I came back here in Cebu last Friday night bringing with me the joy that finally my husband and I will be going home soon… for good. I will only stay for less than a couple of weeks here but those days are packed with so many activities.
For one, Val’s cousin is also here for a vacation with his family and in-laws. It was his first visit in Cebu since he got married 3 years ago and it was also his son Miggy’s 3rd birthday party yesterday.
along Rizal St.
The banner says it all. Together with the entire nation, Bacolod mourns for the loss of a selfless leader. Yellow ribbons can be seen tied outside the Cathedral Church as well as in some vehicles, trees, or pinned on shirt. There’s also a mass and tribute for President Aquino at USLS Coliseum. Just this afternoon, I went to the new Government Center to write on the Book of Condolences.
We lost an honest leader, a caring mother and a respectable icon. The love shown by the people are overwhelming. I hope her legacy will continue to live and this will be a turning point for a big change in the entire nation.
Thank you for bringing the democracy, Tita Cory! Thank you for touching our hearts!
We love you!
I am sick last week and am still sick right now. The torrential rains brought about by successive low pressure area and storms intensified my cough resulting to a husky voice. I was worried I would miss the 3 important occasions I committed weeks earlier – a debut, a birthday and a golden wedding.
A princess’ ball
Our family friend’s unica hija, Celyne, has reached the age of maturity this month. She was given 2 choices for a gift – a trip to Hong Kong with the whole family or a debut party. We all turn 18 once hence she chose the latter with the theme “Shakespeare in Love.” It was a month-long preparation which coincided to the time when I was still recuperating from my operation but they still wanted to include me as one of the 18 treasures at the last minute. (more…)
Mark, a friend and author of Nooks and Crannies, is commemorating his first anniversary blogging experience in WordPress by giving out his precious book “How to Shoot Great Travel Photos” by Susan McCartney. Ooops… It’s not as easy as 123. He thought of a special way to give out this book through his post “Anniversary Special.”
There’s no question that I began to love taking numerous photos since I have my own digicam but I don’t have the patience to manually adjust my digicam settings. It’s easier to point and shoot using the automatic mode especially when I’m capturing those “Kodak moments.” However, upon seeing amazing photos taken by amateur and professional photographers alike, the book can be a big help in my quest for more photography tips and tutorials.
Hmm… How should I describe it? I like the book after reading what it’s all about plus its full-illustration feature makes it more alluring. But posting a blog stating ‘why I deserve this book’ almost became a pie in the sky. I can’t compose well if the writing is graded much more having several judges scrutinizing my entry. What makes me push through with this blog entry is to show my appreciation for his encouragement in my writing. Besides, my full support and participation are the most I can give in return.
I can’t promise that I will be as good as or better than the book’s previous owner but I will gratefully value this book and at the same time continue to learn from it. I will treasure this book like a prized possession… that is, if given a chance to be its second owner. 
I’ve been friends with Jinoe and Quennie for 13 years since our Freshman days in La Salle. Like Val and I, their friendship grew until they were one of the couples whose togetherness leads to marriage.
It was more than a year of hands-on preparations. Through those 11 years of ups and downs in their lives, they finally exchanged their vows last April 19th. As early as last year until last Sunday, Jinoe and Quennie never left out each other in attending to their wedding up to the minute details. It was a real teamwork of two couples very much in love.
Val’s team’s outing in Kawasan Falls gave birth to the name Team Bertonians. It was said that they met a man named Berto in Kawasan and he stayed with them like a real friend. They had their own social network site exclusively for Team Bertonians and they even printed a set of t-shirt and polo shirt with a design and a name of “Team Bertonians.” I was their new member in their site just a month ago. Val also bought me a set of the team’s shirts.
We pushed through with our plans to have a swimming session at D’ Family Park in Talamban hoping to start our regular swimming sessions once a week. The staff were still cleaning the pool when we arrived so Val jogged for a few minutes then we waited for them to finish as we watched some people playing with their dogs. Well… they were not ordinary dogs. They were huge.
I bought a box of colorful cup cakes to add up to Val’s mini birthday celebration. However, I forgot to buy a small candle to have something to wish and blow.
Dahil nasa magkaparehong buwan ang kaarawan ni Val at ang kasal ng mga kaibigan naming sina Jinoe at Quennie, minabuti naming ipagdiwang na lang dito sa Cebu ang kaarawan ni Val. Tatlong VL lang kasi ang pwede nyang kunin sa isang buwan at buo nyang kinuha yun para isang uwian na lang yun pagkatapos ng semana santa.
Jo-an and I had been classmates since our elementary years. Our friendship grew and we even became closer during our high school days. We used to hang out at each other’s house to finish our school assignments, to study for our exams or to simply spend time chatting.
I had slept over at their house in Doña Juliana several times but the most memorable one was when we had our Junior-Senior Prom during our Senior years. Since we didn’t have our own car yet, I would hitch a ride home with Jo-an if we stayed out late.
Pao, Paul and JM came to Bacolod on the 28th of February to attend their co-worker’s wedding in Sta. Clara Subd. chapel. All 4 of them are Val’s co-workers from Cebu. Since Gerry, the groom, was busy on his big day, Val took the privilege to host Gerry’s 3 guests since they were not able to attend our wedding when he started in Teletech. They stayed at home at 12th St. occupying our room. It would be more convenient for them ‘coz the room has its own toilet and bathroom.
It was 14th of February 1997 when Val revealed what he felt for me. He visited me at home and brought me a rose delicately placed inside a box. It was one of the most memorable days in my life. However, this year’s Feb. 14 was nothing special. He tried to buy tickets for our Valentine buffet dinner but his 3 choices of hotels were all fully booked a week earlier. He was tired from his shift (actually, he has been working for 14 hours daily for that week) plus the weather was not cooperating so we decided to move the celebration the next day.
Off to Carbon we went last Sunday afternoon. Carbon market wasn’t a place to stroll leisurely. I was just curious of the place after hearing that it sells the cheapest goods. It was similar to Libertad market here in Bacolod and Divisoria of Manila. They have vegetable stalls along the streets or right outside business establishments. I don’t know how much the veggies cost but they look like they were fresh from harvest. It seems nice to buy the vegetables here.
We then proceeded to Ayala Center but didn’t go inside the mall. We went straight to The Grand Majestic at Cebu Grand Convention Center. We were 15 minutes early for their dinner buffet however one of the staff kindly lead us to an empty table and informed us that we could start ahead if we wanted to.
Dec. 24
I spent Christmas eve at home with my parents and brother. We ordered Fried Pigeon, Crispy Pata, Ox Tongue in Oyster Sauce and Beef with Bihon and Sate Sauce from Apollo Hilado. It was our first time to try their Crispy Pata and Beef with Bihon and Sate Sauce. However, the latter didn’t pass my mom’s taste.
We arrived at 11 pm last Thursday night and had our dinner right away. The flight from Manila was delayed for an hour and 20 minutes. We had ample time to rest the next day before we went to the funeral homes.
My uncle took Val and I for a walk at the Fairview Park Town Centre. He oriented us on where to take the bus if we wanted to go to the downtown area. He showed us some shops, wet market and fastfood chains.
We dropped by the downtown area before leaving for Greenhills Memorial Park at a quarter past 8 a.m. yesterday. We took the usual shorter route through North drive passing Greensville and Homesite then Fortune Town. It is in the latter portion where traffic started. It seemed that they rerouted all vehicles for this occasion. The stretch of Burgos St. from Lopue’s East to the street going Fortune Town was turned into a one-way lane because there are three memorial parks along that street – Bacolod Memorial Park, Rolling Hills Memorial Park and Greenhills Memorial Park.
It rained for a while last Monday, October 20. Just in time for the end of the MassKara celebration. Mayor Bing declared Monday a special holiday for Bacolod because the Charter Day falls on a Sunday. It was also the start of semestral break for some college levels.
We went back to Hda. Alejandria last saturday afternoon at the height of the MassKara Festival. It was Lola Racquel’s advance birthday celebration. Her birthdate is October 20. I requested my brother to take the street dance photos for me while I was away. My in-laws planned an afternoon snack because they had separate appointments to do the next day.
Since October 1, Araneta-plaza is transformed into a huge street party starting at 5 p.m. Several vendors line up the street to sell street foods, toys, masks and other souvenir items. This lasts until the wee hours of the morning. Kiosks surrounding the public plaza also offers goods, souvenir items, bounty foods and nonstop drinks.
This article gave me a confusion of the exact location of this year’s MassKara Village. We couldn’t find it in SM City. Even the mall guards didn’t know about it. We were led to the AAB Mask Exhibit instead. Jeanette later told me that the village exists but it is not opened until the 6th. A tv ad confirmed this information but it is located at Robinson’s Place contrary to what I had read in the newspaper. Or could it be another MassKara Village at SM on that day only?
