Back In Vietnam

Yup, am back in Vietnam, where our first ever Greenhome was made at 25 Tran Nhat Duat Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

Now, am in Hanoi already after attending the Asian CSR Forum last week in HCMC. Arrived this noon via VN214 from Ho Chi Minh City. Finished dinner earlier. Had fried pork. Around 2 dollars only.

Chief also called as I was watching the Finals of FIFA between France and Germany. And Germany won according to Yahoo News.

Will write more later. Denzel Washington is calling me to watch his movie at Cinemax.

Minnie at 42

It my sister’s birthday today. Fermina was born 14 September 1965. She is 42 years young. Young kase she still doesn’t look much her age. Probably, will pass off as a 35 year old lady. She graduated from UST.... finished HRM. Photo shows Minnie with my mom the night before she left for Canada

For the past year, Minnie, as she is fondly called, has been living and working in Edmonton, Canada. For many years, she worked at Danarra Hotel until she pursued a chance of working abroad. She had worked in Danarra for many years, and often whenever we were around that place, we would pick her up at the hotel. When the three nephews, Carla, Geneve and Nicole, were all still living with us, there would be weekends, they would go to Danarra for a swim.

I remember back in 2005, she made her first overseas trip. Yes, she visited Chief and me in Vietnam. For two weeks, she lived with us at Hung Vung 2 at Saigon South. And for a week, she also bonded with our cousin, Patrick, who also had a long vacation with us. Photo shows my sister with Patrick (left) and Chief (right)

During those days, none of us would have imagined three cousins living together in Vietnam, much less, imagine Minnie traveling out of the country. But now, she is across the globe… on her own and for that we are very proud of her!

Sunday @ Bonifacio High Street

Sunday was nice and slow and relaxing for Chief and I. We spent a couple of hours at Seattle’s Best Serendra. The place was nearly full as Porche enthusiasts were gathering with their nice cars for breakfast. That made service a little slow.

Chief had the scrambled eggs with corned beef, while I had two pieces of hotdogs, also with eggs and three pieces of bread. Chief read her book, “The Google Story” which I still have to finish, while I was catching up on thesis paperwork. Finished proposals by Chesca, Lloyd, Gian and Jac, but am still a long way to go. Logo courtesy of www.seattlesbest.com

Then, we browsed around at Fully Booked. Bought the September 2007 issue of Good Housekeeping, with Ruffa Gutierrez as cover. The bookstore’s 5 floors had more than enough space for kids and parents to enjoy browsing through hundreds of books. I read a few pages about Golden Retrievers. Maybe, one day, when we have a house with a lawn, we will have a couple of dogs around and being chased by our kids.

By noon, “gutom” moved us to TGIF. Gosh, we haven’t been to any TGIF in years. Before, Chief and I simply enjoyed salad and fried calamari. Today, we shared garden salad with blue cheese dressing plus 6 pieces fried mozzorella. Described as hot and gooey inside. Crisp and golden outside. Served with marinara sauce for dipping.Total bill was around 600 pesos. And I had strawberry flavored lemonade.

The place was crowded. Really small, with not much elbow room. But the staff were attentive to customer’s needs. Even had three refills of my drink. TGIF is extra special for Chief and I as TGIF Glorietta was host to a big Christmas among ou r friends a few years ago. This was the first TGIF restaurant in the Philippines. Plus, we were able to eat at TGIF at the heart of Times Square back in 2003. Logo and photo from www.tgifridays.com

Then, spent 100 pesos at TimeZone, playing House of the Dead 2. Reached only up to level 2. Time Crisis was occupied by kids. Maybe, next time. Next Sunday again? Logo from www.timezonegames.com

How did you spend your Sunday?

Hair Spray? Nancy Drew? Or Disturbia?

After Mass at St. John Bosco Church, Chief and I had a quiet dinner at Ebun Restaurant at the heart of Greenbelt 3. Chief had morcon while I had sizzling pusit. The place was not really full and service was fast and efficient. We walked around Greenbelt. Went to Powerbooks. But the book sale was no where to be found. “Mahal na ulit ang mga libro,” I told Chief.

Went up to the third level and checked out the movies. “Hairspray” was showing. We had seen John Travolta on late night programs promoting the movie. Guess, after his dancing in “Saturday Night Fever” and “Grease” nothing comes close. Maybe, we would just watch the Broadway version. Set in Baltimore during the early 60s, it follows the pursuits of stardom by Tracy Turnblad as a dancer on a local TV show and rallies against racial segregation.

“Nancy Drew.” Didn’t even know they did a movie on the fictional character. There was no star power in this movie. Suddenly, “The Hardy Boys” in Shawn Cassidy and Parker Stevenson flashed back into my mind. Emma Roberts appears as Nancy Drew Did you know that she is the daughter of Eric Roberts and niece of Julia Roberts? Pretty in this photo from the movie.


“Disturbia” was another option. The Shia LaBeouf, young hero from "Transformers" was in this movie. Out of boredom, he starts peeping out his window and is "disturbed: by what he sees with his camcorder. Carrie Ann Moss plays his mother. But Chief didn’t want a heavy suspense-filled movie. She wanted something light and relaxing. Movie poster from www.wildaboutmovies.com. So. we ended up at the Figaro Coffee Shop. Chief enjoyed her brewed coffee and magazines. Me? Just a glass of water and the Businessworld newspapers. And just watched "Enterprise" tonight.

Mama Mary's birthday

This morning, our good friend Fr. Armand of Don Bosco greeted us a nice and warm message via sms. He said, “May the Lord bless you abundantly today as we celebrate Mother Mary’s birthday.”

My reply was: “Tnx Fr. Armand for keeping us in your prayers. Pacem.”

So, Chief and I decided to go for the 6pm “anticipated” Mass at St. John Bosco. The Mass was SRO… really quite different from the few other “anticipated” masses we had attended here. Even, parking was full. We sat at the back row. Chief was feeling a little dizzy because she had skipped lunch and the big crowd infront of her. I only ate bibingka for lunch too.

During the sermon, the priest talked about people’s “excess baggage.” We all have that kind of baggage that we carry through everyday of our lives. I guess we all have to manage it well and not let that extra weight pull us down. Often, this includes emotional baggage. The priest said that we should have priorities. Agree. Right now, our priorities is another chance at parenthood.

Happy birthday Mama Mary. Thank you for bringing Christian Gabriel into our lives!

BER Months

Yesterday was the start of the BER months... September, October, November and December... and then, a 24 day countdown to Christmas Eve. As I scribble these words at Starbucks, where I think the barista remembers my name, I too begin my own little countdown to the Christmas Season, which hopefully, will bring Chief and I to visit the United States.

Photo is from last year's Christmas at our Greenhome. Display design made by Chief.