Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Last post for the year! --

Happy Thoughts for the Year
1. Seth and Sidekick #2
2. My little romance novel business =^_^=
3. My Macbook
4. 1030 to 12nn from Mondays to Fridays <-- when Seth's at his Toddler class. This is my time for myself.
5. My family


Things I'm Looking Forward to
1. Turning 31<-- it sounds like a good age to be
2. Meeting Sidekick #2 in April
3. Watchmen the Movie <-- ohpleaseohpleaseohplease ...
4. Seth's 3rd Birthday <-- we didn't celebrate his 2nd but I'm thinking of celebrating his 3rd
5. Being able to drink coffee again after April (and, hopefully, going to Singapore before December 2009) ^_^

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

And more lists --

5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me
1. I love office supplies <-- I like to make sure we are prepared for everything. Every chance I get, I buy extra ballpens, scissors, paper clips, etc. When I travel, I make it a point to visit office supplies stores in other countries. I usually end up buying blank index cards (for Gocco), notebooks, interesting ballpens, etc.

This Christmas, one of our Christmas gift ideas was giving Dymo Labelling Kits to the 'tweens but Johann vetoed it -- saying, "Hun, not everyone shares your love for office supplies."

2. I get excited trying out new bath products. <-- new shampoo, new conditioner ... but not so much on new toothpaste flavors. We recently tried the Apple-flavored toothpaste of Colgate and Johann loved it. I kinda grew into it but I'm still not a big fan. O_O

3. Every year, on my birthday (for three years now), I get a Hayao Miyazaki/Ghibli DVD. The Cat's Return in 2005, Howl's Moving Castle in 2006 and Ged's War Chronicles in 2007. This year, I was thinking of what to ask my brother for my birthday and Ponyo on the Cliff came to mind. Too bad it isn't scheduled for release yet. ^_^

4. My two favorite bread spread mixes: Butter + Strawberry Jam, especially on white bread and Peanut Butter + Nutella

5. My three favorite ice cream flavors are: Sebastian's Chocoholics Anonymous, FIC's Raspberry Rapture and Selecta's Coffee Crumble.


5 Things I miss in Manila

1. Friends T_T
2. Walking around Ateneo <-- especially now that I'm pregnant, I miss being able to "exercise"
3. Good decaf coffee <-- I miss coffee...
4. Dairy Queen and Cinnabon
5. Riding the LRT2 to Gateway <-- Although, I have a feeling that I won't like it so much when I'm actually faced with the opportunity -- it's the idea of it more than anything


5 Things that made me go "WOW"

1. Barack Obama winning the US Presidential elections
2. The ups and downs of the Peso-to-Dollar exchange rate <-- also the stock market
3. My first taste of Galbi
4. Opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics <-- especially the fireworks and the drums. Some parts were a bit slow and boring.
5. My Macbook =^_^=

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Today's list --

is from Seth. It's over at our other blog. ^_^

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Still more lists --

5 Discoveries for 2008 --
1. There's no such thing as an A Cup when you're pregnant
2. One of my dad's friend's mom cooks the most amazing Chinese-style roast beef
3. Dave's Fun House is fun for Seth (he plays there) and fun for me (some "me" time to shop and do my errands)
4. Pretzels at Tinapayan, when freshly cooked, is an amazing salty-soft treat
5. I love Macs and Apple and everything Steve Jobs


5 Favorite Places - Iloilo
1. Booksale
2. Bourbon Street <-- ribs, yum!
3. Kim's Bob <-- samgyupsal, bibimbap, yum!
4. SM Department Store <-- you'd be surprised of all the great, inexpensive things you'd find there
5. Puerto Real Clubhouse <-- Seth loves to wade in the pool and walk around the covered basketball court


5 Favorite Places - Manila

1. Krispy Kreme <-- funny enough, I don't eat Krispy Kreme when I'm in Manila. We usually buy a box or two and bring it home to Iloilo and eat it there
2. Pepper Steak <-- A and G convinced me it was a good idea and I have been converted
3. The two bookstalls at UP AS Walk
4. Trinoma <-- Powerbooks, Iora, Debenhams, Gymboree, Healthy Options ... all happy places
5. Starbucks/Seattle's Best <-- when Seth napped, Johann and I would "sneak out" and have coffee and enjoy each other's company ^_^


... to be continued tomorrow. ^_^

Friday, December 26, 2008

More lists! --

5 Favorite Books
Admittedly, I was reading a lot of romance novels this year -- especially towards the latter part.

1. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
2. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
3. The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt
4. Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series <-- not really a book-book
5. Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas <-- a romance novel written by a Chinese-American (who only learned English when she came to America)


5 Favorite TV Series

1. Weeds
2. Pushing Daisies
3. Dead Like Me
4. Entourage
5. Dirty Jobs

also Ugly Betty, Avatar and Big Bang Theory

5 Favorite Magazine Finds at Booksale
1. Romantic Times
2. MacLife and MacWorld
3. cheap copies of Real Simple
4. Games <-- I get this for my youngest brother
5. Ready Made <-- newer issues are very hard to find! >_< I usually find 2006/2007 issues. Bleh.

also Parents, Cookie and Bookmark.

5 Favorite Comic Books
1. Avengers Fairy Tale
2. Green Arrow/Black Canary
3. Batman by Grant Morrison
4. Plain Janes: Janes in Love <-- a TPB
5. Umbrella Academy Series 2 <-- well... I've actually never read this because it just came out but the first series was AMAZING and I'm sure the second one will be just as good (if not better)


... more tomorrow. (If anyone wants me to list a top 5 of something, just let me know. ^_^)

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Time for the lists! --

Well, Christmas is done and we're counting down to 2009 --

5 Things I Love About Living in the Philippines
1. Cheap, overnight, trackable delivery
<-- I love 2go and Air21 and their amazingly efficient service. We sent a gift to our inaanak in Benguet and he received it the next day. Talk about fast. It's too bad our government-run Post Office can't offer the same service.

2. Cheap books from both US and UK publishers
<-- Yesterday, for example, Johann found this AMAZING anthology of Steampunk Fiction published by Solaris. Cover price is GBP7.99 and we got our copy for 345 pesos.

3. Access to anime, Korean/Japanese TV Drama, US Sitcoms, British movies, etc.

4. The Food
<-- Lechon, Sans Rival, Taho ... I can go on and on ^_^

5. SSS and PhilHealth
<-- I'm a big fan of these two government institutions. I've experienced the benefits of paying my monthly dues to SSS and Philhealth. They should promote themselves more, though -- it makes me sad to know that some people don't bother to avail of these.

I also like the NSO and their e-service. Imagine being able to get your birth certificate and your marriage certificate with a click of a mouse button. (And a quick trip to the bank. ^_^)

6. Cheap airfare
<-- With PAL offering Econolite fares, domestic and international trips are now more affordable. ^_^


5 Best Purchases for 2008
1. Our White Macbook plus the RAM upgrade
<-- the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship. Next on my list is an Apple desktop.

2. My son's "Nano House"

3. Our second-hand Samsung refrigerator
<-- Early this year, we heard about a Korean student having a "sayonara sale" and was selling his appliances cheaply. We were able to guy his 4-month old refrigerator for half the price.

We have about 3 cakes in the ref right now and we appreciate the extra space. ^_^

4. Johann's phone

5. My Lesportsac bags


5 Favorite Movies of the Year
1. The Dark Knight
2. Iron Man
3. Wall-E
4. Juno
5. Kung Fu Panda

also Atonement, Wanted and Tropic Thunder (Downey deserves the Golden Globe nomination ^_^)


... more tomorrow ^_^

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Only at Christmas --

Yesterday, Seth discovered the bags of toys his Gwa-ma bought for the children of our workers. He wanted to open and play with them and we couldn't let him.

He ran around asking EVERYONE's permission but no one could give it.

The allure of shiny new things talaga. ^_^

* * *

Can only happen in a house full of kids --

I got this reply from my friend, F -- I loved the message so I haven't deleted it yet.

I'm still wrapping all my gifts! And ang hirap with 2 kids getting tape, tearing the wrapping paper, and licking the boxes!

The "licking boxes" part is what amuses me.

^_^

Friday, December 12, 2008

MV Doulos!!! --

MV Doulos will be in the Philippines again in 2009!

Yay!

Their first stop is Cebu on January 16 and then Bacolod on February 12 and, finally, Manila on March 5.

I wonder if I can still ride a boat in February ... Johann might have to roll me on and off the docks by then.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Was going to use a titillating title but decided against it --

Another regular "filler" from my brother are copies of Metropolis -- a weekly English magazine handed out for free around Tokyo.

My favorite section is "The Small Print" where the writers of Metropolis scour daily newspapers for interesting newsbits and comment on them.

I love the title of this article:
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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

More random things --

We got a package from my brother in Japan yesterday.

It's always fun getting things from him because he always surprises us with fun things from Japan.

One of the usual "fillers" he adds in each box are uchiwa (Japanese fans) that are handed out for free around Japan.

Since we are the land of (almost)-regular power interruptions, it is helpful to have one by our bedsides so we can fan Seth when he sleeps (or tries to sleep).

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I got excited when I sorted through the stack of fans and found these:

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(from L to R: Miyazaki's Ponyo, FFXI and a fan for the Tokyo 2016 Olympics bid)

* * *

More Pocky! --


Was surprised to discover 5 boxes of Pocky stuffed in the box as well.

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When Seth saw it, he immediately wanted to eat some and I told him to wait until I had taken some pictures of it for my blog.

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The little one has some patience but not a lot when it comes to Pocky -- observe the tiny hand sneaking in ...

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The Blueberry Pocky smelled soooo good! I guess that's why Seth chose to eat (and demolish) that box first.

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Notice three different chocolate varieties? I'm curious about the Creamy Chocolate.

The flavor that frightens me the most is the Brazilian Pudding ... but Johann and I have a plan. (Cue: foreboding music and thunder)

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Cute! --

Seth's yaya is slightly OC and she had some free time yesterday and decided to organize the stuff on top of our TV.

We used to just have a Yakisoba cup stuffed to the brim with pens, pencils, scissors and whatnot. She found empty containers and decided to fix up the system.

I thought this was cute --

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It's the rolls of adhesive tape that I am using for Christmas (and for my book business) --

^_^

* * *

Diaries of years past --


I try not to be a packrat but it's hard to throw away something that you've had with you for an entire year.

So I keep my yearly diaries.

I've had the pleasure of owning two Starbucks diaries (2005 and 2006 -- I think I left my 2005 diary in our place in Manila) and those were what inspired me to keep a record of my daily/weekly activities.

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This year, I actually have 2 diaries -- my small, red Moleskine one for portability and a regular one I bought at National Bookstore, which I keep on my bedside. I don't really use the big one because it's usually covered by books and whatnot. I use it to keep my receipts and tracking numbers (for my book business).

I like reading my diaries -- it's fun to remember movie dates and dinner dates and when I went somewhere. ^_^

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Waiting for inspiration --

When I saw this a few months ago, I knew I wanted to get one for Seth.

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I had such grand dreams of making a personalized discovery book for him. It's been sitting on or counter all this time, waiting for me to do something with it.

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The shiny pages intimidate me! >_<

* * *

Ready for 2009! --


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Last year, I splurged and got myself the red set -- but I decided to be a bit more practical this year and opted for a soft cover 2009 weekly notebook and a hardcover black moleskine notebook instead.