Puppies’ V-Day (Vet Day)

It was time for another visit to the vet — De-worming shot for our two shih tzu puppies.

These were photos from the back seat of the car, on our way to the doctor.

We had to wait for a few minutes before the vet was able to accommodate us. The puppies were shaking the whole time so my brother took them out of the basket and played with them to keep them calm. (Surprisingly, it worked!)

The doctor’s assistant got their temperatures first. Then it was time for the vaccine.

I’m sure it was painful, but both didn’t cry.. We placed them back in their basket and took more pictures!

They’re both such cuties and we love them to bits!

Ondoy’s Unfriendly Visit to the Philippines

Last Satuday, when the water was almost getting into the house, my sister and I got our own dustpans and used it to scoop the water out on the streets. After about ten minutes, we noticed that the scooping out isn’t helping so we all decided to lift our things up to save them from getting wet.

Thirty minutes after, the water was knee-deep. The rain didn’t stop and the water kept rising. We all stopped lifting and headed to the second floor to dry up. All I could do was to pray it doesn’t reach us. I am very thankful it didn’t.

Morning came, the water was gone, but our things, wet. It’s not hard to tell that it will take days to restore.

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Last week, my dad was operated. He was scheduled to get discharged Saturday morning, but because he kept telling the doctors that he’d rather rest at home, they sent him home Friday afternoon.

Money was a factor in deciding which hospital to confine him at. Our first choice ofcourse was St. Lukes, but if our budget wouldn’t match, our next choice was UERM. We decided to go to St. Lukes. Last Sunday, I saw a video of UERM hospital. The cars were floating like boats and the people, stranded.

Since we we’re expecting to stay in the hospital for a while, we did the groceries last week —- complete from noodles to tissue papers. These were what we consumed when we got stranded inside our house and couldn’t get out because of the flood.

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Weighing the two, I’m very thankful that it was only our things that got damaged and our family, intact. Keep safe everyone and keep the faith.

My Album – by the Girls

After getting a hold of all the pictures, I’d like to share photos of me, and some of Rommel’s too — taken by the girls.

Thanks, Keepers, I love them all!!

Keepers: the Photo Shoot

We’ve been talking about it for months…… Yesterday, it finally materialized!

After months and months of planning, my friends and I finally got together for a photo shoot of our own; this time using ourselves as our own models.

The weather wasn’t too cooperative so instead of doing it outdoor, Kai, Cza, Anne and I, with Rommel, Arvic, Sean and Pete just did the shoot at Aimee’s.

Each of us had our own camera. One would pose and the rest would shoot. This was done in rotation until everybody got their turn. Then, we would all post our photos and see versions from the different photographers!

It was fun, fun, fun!! =) Too bad Eliza, Prec and Sheen couldn’t make it. I’m sure they’d love it too!

“Our Photo Album”

I would like to thank our partners, for patiently waiting for us while we got dressed, for arranging the proper lighting and for taking our pictures when we wanted more.

A thank you hug goes to Rommel for my pictures Love you.

Cubao X: Heima

Bong Rojales, a co-owner of Heima explains that Heima is a glimpse of home.

The store provides a whimsical display of household decorations where everything you see is for sale.

Bong shares the same passion as me and Rommel; photography. I was overwhelmed to hear that he is actually one of the founders of Lomo Manila.

He owns a collection of lomo cameras and you can find it right in his store. Rommel had a big smile on his face while browsing through Bong’s lomo camera display.

There are a lot to see inside. You should come by sometime and check out for yourself.

Heima

G/F Shop 33, Cubao Expo, Quezon City Philippines

I wanna be..

And I sing —– “I wanna be a supermodel” by Letters to Cleo.

The first time I heard the song, it just played and played in my head, and then I thought.. “Hey, I really wanted to be one…”

But now that I’m grown up, I sing, “I wanna be a photo blogger”.

I’ve been doing it for some time now but never really knew it was called that. Thanks to Rommel’s Kuya Anton (see www.ourawesomeplanet.com for details), everything is now as clear as crystal. From the terms, to the works and finally, the techniques — he got that all covered in his photoblogging seminar held in Cubao X.

The day started with lunch at Bellini’s. We all took turns of taking food shots and have Anton see if the photo works or not; (Let’s admit, aside from his write ups, it’s also the photos that make us all go and visit what he recommends, right?)

Our Bellini’s experience is posted in my previous post. You may wanna check it to see photos of Bellini’s best.

After a delightful lunch, we went to Haima for a short slide presentation and then started to walk around Cubao Expo for our first photoblog exposure. Aside from taking down notes, and taking photos for visual purposes, Rommel and I took shots, though not related to the story of the store is pretty much an exposure of how we are individually and as a couple. As a popular quote say, “the photo says it all”.

I will surely blog about the stores we visited. But in the meantime, here is us. Yet, again.

P.S. Happy monthsary. Louve you.

Bellini’s Italian Restaurant @ the Cubao Expo

I know I’ve seen these bread sticks before…

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How could I miss that scenes from the movie “One More Chance” by John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo were actually shot here!!!

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Bellini’s is an Italian Restaurant owned by Roberto and his Filipina wife, Maria Luisa. It is located at the heart of Cubao Expo and has been there for ten years now. This was my first time to eat at Bellini’s, and thanks to Anton of ourawesomeplanet.com, I get to attend my first photo blogging class here, too!

Inside the restaurant are hand-drawn walls and mural paintings on the ceiling that provide the look and feel of Italy.

I even requested that Rommel take my picture imitating a woman in the painting. =)

As oppose to those who say that Bellini’s shouldn’t belong to Cubao X because of a totally different ambiance it has from outside, I think it fits perfectly here. Cubao Expo is home to a lot of creative artists and Roberto is definitely one of them.

And so after filling our cameras with artful photos, it was time to fill our tummies with food! For lunch, we had risotto, pizza and pasta all equally delicious!

The Quinticco Pasta – top 5 pasta dishes served in one big plate

The best part of the meal for me was dessert!!!

the busy bees….

I would recommend Bellini’s to all the lovers out there. The ambiance is perfect for a romantic candlelit dinner for two while imagining yourselves dinning in Italy.

Credits for the artful photos, ofcourse, goes to Rommel of cinematiconcepts.com

Thank you. =)

Bellini’s Italian Restaurant
Cubao Expo, Gen. Romulo Ave., Cubao
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Cagayan – Spelunking

It was a 30 minute drive from Tuguegarao to Peñablanca.

Day 2 of our Cagayan Northern Adventure was to visit two of the most popular caves in their region, the Callao cave and the Roc cave.

The Callao cave is the more popular of the two because of a chapel naturally formed by stalactites and stalagmites inside the cave.

There is a total of 7 chambers inside Callao cave. The temperature gets colder and colder as you get deeper into the darkness. Although there are natural crevices which lets the light get into the cave, flashlights are still very useful so you could watch your step.

The second cave is the Roc cave.

Contrary to Callao, Roc is a “living” cave and is much harder to explore. Living caves are those which still forms stalactites and stalagmites through the action of water inside the cave.

We had to rapel a little to get into the locked gates of Roc. The key of the gates are being held by the government to protect it from vandalism so each visit is being logged in their records.

This was a “before” picture. Wait, ’til you see how we look like in the “after” picture

Inside the cave, we were only given one rule, and that is not to touch the stalactites and stalagmites.

Oil in not soluble in water, so if we were to touch a stalactite or stalagmite, we would temporarily make the water avoid that spot and affect it’s growth.

And because it was harder to explore, it was more fun. Flashlights are required because light rarely pass through.

Part of the tour was an option to go inside a deep cave wherein you have to literally crawl to your belly just to pass through. Since the space is very small, it is highly receommended to go in pairs so that each one could watch over the other while inside. It was the longest fifteen minutes of my life!

We also saw cave insects and shell impressions.

And lastly, mud dipping!
Deep in the cave was a deposit of soft mud and we all took our shoes of and started dipping our legs in what felt like melted chocolate on your skin. It was great!

As promised, the mud-filled girls posing for the camera.

It was priceless. I’m glad I didn’t have to go to another country just to experience this.

I have one last post to create for our Cagayan northern Adventure — whitewater rafting with Mr.Anton Carag and his team. Stay tuned!!! =)

Cubao X: Teaser

class courtesy of Our Awesome Planet

Cagayan: White Water Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a kayak across moving water and a kayak is a small human-powered boat such as these:

Whitewater kayaking on the other hand involves taking a kayak on a whitewater river that can range from simple to dangerous whitewaters. Being said so, one is required to take a crash course on what to do when the kayak tips over as well as how to go back on the boat.

Argel, one of the tour guides, believes that there’s no better way to learn, but to practice on water.

Me

Rommel

The rest of the group waited on the side for their turn to be tipped over.

After the training it was time to hit the rapids!

Each of us was assigned a boat by Argel.
Rommel got the green boat and I got a blue one. Along with the boat is a double-bladed paddle we would use to run the rapids with.

And so, equipped with proper training, the fun began!

It was my turn first.

Luckily, I was able to complete the trail without falling….

but I couldn’t say the same for Rommel…

In the middle of the trail, the waves started to get bigger and hit his kayak causing it to tip over.

Don’t worry, we were taught well. Rommel was able to get back up and finish the trail safely.

Kayaking is only the beginning.

Our Cagayan Northern Adventure just begins here…..

..I would like to thank Anton Carag’s team for taking the photos while we were all in the water.