Less than four weeks in Manila

I'll be in Manila for less than a month and then I'm flying back to Iloilo for Dad's birthday and THE match.

Let me just share that I'm having the time of my life! Since I got back, I have been going out with different friends- just catching up and doing things JUST BECAUSE. Today is my 9th day here and five of those nine days I was out of the house. LOVE IT!

Just to refresh your memory, part of my 2011 goal is to just do more things- go out more, just make the most of my free time. And so far it's working great! It's too early to tell of course but if it's always this fun (and the weather cooperates) I wouldn't have any trouble keeping it up.

Some photos:

ABAM Homecoming

With ABAM execore members 2008-2011. :)

(Yikes, it seems like the photos are auto-compressed when it doesn't fit the column. If you're interested, just check the photos on Facebook.hehe )

Watched UAAP football (UP vs Ateneo) with my friend Mau and new 'friends' Kitty and Ayi. (Yay, part of my 2011 goal is to meet new people) This is the second day I watched. Didn't bring my camera on the first day. Spot my crush! hahaha

Yesterday I also watched The Tourist. The movie's good! Quite short though.

*photo from Google

I'm still waiting for my confirmation mail from the PFF for the grandstand tickets for the match next month. I'm quite positive I'll get a reply next week.

And tomorrow, my January birthday friends are hosting a videoke/pool/stripper party in a resort in Antipolo! I'm excited!

Will post more photos soon!

My new love!

Just got the new addition to my gadgets. Not that I'm techy. But still... Well, here it goes!

I've only been using it for a few hours so yeah I'm still pretty clueless about it. But I looove it! I've always wanted a white laptop. YAY! Hope I get the hang of it pretty soon.

I'd like to thank my Dad for getting me this laptop. YOU ARE THE BEST BOSS EVER!

Good for them!

I tweeted about the video of Cebu's dancing inmates two days ago. Yesterday it was all over television and I am just so glad these inmates are getting their much deserved attention. This is beyond Will Devaugn's special apperance (heck, I didn't even see him! hahaha)

This Is It

If you've seen the video, you'd notice how clean the place is. Then the inmates. Imagine how much effort and discipline they put in each routine. In this particular video, they only had two days to learn the routine and then shoot na. Grabe, I can't imagine. Beyond being part of the DVD of This Is It, this is about hope for these inmates. This is a message that they can do something else. That they are likable and people respect them for what they do. Their image is soooo far from the Pinoy movies where prison cells are dirty, stinky, cramped and full of addicts and goon-like men. Dang, if I ever had to be imprisoned I'd like to be imprisoned in Cebu. HAHAHA

I just love it when these kinds of stories boost the morale of the Filipinos. When I visit Cebu, I hope to watch their performance. haha! And I read that the lead guy in this next video was given the role as a farewell performance because he will be moved to Muntinlupa Prison to serve three consecutive life sentences for triple murder. (huhuhu nakakaiyak!) See how much they give importance to these kinds of moments? The performance is like a 'pabaon' of good and groovy memories. gaaah ok I better stop writing because I'm at the verge of crying. hahaha The humor in the intro is a little offensive for the lead man pero keri naman coz he was joking too so sige na. game, watch na!

Kwento kwento lang

Literally. haha I'm so stressed and I haven't really thought about things lately so I'll just kwento stuff.

ORPHANAGE VISIT

Yesterday Ana, Mau and I visited the orphanage in Binondo. It was all good except the part where the tricycle driver charged us 100 pesos for the ride from Ongpin to DelPan. I was so pissed but I believe in karma so Manong Driver, mamalasin ka rin one day. Or malay ko ba minamalas ka na kaya dinadaya mo na rin yung mga taong tulad namin.

The nuns were so accommodating. The Indian nun who showed me their grocery list even reminded me that we need not donate everything on the list. She said something like "Whatever you can give, even if it's a small thing, we are very grateful for the blessing." She kept repeating "That's very nice of you and your friends to help us here."

Anyway after the visit we made our way back to Quezon City. It was a very tiring ride because it was rush hour and well, Manila does not have the widest roads so it took us 1.5 hours to get from Quiapo to Trinoma.

STICKER-HAPPY

After dinner we went to Starbucks in the garden of Trinoma. I was telling my friends to give me their stickers if they don't have plans of getting a planner. Then this guy on the next table approached and said "excuse me, nagcocollect ka ba ng stickers?" Shempre I was surprised! In my mind I was thinking 'Shet maybe he's selling his stickers to me. SCALPER?! NO WAY!' So nag inarte ako and replied "Uhh, yeah...-ish." HAHAHAHA Then he said "You can have my sticker card. Pwede naman i-combine yung cards eh." So I accepted it and thanked him nicely. SOOO AWKWARD! Buti nalang cute siya. haha But minutes later, a girl arrived and left with him. haha oh well papel. Such a sweetie.

ORGANIC SOAPS

I purchased my organic soaps online and met up with the seller today at SM Fairview. Organic soaps don't come cheap. Each bar sells from Php95 to 125. I wanted to try these because I guess I just got bored with the commercial soaps (my staples are Johnson's citrus fresh, Safeguard white, Biolink papaya soap which all sell for less than 40 pesos each).

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

I'm not halfway my Christmas shopping. I've only bought gifts for my Mom and Joop. Sooo hard to think of gifts! haha

RED RIBBON

If you love bangus, you have to try Red Ribbon's bangus ala pobre. Super yummy, super cheap! For Php 137, you get the bangus meal, a drink and a slice of cake for dessert. yehey!

FOOTWEAR

Found really cute and affordable oxford leather flats at Manel's. I didn't buy it coz I wanna finish my Christmas shopping first. I'll buy for myself last. hehe

I'm really loving the Christmas spirit! I just wish it's colder, like back in senior year, there was a certain month (or months) that I'd wear a jacket and socks to sleep! In school I was always in jeans and a jacket. It was even colder outside our air-conditioned classroom. Feeling ko winter! I really miss that time.

RENOVATIONS...AGAIN

Mom called me up two nights ago to tell me to shove all our stuff in the room before I leave because the house will be renovated again. This time it's gonna be the floor. The crazy cut marble floor will be replaced by uhh, probably huge granite tiles. It's not that I don't like but this is another waste of time. Our floor is as good as new. Really! No cracks at all. It's the only reminder that this house is 'old' (in a good way). And I hate it that they're changing it! My mom hates it too coz it's an unnecessary change and a waste of money.

GLOBE

I hate Globe for a crappy service! Weeks ago when dad and I traveled to Bicol, I was using mobile web to tweet and check my emails. I was aware of their two ways of charging mobile browing- the default is kb browsing which charges you per kilobyte sent, and then time browsing that charges Php 5 for 15 minutes. Of course I switched to time browsing (send TIME to 1111). Then I got a notification today that my bill is 2500! LIKE WTF?! I am sooo gonna get to the bottom of this and crucify them. hahahaha oveeeerr?! Ah basta, I hate Globe for cheating on their subscribers. Good thing the message they sent me about having switched to time browsing is still on my phone. Patay talaga kayo sa akin. haha

Anywaaaay, dapat good vibes na! Christmas is super near and I'm excited! For that I'll try to tweet about things that I love. Pang dagdag good vibes diba? This 'tweet what you love' was inspired by my friend since grade school Chris Orleans. haha

(Btw I watched New Moon again this afternoon shet. hahaha Will kwento my experience tomorrow.)

Robinson's Supermarket

Earlier today Dad and I went to Robinson's at Berkeley Square. It's along Commonwealth Avenue, near Power Up (if you've taken wall climbing for PE).

Anyhooo, I just want to share that the people of Robinson's Berkeley are sooo mabait! Like my dad couldn't find Reno liver spread in its usual space on the shelf. We asked and the shelf filler said "Dun po sa mga palaman" (points to the shelf). So I walk there and got the spread then back to the cart again. He even paused filling the shelves to check if I got it. When I thanked him he replied "Welcome po and thank you for shopping here."

Many times I passed by the seafood section and got as much 'good afternoons' from the man stationed there. Everyone whom I came across with in the aisles greeted me good afternoon. And finally when we were paying already, the bagger was alert to transfer our goods from the cart to the counter. Apparently he was also manning the package counter. Double duty, kaloka. After assisting people at the package counter, he came back to do his bagger duties and then brought the cart to the basement parking where our car was. After placing the last plastic bag in the car, Dad handed him 20 pesos as a tip but he declined saying "Ay sir, ok lang po, huwag na po. Balik nalang po kayo ulit dito."

Soooo cool diba? Talk about quality customer service! What amazes me is how they're so energetic and courteous the whole time. I know the management told them to be nice but the way they do it, it feels so natural! haha Unlike in SM Supermarket, it's not all the time that everyone's nice to you. Another amazing thing is that they actually say no to tips. I mean it's also additional income especially in these hard times. Let's say a bagger assists 3 customers with their grocery, each gives him 20. He gets an extra 60 pesos at the end of the day. That's enough to cover transportation and probably a small merienda. Amazing that they actually smile and decline nicely. Bilib rin talaga ako sa HR nila. I hope more supermarkets have that kind of people.

Yay to great customer service! :D