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. :)

Our new LOB. Yahoo!

If blogging was part of my job description, I would've been unemployed for months now. Hahaha. Never could find the time.

We just welcomed the birth of a new LOB here in the office. It's called CBG (stands for Corporate Business Group). Goodbye to home-users and novice chicks and respectful "elders" (lola calls anyone?) calling in. We are now with big businesses of 10 or more computers!

I still get the regular novice but more often than not, it's IT guys that we talk to now. What a relief and at the same time it's a challenge. Pano na lang ako mambobola nyan! Hehe :)

IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT BEACH

OFF TO PARADISE!

I’m finally uploading the rest of the pics from Anawangin in my multiply account so you can check it out there. Mejo na-trigger-happy ako sa camera. I’m definitely coming back. It was so cheap (“cost-effective” daw sabi sa office instead of “cheap”)- here’s the breakdown of what I spent:

Bus from Caloocan -- 250 each
Tryke to Pundaquit -- 20 each (rides 4)
Boat to Anawangin -- 900 (sits 4-5)

We left really late because I came from work. The bus left at around 12:30. We arrived in Zambales at 4PM. Passed by the palengke to buy everything we forgot (oil, more water, cheese, etc)

We arrived in Pundaquit in about 20 minutes (or maybe even less).

Everybody there is either a kamag-anak of a boatman or IS a boatman so you won’t even have a problem getting a ride even if you arrive as late as we did.

While waiting for the banka to get ready, we bought lapu-lapu straight from the balde still with the fish hooks.

DAY 1: RELAXING


We arrived in Anawangin a little before 5:30. As the boat hit the sand, all we could see was.. sand. And the selfish little bitch in me was thinking, “Yahoo! All ours!” We walked a bit and then I saw it, the landscape was downwards soo we couldn’t see from the boat- that there was a cluster of tents under the shades of the pines. It was not so bad. There was less than a hindred people in the beach front but we didn’t feel it. The beach was big enough to accommodate a small town.


We found our small perfect patch of sand that we thought our tents were worthy of. Ligaya, probably the caretaker (I was embarrassed to ask), set us up with a kawayan table. We all thought the sand was sort-of shiny, glasslike, mixture of fine black stuff and white crystals.


We ate our fresh “bagong-huli” na lapu lapu made into a dish that Allan calls “PANGAT”. It has Bawang, sibuyas, and tons of Kamatis and the fish. That’s it.


The night was warm. The tent was even warmer. We then decided to sleep outside. There were SO MANY stars! But the Off lotion started to wear off and the bugs started biting so we eventually moved to the tents.


DAY 2: FINDING PEACE


For breakfast, we made French toast. We set up mommy in the sand with her blanky and a good Erma Bombeck book. We were set up on the left side of the island (left side if you’re facing the waters) we decided to explore the right side, the one with the rockies, with our snorkeling stuff. We saw a little less than a hundred little fishies and it was the first time I saw a WHITE sea urchin. It wasn’t as big as the black ones that Allan stepped on in the Manila Channel. We rested in a cave-like (shallow crevice) in the rocks that reeked of bat-poo.


We had corned beef with potatoes for lunch ( a pauper’s lunch because we were saving the good stuff for a banquet dinner). After lunch, we explored the lake behind the beach. It was so peaceful. There was no silence please sign but it was as if you were compelled to shut up by nature. The water was lower after lunch so we just had to wade. (saying may dala pa naman salbabida si Allan pero hangang paa lang yung tubig. Hehehe..)


There was a solitary boat that was practically begging to be rode. We saw it was beside a gate. There was private property right beside the lake. And in the property was a traktor. Yayks. Ano naming ginagawa nun dun? E wala naming kuryente, much more a gas station to fill it up. (traktor run on gas, right?) Well, anyway, maybe it has something to do with future plans to make a resort in Anawangin. Who knows?


We found small “bukals” on the lake itself. And there was goo in some parts- like slimy stuff.


Our banguet dinner was sinampalukang manok. Yummy! J Again, slept on the sand and this time we were so exhausted we were comatose for the rest of the night.


DAY 3: LEAVING


I woke up to Allan cooking breakfast. And taking pictures of the mountains behind the beach.


We explored the left side of the beach this time and saw where the lake and the beach meet.

I still have no explanation how the lake and beach meeting up can separate the salt and fresh water in a few inches. There was no rock or plants dividing the water and using my goggles it looked like clear, gasoline-like mixing underwater.

Alam mo yung feeling when you take a jump (or fall) and you land flat (too flat) on both feet and a lightning bolt of pain goes up your knees and leaves you paralyzed for a few seconds?

That’s how painful it is to leave Anawangin..

All This Waste of Life

24 years in this earth and yet I feel so old. I don’t feel like I’m 24- being as tired and hopeless as I am now, I feel a little younger than a dinosaur. Some people say they don’t regret anything that happened to them, I, on the other hand, regret so many that looking back at my life makes my shoulders ache and my heart cringe.

At 7, I wanted to be an author of a really important book. I wanted to write something that everyone will read and enjoy like a really juicy secret. I wanted to expose all the secrets in the world so no one could lie and everything will be out in the open.

At 8, I wanted to be a maid. I did not want to go to school and just enjoyed staying at home. The only person I knew who could do that without being nagged was the maid. Thus, I wanted to have the ticket that she did to stay at home and not be obligated to go to places and learn things I didn’t need.

At 9, I wanted to be a scientist. My tita was a biologist, a self-proclaimed scientist and she went to so many exotic places and brought home live crabs from dagupan that she hung on her double deck bed with pride.

At 10, I lost interest to be anything productive in society. I was so focused on making my mother and step-dad break-up that I let a few years of my childhood pass me by without a fight.

Today, I look back and realize all the opportunities I wasted and everything I will be wasting in the future if I do not find my firm footing in this crazy race. At 24, I still do not know what to do with myself. I fear that I will enter my mid-life crisis still with an identity crisis. How pathetic.

I can just imagine how many in my generation feel the same way. I feel sorry for all that life wasted.

A shameful tourist in my own country

Went to Boracay last month. Stayed there for 4 days. I was a Boracay virgin. My first time. It was an eye-opener- the social situation, I mean. And I will get to that later.

Right after shift, I went to Shopwise to buy a new 2 piece. They had NO sizes. Imagine a 2-piece being a one-size-fits-all. I had to give away the bottom since there was no way that it would cover my ass. Kept the top though.

I was happy.

Cebu Pacific was OK. I got the window seat and they do not serve food but I have no complains because my full pack stayed with me in the cabin. I would hate to check-in my stuff. You feel more secure with everything just within arm’s reach.

We stayed in Orchids Resort. The overall experience was OK. They overlook small things like the request for 2 single beds but they make adjustments and everyone ends up happy. Their free breakfast is worth mentioning. Specially their fried potatoes with bacon. I miss it already. Their place was so homey. You could walk into the kitchen anytime and ask your eggs to be cooked in the exact way. The place was very Filipino- wooden planks for the floors, sawali for the walls, bamboo beds, tye-died sarong for curtains.

As you all know, I love food. So the things worth mentioning is related to this.

ARIA- We had dinner at Aria. Their all-cheese pizza was wonderful. It was cooked in wood.

JONY’S- You cannot leave the beach without trying Jony’s shakes. The Banana Choco Peanut was good. Nakaka-lula though. It was so big you can trip and your face would fit in the mouth of the glass.

TRUE FOOD- The indian restaurant True Food is worth mentioning. Their servings are big (when the waiter says good for 2, assume it is double that). Skip rice and order the bread instead to experience real Indian stuff. Try the curry and their chicken.

Ignore the burger joint in D Mall. They serve bad fries and unimpressive burgers.

We rented mountian bikes to have a tour of the island. The rate is 100/hour but you can haggle if you want to rent it the whole day.

We went to Diniwid (where the obscenely- priced Microtel is located) and enjoyed their side of the beach. I got to talk to an employee from Microtel. Their rates are so high that most of their guests are Chinese and Foreigners. Not a place for Filipinos. All their employees are Filipino though and they pay these loyal people 4,000 a month. The guy said their employer knows that they really need a job and takes advantage of the fact that it was 4000 a month or nothing. 4000 for Microtel would be 1 person’s 1 night’s stay. Like what he said “Kapit sa patalim”. It could just make you cry for your race.

Unlike the other beaches in the Philippines where there’s fishing in the early morning, there’s none of that in Boracay. Locals say the government made them stop fishing “for the beautification” of Boracay. I say that’s crap. Seeing the community gather in the morning is prettier than seeing drunk lying in the sand around their barf or bars cleaning up the mess from the night before.

Overall, the islands was beautiful and full of fun. The sunset shows so many colors you can sit in the sand for hours just watching the sky change color.

We’re going back to Boracay on May. With a different set of friends this time.

I am glad that I am no longer a Boracay Virgin. It sucks to be a tourist in my own country.

I'm a dead fish now

Kids half my age are blogging, I thought I'd try it. I am now swimming with the flow, which NU said that only dead fish do, I guess I'm a dead fish now. I might never get around to writing a book so I might as well create a blog. At least I have something that will last forever as long as there is electricity in this world.

I need to do something of consequence with my life. I hope this is the beginning of something significant.