Steak @ alfredo's

my 2nd time at alfredo's. marie's treating so i'm really gonna enjoy every morsel! i enjoy steak if it's there but it's not one of the foods i crave for so the dinner at alfredo's is just one of those dinners. steak was nicely cooked - depends on how you like 'em. i've always like them medium rare coz it's more juicier. i had Fried fish, hane had the steak ala pobre.


it was a good dinner coz they serve warm bread & butter while waitig for the main course. mom didn't like the white pasta... i tasted it and seems that the noodles were overcooked. waiters are always available at your beck and call, although would've been nicer if they smile while serving... the place, i think needed a little bit of renovation coz the carpet and furnitures remind me of the 80s but then that might be the ambiance they really want. and on the average, you can spend around 700-800 per person for steak courses, and around 500 for non-steak. overall, they serve good, reliable food. i'd recommend it to someone who craves for steak.

the BATman

I love this movie… one of the greatest! Grabe, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time the movie was playing. Christian Bale is hot! Heath Ledger was outstanding! I mean this movie is totally not your typically comic-type movie that you would expect from a comic hero. Here, batman was portrayed as someone very human because the movie show how he's struggling to be this superhero for the city. He shows emotions and Christian does it so subtly!

And Heath Ledger!! Man, where do I start?? I mean he's a genius here. Every tick, every blink of an eye, every body language, every hand wave just shouts joker! He completely turned around that image of joker from a comic-type (this we got from Jim Carey from previous Batman) to a character that is so interesting, controversial and someone that you hate so much but you can't take your eyes off. If you think about it, he doesn't really have powers. All he has is a brilliant brain and a desire to just wreak havoc without using any powerful tools. I guess that's what makes the character so riveting. You don't really know what to expect from him. And I applaud Heath… standing ovation pa. :) I know, I sound like an infatuated groupie, but I just love the movie. Sige, so that I won't sound too gushy, there's one thing I find weird in that movie. Why does Batman have that voice that sounds like it's coming from inside a can? Sound like Darth Vader but with a cold.. Hehehe… but still, Christian Bale is hot! :)

the batman

I love this movie… one of the greatest! Grabe, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time the movie was playing. Christian Bale is hot! Heath Ledger was outstanding! I mean this movie is totally not your typically comic-type movie that you would expect from a comic hero. Here, batman was portrayed as someone very human because the movie show how he's struggling to be this superhero for the city. He shows emotions and Christian does it so subtly!

And Heath Ledger!! Man, where do I start?? I mean he's a genius here. Every tick, every blink of an eye, every body language, every hand wave just shouts joker! He completely turned around that image of joker from a comic-type (this we got from Jim Carey from previous Batman) to a character that is so interesting, controversial and someone that you hate so much but you can't take your eyes off. If you think about it, he doesn't really have powers. All he has is a brilliant brain and a desire to just reek havoc without using any powerful tools. I guess that's what makes the character so riveting. You don't really know what to expect from him. And I applaud Heath… standing ovation pa. :) I know, I sound like an infatuated groupie, but I just love the movie. Sige, so that I won't sound too gushy, there's one thing I find weird in that movie. Why does Batman have that voice that sounds like it's coming from inside a can? Sound like Darth Vader but with a cold.. Hehehe… but still, Christian Bale is hot! :)

us visa... again

yep, i finally applied to a US visa again after losing my 1st visa in Malaysia. gash, now it costs $131 per application. the first time i applied, it was just $75.

I wasn't really nervous since if they don’t give us VISA, we'll just take our mileage elsewhere, no big deal. It was so funny coz hane kept eavesdropping on other interviews and "judging" if they will pass or not. I think he got 1 out of 5 correct. :) it was just a sorry state, filipinos are so blinded by the american dream, they feel they can be more successful there than here so they continue to hope and hope to get there. But they're stuck coz of course the consul would see that they're not really well-established here so they get denied… and it's just an ongoing cycle. How frustrating! But the one person that hane predicted wrong was this lolo who (from hane's eavesdropping powers) has his wife, kids and grandkids already in the US. So he's the only one left here. My gash, how lonely. And he still got denied! How heartless! I wanted to talk to the consul (who was actually our consul too) to just give him a break… but it just didn't sound appropriate! Sayang, I could've tried to help and probably made a difference to the lolo. Apparently the lolo was already denied twice so this is the 3rd time. Hane was telling me that it was probably because the lolo couldn’t really answer the questions properly. I don't know, he's probably not that good in english but I heard him trying to plead his case to the consul, I can hear his voice cracking. Grabe, it was heartbreaking. Hay naku, the things people to do to go there!
During our turn naman, he just asked us basic questions, countries we've been to, how long with the company. At first, I only mentioned asian countries and australia. Buti na lng hane butted in and mentioned south africa. It turned out that the consul had been to cabinda and helped to build the camp there. Oh ha! Talk about right place at the right time. Hehehe! I wanted to ask him how he got there and what was his company, but I felt I didn't want to waste time doing small talk when a lot of people are still lined up to get interviewed so I just kept my mouth shut. The consul then turned to hane to ask him basic questions (again) about his job. Then it was over. He just said he's gonna approve our visa, blah-blah-blah. I wasn't really listening… hehehe! I was just basking in the moment. When we turned to go, I was smiling but then I changed to a more somber look coz I was conscious of the others who are still waiting to be interviewed. I didn't want to gloat. :)

bebe @ 6 1/2 mos

Boochie… hehehe the names I come up with to call my bebe. it’s just so weird how I come up with these things and it sounds so natural saying it. Boochie, choochee, bebepoo, boochie-boochie, booboo. So funny. Hay… my boochie. He’s already 6 ½ months old and really getting to be so malikot! He can already stand in his crib all by himself. Yup, he knows how to pull himself up and we didn’t teach him that! Mother’s pride…  and he loves to smile a lot. It just gives me more energy when I get home coz the minute I open the door, he has this big smile on his face like he’s been waiting for me all these hours to get home! And sometimes he gives this giggly sound. Hehehe! That just takes away all the fatigue and tiredness of the day.

He loves to eat! Everytime he has his meals, he sways his legs like he’s just the most contented boy to just sit there and be fed.  when he sees us eating, he’d get our attention and ask that he be fed as well. The thing is, he doesn’t get fat. Tops says it’s all muscles that he’s growing. Hehehe musculadong baby. He loves to jump in his crib or even when we’re just holding him up. That’s when you know he’s far from sleep and hunger. And he doesn’t just jump, sometimes he gives out these small sounds like he’s singing and dancing, I swear! Hehehe… and he loves to dance! What I do is I hold both his hands while he’s in his crib and I sway and sing, and he gets all excited and tries to sway and jump.

Right now, his favorite toy is the rattle. And he loves to watch certain commercials on tv, seems more attentive to the commercial when sunsilk, Palmolive, or other ads with kids. I swear! I try to cover the tv with my body but he twists and turns, trying to get a peek around me. Naku, I have a potential couch potato in my hands! More like a competition on the remote control!

Then I try to read to him… as instructed by doc Gomez. I make it a point to read to him when his energy is starting to wane, and he’s getting a little bit tired from all his day’s work. It’s at this time that he can just sit quietly and seems to be listening to me read to him. If I don’t wait for this time, he’s not gonna stay put and he’ll just cry to let him up.

What’s next… :)

clawdaddy's

yum, yum! just look at those glorious crabs! their claws are as huge as my hands! and it was just divine - butter, garlic and such juicy crab flesh. and of course, we wouldn't get this glorious feast without paying gloriously as well! 1,000 PHP per person!

World Pyro 2008

last saturday, we were in MOA. my mom was able to reserve really good seats for us at the highland steakhouse. and they were really good seats coz it was outside directly facing where the fireworks are. imagine? eating your steak while looking at the fireworks. it was awesome! felt like a kid again just looking up at the fireworks with ooohhs-ahhhs. that day, it was france and japan and that day, it rained! complete with lightning and thunder! see? ayaw magpatalo ni God. he also wanted to join in the fun of fireworks and made one Himself.

another milestone

bebe said his first words... you know i'm not really sure now if it's really his first words coz i'm not at home all the time. who knows?? he might have already said mama without me or his yaya hearing it. but i heard it yesterday! he said memem. hahaha!! close enough!

and he's starting to crawl! he pushes his butt out to move forward. imagine a moving worm. hehehe... it's just so amazing! he just learns this all by himself coz we don't really teach him that. babies really have instinct.

2 front teeth

hehehe... my bebe is growing his 2 front teeth but it's on the lower part. so cute! that's why he gets so cranky easily. we're trying to get him to slurp on some soup or fruit extract, and he really seems to like it. his expression is so priceless! he looks like he's liking but but he'll grimace in the end. hehehe... tapos he knows na when to cry!!! aba! when i take away his toys, he cries out loud like he's hungry! kaya marunong na talaga ang bebeko. i just laugh at him... poor baby. cries his head out while mom is laughing. hehehe! just such a joy! he loves to stand up (stretches out his body and cries out when we don't push him up), he loves to be surprised (can giggle out loud na! especially to his yaya), loves different sounds - vroom-vroom, WAH, he giggles out loud when i tickle him on his tummy sides and his underarms, he loves to play with my cellphone and the remote control (hmmm... may kalaban na kami sa remote! hehehe), he loves his pagong, he gets easily bored with his teethers, he can now be left in his stroller (before he doesn't want to be left there instead he wants to be carried while malling), according to yaya, he already knows what "labas" means and gets super excited when he hears it coz he knows he's going outside with yaya. you know he's excited when he jumps up and down (yes, he jumps... but not on his own)...

hay.. i can drone on and on. but i need to get back to work. later uli, bebe!

unmotivation

Feel so unmotivated. I want to give her feedback to learn how to completely delegate. I mean here she is giving me all that speech that I need to step up to my PSG level here in EBS, that she's gonna give me some coordinating roles so that I could have that opportunity. So I get all excited and riled up with it… somehow giving me motivation and confirmationt that I did the right thing of transferring. But then where's the follow through?? I did what I had to do.. I was ready to present what I found out… but she didn't even give me the chance… then she goes off throwing all sorts of instructions on what to do next??? What the hell was the assignment for?? Even ana who I think is equally competent can't even make her own strategy on what to do??? Hello??? I'm just so mad and disappointed! It's so unstructured! I'm not used to this. I used to be a TL for goodness sake and I definitely was doing better than her in handling people…. To think that I'm reporting to her. That's why I feel so unutilized here. I can do so much but I'm stuck waiting and waiting for tickets, for users to have error, for "further instructions". Hay naku, I don't want to live like this. Let me just wait for R3 so that I'll get challenged again then I'm outta here! AARRGG! I want to give her that feedback but I just feel that it's gonna create some sort of tension between us? But oh well, I'll certainly try!

small things that make the day :)

Just saw Jeff, my old customer in Finance. Well, I felt more like he was my boss coz he was so well-versed with what is happening to the team. I guess he just has that aura that makes me so glad to see him again. :) hmm come to think of it, he's more of a grandpa image… hehehe, I'm sure he's not really gonna like this image I've conjured up for him. He kept saying how proud he was of me, of what I have accomplished in intercompany. See?? How nice. Someone who truly and sincerely appreciates the good job I did in intercompany. I've gotten some positive feedback before on this but coming from Jeff, it really means a lot. I have really been proud of what I did with intercompany, but it gets compounded more when someone like Jeff still remembers it until now… months-months after it. It was so weird coz I kept touching his arm and saying how great it was to see him again. Hmmm.. Now I'm beginning to think if he was thinking "sexual harassment, sexual harassment" during that time! Hehehe… you know how americans are such big on that. But I feel that he's such a filipino at heart. :)