happy father's day to myCoco and myDad

happy father's day to myCoco! i've been telling almost everyone here at the apartment that dax is so funny. like earlier, he kept telling me to just use my credit card to buy the battery charger with rechargeable batteries i so badly needed for my camera. and then, he gave me some link - a Creative Xmod X-Fi Module (what the hell is this, i thought!) which he asked me to buy for him using my credit card. so, i didn't let the day pass without finding it for him anyways. and i was so happy that i got the last stock in best buy somewhere in leesburg. oh well, i tried it out a couple of minutes ago to check if it is working... whoaaaa! it is really good. it really works! haha. this one's for you:

Experience your MP3 music beyond studio quality

• Restore the details and vibrance that your music lost during MP3 compression
• Enjoy all your music and movies in surround sound on any stereo speaker system or headphones
• Connect in seconds to your notebook, PC or Mac to create an Xtreme Fidelity sound system

by the way, sorry for the picture quality - i only used my phone camera.

and happy father's day to myDad! i also got you something that you like!

waitin' for my dv6500t special edition

by end of june (hopefully), ill get my new lapitapi. finally, after 3 or 4 years, i'm getting a new one. and it's special edition. haha. by the way, i'd have to say thanks to my boss, vinod for letting me use his credit card to purchase! and a loooot more thanks to myCoco for helping me out find this laptop, for finding a coupon code that gave me $200 discount and for giving me extra allowance before i left for the US. weeee!

isn't it nice? i had it customized and here's the specs:

• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
• Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz/2MB L2Cache)
• 15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x800)
• 2GB RAM
• Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
• HP Imprint (Influx) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam
• Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
• 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
• Super Multi 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

well, everything is just at the minimum. i just made sure i got bigger hard disk space and 2G RAM (that's the max already). cost? $1,200.14 (tax included). nice? nice!

my first week in Ashburn, VA USA

friday last week, around 800pm, our (i am w/ mark) plane from detroit landed washington dc. we were picked up by rene and noel and we headed to the apartment and reached the place in 15 minutes. i was thinking then that it'll be a long 6 weeks. well, not really. one week is over! today, another batch will be coming - randy, mike and pattie. well, i guess for mike and pattie, it'll be really long. they're stayin' for 3 months!

our trip to japan was very nice. and japan was a really interesting place. what's most fun was, i got DoCoMo signal. we only stayed there for an hour or so and we boarded the same plane for our loooonnnngggg trip to the US. i was able to sleep every now and then but it was so uncomfortable. and i get hungry every 2 hours... maybe since i don't have anything else to do but wait for food. crap... i should've brought along some chocolates or crackers with me. when we landed detroit, i knew we didn't have much time left to catch our connecting flight to DC. true enough, we had to rebook. luckily, we got accomodated at 530pm flight with $5 meal coupon. and all i got was some mcDonald's meal. then we waited.. and waited.. the plane took off around 645pm. crap again.

anyways, after a week, i think i've adjusted well already. our apartment is nice, i got my own room (until pattie arrives which is later) w/ my own bath. we've also got a van except for half of thursday and friday... and drivers (don, alwyn and noel)... and cooks (rene, alwyn & don). neat! a pool and jacuzzi is nearby - and yeah we can use it. we also got a gym which i won't be using even if i can. weather is comfortably nice... it's usually between 17C-23C for the past few days. not sure though when july comes - they say it's going to be hot. office is 5 minutes away by car and 15 minutes when we walk... and i got a laptop to use (i still ordered one with webcam so my little gabriel will see me everyday). everything is good, except that i don't have my family with me. maybe next time (if there is a next time).

so far, here's what i did/i've been doing for the past few days:

• went to visit circuit city & best buy so dax will be *inggit*
• grocery shopping at giant, walmart and grand mart
• heard mass at Christ the Redeemer
• shopped at marshalls
• went swimming with don, mark and alwyn
• reported for work of course
• chat
• updated my blog
• call home
• sleep
• play wii
• watch tv
• eat
• cook (help cook is more appropriate)
• help whoever needs assistance in cooking, dishwashing
• operated the washing machine and dryer (just operated, yes)
• walk around
• eat out

that's it! that's my life... until i get back home!

vitamins.. eeewww!

i'm not a capsule or tablet fan. whenever i get sick, i always ask the doctor to give me something in syrup. else, i won't take it and won't get well. anything in syrup is fine though. however, this young little one of mine just hates it. he's so funny.

long overdue post: family summer outing

a week before i left, our small-in-a-big-family went to los banos laguna to go swimming. i was so excited since this is gabriel's first real-pool-and-not-just-water-filled-tub experience. a couple of weeks back, dax and i got him a really cute swimming trunks and a baby float. he looks so cute and funny. the first time we put him in his float, he cried. and eventually, he liked the water and we pushed him an armful away to take these pictures. see those trunks? hahaha!

this is gabriel with my cousins, with his daddy and with me

gabriel's baptism

finally, after a little more than 6 months.. my little Gabriel was baptized. well, i got baptized when i was 14 months old, so i guess that's still early.. and we have the same reason.. we were waiting for the same person.. my dad, his papa.

it was a very quick everything. it took us less than a week to prepare. less than 30 minutes in church for the actual ceremony and maybe less than 2 hours at the reception.. quick way to spend money too! hahaha!

anyways, here are some of the moments that my friends captured. dax and i were too busy with gabriel since he was crying every now and then.

at St. James the Great Parish, Alabang

Poquito Mas, Westgate Alabang

his cake by Marta Matute

mini cake souvenirs by Poquito Mas

some of the ninongs & ninangs

with Ninang Candy

with Ninang Tina

with Ninang Rania

with Ninong Noel

with Ninong Rodj

he really cried a lot during the reception. i guess too many unfamiliar faces scared him at that time. but, there were still happy moments...

the day after...

my first mum's day

last sunday was my first mum's day - and firsts never happen again (well for the same thing, i mean). we didn't do anything really special though. we (dax, gabriel and i) just went to tagaytay and had lunch with my mom and dad... and of course, took some pictures.




gabriel is so fond of menus (as in restaurant menus). the day before that, we had lunch at congo grille and dinner at poquito mas (we're trying to see which resto we're getting for his baptismal celebration/reception) and he was all over the menu. and it was the same joy in his eyes looking at dencio's menu in tagaytay. he is so so so funny.




now, i have another special day in my list - a day which celebrates me. my birthday and... mother's day!

almost 6 months

myGabriel is almost 6 months old, time flies. now he can do things like:

* hold his bottle - not too tight
* laugh a lot - sounding like a cat
* smile a lot - it's also extra special when you say "Good Morning, Gabriel"
* talk a lot - or should i say make a lot of sounds
* crawl (almost) - he's like an "uod"
* smile at the camera - reallllly adorable
* cry when he sees a person (men) for the first time
* eat cerelac - stage 1
* cry when you stop playing horsey
* play "tagu-tagu" - his dad wants to call it "hide-hide"
* grab the cellphone when he hears somebody talking (on loudspeaker)
* look around for the phone when he hears it ring
* wait for mom and dad to wake up - most of the time when i open my eyes in the morning, he is staring at me and when i smile at him he smiles back and starts to be on play mode

here are some new pictures of the cutest baby in the universe...

trying to hold his bottle - by the way, he loves water

he poses a lot

my babylove

that's his "lampin" around his neck - just before cerelac time