A behind-the-wheel-horror-turned-bliss story.

Yeah baby!
You're looking at an official California licensed driver!!!
YEEEEEEHAAAAAAW!!!

It's the best feeling ever. I've never even driven in Manila, so you can imagine how extreeemely ecstatic I feel.

Let me just say though that it was total undeserved grace. UNdeserved. A was one day away from an expired Student's permit and I barely had a full month's worth of driving practice. So I worked extra hard my last two weeks and took the afternoon off on the day of my exam just to make sure I was comfortable on the road. And just when I thought I was ready for it, we headed to the DMV for the test...

The wait was agonizing. I was last in the queue and I was getting more and more anxious. After what seemed like an age, my turn finally came and my instructor (a very nice, calm, mild-mannered man) greeted me with, Now, let's see if you're better than the old woman I just tested. Thanks for the vote of confidence, mister.

We did the preliminary car inspection: left & right signals, check.. horn, check.. hazard, check.. hand break, check... hand signals, check... all good. He then got in the passenger's seat and the driving nightmare began.

I was flawless. For all of ten minutes, atleast, until he asked me to make a left turn on an intersection and i failed to yield to oncoming traffic. I practically met the SUV across me head on, and the funny thing was, I didn't even know it until I saw my instructor beside me curl up like a scared puppy and whisper STOPPP! I apologized, explained I was tremendously nervous and silently prayed that that was the last of my mistakes. The test went downhill from there.

I constantly went 25 on a 35 speed limit, made a right just when a pedestrian was about to cross, changed lanes while too close to the car behind... Oh man, it was ridiculous I just wanted to get it over with. After we parked, he enumerated a litany of my errors, lectured me on road rules, and even sketched on his pad to diagram how to yield on a left turn, among other things. After the longest five minutes of my life, he then asked,

So, do you understand everything that I've explained to you? Do you now know where you went wrong? Do you promise to work hard on your mistakes?

My yes was audible, but not confident.

Then the miracle. Okay. 12 mistakes... Let's just say you passed.

Whaaaaat???

You made it through. Scribbles a few things on my papers. Bring this inside and hand it over to Window 18.

I thanked the man deeply, though still a bit confused. Did he say I actually PASSED?

So, do you wanna know if you did better than the old woman?

I replied, a bit embarrassed, Oh, I know for a fact I did terribly...

He smiled, Yes, you did much worse than her. She didn't cut off anyone, she made all her turns...

Haha. Funny man. I thanked him again, couldn't get the freaking keys out of the ignition, and instead pretended to read my exam paper while he got out of the car to buy me some time. What is up with me today??!?

I made it inside DMV just as it was closing and met Bebs there. By this time it had already dawned on me that I actually did pass so I was suddenly giddy and well, ECSTATIC baby! Saw the instructor again, who went out of his way to tell Bebs how badly I fared compared to the old woman. I didn't care, the guy was in truth very nice, and I was only grateful that I had passed.

AND I DID!

Yeba!

I certainly felt we needed to memorialize my day of undeserved favor, so after a good workout at the gym, Bebs, Raf and I hung out at home and did our own version of the Dance of Joy.

Indulge me by ending with a (cheeky or cheesy. hwehwe) thank you speech:
God, you are unbelievably AWESOME! Thank you thank you thank you!

HUGE hugs to Maria, Jackie and Raf for taking time out in your scheds to teach me all that I failed to remember during the most crucial of times. hehehe. THANKS GUYS! We shall celebrate with a movie night at our pad and my all famous chicken sotanghon (When I get back from my business trip, that is). Muchas Gracias!

And last but certainly not the least, to my Bebster: Oh my god, those last two weeks were a nightmare. LOL. We should have listened to friends when they said never to have a partner teach you driving. BUT! Despite all the tension and yelling, thanks for holding my hand every step of the way, babe. You are the best-est :)

Now, if we can only get that Sentra working...

Worth the ogle

Aww, how cute is that???

Meet Sasha, the newest addition to the Quila family. I was introduced to this tiny beagle last week, and I was told she only has three things on her daily agenda:

snip
snack
snooze.

Oh, and crap. lol. I hear she attacks anywhere.

I can never get my hands off her though. If it weren't for our non-pet friendly apartment, I would definitely get a dog in a heartbeat.

Sigh. I miss that part of my life. Having pets, that is.

In an effort to trust the weatherman...

Hola!

Check out our pics from last Saturday's road trip. Bebs got his cue from the weatherman the day before when the latter announced the good news,

If there's anything outdoors-y you've been wanting to do this week, do it tomorrow! We're looking at a bright and sunny Saturday, folks... (paraphrase mine)

So we took the forecast's word by the balls, packed our new picnic basket with crackers, grapes, and an assortment of cheeses, and headed the next day to Pacifica Beach in our tank tops and short shorts...

Only to find ourselves staring straight at a bright--yes, BUT

chilly

freezing

cold beach.

Why do San Francisco shores have to be SO COLD???

Ah well, no sense fighting it. We made sure to make the most of the trip though. After fifteen minutes of chilly Pacifica weather, we drove to Montara to check out the scenery. We spent the rest of the afternoon there, where Bebs played hero to two tiny dogs as he saved them from getting swept by some nasty waves.

We then capped off the day at the city with the rest of the gang at XYZ (W Hotel), and a midnight snack at some cheap chinese joint.

Pretty good day, if you ask me. :) Enjoy the pics!

A trek down memory lane.

Was checking out my picture database and I came across some shots I took a year ago that I never got to post.

We had just gotten the Jeep and wanted to take it out for its first road trip. So Bebs and I drove off the first weekend we had it, and rode over an hour to some beach I don't even remember the name of. Apparently earlier that day, we had gotten a consensus from our friends on where to go and they had recommended the place claiming it to be some cool scene. Or other.

Erm, I'll let the pics (and captions) speak for themselves...


Path leading to the beach. Very foggy. But very postcard material. I'll have you know though that this gate was probably 100 ft. away from where we parked and, oh I don't know, try miles and miles away from the water. It was quite a trek, to put it lightly.



A stream of sorts before hitting the beach. More swamp-like actually, but without the smell. At this point in the walk all I could think of was, where the heck is the friggin beach?!?!?



Yellows up close. I'm another thirty minutes into the search for the elusive shores, so I had to keep myself preoccupied.



And we finally arrive at our destination! Only to find out that the beach--the cool scene everyone was raving about-- well, the ground was littered with strange "scaly things." It reeked of it too. ugh. With the fog and all, it felt like we had been transported to the Twilight Zone.



Saw these two in deep conversation and thought it was too picture-worthy to disregard. Unfortunately my lens got dirty from the sand, but I guess the effect adds to the foggy-ness of the scene. hehe.

Anyway, after twenty minutes of jumping over scales and other gooky stuff, we headed home. We didn't find what we were hoping for, but the trip definitely wasn't pointless. The pictures were undeniably worth the memory. And I'm hoping the next time I hit that same beach (in the summer this time), the fog and scales will have been gone. And maybe I will have actually remembered its name.

The End. Have a great weekend everyone!

--
Midnight Update: After verifying with Bebs, I was told the beach we went to was Point Reyes, a place famous for whale watching, kayaking and hike trails. And, it apparently took three hours to get there. Three hours??? My bad, I must've been asleep during the drive (as always) ;P

Why the sniffles aren't cool:

Warning: The whiner in me posted this entry...

1. I felt so bad all week, I only went to the gym once for TKB. And boy, what a lousy workout. I mean for crying out loud, a 50-something-year-old man in class--whom everyone calls Grandpa--had thirty times my energy! If that doesn't spell u n c o o l to you, I don't know what does.

2. The flu, as we all know, is usually countered with rest. Unfortunately, I didn't have much of that either. Work, sidelines, and other obligations not only kept me from taking that much needed breather, I actually lost sleep the past two nights because of them. (Still not complaining btw ;)

3. Carb overload! Somehow, being under the weather has made me crave for the most unhealthy food (sure sure, blame the flu. hehe) .

Check out my diet today:
A slice of Rainbow pizza for lunch;
Two toasted french rolls with butter and tuna; and,
A bowl of corn kernel with butter and garlic salt for dinner.
Top that off with two whole honey tangerines. And a fourth from Bebs' share. hehe.

Sigh. I am definitely going to pay for this at the gym next week.

4. Last, but certainly not the least: Extremely uncomfortable clogged nose, major sore throat, and a cough that'll outbark any dog in the neighborhood. Enough said.

---

On a serious note:
Speaking of unwell, do keep the Pope in prayer. I have always respected the man for his zeal and integrity, and I pray his transition to the Next Life is peaceful and painless. There is undoubtedly in this generation none a leader quite like him in the Catholic community.

Busy and sick. sniff.

Yep, that about sums up my world the past week.

In detail,

During the day am forever glued afront the office pc to finalize a five-state roadshow we're having end of April. If you've ever done events, details are crucial and can make or break the project. And details are what's killing me right now. Meanwhile, calls are nonstop and 5,000 other errands still need attending to. (Btw, I'm not complaining ;)

After work, a quick stop at the gym for some high-impact, stress relieving TKB with our diva instructor who reminds me of just Jack! from Will & Grace. Man, he's hilarious.

Then I head home sweat-drenched, yet totally invigorated, to work on a video editing project I'm doing for an awesome floral designer.

Somewhere along this insane sched you stick in quality couple time, two birthday dinners, Easter rehearsals, a party, luncheon, driving practice (or a semblance of it) and some personal reflection.

Then holy week passes by and my health calls for a timeout.

My throat is now extremely scratched and my voice so hoarse, I'm starting to worry about how I sound on the phone. Hopefully my clients don't think I'm sleeping on the job, which gratefully I have never been guilty of since I came on board.

Despite all this, life goes on. Am foreseeing an even busier work sched the next few weeks, but I do hope I make the constant effort not to disregard the more important matters... God, marriage, relationships, the quest for Life...

Tricky. You'd think you were already living it.

Ode to Raffioli Gorgonzoli

Here's to a dear friend who turns 29 today.

Raffiki, as we fondly call him (or atleast one of the nicks we have for him), is our all-time house guest and movie & video companion.

Happy birthday, bud! We love you like a brother and are extremely indebted to you for getting us hooked on turbo kickboxing. Know that you can always raid my jar of brownies when you feel the need to jeopardize your diet. ;)

Matanda ka na uy!

Party hardy

Last Sunday marked Tito Jack's 60th birthday (Pic 4, 9 & 10). We gathered for a night of fun, food and, well, pictures (Yes, we had quite a bit of time on our hands)... Must have been the wine or the cheesecake, but we were seriously hogging the camera that night. hehe.

Click on the filmstrip for a larger view. If you want more cooky photos (with captions), click on the big pic to lead you to my Zoto account.

Photo surprise

Hey, check that out!
My photo's on Zoto.com's front page!
What a lovely surprise. That is so cool :)

A weekend in LA.

Seeing that I had to go to Los Angeles last weekend for a business trip, I decided to drag my husband with me for some SoCal exploration and discovery. Fortunately, it turned out to be even more fun than we initially thought. Here's a glimpse of our three-day road trip...