I was so excited about today's beach day with Kelly that I took a long shower last night when I got home from work, shaved my legs, waxed, packed my stuff for the day after and set 3 alarms to wake me up at 8am. My alarms rang but none of them woke me up. Mike walked in my room and woke me up instead.

This is what I call his "Abercrombie white boy heading to the hamptons" look.

But the weather this morning was gray and cloudy and soon it began to rain. So we canceled the beach trip and I was stuck with nothing to do on my day off. Much sooner than expected though, the rain stopped, the clouds parted and the sun came out, bearing its scorching rays on us. Kelly had already made other plans at this point so I walked to Cheryl's for brunch. My god I love this place. I've tried several other brunch places in my neighborhood and despite them also serving good food, only in Cheryl's do I walk out fully satisfied. Food here is so good for the soul. It's the kind of food that I will want to make one day, if I ever do decide to open my own joint. I got the strawberry pancakes with Chantilly cream with a "side" of scrambled eggs and a "side" of bacon.

From there I decided to head to PCRichards & Son to see if they have the same price for the brand of air conditioning I planned on getting at K-Mart. But when I got to the subway station, I decided to walk all the way to Atlantic Ave (about 2 miles) under the intense summer heat and humidity instead of seeking refuge in the air conditioned train cars. It was a good decision too since I never would have discovered the street fair that lined the streets of 7 ave in Park Slope. I decided to check it out and I soon regretted ordering my "sides" of eggs and bacon since there were booths stretched out as far down 7 ave as the eye can see and people milling around and the air smelled of grilled bbq, corn on the cob, shawarma, funnel cakes, mexican food, a fresh lemonade stand on every other corner and a host of other things.
Halfway through (or was it?) I doubled back and headed towards Atlantic Ave once again. By this time I had already purchased a bag and two glasses. One of them was this

PCRichards & Son was selling the unit for $25 more than K-Mart's price so I hopped on a train and headed to the east village K-Mart, bought the AC and hopped on a cab back to Brooklyn. I hauled all 42 pounds of that unit up two flights of stairs and spent an hour installing it. My room looks like a tornado hit it but later became soooo grateful that I will no longer suffer in my hotbox.I took a quick nap after, cleaned up then showered. I decided to make a simple pasta pomodoro for dinner so I made a quick trip to the market on the next block then proceeded to cook while watching The Dave Chappelle show.
I was dripping in sweat out there so I was keen on heading back to my room, turning on the ac and enjoy a nice comfortable sleep. Which I shall get started on right now...

Woke up and despite Caitlin being in Albany for the weekend and Mica being in Queens, I still got dressed and walked out to Cheryl's for brunch. I sat at the bar and ordered the buttermilk pancakes with mixed berries and chantilly cream. Good lawd they were awesome!

Midway through my meal, I get a call from Lily saying I can take the day off since we had no reservations and she thinks it won't be busy anyway. I suddenly find myself with another Saturday off and nowhere to go. I contemplate going back to Coney Island for another nap on the sand but I took too much time dilly dallying when I got back to the apartment that I had little time to enjoy the sun after that.

I walked over to the Greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza to find more fresh produce available now that weather has been better (for growing veggies, NOT for suffering through sweaty nights). It's been so hot now that I'm getting an air conditioner on Monday because I seriously cannot stand the heat anymore. I have TWO fans in my teensy room, one by the window and one by the bed and still I feel like I'm sleeping in a toaster oven. In my 26 years living in tropical, humid Manila, I never had the need to use an AC but I am surrendering to the heat now.

I bought a plant and scored 3 comic books at a stoop sale for $5. I was never into either of the two graphic novels below (Watchmen and Batman) but they were there so I got them.
I ended up visiting Mike at work in Superdry for a bit then spent too much time shopping at the Gap that I missed Benny's show which I originally intended to watch. Instead I bought a skirt and a "boyfriend" shirt at the Gap. I left the teal green floral maxi dress but I fully intend on going back for it as soon as I get paid. Money's a bit tight right now since I just paid bills. With that in mind, I still ended up spending the money I could have shelled out for the dress because I bought this:

David Chang's Momofuku Cookbook

I keep googling the recipes from the restaurant that I figured getting the book is a good investment because I know I will use the book a lot. And to prove just that, as soon as I walked out of Strands Bookstore, I walked straight to Whole Foods and bought shiitake mushrooms so I can make the pickled shiitakes I was going to pair to my usual ginger scallion noodle for dinner.

I also picked up Vegan Butter (huwaaat?!?!) because I was challenged to make my choco peanut butter cookies for Michael. I was curious if they would still taste the same. The real test would be if I fed them to Paul (at the restaurant) and see if he would notice. But actually, Paul would eat anything and everything so I'm not sure if he would be the best judge either.

I'm not sick of it yet. I could it this everyday.
Made fresh lemonade to beat the heat.

Time for bed, I promised Lily I won't be late to work (like I am every Sunday, heehee) so I have to be up early. Will be spending the night at Queens on Monday since Tito Ans and Joe are coming to NYC for a night before flying off to Manila for two months. Did I mention my entire family in NYC (and everyone else in other parts of the world) are flying out to Manila for my great grandmother's 100th birthday in July? It's a massive reunion and I cannot join them. *sob*

Okay, enough banter and bedtime for me.

Ventured out to the upper east side today over at Ifang's. She and her husband are selling their studio apartment and asked me to take photos of the place so they can show potential buyers. Since I was there already, I also offered to take photos of 3.5 month old Koyuki, who was absolutely delish! She had such soft, fat, sausage arms, a full double chinned face and a cute button nose. I loved her! I have yet to sort through the photos but I do have one to show you.

My favorite are her elbow dimples

I bought two bulbs for my clamp lights from Home Depot after that then headed down to Union Square to chill but the park. I laid on the grass and read a book and I got alarmed for a second when I saw this when I was looking up beyond my book.

I actually thought there was someone standing at the edge of the building, I almost panicked.

I met up with Mica for dinner and we ate at one of four (or is it five?) of David Chang's Momofuku restaurants, the Noodle Bar. We had the famous roast pork buns (which are famous for a reason - they ROCK!) and I had the house ramen while Mica had a pickled shitake and scallion noodle bowl. On paper, her dish seemed boring but in actuality, her choice blew mine off the park. I had one of taste of hers and even after a few bites of mine, the flavor of her dish still lingered on my tongue. I had to shyly ask if I could get another bite. Their servings are portioned well enough to make you want to roll yourself out of there but still manage to walk several blocks after. Which we did since Mica wanted to buy herself a pair or of Crocs too after I told her I got a pair for myself earlier that day. We walked back to Shoemania, where they were having their never ending "Buy 1, get the 2nd at half off" sale. I ended up buying two more pairs of shoes after she showed me a couple of good choices. What's even funnier is we got a pair of the EXACT same shoe each.

We are now both proud owners of purple snakeskin print leather flats. We promised to inform the other if we are to wear those shoes out, specially if we have plans of meeting up later in the day.

We got home and were greeted by Benny and his friend Michael who's staying with us until he finds a place to sublet. He stayed with us for a couple of weeks last year before the holidays when he went home to Pittsburgh. Benny left soon after that and Michael convinced Mica and I to watch Breakdown with him, which was an old 90's Kurt Russel suspense film. It was not bad. It reminds me of a very muted down version of The Hills Have Eyes, without the mutants and the gruesome killing and extreme morbid violence. Kind of like The Crazies meets The Lottery.

My mac is currently messing with me so I can't edit photos or even convert the images to sRGB for web so the colors in the photos of this post is kind of bland. The mac will have to sleep all night and I shall try again tomorrow. Goodnight.

My new favorite restaurant at the moment is Westville. I woke up craving for their lemon herb marinated chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans and almonds so I got off bed, washed my face and headed across the street to score produce for lunch. Added red bell peppers, mushroom and garlic to my veggies and marinated my chicken in buttermilk while I prepped everything else. Ooh lala. I might very well do this again for lunch tomorrow.

I opted to make my meal today instead of going back to Westville for lunch since I just spent a massive amount of dough the last two days roaming around on my day off. Wednesday was fine since I dedicated that day to buy myself spring/summer clothes. It's gotten so hot lately that wearing jeans have gotten a wee bit uncomfortable. I also got myself a pedicure after shopping. I had lunch that day at Organika where I had a salad and pizza with fresh mozz, anchovies and capers. Dinner was spent at Cafeteria where I had my usual Fried Chicken Salad, which was monstrous and I had to roll myself home after that.

Pizza from Organika.
No, I did not finish this all by myself.
I boxed half of it and gave it to the veggie place staff.

The next day I had lunch at Westville again (grilled porkchops smothered in onions and mushrooms + apple pie) then decided to walk over to Soho to watch City Island. That movie is one of my favorites now. I don't know if it will screen in Manila but if you can score the pirated ones online, I suggest you see it. I saw it again later that night at home with Mica and Caitlin since I couldn't stop talking about it. They actually know one of the actors in the film, Ezra Miller, who played one of Andy Garcia's sons.

View of Union Square from Filene's
I tried to take a night photo to show the lights from the Empire State Bldg in the background but was only equipped with a crap camera phone

I had no plans of shopping yesterday but Mica was jealous of my new shoes that she wanted to go shopping too. I met up with her at DSW then went to Filene's Basement where I ended up swiping my card for more stuff. Ugh. Must not spend anymore over the next few weeks.

Mica and I couldn't get a table at Momofuku Ssam Bar so we had dinner at Prune. We ordered four items to share but the highlight of the meal was the plate of marinated white anchovies, celery hearts and parsley with toasted marcona almonds. Mica was in heaven.

I spent a lot today but I really don't care. I felt like I needed a good shopping spree so I headed to SoHo. I went to Topshop, Aldo, Steve Madden and Uniqlo and made off with 3 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of pants, and 5 tops. My wallet and atm account is significantly lighter but I scored such good stuff that it's worth it. When I got home, I set aside a bag of clothes I no longer use to sell to Beacon's Closet so I can get some of my money back. Hurray for thrift shops!

I've been in search of a good and affordable thai restaurant in the city since I can't very well keep travelling to Sripraphai in Queens just so I can have my thai fix. I found Pinto on yelp.com. It's gotten a lot of good reviews and is conveniently located up the street from work so after all the shopping and walking I headed there to scarf down some good thai food. Everytime I go to a new thai restaurant, I always order two things, chicken satay and green curry. These are two very basic thai dishes and I feel that if thai resto cannot do either of these things right, then they do not deserve a repeat visit from me. I won't even bother trying anything else. One thing I can say is, Pinto will definitely see me again...and again...and again. OMFG. The chicken satay is at par with Jatujak's in MOA and the thai green curry (I got shrimp) was spicy and sonuvabeetchitwasfuckinfantastic. I also had the papaya salad with citrus lime dressing that I scarfed down with gusto. I am SO taking Louiie and Angel here in August.

Mica arrived yesterday but slept in Queens with her family for the night. She came back to the apartment today bearing Ging's pasalubong for me. WHEEEEE!!! THANK YOU GRACEYLOU!!!

She got me three bags: (photos by Graceylou for FabManila)

I have the gold one infront.

Laptop Bag
I have this in black patent.

I was much excited by this one. I immediately placed a couple of peaches, Goldilocks mamon (mica's pasalubong) and will prepare a sammie and lemonade for my baon for work tomorrow. Yehey!

I had a whole afternoon planned of Manhattan sightseeing only to spend most of it in Century 21. I traveled to Queens to pick up my parents then we headed to my restaurant for lunch since I wanted them to try what we can do with fake meats. My mom absolutely loved it. I'm serious, she totally loved the food and would have scarfed them all down if only Lily didn't give us extra freebies. My dad was like, "Imposibleng hindi totoong baboy yan," referring to the Vegan Roast Pork. They finished the plate of soy pork still shaking their heads that they couldn't believe there wasn't a single ounce of pig in there. Paul and Richard were nice and chatted my parents a bit. My parents were laughing at how Paul looked, walked and spoke just like the other Paul. Richard couldn't resist slipping a comment about my sisters being welcome to come anytime. I don't know if I mentioned it here before but everyone in the restaurant has a crush on my sisters since I showed them their photo.

This is a photo I took of mugger about to harrass my mom in the subway.

I brought my camera with me but I barely even used it. Papa's camera is filled of photos of them in the subway since it was their first time to ride it. Mama looked like she was going to have a heart attack every time someone would get close to her.

We headed downtown since Papa wanted to see ground zero (it was my first time too) then we headed off to Century 21 for cheap designer brand shopping. Mama, who was most excited for this part of the day, left with a single Nautica blouse. Papa bought 4 pairs of shoes and I scored a black DKNY trench and a Nine West faux snake skin pump. We spent more time in there than I originally alloted and by the time we got to Soho for phase 2 of shopping, my parents surrendered and sat down on the side benches at UNIQLO while I roamed around to shop some more. We left with my hands heavier and my wallet lighter. My parents have given up for the day so we headed back up to Queens where nana cooked sinigang for dinner. A bit of chatting after meals, planning of tomorrow's activities then I headed out to go home.

I've finished reading Coraline and have yet to purchase another book and I'm trying to resist picking up my copy of New Moon which I got on sale two weeks ago. It looks like resistance is futile until I buy myself some new material.

I was never a fan of the original series or the one with Patrick Stewart, although my grandmother did get me hooked on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine when I was London. I wasn't superhyped with excitement (like I am for the Transformers sequel or HP:Half Blood Prince) coming into the theater but I came out an instant convert. I want to watch it again! The movie was so much fun to watch and they made it so well that people like me who had no knowledge of the series could still enjoy it.

I didn't read anything about the movie before it was shown so I wasn't aware that Leonard Nemoy was cast as himself. I now totally understand why trekkies go crazy over him. His very presence commands respect. I briefly remember when Sheldon Cooper was near to tears when he realized he could grow his own Leonard Nimoy.

Mica now has a major crush on Zachary Quinto. Despite him playing Spock with a convincing bowler haircut, pointed ears and slanted brows, she goes,

WARNING SPOILER ALERT
"Hay Spock! Halika dito, anakan mo ako! Let's restore the Vulcan race together!"

She's currently cyber-stalking Zachary Quinto as I type this.

Mica and I went crazy shopping today after a morning of house cleaning. Went to Beacon's Closet where I got two tops and a dress. Then to Victoria's Secret where I availed their 5 for $25 panties. We dropped by Target where I got a bunch of toiletries and two bras since the P100 bras I got from Ruins in BF are waaay past their expiration date. We had no real things to buy in Trader Joe's but we went anyway and made out with a couple of useless food we don't need but merely want. I have a bag of pistachios I will snack on tomorrow when I host.

We got home and reheated the spaghetti sauce I made last Sunday and boiled pasta and had a quick and hearty dinner. I am almost at the end of Wicked and I'm kind of sad that I'm almost done. Wicked is a very good read and I've enjoyed every page of it. I don't know if I will ever watch the Broadway musical though. Nothing in the book and the way it was written screams musical potential to me and I think seeing the actors break into song might ruin it for me.

I really didn't want to spend another day off alone at home with no will to do anything else so I called tita Chon up the day before saying I will pick up Omee from school the next day. I slept late the night of 4.20 but woke up the next morning at 8:30am. I did laundry and washed my sheets. I had tuyo, eggs and rice for lunch (YUM!) and I was off to Queens to see my bebe. He ran and gave me a slamming hug the second he saw me from the school gates. We watched Cartoon Network at home while he scarfed down the box of donuts I bought him.

I took him to his Tae Kwon Do class after that where Tita Chon and Tito Mo met up with us. We watched him in class and we all headed to a greek place nearby for dinner. We had a LOT of food and they were all VERY VERY good! I specially enjoyed this dip called Tirokafteri which is like a spicy version of cheese pimiento only with feta cheese (how can you go wrong with feta cheese?). Tita Chon ordered me another side of it to take home and I may very well have that thing for lunch along with the leftover chicken souvlaki.

I promised to take him out when the weather gets better. I will take him to the restaurant so he can taekwondo the asses out of my mean workmates. I told him they were mean to me and he said he will take care of it. I will take him out for pizza and ice cream and we can play games in the park. Maybe I should buy a frisbee or a football or something. Tita Chon is planning a big barbeque picnic when the weather gets real warm and she said I could invite all my friends. Yahew!

Mama's in SFO until tomorrow and we were on the phone last night until I don't know what time. I was trying to convince her to come to NY next month. She said she will check her "finances" pfft! I found another item on ShopItToMe today and I just bought a Micheal Kors trench coat for $90 (hehehe) down from $200! S.C.O.R.E.

Okay enough shopping. I did say I was supposed to save up for lights. Ugh.

I stayed in yesterday and I didn't really want to do the same thing today no matter how much I wanted to save. I went out and watched Monsters vs. Aliens 3D. It wasn't as hilarious as people said it was going to be but I enjoyed it anyway. There was still light out when I got out of the theatre and I didn't really want to call it a day so I headed to Manhattan to shop! Went to H&M on 34th street and spent two hours going through stuff I don't really need but want. I had a $10 gift card from Christmas so I figured I'd use it. Of course I spent waaay more than that and got a pair of navy slacks, white blouse, grey denim skirt and a wool cardigan. Mica texted she was having dinner with her friend Nathan at the tapas place on Chelsea (Cafe Riazor) so I paid for my goods and cabbed my way to 16th st. We had sangrias again but this time drank only enough to look drunk but not actually be drunk. Took a nice, long, hot shower when I got home, steamed my new clothes which I am wearing tomorrow (naturally). I will finish watching Sabrina until I fall asleep. I have a long day tomorrow but I am actually looking forward to it because a friend from Manila is in New York (Joyce) and she will drop by the restaurant tomorrow. I haven't seen her since I worked in Podium (yeah, THAT long) and it will be nice to see her here. I'll be hosting tomorrow so I have free time to entertain guests while my boys do most of the hard labor. Hee!

My baby boy turned 8 years old today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OMEE!!!I kept kissing him all night and pinching his belly.

Treated Ana, Poy, Tita Chon and family at Sri Pra Phai. Awesome awesome thai food. I ate so much I'm going to burst. Omee was so cute when we left the restaurant asking me if I was going home with them. Tita Chon also had a moment when she told us to not forget about them now that we all live in Brooklyn. Ana and Poy once stayed with Tita Chon before they eventually relocated to Brooklyn.

Got the day off today and went to Target to buy some stuff I needed (laundry detergent, hangers, etc.), shopped for a few groceries and did laundry before I headed out to Queens for dinner. I was so kalat today and kept running back and forth from the laundromat to the apartment because I kept forgetting stuff. I almost fell down the stairs running to the subway station in my haste to make it to dinner.

I got home to the smell of dinner cooking. Benny and Matt made dinner for them and Mica and Andy and we all sat down together. It felt wonderful having a home of my own that I can share with great people. Mica and I bought stuff online at Urban Outfitters that were on sale. Man, I spent so much today. I will need to tighten my belt the next few weeks since I will need to go on that Ikea shopping trip in two weeks.

I've been on craiglist applying for whatever job I'm qualified for. Am a little desperate for a little dinero that I've also applied to a couple of posters who are looking for lifestyle models. Haha! They required headshots and I've only just realized that I don't have enough photos of me. None of the ones I have are fit to be submitted as a headshot! Can someone take my headshot please? Like, now na. Hehe. Sana pansinin ako diba? The first one I applied for weeks ago was for the product [RED] campaign but I submitted too late and the shoot was already happening. Pfft. Sayang yon. Their ad specifically asked for average people and not models. Hindi ako model pero kelangan na talaga ng pera.

Ana and I had lunch at this peruvian place on 7th Ave. They had good, cheap lunches ($6 quarter chicken, rice and beans) but their chicken can't compare to the ones at Pio Pio here in Astoria. She dropped me off at Beacon's closet where I spent a good, long time rummaging through rack and racks of 2nd-hand clothes. I scored a pair of black open toe flats, a good black Diesel sweater and an original Penguin FEDORA! Yahew! I looked it up online and my fedora retails for $48. I bought it for $7.95! SCORE!!!

mine looks like this but in dark grey

There was so man others I wanted but I was in no position to splurge. I bought the shoes to replace my ratty old black flats and I needed the sweater because I don't have a lot of those with me. Yung fedora lang yung arte ko, but I looked so cool in it, that I had to have it.

The commute back to Queens was quick. I got home and waited for Tita Chon, Tito Mo and Omar to get back from the grocery. Tito Mo made burgers and fries for dinner and I scarfed it down like a hungry hippo. I'll start reading Twilight tonight, unless I find a better way to waste the rest of the night.

Rann has been awesomely pimping my services out and I have two possible jobs lined up. They may not pay big but every little bit I can add to my portfolio is of great help. Tita Chon also said I may have a possible family shoot on Sunday for her friend. Here's to hoping it all pushes through. Omar doesn't have school tomorrow since it's Veteran's Day or something like that. I will do laundry and maybe take him to the park again. I need to do more walking.

MORE HAPPY PEOPLE GETTING HITCHED!
My friends Lissa and Jun are getting married on their 10th year anniversary. Visit http://jun20lissa.weddingannouncer.com to see their wedding plans. Read the About Us portion, natawa ako dun ah. Sign their guestbook and wish them luck! They've been together for 10 years and will be together for the rest of their lives! If that's not something to hope for, I don't know what is.

Thinking I had to make the most of my time here, I decided to go out to the nearby mall a few blocks from here. I walked the whole way since I needed the exercise anyway. I was planning on getting a new camera bag and a tripod but I couldn't find anything that was worth spending for. I ended up spending an obscene amount of money (for someone who's not earning anything) on underwear and makeup in Victoria's Secret and several other items from Forever 21. I'm very happy with my purchases but I can't help think that I would have been better off staying home and doing nothing. Haha! Every time I added an item to my already full arms, I kept thinking, "I need this! I need this if I want the male population to look at me again!"

Rather, an EBAY virgin. I've caught Kate's addiction of browsing and shopping on Ebay. I've just purchased two items today:

5 pc. extension tube set

off-shoe camera cord

I'm itching to buy one of those 5-in-1 reflectors but I feel a car's windshield shade can work just as well for now. I can't wait for my stuff to arrive. Maybe I can get a new lens after, maybe a lensbaby 3G, hihihi! I'm going to need to buy a new camera bag since my camera gear no longer fits my teeny tiny $8 cheapo bag.

Updated with video of the proposal!


My wonderful friends have just gotten engaged! Paul proposed to Bea in front of both their families over dinner. They're both moving to California in two weeks and I can't wait to give them both a big hug. Congratulations you two! You give the rest of us hope.

Kate and I had a day-out without Jose and the baby. We went shopping at Burlington Coat Factory (not just coats, really) since they were having a huge sale. I walked away with a Nine West handbag, make-up bag, a shirt, socks and a couple of denim shorts. We then went to pick up groceries. I have to admit I had so much fun buying groceries! I haven't done any household shopping in so long and I've forgotten how much fun it was. Yes, yes, call me a dork but it's the little things that make me happy. I can't wait to start cooking stuff from the items I bought for the house. It's the least I can do for Kate and Jose for letting me stay here and I get a kick out of doing it too! Somehow, my looking like a latina helped with the groceries since the staff are much nicer and are even willing to go out back to get me fresher produce. When one noticed I didn't speak spanish, he asked if I was Italian, HAHAHA! Grace, pwede na rin pala ako jan sa inyo! Hee!

I'm too tired and lazy to take photos of the stuff I bought so this post will remain photo-less for now. When we got back home, Kate cooked her home-made tapa and I ate a lot more than I usually do, scarfing my food down in minutes.

Song of the moment:

"Down to the wire. I wanted water but I'll walk through the fire. If this is what it takes to take me even higher. Then I'll come through, Like I do. When the world keeps testing me, testing me, testing me..."

Now excuse me as I browse through my new god children's photo album. :)