BELLISSIMO!

Had a bellissimo (Italian for "lovely") evening at Bellissimo Ristorante (Scout Castor, QC), with my dear office sisters. The pasta, pizza and pitchers of Margarita were delizioso but nothing tops the company of good friends. Grazie, Ladies, for one fun Fri-date! (My dear J joined us later in the evening.)

La dolce vita!

GREEN

Green with envy?

Romulo Cafe's green corner is so refreshing to look at!

(Love the resto's food and interiors.)

Photo: Taken during one of our lunch dates.

Wish I could have a corner like this in my office cubicle. =)

I HEART MY SISTER

‎"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." - MCG.

Happy Birthday to my dear sister P.

You keep me a child at heart. Love you.

Above: Goofing around Hong Kong Disneyland

Above: Loving the sun, sea, and sand of Palawan

Sorry my phone call woke you up on your bday (haha). I miss you and our regular "sisters only" dates. But I'm happy to know you're blooming where you are. Ate's so proud of the person you're growing up to be -- very strong (you've adjusted to your new environment really fast), super smart (perfect Math exams! promoted to the Honors Class!), creative (still into arts & crafts), respectful, thoughtful, caring, tech-y (our low-tech parents are so amazed!). See you soon!

IF I WIN THE LOTTO...

Filipinos are ecstatic. Yesterday, November 14, Pacquiao won! Today, November 15, every one's wondering if someone will finally win the Php440M (almost USD 10.5M?) Grand Lotto! Even the Congressmen and Senators have admitted to buying tickets.

If you had that much money, how would you spend it?

Here's where my Php440M will go:

1. Chosen charity: Children’s Hospital Wards

When my baby sister was much younger, she was sickly. We were in the E.R. too often. I’ve learned that the worst thing is having a family member ill, especially babies / toddlers / kids. It’s heartbreaking seeing children in pain. And it didn’t help that we also had to worry about hospital bills. It’s from this personal experience that I’d love to reach out to families whose young sons and daughters are sick. Kung kaming nakakapag-Private Room, pino-problema pa rin ang pera, paano pa ang nasa Ward? If I could, I’d like to extend assistance to these families. I pray that parents, Ates and Kuyas, can dedicate all their time and energy to the sick child, huwag nang alalahanin ang gastos.

2. Retirement Home for my Parents

My parents are currently living abroad but they plan to retire here in the Philippines. Their home here is in a flood-prone zone. It’s been my long-time dream to buy them a comfortable retirement home away from the flood.

3. A bigger space for J and Me

We love our current love nest. But if we had Php440M, it would be lovelier to have a bigger condo unit. Yes, we’d still choose a condo. It’s more environmental. As I’ve written before, allot land for trees.

4. Family Vacation Home

I treated my parents and sister to a Palawan vacation last summer (May 2010). Like me, they fell in love with the place. I’ve been there thrice. Every visit never ceases to leave me in awe. We’d all love to come back again and again, hopefully to our own Palawan Home (beach-front preferred), where every one else – all our relatives and friends – are most welcome.

5. A family SUV for my parents

We need something that would fit the whole family. The current cars are too small for every one. Hiwa-hiwalay pa tuloy.

6. A practical vehicle for J and Me

We’re both not into driving. But with all that money, maybe it’s time to try it.

7. Travel the world.

Europe. America. Africa. Australia. Asia.

8. Open up at least five businesses.

We have some ideas were very passionate about. The capital would make these dream business ventures come true!

9. Retirement Fund for J and Me.

10. Health Fund for the Family.

11. College Funds for my Sister and Niece.

12. More Diversified Investments.

Stocks. Mutual Funds. Time Deposits. Etc.

I'm ending this entry with a quote from the film "Eat, Pray, Love" -- Liz: "I remember an old joke about a man who spent his whole life going to a church every day and prayed to the statue of a great saint begging 'please, please, please, let me win the lottery.' Finally the exasperated statue comes to life and looks down at the begging man and says 'my son, please, please, please, buy a ticket.'"

8TH WONDER OF THE WORLD

We love The Philippine Star's banner story today. For us, TPS ran a knockout headline and the best photo.

PANALO!

November 15, 2010

Monday

Blah.

MB's photo's better than PDI's.

PACQUIAO VS MARGARITO

Where did you watch Pacquiao win his 8th World Championship?

Photo: OnePinoyTV.blogspot.com

Our condo arranged a live screening for the residents. J and I were supposed to have a front-row breakfast date at the 4th floor Function Room today.

But last night, as we were doing the grocery -- we were planning on bringing healthy home-made chicken sandwiches to our Pacquiao-Margarito date -- my brother called me asking for Ticketnet's number.

Me: I'll forward it to you. Why, what are you watching?

Bro: I'll check if there are still tickets for the Pacquiao fight.

Me: Our condo's sponsoring a live screening. You can have my ticket.

(Yes, I'm that kind of sister.)

So I just listened to the live radio coverage. And J -- who was out on a date with my younger bro -- texted me updates every now and then. Virtual date, haha. (I can catch the network's delayed telecast later.)

Manny could have murdered Margarito. But he was a true gentleman to the very end.

Post-bout interview:

"Boxing is not for killing each other." -- Rep. Manny Pacquiao, 8-Time World Boxing Champion

You make us more proud with your brand of fighting!

Proud of our Pacquiao-autographed gloves.

I WOULD RUNAWAY WITH YOU...

Say it's true,

There's nothing like me and you...

I would runaway...

I have runaway with you...

-- "Runaway," The Corrs

The running shoes of my favorite pair.

Who else could they be? *wink*

RUNNER'S WORLD

"The beauty of running is that it's so simple, so adaptable, and so positive. Any healthy person can run. (And many others, despite assorted physical and mental handicaps, have also succeeded.) You learned to walk when you were a child, right? Well, running is nothing more than glorified walking. You can do it.

I'm currently loving J's book.

You might not run fast. And you might not run far. But you can do it. And even if you have to mix walking with your running, you'll lose weight, lower your blood pressure, reduce the stress of daily life, and feel a surge of energy.

And those are only the physical benefits. The mental benefits include lowered risk of depression and increased creativity. Many runners take up the sport because they want to lose a few pounds or decrease their inherited risks of heart disease. They continue running for the way it clears their minds every day.

Running is the ultimate individual sport. It doesn't matter how fast or slow you are relative to anyone else. You set your own pace and you measure your own progress. You can't lose this race because you're not running against anyone else. You're only running against yourself, and as long as you are running, you are winning."

-- Amby Burfoot

Executive Editor, Runner's World Magazine

FREE LUNCH

Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?

Above: my lunch place mat & coaster

J and I tried The Real Thing diner (2F Il Terrazo, Tomas Morato, Quezon City) with our office friends today. The diner was on soft opening. J's order -- Chicken Amigo (fried peppered chicken with potato wedges) -- came in last, 30minutes after we've ordered. The pretty owner / manager was gracious enough to serve it herself, "Sorry for the delay. This one's on the house." Wow! Ang saya! Free lunch! Free lunch! And the meal was good.

Every one else was happy with what they ordered. G and I had the Shrimp Pasta, it tasted deliciously healthy. R had a spinach-based pasta with caramelized walnuts, we all loved it (yes, we all tried her order, hehe). L, J and the other G had burgers, and they were super happy too. They were generous with the french fries and potato wedges, both were served crispy, yum!

Coca-Cola lovers, this diner's for you. The place is decorated with Coke memorabilia. And they have a lot of Coke-based drinks (alcoholic & non-alcoholic). It would have been heaven for J, except that we have not been drinking soda for more than a month now (Yes, he's cut his Coke addiction.).

We suggested that they expand their menu to include more traditional diner options (pancakes, bacon and eggs, french toast, sausages, omelettes, milkshake, ice cream, etc.)

Over-all, I say try The Real Thing!

"AUNTIE BRIGADE"

"Maybe it's not only perfectly legitimate for certain women to never reproduce, but also necessary...

Childbearing and child rearing consume so much energy that the women who do become mothers can quickly become swallowed up by that daunting task - if not outright killed by it. Thus, maybe we need extra females, women on the sidelines with undepleted energies, who are ready to leap into the mix and keep the tribe supported...

Childless women have always run orphanages and schools and hospitals. They heal the sick and teach the arts and often they become indispensable on the battlefield of life. Literally, in some cases. (Florence Nightingale comes to mind.)

Such childless women - let's call them the "Auntie Brigade" - have never been very well honored by history, I'm afraid. They are called selfish, frigid, pathetic.

Here's one particularly nasty bit of conventional wisdom circulating out there about childless women that I need to dispel here, and that is this: that women who have no children may lead liberated and happy and wealthy lives when they are young, but they will ultimately regret that choice when they reach old age, for they shall all die alone and depressed and full of bitterness. Perhaps you've heard this old chestnut?

Just to set the record straight: There is zero socio-logical evidence to back this up. In fact, recent studies of American nursing homes comparing happiness levels of elderly childless women against levels of women who did have children show no pattern of special misery or joy in one group or the other. But here's what the researchers did discover that makes elderly women miserable across the board: poverty and poor health. Whether you have children or not, then, the prescription seems clear: Save your money, floss your teeth, wear your seatbelt, and keep fit - and you'll be a perfectly happy old bird someday."

-- Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed, 2010