my 26th Birthday Bash

Yes! I just turned 26 and it was a blast!

This year is my longest birthday thus far. :p Though I'm far away from home.. I got to celebrate it differently today 1- the fact that I'm currently overseas and away from 'lutong bahay', 2- my unusual kind of birthday w/o breaking the bank, 3-I get to blow candles at this age :) hahahhaha

Why long birthday?? Because people and friends started greeting me last Friday (note, my birthday is due Monday pa).. until Saturday, Sunday.. and finally Monday morning and evening still.. people wouldn't just stop greeting me.. and I am totally overwhelmed. :) LOL, just pardon my english,, my head's spinning already.. i have to sleep soon...


Sunday evening, I cooked spaghetti sauce for breakfast the very next morning. Uhmm, I think mama forgot to tell me that after I put one cup of water, I have to wait until it's turning dry again. Because after the water, I added the tomato sauce.. hence sauce turned SOPAS! Well, I paired it with rice and it was ok naman. :p

I call this spaghetti soup

Here's my chocolate cake.
I also got Caramel Turtle Cheesecake from Patrick and
Choc Cupcake in Belgian Choc Icing and Curls from Yna

Celebrating far away from home

Pleasant morning visit from Yna and Marika with the cupcake and sparklers

We went to Dave and Busters for dinner after work. The entire team celebrated with me :) Thank you guys!

Dave and Busters offers eat and play combo.
The amount of your food lets you play in their Game Lounge. After several games I got enough tickets to buy myself a cute stuff toy.. hon, I need a name for my teddy :)

It was 9PM when we arrived at the hotel. I had a great day today. Though I miss home, I am absolutely doing fine here.


PS... I want to go back to Dave and Busters to get more toys!


THANK YOU LORD FOR THE BEAMING 25 YEARS! ITS TIME TO ROCK @ 26!

Pacquiao: Living Up to the Expectations

by Yahoo! Sports

LAS VEGAS – It took just 359 seconds to add the latest devastating chapter to a legacy that will last for decades.

Manny Pacquiao’s flurried fists made short work of Ricky Hatton on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and delivered the most emphatic proof yet that boxing has a superstar for the ages operating at his peak.

Pacquiao sent the Englishman crashing to the canvas twice in a frenetic first round, then sealed the contest with a brutal left hook that had Hatton out cold on his back with one tick remaining in the second round.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have announced his comeback from a brief and scarcely-believable retirement on Saturday morning. But there can be no doubt that Pacquiao is boxing’s undisputed king as he continues to ride a remarkable wave of momentum.

“Our strategy was the one punch,” Pacquiao said. “Left hook. Right hook. That was going to be the key to this fight.”

The Filipino fighter is a quiet and reserved man out of the ring, but between the ropes he morphs into an electrifying machine – and Hatton felt his full force.

The Hatton camp had hoped their man’s power would be telling, yet he simply had no response to Pacquiao’s pace and precision. A right hook put Hatton down with 54 seconds remaining in round one and proved to be the beginning of the end.

“I knew it was over,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer. “Ricky fights the same way over and over. He doesn’t have the ability to adjust.”

As Pacquiao moved in for the finish in the second round, Hatton tried to cling on only to be sent down again with a fierce straight left. Doctors immediately rushed to the aid of Hatton, who eventually and thankfully was able to walk from the ring under his own steam.

“I am surprised this fight was so easy,” said Pacquiao. “I did work hard in my training camp and it paid off. This is as big a victory for me as when I beat Oscar De La Hoya.”

That December triumph over De La Hoya did not convince the entire boxing fraternity of Pacquiao’s ability, primarily as the Golden Boy’s powers had so clearly dimmed from his prime. Now there is no speculation. Pacquiao is the top dog, until someone proves otherwise in the ring.

Floyd Mayweather Sr. was a no-show at the postfight news conference, leaving Hatton’s co-trainer, Lee Beard, to explain the mauling by Pacquiao.

“We knew about Manny’s speed and that it could play a factor in the fight,” Beard said. “What you saw was two rounds of action and Ricky got caught.”

Roach’s status as a trainer grows in line with each victory his top fighter posts and it became clear his game plan was perfect. Hatton could not avoid Pacquiao, who landed with 73 of his 127 punches. The Brit could only land 18 of 78.

“This is no shock at all,“ Roach said. “Hatton pumps his hands before he throws a punch, and it makes him a sucker for the right hook.

“Manny is a monster. He is the best fighter ever. There is no surprise here.”

Defeat was a bitter blow to the thousands of Hatton fans among the 16,262 in attendance who had journeyed across the Atlantic but saw their dreams dashed within a few brutal minutes.

The typical symphony of chanting carried on even after their man had been sparked out, but it may not strike up again. Hatton, who was alert in his locker room before being taken to the hospital, is one of the most popular boxers ever with an incredible fan base, but his fighting future is now in serious doubt.

For Pacquiao, the future is brighter than ever, and his legend continues to grow.

Said Pacquiao: “I can fight anybody.”

I watched it Live during HBO's PPV, thanks to MS. Jackie and her lovely home :) Too bad the wireless internet connection during time was very low and my laptop battery was almost dying that I had a hard time reporting back the blow by blow action. Nonetheless, Pinas wasn't late in knowing the good news because SM aired it Live simultaneously.

What a good fight! Congrats Pacman! :)

Rock Bottom Restaurant at Downtown

Yeah, food chronicles..

again...

Because of our tight training schedule, we we're given only 30 minutes as lunch break. And because I hate coming to class late, I've decided to bring light sandwich every day that I can microwave (because I'm maarte, dapat mainit ang food kahit sandwich pa yan) so I don't have to go outside of the building to get food. Our cafeteria downstairs takes cash only.. so either you spend cash, rush in buying food, bring/ prepare your own lunch, or don't eat at all.

What's my packed lunch today??---> I had grapes and cookies. I got my own drinks too -- Starbucks bottled coffee and water. Coffee to keep me awake during the lesson, water to keep me sane!! (too much info!)

filet mignon

they were all teasing me that I pay for the food - birthday treat ba.
sabi ko nga, sure.. di ko naman pera gagastusin ko... hahahaha

Yna, Marika, Me & Cherry

this is the real reason we went here, just to eat Ice Cream..
hey, its Graeters!!

P.S.

Just want to say the back pack was given by the local company.. just in case my family or anyone else wonders... but I know you don't care LOL..

Swine Flu Outbreak

by Yahoo News

Concern that the world could be on the brink of the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years escalated Sunday as France, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Spain reported potential new cases in which people had been infected with swine flu and Canada confirmed several new cases. In the U.S., where 20 such infections have been confirmed, federal health officials declared a public-health emergency and are preparing to distribute to state and local agenciesa quarter of the country's 50 million-dose stockpile of antiviral drugs. Meanwhile, in hard-hit Mexico, where more than 80 people have died from what is believed to be swine flu, the government closed all public schools and canceled hundreds of public events in Mexico City.

Though the World Health Organization (WHO) is referring to the situation as a "public-health emergency of international concern," the apparent emergence in several countries of an entirely new strain of H1N1 flu virus has led some scientists to believe that it is only a matter of time before the WHO declares pandemic status, a move that could prompt travel bans to infected countries. "We are clearly seeing wide spread," says Michael Osterholm, a pandemic risk expert who runs the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. "There is no question." (See a photogallery on swine flu hitting Mexico.)

Health officials in Washington were quick to point out Sunday that none of the 20 cases identified in the U.S. so far has been fatal; all but one of the victims has recovered without needing to be hospitalized. Officials also noted that only one American has been infected so far who had not recently traveled to Mexico - a woman in Kansas got sick after her husband returned from a business trip in that country, where he became ill - but that could change as more intensive disease surveillance begins. "As we continue to look for more cases, I expect we're going to find them," said acting Centers for Disease Control (CDC) director Richard Besser.

In the U.S., where cases have also been found in California, Texas, and New York City, the declaration of a public-health emergency is part of what federal officials termed an "aggressive response" to the outbreaks. In addition to releasing from the national stockpile some 12.5 million doses of the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza - which scientists say has so far been effective against the H1N1 swine flu virus - the Department of Homeland Security will begin "passive surveillance" to screen people entering the U.S. Any traveler coming from a country with a confirmed human swine flu infection will be questioned, checked for symptoms and potentially isolated if they are found ill. Though the CDC has issued public warnings about the more serious outbreak in Mexico, there are no recommendations from Washington against traveling to the neighboring country. (Read about the vaccine being prepared in case of a pandemic.)

That is in contrast to the more extreme actions of some other governments, including Hong Kong, where officials on Sunday urged residents to avoid going to Mexico. Hong Kong officials also ordered the immediate detention in a hospital of anyone who arrives with a fever above 100.4 F, respiratory symptoms and a history of traveling over the past seven days to a city with a confirmed case of swine flu infection.

But Washington officials Sunday did their best not to overstate the situation and emphasized that their response wasn't out of the ordinary. "I wish we could call it declaration of emergency preparedness, because that's really what it is in this context," said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. "We're preparing in an environment where we really don't know ultimately what the size or seriousness of this outbreak is going to be."

Please take care.

We Won, Go Reds!

I had a good day today.

For this first time, I watched a live Major League Baseball Game :) Food and Drinks were absolutely free! We got good seats too and yes I've been saying that over and over.. its because I'm short and visual is very important to me :p And today, it wasn't an issue at all... XYZ company is one of the major sponsors of the Reds and so they have their own designated area where employees and their families can use if they want to watch.

I can't tell you how sunny and bright the weather have been this past few days. Weather is currently at 31degrees with humidity. It's getting warmer everyday. And so I got a little 'brown' after watching the game. Sure, you have the option to be in an aircon spot but we opted to stay outside - open air, on stools.






Win More Reds!!

Free Tickets!!

We are very lucky to be handed free baseball tickets for Sunday's Game of Cincinnati Reds vs Atlanta.

Yipeeeeeeeee, perhaps after mass we can go straight to the game. I don't play baseball, I don't even know how its being scored but I'm more than willing to go, especially if good seats have been reserved with free food and booze... no complaining! :)

I'm just happy its weekend.

Have a good one y'all.

Freedom Writers

.. times like these when my inspiration is at its peak that I am at my toes updating my blog. I've just watched Freedom Writers this boring Wednesday night.

It was worth making and watching. I am a 'Trainer' sort of a teacher and movies like this makes me love my job so much more... because I know at the end of the day, you don't only teach, you may touch lives too.. in so many ways.

So inspirational and challenging at the same time..

Giniling Recipe by Mama

.. i know, i know.. food again.

finally, i got to cook a real home made food here at my own hotel room. my mother's giniling recipe. i think i got fond of the pepper.. it turned out to be a little hot.

I got marika, yna and patrick try it out.. they said it was good so I think I can cook now right? Plus wala namang sumakit ang tyan.. :p

What do you think?

Filipino Hosted Fiesta

We spent our Saturday cooking, chopping, stirring, frying, smiling in between works, posing, playing and some more frying, grilling, baking...

We hosted a dinner for our dear counterparts and actually cooked the food for all of them. We crashed Jackie's house and cooked as much as we can. We had a lot of photo ops as evidence, I just grabbed a few ..

here's the beautiful kitchen of ms. jackie..
I tell you, it was worst when it was near dinner time.. cramming to cook everything!

Here are the end result..

Appetizer: Nilagang Mani

Entree: Sinigang na buto-buto, Beef Steak, Bicol Express, Grilled Pork (Filipino Style Inihaw), Adobong Manok, Chopsuey, Fried Spring Rolls in vegetable and pork, Baked Fish

Dessert: Ready made Bibingka, Buko Pandan and Turon

We had very good feedback, everyone liked the food. Fried Spring Rolls got the most praises and they quoted Sinigang as something 'different'.

It was indeed a Filipino Fiesta!

Steak Anyone?

Yeah,, I have not posted for some time but it doesn't mean that I don't want to.. I just didn't have the time to sit down and do this.

I got so many drafts for the past days about updates and it just piled up so I quit and deleted them. I think my last post was about quitting eating too much and yet this post is all about food again, argh!

Anyway, last night we (the Tech Team), together with our Site Director Ed, went to Montgomery Inn - home of the great Steak at Fort Mitchell. And as always, I can remember Marvin for every steak I eat. I couldn't stop thinking of him during the entire dinner. He would die of envy that I could eat something like this all the time for free! :p



I had their House Special in petite size. Their sizes are Petite - $14.95, Order - $19.95, Slab - $24.95, King - $27.95

World Famous Specialty, Barbecued Choice Pork Loin Back Ribs, served with famous Montgomery Inn Barbecue Sauce. Your choice of side dish is ala carte.

before

during

after

this wasn't mine but this is how their SLAB size looks like, size of one's arm

Yum, but I'm no steak fan. I eat and can appreciate it, but I don't crave for them :p

Burp Burp.... Halt!!!

I feel fairly alright this morning.. same routine.. had my usual breakfast, was able to go down the hotel at the exact and agreed meeting time. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am alright and doing fine here. I'm even getting used to the weather .. really cold (around 3 to 7 celsius) with strong winds every now and then.

When I look at the mirror this morning, I looked fine I guess. Normally, if my blouses/shirts doesn't fit well.. I have to take a step back from eating because I know I'm gaining weight again. Most of the shirts I brought are a little tight if not exactly my size so I can watch my weight even if I don't really step on the scale. When I was about to ride the car on the way to the office, I noticed that two of my buttons were open.. so I just fixed them.. the usual. I also normally bring water everyday to keep me hydrated during the day... hey, 8 glasses of water a day right?

But today, I had a hard time finishing my water... I feel so bloated. I felt like there's no more space in my tummy that it can't grow big anymore.

LUNCH

I had the Daily Special of Izzy's - a bowl of soup, Medium Raspberry Tea and a special Spicy Sandwich. After the soup, I think I can't eat anymore.. but I still managed to finish most of my sandwich. Back in the office, I felt so bloated. I kept touching my tummy, as it shows because of the tight long sleeves that I'm wearing. Good thing I have a long scarf to cover it.
If Mama is reading this she would probably say "Ayan, kasi,, sobrang katakawan... magdieta dieta ka nga.. mukha kang lumba lumba" My my.. I know I will gain weight while I'm here but not this early.. its not even a week since I left Manila and I have grown big already??

Gaddamit!

The Managers went to a free gym last Sunday and they planned to go to there everyday.. not sure if they are really doing it but considering the feeling I have now.. I will not think twice of joining them. Come to think of it, I eat fairly fine here, I don't eat so much. See, my breakfast are just like the stuff I eat in Manila, a little of something just to have food in my stomach. My lunch normally includes soup if its available in the restaurant and an entree (which I often don't finish all). So why? grrr, blame it to the weather LOL - I have not witnessed myself perspiring, except my underarm, bwahahaha, apart from that.. no sweat at all.
Daily Routine? From the hotel, hop in the car then drive to work. Park the car across the building we're working for.. walk a few good steps and that was it. There's not much walking that I do unlike climbing the LRT, or standing from Buendia to Blumenttritt.

I should stop eating if I'm not really hungry and I should not force myself to eat if I can't really finish the food. I have to STOP or else, my clothes won't fit me till JUNE comes.

Oh no!

Snow, Snow, Snow!!!

We are still hanging tight in this coldest weather we are experiencing so far. It was terrible 2 degrees today. I had scarf around my neck and thick gloves, tights underneath my pants and sando underneath my long sleeves and a corporate padded blazer.. but they still didn't make me warm.. the cold was just unbearable. To think, it's supposed to be spring! I took this photo from the meter inside the car to remind me how dead cold it is outside.


Right about 12PM.. it snowed!! It wasn't big drops at all.. but hey, they're still snow.. and finally I got to experience it... happy! :)

Go Reds!

Today is our first day of work and we're all happy that it went well.

Highlights of today:

1. The ever popular baseball game opened today and we all know that baseball is pretty big in most of the US if not all. Cincinnati Reds is their official team.
2. Some of the roads today at downtown were closed because of the openingl parade.
3. For lunch I had izzy's burger.
4. It was raining all throughout the day and the weather was roughly around 1-3degrees Celsius with some strong winds... really cold!
   

The "Tommy" (half) with pancake fries
Tommy has real thin sliced angus beef, swiss cheese, rich mayo, lettuce and tomatoes

Third Day: Outlet Hopping

Team went out today for more window shopping.

For lunch, we had...


my french onion soup...

mini chicken burger with fries and ranch dressing for $5.59

we then went to an outlet store to window shop again... all of those boxes are shoes.. i'll correct myself.. the entire warehouse/store is full of shoes..

and finally.. the Cincinnati Mall.. where we saw great Bath and Body Works Sale!
we ended our day with a visit in Krogs Supermarket and a short meeting for tomorrow's first day of work.

The Next Morning... Window Shopping

At around 12 PM, the entire team decided to Window Shop.

You've read my previous post right? Well, I wasn't alone when I said that I slept at 5AM, the rest slept around that time too.. so we all ended up waking late. Today I woke up at 8AM, without rising from bed, I decided to sleep again and then woke up 11AM.

Then I cooked my simple breakfast that I got from the supermarket

At 12 something I heard an invite that we are going to window shop. We all met at the lobby of the hotel at 2PM.

while waiting for the rest

we went to the nearby Florence Square. Less than 30 minutes ride.

Macy's is just one of them.. stores include Sears, JCPenny, TJmaxx, Staples and a lot more.

Here's my lunch for today: Shrimp and Chicken Teriyaki

I just had to capture this photo. This wasn't mine but it was sinful daw!

Touchdown!

Whew. I started writing this blog while in Cincinnati airport.. waiting for the rest of the gang to arrive. So far its Day 2 here already and I’m still writing Day1. J

Our travel started at Manila to Narita Airport Japan. Northwest Airlines flight 22 flew exactly 8:30 AM as scheduled. First stopover was Narita Airport where we landed roughly 12 PM MNL (1 PM Japan time). From Narita Airport, we flew to Seattle Washington for good 9 hours. That was the longest 9 hours of my life (so far!). I wasn’t able to sleep at all. God thing there was a personal mini tv in front of me and a remote control on the right side of my seat. I watched 4 freaking movies because I couldn’t sleep – Marley and Me, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The day the Earth Stood still, and Madagascar: Escape to Africa that I failed to finish because we’re nearing touchdown. I also played BEJEWELED, naaliw tuloy ako.

For quite some time now I’ve been flying through Philippine Airlines and this is the first time I flew through NWA. I can’t help it but compare. This is just my personal and lone observation. With NWA – I didn’t feel hungry at all and I didn’t feel the need to ask for water because they automatically offer you one. There were mini snacks in between lunch and breakfast. But they only have soap in the washroom. PAL offers toothbrush and toothpaste too in their welcome kit, but there’s none for NWA. There’s also cologne, alcohol, lotion and soap in the washroom of PAL – hygienic Pinoy eh. Hehehe.




We landed at Seattle Airport exactly as expected. We had to go through a brief immigration interview but we did pass smoothly. Unlike the other team which were interviewed further in Minneapolis Immigration for almost an hour or more. Thank God we don’t have to go through that; question and answer portion. We stayed and waited at Seattle Airport for more than 2 hours before boarding for Cincinnati. When we finally did, there were problems with the front part of the plane, cabin pressure, etc etc… so we got delayed for 30 minutes. I actually didn’t know because I was half asleep by then. I got tired waiting for the plane to take off plus I haven’t slept at all. I counted the hours we’ve been traveling and this last trip will make it 23:30 minutes already… almost a day.. hay.

Though we left a little late, we made it to Cincinnati earlier than the expected arrival. NWA flies ON TIME – really wonderful. It was 7:20 when we landed, few minutes after, our luggage arrived at the carousel already. When the other team arrived – past 9PM; we waited for another hour before their bags arrived.

I was terribly hungry by this time. My last meal was the flight from Japan to Seattle. When all had their respective bags, we then went took a free shuttle Nationale Rental Car. The 3 OM’s split up in driving the 3 cars. I hopped into Vida’s car with Joy and Chay. When we went out of the car rental parking we thought the other cars were waiting since we will be convoying on the way to the hotel.. but nope! They all went ahead. We ended up using maps and the GPS (which unfortunately dies often). We got to the North Kentucky (Covington) Extended Stay hotel around 11:30PM. Instead of going down and bringing our luggage to our respective rooms, we decided to go to the Supermarket. After 1 hour, we got back to the hotel again and finally I got to eat, take a bath and inform home that I survived and made it here safe and sound. I hit the sack at 5AM.

Recalling this whole event makes me dizzy and tired! The entire travel was 27 hours!!

Ohio

Our flight to Ohio is tomorrow.

I'm packed. I'm not so-so excited but I'm looking forward to the experience.
I checked the weather forecast, (all in Celsius) today is 10 degrees, tomorrow is 2, Saturday is 7 and Sunday is 4... wohoooo, it's a test of determination to survive spring weather... hihi.

Here's the itenerary:

Manila to Narita, Japan
Narita, Japan to Seattle, Washington
Seatthle, Washington to Cincinnati, Ohio

then drive to Kentucky border where we will be staying.


I hope there wouldn't be any hassles during the trip. May the LORD guide and bless us all throughout the trip. May the LORD also protect us and our families that we will temporarily leave behind.