Worth the Wait

Today marked a very important event in the history of Philippines, it's the first automated national election - Halalan 2010. We headed early to our voting precincts so eager and excited to cast our votes hoping to make a difference in our government system. We came prepared with our lists of candidates but we did not anticipate the long hours of waiting on the line. We arrived 9:30 am and excruciatingly waited for 5 hours and 30 minutes before we were finally able to cast our votes using the PCOS machines.

indelible ink placed over the point finger after voting
photo c/o my friend, Marie

It took me just about 10 minutes to finish filling up the ballot form, and when it was time to feed the ballot form in the machine (PCOS) to validate my vote, I never thought that waiting for the word "congratulations" would be so nerve wracking. Thankfully, the word came out and I felt so relieved that my vote was officially read by the machine. Whew! We came home tired and hungry but I'd say, the long hours of waiting was worth it. Now, all we have to do is wait and be vigilant for the counting and canvassing of our votes.

Halloween Costume

I have always wanted to go to a Halloween party and wear those exciting, unique, and fancy costumes. It would be so cool and so much fun. However, when you think of a costume party....There is always a problem to think of, what am I going to wear? This is where CostumeCauldron.com comes in very handy. It is the finest theater and Halloween store you can find in the entire world wide web. They got the widest variety of costumes you could choose from and you can get them at the most reasonable prices.

When looking for a costume, going to an old local costume shop has been the usual thing for us and most of the time, we felt disappointed because our choices are so limited and we can't find that specific costume we are looking for. On the other hand, going to the Costume Cauldron online shop is so much easier, convenient and faster to get what you want. It saves your time and money also because you can view right away the costumes you want.

I particularly like this adorable Alice in Wonderland costume. So chick, sexy and playful at the same time. It would be smashing to wear something like this in a costume party. I just picked this up under women's category and viola! It was so easy to search one that fits to my liking. I am sure you will also find it very easy to look for your own costume just like I did. They also have available Barbecue Halloween costumes which includes the Walking Illusion Pig costume. It gives the illusion that the pig character is carrying the person in his arms- but the person is actually standing in the pig's legs, wearing the pig's body on his back, and his own fake body and chair in front. It is so cool so you better visit their site and check out their exciting costumes. Just a reminder though, because they are so in demand, some costumes are already out of stock. So better hurry before your choice goes out of stock.

In The Midst of Tragedy, Bayanihan Spirit Reigns

It was totally heartbreaking and haunting to witness the cries and pleas of the victims of typhoon Ondoy. Seeing them fight for own their lives in order to survive, you can't help but feel almost helpless. The disastrous typhoon has immensely ravaged the people in Manila and left everyone a traumatic experience which knows no status in life may they be rich or poor, famous or ordinary men.

Despite the devastating calamity which has befallen in our country, some good things do still exist. And this is the "Bayanihan Spirit". Unity reigned and led everyone to lend their hands and gave a piece of them all for helping the poor victims. Filipinos here and abroad, and even foreigners, reached out and did their share in answering the call for help. Donations continuously poured in and prayers were offered. Well-known celebrities like Gerald Anderson , Cesar Montano and other personalities didn't mind diving into the deep and dangerous flood water in order to rescue and save lives. This is truly an inspiration and a valuable trait, we Filipinos should all be proud of.

Fun and Sugar Overload

We had so much FUN and SUGAR!!! Last Sept. 6, we got together with my long time friends to celebrate the birthday of our dear friend Rosemarie. It was a spur of the moment plan. Fortunately it was holiday the following day so it wasn't that difficult to plan. We decided to meet at Theresa's house since it's the most accessible place. Apple, the official event organizer in our group, told us to bring food then we'll just share once we get there.

the celebrant

I had to tell you this. You know, I had so much difficulty deciding on what to bring...so in the end I just brought myself. lol I told them my presence and moral support would be more than enough. haha. Anyway we're going to be there to catch up with what's happening to this and that, and have some bonding moments. True enough, we enjoyed the party with just music, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, ice cream and the delectable mango cake from Goldilocks (courtesy by Apple).

The Barkada
Theresa, ME, Rose, Jinky (w/ sam), Apple



Star of the Meal , Yummy!

To my dear friend Rose - Happy Birthday! There's nothing more I wish for you than to finally find your true happiness in life (a wish for myself also hehe). Thank you for being a true friend I can count on anytime and anywhere. Luv yah my friend! :)

Kadayawan Festival

Davao City just celebrated its 24th annual Kadayawan festival last August 17 -23, 2009. It was a week long celebration filled with music, fun and festivity. This big event is highly anticipated not only by the Dabawenyos but at the same time by a lot of foreign visitors and balikbayans to witness the spectacle of Floral Float Parade and Indak Indak sa Kadalanan, a dance competition along the streets to showcase Davao's beautiful tradition and culture. Here are some of the amazing photos taken by Mr. Richard Padillo, a CPA by profession and takes photography as his hobby .

Judging by his wonderful photos, I think he should be a professional photographer. :)

27th of July

Tomorrow, Monday, July 27, 2009, major things are going to happen. First, the President is having her State of the Nation Address (SONA). There's been a lot of negative comments and write-ups going on that now, it makes one wonder - Is there something good that's going to happen after this event? I just don't know. But like the majority of the Filipino people, all I want is for Pres. Gloria Arroyo to publicly announce to the whole nation that this will be her last term of presidency and that she is not planning to extend her term by pushing through with "Cha-cha"(Charter Change) or "Con-Ass"(Constitutional Assembly).

It's also going to be the Iglesia ni Cristo Day. This is the 95th Anniversary of Inglesia Ni Cristo. And here in Davao, Mayor Duterte granted their request for some roads to be temporarily closed in order to give way to their big celebration. I just wished GMA declared this day as a non-working holiday. I'm sure a lot of us will definitely welcome an extended weekend rest.

Lastly, this day marks my 30th birthday! Happy birthday to me. This is a special day for me so I'm celebrating it together with the special people in my life, my Family :) And what does my birth date mean? Here it is...very tame and spiritual. lol

You Are a Sage

You are a spiritual soul - a person who tries to find meaning in everything. You spend a good amount of time meditating, trying to figure out life. Helping others is also important to you. You enjoy social activities with that goal. You are very generous and giving. Yet you expect very little in return. Your strength: Getting along with anyone and everyone Your weakness: Needing a good amount of downtime to recharge Your power color: Cobalt blue Your power symbol: Dove Your power month: September

Just Not My Day!

They say it's lucky if you stepped on a poop.... Well I just did! But not in my case...To start with, I woke up early in the morning to take Manike (our 3-month-old pit bull) for a 30-minute walk. As I was cleaning our backyard I stepped on our dog's gross dirt. Arrgghh, not today! I had to attend a very important engagement today (something to do with my career), and stepping on a poop was not something I anticipated. After doing my chores and ranting all the while, I went straight to get ready. As I was about to take a bath, somebody called over the phone. I couldn't just hang up and say, hey I gotta go. Instead, I had to spare a few more minutes. I was already 20 minutes behind my schedule, when I finally finished and headed for my appointment. I was such in a hurry when I realized that I forgot to bring my cellphone. And so I had to turn and head back to get my CP. Halfway through my travel, I checked my cellphone for any messages when I noticed that it was battery empty. What?!! So much for going through all the troubles of getting it when it's going to be useless in the end.

My streak of bad luck didn't end there. When I arrived at my supposed appointment, I was told that it was rescheduled and that I had to come back on Monday. Seems like everything is not going my way. Totally frustrated, I had no option but to just go home and hope my appointment on Monday will finally come into fruition. I thought there's nothing more that can ruin my day but wait there's still another one. When I entered the house I felt a sudden gush of wind and together with it I felt something stung my cheek that felt awfully painful. When I checked on the mirror...guess what - I got stung by a bee! That did it. Now as I am nursing a bee sting and applying a cold compress on it, there's nothing more I wish for than the day would finally come to an end and hope my face will not be swollen come morning... :( If you have some home remedies for bee sting, do share it with me. I would really appreciate it.

Fredric's Birthday Bash

Yesterday we held Fredric's(my nephew) 1st birthday party. We've been preparing this special event for weeks now and at last it's finally here. Since it was a party for kids, naturally the place was packed with lots of kids. My mother brought out her special menus just for his beloved grandson. On my part, I helped out in preparing the goodies for the children and making the place festive as possible.




The party started at around four pm. We wanted to wait for the other guests but the kids were already restless and so eager to start the program. So when my cousin, ate Jennifer who is tasked for the program and games, finally arrived we set the party rolling. We started with serving the food then fired away the games. Of course the kids totally loved it. All of them were so competitive and really fighting to win in order to claim the prizes at stake. As we were having a great time, the good weather turned sour when suddenly a heavy rain poured in. It was such a total spoiler! We were having so much fun doing the games outdoor but because of the bad weather we were forced to stay inside and have the games there. Good thing the kids didn't mind it at all just as long the games continue. They were totally out to win the prizes.




All in all the event was a success. Despite the bad weather and with just the three of us, me, my sister and my mom who organized the party, it was still a blast. And most importantly my nephew had a wonderful time.

Best Wishes Agirl & Carl

Finally Marie Girl Costan and Carlo Señase tied the knots yesterday at San Isidro Parish Church. It was a solemn ceremony participated by their relatives and some close friends. The church was simply but elegantly decorated with white flowers. And the most beautiful woman that day was none other than the blooming bride Marie Girl, our dear friend. Their wonderful union was even blessed with rain that soon came to a halt right after the ceremony.

Mr. & Mrs. Carlo Señase

preparing to kiss the bride...please save some for the honeymoon...lol

me & jing (friends of the bride)

at the reception

The reception was held at Buffet Palace where the venue was elaborately donned with various shades of flowers accentuated with fancy decorations where the changing color of lights beautifully played with it. The total effect was quiet fantastic, I must say. But the most beautiful part of it was when the groom serenaded the bride. It really helps a lot when you're gifted with a good voice like Carlo. It completely made the moment totally romantic. I also liked the part when the bride's eldest brother, Arvin, gave a very touching message although a bit funny. It was really a moment to treasure and to become part of their meaningful union was something I'll never forget. Best wishes to you both! Hope you'll have little Agirl and Carlo very soon.

Bridal Shower for Agirl

We've been planning to give a bridal shower party for our dear friend Agirl who's getting married on the 3rd of June. However we've been so busy lately that the original date was postponed till last Saturday. And thankfully, we were able to pushed through with it even with the absence of our other close friends.

I was not sure if it's really going to happen that day because we actually didn't have a concrete plan for the event. My friend Jinky was assigned for the program and I must applaud her for taking the task considering her very busy schedule. Mind you she works in an accounting department at the same, she's also a nursing student. As for me, I had to skip the planning part because I was out of town for my NCLEX exam. Agirl's sister Irene was really the one who made it all possible because she was the one who took the initiative and contacted all of us to make the event possible.

The party was held at World Palace in Safari room. There were only few of us there, not surprising because some of our friends have already left for abroad like Shiela and some opted to work outside Davao City. Although there were only few of us present, we still had a wonderful time. Our goal to surprise Agirl was accomplished. She was totally clueless of the party and really had no idea about it until she got there. So you can just imagine her loud scream when she finally found out. She even scanned the room for the macho dancer who might be hiding inside. We got her into "hot seat" and fired her with some juicy questions that if she fails to answer them correctly she would have to suffer for the consequence...strip off piece by piece everything she wears..lol. Hope she wore layers of clothes. Well good for her she was able to answer most of the questions and just stripped off her two rings and a pair of earrings.

Despite the time constraints and some problems we encountered, we really had a great time. The sad part was just that there were only three of us who paid for the place. How I wished Shiela and Blong were there to help out. :(

A walk down the aile

Once again here comes June, the month of weddings. It seems like everybody wants to get marry in June. I guess it's the best season of the year where the weather is warm enough, ideal for a garden wedding. It's also the best time to get together with family and friends where nearly everyone is on break especially here in Philippines. My friend Agirl is no exemption to this because she's walking down the aile this coming June.

It has been part of our tradition to carefully choose the wedding date which corresponds to our mounting beliefs. The date should fall on the 8th or one that has an 8 or 0 signifying infinity or endless hoping the relationship would last forever. Strong as this belief may be, my friend didn't fall for this because she's getting married on the 3rd.

The most popular wedding month is June. It is named after Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. With this, it is believed that she would bring happiness and prosperity to those who wed in her month. I sincerely hope this is true.

We are just as superstitious about days of the week. My friend is having the best day of all, Wednesday. A popular rhyme goes:

Marry on Monday for health,

Tuesday for wealth,
Wednesday the best day of all,
Thursday for crosses,
Friday for losses, and
Saturday for no luck at all.

Well these are all just beliefs, it may be true to some while others chose not to believe. I think the most important thing is to keep the marriage sacred and always remember that wedding is bounded by the holy sacrament of matrimony where two people are united out of love. To my friend Agirl and Carlo, Best Wishes! I wish you endless happiness and prosperity in your married life.

No Pain No Gain

I've never prayed so hard and so sincere like I did while waiting for the result of my NCLEX exam. I went to church almost everyday and asked God to please let me pass the exam. Just recounting the expenses I went through in order to take the exam was so much to bear that I don't want to go through with it again. Not to mention the long hours of attending the review class and reading the books I could hardly stomach.

I prepared for the exam for almost a year. I attended the basic, comprehensive and advance review class for NCLEX. But honestly, I became more serious with my review during the latter part with only 4 weeks to go before my exam date. It's always like this with me. Whenever I took the exam, I work best when I'm in a cram. Studying months way ahead of my exam was never my style. I've always wanted to do it that way because it's the best way but I just can't seem to do it.

I was also working at hospital during the early part of my review so it was really difficult for me to focus with my review. There was a time I attended my class coming from an 11-7 shift. But I had to do it because I was paying for that review class. Towards the end of my review, I just had to quit work and focus on my review or else I would waste all the money I spend for the exam. For four weeks I forced myself to answer NCLEX type questions in the computer. A lot of times I was tempted to play computer and surf the Internet while studying but still I pushed through with it. It was so difficult to study because I'm not very good with it.

After more than a week of waiting, my friend suddenly informed me that she had her results already via quickresults at http://pearsonvue.com/. And she passed! I just can't wait anymore. The waiting was killing me and I can't take another day anymore not knowing if I passed or failed. So that same day, I also accessed the quickresults and bravely faced the verdict. After entering the necessary entries, we waited for that one word we longed to see... And there it was PASS! I was so happy and overwhelmed with the results that I wasn't able to control myself and cried shamelessly. After all the hard work and sacrifices I went through, I am now a US RN. It was all worth it.

An Arduous Experience

I just got back from Manila after the grueling experience I had. I took the NCLEX exam there together with my friends Dgay and Joycee. It was such an arduous exam requiring a lot of in depth analysis. After the exam I really felt drained and exhausted both physically and mentally.

I took the exam for more than four hours and I thought Iwas never going to finish it judging from my pace. It was totally different while I was reviewing. I was able to anwer a maximum of 200 questions in two hours but during my actual exam, I felt I was really dragging and taking so long in answering the questions. It's been two hours already and I still got only 70 questions.

Physically, I wasn't prepared well to take the exam. Two days before my exam, I didn't sleep well and the day before the exam I had to meet a relative. She toured me to some known places that I didn't really enjoyed much having so much anxiety for my coming exam. I arrived at my hotel later than I expected because of the traffic we encountered. With so much anxiety building up inside of me, I barely slept during the night and just kept turning and tossing around my bed. In the morning, I took a light breakfast. As much as I wanted to enjoy the sumptous meal prepared, I just didn't have the appetite.

Throughout my exam, I felt ill and burdened. I just prayed that I'll finish the exam soon. I didn't even take a bite of my food during the break because I was afraid I'd lose more time. With every question I took, I always prayed "please let this be the right answer God". I was really losing hope when long at last, my computer shut down. The screen was displayed with - Congratulations! You just finished taking the NCLEX exam. I've never felt so relieved in my life! Thank God! I finished the exam. Now I'll just have to wait for the results.