Project FEETrail [July 2012]: Wedding Planning with my sturdy crocs and Zebra-print eco-bag

This is it! Kuya Stew is getting married! 

When we went to Kalinga to check the place out for an inter-cultural wedding, we were told by the weather officials that it's signal 1 for typhoon in Kalinga Apayao, where we are headed.  We've been getting text messages from our friends to take extra care because it's raining real hard in Manila and Laguna. I was even BBM-ing my friends to keep them in the loop! (Yes, I am La reine de photo sharing! ) but we got off the bus to a very nice and warm weather!

Thank you Lord! :)

Three months from now we'll be attending an inter-cultural wedding reception here. Kuya loves the place, he calls it "shabby chic".  This moment deserves to be in my FEETrail project because this is the location of my cousin's wedding reception...and it's literally on top of the mountain! I know it's not something new to me because I live in Los Baños where mountains and hills are common given that it's a science and nature city, the feeling of looking at the mountains from where I am standing is something else.  Too bad the photos don't do much justice. 

Vapur: The Anti-Bottle

I saw this thing called the Anti-bottle carried around by our trainer and I realized I want to get one! 

And so I did! (actually, my sister got these for me) 

I love how it curls up after using. And best part is, it's only Php25.00!

What you should know about being a [new] Globe [Postpaid line] subscriber

I've read about subscribers to Globe Telecom (my other mobile phone service provider) talk about how upon only getting their new postpaid line, they keep getting random texts from unknown numbers about the following:

• Cash loan/advances
• Condominium Unit Offers

Months ago while I was paying my bill, I spoke to the customer service representative and told him that how in the world did "these companies" were able to get a hold my new number?

He told me quite frankly that they do have some tie ups with some companies where they give out their data base info of postpaid subscribers to them for some kind of an exchange deal, and these companies will send a group message to all the numbers from the Globe Postpaid data base...and that I should just ignore the text whenever I get one.

And I did, but today, I get a random text not from a company but perhaps from a political party:

Dear Mayor Win Gatchalian of Valenzuela City, Isn't this too early for the 2013 political campaign? I'm not even from Valenzuela City?! 

Last month of April, I accidentally texted an old number of a friend and to my surprise the number replied! When I told the previous owner of that prepaid mobile number, he was surprised that someone's been using his old sim card which he thought he destroyed. Therefore, I found out that one of my friends old number was recycled by globe. 

If you're the same network as me, have you heard stories of the same/similar kind?

Travel Kalinga: Leigh's Grill and Coffee Shop

While we were "hotel hopping" for my cousin's wedding, we saw this grill and coffee shop right beside the second hotel, Davidson Hotel and Restaurant, that we went to:

The next day, we decided to give it a try. We arrived at this cozy coffee shop.

While waiting for our food, this little boy came over and took a seat. His little brother joined him in this photo op which they gamely posed:

Kids like me?! Really? I don't even have friendly features! haha 

 ( I think the second brother looked like baby james! They were jumping up and down the couches and my sister took photos of them ). Now on with the food:

The Chico River chocolate Drink, The Chocoloco cake and the Caramel cake 

The Filipino Breakfast (Php120.00) and the Clubhouse sandwich (php140.00)

Quick Tips and Review:

• Strategically located along the road
• Good clean ambiance
• Free wifi
• Ask for their best-seller (ChocoRiver)
• The caramel cake is too sweet, and the Chocoloco cake is only sweet on the surface part and the cake part is bland.
• Speed of service: I'd give 2 out of 5.

We didn't really have enough time to try the other dish because we just wanted to grab something to eat. An hour later after having this quick, after-mass brekky, we had lunch at the Red House that I wrote earlier.

Travel: Our "Pamamanhikan" Trip to Kalinga

"Pamamanhikan" in Filipino is the traditional "formal asking of the lady's hand in marriage" from her parents. The groom's whole family goes to the bride-to-be's house to formally meet the family and plan for the wedding. Weddings are actually big in the Philippines because it's the union of two families. Okay so these photos are not exactly about my Kuya's Pamamanhikan. He braved it by asking his girlfriend's hand for marriage on his own  and doesn't want me to film his nervousness and blog about it. A month later, his immediate family in the Philippines which he fondly calls "The Team Araguas" (us!) came to finally close the deal.

It's been five years since I last rode the deluxe bus. My first deluxe bus that I experienced before is called Fariñas Bus and it was bound for Ilocos Norte. This is the first time that I am riding via Victory Liner Deluxe Bus:

Victory Liner Deluxe Bus

How much: Php750 ( From Sampalok, Manila to Tabuk City, Kalinga)

They have in board free wifi ( c/s Sun Cellular, but lost the signal once we were in Nueva Ecija...so Boo!) 

The Grad School Diaries: Episode 9 - Pride Day, Pride Day on a Thursday

Wanna know what was up in UPLB yesterday?

The LGBT (Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender)Rally:

And the Anti-LGBT rally:

Sincere apologies for the crappy photos. These were taken again using my camera phone.
Deym, I need to invest in a proper blogging camera since I have been using my phone's camera a lot. 

Another thing that I noticed, maybe because I was only able to catch up a few glimpse of the LGBT rally, the rally now is not as aggressive as the ones I've witnessed back in circa 1990s. Maybe it's because with this generation, we have migrated to virtual communities rather than in a real environment. Or maybe because of UP's changed profile of majority of students, or because the undergrad students are digital natives and some of us in graduate school are digital migrants. 

If only I was still studying the LGBT movement for my thesis topic, I would have enjoyed this day just observing how to they go around "fighting for their cause".

Thank you @yeyeahye for these cutesy bookmarks!

I've been writing/raving about how I am obsessed with booksale, books and chick literature (even though I don't get to finish them all that my Kuya had to tell me that I should stop buying, because all I do is just cover it up in plastic cover).

I also LOOOVE cute bookmarks and not just the regular kind. Last night, my friend yeye gave me kyooot bookmarks to use for my "pending" books in my nightstand.

Excuse the photos, these are taken from my phone's camera

I remember my mom attending a wedding and their give away / party favor is a book mark that instead of a paper board, it's made up of this copper wire with a clay jewelry hanging on the outside. I ended up using it though it's hers (too bad I forgot to take a photo). 

I am officially collecting all cute kinds of bookmarks now. Thanks again Yeye! :)

The Grad School Diaries: Episode 8 - The Graduate School Barbie

I was taking a break from doing stuff at work when I saw this  photo with the label “Graduate School Barbie” from Pinterest.

The Graduate School Barbie

I assume she was looking hot like this during her freshman year...But then, Graduate School happened. 

On the 39th day since my Dad died, he talked to me and gave a very strong opinion about me finishing the degree because it is just what he would have wanted to see. Uh Oh. It appears that even if I don’t get to see my Thesis adviser often ( usually because I don’t have anything, any improvement to show for the moment) I have another “adviser” who’s watching my back and the progress of my thesis.

While I have all this time to google and browse my pinterest account, I still haven’t found the time and moment to have an intimate session with my bruised thesis outline.