scheduled performance assessment in my company. And I'm so happy that my efforts were appreciated and recognized. I received an above average rating. I feel that I really deserve such a rating.

Yesterday, Alain and I went to the hospital for a detailed scan. The doctor said that we're having a baby girl! : ) It was an exciting experience to see our baby girl yawn and her hands are doing the 'close-open' that parents usually teach their kids during the first few months.

Alain are still deciding on what name to give our baby. But I prefer Nicole (Greek: victory of the people), Chloe (Greek: fresh blooming or blossoming. The title Chloe was borne by Demeter, Greek goddess of agriculture.) or Bianca (Italian: white). Any other suggestions?

By the way, Rojo means "red" in Spanish.

19 days to go!!!!

19 days to go and we're back in Pinas for a 2-week vacation. I miss my family, friends and of course, the food!!! Food? I have a list of the foods that I wanna eat when I go back to Pinas. : )

Jollibee - chickenjoy, dalandan juice, french fries with mayo, palabok, peach mango pie, spaghetti, tocilog, bangus belly
Wendy's - bacon mushroom melt, cheeseburger deluxe, baked potato, salad bar, iced tea
Hen Lin - siomai, siopao
Pancake House - tacos, spaghetti, roast beef sandwich, vanilla milkshake, waffle
Gerry's Grill - sisig, crispy pata
Max's - sinigang na tiyan ng bangus, spring chicken, caramel bar, lumpiang shanghai
Greenwich - Greenwich special pizza
Shakey's - mojos, thin crust manager's choice pizza, chicken
Chowking - buchi, tokwa't baboy, braised beef
Real Bites- shawarma with cheese
Potato Corner - BBQ or cheese french fries
Cafe Elysee - lasagna, silvanas
Leslie's - bulalo, silvanas
Ferino's - bibingka
Andok's/Baliwag's - manok, atsara
Red Ribbon - choco mousse
Chicken Bacolod - chicken inasal (thigh), chicken skin
Dad's/Kamayan/Saisaki - eat all you can!!!
North Park - yang chow fried rice, sweet and sour pork/fish, lemon chicken
Tokyo-Tokyo - iced tea
Lapid's chicharon - chicharon bilog/laman
Cool King - halo-halo, saba con yielo
Jamaican pattie - pinatubo, beef tomato
Outback - french fries
Chili's - nachos
National Sports Grill - nachos, tortilla chips, buffalo wings (homerun sampler na nga lang para kumpleto na!)
Pancit Malabon - pancit malabon
Cafe Breton - mango crepe
Via Mare - bibingka, palabok
Crepes de France (somewhere in Promenade Greenhills) - mango crepe, quesadilla
Brothers burgers - burger!
Bread Connection - super connection
Odd balls - squid balls with sweet and spicy sauce
Sizzlers/Sizzling plate - pork chop or t-bone with gravy
Dampa - buttered shrimp, grilled tuna, sinigang na bangus/baboy
Sa mga kanto-kanto - taho, fresh buko juice, pandesal, manggang hilaw, isaw (bawal pala sa akin)

New year ... new mommies!!!

It's surprising (yet exciting!) to know that aside from me, a lot of my friends are going to be first time mommies too. At the top picture, that's me, Mina and Kristine. On New Year's Day, our very own housemate, Ate Len, found out that she's positive! : D And lastly, yesterday, my manager Helen, confirmed that she's pregnant too!

It's baby boom this year!

The year that was

New year, new blog entry! I just wanna reminisce on the year that was. Year 2007 was a great year for me. I can never ask for anything more. The Lord has blessed me and my family abundantly and I am very thankful for the blessings that we have received the past year. Here's a list of vacations my hubby and I went to last year:

Cebu honeymoon adventure (January 3-5) - stayed at Plantation Bay and Waterfront Cebu City Hotel

Bohol honeymoon adventure (January 5) - a day trip to Bohol. We went to Blood Compact marker, Baclayon church, tarsier watching, Chocolate Hills and floating restaurant.

Bintan Lagoon Resort, Indonesia (March 16-17) - Alain attended a meeting at Bintan and I gladly accompanied him.

Hong Kong (April 6-8) - a 3-day trip of shopping and adventure. We went to Star Ferries, Victoria Peak, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum and Ocean Park.

Holiday Inn Resort Phi Phi Island, Krabi, Thailand (September 6-8) - a 3-day relaxing and intimate vacation. We went fishing and island hopping (Phi Phi Lae, Viking Cave also known as Bird's Nest Cave, Maya Beach where the movie 'The Beach' was shot, Tonsai Bay). We also watched the sunset at Sunset Satay Bar.

Roger Federer vs. Pete Sampras Clash of the Times, Malaysia (November 22-24) - two of the most outstanding tennis players played an exhibition match in Malawati Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Then we went to Cosmo World Theme Park, Hard Rock Cafe and Petronas Tower.