Top Ten about Tenten

This entry was inspired by Tere's Friendster Bulletin Board entry...

TEN Random Things About Me:
10. I absolutely love eating amplaya. Everybody hates the bitter taste, but I just love it
09. I just saw "My Sassy Girl" yesterday and simply adored it! I liked the ending and the concepts in the movie
08. I have a huge collection of Sweet Valley High books. I was a big fan of the Wakefield twins before
07. My shoe size : 5
06. I do not buy pirated audio CDs... but I do buy pirated DVDs. Ain't that strange?
05. I belong to a huge family. Like most Greeks, we are just plain noisy, love to eat, and are in each others' lives all the time!
04. I own 4 Dr. Seuss Books. All of which I purchased/was given to me within the past two years.
03. I saw Sting live in Manila twice.
02. I am single. But I don't believe in dating.
01. Tis my dream to watch a fireworks show, in the arms of a very special someone.

NINE Places I've Visited:
09. Hong Kong
08. Michigan
07. Palawan
06. Washington, D.C.
05. Chicago
04. L.A.
03. San Francisco
02. New York
01. Singapore

EIGHT Things I want to do before I die:
08. Bungee Jump
07. Live for at least a year in a foreign land
06. Have a book published
05. Send my parents to an exotic location
04. Go backpacking in Europe with friends
03. Slow dance with my better half by the beach
02. Tuck my grandkids in bed
01. Visit Greece, Morroco, Paris, and Venice


SEVEN Ways to win my heart:
07. Should be great listener
06. Should have life goals
05. Should have the smarts
04. Win over my friends
03. Fall in love with my family
02. Make me laugh
01. Love me no matter what


SIX Things I believe [in]:
06. The existence of love
05. Respecting other people's beliefs and faith
04. The Golden Rule
03. Karma
02. There is a reason for everything
01. God

FIVE Things I'm afraid of:
05. Being unmotivated to achieve my dreams
04. Being alone
03. Debt
02. "It's too late" experiences
01. Losing someone close to me


FOUR of my Favorite Items in my bedroom:
04. My bag collection
03. My book collection
02. Picture of my friends and family
01. My two super fluffy, can't-sleep-without-em-pillows

THREE Things I do everyday:
03. Drink Coffee (not obscene amounts!)
02. Think about or see movies
01. Run my hands through my hair

TWO Things I am trying not to do right now:
02. Eat too much
01. Slack off

ONE
Person I want to see right now:
01. My Mark Darcy

Christmas Blog

Can't believe my holiday break is half way through. And how did I spend my 11-day vacay extravaganza? Lemme think back...

The 23rd - Last minute shopping for groceries, stuff for our family par-tey in Casa Geocaniga. I visited my officemates in the afternoon to delivery a gift and a goodbye to Maila (sama! sama!) After traversing some gruesome holiday traffic, a somewhat awkward, not-one-of-my-best presentations conference calls, I ended the evening with a lot of gift wrapping. Christmas was just around the corner, and I didn't want to be caught unprepared (by unprepared I mean with gifts unwrapped), by any of my god kids.

The 24th - Super last minute shopping. No gift for Renren yet! And I have to be on the look-out for the perfect skirt / pants for Maila's wedding. I have my top. But no skirt. Rushed to ATC, an hour before closing time. Found Renren's Super Advance Yoyo, and some potential skirts. Bought a brooch to compliment my green Topshop top for Christmas day. Quick dinner at Phoa Hoa. Distributed gifts to Maan and Karina (both were not at home, at the time of my visit). Then heard the 930 Christmas mass at Teoville East. Twas quite a nice mass. Not too long. The priest's homily was about the essence of Christmas. They played a Josh Groban song before the Peace-Be-With-You part, and I found myself a little teary-eyed. We used the same song during Tito Ely's funeral. Twas a reminder how this'll be the first Christmas without him. After mass, we went to Tita Myr's house for a quasi-traditional (Quasi-traditional because this is the third year I think) Christmas Eve Dinner. Loads of foood! Then at 12 MN, transferred to Tito Mar's house for some more feasting.... Does the eating ever stop?! After stuffing ourselves silly with food, twas back to our humble abode for some gift opening. Opening presents are always a success! Mewi Kwismus!

December 25 - Christmas Day! And what a hectic Christmas Day it was. Late lunch at Tandang Sora, which was pleasantly peaceful. Hehe. After steak, shrimp, and a tall glass of iced coke, we went to Ninong Johnny's house and was amused by the dancing Santa Claus. But disappointed at not seeing my beloved godfather. The yummy superlicious chocolate moist cake from Chit Dee will have to make up for it. The evening was equally busy! Last minute house fixin, hiding-of-christmas-presents, and pseudo-tidying, our yearly Family Christmas dinner commenced!
Highlights of the evening...
Unexpected guests - Lola Juling and the Roxases made it! So very cool! Chacha's relatives from Japan also made a surprise visit... thereby unleashing the hidden powers of our refrigerator reserves!
Food Hits! - French Fries from Pricesmart bestseller! Thanks to Monterey as well for the Sisig and the flavored Chicharon. Of course, the Lengua and Sugpo are always crowd favorites.
Drink hits! The main man of the evening : Jose Cuervo! He is the guy to be reckoned with!! We finished close to two bottles and people were still crying out for more! His shots were king! In the absence of iodized salts, we had to make do with the rock salt from our kitchen. Lemons were abundant in supply, and eager shooters... haha! Just waiting to be challenged! It was pure genius and pure fun!
Fun family pictures Informal and formal shots... everyone was game. Funny faces, drunken looks, tongues sticking out... Everyone was in the mood!

Coffee not doing it for me anymore

Good morning... good snoozing...

Peppermint mocha every morning, still sleepy every morning. Ironic why I'm my perkiest at lunch and an hour before going home. Maybe it's coffee overload, or IT overload. Hehe.

Team Christmas party is scheduled for tomorrrow. 80's theme! Let's see how that turns out!

Still Under the Holiday Slug Spell

Still under the holiday slug spell... Although I'm not really all that busy to begin with, I feel I need to drag my lazy ass out of bed every single day! Today was no exception. Last night, twas a night of gift-wrapping and a lot of television! Twas the evening I caught up with my O.C. season 2 viewing. Episode 5 in the bag baby! And twas another SATC evening... my night-out with my favorite New Yorkers. Thought-provoking shows... 'Ere some thoughts provoked:

The O.C. -- The New Kids on the Block, The New Era, The SnO.C.,



New loves for the old characters.

I am liking Zach for Summer very much. He is such a nice guy! Kinda looks like the dude in Father of The bride (Steve Martin's son-in-law). He's not too flashy, he's smart, and he's obviously into Summer! Conflict in the horizon : Old love vs. new love. Summer is sooo not over Cohen. The lingering looks, the banter, the look she gave Alex after she said, "I'll take it from here." This should be interesting....



Ten Thoughts - to find a new love may entail a new environment, and please, a refurbished bod! I need to start dieting and exercising! Mischa Barton's fabulous outfits can only work for a fabulous bod... I need to motivate myself better. The barage of holiday feasting is not helping!

Sex and the City - Splat!



More drama in the Big Apple when Carrie's beloved friends find out that Carrie is moving to Paris with the Russian. Miranda was upset by it, and she let Carrie know how she felt. The episode ended with a sad note. I used to relate to Charlotte a whole lot before, but now, I think Miranda's my girl. She has a strong personality and she isn't afraid to say what she thinks. And that's what friends are supposed to do - be honest with each other. Although being happy for each other is also part of the friends list. I think my Season 6 favorite episode is in the horizon! I'm pretty psyched!

Ten Thoughts - Are you willing to uproot your entire life for a guy? My... The Russian makes Carrie happy. But well, is that enough to guarantee a good relationship in a foreign country? Ummm.... foreign country... How I'd like to do that myself. And Paris! Uh! How lovely!

All for now!

Holiday Slacking

Explain this to me... I was practically battling ZZZs the entire day, chugging down coffee in a lame attempt to get a caffiene fix, and thinking of holiday chores. Talk about holiday slacking!

Last week was such a busy week! It was work on top of each other, with extra servings of Christmas parties. Jeepers! I was tired at the end of the week. And my not hearing mass yesterday was a clear indication of fatigue (and laziness! so sorry my Lord!)

Anyways, more blogging tomorrow. Tis a better, less stressful week.

My favorite Christmas Song

Maybe This Christmas Lyrics

Maybe this Christmas will mean something more
Maybe this year love will appear
Deeper than ever before
And maybe forgiveness will ask us to call
Someone we love
Someone we’ve lost
For reasons we can’t quite recall
Mmm, maybe this Christmas

Maybe there’ll be an open door
Maybe the star that shined before
Will shine once more, ohhh

Mmmmmmm, mmmmmmmm

And maybe this Christmas will find us at last
In heaven, at peace
Prayed for at least
For the love we’ve been shown in the past
Maybe this Christmas
Maybe this Christmas

Tis the Bazaar Season...

Pasko na naman o kay tulin ng araw...

My oh my!! Tis Christmastime again! How time flies, and oh how the concessionaires at the St. James Bazaar have grown! They've grown exponentially! Pretty amazing, and pretty unfortunate. I was in Cuenca twice last weekend. I found presents for some of my godkids and favorite kiddies. My personal favorite : The terry cloth Limited Too blouse I got for Yssa. Really nice! Anyway, my conversations with a few stallowners have only reinforced my relief at not deciding to join the bazaar this year. There is a different joy in being a shopper.

I was in Greenhills yesterday, too. Talk about Tiangge with a capital T! We found a parking space pretty quickly and entered the belly of the beast armed with our wallets and mental shopping lists. Going around the bazaar, checking out merchandise, over hearing some of the shopping debates between couples who give conjugal gifts, and elbowing ourselves through the crowd, reminded me why I stuck around the bazaar scene for 6 years... It's really being surrounded by the Holiday Chaos. There was something magical about it!

Lotsa magical stuff this weekend. The people at Ayala have yet again enthralled the public with their amazing fireworks display last weekend. It was a chorus of "OOOooohsss" and "Aaaaaaahhhs" as the colorful and sometimes dramatic show unfolded in the dark evening sky. It seemed silly at times, but in the end an awe-inspiring experience, leaving everyone with a fuzzy, warm, Christmasy feeling.


Uh oh. Enough blogging. Tis the work season... Better get back to the work grind...

I want my very own Mark Darcy!

By the title of this blog, it must be pretty apparent what I just saw this evening... Bridget Jones the Edge of Reason, or what I fondly call, Tenten Geocaniga, I want my very own Mark Darcy!



This guy, right out of Helen Fielding's imagination.... just went right straight to my ideal guy mold! He's accomplished, he's sweet, and a small smile lights up his face. And most appealing of them all... he loves Bridget to pieces.



It's pretty amazing how such a guy exists: One who continues to adore you despite all the embarrassing things you do, sometimes-tactless things you say, and of course, all your physical imperfections.



I think my toes were stuck curled the entire time when Mark Darcy was on screen. After seeing the movie, we stepped out of the cinema and found ourselves surrounded by the usual Friday Greenbelt crowd. Mostly yuppies, and young guys who were very dressed up. MY of my... Just made me realize I didn't want a guy... I want a man!

Mark Darcy puhleez! Make my waiting worthwhile. Maybe I need to move to London to find such a cultured, sophisticated man. And plus, there are Zara and Topshop stores in London. :D



My favorite parts of the movie:

How he looked so contented when he's with Bridget


How Bridget simply can't get over the "fabulous"-ness of her boyfriend. Twas pretty silly, her watching him sleeping.


And of course, the very sexy Daniel Cleaver...


Awww shucks....

Day 5 of Singapore...

How does one end such a nice vacay? By taking a silly picture of one's feet! Airplane feet, that is. Obviously in dire need of a pedicure and a foot massage. Thanks for taking me places!



Changi Airport was just awesome! Greenbelt 4 meets the Narita Airport!
Saying good bye was a poignant, yet silly thing. I was seeing Irene not even three weeks after. I guess it's the end of a nice trip which is always sad.
Armie and I rode the plane back to Manila... and I slept through dessert. Tsk, tsk... I should've eaten that yummy looking ice cream.
Singapore was just awesome. I didn't feel like the minority at all! I was part of the majority... asians! It kinda feels like New York, only the streets are waaaay cleaner.

Speaking of clean...better make that pedicure happen soon!

Day 4 of Singapore...

Not-so-awesome weather greeted us on Day 4, a Saturday. We slunked back to sleep and woke up on a later time during the morning. A little shopping here and there, then it was another trip to Lucky Plaza for some money-chagin' errands. It was close to lunch time then, and we couldn't find empty seats in the food court. Hence, our if-all-else-fails-choice, McDonalds. This time, though we used our Easy Link cards to pay for our meal.

Lunch and a cab ride later, we found ourselves in the cable car station, headed for Sentosa Island.

In a nutshell?

Breathtaking cable car ride



Lovely colorful Butterflies



And super cute jelly fishes!



The underwater world was pretty nice too. But the dolphin show and almost everything else, was pretty overrated to me. Two silver linings to this dark cloud... Mr. hottie Aussie, who I did not have the guts to talk to. And our gesticulating tour guide, whose concern for our "loss tickets" had us cracking up.

After one mandatory break at Delifrance, and disappointment over the uneventful Dolphin show, we headed back to the main land to do some last minute shopping. Well, I did most of the shopping because Irene and Armie went back to the hotel to meet up with Armie's Herbert-Bautista-esque friend.

Twas my last evening with the shopping mecca of Asia. So I did the best that I could -- salivate over the Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Fendi bags... My oh my... Singapore, how I love thee...

Day 3 of Singapore...

Three's the charm... And so are we three tourists on our third day in Singapore. Most of Day 3 was spent commuting to and fro, and visting the very nice City Square mall at Johor Bahru in Malaysia. But before I get way ahead of myself with Malaysian talk, here's a picture of my co-traveller and her very intent look at every tourist's best friend : a local map and listing of attractions. "Where else do we need to go?" Questions boggling her pretty mind...



The commute was long, and some "Are we on the right bus" musings, but we finally arrived! After a bus ride, an MTR ride, and a long walk to not-so-forever, we found ourselves in Malaysian territories. Not a big diff from my homeland. The people look exactly the same. But they had more ethnic sounding names. After the weird Sarsi incident back in Little India, I was not brave enough to try another local beverage. So it was the universal Coca Cola for me to quench my thirst.

Our Friday trip to Johor Bahru mostly involved checking out the City Square mall, barely a stone's throw away from the Singaporean border. We were the happy and sometimes tired shoppers of the said mall. I am a huge fan of their surplus shop, carrying brands like Aeropostale, Hollister, and A&F. Our timing was not so bad too, because there was a tiangge at the ground level.

After yet another mandatory rest period at the mall's Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, we headed back to Singapore, briefly stopping by this small local store to ask for directions. I couldn't resist bringing out my camera to take a picture of the Malaysian flag, Kind of a "Where are we" tell-all picture.



Back in Singapore, we went around Lucky plaza, one of the best bargain centers in the metro. After our feet gave out, we went back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. What was on the menu that night? Nooch Noodle Bar at the Wheelock Center.

I would have to say the Wheelock Center is on the list of my favorite shopping places. What to see? Borders, Zara (I absolutely adore this Mango-Topshop fusion store! Absolutely fabulous!), and a whole bunch of other cool shops. And of course, these glistening snowflake Christmas decors hanging on the glass ceiling. The lighting was simply perfect, too. It looked like a starry, snowflaked evening.



Red was the color theme for the Nooch Noodle Bar. It was everywhere. ON their awesome coffee-book-table-ish menu, their table napkins, the walls... It was an all Asian resto. With Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Singaporean dishes. More than filling!



We topped off the evening with a trip to the Night Safari. The bus ride to the Night Safari was a fun one! We named each of our high school classmates back and forth, till we were out of names to say.

It was a pretty long day... Needless to say, my favorite part of the Night Safari was the downhill tram ride through the rain forrest. Which basically was reminiscent of being lulled to sleep on a top down car. The animals were pretty amazing, too. Hehe.

Day 2 of Singapore...

Ahh... Nothing like Singapore on the second day of one's holiday bonanza. The first day was mostly about the OOOOhhhs and the Aaaaahhhs.... Marvelling at the wonder of the harmonious, polygamous marriage of the cultures which make Singapore a melting pot.

Our second day, in a nutshell is gallavanting till our feet hurt. First stop, according to the SIA Hop-on route we were following was Little India, where Singaporean Maharajas convened to sell colorful Indian rugs and bags, religious statuettes, and alas... pirated bollywood films... When in Asia, do as the Asians do, I guess. Hehe.

I love the colorful buildings. They weren't too tall. They had these nice white boards for windows, and the colors of the walls were eye catching. Different hues for different stores. Pretty cool. This picture below is the merchandise of the last store we visited: Nice ethnic masks.



The next stop was an unplanned one. We were supposed to go straight to Suntec when we saw the majestic Raffles Hotel. Everything classy and high-end in Singapore is always in reference to "Raffles". Mental note to self, find out why "Raffles" is such a Singapore thing.

The hallways, the lobby, the nooks and crannies... Everything about the Raffles hotel was simply amazing and majestic! Including the straight-out-of-a-Francis-Hodgson-Burnett-novel Ram Das-looking-dude who was the Hotel's Indian manservant. This is the exterior of the Raffles hotel, with red poinsettias adorning its exterior.



After basking in sweat, we hopped onto the SIA Hop on once more to visit the Suntec Shopping Plaza, the largest mall in Singapore (and in Asia?). I had known about the Fountain of Wealth previously, but when we were at the foot of the fountain did I realize that this was the exact same place for one of 'em route markers for the Amazing Race, season 3. The Fountain of Wealth is the largest fountain in the world (I guess in Singapore, they have a knack for being the largest at something).



This fountain, like most fountains, is also a wishing fountain. Directions for making a wish were written just beside the smaller fountain within the bigger enclosure. "Stretch out your right arm, fingers touching the water. Make a wish, and go around three times" Might I add to those directions : "While silently chanting your wish".

If you turn around and look up, You'll then see the Singapore skyline, amidst the tall buildings. Singapore thoughts out of this sight: I like it here better than Hong Kong. In HK, it's all about tall buildings and the very busy lifestyle. Singapore is quite a busy place as well, but the buildings were among greens. And the sky is still visible, without having to strain one's neck.



Quick stop at the Esplanade theatre to pick up our Mamma Mia tickets. Got 'em! Despite the slightly irritating super slow couple who were painstakingly picking out seats.

In the spirit of gallavanting, we got on the SIA hop on again and got off the stop adjacent to the Merlion Park. We had to cross this bridge to get to the Merlion Park. Not exactly the busiest of streets. But just how I had described Singapore, flowers and greens are everywhere. I particularly like this picture because it was a prelude to the very enjoyable evening we had that night, the Mamma Mia musical.



'Course, the whole Sing experience ain't the same without paying a visit to his majesty, the Merlion. Definitely a tourist spot. Tourists were everywhere, taking pictures with their digicams and film cameras.



A mandatory rest period was called for after seeing the Merlion. We took a few minutes to rest by the tables outside the Palm Beach resto. We had Haagen Dazs ice cream. I had what resembled a shake more than an ice cream.

After Merlion Park, it was back to the Copthorne Orchid Hotel for us tourists. Quick shower here and there, and we were back on our feet to California Bistro, inside the Esplanade mall, for our dinner. I had a rib eye steak (and no regrets about it!). After filling ourselves, we went to the main theatre for an amazing musical experience! Mamma Mia! The Abba songs were fantastic! I loved the ending (walking into the moonlight), and I just adored the mini concert! Super cool.

To top off this evening at the Esplanade, I spotted this sign just below the elevator. True,true...