Kate's wedding

Last Saturday, I woke up early to prepare for the wedding. I usually dont wake up before 9am on weekends but I have to. Good thing I had everything prepared the night before... bought a bag that matches my shoe, ironed the shawl which Im gonna wear and had my digicam recharged. First stop: Hair Salon.. I had my appointment at 11am and I got there 10 minutes early just so they'll get me started at 11am SHARP. But they let me wait for 30minutes. AAARRRRGH!!! I kept on asking the lady when she'll do my hair coz I have another appointment at 1pm. She told me she'll start with me in 20minutes... I almost lost my temper.. hehehe The result was good though coz she was able to do what I really like and the stylist is nice too. Next stop: Bobbi Brown at Nordstrom, Topanga. It's my first time to have my makeup at the mall. It's kinda awkward because there's lots of people looking at me while the makeup artist is putting makeup on my face. hahaha Totally new experience.. I just told Tamara, my makeup artist, that the motif is burgundy. She emphasized my eyes instead of my lips coz she told me I that that's my asset.. hahaha Nambola pa.. I bought the same color of lipstick she had on me and same blush coz instead of paying for what she did, I have to buy 3 items. Next stop: Apartment. Ofcourse, I need to change.. hahaha. Before leaving, picture-picture muna..

The garden wedding was held at Castaway in Burbank. It's a nice wedding. Almost all of Darwin's relatives are there so it's like a family reunion na rin. I get to meet his uncles from Vegas and their cute sons... Kyle and Ace. Darwin and I are one of the secondory sponsors, we're assigned to put a veil on them..that's the hardest part of the ceremony coz you need to pin it and you dont want to get them hurt. Kate looks really beautiful. Here's our picture with the bride and groom.



Reception was held there too.. food was great!!! When it's time for ballroom, Darwin asked me dance with him and we're the first couple at the dance floor. It's about time to use what we learned from our swing sessions in Pasadena. His aunts were all surprised coz it's the first time they saw Darwin swing dancing.. His mother went next.. hehehe. His cousin Ace danced with me and Jill. You cant believe how hyper he is and he danced all night long... Take note, he's only 3yrs old.. hahaha

Here's a picture taken at Cast Away overlooking Burbank. It's a nice view..

Cousins from Pinas

I just want to share a picture taken last Aug 20 at lola's 2nd wake in the Philippines. These are all my cousins. I remember when I was a kid, we celebrate all family gatherings at Tito Leo's house. We are required to prepare a dance number or else we dont have "aguinaldo". Sometimes we just play around. But now, those who I used to carry are taller than me now.. hahaha. Two of my cousins are married and I have a niece and a nephew. Time flies so fast...



From left: DJ, Kuya Mark, Albert, Kay, Don-Don, Anna, Katja, Sarah, Michael, MM, Ado, JC, Ado, TJ and baby TJ.

X's:
All of us at work contributed for the Super Lotto. I only gave $1. hahaha. The jackpot prize already reached $77M and if we win, I'll get $5,200,000. Alright!!! As I watch the news, I'm holding the copy of the lotto tickets that my officemate gave us. Nobody wins... We'll try next week again...

Unlucky me

Last night, I was thinking of going to Target to look for a vacuum cleaner for the car coz it needs some cleaning...but I need to do my laundry too, so I went home straight from work instead. I unloaded all my things from the car, food for dinner, laptop, shoes and books. I had to go back twice coz I cant bring everything. My coworker teased me that it looks like "nag-alsabalutan" ako. hehehe

While I was doing the laundry, I hooked up my iPod to my component so I can listen to all my favorite songs. I also configured the router so I can have internet connection to my laptop. Then I remember I need to go back to the washer and move my clothes to the dryer... With so many things in mind, I forgot to bring my keys with me. I got LOCKED OUT.. huhuhu I dont know what do.. I dont have my cellphone, my purse, my keys.. I dont have anything... I panicked. I went straight to the locksmith across the street but it's closed. Bakit ngayon pa? I told myself coz it's usually open 24/7. Out of helplessness, I knocked the door of the apartment next to me.. Dyahe talaga.. I explained what happened and good thing they we're really nice. They let me call the manager but he's not home so I just left a message. After 30 minutes of waiting, I decided to call Darwin. At first, I dont want him to know about what happened until everything's ok... But I need support, I'm really afraid I wont get in. And so I called him. He's worried and upset. It won't be that easy for him to rescue me since I have his car. After we hung up, I went back to the locksmith to check if it's open.. it's not.. I looked for 24/7 locksmith around the area through the yellow page and I was able to contact one. It will cost me $65 just to open it. I have no choice so I gave in. After a few minutes, Darwin called me and told me he'd go to my place and to just cancel the job order I had with the locksmith. He borrowed his mom's car. I waited for him at Coffee Bean.. and there he was, my knight in shining armor.. After 3 hours of being outside my room, I feel safe again. He has my spare key.. He needs to leave at once though coz his mom needs the car. We talked over the phone.. Thanks Darwin! Now I learned my lesson...NEVER LEAVE THE KEYS, It's time to use my wrist keychain.

New Hobby

iPod, iPod, iPod!!! Whoa... it's really addicting. Last night, I transferred all of my mp3 compilation to my PC then sync it to my iPod using iTunes. While doing so, I listened to most of it and I can't help but sing.. hahaha.. Cool with you by Jennifer Love, Rendezvous by Craig David, Stay by Lisa Loeb, and of course OPMs. It's good to hear all the songs that was a hit 10 or so years ago...


On my way to work this morning, I hooked up my iPod to Darwin's car audio system (I dont know how he set it up but all I know is that it replaced the connection going to his CD changer). I choose shuffle mode... that way I can just skip a song and listen to the next one coz it's hard to control it while driving. You also have the option to choose by Artist, Album, Songs or Genre but since my files are not managed yet it's better to just play it in shuffle mode. I usually listen to Ryan's show in KIIS FM but now... forget KIIS.. hehehe. Hanep sa new hobby!!!! I agree Darwin... hehehe

iPod Surprise

I just got a new toy from Darwin.. an iPOD!!! I was really surprised coz I have no idea he's gonna give that to me. A rose and a card is enough... but an iPod.. that's too much.. Thanks Darwin. You're really good in surprising me. This is the best gift I've ever had..


Anyways he engraved our name on it. He took this shot this morning with my reflection.. Nice noh!

Last Friday, we had dinner at Koji's in Hollywood & Highland. Our waiter was kind enough to demonstrate how to do shabu-shabu or "swish-swish" coz literally, you need to use your chopstix to cook... you need to prepare everything for yourself.. It's a nice new experience and we had fun doing it. The ambiance was great.. We got window seats with our own boiling pot and a great view of the H&H complex..

The Appointment

I just made an appointment with Bobbi Brown at Topanga Mall to do my makeup on Kate's wedding next week. The girl on the other line was very nice... She told me that they would be busy on that day coz there will be an event or something. I asked if she'll still accomodate me and she said she will. She'll do it for free but the catch is I need to buy 3 items. I checked their website and the cheapest they have is $16 for a lip balm. Whoa! Shocking.. LOL.. Anyways, atleast I can make use of it unlike if I go to a salon and they'll charge me $60 just to do my makeup without bringing anything home..hahaha Thanks to Jill who advised me to go there coz according to her they're really good. Let's see....

Now all I have think of is contact Linda to do my hair...

Something.. Something..

I got this from friendster bulletin.. this is nice...

I say the words "I Love You"
so much that I wonder
If you take for granted the feeling
that is behind them.

I never want to see them as just words
to begin or end a conversasion.

"I Love You" is just my way of saying
that you have touched a place in my heart
and made me come alive.

You taught me how to love,
You broke through all my defenses
and comforted my fears,

You taught me
and awakened my feelings
I never thought I'd feel.

You have all of the patience, care,
understanding and concern
needed to build the kind of relationship we have.

So when I say "I Love You,"
the words are not spoken out of habit,
It is my way of saying
thank you for being you and
of returning some of the joys
you have given me.


I just added something in tabulas. Check it out!!

Happy Anniversary

First date: Barrio fiesta (coz she loves Kare-kare)
Both members of Friendster, joined in Jul 2003
Both have blog sites: Darwin in Xanga, Mitzi in blogger, both in Tabulas
Watches Orange County (OC) just to meet every Tuesday and The Apprentice on Thursdays
Helped her move 5 times, now she lives in Culver City

18 movies: first-Gigli, last-Harold & Kumar, all time fave-Before Sunset
3 Live concerts: Goo Goo Dolls, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Side A & Freestyle
Watched the NBA Lakers game at Staples Center and Angels (baseball) at Anaheim
Collects Sex and the City DVDs (one more left.. 6th season vol.2)
DVD Marathon record: rented 4 DVDs for the weekend

Loves Thai food, just tried Vietnamese cuisine
She jogs and he plays basketball on weekends at Balboa and Mason Park
Swing dancing for 6 sessions in Pasadena
Gets haircut with Linda in Reseda
She chooses the color of rubber for his braces (most used is GREEN)

2 Out of Towns: Santa Barbara & Solvang, Hearst castle in San Simeon
Snowboarding at Mountain High and Mammoth
Visita Iglesia in 6 churches
Goes to church every Sunday, she missed 2, he missed 1

Fave hangout: Borders (books and coffee)
Window shops at Fry's, Ikea, Target
Closet full of Banana Republic tops, polos and pants

Birthday: Crustacean (for Her), Stinking Rose (for Him)
Both got drunk on Alize during New Year's eve
Valentine's Day: She got 2 dozen roses and a card, he loves the shaver she gave him
Birthday present: Swatch (for Him), PC desk and Banana Republic wool coat (for Her)
Christmas present: Hugo Boss perfume (for Him) mp3 player (for Her)

Unlimited mobile to mobile minutes plan on cell phones
Broadband internet: he has cable connection, she has DSL connection
Fave video game: NBA live 2004 for playstation (him), Yahoo chess (her)
Fave messenger: AIM

We love each other.
Happy Anniversary.

(Compiled by Darwin & Mitzi. Inspired by Abbie's creation)

Bon Voyage Mom!!!

Mom and I took a cab to LAX. On our way to the airport, mom received so many phone calls. The funniest was with Tita Yoly, I didn't hear any of their conversation, but it made me laugh.. I think with the way mom talks to her.. hahaha. Our cab driver was kind enough to unload all mom's luggage.. it's really heavy. As we're looking for PAL, there's this nice guy who helped us weigh mom's luggage before she checks-in. I was shocked to see almost all Filipinos with balikbayan boxes.. Pinoy na pinoy talaga.. LOL

Have a nice trip mom! She'll arrived in Manila on Friday, 6am (Phils. time). I'll miss you.

Believe it or not?!

I wasn't able to hear mass yesterday because my relatives were here in my apartment to visit me. They also dropped off my mom since she'll be leaving for Manila on Aug 18. She'll take the Los Angeles airport (LAX) and it's only 5 miles away from my place. We're just worried on how to get there coz AJ cancelled his trip to LA on Wednesday, we'll just take a cab I guess... A day before that, there's a get-together at Bakersfield for Tito Noel and Tita Tina's wedding anniversary. Since all them are free except my cousin AJ, two vans headed straight to LA. When they arrived, I let all the kids sit on my bed, Sern on my pc chair and my aunts squat on my floor pillows and uncles just standing.. hahaha.. I cant believe all of us were able fit in my pad, that's nine of us. But it was cool. We had lunch and watched the video and compiled pictures from lola's funeral. When it's time to say goodbyes, everyone became emotional.

This morning, I dont know if I'll hear mass or just stay home to study. I have a Cisco exam scheduled at 10am. My boss told me to just go to work after the exam so that I wont get stressed out. Anyway, I still went to church with mom to make bawi on the mass I missed yesterday. Left home at 9:10am... Sad to say, I didnt pass the exam.. It's really frustrating coz I know almost all my answers are correct.. I'm done with Cisco wireless certification but I still need to get another exam so that our company will become Platinum Cisco Reseller. Pressure!!!

I just found out that Darwin's grandma (aunt of his dad) passed away. My deepest sympathy to you and your family. Ethernal rest grant unto her Oh Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.

Mission: Free Wifi Hotspot

It's hard to look for a wifi hotspot if you're moving. Darwin is driving while I look for a wireless connection along old Pasadena. We were like hackers trying to get free connection.. hahaha. I was able to detect Apple, T-mobile, linksys and other networks but the connection is not that good. There was this time I got a good connection for like 2 minutes and I was able to browse yahoo.com but I lost it. I told Darwin to stop somewhere and he remembered that Pasadena library is one of the location that has free wifi hotspot. We were able to get in their network. The connection is only 3Mbps but it's fine. There are lots of wifi'ers like us. I like the library.. it's old and I think one of the movies I've seen was shot there.

Kaiser Picnic

Darwin and I attend his company's picnic at Brookside park in Pasadena. We had a hard time looking for the park but atleast we were able to make it. It's right beside Rose Bowl. The food was great!!! We also participated one of the activities, we both joined the sack race. I didn't volunteer, the game facilitator approached me and told me... "Dont pretend that I dont see you.. join this game.." And so I did.. hehe The guys followed after that. Both of us didn't win but we had fun!!!

New Laptop

Mitzi, configuring her new laptop right out of the box. She got a wireless mouse but still using the touchpad




Finally connected to the internet. It's got a built in wi-fi network card.

Craving for Chinese food???

Left Burbank at around 10pm-ish and we're having a dilemma if we'll have Chinese or Thai for dinner. We just had Thai a couple of days ago so forget it. But I still love Thai food. We ended up at Won Kok in Chinatown. It's popular because of it's authentic Cantonese food at reasonable price and it's open until 3am. Our waitress is sooooo "sungit" that's why we only gave her 10% tip.. hahahaha. Imagine.. just to ask for a spoon and water took us 10minutes waiting. But I felt sorry for her because there's only two of them serving 15 or so tables.

Laptop craze

Darwin and I went to Best Buy last night to look for a laptop. They have this good deal of No interest financing for 2 years. There's lot to choose but these two caught our eye. Both has wireless capability and DVD-RW/CD-RW. Just what I want.. hehehe



1st choice: Toshiba Satellite Notebook with Intel Centrino Mobile Technology Model: A55-S326


I like this because it's slim, lighter and it has Intel Centrino Mobile Technology. The only downside of this model compared to our 2nd choice is it has a processor speed of only 1.6GHz and it's more expensive.



2nd choice: Toshiba Satellite Notebook with Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor 532 Model: A75-S226


This model has a processor speed of 3.0Ghz, larger display type and higher video memory (64MB). Hmmm, it's an overkill.

On our way to downtown LA, we're discussing if we really need it. I told Darwin that I want it. It costs $42/mo for 2years. He told me yesterday about the ubiquitous wi-fi hotspots all over LA. That means free internet anywhere, even on parking lots... hehehe We still have until tomorrow to decide since the deal will end on Aug 14.

Summoned for Jury Duty

AJ sent me an instant message that he received a letter from Superior Court of Kern County that I'm summoned for Jury Duty on August 23. I'm just wondering why they'll summon me when I changed my address to LA on my driver's license. I had my California ID in Bakersfield but my driver's license information is the most recent ones.. Hmmmm.. looks like there's a mistake there. And only US citizens can be summoned... another mistake. Actually, I told my co-worker about it and his wife was summoned too. I just need to request for excuse, he told me. I called the jury services and I just need to fax a signed letter that I no longer live in Bakersfield.

Chris' interview

AJ just told me that Chris was interviewed by a reporter from their local paper yesterday. Chris is one of the National Guards deployed for active duty. They're headed to to Fort Sill in Oklahoma for training. I asked AJ to give me a cutout of that article. It's available online though, but before I was able to access the site, I need to create an account. It took me a while before I see the article.

Here's an excerpt from The Bakersfield Californianpaper:

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loved ones behind, uncertainty ahead
18 Bakersfield-based soldiers say farewells, respond to call of duty
By MISTY WILLIAMS, Californian staff writer

For some, like Spc. Christian Palisoc, 20, it will be their first time overseas.

"I'm pretty excited," said the former South High student, who made sure to pack his MP3 player. "It's an opportunity of a lifetime."

Enrolled at Bakersfield College, Palisoc hopes to take some classes online.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll surely miss Chris. He's my closest cousin. Good thing I was able to contact him before he left Bakersfield. I always pray for his safety. Take care cuz!

Home Sweet Home

I just got home from Lola's Funeral in Frisco. Earlier... mom, Tito Leo, Tita Imee, Chris and AJ accompanied me to San Jose airport. It's a 30-minute drive from my uncle's place in Foster City. I got up really early (on weekends I usually wake up around 10am) coz I dont want to experience what happend to me and Cho last Memorial day. I'm not expecting that all of them will go with me (originally it's only mom, tito and Chris) since everyone is tired and "puyat". Also, the plan is to just drop me off the terminal but they walked me through the ticketing booths. So sweet... We got there a little bit early so chicka-chicka muna.. Chris is leaving for Cuba on Monday and I insisted him not to go. AJ and I are planning on his visit in LA next week before mom leaves. Tito, Tita and mom are arguing if they're gonna leave on Friday the 13th or not? Do you believe on those superstitions? hehehe.. As we talk, talk and talk.. I didnt realize it's already 8:30am. I should be at gate7 now. We said good-byes.. As I was walking towards gate7, there's this guy who called my name.. "Are you Thomas?" Then I said yes.. The guy told me that I'm the only one they're waiting for. Wooosh.. They have this 10 minute rule pala that your seat will be cancelled if you're not available 10minutes before boarding.


All by myself... taken inside the plane. The honey roasted peanuts is not served anymore. Sarap pa naman nun... huhuhu.. I had coffee for breakfast.

I arrived in Burbank at exactly 9:40am. I'm having a dilemma. to take the bus or taxi? I already know where the bus stop is but I dont know how to get there. I asked the guard how to get to Hollywood Way and Burbank... she told me it's a pretty long walk.. With that and sooo HOT weather.. I took a cab. It cost me $20 for an 8mile drive to the valley.. that's too much.. and I noticed that even if the cab is in stationary motion, it metered me 20cents. I'm broke. I'll go to the mall to window shop na lng.

Lola's Viewing and Funeral pictures

Viewing Day:


I took a picture of the collage mom did for lola.


Family pic outside the funeral parlor

Many people witnessed this day. It's only open to the public from 3pm to 9pm unlike in Pinas where we can do "lamay". There are some who arrived and left early but most of the guests stayed. After the rosary, I had my speech followed by Tita Imee, Tita Tina and Joren.

Funeral Day:


My cousins in white, from left.. AJ, me, Justin, Bea, Chris and Sernan.

I led the liturgy during mass. Bea, Chris and Tito Leo shared their experiences with lola. It was soo touchy, I cried. We had lunch at Foster City's clubhouse. It was a looong day. I met my second cousin from San Diego, Glady's and Shelly. They are nice. Glady's asked for my number and we exchanged email address. We're now friendster buddies.

Magic

I just downloaded quicktime apps on my PC then checked the movie trailers section at www.apple.com/trailers and there I see "Before Sunset" as one of the featured movies.. I havn't seen its trailer yet and I want to save it so I can play it again and again. I checked the temp files but it's not there.. so I made some "magic" and I got the source in MOV format. To save, right-click this URL then choose Save Target As.

Click here to check other movie trailers.

Something new

Sunday, bought a dress at Charlotte Russe in Topangga Mall. It's hard to look for a beige dress for Kate's wedding. I went to Express, Rampage, and Bebe but this one that I saw at Charlotte's is soo classy. Thanks to Darwin, it's his personal choice. I liked it soo much, wait till you see me on it (kapal!.. hehehe). Wedding will be on Aug 28. I'm one of her secondary sponsors.

We ate lunch at Pho 99. We havn't tried a Vietnamese cuisine together. Food is great. Ordered something that we need to cook. It's really something new.. we had fun doing it.. Darwin cooks while I roll it on some kinda like "balat ng lumpia". Haay.. I'm so busog.. hehehe No dinner that night.

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

I dont know anything about the movie until Darwin told me it's a good comic flick. I didnt get the chance to see it's trailer that's why. The only idea I had about the movie is when KTLA5 Morning News featured White Castle in Sunset and that they are giving 50,000 free burgers as as promotional event leading up to the release of the film.

When I read H&K's review in Entertainment Weekly that morning, I got so interested and even called Darwin to see H&K instead of "The Village". He was with his cousin that time while I was studying Cisco for my certification. He agreed to see it too and we the apartment after a quick brunch.

I was entertained for 90 minutes and laughed so hard because they look sooo nerdy. Funniest part is when H&K's inside the restroom with this twin chicks having "Shit" Battle.. haha... hilarious.

Birthday Party at Rochelle's place (sister of Roanne) with the guys.. As usual, they made "bola" to everyone na naman.. They asked the celebrant what's her fave restaurant and she just smiled.. I guess she knows the trick already.. I was a victim of that question too.. coz the twins will tell you next.. "Ilalabas ka na lng namin sa ..." hahaha.. I told them you should change your line na..

Farewell Lola

I will surely miss my grandma. She passed away last Friday at 8:25pm. AJ (my cousin) called me and he sounds really sad.. i know it's something bad. Lola said goodbye na. I called mom after that call to check what's going on. It's too sad. I was with Darwin and Kate that night. We're about to go home from the mall. To cheer me up, we reminisce about the good times we had with our respective lolas.

Lola is the strength of the family. What I wont forget about her is the way she take things easily... so calm. She's very generous too. I remember that time I stayed in Frisco and we went shopping, she gave me an RL shirt. She cooks really good, my fave is her version of kalderetang baka. I hope I can cook like her.

This picture was taken last July 4 when I visited my relatives in San Francisco. They call this the "Three Generation" shot.. Lola, mom and me.. A week after she was diagnosed with lung cancer. I'm sure she's happy where she is right now. I love you lola...