well, we have started attending to our wedding preps again. whew! now, with almost 2 months to go, we're starting to feel the panic. hehehe but don't worry it's manageable, feigned panic lang.
ricky and i were in search of a place for our wedding preps and of course a place for my family to stay before and after the wedding. we wanted a hotel in the ortigas area. a few months back, mako mercado, a good friend of ours, showed us some pictures of the room they stayed in once and i noticed how spacious it looked. i thought, "might be a good place to stay for the wedding"; little did i know, it would be THE place for our families and preps. :) mako promised he'd help us with astoria because he's a regular there. so, together with our friends mako and cris mercado, ricky & i visited astoria plaza last tuesday, oct. 19, 2004.
i noticed that the hotel doesn't have a grandiose lobby nor a spacious one. but for the pictorials before heading off to the church, its staircase at the lobby will do. i'm not particularly fond of having my pic taken so, that's okay.
after waiting for a few minutes, the receptionist had us escorted to a two-bedroom suite and i must say, my jaw dropped! i didn't expect it to be that big! hehehe there are two bedrooms (kaya nga two-bedroom suite eh! 'sensya na po, excited lang...) one is big enough to place extra single beds. there's a sala, a kitchen (complete with ref, stove, microwave, pots and pans) and a maid's room. it has one bathtub and it's a bit small compared to the ones in galleria or shangri-la but it'll do for me. i intend to soak and relax in the tub before d-day :))
i was excited that my family won't have any problem about where they'll (we'll) stay for our wedding. another plus is that it's situated in the ortigas area so it's near shangri-la mall, megamall and even galleria, pwede na rin. so if my mom and sisters want to go shopping (ma, shopping po tayo! hehehe) malapit lang.
we're also extremely lucky that it's still available in december which is a rarity nowadays, considering all the functions and weddings that'll be happening. so, we've reserved it for dec. 28-31, 2004. you might wonder bakit dec. 28? hehehehe mom and i will go shopping HEHEHEHE 'love yah ma, mwah!
Oct 21, 2004
inspector gadget
good morning! i swear, my titles are getting cornier by the minute! hehehehe
again, good morning and welcome back to my blog. geez, i promised to write soon but i realized that it has been more than a week since i last posted something; a message that is. but, i posted the results of my "what kind of smile are you?" (right now, i can't smile because...) and of course, you can check out my mood as of the moment. but for those of you who know me, my mood rarely changes from what i've chosen today. HAHAHAHAHA
so, in an effort to keep my eyelids propped up (without the use of toothpicks...:)) i decided to visit a website i haven't seen for like ages. the palm one website. now, i am not a techie and a gadget freak but i couldn't keep my mouth shut when i saw the overview of the tungsten t5. i was like, "oh my god" & "wow!" i felt so guilty that i took out my trusty m100 and told her she was still my original baby.
i was just reading the overview but when i viewed the specs, i let out a long whistle. the memory is just right (hehehe just right you say?), bluetooth is the way to go, there is an expansion slot, speaker and headphone jack; it can be my mp3 player too! it's entirely different but i'm thinking, i can scratch off the iPod on my wish list and just get this. i mean i don't have to lug around so many beautiful gadgets right?
but i think i can bring so much stuff around if i can iPod my BMW ;P what-my-what you say? yup, you read it correctly, if i iPod my BMW. this is another entry on my wish list. who wouldn't want to drive a bmw? now, who wouldn't want to drive while listening to your fave tunes at the same time? well, iPod Your BMW allows you to (as it says on their website) savor the "...pleasure that comes from experiencing the perfect marriage of design and technology." WOW is all i can say.
again, good morning and welcome back to my blog. geez, i promised to write soon but i realized that it has been more than a week since i last posted something; a message that is. but, i posted the results of my "what kind of smile are you?" (right now, i can't smile because...) and of course, you can check out my mood as of the moment. but for those of you who know me, my mood rarely changes from what i've chosen today. HAHAHAHAHA
so, in an effort to keep my eyelids propped up (without the use of toothpicks...:)) i decided to visit a website i haven't seen for like ages. the palm one website. now, i am not a techie and a gadget freak but i couldn't keep my mouth shut when i saw the overview of the tungsten t5. i was like, "oh my god" & "wow!" i felt so guilty that i took out my trusty m100 and told her she was still my original baby.
i was just reading the overview but when i viewed the specs, i let out a long whistle. the memory is just right (hehehe just right you say?), bluetooth is the way to go, there is an expansion slot, speaker and headphone jack; it can be my mp3 player too! it's entirely different but i'm thinking, i can scratch off the iPod on my wish list and just get this. i mean i don't have to lug around so many beautiful gadgets right?
but i think i can bring so much stuff around if i can iPod my BMW ;P what-my-what you say? yup, you read it correctly, if i iPod my BMW. this is another entry on my wish list. who wouldn't want to drive a bmw? now, who wouldn't want to drive while listening to your fave tunes at the same time? well, iPod Your BMW allows you to (as it says on their website) savor the "...pleasure that comes from experiencing the perfect marriage of design and technology." WOW is all i can say.
now, how can i get a BMW X5 SAV?
holy guacamole is all i can say.....
Oct 11, 2004
ice cream anyone?
i've come to learn that one of the best things in having a convenience store is access to food. one of my current faves is the quezo real ice cream stick from selecta. hay, ang sarap. it's creamy and the cheese! oh man! ewan ko ba basta ang sarap. and because it's small, i end up eating two in a row! hay... sarap talaga.
wow! the weekend went by so quickly! it's monday already! last saturday, we had dinner @ the king crab restaurant along jupiter street. we had crab in sotanghon, crab with rice, veggies and lapu-lapu! grabe, ang sarap! nabusog ako. sarap talaga, oh did i mention masarap? :)
then, because ricky and i haven't watched a movie in such a long time and we wanted to relax a bit, we caught the 11:00 p.m. screening of "shark tale" @ glorietta 4. now, i'm no movie critic but i must say, the movie made us laugh and we were entertained which is exactly what we wanted. mind you, the screening was full and there were a lot of kids in the audience as well! critics didn't rate "shark tale" highly. i guess they were expecting something along the lines of finding nemo. but you gotta admit, after nemo, the bar for animation was raised (so high i must add). (i love finding nemo as well, dory and squirt are my fave characters.) oscar and lenny aren't nemo and marlin but, our admission was worth it.
oh no...i'm craving for another quezo real stick. hmmm at the rate i'm going, i might be the first bride to have her gown altered kasi, lumaki before the wedding! hehehehe ;)
i wonder what we're having for dinner.....
mwah! ciao!
wow! the weekend went by so quickly! it's monday already! last saturday, we had dinner @ the king crab restaurant along jupiter street. we had crab in sotanghon, crab with rice, veggies and lapu-lapu! grabe, ang sarap! nabusog ako. sarap talaga, oh did i mention masarap? :)
then, because ricky and i haven't watched a movie in such a long time and we wanted to relax a bit, we caught the 11:00 p.m. screening of "shark tale" @ glorietta 4. now, i'm no movie critic but i must say, the movie made us laugh and we were entertained which is exactly what we wanted. mind you, the screening was full and there were a lot of kids in the audience as well! critics didn't rate "shark tale" highly. i guess they were expecting something along the lines of finding nemo. but you gotta admit, after nemo, the bar for animation was raised (so high i must add). (i love finding nemo as well, dory and squirt are my fave characters.) oscar and lenny aren't nemo and marlin but, our admission was worth it.
oh no...i'm craving for another quezo real stick. hmmm at the rate i'm going, i might be the first bride to have her gown altered kasi, lumaki before the wedding! hehehehe ;)
i wonder what we're having for dinner.....
mwah! ciao!
Oct 9, 2004
intensity 6.4
last night, at around 10:35 p.m., an earthquake rocked the metro and nearby provinces.
ricky's friends & cousin were here at gotcha and were having a few beers. we were all chatting at the dine-in counter when we noticed that we were swaying; some jokingly thought na baka may tama na sila sa beer. but when we all realized it was an earthquake, we went outside. the cables in front of the building were swaying and people in other buildings also went out.
it lasted for more than a minute and luckily there were no aftershocks. on the late night news report, phivolcs reported that it was an intensity 6.4 earthquake with the epicenter in oriental mindoro; tectonic in origin (i really hope i got that right). no reports of damage or casualties even in oriental mindoro were reported.
i'm particularly scared of earthquakes because of what happened in 1991. i'll never forget that day. sometimes when ricky and i are on a flyover or bridge and i can feel it "moving" (because of trucks or heavy vehicles moving along the other side, i'm on the edge of my seat. talagang, kinakabahan ako.)
at moviehouses, there's this unconscious effort to sit near the exit. once, ricky and i thought there was an earthquake and we left the cinemahouse. talagang kinabahan kami, lalo na ako. as it turned out, wala naman sayang ang sine hehehe.
ricky's friends & cousin were here at gotcha and were having a few beers. we were all chatting at the dine-in counter when we noticed that we were swaying; some jokingly thought na baka may tama na sila sa beer. but when we all realized it was an earthquake, we went outside. the cables in front of the building were swaying and people in other buildings also went out.
it lasted for more than a minute and luckily there were no aftershocks. on the late night news report, phivolcs reported that it was an intensity 6.4 earthquake with the epicenter in oriental mindoro; tectonic in origin (i really hope i got that right). no reports of damage or casualties even in oriental mindoro were reported.
i'm particularly scared of earthquakes because of what happened in 1991. i'll never forget that day. sometimes when ricky and i are on a flyover or bridge and i can feel it "moving" (because of trucks or heavy vehicles moving along the other side, i'm on the edge of my seat. talagang, kinakabahan ako.)
at moviehouses, there's this unconscious effort to sit near the exit. once, ricky and i thought there was an earthquake and we left the cinemahouse. talagang kinabahan kami, lalo na ako. as it turned out, wala naman sayang ang sine hehehe.
Oct 8, 2004
hay.... *burp* ;)
well, what's up peeps? i'm doing okay, taking a break from gotcha. actually, ricky & i just ate lunch ( i had fried fish & munggo .... yummy!). so i'm on an extended lunch break.
by the way, this morning i took a few pics of gotcha. i know that the pictures we took last night were "a bit dark" so, please visit the snapshots link and view the Gotcha Mini Mart album.
tell me what you guys think....
mwah! don't forget to sign the guestbook or better yet, leave a note on the tagboard here (so that you'll come back...)
by the way, this morning i took a few pics of gotcha. i know that the pictures we took last night were "a bit dark" so, please visit the snapshots link and view the Gotcha Mini Mart album.
tell me what you guys think....
mwah! don't forget to sign the guestbook or better yet, leave a note on the tagboard here (so that you'll come back...)
Oct 7, 2004
2 for the road
two more...
ricky & i crossed the street to get this shot. unfortunately, the cables block the view of the signage
another shot, closer shot, of gotcha from the outside
ricky & i crossed the street to get this shot. unfortunately, the cables block the view of the signage
another shot, closer shot, of gotcha from the outside
more pics
here are a few more shots we took a few minutes ago...
signage @ night; it was designed by our friend, rose :)
just in front of gotcha
signage @ night; it was designed by our friend, rose :)
just in front of gotcha
ngayon....
after that arduous task of posting pics, let's fast forward to the present. gotcha has been operational for a little over a week now. time sure does fly by fast!
we're doing okay, sales is slowly picking up but we're far from profit :( we're now trying to boost sales by adding items, coming up with specials for OGM (Oriental Gardens Makati) residents & soon, we hope to tap into the numerous offices in the area to offer Christmas packs or something like that. Our friend and marketing guru Marlet is going to help us explore this idea...
essentially, ricky and i wanted to offer more chinese products than the usual stuff but we found out that we can't subsist on just that. you've got to weigh things and compromise to strike a balanced product mix. but its difficult. we get mundane questions such as "may stockings kayo?". stockings being the term used for pantyhose. ;) at first, i was like "duh? us carry stockings?" after some thought, gotcha is after all a convenience store; convenience being a relative term. oh well... (hehehe then i remembered last sunday as ricky and i were buying goods for gotcha, he said, "magtinda kaya tayo ng stockings?")
it's going to take some time for us to really establish gotcha here in the vicinity of chino roces. but a store like ours does have its own place under the sun.
we're doing okay, sales is slowly picking up but we're far from profit :( we're now trying to boost sales by adding items, coming up with specials for OGM (Oriental Gardens Makati) residents & soon, we hope to tap into the numerous offices in the area to offer Christmas packs or something like that. Our friend and marketing guru Marlet is going to help us explore this idea...
essentially, ricky and i wanted to offer more chinese products than the usual stuff but we found out that we can't subsist on just that. you've got to weigh things and compromise to strike a balanced product mix. but its difficult. we get mundane questions such as "may stockings kayo?". stockings being the term used for pantyhose. ;) at first, i was like "duh? us carry stockings?" after some thought, gotcha is after all a convenience store; convenience being a relative term. oh well... (hehehe then i remembered last sunday as ricky and i were buying goods for gotcha, he said, "magtinda kaya tayo ng stockings?")
it's going to take some time for us to really establish gotcha here in the vicinity of chino roces. but a store like ours does have its own place under the sun.
baby gotcha
i'm hitting two birds with one stone here: i'm going to try to put pics in a post and of course for you to see what gotcha looked like in the first few weeks after renovation (pre-opening, time when we were just starting to put everything together)was complete, hence, baby gotcha (ngek!)
this is your view once you've stepped inside the store. i don't have pictures yet of the back (or what's beyond the chiller)
some of the chinese delicacies we offer; this was our first batch of items
the 3-door chiller for the drinks; the door to the right leads to the office, restroom & mezzanine stockroom
this is your view once you've stepped inside the store. i don't have pictures yet of the back (or what's beyond the chiller)
some of the chinese delicacies we offer; this was our first batch of items
the 3-door chiller for the drinks; the door to the right leads to the office, restroom & mezzanine stockroom
Oct 4, 2004
opening day :)
september 28, 2004 - mooncake festival, an auspicious date in the chinese calendar because it falls on a full moon and the opening of Gotcha Mini Mart :)
ricky and i were there early, around 7:30 a.m. the head waiter from la milagrosa catering was already there. the tents were set-up the day before so people who were in the vicinity knew that something was going to happen. the staff came in as well and we prepared the store, tidied it up did some last minute arrangements for the items.
by 8 a.m., the waiters were already preparing the flatware for the tables. we "borrowed" the empty space next door because 100 guests wouldn't fit outside. there were only about 4-5 tables situated under the tents. the rest, sa loob na. industrial fans were set since lunchtime ang kainan, mainit sa loob. good thing it didn't rain even if days before, there were sudden downpours even if the sun was shining. the flowers started coming in as well.
the lechon which was a gift from jackie, ricky's ate (and my "ate" as well... :) am i allowed to say that already? :)) ) came in at around 10 a.m. it was funny because they unloaded 2 small pigs. when they checked the receipt, we were supposed to get the big one. so they "exchanged" the pigs. mario saw the pigs being loaded into the delivery van and panicked so he asked "bakit, anong nangyari?" when i explained they mistakenly unloaded the two small ones instead of the big one, he smiled. :)
the priest was due any minute so, i had to change from jeans to my slacks. our friends started coming in & of course, our invited guests. after waiting for those who'll cut the ribbon, by 11:30 a.m. the ceremony was underway. it was a short ceremony followed by the "coin & candy tossing". i don't know the origin of this but it bodes well for the business. the owner throws candies and coins into the store (papasok) so that the customers, money, good fortune will also come into the store. people inside the store rush to get the coins or candy, either of which mean good luck as well for those who get it. (am i correct? anyone who wishes to shed light on this please do so...)
then, everyone proceeded next door to eat lunch. now, this is where my memory of what transpired is as fuzzy as my fave fruit, the peach. why? well, ricky and i didn't get to eat as much because either we were entertaining our guests or we were at the store; some of the guests bought goodies. so we had to shuttle back and forth between the store and the lunch. our friends were teasing us that it was some sort of dry run for what was going to happen in december. kulang na lang ay bumisita kami sa bawat table at magpakuha ng picture hehehe ;)
after eating some guests bought stuff, others went back to their offices. parang nag-lunch out lang sila. hehehe others stayed at the store, tumambay lang, nakipagkwentuhan or ate some goodies they bought.
opening day was in its own right, a huge success. ricky and i are truly grateful for a wonderful grand opening and blessing.
pictures wil be posted soon, please bear with me.... i know you guys always do.
next: what's been happening since sept. 28?
ricky and i were there early, around 7:30 a.m. the head waiter from la milagrosa catering was already there. the tents were set-up the day before so people who were in the vicinity knew that something was going to happen. the staff came in as well and we prepared the store, tidied it up did some last minute arrangements for the items.
by 8 a.m., the waiters were already preparing the flatware for the tables. we "borrowed" the empty space next door because 100 guests wouldn't fit outside. there were only about 4-5 tables situated under the tents. the rest, sa loob na. industrial fans were set since lunchtime ang kainan, mainit sa loob. good thing it didn't rain even if days before, there were sudden downpours even if the sun was shining. the flowers started coming in as well.
the lechon which was a gift from jackie, ricky's ate (and my "ate" as well... :) am i allowed to say that already? :)) ) came in at around 10 a.m. it was funny because they unloaded 2 small pigs. when they checked the receipt, we were supposed to get the big one. so they "exchanged" the pigs. mario saw the pigs being loaded into the delivery van and panicked so he asked "bakit, anong nangyari?" when i explained they mistakenly unloaded the two small ones instead of the big one, he smiled. :)
the priest was due any minute so, i had to change from jeans to my slacks. our friends started coming in & of course, our invited guests. after waiting for those who'll cut the ribbon, by 11:30 a.m. the ceremony was underway. it was a short ceremony followed by the "coin & candy tossing". i don't know the origin of this but it bodes well for the business. the owner throws candies and coins into the store (papasok) so that the customers, money, good fortune will also come into the store. people inside the store rush to get the coins or candy, either of which mean good luck as well for those who get it. (am i correct? anyone who wishes to shed light on this please do so...)
then, everyone proceeded next door to eat lunch. now, this is where my memory of what transpired is as fuzzy as my fave fruit, the peach. why? well, ricky and i didn't get to eat as much because either we were entertaining our guests or we were at the store; some of the guests bought goodies. so we had to shuttle back and forth between the store and the lunch. our friends were teasing us that it was some sort of dry run for what was going to happen in december. kulang na lang ay bumisita kami sa bawat table at magpakuha ng picture hehehe ;)
after eating some guests bought stuff, others went back to their offices. parang nag-lunch out lang sila. hehehe others stayed at the store, tumambay lang, nakipagkwentuhan or ate some goodies they bought.
opening day was in its own right, a huge success. ricky and i are truly grateful for a wonderful grand opening and blessing.
pictures wil be posted soon, please bear with me.... i know you guys always do.
next: what's been happening since sept. 28?
the mother of all openings
wow... i can't believe it. at this time a week ago, we were all on pins and needles trying to get everything done for the opening and blessing (the 28th). it's about 5 in the p.m. and at this time, i was acting as a shopper and asking the cashiers to "practice" punching the right keys, scanning the items properly and counting change. our cash register has a training mode so we were able to simulate the process.
when you go thru it, it seems as easy as pie. hehehe but the next day, one cashier was so nervous her hands were shaking while punching the keys and giving out change.
ricky at this time was on the phone, speaking to some suppliers, or talking to mario kong (our friend, broker and gotcha "consultant") going thru any detail we may have missed or overlooked.
then, we were also tagging the items or "labelling" them, checking out the set up on the gondolas, checking if the chiller, freezer and ice cream freezer were functioning properly. there were also some deliveries made and deals closed. it was really frantic for all of us.
ricky and i weren't getting enough sleep already even two weeks before opening. but teamwork really does pay off and the help of countless hands certainly made everything possible.
the night before, marlet, a very good friend of ours even helped tag some items. hehehe lahat sila naaliw sa pag label ng items (price - using the price labeller).
after a tiring day, we all had dinner together at grilla (near rockwell). just to relax a bit from such a stressful time; some sort of breather before D-Day.
we called it a night at nearly midnight. the next day, we had to be up and at gotcha earlier than usual.
next: the grand opening & blessing
when you go thru it, it seems as easy as pie. hehehe but the next day, one cashier was so nervous her hands were shaking while punching the keys and giving out change.
ricky at this time was on the phone, speaking to some suppliers, or talking to mario kong (our friend, broker and gotcha "consultant") going thru any detail we may have missed or overlooked.
then, we were also tagging the items or "labelling" them, checking out the set up on the gondolas, checking if the chiller, freezer and ice cream freezer were functioning properly. there were also some deliveries made and deals closed. it was really frantic for all of us.
ricky and i weren't getting enough sleep already even two weeks before opening. but teamwork really does pay off and the help of countless hands certainly made everything possible.
the night before, marlet, a very good friend of ours even helped tag some items. hehehe lahat sila naaliw sa pag label ng items (price - using the price labeller).
after a tiring day, we all had dinner together at grilla (near rockwell). just to relax a bit from such a stressful time; some sort of breather before D-Day.
we called it a night at nearly midnight. the next day, we had to be up and at gotcha earlier than usual.
next: the grand opening & blessing
hello again...naturally...
a big hello to everyone out there!!!!!!! whew! i'm back and i hope it stays that way. please forgive me for the loooooonnnnngggg absence. my life has been super chaotic and you should see the state of the office right now! i have just been on my hands and knees to install everything and i had to check if pacific internet changed the caller id. (i must say that they are really efficient! i just emailed them last night and what do you know! connected to the net via our gotcha! number already. wow!)
i know everyone is dying to catch a glimpse of the gotcha pictures and story. please bear with me for like a couple of days. i'll try to blog everything that i remember (hehehe).
ricky and i would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who graced the grand opening and blessing, as well as those who couldn't make it but wished us well. to our family and friends who put up with ricky and me prior to the event and helped us put everything together, WE LOVE YOU!!!
okay, wait a minute! my cashiers need to change a large bill.....
please check in every now and then okay! mwah!
i know everyone is dying to catch a glimpse of the gotcha pictures and story. please bear with me for like a couple of days. i'll try to blog everything that i remember (hehehe).
ricky and i would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who graced the grand opening and blessing, as well as those who couldn't make it but wished us well. to our family and friends who put up with ricky and me prior to the event and helped us put everything together, WE LOVE YOU!!!
okay, wait a minute! my cashiers need to change a large bill.....
please check in every now and then okay! mwah!
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