Our New Toy

Last year, hubby and I bought our first camera, a Canon S3IS during the Gitex promotional period. It was a well-thought of investment as the money we used to purchase the camera was from the “advance” monetary gifts we received for our wedding from my colleagues. It's not a DSLR type but good enough to capture beautiful photographs compared to other point and shoot cameras in the market.

Eventually, I realized what good does a spiffy camera do without a competent laptop to keep and tweak the digital photos saved from all the occasions and trips we had over the year? As soon as my new post was made official a month ago, we, err, I decided to splurge a bit and bought a much coveted Mac Book Pro 15" as a treat to myself (goodness, splurge a bit?!! it’s a $2,500 laptop - come on, who am I kidding?) but Virgin Megastore had a very tempting offer which I couldn’t resist, so what the heck!!!


Anyway, this dazzling thingamajig, which I named “Amanda” (as in Amanda Bynes of Nickelodeon & She’s The Man), is worth every penny spent. Hubby & I couldn’t be happier -- we’ve never seen any machine like it before. Its Aperture program is just astounding...editing pictures has never been so easy! In a snap of a finger, a lousy, overexposed pic can appear so perfect right in front of your eyes.

Of course, this beauty is not only gonna be used as a photo dump. It will also be our notebook where we will store everything important to us and relevant to our journey as husband and wife. Besides, our home badly needs a “his” and “hers” communication station, and having such will help make our home a lot less strained from the squabbling over one PC….LOL!

I just hope I'll have time to learn how to run this baby like a pro! :)

Sickly Me

I'm flying off this weekend to another business trip but my body is just in a completely bad shape. I feel terrible for falling ill because the upcoming trip is a much-awaited one, albeit short. Ryan will be joining me for the first time, and it’s gonna be in the international capital for the world of luxury: Monaco.

Just last week, after celebrating our anniversary, I came home with a horrible toothache. Through my friend at work Hazel’s referral, we managed to schedule a trip to the dentist last Saturday for check-up and cleaning. Ironically, when I was sitting at the dental chair with my teeth being examined, the pain disappeared. Maybe my painful tooth got intimidated by the presence of the dentist! However, the ever-kulit me did not easily fall for my tooth’s drama so I insisted for the dentist to re-check. And when the dentist gave a sudden nudge to the supposedly painful area, that’s when the sting started to come back. After another x-ray, the dentist gave my tooth the verdict – it’s due for RCT. I was alarmed and I immediately transformed into my panic mode! RCT?? But I have a trip in a few days and I can’t afford to have the treatment before flying knowing that my tooth’s filling is just temporary. What if the pain reoccurs while i’m thousands of miles away?? Yikes!

Thankfully, the dentist agreed to do the RCT upon my return provided that I will be under medication for the throbbing and swelling. But silly me, because I wasn’t feeling much pain then, I went home without the prescription. That was definitely a bad idea! In the evening, the ache began coming back again. At 3:10 am on Sunday, I woke up writhing in pain. And because I really, really needed to be at work that day, I still showed up with my swollen tooth and a lump on my left cheek. At noontime, I frantically called my dentist who prescribed me with antibiotics to fight off the infection. The medicines did work because the pain had gone away since but RCT is still on on the 13th September to make the pain go away permanently.

Now that the toothache has subsided, here comes the dreaded sore throat paired with headache from my clogged sinuses. I think I'm catching a flu! It's pretty much common these days with the changing of the weather so I’m part of a large percentage of the population or at least here in the office. It sucks though because my nose now resembles that of Rudolph’s, and my dry cough resonates like the barking of a dog. and what’s worse, people are wary of me because of the virus I carry. Huhuhu…alienated me!

With just a few more days left before I board the plane, I am taking extra vitamin C’s, conscientiously taking my medications on time, and gulping more liquids than ever. And no coffee in the meantime…just Twining’s Peppermint tea with a squirt of lemon for a soothing feel. I fervently hope in no time I'd feel better. I'd hate to sit on a plane for 8 hours with this condition, and attend our cocktail reception in Monte Carlo looking like ghastly. Of course, I also don’t want hubby to tag along on this trip and end up baby sitting a sick wife like me. *sigh!*

9 Years And Counting

Who would’ve thought our love will stand the test of time?

I still vividly remember how Ryan & I  met. That was in college, circa 1995. We were in our freshman year, and he was introduced to me by an old flame at the Student Union Building’s canteen. He was wearing a white shirt. He was suplado. Very frugal with words. He would just nod in acknowledgment of my presence.

A few months later, we became neighbors – he lived in Calma Dorm, while I stayed in Bella Cartash. My roomies and I would occasionally bug him for a calculator, or invite him over for merienda but he was palpably distant.  I could only guess was just being polite because one of my roomies was the girlfriend of his blocmate.

A year after, we found ourselves in the same Nasci II class under the late Dean Payawal. He was the typical loner in the huge lecture hall. Since our class was from 5:00 – 6:00 pm MWF, my Friday nights were usually spent in LB. Back then, I needed a dinner buddy as Friday evenings were a total bummer since all my friends and blocmates have gone home to Manila by then. He was a familiar face in the crowd so I bravely took the first step of befriending him. From then on, we were inseparable! We would always find ourselves hanging out in the campus and enjoying the Friday evenings as if it was the highlight of our week. When I got past his boundary marker, we realized we could be real good buddies. And surprisingly, despite of our differences, we got along quite well! That was the first step towards the realization that we could be more than friends. And so, on the 27th August 1997, after declining three times in the last 6 months of courtship, Ifinally gave my sweet “yes” to Ryan under a coconut tree at half past 10 in the evening at Bangkal Street, Los Banos, Laguna.  How memorable, haha!

It makes me laugh whenever I look back at how we kept our relationship a hush-hush from his friends and orgmates. The reasons now seem so immature I don’t even wanna remember for fear of embarrassment. LOL! But back then, we believed those were trying times to our relationship. There were complications, hassles, conflicts with friends, and other matters which we had to face but we managed to get past through despite minimal ease. I’m certainly happy now that we have proved those people wrong, and that we have worked out our relationship in spite of the criticisms and bashing we received.

I know people wonder why we only celebrate 9 years instead of 10. I’m not really good in Math but I don’t suck that much.  In 2003, Ryan and I parted ways for almost a year. and when we decided to get back together, we both decided it’s best to take out one year from our official count.

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For this year, what we did to celebrate our 9 years of love and togetherness was drive to Fujeirah on a hot, humid afternoon and checked in at the Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort to spend the night just relaxing and chilling out. It was Ryan's first long drive in the UAE.

We took a different route to get to Al Aqah through Masafi passing through Dibba. These were the scenery that fascinated us:

In my previous post change of venue, I cited how we ended up booking in this popular hotel in the eastern part of UAE. We were just thrilled with the kind of experience we had at this resort!

First of all, and very importantly for us, the staff were all courteous and helpful. The front desk guy Anil was very accommodating and polite. After checking us in in their system, he personally showed us the way to the lift while pointing the directions to the restaurants, pool, shops, cafes and spa. We have never experienced such treatment in any other hotel. If this was their standard, I’d have to say all hotels must benchmark their services with them.

When we got to our room, we were totally knocked for six by the room we got. It was a huge corner with a sea view and mountain view and a lovely terrace directly facing the sea. We were also placed on a high floor so there was really much to see. Ryan couldn’t contain himself from taking snaps as soon as we dropped our luggage on the thickly carpeted floor.

Of course, he did not dare to forget to take pictures of his cam-whore wife!

While stretching our legs after the long drive, honey & I took turns playing with the PSP.

At around 5:00 pm, I wheedled Ryan to head downstairs to have a dip in the pool. He was too tired from the drive, he only agreed to accompany me with a promise that he will bring the camera with him and take pictures.

Obviously, he only took pictures of me!

After almost an hour in the pool area, we went back to our room to prepare for the dinner. At 8:00 pm, we were at the Views Restaurant enjoying our buffet dinner.

While we were having dinner, the staff from the Spa of Le Meridien sneaked in to our room to set up my gift for Ryan. A few days before our trip, I phoned the hotel and inquired about the spa services that they have. I booked a “Fantasy Chocolate Spa” for my honeybear on the night of our anniversary. It was the best gift i could think of – a luxurious spa right in the privacy of our own bathroom, and just the perfect dose for a chocolate lover.

When Ryan & I returned to our room after dinner, he found rose petals in the doorway of the bathroom. He found them and the soothing background music really nice and sweet. Funny thing though was that it didn’t immediately occur to him that it was a surprise. He thought it was a special turn-down treat from the hotel since they knew it was our anniversary so he went directly to the bed. When I managed to nudge him to come and see the inside of the bathroom, he was taken aback by the entirety of the set up. and that was when I asked him if he liked his surprise.

One thing I love about my husband is that he is such a sport when it comes to surprises. He’s very appreciative, and he shows it a lot through words and actions. Upon realizing that it was my anniversary gift for him, he sprang into action and grabbed the camera for photo op.

And his eyes didn’t miss the chocolate-dipped fresh strawberries.

The spa was good for sharing so I also experienced the choco immersion. When we went off to bed, we were so chocolatey smelling with the chocolate shower gel for rinsing and specially concocted chocolate flavoured lotion. It was a wow feel!

To cap the night off, a friendly staff came knocking on our door to deliver a fruit basket and a mini-fondant moist chocolate cake – compliments of the hotel.

The next morning, we had a hearty buffet breakfast at the Views Restaurant where we enjoyed one of the best breakfasts we had in months. Food was delish and they served quite a variety. Coffee was ok but their fresh juices were really delightful. While our satisfied tummies were digesting our food, we decided to have a little walk about in the resort.

It was still pretty hot outside so we went back to our room and just watched National Geographic & Discovery Science.

By 1:45 pm, we checked-out of the hotel and steered back home filled with happy memories of the celebration that was.

Indeed, our original anniversary will always be fondly remembered and celebrated each year. After all, that’s when we officially became not just a couple but the bestest friends for life. :)

Reunion Of The Bride & The MOHs

Last night, I had the chance to finally sit down and have a decent meal with my two best girl friends in the world – my best cousin Sarj & my bessie Beth. It has been a long while since we went out and had dinner altogether, and to be honest, I really missed this kind of catching up. We rarely go out anymore, and basically it’s because of the many other priorities that we have in life right now. Not that we don’t prioritize each other anymore -- it's just because many changes took place in our lives since the year unfolded.

Sarj, being a cabin crew, has the most complicated schedule of all. She’s rarely in town during weekends, and usually, her off days are scheduled during the start of the week, which she usually ends up spending at home (bummer!). These days, she’s been extremely busy preparing for the arrival of her better half next month because this time, he’s not just gonna be vacationing in Dubai but he will be staying here for good to be with her (sweet!). I could understand because I was also in her shoes last year - I could still remember how preoccupied I was when I was preparing for honey’s arrival, too.

Now bessie Beth – she’s the only friend that I get to spend time with. Everyday, I carpool with her, and I go to the same fitness centre where she works. But of course, things have changed lately, as well. Not to mention that I have to divide my time because I have a husband to look after and spend time with but also because she found herself a new “love” to focus on. That leaves us to a few, brief meaningful chitchats every now and then or an hour’s worth of conversation in the car when being dropped off to work or on the way home. But hey, I’m not complaining! It doesn’t matter to me (not at this stage anymore) because I see that she’s very happy and I know that she is also being looked after.

Our dinner at Bella Donna was short but was truly fun and meaningful. Instances such as this will not be as frequent as before but the good side of it is that this kind of get-together will be something to look forward to. It may not happen again in the next coming weeks, but surely, our next reunion will be as lovely as last night’s.

Change Of Venue

The other day, I posted that ryan & I heading off to Bab Al Shams Desert Resort for a spa treatment during my week-long holiday. But after speaking to Yvonne on the phone the other day, I found out that Fujeirah beach hotels are offering special summer packages so I decided to hold our horses and do a little research. My colleague Kwok also confirmed the same and suggested we check out the summer promos of the newly opened Hotel JAL Fujeirah Resort & Spa and Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort .

In my past visits to Fujeirah, I’ve seen the Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, and even camped overnight right next to the property. I was curious how the kite-shaped building actually looks like inside, and what kind of amenities they offer since it’s become a popular destination here in UAE. So to satisfy my curiosity, I decided cancel our reservations at Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and opt to spend a night instead at Le Meridien in Fujeirah. It was easy to convince Ryan -- their summer offer is only AED 649 ($175) net for a superior room, with free buffet breakfast and dinner at their Views Restaurant. Not bad! Plus, it’s really cheaper than staying in the middle of the desert in a 5-star hotel style of camping.  At least there’s the beach, a huge pool (the biggest, they say, in the UAE) and a fairly large complex to lounge around. The weather's getting better these days so I guess it's safe to come outside & do some outdoor activity from 5:00 pm onwards.

Now what about the spa? Of course they have their own spa facilities to boast, and with the menu of services they have, I’m pretty sure we’ll enjoy our stay there. Good thing they have an available room on the 27th – just in time for our anniversary.

Yay, everything’s set for our little “celebration of love” next week (cheesy me talaga!). Now all I'm missing is a nice gift for hubby. I have to start coming up with a plan. Hmmm…methinks…. :)