That's how long I have to wait for my next trip down south. I've booked flights for my brother and nanay already. Not much of a deal, but at least, I got 3,000 off. What's important now is I have no choice, but to go through with that trip in October.
I sounded like I'm not that excited. I am!! It's been almost 2 years since I last went on a trip to somewhere in the Philippines I haven't been to. Remember our ala Amazing Race vacation up North (Pangasinan-Baguio-Vigan-Laoag-Pagudpud-Baguio)? It was already an adventure to me and I desperately need that again.
We're going to Bohol to celebrate my birthday and my brother's. He and our nanay have been there once before; it'll be my first time. I'm excited to see Chocolate Hills for myself. I've been told that you have to be there to appreciate its beauty. Words and photos aren't enough, so I'm looking forward to that.
That's my bro Ken. I know, FAIL Chocolate Hills illusion photo. It's the photographer's fault, he says. LOL
After Bohol, my next trip should be to Palawan. I'm already looking out for promos and good deals at my trusted group-buying sites.
To be honest, I'm not really a fan of beaches. I prefer to go to Baguio or Tagaytay where it's cold. I know most of my fellow ladies LOVE the beach, especially those who want to get a natural tan instead of resorting to spray on tanning. I'm already tan enough, I believe. But, that's not the reason why I don't like the beach. I'm allergic to (salty) seawater, especially if it's too hot outside. I did enjoy our Pagudpud vacation though, but I didn't swim while the sun was up, which sucks 'cause there's nothing better than enjoying a swim while seeing everything around you. *sigh*
I just realized that this post is seriously making me sound like I'm not excited about our upcoming vacation. Again, I am! I guess it's just too early to actually feel the anticipation. *LOL* It's a 4-day, 3-night vacation, so it should be pretty relaxing. Plus, it's the first time I'll be travelling with a long-time friend and her family. I'm not really big on travelling with a lot of people, so we'll see. ;)
I used to not be a fan of accessories. The only accessories I enjoy wearing are earrings and rings, that's it. I don't like necklaces 'cause I feel uneasy having something around my neck. Not sure what's up with that, but I just don't feel comfortable wearing necklaces before.
I'm not a big fan of bracelets either. I think I've broken all that I own in the past 'cause, one, I'm too clumsy, and two, I don't like being too conscious about how I move my hands or arms. That's also one of the reasons why I stopped wearing a watch.
Right now, I'm no longer wearing any rings. I removed the one my mom gave me because pepole think I'm married already. I can't fit it into my index finger 'cause of the weight I gained in the past months. *LOL* All I have are the cocktail rings I bought online and from Divisoria. I think I lost about 6 cocktail rings already in the past year 'cause I remove them when I wash my hands at the restroom, and I forget them completely. @_@
Right now, though, I am getting addicted to accessories. Whenever we go shopping, it's like I always end up with a new fancy necklace. I also want to go back to Divisoria to buy new cocktail rings. I only got 2 with me now that I use alternately. I need more!!
I have a couple of online stores I now have bookmarked for my next shopping spree. I prefer to buy jewelry online cheap sold on Multiply. I'm not fond of gold or silver accessories. I prefer to accessorize in color. Yes, I'm no longer afraid of bright colors. ;)
Here's a photo of me with Mikey Bustos at the launch of Globe Tatt Awards (you can start nominating now!), wearing a metal, sparkly crescent moon necklace:
I seriously had second thoughts about buying this necklace 'cause some might think I''m such a fan of Twilight. No, I'm definitely not. I hate the movies and the actors. I'm just in love with the moon. The only reason why I'm holding back on buying more moon accessories is because I don't want people thinking I like Twilight. *ulk*
Oh, and yes, I've gained weight, which I'm now slowly trying to lose again. I need to be more disciplined, so I'm hoping I'd be plump rather than fat. ;)
Ever since I followed the Tulfo brothers, especially how they reveal the incompetence of local officials and other departments of the government, I've admired them because they help people, in their own, somewhat brassy way. Not a complete fan of them, but I know a lot of people are thankful for their aggressive approach to demand action. So, when I heard about the Raymart Santiago vs Mon Tulfo fight at NAIA terminal, I had expectations of what went on, especially after I learned Claudine Barretto was involved too.
Okay, before I show you the video of Raymart Santiago fighting with Mon Tulfo, watch first this interview of Claudine and Raymart, and listen carefully to how the drama queen explained what happened:
I've always hated Claudine. Yeah, sure, she may be a good actress back in the days, but let's admit it, she does have this reputation of being a foul-mouthed, rude woman (you see what I did there? I'm keeping this PG *LOL*). So, when I watched the interview above, I just knew she was lying. I swear, I even saw a hint of shock or surprise on Raymart's face when she was telling HER side of the story. Why? 'Cause it's an EFFING lie.
Here's a video of what transpired, taken by one of the people who was luckily around the place where it was all happening:
See? Now, when EXACTLY did Mon Tulfo get a chance to kick Claudine?! Where? When?! Sheeshhh!! PUHLEASE, Claudine. Shut your mouth! Iiyak-iyak pa!
According to sources, the whole story about the Raymart vs Mon Tulfo fight was Claudine and Raymart were coming back from Boracay with their kids, yaya and Raymart's manager. Their luggage was unfortunately left behind at the airport in Boracay, and this threw Claudine into a fit. She started to curse at the NAIA staff for what happened.
Mon Tulfo was close by and, since it's part of his JOB as a journalist to cover anything news-worthy, he took out his phone to take photos (that's what he said, but I hope he had a video) of all the craziness. The manager noticed what Mon was doing and tried to snatch the phone off his hand. Mon reacted, asking who the guy was ("Bakit? Sino ka?").
Raymart claims that Mon hit him first, but from the video, I believe Mon was hit first, and probably the manager saw Mon fight back and attacked, with the drama queen wife Claudine joining in. Seriously? You need 3 persons to subdue a 68-year old man?
Well, okay. According to reliable sources, Mon Tulfo is a black belter in martial arts (Update: This was confirmed by the Tulfo brothers). He could've kicked their asses, but he didn't. He was also held back by the guards, plus 3 people were attacking him at the same time. The Raymart even held him by the neck, so his friend and Claudine can hit Mon more.
After the police report and all the interview, they were demanding for NAIA to release their CCTV footage. Even if Mon Tulfo was the first guy to hit, them attacking him altogether cannot be excused.
What's more hilarious is how Claudine re-told the story in her own crazy mind. According to her, Mon faced her when she asked what his problem was and why he punched her husband, kicked her and pushed her violently towards the Cebu Pacific counter. Seriously?! If all that really happened, do you think you'd still be standing up now like nothing really happened? @_@ Can't help but laugh out loud. Plus, if all that was true, I bet there'll be much more violent reactions from their group.
I wonder what the Tulfo brothers' next step would be. And I can't wait to see! *sheepish grin*
If you haven't got a clue yet, this post is MY opinion about the woman involved in the issue, hence the title of this BLOG post. All the details I noted here are from various sources including gmanews.tv, pep.ph, abs-cbnnews.com and other news / entertainment sites.
Now, what do I think about what happened? First of all, it was part of Mon Tulfo's job to cover anything news-worthy. But, since he's a journalist, he needs to also get both sides of the story. Well, I'm guessing he wasn't given a chance to do so since the brawl already started.
About the whole incident, I find it completely unnecessary and inexcusable to beat a much older guy (Mon is 68 years old!) for such reasons as he's taking their photos during a confrontation with the NAIA staff. Raymart vs Mon would be a fair fight, but 3 vs 1 was too much.
Also, Raymart and Claudine are celebrities. They should be well aware that any action or words that they utter in front of the public may be recorded or used against them.
And according to this article on Interaksyon, Raymart claims that Mon kicked Claudine first before the whole brawl, which resulted to him attacking Mon. Seriously? That doesn't sound logical at all. Watch the video and tell me if you agree with his story. ;)
Much respect to Mon Tulfo for scoring some hits during the brawl even with 3 people attacking him and the guards holding him back. For his age, I'm pretty surprised and was rooting for him the whole time I was watching the video.
Oh, and please. This is a BLOG. If you want the FACTS, go to a news site. Stop whining about my opinion / speculations here.
Here's the Tulfo brothers' reactions about what transpired at NAIA:
Scary, but so understandable. If it was my brother, I'd probably be as mad as they are now. I still hope this will be fixed peacefully, of course. But, I doubt the Santiagos will have the decency to apologize or settle this with Mon Tulfo. All I can say now is GOOD LUCK!
A witness surfaced and a staff member of NAIA claimed that what Claudine was saying was true - that Mon hit first, saying he punched Raymart, and then kicked and pushed her afterwards. All these happened, according to them, before everything that we saw in the first video.
To be honest, I don't think that's true. First, it was Claudine's group who was pretty pissed before the actual fight because of the problem with their luggage. So, to me, they are ready to start a fight anytime, especially seeing someone who was taking photos of them.
What I think happened was Mon defended himself when Raymart insisted on snatching or taking his phone from him. Then, that's when everything we saw in the video happened.
Plus, if you look at the video, there was nothing on Claudine's left leg. But, in her interviews, she has this red mark on there. If everything they're saying is true, that Mon did kick and pushed her violently, she would've gotten more than just a red mark on her leg and back.
Anyway, let's just see what will happen with this issue. As you can tell, I'm on Tulfo's side. I may be wrong for thinking that, but that's my opinion and I think most people agree with me knowing the history of the Santiagos.
It rained the past couple of days, and to tell you honestly, I feel like I've developed this trauma towards flood. After my experience with typhoon Pedring last year, a month before my birthday last year, I get this dreadful feeling whenever it rains. I know, it's been really hot here in the Philippines lately, but the sound of rain heavily falling down on our roof scares me.
Some may say I'm too affected or I'm over-reacting towards the flood that we experienced in Malabon last year. I posted photos of the damages of Pedring to our home and our area here in Malabon last year. I'm well aware our experience wasn't the worst, but it was still traumatic for me.
Here's a photo of the flood inside our home:
If you look at that photo, you'd think the flood in our area was just a few inches above our feet. But, if you've been to our home, you'd know our actual house is elevated by about 3 feet.
This is a photo I took right outside my computer shop, a few hours after the floodwater subsided. This was the time when there was no more flood inside our home:
The floodwater was most probably waist- or shoulder-deep to actually come in and flood our home. I'm so thankful we were safe. But, that feeling of hopelessness will continuoulsy haunt me everytime I see flood or hear heavy rain. :(
Ondoy happened in September 2009. Pedring in the same month last year, 2011. And September's coming in about 120 days. No matter how we prepare for it - putting in neoprene washers, cleaning all the trash out of the drainage and canals around our home, moving the electric outlets a few inches higher, ensuring our important documents are now located at the top of our cabinets, planning on what we could do if in case floodwater will be much higher than during Pedring - nothing can prepare us for it. The only way we can avoid this is to move out of this place here in Malabon.
I know, we can't really be safe anywhere else, but at least, we won't be trapped in this very low area of Malabon City, surrounded by rivers, with Manila Bay close by. *sigh*
2012 - the year 'predicted' by the Mayans to be the last year of humans on Earth. As much as I want to be a non-believer, I still want to be ready just in case. I hope and pray all that's not true, and I'd grow much older than 32. I hope to see you all by 2013.
I'm usually an optimist. But, there are times when a hint of negativity hits me. This is just one of those days.
I wasn't a big fan of games of chance. I admit, when it comes to investing or risking my hard-earned money, I chicken out. But, for the past years, I feel like my luck has changed and I've even won a couple of raffles, internet bingo (click here) and online poker games. So, my whole outlook on my luck has completely shifted.
I remember the first time I gambled. I was probably 10 years old back then. My nanay gave me 20 pesos to buy anything I want. On my way to my favorite stationery store (I was addicted to collecting those pretty papers and envelopes), I saw this saklaan near our home. I was quite familiar with how it was played because of my dad, so I squeezed my way in and found that everyone else were betting the same amount I had in my hand. Without thinking twice, I placed my money on one of those hari ng bastos cards and hoped I win.
I left that place with about 400 pesos in my hand. Yes, I won! I can still remember that exhilarating feeling of winning something out of pure luck. When my nanay learned about it, she scolded me and took everything. I think she saw how my happy face turned into a frown that she decided to give me back 100 pesos. I guess she understood how glad I felt for winning something that big. It was my first time to get hold of money that amounted to over Php 100.
Fast forward to 2012, I still haven't played in a casino (I have this listed on my bucket list). I did last year with some bloggers, but it was all for pure fun and we got our chips for free. I admit, I still get this feeling that with all my recent winnings in genuine online raffles. My friends have insisted that I might be lucky and blessed enough to win the lottery. Wishful thinking, you might say, but for now, I guess, I'd have to stick with games of chance over the internet.
Maybe I'm luckier in internet bingo.
Check out all the prizes I've won so far from online contests and raffles I've joined.
I remember the first time I gambled. I was probably 10 years old back then. My nanay gave me 20 pesos to buy anything I want. On my way to my favorite stationery store (I was addicted to collecting those pretty papers and envelopes), I saw this saklaan near our home. I was quite familiar with how it was played because of my dad, so I squeezed my way in and found that everyone else were betting the same amount I had in my hand. Without thinking twice, I placed my money on one of those hari ng bastos cards and hoped I win.