Trip to Ibn Battuta

Let me walk you through Ibn Battuta.  One of Dubai's largest Malls.  This is actually pretty interesting because it is a themed mall.  All of the travels the Ibn Battuta has gone through in his lifetime.  The arabs/ developers of this great establishment tried to capture most of it anyway.

Enjoy!

To my Girl

Three years ago, a precious gift was handed me.  A gift that has made me a complete person.  Inside and out.

Happy 3rd Birthday Andy! Mommy loves you so much.  You may not understand why I left you for the past 2 years now, but rest assured that I am doing this not just for myself but for the two of us.

Have a great day today.  I hope you like my gift even without the Jollibee party.

Finally

I have purchased my own dot com! :) yahoo!  Getting your own domain really is exciting.  It's not just because all your adolescent life you actually wrote on your notebook, book cover, or wherever else something like myname.com/ yourname.com .  Now it is actually a reality.

And I thought that getting your own dot come was a superscience by itself! Haha! Think again.  With some paypal load and a little knowledge of installing wordpress plus loads of friends who help you with it... voila!  Come and check out moniquezamora dot net. :)

Andy Moment- 23 July 2010

Andy has been suffering from cough, probably because of the weather at home. Rainy season has began so the changing weather has taken it's toll on her. 

It's not even just a cough, it's kind of productive cough.

Concersation with her lola:

Mama: Kailangan mo idura ang plema.

Andy: *cough* *cough* Mahirap ma!

Mama: Andyan na oh! Nasa lalamunan na.

Andy: Kailangan ba talaga ilabas ma?!

Mama: Stumped!

Sex and the City- Drop-off

I will have a more personal, kinda adult-ish entries.  It will begin with SATC so you'll be warned.

Enjoy

When your close to 30, no current boyfriend or boy-toy (whatever is better), in a foreign land (with a lot of men around) you begin to wonder is it just me or is it just me?  I seriously think that I may be projecting a very tough image.  Probably.  That's why they don't come as easily as to other women.  Well, that's actually an over-reaction to being single.

Okay so the past months (maybe even a year ago), there are those who send some "feelers" but I always brush them off.  The past few months/ weeks however, there is this one guy who kept inviting me to lunch, taking time to greet me... pa-cute in short.  Until one day he asked my officemate if I had a boyfriend... I frantically asked my friend to say to say that I have one.  I don't know why I did that.  Am I afraid of something?

Tsk tsk tsk. Am I being afraid of opening up?  I did open up to someone, sort of, when I went home. Lol. 

Did I mention he dropped me home today?

Reasons

I always want to talk to Mama and Andy and people at home.
That's what you realize when you are so far away from them.
Again, thanks to the beauty of connectivity from our office, flat
Even outside using my mobile phone.

Too bad that there are a few free hotspots here than home.
Anyway, Andy's 3rd birthday is coming up on July 27.
Was it that long time ago?
I called her last week.
Mama wasn't home yet so I called the landline at home.
She answered,
"Helllooowww???"
I said, hi, how are you? Have you eaten... And then I casually asked her
Do you know who I am?
She matter-of-fact-ly said, Mama!
Ha! Mama...
This is mommy... I laughed though.
Was my voice that same as my mama's?

She then blurted out, I want the "scooster" (oh, the scooter!)
I countered, We'll by the scooter but we're foregoing the Jollibee
Her quick reply, a very emphatic, "BAKIT?!"
I had to laugh... Bakit nga ba?

Hotel, este- Hospital Visit

When you are abroad one of the things that you always hope will not happen to you is get sick.  Seriously. Maybe even when you are in the Philippines for that matter.  But sometimes there are instances that you cannot help but see one. Or maybe a flu bug hits you, or some random weird thing/ illness happens.  Just like when I had to visit a dermatologist early this year.

Today, I went to visit one of my aunts who was rushed to the hospital for some post surgery bleeding, for the second time!  When she first posted her facebook status last week that she was being prepared for surgery, I got a bit confused and worried but when I read that it was a simple sinus operation, I thought, what the heck. It's nothing serious.  But yesterday, I read another status that she was rushed back to the American Hospital in Dubai because of bleeding, I got a bit worried.  Later that day she sent another message that she's fine and will be discharged.  Okay, I thought since I was really tired from all the cleaning that we had to do because of the pest control we had to hired to get rid of all those bugs and insects at home.

Today, my other aunt who's in Davao (this aunt's sis) sent me a message telling me that Tita Gina was back to the hospital.  I even replied that that was yesterday and that she's home and resting.  She said no, that there was another bleeding incident.  I didn't waste any time now, took a bath and changed to get to American hospital where she was confined.  True enough, she was there, just out from the emergency surgery--- which was to cauterize the nerve which caused the bleeding.  

Upon entering the hospital I was really amazed at this one.  I thought that when I visited Medcare a few months back it was pretty good, this one, it's awesome!  Seriously.  I thought I had entered a five star hotel.  The lobby, goodness, it's huge!  Even the lift resembled to the lifts I had ridden back in Manila's Penninsula or Intercontinental. 

When I got into the room! It is not very very big as the biggest rooms in Brokenshire hospital in Davao, but see, it's really cozy and probably has state of the art things inside... 

I stayed for a few hours to catch up with her, I also waited for Tita Len (her cousin and my papa's cousin too!) so we can go home together...  Everything is fine now.  I really hope that all will be well with her.

Oh,did I mention that the hospital has ala-carte menu for your food? Pretty awesome right? :)

Bhaket List

 Parang kailan lang nung umuwi ako para magbakasyon.  Ilang buwan na lang at uuwi na uli ako.  Syempre nung umuwi ako, nakalimutan ko na gawin ito lahat.  Masyado yatang na-excite. 

Di ko lang alam kung kaya kong gawin ito pagkauwi ko sa Davao. Pero syempre, I'll keep it manageable para naman kayang maabot.

Spend as much as possible all the vacation as Andy's Mom.  Seriously.  I think Mama was really thankful na she had a rest when I was home this year.  I had to coerce Andy to get used to me there though.  It was a hit and miss type of thing.  When she's in a good mood, she likes me, but when she throws tantrums, she looks for Mama. :(

Food!
2. Kumain ng mga sumusuonod at sa mga sumusunod na lugar:

1. Durian. - Mukhang kaya ito, wag lang sana abot langit ang presyo pagkauwi ko tulad noong January.
2. Champorado with matching tuyo.
3. Kumain ng dinakdakan at Bulalo sa MTS.
4. Lapid's Chicharon
5. Kain ng Lechon. Syempre naman!
6. Inom ng Kape sa Blugre.
7. Kain ng Puto at tsokolate kina Pamelars! yey!
8. Kinilaw!
9. Taho
10. Mangga't Bagoong
11. Kumain ng totoong saging. Di tulad noong saging na andito sa Dubai. :( Di naman namin kinakain yun doon eh.
    

4. Maligo sa ulan.

5. Maligo ng dagat, syempre kasama pamilya.

6. Magpapa-facial, Pedicure, at hilot. Nope, hindi yung spa spa. Hilot in it's truest sense.

7. Aakyat sa bundok.

8. Makipag-date! lol! swear. manlalalake ako. hahaha!  Meron na akong nakunan ng date.  Sana matuloy.

At i-e-edit ko itong listahang ito kapag may naisip ako.

Journey

In a few months' time
I shall set foot again
To the country I proudly
Call mine.


In a few months' time
I shall reflect on the time
Which I have laboriously spent
Away from home
To make sure they have
A place we all will call home.


In a few months' time
I may make yet another hard decision
To go on with what I have done the past year
Or to settle back to what I was used to.

It will not be easy
But will it be also hard?
Which one is easier or harder?
To be able to provide
Yet away from you
Or be there.
I simply don't want to utter that word.

It will not be.
This journey is not easy.
It will never be.

English Breakfast et al.

Last night we went out to get groceries and some other stuff for my/ our consumption at home.  The group went to Carrefour.  We actually went out almost 9pm because of the Movie we were watching.

Yesterday was probably one of the longest movie marathon I had here.  Four movies. Remember Me (by this Edward of Twilight fame guy), The Tooth Fairy, Karate Kid and Clash of the Titans. I began watching movies around 10 or 11AM.

Anyway back to our trip to the grocery, as usual, we had to endure a lot of people (read: Indians) in the supermarket.  This probably is the worst infested Carrefour around here.  There just simply too many of them.

As usual, the supermarket had/ as it's promos and what have yous to entice customers to buy from them.  I checked out the LCD TV I wanted to get my brother as a wedding gift.  Very nice. I am excited when I am gonna really buy it.  Alas, I called the shipping company which may bring the TV back home.  Lol, it will cost me a lot. Hahaha!  So, I better think twice how I will be bringing the TV home.  Most probably I'll carry it with me when I go home and then ours at home will be brought next time na lang. To save the more or less 10,000 pesos shipping cost.  I can do a lot more shopping with that money!

I am supposed to add an image to this post but I left the image with Drew- I am at work (and blogging on the side).  The english breakfast took the back seat already.  But it was good. I should do that more often.  Oh, and seriously try to reduce more weight.