bonita: the euro chapter

St. Peter's Basilica

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:16:00 +0000

I'ts a good thing we heeded the advice of Joycy's good friend, F, and booked a hotel within walking distance of the Vatican. At around 9:30am, we were already queueing at the right hand wing of St. Peter's Basilica. There were probably around a hundred people ahead of us but since the queue was moving quickly anyway, we didn't have to wait that long (under the heat of the glaring sun!).

To call the Basilica 'impressive' is an understatement. After all, it is considered to be the greatest of all Churches of Christendom (Banister Fletcher). =)

Palatine Hill & Spanish Steps

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:13:00 +0000

Although we had a great view of the Palatine Hill from the Colosseum, we still couldn't resist seeing it up close. We were already within hiking distance, so it made sense to see the place where supposedly the City of Rome was founded. I regret not joining the walking tour guide though - coz without knowing much about the area's history, the significance of the ancient remnants didn't immediately register.

the Colosseum

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:13:00 +0000

Rome has so much to offer, it's such a pity we only planned to stay for three days. We made a list of places we wanted to visit and the Colosseum was at the top of our list. =) I'm glad we decided to join a walking tour as we got a crash course on the Colosseum's history (my history teacher would have been so proud of my attentiveness! =P).

rome 2008 - fontana di trevi

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:16:00 +0000

the day we flew to rome, it was pouring hard in london and as usual, i forgot to bring an umbrella or a jacket. i couldn't wait to leave miserable london for bright and summery rome! ;) proof that one can never be satisfied, when we arrived in rome's ciampino airport, we were all complaining about the heat! =P we've got good reason though as we spent a couple of minutes outside, waiting for the bus that would take us to termini station. when we finally boarded the bus, we found out that its aircon wasn't working so we had to sweat it out for an hour! what could be worse than bathing in your own sweat? (seating beside other passengers who smelt like they didn't bathe for a month!) =P seriously, it wasn't that bad. all we really needed was to rest for a couple of hours in our hotel and afterwards, we felt refreshed! =)

we couldn't let day one pass by without seeing a famous landmark - the fontana di trevi. i was amazed when i first caught sight of the fountain - i didn't expect it to be so huge. i've seen pictures of it but i guess nothing could prepare you for the real thing. =) of course, we had to follow what the legend says - that we must throw a coin over our left shoulder to ensure our return to rome! =)

click here for more pictures! =)

day trip to macau

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:55:00 +0000

it was silly of us to think that we'd cover macau's attractions in 5 hours. after waking up late though, we had no choice but to cut down on the tourist spots we wanted to visit - and that meant not visiting a single casino (i know, what was i thinking!) :D i was a bit worried that we wouldn't be able to see much, but in 5 hours, we managed to walk through 'Largo do Senado', admire the ruins of Sao Paulo and rush to the other side of the city to gaze at Macau tower.

as soon as we arrived in macau, we immediately hailed a cab to take us to the famous Largo do Senado. i think we must have spent more than an hour admiring the elegant colonial buildings surrounding the square. it was a bit strange seeing such bright and wonderfully painted buildings but i have to admit, i was charmed by the sight of them! ;) Whilst searching for the ruins of Sao Paulo, we stumbled upon what's known as Macau's most beautiful Church, Sao Domingos. the hurch was built during the 17th century for Macau's Dominicans. i would have loved to explore the church more but since we were pressed for time, we had to make do with a few pictures and a quick glance of the church's interior.

the ruins of Sao Paulo is just a short walk from Sao Domingos. although the church's facade may be the only part left of this 17th century Jesuit Church, it was still quite imposing. mom and i rested for a couple of minutes at the steps whilst brother dear explored the area. check out our pics here.

aroung hongkong island

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:50:00 +0000

with my mom living in zamboanga, my brother working in manila and me in london, it was quite difficult for us to plan an out of country trip together. the last time i attempted to organize one, it ended up with my mom and brother arriving in singapore separately on different weekends. still, i'm not complaining, after all i got to see sentosa, singapore zoo and night safari thrice! =P

as soon as my boss agreed to my three week holiday, i invited my mom and brother to meet me in hk for a bit of shopping and sightseeing. luckily, two weeks before my trip, my brother went to HK on a business trip so he sort of knew his way around the city. i didn't have to worry about getting lost and i was able to to concentrate on more important things - i.e. shopping! =P i was also glad i didn't feel exhausted after my long flight. i just deposited my luggage at the hotel, had a quick shower and afterwards, we were off to mongkok!

on my first day, i got to eat my favorite prawn noodle soup, got addicted to egg tarts, went to see the light show and took the tram to Victoria Peak (not to mention bought an entire week's wear for the W at G2000 =P) not bad for our first day, huh? check out our pics here.

my sweet baby ;)

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sun, 18 May 2008 22:58:00 +0000

...now, if i could only find the time to play around with it, i'd be the happiest girl on earth! =D

hello world!

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:44:00 +0000

i'ts been a while since my last entry and to think i promised myself i'd blog more often this year. i really ought to stop making resolutions, i always end up forgetting about them anyway. ;) blogging used to be so easy for me but after being absent for almost 3 months, i feel a bit lost. i've always preferred doing things at a certain order which meant that i'd be upset if i skipped a task inadvertently. no, i'm not really obessive compulsive, i just want things done in a certain manner. ;) the point is, i wanted to fill in the gaps between feb and today, before posting any new entries. considering how lazy i've been (still am but working on it!) in this department, i don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. instead, i'll just give you the short cut version:

* it's been 4 months since we moved houses and although we get the occasional headaches attached to owning a property, W and i are still grateful that we found a house we could call our home. we've slowly tried to make our home comfortable which means we finally got our furnitures delivered (thank goodness as W was starting to have back pains from sitting on the floor!) we still have a couple of boxes lying around as we only got the items which we absolutely need (i.e. bed or wardrobe). at times, the mess really irritates me. i have to be practical though so i have no choice but to ignore it.

* i went on a three week holiday last march, spent a couple of days in HK with my mom and brother and then went home to Manila. we all had a fabulous time in HK and i wish we could travel together more often. perhaps one of these days, i'd finally get the time to post all of my HK photos.

* work has been quite stressful lately. don't get me wrong, i love my job but there are days when i feel so frustrated, i just want to pull my monitor and chuck it out of the window. but really, i love my job and although i feel like i wake up from a nightmare everytime my bberry rings in the middle of the night, i do enjoy the challenge. =D i have to learn how to balance my work and personal life though coz i noticed thati've been giving too much of myself lately. i forget to eat on time (i sometimes have lunch at around 3pm) because i'm too involved in what i'm doing and i also don't notice time passing by so i end up going home late.

i'ts almost 2am so i guess this is it for now! :) W is still working - maybe it's time for me to turn off the router eh?

w960i

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:54:00 +0000

i can't seem to decide if i love or hate my SE W960i. my contract with voda just expired and i was supposed to cut it off but it turns out that i'd be paying more for my broadband connection if i disconnect my mobile line. to avoid this, i had to extend my contract for another year and in doing so, voda issued me a free SE W960i.

i have been a pocket pc user for almost 4 years now so my was first choice was an upgrade of my v1605 which is v1615. unfortunately, they wouldn't give it for free for the lowest monthly plan... so bye bye v1615! =P my next choices are SE W960i or N95 simply because i was attracted to the 8gb storage which comes along with these phones. in the end, i chose the SE W960i because of its design and size.

ten days later, i am ready to return the phone to voda. W says i'm just being impatient and that i should finish doing a stress test on it before deciding its fate. but the point is, i haven't even installed anything on it yet and it's so painstakingly slow slow slow! one of the things i hate is having a machine not respond quickly when i hit the enter key! =P another thing i noticed is that the battery drains so quickly. the other day, i had to fully charge it twice and i didn't even use the phone. tsk
tsk, maybe i just got lucky and drew a sample from the bad batch? =(

so there, it's decided! i'm returning it tomorrow but what i can't decide is whether i should trade it for the N95. what do you think?

trapped in a box

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:15:00 +0000

...that's how i felt when i had to work from home for a week. i used to envy W when he worked from home. imagine, he didn't have to wake up at 6AM just to catch an early train or sqeeze himself into a jampacked tube.

when my manager asked me if i could work from home for a week, i was quite pleased (only because i get to sleep longer! :D). on my first day, i woke up at around 8:45AM but I was already working remotely at 9AM. i said to myself, "this isn't so bad after all, i might actually enjoy working from home."

it was almost 5PM when i realized that i was also first on call that week - which meant that i would get called at night regarding system failures. at that time, i was not used to being on call so when my blackberry rang, my heart skipped a bit and i expected the worst. =P i thought that if i worked from home, i'd have more time for myself since i didn't have to commute. but then i ended up working long hours and found myself still logged in late at night!

in the days that followed, i didn't feel that positive anymore and i was looking forward to the day my colleagues and i could go back to our office. we all share the same sentiment about working from home. personally, i don't mind working from home once a week or even once a month but i can't do it everyday - i'd go mad! (yes, on my 5th day, i was so short tempered already!) i felt trapped in between the four walls of our home office - with no one to talk to! sure i could easily call them but having someone to talk to face to face is still different. i also discovered that i hardly left my seat when i worked from home. it's as if my butt was permanently attached to my chair, i couldn't even find time to go to the kitchen and drink water. at least when i'm in the office, i make it a point to get up and stretch my legs a couple of times.

worst of all, i stuffed myself with junk food - crisps, pizza and cake for lunch (as i was too lazy to prepare real food.) =P yikes!!! oh boy, this means i have to work twice as hard to burn those calories! =D

holiday layouts

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:05:00 +0000

at the start of the year, i told myself i'd try to do one scrap a month. i guess i was a bit ambitious, seeing as i've only done less than 6 LOs last year. =P but hey, i've just completed three so who knows, i might be able to meet my target after all ;)

CREDITS:
- Christmas Warm Paper, Elements & Alpha by Jofia Devoe
- Christmas Balls & Stitches by Shabby Princess
- Wax Seals from Shabby Princess
- Gems by Gina Miller
- Safety pin by corina Nielsen
- Ripped Cardboard from A Beautiful Mess add on kit
- Lace from Atomic
- Stitches by Melissa

CREDITS:
- Christmas Warm Paper, Elements & Alpha by Jofia Devoe
- Christmas Balls, Magic Word Art, Vintage Floral Alpha, Ribbon by Shabby Princess
- Frame Glitter, Frosted Buttons & Silverflake by Little Dreamer Designs
- Buttons by Lian Riordan- Transparent Stars by
- Red & Blue Stars, Denim Red Stitches by Monica Larsen

CREDITS to FOLLOW

14 days later

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 22:40:00 +0000

it's our 14th day in our new home and i am loooving it! ;) waking up at 6AM doesn't even bother me. i just get out of bed right away and head to the bathroom whereas before W had to practically drag me out of bed. =P hopefully, i'll still feel this way in a month's time. after all, this would be our permanent home in england. :)

i feel quite relaxed, now that we moved in but that wasn't the case 14 days ago. we moved in on the 19th but i took a day off at work the day before so that i could take care of some loose ends. for instance, when the keys to our house were handed over to us, the tiling was not yet completed in the bathrooms and the kitchen - that was on christmas day. so exactly a month later, you would expect everything to be done already. oh just imagine my surprise when i stepped into the house on the 18th at 08:30am and saw the missing tiles on the kitchen and the bathrooms. to make it worse, the company W and i hired to lay the wood laminates and carpets throughout the house was arriving in 30 minutes. we've already postponed the laying of the laminates and the carpeting until the very last minute because the damn builder was not done with the tiling. hanggang ngayon, pag naaalala ko ang mga pangyayaring ito, sumisikip yung dibdib ko sa galit. e simula nang matapos ang preparasyon sa kasal, wala na gaano masyadong dahilan para ma-stress akonang ganito. kahit nga sa opisina, kahit na minsan sobrang inis ako sa mga users na lahat nalang tungkol sa application ay nirereklamo (kahit walang mali), napagpapasensyahan ko parin. kahit gusto ko man magwala, hindi na man pwede dahil baka hindi tapusin nang maayos ang trabaho. i had to rein in my temper and just do the best that i could that day to deal with the situation. boy was it hard, especially when the builders gave us a bunch of crappy excuses like having unreliable contractors. sabi pa nung isang sales person nila with matching awa effect na nung isang araw nga daw, sila yung nagtatanim ng grass sa garden because they were running behind schedule and so they wanted to go the extra mile for the customer. we're supposed to understand them all the time? one week delay is acceptable but to delay completion for a month - that's another story.

ok, i feel better now that i've ranted about it. the house has a 2 year warranty with the builder and an additional 8 year warranty with NHBC so the builder assures us that any snags or house troubles we encounter will be dealt with accordingly. but then again, the point is, W and i don't have the luxury of time - time to wait for them to finish their work. we can't keep on filing leaves just so we could watch them work on the snags! =( my mom tells me that no matter what property we're buying, we'll most probably encounter similar problems and maybe even worse. we still love our house but i guess we ought to accept the headaches associated with it.

we're not yet done fixing up our house and i don't think we'll be done soon. =P since we rented a fully furnished flat for the past two years, there was no need to buy appliances and furnitures but now... we're overwhelmed by the items we need to buy to make our home fully functional. we had to make a list and prioritize the items which had to come first - and that meant the kitchen and the office. poor W, he was complaining that his butt hurt from sitting on the floor while watching tv and eating! =P he wanted to get a bean bag coz he couldn't wait for the sofa to be delivered on march. i had to play the witch and remind him of our deal not to buy anything temporary or stuff we don't like as it will just end up cluttering our home.

this is it for now - if i don't write too often, it's either i'm caught up in work (been working from home quite frequently now-but that's another entry) or i'm cleaning the house (will it never end???) but i do find the time to visit your blogs! =)

01.13.08

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 01:11:00 +0000

Credits: Template by Victoria Stegall of Oscraps.Com

2007 was a year filled with love and joyful discovery! today, W and i turn 'one' and i continuously thank HIM for giving me such a wonderful man to love! all i really pray and hope for is to have a long and happy life with my W.

to celebrate our first year anniversary, W and i went to see Cirque du Soleil's Varekai. we've been so busy these past few weeks, our anniversary was actually a good excuse to just relax and to let go of our house related worries. =P

we started our day right by hearing mass at Westminster's Cathedral. after the mass, we decided to head directly to Royal Albert Hall for a quick bite. it turned out to be a wise decision since Royal Albert was quite far from the station. although we haven't been to Royal Albert Hall before, we didn't have a hard time finding it as we just followed the families with their little kids walking towards the Hall. even from a distance, we could sense the kids' excitement or maybe it was our own? =D

W and i haven't been to a circus show together so this was a first for us! ;) i originallythought of inviting W to watch a musical, perhaps Wicked or The Lion King. but then i remembered how amazed he was last New Year watching a ballerina being carried by her partner, her hands on his shoulders with her legs bent forward. =D yes, my W is still a little kid at heart! =P

i'd have to say that the show was worth every 'pence'! =D i haven't seen anything like it before! i never thought that a circus show could be fun - i mean i've been to lots when i was a kid and i remember them as being 'corny' and the clowns weird and scary. but Cirque du Soleil's performance was truly amazing. even now, my hands are still aching from clapping so hard! =D W enjoyed it too which makes me think he wouldn't mind getting dragged to see Cirque Du Soleil perform again next year. ;)

here's one of their acts - W's favorite! =)

taking the plunge!

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 00:10:00 +0000

after renting a flat for 22 months, W and i finally took the plunge. We are now proud owners of a huge debt. it took us a while to reach this decision. after all, purchasing a property is a long term commitment. we had to think twice, thrice, four times, five times (catch my drift?:) as to whether we really want to settle here. we can't really be certain what the future holds but we both agree that as long as we have a job here, we are here to stay.

we also had to consider the current property market situation in london. prices have been falling these past few months and we've read forecasts that it's going to continue until next year. hence, purchasing a property today means we are accepting the risk that it may be overvalued a year from now. yet delaying our purchase also means that we are losing our monthly mortgage payment to our rental payment and believe me, the rent in london is not exactly cheap.

we decided to look around for a few months. to be honest, during the early stage of our search, we did not really know what we wanted in a property. most of our colleagues live outside the city, some even as far as brighton or essex. i don't really know how far these places are from london in terms of distance, but i do know that that they leave their house at around 6:30 am just to reach the office at 9:00am. this would require a change of lifestyle for someone like me who wakes up at 8:00am. =D i'm sure they live in beautiful houses with great views but W and i are not just prepared to take on this type of commitment.

we checked with various property developers and estate agents around canary wharf but as expected,the price of a brand new two bedroom flat was just out of our league. we almost thought of going for a one bedroom flat simply because it was new and just 20 minutes from the office. but then again,it's not exactly ideal for a couple who wants to have a baby in the future.

we decided to widen our search to include nearby areas and old properties as well. we visited a ten year old three bedroom house just to see what a house here looks like - as we've mostly been viewing flats. the house wasn't spectacular but it was well maintained for its age. when we saw it, we realized the potential space we would be giving up if decided to buy a flat instead of a house. when W saw the garden, he reiterated his desire to have one as well. i wasn't really keen on having one as i know how hard it is to maintain (my mom used to ask me to dig out the weeds in her garden and towater her plants daily. let's just say i didn't enjoy it! =P).

after viewing a few more properties, we finally found the 'ONE'. it's a brand new three bedroom house with a garage and a small garden. when we first saw the property, it was already three quarters done so we had no problems visualizing how it would look like once it was completed. even during our first visit, we were already half in love with the house. amongst all the new houses & flats we viewed, this one has the largest rooms. you have to understand, most of the houses in london look alike and the the rooms come in small sizes.

it took us two weeks to come up with a decision. we had to weigh the pros & cons of purchasing the property. we didn't really know the area where the property is located that well so we had to research and ask our colleagues. another thing to consider was the travel time from the house to the office - it's going to take us an hour to get to the office. we figured though that no matter what property we're going to get, we'll probably end up travelling for an hour. it's a fact of life and i guess we just have to accept that. looking at the bright side though, the housei s brand new so we don't have to worry about renovating it anytime soon. we can immediately decorate the place the way we like it! we thought about buying an old property and just renovating it ourselves but then work takes up most of our time. =( i mean there are times we find ourselves logging into work remotely at around 12am so taking on a property that needs much work is out of the question.

in a few weeks, we'll be moving into our new house. how exciting is that? :) we already have the keys to our new place but it still feels unreal. we've been busy the past weeks making sure that we meet all the deadlines set by the developer. the house isn't completely done yet as tiling hasn't been completed in the kitchen and in the bathrooms. the developer promised to work on them as soon as the christmas holidays are over. for the meantime, W and i have been busy these past few days sourcing for materials and appliances needed for the house. we're lucky that the christmas sale is still on going as we are able to take advantage of really great deals. :)

W told his colleague that he feels like a real londoner now, he lives far far away from work,has a mortgage and has too much alcohol in his system! =P seriously, sometimes when i think about the commitment we made, i find it hard to breathe. i'll probably have to get used to this feeling but for now, let me day dream about our simple abode! =)

merry christmas everyone! =)

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:16:00 +0000

before the day actually ends, i would just like to wish my family, friends, colleagues & bloggie friends a happy christmas! =) hope you all had a lovely time with your families and loved ones! =)

W and i are both down with the flu but we still managed to whip up a decent noche buena meal. =) no pictures though - as we both look horribly sick with our puffy eyes and running nose! hehe i realized i haven't blogged that much lately - been so caught up with this major project - which W and i have been working on! =D i'll have more kwento in a another post - but for now - just want to greet you all a merry christmas! =)

what's with the bags? ;)

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 01:50:00 +0000

i am so proud of my W - i think there's hope for him yet. =D he informed me that his firm was going to sell anya hindmarch's i'm not a plastic bag for a limited time and proceeds would go to charity. so i guess he listens to me after all when i blab about clothes and bags. all this time i thought that he learned the art of tuning me out when i talk about shopping! =D or maybe, he just remembered me talking about anya hindmarch's i'm not a plastic bag going on sale at ebay for a ridiculous price of £200. i don't mind - as i like the end result! =P since i wasn't well enough to go out, W was sweet enough to go to the office (though he's on holiday) so that he could buy me not one but three bags (in brown, green & blue). =) funny lang, while he was lining up, he heard the women at the back whispering to each other and saying "see, even guys line up to buy anya's bags!" and then this other girl said, "maybe he's not straight (insert evil laugh)". sabay bawi naman yung isa saying "oh, he's probably buying the bags for his wife or girlfriend". hehehe W really knows how to cheer me up seeing as i've been so bummed these past few days over our cancelled trip. i might have missed the initial sale of the bags last april but at least i managed to grab at least one before the year ends. =)

lesson learned

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:36:00 +0000

the chicken pox episode taught me and W that procastinating never did anyone any good. W and i are eligible to receive free health care in the UK since we are both tax paying residents. but since we never got around to registering with the NHS, we had to go to a private clinic for an emergency check up. i had to cough up 55GBP for a 15 minute session with the GP - who just confirmed my suspicion that i had chicken pox. =( what's worse, they initially charged me 75GBP when i asked them to sign my travel claim insurance form. it's a good thing i kept my cool - i was already screaming inside. how can a freakin signature on the travel form cost more than the GP appointment - the blood suckers! the receptionist at the clinic was kind enough to talk to her manager and to convince her that what they were charging me was too much. in the end, i still had to pay for the form but a least they reduced it to just 20GBP.

as soon as i got home, i immediately searched for the nearest NHS clinic from our flat - and what do you know, there's one just 5 minutes away! so yesterday, W and i woke up at 7:30am to prepare for our 9:00am appointment. at around 9:40, we were both done with our physical exam. W couldn't believe how hassle free the appointment was and how we were both too lazy to do it all these months. well, now that we know how easy it is, we'll be sure to prioritize the search for a new GP the next time we move to another place!

blame it on the spots

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:59:00 +0000

i should be walking down the streets of Barcelona by now, most probably lining up to see Sagrada Familia or just hanging out at Park Guel enjoying the last bit of sunshine before winter fully takes over. unfortunately, i woke up last tuesday with spots all over my body. at first i thought they were just insect bites, it never crossed my mind that i had chicken pox. i didn't have any fever though i remember feeling warm the night before. when i woke up on wednesday, i was still in denial that it might be chicken pox though some of the spots had water in them.

i still came to work though as there was a medical clinic in our building. i hadn't registered with NHS yet so i had to look for a private clinic. unfortunately, the receptionist at the BUPA clinic in our building told me that the doctor wasn't in yet and most likely wouldn't be in until late in the afternoon. i was already feeling panicky after googling pictures of adults infected with chicken pox. i know some adults in Pinas who were prescribed with an antiviral drug to reduce the severity of the outbreak and i was hoping that the doctor would prescribe me this drug too. when i finally got hold of a doctor in another BUPA clinic within the Docklands, he told me that the UK doesn't really make it a practice to prescribe the antiviral drug to healthy people infected with chicken pox. he was surprised to find out that i had vaccine shots against chicken pox since it's also not being practiced here. he just asked me to stay at home until the spots crust over.

it's been six days since i first noticed the spots. i've accepted my situation (as if i have a choice) and i guess i can call it a blessing in disguise. after all, there was always that chance that i might catch it and it's better that i caught it now while i am not yet pregnant. i had a mild outbreak and that's another thing to be thankful for. i didn't have to waste any sick leaves too as i was able to login and work from home for two days and i was scheduled to take two weeks off anyway. i felt bad about cancelling our trip to Barcelona as i was really looking forward to it. i had my itinerary all planned. it's a good thing our travel insurance will cover the expenses which arose from the cancellation.

hmm, i now have 13 days of doing absolutely nothing. if only i could stop myself from oversleeping!

itouch

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 23:03:00 +0000

i think W doesn't like it when i borrow his ipod. i'm sure he didn't mind at first but when i started saving my albums and fashion podcasts in his ipod - that's another story. ;) boy, am i glad i did all that - haha - coz he went home the other day with a brand new itouch! (for me of course!) =) just the other day, he asked me if i preferred the iphone over the itouch. i told him that since i carry a blackberry (office) and a pocketpc phone (i cannot do without my pocketpc), i don't really need another phone.

i'm quite pleased with the itouch and i especially like the browsing experience. my pocketpc phone has a built in wifi device too but i rarely use it since a.) i can't adjust the browser - the fonts are just too small for a nearsighted person like me b.) when i use my pocketpc, vodafone charges me so i'd rather use the blackberry where browsing is free! =D with the itouch though, i don't have any trouble reading or surfing as i can easily zoom in or zoom out of the page. another cool addition is the you tube application in the itouch. it's just too bad that there are still some videos from youtube that aren't compatible to the itouch - but what the heck, i'm sure they're going to fix all that in the near future. i still haven't played around that much with the itouch (work kept getting in the way) but i'm sure i'll find a lot of reasons to love it! ;)

that first time we went to cambridge

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:16:00 +0000

punting in cambridge is an experience not meant for the faint hearted. if you want a smooth and relaxing ride, then you better hire an experienced punter rather than have your husband or brother punt for you =P (oops!) i don't mean to sound ungrateful, they did the hard work after all while we just sat there frozen in fear. we got used to our wobbly ride after a few minutes and realized that shouting directions to our already irritated punters would not help them control the boat at all. i would say we did pretty well considering we slammed into other boats, blocked their way and got trapped at the side of the bridge. the important thing is, we didn't come home wet, drenched and embarrassed from having our boat topple over! ;) i guess in hindsight, it wasn't so bad after all. at least now, i can cross this item off my things-to-do-before-i-die list! =D

after a hectic morning, we decided to spend the rest of the day walking through the streets of cambridge and resting by a park near the river cam. i was truly charmed by this old english university town and felt quite envious of the students who lived and studied here. everywhere you look, there's a piece of history lying around - the Round Church that was built in 1130 or the Trinity College that was built in 1546 and they are all still beautifully preserved. we didn't really get to explore each and every college in cambridge. for that i am grateful, as it gives us an excuse to visit this lovely town in the future.

here are some pictures of our trip to cambridge! =) in my excitement, i forgot to take note of the names of the buildings we visited =D i remember some though but not all of them! =D

don't you find this window lovely? if only i could have one like this!

this picture reminds me of a university in dublin - which incidentally i shot in the same manner =D

now, it was our turn to laugh at the inexperienced punters making their way through the river cam! =D (hehe)

we look like dwarves here - but what the heck, this is the only picture of the five of us together! ;) (W, bubut, me, racs & my brother, vin)

for more pictures, click here!

Barcelona or Venice?

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:23:00 +0000

yey, W agreed to go for another euro trip this december. well, he didn't really have a choice in the matter as it's going to be my christmas gift to him. (clever, huh? :D) i finally narrowed down my choices into two - barcelona or venice. i got myself the lonely planet & rough guide book so that i would be acquainted with the two cities. hopefully, i'd be able to make a choice this weekend so that i can book our plane tickets & finalize our hotel accommodations. i'm glad i will get to spend my two week vacation this december wisely. from experience, i know that if i just stay at home, i won't be productive at all - i'll end up sleeping half the day off! =D

one saturday at grainstore

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 23:10:00 +0000

CREDITS: Paper & Elements from DST beginner's Kit

last saturday, we invited some friends over at our flat for a small get together. our former colleagues from AC are going home in a week so W and i thought of having a small despedida in their honor! ;) Racs & Bubut, can we not convince you to stay on much longer? ;)

thanks to the badminton group for gracing our small party! =D W and i enjoyed having you guys in our flat. =D i still can't believe we played nintendo wii for almost 6 hours! =D maybe next time, we can beat bubut at boxing! i swear my arms are still aching from throwing those punches. ;)

before i forget, check out the intense boxing match between raffy & cesar. =D re-match anyone? ;)

for more pictures, click here!

gym

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:25:00 +0000

i will go to the gym later!
i will go to the gym later!
i will go to the gym later!

so if i repeat this a hundred times, do you think it will come true? =D i finally gave in and enrolled myself to the gym. for months, i deluded myself into thinking that i would be able to work out when i get home. but alas, there are just too many distractions waiting for me at home. ;)

the bank built a gym on the 5th floor of our building - so really, all i have to do is go down 8 floors! =D most of my colleagues hit the gym during lunch time or any time between 9am to 5pm. but with our current work load, i don't think i could squeeze it in during this period. just today, i brought my gear with me thinking that i would be off to the gym by 6pm. of course, i didn't count on having two major production problems today - so my gym plans were officially ruined. by the time i got everything sorted out, i didn't have the energy to run on a treadmill even for just 20 minutes. =( in fact, when i got home, i immediately headed to the bed (which i don't do as i always turn on my laptop first) and promptly fell asleep afterwards. oh, i hope tomorrow would be less stressful and that i'd be able to make my gym plans a reality. i don't want to pay a monthly gym membership and not use it - that would be a total waste! =(

how about you - how do you motivate yourself to go to the gym - any tips?

Palais Royal & Cathedrale de Notre-Dame

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:35:00 +0000

it's been a while since my last Paris post. and to answer your question, no i'm not done yet! =D i promised myself i'd try to put my Paris experience into writing - that way even when i'm old and gray, i'll remember the first time W and i visited the most romantic city in the world. ;)

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so to pick up where i left off, after visiting louvre museum, W and i went to see Daniel Buren's black-and-white-striped columns. our map said that it was just around the corner but considering how large the museum was, it took us almost half an hour to find it. by the time we got to Palais Royal, we were both so exhausted we dropped down to the floor and rested by the steps.

it was quiet and peaceful at Palais Royal, it was hard to imagine that just around the corner, there was a long and noisy line leading towards the entrance of louvre. i was thankful for the lovely atmosphere at Palais as W and i were able to relax and just appreciate our surroundings. to be honest, all that walking was taking its toll on W so we agreed to take a relaxed pace instead of rushing from one museum to another.

* fooling around at Palais Royal ;)

before heading back to our hotel, W and i decided to see one of the masterpieces of the Gothic Age, the Cathedrale de Notre-Dame. i'm glad we didn't put it off for another day as i'm sure we would have been too tired or lazy to visit it by then. true enough, the Cathedral was indeed impressive and like all the other places we've been to in Paris - it was massive! when we arrived, a queue was already forming at the entrance but since it was moving fairly quickly, it didn't really feel like we've waited for a long time to get in.

* W by the River Seine at Ile De La Cite

for more pictures, click here and here! =)

swamped

noreply@blogger.com (bonita) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:41:00 +0000

work has been crazy these past two weeks. argh, the applications seem to be competing with each other. just when when i thought i've fixed one, another one breaks down. i love my job but it can be so frustrating sometimes. i've learned to control my impatience especially when i'm debugging good old cobol programs. i don't mind trawling through pages and pages of cobol or cics code. what really bugs me though is when i'm asked to investigate a problem which concerns an unfamiliar technology on a different platform. what's worse is having the business pressure me to come up with a root cause and a solution to the problem immediately. unfortunately, i almost always take ownership of issues assigned to me so i either investigate it or refer the business to the correct group. the hard part is getting the correct group to admit that it's a problem on their side. times like this, i wish i didn't kick my yosi habit.

okay, i've let it out. i feel better now. i'm glad W and i use different technologies. it's like having a personal IT consultant - only i don't have to pay any consulting fee. =D W always reminds me that i should be glad of these system problems. after all, my work revolves around fixing them and making sure that they won't reoccur again. besides, this what i love about my job - i know that when an application breaks, something is causing it to behave in an unexpected way. all i have to do is to find that little bugger and fix it before it causes any further damage.

it's almost 1am, i'll probably oversleep again. it's a good thing i postponed my gym appointment (for a while, i got delusional - thought i would be able to hit the gym before 8am). my hardworking husband W is still logged on to work. i don't know how he does it but as long as he doesn't cut off my surfing time - i don't really mind. =D anyway, i hope tomorrow would be a better day!