The church kids go to town. hehe.

Hello peeps!

It feels like a lot has happened the past few weeks. Short of it is , I made new friends (Hello Maggie and Trish!), closed some doors, opened new ones (read: got a new job (that was the good news by the way ;), jumped back on the fitness wagon (TKB, I've missed you, and Badminton, here I come! haha), and scores of other things. Life's been good, everything's smooth sailing. I could get used to this. ;)

My posts are never complete without photos, so here are shots from Nikki G's birthday bash at Blush. My battery died early that night, so most of these are taken by Ria.

Birthday girl Nikki G with the Bebster.


Clockwise from left: Jackie, Maria, Jopet, Ria and moi.
Yay, I'm not the oldest here. hehe.


Kooky girls, and it's all Hana's fault. Ha!


The result of Hana's kookiness. heehee. Crazy night.

Check the rest of the pics HERE.

Who says we church folk don't have fun eh? ;)

Eeking with glee.

I'm very happy today.

Just peachy; and you could tell if you saw the huge grin on my face. Unfortunately for you though, I ain't telling. Not yet, atleast. So you'll have to wait till, say, month end.

In the meantime,
YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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By the way, if you don't have plans for Easter, do join us at Bridgepoint. We're rocking it out this Sunday ;)

Another one bites the dust.

It's the Hawkins' turn!

Just when I thought the madness was over, in comes Hawk's blackout partEY. Haha. Good times, I tell you :)

Best wishes go out to the man who is to me the epitome of maginoo pero medyo bastos. Lol. The bastos part really needs no explanation (hehe), but you can't get any more maginoo than saving a little girl from catching fire (at our wedding, no less) , and at the cost of a burned welted hand. Major points indeed.

Happy birthday, Hawkiepoo! Thanks for looking after the Bebster way before I even knew him. :) We love you bro.

Kisses for the birthday boy as he says goodbye to his twenties
(Looks like JJ also wanted in on the action. Haha ;)

Peninsula crew represent.

That low angle with the Bebster.

Full coverage of Hawk's Blackout party HERE.

So who's next? ;)

Semi Veg... and a rather strange night.

Soooo lovin' the new Outback TV Ad:

Click photo to view commercial

Hahaha. I'm semi Veg alright.

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Ever been awakened at such an ungodly hour (say, 3:40am) by the shrill, piercing monotony of the fire alarm? I would have been really pissed, except that Bebs stepped out the door and actually did see smoke escaping the opposite wing. And boy, did it reek. I couldn't put my finger to it, but if you can imagine a mixture of burnt rubber, oatmeal, and some gaseous poison, that's as close at it would get. A whiff of it was enough to get me out of bed... admittedly after a countless Babe, get up naaaaa! hehe (not cute, by the way. If you hear the fire alarm, seriously get up and GO).

So there I am, half-asleep and ready to curse someone out, yet mustering all efforts to get to that place of lucidity. Meanwhile, Bebs, fully alert and with all mental faculties in check, prepares our coats and enumerates a list of what to save. I only remember grabbing my bag and our passports, while my husband closes the door behind me, lugging two attaché cases of important documents, bills and other papers. Heehee. Thank God for husbands.

We get to the ground floor and the lobby is teeming with residents in their nightwear. Strangely enough, none of them packed as much as we did, in fact only two others carried a small bag with them. That's cause they're citizens, Bebs whispers. Hahaha.

The firemen arrive within minutes, and after investigation determine that someone on the third floor (our floor) left their stove on. All third floor residents, please come up so we can inspect your units. Bebs heads back up with the rest while I'm sitting at a corner eavesdropping on the older women discussing the unpleasant sonance of the fire alarm and our doorbells for that matter. Right on, ladies. Have them change those wimpy bells, please.

Bebs and the rest of the 3rd floor are now back, although the firemen can't seem to figure out who the culprit is. Meanwhile, we're informed that our floor seems to be safe and that we can now head back to our units. Uh, so we DON'T get to give dirty looks to the smarty who left his stove on and kept us from our much needed zzz's? I knew this story was going to be anti-climactic.

We're back in bed at about 5:00am--right where we all started--and now the whole hullabaloo is all a blur. I still don't get why it all happened, but I wasn't about to waste another minute of my sleeptime wondering about the meaning of it all. Needless to say, I'm glad we're all safe and burn-free.

Sigh. Chalk it up to one of them weird days, I guess.

Happy THREE OH, Raf!

And yet another cause for festivities, not that I'm complaining. ;)

I tell you, everyone seems to be having their birthday, and/or turning 30. Haha. This time it was Raffy's turn to hit the triple X. My coverage of the merrymaking isn't complete though, but it should help save our birthday boy some dignity. Wink, wink.

With my two baldies: the Bebster and birthday boy Raffioli Gorgonzoli,

aka Raffiki, Gorgi, Ply Li boy, TKB baby, or simply, Raf.

The entire group at some bar in Union Street (I forget the name).
Very BH 90210, don't you think?

Check out the rest of the party photos HERE.

Happy 30th Raf! We love you like a brother, and look forward to more adventures in the years to come (Hopefully geography won't be an issue eh? ;)

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Addendum: Interestingly enough, I was checking archives and realized I had posted a similar greet for Raf last year. Only goes to show we mean the brother part. Naks.

A weekend in the city... and other ramblings.

Yay! Met some new friends over the weekend...

This is Boo, the chunk o burnin' love Bull Mastiff I fell in love with at first sight.
Man, this guy is HUGE.

And then there's Getty, the adorable Golden Retriever.
Unfortunately the clicks kept him from keeping his eyes open.

Boo with his master. Didn't get his name but he was nice; somewhat reminded me of Jim Carrey because he was so animated. Plus ofcourse he was cool with our stalking his dog so that's plus points in my book.

Here we are enjoying the (lately elusive) sun in Crissy Field.
Rain, rain GO AWAY. Please :)

Strangers yet friends in Crissy Field. Check out the Golden Gate Bridge at back.

Boats taking advantage of the beautiful weather.

After having met new friends, we hung out with old ones...

The Quilas and Bharwanis at the Roastery in Union Street.
(Now I know what my bad angle is...)

Meet Bebo's godchild, Gabbie and her pet Tamagochi (spell check?).

More pics of our weekend HERE.

I may have bumped into Vanessa Carlton while stalking the dogs (Note to self: move to a pet-friendly apartment on next lease!). I tell you the resemblance was uncanny, except she had those oversized superstar shades on, which MEANS a third of her face was was partly tinted, which REALLY means it probably wasn't her. But then I researched her on the net after and apparently, she resides in both New York AND San Francisco.

So yes, I may have actually met her. Kewl.

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Notes worth mentioning:

* MUST WATCH: V for Vendetta by the Wachowski Brothers.

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

I was blown away by this film. Absolutely brilliant! Go watch NOW, you will not be disappointed.


* MUST LISTEN: Speak for Yourself by Imogen Heap
(Primary vocalist of the defunct group Frou Frou).

Enjoying a growing fascination for Electronica, and recently acquired Imogen Heap's latest album. The instrumentation is interesting and her voice is something else. Different. I like it. Get a copy, all songs are good. Also look out for Zero 7, and their popular single When it Falls. Great chillout music.

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I'm realizing that I'm starting to prefer European music over American. Seems like a sweeping statement, but think about it: Sting, U2, Annie Lennox, Coldplay, Jamie Cullum, Dave Matthews, Peter Gabriel (And did I mention Imogen and Zero 7 are both from the UK?)... Versus what, formulaic Hollywood pop? Can't help but think their music is less cookie cutter (to borrow my husband's favorite term).

Ofcourse there are exceptions to the rule. I've my own list of homegrown faves who are far from the formula. Sarah Mac is an absolute original (although she's not exactly American. hehe). Then there's Shelby Lynne, Tori Amos, Nichole Nordeman, John Mayer...

I just wish mainstream didn't have to be so pop, y'know?

Ode to Juancho.

Okay, these pictures are WAY overdue.

Let me just say that the beginnings of March seemed to me like one seamless party after party (after crazy party!), all in celebration of JJ's big THREE-OH.

And rightly so; the guy is everybody's leading man. I can't think of anyone who deserves three birthday bashes. We're talking about the man who looks after everyone else, and will go so far as to make sure his friends have their futures in order.

So, to our then disconsolate Bestman (hehe), our brother and dear friend, we're glad you had the 30th birthday you hoped for, and then some. We love you bro. And we Juan Cho! Hahaha.

Click on each photo to view entire album.

JJ's surprise party (complete with tears!).

Party bus, baby!

In Absencia.

There's a reason for my absence. Turn up the volume and find out...





Btw, I've got tons of photos ready for sharing. Will post them soon, promise. ;)

How do you conquer Monterey & Carmel?

The only way possible: With good friends.

Click on photo above to view the gallivantings of four fogies
in search of... good photo opportunities. Hehe.
(What can I say? We're simple people with simple joys ;)

I miss you guys already :) You momoys should have stayed LONGER!

Tahoe, baby!

The photos are up!

A peek at our weekend of snow, FOOOOOD, karaoke and good company :)
Click on image above to view the entire gallery.


Here's a bonus:



Our shameless rendition of Toad the Wet Sprocket's All I Want.
Lol. Knock your socks off :)

Awesome weekend, guys. I had such a blast. :)

Oh Happy Day

I did this video for the Youth in church, I thought it would be cool to revive the all-famous Oh Happy Day from Sister Act 2. It's actually a bit dated, I must have done this a year back. Anyway, chew on it while I post the rest of the pics ;)

I'll be gone this weekend. A group of us are heading to TAHOE BABY! for more fun in the snow. I'll try my hand at skiing as well (or snowboarding, which ever chooses me). I'll definitely have my camera, so I should have coverage of the road trip when I get back.

Till then, have an awesome weekend people!

A Bridgepoint Valentine party.

Join us if you're in the area.

This guy is GOOD.

I still need to upload more pics of last week's Monterey/Carmel trip.
Coming soon, promise.

All Nics rule. hehe.

I know this movie has been out a while, but I only watched it recently and enjoyed it so much that I thought I'd recommend it. The film isn't perfect; some lines were definitely a little preachy, but I guess that's the whole point of it. Plus ofcourse it's written and directed by the Brains behind one of my all-time favorite films, Gattaca, Mr. Andrew Niccol himself. That enough is worth the watch.

Props to Jared Leto, who did an amazing performance. No doubt one of our better actors, unfortunately underrated, but he'll be noticed soon enough.

In other news, we just came back from Monterey and Carmel with the newlywed Filarts. Fun fun fun! I'll post the photos soon, keep watch ;)

The mac is back.

Whoa, it's been a while. How is everyone? This month's been bustling with so much activity, I haven't had time to post anything decent.

Here are a few of January's highlights:

1) I woke up one Sunday morning, looked at myself in the mirror and realized I had had enough of the same old. So in an attempt to look different, I grabbed a pair of scissors and chopped my bangs off. No hesitations.

That may have been the most impulsive thing I've ever done to date. What's worse is that it was also my first experience at cutting hair... so you can imagine the huge laugh my stylist enjoyed when he laid eyes on my messed-up bangs.

Two words: never again.

2) Good friends from Manila are here!

Jons and Ces have FINALLY tied the knot (Welcome to the club, momoys! Wahooo!), and are in town for their honeymoon. It's been three years for me and five years for Bebs since we last saw them, so the reunion has been swell.

Some roadtrips since their arrival: Weekend snow fun at Angel's Camp, Pasadena night-out with Weedge for Brazilian food (and that huge-ass brownie sundae), and majorly craaazy roller coasting at Magic Mountain.

And yes, I've got pictures ;)

Click on pic to view entire album.

3) WE TURNED THREE!

Yup, third year of marriage and still going. :) I'm really no expert at the whole marriage bit, but it's all been an amazing learning and growing experience. I'm grateful grateful grateful for such a wonderful husband. Always a good thing to find your bestfriend, partner in crime, and that sweeeeet lovin' all in one person (Insert all cheeky gushing here ;). Needless to say, it's not always a bed of roses. Still, the sparring's worth every penny. Naks. Hahaha. :)

I'm getting cheesy, I better end before it gets out of hand. Night, folks!

The 2006 Vegas New Year partEY.

Once upon a New Year's holiday in Vegas...

Finally! The photos are in... Mine atleast ;) I have to say this trip was the best New Year's so far, what with the carlot parties, 24 marathon, and all the lost and found drama that happened. Haha! Only in Vegas, I tell you.

Thanks to all those who made this trip the ultimate happenin' holiday. I had such a blast. :)

Cheers to 2006! Here's to another year of big leaps, fulfilled dreams and living BIG. It can only get better, baby.

Click on Beautiful eyes Bebster and made-up Nikker
to view the craziness of our New Year in Vegas.

Enjoy!