Holidays in Ilocos Part 2

Christmas family dinner.

We had it in the "ancestral house". Everyone was there except my dad. He chose to go out with my stepmom and my siblings. 

My grandparents weren't happy about that. I understand why ayaw sumama nila Papa. Dumating kasi yung mga kamaganak namin na medyo...uhhmm... outsiders.

I wont be posting pictures of the dinner kasi may mga picture yung mga kamag anak ko na yun dun. They are not worthy. I don't mean to sound mean dear readers, and I know that it's Christmas, forgiveness and all that shit, but I don't want to be associated with them. They're the reason why my fathers family have been fighting for the past 10 years.

It's bad enough I share the same last name with them. I am ashamed to call them my relatives. I don't even want to acknowledge it.

Alright, now that that's out of the way, me, my cousins, together with my Tita Pot and Tito Anthony went around the plaza of Laoag.

Taray nung tree na may lights. Veklang vekla lang haha.

After going around the plaza, we went back to the house kasi wala na dun yung mga outsider.

We broke open the bubbly. Kwentuhan magdamag.

I must say, this has been the best Christmas vacation so far.

I left Laoag on the evening of the 26th kasi may pasok ako ng 27.

It took my about 30 minutes to pack everything into my luggage. Nagshopping kasi ako ng bonggang bongga dun. Everything was on sale. The money I spend on 2 night outs here is what I spent shopping there. Pero pag bibili kasi ako, pakonti konti.

Nung nag iimpake na ako, dun ko nakita kung gaano kadami pala yung nabili ko hihihi.

Hinatid ako nila Papa sa bus terminal.

Nung paalis na yun bus, nakatingin ako sa kanila. Kumakaway sila sa akin.

Hinintay kong umalis yung bus.

Nung makalayo na, at alam kong hindi na nila ako nakikita, I broke down in tears.

My fathers family may have their issues and all that shit, but I do miss my relatives there, the one's I like. Kasi when I'm there, they go out of their way to make me feel welcome. To make me feel at home.

I looked out the window and saw the stars.

I wiped my tears and told myself, I don't need to be sad. I had a great time while I was there. I should think of the fun times I had there, para hindi ako makaramdam ng kalungkutan.

Holidays in Ilocos Part 1

Ako ay dumating din ng matiwasay sa Laoag City, Ilocos Norte after a 10 hour bus ride. I was planning to go there by plane pero ang mahal ng ticket in fairness. Wala akong naabutang promo sa Cebu Pacific in time kaya tiniis kong umupo ng sampung oras sa bus.

Umalis ako ng Manila, 21 ng gabi. Jusme! Ilang bus stations na ang napuntahan ko pero wala, puno lahat. Queuing kung queuing ang drama. Buti nalang kasama ko tito at pinsan ko nun dahil kung hindi, goodluck nalang sa metro ng taxi.

Medyo susuko na ako pero naisipan kong pumunta ng Farinas. Nagbakasakali ako na may masasakyan dun. Akalain niyo yun dear readers, naabutan ko ang last trip. Love talaga ako ni Papa God.

So pagdating ko dun, I rounded up my relatives. The ones I like. Gora sa Bistro 51, the same place where we went last time I was there.

We talked about a lot of things. Inupdate namin ang isa't-isa. Syempre they grilled me about Parker. Sabi ko nalang "irreconcilable differences". Taray ng answer diba?

The next day, pumunta ako sa salon nung isang anak-anakan ni Papa. Pinakulayan ko ng red ang hur ko. New year, so new hair color. Meh ganon?!

It kinda looks ok. Pati mga friends ko dito sabi naman nila ok lang daw. Ngayon, nawawala na yung pagka-red niya. Nagiging brownish na. Keri lang.

Syempre pagdating ko dun, ang bumungad sa akin eh mga issue ng family nila papa a.k.a. familia-dysfunctional. Medyo nagdradrama nanaman si Papa. Ang sabi ko nalang sa kanya, mag away-away sila, kiber. Basta, wag nila akong idadamay. I went to Laoag to go on vacation, I want to have fun.

I don't need drama. My life is over-dramatic enough as it is, thank you very much.

May point naman ako diba dear readers?

(Itutuloy)

Pre-Christmas Lunch with Friends

Because of our busy schedules, hindi na kami masyadong nakakalabas ng ibang mga friends ko. 

Kaya before I left for Laoag, I made it a point na lumabas kami. Hence, our pre-christmas lunch. Gusto ko sana dinner pero hindi makakasama yung iba. Ang arti lang.

So ayun, since malaking grupo kami we went to Yang Chow which was just beside our office.

Buti nalang halos lahat kami eh walang specific lunch break, flexible ba. Taray lang ano?

Maria, Rowie, Bongga, and SexyAnne deciding on what to order.

Derek and Jelai making weird faces. Ellaine and Jeck staring at something.

Waiting for the food na 10 years dumating.

LAFANG!!!

Si Mariah na one hour bago dumating. Grand entrance ang puta.

Before the meal.

During the meal.

The aftermath!

So it was a good meal. It's great I got to spend time with friends.

Ayun lang, ang bagal ng service nila sa Yang Chow. As in sobrang bagal. Yung tipong nag-christmas, new year, three kings, at end of the world na, wala pa yung food.

Buti nalang, in fairness, masarap yung food.

I have more pictures actually but I can't upload them.

There is one I want to upload, I am tempted to but I am really restraining myself from kasi pag inupload ko yun kahit saan, sabi ni Bongga it will be the end of our friendship daw hahaha.

Good food with good friends. Doesn't get any better than that.

New Year, New Design

Hello Dear Readers,

Just like what I do every year, I've changed the design of my blog.

For 2011, it was more of colors. Something full of joie de vivre. This time I wanted to go for a cleaner, simpler look. Minimalist ang peg!

The previous banner was made by Parker.

This year, my banner was made by my very talented officemate, who also happens to be the author of Love To Sweat, Joey.

Joey was kind enough to spend a few hours making my new banner. Thank you Joey.

The concept for the banner was made by my good friend, Bongga. Sabi niya maganda daw ang Garden of Eden na theme. When she said that, ang naisip ko agad, for some reason, ay Desperate Housewives.

The apple was suggested by my other officemate, Giron. Gusto ba naman ng hudas eh hawakan ko ang apple tapos nakahubad ako at may nakapulupot na ahas sa akin. Para bagay daw talaga sa Garden of Eden. Leche.

My new tagline is, sinfully delicious. I just thought it'll suit the whole apple thing.

Since I wanted my blog to look clean, I had to remove a lot of things which includes my blogroll, trackers, etc.

I changed my Twitter feeds thing because I couldn't format the old one properly. I also changed my blog archive.

Oh and if you'll notice, now there's a retweet button at the bottom of each post. Dati, Facebook "like" lang ang meron. Umiral nanaman ang kaartehan ko eh.

Putting those buttons actually took me a while because when I changed my template, nawala yung "Like" button. I tried putting it back in but then nawala lahat nung mga likes. Took me a while to put it back in but in the end, I was successful.

At dahil, minimalist ang drama ko this year, I kept the entire background in white. I think it works naman.

I've asked a few friends to check my blog while I was working on it. Nagustuhan naman nila and I hope you, my dear readers, would like it to.

So, what do you think of the new design?

Havey o waley?

Sa Araw ng Pasko

Hello dear readers!

So... I'm finally in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. Since I don't have my laptop with me, I can only access the internet through my Blackberry. May computer naman si fader pero I have this thing where I don't like using other peoples' computers. That and syempre hindi ko pwede gawin ang mga kahalayan ko sa pc ni papa.

Well, my loyal readers know for a fact that I've had some really bad holidays in the past. Well at least this year,  may kasama na ako na magpapasko. Of course, nandyan ang walang katapusang family drama dito. I swear, my father's family has soooo many issues, we make the Lohans seem normal. Ang mga kadramahan sa Nasaan Ka Elisa is what we would call Sunday Brunch. Kaloka lang ano?

But what is Christmas without some tears? It wouldn't be Christmas at all.

But, I am having a great time. It was a good decision on my part to come here. They've all been asking me about Parker pero hindi ko alam kung ano ang isasagot ko. Sabi ko nalang, "irreconcilable differences". Taray no? Me na! Me na talaga!

Since this is the only time I was able to go online, as in really online, I would want to greet you all a few hours in advance, a Merry Merry Super Mega Hyper Over Christmas.

Another year has passed. Another year full of laughs, love and tears has passed. Ohhhh that also means, magpapalit nanaman ako ng banner design ng blog ko. Abangan kung ano ito.

So to all my friends, thank you for the support you've given me through the years. And also, for putting up with all my crazy.

To my sometimes-but-not-always-crazy mother, thank you for everything ma. I love you so much.

To my somewhat-but-not-always-overly-dramatic father, Im glad I spent the holidays with you guys.

To my family on my mothers side, I love you all.

To my family on my fathers side, tumigil na kayo sa kakaaway. My god, the dramatics. Kakapagod ah.

To Parker, I know the break-up was kinda ugly but we did share a lot of fond memories. Even though we're not together anymore, you'll always have a special place in my heart. Anssaaaveee???

And of course, to my dear readers, thank you for being the reason why I've kept this blog for the past 3000 years. This year has been such a roller coaster ride for me. Mula sa mga kadramahan ko, hanggang sa mga pinagbibili ko, hanggang sa paghihiwalay namin ni Parker.

Some of you have been asking me to tell the story of why we broke up but I've chosen not to. There will always be 2 sides to a story and ayoko na akin lang ang malaman ninyo. Besides, things like that are better kept private.

Parker and I have started talking and right now, we're friends. Oo friends lang kami. I swear on my iPhone and Blackberry.

So ayun, may all of you have a wonderful Christmas with your families.

Thank you dear readers at mahal ko kayo.

Meh ganun?! :)

All the love from Laoag City, Ilocos Norte,

Adam.

Phone Call

Ring... ring... ring...

"Hello?", she answered.

"Ay sa wakas you finally answered the damn phone!", I said.

"BES!!!", she screamed.

I haven't talked to my bestfriend Jackie in a long time. With her schedule and my schedule, we haven't really got the chance to talk.

I did chat with her on Facebook, briefly, a few days ago and that's when I told her that I broke up with Parker.

It's been almost three weeks, but it's only now that I got the chance to talk to her.

"Pasensya ka na bes. Hindi man lang kita nadamayan noon.", she apologetically said.

"It's fine. I'm okay naman and my friends here have been such good listeners. Makes dealing with things much easier."

"So honestly, how are you?", she asked.

"For the better part of it, I'm ok. Of course there are days when I get upset. Days when I look for his voice. But I find ways to deal with it. Work is such a great outlet for me. Oh, and shopping.", I answered with a laugh at the end.

"Good. Very good. So have you and Parker talked ever since the break-up?"

"Yes. He text's me every now and then. He said he checks my Facebook and Twitter to see how I am. But we don't talk on the phone or online."

"Ok narin siguro yun. Makes the grieving process easier.", she said.

"Yeah. I guess."


"Bes I have a question."


"Ano yun?", I asked.

"What if Parker actually makes an effort para makipagbalikan sayo? Yung tipong gagawin niya lahat. Mag-all out effort para suyuin ka. Pumunta dyan, haranahin ka. Mga dramang ganyan. Makikipagbalikan ka sa kanya?"

I though for a second. I wanted to watch my words. But then again, this is my bestfriend. There's nothing I can hide from this crazy bitch.

"Of course I would", I answered. "But you see here's the thing, kilala ko siya so I know that that will never happen. He's not like that. Hindi niya gagawin yun. If he wanted to get back together, sana ginawa na niya. Kung gusto niya akong suyuin, sana hindi tumitigil ang pag ring ng phone ko sa tawag or txt niya. Sana pumunta siya dito the day I broke up with him. If he couldn't come here, there have been several weekends na pwede niyang gamitin para pumunta dito so we can work things out. Pero wala. When we were still together, he once told me na pag dumating ang araw na maghiwalay kami, he would do everything to win me back dahil ayaw niyang mawala ako. The part of me that thinks did not believe him and for good reason para hindi na ako umasa."

"Pero in a way umaasa ka parin diba?", she asked. But tactless as she is, she was right.

"Oo naman. There's still a part of me na umaasa. It's only been weeks. But I have to be realistic. He's not the type na susuyuin ako. And what pisses me off so much is that until now, sinasabi niyang hindi niya maintindihan kung saan nanggagaling ang galit ko. He doesn't understand how I could have been pushed so far that I had to break up with him so as good of an idea it is na pupunta siya dito, yayakapin ako at tatanungin na maging kami ulit, I know it will never happen", I answered.

Harsh I know. But that's the truth.

"You know I really wish I could give you good advice. Normally kasi ikaw ang nag aadvice sa akin ng gagawin eh."


"Yeah I know. There's a reason I'm the smart one and you're the pretty one."

She laughed so hard, napatawa din ako.

"Sige eto nalang, keep yourself busy. The distractions help. Yan yung lagi mong sinasabi sa akin eh pag nagbrebreak kami ng ex ko noon."

I laughed again.

"But I'm glad you're okay", she said.

"Yeah. I was actually thinking na magiiyak ako habang nakasandal sa pader. So far hindi ko pa naman ginagawa yun", I said.

"Alam mo okay lang na umiyak ka, Para mailabas mo din. Eventually, you'll wake up one morning and feel 100% okay."

"I know bes. It's not my first break-up", I responded.

"Good."


"You know, it's great hearing your voice. It's one of those times when I really miss you."


"I miss you too bes."

We talked about a few more things such as work and the things that keep us busy.

I may not get to see her as often as I'd wan't to, but it makes me happy to know that during the times when I need her, faith intervenes and finds a way para makapag-usap kami.

"Lagi kang nandyan para makinig pag nagbrebreak kami ng ex ko noon. You always gave me good advice. Hindi man kita mabigyan ng matinong advice ngayon but I'm here to listen to you coz it's your turn to talk and mine to listen", she said.

Napangiti nalang ako.

Capdase for my Blackberry

I was walking around SM looking for a case for my new Blackberry. It's an OC thing.

There is nothing I hate more than having gadgets with scratches on the back and side. So while at SM North, I went to Games and Gadgets, some Greenhills-looking shop, Halo, Belkin and other places. None of them sold  a case for my phone. Bago daw kasi at kung ano anong dahilan ang binibigay sa akin.

I was about to lose all hope when I saw this bazaar looking thing at the 4th floor of SM North Annex. I saw the booth for Capdase so I checked their items. Akala ko wala.

Biglang dumating ang saleslady na sobrang energetic akala mo uminom ng limang tasa ng kape. Kakatuwa siya in fairness.

I nicely asked kung may case na pang Blackberry 9360. Meron daw. May kasama naring screen protector.

I was delighted kasi naghahanap din ako ng screen protector. Another OC thing. I dont like scratches on the  screen of my gadgets.

I asked how much, she said 1200php. Keri na. I was actually expecting it to cost more.

She showed me different colors and I really wanted the white one but I realized na in less than 3 hours madudumihan ko din yun. I can't carry white. Ever. I don't know how to.

Eventually, I picked metallic blue.

Cute naman diba? The back part is made of metal and the sides are made of silicone.

I like it because it doesn't add that much bulk to my phone. With the case, it's as thick as the iPhone 4.

I like collecting cases for my phones and I'm not really specific about brands as long as it looks nice.

So now, my phone has a case and the screen has a protection film.

Ayan, happy na talaga ako sa phone ko. =)

Blackberry 9360

This year, I didn't know what to buy for myself for Christmas until I saw this phone and realized how much my current blackberry sucks.

I had another Blackberry in mind but it's really expensive and I knew that 6 months tops, I'd get bored with it. So I decided to buy this model because its really nice.

This is the very first major purchase I've done. My gadgets normally come from my mom but this time I wanted to buy something for myself para makita ko naman kung saan pumupunta pera ko.

Lo and behold, the Blackberry 9360. This is by far the thinnest phone I've ever had. It's so shiny. =)

It comes with the typical accessories. Charger, USB Cable, Headset. You get the idea. It doesn't come with a disc for the Blackberry Desktop Manager so you need to download it from their website.

I love the camera on this phone. It's 5 megapixels of pure deliciousness. I was debating between this and the Blackberry Torch (9800) but in the end, I really considered the camera.

The camera on the Blackberry 9360 is far better than the Torch's. Plus, the thin-factor.

I now have 4 Blackberries, all of which are still fully functional. My friends say that I'm crazy because I have so many phones. They call it crazy, I call it having a back up just in case.

8830, 8320, 8520, 9360

I'll write a review of the phone after a week. Right now, I'm still pushing it to its limits.

I bought this phone from Electroworld at Trinoma. In fairness, the staff there are really friendly and helpful. Inaasikaso talaga nila mga clients nila. Thumbs up.

Again, I have a new toy. A shiny new toy. I'm a happy camper. Merry Christmas to me!!!