hk-galore and mickey moments...

its been 3 months but since i owe this post to someone, here goes... (picture heavy post)

left on a friday afternoon on a pal real deal flight booked by a friend. fortunately, we got the flight with free meals (chicken or pork?) and own monitors but since i'm too sleepy to watch anything, i just listened to lady gaga most of the flight...

we boarded the airport express when we got to hk and then rode the K3 bus (free ride) going to the hotel (Butterfly on Pratt - Tsim Sha Tsui booked through AsiaTravel)... loved the smell of the lobby (reminded me of elizabeth arden green tea)...

went to ocean park the following day. watched lovebirds...

pandas...

and dinosaurs?! hahaha...

not much into rides but the park tower is a must try to get a good view of the whole park...

strolled on avenue of stars...

to watch the symphony of lights (apologies for the blurry pics... note to self: learn to use a camera if you want a dslr... hahaha...)

the following day, went to ngong ping village...

to witness the richness...

of the culture of the people in hongkong...

then we rode the tram going to the peak...

where madame tussaud's museum is also located...

to mingle with the rich...

and the famous... 

hahaha...

of course, we wouldn't miss disneyland for the world...

so we rode the mickey disney express

and eavesdropped on mickey and minnie...

and watched more mickeys... hahaha...

and listened to more mickeys... (wink, wink...)

i wanted to look for more hidden mickeys but o well... 

all full

"we, as human beings, have a natural compulsion

to fill up empty spaces" ~ mary horowitz, all about steve

ate malou, thanks for filling up my empty stomach with chicken spinach lasagna,

oreo cheesecake

and bottomless iced tea at mom and tina's.

have a safe trip home! :)

(p.s. too hungry to sprint home to get my camera, grabbed pics from anton diaz's blog instead.)

christmasy!

he who has not christmas in his heart
will never find it under a tree ~ roy l. smith


christmas, children, is not a date
it is a state of mind ~mary ellen chase

feeling christmasy, allow me to bring out the inner child in me by posting a wishlist...


because a girl can never have too many of these...

and i'm falling in lust with those by christian louboutin's...

because the one i have is currently in self-destruct mode... (piece by piece)

because i unintentionally broke the one given to me (and believe me, if i could put back all the stones and pieces of glass together,i would have.)

and the last two...


just because...

o well... so much for that... now back to work... hahaha...

of coffee and poems...

excited for a friend who would be launching her coffee table book this december at boni high street, i'd like to repost one of her poems:

A Pack of Contradictions

October.29.2009 by irisoniris

When we write love poems
are we really writing them for someone
or for the ideal,
perfect,
imaginary lover
who deserves
all the grand metaphors,
and adoring verses?

I wrote you a pack of them
they were good ones too
I think.
I had been proud of them
until I realized
I don’t even know you
and you turned out
to not even be
what I thought
you were

Now the poems are like
hollow objects
echoing
an affection
I offered so willingly
to someone
who doesn’t even exist

I feel strange.
You know, like
when someone tricked you
into doing something good
and it should be OK
since you did good anyway
but it’s really not
and you want to kick yourself
for letting yourself do it

It’s like being raped
and giving birth
to Mozart
nine months later

an undone sin
begging for its own redemption
with its beauty

for more of these visit her blog at: http://irisoniris.wordpress.com/

typhoon ondoy

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fly, fly, fly... the flying pig

had dinner at flying pig, eastwood last weekend. thanks, dreffy!

also had hazel nut gelato with romz and ate malou. thanks, you guys, for giving in to my whim... and no... its not the gelato...

sorry, uninspired by recent events...

frozen delight!

went with a friend over at the white hat, greenbelt5. its a frozen yoghurt shop located inside timezone.

i wasn't sure whether i am up for it as i rarely eat yoghurt (its psychological, i think healthy stuffs taste bad... hahaha... so not true, of course...) but they gave us free samples... that's a very good marketing strategy when you're products are actually... well... (for a lack of better term) very good! hahaha...

i was convinced and so i got a regular-sized plain yoghurt (you can opt for strawberry yoghurt) with 2 toppings (85php plus 35php for 2 toppings): mangoes and mandarin oranges. yummy! other toppings are available including but not limited to blueberries, strawberries, cherries, cranberries, peaches, sliced almonds, marshmallows, sprinkles, white chocolate chip, and oreos.

just a warning if you plan to go there, they have a well-stocked magazine rack so make sure you balance the reading and the eating if you want your yoghurt frozen. enjoy!

color me happy

art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness

it trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind

as the sun colors flowers, so does art color life - John Lubbock

happiness is described differently by different people. As for me, happiness can be described as mcdonald's twister fries, ineng's pork bbq, cold rock's double chocolate with cookie dough mixed-in ice cream, classic confection's chocolate cake, fibisco's chocolate mallows, ghirardelli chocolates... and the list goes on and on...

quite recently though, i found happiness from non-edible things as well when i finally got my barenatural's eco brush set (Php 828.00 - powder brush, eye shader brush, concealer brush, kabuki)...

which came with free barenaturals mineral make-up samples (golden neutral foundi stay, pizzaz and french kiss blush, and splash eye shadow) and emu oil skin perfecting soap

and ellana minerals free samples (hazel nut and caramel latte premium foundation, espresso con panna finishing powder, bliss blush)

(for ellana mineral free samples just fill up the information sheet from their website then pay 50 pesos for the shipping fee)

i'm so excited to try these... and color myself happy... if i ever learn how to use these, that is! hahaha...

uninspired

God,grant me the serenity

to accept the things i cannot change

courage to change the things i can

and wisdom to know the difference...

currently uninspired and waiting (and praying) for my packages to arrive...

please...

please...

lately, i've been putting off too important things, too much...

its time for change...

friends and foodie!

its always nice to see a friend you haven't seen for such a long time but it gets even better if you are treated to a free dinner... thanks, aris!

de-stress day

went to my office mate-recommended touch and heal spa (v.a. rufino, legaspi village) for a massage after 4 tiring days of long walks (and queues... - details later when i get to download the pictures)...

got there at around 9:30 pm, this may seem late to most people but their pampering hours is actually 2pm to 1am everyday. ideal for after-office stress relievers.

its a small place with a very unassuming sign. right after entering the room, i felt relieved that it smelled great with a bit of citrus and lavender in the air. we were given comfy, rubber slippers before going into the foot spa area. the foot spa area as well as the massage beds are only separated by big, bulky, brown loin cloths. i didn't mind the limited room space as it really didn't feel cramped even if there were plenty of customers. of course, its always best to make an appointment: 893-7894.

i got the royalty package 1 which includes: foot scrub, foot massage and body massage for 2 hours and 30 minutes (Php 750). i dozed off somewhere between the foot scrub and foot massage and i had to be waken up so we can move to the massage area. they placed eucalyptus oil/menthol under the massage bed, which made me sleepier. on the overall, the experience was good and very relaxing, even the hot calamansi they serve after the massage was refreshing. now, the questions is, peppermint or lavender oil?

meat up!

a friend just got back from sg for a 2-week-ish vacation. met with her and our other friends over at brazil brazil, serendra (buffet 700++ per head) where we stuffed ourselves up with all the possible food one can roast... from beef, pork, cuttlefish (which we had to emphasize, is not fish...hahaha) to bananas and pineapples...

afterwards, we went over to center stage (jupiter st., makati) to sing our hearts out (by our i mean their as i am incapable of singing... hahaha) til morning, 5am to be exact.

thanks, te rian for the treat! see you again on january 2010.

chicken pie!

quickpost: had lunch at mom and tina's (perea cor. dela rosa) today with a couple of friends. ordered chicken and mushroom pie (90), dark toblerone walnut torte (95) and bottomless iced tea (60)! loved everything! will post pictures next time. yes, i will go back. :)

feeling chocolatey

happy: royce is now available at greenbelt 5! (also in rockwell)

happier: a friend who celebrated his birthday last july 24 treated us with the all-time favorite royce nama chocolate champagne flavor (au lait is good too!)...

and royce potato chips...

spring awakening philippines

a friend invited me to watch the philippine version of the duncan sheik and steven sater's tony award-winning rock musical spring swakening. starred by kelly frances lati and miguel mendoza, it opens on september 25, 2009 at the rcbc theater.

we got our tickets by contacting atlantis productions. unfortunately, we didn't get discounts no matter how early we got the tickets (we got 10% early bird discount from the bachelor girl on last year's avenue q).

The Feast

Just wanted to share the schedule and the blessings:

Pasig

Sunday (3 sessions)

8:00am-10:00am

10:30am-12:30noon

1:00pm-3:00pm

Valle Verde Country Club(Beside ULTRA)

Preacher: Bo Sanchez

Alabang

Sunday, 11:00am

Festival Mall (Cinema 10)

Preacher: Arun Gogna

Makati

Thursday, 7:30pm

AIM Conference Center,

Benavidez corner Paseo De Roxas

Preacher: Randy Borromeo

Manila

Friday, 7:00pm

SM Manila (Cinema 4), near Manila City Hall

Preacher: Obet Cabrillas

Bulacan

Marilao

Preacher: Alvin Barcelona

For more info please contact: Annie at feastsecretariat@yahoo.com