better late than never

it's been nearly two months since our wedding, and a month after the honeymoon - so yes, this is quite a delayed post on our 2-week honeymoon. =)

DAYS 1-2: SUBIC BAY YACHT CLUB

the day after our wedding, we were off to subic with my clan. we got to the subic bay yacht club early in the afternoon, and after checking-in and getting settled in our rooms, we were off to ninong b's yacht for an afternoon cruise complete with your choice of alcohol in hand. (the yacht club's rooms were great by the way - each room had its own jacuzzi!). it had been at least 5 years since we were all complete, and that was the best thing about our wedding - an excuse for all the cousins to see each other again!





on a sad note though, we accidentally left my bridal bouquet on ninong b's boat. argh.

DAYS 3-6: PALAWAN (the place, not the ballroom LOL)

the next day, we went back to manila - and packed for our honeymoon in palawan! the next morning, we were at the soriano hangar by 8am. it's funny that one of the reminders/announcements before we boarded the 20-seater plane was to not panic at the sight of smoke coming from the aircon vents. LOL.

and yes, there was smoke, much like that from a fog machine... hehe but not to worry, it was just the good old aircon. LOL.

after landing at the el nido airstrip, we went on a small boat, to get to a big boat, that would take us to Lagen. (apparently, the small-boat-to-big-boat transfer process was going to be routinary for us in the next 4 days.)

Lagen was a beautiful honeymoon resort. service and food was great, plus we got the farthest water cottage that gave us a beautiful view of the sun setting.



the afternoon we got there, we went to 2 different caves in nearby islands - we even had to crawl thru a small hole to get into one!

on our second day, we went to the Big and Small Lagoons and kayaked our way around. next stop was lunch at pangalusian island where we also snorkelled a bit. it wasn't much of a sight though as it started raining.







when we got back to lagen, it was time for the intro dive included in our package. with an able dive master, we were taught the basics of diving, and were led to the coral wall, right beneath lagen's pier! it was so awesome that we decided to do it again the next day, on a different island!

that afternoon, we went fishing too.. and after getting a fishing lecture from aldo... i (sige na nga.. we) caught one!




the next day, we were off to miniloc for our 2nd intro dive. this time, it was even more beautiful because there were more fish and corals... although i must say, being surrounded by a hundred fish is a bit scary... and even scarier is the jack fish (or local talakitok) circling around you with its eye on you.





one more thing we were able to try at miniloc was windsurfing! hmm, i never realized how heavy that sail was til i had to carry it while standing on the board! but it was totally fun, especially since we were trying it out while it was raining! LOL.

on our last day, we kayaked our way to lagen's secluded beach with our 4-day guide Chito. he showed us where the Amazing Race teams rapelled and kayaked.. and even took our picture on the raft that they used. it had started raining when we got there so we had to wait a bit before heading out again. by this time the waves were getting a bit rough so chito decided to just call a speedboat because it might be too dangerous for us.

by 3pm, we had to go. the staff sang their goodbye harana and waved til we got on the big boat.



by 5pm, we were up on the air with the aircon vents smoking once more, with happy memories of palawan with us.



DAY 7: PENINSULA

we got back on a friday afternoon, and had to check-in at the peninsula by saturday. yes, our 3rd hotel by this time. LOL. it was our 7-day home - by that monday i had gone back to work to hand in my resignation so it was pretty convenient that all i had to do was cross ayala.

DAY 13: SAILING

a work week later, we were invited by aldo's lolo to go sailing with him during the manila yacht club's opening parade. aldo's long-time passion is on sailing and it was with much kilig that we went aboard Vivaldi, lolo d's beautiful 35 ft. sailboat. tacks, sails, and 90-degree winds later, we gave our salutes to the yacht club's commodore.







by Day 18 we were packed and ready to leave for the airport. now how's that for saying goodbye - albeit temporarily - to manila? =)

in the alley!

talk about living without borders - Alley Cats was a great play! we were at the opening night last night at the Vogue Theater and enjoyed the show tremendously. it's a contemporary play that's tailor-fit to vancouver's quirky neighborhood, especially the downtown area... Alley Cats is almost Rent's funnier and younger sister (no pun intended).

as expected, there were mistakes and missed cues here and there - mostly by the girl who played Hilda - but she was quick to recover from them anyway.

i love that the cast is a small one, and the set a pretty simple one too. the best part to watch out for - a male ballet dancer (ballerino?!?) in the show who makes a Swan Lake death scene.

so if you're into a quirky storyline, catchy songs, and lots of kissing on-stage... catch Alley Cats!

20 random facts about me

the rules of the game: tag the same amount of peopleas minutes it takes you to write the facts.

been tagged by Duke so here's to paying it forward!

1. i am afraid of birds.
2. i am a cheap date - 2 strong margaritas and i'm wobbly.
3. i've been married for 1 month and 16 days.
4. i can drive.
5. i love rollercoasters and theme parks.
6. i love theater - i will gladly join a production any day.
7. i don't think i can handle a customer service or retail job.
8. i am always on time.
9. i can speak a bit of thai.
10. i love chocolate!
11. i love starbucks' maple macchiato!
12. i love Ikea.
13. vancouver is now my new home.
14. i write better than i draw.
15. i think in words rather than in pictures.
16. i am allergic to shellfish.
17. and when i do eat shellfish accidentally, my eyes get puffy.
18. i don't smoke but i've acquired a liking to cigars.
19. i do not have the skills for xbox or pc strategy games.
20. i cannot sing.

not bad... 5 minutes. hehehe.

here's to hoping these people tag back!
1. Patring
2. Gabby
3. Mik
4. Len
5. Mia

who needs an art gallery when you can walk

art seems to be everywhere downtown - from carefully-planted chairs with messages near the beach, to the discreetly-placed stickers and drawings on walls - one can easily mistake them for beautiful graffiti. they're not exactly screaming "i'm art" right in your face, but they're around... the way art is supposed to be. so the best way to see art in vancouver? go to granville island and walk all over downtown.

this was along the sea wall

this one too

no, rocks don't grow mini-rocks when they're older

this one was sculpted wood placed on top of a driftwood

afternoon tea and a canucks game

sunshine was the perfect setting for afternoon tea at the fish house in stanley park last saturday.





finally, a day without having to put my rain jacket on! it was a perfect day for a walk to stanley park with a hundred others who took advantage of the sunshine!





and after 8 years in vancouver, aldo finally watched the vancouver canucks live! we found tickets to the vancouver canucks vs. dallas stars game and booked them right away - and became part of 18,000 people in the crowd! we had great seats - right behind the penalty box and across the teams. it was great to finally watch a game - i'm not much of a sport spectator (ESPN isn't exactly my favorite channel), but watching live will definitely turn you into a hockey fan.... it must have been the sound of players being cross-checked into the glass walls. it's pretty funny being in a gallery of hockey blokes too, because you get a running commentary and hockey lesson in every corner. as for aldo... he pretty much screamed his lungs out and let the players know he was on their side. hehehe. good thing we won 5-2! go canucks go!

home

yesterday was a rare day - sunshine, blus skies, and absolutely no rain! too bad i got stuck at home because we lost the apartment building door key, and had to wait for a replacement before i could get out!

the dining area

my kitchen window

overlooking the street

weekend projects

after 3 art-project hours at Opus in Granville Island, we were able to stretch the painting we got in manila... and we've learned that it's not at all easy as it seems. first you assemble the frame using stretcher bars, then the cross brace bar, and then hope that you've glued and stapled them well enough. next is the actual stretching - since the painting was done on another frame, the edges were pretty much set, so we had to try and follow the old grid - which we were successful at, save for one corner. voila!

Big Dragon II by Alvin Villaruel

the paintings bring a lot of life to the apartment walls - bringing them all the way from manila was definitely worth it!

To Who Knows When

the root of all this art appreciation? aldo's tita gave us a Legazpi sketch for our wedding gift and we were so giddy over it that we went to her art gallery in megamall to look around. before we knew it, we were making our first big purchase as a couple - and we couldn't be happier!

going domestic

the proverbial brakes have definitely been stepped on.

the last 7 days of my life have been straight out of the food and lifestyle networks... organizing cabinets, unpacking, shopping for kitchen items, cooking, and dollar-store runs for little things we need. it's a 180-degree turn from the lifestyle i've gotten used to since i started working, but at the same time i'm lovin' it... aldo's even more surprised that i cook rather well (hmm, or it might be because he has no other choice but patronize what's on the table LOL.). it's a good thing home is temporarily a studio apartment with a kitchen - so cleaning isn't such a big task.

it's thanksgiving this weekend (yaay, long weekend!) - which explains all the huge roasting pans and turkey stuffing mixes in virtually all supermarkets. quite apt, as we do have a lot of things to be thankful for, and even get turkey to celebrate them with!

but for now, we're slowly hanging our paintings, placing decor where there ought to be decor, and stacking the cupboard with pancake mix and maple syrup... one step at a time.

oh and hockey is back! much like the UAAP games in the philippines, or the World Cup season in thailand, everyone here goes crazy when the Vancouver Canucks play. aldo and mako were in full battle gear last night - jerseys, beer, and chips - when we watched the game vs. phoenix. we won!

*forgive the lack of pictures... i just found my camera today.

the best city to live in?

according to CNN.

turning into garfield

i am really convinced that there is something about aldo that brings out my crappiest allergies. last weekend while we were at American Eagle, i tried on a down vest with faux fur on the hood, and to my surprise my eyes started swelling. at first i thought it was just an ordinary case of watery eyes - i assumed it was because i was sleepy. but 3 stores down the hall, aldo noticed that my eyes were getting puffy again. and not the dainty kind of puffy too.

so we literally ran to the nearest drugstore and found Extra Strength Reactine just in time... swelling stopped and i ended up looking like i had too much sleep lang instead of having garfield eyes.

last time this happened was in '98 when we were on our first date. hmm.. i sure hope this isn't some bizaare mark of aldo-firsts! good thing this didn't happen on our wedding day because even eddie bruan would have freaked out!

the shopaholic is home

after getting over our jet lag, aldo and i have been shopping! friday we went to nearby Pacific Centre which was a 10-minute bus ride away from us. found a good deal on a queen-sized bed at Sleep Country and made a deposit on it after trying out more than 5 beds. (by trying out i mean being made by the sales consultants to lie down on each bed to see if it feels right.) next stop was at nearby Sears to purchase a few kitchen and bath items.

the next morning was much more domestic - a trip to the grocery, the fresh fruit and veggie market. aldo couldn't believe how stocked his refrigerator and pantry were. after a quick lunch, we headed to Granville Island to look for Opus, Vancouver's version of everything in National Bookstore' art supplies section. We had bought a 60" x 36" painting in Manila and had it rolled up, so we have to stretch it here. Ordered stretcher bars and cross bars at Opus, then went back home via the Aquabus.

sunday, we ventured into even more shopping - after a bus and a train ride away, we got to Metrotown! here we got fall and winter jackets and sweaters, plus shoes from Aldo of course!

so after 3 days of shopping, i finally feel like i fit into the fashion landscape somehow... as opposed to someone that's obviously fresh off the boat!

hehehe... nothing like shopping to welcome me home!