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Sunday, May 4, 2008

Ilocos Trip 2008: Where is Kapurpurawan?

On our way to Pagudpud, we saw this sign: KAPURPURAWAN, white rock formation.

We all got curious, so Tyrone immediately took a turn following the signage.




For the next minutes, we were amazed with the trees and grass that we saw.



We even joked, this is the road less traveled...

The road seemed endless...


We didn't see any human being. Just a group of goats that we had mistaken as a man riding in a bike from afar. but when we got near, we found out they were goats. Or ghost? that night, we discussed our trip there. We got goosebumps while arguing whether they were goats or man riding on a bike, nyay!




So, where is Kapurpurawan? We were looking for it for more than ten minutes and we hardly have an idea where we were heading to?



Is this the Kapurpurawan?

We really couldn't tell. Tyrone made a U-turn and we all decided to leave the place. It was getting scary.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Ilocos Trip 2008: Aqua Paradiso



We took a brief stop at Aqua Paradiso Resort, the place I more know as Paraiso ni Anton. I have been here some years back with my fellow writers Mc and RT, Jose Paolo, Cherrylou and Sandra. There was no resort then. Just the breathtaking view of rocks and sea water that remind me of little rapids.

Paraiso ni Anton



Jordan & me and Y & Ty



Mica was not yet in the mood for picture-taking, but, Mommy and Mela were!

Ilocos Trip 2008: Cape Bojeador

Our first stop was at the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse.






Mica and Lola Pining


This was my second time to be in this place. And I was very excited because the first time I was there, we just pose for some souvenir pictures at the view deck and that wa sit. This time we got the chance to come inside and even took the stairs to reach the top of the lighthouse.


Yzel and Ty, my sis Mela (in blue), Mica and Lola
if you could see that gorgeous man in red, he's Jordan :)




Yzel was very afraid. She stopped in the middle of the stairs and caught her breath. Jordan took Mica in his arms and continued to go up. Tyrone was the very first in line, excited like a little boy to find out what's on top.

I was giggling. My tummy was shaking becuase my cellulite has to work out involuntarily. He-he. I could not allow myself to miss the chance of seeing everything below while I was on top. And sorry, pardon my precious cellulites, I took flight and never stopped until I reached the peak.



the breathtaking view from the lighthouse. too bad, my lens got some dirt. :(

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Yzel, my cousin, my friend

I met my cousin Yzelie in 2004, when we stayed at their hotel in Laoag for our honeymoon. And I'm glad that she was very warm and accomodating to us, because I first worried that she was otherwise.

Well, she is definitely NOT.

She and her boyfriend then, Tyrone John, now her husband were very hospitable. They treated us iced coffee and then brought us to their favorite stall which sells the famous empanada.

It was quite "bitin" because she had a duty then, working as a nurse in Mariano Marcos Medical Center in Batac. But we kept in touch through SMS and Internet chat. Once in a while we saw each other when she was in Manila.

Sometime in 2006, she left for US and just came back for a short vacation in March this year, in time for her birthday. And this time, she and Tyrone treated us big time!

We met again the following day she arrived in Manila. It was a short date for we had a plan of having a short stay in Ilocos before the end of March. And indeed, after the much awaited, date, we came to Laoag in March 26 at around 7 in the morning.




Yzel and Tyrone had barely slept for they monitored our trip. And we were welcomed with a warm and sweet smile.

Our first breakfast.
fried rice, daing na bangus, sunny side up eggs, longganisang Laoag and tomatoes
yummy!


Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Subic Escapade 2008


We spent the Holy Week in Subic for the second time around. The first time was in 2006 but that's another story, hehe. I can say we enjoyed it better this time. Mica is almost three years old and very excited to go swimming. In fact, she was not interested to play with her pail and sand molds. All she wanted to do was be in the water. The deeper, the better, more enjoyable for her, ohmigod!!!




She even went night swimming, ten pm till midnight!




And gets up at five in the morning, changed to her bikini and goes straight to the beach, again. (sigh)



I'm lost for words so I just uploaded more pictures for everyone to see.




Gem was looking for his ring... at one in the afternoon!

Indeed, looking for that ring which, I guess, has monumental sentimental value! After two hours, he found it, at last.






Somewhere in Morong, inside SBMA


the big boys went go-karting


Mica was afriad to ride the horsie...




Nanay, Mica and Lolo Pabling

I'm very satisfied with our picture here. I think we're cute, he-he.


Tuesday, April 22, 2008

FILIPINOS, let us all vote to this!


Just yesterday, I heard in the radio, and later last night, I saw on TV about the new seven wonders of the world.


I was amazed (and became proud, eventually) that there are places in the Philippines that became nominees in this worldwide search for the new
natural wonders. and why not? We indeed have lots of beautiful places we can always be proud of, especially if we learn how to preserve and take care the natural beauty of our nature.

These are the Philippine wonders that now included in the ranking, as of April 23, 2008:



Tubbataha Reef is an atoll coral reef in the Sulu Sea that belongs to the Philippines. It is a marine sanctuary protected as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park. The reef is composed of two atolls, North and South Reefs. Each reef has a single small islet that protrudes from the water. The atolls are separated by a deep channel 8 kilometers wide. Over one thousand species, including many that are endangered, can be found at on the reef. These include manta rays, lionfish, tortoises, clownfish and sharks.






The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located about 50 km north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. It features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 km. navigable underground river. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. It includes major formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and several large chambers. The lower portion of the river is subject to tidal influences. The underground river is reputed to be the world's longest. At the mouth of the cave, a clear lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water's edge. Monkeys, large monitor lizards, and squirrels find their niche on the beach near the cave.


I guess the Mayon Volcano in Bicol and the Chocolate Hills in Bohol are also nominees.

Fellow Filipinos, our vote on this will make us famous in the world again, on the positive side, he-he. And I believe it will make a big boost in our Tourism industry as well. Boto na tayo!

*pictures and descriptions of the sites are from the new7wonders website.


Friday, March 7, 2008

Maging Sino Ka Man, Book 2

Exactly this moment, Maging Sino Ka Man Book 2 is airing in the Philippines. And I am bracing myself not to put the channel on 2. It's been a week since I stopped watching my most favorite TV show. I just couldn't take the scenes anymore. I hate that Monique (Bing Pimentel) died. And I hate it even more that Celine (Ann Curtis) is going to die. Or maybe, at this moment, she's dying on that show, geez...

I know, I know, I might regret not watching the show. But my heart simply couldn't take it. I might have a heart attack. I am so attached with the show since Book 1 but I don't want to be next in line resting six feet below the ground.

So I will just wait for the coming episodes where scenes will be lighter and I will be back watching it again.

Sorry, Eli, Jackie, JB and Celine. I love you, guys.

But I need to take care of my heart, too.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Wedding at Sto.Domingo, NE



We covered a wedding at Sto. Domingo, NE last week, Sunday, February 24, 2008.

It was a different wedding from the usual weddings we cover in Pampanga and nearby towns in our own town Cabiao.

Although it was the usual barrio wedding, i was amazed at the their cultures in wedding which is very new to me.

Their very own version of Kinasal Na Manok really amused me. I couldn't help took lots of pictures at those two chicken who were tied up with wire, necks strangled to make them look like this:


It was sweet!


but we joked: Kinasal na Manok or Sinakal na Manok???

Whatever.

These very sweet and romantic looking chickens have their royal place at the presidential table. They stood as the centerpiece, which they really deserved.

The money dance was fun. I wish I had a money dance during my wedding, hehe. My mind became an instant calculator, watching those pieces of "Ninoy" and "Trio" (five hundred and one thousand pesos bill, respectively) pinned at their wedding dress one by one. The long line of "Etneb" (twenty pesos) brought large applause from the crowd when one of the ninangs wrapped the money at the newly weds.



It was a really fun wedding. And after my almost four years of marriage, I also got to meet Haidee again. My wedding emcee who was also the emcee of the said wedding.

My only downside was I always become an emotional during weddings. sometimes I forgot that I have a work to do and got attached to the sermon. While taking pictures, my eyes became wet especially at the moment when parents give messages to their children. I really can't help it. I just dry my eyes discreetly.



Otherwise, my co-photographers would laugh at me!

To Aldine and Erelyn, congratulations and best wishes!

Salvador Men - Aldrin

Finally, my second installment for the Salvador Men is now approved. I cannot tell you the final title yet and even the date of its release. I will just keep you posted, guys.


Anyway, I can share you a part of the manuscript....



Everything in her life was ordinary. Even her name. Anna dela Cruz. She thought she would be living her life that simple forever until she met Richmond Salvador. Pangalan pa lang nito ay mayaman na. And he was indeed rich. Extremely rich, extremely handsome, extremely arrogant. At dahil hindi niya masakyan ang pagiging arogante nito, sa unang engkuwentro nila ay hinampas niya ito ng malansang isda!

To his hometown, he was more popularly known as Aldrin Salvador. Pero sa isang pagkakataon kung saan siya naka-engkuwentro niya ang pinakamagandang tindera ng isda sa tanang buhay niya, ipinakilala niya ang sarili bilang Richmond Salvador, after all, his full name was Richmond Aldrin Salvador. At sa palagay niya, kakaiba ang engkuwentrong iyon. Bakit hindi, ngayon lang nangyari sa kanya na may babaeng naglakas ng loob na salubungin ang topak niya. At hinampas pa siya nito ng malansang isda!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

The 99 Club

This is a forwarded email to me. I decided to post this to share to all of you.


It's really ironic how people turn out this way... hope we could learn to'get out' of the "99 Club"...

ARE YOU PART OF THE "99 CLUB"?

Hope not... But most of us, not knowingit,is a member of the Club!!Still wondering what I'm talking about?? Well, here's the story that goes along with the question above....... here's how it goes...

Long ago, there lived a King. This King should have been content withhislife, given all the riches and luxuries he had. However, this was not the case! The King always found himself wondering why he just neverseemed content with his life. Sure, he had the attention of everyonewherever he went, attended fancy dinners and parties, but somehow, he still felt something was lacking and he couldn't put his finger on it.

One day, the King had waken up earlier than usual and decided to stroll around his palace. He entered his huge living room and came to a stop when he heard someone happily singing away... following this singing... he saw that one of the servants was singing and had a very content look on his face.This fascinated the King and he summoned this man to his chambers.

The man, his servant, entered the King's chambers as ordered. The King askedwhy he was so happy. To this the man replied: "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but I make enough of a living to keep my wife and children happy. We don't need too much, a roof over our head and warm foodto fill our tummy. My wife and children are my inspiration, they are content with whatever little I bring home. I am happy because my family is happy".

Hearing this, the King dismissed the servant and summoned his PersonalAssistant to his chambers. The King related his personal anguish abouthis feelings and then related the story of the servant to his PersonalAssistant, hoping that somehow, he will be able to come up with somereasoning that here was a King who could have anything he wished for at a snap of his fingers and yet was not contented, whereas, his servant, having so little was extremely contented.

The Personal Assistant listened attentively and came to a conclusion. Hes aid "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made partof The 99 Club".

"The 99 Club? and what exactly is that?" the King inquired.

To which the Assistant replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, you will have to do the following:... .place 99 GoldCoins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep, you will then understand what The 99 Club is".

That very same evening, the King arranged for 99 Gold coins to be placed in bag at the servants doorstep. Although he was slightly hesitant and he thought he should have put100 Gold Coins in the bag, but since his assistant had advised him to put 99,that was what he did.

The servant was just stepping out of his house when he saw the bag at his doorstep. Wondering about its contents, he took it into his houseand opened the bag. When he opened the bag he let out a great big shout of joy.....Gold Coins.....so many of them. He could hardly believe it and he called his wife to show her the coins. He then took the bag to a table, emptied it out and began to count the coins. Doing so, he realized that there were 99 coins and he thought it was odd number so he counted again, and again and again only to come to the same conclusion.. .99 GoldCoins.

He began to wonder, what could have happened to that last 1 coin?For no one would leave 99 coins. He began to search his entire house, looked around his backyard for hours, not wanting to lose out on that one coin. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to make up for that 1 Gold coin to make his entire collection, an even 100 Gold Coins.

He got up the next morning, in an extremelyhorrible mood, shouting at the children and his wife for his bad mood, not realizing that he had spent most of the previous night conjuring ways of working hard so that he had enough money to buy himself that gold coin. He went to work as usual, only, not in his usual best mood, singing happily and whistling all day. He didn't even seem to notice that the King was watching him as he grumpily did his daily errands. Seeing the man's attitude change so drastically, the King was puzzled. He promptly summoned his assistant to his chambers. The King related his thoughts about the servant and once again, his assistant listened.

The King could not believe that the servant who until yesterday had been singing away and was happyand content with his life had taken a sudden change of attitude, eventhough he should have been happier after receiving the gold coins.

To this the assistant replied "Ah but your Majesty, the servanthas now officially joined The 99 Club." He explained: "The 99 Club is just a name given to those people who have everything but yet are never content, therefore they are always working hard and striving for thatextra1 to round it out to 100!We have so much to be thankful for and we can live with verylittlein our lives, but the minute we are given something bigger andbetter,we want even more! We are not the same happy contented person we used to be, we want more, and by wanting more, we don't realize the price we haveto pay for it. We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us, just as the price to pay for our growing needs and desires.That is what joining The 99 Club is all about."

Hearing this, the King decided that from that day onwards, he was going to start appreciating all the little things in life. Striving for more is always good, but lets not strive so hard and for so much that we lose all those near and dear to our heart, we shouldn'tcompromise our happiness for moments of luxuries!

By - Reshma Sakhrani
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight." (Proverb 3:5-6)

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

KC Concepcion in MMK

Wednesday night when I first watched MMK's teaser for this week's episode featuring KC Concepcion. And I was amazed watching KC's acting. Indeed, talent is in her blood. It was just a teaser but I was deeply touched and couldn't believe my eyes got wet with tears.

Came Friday night, I sat in front of TV and eagerly waited for the said show. And I was really entertained, even cried again!

The story was really touching and heartwarming.

Plus, KC proved her self to be a genuine talent. I adrmired her ever since and now i became an instant fan.

Congratulations! And to my favorite long-time drama series Maalaala Mo Kaya, more power!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Salvador Men - Adrian

Last month, I got depressed due to the negative feedback of the manuscript I passed at PHR. But I feel better now. I got a check, need to say more???

I cannot tell you the title yet but it’s about Adrian Salvador, the character frequently mentioned at my novel “the Wedding Gown Magic” and “Vicki”.

Adrian’s story also debuts the collection of stories of Salvador Men. I initially called them Salvador Brothers, although they are not literraly brothers but cousins, they are bonded closer than true blooded brothers.

And since I’m already through with Adrian’s story, I’m now into my own mind debate as to which character would be in the next story. Maybe it will be Vince, Adrian’s older brother. Or maybe, it will be Aldrin. Well, I got six more gorgeous men who can be in the lead. So it could also be Zeke, Quiel, Ephraim or even Jethro.

I would like to mention my fellow writer Vanessa for helping me in her most special way. Hey, Van! Clock is ticking… I saved the date.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Earn money online

Lately I became interested in joining the money maker online. And this one, the hits4pay seemed the most realiable site. Come and join me. let's make money with minimal effort.


Thank you, Weng. As always, you help me in this online earning opportunity.



Saturday, February 2, 2008

Precious Fans Day




Precious Hearts Romances
Fans Day
March 17, 2007


Activity Center
SM San Lazaro




PHR writers Sheena Rose, Claudia Santiago,
Vanessa, me, Elizabeth McBride, Almira Jose,
Bernadette Licarte, Rose Tan and Laurice del Rio


with our Publisher Jun Matias

with my friend Katrina, finally, we've met!


Friday, February 1, 2008

I Am A Writer


How I Started Writing?

I attended the Precious workshop but after the workshop, I didn’t concentrate on writing. I was busy in other things. When I wrote my first book, it was out of desperation and vengeance. I resigned from my eight-to-five work and wanted to prove to some people that they are other ways of earning and they are not the only company in this side of the world. I wanted to prove to few people that they can never put me down.

My first book was a disaster. The result was “for revision” but the three-page comment simply meant that it was as good as “reject”. I wrote another. It was for revision again but she told me I made a lot of improvements. My third book was finally approved in the first reading. That was Just Mine.

After my book Just Mine, I felt a little confidence that I can really write. I wrote Sometimes You Just Know, which eventually became a series, my very first series. It was not intended to become a series but having a series that time was a fad and I thought of giving it a try.

But writing was never easy.

For me, it is a work that I really need to exert lots of effort. And that was the time that I was still studying to earn a college degree while I was also working in another eight-to-five job. I had a little time for writing but it was also the time that I feel my “calling” in writing was so strong. So no matter how much little time left for me, I found time to sit down and touch my typewriter. Oh, yes, computer was only for rich people during that time.

Three manuscripts and alas, I able to save bucks to buy my very first, 386 PC. I quit my job in the office and made my writing support my last year in college.

After graduation, I was told to find a job related to my course. But I prefered to write. So I didn’t even take a glance on the ads paper but did long hours of sitting down and jumbling letters in the keyboard to produce manuscripts.

After a year of doing nothing but writing, I decided to give it a try. Applying in an office job, I mean. But it made me so bored that while I was waiting for my turn to be interviewed, my mind was wandering on what plot I was going to write the next minute I get back on my computer.

So I wrote again. Summer is the best time for me. Rainy days makes me so lazy that all I wanna do is sit down and read.

Ideas came from anything and everything. It could come from eavesdropping, hehe! Or from watching a movie or reading another book. Sometimes, even a one line from someone I was talking with could give me an idea on what to write.

But mental block also hits me, from time to time.

This time, yes, I’m into mental block.

For the meantime, through this blog, I share with you bits and pieces of every manuscript I wrote.

Blogging, let’s rock and roll!