Favorite Lunch Place

For a beautiful island, I find Guam weird in the sense that there are only such a few restaurants/cafes/bars that are located right beside the shore (think Boracay for a second and you'll know what I mean).

We have been passing by this small cafe named "Turé"  for at least 3 years but never got the chance to try it out. Thanks to my co-worker, who is a salad - sandwich lover, that I got to try the place out. The cafe is just 3 minutes drive from our office anyway so it was perfect!

This is what I call a lunch BREAK! Away from the computers, away from crowded places, no waiting in line to get seated or order your food. Just park, pick a seat, enjoy the sun, the breeze and the ocean view.

They play lounge/jazz music just enough for you to hear it but at the same time, you are still able to enjoy the sound of the waves.

It is so relaxing here, I forget that I am on lunch break and I still need to get back to at least 4 more hours of work. Haha.

My favorite on their menu - Fuji Apple Salad. I never knew I have salad-lover cell in me, but now I DO! This is also a typical scenario at how I spend lunch, whenever I have (or want to) spend it alone. Peaceful and quiet. I enjoy scribbling notes on my Starbucks (STARBUCKS! You are still no.1!) organizer, checking facebook and personal mails on my phone... RELAXATION.

Some might think that it will cost you more to get lunch from establishments like these compared to going to the mall food court, but here's how I see it:
1. The place is 3 minutes from work. You park, you walk for 10 seconds and you are there. The mall is at least 15 minutes away, then you still need to add another 5-10 minutes to find a parking space then order food, then carry your tray while scouting for a table to eat in. Another 15 minutes to go back to work so you have to eat fast!!!
2. Lunch here is around $7-$12, same price as when you go to the mall. The difference? Food here is fresh! Will be cooked when you order. The food court? Uhm. I doubt that.
3. I get unlimited water with lemon... for free.
4. There's free wifi too, if you need it. 
5. And the view? The peaceful experience? PRICELESS. So why would I go to the mall again?

I come here almost three times a week and I have to say I haven't been able to try all of what they can offer, I usually stick to what I always order. Other than salads, they also have amazing sandwiches, burgers, pasta, and a few that have rice too! Oh! Actually, they are famous for their desserts too, but I haven't tried it except for their Monkey Bread (which is like a cinnamon bread).

I have been telling them to widen their menu choices and just a few weeks ago, they did! I hope they continue to improve. Deep inside though, I wish they won't get too famous that they get over-crowded. Hehehe, what a selfish wish.

Or... a better solution... I hope Guam maximizes their beautiful oceanfronts and encourage more of these types of establishments.

Complete Valentine's Day Package

I am such a lucky, happy, preggy wife!

My husband treated me to a pregnancy massage. I enjoyed it so much, the whole 90 minute-long pampering of my tired and aching muscles. I should have had one a long time ago. I am 7.5 months pregnant now and that's how long I have not had a massage. That masseuse had magic hands! Aches and pains... G-O-N-E!

After massage, we went to House of Brutus. We love the food there and we love how it is never crowded. Apparently they had a Valentine's Day special: Salad, main course of rib-eye steak and basa fish, apple pie and ice cream for dessert, and 2 glasses of wine (which I can't have)... all for just $35! What a great deal!After yet a successful dinner date, we went home and my husband surprised me (but wait, there's more?!) with a bouquet of flowers. :) He knows that my weakness are flowers. I was really surprised since I really do not expect flowers anymore since we got here in Guam. IT IS SO DAMN EXPENSIVE and they are just mediocre flowers, compared to the creative, colorful, variety of flora they have in the Philippines. I guess it really does help to not expect anything and you get doubly surprised by the gesture.


♥ My husband cooked up a Complete Valentine's Day Package. He is perfect! ♥

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

P.S.
It's a good thing we did celebrate V-day this year. My co-worker just reminded me that this will be our last V-day as a couple... why?
Because starting April, yes, that's in a few weeks, I and hubs will no longer be two... but three! Our little one will be here very very soon! Next V-day there will be the three of us celebrating. Woooow! :)

Office Etiquette

Are there any training schools that teach you office etiquette? Apparently, more and more people need it. I have not attended any but I do believe I have practiced very good office etiquette on all of the offices I have worked at. I would like to give credit to the multinational companies I have worked for in the Philippines from which I believe is where I got the professionalism that I have been practicing since then.

Aside from the obvious stuff like picking your nose, farting, , etc; Here are some little things you should NOT do at work:

1. Stare and read whatever you see in your co-workers monitor. Just because you can see it, doesn't mean you have to read it. How many of us have met a workspace neighbor who just love reading our mails or chats just because they have the proximity of doing it. All the more for co-workers who actually walk to your space, stand behind you, and start reading what is in your monitor.

2. Hover at someone else's workspace. No, it is NOT okay to kill time while staring at what your co-worker is doing. Find something else more productive to do. I just read about my friend's problem about people at work, invading her PERSONAL BUBBLE. For those who need to understand, here's a diagram.



3. Unnecessary physical contact. Emphasis on unnecessary, being one of the youngest people in my office now, I think they see me as their kid or a little child. Sometimes they pinch my face, my arm, or even give me a shove or a 'tap' that to them is harmless, but to someone like me, really unwanted, and sometimes even hurtful. I do tell them and sometimes even show that I am mad about it, but I don't think they take it seriously.

Hot!

Record breaking update!!! Guam is HOT! Literally!

In my two years & something months here in Guam, this is the hottest I have seen my car thermometer show so far. The last record holder was a couple of months ago at 102 F.

Look Both Ways

Today, I was merrily listening (and singing) to my POP playlist in Pandora while driving to work. I have a meeting early morning so I figured to go to work earlier than usual.

I was driving my usual routine, sticking to 30-40 MPH speed especially during these rush hours when the police love to hide behind the bushes and surprise you with their speed trap from a dangerous curb somewhere (35 MPH is the speed limit).

I have a (bad?) habit of always looking at my rear view mirror. Mostly to compare if I am driving too slow, too fast, if there is police car somewhere or if someone is tailing too close.

Today it was consistently that blue Toyota. For the first 10 minutes of the drive it was driving at least 5 cars behind me, which is way far than the normal. A mile from my office, you would have to merge from a two-lane shortcut road into a six-lane high-way. So I stopped and waited for the high-way to clear up before I turn right. I remember happily singing to this song while I was waiting (on full stop):

And then… BLAAAAGGAAGG!!!

That blue car hit my rear bumper!!! Fortunately I was hitting on the breaks the whole time, or else the force would have pushed my car towards the high-way full of speeding cars. Whew!

I went out of the car, met the driver of the blue car. He was just a kid – definitely a teenager. He couldn’t talk at all. I asked him: “Were you speeding? Are you in a hurry?” He answered in the softest voice: “No, I was looking to my left – on the road.” Great. So he was merging to his right, he looks to his left for approaching cars and forgot to check if there’s a car in front of him. Great.

I called my husband and I was relieved that he agreed to just let it go since it was just a scratch anyway, plus the fact that it was a kid. I reminisced the days when I was just a new driver and had I made the same mistake that the kid did today, I would already be crying my eyes out of fear and embarrassment by now.

I took the boy’s insurance information. The car and insurance was named under his parents’ and grandparents’ name. He will be doing some explaining to them when he gets home later. That may be enough punishment to make him remember to ALWAYS LOOK ON BOTH SIDES BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET.

So today I got my first official Guam/US accident.* It’s not an accomplishment but I guess it adds points to the level of life experiences.

*The unofficial first accident was when I scratched another car’s bumper while trying to come out of a cramped parking area. Although it left a dent onto my bumper, the other car was just a make-shift stainless steel bumper so its rust was just scratched off.

Very Dissatisfied

I was filling up an hour-long survey from the US Air Force, checking on the status and well-being of the military spouses.

Of course, just like in any survey, I always put my real and honest opinion in it. I have high regard that data from surveys are put into good use, so people who fill them up must maximize their efforts to answer them as best they could. I even went to work earlier than usual so I can have a concentrated time doing this survey. That's how serious I take these things. Haha.

I have not been very happy with where we are now, everyday, I am reminded that 'there's more to life than this...' When I came across this certain page of the survey, I kind of had a laugh at myself and followed by a deep sigh...this pretty much summarizes how I feel about this place...

Pinoy na Pinoy Din Siya!

This political campaign ad I heard this morning at a Filipino radio station here, made me laugh so hard I think I burned 50 calories.

THANK YOU POLITICIANS for all the creativity imparted to the people. Hahahaha!
(I have omitted the names because I am feeling kind today)

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

Politician's wife (each word said very, very slowly):

MEBOWHAI! Akoh powh si (***), ehsaweh ni (***). An tetey kow powh ey si (***) neh geleng seh Ilowcoes Sur.

Pinay voice: PINOY NA PINOY DIN SIYA!!! IBOTO NATIN, (***)!!!

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I didn't think the wife was funny, but when the voice over shouted "PINOY NA PINOY DIN SIYA!!!" that's when I started bursting with laughter. Yes, half a star for the effort of reading Tagalog sentences in perfect American accent, but to say pinoy na pinoy din siya?! That's just plain joke.

The First Jeepney in Guam

Guam Customs on the first jeepney in Guam: "Send it back to the Philippines or have it destroyed."

So this Pinoy jeepney has been making headlines here lately. The background, this Jeepney was imported from the Philippines to be used for display only, but was seen as one of the Liberation Day Parade float of a pair of candidates running for Governor & Vice-governor (the Governor is pretty much the President here).

From the news:

Guam - Guam Customs and Quarantine has revoked the entry of a vehicle brought to the island by Auto Traders last weekend. On Monday Customs officers cleared and inspected a jeepney, but received assurances from the owner that it would only be used for static display purposes because it does not meet U.S. Department of Transportation specifications.

Despite signing an agreement that the vehicle would not be driven on Guam's roads, Customs officials say they received numerous reports of the jeepney out and about. Additionally, Customs determined the vehicle was brought to Guam under false pretenses.

They've ordered the jeepney to be sent back to the Philippines or be destroyed.


I have to say, the jeepney looks pretty cool!!! :)
Above photo taken from other website.

Dona Facunda

Nakilala ko ang isa mga kakumpetisyon namin sa pamomotograpo dito sa isla. Hindi kaaya-aya dahil may common friend kami at parang hot seat na biglang pinag-uusapan namin ang parehong bisnes sa harap ng iba. Parang comparing notes. Lagpas isang taon na siya namimityur at okay naman ang mga kuha niya. Iba-iba naman talaga style at siyempre yung bisnes namin, feeling namin may maibibigay rin kaming maganda. Masmaganda sa mga kuha niya. Bwehehe.

Kailangan ko sabihin ito sa tagalog para siguradong hindi nya maiintindihan. :P

Okay naman sana siyang kaibigan, madaldal, walang awkward silence. Kaso, parang may dugo ata siya ni Don Facundo. Hinangin ako eh. Sumobra siya sa hilig sa pang-o-okray lalo na sa mga ibang namimityur na mga kapitbahay niya. All knowing talaga. Siguradong na-okray na rin niya ang mga gawa namin dahil sabi niya sinilip na raw niya ung aming facebook. Tapos walang binigay na kumento man lang tungkol sa gawa namin.

Pati tatak ng kamera ko inokray.
Yung nagsisimula pa lang sa bisness, inokray na.
Yung nakita niyang babae na panget ung suot, inokray.

Kasali sila sa organisasyon ng mga kaasawahan dun sa loob ng base. Ganon pala sila, mega-okrayan lang ng kapwa mga misis dun. Buti na lang hindi ako kasali dun sa organisasyon na yun. Buti na lang sa labas kami ng base nakatira mula simula pa. Whew!

Okay na sakin kahit isa o dalawa lang kaibigan ko dito, at least siguradong hindi tsismis inaatupag.

Sabi niya, madami daw nag-a-add sa kanya sa facebook, tapos pagkatapos makita ung mga gawa niya, idedelete din daw siya. Sinisilip lang daw ung mga gawa niya nung mga kapwa mamimityur, tapos tatanggalin na raw siya sa facebook.

Sa palagay ko, hindi yun yung main reason bakit siya dinedelete ng mga tao sa facebook.

Baka hinangin lang talaga sila. :P
Hinangin papalayo.

Wooooooshhh!

P.S.
Sa lahat ng mga mamimityur na hindi nag-aangas at marunong maka-appreciate ng mga kapwa nila artist, mataas respeto ko sa ating lahat. Bow.

P.P.S.
Wow, ganon kalakas ung dating ni Dona Facunda na ginawan ko pa siya ng article dito sa blog ko.

One Hour to One Half Day, Hafa Adai!

Yesterday, I was once again reminded why I am not in love with this island. Not yet, that is, let's stay positive.

Woke up early, emailed work that I will be coming in late, like 1 or 2 hours late.

Mission: Drop my visa application at the Japan Consulate office.

7:50 AM: Went to the biggest copy/printing shop in the island, Copy Express. They can do pretty much anything, photocopying, print ads, plotting, framing, etc. Name it.

Though that day, that lucky day, all their photo-printing machines were broken, at least that was what the guy told me. With more than 20 big ass printing machines there, not one can print a passport photo. Yeah, right!

8:00 AM: I noticed I forgot my application forms at home anyway. Drove back home.

8:45 AM: Went to the other branch of Copy Express. This time they said "Oh, we don't print any photos here anymore. Only in the other branch." Regardless if they have all those huge "Photo printing services" and "Fujifilm" posters there. I asked the lady to at least print my print-ready-photo-all-sized into any glossy paper she had there. She did.

$2.00 as file access fee. Yeah, they charge you $2.00 for opening your file. How the hell can they print your file unless they open it?! $5.00 charge if you email it to them!
$1.50 for each page.

Where else can you get a "file access charge?"
Made me remember when I bought a movie ticket online a couple of months ago, I got charged
$3.00-per-ticket convenience fee. O ha?! Most of the time you get a discount for buying online, right? Paperless, no man power, and all that. Not here. :P

9:40: AM: Finally reached the Japanese Consulate. They accepted my blurry passport photo, only problem is: they need a flight itinerary before they process your visa. Gotta reserve our ticket first.

10:20 AM: Went to a Continental Airlines ticketing office. All tickets for our trip are fully booked. We told them we just tried online a couple of minutes ago and the flights were still available. Travel agent told us that's how it is so we better just try online.

11:00 AM: Went to Netopia to book our ticket online. Will waste too much time if we go back home just for the internet.
$0.20 for a page or printing. $2.25 for internet use. Not bad.

11:20 AM: Now back at the Japanese Consulate. Dropped off my papers.

11:30 AM: Had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant.

12-ish: Home.
Was able to go back to work 1:00 PM. Half day! Hafa Adai!

P.S.
Hafa Adai ~ Mabuhay ~ Aloha

P.P.S.
This is where we are:

Photo courtesy of: http://www.pata.no

May the Force be With Me

Something is off with the universe lately, well, MY universe.

I showed my car registration last Saturday, for oil change, and for some magical cosmic reason, I can’t find that piece of paper now. I remember, not vaguely, but clearly remember myself putting it inside my car’s glove compartment. I remember doing it with a thought in my mind “mailagay na nga dito, baka mawala ko pa ito.” Now, IT ISN’T THERE! Can’t find it anywhere.

I remember packing our new digicam’s charger cord on my way to my vacation last week. The camera power is now empty, and I can’t find the damn cord! It wasn’t in any of my packs. Can’t find it at home either.

I went out to buy some groceries yesterday, my first day back from vacation. I made a u-turn on red signal (I remember my co-workers telling me it’s okay to do that in that intersection, yeah and I believed them! Tange!). The police car pulled me over a quarter mile from my house. She asked for my driver’s license and car registration. Uhm… dehmet! My registration wasn’t there, remember? The police woman then asked for my proof of insurance instead, and she finds out my copy was expired too! Dehmit!!! I told her I live just around the corner, and that it was my first day back in the island, and that I would need to ask my husband, blah blah blah. She said I need to fix this asap or the next time they will just confiscate my plates. Dehmit!

On my way to work, I couldn’t find car keys! I called my husband, it wasn’t with him. I remember just using it this morning, since I searched all the corners of my car interior first thing after waking up, looking for that damn car registration. I remember throwing a lot of papers in the trash. I went ahead and checked the trash can, maybe I threw the car keys there altogether with the papers. I found my keys finally, where? IN MY CAR THAT I LEFT OPEN! Dehmit!

I am losing trust in myself.

Now I am at work, I am thinking, the trash will be picked up today and what if I threw some important documents there? I am thinking, what if I left the house door open? Did I leave the aircon running? Or did I turn off the oven after I used it? PARANOIA.

Dehmit, universe, please be my friend.

Is this bad karma? But what did I do to deserve it? I thought I was being good. Hmmm.

Dehmit.

Why I Dread a Trip to the Nail Salon

As per my facebook status: A trip to the pedicurist is scarier than a trip to the dentist. Most of the time it is even more painful.

1. The last time I had a pedicure, I had them put a clear polish which then caused my nails to weaken, then crack, and so part of my toe nail was chipped. I tried to groom it and ended up wounding myself. Hehe. So I said, I better go to the professionals the next time.

2. This is probably the 5th time I am having a pedicure… in my entire life. I have never been that type of person. I have never enjoyed manicures or pedicures, most of the time they end up hurting my tips and toes. I have tiny fingers, thus tiny nails. There won’t be much room for them to work on. I don’t think I get the worth of my money. Haha.

3. In Guam, the first time I went to the nail salon was when a friend asked me to accompany her. We both asked for the same pedicure package, but I did not get the same treatment. The only reason I can think of is because I am Asian. My friend is white. The staffs were Vietnamese. They were more accommodating and friendlier to the American-looking people. They entertain them, talk to them, smile at them. Me? I just get the pedicure. No talking. There was even one point they had me move to another chair (yes, in the middle of all the pedicure session), just so they can give a corner seat to another white woman.

4. That same trip to the nail salon, I was already standing up, holding my purse, waiting and watching for my friend’s toes to get done. She asked for the flowery details on her toes. Nice. Then another white manang approached me, handing me the nail polish she picked. She thought I was one of the staff. Why? The only reason I could think of was because I was Asian. I told her, “Sorry, I don’t work here.” She said “Oh, so what are you doing here?” I said “Waiting for my friend?” Being a passive person that I am, I was mad, but didn’t do anything. Damn you manang!!! I’ll remember that stupid face of yours wherever.

5. I don’t grow my nails long, there’s too much in life you have to give up when you have long nails (e.g. gardening, scratching your skin and eyes, eating with your hands, etc).

6. My feet are extremely ticklish. Once they start doing the scrubbing, the massaging, I immediately laugh or smile. I try to think of sad things and horror movies, just so I could stop laughing. I tear up, in most cases. It’s torture. Hahaha!

7. This last weekend, I went to the nail salon because of pure necessity. I was afraid of wounding my toes again, trying to clean up some left over ingrown. I let a professional do it, and what happens? She was able to take out the ingrown alright, but with blood. Yes I saw blood. I had at least 3 OUCH moments there. Why do they say pedicures are relaxing? Why do most women do this to themselves regularly?

8. Item 3’s nail salon is different from Item 7’s. Apparently though, both have Vietnamese-full staff. Why do I know? Because they talk it. They talk loudly with each other, all across the room, the whole time. Again, they were more friendly with the white people, of course. I didn’t get the same service, of course. My seat’s back massager was broken, they don’t care. While someone was working on my pedicure, another woman was working on my manicure. She was standing on my right side the whole time. Instead of walking on my other side, she asks me to stretch out my left hand to the right. So she can work on it. In short: YUNG KAMAY MO ANG LALAPIT SA KANYA. Bwisit. Of course, they weren’t like that with the white woman.

9. It was the first time I tried a non-neutral colored toe nail polish; it was a dark old rose hue. When they put it on my toes, it looked more like fuchsia. So tacky. Fuchsia naman oh! I don’t even know how to pick a nice color.

10. I am perfectly happy with clean pinkish tips and toes. That’s it. Simple, clean, BEAUTIFUL!

I'LL DO IT MYSELF.

It's a Chauvinistic World

c/o wikipedia

Chauvinism, (pronounced /ˈʃoʊvɨnɪzəm/), in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a blind belief in national superiority and glory.

By extension it has come to include an extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of any group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards a rival group. Jingoism is the British parallel form of this French word.
A contemporary use of the term in English is in the phrase male chauvinism.

Because "chauvinism" is most often heard in this context, it is often mistakenly believed to refer exclusively to "male chauvinism" such as anti-feminism and sexism.

Chauvinism as nationalism

Chauvinism is an almost natural product of the national concept insofar as it springs directly from the old idea of the "national mission." ... (A) nation's mission might be interpreted precisely as bringing its light to other, less fortunate peoples that, for whatever reason, have miraculously been left by history without a national mission. As long as this concept did not develop into the ideology of chauvinism and remained in the rather vague realm of national or even nationalistic pride, it frequently resulted in a high sense of responsibility for the welfare of backward peoples.

Chauvinism as sexism
Male chauvinism is a term used to describe the belief that men are superior to women. The term was widely used by the feminist movement in the 1960s to describe men who believe or display an attitude that women are inferior to men, speak to women as inferiors, or treat women negatively based solely upon their gender. Female chauvinism is a less commonly used term used to describe the symmetrical attitude that women are superior to men.

The term female chauvinism has been adopted by critics of some types or aspects of feminism; leading second-wave feminist Betty Friedan being a notable example.These critics argue, for example, that in some gender feminist views, all men are considered irreconcilable rapists, wife-beating brutes, and useless as partners to women or as fathers to children.

Snake

It was a beautiful morning. I decided to get up at 6:00 AM. I ate a little breakfast (aka Leftover potatoes and eggs from Denny's the night before). While resting and psyching myself to not go back to bed, I watched John & Kate Plus 8 reruns.

Come 7:00 AM I went for a quick jog. I went several times around our village, appreciating the beauty of some of the neighbor's houses, and partly dreaming of how our house would look like had we owned it. Then I got reminded of how some part of me is still not happy that our landlord doesn't seem to have maintained the house we're renting in. There's so much to improve on. Wait, it's a beautiful morning, shake off the bad vibes and go back to appreciating the neighbor's flowers.

The sun was just beginning to be too bright around 7:30 AM so I went back to the house. It was a beautiful morning indeed. I decided to visit my baby plants first before going back in the house. My heart was still beating faster than normal by this time. I was happily walking to my backyard and what do I see? A DEAD SNAKE! What the f?! My knees shook. It took me a few seconds to realize it was a dead one. Whew.



When we got here in Guam, I attended an orientation for the military spouses newcomers and the representatives from USDA shared the truth about Guam and snakes. That it has been a huge problem before, but has been controlled. They said that for us military families who are here for only around 3 years, almost no one would probably see a snake.

I probably am too lucky then. Been here a year and already saw two snakes. First is the live snake trying to cross the hi-way (which later on became my first ever roadkill), and now this dead one.

I told my Mother in law about the dead snake and apparently here's what happened:

Our new neighbors from across the street are cleaning up their yard, they found two snakes. They killed both snakes and left it in front of their house for trash and debris pick up. Then the kids probably played with it and threw it to our yard! DARN YOU KID! Had I seen that happen, that kid would be reporting to his/her mother - in front of me. Grrr.

Doesn't matter if you live in a clean, peaceful, pretty little village; you still can't choose who your neighbors will be.

Boys' Night Out With a Twist: The MISIS

My husband got invited to go out and watch the Mocha Girls. He thought we could take the opportunity to do some event coverage too and post it on our photography business website, so I got invited too. Of course I wanted to go, I love practicing my photography especially on low lights. Very challenging.


An hour before we were about to go, I contemplated on what happened and I figured they might have wanted a boys night out and I could be ruining it for them. We called our friends up, it was too late, the wives have already been invited and are all set to tag along.


Looks like it's a Boys' Night Out turned Date Night. Haha!


We got there, and there was a fundraising dinner for a Senator at that moment. I guess we were too early, but it's all good, we got free food out of it. Then came the Mocha Girls and what can I say, they are pretty good performers. Dancing, entertaining, singing, hosting all at the same time. They surely know what they're doing. We noticed there are some lip-synced parts, but who the hell cares. Imagine singing two sets with all songs choreographed. That is not easy. Not at all.


They were pretty interactive, very very interactive. Too interactive at some points, if you know what I mean. Or maybe I'm just a girl.


Then came the Mocha Girls' break and the house band took over. Well, after watching them for a few minutes, I started to call them the Seriously Band (I didn't remember their actual name). We had to say "Seriously?" like a hundred times during their sets, please don't make me elaborate. Going back to the Mocha Girls...


Our friend was one of the lucky five who had a chance to experience a song and lap dance number from the girls. My husband was supposed to be one of them too, but he used the famous line "My Mrs. is right there!" after the Mocha Girl invited him, she had to say sorry to me. I was busy taking photos that time, had I heard that, I would have nominated my husband too! ;) The girls had our friend sit down with his hands chained behind. Another friend got to dance with one of the girls too. As for us women, for some mix up - lost in translation - moment, we got included in the "How Low Can You Go" dance contest, along with all the other guy audiences. It was probably the most confused moment of my life. I am pretty sure I am not supposed to be there. Please, delete it from my memory. Woosaaaaaah.

There's a reason my personality leaned towards photography, I love WATCHING the limelight. Never enjoyed being in it.

It was all in all a very fun and NEW experience for me. Thanks to our friends who invited us. It was an eventful Boys Night Out. ;)

Uod

A few days ago, I was doing my daily routine of checking up on my plants. I have a few potted flowering plants, chili plants, and a calamansi plant which is becoming really big. I usually check if their leaves look “happy” and if the flowering plants still continue to have buds on them.

Then I saw this:

Was it looking into the camera? Yikes.

Full "body" shot.

I know caterpillars love calamansi leaves. That’s where I got my skin rashes when I was a kid.”Nahigad ka,” said the elders and they washed my arm with vinegar. Mahapdi yun, but I guess it worked.

I don’t even know how it got there. We live on the 18^th floor. Maybe a bird put it there? A butterfly flew 18 floors up and left it there? I can’t even focus right when I was taking pictures of it this morning. I feel an unexplained fear and disgust especially when I am trying to take a macro shot. Ewww.

So far it ate around four leaves of my plant. It’s either I’d ask my husband to take it out, bring the caterpillar to the ground floor, and transfer it to another shrub in the complex or…

I wait for it to undergo metamorphosis and become a butterfly. That’s probably interesting to take photos of too. I wonder when that will happen.

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It must be a childhood thing because all of us siblings (at least all of us sisters, not sure if my brother would agree too) are not very fond of these creatures. My mother had anturium plants back in the 80s and she would tell us to help tend to the plants. And every time, we would see those huge white worms with huge brown/black eyes in those anturium leaves. Not to mention a really big glossy, colored, animal book we had when we were kids, it had a spread page of one macro front shot of the same green caterpillar. We used to make use of that page to tease my big sister, she’d cry whenever she sees it.

Right now my parents live in a house with a bigger garden space. She is gifted with a green thumb that she can even resurrect plants that she just picked from somewhere. She could never kill any plant. That’s probably the reason our friends describe our house as “The Hobbit House” or “a house from fairy tales like Hansel & Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood.” It looked like a hidden house inside a thick forest. Hehehe.

My $200 Challenge

Our house looked like it has been hit by a tornado. No thanks to our week long, on and off, cough/cold/fever. Our house looked sick too. All our stuff, trash or not, were all over the place. Our kitchen sink still had unwashed dishes. Our last week's laundry hasn't been folded; it was on our couch the whole week.

So yesterday, my husband and I cleaned the whole house. Laundry was folded and kept in the closets, throw pillow cases changed to new, vacuumed the whole house, cleaned the kitchen, trash were gone, and the dining table looked like a table again. Of course, after all that cleaning, the house smelled really really great, it looked brighter, and was sparkling neat.
It looked too neat, too white. It looked bare.

We've been living in our suite for 7 months, but until now, we still looked like we just moved in. Our house only has the necessities: sofa, bed, cooking wares, dining set, etc.

Before we left Maryland, we said to ourselves, we better just keep our shipment light, we'll buy all the rest of our stuff in Guam. Besides, they call this island "duty free shopping island." Then we got here, and to our deepest disappointment, everything here is expensive - and scarce! Of course, everything is imported from off the island. We should have known!

We don't buy a lot of stuff yet too, most of it we'd rather try to look for when we get back to stateside, or at least once we move out to a more spacious house next year (hopefully a house with wood walls so we can easily put up our wall arts). We are avoiding wall decors that need to be drilled onto the wall since we will move again anyway.

So now, every time we see a commercial from Target, Walmart, Ikea, Lowe’s, etc., we feel a little pinch of sadness, a grain of angst, and a drop of anticipation in our stomachs.

Hence, after seeing our oh-so-clean-yet-bare-looking space, I had the itch to at least do some decorating at home. Thus began my $200 dollar challenge.

Store 1: I went to SM (siyemps, SM - they've got it all for you!) where I will buy new throw pillows, and decorative twigs. I also found a contemporary wall clock that’s really unique. Also bought a couple of woven abaca rolls that I plan to use to frame the photos for the wall. Also found, ahem, new pants, hehehe.

Store 2: Then went to Ross, where everything is on sale. I bought a couple of plant stands on sale, I plan to just spray paint it to match the other black furnishings we have. Also found two decorative vases for the twigs.

Store 3: Home Depot. I was hoping I could find some contemporary seating and shelving here, but I didn't. I ended up buying a lot of stuff for gardening. I bought an indoor plant, four flowering plants, several pots, gardening gloves, spray bottles. I still find it amazing how a little pot of plant could enhance a space.

Well, I ended up with a little change, and I did fill out the trunk of my car but it was really not a lot. I still think it's best to do your home-decor shopping in Quiapo.
:)

* photos courtesy of the www thru google.

Air Force - Static Display

Held last 3 Mar 2009, under the very very hot noon sun; The Andersen Air Force Base (Guam) opened their hangar 1 to the public (well, the military public) for a two hour long Static Display of a few of the technologies used by the department.

We probably stayed for not more than 15 minutes here. It was too hot, we just did a few fast clicks and left.

It makes me anticipate the US Air Force AIR SHOW this year!!! Woohooooo! Just thinking about it reminds me of sleepless-excited-nights-before-field trips from childhood days.

I Want To Ride My Bicycle

Meet our newest toys (and dream come true)…

Hihihihi.

I’ve been planning a surprise gift for my husband and this bike was supposedly it. We all know though, that plans are almost always not realized. Yesterday, we were driving home from lunch and I was contemplating whether or not to tell him about the ‘biggest’ bike shop here in the island. I figured, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise anyway since he could always check our credit card activity online. So right then and there, we decided to check it out and told him to pick his bike – 1 month earlier from his birth day.

Of course we had to buy me a bike too. Ahem, happy birthday to me too. Hihihihi.

We would have wanted to have different designs but this was really the best one we like and is within budget. Giant Upland SE mountain bike - Model 2010.

The sun was already setting by the time the bike was assembled, tested, and all that. We went home and parked the bikes inside our extra room. We agreed to take it for a ride first thing in the morning.

So we did. We went out before 7:00 AM and biked from our condo to the nearby campus. Since I only know how to ride a cruiser bike, I knew nothing about the technicalities of bike riding. It was my first time to try out bike gears and was also almost bothered by how high the seat should be (so as not to injure your, ahem, long legs). 30 seconds after riding the bike, I immediately realized the importance of those gears and that high seat. Can’t help but chant “wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii” ala Pong Pagong as we pass by the ocean and mountain views:

The “wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii” turned into frequent short breaths after almost an hour of pedaling; especially since the road going home is uphill. My knees were already shaking by the time we got home. It’s worth it though; we’ll do it again tomorrow. :)

A Day Planned to Find a Daily Planner

I have been complaining to my husband that I have been looking for a daily planner for so long (see blue route in below image), but all I found were bulky leather organizers. I was only looking for a daily planner that could fit my purse and of course, light weight. Something you could buy for less than fifteen pesos in Manila.

It was a 4-day weekend. The military declared Friday (22 May) family day and it was Memorial Day yesterday (Monday - 25 May). So come Friday, we decided to allot the whole day looking for my daily planner. I tell you, we searched all possible shops in the whole island.

Starting from Point A – Home.

To Point B = Guam Premier Outlets, Ross and Bestseller bookstore.

Guam Premier Outlets (GPO) is the biggest (and I think only) premier outlet store here.

Ross – my favorite department store when it comes to finding best buys.

Bestseller bookstore – I believe is the biggest bookstore in the island. We did find a perfect and oh so gorgeous planner here, only, it had a catch – the planner dates starts on September 2009. Uhm, hmmm.

We then went to Point C – Ben Franklin’s Crafts Store. We figured, since it is the biggest crafts gallery in Guam, it might have something like a planner in it or something I can use to make them. Well, still negative.

Point D – the naval base. It has a bigger department store/mall compared to the Air Force base so I was kind of hoping we could find something there. Well, I was wrong.

Point E – K-mart. They did not even have any school supplies there. Booo!

Times like these, I really miss National Bookstore. Second to any Home Department shops, I could stay in National Bookstore all day and not complain about it. I can just browse through all the craft materials there (not so much of a book person though) and think of a lot of projects I can do. Painting, stationery, cards, gifts, pens, notebooks, notepads, etc etc etc etc. Owning a National Bookstore franchise remains one of my greatest dreams. Hehehe.

Well, as they say, if you can’t find them, make them!

So I did! Since I always design and print and bind my own notepads, why don’t I make my own planner too? I printed using plain white bond papers, cut them, then used a spare checkbook case as cover. A customized planner fit for my needs without the cost.

Ahhh… the products of creativity and desperation. ;)