MBL Championship

Richard, one of my katropa in the office invited us to watch their championship game yesterday, April 30.  It's a company-sponsored tournament for employees and my first time to be invited to such.  Tina, Karen and Pags joined me in cheering for Richard's team but unfortunately, they lost the title.  But it was a fun and exciting night to be remembered.

Ramen dinner at Shinjuku

Post-Birthday Celebration @ Centerstage MOA

April 29, 2014.  It was a night of fun and laughter.  Thanks to my best office buddies for spending 5 hours of videoke fun with me.  It was an awesome night!

Spiral @ Sofitel

Thanks to my dear friend Tabel for sharing with us her Spiral voucher that gives us 50% off on dinner buffet.  So, as part of our quarterly meet-up and Nikki's birthday celebration, we had a sumptuous dinner buffet at Sofitel yesterday.

My verdict?  Hhmmm.... IMHO, the quality of food was superb, the selection was just fine and the rate was too much, yes, even at a discounted price.  Except for the foie gras, the rest of the dishes can be found in other buffet restaurants like Vikings and at a much lower price with similar taste.  But no regrets in trying it out, with good friends.. good food... it only means... good times :)

Reunited

From La-lah-land to the land of milk and honey to our very own native land....

It's so nice to see you all again... with the addition of a cute little boy who just turned 1.

Happy Birthday, Rai!

:(

At this very moment, I wish my friends were with me. There's something I really want to share with them. Something that I know, only them could make fun of and yet would take it seriously. As a matter of fact, I think they know me better than I know myself.

Birthday 2012

No matter how many times I have traveled back and forth to Manila, excitement never fails to occupy me.  Moreso, it will be my first time to welcome my birthday on board the plane.  And what makes this vacation more exciting is my upcoming HK-Macau vacation with my parents.

Anyhoo, I'll make another blog entry regarding that trip.  In this post I just want to share how I celebrated my 32nd year with family and friends back home.

April 20, Friday.

After an eye check-up at Healthway Medical, we had a sumptuous dinner at Dad's International Buffet Restaurant in West Avenue.

family pic :)

with Nanay and Tatay

April 28, Saturday.

Out of the 12 friends I invited, only 4 took time and put so much effort to join me on this post-bday treat.  Tabel, Nikki, Don and Bryce... thanks so much for traveling all the way from South of the Metro, didn't mind of the EDSA traffic amidst the super humid weather.  Love yah, guys!

just imagine how hungry they were! look at the plates! =))

San Mig Light models :)

"The infamous Ice Cream Cake" - Donish

My Birthday Cake :)

Sana sinabihan nyo kong yellow ang theme :P

with Bryce

slicing the cake.. yum yum!!!

fun times :D

April 29, Sunday

The last time I celebrated my birthday with my cousins around was in 1998, we were all school-ers then :)  And now, 14 years after, I am grateful and thankful for this "little reunion" of the Gutierrezes.

Aleli, Me, Arvin and Nhowa

:P

Another birthday cake... thanks Cuzs! :)

Savory!

Nhowa, Aira, Love, Aleli, Me and Arvin

Holiday Greeting Card

In this fast-changing digital world, where almost every breath passes thru an electronic device, it's very overwhelming to receive an old school Holiday Greeting Card from a very dear friend from the other side of this lonely planet.

Boracay 2011

After 3 months of preparation, everything is settled and all I could do is to pray for a smooth trip and a perfect weather.  This is going to be a mix of a well-deserved vacation and witnessing the union of 2 wonderful people in holy matrimony.

Day 1:

3-hr flight from Singapore to Manila, waited in the airport for 5 hours to take another short trip from Manila to Kalibo.  And from Kalibo, a speedy 1-hr land travel to Caticlan and finally getting to our destination a little past lunchtime.  Whew! It's been long and tiring journey but it was all worth it upon assuring myself: "Yes, I am in paradise!"

 

All The Best, Mare!

Celestial Resort

It was weeks ago when a friend/officemate invited me to join her and some of our friends to explore the northeastern island of Pulau Ubin. Since the 4-day celebration of Chinese New Year would definitely be boring (malls are closed), and plus the fact that I've been wanting to see more of Singapore and not just shopping malls and sale outlets, I excitedly accepted the invite.

Roselle, made all the planning: searched for an affordable resort that offers various water and land activities; verified to the resort personnel that everything posted on their website would be available on day of stay; even asked if there was an available hair blower in the room (my special request :D). Positive! We booked our stay at Celestial Resort.

Februray 14, Valentine's Day. We all met at Punggol Marina Country Club where a service boat will bring us straight to the resort. We missed the first trip and while waiting for the 2nd one, we had our photo shoot first at the port.

It was only a 10-minute ride from the port to the resort. Since we were 2 hours earlier from the standard check-in time, we asked Ate Jenny, the Filipina receptionist, if we could go for an early check-in. She said, no room was available at the moment and maybe we could tour around the resort first and she would just give us a call. But before doing so, we asked for the schedules of the acvities we inquired about prior to our booking. And to our surprise, NO SINGLE ACTIVITY was available on that day and on the following day!!! WTF!!!! The reason? It's Chinese New Year and most of the staff are in a holiday. WTF again!!!!

I am not questioning how they celebrate CNY, but for hell's sake, why did you tell us that the activities would be available on that day. You did even confirm the price of each activity. Que horror!!!! This is a HUGE, OBVIOUS LIE!!!! We were also on a holiday break and we wanted to relax, to have fun.... but how could we if there's nothing to do but count the trees and leaves around us!!! The biggest question still is, WHY THE HELL DID YOU LIE, PEOPLE??!!??!!

But this is just a beginning of a terrible experience at the resort. We tried to bargain with the staff like letting the seven of us stay in just one suite. But the caucasian lady arrogantly turned us down and with a sarcastic look on her face, she said, "You booked for 2 rooms, you must take it". Oh well, that's customer service for them.

I may sound furiously angry but believe it or not, we all kept our heads cool and relaxed while trying to accept the fact that we were fooled by the resort. No arguments nor altercation arose.

After about an hour of waiting, we finally checked in in the first of 2 rooms we occupied. We put down our bags, checked the whole suite and planned for our next activities. I wasn't in the mood to take photos of the rooms, but somehow, it's good that I did not 'cause for sure, everytime I'd get to see those, I might end up with nightmares. The toilet was clean, but the rust and stains on the toilet bowl and tiles were too creepy to stare at. There were 4 cups at the side table but no coffee nor sugar was present, what's the use of these cups, huh? I checked on the toilets again, NO HAIR BLOWER!!!! This is what I call, DISASTER!!!!

Before this tragedy get into our nerves, we all headed to the restaurant for our lunch. The food was good.. nothing special, though. We even had more fun time playing foosball than getting satisfaction with our food.

After a short meal and playtime, we inquired again for the day tour. The receptionist just told us to go to the other side of the resort and wait for a van that offers day our package, no coordination from them at all! Sariling diskarte kami!

And how did the daytour go? Again, nothing special.... the van brought us to Wetland Check Jawa, a downtown village where we had our very early dinner and a couple of stopover to take pictures with not-so amazing natural backgrounds. We started and ended the night with videoke and booze and tried to leave all the misfortunes behind.

We started the following day with the usual buffet breakfast that most, if not all, resorts and hotels offer. But then again, the disappointments keep pouring in. Breakfast without bread and egg?????? That's not breakfast at all!!!! How about serving 2 sets of the same sausages, one is fried and the other has overflowing sauces. Here's more, 2 kinds of noodles that both lack ingredients. Whew!!!! How bad the food was? We were not thru with the breakfast yet but we were already planning where to have our lunch :D

And up to the last minute, we couldn't help but to burst out our frustrations when we found out that our trip back will get delayed due to lack of boat, or was it because there were too many people wanting to go back asap. While waiting for our turn, the owner even advised us that the next time we visit the resort, we should take the other way to avoid overcrowding at their own port. And that's big B*LLSH*T!!!! Telling your visitor to take a different route where it will take them both boat and land transfers before reaching the resort instead of making a commitment to improve your service and facilities. Never mind, sir! There will be no next time, and that is a PROMISE!!!!

Despite of all the disaster and tragedy that went our way, good thing though, I was with a bunch of wacky and awesome people that this short experience is still something worth looking back to.

Thank you and 'til the next adventure, guys!

For photos, please visit my multiply site.

After Bora

March 24

Hair Make-over and Bonding with the Marekois. My appointment with the hairdresser is at 1pm in Vito Cruz. This is the first time that I would try a different parlor to do my hair rebond. Just want to try something new this time and after months of researching over the net, I found Weng of Affascinante. But before getting there, I quickly dropped by at SM North Edsa to purchase PBA tickets for tomorrow's game: SMB vs. BGK at the Big Dome.

And as usual, it took me 6 looonnnggg hours to get my hair rebonded plus a haircut. What else is new, anyway? Just after the session, I took a cab and headed to Greenbelt 5 to meet my marekois for dinner. With Jhie coming late again and meeting Bryce, their new gimik buddy, the night was filled with everything: Dinner at Chili's and some booze at 360.

and ended the night at Jhie's place with Singapore sling :)

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March 25

PBA Day. Got home just before the clock strikes at 12nn. Rested for a while and went out again to watch PBA at the Big Dome. Had merienda at Pancake House before gametime which is at 7:20pm. And as expected, the Dome was filled with fanatics from both teams. I was again at my usual self, madly screaming and insanely cheering for my team. The result: SMB wins again :)

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March 26

Shopping. The whole day was spent at Trinoma and SM North Edsa. Period. hehehehe....

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March 27

Team Manila and Videoke. Today is my last gimik day set at Maru in Jupiter St. Thanks to Olive and the rest of Docs Team for organizing this. Before meeting them at Teloworks office, I went first to Team Manila store in Jupiter St. to buy shirts and here are some of them:

And the party started:

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March 28

Panic-Buying. Still have a lot things to buy for myself and pasalubongs. I went again to SM North Edsa for the last minute shopping. Thank God I was able to manage the little time I had left. Last dinner with the family was like a fiesta and at this moment, I am very thankful and grateful for the 2 weeks that I spent here.

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March 29

Departure. My flight is at 2:45 pm and it was only my nanay who came with me at the airport since my father and brother had to report for work today. I did not oblige them anyway. Actually, I did not want anyone to come with me but my nanay refused. While waiving goodbye at the airport, tears were present again. But this time, those were tears of happiness that I was able to spend quality time with family and friends and looking forward to more of it.

Before Bora

March 14

Arrival. Arrived at Terminal 2 a little past 4am with 3 heavy luggages. Had to pay 9 kilos of excess baggage back in SG but I guess, it was all worth it. Though, could have been better if I just put all those extra stuff in my Balikbayan Box weeks ago. Lesson-learnt #1 :)

My parents and kuya were there to pick me up and I was finally home in about an hour. And of course, before my kuya and tatay went for work that morning, I immediately gave away my pasalubongs which include 6 kilos of chocolates (the main reason why I had tons of excess baggage :P) and opened the Balikbayan Box which arrived a week earlier. Christmas in summertime :)

opening the Balikbayan Box :)

After fixing all the stuff, I slept for about 3 hours and woke up at lunchtime where I had a very delicious kare-kare cooked by my nanay. Served with home-cooked bagoong and ripe mangoes for dessert... yummmmmmyyyyy!!!!

At night, I texted my cousins to come over the next day for a simple get-together.

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March 15

Reunion. I woke up at around 9am and my nanay was almost done cooking. Pansit Canton, Fried Chicken and Chopsuey are the menu for the day! (forget about the diet, I'm here to enjoy and live life to the fullest! :P)

My cousins (not all) and my Tita Poying (just arrived few weeks back from Saudi Arabia where she works as a nurse) were there.

Aleli, Aira, me, Tita Poying and Ate Apple

me and nanay

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March 16-17

Shopping time. At SM North Edsa, Greenhills and SM Megamall. Bought 2 sets of bikinis for me and some blouses for nanay plus more goodies for our Boracay getaway :). Had lunch at Jollibee on the 16th and Sbarro on the 17th.

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March 18

Relax and Friends meet-ups. Met my ePhil friends (the Docs team) at Glorietta and handed over to them my pasalubongs. Nanay had to accompany me that time 'coz I just couldn't bear to bring everything from Caloocan to Makati :)

I was supposed to meet my kumareng Tin-Tin at lunchtime but she was called for an emergency meeting and couldn't get out of the office. Good thing though, Jayjay was available to meet me and we had lunch together at Avenetto.

And just before my SPA appointment at The SPA Greenbelt, I dropped by at ePhil office (now Teloworks), to say hi to everybody : Mang Rudy, Mimi, Maidette and the rest. Had a short kumustahan moments with Mimi and Maidette but the most remarkable of all was the photo shoot I had with my kumare and kumpares with Bel and Gene:

Me, Rey and Olive

Gene, Sherwin, Me, Rey, Olive and Bel

lights, camera, emote!!!

At exactly 3:30 pm, I was already inside The Spa and getting myself ready for a well-deserved relaxation which I hadn't done in months! :) Sea Salt Body Scrub, Swedish Massage, Peppermint Foot Scrub and Aromafacial Massage... what more could I asked for? :) And while waiting in between services, I had several cups of Hot Ginger Tea and it was heaven!

Ended the session at 6:30pm but the day wasn't over yet. My former officemates, Buboy and Toti picked me up at Greenbelt and we headed toward The Driveway Bar which Buboy partly owns. It was dinner time with my Lawson buddies:

with Aloy, Frankie, Billy and Toti...

...Rachelle, Lia and Marnie

...Elogs, Giles and Buboy

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March 19

At home. I just stayed home and prepared my stuffs for our Bora trip tomorrow. Me and nanay had our finger and toenails cleaned by my suking manicurista and late in the afternoon, Greenwich Pizza was our merienda. Thanks to the delivery mistake that they committed 'coz we got 3 spaghetti for free hehehehe.. :) And it seems that I still had a lot of room in my tummy that I even ate dinner... rice + pinakbet bwehehehehehehe!!!!

From SG to Tagaytay

Just called my dear friends, Tabs, Niks, Jhie, Augs and Don. They are now having a good time in the very cold place of Tagaytay City. I sssoooo miss them. I was surprised that no single tear fell from eyes while talking to them and even after it. I've been laughing for the whole 15 minutes of kulitan, asaran, kantahan and exchange of Christmas greetings. And still smiling while typing this entry. Enjoy your stay there, sing and drink all you want!!!! Hehehehe...

Merry Christmas, friends!!! See you all soon! :)

Jhie's Post

I owe you a lot, mare :)

THANK YOU

Coffee Break @ CBTL

Candy, Nikki, Jhie and Ning

with Happy ( thanks sa treat!!! :D )

Beauties Ever!

Nikki's Bday Celeb @ Richmonde

Her birthday was last March 21. Three days after, we celebrated it in one of the finest hotels in the metro, Richmonde Hotel. Check them out!!! :)

Before dinner

Nikki, the Birthday Girl

Lovely Ladies

Gorgeous Men with the Birthday Girl

'Kada

Cheers

Inuman at Kantahan Na!!!!!