Cutty

The Ateneo Chamber Singers, with conductor Jonathan Velasco, present “WHERE THERE IS LOVE”, a two-part concert on September 23, 2011 at the Philamlife Theater, ( UN Avenue Manila ). The ACS, known to specialize in sacred choral music, will begin with a repertoire that speaks of love for the Almighty. Set to be performed are inspiring songs of faith from renowned international composers that include Rheinberger, Matshushita, Mealor, Casanas and Hogan. The second part will showcase a first in the choir’s history as they launch their first-ever love songs collection, “Love I’ve Found In You”. The CD features love songs that are sure to stir the hearts of many. This is the second collaboration of the ACS with Jesuit Communications, following the success of the ACS’s first Christmas Album, “Ang Ating Pasko”. The CD of love songs features works by award-winning songwriters Trina Belamide, Arnel de Pano and Von de Guzman who are also current members of the ACS. The even...

For Tickets, call SM Tickets, Star Express at 5452435, Beginnings at 20Plus at 7531609

My FIL is the type of person who likes to look good and feel good. He is also the type who uses PR men to come up with good publicity for him. So, when I asked my husband what the Tuesday dinner is for, he said " Pakana niya lang yan ." I said, "Dad mo lang ang kilala kong naghahanda para purihin siya ." Hehe . Then again, it was just appropriate to cap off his career with a celebration. If I had a career like his, achieved as much as he did and touched lives as he had, I would have come up with my own celebration as well. I only know him as the overly generous Lolo , the good provider and the very patient and understanding father. His staff knew him as the person who values education and who is always courteous to taxpayers. There are so many things I didn't know about him. Diplomat pala siya . He also made quite a difference in the treasury operations in the Philppines . The most redeeming of all was turning QC's negative income to 7 d...

Now that I can access our house-warming photos, I would like to share with you what kept us busy in the latter part of 2009. Most of the furniture we have in the house were the ones that survived Ondoy. I just bought decorative accents, mostly from SM, Regalong Pambahay and Landmark. Most of the rooms also got accent walls. Vic was bored-to-death with the cream-colored interiors from before. Here are some shots of the refurbished part of the house. This is living room and dining room. We also played up the lights to create the mood. As you can see, we only used recessed lights. The retailers of Soler were a great help. We got most of our lighting fixtures and bulbs from there. The curtains weren't supposed to be tied back, but we decided to do so just to let the air in. This is the hallway connecting the old part of the house to the den. There's a sliding door (hidden at this time) to seal off the den in case we'd like to turn on the a/c. Here is a shot of the de...

* The Jesuits have their own Michael V. * I expected the Father Provincial to be as old as the University President * The Manila Cathedral could be in the same league as the churches in Europe * The Cardinal smiled only once during the whole mass. * The Cardinal is so soft-spoken, it so difficult to understand him. * The Society of Jesus is the only missionary group that was able to infiltrate Mindanao. * Why do Cardinals wear red skull caps? * Dulcinea's Churros are shaped by hand before frying in boiling oil. * Having churros for breakfast made up for my tossing and turning the previous night. * Mas matitigas ang ulo ng mga matatanda. Sila pa yun ayaw pumila. * I didn't eat on time the whole day. * It's good that I brought an extra set of clothes for the afternoon program because I ruined my top with hot chocolate. * I don't like way the guest speaker emphasized his non-pedigree roots. * It was fun sitting beside Alex during mass. There was never a dull m...

... will I get up at 3:30AM just to make it to the engagement ... will I see 150 Jesuits celebrate the mass with Cardinal Rosales ... will I walk the streets of Intramuros in stilleto heels ... will I get to enjoy unlimited churros con chocolate for free

Johann will be turning two in a couple of weeks. We initially didn't want to celebrate his birthday with a party. I just wanted to hold a swimming party for his cousins and get several stalls of finger food. Mother also volunteered to bring spaghetti and BBQ. However, the cost of the stalls would would almost cost me as much as real food. I'll see if the caterer can accommodate my booking.

Though I officially turned thirty last Monday, we just celebrated the event last Saturday. Family from both sides, balikbayans (who are in town for Inay's death anniversary) and friends from the ACS graced the event. As usual, the buffet was opened by the Cadanos and the Endrigas. It was closed off by the ACS. I still had some leftovers that I do not mind eating the whole week. As promised, good food and booze flowed endlessly. Vic and several people remarked that the waiters are well-trained. They always top-up drinks. They were also very courteous. That is why I got them again. I had no problems giving them quite a hefty tip. Of course, Cathy's Kitchen just had to make something for dessert. I debuted my Red Velvet Cake recipe. It was a winner. I am glad it turned out well. My guinea pigs loved it. It will be another offering for my "future" business. One friend welcomed me to the club. She asked how I felt. When we were younger, we felt that 30 is ...

Christmas day is almost over. Next thing we know, we're bidding 2008 farewell. Christmas Eve was spent with both sides of the family. We had two Noche Buena feasts. Our first was with the Endrigas . As usual, we had enough food to last us for days. I particularly feasted on Emerald's Pata Tim and Cuapao . I was too full to enjoy our second Noche Buena so I just nibbled on some nachos, a slice of ham and some leche flan. Johann ate three versions of his favorite (spaghetti) at three different meal times. Dec 24 was quite long for the kids. Though this is our second baby's first Christmas, Javi's gifts are not open yet. We didn't have the energy to open everything for him. He was already uncooperative at around 1130pm, so we decided to go to our own home. He slept for 5 hours straight for the first time. I am quite happy for that since I got to sleep longer. As for the older boy, Johann enjoyed ripping the wrapping paper off. He didn't know which ...

The past weekend was so busy. I barely had the time to sit in front of the computer and blog. Don't be surprised that I am blogging at this hour. ----------- Last Saturday, Javi was baptized. It was an intimate ceremony, attended by the people who play a significant role in our lives. It was held inside the adoration chapel of Our Lady of Pentecost. We were glad that the officiating priest decided to hold it there. The baptistry was too hot and chaotic because of the First Communion attendees. Javi's godparents consist of Vic's sisters, my siblings, a couple of my relatives and some of our friends. A couple of godparents couldn't make it. We had to pull in some observers to stand-in for them. The ceremony didn't take long. There was just a short briefing on what will happen. Unlike most parishes, there were no talks on the responsibility of godparents prior to the ceremony. We were off to the reception in 30 minutes. We've chosen Dencio's in Capi...

This year Johann became part of the Trick or Treat festivities in my in-laws' place. I was able to cough up a simple costume for him that didn't require too much preparation. All I needed was a pair of wings for our little angel. My good, old friend, SM provided it for me. Here are some shots of Johann and his cousins. I apologize for the poor quality. Kuya Rovic as McQueen, Ate Rachelle as the Witch (Best in Costume Awardee), Ate Eliza as the Fairy Johann trying on Ate Rachelle's hat.

My group, the ACS, is back from their three-week North Am tour. This means that we are back to the old grind. Just this evening, we already faced our first audience at the Rockwell tent. The event, entitled Flavors of Spain, catered to the Spanish community in the Philippines. The event aims to promote tourism in the Philippines and Spain. Wines, cold cuts and cheeses from Spain over-flowed. I was very fortunate to taste the famous Jamon Iberico. Due to my current condition, I had to limit my intake of the smoked meat varieties and wines. Cocktails and dessert were provided by Bizu. Entertainment was provided by our choir and the famous Carla Ramona and her Flamenco dancers. The highlight of the affair was the free trip to Madrid c/o KLM. I would've gotten the chance to join the raffle if I brought a business card with me. Several lucky individuals got free stays at the Fuego hotels, travel luggage from Rudy Project and the Travel Club, and gift bags from Clarins. Seen ...

Our Sundays were always busy but, last Sunday was even more so. It was the day of the party. Aug 17 was the reason we had balikbayans over. After our early morning routine of breakfast at Portico, hearing mass and visiting the cemetery, we checked in to our room at the party venue. We were quite delighted by what we saw. Even Johann enjoyed this little sitting area by the corner. He was browsing through the WOW Philippines map. While Johann was taking a nap, Vic and I went to the mall to grab some last minute supplies. I was able to rest my back for a few minutes before heading off to my appointment at Jesi Mendez. Junel did my hair and make-up. His hands were very light. He applied minimal make-up but the effect was not at all minimal. The price was minimal too, compared to what they are charging at Toni and Guy. I was glad that it turned out really well. It was just awkward walking inside the mall fully made-up with coiffed hair. Nevertheless, I will definitely come back t...

Since all of my FIL's siblings are in town, a memorial service was organized at the family plot for Tito Lerm. Tito Lerm passed away last April in his Florida home. He is the eldest in the family. He is also the tallest. He lived a very simple but complicated life. He is known for re-using disposable coffee filters, un-laundered jeans, and for sporting his cowboy hat and boots wherever he goes. He is also quite the talker. You'd never know if he was telling the truth or making it up. People gradually get up from the table and leave when the kwentuhan sessions are too lengthy already. He is survived by five wives and several children. Unfortunately, none of them were with him at the time of his death. I'd say, he was more committed to his career than to anything in his life. He claimed to be a colonel though he had five stars. We only know that he worked for the US government. Until now, we are unsure if it was with the Secret Service, CIA, FBI or US Marshall'...

Friday, Aug 15, was when most of our guests arrived. This was also one of our busiest days. We met the new arrivals, composed of Vic's relatives on his father's side, at a luncheon organized by FIL's staff. It was nice to see familiar faces. We had lots of stories to catch up on, specially about what transpired after Tito Lerm's death. We can feel the tension between the wives as they chose to sit in different tables. Unfortunately, the food wasn't enough to distract us. However, the crispy lechon skin was distracting enough. As usual, the dessert selection wasn't much of a big deal. Rice cakes and an overly-sweet chocolate cake simply won't do. --------------- As we were preparing for our evening affair, we received news that Tita Ellen couldn't be woken up from her sleep. She was previously complaining of a stomach ache. We were afraid that it was caused by something we ate the previous day. Worse, we were thinking about more serious ailm...

The unreliable supplier of the year finally delivered my orders an hour late. It seems that they got lost inside the subdivision. Serves them right. The packaging they gave me were not all presentable. They were inconsistently made. Ribbons were not cut and tied uniformly. Box sizes were not the same. I had to fix the ribbons because some of them weren't glued at all. You can just imagine my frustration. I was in rush and was not in the mood to argue with an employee who was just the messenger. I just paid for everything but told her to relay my message to Amix. Her products are poorly done. It's as if the items were not inspected prior to delivery. I called Amix a few hours later to confirm if she received the full payment I handed to the messenger. She never answered my call. She never bothered calling me back. That's customer service for her. Good luck to her. She's going to need it badly.

This date is considered lucky by the Chinese. Even non-Chinese individuals grabbed this date for their special occasions. Weddings - Heard over the radio that hundreds of people are getting married in China today. I'm sure that there are more than several who are getting married in Manila also. Photographers, Videographers, Event Venues and Planners are having a field day today. I have a ex-colleague who also getting hitched on this famous day. I wonder if he got a more expensive rate knowing that this date is so in demand, even if it fell on a Friday. Delivery dates - In the year 1988, my mother was pregnant with my youngest brother. Her due date was in the first two weeks of August. She often said that wanted to give birth on the 8th. However, she can't hold it anymore. She gave birth on the 4th instead. Nowadays, a lot of pregnant women took advantage of this day too. Mothers want nothing else but good fortune for their kids. I wanted to give birth on the date al...