A few weeks ago, E and I went on a 3-day Hong Kong holiday. With us were my girl friends Pat, Jes and Riri, plus Riri’s mom. We shopped at every corner, ate whatever looked interesting and toured until our feet hurt.

The culmination to our Hong Kong vacation was an overnight stay at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel and a full day of reliving our childhood in Hong Kong Disneyland. (Read about our other HK adventures here and here.)



After our second day of touring, we packed our bags and took the MTR to the happiest place on earth. Even while we were still on the train, we already felt the Disney spirit.

As I mentioned in my earlier blog post, E and I (together with my favorite girls Pat, Jes and Riri plus Tita Ceres) went on a Hong Kong vacation early this November. On our second day, our itinerary included a trip to The Peak, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and a city tour aboard the open-top buses.

Before heading out, we couldn’t miss breakfast at the Very Good Seafood Restaurant. It was on the same building as the Taisan Guesthouse where we stayed for a couple of nights, so we walked by it a lot of times. We actually thought it was a take-out counter and were surprised when the lady led us to an underground restaurant. An actual restaurant. (As Ria pointed out, it’s like Cebu’s Grand Majestic.lol)

Since it was still early, they only served breakfast fare, meaning mostly dimsum. Hai, I’d love to eat dimsum every morning for breakfast.




After a that big, yummy breakfast, it was time to start another day of touring.

The Peak is located on Hong Kong island, which we’ve been to the day before. But instead of taking the ferry, we took the MTR. The train actually passed underwater and we didn’t even feel it. Once we were on Hong Kong island, we walked from Central Station to the Peak Tram. This time, we saw the buildings in daylight.

Early this month, E and I went on a Hong Kong vacation with my favorite girls – Jessa, Pat, Ria – and Ria’s mom. Pat’s boyfriend Mar was also supposed to join us but unfortunately, after a sudden turn of events, he had to stay home in Singapore. Erika had coast guard duties to attend to and Adel’s all the way in the States.

We didn’t really plan anything for the long weekend because we wanted it to be very low cost, in preparation for next weekend’s trips. It just so happened that we saw the Nuvali ad right before the screening of Puss in Boots. Since we had 2 more days to waste away, we decided to go on a road trip to Laguna, have brunch and enjoy the fresh air for a change.

Last month, I was on business trip during the week of our 4th anniversary. Today, I am in Costa Rica for business and will be missing again our monthsary in a couple of days. With the 14-hour time difference, it is definitely hard to stay in touch.

We agreed, then, to cover a song that best describes our current situation. With videos from Yza in Makati and videos from me in transit airports and in the hotel, we placed together a video for Simple Plan's and Natasha Bedingfield's song called Jet Lag. Aside from the appropriateness of the song, we just really like it (Proof: this song has already been used twice in this blog) so it's a win-win. =)

...and the spending-monthsaries-and-anniversaries-away-from-each-other streak will continue next month, Yza leaving this time. =( But what matters is we still keep in touch and we always look forward to seeing each other afterwards.

I just hope December will be a different story.

Cheers,

+ 

After our friend Gia’s very convincing endorsement earlier this year, Yza had always wanted to visit The Myth of the Human Body exhibit. We just couldn’t find the time to do it. Fortunately, my sister was in town last weekend. This gave us an excuse to finally go. Funny how we usually only get to visit places close to where we are when we have visitors to tour around. So that rainy Sunday, Y&E, with Nica, Kuya Renwick and Donna had a very educational afternoon.

The Myth of the Human Body is an exhibit from Korea which features real human body parts with the intent of giving the audience a quick review of the human anatomy and at the same time, show people what an unhealthy life can do to your precious body parts.

There are only 2 designated areas where photos can be taken – at  the entrance and at the exit. Within the premises of the exhibit, taking of photos is strictly not allowed.

...spent another anniversary outside the country...without her. =(

Cheers,

If I were in high school and my future self came to visit and told me that in 2011 I’d be in a committed four-year relationship with Eliel, I’d probably roll on the floor laughing. For one thing, he was this emo, freaky-genius Math wiz who’s so tiny, it’s like he’s everyone’s smart little brother. Also, I not-so-secretly wanted him to end up with one of my friends. We were never classmates and we even ran against each other for a batch officer position.

If I were in college, freshman year, and my future self came to visit and told me that in 3 years, I’d agree to be Eliel’s girlfriend, I’d probably think future Yza was joking. Unlike most of my high school batchmates who came to Manila to study in either UP Diliman or Ateneo, Eliel was the only one who went to La Salle. It's almost impossible for us to meet on a regular basis. Besides, I always wanted a long-haired artsy UP boyfriend. Haha.

But look how things turned out. Looks like the joke’s on me.

I love how something so unexpected ended up as the best thing that ever happened in my life. Now, I couldn’t remember what it was like before it was Eliel and Yza, Eliza, Elyza, U.S.

I guess those years of being friends and not expecting anything really helped push us in the right direction. Right now, more than anything else, we’re friends, best friends who can’t get enough of each other. This, I realized, is what makes our bond super fun, though not as dramatic as some relationships are. Just the way I like it.



Four years is both a short time and a long time (depending on how you look at it) and it’s been a crazy-nonstop getting-to-know-you phase. Every day, there is still something new to find out. (Like last week, I found out he has photographic memory and I’m green with envy.) There is always something funny to laugh about.  There are always amazing new places to visit. There is always time for cuddling and silly banter, just like there is time for serious conversations (relatively shorter than the silly talk, though). There is always something worth sharing and I’m glad I found the right person to be with. Gosh. I'm lucky AND blessed.

I love you, E!
Happy Fourth Birthday to U.S.

xoxo,


p.s. I am still waiting for the day when we don't celebrate our anniversary playing Farmville (2009) or miles apart (2010 and 2011).

Our free round trip tickets to any domestic destination c/o Cebu Pacific were about to expire (recall our free tickets from our Coron trip). The August long weekend was the last good opportunity for us to book these or else we’d have to settle for a short weekend trip. The initial plan was CDO-Camiguin but a couple of people were not available so we booked for Cebu instead and reserved the CDO-Camiguin adventure for next time.

After a few heart-pounding moments (e.g. last-minute arrival at the airport, no available parking until after check-in, last 2 seats for me and Yza, etc), we finally boarded the plane bound for Mactan Cebu International Airport.

Inspired by the youtube covers of Tyler Ward / Heather Janssen and Olivia Mitchell / Landon Austin, we took a shot at creating our own rendition of One Republic's Good Life.

♪♫ please tell me-e-e-e what there is to complain about. ♬♩


Cheers,

Last summer, we joined the Kabataang Inyong Dapat Suportahan (K.I.D.S.) Foundation on their 7th Trek To Remember at Tanudan, Kalinga. You can read about it here.  Needless to say, we had an awesome travel/volunteering experience.

So anyway, the K.I.D.S. Foundation holds these kinds of treks twice a year. The next one will be this coming November in Aklan. E and I won't be able to make it this time, due to previous commitments, but we're inviting you to be a part of this amazing activity that could possibly change your life.

Because growing old is optional.

Cheers,

A couple of weeks ago, a friend posted a link in Facebook. It was linked to a blog unlike any other. At first glance, you’ll think it’s just your ordinary photo blog but after a few seconds, the photos just suddenly move! Be amazed by clicking here.

These are what they call ‘cinemagraphs’. These works of art are not exactly photos, but they’re not videos either. Cinemagraphs isolate movement in certain parts of the image only while keeping the rest of the image still.

This inspired us to create our own cinemagraphs. So starting with this post, we will regularly publish our own set of creations as we try to make still photos come to life.

Our first-ever cinemagraph:



Cheers,

Last February, an international seat sale was announced by Cebu Pacific. We wanted to book a flight to Singapore because of 3 things: (1) Yza is excited to have her new passport stamped for the first time, (2) I haven’t been to Singapore yet, and (3) I wanted to buy a zoom lens for my camera. So we booked our flights for June and paid around ~Php2.9k each for a round trip ticket. Not bad.

Four and a half months later, we were on a plane bound for Singapore.

Two rainy Mondays ago, it was a holiday so Yelie and I decided to have a nice "date day." We didn't want to waste away the beautiful day so we went out for brunch, coffee and a movie. :)

We decided to eat at this cute diner along Burgos Street (right smack in the red light district of Makati) called the Filling Station.

Yza watched this movie about a month ago and wanted me to watch it right after. However, due to reasons not really important to detail here :), I was only able to watch it a week ago and wasn’t even able to finish it. Finally, this week, I finished the remaining half. Below is our personal review of this movie.

This is a spoiler-free review.

A week ago, Yza and I both received emails from an anonymous friend inviting us to claim a free drink from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Last weekend, we decided to claim 1 of our 2 free drinks at CBTL-Greenbelt 3 (just one, I’m not really a coffee fan). More than anything, we were curious about why Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is having this promo. When we lined up to order our free drink (Mocha Latte), we were asked which type of espresso we wanted with it. We asked the barista for his recommendation and were advised to try the Continental espresso. A beverage capsule was handed to us (we didn’t know what it was and what we were supposed to do with it). One of the baristas then led us to this corner where they taught us how to use their new one-touch machines.

After inserting the beverage capsule into a slot on top of the machine and pressing a button, espresso automatically poured out, straight to the cup. Yza said, “But I ordered a Mocha Latte!” The barista just smiled and said that the beverage wasn’t done yet. She took the cup of hot espresso to the counter and worked her magic. After a few seconds, voila, we got our Mocha Latte, as ordered.

I think that the most logical reason why they’re doing this free coffee promo is to promote their new machines and beverage capsules for coffee lovers out there. Check out CBTL’s website here to see more varieties of the one-touch machines and beverage capsules available including description, comparison and prices.

You can also get your free drink by going to their Spread The Froth campaign website here. However, upon checking a few minutes ago, it is currently not accepting additional registrations due to the “overwhelming support”. Just check it out from time to time. Based from the message, it seems like they are looking at opening the registration again soon.

P.D. We are not, in any way, affiliated with Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf – just 2 happy customers who wanted to share the experience.

Cheers,

Our friend, Chino, celebrated his birthday last June 11. The tropa met up at Glorietta, had dinner at Max’s (chicken all-you-can!) and then watched Hangover 2. Below is our personal review of this movie.

This is a spoiler-free review.

The Trailer

Funny how life leads us somewhere unexpectedly.

We initially wanted to go to Sagada so we went on sites that featured the place. We stumbled upon a post on the Visit Sagada site inviting individuals to join K.I.D.S. Foundation’s Trek For a Cause.  This wasn’t the first time we heard of the trek (we’ve seen it in yahoogroups and in Multiply, a few times in the past), but the timing of this invite was just perfect.  This summer’s trek destination was Tanudan, Kalinga.  We thought, “Hey, why not do this trip instead of Sagada?” It seemed like a better idea. We get to go on a trekking adventure to somewhere beautiful, we get to help K.I.D.S. with their medical mission, and we get to reach out to the people of Kalinga.  Fun and fulfilling. Needless to say, it turned out to be a summer trip we’d never forget. Yey!

Photos by: Tin Mantuano (left) and Djoanne Tiambeng (right)

After waiting for so long, we finally pushed through with our tropa summer getaway at Coron, Palawan. I've long wanted to visit Palawan, and I was not disappointed. :) Must go back to Palawan someday to check out the famous Underground River and the beaches of El Nido. For now, here's a summary, in photos, of 4 perfect days in paradise :)  Photos are from everyone's cameras.

But first, let me introduce everyone:

It is the year 2020. People are being cloned left and right. Why? I don't know. Some government experiment, maybe?

Anyway, this got me thinking. What if there were 1 gazillion Eliels running around in the world? How will I know who the real Eliel is? Will he please stand up? But what if he won't?

So anyway, for the fun of it, I came up with a little list of helpful ways to spot an Eliel. It might come in handy one day. Might as well be prepared, you know? :)


Top 10 Ways to Spot an Eliel:

1. He frequents McDo and KFC, and his exact orders are as follows:
Mcdo - Chicken fillet with rice + Burger McDo meal (regular fries and regular Sprite)
KFC - one of these combinations: Wow steak with rice + Hot Shots meal (regular fries and regular Mountain Dew) + extra rice OR 1 piece original chicken with rice + 1 piece hot and crispy with rice meal (regular Mountain Dew)

2. He constantly worries about the state of the stock market. Between 9 A.M.-12 P.M., he is on www.citiseconline.com.

3. He is a rare guy who hates violent movies. He will watch Mandy Moore movies with me with great enthusiasm. Seriously.

4. He is a decent rapper, especially when it comes to Salbakuta songs. True story: he loves to show off by singing Stupid Love on karaoke nights.

5. Also, he treats life as one big musical. He will complete my sentences...with a song line.
Example:
Yza: Yelie! Hello!
Eliel: ♫♪Is It me you're looking for?♪♫♪

6. He will keep wearing old high school batch shirts even if high school was 7 years ago.  Probably 'coz his old shirts only fit  him now. (Late bloomer!)

7. He will make an Excel chart for (literally) every thing: his expenses, his laundry list , his Mafia Wars weapons, his Black Jack/Pontoon strategies, the flavor/dip combinations we've tried at Flaming Wings.

8. He says he's "lactose intolerant" even if he's not. And he endlessly complains about his "muscle spasms". Muscle smwashamssss.

9. He does not know how to properly eat chicken. It always has left-over meat and skin.

10.  He does not care about winning arguments. I always win arguments. Ha!

XOXO,



p.s. One more thing about Eliel... He always copies me! I will bet a million bucks that he's going to write a similar list right after I post this. LOL Peace, Yelie:)

E and I have been craving for more “productive” weekends. You know – get some air, see new things, build new memories. ‘Coz even though we love our “mikla” days (ordering take-out, mindless Facebooking, watching our never-ending list of TV series, watching movies on the laptop, me-reading books and him-reading forums on stock trading), we do need to go out sometimes.

So the past month, we did just that. And honestly I think we exhausted ourselves. LOL But in a good way. :P

Double date Weekend

It started with a double date. (awesome photo c/o Kuya Renwick).