matt's bday

nong 23rd talaga ang bday nya when he treated the whole adiks to a subway sandwich binge.  then last night, nagluto-lutuan kami sa lichauco residence where we had seafood overload with maccoy and pop's shrimps, crabs and sweet n sour fish.  after that, wow kantahan na sa cariaga residence na inabot ng 4am.  syempre di na kailangan sabihin, enjoy na naman ang mga adik.  except that we missed tserman na lagi namang hindi pwede pag thursday, the laxamana family na may prior commitment, john, irwin na parating pa lang from vacation, and ega who had to be at work the whole night.  we missed you guys! 

maraming salamat po ulit sa pamilya lichauco and cariaga for welcoming the adiks into their cozy homes at nakapag-celebrate na naman ng bday na masaya ang isa sa mga true-blue original adiks.

ang mga chef while preparing the food

hindi ako napaiyak ng sibuyas... tinawanan ko pa sya

pops preparing her yummy sweet n sour fish

at ito ang kinalabasan... a sumptuous seafood feast...

with fried chicken courtesy of romy and junc

syempre main event na

let's eat na!

forget muna ang diet shiela!

sarap ba mga adik? hehehe

pang-ym... ay fb pala ang pose! hehehe

sing galing time na with maccoy

playing it cool huh, ren?

ah... waiting pala for this...  the very much anticipated soup of the day!





!!! HAPPY BDAY MATT !!!

sabi me... #4

here are a few lines i came up with during separate conversations with friends yesterday. may konting embellishment on some parts para lang sakto dito.  i thought i'd share them with you. 

aftershock ng pacquiao win:

life is like a boxing game.  you have to know when to throw a punch, a left hook or an upper cut.

para sa mga may tinatago:

even best actors cannot hide guilt.  it's something that pushes itself to the surface no matter how hard you try to push it the other way.  it's just like spraying a ton of cologne to hide the fact that you didn't shower in the morning.  after a while, the stink will be evident.

para sa mga in-love:

we all look for one - just one - great love.  and when you find it, that's the culmination of the search. the end of the journey.  then you begin a different journey with that great love and live happily ever after as fairy tales go.

fusion confusion

while we (matt, maccoy and i) were in the insurance office last week, may nakita kaming isang handbook which is actually a directory of commercial establishments in the eastern province.  and one thing that caught my interest is the advert for fusion, a restaurant in the meridien hotel. eh siguro naman by this time you already know that fine dining has become one of my 'bisyo' plus the fact that i'm a self-appointed food critic.

kaya i eagerly dragged matt and the lichauco family to meridien.  i was excited from the prospect of finding another dining haven, tulad ng pagkaka-discover ko sa soul kitchen (and not to forget, mughal) na hanggang ngayon ay top favorite ko pa rin whenever dining out. ginamit na lang excuse yong birthday ni pops who didn't have the slightest hint why we entered the heavily guarded gate of a hotel na dati dinadaanan lang namin.

located at the second (dito first yon) floor of the hotel, fusion has a huge foyer where you have to walk a kilometric red carpet na para kang nasa oscars bago mo pa marating ang dining area.  what a waste of space sabi ko sa mga kasama ko.  kung sa ibang resto na napuntahan ko, they're squeezing as much table into one tiny space, dito pwede kang mag-badminton, literally, before settling onto your table.

ok so the place is impressive. the interiors were cool with it's contemporary chic ambience. and the waiters na wala kahit isang pinoy (we later saw a couple of kabayans tending the bar) ay maayos naman mag-serve.  hot towel promptly handed out before we were given the menu.  pero pagbukas ko pa lang, well, nabawasan agad ang excitement ko.  the menu is limited mahihiya ang menu ng chinese grill na halos parang libro ng harry potter sa dami ng offering.  dito, parang nagbuklat ka lang ng to do list mo for the morning. 

what caught my eye, and my further disappointment, ay ang presyo nila.  ang favorite ko sa soul kitchen na maki is only 45sr dito, 75.  and if the most expensive steak in sk is at 115sr, dito, 180sr. sabi na nga ba kasama sa bayad yong nilakaran naming isang kilometro ng red carpet! oh well, it's a hotel resto so sige, ganon talaga. magkakatalo na lang sa pagkain lalo sa steak kasi angus beef din daw ang gamit nila.  at least may point of comparison.

kaso, nagkatalo nga.  the crunchy maki wasn't even crunchy and is a bit sour i had to dissect the filling in an attempt to find where the taste is coming from. it was an utter disappointment. kung nahagilap ko ulit yong menu, i'd cross out the name crunchy maki and put 'suman' instead.

then the main course arrived to give me further disappointment.  maccoy said he has had better prime rib.  the tiger prawns, despite it's nice presentation, were bland.  the rib eye i ordered proved to be a chewing challenge. major nguya ang gagawin mo or else you're taking the risk of having indigestion.  

needless to say, that's going to be the first and last dinner i'll have in fusion.  kahit sabihin pang may complementary sushi for starters and fancy sweets for dessert.  hindi pa rin ako babalik don....  ok, alam na ninyo ang kasunod - unless may maglilibre sa akin! hahaha.

of course i haven't forgotten the rating (as usual, 5 max, 1 min)

place    :   4.5

food     :   2.5

service :   3.0

price    :   2.0

total     :  12.0

(and that total puts it way below the list i posted back in june for the 1st part and 30 aug for the 2nd part)

the complementary sushi for appetizer

crunchy maki aka suman sa lihiya?

rib eye aka goma ng truck?

tiger prawns...  or is it tiger woods endorsing nike?

ok, it sure doesn't look attractive...  steak na may sabaw?

libreng dessert - built in siguro ang cost sa presyo ng main course kaya mahal

taken nong papasok pa lang kami kaya naka-smile pa... 
and by now you know the smiles are gone when we came out of the place!

hotnothot 40

Hothot: Another film making honors for Pinas. Win si Meryll Soriano sa Brussels Int’l Film Festival as Best Actress in the indie film Donor. At pati daw yong Donor itself won Best Film. Brillante Mendoza was also given a special award (Visionary something).  Laking karangalan para sa atin and we should all be proud of all these. At least pagdating sa pelikula, kahit sabihing naghihingalo na ang movie industry sa atin, we’re still reaping rewards and awards in the international scene. Such wins immediately after the heels of Brillante’s win in Cannes last year only reinforces the fact that we’re doing great in this part of the entertainment industry. Meryll, if I remember it correctly, is only the second Pinay to have won in Brussels – si Nora Aunor yata ang una noon back in the 90’s. Ang nakakatuwa pa, nasa panel of judges si Marvin Agustin this year.  The first ever Pinoy to be given that honor. Galing!  Hmmm… teka lang. Ilang local Best Actor na ba ang pinanalunan ni Marvin para makaupo doon? Ah well, it’s the organizing team’s choice so who am I to question them. At please lang, wag intrigahin na porke member si Marvin ng jury kaya nag-win si Meryll. Jurors in these international film festivals are usually a group of people na hindi nabibili, naiimpluwensyahan or napapakiusapan tulad sa mga ibang award-giving bodies sa tabi-tabi. So let’s give Meryll and the Donor team a huge salute for a job well done! Isama na rin natin si Brillante at Marvin. Kudos to you people.

Hothot: Freeing the freedom icon. I’m one of the thousands (maybe millions) of televiewers who were surely delighted when Aung San Suu Kyi was finally freed from her house arrest the other day. For me, 15 years (of the last 21) on detention is such a waste. Bad thing the Myanmar military regime wasted those 15 years of a lady who could have made a difference in their political landscape. On the hindsight, that is exactly what they were preventing when they jailed her. Because she is one popular lady viewed by many of her people as the one to bring hope, unity and change to the Burmese nation. A surefire threat to the stranglehold of the military junta on the government. Now the challenge is up to her. Because the truth is, being free to this lady doesn’t mean she can go shopping, partying and spa-hopping. She’s got a grander task ahead of her. And that is keeping the Burmese faith afloat, steering them to the right direction and hopefully give them their much-awaited change. Tough duty for a delicate and dainty lady.

Hotnot: Near miss for FB. Muntik nang na-ban ang FB dito sa KSA dahil daw sa isang FB user na gumawa ng kalokohan na kinagalit ng Saudi government. According to a local news report, somebody organized a drawing contest where the subject is the prophet Muhammad. Isa na namang walang magawa sa buhay dahil pati yong mga ganong bagay ay pinagka-abalahan. Sa dami na ng kaso at kwento tungkol sa mga ganitong kawalang-galang sa Islam, hindi pa rin ba sila natuto. As I always say, being responsible with what we do on the internet is the key. Think twice before you do anything, say anything and post anything on your site. We should be checking and censuring ourselves if what we’re putting out there is offensive to somebody else. Respeto lang naman yan eh. Not just for Islam but for other religion as well. We should all remember not to make mockery of faith. We should all respect each other’s beliefs. Otherwise, ganyan nga ang magiging epekto. Ang masama, kung natuloy yong ban, damay ang ibang FB users. Sarap kutusan nong gumawa nong kalokohan.

Hothot: Pacman Rules. Ok, so Pacman had a convincing win against the much taller Margarito. Hindi nga nya ako fan at hindi ako talaga fan ng boxing but I can’t help but be amazed sa kinalabasan ng laban. Si Margarito, unrecognizable after the match. Pero ang Pacman, parang gumuwapo pa ng kaunti! Hahaha! Kaya sige pagbibigyan ko na ang kampo nya for trumpeting him as the greatest boxer ever. Even greater than Muhammad Ali. Ok fine. Afterall, sino pa ba ang makikipag-argue with that kind of achievement. But after all the pomp and pageantry has faded, what happens next? Hindi pa raw sya magku-quit. I guess he’s feeling invincible dahil nga sa mga panalong ito. Tipong “I’m king of the world”! But somebody in his team should remind Pacman that pushing his luck a bit too far might prove fatal. Believing in Carpe Diem is okay. Pwede na ring strike while the iron is hot. But isn’t it that if you strike more than needed, it results to damage and deformation? Hihintayin pa ba nya yon? Afterall, what else is there to prove? His 8 titles cannot be easily broken, at least in his lifetime. Or is it just a case of having it all and wanting more?

holiday mode

It’s the start of a week-long holiday with the kingdom celebrating this year’s Hajj holidays. Actually mahaba-haba sanang holiday ito para sa akin coz it started last Thursday/Friday which is our regular weekend plus the 5 day-holiday and the weekend after that. 9 days sana ulit akong babad sa kama para matulog, with mornings actually starting at mid-day. Gigising lang kung nagrereklamo ang bituka for having missed breakfast. Minsan pati lunch.

But here I am, tied up to my work station, cursing the system for yawning and crawling while I was pummeling it with my uploads that was the reason why I was here in the first place. Damn system! Looks like he’s on a holiday mode too! Grrr… hindi ka pwedeng mag-holiday no. Gumising ako ng maaga para pumasok kaya hala, mag-trabaho kaaaaa!!!

Actually I’ve stayed away from work during holidays for the last 3 or 4 years now. Most of the adiks would say it’s ‘sayang’ coz work during these days is paid double. But I have my reasons. May malalim na hindi ko pwedeng i-share dito. Yong mababaw na reasons na lang like yon nga, mas gusto kong i-enjoy ang kawalan ng ginagawa kahit 9 days lang at naka-tambay sa kwarto ko. Or mag-lakwatsa paminsan-minsan kung saan maisipan. In short, gusto kong i-exercise yong katamaran ko sa mga ganitong araw.

But sometime last week nilapitan ako ng boss ko. Porke kailangan matapos ang ganito, ang ganyan. At lumalabas na kung hindi ako papasok this week, I’ll be in a hell hole after the holidays. As in maraming bida ang sisigaw at magwawala dahil hindi natapos ang ganito at ganyan. They sure will breath fire on somebody’s neck. And it will be nobody else’s neck but mine.

O sya hala, di sige pumasok. Kahit masira ang panata ko sa mga ganitong panahon. Kahit sabihin ng mga adik na bigla akong naghirap kaya pinatulan ko na rin ang overtime pay. Totoo naman. Hehehe.

Ang usapan namin ng amo, 3 days ang ipapasok ko out of the 5-day holiday. Ibig sabihin I have until Monday to finish all the stuff that was supposed to be ready by Saturday next week. Pero may pahabol naman sya na kung hindi raw matapos, pwede pa akong mag-work even beyond the agreed 3-days. I-inform ko lang daw sya. Kung ikaw naman siguro ang sabihan ng ganon at nag-inarte ka pa, wala ka nang budhi. The message is loud and clear: tapusin ang dapat tapusin!

Kaya lang, at the rate the system is doing his part, mukhang aabutin pa nga ako ng Tuesday nito. Sana naman wag nang umabot ng Wednesday. Kahit 1 day na lang, I just have to experience Hajj holiday for myself this year. Kaya hala kang sistema ka! Trabahoooo! (kung pwede lang gamitan ng latigo ito! Hmmpffttt!)

john's bday

taking advantage of the already cooling temperature, the group headed out to fanateer corniche last night where our friend john chose to celebrate his ??th bday.  chance na rin para makasagap ng fresh air from the fanateer beach kaya nag-latag lang kami sa damuhan doon at nilantakan ang masarap na mga food na luto ni john at ega. 

as usual, the park suddenly turned alive dahil sa ingay namin, kwentuhan at tawanang umaatikabo while sofie practiced on two things:  her bike (with the help of daddy ricky) and of course yong kanyang miss congeniality skills dahil laging nawawala at nakikipag-chikahan sa ibang family na nandon sa picnic grounds.  sabi nga ni jun, 'sofie sabihin mo sa kanila fi fuloos?'... takbo naman ang bata pabalik don sa mga ka-chika nya! hahaha...

enjoy the pics from ega's camera na ang humawak ay syempre ang master photog ng grupo... si matt.  thanks sa lichauco family at naka-join namin sa picnic na ito even if it means they have to travel all the way to and from khobar (teka lang, bakit ako ang nagte-tenchu, di naman ako ang may pa-party! hahaha).  na-miss naman namin ang cariaga family pati si ariel at tserman na busy pag thursday night.

!!! HAPPY BDAY JOHN !!!

will power... not!

I really should be practicing what I preach. Coz after just a few days and a couple of posts away, I lost control and slammed myself into another bump on my road to recovery. Di ba’t kakasabi ko lang at buong ningning kong pinagyabang that my visa balance finally hit single digit after a long, arduous battle. Pero eto at nilukuban na naman ako ni Andres Bonifacio. Tinaas na naman ang Visa card at sumigaw ng Charge!

Walang ka-plano-plano, sumabit lang ako sa lakad ni Matt sa Khobar kahapon. Sinamahan ko para may kasama pabalik sa malayo-layo ding byahe. Meron kasing kailangang lakarin sa insurance company about his car. It so happened that MacCoy was also on his way home kaya sumabay na rin. At pag ganong mga pagkakataon, saan pa ba naman kami dadalhin ng aming mga kinakating paa. Eh di mag-ikot sa Khobar. Buti nga hindi na natuloy sa Dammam as planned earlier.

Buti sana kung nag-ikot lang at nahilo pagkatapos. Eh pagpasok ko pa lang ng isang shop, naglulundag na naman ang Visa ko. Something caught my fancy - a couple of bracelets that match the Versace design of one of my rings. I tried a couple of them on and I must have spent eternity just looking at them, resting so gently on my left wrist, begging me to choose either one of them. Or both of them. Lakas talaga nilang manukso!

Eh namahalan ako don sa turing nong Arabong magaling mag-tagalog. O talaga lang hindi buong 100% ang gusto ko don sa dalawang item. Yon nga, just nice to have one of them matching my ring. Besides, parang hindi ko ma-imagine na isusuot ko yon sa Pinas even on special occasions. It’s nothing short of ostentatious. Mainit sa mata. Sabi nga ni Matt baka maputulan ako ng braso dahil don.

So lumabas ako ng shop na hindi naka-talon ang Visa sa pagkaka-kulong ko. Yeyyy! My self-control ruled again! And I was having a silent celebration, giving myself a pat on the back for so firmly keeping my spending (or charging) disease on check.

But not for long. One wrong turn in one ordinary corner washed away all the internal basking I was enjoying. Dahil pagtingin ko pa lang sa window nong isang shop, I found one piece that literally hypnotized me. Biglang nawala ako sa wisyo, went inside, asked the shop keeper to let me touch and feel that shiny piece of temptation. And just like that, my will power was thrown into oblivion.

Hindi ko na sasabihin, hindi ko na ide-detalye kung ano yon. Ang punto ko lang, ang hirap talagang alisin ng sakit na ito. Kaya nga sabi ko don sa last posting ko, I had my fingers crossed. Buti na lang, meron akong rebound factor don sa pinagka-gastusan ko. As in pwedeng i-justify at sabihing investment naman yan, naga-appreciate ang value as time goes by. At ang importante, madaling ibenta just in case you need to liquidate it.

I hope it doesn’t come to that point. Or else, binili ko nga sya pero hindi naman pala sya magiging akin forever.

the net: friend or foe?

Actually this is a very much delayed reaction about the Twitter fiasco of PNoy’s speechwriter Miss Mislang (parang pangit pakinggan, puro mis). Laman sya ng mga headlines for a few days at marami ang nakisawsaw sa issue. Ako na siguro ang pinaka-huli. Masabi ko lang ang gusto kong sabihin kasi di ba, huli man daw at magaling, huli pa rin! Hehehe… Hindi lang ako masyadong agree sa mga nabasa ko dati.

Sabi kasi, elitista raw ang atake ni Mislang sa mga twit nya. Porke daw UP grad, cum laude (magna pa yata) at cabinet member ni PNoy. But I didn’t agree.

Sa akin kasi hindi elitista yon. Coz the real elite don’t even have to utter senseless words. Ang talagang elitist, nakangiti lang, tahimik lang pero talo pa ang nagbitaw ng mga panglalait na binitawan ni Miss Mislang. It’s in their silent, smug looks that you will feel their being condescending. Or, they can heap you praises pero alam na alam mong pina-plastik ka. Yon ang elitist. Ang ginawa ni Miss Mislang, arrogance. And lack of basic courtesy.

To make matters worse, Malacanang condoned the culprit at nagpalusot. Kaso ang palusot, sablay dahil ang ginawang rason eh ‘bata pa sya’. Dito ako napabunghalit ng tawa! Pordyos! Bata? WTF! Anybody who has finished college na tatawaging bata under any other circumstances should feel insulted. And Miss Mislang should realize na sa ginawa ng Malacanang, hindi sya na-save. In fact nainsulto lang sya ng walang kalaban-laban. Well, she’s not really in a position to object kaya siguro tumahimik na nga lang.

Wala nang balita kung nasan na si Miss MIslang pero sabi ng Malacanang dati, hindi raw sya aalisin sa puwesto. Well, that’s arrogance on the part of Malacanang too. Somebody has given the country unwanted and totally unnecessary embarrassment tapos ipipilit pa rin nila ang gusto nila. Bakit hindi nila tanggaping their choice of people to support PNoy is palpak? Na ang mga taong ganito, dapat palitan nila ng taong makakatulong, instead na makasira sa Pangulo na nagkukumahog magsilbi sa bayan? You’re not a government in training, sabi nga ni Joker.

Pero bago ako lumayo at mapunta sa pulitika, let me just say that Miss Mislang’s Twitter nightmare should have opened a lot of minds among the netizens, lalo yong mga talagang ‘bata’ pa. Sana marami ang naka-kita ng lesson na dala-dala nong nangyari. Isang-isa lang at simpleng-simple: Be responsible.

Dapat ma-realize natin na kahit nakaupo tayo sa isang chair inside the comforts of our home, once we get into the net, we’re exposing ourselves to the world. That whatever we say or do, literally ay nakikita ng buong mundo. Kaya dapat maging maingat tayo.

And realize that if the net, especially social networking facilities, can make us happy by gathering our friends in a click of a mouse, it can also make them disappear and win us thousands of haters in no time. Kaya depende sa atin kung paano natin gagamitin ito. If you use it wisely, it can be your best friend. If you use it carelessly, then it can make your life miserable.

Sa kaso ni Miss Mislang, I’m sure she was only doing the tweets for her close friends. Gusto lang nyang i-tsismis ang mga nakita nya sa Vietnam as a private person. Parang nag-get together lang sila ng mga amiga nya sa kanyang living room at bumangka sya ng husto. Ang malaking pagkakamali nya, pagpasok nya ng Twitter, nakalimutan nyang hindi yon literal na sala ng bahay nya. At marami sa ating mga nag-iinternet ang nakakalimot just like she did. Cum Laude or not. Malacanang staff or not.

rehash: peba 2010 blog awards vid

here's  an improved rehash of the 2010 peba blog awards vid posted in youtube.  mas mahaba at heartfelt ang intro...  at mas gusto ko yong pic na ginamit for my slide (hehehe)...

talagang totohanan na to. peba is really making an effort to make this year's event a success .  nag-shoot pa nga sila sa outer space! sino kaya yong mga astronauts? hehehe.  sarap panoorin pag naka-surround ka, parang michael bay movie!

manny's house... ya know...

found this in yahoo and i'm sharing it for two reasons:  manny's awesome interview (hehehe) and most importantly... that palatial house.  eh alam nyo naman ako, nangangarap ding magkaron ng mansion kaya i'm green with envy!  pwede pa kaya akong mag-boxing!?? hehehe

seriously, kahit hindi ako fan, i salute this guy for having achieved such humungous honor. and fortune of course. kelan nga ba laban nya?  hope he makes it 8.  

chaaaarrrge!!!!

Isa sa mga balitang abroad ng abante ngayon ay tungkol sa mga kabayan nating nasa Dubai na baon daw sa utang sa dahil sa kanilang mga credit card  (http://www.abante.com.ph/issue/nov0510/abroad01.htm).

Actually that’s not a surprise. Having seen life in Dubai when I was there for a 1-week training, medyo nagulat din ako sa taas ng bilihin. Alam naman natin na nagra-rank na ang Dubai among the most expensive cities in the world. At kung isa kang OFW sa lugar na yon, you gotta have a salary comparatively higher than in Saudi dahil nga sa cost of living. At kahit super laki ng sweldo mo doon, you have to watch your spending closely kung ayaw mong kapusin at mabaon sa utang.

Hindi lang kasi basic cost of living ang mataas doon. To make matters worse, Dubai is an open society as far as foreigners are concerned. Most of the restrictions imposed against expats in Saudi don’t apply there. Kung kaming mga nasa Saudi ay nagtitiis sa kung ano-anong ‘safe’ activities during weekends, our kabayans in Dubai enjoy a wide variety of option for entertaining themselves. They have movie houses showing the latest blockbusters. They have bars where you can hang-out after work, kahit pa araw-araw. At halos linggo-linggo ay may mga concert ng mga well-known musical artists na kung doon ako naka-base ay siguradong linggo-linggo din akong gumagastos sa concert tickets.

Kaya nasabi kong na-appreciate ko ang sitwasyon ko dito sa Saudi. Dahil kung ako rin ay sa Dubai nagta-trabaho (or anywhere else na maraming options for gimik), baka nabaon na rin ako sa credit card tulad ng mga kabayan natin na nandon sa news. In fact, nandito na nga ako sa Saudi pero grabe pa rin ang inabot kong utang, how much more kung nasa ibang lugar ako na maraming pwedeng pagka-gastusan.

Just last week, naisipan kong gumawa ng excel sheet where I tabulated all of my on-line payments. And it was a shock to find out na ang nai-bayad ko na sa aking Visa card, for the last three years up to this month’s payment, ay umabot sa SR 65,000++. Well, get a forex table and do your math. Aba eh pambili na ng isang 2010 Honda Civic ni Maccoy yon ah! Jeezzzz! Saan napunta yon? I cannot recall charging a major major (pahiram, Venus!) purchase sa aking Visa Card.

Isang beses lang akong nag-CA sa aking Visa nong na-ospital ang mother dear ko for two weeks na sumira sa budget ko. I had to cough up the rest of the bill na hindi kinaya ng PhilHealth. But that was a meager SR 3k.

Then epiphany hit me like a 2000 kw thunderbolt. Na-realize kong ano bang inaangal ko eh inabuso ko naman talaga ang Visa card ko. I was inflicted with the spending fever which sent me to a buying frenzy of several electronic items. Charged ang 8GB I-pod ko na binigay ko lang naman sa isang pamangkin ko dahil hindi ko ma-appreciate. Pati ang PSP Madden limited edition na binenta ko rin naman dahil hindi ko rin ma-appreciate. And for two years, nagpapalit ako ng laptop almost every quarter of the year. Bumili, este umutang, din ako ng ilang jewelries, including my long-time dream na Tag. At ang mga dinner ko of T-Bone steaks and yummy Makis, karamihan charge din. So ano’ng inaangal ko!?

Kaya hindi nagtagal yong shock na naramdaman ko. Napalitan agad ng dismay. At syempre, ng pagsisisi dahil hindi ko na naman na-kontrol ang sarili ko sa pag-gastos. Looking back, I must have looked like Andres Bonifacio’s monument every time na papasok ako ng isang commercial establishment. But if Andres is holding a ‘tabak’, ako, yong Visa ko ang hawak ko. At kung ‘sugod mga kapatid’ ang sinisigaw ni Gat Andres, ako, ‘CHARGE’!

Buti na lang medyo naging firm ako sa aking sarili nitong mga nakaraang buwan. Medyo madalang ko nang istorbohin ang Visa card ko. In fact, nong Wednesday night na sumugod kami ng ilang ka-adik sa mega sale ng Extra (one of the more popular electronics store here) , I learned na kaya ko naman palang mag-pigil. Muntik na akong bumili nong 10 inch digital photo frame. But when I found out na hindi yon kasama sa sale and the SR 599 tag price isn’t reduced, binitiwan ko. Na-tempt din ako don sa 42” Samsung LCD Tv na gusto kong bilhin matagal na pero napigil ko rin ang sarili ko. Kaya lumabas ako ng store na walang damage at buong ningning kong tinawanan ang aking mga kasama na may 2 or 3 bags na bitbit. Yeahh! Will power!

Kinaya kong mag-kuripot mainly because ini-enjoy ko yong feeling na kakaunti na ang binubuno ko sa aking Visa. For the longest time, double digit lagi ang nasa statement of account ko buwan-buwan. But starting last month, nag-single digit na sya. And my last payment brought it down to SR 5k. Isa o dalawang sweldo pa, matatapos na ang long-standing battle ko against my Visa. And when that time comes, I think hindi na mauulit na maging alipin ako ng credit card ko. I’ve learned my lesson.

Ok.  I'll admit naka-tago yong crossed fingers ko sa likod when I said that.  Kasi sinabi ko na rin yan noong nabaon ako sa utang sa Visa at Master Cards ko when I was working in Makati almost a decade ago.  Ang lapit kasi namin sa Glorietta kaya para din akong Andres Bonifacio nong mga panahon na yon.

Good thing nga, nandito ako sa Saudi. So shaking off the spending fever can be easy. Eh pano na lang kung marami ngang gimikan sa paligid? Siguro hindi na ako nakaahon sa utang ko. That is why super-relate ako sa kwento ng mga kabayan natin sa Dubai. Tutulungan naman daw sila ng gobyerno. Pero ang tulong, bibigyan lang sila ng training about literacy on spending. At yong literacy na yon, nakuha ko na dahil ngayon I can say I’ve learned my lesson.

Quite expensive learning experience kaya hindi ko agad-agad malilimutan. With my strong resolve, kakayanin ko nang hindi sumigaw ng CHARGE. Except when I’m dining in my favorite Soul Kitchen! Hahaha!

a new neighbor

after suffering a couple of virus attacks last year (one wiped out most of my files including some treasured photos and irreplaceable files na unfortunately ay wala akong back-up - now i'm using exernal hds, lesson learned!), i've limited my web surfing to familiar and trusted sites.  hindi rin kasi 100% guarantee kahit pa updated ang anti-virus mo, aatakehin ka pa rin pag minalas ka.  in fact i've already did the rounds of the more popular and supposedly reliable anti-virus software pero ayon at dalawang beses pa ring nag-crash ang comp ko last year.  kaya ngayon, di na ako ganon ka-adventurous sa kaka-explore ng mga sites.

in fact, kung na-notice ninyo, very seldom akong mag-share ng website in this blog na hindi galing sa mga news channel, youtube and a few other sites na subok ko nang safe.  but this time i'm sharing one blog na lately ko lang napuntahan (thanks to raoul aka seven na unang nakapunta dito at nag-tip sa akin).  and i thought i'd share it with DS followers coz it's also worth the time.  for two good reasons...

1.  i find the blog quite refreshing.  the sense of humor of the site owner is so obvious, napatawa (or should i say na-LOL) ako sa ilang nabasa ko. in fact, naisip ko nga parang masyadong serious ang tone nitong DS and my friends also deserve to have a dose of something light and funny once in a while.  sure i have a few posts na nakakatawa din, nag-e-effort din ako paminsan-minsan mag-comedy.  but i know my sense of humor is a bit dry and worse, ascerbic.  that's why i think this blog would be a very good alternative for DS friends who's aching for a few smiles on a gloomy day.  

2.  i said the site is refreshing but it sure has some serious stuff as well.  twice ko pa lang nai-scan yong site and yet may nakita na akong ilang seryosong posts.  real-life snippets of what's going on in the very challenging life of a young, working mom.  touching  stories about family.  at kahit hindi ko pa nababasa ang ibang posts, my impression is that the author has already suffered from some huge tsunamis of emotion pagdating sa usapang love.  kaya kahit bata pa sya (26 or 27?)  may lalim na ang kanyang mga sinasabi.

the site owner is a recent friend of DS.  kelan lang sya nagawi dito and yet naging regular na sya since then.  and i think i'd return the complement kasi babalik-balikan ko rin ang blog nya.  and i'd love to see you my friends sa bago nating kapitbahay.... si Yanah and her life's a twitch blogspot. (nasa side bar po ang link!)