Dark pink for love, and clear skies.

I don't usually wear a dress but when I do, I make sure that there's a special occasion behind it. 

Haha.

We post-celebrated our 4th Anniversary by hopping into three places, all in one day:

ATC, Nuvali and Festival Mall Alabang

(but these pictures were only from Nuvali).

As you can see, though I'm wearing a dress, I just couldn't go girly all the way! I matched it with a casual fabric tie-it belt and Pacsafe anti-theft bag.

For lunch, we chose to eat at Claw Daddy's...

Unfortunately, they ran out of crabs (our desired serving) they still have remaining crabs but the serving is good for 5 persons, and though we eat a lot, it's just too much for us. 

Poor Ian.;p

Instead, we ordered these: 

The grilled salmon is deli, but it's sauce...it's too salty, it's like a yellow-colored salt  melted, literally.

Again, the oysters with melted white cheese on top of it was yummy,
and its presentation was okay,
except for the salt which was generously poured on the bottom of the shells, which
made one oyster too salty I can't eat it when it clumsily fell on the plate.

Chicken was okay but gravy, not.
(Jobi and McDo's gravy tastes a lot better).
Anyway, the sweetness of the corn make up for it.

Grape juice for me- and I must say it indeed tasted like grapes (but lacked sweetness).
The tissue says John Bamboo..because Claw Daddy's and John Bamboo were sister restaurants (located on one roof
but two dining areas connected to each by an opening in the wall, seen on the previous photo).
and we sat on the John Bamboo corner of the restaurant. 

After eating, we went to the famous
fish pond, just in front of Claw Daddy's.

Lots of families were also there that day, enjoying themselves on the not so big but scenic and restaurant-clad Solenad 1 which surrounded the fish pond.Visitors can feed the fish by paying 100+ for it (which is quite uneconomical, in my opinion).

Also, there is a lake (not sure if it's man-made) where you can ride a speed boat to go 

to the other part of Nuvali.

Then, we also strolled Solenad 2, which is few steps away from 1.

    Solenad 2 is like a business complex, where food and shops abound. There is a Robinson's grocery store,

and some random tiangge items on the tents in-between the concrete-roofed branded stores

which sells clothes, shoes, gadgets, etc.  

We went to Filinvest after..but we got tired of taking pictures so that's it!;p

To check out Nuvali, one can visit this site:

http://www.nuvali.ph/

Anniv aside, I got this cute inspirational vintage looking necklace for only 50 pesos in a street stall. 

Sweet, huh?

I learned it the hard way: The story behind my snatched phone.

Objective: To inform people of one of the on-going strategies of theft on the streets.

Place of Crime: Inside a bus (Igan). 

                        Route: Southmall/Casimiro/Moonwalk

Time of Incident: 8:40-9:30 PM

Where the bus is when it happened: Roxas Blvd. cor. MIA road.

Brief Story: 

It was last Saturday night. I just left church (service ends at 8pm) and as usual, my boyfriend accompanied me at the bus stop. I was supposed to ride an Erjohn or San Agustin, but Ian forbid me to go to Cavite (since it's getting late) so I decided to stay at my auntie's condo (where I stay when in Manila), which is just near Coastal Mall. 

So I alighted an Igan bus, a bus like this:

Not the actual bus. Just a sample.
Iam not saying that Igan buses are accomplices, it just so happened that
it is where it happened.

Minutes before the unfortunate circumstance: 

I know that texting inside public utility vehicles, especially in a jeep is a no-no. However, while inside a fx or bus, I feel comfortable enough to text/use my phone. I texted some people that time and must admit that the cell was really exposed to people sitting in proximity to me that time. The one sitting beside me look like a college student, and like me, he was also texting.

I was using a medium-sized Adidas backpack that time, filled with personal belongings like clothes, camera, water jug, etc. since we had our choir's Sportsfest early that day. I even had a badminton racket with me. When I'm about to descend, I carelessly put my phone (an old model of Ericsson Walkman series) in the front pocket of the backpack. I used to just hold it but since I'm holding a racket that time, I decided to put it in the bag. I make sure that all of the zippers are closed. The backpack was heavy and I'm still in the bus, so I carried the bag in the proper way backpacks should be carried, with the front pocket at my far back. 

The Modus operandi:

And so I shouted "Sa tabi lang po, Para!/ Please stop, I'm going to descend now" I left my seat and headed towards the bus door. When I was about to go to the steps, a man, who is seated behind the bus driver suddenly blocked my way. He remained in his seat but his upper body and left leg is on my way, 'cos he seemed to be looking for something at the front of the bus (I don't know what, probably none, since he was just acting, I realized hours later). I felt that there was a slight pressure on my back (the feeling that you get when you know there's someone on your back, close enough to touch you) but having feelings like that is just normal when you are standing in the bus, especially when there are other people who wants to go out also) so I just ignored.

It took me three times to say "Excuse me", I uttered the last one with annoyance due to the oddness of the situation; I kept on telling him to let me pass but it's like he's not paying attention or hearing anything at all (It was intentional, so that there'll be more time for his accomplice to get my things, I realized too late). Finally, when he let me pass, I immediately went out, walked some steps and ran to the other side of the highway, where the condo is. It's less than a minute after I went out the bus. I already reached the other side, and it's in the condo lobby when I saw that my bag is already open.:(

Their Loot:

-cell phone

-unused black sock (left the other piece)

-grocery list

I still thank God because:

-they were not able to get my silver bracelet which is the first Christmas gift I ever received from Ian (it is also where the phone is).

-they were not able to open the larger compartment of the bag ( the camera is there, with my wallet and other valuables)..or maybe they are just really targeting the phone. hay. it's not even touchscreen!

-none of my things dropped from my bag though the pocket was open and I ran in the highway.

-despite of it, I was safe.   

Points that I learned:

-Don't be too comfortable even in places that you think is safe enough. It is still outside your house so stay alert.

-It is always wise to be vigilant. 'Di bale ng praning kaysa nananakawan ka ng gamit/It is better to be paranoid than to be stolen from.;p

-Don't compromise on safety measures when commuting.

      *I've always known that when you're using a backpack and there are valuable items inside, you should wear it on the opposite manner, with the bag at your front. I didn't do it since my bag was heavy..I should have done something like this instead: 

Just support your bag if it's heavy but don't wear it on your back.
Better yet, divide your things and put the valuables
in a smaller bag so that you can  put it within your
site and secure it.

-Not all people will help. Minutes after what happened I asked myself: "Wala man lang 'ba nakakita?/Doesn't anyone saw it?" The answer will be not known to me anymore but if ever there was, he/she definitely didn't help. So if you are commuting alone, don't rely at anybody but yourself to protect you. 

Other areas I know where theft is rampant:

via Jeepney

    Route: Divisoria-Buendia, about 4 PM

    -I came from Divi and was riding the jeep when there occurred a traffic at Manila City hall area and a man inside the jeep suddenly snatched an old woman's seemingly gold necklace (sitting inside also) and ran off the vehicle. It was fortunate that the woman's neck didn't hurt that much.

    Route: San Andres Bukid, about 8 PM

    -I rode the jeep together with Ian and Queenie, my cousin who is still young that time. Several middle-aged men also rode the jeep with us, about 5 of them. Based on what I remember, two of them seated beside Ian, another beside me and Queenie is sandwiched between the two of us. The remaining men seated opposite to us. We were talking and playing with my cousin and minutes later, all of the men suddenly descended and when Ian reached for his pocket, his phone was not there anymore.

    Route: Buendia from Recto, about 3 PM

   -My sister bought something at Recto and she was with another student she didn't know inside the jeep, about to go home when two men with ice peaks alighted and declared a hold-up. The criminals asked for their phones, my sister immediately gave hers but the other said he has none. The man stabbed him at his side with the ice peak before they ran off. There was blood spill and an ambulance came to rescue. My sis was a bit traumatized due to horrible experience.

    Route: MCU, about 12 AM

   -This was a very unfortunate theft incident that happened with Ian's brother just a week ago. To make the long story short, There were just two of them and the jeepney driver inside when a group of men also rode the jeep and declared a hold-up minutes later after the jeep changed its route. The criminals had something on their backs, something pointed (not sure if gun) and they took all of their belongings, their whole bags. They even forced them to withdraw all the money in their ATM account. Talk about being demanding.:(  

I hate to say this but it's better to be realistic than to deny it. 
When in the Philippines, and commuting,
Be extra careful.:)

cheaters losers.

I saw it. Again..and I can't even imagine how and why they do it.

A group of my classmates cheated in our pathology quiz awhile ago, and it disturbed me. Today's revelation was actually the third incident where I saw my classmates cheat during a quiz. Yes, a quiz. Pathetic, isn't it? And it's disturbing because in those three incidents, the people involved were not the same. 

I, myself is not that good. Yes, I do fail my quizzes ( a lot of times pa nga ) but that's okay..'cos for me, that's what I deserve. So tama lang to fail because I didn't study hard enough. I just try harder to make up for those failures with our major exams. But them. They whispered answers to each other while having the quiz and as if they weren't contented with that, they even opened their notes! Grabe. How I wished our proctor heard/saw them. Cheating is somewhat reasonable in elementary, for values formation is just progressing at that point but in post grad studies? I can't believe that these people are actually taking medicine.

Yes. I know that in our situation, every point counts but I also believe that every point should be worked hard for. If they can cheat in small things, what more with bigger things diba? 

Even if they managed to pass our course, with what they're doing, I doubt if they'll pass the boards. Maybe I'm just disappointed with them that's why I'm getting cocky here. I know these people, and they surprised me. I don't want to label them but I can't forget what they did either. As medical students, I think it's just fitting that we, while in our training as doctors be honest with ourselves and get true with our capacities right now.

Doctors handle lives, and we can't save lives through kodigos. 

Realize that, I HOPE for them.

I'm sorry.

At some part of our seemingly perfect, joyful lives we'll come to a point that all things suddenly change and the things, persons whom we hold on to dearly become foreign, instant strangers. It is the point where the dreams and desires we previously hope for vanishes, leaving no trail but of sad memories. Suddenly, we have to make decisions out of urgency, from the mind and not the heart. But this is not about rational thinking. It was a decision I had to make having weighed out the pros and cons of the matter for the sake of survival. I don't want to keep on suffering anymore. I can't keep holding on to something I am not so sure now, if had ever existed. "I'll try to reflect and see if we can still work it out or if we'll just keep on hurting each other.." was the only statement I could say after hours of painful argument. He failed me. His contradicting explanations didn't help at all.  

Last night, I crossed a line that I know well. I have crossed a same line before, and after stepping into it there's no turning back..I didn't turn back. Trust, once broken, can never be put again. It was a point of no return, as the song says..and I know it would never be the same. 

I'm sorry.
Sorry that it didn't turn out as expected,
Sorry that it will never be as expected.

I've already decided. So help me God.

invincible compulsion to serious blogging.

I'm currently a second year medical student, one of the several reasons why

I was hesitant in engaging into this..I have little time to lose.

It was last year when online blogging caught my interest but despite of the 'light bulb-flashing- above-my-head' phenomenon, I instantly killed the idea of having my own blog site. Aside from being a student crammer, I'm a person of procrastination, a sleepy head with no special linguistic skills. Hence, though creativity and spirit might be there, I doubt that my fragile sense of initiative and competence (writing-wise) will ever suffice.

Since I have a multiply account, I blogged there instead. Just a couple of times..and I thought I'd be contented.

Still, the irresistible minute came. I was viewing a friend's site and it hit me..again (after a dozen times I guess). Naiinggit?? Maybe, haha..but I'm really a person with the curiosity of a 7 year old child and like a toddler, I always want to indulge on trying new things. I tried to ignore like before, but this time, I was convinced that this undying getting-into-blogging interest is just one of those compulsions that I have to give in to, ('cos even I succeed in forgetting it this time, the idea will not stop there) and it will just keep on bugging me.

And so, I finally gave into it.

Somehow, I had my mind settled in the topic and made this--my first own blog site! I thought that if I can spare time for Facebook then maybe I can update this site every now and then. Out of tabula rasa I made this, my first blog entry outside multiply. I just hope that I can justify this act.