The view from this point is OK

I met JP in my P.E. class last 2001. He was my first crush in U.P.
I used a binder and a backpack until I graduated from college kahit hindi na uso.
My belt and shoes were always color-coded.
I joined rallies because my friends were there.
I ran around the acad oval in the afternoon and then walked to Central to go home.

I reminisced about all these while I ate my misua soup in Beach House. Years ago, my biggest problems ranged from getting the sched that allows me to be with my boyfriend the MOST, passing my AP class kay Sir Lencio Co, writing that research paper for Comm3 to attending a play by Dulaang UP.

It was really just all business, my trip to UP today. I went there to take care of Tita's PH.D. residency and to get my diploma.

College was not my funnest years. It was high school that was most special. I didn't have a lot of friends in UP- a small fistfull of girlfriends and that's it.

I thought it was sad that there were no tambayans scattered around anymore. The kubo of UGAT was no longer in that spot behind FC, Student Varsity's tambayan beside the main lib was already a museum, Red Cross youth's tambayan beside manang's store was gone.

The people who used to wave at me on my way to the new CAL building have passed on to the corporate world. The guards are all new faces (and asks for ID's now!)
Kuya Pabs have moved from AS101 to the Records Area near Katag.

There are things that did not change at all- twigs and miniature flowers still fell on my misua, their barbeque tasted the same. The manong in that store where bikers flocked was still the same manong when I entered UP 9 years ago. Oh, it was so nice to see a familiar face! (I'm sure (he had no idea why a lady smiled at him today for no reason..)

I miss the simplicity of college and the youthful carelessness it carries.

BUT I am happy about a few things- my car is now aircon (thank God! Begone rundown Ford Laser!), my wallet is not limited to my 300/day baon, I could tambay unlimited because I have no classes.. and the person holding my hand this time around is my charming, smart, loving boyfriend (who, years ago when we were in college, was with someone else and so was I).


Looking at the view from where I'm at now, I can see things didn't turn out so bad after all. In fact, it's pretty pleasant. :)

Team Faustino

Dear New Team,

Thank you, new teammates for making our meeting, albeit very brief and short, not awkward and quite interesting.
I'm sure each one of you have already experience being new in an old, established team. The anxiety of being the stranger, the friendless girl, the new face is a unique first-day-of-kindergarten kind of stress.

Thank you, new boss, for not making each of us stand up to say something about ourselves, what company we've been passed around from and to think of something interesting (or worse, to think of an adjective that starts with the first letter of our name!)

You guys made this transition as painless as possible.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the night-shift! Bwuahahaha! (evil laugh)

I sense this will be a fun Quarter 4 (FY2011)...

new stuff

New team. New boss. New sched. New boyfriend. New place.

ADDITION

ok.. So they can count.. :)

Lahing Kayumanggi

Lahing Kayumanggi

(Willy Buena- Crossroads 77 BOL Ministries)

Nakikita mo ba

Ang nakikita ng iba

Mga naririnig nila

Naririnig mo ba

Lahi mo ba'y alam mo na

O hinahanap mo pa?

Lahing kayumanggi lumalaban ka ba?

Nangangarap ka ba na tulad ng iba?

Bayan kong natutulog, gumising ka na

Tayo ang magbubuo ng panibagong historya.

Chorus:

Sa bawat pangarap may kalakip na hirap

Sa bawat lakbayin

May maliliit na hakbangin

Itong aming mithiin

Sa 'Yo O Diyos dinadalangin

Ibangon Mo ang aming bansa

Ang lahing kayumanggi.

Ikaw lamang O Diyos ang tanging may alam

Ng aming pinagmulan at patutunguhan

Ibuhos Mo sa amin

Ang apoy ng 'Yong pagmamahal

Upang kami'y makatayo

Bilang Iyong bayan.

Chorus:

Sa bawat pangarap may kalakip na hirap

Sa bawat lakbayin

May maliliit na hakbangin

Itong aming mithiin

Sa 'Yo O Diyos dinadalangin

Ibangon Mo ang aming bansa

Ang lahing kayumanggi.

So we saved up our leave credits for our trip to Bohol. It was for 6 nights, 7 days so we knew we had to be very careful with how we spent money because it wasn't just a short trip.. it was a week long!
It was a welcome surprise that Cebu Pacific wasn't delayed on our flight going there. They left on the exact time they said they would..

One of Allan's buddies, Paul, offered his house for lodging while in the city. Is aunt Dulce was there and took very good care of us. On our 2nd night, they cooked shrimp and on our 3rd night, crabs! WOW!
First day was spend looking for a motorcycle to rent. We got one in Palma St. Tagbilaran and rented it for 3 days... a red XRM125.
Then we went grocery shopping so we don't end up eating out for every meal.
Paul recommended to try the halo-halo in The Buzz in Island City Mall. Said it was all-organic. It was great!. Worth 110 and it was good to share for 2.

They also sold Malunggay spread, Corn coffee, Honeyed Tableya and Honeyed Salabat.

2nd day, we toured the countryside!

Blood Compact between Sikatuna and Legaspi.
The place where the shrine as was not really where it happened. The original location was a few meters ahead that had a smaller structure, not as grand the the other one... but near the shore nonetheless.

We then passed by the oldest church in the Philippines, Baclayon Church. It was Sunday so there was a mass going on.

We stayed in Bohol for 6 nights and 7 days, exactly a week and it was the one of the BEST vacation I've ever been to!

For more pics.. visit our multiply account: allanpadilla.multiply.com

Looking for our perfect patch of land

If blogging was part of my job, I would've been fired by now. 2009 is half done and this is my first entry. Need not say, I've been kept busy. *wink*

We have been spending soo much time recently trying to look for our perfect patch of land to build our uber-magnificent-fabulous-dream house.

Prices was sky-high in the prime areas we felt like we were bing ripped off.

We wanted to find our perfect lot that was near (we don't consider 188KM from the nearest mall "NEAR"), reasonably priced (we didn't want to spend a lifetime paying for it) and we were almost starting to believe that this does not exist..

Driving around, Allan said he used to think of buying a small lot and just build UPwards.

Which was kinda like this in my mind...

So Marion said we would then have to pay for air-space. Hehe.

Kidding aside. I feel so kawawa that I live in this day and age. Imaging people trying to sell us 30sq meters for a million moolahs (Sofuiua Bellevue). I said they must be crazy. But people actually buy this.

We went around Antipolo yesterday and saw (all in Antipolo)--

1. Metroview -pretty near, nice neighborhood, EXPENSIVE (6200/sq.m.)

2. Paula Subdivision- really near, unremarkable subdivision, no ammenities whatsoever, a bit high for such a crummy village (4500/sq.m) .. but really near. Oh. And it's really near. And, have I mentioned? It's really near :)

3. Town and Country Heights- very cheap (4100/sq.m) and nakaka-highblood FAAAAR. as in naka-3 whole repeats na yung cd and we weren't even there yet. Yes, like, 18,763,735-bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall FAR. But it was really cheap. Hehehe.

I go for Town and Country Heights. I have started dreaming about living there na nga e.

What made it even cheaper was that the cuts was 75, 120, 190, etc so we could choose what fit our budget and it had a nice clubhouse, a las-salle school inside the village, a cemetery outside the village (no neighbors forever! Yay!). And mountains all around (nature trekking, anyone?)

Imagine it was sooo far from civilization that I could put up a business and.. NO COMPETITION! From the top of my head, I could think of bilyaran, convenience store (with a roofdeck na inuman), network gaming place, day care.

Target market? They wayward students of the la-salle school there. LOL! :D

Allan pretty much was turned off- super-layo (because he would be stuck driving everyday, I assumed). He voted for Paula subdivision. Paula Subdivision was just beside Masinag Market. 500 meters away from Jollibee, banks, market (NONE of which we go to..) So I do NOT understand why we have to choose it when we do not particularly LIKE Jollibee, we do not BANK in that particular bank, and we have not gone to market (na market talaga) for a whole year. Sta.Lucia was a few kms away.. but we don't even shop there and he despises the malling culture so what does it matter if SM Marikina was a "tambling" away?!

Well, men will always come up with their reasons NOT to agree with us. So I let him be. It was HIS lot to LOAN anyway. (sa future ko na aankinin when there's a house built on it na)

Looking at model units was sooo much fun. Sa model units, I could imaging what curtains to put, what rugs to buy, what couch to get, where MY room would be and what went where and so on..

Looking at lots, on the other hand was nothing but boring (and itchy and hot and itchy and "insect-y"). Nothing but grass. Staring at grass and talking about where the sun rose and sank. Gee, I never even see the sun rise because I'm either indoors or still sleeping..

We go home everyday thinking about 20%dp, 10% discount, equity, 10 years to pay, monthly ammortization and so on and it's sooo tiring.

And we reach Bagong Buwan and realize Bagong Buwan is HOME. It's perfect (for us). Can't we just live here forever?

With all our "stuff" (a.k.a trash) in it already and the smell of moldy books and the spacious garage and the kitchen where I learned where to cook and the table we ate so many meals in..

Sobrang ibang-iiba talaga ang house sa home. With much thinking and (pride-swallowing) I then decided to agree with Allan about Paula Subdivision. It was a NOTHING subdivision to me. But it was where we would build our dream HOME. :)