Our little trooper is 2!

Isn't that face just adorable?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DJANGO!

I'm baaaaaaack!

I’ve been out of the loop for almost two weeks because we just moved (for the nth time), but just to the other street in our village. Our internet connection isn’t up yet. Also, my internet connection at the office was down for the last few days, and by that, I mean my—and only my—internet connection was down; everyone else was happily surfing. Almost two weeks of no Facebook, no Multiply, no personal e-mails, no forums, no RSS feeds of my favorite blogs, and no blogging wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I sure am glad to be back online!

And now, I come back to you after my (forced) hiatus with yet another Baguio post, what else? I had to take an impromptu trip to Baguio two Saturdays ago, and last-minute trip that it was, I had no pre-bought bus tickets nor hotel reservations (pretty unusual for Queen of Well-Planned Trips me). I was able to get a last-minute companion, though. Ah, the benefits of being in a relationship.

The several times I’ve been to Baguio this year, I was limited to Fort del Pilar (PMA), SM Baguio, and the Victory Liner bus terminal. This time, I wanted to go beyond, even for just a meal or two, and I wanted to stay somewhere other than Teacher’s Camp (where we stay as a family even back when I was in high school) or at Nakar Hall in PMA (where we’ve stayed during the last few trips).

My resource for this particular trip was the travel forum at GirlTalk, which I got to browse a few hours before I boarded I left for the bus station. Based on the Baguio thread, I was choosing between Bloomfield Hotel and La Brea Inn for our accommodation, both strategically located, and both #1 on TripAdvisor, (the former for Hotels, the latter for B&Bs). I chose La Brea because of the P700 difference—if I wasn’t being a priss and chose to stay at PMA instead, we would have paid just P250 per head. Also, I wasn’t interested in the breakfast included at Bloomfield because I read about two restaurants over at GirlTalk that I wanted to try. Anyway, we weren’t able to be all touristy the two days we were there because it rained nonstop. Therefore, no pictures, no camwhoring. Please bear with these:


La Brea Inn
I would suggest La Brea Inn for anyone looking for cheap, clean, and fuss-free accommodation in Baguio City. The standard room we got was basic but spacious and had cable TV, towels, and a clean bathroom—good value for P1,100 per night. Its location can’t be beat, it’s right smack on Session Road. I was grateful that they let us check our weary asses in early at 9 a.m.—4 hours earlier than the standard check-in time.

Two restaurants stood out in the forum: Oh My Gulay and 50's Diner. We tried both for dinner and breakfast the next day respectively.

Oh My Gulay at the fifth floor of La Azotea along Session Road is said to be more an art gallery than a vegetarian restaurant, but we were there during dinner time and were not able to enjoy the sights and views, so the food took centerstage:


vegetarian goodness
At this point, we were too pooped and too cold to take note of the prices, but I remember the dishes we ordered being reasonably priced (around P90-120) and were cleverly named (I had the Anak ng Puttanesca). Aside from my pasta, we had eggplant parmigiana (one of Abet’s ultimate favorite dishes), lumpia salad, and clubhouse sandwiches. Everything was fresh, healthy and delicious, and their dayap iced tea was a winner. I'll make sure to go back here next month, and I'll make sure to be there during the day.

Breakfast was at 50’s Diner which served milkshakes, pancakes, burgers, pizza, and pasta (no,tthe food wasn't served by roller-skating waitresses). Food was good and cheap, no wonder it was highly recommended.

cheeseburger with massive fries; chicken cordon bleu

milkshakes for breakfast--gooooood!

And there, my dears, is the crappiest travel/food blog post written. I guess I just wanted to say 'I'm back!', and that I did something while I was away. :D I'll definitely be going back to La Brea, Oh My Gulay and 50's Diner before the year ends, allow me to write better posts then?

PMA Cadets Dance to Wonder Girl's Nobody

Back from Baguio again!

Having a brother in the PMA, Baguio has become 'diyan lang.' We've been to Baguio every month since June, taking the 1 am or 2am bus early Saturday morning, spending a night there, and taking the bus home on Sunday evening. I have gotten used to the 6-7 hour rides and the uncomfortable sleeping position, stiff neck, sore bum, and disrupted Circadian rhythm that comes with it. I've even gotten used to the extreme cold, but I think that's partly thanks to the subzero temperature at my office.

Baguio was extra chilly and foggy last weekend, this was the sight that greeted us at the drop-off area at PMA last Saturday at 1 o'clock in the afternoon:

We were there last weekend because May was invited to a Battalion Superintendent's Hop:

Joe played the cello during the hop, May was able to see him there:

Lucky her! All my parents and I have is a precious six-second video I was able to take of Joe when they passed us by during their road run (screenshots c/o Papa):

We aren't complaining, though--we were still pretty lucky. We weren't counting on seeing him, we were there for May's hop, after all, and we certainly weren't expecting to see the road run. We were just waiting to catch a jeepney in front of our guest hall when the cadets passed by. Joe actually smiled at us, and he looks healthy and happy! That's good enought for now.

--=-=--

And just because I love seeing photos of flowers on my blog:

flowers inside PMA

May's bouquet from Cadet Q

If I had things my way...

I'll have two daughters.

one-year old Ryanne (Chris's kid) and three-year old Yzhay (Jarwin's kid)
No, we are not "Palakihan ng Pisngi" contestants.

Adorable, adorable girls. They make me forget how much I suffer being seated between their dads at the office.

I also like the thought of two boys. When I think of my future children, I see two boys, like Abet and his brother. Abet wants one of each. At least we agree on the two kids part.

And the "not now" part. Ü

8 Years in the Making--A Proposal Story

FINALLY, MOMON AND ROS ARE ENGAGED!!! Kudos to my brother Momon for pulling off a most creative proposal!

From Momon's Facebook:

Finally proposed to Ros yesterday. We went back to UP since we had plenty, if not, the majority of memories there as a couple. I prepared a game for her, as a tribute and also to get back at her for giving me a quiz before we became official 8 years ago. Anyway, I tied ribbons in places where we had unique or special memories (like in AS parking lot, where we saw a dead body) and gave her clues where to find it. I gave her a puzzle piece for every ribbon found. Ros loves and has a collection of jigsaw puzzles so I made one out of our favorite picture.

waiting for Ros to start
Momon tied pink ribbons all over campus

and Ros had to find each one

each ribbon was equivalent to a clue to another ribbon and a puzzle piece

CLUE: Dead body| ANSWER: AS Parking Lot
I remember Ros texting me that morning they saw a corpse

lunch at Trellis after the hunt,
where they celebrated their first and second anniversaries

Ros solving the puzzle with the help of their dearest friends

A puzzle of their favorite photo, taken at Puerto Galera

♥Yihee!♥

this made me cry...

the newly-engaged couple

I picked out the ring! :D

Welcome to the family, Ros! Congratulations to you both!