itsy bitsy spider

itsy bitsy spider

caught this spider in our window hatching her egg. check out the tiny baby spiders crawling out of the white circular thing in the abdomen which is her egg... amazing isnt it.

just thought posting it here since the movie spiderman 3 is showing in cinemas on may 1st . speaking of spiderman, peter parker got his supernatural spider-like abilities when he was bitten by a spider, right? what if one of those abilities he got from the spider is producing babies by the hundreds in a single egg? creepy!

vintage camera

vintage camera

look what i found!


my mother's old old camera: the kodak instamtic camera 76x (this particular model were produced around 1977) gawd this camera is older than me!
i can still remeber her buying flash cubes for this, so that even with artificial light the pictures will still turn ok. and i just learned now that this camera doesnt even need batteries... cool!

i even found that there is film inside, kodacolor Gold 200 film - 12 exp.

wonder if i can still have the film develop at a processing center, if they can still recover whatever picture was captured in it. wouldnt it be good if i find a store still selling this type of camera film? guess i have to go to hildago to check.... im so excited!

i heart hello kitty

i heart hello kitty

notice my new background, courtesy of wallpaper from the new look of the sanrion website, luv luv it! the moment you open up the site this stylish hello kitty pops up from the screen and wink at ya. I guess y'all know that i heart hello kitty enough to make you think of me everytime you see any hello kitty stuff.

and also they have another brilliant idea: the momoberry collection! drool, drool, drool, poor me coz they only have momoberry stores at Los Angeles and Tokyo... sigh. Anyways, i really wish that giftgate would franchise a momoberry store here in the Philippines. Here's an introduction from the sanrio site "Momoberry is Sanrio’s boutique brand - featuring upscale lifestyle products for the adult female consumer, bringing her sophisticated fun and fashion. Momoberry originated in 2006 based on the idea that grown-up Sanrio fans wanted a unique range of premiere products. Products include exclusive, limited edition items, such as jewelry, tees, cashmere and handbags."

here's a peek into the store... it looks so stylish, elegant, so hello kitty!

disclaimer: all screenshots/pictures are owned and is a property of http://www.sanrio.com

sago

its super hot hot these days... truly summer at its peak here in pinas. and what's the best way to keep cool aside from hitting the beach? take a gulp of sago!

sago is the most thirst quenching refreshment for the summer, usually people add gulaman in the mix but i like mine with sago only. every summer, sago stalls just popped up in our neighborhood and i guess it common to see them in most of the streets in manila.

my mother always prepare sago on weekends for our consumption, and i really like the smell whenever she's cooking sago, with arnibal and vanilla flavor, dunno how she cook/prepare sago, i just know that it's delicious.

below is the photo of sago i "stealed" from the kitchen for munching before lunch, i love eating sago as much as gulping it down as a refreshment.

yummy

christian enjoying his oreo

gabriel

gabriel in a pensive mood

waiting for sunrise

waiting for sunrise

Digged up old photos from my visit to Mindoro of May last year, i've always liked sunset but sunrise at mindoro are as awesome as the sunsets we often see here in Manila

Persia Grill with a Jamaican Twist

Persia Grill with a Jamaican Twist

I cant remember the last time i ate kebab, and i've been thinking of specifically going to Mr. Kebab at Quezon Ave. where they serve the best kebab and ox brain that i really love. It's just that well, i havent been to QC at all.

Good thing Persia Grill across our office building is already open, i'd been eyeing the spot beside kitaro since they've been renovating it and put the sign of persia grill months ago.. been anticipating for kebab. The place is a small studio type, but it can seat 30 person. The first thing you'll notice when you enter the place is the way they tried decorating the backroom to look persian...mukhang pilit. Of course that portion is draped with carpet, which seats people waiting for table, and there's a framed rug propped up on the wall. what reallly makes you smile aside from it trying too hard to get the persian ambiance is that the center table is covered with a Bob Marley designed cloth!

Anyways, it took like 10 minutes before my order arrived (not bad considering they have lots of customers and they're still on soft opening, but nevertheless i feel bad because i'm already starving at that point. I so wanted to order pita bread but i was so hungry that i decided to eat rice first since i'm famished and i dont think pita bread alone can satisfy my hunger.... so i ordered the Chelo Kebab Kobideh (charboiled groundbeef with fresh grilled tomatoes and rice) for 195. Mahal no! But what the heck, i've been salivating for kebab for months now. Too bad they dont serve ox brain. But the beef tasted good and as always with any kebab their specials dip is really tasty. Of course, the two tomatoes included in my meal are left uneaten.

The place is ok, food is good but expensive... so if i crave for kebab again, i'll just go to West Ave. and visit Mr. Kebab, afterall they have the best kebab and they serve ox brain.

cute baby

cute baby

my 10 month old niece, chelsea anne

Trip to Manila Zoo

Trip to Manila Zoo

Visited Manila Zoo with my siblings and their kids last Saturday and boy we had fun. We enjoyed the zoo as kids and we’re still enjoying it now with the younger generations today. (good grief! I sound like an old hag!). The entrance fee is 40/adult and 20/kid if you’re not a manileño, 50% off if you live in manila and have an id to prove it.

Manila zoo has improved a lot since I last went there, they now have this man made lake where you can ride a boat for only 40 pesos per 30 minutes (maximum of 5 person per boat), they also now have this kinder zoo (entrance is 40 pesos per head) heard you can hold the pets/animals inside but we decided not to go inside since the kids are afraid of touching the animals, they are quite happy ogling at the elephant which is the main attraction. Wonder how old that elephant is, its trunk is already white and I’m not sure if it’s the same elephant they had when I was still a kid.
Anyways, they may have improved a lot in the layout of the ground, they now have mini playground inside, stage for shows, and few dining areas, but the animals are very few… I missed the giraffes, they used to have giraffes before (and I have pictures to prove it). And somehow the zebra is down to one whereas they have plenty of it before, now they have lots of these huge horses. Also missing is the king of the jungle, there is no lion out there! I wish they would add more animals after they finish renovating the manila zoo.

The monkeys are their usual playful self, they know how to beg for food from the visitors, i gave them my not so delicious popsicles bought from the authorized peddlers inside the zoo... pretty amazing creatures. The big orangutan is still there, dunno if it's the same old bitch who spit at her spectators, this time she's docile, just playing a bottlecap on her mouth after feeding.

We went in early (as in like 7am!) so we have enjoyed the place before it get too crowded, we even catch the zoo people feeding the animals, giving them veggies and dead fish for food. Thought getting up early would make my nephews sleepy, but no they didn’t… they keep on hopping from one cage to another, going back countless of times to the elephant cage, playing at the slides and swing… by 9am they were begging to be fed. So we ate our packed meal at the tables provided and had a breather for a while.
After a short break, we decided to ride the boat, with Bernard and my brother in law rowing. My cute nephews keep on referring to the boat as barko. We tour the swamp twice and luckily get a chance to see the elusive peacocks beautiful tail. After the boat ride, we decided to get wet, and so went to the fountain, and let ourselves get chased by the water.
They also had a puppet show and the kids enjoyed it tremendously. Forgot the puppeteers name (i should ask my nephews, they are so impressed with the guy) but i remembered his pet’s names: dodong the bird and dingdong the monkey. Also present is the mascot from bear brand.
Left at around 11am, on our way out they have already installed the “take your pic with the snake” booth. Awww! As in yuck! I can’t really take even the thought of touching a snake’s skin, much more have it wrapped around my body. Well, lotsa a people seems to enjoy having their picture taken with a snake, kudos to them for being brave but still its icky! Saw one of the organizer bathing one of the snakes for the show, I still stay no matter how much you clean it, its still is yucky! But still, we had fun, fun, fun. Manila Zoo is a great place to visit on weekends with your family, you should try and visit the zoo someday.

For more pictures, click here.

forbidden beach

forbidden beach

off to the forbidden beach at grande island, subic


enjoying the banana boat


for more pictures check out my album.

back from vacation

back from vacation

more likely, back to real life... after lazing in the sun for three straight days during holy week am back in manila, fast paced life again and tons of work waiting for me.

anyways, i had fun at batangas... and three days at the beach made my skin so dark... in short - NEGRA!

some of the pics i'd taken... you cant see much of my own picture here, was wearing bikini...censored not because i showed some skin but because it's gross hahaha.


me relaxing at the hammock after swimming


ate acel's kids having fun

barangay balisong



yeah they have this barangay at taal, called as such because there are lots of balisong stores there and their people are the best known makers of balisongs. but i noticed that there are fewer stores now compared to like five years ago, wherein almost all the houses within that street sells balisong. balisong is a folding pocket knife and is one of the trademark of batangas aside from kapeng barako. cant remeber the title of an old movie starring FPJ wherein his sidekick dencio padilla, a batangeno, is sporting a very very big balisong.

i love this pic, my cousins and i bought balisong key chain for pasalubong from this store and i asked them if they can lend me their biggest balisong for kodakan moments to which they eagerly gave me this big balisong, mind you the blade is so sharp and its heavy.. they're selling it for 1400 pesos.


dont mess with me... or else

taal church / basilica of saint martin de tours


Reputed to be the largest in Asia, Taal Church stands 96 meters long and 45 meters wide on a plateau in the heart of Taal. The Augustinian Missionaries started construction in 1756, and it took a century for the church to achieve its present form.


of course, i never fail to visit the taal church whenever i'm vacationing at batangas, i just love this old church. lots of people there when we visited last good friday, and the church people were busy preparing/decorating the saint's statues for the procession that night.

caysasay shrine, labac


we also visited the caysasay shrine at labac. since its good friday, all the saint's statues were covered with cloth which is usually removed on easter sunday.

holy week

i'll be spending the holy week at my cousins place in batangas... will to enjoy the long vacation spending time swimming and doing various activities. i know old folks would not agree how the young ones spend the holy week these days but this the only time we really get to spend a long time off to relax.

not sure where we're going this time, but last year was spent swimming, drinking and on Good Friday we went inside the taal volcano. this coming friday, kuya aman promised to bring us to a beach with falls, cant wait... will post the pictures when i get back.

i'll leave you now with this picture taken last year, at the mouth of taal volcano, the water you're seeing is the lake within the volcano. have a good holy week you all.

Battlefield: LRT

Battlefield: LRT

Riding the LRT is like entering a battlefield. Fierce battle took place here … and the war is still going on... Unfortunately, I have to face this battle every day since I started working at Makati. Lucky are those who have their own car, they don’t need to prepare for combat every morning and brave the fierce opponents in the battlefield. The 300 war movie is nothing compared to real live action you get here.

The action starts the moment you climb the stairs (you gotta have stamina to reach the top, good exercise though… and I’m not sure why is it always, as in always, somebody is rushing/running upstairs/downstairs no matter what time of the day it is.)

Waiting for the train needs patience, and a good warrior is patient Enjoy yourself while waiting, study your fellow warrior, if you can find something funny bout them the better, it’ll keep yourself from checking the time every fucking second, stops you from worrying that you cant afford to be late coz you already got a warning for tardiness. You can also assess if the girl next to you is strong enough to push you out, btw if her body resembles a sumo wrestler no need to figure it out - stay out of her path, or you’ll be crushed. You gotta have tactics in here, know the best position and strategic places (you have to know where the doors will open whether it is the old train or the new one). And you must know how to maneuver, so that you’re the first one to step in the train gives you the edge to get the available seat if there is any.

And then the magical doors opened! Here comes the real action - Elbows flying, shins kicking, toes crushed, screams, curses, etc. … (I dunno what’s with the doors of LRT; it makes people crazy, poise and education forgotten). If you’re really running late, you have to push yourself inside and prepare for the agonizing journey ahead, just pray that nobody has a body odor. Once inside, you should learn to balance, or you’ll find yourself on the floor if the train suddenly stops… but if you’re already packed like sardines in can, you’ll never hit the floor anymore. Gotta be strong to withstand the pushing you’ll suffer which intensifies as you move along from one station to another.

But now, I am just a mere spectator of the battles going on, I’ve found the most strategic place, no more bloody action for me… I’ve come to be the general that oversee his troop do the battle. So now I just enjoy watching and taking snap shots of these mundane things that happens inside the LRT, ie. the sleepers, metrosexual men?, the pda lovers, etc.



there's a much more vulgar pda lovers riding the train than this couple



and you could always see someone reading off another persons newspaper