Day 131 Aug 17, 2012

Few and Far Between:

No, that isn't the title of the training in this picture - if you must know, it's all about teaching the Retail basics, a two-day course, which I already covered at an earlier post... if not this year, then last year.

Nope, instead of Retail, I'd like to focus on the fact that our training conducts have become quite scarce, that this is the very first conduct for me for this month (and hopefully, not the last one - although even this is getting ot be a possibility with all the scheduled holidays coming up), Yeah, definitely few and far between, and it's becoming worrisome for me... but I need - I hope to get more training soon... with greater frequency.

Day 130 Aug 16, 2012

Jogie's Dispedida:

As a last 'eating' hurrah, we tried the C2 fine dining in Greenhills - and to be honest, we were initially curious with the 'Unlimited Crispy Pata' teaser they had - and honestly, if I were possibly two or even three decades younger, I might have gone for that challenge - but at the ripe age of 51, no way will I give it a try.

Still, we did have Crispy pata, and a lot of other pinoy dishes - and they were all prepared really well. It was also where we discovered the specialty dessert of the house - a different kind of bibinka... but more about that some other time - this entry is, of course, all about one last get together with Jogie (he and Keith leave - to go back to Dubai and rejoin Bernadette and other kids, who left a few days earlier). Chances are we'll still be hearing from them - but as for another visit from Jogie... well, I'm sure by next year he'll most likely be 'visiting' us again.

Day 129 Aug 15, 2012

Helping Red Cross:

Yesterday, John asked me why I had not yet helped in the Red Cross - not in any accusatory sense, of course... just a matter of fact. He, of course, knows that we (meaning my family) were likewise affected by the floods, so I prioritized making sure we were safe and our place was cleaned up after the flood waters receded.

Still, I did want to help, and I took it upon myself to at least drop in and see what was happening. I guess, I surprised them - as I came in while they were just getting up (from packing relief goods that would be sent to the western Rizal area. I also, as can be seen in this picture, helped a volunteer, in picking up a check issued as a donation -  apparently, to have a Director's presence when doing so.

I was happy to drive to the place and take the picture. Donning the vest allowed me to look somewhat official (this was, after all, not planned), despite me t-shirt and camouflage shorts. Ah well... at least I helped. After this, I could say I did my small part.

Day 128 Aug 14, 2012

Poolside Polo Club:

John invited me to merienda this afternoon - an impromptu thing... lucky for us, I was free, and we set our get together at 2pm.

Apparently, this was John's first non-work, and non-Red Cross related outing - and he needed a change of pace. The weather was still a bit rainy, but nothing as strong as the monsoon the past week. Still, even rain this weak adds up to the still flooded areas.

This merienda and location also gave me an excuse to stay nearer Barbie's office (compared to home), and it allowed me to rest in transit. It also allowed me to catch up with John - and yes, gave him some time to relax as well. Normally, we'd meet in an air-conditioned room when the weather is too humid - but today, with the cool weather, staying by the pool side was a nice - albeit windy hang out place. It naturally allowed me the opportunity to take pictures of the pool. You can see in the picture that the pool's surrounding is wet (due to the rain).

Day 127 Aug 13, 2012

Monday morning Coffee:

It's been a while since I've had a Starbucks coffee - and since I still have some GCs, I decided to get myself a cup. I had come from bringing Barbie to her office, and after the floods, it was a nice change of pace for me... and yes, if I place this picture in FB, it will make my other friends see that even in these times of budget stretching, I can still afford a cup of Starbucks (though this is an after thought after having heard others talk about it - hehehe).

That said, I've switched to taking my coffee black (Americano) with one Splenda or Equal (or whichever sweetener I can use), after all... black coffee is supposedly the healthy option and avoiding creamer and sugar helps me shave off possible weight addition. John told me about it... and recently, Barbie, likewise mentioned the same thing.

From here, I'll just cruise home and do a few home-related stuff, while preparing my training materials for Red Cross, though there is no rush here, since we've reset the training to give the volunteers the time to focus on relief efforts.

Come to think of it, I just might pass by Red Cross Makati - though not today... maybe on Wednesday.

Day 126 Aug 12, 2012

Quiet time:

After all those get togethers with family, it's always nice to have a quiet moment. It could be at home, or in this case, in a cafe like Bo's coffee where one can enjoy relative peace and quiet (at least, when compared to the more filled up and noisy Starbucks - where the noise level is a whole lot higher, and the chances of finding a free table are slim).

The coffee is good, and as shown in this picture, the place has it's own WiFi, so surfing the net is not a problem here. I also come here to read - be it a book, the available magazines or newspapers in the cafe, or any new comics I might have with me.

Bo's Greenhills is also a great place to stay while Barbie and Bernice shop, or while Bryce might attend some Victory affair. Yup, rather than wander aimlessly around, I would rather get a cup of coffee, sit back and relax.

In this picture, Barbie is enjoying the Internet, while I am reading - and yes, taking the usual picture or two of where I am. We owe it to ourselves to relax a bit... and having this quiet time is something we like. After all those eating sessions, it's nice to go back to the 'normal' pace (and normal consumption of food).

Day 125 Aug 11, 2012

My dinner:

Friday happens to be our rest from all the reunions, eating, and flood cleaning activities. Lord knows we need a break.

But this doesn't mean we don't meet up with Jogie and Ben for dinner - this time, at a less extravagant; yet still known for heavy/filling food, Army Navy burger and burrito place.

I opted for the filling, yet equally healthy vegetable burrito (shown in this picture) with fries on the side. I didn't even get the customary iced tea... choosing just plain water instead. Yeah... enough of the too many sugar drinks.

Day 124 Aug 10, 2012

This is two weeks worth of comics right here. I was unable to get my reservations the week before because I had no time to pass Galeria during the week - and on the weekend, there was a big rally against the RH bill, so it would have been a traffic nightmare to try going there.

This week was basically all monsoon - and the repercussions, plus final get together with some of our Dubai based relatives returning this week - so hardly any free time. But... when we finally had a window, Barbie and I went to Galeria to get stuff from National - and I also got to finally pass for my comics. Thus I have a lot of reading to do - now all I need is to find time to do said reading. Oh well... slowly, but surely.

Oh yeah... milestone check. With this entry, I would say I'm done with a third of the entries for this blog. Though I find it tiring at times, I try to soldier on.

Day 123 Aug 09, 2012

Last Get Together for 2012:

Taking a break from flood-related cleaning and fixing, Barbie's originally scheduled treat at Buffet 101 (supposedly on Tuesday - when the monsoon was busy raining down on us) finally pushed through, and I can say we timed it even better.

Granted that we had reservations, there were not too many people (as would normally be the case) this day, as many people were still monsoon shy. Which was good timing for us since the lines towards the food were not that long. Also, because of the monsoon - the two kids (Bryce and Bernice) had their classes cancelled, thus affording them to accompany us (they were originally not included due to the fact that they were supposed to have classes. So yeah, the buffet treat happening today turned out better for everyone. Come next day, most of the Dubai folks will be returning - their vacation over. Chances are, we'll most likely see them again in two years time.

Day 122 Aug 08, 2012

Flood Set-up:

If you look closely, you'll realize that this is nto our ground floor. It's the turn/pause of the stairs, which is basically five steps above the floor. As you can see, the ref, water cooler and one library shelf is occupying said place, in lieu of Barbie's and Bernice's shoe racks.

The reason for this is obviously to preserve these three items from any damage possibly caused due to flood waters entering our place. And since the flood waters were predicted to enter, I - together with ate Vicky and Barbie, started bringing up what we should - namely these three, several boxes filled with my comic collection, and another library shelf (which we placed at the upper end of the stairs).

Not shown here is how we placed the sofa set on top of a folding table, and likewise, the TV stand on a smaller table (which meant I had to temporarily place the large TV on the dining table). That said, the flood still caused us discomfort, and it almost claimed one car (which I still have to clean and tune-up, for forcing it to go through floods). I'm just glad that the power returned late last night, so we slept soundly - even while the ground floor (and the outside garage/walkway) was flooded. Our doors, however showed obvious signs of damage from the flood, and we used a lot of cleaning and disinfecting today, as we got rid of the flood waters.

If anything, there were definite lessons learned from Ondoy which helped me control the situation a whole lot better - though I just wish we need not put them to use, but so long as we stay here in this part of Sta. Mesa, we will have to be vigilant. I could even say that due to this monsoon flood, I got into a very intense workout.

I've decided to leave the book shelves where they are. They do look good there - and it makes the downstairs less cluttered and more spacious. I'm likewise tempted to leave the ref where it is. It was, after all, the hardest and heaviest to bring up. I'll sit on the idea another day or two - see how things go.

Day 121 Aug 07, 2012

Positive spin on floods:

What do you do when there's just too much water water around? And said water is far (really far) from being sanitary?

For starters, one could avoid the waters when possible. If that proves impossible, and one simply has to wade, then there's the sanitary practice of washing with soap whenever you get out of the flood waters - which could easily contain diseases of many kinds.
Or... you could put a positive spin to the entire experience by grabbing the usual props for swimming pools - in this case, a small inflatable raft, and let the kid enjoy the flooding experience. Nice, huh?

Day 120 Aug 06, 2012

Playing with darkness:

Today happens to be a very rainy day - so rainy, in fact, that classes up to High School levels have been suspended - and the irony is, there's no typhoon. This is purely a monsoon situation - but it's still enough to flood our place and make the electric company cut the power for fear of having some places flood while having live wires.

Well, with this situation, we naturally had candles and flashlights - one of my flashlight is designed like a lantern - so what's a guy with an artificial lantern and some rings to do? Play of course. In this case, I played with lighting and darkness, I played with colors and hues and lastly, I played with props. It may not be too clear, but it's a Green Lantern ring I'm wearing, as I try to reenact the recharging of the character's ring. Yes... I can even recite the oath. Sue me, I'm a geek.

Day 119 Aug 05, 2012

Bubbles favorite...

Through the years, Bubbles, by virtue of her thick fur, naturally feels hot in the summer months and comfortable during the rainy and cool months.

Throughout the year though, if there is one habit she has learned, it's to stick close to - or in this case, lean against the electric fan. After all, if it's summer, there's no place more comfortable than in front of the fan (not counting staying in front of the aircon, of course), and this habit somehow extends even in the cooler days.

Today is not exactly hot; which is why the picture shows the fan not turned on... but despite this, notice how Bubbles is leaning her head on it - while getting lulled to sleep by this peaceful afternoon. Possibly anticipating it's being turned on - and should that happen, well... she's in the best position to experience it.

Specially after having gone home late last night (from Cavite), it was just great to laze around the home, watch some TV and basically have a slow Sunday. We might not even attend mass and opt for just praying the rosary - unless we decide to go to Greenhills, that is. Days like this, the activities of least movement are what I prefer. It's definitely a time to relax and recharge. Bubbles simply picked up on the day's mood.

Day 118 Aug 04, 2012

Cavite reunion:

This is the first time we've all found ourselves in Cavite - for several reasons, this has been moved or postponed, but this particular weekend, we made sure to be here.

It's not as if we've not been seeing each other - but this is, after all, the Buenaobra home and the other reason for this get together is a sort of celebration of Bern's birthday - he brought home several kilos of Cebu lechon and that in itself is reason to get together. Naturally, with these reunions, there are catching up talks - in this picture, Bern is talking to Bryce. Both of them are (for now) computer engineers - Bern by profession, Bryce by the course he is taking in La Salle. In this particular situation, Bryce is asking his uncle Bern to help him with a program.

What can I say, these moments represent ways of bonding. In this case, between two egg heads, I can possibly imagine a time where these two may have a language - and world, of their own. Personally, I hope not.

Day 117 Aug 03, 2012

Visitors!

It's not as if this is a surprise. Since the Dubai folks (as I've dubbed them collectively for quick reference) are here, it was just inevitable for them to stop by our place - specially when they would be around the general vicinity of Manila. Such was the case today.

Though I did not place the pictures here, suffice it to say that we sort of treated them to dinner (pizza and chicken) by way of our usual take out orders - so we need not have to get out of our home too much. This pictuire shows Sophia with Jude; who is playing with my hat - and yes... I took a lot of pictures, specially of Jude with the hat, and posted them in my usual FB accont's albums.

Day 116 Aug 02, 2012

Curled up:

This is Buffy all curled up, feeling cold in this rainy weather. She's lying down on a throw pillow against the corner sofa back board (if you look close enough you;ll see the corner), and one has to consider that this picture was taken some time in the afternoon - normally the hottest time of the day... except in this particular day, it happens to be cool.

Buffy, of course, due to the nature of her coat, does not have much insulation - hence the need for a t-shirt like the one in this picture to make her feel warm and comfortable. Yeah... it's either that or she curls up right beside anyone sitting (or lying down), to experience the other's body heat. I liked taking this picture because Buffy has, by hte color of her coat, an almost natural camouflage effect with the sofa.

Day 115 Aug 01, 2012

Coffee Maker:

Yes, this complex looking equipment is actually a Coffee Maker, and it actually helps during those mornings when I need to be at John's place for the Management/Leadership training.

This particular day, I attempted to make coffee - but I could not make heads or tails of how to use the machine - I was a quick learner though, so right after one of John's house help showed me how to make the coffee, I was making my own cup whenever I felt the need to have a cup (I ended up having two just for the morning).

The equipment does have it's own coffee beans grinding capability, so I guess you can say that what you'll be drinking will always be freshly ground coffee.

I still needed to find out how to add hot water - in case my coffee looked a bit little, compared to the size of the cup I was using. That I learned again (it wasn't showed me in the first attempt to make the coffee). Despite it's complications, the machine does make good coffee - still, I have to say that the coffee maker I have at home may be far less complicated - but it can still make good enough coffee for me whenever I like. But I won't deny the fact that I like John's coffee machine - specially when it does give me good coffee during those training mornings.

Day 114 Jul 31, 2012

Office Orchids:

Whenever I fetch Barbie from her office, I park at the designated parking for employees fronting her office entrance. In between the office's glass doors (which can be seen in this picture's background) and the parking area is a garden filled with trees, plants and grass. A stone path then winds it's way to allow people to walk through the garden - to and from the office and parking area,

Naturally, when I wait in the car, I look at the garden (as I've done a lot of times) and see if there is anything of interest for me to take a picture of. Sometimes, it's the same scene made interesting from a different angle or perspective. This is where today's picture comes in. I've seen and taken a picture of these orchids at least a few times - but the angle I was sitting in this particular day made me look at the row of orchids in a different manner.

It looked like they were bunched together with differing heights - though I don't know if this was the intent of the designer/gardener to begin with, it did catch my eye - so from the inside of my car, I took a picture of said plants with one particular orchid having flowers using my zoom lens. The background is unfocused to add more emphasis to the plants.