my dearest yan-yan

happy birthday!

we don't get to see each other regularly but whenever we do, it feels like we just saw each other yesterday. (well, now that you're in europe, it's gonna be another month or so before we really get the chance to catch up...)

i wish you all the best girl and i'm so thankful to have you as a friend.

love you!!!

best positions in bed

i got these cute pics from a message mae reme (my hs classmate) sent to our hs e-group...aren't they adorable?

happy birthday bro!

KUYA BOYCHIE !!!!

happy, happy birthday! ricky and i wish you all the best...

we miss you and love you!!!

have i found this?

The Best Kind of Love
by: Annette Paxman Bowen

I have a friend who is falling in love. She honestly claims the sky s bluer. Mozart moves her to tears. She has lost 15 pounds and looks like a cover girl. "I am young again!" she shouts exuberantly.

As my friend raves on about her new love, I've taken a good look at my old one. My husband of almost 20 years, Scott, has gained 15 pounds. Once a marathon runner, he now runs only down hospital halls. His hairline is receding and his body shows signs of long working hours and too many candy bars. Yet he can still give me a certain look across a restaurant table and I want to ask for the check and head home.

When my friend asked me "What will make this love last?" I ran through all the obvious reasons: commitment, shared interests, unselfishness,physical attraction, and communication.
Yet there's more.

We still have fun.

Spontaneous good times. Yesterday, after slipping the rubber band off the rolled newspaper, Scott flipped it playfully at me: this led to an all-out war. Last Saturday at the grocery, we split the list and raced each other to see who could make it to the checkout first. Even washing dishes can be a blast. We enjoy simply being together.

And there are surprises.

One time I came home to find a note on the front door that led me toanother note, then another, until I reached the walk-in closet. I opened the door to find Scott holding a "pot of gold" (my cooking kettle) and the "treasure" of a gift package. Sometimes I leave him notes on the mirror and little presents under his pillow.

There is understanding.

I understand why he must play basketball with the guys. And heunderstands why, once a year, I must get away from the house, the kids - and even him - to meet my sisters for a few days of nonstop talking and laughing.

There is sharing.

Not only do we share household worries and parental burdens - we also share ideas. Scott came home from a convention last month and presented me with a thick historical novel. Though he prefers thrillers and science fiction,he had read the novel on the plane. He touched my heart when he explained it was because he wanted to be able to exchange ideas about the book after I'd read it.

There is forgiveness.

When I'm embarrassingly loud and crazy at parties, Scott forgives me. When he confessed losing some of our savings in the stock market, I gave him a hug and said, "It's okay. It's only money."

There is sensitivity.

Last week he walked through the door with that look that tells me it's been a tough day. After he spent some time with the kids, I asked him what happened. He told me about a 60-year old woman that had a stroke. He wept as he recalled the woman's husband standing beside her bed, caressing her hand. How was he going to tell this husband of 40 years that his wife would probably never recover? I shed a few tears myself.

Because of the medical crisis. Because there were still people who have been married 40 years. Because my husband is still moved and concerned after years of hospital rooms and dying patients.

There is faith.

Last Tuesday a friend came over and confessed her fear that her husband is losing his courageous battle with cancer. On Wednesday I went to lunch with a friend who is struggling to reshape her life after divorce. On Thursday a neighbor called to talk about the frightening effects of Alzheimer's disease on her father-in-law's personality. On Friday a childhood friend called long-distance to tell me her father had died. I hung up the phone and thought, This is too much heartache for one week.

Through my tears, as I went out to run some errands, I noticed the boisterous orange blossoms of the gladiolus outside my window. I heard the delighted laughter of my son and his friend as they played. I caught sight of a wedding party emerging from a neighbor's house. The bride, dressed in satin and lace, tossed her bouquet to her cheering friends. That night, I told my husband about these events. We helped each other acknowledge the cycles of life and that the joys counter the sorrows. It was enough to keep us going.

Finally, there is knowing.

I know Scott will throw his laundry just shy of the hamper every night; he'll be late to most appointments and eat the last chocolate in the box. He knows that I sleep with a pillow over my head.

I guess our love lasts because it is comfortable. No, the sky is not bluer: it's just a familiar hue. We don't feel particularly young: we've experienced too much that has contributed to our growth and wisdom, taking its toll on our bodies, and created our memories. I hope we've got what it takes to make our love last. As a bride, I had Scott's wedding band engraved with Robert Browning's line "Grow old along with me!"

We're following those instructions. "If anything is real, the heart will make it plain." There are some people who meet that somebody that they can never stop loving, no matter how hard they try. I wouldn't expect you to understand that, or even believe it, but trust me, there are some love that don't go away. And maybe that makes them crazy, but we should all be blessed to end up with that somebody who has a little of that insanity.Somebody who never lets go. Somebody who cherishes you forever.

Hope you find this kind of love in your life.

swiped from ian's blog - thanks ian!

harry oh harry

i am blessed with friends who happen to share a love for books. but what rose sent to me was a big surprise.

i now have an e-book of Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince! wow! (rose, you are heaven-sent!) and believe me, i read it wherever and whenever i could. during my lunch break, on the lrt, on the mrt, before i slept at night even while i dressed for work in the morning! it's been such a long time since harry was a part of my life so july 16 was definitely a red-letter date on my calendar (aside from the fact that it was dad's birthday). i couldn't get my hands on a book but since rose got her copy, i told her i'd borrow it once she's finished. so the e-book was such a pleasant surprise.

many of you would probably wonder how could i anticipate, much less waste my time on an hp book. although i definitely agree that the hp series pales in comparison with the depth and grandeur of the lotr trilogy and the terry goodkind series, hp will always have a special place in my heart.

the hp series is what sparked my interest in the adventure/fantasy genre of books. the first is always special and so, harry is special to me. harry's life and adventures always enthrall me. the reading is light yet deep enough for me to want to travel with him on the hogwarts express, explore the hogwarts castle and watch a quidditch game. the film adaptations haven't failed me yet and just like lotr, i don't mind spending 3 hours in the cinema just to see it on screen. in fact, i'm looking forward to hp 4: the goblet of fire which i heard will be shown in november of this year. book 4 is one of my favorites in the series and i hope i won't feel shortchanged when i see it. then again, seeing daniel radcliffe on screen is good enough reason for my butt to stay glued to my seat...

by the way, humans aren't the only ones who can't get enough of harry...



(photos swiped from amazon.com-customer images)

working girl

i did mention a few posts ago that i am now officially back as part of the nation's workforce. to be exact, i was since july 11, 2005.

i am now part of reynolds review institute, inc. (r2i2), an english review center that specializes in IELTS, TOEFL and TSE classes. the meanings of these acronyms still have to take residence in my memory but rest assure, all of these are english exams that overseas workers must pass before they are given the go signal to depart for their overseas assignments.

i'm part of r2i2 as Franchise Support Staff. although that is just a title. everyone in the group practices and upholds the law of multi-tasking. my first week was slightly easy. as franchise support, i went on site inspections in muntinlupa & subic, while trying to put an operations manual together. the latter proved to be a challenge without a computer to encode my thoughts and a guide to help organize my trail of thought. i had to "recycle" old office materials as my note pad and concentrate on getting some words written on the pad.

my second week saw more of trying to put together the manual but, multi-tasking is the key here so i did a marathon of interviews for our franchisee's hr req'ts, several meetings, handled a speaking class for an IELTS class and made preps for tomorrow's trip to subic for, check this out: preliminary interviews of 600 applicants! whew! i better bring the lozenges...

you may wonder why we need to talk to so many hopefuls. well, our franchisee is putting up a 300-seat call center so you can just imagine how many people you gotta talk to get those seats filled! our work is defintitely cut out for us but, i enjoy it.

after work, i visit gotcha, then ricky & i go home together.

good morning everyone! well, today is the day... today, pres. gloria macapagal-arroyo delivers her SONA (State of the Nation Address). last saturday, she declared today as a special non-working holiday. well i'll be darned, a holiday for a SONA? oh well...

at least it has given me some time to check in on you and say hello... i hope to get more posts on my blog :)

happy, happy birthday to one of the most important men in my life

my dad

i hope you had a great birthday...

i love you very, very much and i miss you

can we just stop and talk awhile?

yeah, i know, i've been terribly poor at keeping my promise of updating my blog. if it isn't the lack of time, it's the lack of resources. our pc has been down and out and my blog is one of the first sites i've seen to do a check on what the technician did. seems to be a-ok :)

well...i'd like to say thank you to those who haven't abandoned my blog like, my bro and pazette...how have you been? kuya boychie, i hope you'll still visit... hehehe that's what brothers are for... pazette...i hope to visit your blog soon; i miss reading about what's been happening to you lately...

if i remember correctly, my last entry was sometime in may? since then, my father-in-law passed away , reunied with some old friends and guess what? i've decided to join the rat's race again ....

welcome back...

hello everyone! well, it has certainly been a long time since i blogged. my life has been very busy. i know you're all looking at me with eyes wide open saying that's still not an excuse... i agree...

well, after the china chronicles, we were busy with the store. after a vacation like that, you need to get things up and running again. before we knew it, busy times were here to stay.

summer came and is almost out the door and we weren't able to go swimming except for april 9 when gotcha went to laguna for a swim...can't post the pictures yet because i haven't scanned them but don't worry, i'll post them as soon as i can.

well, gotta go. it's month-end and i still gotta count those cans - it's inventory time. see yah later, alligators


what's in my discman

check out his website