Little India, WE'RE BACK.

- August 12,2009, Wednesday

- Picked up Charmaine at her house at around 1pm, and rode the train to U.N. Ave. to meet Clevis.

- After meeting Clevis at around 1:30, we walked towards Little India.

- As always, I started out my tour by showing the Sikh Temple in front of Unilever. Next stop was Assad Minimart (bought yummy samosas....), Talwar's Indian Grocery, and Simron.

- After visiting the little Indian stores, we planned to eat at Assad's Cafe. Too bad though, the chef who cooked Indian food was taking his break. We just had to return at about an hour if we really wanted Indian food. Due to this, we just went to the Hindu Temple first for my interview appointment with Mr. Damoodar Dumri (again....).

- We arrived at the temple after a short trike ride from Assad's Cafe. We went in, and were greeted shortly by Mr. Dumri. We removed our shoes and went upstairs in the prayer room.

- Before the interview, Mr. Dumri had to assist Baba Kartasi (the Sikh priest in the Hindu Temple....ironic isn't it??) with the prayer that they did with an Indian family.

- After the prayer session, Mr. Dumri finally invited us to sit on the carpeted floor of the prayer room for the interview.

- During the interview, Mr. Dumri showed me more of his skills in playing the tabla (the drums), the Indian flute, and the harmonium (a sort of accordion-like instrument). He also sang some mantras for us. The mantras were sang in Sanskrit, Hindi, and Nepali.

- I also saw Mr. Ashok Maharaj today, which meant that he was feeling better.

- After the interview, I showed Clevis and Charmaine around the Hindu temple.

- We later went out and walked towards Assad Cafe. Good thing Indian food was already served. The three of us had Kashmir Fish, Mutton Biryani, chapatis, and some mango lassis.

- We rode another trike to the LRT station and rode to Carriedo. We got down Carriedo and walked towards Chinatown. We went to "Charmaine's and Clevis' suki DVD store" to buy their super cheap DVD's.

- We later walked home, with a full heart...........and a full stomach. Haha. :D:D:D:D

BLESSPEDIDA: Blessilda's "Supposed And Sort Of" Despedida :) :) :) :)

- August 9, 2009, Sunday

- Went up to fetch Bless around quarter to 9 in the morning. We started our day by going to Jollibee to have our breakfast.

- At Jollibee, we sort of had a text brigade to finalize the people that would be coming with us today. So far, no one was replying.

- After breakfast, we first planned to go on by ourselves, but decided later on to go to CKSC and see if some people were there. To our dismay, no one was there.

- After around an hour, Oliver texted and decided to come with us. Oliver came shortly. The three of us went ahead and realized that most of the people weren't able to come because of "academic matters".

- We went to Greenbelt and grabbed ourselves some tickets to G.I. Joe. Since it was more or less 2.5 hours before the 2pm movie, we ate lunch at Bubba Gump.

- With stuffed bellies, we walked out Bubba Gump realizing that it we still had an hour to kill before show time. We thought of going to Timezone since it was nearer to the cinema. Had a crazy time in Timezone since most of the people were still having lunch. Oh yeah. I got a free button pin of Russell (the fat kid from Disney's Up) because they gave them out for every 200php reload. YEY.

- Later on, it was time for us to watch the movie. My mind almost blew up because of the crazy plot, not to mention the numerous flashbacks. I also had a sort of "astigmatism attack" since half of the movie was about blowing stuff up. Haha.

- After the movie, we went to Greenbelt 5 and canvassed for Blessida's trench coat. She would be needing one in her JTA (Junior Term Abroad) trip to France.

- Oliver later suggested that we could also go with him to Seattle's Best, the one behind PBCom, because he wanted to treat us and wanted us to see where he works.

- We had a 15 minute walk to Seattle's from Greenbelt. We went in this cozy Seattle's branch and were met by the nice manager (aka Oliver's boss). We had a crazy and wild time in Seattle's....not to mention playing with Blessilda's tiny iPod.

- Seeing that the sky was already dark, we headed home. We rode a commuters' bus to the LRT Station. Congratulate me, it's the first time I commuted using a bus. Hahahaha.

- At the LRT station, we managed to have the energy to talk about people we know. Until we got off at Bambang Station, we weren't done with the topic yet. As the conversation became more interesting, we decided to invite Oliver to our building (yes, Bless is my neighbor) and hang out for a while at the 6th floor (where the pool is).

- We talked for about an hour and a half before deciding to go home.

- I had a tiring but fun day. I still would've hoped for a bigger crowd, but acads still comes first. :D:D:D:D

- Dora Moment: "What was your favorite part?* *blink blink* *I liked the part too* My favorite part was when I got my Russell button pin, and when I had the chance to go around Greenbelt 5 to look for Blessida's black trench coat. Haha.

FAT DAY: Comm Fieldwork With Neighbor Bless!!

- August 6, 2009, Friday

- Went up to pick up Bless around 1pm. We rode the train to UN Ave. and walked towards Little India. Damn. It's been a while since the last time I went there. Good thing I had the perfect excuse to go there today.

- We first went to see the usual stores (Assad and its neighbor stores). In Simron, I was able to buy a nice and simple Indian keychain with the image of Guru Gobind Singh Ji (the 10th and last of the 10 founding fathers of Sikhism).

- We settled at Assad Cafe and had our second lunch. We had chapatis, mutton masala and chicken biryani. We also chomped on the samosas we bought at the Assad Minimart. After finishing out second lunch (we weren't able to finish the biryani though, so I let the people there wrap it up for me), we rode a trike to the Hindu Temple.

- We arrived at the Hindu Temple around quarter to three. I informed the secretary that I was the one who set an appointment with Ashok Maharaj (the second high priest) the day before. Bless and I waited and waited, until an unfamiliar face greeted us.

- I later found out that I wouldn't be able to interview Mr. Ashok Maharaj because he was sick. The one I talked to was Mr. Damoodar Dumri, the assistant of Ashok. He's a nice and interesting person to put in my feature writing article for my feature writing class. :D:D:D:D He even played the tabla. Haha.

- Mr. Dumri also gave Bless and I some ladoos, an apple each, and a pack of yema-like-but-not-as-sweet-yet-very-oily Indian sweet. Yey!! More food!!

- During the latter part of the interview, it was as if Mr. Dumri was the one inteviewing us. (Well my questions were done anyway....haha) He asked us about things here in the Philippines, and some not so personal stuff. As always....he was surprised to know that I spoke a little Hindi. Hahahaha. (It was a nice opportunity to brush up on my Hindi tongue....)

- After the interview, Bless and I left the temple and headed towards Robinson's Place to watch a movie for my WAC (Writing About Culture) class, under the same prof as my feature writing class. I needed to make a review on the movie.

- We decided to watch The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. We bought the tickets, and had around 30 minutes to kill before the showtime.

- Bless and I roamed around RP to look for nice trench coats that she could use to her JTA trip to France. We managed to find some nice ones in Mango. (Yey candidates)

- Side note: I JUST FOUND OUT THAT PINK PEPPER CLOSED DOWN ALREADY.... (Eric and Kim Carmela memories....)

- With time ticking like there's no tomorrow, it was already time for us to run towards the theater. Since RP doesn't offer reserved seats, we considered ourselves lucky to find really great seats in the theater. The whole movie was a bag of laughs and some moments of emoness. Aww. Hahahaha.

- After the movie, Bless and I went to the nearby Korean Village and ate our dinner. We had an unusual abundance of appetizers. Haha. We ordered Korean Beef Barbecue, lettuce leaves, and a bowl of rich for each of us. We ate like we haven't eaten for a century. Guess what. I think I grew thrice my body weight in one sitting. Haha!!

- I also realized that as of today........I ATE AT THE KOREAN VILLAGE RESTAURANT FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE FRIDAYS. Hahahaha. (two times with Charmaine, and this time with neighbor Bless. Haha)

- Currenlty: I am dead tired, very full, working on my WAC paper. :D:D:D:D

Charmaine's Miniventure 2: How Random Can You Be??

- July 31, 2009, Friday

- Charmaine and I first went to the Manila Zoo since Charmaine told me that she has never gone to the Manila Zoo before.

- We rode the LRT until Quirino and walked to the zoo. I was pretty happy to see Mali (the elephant) still alive and well, but the overall ambience of the zoo was to pressing. I have to give credit to the renovations that made the zoo at least a bit more alive.

- There was a part called kinder zoo, where we were allowed to touch the animals or at least see them up close. The most depressing animal (I think) that I found was the pot bellied pig. The pig was placed on top of a table so people could come near and take pictures with it. The pig was lying down on its big big belly and seemed to be as bored as hell. Flies were everywhere, and some even drank the blood that came out from the pig's tiny wound. So depressing....

- We went around the zoo for around an hour more before leaving. We planned to eat at the Korean Village Restaurant before searching for Japantown. For some reason, we went the wrong way but ended up riding a jeep to Paco (where Japantown is). After getting out of the jeep, we asked around about the whereabouts of Japantown. No one seemed to know. It would also be hard to search street by street because Paco is one large place.

- Charmaine and I headed back to Robinson's Place and went ahead to Manila's Koreatown. Like before, we headed to Da Mul Grocery and bought the Banana Milk Charmaine was telling me about. I also bought some Korean Ramyon (Korean Ramen) and a random grape-flavored gummy candy. Hahahaha.

- On the way to Korean Village, we also checked out Fuji Mart (the Japanese Grocery) and the newly opened G-Mart that seemed to be a smaller version of Makati's Wang Mart.

- We arrived at the Korean Village Restaurant and ordered pretty much the same thing we ordered last time (Rice and Assorted Korean Barbecue) and Bibimbap.

- While eating the barbecue we grilled, I had no idea which type of meat I was getting since they all looked alike: brown, slightly burned, brown. To my dismay, I think I got most of the liver in the platter. I HATE LIVER. Charmaine soon told me that she wasn't able to eat any of the liver (Charmaine likes liver....)

- After leaving the restaurant, we dropped by the Walnut House to grab our friend Danica some walnut cookies. We decided to give it to her today (while the cookies are still fresh).

- Charmaine and I rode the train from Pedro Gil to Carriedo. We got off, walked around Chinatown for a while to hunt for Charmaine's DVD's (no pics available), and went to Danica's house.

- When we arrived at the 10th floor, Danica's dog was the first to welcome us. We were scared at first because Danica's dog was HUGE.

- Danica came out and welcomed us into her house. Charmaine had a nice time browsing through Danica's bookshelf. Haha. I had a nice time looking at Danica's old family pictures. Haha.

- Charmaine and I formally met Danica's dog Rocko. The large dog had a fun time playing with me. Haha. He was so big that he sort of "got on me". He was HEAVY. Hahahaha. My humanity is harassed and violated. :)) :)) :)) :))

- Later on, Charmaine and I decided to go home, since the sun was about to set. Danica didn't let us, but invited us to stay for dinner. Haha. Since we had more time, we watched The Nanny, and played Sims 3. Danica and Charmaine attempted to make my character, but it didn't end up looking like me. Haha. Take note: they made my character so they could kill me. Haha.

- After I was killed, it was time to make Charmaine's character. It was time for revenge!! :)) :)) :)) :)) Well we were supposed to kill her, but instead we made her really rich and made Sims Charmaine buy a lot of unnecessary things.

- While we were almost bored with rich Sims Charmaine, dinner was served. We had a lot of food during dinner. My personal favorite were the large buttered shrimps. Hahahaha.

- After dinner, Danica had a great idea - make a Sims character of our highly-appreciated friend Isen. The character sort of looked liked Isen. Haha. We all had a fun time trying to kill him in Sims, but for some reason, the fire wasn't able to burn him....TWICE. He was dead the third time though. Haha.

- At around 9pm, it was time for Charmaine and I to go home. Danica's nice dad (with Danica herself) drove the two of us home. Yey!! Thank You.

- After arriving home, I was really REALLY tired. I was so tired that I wasn't able to upload these pictures. Hahahaha.

BLOOMING DESPITE THE STORM: Blessilda's 18th!!

- July 26, 2009, 3 days before Bless's real birthday, 7pm, Oasis

- I went with Bless to the venue, so that meant going to the venue really REALLY early. We arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon.

- I helped a bit in organizing the events for the night, and worried a lot about who my co-host/s would be. In the end, Bless' sister "volunteered" herself, just in case Karel or Berna would not agree.

- Around 7pm, no one has arrived yet. Bless was really really worried (her curls were uncurling already) since they were receiving calls from people that were standed on the road, or people who might not even be able to make it due to the heavy rain and the streets-turned-rivers.

- After a short while, people started to come in. Bless was relieved. All of us ate first before starting the program. I went to the buffet table 4 times. Haha.

- Atsi Joy and I started around 8:45pm. I really had a hard time hosting last night (could be harder without Atsi Joy) because Bless and the stage were at the opposite side of the screen and the laptops.

- I didn't have much time to camwhore during the program, since I was really busy in my "SNN-Kris-Boy" mode in front of everyone.

- After the line-up of events were over, Karel, Berna, Fajj and I had a last go at the buffet table to get out dessert (hey, that makes 5 trips to the buffet table. Yey!!)

- I guess the real fun came AFTER the party. After everyone went home, Bless, Fajj, Berna, Karel and I were left. We had a great time catching up on one another (sawang sawa na ako kay Bless. Nagkikita kami sa Ateneo, tapos kapitbahay ko pa dito. JOKE!!!! Peace tayo Bless!! :D:D:D:D ) We talked a whole lot while everyone else was busy packing.

- The fun became greater when the first ride went ahead. The first ride had Bless's grandparents, parents, Karel, Atsi Donna and Bless's maid. The car would come back again to fetch the rest of us. Berna went ahead with her sundo. Bless, Fajj, Atsi Joy, Bless's Brother and I were left for the second ride. We had a fun time chatting, only disturbed once in a while by the croaks of a very annoying frog. Hahahaha.

- I came home around 2:30 in the morning, since we had a hard time looking for floodless streets. I took a bath, and stayed until around three in the morning to dry my hair. :D:D:D:D Yey!!

HARLECINQ DAY: Version 2009

- July 25, 2009, Saturday, around 4pm

- I was invited by some of my Harlequin friends a few days before for an afternoon "gathering" at Eat Fresh. (Harlequin - name of another section where I have a lot of friends. Haha.)

- Today, Clarisse texted me around 4pm that they were on their way to Eat Fresh. I dressed up quickly and went there. We ate a lot in Eat Fresh and decided to go to CKSC as the people kept coming (and eventually crowding the place).

- We had a lot of fun messing around in CKSC. It was around 5 something already, so most of the people have gone home. We did a lot of talking, and realized many things (as Mr. Sev Sarmenta, my ComRes prof would say, "the deeper meaning of life").

- It was one short short shorrrrrrrrrrt afternoon, yet I felt like we did much, not to mention stuffing ourselves with plenty of food. :D:D:D:D

- Yey :D:D:D:D

CHARMAINE'S MINIVENTURE: East Asian Tour In Manila

- July 24, 2009, Friday

- I picked up Charmaine from her house at around 12:30pm (she lives in the floor above ours. Haha)

- We rode the LRT until the Pedro Gil Station and searched for Adriatico Street, since I was told that this is where Manila's Koreatown can be found.

- After we found the Adriatico Street, we stumbled upon a small Korean Grocery named Da Mul Korean Grocery. We were so happy, since it was the first Korean thing we saw after a long walk. We went inside and bought Korean Ice Cream. Yey!!

- While leisurely walking along the large large street, we saw a Japanese grocery that sold some local products and a lot of Japanese goods. We weren't able to buy anything from the store simply because they were toooo expensive!!!!

- After leaving, we journeyed through the long street, and saw a massive Buddhist Temple. How random could that be?? We were sure if we were allowed to go in or not. The guard was unresponsive when we went in the small gate, but again, we were in doubt. A kind Chinese lady came in the gate and spoke to us in Mandarin. She asked who we were looking for. I replied, in Mandarin, that we were just there to look around. For some reason, it feels nice to know that I still know Mandarin after 3 years of non-Chinese-school-education. Hahahaha. (I think my family will disown me if ever I forgot my Mandarin. Hahahaha!!!!)

- Charmaine and I went in and explored the place. It wasn't as large as it looked from outside (Seng Guan Si is still better. Haha)

- We went out the temple after a few shots, and walked on. We accidentally passed through the Korean Village restaurant. For many many weeks now, I've been trying to find out how to get there without a car. Well, now I know. Lucky me, lucky us!! :) :) :) :)

- Charmaine and I ordered an assorted platter of Korean barbecue worth 200php, and 2 bowls of rice worth 40 per bowl for each of us. The kingly appetizers were free, and I guess the appetizers would weigh more than the main course if placed on a scale. Hahahaha. In the end....we only spent 140php per person (200 + 40(2) = 280 / 2 = 120php) Not bad right??

- After leaving the restaurant, we walked for a few minutes and realized that the street wasn't as "Korean" as we thought it would (Makati's Koreatown is still better). We went to a store named Walnut Cookies and bought something for ourselves, and a common friend named Angela Ong. The store sells walnut-shaped cookies with walnuts and walnut paste. The cookies are really really soft ones, almost similar to the texture of a waffle. Each dozen is worth 80php (but not boxed), and a box of 2 dozen is worth 190php. Charmaine and I bought a dozen each. One dozen would be for us and the other dozen for Angela. Haha.

- Finally, we passed by Robinson's Place Ermita to get to the LRT Station faster. We got on the train and got off at the Doroteo Jose Station. Charmaine went to the Recto Station via the overpass from D. Jose, since she needed to go to Ateneo for her JTA Talk. On the other hand, I went home. Today's trip was really unpredictable, since we weren't really sure what we were looking for. In the end, we realized that we got a bit of China, Japan, and Korea in one afternoon. :) :) :) :)