Havaianas Junkie Takes Bacolod

When I heard the news that I would be going to Bacolod for weeks, I thought it was a joke. I'd been wanting to go there given a perfect timing and a sufficient budget. But God is so good and I was able to make it for free. Honestly, I had never been to Bacolod before nor to other provinces in the Visayas Region. So the idea of going to the “City of Smiles” made me feel excited and nervous at the same time. Good thing there was Marvin to accompany me.

So what if that was my first Bacolod trip? Though I only stayed there to work, I've had an amazing time and I have stories you wouldn't believe. Even I couldn't believe them - and they happened to me which I really enjoyed and treasured.

Yes, I maximized my entire stay where I visited some places nearby, ate foods which cannot be found in Manila, saw the new SM Bacolod (still under construction), had trivia moments with my officemates, took some pictures, had my first-time-moments, gained new set of friends and the best of all, bought a limited edition Havaianas Butterfly in ruby red. It was a blast and that's only the beginning.

On the day of my flight back to Manila, my officemates and I went to a road trip. We called it “The Negros Occidental Road Trip”. I even used my new pair on the trip. It was fun. Crazy fun.

Our first stop was Silay, “The Paris of Negros”. We went to this “Balay Negrense”, an old house built some time in the Spanish era which on the latter became a museum. A lady dressed in baro't saya who happened to be one of the caretakers, gave us a short tour. And since were all camera addicts, we took lots of pictures in the house.

Then we went to Talisay - sir Eric's hometown. This time, we went to Spa by the Sea. I've been hearing lots of stories about the place so I decided to drop by before I come back to manila. Again, we had a short tour and took some pictures. We didn't stay long at the place because we had to get to our next destination right on time.

Our next stop was Murcia where we went to Mambukal resort, a pseudoheaven for the ecological enthusiasts. This is where we spent most of our time. We had lunch, toured the place and had Kodak moments with nature. The place is so relaxing that you can forget about the time. And yes, we almost forgot the time. We left the resort around past 4pm where I should at the airport by 5pm.

Since Panaad is in Bacolod, we managed to drop by. Then we went to Panaad Park and Stadium, Negros's version of Nayong Pilipino. Unlike Nayong Pilipino, the park only showcases the different aspects of the towns and cities within Negros Occidental. This is also where the Panaad Festival being held, the biggest festival in Negros Occidental. We had a few more shots and then we off to Casa Amparo to get all my things and say goodbye to my room which I started to love after the “mystery of my missing creamsilk pink sachet” incident.

The Bacolod Domestic Airport was my final destination. We arrived at exactly 5pm, few minutes before my flight. While waiting for the plane, I'm still reeling from the awesome two weeks that I've had in Bacolod. I really had a blast. Though I'm too tired from the road trip, I still managed to enjoy the view from the plane and thought of how to unload my stories. The trip was fast that I didn't notice that I'm finally home.

Bacolod is indeed "The City of Smiles". People are so accommodating and patient especially when they are communicating to strangers like me who slightly understand their dialect. Being able to visit Bacolod is such a wonderful experience and I would never forget all the things that had happened to me both happy and scary.

I heart Bacolod. I love it. Super duper love it.

And oh, did I mention that it was my first time to ride an airplane? Silly but true. And I savored that moment especially when I went back to Manila alone.

So what's my next destination? Palawan!

The Mystery of the Missing Creamsilk

Yes, that's what i call it and some people find it weird. Really weird.

When Marvin and I arrived in Bacolod, we went straight ahead to a pension house where we'd be staying for weeks. At the Casa, we were asked to choose our room. I preferred the one near the gate so I could easily see the sunrise. However, Marvin thought it wasn't a good choice because I would definitely be disturbed by the noise outside. Instead, we decided to get the rooms near the back part of the house. I chose room 410 and Marvin chose room 411.

On my first night, I was not able to sleep well. I'd still remember how many times I told Marvin how sleepy I am due to our early trip. But this time, I could not find my comfort zone. I had been awaken thrice. One was around 12am, next was at 3am and the last one was around 6am which is the time I have to wake up and get myself ready for work. I tried to convince myself that everything's fine and there's nothing spooky going on. I told myself, "Maybe, namamahay lang ako kaya hindi ako makatulog". So I did not mind what happened.

Same thing happened on my second night. The only difference is that there's something missing. As I went to the bathroom to take a shower, I noticed that my used Creamsilk pink sachet is missing.

As with my photographic memory reminds me, I believed that I left it beside my shampoo a little consumed so I know that I'd still be using it. I tried looking for it everywhere but no sign of it. I tried to compose myself and decided not to panic. I searched everywhere in my room and wondering if I left it somewhere. I even thought that the housekeepers might have done some housekeeping or something then they had mistaken my used creamsilk to be a trash so they might have thrown it outside of my room. But it was not. I talked to one of the housekeepers and asked if they went into my room while I was at work. They told me that they just don't go inside their client's room without asking permission. In short, they didn't do any housekeeping in my room. This finally led me to ask if there were some suspicious thing going on in that room. Ate Jane, one of the housekeepers, told me that I was not the only one complaining about the room. There were also some people who had the same thing but they experienced the worst.

Without thinking twice, I asked them if I could transfer to another room. I mean, personally, I could not stay another night into that room. I'm afraid I might experience another spooky moments. Unfortunately, there were no available rooms so I decided to share a room with Marvin for a night. Mitch and Ate Jane helped me gathered my things and moved to Marvin's room. I also asked for additional beddings which I would be using for the night. Anyway, I've got to transfer another room the next morning. I finally found a good sleep that night. Even Marvin noticed it. He said maybe I was too exhausted thinking about the missing creamsilk that's why I was able to sleep well. Maybe he's right, I was too busy to look for it.

Anyway the next morning around lunch time, I went back to the Casa to transfer my things to another room. This time, I picked the room I first chose (room 514) -- the one near the gate and the one where I would be disturbed by the noise outside. If that would be the case, I didn't mind. What matters to me that time was to able to move to another room. And finally I did.

I spent the rest of my entire Bacolod stay in my new room. I was able to sleep well and most of all, nothing was missed.

What happened to me there is such a memorable experience. Indeed, it was my first spooky experience in my entire life. And it all happened in just one night at the City of Smiles.

Hello from The City of Smiles with love

It's been so long since I last updated this blog. My bad, I should've updated this every now and then just like I promised before. I know promises should be made and I feel bad that I was not able to do that simple thing. Anyway, so much for my melodrama.

On a happier note, I'm finally here in Bacolod. Yey!I've been wanting to visit this province for so long and it made me so happy that I was able to make it for free. Just imagine, all expense paid back-and-forth trip to Bacolod with 200 meal allowance for lunch and dinner.. not bad especially where everything here is cheap. Though I am staying here to work for 3 weeks, I already had plans to visit some places nearby.

I've been in Bacolod 10 days and I love it. Super duper love it.

I have already been into places within the town, ate foods which are not available in Manila, saw the new SM Bacolod (still underconstruction), had trivia moments with my officemates, took some pictures and of course, had my first-time-moments but I'll save that for a new entry.

I will be leaving Sunday night and while I am excited to see everyone in Manila, a part of me is sad as well. I would go back to my normal life and I would be saying goodbye to a beautiful city not having any clue when and if I would return.

Bacolod is indeed "The City of Smiles". People are so accomodating and patient especially when they are communicating to strangers like me who slightly understand their dialect.

Being able to visit Bacolod is such a wonderful experience and I would never forget all the things that had happened to me both happy and scary. :)

Mahidlaw gid ko sa Bacolod..

havaianas 2007

Last week, a day before AFF's release, I was able to score 2 pairs of havaianas 2007 edition at Chocolate Clothing Co - SM Mall of Asia branch. The pairs I bought are the following: Havaianas high lite in white and Havaianas bronze metallic top.

With the 2 pairs added, I have accumulated 19 pairs already which means I have to get one more to make it all 20. I am still thinking on what would be my 20th pair: a havaianas brazil flag or a havaianas cartunista? hmm.. I still can't decide.

Anyway, here are my 2 new pairs added to my collection and the entire collection as well:

i'm back and i heart Nike

yey! i'm back! After 3 weeks of being electronically absent in blogger, I was able to find time to organize everything. And when I say everything, this includes my posts, layout and even the blog site itself. I tried the other blog site which Ms. Rhea suggested before but I was not satisfied with the layout that I have chosen. I was not able to customized everything there so I decided to revert and go back to blogger. And Viola! Here I am with the new blog layout. Thanks to the blog layout generator I have googled. The site was really a great help. :)

So what did you miss with my so-called life?

Oh, I am now a gym addict again. Yes, I am and I am taking it seriously. Believe me, I have my own valid reason. And since I go to gym, I bought a few items which I'd be needing like a gym bottle and towels. My original plan was to carry all my items using my brother's back pack until I accidentally discovered this cute barney-colored mini duffel bag from Nike. The bag really caught my attention, and I even dreamt of it. yay! I fell in love with it. I thought about buying it the first time I saw it but tried asking myself and my friends a hundred times if it's worth the price. A week passed and I went back with a decision that by hook or by crook, I will buy the bag.

I said, "If I see it there again at the rack then it's meant to be."
So I guess, it was meant for me.

By the way, I am using the bag for 2 straight days already and I am happy with it. I've been receiving lots of compliments from it. It's really worth the price. :)

Presenting my barney-colored Nike mini training bag:

havaianas greetings

I forgot to post my limited edition havaianas greetings that I bought last night. The pair comes with a havaianas bag and a metallic keychain as well. I was able to bought it at Chocolate Clothing Co. for 995 pesos. Not bad for a limited edition one. :)

Presenting my LE Havaianas Greetings in white/silver:

on erik and glenn

Last friday, kuya ferdie, louie, kathy and i went to see erik santos's birthday concert at bagaberde bar & grill in roxas boulevard. Honestly, most of us didn't have any plans on going to the concert but we had no choice, or else, majo will get mad. so we went to the concert and waited for an hour and a half to see erik santos performed. i didn't get the chance to take some pictures and videos of him since my cellphone is not that reliable. Good thing Kathy brought her digicam and so she became our official photographer.

+++++++

I've been using glenn's laptop ever since i started having difficulties in finding a perfect timing to use his workstation at home. I actually hated it everytime there's someone using his pc without doing something important and there i am waiting for my turn. Not this time anymore when I can use it everytime I want. haha.. bad! anyway, i was browsing some of my files when i accidentally saw his pic taken at abs-cbn's office. He said that it was taken by his officemate right before they moved to another unit.

by the way, this is candid but he looks great on this pic.. I even asked him to post it on his friendster account but he didn't agree on my idea. He's too shy to show the world how he looks great on this pic.. hehe..