THE LITTLE BIG MAN

How fast time flies! My SF-based and eldest nephew, J, is turning 14 soon!

I remember taking care of little J, as if he were my own more than a decade ago--taking him for a ride around the village, bringing him to the mall or to the movies, or just simply playing games with him on Playstation. I remember how crazy he, all of 5 years, and his dad were, over taekwondo and football games (which by the way, I still have not figured out up to this day). And today, little BIG J, plays at the junior varsity team in his SF school.

J's dad, who is a cousin, tells me that so much is his son's fascination with football that he would often catch the "little big guy," surfing for hours on the latest NFL merchandise and memorabilia over at www.fanshopinc.com, an interesting site containing merchandise collections of anything and everything NFL-related. My cousin tells me that he was also even able to avert my nephew's participation in an NFL memorabilia auction. Since then, he has implemented PC parental control. Hehehe, close call!

Happy, happy birthday little BIG J. I miss you and I hope to see you soon!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

HAPPY TUESDAY

We met up with our friends, B and C, over at Toyz, C. Palanca last night. B and C are husband and wife, and have been friends of Haligi since birth. B's and Haligi's moms are best friends and have been neighbors all their lives. Now, the guards have changed. B and Haligi are great pals AND are neighbors here in Manila (B and Haligi grew up in the same province).

B works in Prestige Cars and one of the great perks of his job, aside from complimentary gas is getting to drive the latest BMW models. Last night, he showed us his new pet--a 2008 BMW m5. Nakkksss! I used to just read BMW m5 reviews over at thecarconnection.com, an interesting site on the latest dish on luxury cars, including the prestigious BMW. The site is a comprehensive resource of photos, specs and reviews of the greatest beauties on wheels. I would content myself just drooling at the m5 photos. And last night, there was one, in the "flesh," before me. B was even kind enough to allow us to take it for a spin!

Woot! Woot!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

BRAND NEW HOMEMAKER

Now that my sil and her family are making it on their own (a first after 5 years of living with her ils), she's now busy decorating their new home. It can be quite a stretch given their limited space so they are exploring every possibility to maximize the area.

For ventilation, aside from the usual ACs, sil is considering ceiling fans. With two toddlers to raise, ceiling fans would be the ideal and safe alternative to the usual stand and desk fans. Just to give her an idea, I showed her the wide array of choices over at farreys.com, a comprehensive site containing ceiling fans in every imaginable form, shape and style. Be it be modern ceiling fans, craftmade fans, or those fanimation ceiling fans, farreys.com has got the ventillation solution to suit your needs.

Sil had a grand time surfing the site that she just couldn't make up her mind as to which style to choose. Happy homemaking, sil!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

DYNAMIC DUO

This combo was the perfect remedy for my drowsiness.
Oh lookie--hindi na pala si Astroboy ang endorser ng Cheese Rings. Amicable kaya ang paghihiwalay nila? Hahaha!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

FELIX THE EX

Ex-driver, that is.

Finally, after months and months of contemplation, my little sister finally let the family driver go. I guess she realized that my mom's (all too often) nagging actually made sense this time because Mr. Felix (o ha, starring siya--sya lang ang pinagalanan ko sa blog ko, hahaha!) was getting to be a wee bit reckless.

I couldn't blame my maver, who lives with my sister, for her concern. After all, old Felix was in charge of bringing my nephew A, to and from school. But given his driving skills, it was as if his was a driving accident waiting to happen. To my mind, he seemd like a magnet to car accidents and rates a measly 2 on my driving score sheet. With the risk factors involved, his driving skills would totally disqualify my sister from availing of cheap car insurance.

Our dear old green Honda, "Kermit," who kept my sister and I company during our days of single blessedness is now battered and bruised, thanks to Felix' uhhmmm, tender loving "care." In my book, the old man may be categorized under high risk insurance.

Good riddance.

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

WHEELS-A-TURNING

Pottery throwing wheels, that is.

I just came from a date tonight with former colleages and my ex-boss and friend--P. It was just like old times--great food (had dinner at Good Earth Tea Room and dessert at Bizu), interesting anecdotes, and a barrel of laughs.

I give credit to P for jumpstarting my interest in the wonderful world of the arts (we took photography classes together under Mandy Navasero) and computers. As a supportive boss, she backed my training in photography, writing, digital design, along with other interesting professional development programs.

As a friend, she did get me into trouble a few times--coercing me to join her on (failed) double dates, playing hookey at work (you can't disobey your boss, right?) among other things!!! I would have to say that my 12 years spent in the bank had really interesting peaks and valleys, thanks to her.

This time, she is asking me to accompany her, yet again to another arts class. Her flavor of the month? Pottery! Back in the day, I remember her browsing through the internet on anything related to pottery at the AMACO/Brent site--designs and trends, clay materials, potters wheel parts, dry glazes and what-have-you. I never did really understand her interest then and am still having reservations now. But at the end of the day, her charm worked wonders on me. She had me convinced. May gayuma ata ang dessert. Hehehe.

Wish me luck!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

THAT'S MY PLURK!

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. But Plurk does more than just flatter the competition. It has taken microblogging to a whole new level, improving tremendously on its rival, Twitter.

I've been on Plurk for almost a month now and I am seriously going GAGA over it (me and a host of other people at their Pinas workplaces, Aussie homes, Los Angeles jobs, or anywhere else in the world, that is). This, I guess, is to be expected from a YM veteran (aka ADIK) since 2002 and moreso, an mIRC (8ball, ateneo, doghouse, anyone?) chatter back in the days. I've made a lot of great friends in mIRC and YM, and some, in fact, have grown into real-life buddies. And I am positive that Plurk would pave the way for even greater, "fab-ber" relationships.

Today was one for the Plurk books because some hilarious group of Plurkers brought up the idea of changing our names into famous (ows?!?!) That's Entertainment hosts. To those who don't know (or wouldn't admit to know, hahaha!) That's Entertainment is a defunct 80s show which showcased some of Philippine show business' upcoming (or who-didn't-come-at-all :D) young actors and singers.

For today, I swung from Misty Blue to Bernard Alan to Aubrey Rose. O ha, tarrrayyy!!! Teka, may career ba sila?!?! Dang, hindi kase kasya ang Casselyn Francisco sa nickname area. Hahaha.

The point of this entry? Well, I guess I just wanted to tell you that I am so liking my new Plurk habit that it hurts--and it's hurting my work too. Ssshhh.

So in true Kuya Germs form: Thanks for today, boyz and gehlz!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

HOOKED

Chev's out but I'm not, because I'm hooked!Despite having a soft spot for officemate, Charisse, this early, my vote goes to Nina, a maver like me. For mor information, the Survivor Philippines website may be found here.

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

JUST GOT LUCKY

Merienda, anyone? EKS-OH-EKS-OH

SIGNING OFF

Just for this afternoon. And I blame it on this...



Aym nerbyoosss. Later, crocodile!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

MISSING NINANG L

My maver tells me to read up on facts about siamese cats, in the hope that the information that we get would help us know more about my Ninang L's lost pet. So here I am browsing through the Petwave.com, hoping to get leads on the character and temperament of Ninang L's furry friend.

You see, she tells me that she and her best friend, my Ninang L, haven't been in touch for a long time. Turns out, Ninang L, had been depressed lately given the recent developments in her life--having an empty nest because her kids have all moved out of the house, a troubled marriage, and believe it or not, her lost cat, Charcoal. Charcoal, a grey siamese cat, has been her pet for over 10 years now and their bond is undeniable.

I remember, every time we would visit Ninang L's home, we would be greeted by Charcoal's smokey eyes and unmistakable welcoming purrs. He was playful, and at times aloof or snobbish. Either way, he was such a character and interacting with him was always a delight.

I really hope Ninang L bounces back. We miss her terribly.

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

GAMBLE

At the heels of my horrifying experience with the KC-Richard movie, I am willing to take a gamble on this...Friendships, shall we?

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

STUCK IN A JAM?

Why whine about the traffic, if some people have to ride this to school...EKS-OH-EKS-OH

ENTERTAINING!!!

Spotted in Lucena. Parang may kulang...EKS-OH-EKS-OH

IN THE MOOD FOR SOME CHITCHAT

I miss chatting online.

When I was preparing our wedding in 2003, I remember spending hours end on chat with fellow brides-to-be, as we all planned for our big day. Chat modules like Asian Chat Rooms are indeed a great venue for meeting people from all walks of life, making friends, and expanding your network. Asian Chat City is a perfect forum too, for destressing.

I remember with fondness how my chatmates and I laughed together, laughed at each other, and occasionally consoled each other if need be, during what we considered as one of the most colorful and challenging stages of our lives. Some of my chatmates even evolved into some of the best buddies I've ever had.

Unfortunately, since my transfer to my new job, work took up most of my time, and I couldn't go and chat online anymore. Chat sessions are now considered a luxury for me, when it was in fact, almost a "necessity" for me years ago.

Hopefully, I could work out a balance so that I can renew ties with my long lost chatmates.

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

HOLY WOW

Long weekend's coming up. Yipee! Nothing in our homefront, thus far. What's cooking in yours?

Well, aside from regular trips to the mall (I can finally reclaim my space in the mall after being sidelined by a sprained ankle. Wuhoo!), Haligilet has been bugging us to visit his Kuya Z, older brother of Z (remember that "Cheetah" party that we went to? Hehehe!) in Paranaque. You see, our son totally adores his surrogate Kuya and loves playing with him every chance he gets. See for yourself...
I do hope though that we could pry Z's eyes from the computer because his mom (my cousin, A) tells us that Z has been totally obsessed with computer games of late. This comes as no surprise since the big little man has been glued to the PC even before he could walk. His vision is testament to this, registering a high 400, at his tender age of eight.

Anyways, cousin A tells me that Z has been totally into Anime and Warcraft, which to Z's mind, are the greatest gaming inventions in the entire universe, aside from Club Penguin, of course :D So much is Z's obsession with the site that he has been bugging his mom to buy a WoW account for him. And what is a WoW account? Well, it refers to World of Warcraft accounts, which have been pre-owned and pre-played by retiring World of Warcraft players. The advantage is that the accounts are 100% secure, a major concern of doting mom, cousin A. With Christmas just around the corner, we just might consider giving this as our Yuletide present for Z.

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

I GOTTA HAVE SHADES

Last week, we had a fundraising bazaar for the country's oldest and biggest university. A booth which piqued my curiosity was that which was offering services for customized curtains, blinds and a host of other window coverings.

I have long wanted to replace our curtain with window blinds ever since that unfortunate day in June which marked Haligilet's unfortunate run in with our curtains and curtain rod.

It would certainly make me happy if I get to buy anything even half as nice as those window coverings designed by Hunter Douglas showcased at BlindSaver.com. The site is an interesting resource of the finest quality, custom made window converings. The website provides extensive product information as well handy color and fabric swatches to better facilitate the decision-making process. There are likewise customer service and design departments who are readily available through phone and email, aside from the website.

I still couldn't decide which fabric swatch to choose. Wish me luck!

IT'S A DATE, G!

Thanks for introducing this to us...

I swear, kafedrathyon ako sa past life ko. :D

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY

And what did I have?If one of the indicators of PCOS is an decrease in estrogen level, then I must really have it because my appetite has gone way too testosterone-y. Hehehe!

EKS-OH-EKS-OH

TANONG LANG

Spotted at the Mandarin billboard on my way home...

Meron naman kaya nanuod nitez?!?

EKS-OH-EKS-OH