My Top Four Tele-Fantastics

Looking forward to bonding with your couch over the weekend? Hook up with any of these knock-offs. I'm sure you'd find something that'll keep you glued to your seat. Better have the bags of chips ready!

1. How I Met Your Mother

In a Nutshell: HIMYM is a comedy series about Ted, a hopeless romantic, and the story of how he met his children's mother. As he unfolds that story though, he manages to narrate the hilarious adventures that he and his four best friends (Marshall, Lily, Robin and Barney) experiences as he searches for THE ONE. 

What Got Me Hooked: Barney, one of Ted's best friends, is legend... wait for it! -dary! He's hilarious! He is my favorite character in the series. He has this thing called the Bro Code which has all the laws that a true Bro should follow. There was this one time when he made Ted swear to an oath and he called it the Broath, in which Ted should wear a robe, which was called the Brobe. They also had a Slapsgiving occasion wherein Marshall can slap Barney (because the latter lost in a Slap bet) during Thanksgiving. I just love the catch-phrases and the puns! I applaud the writers. They're geniuses! Another thing I love is that all the stories are very relatable. Each episode is packed with issues that one encounters in real life: from as silly as how noticing one's flaw magnifies it, to as complicated as falling in love with your best friend.

2. Switched at Birth

In a Nutshell: SAB is a drama series revolving around the switch that happened between Bay and Daphne when they were born and how their families cope up when they found out about it. 

What Got Me Hooked: What's very interesting about this series is that Daphne, one of the main characters, is actually deaf. Yes, she is deaf in the story and in real life. This series is just an eye-opener for me. One, Daphne can talk. I was under the impression that deaf people are also mute. How can you talk when you can't even hear the sound that you're making? Two, the deaf characters (Yes, there are a ton more deaf characters aside from Daphne) can understand hearing people even if they don't sign because they learn how to read lips. Three, Emmett, also deaf, plays drums. How cool is that? There's just a lot of information that you can get about deaf people because of this series. Very awesome. I am actually learning how to sign in the process. It's just great how this series is able to give opportunity to "handicapped" people and position it in a way that is not condescending or pitiful at all. They are presented in a very positive manner. 

Another great thing is the splash of art in the series. Each of the titles of the series is a painting's title. Bay is a street artist. The series boosts up street art's reputation, that they are not just graffiti on the wall but are actually a valid art form  On the other hand, Toby, the brother, is a musician so there are also a lot of music references. 

SAB for me is a real series for the whole family. Parents'll be hooked with the parenting tips, children'll relate to the issues that teens are encountering. 

3. United States of Tara

In a Nutshell: UST is a comedy-drama about Tara, a housewife who has dissociative identity disorder, and her struggles in raising up two teens and managing the different identities that she has.

What Got Me Hooked: The story line in itself is an attention-grabber. How do you deal with multiple personality? Much less be a mom. Tara is Alice, a 50's prim and proper housewife; T, a rebel teen; and Buck, a male, drunkard army veteran. As the story progresses, different personalities are revealed as well. How does it feel to have a mother or a wife with multiple personalities? It's a chaos! Not to mention that the other characters are as crazy too! 

4. The Voice

In a Nutshell:  What sets this singing competition apart from others is that what they're looking for is THE VOICE. They don't care about how you look, or how old you are, for as long as you have the talent, you get a shot.

What Got Me Hooked: If Adam Levine is not enough reason for you to watch this show, I don't know how else I could convince you. Other topnotch judges include Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, and Ceelo Green. Great singers are everywhere. It's already a given scenario when you have a competition like this. The show is great because at the preliminaries, the power is actually given to the singers. The chosen ones get to choose who they want to mentor them while the latter fight over them. And it can get very nasty. These superstars can go as desperate as bragging about their achievements and smacking their co-mentors in the face. It's hilarious! Then the singers get to battle each other. The concept is really different. It's a well thought-of competition, not just a rip off of other singing shows. 

SILANGANG NAYON turned me on

Just this weekend, le boyfie and I went out of town. And where else do we go but to our fave weekend getaway town, QUEZON! Our first trip together was in Kinabuhayan Cafe, Dolores, Quezon. 

At Kinabuhayan Cafe 3 years ago.

The place was great! And the food? Better! They served only organic food and boy I can still taste it in my dreams.

Organic meals 

So, when boyfie said that he'd give me an out-of-town travel as a graduation gift, I already knew where to go. I scoured the net to look for the next Quezon destination, and I tripped over a lot of good reviews of Silangang Nayon.

After a long and tiring five-hour bus, jeepney, and tricycle trip, we finally reached the place. All the haggardness quickly faded away as we were greeted with feathered animals running around the greenery, statued fauna, polite staffs, and blue-green sea.

Silangang Nayon in Pagbilao, Quezon

SILANGANG NAYON

The Room

We shelled out P2,500 per night for the accommodation with breakfast, which was actually good for 4 persons. (They don't have couple packages. The smallest one is for 4 pax.)

Room for 2-4 pax

Given that the price was supposedly for a group of 4, it was actually very light in the pocket. The room was clean and spacious. The bathroom had a bathtub (major plus!) and a hot/cold shower. They also provided 4 towels, 4 toothbrushes, a tissue roll, and a toothpaste. There was a cabinet for the things, lots of sockets for the cellphone,laptop,whathaveyous. The television only had local channels (not really an issue since you're there to sightsee). There were also couches. The veranda and gate outside added to the house-like appeal of the 'room.' It really looked like a small house. It was very much comfortable and had a homey feel. 

The Food

Silangang Nayon is actually known as a restaurant by the sea. Yet, guests from all over the world (char! Metro Manila and South Luzon, maybe?) don't travel all the way to this place just to experience dining by the sea. People frequent this place because of the fresh and well-cooked seafood, simmered with affordability. As a matter of fact, Charo Santos of MMK was dining there during our first night (O diba, leveling!). 

Then for our free breakfast, they served fried rice and hot choco/coffee plus choices of: bacon and egg, boneless bangus, spam and egg, and corned beef and egg. Nothing out of the usual really.

No judgments pls. Nothing wrong with taking advantage of the free meal for 4. :)

The Place

Silangang Nayon is actually a restaurant and a park. The place abound with floras and faunas everywhere. Chickens and turkeys ran around the place. We also spotted some horses resting on the grassy park. 

Kids will definitely love the place because of the playground and mini zoo.

If ever you get bored with the relaxed ambiance of the place, you can ought to rent a boat and go to a beach  nearby. Boat rental costs P1,500 and can carry a maximum of 10 persons.

We went to Puting Buhangin and Kwebang Lampas because it was the nearest but you can actually ask the boatman to drop you off to two more other beaches for I think an additional P1,000. Nevertheless, Puting Buhangin's pristine water and white sand was already more than enough for us. We were in awe with how clear the water was. I wonder if they would/could develop it to be a snorkling area. When we went there, no fishes were visible and only the rocky sea bottom can be seen. Yes, the beach is actually rocky (?) so it is best to wear slippers or aqua shoes. There were also some jellyfishes caught during our stay there but the locals said that it was actually the first time that the water was infested with jellyfishes.

** I would not describe the floating restaurant and airplane food delivery anymore since Google already provides a lot of information about that.**

Service


If there's one thing that would make me want to recommend the place to anybody, it wouldn't be the place or the food. I would advise anyone to experience Silangang Nayon for the wonderful service of the staffs there. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating. They were very patient to answer each of our inquiries. They also attended to our every need.

When we were there, I sadly got my period and slightly suffered from dysmenorrhea. :( The crew gave me two mefenamic acid and a napkin for free.:) During our dinner that night, we chose to stay on one of the cottages but it was very malamok so we asked for an electric fan to drive away the mosquitoes. Not only did they set up the fan but they also brought a mosquito killer lamp for us. The waiters were also very knowledgeable about the food. We were very confused with what to order on our first night because there were a lot of items in their menu. The waiter patiently responded to our queries regarding the size of serving, cooking style, etc. He even suggested some food for us and told us that we could actually ask them to refrigerate our leftover and have it heated up again for the next meal.

They don't charge service fee but we couldn't help giving them a tip because of the wonderful service that they shared. They gave me an impression that the management is not concerned about earning money but earning guests' hearts.

Budget


P5,000 - 2 days accommodation with free breakfast
P530 - Friday dinner
P935 - Saturday dinner
P165 - Saturday pansit lunch
P500 - approx for beers and ice cream
P1,500 - boat rental
P460 - bus ride from Buendia to Lucena (2 pax)
P20 - jeep to Brgy Bantigue (2 pax)
P180 - tricycle to and from Silangang Nayon (2 pax)
P260 - van to Sta Rosa (2 pax)

TOTAL P9550 for 2 persons

We spent almost P10,000 for the whole trip for 3 days and 2 nights. It would actually be cheaper if you travel by group since the accommodation, boat rental, and tricycle ride is fixed and not on a per-person basis. The food's serving is also huge and can be shared by up to three or four persons.

How to get to Silangang Nayon


From Buendia

         Ride any bus (JAC/JAM/any other bus line) going to Lucena Grand Terminal. From there, find the jeep terminal going to Pagbilao. Ask the driver to drop you off to Brgy Bantigue or "to the tricycle terminal going to Silangang Nayon." Ride a tricycle and they will already drop you off to Silangang Nayon.


From Sta Rosa

         Ride a van going to Lucena Grand Terminal and proceed with the same direction stated above. :)

From wherever you are

         Just find a way to get to Lucena Grand Terminal and you're good to go. :)

We have a new baby!:)

Just out of nowhere, my brother and I decided to buy a digital camera. :) After numerous google searches, cgena.com visits, and appliance store inquiries, we finally settled with the CANON POWERSHOT A1200.

cameralabs.com
Canon Powershot A1200

The package contains awesome items such as a pair of alkaline battery, a pair of rechargeable battery with charger, a 4Gb SD Card, and a camera case.

What really won me over was the shooting modes of the camera.

Fish-eye effect

Miniature effect

Toy Camera effect

Monochrome effect: Sepia, Black and White, and Blue (left to right)

Poster effect

Super Vivid effect

Sorry for the crappy pictures but I'm sure you will have a lot of fun using these effects. 

Oh, have I told you that this amazing little camera just costs P3,995???!!! Such a great deal, right? My brother and I have nothing but praises for this cam especially when we found out that it already has an auto-rotate feature and check this out: 

without Blur Reduction

with Blur Reduction

It takes great pictures even when the subject is moving at lightning speed! No more blurred photos for moving subjects. Yey! 

I am just so proud of this great deal that we got. Now, I can proudly say that I am in one with the shutterbug generation.

Happy clicking! :)

A Series of Unfortunate Events (Late Post)

I couldn't think of a more fitting title.

Last March 18, 2012, Sunday, my father was rushed to the hospital because of heart attack. When I reached the hospital, he was already unconscious and was just assisted with a breathing apparatus.  I wasn't able to talk to him anymore. He was in coma for two days. His breathing and heartbeat were just possible because of the respirator and medicine. The doctors urged us to just "pull the plug" since he was not showing any signs of recovery and even if he managed to breathe on his own, the damage in his brain was irreversible and thus he would forever be a worthless vegetable.

On March 20, Tuesday, with hearts sunk, we did what we thought would be best for all of us. We let the hospital took off all his medical apparatus and signed a waiver that Papa would not be revived when his heart failed. We said our goodbyes to him but we believed, even up to now, that he's in a better place now. The disappointments and stresses of his earthly life were now gone.

Just when we thought that everything was at it's worst, something much worse happened.

My brother, just 22 years old, had a sudden change of behavior about 2-3 days before my father's interment. He started believing that he was the Messiah. He never stopped talking. He didn't sleep for two straight days. He ate very little. He was very insistent on being a Mason and studying in Harvard. He believed that he has an IQ comparable to Einstein. He felt that he would rule the world. The timid, isolated boy was now in euphoria, talking non-stop and nonsense to every person he saw. He had suicidal and murderous thoughts. Because of these, the family decided to bring him to a psychiatrist right after my father's burial. The doctor's diagnosis was that he needed to be institutionalized because he was showing signs of psychosis. After a week of observation and symptoms treatment, he was diagnosed with BIPOLAR DISORDER.

Confirming my brother's mental disorder was shocking and disheartening for all of us. I, for one, didn't have any first-hand experience with mentally handicapped people or the sorts. We did not know anyone in the family who has one. This was the kind of illness I never thought my family would ever experience.

He was just 22 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him. We used to dream a lot about how we would have a good life when we start earning our own money. Then, in just a blink of an eye, all of those came running downhill, disappearing into a black hole of hopelessness.

I miss my dad. Now, I am missing my brother. The partner I thought I could depend on in this time of crisis abandoned me. I felt a betrayal. I am mad. I want to get mad at my brother for being weak. I didn't know why all of these had to happen one after the other. I tried looking for the bad things that me and my family did and tried to comprehend if we really deserved this. A lot of things went on and on in my head but I couldn't let other people see it. I couldn't be weak because there's just my Mom and I left. I needed to be strong for her.

Hello Week 1 of 2012

Monday: Finally went back to QC after two weeks of slavery in my hometown. Haha. I was really madabugin and all while I was home because they made me do a lot of errands. I'm not used to doing household chores. I can't wait to get back to my lazy and carefree QC life. On my last night though, I was very regretful and wished I had been more obedient and cheerful while at home. I felt guilty about how I acted as a daughter, especially during the holiday season.

A reminder for me to be unselfish when it comes to my parents.

As soon as I set foot in le bhaws, Jami texted me to sleep over in their place and make the infamous jelly flan that I've been telling her about . So I just dropped off my baggage and went straight to San Juan. We were able to make 6 containers of jelly flan from the ingredients that I brought. Yey!:) Twas nice seeing Jami again and catching up with her 'cause it feels like ages since I last saw her.

Oh and wait! Rewind! How could I forget! The sweetest thing! When I got in le bhaws, Keysi left a gift on my bed. Aaawww. It was very touching. I didn't expect to receive any gift from her. Twas a pink Vapur.:) <reminder to insert picture here> And Jami organized my cabinet! I swear I'm gonna marry that girl in my reincarnation.

Tuesday: Twas very tiring! After I got back in le bhaws from Jami's crib, I went to school for my STS class but poof! There's no class yet! Yey!:) So I went to SM to buy appropriate containers for the jelly flan that Jami and I did the night before. I'd be giving the jelly flans to Aga's mom, Keysi, and the BKB Crew as a Christmas/New Year/pasalubong treat. When I got back, I arranged everything, complete with ribbons and whatnots. Then went back to school. No classes again. Second yey!:)

Then I surprise-visited Aga in their house. He thought I wouldn't be able to drop by and was very tampururot about it. So when I gave him a kiss while he was asleep, he was pleasantly surprised.:) I missed him so much. Then we went to BKB, together with the treats. The BKB people were very happy and touched by the dessert but were also skeptic to try it because of my notoriety when it comes to cooking. Hehe. After multiple assurance that it's safe to eat and delicious, they finally gave in and gave it a try. They loved it!:) Or at least they made an effort to make it look like that.

BKB also had an audition for the bar's band this day but just had two participants.:( Nevertheless, the winner, HINLALATO, was fuqn awesome!!! They are a blues rock band or something. They were amazing!!! Hands down. Afdaasiefjdadfld. Ep, especially loved them. As Lionel said, nakakita siya ng ka-tenga niya because they're of the same genre, which is not that popular in this country and generation.

As the night progressed, Ep somehow became drunk. As he, Oca, Keith, Aga, and I are on the same table, they made fun of us by urging us to kiss in front of them. As I've said, we're not into PDA and Aga has this reputation of being a tough lover. They said they haven't seen us kiss, etc etc. Maygad! Aga was giving in to the peer pressure! Good thing I was sane enough not to give in to their pang-uuto. I would never in my entire lifetime kiss in front of people directly staring at me. It's a freakshow for goddamnsake! (Well, matrimonial kiss is an exception).

Wednesday: After BKB, I slept in Aga's house. We missed each other that much.:) Then I went back to le bhaws to shower and get dressed for my class. Anddd we dont have a class. I swear I'm in the right school. Teachers might just still be enjoying the holiday fever that's why. So I just went to UP IS to pass my request letter to have my pilot test conducted there. Then I went to SM to pass time by doing grocery shopping while waiting for my Orcomm class. Which... you already know what happened. Or didn't happen.

In the evening, Jami and I loitered in Figaro Technohub to do stuffs. I was supposed to research for my Educ paper and she to look for apartments/commercial spaces for rent. I wasn't able to do my part because I wasn't feeling well. We waited up until Keysi's "lunch break" and stayed until 12 midnight.

Thursday: Class resumed! But I woke up late so I wasn't able to go to my STS class. Shoot, how many absences have I spent? Well, sorta normal school day. We didn't have class yet in Educ but I was able to chat for a good one hour with a class mate, Dei. We were both graduating so we exchanged thesis blues.

Then, BKB again with Cha. Her crush's band's playing so she urged me to go to finally meet the guy (of his dreams? Haha). We seated with Parada. We've already met Alvin (and the Chipmunks), the lead vocal, during BKB's grand opening but didn't know that he has a band, much more that he sings. I was introduced to the band's other members: Raymond (Buwi of PNE look-alike), the bassist. He's a UP FA Painting student. He said that he was taught how to drink and smoke by his parents when he was in Grade 5 or 6. Now he has some liver whatever close to malfunction, and still drinks. The drummer, is also a Raymond. I wasn't able to chat with him much. What I remember was that he bought this funny tasting sparkling water. Haha. Then lastly is LJ, the rhythm guitarist. He's a doctor. He's 30 but he looked the youngest among all of them. He doesn't smoke and drink. He insisted on driving me and Cha home. Parada was good. Or maybe I wasn't just expecting them to rock like that because I've known them as humans first before musicians.

Friday: No class at all. I went to CAL Lib to get a leisure reading book. Then to Educ Lib to look for annotated bibliography books. I wasn't able to go to BKB because I was not feeling well.:(

Jelly-Panda-Cat Attachment

We don’t call ourselves bestfriends because it’s too mainstream for us. But yeah,  in Keysi’s words, we are co-dependent. We can’t live without each other.

I’ve met Jami seven years ago (woah we’ve known each other that long??? And I’ve been studying that long? Shit.) when I was a freshman. We were seatmates in PanPil 12. Being a fresh blood, I was naturally very friendly and excited to meet new people so I approached her and talked to her, blah blah blah. Hmm bakit nga ba? A! I was obsessed with guitars that time. I just learnt how to play the guitar and it was my world. So when she introduced herself (first day class intros) as someone who plays the guitar, I automatically fixed my sight at her and targeted her. Next thing I know, I’ve invited her to be my housemate and so thus began whirlwind of experiences lathered with clandestine stories and fun-filled tales. As they say, you’ll never truly know a person until you live in the same roof. Lucky for me, she was able to tolerate the mess and laze that I am and we managed to maintain the “co-dependence” even after several years.

Kesi, is Aiza Seguerra transformed into human form. Twas my first thought  when Jami introduced us to one another. Kesi and Jam are classmates, coursemates, and batchmates but have not been close to each other until later their stay in Chem Engg. Just like Jami, we hit it off right away too. Her constant sleepovers in our boarding house finally progressed into paying a bed monthly. So we, three, became live-in partners. (I suppose it unnecessary to say that Keysi was able to pass my mess and laze toleration test, too.) Thus began our threesome.

Cheesy as it may sound, and so I would never ever ever dare say it out loud to them (unless drunk), they are the only reason I can look back in my college years and tell myself I had fun. They’ve made my horrible college existence bearable.

To more years of surprising discoveries, thrilling first times, fulfilling breakthroughs, bursting laughters, and never-ending threesome awesomeness! I love you both and forgive me for sprinkling too much drama in this post.

Sweetest New Year Message

Our only self-initiated couple vanity pics

Happy new year!

Today, I woke up to the sweetest thing le boyfriend has said so far (exagge). Keep in mind that le boyfriend is as sweet as a salt. Yes. He is not at all showy about his feelings, abhors PDA and the sorts. Our relationship is not something you'll call a fairytale. We call each other ungas, embarass each other in front of other people. I don't know. We're retards in love. Well, he has his own unique style of letting me know how much he loves me and it works for me.

Anyway, back to the message. I'm posting it to remember it forever. Haha. And as an evidence to show him someday that he has a sweet bone in him (He doesn't wanna be called sweet. He thinks it's not macho. Watever.):

TEXT I:
Just wana b d 1st 2 say i love you this yr. I love you. Kelan ka blek? My gft sau cla marvin at ung leche flan mu. Going home. Cab na.

TEXT II:
Bhay na. Hapi new yr. At e2ng mga su2nod, itaga mu man s bato, d ku cnbe. I love you at mis n kta. Wag kang mgng pasaway at papakasalan kta. Hehe. Mwah.

Note: We're in an LDR for two weeks because of the holiday season. Thus explains the texting, updates, and the i miss you things. 

I just found it heartmelting that he wants to be the first one to say I love you this year. I didn't even think about that. And for him to tell me just out of nowhere that he loves me (He always does by the way. He never responds to my I love you's but will throw one at me on unexpected moments.), it never gets old. And how about that lame proposal? Haha. It was very lame but adorable. And when I teased him about it, this is what he said: Fyi. D un proposal. Kapal ng muka mu. So much for the sweet guy aura. Gone in a heartbeat.


There. No matter how often this guy changes my moods, from i-am-so-in-love-im-gonna-marry-you-and-have-babies-with-you kinda feeling to i-hate-you-im-gonna-break-up-with-you-and-kill-you, I still love him and will not bore with the constant fightings and make-up S.:p