my thoughts…exactly!

IN HUDDLE

Angels in the hardcourt 2?

By Beth Celi

Philippine Daily Inquirer

I was trying to call UAAP champion coach Pido Jarencio all day yesterday for a brief interview, although all there was to write about him and the championship had already been written in the last three days.

I wanted to ask Pido of a clear account of how

University

of

Santo Tomas Tiger John Lee Apil

had died last summer in an accident.

I was told that the cager had sacrificed his life trying to save two youths who were drowning.

The boys were saved, I was told, but John Lee died in the process. (That explains the handwritten number in all the Tigers’ jerseys!)

***

When this happened, the UST “fourpeat” in the early ’90s came to fore. Even I was reminded of a front page feature we had in a sports magazine titled “Angels in the Hardcourt.” At that time, people were inclined to believe that then coach Aric del Rosario and the Tigers were getting help from supernatural forces, spirits of people who had once been involved in the team like the late team manager Boy Ascue.

There were two or three other spirit helpers, but I couldn’t remember them offhand.

As related to me by one of the scribes, Tiger Dylan Ababou had a premonition that something extraordinary was going to happen to UST this season after John Lee joined the other angels last summer.

“Dadami na raw ang kakampi sa itaas,” he said.

Spoken like an angel. Was it coincidence or could there be some basis of truth to the belief that there are angels in the hardcourt helping the UST Tigers?

More angels, in fact, than Aric del Rosario’s team of 1995.

UST Tigers hailed campus superstars

By Joey Villar

The Philippine Star

10/05/2006

It was a campus bash like no other as Santo Tomas officials, fans and students hailed the Growling Tigers, the new cage heroes in a night of fireworks and music.

In fact, they were treated like superstars — Japs Cuan could easily pass up as a skin-head rockstar or Chester Taylor for a matinee idol or Dylan Ababou a member of a boy band.

But no, they’re simply members of a victorious UST squad that shocked Ateneo in one of the most memorable finals series in the history of the top collegiate league in the land.

It was celebration reminiscent of the party held exactly a decade ago when the España-based cagers capped an amazing four-peat with the 1996 crown.

"This is unbelievable, I’m just overwhelmed by the fans’ support," said Cuan, who gamely signed autographs and posed for pictures with their thousands of fans on the campus.

"I’m really happy, I couldn’t believe it would be like this," said Joseph Cortez, who will be back next season to take act as co-skipper with Jojo Duncil.

"It was like heaven," said Jun Dizon, who had some shining moments in the finals.

Fr. Ermito de Sagon, OP, UST’s representative to the UAAP board, said the team deserved all the accolade for their hard work that led to one of the most improbable title finishes in years.

"They worked hard for this moment, they deserved this," said de Sagon.

UST team manager Clarence Aytona said the team was simply astonished by the outpouring of support from the UST community.

"It’s really amazing, we hope the euphoria would carry on till next year," said Aytona.

As early as yesterday morning, winning coach Pido Jarencio and some members of the team did television interviews before returning to UST to attend a thanksgiving Mass for the team’s remarkable feat.

Incoming UST rector Fr. Ernesto Arceo, OP, celebrated the Mass, saying the school is blessed with hardworking, God-fearing players.

From there, the Tigers walked to the Rector’s Hall for a thanksgiving dinner hosted by Fr. Arceo. Acting rector Fr. Juan Ponce, OP, was also there along with top school officials.

After the dinner, a 10-minute fireworks display lit up the sky amid the cheers of thousands of students who packed the newly-renovated main building.

After getting hugged and kissed by their supporters, the Tigers gladly signed autographs and posed for souvenir pictures. Some players gave flying kisses to those who couldn’t come near, while others simply waved to the crowd.

Then they were treated to a night of fun and music, courtesy of Parokya ni Edgar, Gish, Join D’Club and Sophia who belted their popular songs as thousands of students danced the night away.

And for scaling a great height that was the UAAP championship, the Tigers would be rewarded with a trip to the

Great Wall of China

in

Beijing

.

"It was promised to them by the acting rector," said de Sagon.

“Relive 96 at 69” - The battle cry that seemed impossible especially at the start of Season ’69.

Many skeptics raised their eyebrows…but not me, especially not my sister Imee, nor anybody from our family…eh bakit ba naman tataas kilay namin eh lahat kami Thomasians HEHE (except for my Daddy…FEU Tamarraws sha eh).

Seriously, we saw the potential of this team.  From the start ang support namin, especially si Imee. Grabe ang hirap na dinaanan nya just to support this team. Out of 18 games, 4 lang hindi nya napuntahan dahil either hindi sha pinyagan, may conflict sa schedule nya or wala shang nakuhang tickets. Siguro special sila talaga kasi most of the players friend kasi nya, lalo na si Dylan Ababou, kababata pa nya. Mga 5 years old pa lang sila friends na sila. Also, read my August 11 blog. Diba I said “I am confident that UST will soon emerge as the Champion of the UAAP again.” What did I tell yah?

Well, I couldn’t blame the others to be skeptics…

Who would have thought that a team who was once in the bottom of the team standing would beat the dominant team?

Who would have thought that a team carrying a 7-6 card would make it to the finals?

Who would have thought that a team whose players often got sick and got injured would emerge as champions at the recently concluded UAAP Season 69 games?

Who would have thought that UST Tigers would end the 10-year championship drought this season at the deciding Game 3, winning 74-76 against Ateneo Blue Eagles?

The answer? It’s GOD’s miracle.

God paved the way for them.  Every win, every loss was a part of His grand plan. God gave them the courage and strength to withstand everything and they gave their trust to Him. They just let His will be done.

For the first time in the history of the UAAP, UST made a record as the only team who emerged as champions coming from the bottom. The last time we made a record was in 1993 when UST became the first team to win 14 straight games thus emerged as the Champions of that season ending the 60+/- championship drought .

There is no single superstar player in their team, everyone is a superstar. Everyone depended on each other. It’s not like one player is absent and the whole team is affected, well medyo pero ang forte nila is to step up talaga when they’re missing a team player. They have team work kasi and they have determination and they trusted each and everyone in the team that they will triumph!

What’s impressive is that they are humble, God-fearing people. When they were interviewed after the championship game, everyone thanked and gave praise to God. When Dylan Ababou was given the chance to thank whoever, he even thanked his fellow “Sienans” (he graduated from Siena College – elementary and HS). My hubby was also impressed kasi “alam nya saan sha nanggaling.”

I wasn’t able to watch the championship game but according to those who did, sabi nila cool lang daw ang Tigers. For some reason, hindi sila pressured, parang naglalaro lang sila. In fact, when Japs Cuan was about to do a free-throw, knowing that he is not that good in the 15ft line, Coach Pido Jarencio kissed his own hand and tapped it to Japs for good luck, nung hindi pa rin pumasok shoot nya, pare-pareho silang nagtatawanan lang. Kasi nga naman, the mere fact that they reached the finals is already a triumph for them kasi diba nga galing sila sa dulo ng team standing. Ang mas pressured actually ang Ateneo Blue Eagles kasi from the start sila ang top sa league. In fact before sinira ng UST yung 8-0 card nila, wala pang nakakatalo sa kanila. Duon nagkamali ang Blue Eagles. wala pang napapatunayan, nagyayabang agad. Remember in my other blog I mentioned that one player even said “panget ng season 69 wala silang kalaban kasi wala ang La Salle.” Ayan, ang tayag kasi ng lipad ninyo kaya ang sakit ng bagsak, diba? Sino tumalo sa inyo? Isang team na “kulelat” at inii-small lang ninyo. OUCH! Ang sakit, diba?

To all Thomasians, CONGRATULATIONS!

To the TIGERS, Dylan Ababou, Franciz Allera, Mark Canlas, June Cortez, Jervy Cruz, Japs Cuan, June Dizon, Jojo Duncil, Anthony Espiritu, Allan Evangelista, Mel Gile, AC Marquez, Chester Taylor, Jemal Vizcarra and Coach Pido Jarencio, good job!

A tribute to the late John Lee Apil (the official angel of UST Tigers)

——————————–

forwarded text:

“A cute, fluffy tiger lazily licks its claws and wags its tail in satisfaction. It clears its throat & coughs out a blue feather. *burp*

NICE JOB, TIGERS! Champions once again.

Last August 6, 2006, we all witnessed the bitter fall of the UST Tigers against the Ateneo Blue Eagles. It was so devastating because UST lost more than 30 points. That game, Ateneo scored a high lead of 44 points against UST.

Since the UAAP games began, no other team had beaten Ateneo…and in the last few games of UST, the Tiger’s top scorers either got sick or were injured. (Jemal is still injured, Jojo Duncil and Japs Cuan got sick due to Typhoid Fever and now Espiritu is sick due to the same disease). And until before this game, Ateneo have a standing of 8 wins and 0 losses. Having said that, I guess the Blue Eagles grew complacent. When they won their 6^th game (or was it their 7^th?), one team member of Ateneo gave a comment that this season’s UAAP is not challenging enough coz they have no opponent. (How airy can you get?!) Ang yabang ng Ateneo kasi nawala yung mas mayabang sa kanila…DLSU hehe.

Karma hit them! Karma hit them real bad! UST, for the second year in a row, broke their straight win record. Now they have 8 wins and 1 loss. I’m sure at the start of the game they were looking forward to a 9-0 streak. Sayang diba? Kung naging humble lang

sana

sila eh di mas pinagpapala sila ni Lord. Well, sabi nga nila, “Kung sino ang proud ay binababa ng Diyos and kung sino ang humble ay shang Kanyang itinataas.”

What went right?

I’d say, this time, the Tigers learned their lesson well.

1. Everyone stepped up – When Jojo and Jemal were playing, everyone depended on them to do the work for the team. This time, they know they have to work twice as hard because they are losing an average of what, 31 points per game due to the absence of Duncil?

2. They controlled the game – The first encounter between the two, Ateneo pretty much controlled the game with their speed and fast break advantage and everytime, UST would give a foul count that accumulated their opponent’s lead to a high 44 points. This time they controlled the pace. Cuan would set-up a play and it was a defensive play for them. Hindi sila pwede makipag-sabayan sa bilis ng Ateneo. Ababou made lots of rebounds and “palpal”, Allera scored lots of needed 3 points, this rookie Jervy did great inside the paint and unexpectedly Allan Evangelista contributed 30 points. I couldn’t remember the rest but it was a TEAM EFFORT. A very good one.

3. Complacency killed the eagles – enough said.

In November 22, 2002, my in-law’s house in Malate got burned down. That unfortunate day, I did not use my engagement ring (gold eternity ring) coz well,it didn’t match with my outfit (stupid, huh?)…needless to say, it was left to melt with the other metals in my jewelry box (got mixed with white gold, tri-color gold and silver). We were able to unearth it but, as I’ve mentioned, other metals melted with it. Ergo, that was it. Goodbye my eternity ring.

I asked my officemate Alice if there’s a chance to revive this precious piece of jewelry and she said she’ll have to consult with her ex-bf who owns this jewelry shop somewhere in Binondo. I was not that optimistic coz to me well it looks pretty nasty already. Anyway, I thought it’s worth trying coz I’ve got nothin’ to lose…but the thing was, I couldn’t find it. I seem to have lost it! I just couldn’t find it anywhere. I looked everywhere. Gone. I already gave up looking for it and justified that since it melted anyway I have to accept that it’s lost forever. Then one day while organizing my closet…Eureka! It’s alive! Hehe. I found it! Now the only thing left to wonder is if it will be revived after all.

For the longest time that I gave it to Alice, she wasn’t able to do her part. Can’t blame her coz it was a favor. Actually, it was a big favor coz she just broke up with this guy and we all know how hard it is to renew ties with an ex, right? So anyway, as I’ve said, I already accepted the fate of this ring so I haven’t given it much thought. No pressures.

To cut the long story, last Wednesday, August 9, 2006, after 4 long years, I was reunited with my engagement ring! Yepyep, the very eternity ring that my hubby gave me! I couldn’t believe it! It’s finally with me again and it never looked this pretty!

When I got home, I showed it to hubby and the look on his face was just priceless. Then once again, he placed the ring on my finger and told me the exact line he said when he gave it to me…that his love for me is "eternal." (kinda like the ring…gets?) *wink*

————————–

*other pieces of jewelry revived: cross pendant and half bangle bracelet with charms

Last Sunday, August 6, 2006, I watched the UAAP at Araneta with my sister Imee (who  happens to be a junior at UST), her schoolmate Paula, my Kuya Jonas (UE-UST alumnus) and my Ate Flor. First game was between UE and UP…of course we cheered for UE. It was worth it coz UE won. We were all ecstatic! Kuya was even featured on TV cheering for his alma mater. The sad part was after the second game (UST vs. Ateneo)…I can’t recall the exact number but I think we lost more than 30pts that horrible day. Sometimes you just can’t help but think about the "glory days" of USTe…I was in 3rd yr college (1993) when that championship drought finally ended…that lasted until 1996. The last championship UST had prior to 1993 was I think in the 60’s…I’m not sure what year but my mom was in UST Pre-med that time. The 1993-96 team was led by Dennis Espino, Chris Cantonjos, Dale Singson, Bal David, Edmund Reyes, Patrick Fran, Rey Evangelista, and Udoy Belmonte (who I became friends with coz we have a common friend). The coach was the ever strict but reliable Aric Del Rosario. During that time, Thomasians filled up 3/4 of Araneta almost every USTe game…louder cheers, higher spirits and the "never say die" attitude…not only of the players but of the supporters as well. We couldn’t care less that we were teased by DLSU that "allowance nyo, barya ko" or whatever insults they threw at us. We couldn’t care less that it took us sooo long to end the championship drought…we were hungry for the title…we yearned for it. We trusted that the team can pull it off, they trusted themselves that they can beat the others…we were that confident! The passion to win was there. In one of Aric Del Rosario’s interviews he mentioned "pag may hindi nagseseryoso sa practice, pinauuwi ko." It sounds funny knowing how grumpy he is but come to think of it, he has a point. It would really become your habit not to take the actual game seriously if that is how you are in practice.

I just hope the current "tigers" would be motivated enough to end the 10 year drought…come on, I’m sure in ‘93 the tigers didn’t think it can be done…but they did it. I am confident that UST would soon emerge the champion of the UAAP again. My message: Trust and Pray. God bless you guys and…GO USTe!

—————————————–

"Everyone came to win the championship…but the team who desires it the most would most likely get it."

(see pictures in the album)

Have you ever been in a situation wherein you’re too complacent…not naman conceited, just complacent…that look just fine (with or without make-up) ergo there is no need for you to "fix" yourself?

One time at the gym, my friend Ken told me, "Alam mo lately mukha kang haggard." I told him, "sige na, it’s ok, diretsohin mo nako, ang panget panget ko ngayon, tama?" Then all of our friends were laughing. Sabi nya "Hindi naman pero dati kasi whenever I see you parang hinahangin yung buhok mo tapos may mga stars saka kwitis sa likod mo" HAHAHA. Funny ng description nya. So I asked him "eh ngayon ano na lang, moon?" He said, "hindi, spotlight na lang…nasa likod mo pa." Natawa na lang kami ng other friends namin.

So anyway, after that, I am now concious to make that "extra effort" to look great ALWAYS. No more complacent girl. Mashado kasing tiwala sa sarili eh, tapos magtataka bakit ang panget ko sa pictures…yan tuloy hindi ma-post sa friendster. HAHA.

Wala lang, yun lang. (=’o'=)

Nothing beats the first time! Don’t laugh pero it is my first time to watch a concert by a foreign artist. Sulit naman kasi it’s a group that I really, really adore…BLACK EYED PEAS!!!

My husband called me sometime June of this year and asked if I want to watch BEP. Of course ako pa? The good news was since the concert will be held 2 days after my bday, he said yun na lang gift nya sa akin…kaya we bought Patron seats. Actually nung June19 when we bought the tickets, sold out na halos ang rows A-J, may available pero hindi na magkakatabi so we got 2 tickets in row K na lang. Ok din kasi malapit din naman. Weird lang, bakit hindi namin nabalitaan ng masmaaga?? Anyway, no regrets. We got good seats naman.

July 27, 2006

Past 5pm, hubby and I went to Gateway. We ate merienda at PizzaHut Bistro. After stuffing ourselves with pizza and pasta, we went to window shop…well, that was the plan until I saw these slacks at MNG, 70% off…HEHE. Hubby on the other hand went with the plan to just window shop. Hehe. Then, we bumped into my niece Monica in one of the shops there…I think we were at F&H or PrP…ah, F&H nga. So we had a little chat then after which, off we went to the concert.

INSIDE ARANETA

Inside Araneta Center, Russell texted me. He was already with Ela and Dr. Sim. They were looking for me and Gerry. Nag-aasaran kami before the concert started. I enjoyed the asaran-okrayan session…then, we just met up after the concert for more okrayan.

So anyway, when the concert started, I was so ecstatic! The funny thing was, when they turned off the lights and everybody started screaming, I thought to myself "Shet, this is it! Is this really happening? Magsta-start na talaga!" Para akong ignorante hahaha. I was star strucked when they all went on stage, Fergie,Tabu,Will-I-Am and of course our own Apl Pineda. Ang galing sooooobra! I couldn’t express how much I enjoyed the concert. It was my very first and I was so impressed. Enjoy kami ni hubby kasi we know all the songs they sang…so sing and dance to the max kami while may mga "jologs" kaming katabi…instead of watching the concert, ang tinitignan nila e yung local artist na malapit sa amin…I don’t know his name…taga ch2 sha…well, whoever he is, ang baduy ng mga katabi namin ha, naka-upo lang at hindi pinapanuod yung concert…sa kanya nakatingin…the whole time! Sayang ang Php5,000 nila a! 4 pa naman sila. Sana nagpalit na lang kami ng seats para masmalapit kami sa aisle. Haha.

Ang kulit din ng BEP. Will-I-Am said, he had a Pinay GF for 8 years. She inspired most of the songs of BEP. Esp this next song, "SHUT UP" and everyone laughed. Funny nga kasi ginawa nilang drama, parang mag bf-gf na nag-aaway, tapos there was this part na kunyari Fergie was crying, naka-focus sa screen…funny kasi she looked like my friend Kat Mendiola (lead vocals of Unity) lahat ng arte pareho sila. Haha. Anyway, ang galing talaga ni Fergie, when they were singing "Shut Up" nga, the part where she sings "Stop the talking baby or I’d start walking baby" nagcartwheels ba tawag dun basta patalikod na tumbling using just one hand kasi the other hand hawak yung mic and she does that while singing…o, kaya nyo yun?

When Apl sang the APL song and Bebot he wore a barong…nakakatawa tignan sa kanya. His mom was on stage when he sang Bebot. We learned that he’s an orphan pala…sabi tuloy namin ni hubby mag-ampun kami ng egoy tapos dalin din namin sa LA. hahaha. (pinagkakitaan pa eh no? hehe)

Tapos daming kalokohan esp nung pinakikilala yung band members like the musical director who plays almost all instuments, the drummer, the trumpet players etc, daming kulitan on stage. Tinuturuan din ni APL ng tagalog si Will…he said "S*** mo malaki" Everybody laughed then he asked something pabulong lang tapos tumawa si Apl then he said, Will is asking daw kung oras na ba mag-kan***** the crowd went wild kasi biglang nagplay yung "Pump It".

(sigh) Bitin lang…ang bilis ng oras. The concert started mga 845pm and lasted until 1040pm. It was fun tho’ and I’d always remember this concert!

When I was a kid, I grew up having lotsa pets at home…dogs, cats, lovebirds, fishes…the list goes on. They come and they go. There was even a time we had 9 dogs at home. I was never close to any of them tho’ coz when I was younger, I had a hard time accepting the death of one of my cute puppies named Griggle. Eversince I don’t attach myself to any pet we adopted after.

Panzer was different. You just can’t help but adore him. He was such an intelligent dog. Shempre, Dutch Shepherd…you know, one of those smart sniff dogs who could detect your presence from miles away. His breed is similar to that of German Shepherds…matapang din. Most "bomb dogs" that you see in Shangri-La EDSA Hotel are his kind.

We adopted Panzer in 1996 I think…he’s been with us so long that I don’t really recall when. Anyway, I instantly fell in love with Panzer coz he was such a sweet dog. He wasn’t actually mine. He was my Kuya Jonas’ pet. A gift from Kuya Jason. I dunno but I adored him so much that I actually declared he’s my dog too (mangenge kasi-haha). I taught him tricks like jump, shake hands, hide his face when I say "tago"…he even knows that his real name is Panzer even if I fondly call him "Pancit" or "Pancito."

He was a nice dog pero medyo seloso. When we got another puppy named Shaggy, I forgot yung breed pero mabalahibo din and maputi, he was jealous at first until they became best friends, sleeping side by side. When Shaggy died, you could see his depression, he kept on running around the house looking for him…we could clearly see that he misses his buddy. There was even a time he slept near a white cloth para lang siguro kunyari he’s beside Shaggy. That was the kind of dog Panzer was, loving and loyal.

He was also close to my dad. When my dad went to Europe for more than a month, he kept on running around the house, even goes up the veranda just to look for his missing amo. (Kasi madalas my dad is just in the veranda)

Pasaway din kasi si Panzer. He was bawal to go inside the house kasi Mama doesn’t allow him to. Pero we caught him sneaking one time, as in dahan dahan pumasok sa house just to look for my dad nga. Nung nakasalubong nya my mom sa corner, bigla sha tumakbo. My mom naman, instead na magalit, natawa na lang kasi ang funny ng pagsneak ni Panzer eh. Haha.

He was such an adorable dog but things changed when he grew up. He seem to have lost his mind. He misbehaved…I began to be afraid of him too when he dragged Mang Fredo under my dad’s Fiera. He even attacked 2 kids one time our gate was left open. He also attacked my uncle Nards one time. He tried to attack my dad too. Baka at that time, he didn’t recognize him. That’s scary…not being recognized that you’re his master. We were told that’s how it is when dogs don’t have…you know…sex. Panzer was never allowed to play with other dogs outside. He was pasaway kaya we never let him go out without a leash. His neck was big that most leashes don’t fit him. Ang mali kasi hindi sha binigyan ng partner para hindi sha nagwawala. After those incidents, the family decided to put him in a cage. Buti nga that was all kasi my dad almost shot him. Poor Mang Fredo, daming bites and imagine that frail body being dragged under the Ford Fiera…pagnanakawala si Mang Fredo, hinahatak nya again pabalik. That’s traumatic ha.

Reclusion Perpetua…Life sentence it is. We just see him every now and then but I grew afraid to touch him for the fear that he doesn’t recognize me too….everytime I visit my parent’s house, I just call out his name and he just responds…that was it.

Fastforward to July 15, 2006 around 2am in the morning…after a fun fellowship night at Giligan’s in Baguio (BioFemme 2nd Sem Kick-Off Rally), I got a text message from my mom. A message sent earlier that I failed to see. The message was that my Panzer died the morning of July 14. Tears flowed down. I will always remember Panzer…the good and even the bad times. He was such a special pet and he’ll always have a special place in my heart. I never loved any pet as much. Goodbye Panzer. May you go to Dog Heaven. I’ll miss you.

*Note that I don’t use IT to regard Panzer. It just don’t seem appropriate.

When we were growing up, we would always take a vacay every summer and/or Xmas to Ilocos Sur (where my mom grew up) just to bond with the fam. That was a tradition that never fails. When my grandpa Leo died in 1984, (I was 10 yrs old then), that tradition was seldom met. It was just different without him. We would still bond with the family but there were no roadtrips anymore.

Fastforward to 2004, we wanted to revive that tradition so we went to Vigan.  We were complete except for my sis Dr. Lara who was in the US at the time. She missed the fun roadtrip that we had. When she went back, she’d always tell us that we should do it again…not just going back to Vigan but to have a roadtrip with the family. It doesn’t have to be an overnight thingy coz probably our busy schedules can not permit such. So she planned of a trip going to Tagaytay and Subic. My mom and dad haven’t been there in a loooooong time.

June 10, 2006. Finally, the trip to Tagaytay! Since Gerry and I live in Paranaque and it’s on the way, they fetched us. That was around 730AM. We went to have breakfast at Jollibee first in one of those gas stations along the hi-way…I forgot which. So anyway, when we got there around 10am, we first went to Caleruega coz lunch at Sonya’s Garden is at 12nn. I’ve been there twice to attend the weddings of my friends but I’ve never seen the whole place. It was just soooo nice! My parents who adores plants just loved the place. It was so serene and we had so much fun taking "crazy" pictures of ourselves.

Next stop, Sonya’s Garden. Again, I’ve been there before with Gerry but it is different with the whole family…coz we get to share the food experience with them. They appreciated the food, ambiance and view. The thing is, tho’ I’ve been there 3x prior, again, I’ve never toured around. So I was as amazed when I got to see the beautiful garden, cabanas etc…wow!

Then we went to Picnic Grove to take a picture of Taal. The view wasn’t enough coz we didn’t plan to have a picnic so we went to Taal Vista to eat merienda (kahit busog pa kasi wala na kaming matambayan). Then we went around to buy some plants sana but it was expensive sobra, so friuts na lang and some pasalubong to kamag-anaks…Buko pie of course!

Dinner time, Dr. Lara reserved this resto she saw over the internet…"Sanctuario." The facade doesn’t look enticing…but inside it was so nice! Nice ambiance, great view on the roof deck (which was unfortunately being renovated at the time) and the food was great! It’s a different experience coz it’s only there where you can taste Pasta Bulalo.

We left the place at 9pm, they took us home. Tambay ng konti at home then it’s time to sleep na and thank God of a wonderful day that transpired. Ah, the simple pleasures of life.

No, this is not about Frito Lay’s Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips. It’s what hubby and I call each other now. Hehe. He is Sour Cream and I am Onion.  How cute is that? c",)

It started one humid summer night, I was in the mood for a cuddle…so there I was in bed hugging my hubby, watching TV, when he said, "Bi, ang asim ko na." So I said, "it’s ok, Dad, so what if you’re sour, my sour cream? hehe" then he gave me that look, a bit puzzled, I thought he’s gonna be offended so I quickly added without thinking… "and you may call me onion" then we both laughed coz we just realized Sour Cream and Onion is a flavor of Frito Lay’s Potato Chips (which by the way is my favorite).

So anyway, since then I call him "sour cream" but he never address me as "onion."

Last night, I was already sleeping, hubby was still watching TV, I awoke when he was wiping my sweat and said, "pinapawisan ka na bi, gusto mong mag-aircon?" I said no coz it’s not that humid then he went "wawa naman ang bibi kong onion" (with that lambing tone). I laughed, he made my day. It was so pleasant to hear him say that. Weird huh? At least it’s unique. Hehe. c",)