29 July 2007

Schengen cuisine

On the way to my office this afternoon I noticed the sign of a popular restaurant...

Cafe Francais
We serve authentic Italian pizza

Huh?!?

Closing the books

It took more than a week (4:00pm of 21 July up to 3:00am of 29 July), but I'm finally done with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7). I enjoyed it. Needed to stop and have a fag a couple of times before continuing a chapter. Tried to take in at least 100 pages a night (Midnight to 2:00am). I already invested eight years of my life into this saga and now I would like to re-read all seven books again :)

I must say though that I preferred the ending of The Dark Tower more, heheh!

23 July 2007

My Seinfeld mood today...

I've been trying to simplify my life by focusing on three things at the moment: work, Singles community and family. Unfortunately, these three things might be the death of me: my new boss is extremely dependent on his Secretary, I'm part of the community play for our August 2007 retreat, and we're organizing a family reunion in Tagaytay also this August. Maybe I'll be okay come September, but my present situation got me thinking about a Seinfeld episode (The Contest, Season 4).


Below is an excerpt from the episode which started with the four friends making a bet on who could abstain from 'you know' (m _ _ t _ _ _ _ tion) the longest. Kramer paid up within the day because there was a woman in the building across Jerry's apartment walking around her apartment naked. The following takes place a few days later (c/o www.seinfeldscripts.com)...


(Jerry's in a grouchy mood. Kramer enters)

KRAMER: (Singing) Goood Moorrrnninng!

JERRY: (Out of it) Yeah, good morning.

KRAMER: Ha, ha! Nothing like some good solid sack time. (Turns toward Jerry's window)

JERRY: She's not there. She's doin' her wash.

KRAMER: (Turning back to Jerry) Oh. So, did you make it through the night?

JERRY: (Over the top) Yes, I'm proud to say I did!

KRAMER: So, you're still master of your domain.

JERRY: (Nodding) Yes. Yes I am. (Kramer chuckles) Master of my domain. But I will tell you this: I am going over to (Gestures to the nudist) her apartment, and I'm tellin' her to put those shades down!

KRAMER: Woah, woah, woah. What-what did you just say?

JERRY: I can't take it anymore! She's driving me crazy! I can't sleep, I can't leave the house, and I'm here, I'm climbin' the walls. Meanwhile, I'm dating a virgin, I'm in this contest - something's gotta give!


What's your Seinfeld mood today?!? ;)

22 July 2007

21 July 2007, 9:01am :)

Okay, this is cheesy, and it will be brief, but I just wanted to post a photo of myself and my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Plus that guy from Powerbooks who's supposed to be our local version of Harry Potter (extra).
I was supposed to buy my book after our Singles Community Harana practice (at around 5:00pm yesterday afternoon), but it wasn't even 8:30am and my EQ got the better of me. I did restrain myself until after 4:00pm to check out the first paragraph...and be blown away.
Must go now and try to finish the book this evening...wishful thinking! It's just that there's too much to do during the week which will make separation anxiety from Book 7 probably unbearable. And, yet, I don't want this journey to end so abruptly. Will do my best to savor every word of every page of every chapter...Then probably reread all the books again afterwards :D

08 July 2007

Tagaytay...Team Building...Two Weeks...Tahdah!



I've been to Tagaytay four times in the past two weeks. That's a personal record since I've been content these past two years enjoying my BF-Alabang-San Pedro, Laguna travel radius. Three out of four of those trips were for team building purposes so I guess someone figured it was time I got out of my comfort zone, took stock of things on a personal and a professional level, and made some exciting action plans.
The first trip was for a church community team building session. St. James Singles Encounter 12, our class, spent a Saturday and Sunday at a quaint country home (in Canyon Woods) to prepare for the upcoming Singles Encounter 13 weekend which we are sponsoring in August 2007. I've been a part of this class since our weekend back in December 2006, but it was only during the team building weekend that I actually got to sit down and really hang out with these people post-SE. Even the car rides to and from the venue were so entertaining. Suffice it to say, I got a second chance to connect with my friends (Gathered in God's love) so I'm going to make more time for them this year. Here is a photo of me with one of our class heads. The focus of the shot was supposed to be the output of our afternoon activity, but I think we were too photogenic to pass up on the opportunity to pose for the camera, too!
The second trip to the area was for an ocular inspection of Tagaytay Highlands for a July 2007 office team building and strategic planning activity. No photos of that trip, but it was an all too brief visit that evoked a lot of fun memories (Weekend trips to Highlands in the 1990's with Alabang friends) Good thing we decided to reserve the place for our activity.
My third encounter with Tagaytay was with family. Jorge B. Vargas, my great-grandfather, would've celebrated his 117th birthday this 24 August 2007 so the generation of my Dad decided to plan family gatherings in Bacolod, Tagaytay and Sta. Elena during Lolo Jorge's birthday week. Calai and I went to the family home (appropriately named "Ohana") in Tagaytay with our Tita May (Dad's cousin) and our cousin Jackie Lou + her friend. The place is on the main road overlooking Taal lake and the experience of just taking in the view cannot be described in this blog ;) We also visited a school donated by Lolo Jorge as well as a Japanese Buddhist Center (formerly family-owned Villa Adelaida) that used to be our family weekend getaway. All in all, it was a productive Saturday that will hopefully help us come up with great activities for our August 2007 Tagaytay celebration.
So my last encounter with the place was also my return trip to Highlands. I spent Tuesday to Thursday of last week running around like a headless chicken for our office team building and strategic planning. We had a number of exercises, including an Amazing Race around the venue, that will guide our Management to closing the year on a high note. Check out my photo with fellow headless chickens (Facilitator, Driver and moi).
Anyway, time to forget Tagaytay (for the time being) and live in the present. That doesn't mean I can't daydream about my next visit though...