my complicated life

my sister, IA, AJ and me went somewhere in Manila to purchase our tickets to Hong Kong. it was AJ who drove the van and unfortunately, some policemen and "its" ("its" kasi nde sila tao..haha) cohorts tricked us into passing to a one-way traffic lane and caught us on-guard. damn! napamaskuhan pa kami to the last minute! tsk...tsk...

the church in mint green-colored walls

me and IA outside the church side door decorated in christmas spirit

after a night of singing stint in a hotel, the God's Flock Choir graced another gathering with the SerCo people. i dunno what's the complete company name basta, this is bro. jun's employer! =) anyway, the host of the party and most of its guests were expatriates. mostly brits although the wife of the host is chinese.

the carol singing was held on the villa's rooftop. the guests loved our performance and they have high praises for everyone. we sang Hallelujah twice. peborit yata nila ito, hehe. last year, this was the most requested song as well by this crowd.

on this same gathering, i met again this young, kind-hearted american lady (i confirmed that she was from Wisconsin, USA) who took the photo of us during one of the wedding ceremonies we sang for, some weeks back. we had a long chat about how she loves to hear us sing, that she likes the slanting cut of our dress, about her dog named twinkle, etc. still, i wasn't to get her name. tsk...tsk... ano ba yan, how rude of me! i hope our paths cross again sometime. eventhough i have missed to get this good soul's name, i am thankful i gained one good friend from soprano.

yep, arlene and me belong to the same group (soprano) but missed out to bond and talk. however, we were able to catch up on the lost opportunity of friendship and became closer than before even if it were the last few days of her stay with GFC. she'll be leaving the UAE for good to get married in the philippines. with just a day of being close, i have proven that she can keep promises and opens up honestly.

arlene and mai

as with what transpired between me and arlene, i therefore resolve that i would open up myself to my other choirmates starting 2006. hmm... sounds like a New Year's resolution, eh... well, i will first start off with those that i like to be friends with. =) perhaps, i could also work on the people shown below. hehe.

mai, jovy, edna and florence

this is the big night! after weeks of practice, tension and sore throats... we finally got to sing our special christmas pieces in St. Joseph's Parish, Abu Dhabi's Christmas Bazaar 2005. the bazaar was a whole day affair, full of games, food stalls, souvenir booths and program shared by catholics of different nationalities. God's Flock Choir formally closed the event around 8:00PM with three songs: A Christmas Praise, Pamaskong Paanyaya, and Hallelujah.

.....A Christmas Praise has an upbeat tempo with some rap-like portions. we had put in so much effort learning and practicing this song as it was too fast. non-traditional, very modern but still a beautiful song!

.....Pamaskong Paanyaya is a lively song dedicated to the filipino community. the El Shaddai group helped us by rendering an interpretative liturgical dance while we sing.

.....Hallelujah is the majestic song that caters to all races and even angels! perhaps, this was the pamatay of all choir songs. hehe. magkanda-bali-bali kasi litid namin dito eh! hihi.

God's Flock Choir's presentation showcased the talents of four voices (alto, bass, soprano and tenor) honed by determination and camaraderie. the choir members wore traditional filipino dresses -- the boys wore barong while the girls wore modern saya. ang gaganda namin, grabe!! hahaha.

today was the second day of eid and we have no work since yesterday until Sunday. my hubby and me went to Marina Mall for some stroll. they were different painted camels on display. nakakatuwa! i hope i can someday ride in one. next year papatusin ko na talaga yung camel ride sa carnival... hehe.

colorful camels on parade!

got up around 7:15 AM. pupungas-pungas pa... i heard the sound of flowing water from the shower as my hubby prepares for work. i rushed to the kitchen and prepared sauteed corned beef and fried rice for breakfast. i owe that to him as he always prepare my breakfast this past week. =) we had our breakfast around 7:30 AM, satisfied and full kami pareho. i cleaned up the kitchen right after he left and i had a quick shower as well. i did some last minute phone calls to friends (Charry and Eric). aba, i heard from Charry that Nelson was able to go back here in UAE sometime between August and September pa. ni hindi tumatawag! <inis> anyway, eric promised to relay the message as to how disappointed i am dahil nalimutan na nila ako. **sniff, sniff** arte!!! hehe. charry and me had a serious conversation regarding our friend tina. i won't divulge the details as she might go back and re-visit my blog sometime. hihihi, tamang guilty daw ba. peace tina!!! ;P

so, right after the phone calls, i went out around 10 AM and strolled along hamdan street to mashreqbank to pay my credit card debts. the weather was kinda nice these days. nde na masakit sa balat ang araw plus it's windy now! sarap nang namnamin ang pagdampi ng hangin sa pisngi! =) after i paid my bills, i passed by a grocery shop and bought some in by the nice weather. i saw some pinays working for Bhs (department) store setting up the Christmas trees by the store window. wala lang, the scene made me miss our Christmas tree back home in the philippines. =(

when i got home, i rested for awhile before starting to prepare lunch. instead of steaming the tilapia, i opted to cook it in the oven. less grime, less work. hehehe. that's what they call, smart cooking! =) i also prepared fruit salad for dessert. everything turned out to be tasty!!! sorry, i wasn't able to take some snapshots as proofs because i was on a rush and the fish was now flesh and bones that i won't consider capturing how the two of us enjoyed devouring the poor animal. btw, i had lunch by myself since i couldn't wait for hubby anymore as i have an engagement to attend to in the church. he just ate his meal on his own today as well.

i arrived 10 minutes before 2 pm in St. Joseph's Church. the choir was just starting to have its last minute practice. the wedding ceremony started a quarter past 2 pm. it was the most organized, solemn and elegantly celebrated and decorated wedding ceremony i was able to witness here in abu dhabi. despite the small number of gfc members who was able to make it, the choir's performance for this wedding was superb, too. feel na feel! =)

the photo above was taken by the sweet young white lady (american?) who volunteered to take the shot for us. she's sweet alrighty, but she also has shaky hands... bad ko... hehehe. actually, she already caught my attention when we were singing during the ceremony. she loves singing with the choir kasi while she sat back on the seat near the couple. we just waited for the ceremony to end before we posed below this arch decorated with so much roses. too bad, considering almost everyone has a digital camera of his/her own, no one brought one today. bad timing talaga. ayan tuloy, we just contented ourselves with a mobile phone cam. we used my mobile phone, by the way, which was admired by the white lady. <yabang!> the photo below was supposed to capture only the arch. anyway, as you can see there was an abundance of flowers in this wedding.

as we went outside when the ceremony adjourned, we saw that the bridal car was a two-seated top-down sportscar. we later realized that when the owner pulled the top down, of course! pero hanep talaga! we couldn't resist to have a photo taken with it as souvenir. ganda talaga eh! oh well, even the idea was great! as it was a two-seater car, only the bride and the groom will drive away! now, i just dunno if it will be the bride or the groom who will be behind the wheels.. hehehe.

i went straight home after i bade goodbye to my choirmates. we were still supposed to go to Taza food store in hamdan. well, they did went but i passed on the invitation. i was kinda shy kasi... asus!!! hahahaha. anyway, all's well that ends well.

my hubby and i joined the filipino Manila Ecotourism Club (MAETRICS) in the tour they organized, called "Lakbay UAE". assembly time was at 5:30 AM infront of Abu Dhabi Mall. since there wasn't any cab yet at that time (muslims [including taxi drivers] were celebrating, EID), hubby and i walked from our flat to the mall. we left the house at 5:00 AM and got to the meeting place exactly 5:30 AM!!

the buses left Abu Dhabi at exactly 6:00 AM. two of kuya's officemates and their husbands were on the same bus as we were. we had breakfast on the road. we headed first in Burj Al Arab and Wild Wadi.

after that, we went to Al Wasl Park to have our morning snack and before heading off to a long travel to Fujairah.

i wasn't able to keep track whether it was a two-hour or three-hour trip from dubai, as i dozed off occassionally. =) however, i was able to take note that there were fewer and fewer buildings as we got to Fujairah. the first laps were mountainous regions. UAE mountains were inclined 45 degrees and rather pointed and slippery. it was in Fujairah mountains were i saw examples of "fanning" and "bedding". terms i learned from the sedimentary petrology classes i attend to (omigosh, i sound like my boss now!). from a climber's point of view, climbing UAE mountains would be a nightmare!!! either you die from sliding from the top down to the foot or you get punctured from sharp protruding rocks. however, i definitely look forward to climb one. ngahaha. tigas talaga ng ulo!!!

upon reaching the town proper, we noticed that they also have KFC, Pizza hut and Golden Fork restaurants. not bad... =) however, it also caught my attention that there were some houses which looked like Iraq villas. not that i have been to Iraq, but the way some houses were built in Fujairah really looked like the small box-lix houses i saw on CNN when they feature news in Iraq. we reach Khor Fakhan beach just in time for lunch. we had picnic together with the other pinoys. only the little ones took a dip as grown-ups were not enticed to the water anymore or should i say, to Fujairah amenities. =(

we left the beach area around 2:30 PM and stopped by to Al Badiya Mosque, the oldest mosque in UAE. after taking photos, went off to the market to buy souvenirs. the road has been congested this time as people were coming and going in & out the different emirates in time for a workday tomorrow (does not include me and hubby, though!).

"outside the Al Badiya Mosque"

"towers above the Al Badiya Mosque"

after Fujairah, we had another long travel to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet mountains. my hubby and i were not ecstatic this time, as we have gone even to a grander part of Jebel Hafeet before. at the top, i even had a feat with some arab women. pinainit nila ulo ko!!! i raised my voice and scolded these hard-headed arab women, saying "don't you know how to fall in line, people!!!". they really got into my nerves! after that, ayun, i was finally able to take a pee in peace. hahaha, line pala sa comfort room!

our last destination was in Green Mubazarrah Garden Park. the park has hot springs and green grassy areas. however, i have a feeling that these were just man-made though. i'll check out with the professors when i get back at work on Monday if my guess was right. however, had fun climbing the high areas. proving i really miss mountain climbing!!!

the pack was able to reach abu dhabi at 2:00 AM. my hubby said that i slept like a baby on the bus so i have no absolute excuse to claim otherwise. =) the tour has been memorable in itself except for the fact that i have been disappointed with the organizers. maybe because i do organize events myself and for them to have tours like this on a regular basis, the way things went on today hasn't been a superb job for nth-timers. just my piece of honest-to-goodness view.

we (me, hubby, big bro and big bro's friend) had an early swim near the Ladies Beach at the back side of the Emirates Palace Hotel. we got there at 7:30 AM and swam until 10:30 AM courtesy of kuya's friend, kuya Ed. he got a car thus we were able to roam around abu dhabi. we don't have any BBQ or any kind of food as it is still Ramadan period. anyhow, the dip has been refreshing! kakatawa... this beach has no public restrooms that's why when we were finished swimming, we dress up on the parking area just along the street. para akong lalake! hahaha. and then, a police car just passed by. buti na lang, we were finished dressing up na... =) kakaibang trip!

my hubby and i went to Hamed Center and bought a PS2 console, the slim-type. eid vacation (the last few days of Ramadan which are usually declared as non-working days in UAE) will be next week thus we deemed we need something to spend the time with. we got the unit for 690 AED including an 8 MB memory card, 1 additional joystick and 10 free CD games. the PS2 console was already modified, meaning it has the capability to play both original and p****** softwares. hehe.

the CD titles we got were mostly the violent and morbid ones. selected the list from the top-rated games in pinoy gaming console forum www.pinoypsx.com. quite a helpful site for game beginners like us.

Game list:

1. Call of Duty
2. Devil May Cry 3
3. Mercenaries
4. God of War
5. Tekken 5
6. Medal of Honor
7. Mortal Combat Shaolin Monks
8. Stealth Force
9. Black Hawk Down
10. Gran Turismo 4

i can foresee that this can be another distraction for both of us. unahan na naman ito!!! ngahaha.

went around town by myself and wired some money to evangeline. she borrowed some money since she just started at her work and has no budget for the coming month. i lent her my ticket money for the meantime. we've been friends since high school so i have no worries about trust or whatsoever when it comes to her.

while i'm in liwa centre, i went around jewelry shops and was so happy to see this bracelet! actually, i've seen it before in another shop but i have forgotten the offer. as for the shop i was in today, the vendor quoted it for 500 AED. i was able to lower it down to 450 AED. it's a 22K singaporean gold. it has some round and heart-shaped dangling studs. i liked it because the studs looked like the necklace that my sister gave me years ago, which was snatched from me while i was walking alone street near the marketplace in Bicutan. =( anyway, i got this bracelet a bit pricey than the saudi or emirate gold, probably because it is imported from Singapore! hehe. but then, i just love the dangling studs that i just couldn't let go. ;)

i bought the bracelet before i change my mind however i felt guilty when i finally got hold of it. i told myself kasi that i won't be buying anything for myself from now on since i am going home by december and needs as much money for the HK trip. pero ayun, i had let myself be tempted and uncontrollable. =( nakakainis talaga. i am so weak.... hay...

i was watching the filipino business TV program titled Kumikitang Kabuhayan when a topic about chocolate cake was featured. it looked so yummy kaya tinakam ako and decided instead to bake my own. =) well, this time i have been successful!!! i have a perfectly baked two-layered cake topped with creamy chocolate icing. everyone in the house just cant get enough. hehehe.

i had a terrible day. been working from 8:30 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. then florian has been his usual self (the "aligaga" mood) and scolded me for not attending his class this morning. i dunno, i just find it too boring for me. maybe because his teaching technique is just too boring? or because i was just so not into the rocks!!?? hay. when will they realize that it's just difficult for me to study geology and work at the same time. well, i could. but not to have a boss like florian perhaps! and then, when i got home, it's still work!!! so pissed off with my hubby because he just thinks of himself. life has been easier when i was still single. hehehe. too late for grumping now...

i then planned to either to walk by the beach or try the free cinema ticket sponsored by HSBC card. yep, i read it from my credit card statement that HSBC's sponsoring free movie tickets every saturday night in Cine Star Cinema in Marina Mall. i dressed up and got ready to leave when my hubby tried to make peace. i have two choices, either i make myself ugly due to stress or just forgive instead? i chose the first. siyempre noh! who want's to be ugly? so off we went to the mall and confirmed that there is no catch after all with the free ticket and half the price Maxi Coke and Maxi popcorn (8 AED). the only downside is that, you can't choose which movie to watch. i dunno if it's the cinema or the card's decision, but only the movie of the week gets to be the one that comes with the offer. not bad for a freebie though, especially that watching movies in UAE is a luxury.

we got to see Four Brothers, a drama genre. rating? good enough. not too dull, yet not too grand. a drama, with a little comedy and a little action. it is about four adopted brothers to come together to bury a dead mother. later, they found out that their mother has been murdered and they seek revenge. i liked the way the bond between brothers were showcased in the movie. plus, that being the adopting parent, you can also be loved like the real biological parent and vice-versa as to being the adopted child.

this is a photo of the chicken that i baked. it doesn't look so yummy because the picture was taken using my xda and after the chicken has been taken apart already. hehehe. pano ba naman, as soon as the chicken was placed on plate, hands were already dunking its way into it to disassemble every joints it have. with the "almost" successful chocolate cake that i made a couple of days back, i got kinda inspired to bake some more. =) so, this is my first baked chicken! tinalo nya ang lasa ng andok's, promise!!! haha.

what's the secret?

1. the chicken has to be rubbed with rock salt first to take out the bad smell. however, since there's no rock salt in UAE i just rubbed iodized salt on it and crossed my fingers that it'll make wonders. and it did!!! =)

2. i rinsed it afterwards and let the liquid drip so the chicken will dry a bit.

3. then i poured bout 1/4 cup soy sauce, pepper to taste, squeezed in some lemon, put some lots of well-pounded garlic and a teaspoon of hot sauce. it would be best to put pandan leaves as well inside the chicken. i couldn't find one in the market yet i still managed to do without it though.

4. i let the chicken soaked in this mixture for a day, tossing it each side within the soaking period.

5. after the marinating period, i wrapped the chicken in aluminum foil and cooked it in the oven using 180 degrees Celsius heat. wrapping it in aluminum foil makes the heat be concentrated all throughout the chicken and ensure that even its inside will be cooked as well. plus the meat will be really, really tender!

6. when the chicken became tender, the process is done when one wants to have a tender and juicy chicken. however, i removed it from the foil and baked it again to make chicken's outside crisp!

viola, we had a delicious chicken for supper! the three of us (me, my hubby and my big brother) had a sumptuous meal today. i owe this recipe from my friend istanli, who claims to make the tastiest turkey. come Christmastime, there will be two of us who will stake that claim! haha.

after we were able to clean up the table, me and my hubby went to church for the 3rd day of the Tagalog Mission. the topic for tonight was about FAMILY. about how filipino families were so close-knitted and how each pinoy values his/her own blood. i took my hubby to church hoping he will like this Filipino Abu Dhabi tradition, amongst many of course!

this is the first day of the ramadan period. at this time, the muslim people prays a whole lot more than usual and were forbidden to eat or drink when the sun rises. therefore, they only gets to eat after sun down, they call it the IFTAR. with this, all shops and restaurants opens later lasting until about 2 a.m. the next day. alongside with this, offices both government and private were only required to work 6 hours - muslims or non-muslims! in my office, our timing from Saturday to Tuesday is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., while on Wednesday we only work from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in my case, i report 30 minutes before those timings and extends during Tuesday as i attend lectures in sedimentary petrology. aahhh.... kainis nga eh.

ramadan period lasts for a month. to pay our respect for this muslim tradition, we do not eat nor drink in public. as we know they are not allowed to eat nor drink when the sun is up we therefore, do not eat nor drink in public because doing so will only make them hungrier or thirstier. in addition, it is more of a prohibition by law. thus, we only eat in our own home or lock ourselves inside our office when we are to take a bite in the workplace.

i usually get home about 3:30 p.m. and my hubby is already home by then. as his boss is a UAE national, they only work from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lucky him! hehehe. me and my hubby can now stroll around the city more often as time is in our hands! hehehe. above is a photo taken in Marina Mall during one of our casual "walks". sporting my shorter haircut which was now 1 month old.

marvin had invited my choirmates (the boys, specifically) for a drink in our home. subsequently, we had choir practice this evening so together with josie, we just waited for them down kuya jun's building. we went out to buy some alcohol first, a Fundador and some Red Horse beers. while they were doing their drinking, me and josie were devouring on extravaganza-flavored Domino's Pizza.

they gulped up all the alcohols at about 12:30 AM. bitin daw! =) Dennis suggested for continuation of the drinking session in Manila Bay, a disco bar, where we could also do some dancing and drinking at the same time. =) so, on we went to the bar. it was jampacked but we still managed to squeezed through! hehe. we had some drinks and disco'd like crazy! how did the boys (and girls) behaved???!!!

• marvin - he's my hubby and yet all i can say is, he's malufet!!! imagine, going out for a gimik with your wife and yet still managed to dance with another girl!!! sweet pa yung tugtog huh!!! ain't that malupit to the max??!!! and the girl held on so tight!!! grrr... gusto ko siyang sabunutan!! next time, i'd bring a lighter along and burn a girl's hair who tries to steal my hubby.... talaga!!!
• romy - he's not on his wits and gone really mad tonight! sobrang kulet nya! panalo siya sa kakulitan! when he's still sober, he kept on criticizing the pulutan i made for them. when he got drunk, he kept on messing josie. hahaha. and when the dancing finally finished, he still kept dancing!!!! kadiri pa ang dance moves nya, mala-erotic! hahaha. grabe, para siyang naka-take ng shabu sa trip! if he hasn't volunteered to make the next session's "pulutan", we could have abandoned this guy! =)
• wilfredo - he's the tamang drunk and red. namumula sa pagkalasing! hahaha. but he managed to keep poised and be quiet. volunteered to cook "pulutan" for another drinking session in the future! yey! (on second thought, why were they volunteering to cook pulutan? were they implying the pulutan i prepared tasted aweful??? ggrrr...)
• mandy - he's the quietest of them all. he should have been the "spartan" slippers' model. because he was able to go the bar/disco wearing only beachwalk sandals! pero na-carry nya huh??!! bka naman haiavanas yun?? hehehe
• bong - considering how makulet he is, he was quite behaved tonight. although he almost got into a fight, he is still a peace-loving person and managed to make peace just before a heat builds up.
• dennis - quite unexpectedly, he's almost as makulit as romy. even if romy tops the kulit list for the night, dennis got the dancing king spot. haha. galing niya sumayaw, dami nyang gimik!
• josie - despite being extremely worried how her butt will take the spanking of her aunt, she has stayed and partied on with the group. she was romy's apple of the eyes! haha.
• mai - (me!) i behaved really well. just did some dancing until i got exhausted, drunk only 2 bottles of Breezer, and didn't pulled off the malandi girl's hair off her scalp!

everyone had a fun night... the boys even got a secret joke about a brotherhood sign. i won't disclose it here, else i might be kicked out of the group. haha. yep, me and josie are part of that brotherhood. =)

i just received a package from Australia. it's the DVD from Maridel!!! she's a member of Hillsong choir. anyhow, the DVD's their choir's live performance. Galing nila, grabe! however, the DVD has no autograph of the members.

although i know that Del's going to send me a DVD, i still got surprised when i got hold of the package. wala kasi akong friends na sumusulat sa kin, more so nagpapadala ng gift sa kin, dito. hehehe.

"before and after"

marvin and i went out to buy groceries at Carrefour in Marina Mall. he was such in a happy mood today. siya pa nagyaya to go out (see before photo). right after were done with this chore, we parked our pushcart outside the Starbucks outlet inside the mall. mag-Starbucks daw kami! dunno if he's serious or not. kasi, i know my hubby is not a coffee drinker plus he'd rather not drink coffee if it costs like your buying the coffee farm! hahaha. anyway, i just went on with the flow as they say. when he actually went inside the coffee shop and approached the counter staff, then i figured na seryoso nga ang mokong! =) i had a hot cappuchino with caramel while he got an iced coffee with some choco. i forgot the exact flavor names, though. basta, both contained quite many sugars. for snack, i had a strawberry cheesecake while my hubby got a choco-flavored cheesecake. everything cost him a whooping 60 dirhams! hehehe. ayun, mega-himutok ng mokong (see after photo) coz only then that he realized that he spent 750 pesos for just 2 coffees and 2 slices of cake. i've only eaten half of the cake i ordered because i felt like vomiting due to high sugar content intake. grabe, ang tamis talaga!

my hubby and i left abu dhabi bout 10:30 am and we arrived in dubai just before lunchtime. however, paalis palang yung bus gutom na ako...hehe. as soon as we reached Al Ghubaiba bus station in Bur Dubai, i took a pee inside Carrefour's john. my hubby said that it was as if he's travelling with a kid. kasi daw reklamo ako ng reklamo that i'm either hungry or would like to take a pee. hehehe. as always, i know he will still give in to my requests. =) so, i told him that we take our lunch at Jollibee in Karama. miss ko na kasi ang Jollibee. =) we waited for #5 bus amidst the scorching heat. tagal naming naghintay... he got really pissed off because of the heat and said we just take the cab instead. a cab costed us 8 aed!!! ginto ang taxi fare sa dubai! hehe. whereas, when we reached Jollibee, it is still closed and would be open at 1:30 pm pa since it's a Friday. the more my hubby had his eyebrows met in opposite directions. okay, so we'll just go to Ibn Battuta Mall instead. we waited for bus again for more than 30 minutes. still no bus!!! kaya ayun, asar na talaga siya. ;p we took a ride back to the bus station via taxi and ate lunch in an italian resto (i forgot the name, basta peborit ko kumain dun! hehe). as usual, i had a bolognese spaghetti and some garlic bread while hubby had half roasted chicken. after getting ourselves full, we took the #92 bus bound for Ibn Battuta Mall. good thing, the cold air of the bus airconditioning unit dessipated my hubby's heated head. hahaha.

after 45 minutes of travel time, spans of desert land, a hundred billboards, and about 10 phonecalls to friends verifying the accurateness of our location, we finally reached Ibn Battuta Mall!!! it has a horizontal built with artistic design all over. it has the size of megamall multiplied by three!!! it has prominent shops inside and big grocery as well. imagine having three (or more??? i couldn't recall, but i did saw more than two) starbucks coffee shops inside!! so, that's how big it is. (FYI: design depicts the places taken by a 14th century arab traveller, known as ibn battuta, who's full name and title is Shams ad-Din Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammed ibn Ibrahim Ibn Battuta al-Lawati al-Tanji. hanep sa haba noh! =) ) i was able to buy my mobile phone cover from one of its shops too. we met up with evangeline and her former officemate from the philippines, darwin, who's also on a visit visa. naku, eva's still a wacky fella. daming kwentong mala-telenobela..hehehe. after we have walked the mall about five times, we called it a day and decided to give our foot and mouths some rests. =) we separated ways about 8:30 pm.

marvin and me travelled back to abu dhabi about 9 pm and we reached home about 10:45 pm, wasted and so sleepy. yep, we missed all the tele-nobelas in TFC for this day but i heard quite new ones based on true stories from evangeline! so, it wasn't quite a big loss after all...hehehe.

"raquel, mai, bong,chris"

i just got a new mobile phone! this is actually my dream phone... an i-mate JAM. yey! along with it is a 128MB SD memory card.

my old yet sentimental mobile phone, Nokia 6510, has been missplaced a couple of times and yet it has always found its way back to me. call that loyalty to the max! hehehe. with that, i have returned the favor by being as loyal as she is (i somehow assumed it is a "she", hehehe). even if everyone has got a new mobile phone with lotsa features, a polyphonic tone, a camera, bluetooth connection capability, etc... i have never thought of changing my mobile phone. well, that is, before i saw the i-mate JAM. well, i am more inclined into getting this brand/model not because of the tone, camera or bluetooth features. but, i am more attracted with it being more of a PDA with a phone and NOT a phone with PDA. getsch mo??? =) basta, when i saw this phone a few months back, i told myself that this is going to be the last mobile phone that i will ever own. am supposed to get this for my birthday but then, each day i become so restless kakaisip on how it's going to be when i finally have it. ang drama...hehe. anyway, now that it's with me, katabi ko na siya sa pagtulog lagi... ngahaha.

oh well, as of now, i'll be busy tinkering with this phony for awhile. learning why some people aren't comfortable with it...hehehe. ang weird, noh? but i like taking the plunge in things the majority are not used to.