EMMA

Like I have told yah Keith is going gaga with car audio set-ups, and today we went to Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill to watch the 2009 National Finals of EMMA (European Mobile Media Association). We were joined by RJ and Peen.

We let the boys enjoy the show, afterall Peen and I could not relate. Bwahaha. We decided to have some chikka time, so we went to Mcdo, our all-time fave fastfood chain. I was craving for their crispy fries and hot fudge sundae. Natapos na ang chikka and all, wala pa din text from the boys. 7pm na so we went back, and told them we want to change venue nah puhleeez.

We convoyed to Boni High Street and had dinner at Kabisera.



Keith and Don Vito Corleone



I cannot divulge the chikkas for that night. You just have to ask Peen yourself, hehe *wink!

Feast of Sto Niño

Keith and I went to San Beda to attend the annual Pista ni Sto Niño. I didnt know what to expect, but I was happy to meet with my friends who promised to join the procession. Mendiola was closed, so we parked the car malapit sa Kambigan, and walked our way through the street that housed 5th street, 4th street, 3rd street - you know the rest. We met Peen and RJ at Mcdonald's. I just had lunch at home but I couldnt stop myself from eating those hot, crispy, golden french fries!

We heard the church bells of Our Lady of Montserrat. The procession has started. Weather was perfect - no sun, no rain. I watched in amazement as I saw girls in white and blue uniform (definitely not San Beda) wearing shoes with 2-in heels, anuvaaah! Kids were strutting their stuff. One would think you were in a fashion show and not in a procession. We waited for our queue coz alumni had to walk after the students. While waiting, I saw several people holding this odd-looking red stick. I was inggit so I told Keith I wanted one too and asked him how much. He said sandali lang, and after a few seconds he came back with a red stick in his hand, awww :)

We positioned ourselves right behind Sto. Nino. While walking, Keith said, tinataas ata yan - referring to my red stick. I looked at the people and yes, nka-taas nga. I said, huh? baka magkakulani ako dito?! Bwahaha. And so we walked, praying the rosary as we passed by the church of St. Jude, Malacañang, TIP, Teacher's College and back to San Beda.



Sto Niño.



Rj, Popeen and Moi (holding my flower stick).

Before leaving San Beda, we passed by The Abbey, otherwise known as Our Lady of Montserrat, constructed in 1926, it's really a sight to behold. We wanted to get married here, but during that time it was bawal, thanks to manila archbishop cardinal Rosales.

Keith and I had dinner at Gerry's in Tomas Morato. We met Dong there and made chikka until 10:30PM. Masaya the bonding moment... Until next time! :)

Loyola for Tito Chito Uy

Tito Chito died of heart and kidney complications on New Year's Day. He was 61.

Kabuki went to visit him at Loyola Guadalupe, chapel C. We brought snacks and exchanged stories. Ires tried her best to smile, but we all know how deeply saddened she is. She is one strong woman.



Note: before taking this pic, we said, ok no smiles ha!

Following the pamahiin, we cannot go straight home after coming from a wake, so we went to Bugsy's muna in Julia Vargas. We bought some drinks there and ordered pizza from Brooklyn. It was one of the best Kabuki bonding moments! We shared stories that went as far back as college, our crazy professors, and the unforgettable lunch restos we used to frequent. We also planned future gimiks like the pruseshon in Jan and Bora in Sept.



Dong, wish ko lang matuloy, hahaha!

Kabuki's Garage Sale

My friends and I joined our village’s “community garage sale”. Joining fee is P100 for a spot in the park with two monoblock chairs. We are four, so P25 each. We planned to sell our old clothes, shoes and accessories. Based from last week’s kwento, the best time to sell your items is at 6am because there’s an aerobics class every weekend morning.

Today, I woke up 8am coz we arrived late last night after attending a friend’s wedding. I was frantically looking for my cellphone and was expecting to see atleast 3 text messages and missed calls. As I reached for my phone which I strategically put in the sala (poor signal in the bedroom), aba wala ni isang text/call. So I started my phone barrage. “hey were are you?”, “tuloy ba today?” it seems that --tulog pa ang mga tindera, my geds. Well, what’s new, haha!

Inayos ko na lng my old stuff and put them all in one plastic bag. I don’t usually call the landlines of my friends coz they have cellphones naman but this time I had to call their house na talaga coz they were not replying. Ayan nakausap ko si polly and umaga na pla sha natulog after bringing jayson to the airport. He is on a business trip to Ohio, and will come back after three months. I decided to go to market first since tanghali na rin and wala ng customers sa park.

Lunchtime na, and of course wala pa rin the friends. Gyp is in school but left the cupcakes with polly, kame daw muna ang magtinda. Finally 1pm michelle and polly arrived. I didn’t know how much to sell my blouses, so I settled for “P25 each na lng”. They said, benta mo ng P50 kse ttawad pa sila then you say P25. sabi ko “No na kse luma na itech and P25 na para mabilis ma-dispose”. Okay. So lakad na kme towards the park. Michelle was excited and said she will checkout all the other stalls and buy this and that and kakain daw sha dun and all, sabi ko – teka! Pupunta tayo para mag tinda hindi para bumili noh, haha!

Pag dating na pag dating namin sa park, dami na nagtitinda.. meron cute dresses and blouses. Nilapag muna namin gamit namin then michelle and I went to check out the other stalls. Sabi ni polly, oi, ilatag muna nten paninda naten hahaha. So inayos namin our stuff, then nilagay the price tags. Hindi namin matanggal ung cupcakes from the tupperware kse mag-melt ang icing. But the best part of it all, nakalimutan ni polly how much ang price na binigay ni gyp and cant be reached na sha, so hindi din namin mabenta ang goodies kse hindi namin alam ang price, bwahaha.

Nakakagutom pala magtinda! sakto naman dumating si mang danny – our suki sa fishballs and kwekkwek. Punta kme agad ni michelle, bwahaha. Grabeh ang dami nka-pila to buy fishballs. Meron din sha banana con yelo and mais con yelo. Maya maya, padating na si polly, hahaha. So habang kumakaen kameng tatlo, dumating si keith. Aba aba aba akala ko ba nagtitinda kayo? Bwahaha! patay, caught in the act! :)

So 5pm dumating na rin si gyp sa wakas! At this time, nka benta na ako and earned P65 (ayus). si michelle naman sold 1 blouse, tama ba? si polly, wala. Naku mahina ang benta, kelangan ng tulong. I got my cellphone and dialed – mommy, punta kayo dito! hahaha so after 10 mins dumating sila mudra. etong tatay ko bumili ng mga cupcakes at binigay sa amin bwahaha ang saya saya talaga hehehe. So nagligpitan na ang ibang stalls kase gumagabi na, kami na ang last nag ligpit, hoping na may bibili pa rin bwahaha. binigay ko na ang P25 na hatian kay polly while saying “it was nice doing business with you (pwe!) hahaha”.

So next week, maaga na daw tlaga kame. DAW. At, magtitinda daw sha ng fishballs kse malakas ang benta, bwahahaha!

Abangan…

:)

Happy Birthday Gyp!

This girl is witty, smart and sweet. She is a true friend you can really depend on. She has the voice of an angel. Happy Birthday Gypsygirl! May you find true love this year! :) We love you very much!

Kabuki at TPC The Fort

Before going to Tagaytay, my Kabuki sisters and I, together with our partners and kids, had a photo shoot at The Picture Company. I availed my free birthday shoot.

We had it at Block 2 Bonifacio High Street, otherwise known as their Fort branch. Call time was 10AM, and of course we started 12NN, ang mga pasawife! Hehe.

Here's the color coding per family:

peen and rj - maroon
jov and family - white
polly and family - blue
ires and family - black
michelle - green
malou and family - yellow
gyp - pink (due to insistent public demand)
dong and oli - brown



Here's the wacky shot:

Tagaytay Highlands

More photos here.

Wedding - RJ and Peen

I only have good things to say about Peen and RJ's wedding. All their wedding suppliers delivered esp their photo/video (Jorge Portrait Studio) and emcee (I didnt get the name). The food was good and the venue couldn't be better (Plaza Ibarra). The sequencing of church and the reception programs were perfect. Ang ganda ng wedding! It was entertaining, fun, personal, very emotional. Hindi serious and formal. There was pure happiness and love as 100+ of their family and closest friends were there to share the event.

I can say that Peen's family have become close to Kabuki. Madami na din napagdaan throughout the years. Her sister Lorelei wasn't able to attend (she's in the US), but Kabuki was complete, together with our partners, so although 1 was absent, 11 naman took her place.

Dami ako teary-eyed moments like when I first saw her in her wedding gown in the hotel (this is it na talaga) then, her bridal march in the church (i remembered mine) and lastly and pinaka solid teary-eyed moment was during her Dad's speech when he said that Peen is his bestfriend and that tonight was his bestfriend's wedding (hehe), then he segued into the My Bestfriend's Wedding theme song - The Way You Look Tonight. awww super nkka-iyak! Chelle, Gyp and I are super cry babies. The three of us were wiping our tears in my pashmina! It was a surprise song number from her dad. Super cool tlaga ni Tito Rey :)

I am so happy for Peen, she looked really beautiful last night. And despite all the drama before the wedding, everything turned out well last night. I didn't know RJ was iyakin! hehehe Super touching tlaga halatang he is super happy. Haaay, super saya talaga last night. I am very happy for the two of them.

It was definitely a fun night! Walang tatalo sa thank you speech ni Peen - "and thank you to Kabuki... very loyal." Loyal? Ano kame, fans club?! Hahaha! I'm now leaving you with a quote from Ires - "We are all looking forward to the next adorable addition to our growing Kabuki family. Here's to a happy home filled with love and many babies!!! Twins?" hehehe

More pictures here.

My speech in Peen's wedding

Hi everyone! My name is Jovie. Peen and I have been friends for almost 13 years now. When she first asked me to be her Candle Sponsor I felt delighted, but as the big day approached I was informed that I would be doing a speech. Being the shy and retiring type I was trying to think of ways of getting out of it, but have any of you tried saying no to Peen. Then I thought what could I talk about? I searched the internet and came up with some sayings that I would like to share with you -

Others would say that when a man holds a woman's hand before marriage, its love, after marriage it is self-defense.. and, they say that before marriage a man will lay awake thinking about something you said, after marriage he'll fall asleep before you have finished saying it. Now, I'm sure that there are some of you out there that can relate to that.

RJ - Always put her first. Before work, friends, even basketball. Act as if she's the best thing that ever happened to you, because we all know she is. Always listen to her heart; if you're wrong, say you're sorry; if you're right, shut up. The best friend torch has not been passed, but extended to you. You better not drop it or you'll have to answer to Kabuki. Thank you for loving her even though she has her shortcomings. You know she loves you unconditionally and will be loyal until the end (and even after that). You have taken such good care of her so far, and anyone can see how much you love her. We can all say that you are the best thing that ever happened to her.

And Peen - What can I say? I am so grateful that you have found love and happiness in RJ. You are like a sister to me and I love you very much. You've always been there for me and I hope our friendship only flourishes in the years to come. I hope our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will be best friends so they can experience a lifelong friendship like ours.

My greatest wish for the two of you is that through the years your love for each other will deepen and grow. The truth is, married life is no bed of roses. When times are difficult, I want you to look back to this day, your wedding day, and remember what brought the two of you here, and this will help you go through all those difficult times. Put God in the center of your marriage, and you guys will do just fine.

To love, laughter, and happily ever after... Congratulations RJ and Peen! I love you both very much!

Happy Birthday Ires!

Today, we celebrated Ires' 31st birthday at my parents house. It was a potluck celebration. I cooked beef with broccoli, chopseuy and rice. Chelley brought andoks chicken, Peen brought lumpia and lechon, Gyp brought special bibingka and Ires brought cake. Dong brought her laptop with Kabuki photos. Missing today's event are Polly and Malou. Sayang coz all-girls pa naman kame. Once in a blue moon lang mangyari na absent lahat ang boys hehehe.

To Ires, we wish you good health, a happy family life and success in your chosen career. May God continue to bless you and may you have many many more birthdays to come! We love you very much! :)



clockwise: peen, gyp, ires and sean (yup she's breastfeeding him here), chelley, dong and moi

After lunch, we watched The Fast and The Furious on cable while burning the pics on CD. Dong went crazy over Vin Diesel. The other girls were super kilig din. Hey did yah know he has a twin brother?! Anyway, she got all excited when I told her there's a new Fast and The Furious movie, all-original cast, dubbed as "The Fast And The Furious 4: London Pursuit". Tapos she asked us - napanuod nyo na ba ang Mac Spain. HAHAHAHA! She meant, Max Payne. Nabulol ang lola nyo. Super funny talaga, haaay peen, walang ganyan sa States! :D

More pictures here.

Twin Hearts and Mcdo

Dong, Peen and I had breakfast at Mcdo today. The girls picked me up at 6:00AM for an - emergency meeting. Apparently, Popeen's already feeling the pressure of the wedding preps, ahahay! Not to mention, the nursing exams she needs to prepare and review for.

We updated each other and made chikka about the wedding - which is only five weeks away. She's getting hitched at Twin Hearts Parish in Quezon City. I cant be too excited.. remember what happened the last time!

Peen is leaving for the US three weeks after the wedding. Forgot to ask her what she thinks about the financial crisis abroad. Isa pa, walang Dong sa States! Dong who is always just a phone call away. Peen could not have chosen a better Maid of Honor :)

Kka-miss talaga Kabuki breakfasts at Mcdo, just like the good old college days. Oh did yah know that the coffee is refillable until 10:30AM? We didnt! 17 years of being Mcdo customers and we didnt know that the coffee is refillable!

I'm leaving you now with The Consecration Prayer of the Twin Hearts of Jesus and Mary :)



"O most loving hearts of Jesus and Mary! We venerate you. We love and honor you. We give and consecrate ourselvd to you forever. Receive us and possess us entirely. Purify, enlighten and sanctify us to that we may love you, jesus, with the heart of Mary, and love you, Mary with the heart of Jesus.

O heart of Jesus living in Mary and by Mary! O heart of Mary living in Jesus and for Jesus! O heart of Jesus pierced for our sins and giving us your mother on calvary! O heart of Mary pierced by sorrow and sharing in the sufferings of your divine son for our redemption. O sacred union of these two hearts! Praised be the God of love who united them together! May He unite our hearts and every heart so that all hearts may live in unity in imitation of that sacred unity which exists betwen these two hearts.

Triumph, O sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary! Reign, O most sacret heart of Jesus! In our hearts, in our homes and families, in your Church, in the lives of all the faithful, in the hearts of those who as yet know you not, and in all the nations of the world. Establish in the hearts of all people the sovereign triumph and reign of your two hearts so that the earth may resound, from pole to pole with one cry: 'Blessed forever be the most sacred heart of Jesus and the sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary!'"

Twin Hearts Parish of Jesus and Mary
Daily Mirror St. West Triangle
Quezon City
Philippines

Happy Birthday, Malou!

She is the sweetest, super thoughtful, most caring person I know. She is fashionable, chic, creative and resourceful. I admire her toughness and versatility. She's one great SAHM.



Happy Birthday to my Kabuki sister, Malou :) Wishing you good health, happiness and more projects to come.. We love you very much! :)

Ponce Fernandez

Congratulations to Jayson and Polly for an adorable baby boy :)

Happy Birthday, Dong!

She is a thoughtful, dependable and loyal friend, a good listener and a great cook. She can be mataray, but has a big heart.



There's never a dull moment with her, esp with her quirky comments, hehe. And she is never late coz she drives like hell.



Happy Birthday Dong may you stay sweet forever! :) Hindi ko na bibilangin ang birthday candles kase baka bukas pa ako matapos... LOL! :D

Happy Birthday, Peen!

Next to me, Peen is the prettiest in the group - merong mag vviolent reaction jan hahaha :P She is malambing, cheerful, soft spoken and sweet. Although she is not the bunso, she is feeling bunso and tends to be spoiled ah - hatid/sundo pa yan ni Dong hehehe.



She loves to collect pencils and adores Nicholas Sparks. She juggles school, home and extra-curricular activities well. She is soon to wed the love of her life, RJ.



Here's wishing you all the best! May you have many many more birthdays to come! :D We love you very much! :)

Sean Tristan Pajaro

Congratulations to Vicents and Ires for a handsome little boy :)

Happy Birthday, Chelle!

Behind that taray face is a sweet, caring, thoughtful friend. She is complete with office supplies hehe - I still have her pink compass set that I used for the twins cupcake stands :P I mean, who uses a compass diba?! Hahaha Well, good thing she has one I didnt have to buy anymore. So see, pasalamat pa ako *wink!*



Chelley, otherwise known as Tatay Chelle can be serious sometimes but she is super dependable and loyal friend. She is down-to-earth, funny and very smart. She hasn't found the right guy yet, but we are all praying that she finds him soon :)

Sending some love and kisses to you dear Chelley :) May God bless you and keep you safe, healthy and happy :) May your birthday wish come true! :) Mmuuaahh! :)

The day with Kabuki at St Lukes

Today, I met my Kabuki sisters Polly, Dong & Chelle at Starbucks Quezon Ave branch - otherwise known as the ground floor of my office :P We went to St. Lukes to visit our other Kabuki sister Peen because her dad, Tito Rey, just had an operation to treat his colon cancer (stage 1).

Inside the car, I asked the girls, "ano ba ung colon?" Dong immediately replied, "ung kwit!". Hahaha! Polly corrected her, "tutuldok!" Tawa kame ng tawa inside the car kaya nag-kanda ligaw-ligaw na kame!

Normally, the trip to St Luke's from my office would only take about 10 minutes. But, with Dong as the Driver, and Polly as the Navigator, our trip was 1 hour 30 minutes long! We left Quezon Ave at 3PM and reached St Lukes at 4:30PM. That included a trip to España and SM Centerpoint Bwahaha!! Our word for the day was "U-TURN".

Uhm, mag u-u-turn na ba tayo jan?
Teka, u-turn tayo ulet
Dito ba ang u-turn?
Huh, Left-turn? Dong mag u-turn ka na!!

And so, we finally reached St Lukes and Peen was already waiting for us by the elevators. She told us not to be noisy because Tito Rey is sensitive to sound. He had a successful 3-hour operation last night. Ay naku pagdating sa room, we recounted our trip and tawa kame ng tawa! So we decided to have merienda muna outside because we didnt want to disturb Tito Rey. We went to Delifrance (infront of St Lukes) who was giving out free coffee, their new product - Vodka Sputnik.

We made chit chat and updated everyone with the new happenings in our lives. Polly is 3 months preggy (Accdg to Peen, walang pinagbago sa katawan but Polly is quick to react, Oi tignan nyo wedding pic ko! Hehehe) Dong just came back from Boracay and brought two picture albums with the twins' baptism and Polly & Jayson's wedding. Peen is graduating this March 13 at PICC. As for Michelle.. walang balita except that Dr Quiroz, your soulmate, is waiting for you.. Ahaha! Hey, I heard Malou has a new commercial - Milo. Let's watch out for that ;)


















We left St Lukes at 7PM coz we all have work tomorrow. I really had a great time seeing (half of) my Kabuki sisters! :) I miss the bonding moments, the bloopers (Dong baket ka paos? Oo may tonsil kse ako) - mga tipong ganyan.. Haha!!

Till next time, and hopefully hindi na hospital ang setting! :) Take care you all, Kisses to everybody I love you, mwah! :)

P.S.

Colon cancer is cancer of the large intestine (colon), the lower part of your digestive system. Surgery (colectomy) is the main treatment for colorectal cancer. Signs and symptoms may include changes in bowel habits, blood in your stool, persistent cramping, gas or abdominal pain.