...T G I F

TGIF! Yahooeyy! It’s a preps weekend once again because tomorrow, we actually have 3 appointments to go to..

1. SWAN Catering – final contract (as in final na talaga!)  we always look forward to going to SWAN because we simply love chatting with Irish, our AE.. she’s so kwela and honest, it’s so easy to be ourselves and just enjoy our meeting with her


2. ArtFinds – to get the wooden lamps and the painted boxes for our invites. Wooden Lamps are for our principal sponsors.. we’re very proud of our PS gifts, they’re locally made, beautiful and unique! Hehe!


3. Tet Hagape – 3rd fitting with Tet! Woohoo! I’ll be able to finally feel my gown ‘cause I’m sick of fitting the lining only, hehe.. I’ll be able to see my lace, with the beaded obi belt.. woohoo! I’m so excited!

Before going to Tet’s we’ll also meet Anshe ‘cause her measurements haven’t been taken yet.. Anshe’s my thesis partner and she’s going to be one of my secondary sponsors.. she’s a fellow w@wie (her wedding’s on April) and soon-to-be village mate!

Anyway, this morning was my phone interview with the US-Team Leader at CAI-STA. I feel that it went great, ‘cause he ended the interview by saying “looking forward to meeting you, Geri”.. I just love how foreigners say my name, it’s so easy for them, unlike pinoys who constantly call me Jeri (it’s with hard G, ok? Hehe!) or Neri or Mary or Jenny. (watda!?) Ms. Ailleen (HR of CAI) said I’ll hear from them next week, if his evaluation turns our positive. Next step is the interview with the HR Head, it’s more of a meeting for their job offer.. hay, yun pala mas mababa pa sa current sweldo ko ano? Nyek! Hindi worth it ang 4 interviews and 1 exam! Lol! Grrr, baka masakal ko sila hehe. I’m still crossing my fingers, (wish it’s above 35k!)  sabi pa ni Roni, my kada, ang baba ko daw sumingil, kasi siningil ko 40k. parang waaaah, mababa pa ba yun sa kanya? Eh weird naman kung biglang talon sa current sweldo ko diba? *wapaks Roni* hay, still really hoping to get the job. I want a new job! I’m so bored na at Pramerica. The only good thing about this company is being with Raymond everyday. (love you pangs!)

Sige, paalam na. Have a great weekend!

...babyville

babyville
Originally uploaded by geWi.

Just recently finished reading Babyville by Jane Green. I have almost all of Jane Green’s books (Jemima J, Mr. Maybe, Bookends, To Have and To Hold) because I love how she writes, but I definitely believe that her endings are really abrupt… I particularly like long endings, meaning, everything falls in place but the book still continues, describing elaborately how everything has turned out so well. I feel Jane Green lacks severely in this, like on the 2nd to the last page of the book, the heroines are still not in love then when you turn the next page, they just stare at each other’s eyes and they connect and boom! They’re in love and again, and THE End. Arrggh. I hate it! I want to savor every moment of their new found togetherness and not feel like you were left there hanging. Anyway, Babyville is a pleasant surprise. I absolutely love it! I feel like this is the best book I’ve read from her.. another plus factor, who would have thought I’d learn something from chick-lit!? but really, it’s amazing how much stuff I’ve learned.. it all seems realistic and true-to-life. It’s about 3 girls.. Julia, all she wants is to get pregnant and have a baby. She feels that a baby’s the answer to her a loveless relationship with Mark. Sam, Julia’s bestfriend does have a baby. But she’s super OC, she seems to think that she’s super mommy because she wouldn’t even think of leaving her baby with a nanny even when she’s super harassed and looks like shit. Then there’s Maeve, who’s the quintessential career woman who gets pregnant when that the last thing she wants to have is a baby. Guess who’s the father, it’s Mark, Julia’s soon-to-be ex! (Mark isn’t shooting blanks after all, as Julia said!) The twists are plenty and I love every single one of their stories. I particularly liked Maeve’s story because she didn’t realize that becoming a mother would change her life and make her life more meaningful. She positively bloomed in being a mother. But the most interesting was Sam’s story, the distressed mother. I wanted to kick her in the butt for her to go find a nanny for her son. And poor Chris, her husband who loves her so much is getting the blame for everything! Sam said Chris couldn’t possibly begin to understand what she’s going thru.. she’s tired all the time, she feels like she’s trapped inside the house..that Chris isn’t even helping with the baby. Sam feels like the only good thing in the world is her son and nothing else. She’s got post-partum depression but she’s not admitting it. I know it’s weird, but in a way, reading this book has helped me a lot because I’ve learned a little bit what to expect when I get married and have a baby.. I always thought that I’d be like the perfect mother to my baby, be with her/him 24/7 but I now realize that it’s just humanly impossible! I’d burnout, get sick of everything, become irritable with sheer tiredness…Going out for a day or two and treating myself doesn’t mean you love your child any less.. everyone, even full-time mothers need a day of relaxing and leisure and they surely deserve it. I also know that in spite of everything, it all comes down to your relationship with your husband. It’s the most important thing in your home, how you respect each other, love each other and care for each other that’s going to reflect on what kind of environment your child is going to live in.

Speaking of lovely children, watched the Amazing Race Family Edition last night and I absolutely fell in love with the Gaghan family. Waah, their kids are adorable!! They’re just 12 and 9 years old but they’re runners and the kids are so disciplined, wacky, athletic and competitive that they’ve become my instant favorites! They are soooo cute especially the little girl who is like a pint-size with wheels, such a fast runner! They came in 2nd place beating all the other families with adult kids.. I also like their parents a lot because they believe in their kids’ abilities and having well-disciplined and happy kids says a lot about their parents. If I had just one wish, it’ll be to have kids just like them! To learn more about them, click here.


The Gaghan family.. waaah ang cute ni girl!

...preps hotel, check!

Yahuuu! Ms. Eloy gave me her corporate account voucher at Astoria Plaza. Only 2750 bucks for a one bedroom suite plus buffet breakfast for 2. *talon talon* hmmm.. wonder when we’ll use it.. (matutuwa na naman saken si Pangs, bwahahah.. a whole new blog na naman! Lol!).. Bait ni Ms. Eloy, ibu-book na daw nya kami for next year, so dun na ako magpepreps for my wedding.. asked her to book for January 20-January 23 (4 days, 3 nights) plus another room for Pangs on the day of the wedding.. 2750 * 5 = 13,750 pesos whew. Gasteuush. For hotel booking alone, 13+k na and that is a very optimistic total because ma’am Eloy said that there are rate increases by next year (nagtaas na daw yung 2 bedroom suite nung nagpabook siya for March 2006) so it can still go up. Anyway, still very grateful to her ‘cause we’ll be getting a corporate Rate which is cheaper by I think around 500 bucks per day. Kung 500 edi nakasave din kami ng 2.5k! ayush!

Ayun, also have another interview (my last one, hopefully!) scheduled this Friday morning 8:30am with the U.S. Team Leader of CAI-STA. I have to dig-deep once again with my very shallow english skills and hopefully pull it off to get the job. Good luck ulit sa akin!! Si Pangs din nga eh, naginterview kanina, he thought it was only a part-time position but when he got there, they said they were considering him for a full-time C# Senior Programmer. Sabi ko nga keh Pangs “Pangs, marunong ka palang mag C#?” sabi nya “Ngayon ko lang din nalaman” hehe. Good luck din kay Pangs! Sana makalipat na tayo sa nanganganib na kumpanyang kasalukuyan nateng pinapasukan!  

Sige, babay!

*esep-esep na kung gano kasarap ang breakfast buffet sa Astoria. Hihihi. Tsaka yun din. lol*

...sana, sana, sana

Had my interview at.. (okay, sasabihin ko na, since keeping it a secret doesn’t seem to work, I still don’t get the job).. at CAI-STA.. I already had an exam and 3 interviews.. I just need to pass the last interview, who is the US-Team leader.. (god, englishan na naman) I wasn’t sure I was going to pass.. ‘cause I had a couple of boo-boos in my interview.. but this is the one that I really remember (it still haunts me)

Interviewer: what are your plans in the next 5 to 10 years?
Me: I plan to pursue my IT career, and hopefully become an analisisT.   (on my mind: parang, something’s not right.. so I said it again).. an analisiisTTT  (oh siyet) .. analyst! (laughed here) so, sorry
Interviewer: it’s okay

Hehe. There were also times when my mind would space out, but luckily I was still able to say the “Expected” answer

Interviewer: if your colleagues would describe you in one word, what would that be?
Me: (on my mind…  cool!  Lol!)  ahmm..  dependable (oha)

Hehehe. Sanaaaaaaaaa matanggap ako! Just 1 last interview to go. I’m getting excited ‘cause on my last interview, she was already telling me to research on Remedy, the tool that we’ll be using. (whatever that is) sanaaaaaaaaaa matanggap ako para hindi na ako contractual, may leaves na ako, bonuses, benefits, ay meh income tax na rin pala  (*focuses on the leaves*) .. at least ndi na ako delinquent taxpayer. Hehe. Saaaaaanaaaaaaaaaaa!

I feel that it’s my lucky day today ‘cause I got the call this morning that I have another interview at 3 p.m.  edi isip na naman ako, waaah, ano na naman ang ipapaalam ko, eh kahapon nawala na rin ako ng 1 ½ oras dahil sa interview.. tapos buti na lang, meh meeting nga pala ang IT dept ng 2pm.. edi alis ako ng 2:30pm.. nakabalik ako ng 3:15.. tamang-tama, pagkaupo ko, after 10 minutes, dumating na ang IT! Yehey!

Onga pala, when I was about to go down the elevator, guess who I bumped at sa lobby ng CAI-STA? Si roni macaroni, kabarkada ko sa ISM (UST).. lol! Tinawagan din daw siya.. I thought for a sec there that she would be my partner in the project because my interviewer said that my partner’s name is “Roni” hehehe. Pero taga-BPI daw dati kaya hindi pala si Roni (sayang! Saya sana nun, dba!? Lol!)

Anyway, ayun. Sana matanggap!! Babay!

...family weekend

Halu! I had a good weekend.. I wasn’t able to go to work last Friday (was sick again, huhuhu) but I went the next day ‘cause I had users for my program who would be converting their data so I had to be there to support.. Pangs and I met in the office and stayed there for only half a day but it’s cool ‘cause my users where very easy to teach and they went on with the conversion without any glitches…We went to Megamall after that, met Anshe and Jeff at the Bridal Fair.. Bridal Fair na naman? Hahah! I knowwwwwww, wala nga kaming ginawa dun, since almost complete na kami sa suppliers, (invites na lang, and we plan to either to do it ourselves or have it done in Recto) but we still enjoyed it ‘cause we made chika to ms.Judy again, re-introduced ourselves to Mama Benz.. and syempre kasi andun sila Anshe..
Sunday, my Dad was the excited one ‘cause KIA Motors had a Test Drive event at the Fort, and you get the chance to Drive a Sorento, my Dad’s wanna-have SUV.. ang saya! There were freebies (2 big umbrellas) and meal stubs and my sister and Dad got to drive a Sorento. There was a make-shift course (to which my Dad said “Eh kulang pa ito, ang dinadrayban ko eh hanggang tuhod ang putik!) and we were whooping and screaming inside the car ‘cause Dad was driving on it with such gusto he almost hit this huge rock. (really huge!) I told Dad “Daddyy, baka kung ano ang itetest-drive mo, yun ang ibibigay sayo pag bumili tayo! Pag-ingatan mo naman ito!!” hehehe. Badtrip nga lang kasi nagmahal na pala. Dati kasi 990k lang ang top of the line, ngayon, 1.3M na! Nyek! Anyway, I don’t know when my Dad would actually buy one, but I’m hoping they won’t get rid of our Starex ‘cause I really like that van. (2 lang kasi ang car slot namin sa garage, 1 for our pathfinder, the other for the starex) I have a feeling that if we’ll be able to buy a house and lot in COGEO, Dad will be using our garage for his extra car, hehe. (OK lang basta pwede naming gamitin, dba!?) After the test drive, we went to Sta.Mesa to visit our Aunties and cousins (mother side) and also to see my newest nephew, Reiniel Ashton, anak ni Kuya Ding. Hehe, kakatawa sila mommy, “Ashtong” ang tawag. Sabi ko “Mommmyyyy… Ashten, hindi AshtOng!” he was such a cutie, smiling at 3 months. Tapos meh “hu hu” sound na siya. Hihihi.
Here’s Ashtong:




and that, was my weekend. Babayu!

P.s.
Meh interview na naman ako later. Wish me luck! *crosses fingers*

...huhuhu

si JD ang nanalo. grrr. huhuhu Mig! but at least Mig thanked australia and the philippines. yehey! labyu Mig!! (mas gusto ko si Marty kesa keh JD ehhhh)

...survey

We’re trying to go to the T-shirt business and if you have the time, I would greatly appreciate if you could answer some of the questions below. Just post your answers as a comment or email me at gewi@gawab.com

1. if you could have a t-shirt with a word or a phrase written on it, what would it be?


2. how much are you willing to shell out for a baby Tee?

Here’s my sister’s answer:

1. never settle


2. 200 bucks

My answer:

1. all or nothing


2. 200 bucks

it’s your turn!

...crazy frog

Hehehe. Aliw na aliw ako. Was able to download Axel F by Crazy Frog.. the insanely addicting music ( I don’t know why it has this effect on me) they constantly play at Eat Bulaga

Currently listening to it now.. (ding, ding, ri-ding, ding, ding, ding, ding) *sayaw ng weird with matching tingin sa langit*

...125 days to go

wedding update coming up!

we haven't been involved in preps for quite some time now, for finding our future home became more of a priority for us.. anyway, i miss the preps, so updating you guys is the next best thing!

1. Nuestra Señora de Gracia, Guadalupe Viejo - fully paid (10k)
2. PSE Auditorium - already paid 10k to reserve, balance will depend on our final contract
3. Swan Catering - total payment of 62250.. balance of 30k(more or less, depends if revise our contract) to be paid before November
4. The Sentimental Groove - fully paid, SOS with sound system (23k)
5. Madje Lejano, HMUA - paid 2k to reserve, balance of 10k
6. Lala of Interplay, Florist - fully paid, 7650
7. Tet Hagape, Bridal and Entourage Gowns - paid 18k, balance is.. siyet i haven't computed, kasama na rin kasi mga gowns nila madir and MIL2B and Tita Ebot..basta mga 15k++
8. Jaime Elizaga (Photo and Video, services only)- no downpayment yet. balance of 21k
9. Judy Uson, wedding cake - fully paid. 13k
10. Wings of Dreams, butterfly release - fully paid. 2300
11. PS gifts - 2k dp, balance of 4300
12. box invites - balance of 535 for painting

did i forget anything else? well.. everyone knows there's the miscellanous gastos that just adds up every lakad. for a grand total of (oh, my) 150,735 pesos.

do i want to add up our balance? hmm. naaaah. wala pa kaming invites mismo (printing), souvenirs, pangs' barong..ano pa ba.. hula ko mga 150k rin siguro ang balance. but i don't want to add it. baka lumagpas, madepress ako. hehe! i'll ask Pangs to do it.

but you know what, still feels great 'cause never in a million years would i have thought that we could afford to get married. TG for that LIPS project. dun kami nakaipon ng todo eh.. (matulog ka ba sa office 3 times a week, diba?)

now, if only we can put up the same money for renovation of our future house. hehe. uy lapit na House, M.D. watch na ako. ay before that, my To Dos:

1. go to Recto, print our invites
2. buy pearl beads for my DIY cord
3. Sentimental Groove's listening session (which postponed na naman! dapat bukas eh! grrrr)
4. 3rd fitting keh Tet on Oct. 1
5. Get my confirmation and baptismal certificate with annotation "for Marriage Purpose" chuva
6. Meet Pangs' Barong supplier
7. magPirmahan na sa Swan (final contract na talaga hehe)
8. talk to our Florist
9. have an entourage dinner (para magkakakilala sila.. sasapukin ko yung lalakeng ayaw lumapit sa partner nya)
10. make a reception program
11. find erlyn's partner (emcee)
12. draft a Misallete
13. go to NSDG to schedule our canonical interview and get the Misalette
14. make the rounds to our Principal sponsors para maabot na ang gifts (different from souvenir, to formally ask them to be your sponsor)
15. shorten this list

ohhhhmyyy haba. and some are really urgent, like the going to the sponsors 'cause we have to know who really is pwede sa aming wedding.. then going to NSDG, la pa kaming schedule.. tapos wala pa pala sa list yung license.. oh well, sa october na lng yun..

cge.. paalam!

...seven things

no one tagged me (pathetic, i know) but it's Friday and i don't want to work. yet.

seven things that scare me
1. someone else's blood/wound
2. death of a loved one
3. walking on MMDA overpass (it's scary! walang walls!)
4. that i would say "Para!" to a PUV and find out that it was the wrong stop and i've just stopped to an unfamiliar place all by myself
5. forgetting my wallet at home (tas low batt ka pa daw ano)
6. that Pangs would realize how insane he is to marry me
7. JK Rowling dying (pano na si Harry potpot?)

seven things i like the most

1. couch potato-eing (with matching oily hair and greasy face)
2. snuggling at Pang's armpits
3. Linden Suites! (hehe)
4. Eat-All-You-Cans
5. blogging
6. Reading chicklits
7. paydays

seven random facts about me

1. i invest in make-up. really. it just doesn't show.
2. i took ballet lessons until 2nd grade. now, i can't even bend and touch my toes if my life depended on it.
3. my greatest dream is to reach 100 lbs.
4. i have a Powerbooks Powercard Plus. i stamped my way thru those tiny boxes.
5. i spend a total of 4-5 hours a day travelling to and from the office. (no wonder i don't gain weight)
6. i'm a Daddy's girl.
7. my work title is: Senior Programmer (or senior Blogger)

seven important things in my bedroom

1. my wedding clearbook compilation (i almost sleep with it)
2. TV (v.v.v.important)
3. bedside lamp (so i can read before i go to sleep. with the TV on)
4. electric fan
5. blanket and 2 pillows. otherwise i'd have a bad night
6. cordless phone
7. our CR

seven things i plan to do before i die

1. buy a kick-ass drum set
2. have children
3. have a successful family business
4. realize which business we'll be successful in
5. go to Japan (as a tourist..kakapanood ko ng "Oh, Tokyo!")
6. make at least one stranger's life dramatically different (better, not worse, ok?)
7. build a house in Ayala Westgrove


seven things i can do

1. type 60/words a minute. at least.
2. dance
3. watch koreanovela one whole weekend. with subtitles only.
4. eat, eat, eat without gaining weight. (it's a freaking curse!)
5. Not work at work. the whole 8 hours.
6. sleep soundly at vehicles
7. bend my thumb backwards until it touches the bottom of my wrist (eww)

seven things i can't do

1. friendster hopping. their server is sooo slow.
2. small talk with a stranger
3. sing
4. drink without getting drunk (those were the days)
5. be a programmer my whole life
6. play billiards (thomasian pa naman ako! huhuhu)
7. eat ginataang langka

seven things that attract me to the opposite sex

1. confidence
2. intelligence
3. EQ (hehe)
4. ambitiousness
5. pag cute
6. hands
7. pag gentleman

seven things i say the most

1. sa kanto lang po
2. i love you pangs!
3. Nyeh!
4. Hay Nako!
5. I'm hungry
6. Sleep Tite! (hehe, sa text kasi saken dati ni Pangs yan, slip tyt dba..so ngayon, lagi akong "Sleep ti-te!")
7. Nagupdate po ako ng EXE

seven celeb crushes (in random order)

1. jude law
2. michael chad murray
3. si Kevin dun sa Attic Cat
4. si Rain sa Full House
5. Michael Vaughn (di ko alam pangalan nya eh)
6. wala na kong maisip
7. wala parin


seven people you want to see take this quiz

ahmm.. puros nakasagot na ata eh! kung hindi pa, sila:

1. erlyn


2. Mai


3. Jane


4. Reeyuh


5. Harbie


6. Anshe


7. Ate Cha

...our non-existent house

Was able to look around at the For Sale houses in our village yesterday.. tinamaan na naman ako ng tamad blues eh, kaya ndi ako pumasok.. I hoped to give you better news, but they are really over-priced and in dire need of repairs.. living in the bundoks, (hehe) you basically have 2 kinds of lot areas.. ones which are palubog.. and ones that are pataas.. of course you want the pataas lot ‘cause 1. no worries with water drainage 2.usually comes with a fantastic view.. we were able to see 2 palubog and 1 pataas lot.. the houses were basically the same, dilapidated state.. prefab walls which give you no idea how to improve them (does this mean we have to tear the whole wall down to put a window on it?) I really liked the pataas lot but was absurdly pricey at 1M when the house was more dilapidated than the other 2.. it had no kitchen (tinanggal yung sink).. the CR had a broken toilet bowl (as in basag) and the roof.. well.. the roof needs to be fully replaced.. but in fairness, it had a really great view and.. ahm.. well, it’s 240sq.m, so it’s pretty spacious.. (yun na lang maisip kong maganda sa kanya) pero sabi nga ni Pangs.. we must be open to the fact that the prices have gone up and this might really be their market value.. COGEO is a lot nearer than all the new villages …the roads are cemented, meh NAWASA water and has this ambiance that you can only get from the mountains.. breezy, colder than the usual metro manila weather,  with still a lot of trees around  (in short, bundok na bundok hehe) .. I texted Ms. Miriam (the agent) if she could ask for a much lower price pero yun na daw talaga yun. Hmpft. <bitch mode> Dapat meh commission ako sa kanya, uh, ako nagturo kela Anshe sa COGEO. Double hmpft. Speaking of Anshe, I’m so happy na taga-Antipolo na rin sila. Hihihi. Syempre mega imagine na ako na we’ll have kids with the same age, have cookouts, parties, etc. *clap, clap*  

Now only if we can find our house.

...go mig!

Yahoooo! Suzie’s gone!!

...bluesy tuesday

Had my second fitting (wow, 2nd already!) at Tet’s place.. also brought with me my entourage (though kulang ng 2 SS, wala si TP and my insan Gracie) … clarize, my niece was very PRO at it, a bit OC in fact.. (she’s only 7 years old) this being her like nth time to be a flower girl.. when she saw the design (the top was just sleeveless) she tried hiding her frown but she couldn’t help herself and then said to Tet:
“pwede po bang mas sexy?”
lol! I asked Tet if she could make it a tube top, Tet didn’t agree but suggested to make it spaghetti straps instead.. when we agreed on the top.. clarize said to Tet
“yung palda po covered ba?”
she was referring to her shoes, kung covered daw ba ng palda.. gusto daw nya ganon.. bweheheh! Galing talaga! Her mom said that if she really loves her dress, todo-project daw siya eh.  If flower girls are for hire, she can be a real pro. Nina was there (my cousin, ka-age ko), Akel, and my other flower girl, Eloisa. Eloi was a bit shy, understandably, ‘cause she was surrounded by a lot of new people (she’s 5 years old) but I still have confidence in her that she’ll walk on the aisle with little hassle.. (gosh, the pressure I’m putting on these girls, hehe) my fitting is better than the last time (though Tet asked if I lost more weight. HUHUHUH) I put on a petticoat and I was really feeling my gown more this time (even with the lining only) .. oct 1st is my third fitting.. I’ll be able to see the actual lace that would be used so I’m nervous and excited at the same time..i hope Tet meets my expectations.. (and my mother’s! whose expectations are waay higher than mine)

about the house search.. hayyy. It just keeps on getting more difficult than ever to find a decent, cheap house. Everything’s all 1.3M or 1.2M for a 240sq.m with a dilapidated house. (and I do mean dilapidated) sobra naman sila, halos lupa lang ang binibili mo nun eh dahil wala ng kavalue-value yung bahay. Haaay. Syempre, we’ll just continue looking and really hope in the heavens that we’ll be able to find one. ( it just really is testing because it feels like all we encounter are dead ends.

...feeling rich weekend

Just realized last Saturday that that will be our first and last anniversary as bf-gf… hehehe.. next time, it’ll be our wedding anniversary.. so…. the kwento…

I made reservations for us at Top of The Citi… (34th floor, Citibank Paseo) remember that Pangs and I are officemates (magkatalikuran lang kami ng work-area) so I had to be very discreet when I talk to them or fax them.. I wanted Pangs to really be touched (hehe) because of my preparations for our anniv so I asked them if they have some sort of cake that they can place in our table.. I was imagining all that mushy candlelit stuff and I wanted the works! It’s a good thing that Ms.Kathleen, my contact at Top of the Citi was more than accommodating.. she said: “Yes, Ma’am.. slice ng cake tapos sa plate nakasulat yung words na gusto nyo”.. syempre “Happy Anniversary” lang maisip ko.. I also ordered flowers online through islandrose.net.. just half a dozen with a note.. ultra-cool to be able to buy flowers on the net and have them delivered anywhere in the Philippines.. I asked ms.Kathleen again if she could receive the flowers for me and put it on our table.. by Wednesday, everything was all set.. Thursday, I asked Ms.Eloi (pramerican, sales training dept) how much it would cost for me to book a room at either Linden Suites or Astoria Plaza.. imagine, just 2500/night.. so I asked if she could book a room for me and to keep it a secret from Raymond.. she agreed, of course…. Friday morning I was so excited. Supahh dupahh excited. (I was thinking about the breakfast buffet at the Linden Suites more than anything else, hehe) Around 5:30 pm, I called Top of the Citi and asked Ms.Kathleen if everything was okay.. she said “Andito na po ang flowers!” I thought it already came in a vase (sa picture sa site nila, nakalagay eh) but it didn’t so I asked her if she could put it in a vase or something and also informed her that we might be a little early than my 7:00 reservation.. By 6:00 I received a text from Ms.Kathleen and she said:

“Ma’am Geri, hindi po bagay sa vase yung flowers eh. Nilagay ko na lang po sa table nyo.”
I said “that’s ok. Excited na ako!!” (hindi ko napigilan sarili ko eh, wala akong mapagkwentuhan eh!!)
She said: “hehehe! See you po!”

By 6:10 I was bugging Raymond for us to go home.. (ang tagal nya uh) I asked him if we could go to Citibank so I could pay my CashBack card.. he was like (“ang tagal namang matapos yang CashBack mo!”) I couldn’t pay my CashBack kasi at any other place (even online) kasi new card and everything so laging hassle samen to pay it, we had to walk like 10 blocks from Enterprise Building going to Citibank Paseo.. but this isn’t anything new to him so he wasn’t a least bit suspicious.. he was asking me kung ano plans namin and he confessed to me later that he did thought for a second that I didn’t have ANYthing planned.. after paying my bill, eto na.. bwahaha I didn’t know how to get to Top of Citi so sinabi ko na rin keh Pangs.. (tuwang-tuwa siya, apparently, he also thought of getting reservations there. Kuno. Lol!) so the guard told us to go to the adjacent building and up we went to the 34th floor.. when we got there, I said “Reservation for Geri Espinosa?” and I honestly believe that the waiter gave me some sort of secret smile, hehe.. at the table, paupo na ako nung napansin ko na sa side ko nakalagay yung flowers and cake, so biglang sabi ko “ayyy pangs, dito ka!!” tas palit kami ng upuan. Ang slow ni Pangs, ndi pa napansin yung flowers kagad, lol.. nung napansin nya finally, binasa nya yung Note ko, it said:

Surprise! Kala mo wala akong prinipare ano! Bwahahah! Syempre, ako pa? Remember nung nag Sonya’s Garden tayo one year ago? One hell of an adventure dahil nagcommute lang tayu papunta at pabalik! I’m looking forward to many more years of adventure with you. Happy Anniversary! I love you so, so, so much! -à
Geri

tas ayun na, tuwang-tuwa na ang lolo mo.. HIHIHIHI. Pramis, parang nanalo sa lotto hehe! (okay, exaggeration ng konti, basta, okay, nanalo lang sa mini-raffle)


while reading the note

tapos hindi parin nya napapansin yung cake!! Tinanggal ko pa yung Menu tas ayun.. here’s the cake:
kinain na namin ito..
galling, ano? Tapos eto menu namin:

Special Menu Dinner

Baked Mushrooms in Filo Pastry
With Tarragon Salsa
Served with Mesclun Greens
******

Potato Leek Soup
With Crispy Prosciutto
******

Roast Rack of Lamp
In Rosemary Jus
Served with Gratinated Potato and Ratatouille
******

Dark Chocolate Souffle ß sawaaaaaaaaaap
*******

Coffee or Tea
grabe, feeling rich kami hahaha! It was a good thing I remembered something at a movie that said “start using utensils from the outside and work your way in” for this is the very first time that I ate at a fine dining restaurant.. I would just looove to say to you that everything was perfect, but frankly, the food wasn’t exceptional, lol! It was okay, masarap yung appetizer and dessert.. but the atmosphere wasn’t at all snobbish.. the staff was great and very accommodating.. they indulged us to our picture taking frenzy and everyone was greeting us a Happy Anniversary..




akala ni pangs, yun lang ang surprise ko.. nung sinabi ko, nagpabook din ako sa Linden Suites, eto na talaga, hindi na talaga exaggeration, talagang mukhang nanalo sa LOTTO! Hahaha! Grabe, pagpasok namin sa room namin, waaaaaaaaaah ang ganda!! Para kaming mga batang nakawala, mega-talon talon pa kami sa kama ala movies (ang saya pala nun!) tapos super soft sheets, meh bathtub (which we quickly used,.. together, hehe) tapos nung breakfast (syempre breakfast kagad ang kwento, ano?) ang sarap ng food.. sausages, pastries, donuts, cereal, lots and lots of fruits waaah, heaven.. gusto kong sapukin si Pangs kasi hindi namin mashado nasulit hihihihi ..nahihiya siya, kasi mukhang kami lang ang PG dun (patay gutom) we checked out (indoor pala swimming pool nila, meh Jacuzzi, inis saken si pangs kasi ako lang ang may dalang pang swimming.. dapat daw, hindi na surprise para may dala din siya hehe) then continued our feeling rich weekend at Gateway, had lunch at CIBO.. after nun, uwi na talaga kami, with our CCs overused (Linden was on Pangs, yehey!) but thoroughly happy and satisfied (*ehem*) …

pangs ko, this has really been the BEST weekend of my life. No exaggeration. I love you so much! Sa uulitin! Hehe! (3/4s puno na alkantsa namin ng 5 pesos, bwehehe, pwede ng pang-Linden! Lol!)

...happy anniversary to us!

Tonight is the night. Hehehe. Excited na ako ( I planned a very special night for Pangs (not what you’re thinking, you dirty little thing hehe) and I hope he likes it.  Happy Anniversary to Us!  

...sad naman

huhuhuhu. ayaw ng ibenta yung bahay. :~(

...samo't sari

It’s my sister’s birthday today.. (kabertdei nya si Mama Mary…it doesn’t show, though hehe) so Pangs and I bought her CDs.. the new albums of Coldplay and Lifehouse.. hope she likes it (and sana wala pa siya) ..

Uyyyy wala na si Jordis sa Rockstar INXS.. yahoo! Don’t like her eh (obvious?).. I’m rooting for Mig (nationalistic reasons) and Marty (really like him a lot!)

Malapit na anniversary namin (sa sept. 10)! Kanina, binili ko na rin ng anniv gift si Pangs, yung book na ‘blink” by I forgot who.. I frankly don’t know what it’s about, eh yun ang gusto nya eh edi ibigay! Lol! Meh surprise ako sa kanya eh, secret na lng muna (nagbabasa yun ng blog ko eh) so pangs, sorry, you just have to wait and see. (

Meh bago rin pala akong book.. trying to complete the books of Jane Green.. I bought Babyville.. yehey, meh babasahin ulit ako.

Salamat pala sa mga nagcomment sa previous blog ko, super entertaining and informative hehe! Iisip pa nga ako ng iba para maupdate ang To do list ko.

Kain na ko meryenda. I’m so hungry. Bye all!

...my to-do list

Since everyone’s doing a wedding checklist, I’m going to make my own “Married Life Checklist”

Things to do before getting married:

1. Learn how to cook  (already cooked twice, many more recipes to go)


2. Learn how to smile even when you’re extremely irritated already


3. Buy a whole set of undies (‘cause Ate Pretz’ mother said, “nung kinasal na ako, ni sariling panty, ndi na ako makabili!” lol!)


4. Learn to make my own bed every morning (bwehehe)


5. Get my driver’s license, Transcript of Records and Diploma. (yep, I still don’t have them)


6. Buy my own clothes (no more borrowing from my sisters)


7. Have a girls night out


8. Learn to budget my money (uh-oh)


9. Buy cosmetic items in bulk (lotions, shampoo, make-up, etc, E T C! hehe)


10. Learn to recognize tawilis, tamban, galunggong, bangus when buying in a market.


11. Learn the parts of a pig and what part goes to what dish. (pahirap na ng pahirap uh)


12. Learn to live in Lucky Me instant Noodles. (hehehe joke lng, pangs)


13. Buy an alarm clock that’s unbreakable, irritatingly loud and squirts water. (or just learn to wake up early)


14. Learn how to wake up in the middle of the night to brush my teeth and pretend that I just happen to have minty fresh breath in the morning.


15. Prepare myself to become selfless and become ala Chris of  Jon-Chris in the Amazing Race (so chirpy and happy always!)

Did I forget anything else?

...ang lumpia

ang lumpia
Originally uploaded by geWi.

*bow* ..hehe, my 2nd attempt at cooking! sabi ba naman ng tatay ko nung nakita yung kawali ko,.."ano ba yan, tipak tipak!" bwehehe. eh ang hirap kaya maghiwa ng ubod at carrots at celery. anyway, kahit ako nagustuhan ko ito.. pareho ang lasa khet mommy ko ang magluto *buhat ng bangko* bwahahaha. oh, and updated my posts sa baba, meh pics na. suggest naman keyu ng next kong lulutuin! (yung madali lang uh)

...wedding expo day

see my update on the right side.. we finally have a florist and it's going to be Lala of Interplay! well recommended by Yna and Mai (fellow w@wies).. so grateful to them 'cause they introduced us to Lala, who is such a darling.. we felt great while talking to her, plus she was the only one who suggested red for my entou flowers which i really want! everyone else we talked disagreed with us it's not going to be good, blah blah.. Lala, on the other hand, suggested straight away when i said i wanted a color that would contrast my entou's gowns (they would be wearing lime green and yellow) that Red would be perfect for them. I agreed of course, hehe. I said, I wanted no other color except Red for them.. I really want the flowers to look dramatic on the pictures, so Red is super OK for me.

Anyway, we had so much fun at the Expo. Finally met mama Benz (of weddingsatwork.com) and introduced myself.. i said "Mama Benz Hi! I'm Geri and this is Raymond" then she said: "ooohhh, Geri Gewi!" hehe. I was so happy when she said that 'cause it means she recognizes my name through my posts. Also saw many wowies there, Liv & Ruy..pambungad kagad, paglabas namin ng taxi.. she also recognized me, probably from my pics here (she said: "Jeri ni Raymond!")..Dionne ni Joven (she said to me, "Are you Jeri?.. hehe) Mai, Yna, Cindy, Tin ni Archie, Concon (and ang kanyang iniirog), Mec crazylovers, and Alice who i didn't know was a wowie.. we were face to face (hehe) while filling up some raffle tickets.. i immediately recognized her and said unabashedly, "scholastican ka, dba?" then she said "yep, anong batch mo?" so i said I'm a level lower than hers and said "ndi ba Student council ka?" and she said.."Yep, president" hehehe! kaya pala kilala ko diba, president nga pala namin! Her sister's the one who's my batchmate but I don't think we were ever classmates so I'm not sure If she knows me, probably sa face lang. anyway, chika-chika dun at w@wie pala siya tas kwentuhan how their preps are going. katuwa talagang magkwentuhan about preps.. Back at the expo, we booked Wings of Dreams (they had an amaaaazing offer of 2.3k for 100 butterflies, free delivery 'cause i'm a w@wie and they come in individual envelopes)..plus factor pa na si Mariel (the owner, i think) was super accomodating and friendly and hyper! ooh, and we won sa mini raffle nila, 2 shopping bags from Linden Suites.. katawa nga si Pangs eh.. sabi nya "wow Linden Suites!" tas sabi ko "Gagi, bag lang" hahaha! but they were very useful 'cause we were a bit problematic how we were going to carry our things since i brought my wedding preps clearbook just in case i might need it (and i was able to use it, i showed some of the flowers i wanted to Lala) so the bags came in very handy..

we also talked to Judy Uson, she's her usual amiable self and we simply adooore her, we love talking to her and she obliged us in a sec when we said we brought our cameras to take a photo with her but there was a "no cameras" rule at the expo but she waived it off and said "common, let's take a photo!" (will upload that v.soon).. got a taste of her famous carrot walnut cake with cream cheese, all i have to say is i am now definitely a fan of carrot walnut cake. who would have thought? even pangs loved it.

with ms. judy and all her wonderful cakes


we were so tired after the expo, but our wedding errands always lift our mood. maybe it's the excitement of the wedding, or because it's like retail therapy, or simply because we love spending time with each other outside work. It's such a relief talking about other things aside from our program errors, project analysis, etc.

teka, maggigisa na ako para sa lumpiang ubod. bwahahah, feeling chef na ako.

...first time cook

did i say in my previous post that cooking Adobong Sitaw would be a cinch? Only I can make it complicated. So I woke up that saturday morning early.. around 8 am.. I was thinking.. uh-oh, cooking day today.. at 9 am I was ready to start.. so the recipe i got from pinoycook said 1/4 liempo.. so I removed the liempo from the ref (defrosted already) then my Dad butted in and said

"ano yan! bakit liempo! giniling lang!!"
i said "eeeeeeeeh dadiiii sabi sa recipe LIEMPO okay.. liempo gagamitin ko"
tas sabi ni dadi: "ano yan, adobong baboy with sitaw!?"
i said: "recipe ko toh, ok?"

basta, ang kulit ni daddy.. kabado din ata sa pagluluto ko hehe! (meh narinig pa akong magsasayang lang daw ako ng liempo, eh iihawin pa daw nya yun)

anyway, i proceeded with chopping the liempo to chunks and here's what the recipe said..(taken from pinoycook.net)


Place liempo cubes in a single layer in a non-aluminum skillet. Pour vinegar over them. Add crushed garlic, peppercorns, onion & bay leaf. Set skillet over high heat. Bring to a boil. Cook until vinegar has evaporated and the pork starts rendering fat. Cook pork in its fat until brown. Pour off fat from skillet. Add onions and cook until limp. Pour in soy sauce and 1/2cup of water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer until pork is tender, about 30 minutes. Check liquid once in a while while pork is simmering. Add more water if mixture becomes dry, about 1/4 c. at a time.

When pork is tender, add sitaw. Cover and continue simmering for another 10 mins or until sitaw is done. Serve hot.


okay, so i read on and did the following:
1. placed liempo in skillet (now that i think about it, it was an aluminum skillet)
2. added vinegar
3. added soy sauce
4. put to a boil
5. added garlic
6. added onions

then i read the recipe again. oh shit! ndi pa pala yung toyo! anakng. ahmm.. watodo, watodo.. so i just continued boiling it.. and scrapped out a whole lot in the recipe talking about draining the fat, etc.. just added water constantly for 30 minutes until the pork became tender..wahaha.. so kabado na ako nito..while waiting, i looked at some of our pinoy recipe books at the Adobo section and hinahalo naman kagad nila so i thought, pwede pa siguro ito. Then i added the sitaw. lecheng sitaw ayaw magkalasa. LOL! at ang tagal maging limp uh. hay. ang tagal kong hinintay maluto nun, sabi 10 mins lng daw, malapit na ata sa 20 yun nung okay na siya for me. bwehehe.

nung tinikman ni pangs, okay daw! hahaha. (kasi sasapukin ko siya kung hindi!) i even photographed the moment (to follow) para maalala ko at mapressure siyang ngumiti sa camera. ehehe.


hehe, told ya pinikturan ko talaga!

posing muna bago kumain.. oh, hinga ng malalim

takes a big bite!

approve daw!! haha! yahoo!!

enganyo ako.. kanina nagprito ako itlog tinuran pa ako ni dadi palpak din ang sunny side up namin (naging scrambled) hehe.. luluto ulit ako ngayon for dinner.. lumpiang ubod naman! fried! gudluck ulit sa ken.

p.s.
thanks to mec, naiinspire ako magluto. bwehehehe.

...mixed emotions

I’m so giddy (never thought I’d use this word. Ever) with excitement. I’m on my squirm-mode again and I can’t help it! It’s a wedding expo weekend! A huuuuge wedding expo at that! Last attended the expo last March and we were there just browsing ‘cause our wedding was 10 months away then. Now, it’s much, much more exciting ‘cause it’s gonna be booking time! Wohooo! We hope to book our florist there.. and some butterflies..and some pastries.. hehe, halo-halo! If we’re lucky maybe even a cheap invites supplier.. (to go inside our box) plus, I’ll be able to finally get my w@wie tag and t-shirt! Yehey! Also, I will be cooking lunch for pangs tomorrow! BWAHAHAHAHA! My first time to cook anything. Well, not since highschool.. we did have cooking classes, but I was more of a designated dishwasher, hehe.. TG for his simple pleasures.. his favorite dish happens to be Adobong Sitaw so I’m hoping that would be fairly easy.. (bwahah, but knowing me, I would find a way to complicate things).. hay, good luck sa akin.

System Time:10:59 AM
Grrr. There’s a major glitch in our house-to-be.. turns out the title of the house is named after the mother so she really is the owner and we were only talking to the daughter of the owner.. when we agreed on the terms, we thought we were talking to the person who has the right to negotiate for the house and lot.. now, the mother doesn’t want our terms (500k dp, balance to be paid for 3 years) and wants 1M cash. Like who the f**k has 1M in cash?! Sobra. Eh kung meh 1M cash ako bat ako bibili sa COGEO of all places. Pagniloan naman namen yun, patay kami sa interest. Nakakabaaaaaad trip. Wala naman pala karapatang makipagusap samen yung anak eh bakit siya nagmamarunong. Hmpft. And we really want that house pa naman. We’ve been dreaming of how we would redecorate it and passing by it every night after work. Huhuhuhu. It sucks. Now we’re back to square 1 in our hunt for our home.  Sige, work muna ako..i’m supposed to produce an EXE for testing next week. Bye all!

...scary siyet

Hmmm… First of all, this is MY blog so I can write anything I want here… so anyway, I was browsing through the groups this morning and I was weirded out by a few posts with a title “To All W@wies: On Respect”.. They were talking about something Jacque wrote.. from the tone of their posts, a lot of them were pissed. As in, really pissed. Someone even said Jacque should apologize, so after reading that, I was now extremely confused. Is this the Jacque that I’ve met and whose blog I frequently read? It couldn’t be, probably another Jacque, ‘cause there is another w@wie Jacque.. anyway, I was getting curious by the minute (they were very passionate posts, you know!) but Mama Benz (owner of the yahoogroup) said that the email was already deleted. I only read posts through the groups website so I was a bit dismayed… then I remembered my geri@officiallyus.com email that I’ve recently subscribed to the group so I quickly looked for the controversial post there. Aha. Nakita ko. Si Jacque nga ni Simon. After reading her post, my first reaction was “WatDa?” Akala ko mabait. Nameet ko sa EB yun, uh. (sa Kitchen)  hmmmmm. It was disturbing, really. Then after I’ve thought about it, really, it’s okay to have subgroups. Sa dami naman ng members ng w@w, syempre maggugrupo-grupo nga yun, and there’s really nothing wrong about that. What’s wrong is talking about others behind their backs and feeling superior about it. It’s like Mean Girls on print! I feel bad about other w@wies mentioned in the email, it’s like they’re now associated with the Mean Girl group when they’re not at all mean. They’re friendly and I really like them (especially Mai ni Paul, love her!). Now I’ll always be wondering when I meet her if she’s saying something about me in their little group. I always read her blog pa naman. Maybe I’m a groupie. Bwahahahah! anyway, I’m sure she could scrap that one in her “Lessons Learned” list. (Read the To: line first before sending anything) hmm.. sana yung iba kong fave bloggers, hindi ganun. I even have a this weird feeling about one of them (uh-oh, ayan, nagaassociate na ako!) ‘cause she blatantly ignores my post. Secret na lang kung sino. At first, I thought I was like just paranoid, but after 3 posts with her name on the Subject line and I got NO reply, I was like,.. ah-hmm.. ignored ako? (Ignored talaga, ‘cause she replied every single email except mine) Hehe! Hindi ko na lang pinansin until now. I’m a bit bothered about it, ‘cause, you have to ask yourself, “what did I do?” and I’ve got this annoying habit of wanting to please others all the time and I’m not the type of person who can say “Bahala siya sa buhay nya”. I’m really affected by petty stuff like that, wanting to please everyone, it’s such a weakness of mine. Haaaay, just venting. Complaining is a release, you know. Anyway, as Benz said, back to preps na lang! It’s much more beneficial talking about the difference between Artbook and Magnetic Book, anyway. Hehe. Or blog-hopping at other people’s preps. Though I’d probably stop commenting in her blog. Nyaiks, madalas pa naman ako magcomment. Bwahaha. Scary.

I still can’t believe it!  0_0 what if I see her at the wedding Expo this weekend, what do I do? Ahh I know, magpi-peace sign na lang ako, para masaya ang lahat. ^_^


p.s.
Just read jacque’s apology sa yahoogroup. My two cents? Let’s just say, she wrote everything that I expected her to.