July 8 - The Suite Life

Our client decided to check in sa Oakwood for his brand's planning session. He got a two-bedroom suite for the planning session proper and two single bedroom suites for the participants. Although pwede naman akong umuwi, sinamahan ko na lang si Monik sa room. Besides, I LOVE hotel breakfast buffets.

Have you been to the Oakwood in Ortigas? The rooms are fabulous! Ours has a kitchen na may oven, a nice countertop stove, a microwave oven, coffeemaker, dishwasher... Pagbukas mo nung isang cabinet, may washing machine pa! At hindi siya yung tipong binili sa Macro ha. Yung tipong bonggang-bongga na sa harap ang bukasan at stainless steel ang loob.

Sa sala, of course super plush ang mga sofa. There's a I-don't-know-how-many-inches-but-it's-really-big wallmounted plasma TV plus DVD player. In our room there's also a TV that's slightly smaller than the big one sa living room. Meron din sa bathroom, which you can use while relaxing sa bathtub... oooohhh!

Aside from the bathtub, the bathroom has something like a mini-spa/sauna. Their soap is glicerine -- yung amber ang color, mukhang Neutrogena. Smells like Lush though. Sabi ni Nyora, L'Occitane dati yung toiletries ng Oakwood. Sosyal!

Definitely, I've got my two thumbs up for Oakwood. Ganda pa ng service at friendly ang staff. Gwapo pa yung nasa front desk. Si Reno? Bagay sila ni Monik.

July 6 - Rich Lola

Yesterday I went brisk walking at the Legazpi Active Park and encountered Rich Lola again. This is the lola with a white Ford van (Explorer ba yun? Everest? Basta malaki) WPY 138 and an entourage of 10. Hula ko, nanay siya ng isang politiko. Kasi dati, may escort pa siyang police.

This time, na reduce na ang kanyang alipores to 5: dalawang nurse, isang boy na tagatulak ng oxygen tank, isang babae na nakaheels (possibly a doctor) at isang medyo bagets na tagahawak ng payong ng babaeng naka-heels. Di na suot ni Lola ang kumukutitap na brilyantes sa daliri at tenga.

Siguro natalo sa eleksyon ang anak.

Pero bagamat simplified lifestyle na si Rich Lola, balidosa pa rin siya. After ilang ikot sa park on her wheelchair, one of the nurses wiped her face and applied blush on her cheeks! Ayos.

July 5 - Phil-Am Friendship Day

Actually, Phiil-American Friendship Day falls on July 4. Yup, that's what we used to call the American Independence Day. At dati, holiday siya. Walang pasok.

Siguro dahil Phil-American Friendship Day, they started the show Umagang Kay Ganda with this singer doing his rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner". Sa background may Philippine and American flags and a couple of people with their kanang kamay sa dibdib.

Hmm... parang may mali doon.

July 4 - Back to Baking

I want to renew my ties with the oven. Bought baking ingredients when I went to market today and made some chocolate chip cookies from scratch. If only I had time, would've baked fudge brownies too. Pero kapos sa oras, so next week na lang.

I also want to do some serious bread-making. Used to make really good ensaymadas, donuts and burli bread (yung may braiding involved). I even formulated my very own recipe for pan de sal! Maaalala ko pa kaya ang techniques? It's been a long time.

July 3 - Starting with a Prayer

Today is Andy's first day to attend ROTC. His class is from 7 AM to 12 noon. (May pasok siya ng Sunday?!) Yes, may pasok siya ng Sunday.

But since UST is a Catholic university, the class starts with Sunday mass. Short lang daw ang sermon. Doon na lang kaya kami magsimba?

July 2 - Killing Time

Today is a day of killing time. While waiting for DGob, I finished reading Now That We're Six -- a Winnie-the-Pooh book by A.A. Milne. It's really a book of poetry. Not exactly my type. Read it only because I like Winnie-the-Pooh.

Back at home, since our Globe Broadband internet isn't working, I just spent the whole time playing "Plants vs. Zombies". Was able to reach 17 flags sa Endless ng Survival. Not bad for starters.

Would like to bake cookies sana pero kulang sa ingredients. Ho-hum... what a lazy day.

July 1 - Knee Support

Went to Toby's at Shangri-La Plaza to buy knee support for Andy. Never thought there would be so many choices. May elastic, may parang foamy material, may parang foamy pero breathable material; may butas, may wala; merong may wire support, may diretso lang... Grabe -- ang dami talaga!

Syempre in the end, ang binili ko ay yung mura (50% off, less than P200 lang siya). In fairness, okay naman daw ang fit. And made in USA naman (yata).

June 30 - Doctor, Doctor, Andy's Sick

Dr. Carnero is abroad pala and will be out of the country until October. Ganun?! Syempre they didn't tell us when we went to Medical City Marikina last Saturday. Pinabalik pa si Andy ng Monday, just to tell him to come back and see this other doctor today. Labo.

So while PNoy was taking his oath, nandoon kami sa clinic consulting Dr. Miranda. As expected, pina-xray yung knee and better kung mapa-MRI din. (MRI betchabygollywow ang mahal)

Negative naman for fracture. Malamang nabugbog lang yung ligaments, like before. Pero sobrang swollen. That's why the doctor decided to aspirate. Aspirate is like getting an injection, pero pabaligtad. Extracted from Andy's knee was 72cc of blood! Datsalottablood!

My understanding is -- may nasugatan sa loob and since walang sugat sa labas, na stuck siya inside. Right after the aspiration, the swelling was practically gone.

At magkano naman ang ginastos? P3,000 for the aspiration plus consultation, P11 for the syringe ek, P1,800+ for the antibiotics/anti-maga drugs. Isama mo na dyan yung P700+ for the x-ray and P600 for the crutches. Next Wednesday, check-up uli ni Andy.

There goes the money I was saving for my Citibank utang.

June 29 - Magarbo

Rode the MRT today from Mantrade to the Shang. I passed through this mall connected to the MRT station and discovered this little shop with some interesting pieces.

Lahat ng blouses na type ko P350 lang. I don't know if all their items are the same price (parang P99 Store). I also don't know if they have sizes.

I have a hunch ukay siya combined with stuff sourced from biyaheras. Hunch lang naman. Anyway, ukay or not, pag makaluwag sa mga bayarin, expect me to go on a shopping spree. Yesss! (kelan kaya yun?)

June 28 - Here Comes the Rain Again

Almost every afternoon, umuulan na. Today it rained extra hard. That's why sa kalsada, it was extra traffic too.

I hitched with Arleen and went down at Riverside. Rode the bus because I heard flooded ang Brookside.

But then traffic was sooooo slooowww...so slow, nag-subside na ang baha by the time we passed. Hindi ko alam kung matutuwa ako.

June 27 - Toy Story 3

Ganito ang eksena: Woody and the other toys were about to escape from Sunny Day Daycare. Gabi na and they were sneaking through the playground. Big Baby, this doll na kirat na parang props sa Patayin Mo sa Sindak si Barbara, nakaupo sa swing. Suddenly, it turns its head a full 180 degrees!

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

That was this little boy seated sa row behind us. Joskoday, OA ang sigaw ha. Nakakatawa.

June 26 - PWD

Person With Disability. Like Andy, whose knee injury strikes again. This time, I think it's worse kasi hirap talaga siyang maglakad, I had to buy him crutches.

Eh today we watched the Last Full Show of Toy Story 3. After the movie, syempre di na umaandar ang escalator. Thanks to Andy, pinagamit sa amin ng considerate guards of SM Taytay yung freight elevator. For the first time in the many years na nanonood ako ng LFS sa SM, di ako naglakad sa escalator (Eh I hate walking through the escalator!)

May bright side din pala ang pagiging pilay, 'no? One of these days, makapark nga sa handicapped parking lot.