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More from BlissfulVeronica soon!

3 Jun

Here is a collage that my sister made of the dresses from BV Online Store that she liked and wanted to have if it was possible. :)

I actually have new stocks however I am having problems “documenting” them. I am the worst blogger and online seller in the world because I don’t have a working micro-memory card nor a working point-and-shoot camera. :’(

Anyhow, I will find a way in order to post pictures of the merchandise to my FB and Multiply sites tomorrow (the soonest). :)

Baby bi-TAMINA Shower

3 Jun

I was not expecting the text that I received  from Rachelle early last month. I was invited to Luanne’s baby shower! It was a needed get together since I have not seen Lulu, Mommy Macky, and Rache since the closure of Emerson.

I didn’t have a gift for the baby but I had the time to pick up one before I went to the venue. Thank you to nearby stores in our area. :)

Renting a hotel room for the event was a smart idea. It was very convenient for the hosts and accessible to everybody. It was also comfortable mostly because of the centralized air conditioning. It was something to thank for especially with the super humid Manila weather. :)

Here is a set-up in one of the corners of the receiving area. Gifts from and cupcakes for everybody! :)

Here is Tita Rache and Baby Kynkyn. The little boy is no longer a baby. He is growing so fast! I wouldn’t be surprised if the next time we see each other, he is already courting somebody.

This was the star of the night for me, the frozen brazos de mercedes. So yummers!! I would love to have 2 slices right this very minute!

There were a couple of games for everyone who were there that night. The photo below was taken during one of the games. Chocolates were melted and were placed on baby diapers. The guests were made to taste them and after were asked to identify them.

(L-R) Tita GV, Tita Julie, Mommy Macky, Baby Arkyn

In  between the games, gifts were opened. Here is a photo of me and Mommy Lulu. I loved my gift and so did she. If I could wear that onesie (in other words, if it could fit me), I could have bought one set for my self as well. Cute cute!!

Though I did not know most of the people who came, the night was awesome for me. I always love being with friends just to simply hang and do some catching up, and I also enjoy making new acquaintances. :)

Below is a picture of everybody who were in the baby shower. Again, thanks Luanne for inviting me!! See you soon baby bi-Tamina!!

Ikay Cutie Pie!!

3 Jun

This picture is too cute that I could not help but post it. It was taken during the reception of Zara Kastielle’s (Ikay to me) baptism. :)

We were all smiling for the camera while she was belting it out. XD She was most probably tired. Love you  Bebe Ikay! Happy 8th month!!!! <3<3<3

(L-R) Tita Jane, Tita GV, Tita Mayet, Mommy Joy, Tita Daisy

More on the Nagsasa, Zambales Trip!

29 May

I know the pictures I have here will not cover everything that happened in that trip but these were all I got from the available pictures weeks ago. Not really all the pictures but only the ones that I liked from the bunch. :D I haven’t checked if there are new ones from friends, I just decided that these will suffice. :D

This first photo is familiar. Though I edited it differently this time, the raw picture I used is the same as the one I used for the first post regarding this trip.

Lirabels!! She is one of Diane’s friends from work. They (my sister and her friends) sort of “adopted” her when her best friend left work for medical reasons. My sister have been talking incessantly about her that when we finally did meet and had the chance to talk, I told her I already know a lot of things about her. :D It must have been creepy for her but I do know a lot of things about her. :D

From this trip, I discovered that Lira is an old soul in a young woman’s body. Then one realization hit me, that must be one of the reasons why I instantly liked her. :D

Lira Fact Number One: She listens to old songs, particularly new wave songs from the 60′s onwards. :D

(L-R) Lira, Me, and Diane

This second picture is “Ate” Tin and her friends. Don’t get me wrong, I’m older than her. But my sister calls her that all the time and I just I sort of associated that name phrase with her. From the stories that my sister tells me, she is one great Team Manager and if I were working for their company, I would want to be one of her agents. :D

All three of her friends were great people. How do you know that a person is good? You just do. I just do. You can feel it actually. There is just that aura that they exude that identifies them as true and kind. Of the three however, I had a lot of good conversation time with Nang Donna. We covered a lot of topics in that after-dinner-up-to-before-bedtime talk that we had. A lot. Nowadays, its not easy for me to open up to people, but to the three of them (and mostly to Nang Donna), I did. It was not a one way street, I also learned a lot from her (them) about family and mostly about relationships. :D

(L-R) Shasha, Nang Donna, Lelot, Ate Tin

This picture was taken while they were preparing one of our food for that day, pork intestines.

I was totally devoid of good sleep. Let me do a little recap why this is so. We left for Zambales, Saturday, 6AM. The day before that, my training shedule was 2PM to 10PM. I have not done any preparations yet because I was thinking, I will have a lot of time after work. By 1AM, I was done with my preparations and my sister said that I should be in Paseo Center before 4AM. I decided not to sleep so that I can be on location before the rendezvous time. One mishap though, Lira did something that made us wait for her for an extra hour. So when we got to the bus terminal, we were not able to catch the direct trip bus because it left at exactly 5AM, while we were still in the queue to get tickets. The next direct bus was at 10AM so we opted to go the long haul, buy tickets for Olongapo and then from there ride another bus to Lene’s hometown.

It seems that everybody thought I had the best sleep while we were travelling. The truth was, it was the worst bus ride I have ever had. Most likely because we were seated at the end of the bus. If I did get some zzzz’s, the longest interval was 30-45minutes. But it was actually better than getting no rest at all.

(L-R, Bottom Row) Izza, Diane, Lira, Rochelle
(Top Row) Me, Nang Dona, Lelot

Below is a picture of our hostesses for these trip, the Llorico sisters!

Hostesses!!
(L-R) Rozanne, Lene, Rochelle

This is one part of the trip that I missed because I was in my talking session with Nang Donna, the bonfire part. Below is my sister enjoying the loungy set-up. There was actually 13 of us and the cottage that we rented cannot accommodate us all. So it was decided that everybody will sleep around the bonfire. I could’ve slept inside the cottage but there was a lot of mosquitoes in there that I finally went to sleep beside my sister. :D

Here is another picture of them with the bonfire as the background. I was not part of the food committee so when we were actually talking about bonfire early that day, I remembered marshmallows. The bonfire could have been more fun if we had marshmallows. I would not have missed that part of the trip either if there were marshmallows. I loooooooove melted marshmallows!!!!!

(L-R) Izza, Lene, Diane

The next day I woke up a little bit early, before 7AM. It was so amazing opening my eyes to a clear blue sky, with the sound of nature surrounding me, and breathing in clean and fresh air. I wanted to sleep more but I thought, I did not go to this island to sleep. I was there to enjoy everything that it offers!

So here I was, with the gang while they peel green mangoes and prepare ingredients for the Bihon Guisado. :D I have a weak stomach so I opted not to eat any of the mangoes. Instead, I had some rice and adobo and then some chilled coffee. :D

I planned to go for a swim right after I woke up but nobody was up for it. I was trying to coax Lira to accompany me but she wanted to sleep more. Good thing that after hours of trying to find a companion, my sister decided that she wanted to go. And so we went together. We were the first ones from our group to go for a swim. We had a little bit of time to talk which actually was mostly spent on gossip. :D

Here is a random picture which I really really like to the extent that I wish I had something similar. :D Lene in one of her many “emotera” poses!

Now we have come to the highlight of the trip. :D If there was a Miss Popular or a Miss Most Wanted award, it could have been a hands down Lira award. If there ever was a chance for a photo session, people kept on asking to be photographed with Lira. When I say people, I meant me, Diane, Lene and Izza. I actually created two collages with those pictures. The first one is composed of pictures that were taken on our first day in the island and the second one is from pictures taken on the next day.

Overall, this was one good trip. Something that I really really needed. I want to thank my sister for pushing me to go with them (to the last minute I was having second thoughts), her friends for being so accommodating, Ate Tin’s friends for being so open and so kind, Lene’s sisters and their bf’s for being so helpful, Lene for organizing the trip, Lola (Lene’s grandmother) for cooking the adobo and the other viand for us, and most importantly thank you to Tito and Tita (Lene’s parents) for opening your home to us and for making this trip a lot less work for everybody. Thank you! Thank you!!!! Much Love! <3<3<3<3

It has been a while……..

28 May

I went to check this blog early this morning, logged in and tried to see if I have comments or personal messages. Then all of a sudden I decided to check if I still have readers. I was trying not to do it because I don’t want to see a dwindling statistic but surprise of surprises, I still have readers.

I decided to create a post for my LiveJournal account to explain why it has been a while since the last post. Below is the entry. Within the day, I will also try to write as much as I can since I am on a holiday from work. :D Yey, long weekend! :D

********************************************************************************

I have been on a hiatus for a while. The main reason is that I have a new job and I am still in the process of getting used to the new office hours and the new nature of the job. 

Let me share something. 

Since the closure of Intel Technology Philippines, I have been trying to enter the BPO Industry but it is just now that I find something that provided me with a pay that is sufficient enough for me to get by. Initially I wanted to join the IT industry but to be honest I am not much of a technical person so that must be the reason why it isn’t working out as I want it to. I have the option to join the semiconductor industry again but I have limited my options to Mandaluyong, Ortigas and Makati areas only. :D

After a lot of waiting from my first two choices, I went ahead to accept this job. I have so many concerns with it before I even started the job. I have a lot of assumptions on what it will be. So you see, before I can be consumed by any other thing, being or situation, I  will be eaten up alive by myself. I am my worst enemy.

One of the best things about this job is that I went through six weeks of product training before the total immersion to the production floor. That helped me to ready myself to a lot of things. 

Now, I am in my third week out in the battle field. I have a couple of distractions but I hope I don’t let it show that its affecting me. I have my sister who this time is my sounding board. She is shocked at times with the things that I tell her. Shocked in the sense that she is amazed that I still dont know of some things. The thing I always tell her is that I have been in a totally different industry before. And the people there, if ever they do “abnormal” things, they are so subtle and they do it with so much finesse that others will not know about it until such time that they will take a “wrong” step that will render them discovered. And yeah, the culture difference. 

I dont deny the fact that I do not like where I am now but I will not let this go without a fight. I will try all my hardest to make it work. From the last experiences that I have had, I have learned to study the work, see my options for the future, and see if that is okay for me to work with. So little by little I do that in this new line of work alongside knowing how to get things done, polish my personal process and try doing it efficiently. I am in the stage of my life where I want progress. I was close to that before but because of some unforeseen circumstances, I was placed at the starting point again. I really don’t mind because I believe my big break will come one day, if not soon. :D

The Voice Season 2 Finale: Performance Night

10 May

This may be the first time for some people to tune in their televisions to watch The Voice. Just for the simple reason that this is the finals week! I also do this, not watch shows until the finals night. :D But it is totally different when you were on it from the very beginning. You get to learn who the contestants are, you get to learn who the judges are, and you get to know the voting public.

For other shows, this night can be the start of the “two-night-extravaganza” but it is different in The Voice. The judges being identified forces in their respective genre do not try to get the spotlight from the contestants. No grand entrances. I love The Voice!

Jermaine Paul 

I Believe I Can Fly is one of my favorite songs of all time. I loved how R. Kelly sang it on the original rendition. If I can remember it right, I cried in the Space Jam movie because I was moved to tears more with the help of the song. Tonight, hearing the song again (which I have not for a long while) brought me back to my teen years when I first saw the movie and heard the song. I was again moved, more than before. When Blake was asked for to comment on the performance, I liked what he said. “My heart is in my throat right now.” He was that overwhelmed and so was the other judges because the performance earned a standing ovation from everybody. :D

Tony Lucca

I don’t know the Jay-Z song he delivered but I enjoyed his version of it. As of this writing I have not heard the original rendition but again, I liked what Tony did. To be honest, I don’t think any performance can outshine what Jermaine did but I was still giving the contestants some benefit to deliver something that has that same “wow” factor.

There was again that clash between Christina and Adam when she mentioned about the idea behind the lyrics and intent of the song. I think Christina should not have mentioned that. I mean, what was she thinking? What about her comments of being the only sober judge in the show? She appears not to be. The moment she said those words there was no turning back. Even after Adam explained why they chose the song. That cost them a large chunk of public votes.

Chris Mann

There is no better song for him to sing at this time of the competition than Josh Groban’s You Raise Me Up. He did remarkable. I am no opera or classical genre lover but I loved his version of the song.

One thing that was really bugging me was that Cee Lo and Adam were not asked to comment for Chris. I think it has something to do with what Christina did earlier for Tony’s performance. They decided for 2 coaches not to comment in order not to corner Adam, who i think refused to give any. But the move that Adam did earlier revealing a Team Xtina t-shirt underneath his polo throw me off-guard. That move Christina made might be something she and Adam concocted for Tony. I don’t really know but I think it was to stir people to start talking. :D

 Juliet Simms

She was sick. I felt for her. She was amazing even she was feeling under the weather. I imagined her to be outstanding if she was in her healthy elements.

I kind of empathize with all she was saying about sacrificing everything for her passion for music. When she joined The Voice, she was at the brink of her career where she has to decide whether to totally jump in for her dreams or to take a step back and try to think of alternatives. I am at that same point right now. I just hope I will do better just the way she did. Juliet Simms is a star, a certified Rock Star.

One of those rare occasions: Sunday funfare with Shang!

5 May

It is very rare nowadays for me to be out of the house because I dont really have the moolah to be of liberty to go around and enjoy myself all the time. But this instance, I think I initiated the meet up because its been really a while since Ive been with a friend. The initial plan was for us to meet for coffee in Shangrila EDSA. I cant remember how it happened but we decided to meet in Cubao earlier to get tickets for Game 4 of the PBA Finals (BMEG vs Talk ‘N Text), then go to UP to see the sunflowers, eat some lunch, and then head back to Araneta Coliseum for the game. :D

After getting the tickets, we went to UP. When we got to the entrance to the University, we saw that the sunflowers were all withered. Shang, you can always come back next year. I think the time has got something to do with it. It was so hot that day that I was really expecting the flowers to wilt. In the mornings, I believe they will fare better because of the dew. :D

The next part of the itinerary was to get lunch. We went to my favorite place in UP Diliman, Chocolate Kiss. :D

The succeeding part of this post is more of a photo bomb. :D

Shang had the Chicken Kiev.

I had the smokey spare ribs. <3

We had the dessert sampler. Devil’s Food Cake, Kahlua Butter Cake, Carrot Cake, Dayap Chiffon Cake.

If you go to UP Diliman, you need to have a photo along the circle. :D

Me!!!!!!

Carillon Hall

I saw this while we were crossing the street for the ride back to Trinoma. I asked Shang to take a photo.

Souvenir!!!!

Excited first timers!!!!

During the warm ups, I took this photo of Shang. Narcissist much. :D

Game time!

I refused to have the customary cheesy photo but Shang insisted on taking this picture.

A very big crowd that night. Amazing!

Less than two minutes before the game ends, with Talk ‘N Text in the lead, Raymundo planted an elbow to the neck of Urbiztondo. Urbiztondo tried to retaliate but he was stopped by a team mate. Devance on his way to the Bench flicked the ball he was holding in the face of Raymundo, who got back by delivering a punch that landed on Devance’s nape.
2 people were ejected from the game.
Tim Cone was tripped by a referee and he landed on his butt.
Tim Cone walked out the game with roughly a minute left of the game. On his way out, he stopped by coach Chot Reyes and shook hands with him.

Since this is my blog, I decided to place my picture as the last entry. :D

Day Summary:

On the UP trip. Though we weren’t able to see the sunflowers in their full bloom and eat the 23-php footlong sandwhich that we intially wanted to eat for lunch, the day was super fun. I enjoyed the long walk around UP Circle while trying to find a restaurant that Shang wanted to visit (I forgot the name) and found the new scenery very refreshing.

On the game. The game was exhilarating for me. It has been a while since I was that excited. When we got there, I was rooting for no particular team because it was technically the first game of this season that I have seen. I ended up liking Talk ‘N Text more because of Dillinger and Fonacier. Dillinger because he was so good in this game. I love all the effort! Fonacier because he is so smooth in delivering his three-pointers. :D

Let me not forget the company. Shang is one of the best treasures I have found in Emerson. Super friend. :D I hope we get to do this again soon Shang!! :D I think the time we had was not enough for all the “chika” that we have yet to talk about. :D See you again soon, hopefully this Sunday for game 7. :D

Gemille Joy Palec, BSN Graduate

26 Apr

I have been talking a lot about having a hard time getting tickets to Iloilo 2 weeks ago. This is the reason why.

It was my sister Gemille’s graduation from college. Initially I told them I cannot go home because I didn’t have the budget for the airfare. I could have gotten a cheaper fare if I bought one weeks before. What pulled me back from getting one on the dot was my crazy training schedule. I was supposed to get the Saturday to Monday flight schedules. Good thing I didn’t because for that particular week, training went on until Saturday. One thing I could have done, be absent from the Saturday class and be late for the Monday class. I did not want to be absent in any so I tried to get better seats that suited my schedule but the prices were crazy high! I was trying to avoid being absent but I still had to because the cheapest fare that I did get hold of was for Monday, last flight back to Manila.

Then 3 days before the D-day, I had this realization, I cannot miss my sister’s graduation. I cannot do that to her. I cannot do that to myself. Thinking about missing it now feels like torture. Good thing I didn’t.

4 days before her graduation day, I received a text from Joy saying “It will be better if you will be here, but I do understand.” That text really disturbed me. I could not sleep the night I received it. The very next day, I was on the hunt for tickets.

I flew in first flight Sunday morning, April 15th. Past 5AM, I was already in Iloilo. I called my mom enroute to Jaro Plaza, asking her what time the graduation was. So when I learned it was late in the afternoon (as I expected), I told her I’m on my way home. She gave subtle hints to my siblings but good thing she did not tell them the time I was coming home.

The reaction of the people at home were priceless. I got in the gate, then went into the house. I saw mom from the kitchen, I said “hi.” She was a bit surprised I was in early. I saw my father on his way down when I was climbing up the stairs. I said “hi.” Then I went to my brothers room. He had a funny expression coupled with funny sounds when he saw me after I said “hi.” Then next to his room was my sisters’ room. It was only Diane inside, Joy was missing. Mom when I was climbing the stairs shouted that Joy was in the comfort room. I did not wait long to surprise her, after a few minutes I heard her climbing the stairs. When she went inside the room, I hid behind the door. After I moment, I went out of my hiding place and shouted “Surprise!” There was a short pause. Joy was stunned. And then she started to cry while saying “You said you would not come.” And then I hugged her and then said “I cannot miss your graduation for the world. You’re my sister.” The feeling I had that day was surreal. I love my family, to bits. To lighten the mood, Diane complained of the fact why Joy cried when she saw me while she didn’t when she met with Diane when she flew in. Funny Matuts.

I was not able to have any picture taken with Joy while she was in her graduation regalia. :’( But here are some photo’s they took from her clinical graduation. Both of these were edited using instagram. :D

Outside her dormitory.

Outside Rose Memorial Auditorium(?)

I caught a bit of Zzzz’s after I ate breakfast and after 2 hours, I was up to travel to the city. I was my sister’s make up artist and stylist for the day. I do this to others. So its just expected that I am also this to both my sisters.

When I came in, they were still inside the parlor having their hair done. I was telling them we were running late and we were. When we got to the venue, we were expecting that the march already started. Good thing we are Filipino’s and we don’t do things according to schedule. It was a while after we got there that the March actually started.

I love being in my old university again. I love hearing my sister’s name and seeing her go up the stage when she was called out to accept her diploma. I am proud of her for finishing school amidst all the challenges. Good job sister! Congratulations! Love love love you!!!

Im on training this week

5 Apr

There were no updates from me since early this week because I am currently on a training boot camp. This will run for roughly six weeks and I am still in the process of tuning my body clock to the new schedule. I do check my mails from time to time and check this website for possible comments or notices from friends but I opted not to do updates because as the days progresses, the training sessions are becoming more and more draining.

Anyhow, later tonight, I will update this post with interesting things that happened for the last 5 days. I miss writing but I have to take this work seriously. And in order to get the most from the training, I have to be “awake” and attentive all the time so I try my best-est to sleep as early as possible. I did sleep early last night thus I had the time to do this quick post now.

More later!!!

What I have been doing…

27 Mar

For a couple of days already, I have been updating my “Lets Travel” tab. You can check it out now. I’m close to finishing the Singapore-Malaysia trip. Close being I am still contemplating on making the last post. A short story about our trip to home. There is really not that much to tell so I might leave it at that and not make the last one.

Here is the link to the pages: http://blissfulveronica.wordpress.com/lets-explore/

Or you can click on the leftmost tab on the rightmost part of this web page. :D

This is a picture of Buding and I when we were on our way to the airport for our flight back to Singapore. She was sleeping, I was up on a sight-seeing spree. I like this photo. :D