#KEAoke2015: Pre-Valentine's turned Valentine's Day Salubong

Seems like people still have hang over of the Valentine's weekend. I know I do. But as I have said in my last post, Valentine's is best spent with friends. And that's exactly what I did.

A week before Valentine's, my Instagram photos be like:

And since it's the season two of #KEAoke, our annual KTV party, same rules apply:Always welcome to bring a friend! Last year, on top of our regulars, we had a priest, a brother (semi-priest), and a 10 year old Cheska, join us and it was so much fun!

This year my new friend and colleague, Beth, brought along her Vietnamese boyfriend, Tuan, who made spring rolls for us! (Thank you Beth! Frankie's still craving for it! hihi). Beth even said she doesn't normally join KTV parties and she doesn't sing, but she did in #KEAoke! Thank you Beth and Tuan!

My sister Aprille and Jay also came straight from work - Thank you!

My friend Jim also came! Thank you Jimmy James!

Dianne, our Ms. DOST, also had special guests who dropped by, Thank you!

Now, sharing with you some photos we managed to take. I only managed to take a few photos because, this is what always happens: We have too much fun and we forget to document. So thank you to our special guests, who dropped by and were not able to be included in the photos.

Too bad Paully was not able to join us this year, but at least we managed to sneak in our annual UPLB Feb fair photo-booth pic:

And because last year's #KEAoke also had a video, we must have a video too for the last bunch of people singing:


#KEAoke2015: Last Peeps Singing from The Kea Channel on Vimeo.

We were supposed to only stay until 11pm but we ended up extending until past 1 in the morning!

Thank you guys for joining! See you on #KEAoke season three! (I'm looking for new excuses not to wait til another Valentine's to do this again, because... why not?!)

Fond memories of Valentine's Day

I found this video today in my Facebook feed. It's about Single Guys vs Single Girls on Valentines Day. 

Hahahaha! I don't relate anymore to all the wallowing and shiz, but that quote from @NickyParisBitch sure did hit home:

The worst part about  being single on Valentine’s day is not about being alone, it’s knowing that people who are uglier than you, have found love.

Super LOL, eh sa yung ang nag hit home eh! Of course I have joined the Valentine's day bandwagon, but speaking from experience, I would rather be single on Valentine's day (no expectations) than have a beau with absolutely no plans of being romantic. At all.

Anyway, looking back, I realized that while Single Awareness Day trends on twitter every year on Valentine's day, I actually have a lot fun during this day of love. Let me do a quick back track:

2005-2008 - Every Valentine's day, Starbucks have a  Buy 1 take 1 Frap Promo using their planner coupons so I always buy Venti and give the other to my friend. So we always look forward to Valentine's day. Also, back in our office, every Valentine's day we used to have a Prom Night where our agents dress up in pretty gowns then we'd have the actual pageant after everyone's shift. It's been something we all look forward to.

2009 - One of my best Valentine's day because both our British cousins, Stew and Chimayne, were here in the Philippines. We went bar hopping and went to a naughty bar and had tons of laughter. That's my favorite Valentine night to this day.

2010 - I don't remember what I did, actually.

2011 - My friends Nina, Jla, and I, had an movie marathon party that Nina and I ended up sleeping over at her house. Wrote about it here. 

2012 - Kuya Stew was once again in the Philippines and we went to UP's annual February Fair. I also spent Valentine's week with friends. Wrote about it here. 

2013 - On the actual Feb 14 date, I was really firm about staying in but I got bullied into going out so next thing I knew, I was out with my two guy friends, Rogus and Dodi, and wrote about it here. 

2014 - Last year I started the small KTV party with my friends called #KEAoke and wrote about here. It was one of the most fun Valentine's I've had.

So two things my friends, and speaking from experience: 1) This whole Valentine's day drama rama is just all in the head, and 2) Valentine's Day, like Boracay, is best spent with friends. 

Signs I've been Tita-fied

Been feeling a little under the weather today since my allergic rhinitis yesterday, and I think all I really want to do right now is put on some house clothes and be a couch potato rest. It's Feb Fair in UP now, actually, and for some reason, I'm not really feelin' it. 

My friend Aya tagged me in this link that showed 13 signs that I am actually a Tita.

Taking off from their 13 signs that one is actually a Tita, lemme see how I Tita-fied I am now:

1. You shamelessly steal tissue from restaurants.

Actually not just tissue, but catsup as well especially if it’s Heinz! Haha! But kidding aside, back in our early twenties, and back when Starbucks still makes their environment-friendly tissue and display it out in the open, we would “steal” them and store them in our office desks.

2. Longchamp bags and giant totes are the way to go...

Not really Longchamp but big totes! You will hardly  find me with a small sling bag. I always carry the big ones and I always seem to have a lot of things to bring (but I've been meaning to minimize it.)  

3. ...because your friends always count on you to have everything in your bag.

Oh yes! From wet wipes to sanitizer (which I occasionally forget), my friends used to call me girl scout. I even have tweezers and balm for skin itch. (But again, I'm on a quest to minimize it).

4. Your idea of fun is brunch with the girls.

Oh yes! Lately I’ve been setting up dates for brunch and start to itch to go home as soon as it gets dark.

5. Your happy place is S&R.

Because there’s just too much to look at (even though I always gawk at the chocolates section)!

6. Friends always turn to you for advice.

Yes, I do love to share my wise and some walwal years with my friends.

7. You're always setting up friends to date.

Uhmm… I cannot say for this one. I setup my best friend once with a "player" because she specifically wanted a "nothing serious but just a fun rebound" and it backfired. I tried again but it did not even went to first step. So, no, I’m not trying that again.

8. You have a collection of paper bags and shoe boxes collecting dust in your house.

Paper bags, yes. Shoe boxes, some of them. As long as the box is made in really good material.

9. Your favorite past time is going to the grocery and shopping for home décor.

Not really grocery shopping, but more on watching reruns of FRIENDS on TV. ( I can never get tired of it. I don’t know why! I even have all 10 seasons in my ipod!)

10. You host weekly dinner parties.

Not weekly, but more of a small, intimate, annual KTV party for my friends called #KEAoke! And the party time ends before midnight!

11. In the few times you’ve been out at night, you were super sleepy by 10.

Only because I get up at 5:30 am (then hit snooze).

12. @TitasofManila is your favorite Twitter account.

Not really lurking on Twitter nowadays but yes, I follow @TitasofManila for laughs.

13. Your friends actually call you a tita.

…And this is Eisen’s fault! No, actually, it’s our office Tito Abel, who called me Tita (he calls everyone Tita, excuse me, and I was 29 when he first called me that! Hahaha!) and eventually Aya caught on. It does have a nice ring actually. Tita Kea. I don’t mind. I’ve been called Mama Kea by my 13 agents before and I was twenty-friggin-four and I am cool about it. Bakit ba? :) 

I'm not yet a Tita, as per my friend. 

Planner: Daily Interact + Certified Positive Planner

I am always on the look out for a new planner every year. I always want to pick out my planner because it is something very personal to me.

The other day, when Paully and I had lunch at Karne Frio, my eyes caught something on the counter: They sell planners!

While waiting for our orders, I asked the waiter if I could take a peak inside the planner and see what it looks like:

What I love about this planner:

• Practical sections
• really good paper ( I always, always, "feel" the paper)
• Cute stuff
• No coupons 

But what I don't like about it is its got too much reading stuff on the planner (like the one on Miriam Quiambao). That's the reason I switched back to Everything is Possible planner from Belle de Jour.

Oh, in case you're wondering how much it costs, it's Php 540.00.

Quick Review: Karne Frio

Deciding where to eat in elbi in an instant is always a problem, especially when you practically tried the good ones, heard negative reviews about the others, and well, you're just simply on a budget.

Yesterday, Paully and I tried this not so new restaurant called "Karne Frio"at the ES Plaza. I've seen it before and did not really got curious to try it because I'm cutting down on red meat. But yesterday we just went for it, what the heck?

I like their location and how it is air conditioned. I was actually looking for an alternative to Bonitos where I can hold private meetings. 

But the place is not so private, eh? 

You know when a place is student dominated when you see boards (and the likes) like this: 

And oooh! They sell planners! I already have mine for 2015 but I still checked it out. (Will share on my next post)

Without further ado,  Let me share their menu: 

I asked for their best seller and they recommended this. I ordered the Garlic Rosemary Pork Marimadas for only 69 pesos! 

But for 69 pesos, let's get real about the actual serving size:

Paully ordered the Meatzzanini for 99 pesos.

The Meatzzanini is actually good, although it can get better if they have more cheese on it. 

I wanted to try other things on the menu, like dessert perhaps?

But I got frustrated because unfortunately, on that day, no dessert is available and it's only 1pm in the afternoon. I'd probably come back next time, hopefully, the ones I will be ordering will be available.

Friends, Food, and Sunset

One of the things that I like about living in Laguna is how an ordinary, no-schedule day Saturday, can turn into a spontaneous medyo-out-of-local-town weekend.

I was just at the car wash when I got a call from Poch saying our friends wanted to go to Liliw for whatever reason. An hour and a half later, I find myself on the way to Liliw with my friends. Last time I was in Liliw was back in October 2013. It is still the same but we never got the time to try the famous cute restaurant called Arabela.

We arrived at around 3pm already and this time, luckily we got probably the last good seats in the house: corner spot with couch. I took this photo from where I was seated but this photo was taken after the guests have gone. (Because they probably wouldn't want to dine and appear in someone else's blog)

What I didn't like about the interior is the low ceiling. Check out Poch and Lyle haha 

Without further ado, let's have a quick review of the food.

Jim ordered this four cheese pizza, which tastes more like Tomato Pizza with cheese for the tomato's taste is a lot more dominant than the supposedly four cheese. 

 I ordered the carbonara, which is the safest. It costs Php 100.00.

 But it is just a small serving in reality. It's okay for a carbonara although I can get one with similar taste at Pizza hut.

 Jim, Mhy and Lyle ordered the lasagna. And Lyle could swear that hours later he can still taste the spices in his mouth.

Poch ordered this with an extra order of rice. I forgot what this is called and I don't remember hearing him rave about it.

BUT, this, my darlings, is my favorite: The Chocolate Chip Cheesecake! (Php 110.00)

 It was too sweet for Jim and Lyle's taste but I like it! I'm going to order this again when we come back this month with my girl friends.

After buying house slippers and roaming around the place, we decided on the spot to head to Caliraya to watch the sunset.

Jim, Poch, together with their photographer friends used to chase sunsets in Caliraya for that picture perfect sunset shot. Here we are on the exact same spot trying to capture it via...smartphone.

There were also some visitors and photography enthusiasts on the spot where we were waiting for the sunset. They came prepared with their selfie-sticks while Poch served as our human monopod. We were supposed to have a group shot with the Caliraya sunset background as Jim came prepared with a DSLR and a tripod but we got too busy trying to capture the actual going down of the sunset in our smartphones.

And by little past 7pm, we were already in our own homes and have called it a day.

I had a good first month for the year 2015. How about you?