Last day of the year....
it's Dec 31 and it's the last day of the year 2006. so many things have happened to me during this year.... i don't know if i should feel sad, happy, glad, or crappy!!! in a few hours' time, a new year will be here..... along with exciting and good times ahead!!! right now, we're preparing to go to Quezon City, where we'll celebrate the coming of the New Year with my family. the next time i'll post an entry here.... it'll be 2007... and so....to one and all...... HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Labels: Chinese Dim Sum
The package has arrived....in time for the last family chat of the year!!!
yipeeeeeeee!!! our gift to Mabelle has arrived.... and has been delivered. since we asked Boyce, a friend living in Pennsylvania, to order it for us we've been anxiously waiting for Mabelle to get it. sigh! how i wish we were there to see Mabelle's face when she finally saw it! mabelle, this gift is to make up for all those Christmases and birthdays that i wasn't able to give you any gift.... and for all those birthdays and Christmases to come!!! hehehehehehe. the gift arrived just in time for the last family chat of 2006.... and in celebration of and to commemorate this event, here are some of the sights and words of that chat: 
the cousins, Gino and Julius
 the newly-slimmed down Ate Nette
Diko and Julius
 Gino
 Lynn and Julius  Julius (sleeping!)
 Lynn and Mabelle
 The chat screen it was truly a "family chat" because Gail & Kuya and Daddy & Mommy joined us from Quezon City. it's a pity, though, that Gail's web cam was not working.... and so, we didn't have web cam views of them.at about 1:00 pm. jon joined us.... and by the time we finished the chat at 4:00 pm.... here's Jon: (Hehehehehehe.)  one of the highlights for me this year is the start of our family chat because this has made our family feel closer to each other even if we're separated thousands of miles apart. for 2007, my fervent hope and wish is for this to continue.... because we'll never tire of seeing you and talking to you guys!!! Labels: Chinese Dim Sum, Family, I Feel so Blessed.., I'm grateful for....
The Nicotine Transdermal System
one of the most difficult part of quitting smoking is getting rid of the nicotine addiction that accompanies cigarette smoking. when i chose to quit, i realize this and although people say that the best method of quitting is by "cold turkey", i figured why subject myself to the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal when there are aids available in making the transition from smoker to non-smoker more bearable and less traumatic?! so, before i finally set a date for quitting, i first made sure that it'll be that way for me.... so i can guarantee myself a more successful result. i inquired about the availability of transdermal nicotine patch here in the Philippines.... only to find out that they are not available. however, the currently available stop smoking aid here is nicotine chewing gum, which i bought prior to quitting. [it's funny that according to their advertisement in the U.S., by quitting using the nicotine gum, one can save money because the cost of one piece of gum is roughly equivalent to one stick of cigarette. this, of course is not true here because one piece of gum here costs one pack (20 sticks) of cigarettes!!!] as fate would have it, at the time that i decided to quit, my cousin Doris, who is a nurse in the US, was here visiting with her family. She had with her a box of the nicotine gum that prior to coming home, she just thought of bringing with her... for no apparent reason! when i told her about my plan to quit, we then realized the reason for her bringing it. in spite of the fact that i have the gum to help me quit, i told Doris about my preference to have the transdermal patch because i experience sore throat whenever i use the gum.... and so, before she left she told me that she'll send me the patches. true enough, about 2 weeks later she had the patches sent to me through another cousin. however, it turned out that using the patch would involve undergoing 3 steps.... with each step using a different patch containing decreasing amounts of nicotine that is delivered through the skin over 24 hours (the time of use for each patch). Doris sent only a box for Step 1. thank you very much Doris!!!  as fate would have it again, Noel informed me that he was coming home.... that was my opportunity to request him to buy Step 2 and Step 3. now, i have the patches for the entire program.... and i started using them today! .jpg) .jpg) so, here's to a completely "smoke- and nicotine- and gum- and patch-free" lynn!!! cheers!!! by the way, i am now on my 6th week of being smoke-free!!! yipeeeeeeeeee!!!   Labels: I'm grateful for...., Mi Vida loca
Internet Servers Down.... Unfair (?)
when i tried to go online earlier today and post entries to my blog, i found it difficult to connect through the internet... later, i found out that most local internet providers are down because undersea cables were affected by a recent underwater earth quake in Taiwan. i haven't posted since my last entry in the morning of Dec 26.... and i have soooo much to post!!! i have been jokingly called "madaya" (unfair) by jon because it is not always true that the date of my posts are the dates when i actually posted them.... but then i figured, i had those things in my mind to post when i thought about them, so why can't i date them according to when they happened??? besides, when i decided to do this blog, i intended this to be my online diary or journal... and being the OC that i am, there has to be some sort of organization of my thoughts... also, i think that's precisely the reason why the "Post Options" button is there!!! hehehehehehe!!! tonight, jon and i picked up noel from his condotel and brought him with us to the company Christmas Party of Nini, Roberta, and Rica's companies. we were guests at the party and although we left ahead of most - the party started quite late because they didn't close shop for the day - we had a fun time drinking Chinese tea, which i prepared, eating the sumptous spread, and watching the presentations and the games.... we even got good exchange gift gifts!!! after bringing Noel back to his condotel, we arrived home quite late.... our internet server was still down..... 
 Labels: Chinese Dim Sum, Mi Vida loca
Noel....A Dear Classmate and Friend
 in my previous post, i mentioned noel as a dear classmate and friend. i did say so because he is so!!! i've known noel since 1974 when we were sophomore pre-vet students at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. since then, we've kept constant communication with each other - here in the Philippines.... which was not so hard because we were both hired by UP as faculty members.... and even abroad.... because he now works and resides in the U.S.A. as students, during the last 2 or 3 years of college life, we had the same barkada or set of friends. as young faculty members, we saw each other almost every school day. and as a friend residing in the US, i visited with him when i was last in New York. he treated me to a showing of the musical Miss Saigon in Broadway.... after which, we hit the bars of New York City on that cold, snowy winter night... even missing our train back to where he then lived.... in the suburbs. in return, whenever noel is back here in Manila, we'd meet here, go out or just stay in and update each other on what's the latest. with the advent of internet chatting, we chat almost every week. noel is back here in Manila to stand as one of the major sponsors in the wedding of the daughter of another classmate who lives in California. he's also here for a well-deserved vacation. it is always exciting whenever a friend from abroad comes home and visits. actually, noel is one of my dear friends (and also classmates and former faculty member colleagues at UP) who've opted to live and work abroad. the others are Boyce, who stays in Pennsylvania; Ken, who's from Chicago; and Ramon, who lives and works in Boston. (Noel, in turn, lives in Manhattan and works at the Medical School of Cornell University.) i miss the good old times with you guys..... by the way, noel, thank you for your pasalubongs, particularly the two boxes of Nicotine Transdermal System which will greatly help me in kicking my smoking and nicotine habit.... for good!!!  Labels: Chinese Dim Sum, I Feel so Blessed.., I'm grateful for....
The Wedding Banquet
   today, the long-awaited wedding of the daughter of a college classmate of mine was held at the Santuario de San Jose Church at Greenhills, San Juan. it was long-awaited (by me!) because it's been a long time since i last saw my classmate, Dolly, the mother of the bride.... and because Noel, a dear friend and classmate of mine, was one of the major sponsors. he has come home from New York to attend the wedding!!! actually, the bride and the groom are both from the U.S. and Dolly's whole family are also from there. the wedding was fabulous.... after the early afternoon rites at the church, the guests proceeded to the exclusive Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club for cocktails before the reception. it seemed that the bride and groom's families spared no expense in planning this affair.... this being the first wedding in both families.... and it didn't help either that the groom's father is the Police Captain Superintendent in Southern Philippines (Region 12) - the highest ranking police officer in that region. in fact, one of the major sponsors was the highest ranking police official in the country!!! i don't mean to criticize (sorry Dolly!) but there was one hitch during the reception. this occured in our table.... which happened to be one of the major sponsors' table. for starters, jon and i found ourselves sitting with Noel in the sponsors' table because there were not enough seats at the table reserved for BAI and UP friends of the bride's family. in most wedding receptions with buffet style food service, those sitting in the major sponsors' table are usually served food by the waiters. in fact, the major sponsors usually don't get up to have their pictures taken with the bride and groom.... it's the bride and groom who go to the sponsors' table and have pictures taken with them. consequently, those in the sponsors' tables are not included in the list of guests who have to line up for the buffet. in our case, we were served the soup..... followed after some time by the appetizers. after the appetizers, nothing else was served in our table! everybody around us, including those who got food from the buffet tables, have finished their desserts while we were still waiting for our main course. we were left in a quandary whether to stand up and go to the buffet table and get our food or wait for it to be served. after a long time and no food came our way, i guess most of us lost our appetite.... some did stand up and get desserts from the buffet tables and shared them with the rest! as far as i'm concerned, this brouhaha, which I’m sure was not intentional, is nothing…. after all, i’m supposed to be on a diet. however, i pity those fine ladies from Southern Philippines (the ninangs) and the two gentlemen (the ninongs) in our table who were all major sponsors who didn’t get to totally enjoy the wedding banquet!!! (P.S. I was so hungry when we got home that I had to break my diet and ate menudo from our ref plus bread before retiring for the night!!! Hehehehehehe.)      Labels: Chinese Dim Sum
The Venue Check
tonight, jon, rob, nini, and i went to the Serendra Commercial Center at The Fort to have a look at the stall that Rob and Nini are considering for the business that they have in mind.... and for which they have invited us to join. it was our (jon & i) first time to be there and we didn't realize that a lot of businesses are already open in the area! we didn't even know how big and beautiful the area is and how much people are there shopping, eating out, or just milling around. of course, there are still a lot of stores about to open and stalls to be rented.... the place chosen by Rob and Nini is situated in a good location.... at The Piazza.... and the business we're thinking of.... if everything pushes through as planned.... is sure to be a hit in that area!!! i hope we get it done!!! Soon!!! since we were already there, we had dinner at the Thai at Silk Restaurant, then dessert and coffee at Bookworm. The Thai food was okay.... but kinda pricey! 
      Labels: Chinese Dim Sum
Christmas Gifts to Ourselves
last December 23, jon and i were supposed to go to Chinatown in Ongpin, Manila to look for teapots and tea cups to add to our collection. however, since we went last minute shopping for those who were missed in the buying of gifts.... we didn't have the opportunity to go to Chinatown. the following day, December 24, while jon and i were at SM Megamall looking for a dentist, we passed by a Chinese guy selling big porcelain vases and wares at 60% discount. we stopped by to see if he has any teapot set on sale..... and lo and behold, he had 4 sets!!! we bought 3 of the 4 and we were very happy that we didn't have to go so far as Ongpin to be able to buy ourselves 3 new sets..... at big discounts!!! two of the sets are porcelain, one plain and the other in green & white. 
the third is a Yixing clay pot with a 3-legged frog (auspiciously lucky) as handle of the cover of the teapot.   Labels: Chinese Dim Sum, Mi Vida loca
It's Christmas.....and I'm Soooo Very Happy (PART 3)
DECEMBER 25, 2006, MONDAY, Christmas Day  tomorrow afternoon, we'll meet up with Nini and Roberta to inspect the venue for a business plan at the commercial center of The Serendra. Labels: Chinese Dim Sum, Family, Mi Vida loca
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Joseph Forest a.k.a. Joselito L.
From Shangri-La, we went home..... took a short nap, then went to Nini's place in Paranaque for Christmas dinner. we had a sumptous dinner, complete with tea service before and after dinner.... and we also got to talk about another possible business venture at Serendra at The Fort. we left at 10:00 PM quite excited about the business prospect.