Chaotic Weekends!

Well, the chaos is more on being disorganized these past couple of weeks.  This is because of the "new business" we have.  The Subic rental property is in its early stages and the marketing plan is still being worked on.  Even with the unit being so-so, we decided to market it and have people rent it out.

But that being beside the point, the whole point of the chaos lies in being in a lot of places these past few weeks.  I am personally living in three locations- I go home to Olongapo from Las Pinas on weekends.  Las Pinas is where I am most days of the weeks because of my work in Taguig.  On weekends I go to Olongapo in Kessing Street where we have a house cum office cum warehouse cum staff house.  But over the weekend, we tried staying in Subic to do some work on the unit and see where we can improve on. 

We also had friends come over last weekend on the ground floor unit and the other members stay on the second floor unit.  So much so that even in Olongapo, I am moving around.  We spent the first night on the lower unit and the second night on the upper unit.  All the time lugging our stuff.

Then on Sunday, we have to go back to Las Pinas for a school reunion and for Lisette and the kids to buy some staff for out scheduled trip next week.

We have been in this chaotic setup for the past 2 years and it is creating us a lot of stress as we need to travel more.  We are losing stuff along the way.  Not knowing if we have missing stuff in Olongapo or in Las Pinas.  The third house is already contributing to this.  I left the air pump in there so we used the airbed as a mat instead.

This chaotic setup is not by design. But I am not complaining about it.  The more important thing is to enjoy life even in the midst of all this.  Mixing life, business and pleasure is something that has become natural for us.  We take time to have fun in the midst of the chaotic setup we have.

A nice lunch followed by a long trip. A long trip with a side trip to shops where we can get ideas on how to furnish our rental units.  A side trip followed by a short business trip to pick up some inventory.  And while waiting for this, we had fun eating Mount Pinatubo (one of creamline's ice cream concoction) in record time.  We quipped that maybe next time, we'll try eating Mount Olympus or Mount Everest.

I think this is a gift of being 'free'.  Free to follow what comes naturally fun or functional.  I am not into spontaneity.  In fact I abhor it.  For me, things are planned and well thought of.  But sometimes in the middle of trying to make a living and trying to love life and whatever comes with it, you have to learn to go along with what is best at the time.

Everything turns out to be enjoyable in the end.

Oh, I forgot to bring the keys to the car, the rental units and the office in Las Pinas and we were in NLEX when I remembered it that I left it in Papa's house.  This happens in a very chaotic situation such as what we are experiencing now.  But we still manage to enjoy it in between.  Perhaps that is the only thing keeping us sane.

The Mt Everest, Mt Olympus or Mt Apo ice cream concoction is non existent at the moment.  I think it is worth suggesting.

Mommy's Birthday: March 20, 2010

Mommy turns 40 on this day!  We were suppose to go to Baguio but there was a relative who passed away so the plan did not materialize. Instead, we had the usual dinner at the house.  It was attended by us and family members and her angels in Luming's curtains.

In the afternoon of her special day, we spent the day sleeping.   Hehe...what a way to celebrate!  We had late lunch and we went to Remy field to have a picnic until it was time to go home for dinner.

Since we were 'bitin' by this celebration, we decided to have an 'extended' celebration and declared Monday as a no-class day for Vinz.  We went to the beach the following day and checked in at RK hotel for an overnight stay.  Like any celebration, it is not complete without food.  So instead of a one time big meal, we did it one meal at a time.  We had lunch at Meat Shop.  This is not exactly fine dining but on the more expensive side of dining that we got used to.

Then Dinner was spent in the hotel.  Just to make them feel that we are patronizing what they have.  I decided on something Korean and I was having runny nose by my third serving because of the spicy Korean dishes.  It was not exactly the best tasting food in town, but it was an experience.  The kids capped the dinner with a nice slurpee from the nearby 7-11 convenience store.

Since Lsette has taken a vow of service and charity, we invited two semi-orphaned kids (their parents were busy with work and business) to celebrate with us the following day.  Kyle and Endro were brought by Lisette to the hotel the following day so they can take a dip in the hotel pool.

So Mommy Lisette is really some sort of s superwoman.  In between the celebration she still managed to sneak some work typing some documents, delivering some products to customers after hearing mass at 6am.  Mommy is such a supermom that she can do all that and still enjoy the company of her loved ones- including her extended family.

Mama seems to have figured out something that I haven't she seems more relaxed and more happy with everything that is going on with her life. Her business, her church service, her time with Nic and her extended family happily intertwines with her daily routine.  There are stories that brings laughter every so often.

Our weekend was capped with one lazy afternoon mini picnic at Remy Field.  We just rolled out our picnic mat had some snacks and just enjoyed the afternoon breeze.  "I can get used to this.", I kept repeating.  And as I was lying on the ground, Lisette had her laptop on my stomach typing the reading for the following day's mass.  She can really be sneaky at times!

Life seems to take on a new meaning when you lead a more purposeful life.  And i think my Mommy has found her purpose.

Despite not having any grand plan for the weekend, we managed to celebrate. It was one special and wonderful weekend.  Happy Birthday Mommy, I wish you all the best!

Valentine's Day 2010

It's the LOVE month again.  For the past few years we have been going out as a family, all four of us.  Tradition as Lisette or Vinz would say.  Although Vinz is after the meal part.  He would ask us where we'll be having our 'special' dinner.

We had dinner in Tagaytay I think for the last two years or there was maybe one in Subic.  I can't recall correctly.  But for this year, we just want to relax.  A private pool perhaps.  But is wouldn't be as relaxing as a jacuzzi with just the warm water and an indoor environment.  So the best thing to go?  Victoria court.  I learned some hand signals in the process.  This will definitely help me the next time.  hehe...

We figure it would be crowded in the metro during this time of the year so we headed for the Pampanga branch and we were assigned the X-Men theme room.  Well, as usual, the internet picture looks good.  But the real place is not as good. The kids didn't like the ambiance as the room looks weird for them.  WE tried another room but the operator said there was none available.  I figured that they just don't want to fix the other unoccupied rooms.  O well, we're just victims of high pitch marketing I guess.

So what else can we do in such a venue, just watch TV, sit around and enjoy the warm water in the jacuzzi.

I guess the kids are not so much into this kind of place.  Motels in the Philippines have such bad reputation.  I was actually bothered by it.  I just found out about it when Nic decided the roam the area just to check the surrounding.  Oh well, she's too young to know about it and it was better that way as she can just enjoy it.

I'd say it was not one of the better celebrations we've had in the past.  A nice cozy dinner would have been better but, since we're all there, it was ok.  We'll do a better planning next time.

Ocean Adventure: 24 Jan 2010

Lisette decided to organize a trip to Ocean Adventure in SBMA. Considering that the place is about 30 minutes from where we are staying, we have not really been there since it was fully constructed a few years ago. Since Olongapo residents are entitled to a 50% off, well this good reason to visit it. We would have wanted a more elaborate plan including a one night stay in Camayan beach but decided against it. We reasoned the we need more time for that so we plan to make that happen in the near future.

So off we went to this far away place 20 kms from where we are. We were there by 9:45am in time for the 10:15 am show. But i guess the tourists have a better plan than we do. They went ahead of us. And as we entered we were given a fair warning by one of the park attendant, "Sir, there are many visitors today so please be a bit more patient." O well, what else can we do.

The first show, was a the sea lion show. It was in a small and cramped stadium designed for the 20 minute show. I could have filled this blog with negative comments but hey, we went there for fun.

The show was followed by some number invlving a dance number and some acrobatics. The sun's heat was bearing down on us in this particular show and my mind was composing a complaint once again until the trampoline acrobats entered the show. They were great. They made wild use of the trampoline and the guys appeared to be having so much fun bouncing on it. These guys can really be entertaining.

In between shows, i tried to explore my artistic side by taking random photos. I was imagining a I have a Nikon D90 with me and tried several interesting shots. Knowing well that I am just holding a 5mp Canon A610, i did do some good shots. At least for my own standards.

In the eco show, we were introduced to some 'ordinary' animals- a rat, reticulated python, a bat, and eagle and even an askal. The animals were not really all that special. They were made special by how the show was organized. Even the aeta can crack a joke every now and then. It was interesting.

The hilight of the day was suppose to be the Dolphin and False Killer whale show. We were able to make the bystands of the show. Enough to take a peek on what's going on but not fortunate enough to be in the amphitheater and get some good view and perhaps some good shot. O well, we were burdend by the lunch we decided to take and by the time we realized it, it was too late. Rather than wait for the 4:30pm show, we just find some open spaces and manage a peek into the show. Lisette and Nic availed of a photo op and was given the chance to touch a dolphin.

In the end, it was a nice day and it was an experience.

2009 Christmas and New Year Photos

Times does fly. It's now 2010 and the next thing you know, it's Christmas once again. Here are some pics from 2009.  We spent our first Christmas party with our company, Tenstreams Business Ventures Inc.  We celebrate it at Ann Raquel's resort in Olongapo city.

New Year was spent in Las Pinas.  Well the usual 'eating' place pa rin, which is the front of the house.  Nothing really new except perhaps for the food and the people getting older each passing year.  The night was capped with the gift giving from the kids- Ann, Nic and Kuya Vinz.

What's interesting to not about the way we celebrate is that the season will not be complete without any imperfection on the food we prepare.  This year, the macaroni salad is still as bland as ever.  Courtesy of me of course.

This was followed by a reunion of the Lingad family in Pampanga.  It was a nice start for a new year with the Lingad side having a reunion.  It was held in a private resort and we had the place to ourselves.  There were games, food, swimming and the usual photo ops.

Disney On Ice Manila, Dec 2009

We took 8 kids to the Disney show in Manila last December 26, 2009.  Overall it was fun. The only scary moment was when Lisette and Nic was tying the shoe lace of one of the kids and they motioned to me asking me where Yanna is.  That nearly drove me nuts.  Turned out she was just picking her nose a few paces ahead of them. Whew!

Went to Clark for an ice cream after that.

Not much photos of Vinz and Nic. 

Reminds me of the time when my Aunt took us to watch, no, to EXPERIENCE, a show. It was called HOPE HOLIDAY ON ICE.  The show was a lot of first for me.  It was a first live show for me and I really wondered how fast they can move on ice.  And how the hell did they get ice in Araneta?! 

It was the first time I saw white people.  And I think I fell in love with one or two of them.  They have their hair pulled back and they have the whitest skin and the pointiest of noses i've ever seen.  I was actually thinking they were angels.

As for the kids who were with us.  I'm sure they will remember this day.  They kept jumping and yelling and stumping their feet when they see their favorite character.  It must be overwhelming for them to see them 'live'.  They may be mascots but it was as real as it gets for them.

On the way back, we figured it would be safest for us to be in a less crowded place.  So we chose Creamline ice cream house in Clark Field Pampanga.  It was a nice cap for the day.

Chilling Out

Photos from Starbucks in Subic.

 'd sleeping pose

 Kuya sneaking a sip of coffee.  you'll regret this day!

Mommy and Nic enjoying a PC game.

All four of us