Swabeng Decision: GUILTY!

After more than 5 months (44 working days) of public trial, deliberation and exchange of arguments from both the prosecution and the defense team, the 23 Senator-Judges have already cast their vote. The basis for conviction or acquittal will be based from 3 articles discussed. These would be Article II: Non-disclosure of properties in Corona’s SALN, Article III: Lack of probity, integrity, and independence in the FASAP vs. PAL case and Article VII: Irregularities in the issuance of a temporary restraining order for Mrs. Arroyo during her attempt to leave the country last November 2011.  

As for the rest of the articles of impeachment (namely Article I: Partiality of Corona to Mrs. Arroyo in Supreme Court decisions, Article IV: Irregularities in the issuance of the status quo ante order on the impeachment proceedings of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, Article V: Gerrymandering in the creation of 16 new cities and the declaration of Dinagat Island as a province), Article VI: Improper investigation of Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo’s plagiarism case and Article VIII: Failure and refusal to account for the Judiciary Development Fund and Special Allowance for the Judiciary), the prosecution decided not to go tackle with this as the impeachment would go longer (probably would last for a year or more). 

The verdict was here in this picture (credits to rappler.com)

From what I've watched and heard, the fact that CJ Corona did not fully disclosed his SALN was more than enough why he should be impeached. Though I have no knowledge with the technicalities of the law, I guess I quite understand of what's happening and what will be the outcome. 

Well here are some sound bites that most people would probably remember for years to come (taken here).

“The overarching policy issue in this episode is whether the conviction or acquittal of Corona would be good for our country. To resolve this, I intend to use political acceptability as the sole criterion to evaluate the projected outcomes of either decision.”
- Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, on insisting that the trial’s verdict should benefit the country

“What is distressing is no longer the endless impeachment trial to remove the Chief Justice that the President is supporting, but the uninterrupted exchanges of scathing and harsh words uttered with complete abandon outside the Senate proceedings by no less than the head of the executive branch and the head of judicial branch of government.”
- Senator Joker Arroyo, on Corona and P-Noy’s verbal banters in the midst of the impeachment case

"We don't see how the Senate impeachment court would acquit the Chief Justice. We don't see any reason why he should be acquitted."
- Senator Edgardo Angara, on deciding against Corona's acquittal

“I think they dug their own graves. I did not see the point in presenting the sheriff, who to my mind was lying and was covering up things. These to me are indications that he was lying.”
- Senator Franklin Drilon, on Corona lawyers presenting a court sheriff to deliver a testimony

“The defense and prosecution will show off their trial skills. And the senators will want to impress their national constituencies that they deserve to be reelected in 2013. This is going to be an action-filled traffic stopper. Everyone will stop traffic and go back home. Even the barrio people will go to the poblacion to watch it on TV. This will be a moneymaker for TV, and I dread the many commercials. It will be like an international boxing championship.”
- Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, on Corona’s decision to testify before the Senate impeachment court

"Senate impeachment court would control, prevent and not allow any statements issued by any party to the media that would affect the merits of the case. The Senate court would not also allow any sort of walkout, crying and dancing.”
- Senator Chiz Escudero, on the impeachment court issuing a gag order in January

“That’s totally untrue. It’s very unfortunate that he said that and I’d like to say it’s untrue. How do I feel? It’s unfortunate but for me that is a side issue. I’d rather focus on the merits off the case and continue with the impeachment trial.”
- Senator Teofisto Guingona III, on Corona’s claim that the senator wanted him to retire early so SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio could take over

“Why there were some properties omitted or forgotten from the SALN. He just has to explain it. Because bank accounts whether peso or dollar is a property.”
- Senator Koko Pimentel III, on Corona’s failure to present a complete statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth

“Just my analysis, he is the best person to explain the entries and the leaving out of certain items in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth. Maybe he can also send his accountant.”
- Senator Sergio Osmena III, on why Corona himself should testify before the Senate

“My sense is that in the event of an unfavorable ruling, he will bring the matter to the Supreme Court despite the clear constitutional provision that says the Senate has the sole power to try and decide the case. He will insist on the Supreme Court having the power to overturn a decision of the impeachment court.”
- Senator Kiko Pangilinan, on what Corona might do when the Senate rules against him

”I am glad on this last day for March that the court was now prying into the personal and other properties which has a relation to cash, cash in bank, and liabilities.”
- Senator Ralph Recto, expressing his delight that the court is finally prying into the heart of the problem

“If we continue with this pace, the trial could last for a year. I do not wish to trample on the rights of the prosecution to present evidence and on the defense panel to establish the best defense. But maybe both panels can look back at their lists of witnesses and evidence? Do we really need to hear all of them?”
- Senator Bong Revilla, on the slow rate of presentation of witnesses in the trial

“Once the complaint gets the necessary number of signatures, there is nothing you can do.  In our time, even if we cried or rolled on the floor in agony, the complaint had no choice but be transmitted to the Senate.”
- Senator Jinggoy Estrada, on comparing Corona and his father’s impeachment trials

“I’m expecting the prosecution to continue with its presentation of evidence because it was not confident that it had done enough to pin down Corona in at least one of the eight articles of impeachment. If they have the numbers, they would rest their case.”
- Senator Manny Villar, on pushing through with Corona’s impeachment

“The chief justice is the only one who can respond to the issues and questions lingering in the minds not only of the senator-judges, but the general public. More than the senator-judges, he owes the Filipinos an explanation. We are only extensions of the will of the people.’’
- Senator Gringo Honasan, on why Corona should indeed have testified

“That’s why I wondered why the Chief Justice, in insisting that he only owned five of the 45 properties, assured whoever can find those properties that they can have them. It turns out that many of those in the list really do not belong to him at all.”
- Senator Loren Legarda, on the prosecution’s erratic claim that Corona owned 45 real estate properties

“The only decision that we can make is either to impeach or not impeach. The option of only to admonish the Chief Justice or to somehow put on his record that he has committed some wrong-doing but not to impeach him, I think that has been dismissed.”
- Senator Bongbong Marcos, dismissing claims that the Senate can reprimand or admonition Corona upon guilty ruling

“Well, it doesn’t sit well with me because we extended so much courtesy. And now of course for humanitarian reason, you have to consider the medical condition of a person right? I mean that’s a given. I think at the end of the day, we will go into caucus and the body will decide if that’s reasonable, because we have to definitely await the certification. There has to be a certification because we already know very well, unfortunately minsan na-abuse din naman ang medical excuses just like in High School.”
- Senator Pia Cayetano, on the Senate sending its own doctor to check on Corona’s condition after the "walkout" issue

“For this big bulk of undecided, the finishing presentation would be crucial and to include the Chief Justice, I think, is a very good move on the part of the defense.”
- Senator Tito Sotto, on revealing that 13-15 senator-judges remain undecided until Corona himself testifies

“Perhaps after the impeachment court renders a decision, all government officials should sign a waiver to show that it’s not true the government was only going after the enemies of the president.”
- Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, on encouraging government officials to sign a waiver opening up their bank accounts

“The court’s decision is not subject to appeal. Its possible error in judgment is irreversible by any entity, not even the Supreme Court. Only the Filipino people can sanction the senator-judges who represent them.”
- Senator Panfilo Lacson, on insisting that Corona can’t bring his impeachment trial before the Supreme Court on the grounds of mistrial

“Tingin ko naman ay hindi mahalaga na ipilit na isalin sa Tagalog lahat dahil alam naman natin na hindi lahat ng salita sa Ingles, lalo na yung mga tungkol sa batas ay mayroon sa Tagalog. Ang mahalaga ay kahit papaano ay makasali ang mga katulad nating salat sa Ingles na makita ang katotohanan sa paglilitis sa Chief Justice.”
- Senator Lito Lapid, on the possibility of the impeachment trial being done in Tagalog

"There are four kinds of culpa – nata or magna, culpa levy, culpa levisima and culpa aquiliana. I think this is material in the consideration of this provision of the Constitution, what is the difference between culpa and dolus? Fault or deserving of blame."
- Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, on teaching Supreme Court lead councel Serafin Cuevas the definition of Culpa, which led to a feisty exchange of banter

Well this space won't be enough to put here all I found while browsing about this event. 

You may check them out here, here, here and here .

Now that the verdict has been placed, the best thing to do next is move on and move forward.

The week that was (May 20 -26)

Sunday: Got up at almost 7:00am as Migmig was already playing at our room, we went down and let her walk on her own. Once we got back, I let her mom took over and still try to find a cure on how my toothache would go away. By the time Migmig got up from her morning nap, I went online for an hour before I went upstairs to take care of Migmig while my wife went down to do other things. I didn't notice that I fell asleep as well. Migmig and I went down at past 6:00pm. We weren't able to attend mass as were late plus its raining already. I took the laptop down so my wife could go online and I took Migmig upstairs so she could get some sleep now. I didn't notice that I fell asleep again as my wife went upstairs to join us.

Monday: I got up a bit early as Migmig was already up and playing on the floor. We went down so she could do her usual walk before having breakfast at Mc Donald's. When we got back, her mom was already fixing her bath so my baby could get her morning nap early. I fell asleep too as I wanted to get some more sleep as well. I turned-on the aircon so Migmig could sleep soundly while I do back-up some pictures on our external hard drive. When she got up, we went down so I could give her some lunch. We went back up stairs at 2:30 and spend the rest of the afternoon there before her lola came and took care of her. I head off to the dentist for my 4:00pm appointment and when I got there, I had to wait patiently. Initially, the dentist won't continue the procedure as my blood pressure was high (140/100) but eventually lowered down (130/90). I didn't feel much pain until a certain point that she was already trying to pull my tooth out. I tried to fight the pain but it came to a point that my facial expression changed as well as I kinda shouted in pain. This would be the first time in a long time I felt intense pain while pulling my tooth out. The dentist let me rest for a couple of minutes to check if my blood pressure went down. However, it was still high after 30 minutes of rest and decided not to continue with my tooth extraction as she feared that I may fade out or may suffer a heart attack as she said my blood pressure shot to as high as 200. I got scared but kinda decided to continue and endure the pain but she's so hesitant to continue, I had to reschedule it on a different day and time (probably when I'm all calm and much better). I kinda felt a bit scared too as the trauma that happened to me before was almost instantly happening again. I left the dental clinic feeling sorry as the procedure wasn't able to push through. I bought some pain killers before going home soaking wet as its raining. I went upstairs to get some rest and think how did that happened. After almost an hour, I went down to take care of Migmig until my wife got home early. I didn't had dinner as I need to take care of my dead tooth and my blood pressure. I slept early to get myself ready for the next day (so much for this long day post). XD

Tuesday: Got up at 5:45am as Migmig was already awake. Though I still feel a little groggy, I got to spend some time with her in our room before going down for a walk and breakfast at Mc Donalds. We had our breakfast though I guess my daughter has given-up on eating pancakes (she spits most of them). We went somewhere else to kill time and make sure my daughter would be able to see some of the sights she hasn't seen before. My wife was still sleeping when we got back after our morning ritual and we woke her up so she could give our baby a bath. I took a bath early and dressed partially before taking a nap with Migmig until her lola came. I left home as quick as I could and I got in the office. It was also the birthday of my colleague so she treated us a Mc Float and Large Fries. I went to our clinic located at the 2nd floor to have my blood pressure checked. The nurse checked and I am at 160/90 which is a little bit high. Could it be with what happened the previous day. For the entire day, I feel uneasy as I need to keep myself in-check if my blood pressure may spike-up again. But then again, I can't slack down, not that I have less than 5 months to go at work. For dinner, I had only soup for a change and probably go on a diet until my blood pressure goes normal and have my tooth finally extracted. When I got home after my shift, I got myself comfortable before going to bed. My wife was a bit surprised as I wanted to get some sleep as early as I could.

Wednesday: Got up at 7:00am, just in time that Migmig got up as well. Somehow, my sleep got a little bit better though its still far cry from 8 hours (optimum). We went out for a walk and stayed out for an hour before we went back to give her some pandesal for breakfast. Her mom got up a little bit late but she was able to step-up and gave our daughter a bath before we tried putting her to sleep. I told her to get ready for work and I'll put our daughter to sleep. I need to buy some diapers for Migmig as she's almost out of stock. She fell asleep after a few minutes and I kinda fell asleep for a few minutes too before her mom-in-law got back at almost 12:30pm. I immediately got ready for work but I missed the LRT2 ride to Cubao so I waited for another 10 minutes. Good thing I just got in time for my MRT ride to Ayala Station and walked as fast as I could to get in the office just in time. And I got there just in time. Good thing my colleague was there so I was able to do other things aside from ticketing. I went out to Mom & Tina's to buy some lunch for myself and had my late lunch. I had my blood pressure checked again and this time, it was at 130/90, slightly lower than the other day (160/90). I have yet to reach and maintain a 120/80 blood pressure (something I use to do a couple of years back). By the time got 7:00pm, I went to SM Makati to do some shopping for stuff at home and got back in the office an hour later. I wanted congee for dinner but there were none available so I had something to drink instead. Work got a bit intense as the clock strikes 9:30pm and I got to finish it so it would be done and over it. I felt a little bit dizzy so I had to get a cab and go straight home. I got to settle down for a couple of minutes before I finally lay down to sleep.

Thursday: Well, we were about to get some sleep but Migmig got up and wanted to play for a couple of minutes with us. Even with only our lampshade on, I still see my baby's smile as well as her mom that somehow lessens my tension. We were able to go to sleep at around 1:00am. Migmig and I got up at 7:00am and we went out for a walk. I wasn't suppose to take her to Mc Donald's for breakfast but since its drizzling and Migmig can't walk with that, we had breakfast there instead. So far, she ate a bit plenty as I tried chewing solid food using my left jaw (the one with the dead tooth on it). Well, its pretty much okay but my other healthy tooth may get affected if the dead one won't be extracted ASAP provided that my blood pressure gets much better. (I'm still at 130/90). When we got back home, her mom was still sleeping so we woke her up so she could help me setting-up Migmig's bath. After giving Migmig her bath, we went upstairs so I could put her to sleep and I fell asleep as well. My wife woke me up so I could take a bath and get dressed. While doing that, I heard someone crying upstairs. It's my baby who got up after sleeping for an hour. I played with her until her lola got back home at past 12:00pm and I hurriedly left for work. Thank God I got in the office early as I started to do some tickets. I went out to buy some soup at the Soup Kitchen but they haven't offer they 50% off so I went back and waited until eventually, I just settle with a 20% off. I had it in the office while trying to use my left jaw (with my dead tooth) in eating. I just had to wait for my shift to end before hailing a cab heading home.

Friday: Got up early as my mom paid us a visit. She got to spend at least 30 minutes with us before she went back to work. I was able to take Migmig out for a walk before we gave her breakfast my mom bought. I was supposed to attend the iBlog at UP Diliman but I got disappointed as my name did not appear on the list of those registered (I checked them the other night and asked why my name was not there). Instead, I took care of Migmig the entire morning until I left home at 12:30pm not to go to work (I'm on 2-day leave), but to go online and check some stuff on facebook for about two hours. Then, I went to Gateway and was suppose to have coffee until I forgot my planner with me. That was a big TOINK for me as my entire afternoon was changed. I strolled around at SM Cubao and Ali Mall to kill time but it didn't helped much. I went to Eastwood to kill more time and buy DPP's issue 44 but its not yet available as of the moment. Then I strolled around Eastwood Mall to check some food spots that we may visit with my wife and daughter in the near future. Still with a lot of time left, I had no choice but to try Uncle Cheffy's unlimited pizza and pasta (costs 345 pesos) even if I only had an hour left. Somehow, I never regret that choice though I'm having a hard time chewing and I even tried 5 of 8 pizza flavors offered. For their pasta, I tried only once as I know it would easily make me full plus the timing I'll be having dinner. I was able to purchase DPP's issue 44 and took some time reading it before heading to Shutterspace Studios to attend HGT's 2nd Anniversary Party. The first cab I got missed it and dropped me off at Ateneo before I got another cab heading back. At the party, I got to meet some new faces as well as the old ones. Though I didn't ate much and took pictures that much, I really enjoyed my few hours there until 12:30am the next day. I immediately took a cab and got home for my much needed rest for the next day. 

Saturday: Got up at 5:30am to attend DPP's 6th anniversary event at BGC. I left home at almost 6:00am and got there a few minutes after 7:00am (I'll write a detailed blog about the event). I think I spent more than 15 hours at the event before I finally hail a cab and went straight home. I felt really dehydrated and thirsty that I didn't stop drinking until I got really full. When I got home, my daughter was sleeping already just like when I left home early this morning. I soaked some laundry for me to do the next day and unpacked some of my things as well. I went online for a couple of minutes to relax before finally going to bed at 1:00am.

DPP's 6th Anniversary Event: My Third

Last Saturday, I was able to attend DPP's 6th Anniversary Event. It was my third straight year to attend this event that is dedicated to photographers by photographers and DPP.

I arrived at BGC at close to 8:00am as I noticed that the registration line wasn't as long as the first time I attended two years back. Some of my friends were already there ahead of me as they arrived earlier. During registration, I bought some shirts as a souvenir that I attended their event. I bought 3 black shirts for me to possibly replace my old ones. I had breakfast first at Jamba Juice as the first talk starts at 10:00am.

With the schedule of seminars and open shoots that we got, I know we had our hands full. The only problem I see with having 2 talks is that its hard for you to choose which one to attend especially if you like to learn more and attend both.

In-between, I tried taking some interesting snapshots as to sharpen my skills in photography (I'm still far from being an amateur =P). From beautiful people to unexpected moments, I was able to capture most of them.

Had lunch with friends that had us skip some good talks and open shoots. Anyway that's our way of giving chance to others though we've missed the groupshot for the second time as well as some of the free lectures and openshoots XD.

By afternoon, My friend and I had some snacks at Jamba Juice while waiting for the sun to set down. We took some more snapshots later in the afternoon though I wasn't able to attend some lectures anymore.

By night time, there were free drinks c/o Bacardi to keep our spirits alive and kicking. I still manage to take a few more snaps as the live judging was going on as well as throwing away prizes (literally) to the audience.

I left the event at around 11:00pm as I felt so tired after staying there for the whole day. My only thoughts here are with more openshoots for attendees, I'm sure they're pretty happy but it divides their time between attending lectures and open shoots. For me, I prefer attending lectures then take some pictures which I did but with some of them happening at the same time, Its hard to choose which one to go to.

Pictures to follow soon. XD

Swabeng Thoughts: Of Tooth Extractions and High Blood Pressure

Last Monday, I was supposed to have one of my tooth extracted. Unfortunately, the dentist wasn't able to complete the procedure as my blood pressure has shoot-up to 200. Initially, she declined doing the procedure as my initial blood pressure was at 140/100 (I never knew checking one's blood pressure prior to tooth extraction is a must) but went down to 130/90 so we did started eventually up to a certain point. The dentist warned me that I could have got a mild-severe stroke if she pushed through with pulling out my tooth. She had notice that my face turned red and I gave a loud noice of pain as she was twisting my dead tooth. Personally, I wonder how a dead tooth bring much pain while being pulled-out. Could have been more than a decade-old trauma has got back on me when I had a molar being pulled-out, screaming in pain even if more than 2 anesthesia was injected in my gums. When I got home that day, I'm thinking what if the procedure pushed through? I could have been paralyzed or few of my nerves could have probably snapped-out but somehow, I got to find a way. 

The next day (yesterday), I wanted to find out if maintaining a steady blood pressure has something to do with tooth extraction (or vice versa). Good thing I was able to find some answers with the help of Google. Here is one that I saw.

Taken from Google

Question: I have another question about my tooth extraction.  I was scheduled for this month, but I'm nervous about it and can't get my blood pressure under control.  I called the doctor and they are increasing my high blood pressure medicine.  I feel so mad because my tooth hurts, yet they won't extract it until the blood pressure goes down.  Any suggestions on how to relax in the dental chair.  I'm hoping they can just give me general anesthesia so I will be asleep through the process.  Any ideas you can give me would be so helpful.

Answer: Yes it is important to relax and yes anesthesia can assist the relaxation.  The high blood pressure you are experiencing is important to get under control before extractions or anesthesia.  The negative effects of high blood pressure on both can produce reactions that can be quite serious.

I, therefore, agree with whomever decided not to extract the tooth until the blood pressure is under control. So have your physician control your pressure and then the tooth can be removed without any major complications that high blood pressure can produce.

There are a lot of explanations and Q and A's that can still be found out there, but I'm happy with this one for the time being. I just hope my blood pressure goes back to normal (and stays normal) so I could have this dead tooth extracted and go on.

The week that was (May 13 - 19)

Sunday: My phone alarmed at 4:30am though I gave myself 15 more minutes before getting up 15 minutes before 5:00am. I took a quick shower and dressed-up before waking my wife up for her turn. I got to take a quick nap before she got back and dressed-up. I got a bit surprised as Migmig was still sleeping even if its almost 6:00am and were about to go somewhere. I hope she didn't inherit that habit from her mom though XD. We were able to board the bus bound for Lipa, Batangas at 6:45am. The travel was hassle-free except for the bus was running so slow. We got to our home in Bugtong at 8:30am as my dad and my other relatives were waiting for us. We took another jeepney ride to reach the destination and spent the entire day there (I'll write a blog about this). By afternoon, we went back home to Bugtong to get some rest before catching the bus back to Manila.Good thing going back home didn't took us long as we got a cab from Buendia to home in Sampaloc and got home at around 8:00pm. We put Migmig to sleep before I go online outside and at our room before going to bed.

Monday: Got up early to take Migmig out for a walk before having breakfast at Mc Donalds. Then we got back so her mom could give her a bath before going to bed for her morning nap. When we got up, its almost noon and my baby was already hungry. After her lunch, we went up then we went down again but she was throwing some tantrums again as I put her down on her walker for me to poo. I did it very quickly so I could attend to my baby's needs. We went up again to spend the rest of the afternoon. I got to change her diapers again and put her to sleep for an hour and went online at the same time before she got up again and wants to go out. We went to her lola at the stall as I grab a quick bite at 7-11 since I wasn't able to have lunch a few hours ago. We went back home at around 6:30pm just in time her tita (my sister-in-law) arrived from work. She helped me carry Migmig for a couple of minutes before taking her back up to put her to sleep. But instead of going to sleep, she wanted to play more (again). Thank God my wife arrived and took over from there. I got to read Sunday's paper before going to bed early to catch some more sleep. We didn't turn on the aircon since it wasn't that hot at that time.  

Tuesday: My wife woke me up and ask me to turn on the aircon since its quite hot in our room. For some reason, Migmig wanted to get out of the bed as early as 5:00am to play. Could have been my movement that caused her to get up. We tried our best to put her to sleep but she only fell asleep just as I was about to take her out for a walk. We finally got up at 8:00am and took her straight to Mc Donald's to have breakfast. Then we went back so her mom could give her a bath before putting her to bed. Since she has slept for an hour already, it took me a while to put her to sleep. Instead of getting ready for work after my mom-in-law gets back home, I do prepare earlier while my wife is also dressing-up for work then put my working shirt if I'll be leaving home. That works for one as my mom-in-law got back at 12:00pm. Since I haven't ate yet, I had to do a quick stop at World Chicken in Glorietta before reporting for work at 2:09pm. Work was just fine as I had to do the special task together with my colleague. By dinner time, I went to Greenbelt to settle our internet bill then off to Greenbelt 5 to look for a good place to eat. I had a hard time choosing so I ended up at Kenji Tei and got to try their Ramen (small). It tastes good plus they do have a high-chair for toddlers (like Migmig). When I got back to the office, I have a Magnum Ice Cream bar while continuing my task (I'd let my colleagues do the work like handling calls and emails). By the end of my shift, I went home right away to get some rest and be with my family.  

Wednesday: All of a sudden, the room feels warm so I had to fix our desk fan after my wife turned-off our aircon at 4:00am. Then, Migmig got up as early as 5:15am and wants to play already. With only a few hours of sleep, I had to keep my eyes open and let her do her thing. With my head spinning again, I let my wife took over for a few minutes for me to get some sleep before getting up at 7:00am to take her out for some fun. After having breakfast at Mc Donald's, we went back to get her walking wings so she could walk freely without me worrying of twisting her arm. When we got back home, her mom got Migmig's bath stuff ready and gave her a bath. I do assist my wife as our baby is so active she's having a hard time giving her a bath alone. Then I went online while Migmig took her morning nap and she got up an hour later as the weather was really humid (I turn on the aircon). Then I had lunch at a nearby carinderia before reaching the office at almost 2:30pm (late for the 2nd time this week). I'm all by my lonesome for the day (with my boss) but I had to complete the task that I need ty finish. Work was pretty much okay though I'm working on a task that I have to finish before my restday on Sunday. Good thing there were no calls nor emails yet about any issue that we had but I guess I have to expect the unexpected. Working by my lonesome, I had my boss take care of some emails and calls while I'm focused on our weekly tasks. While my boss was out for lunch, I got a single call that I was able to finish before continuing my task. By 7:00pm, I went out to buy some wings at BWNT and have it in the office together with two bottles of rootbeer. Dinner was really so good that it made me kinda energized and try to do as much as I can. After my shift, I went straight home to be with my family.

Thursday: Got up at past 6:00am feeling a little bit better than the previous mornings. Migmig was already up and awake but I am also up and awake as well. My mom paid us a visit with some breakfast goodies from Jollibee. I let Migmig had mine as she enjoyed her boneless bangus after we went out for a walk and have some fun in the sun. Its really hard having no one solely dedicated to take care of Migmig. I got to go online while Migmig was sleeping and she slept enough that my mom-in-law arrived back early at 12:05pm. I didn't waste time getting ready for work and I got there after being late for two consecutive days. I drop-by at Greenbelt 5 to get a brochure from Mr Jones before reporting for work and I got in the office much earlier than 2 days ago. Thank God my colleague for the day was in the office as well to help me complete the team's task for the week. I went out first to do some bank transactions and buy 2 vouchers (one from cashcash pinoy and one from beeconomic). My cashcash deal went through but I have to wait for my beeconomic though. For dinner, I wanted something at Sisig Hooray but unfortunately, they were already closed at 7:30pm (no more stock available). I had to go to food choices to pick out something else until I ended up at Manang's. When I got back, I had dinner with plenty of water as the chicken I ordered were so spicy hot I enjoyed it. At the end of my shift, I went straight home but I passed by 7-11 to grab a bar of Magnum. My wife and baby were both asleep so I just made sure they're comfortable before joining them in bed.

Friday: Got up at almost 7:00am as Migmig was already playing at the floor of our bedroom. We had our breakfast at Mc Donalds as she walks her way to the restaurant. Then she was up to some antics that kept me awake and smiling while feeding her breakfast. When we got back, her mom gave some more before giving her a bath and tried putting her to sleep. I joined my baby for an hour or two before she got up and wanting to go down. Right now, one of the challenges I get into is keeping Migmig still in the living room. She keeps on walking and wanting to climb upstairs. By 2:00pm, we went back upstairs (with the aircon still on) and spend the rest of the afternoon playing. I tried putting her to sleep but to no avail as she's really full of zest and energy. By 4:30pm, we went out to her lola to spend the rest of the afternoon. That point, I had my late lunch while my wife texted me saying I should be in their office by 6:00pm. I had to get ready back home and inform my brother in law to take care of the store so Migmig and her lola could go back home. I never imagined that the LRT2 would be jam-packed at that time of the day. When I got to her office, I rested for a couple of minutes before were off to Eastwood to have dinner at Sambokojin (I'll be writing a blog post about this) as her boss would treat them as a birthday gift (my wife with 2 of her other officemates). After that hearty dinner, I got a little bit tipsy as I finished more than enough bottles of SML that I can handle. We spend some more time having coffee at Starbucks before finally calling it a day. When we got home, Migmig was still up and awake as we made ourselves comfortable before going to bed altogether.

Saturday: Got up at almost 7:00am as I took Migmig out. First, I'd let her walk without any support. Then we went back to have the walking wings put on her so she could walk freely without me worrying too much. She seems to enjoy walking and I was already sweating bullets. When we got back, we went up to wake my wife up to help me out. I got to do other things after giving Migmig a bath and joined her upstairs to put her to sleep. She throws up her usual tantrums again but eventually, I was able to put her to sleep before retrieving a file from our laptop. Then, I got ready for work and left early without having lunch nor breakfast as my tooth somehow hurts differently as compared to the previous ones. I bought some magazines that I should have bought early this month. When I got a bite of a pizza at MRT Cubao, it hurt so terribly my face gave me some goosebumps. I got in the office just in time and thank God, work was not that abundant. With my tooth's condition, its really had to enjoy my food as I just console myself with dinner from Jollibee for the 2nd straight Saturday. I got to do one email request while still trying to figure out how this pain in my tooth subsides. At the end of my shift again, I went straight home to get some much needed rest hoping that my toothache would be gone by tomorrow. 

Swabeng Food Trip: Joinin' at Sambokojin

Last Saturday, my wife tagged me to attend their company's dinner at Sambokojin in Eastwood. I had to make sure Migmig is fast asleep before heading to Katipunan. When I got my wife's office, I was the only one missing before the convoy goes to Eastwood.

Since its my first time to have dinner in a smokless, odorless grill, I'm sure my stomach would look forward to have some grilled meat as well as their other food selection. I read some blogs about Sambokojin and I've read nothing but raves on how good this place is. 

Well I started off with some Japanese fares like their makis and sushis. Like a bottomless pit, they sure know how to make their customers enjoy their food. Just be sure to get a little if you want some space for your tummy for the grilled meat and seafood.

They do also have six types of sauces that fits each grilled meat or seafood. Since, I'm hungry at that time, I wasn't able to savor each one of them as I dipped each grilled meat and seafood on them. 

The variety of fresh food to grilled are pretty much okay, I mean, you can have more than enough without feeling the need for more. However, I wasn't able to try their cooked dishes which probably would give me enough reason why I should go back. 

For dessert, its ice cream over cakes. I got myself four big scoops of ice cream topped with marshmallows, sprinkles and chocolate syrup. Most guest were surprised that I had my ice cream on a place instead of the usual small bowl for desserts, which I think they got envious as I have some space in my tummy for desserts.

For sure, I'll be coming back to try out their other food offerings. 

Pictures to follow soon. XD

Swabeng Events: International Museum Day 2012, Which Museums to go to

New challenges, New inspirations.

Today, the world is changing faster than ever. New technology delivers new ideas, gigabytes of information, news of an increasingly unstable climate, all shared by social media. Modern museums must compete for an audible voice against the furious pace of this background.

This day is an occasion to raise awareness on how important museums are in the development of society. Most people would never know but I like going to museums more as I grew older. I even recall some of my pictures I took a couple of years ago at multiply and I look at them once in a while to reminisce the good old days.

But where to go to tomorrow to celebrate International Museum Day? I got two museums that celebrate the event. 

1. The Mind Museum: Since they opened last March, I'm sold on how much they have invested to have a museum like these. They have a lot of activities in store for all curious minds, young and old. I'd take my family a few years from now but I (alone) may visit them within this year. Taking pictures for personal use is okay (according to them) but they prohibit tripods (I don't mind) and using flash (I'm not sure about this).

Taken from their facebook page

2. Ayala Museum: I pass by this museum on my way to work but I never set foot inside because PHOTOGRAPHY IS NOT ALLOWED. I was hoping if they would change their mind just for tomorrow but they're still firm on PROHIBITING PHOTOGRAPHY inside. Anyway, I may change my mind and pass by for an hour or two perhaps.

Taken from their facebook page

If I only have tomorrow free, I could pay both museums a visit. Would you recall any museum here in Manila (or other parts) of the country celebrating the International Museum Day 2012.

Interested to learn more about International Museum Day? You may check the following links here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

The week that was (May 6 - 12)

Sunday: Got up early to take Migmig out for some fun in the sun before she had her breakfast. Then her mom took over as she gave her a bath before putting her to sleep at 11:00am. Since I had only a few hours of sleep the other night, I joined my daughter for a long nap before both of us got up at 12:30pm. Just in time, I took a bath and told my wife to get ready as we head off to Naci located in Conneticut Street in Greenhills where we will be having our long late lunch. After spending 2 hours there, we head off to Virra Mall to stroll around. My wife wanted to buy an external hard drive so we could free-up some space on our laptop. We tried looking for WD Element 2TB EHD but we could only find a 1TB HD as most stores already have no 2TB. We settled for the 1TB WD Elements. We roamed the area for some more before taking the bus home as all of us got really tired. When we got home, I settled down for a while before taking the laptop down as I tried to back-up using our new external hard drive (I might write a blog for this one). I was successful in transferring almost 100GB of pictures taken for the past 2 years and got our laptop some much needed space. I went upstairs and joined my baby to sleep at 10:30pm, the earliest for the past couple of months. I had to turn on the aircon as the room was a bit hot and humid at that time. I couldn't also help it but wonder why my baby smiles and laughs a little while sleeping. strange but quite cute if you ask me. ^_^

Monday: Got up early again and took Migmig out for some fun in the sun before having breakfast. When her aunt has arrived, I got my luggage bag ready as I head back home to San Pedro to unload some of my magazines there. I left at past 9:00am when it rain all of a sudden.I got a bit wet on my way to San Pedro but eventually, I was able to dry myself up (except for my shoes). When I got to Pacita Complex, I went to Chicboy for some lunch as I haven't had lunch there for quite some time now. When I got finally home, I got to unpack some of the magazines I took with me and rested for a while before taking the next bus bound for Manila. I felt asleep on the way as it helps me somehow kill time and before I know it, I'm already at SM Manila. I went to BDO to report an incident that our account was debited but I wasn't able to receive the cash. They say they will take a look into it and let me know within 5 working days. Then I bought some stuff for Migmig before having snacks at Kangaroo Jack and tried their merienda buffet. I liked their bottomless nachos as I got two platefuls of it together with some pasta that I must say Jollibee's are still way much better. XD. When I got back home, Migmig was already wide awake and took her out for some fresh air so her aunt could go home early. We went to her lola to spend some more time before going back home after an hour. We spend some more time and I gave her some milk already but she waited for her mom before she gets to sleep. When her mom took over, I was able to go online again to do some updates and read Sunday's paper before going to sleep early.

Tuesday: Got up early and let Migmig play at our room for a couple of minutes before we went down for some fun in the sun. When we came back, her aunt was already there ready to take over. I got to take the laptop down to warm it up before editing some pictures of my daughter. Inch by inch, I'm almost done with my project 365 and thinking if I should go beyond it or not. Who knows, I may =P. By lunch time, I'm on my way to the office to start my work week. Work was quite okay as I got some tickets to work on and check some of my posts. By dinner, I grabbed some wings from BWNT and had it in the office. I got to edit some of my posts after doing this task again. By the time my shift ended, I went straight home to my wife and baby.

Wednesday: Got u as early as 5:45am as Migmig was already awake. We went down at 7:00am since I had to get some more sleep and I let her play in our room. Good thing her aunt came early as I buy some breakfast for my baby. I got to take the laptop down and war it up first before doing my post-processing of photos which I got to edit some more sets before reporting for work. When I got in the office, my wife texted me saying that her meeting with the suppliers were already done and want's to meet-up at Starbucks 6750. When I got there, she was on my way to our office and I texted her to go back. We went to Greenbelt to have some snacks until we ended up at The Cheese Steak Shop after doing a pit stop at CBTL at The Residence. She enjoyed the cheesesteak sandwich I ordered and if she's not full from her lunch, she could have ate half of my 10" sandwich. She's glad she saw a high-chair there that we may take Migmig with us sometime soon. After our snack, I hailed a cab so my wife could go home and went to Bonchon to grab some wings to go. Work was quite abundant again as I got to answer some tickets. Good thing the phones were back to normal now as it was haywire a couple of minutes ago. For dinner, I had wings from Bonchon that I bought early this afternoon as I had to assist my colleague whose got swamped with calls and emails.After shift, I went straight home to be with my wife and baby.

Thursday: Got up at 6:00am as I had to wake my wife up since she needs to go to NBI to get her NBI Clearance. I know she's not used to getting up early but for a change, she needs to do it more often. I took Migmig out for some fun in the sun before having breakfast at Mc Donalds. But my daughter had something in mind while having breakfast. She kept on making noise that catches attention to most of the customers there though I guess they didn't mind at all coming from a baby. When we got back, I feel so sleepy I went back to sleep and got back up at 9:00am. I took the laptop down and instead of editing pictures, I sorted some pictures in their respective folders and transfer some from my CF Card to the laptop. Thank God the file transfer was quick and successful. By 12:30pm, I'm off to work and just got in the office in the nick of time. Work was quite okay as I got to answer 2 tickets before getting some wings again at BWNT. I'm thinking of taking my wife and Migmig at their Solaris branch to get the homey atmosphere sometime soon. Probably before my contract ends on September, I might do that. I got to do other things online except for job hunting which I may do it soon. I took the next bus home but I got to grab a bite of Magnum to beat the heat before finally going home.

Friday: Got up at 6:00am as my baby girl was already up, awake and active. I find it hard to keep up with her especially with less than 6 hours of sleep I have. Instead of taking her to Mc Donalds for breakfast, we strolled around the neighborhood showing her the place she will be calling home for a few more years. Instead of joining BMSD's walk along Ayala Ave, I edited more pictures of Migmig on her birthday presentation. I had to upload all of them as well before reporting for work. I called my wife to let her know that our family reunion/outing will proceed come mother's day. I was surprised when she told me that her aunt won't be able to take care of Migmig starting Monday next week as she needs to take care of their rice store back in Fairview as her husband got a new job. I'm happy for them that they would earn additional income for their kid's future. However, this would be a major dent for us as Migmig is still unable to fully walk all by herself. I may get a suspension for the next few weeks as I need to adjust to Migmig's needs. Anyway, I hope we could find a long term win-win solution somehow. My other sister-in-law will be resigning from her work (its a different story) so I guess she can give us a hand for the time being until we find a way. I'm all alone here in the office for the time being and it's nothing new to me anyways XD. As for work, I've got a handful as I got to resolve/escalate most of them. I even had a 50-minute call from Malaysia that could have took me less than 10 minutes if it wasn't for communication gap between me and the user as she interrupts me most of the time. By 7:00pm, I head off to Persia Grill to buy some kebabs for dinner. Work still kept me busy as I need to consult my manager in the US about an issue that needs to be taken care of and it has been escalated by them. After my shift, I took the next bus home and stopped by 7-11 to grab a Magnum bar again before going finally home. 

Saturday: I got up early again to take Migmig down for some fun in the sun before we had breakfast at Mc Donald's. She always seem to enjoy every moment we have breakfast that I wanted to take pictures of all of her smiles. Maybe next time, I'll bring my camera with me to take pictures of her at Mc Donald's. When we got back home, her mom was awake and hand her Migmig so I could do other things. I left home a bit early but using my home slippers for work since its Saturday. I had only one call for the day but me and my colleague need to do a task that requires us to update user's contact information on our ticketing system. It seems pretty easy but doing 200+ is not as it takes atleast 2-3 minutes to check and update each user. I wasn't able to do much on other things as I was too busy with the task my boss gave me. By dinner, I went to Jollibee instead to save time and money and to complete the task. My eyes felt so tired and dizzy from the task I wanted to get some sleep right away. And when I got home, my wife has our things packed as we need to get up as early as 5:00am to attend my family's (father's side) reunion.

Top 7 ways to make your co-workers love you

The last thing I wanted to do is to let my co-workers hate me. Well, it would be more productive for everybody to let my co-workers love and appreciate my efforts. 

I saw this interesting read in Yahoo and I'm pretty sure this will work for the others. 



How to be liked in the workplace

Though you haven’t just started your job and just want to feel counted in the office, it’s a tricky thing making the correct impression. So how do you make sure your co-workers love you? Here are some simple steps – oh and try not to cause any arguments!

1. Learn the tea orders of your workmates: Although this might seem simple and of no importance whatsoever, learning how your co-workers take their tea is a great way to get involved in the office environment. Ok, so let’s be reasonable, if your office is the size of a football pitch you could possibly side step the tea round, however in smaller offices it is the polite and socially correct thing to do. Not only does this look like you actually take notice of people but it is an easy ice breaker, it’s as simple as that.

2 Smile in the workplace: Smiling can convey a happy emotion; emotions are free and are easy to use. If you never smile the chances are your colleagues probably think that you don’t have a sense of humour, so smile away. And it only takes a few facial muscles to smile. XD

3. Listen to your work colleagues: If you don’t listen to anyone not only will you feel cut off from the work environment but eventually everyone will stop talking to you. If it’s someone’s birthday soon or they are going shopping at the weekend, just make a note of it. However small the task, go out of your way to ask how it went or simply ask did they have a nice time; people value the smaller things in life and this is one of them. 

4. Don’t be a workplace hermit: If you are invited out by your co-workers always make an effort and go out with them. If you are having a party and you don’t invite anyone from work but then upload pictures onto a social networking site, it may come across as though you dislike everyone, so put yourself out there and ask them. If everyone says no you know who not to invite next time!

5. Stick to your personality: Don’t try and be someone else. Just be yourself and the rest will follow. Being fake is not a good look and most people can see right through this, however if you are loud and obnoxious this is hard to cover up, but worth a try.

6. Don’t be the office flirt: You don’t want to be known as the one who chats to all the boys/girls; save this at least for the Christmas night out. You can’t make another first impression so tone it down and adopt the mantra work is for working. If you’re so desperate to talk to the opposite sex, meet up after work, but inside those walls is for office talk and office talk alone!

7. Keep strong opinions to yourself: It is important to voice your opinion if the situation directly applies to you but being the gobby one already is not what we’re aiming for. It is crucial you stand up for yourself but don’t get involved in unnecessary cat fights over trivial things. Just breathe and let it go; being cool and collected under the office stress and pressures is the strategy you need be able to adhere to. If you ask me, I'm having a hard time doing this. XD


Well, that's all for now. What are your ways to make your co-workers love you?

Swabeng Thoughts: Mom's Famous Lines

Happy Mother's Day to all moms and moms at heart. I'm sharing this picture as I know most of them were used already. I still have a few more minutes before Mother's Day ends right? =P

 Taken from Google.

Guess which of these lines my mom were used on me while growing up. XD

Global Protest vs China's Bullying

With the ruckus on the dispute who really has jurisdiction on Panatag Shoal which is 124 nautical miles west of Zambales, The stand-off between our government and the Chinese are still locked-on. China has already three big ships in the area which blocks Filipino fishermen to the lagoon of the shoal. Also, hacking of government websites from both parties were done to prove who's superior over the other.

Ive seen a lot of people's thoughts and sentiments over this stand-off. But this picture makes sense to me IMHO.

Taken from Google

I also saw this from ANC's website on Global Protest vs China's Bullying and several organization here and abroad have already got their systems go on this protest. You may read the news below.


All systems go for global protest vs. China’s bullying on May 11

The event is primarily spearheaded by Loida Nicolas-Lewis, a renowned Filipino-American philanthropist and socio-civic leader.

This was the statement issued today by organizers of a "global day of action" to protest China’s bullying in the West Philippine Sea.

Akbayan party which will lead the protest action in the Chinese Consular Office in Makati said all “systems are go.”

“Everything is set. Many organizations and social movements have committed to join the event. We are expecting a large number of Filipino people to troop to the Chinese Consular office,” Akbayan Chief Communications Officer Emman Hizon said.

Hizon said aside from Akbayan, the Black and White movement, People Power Volunteers for Reforms (PPVR), Kilusan para sa Makabansang Ekonomiya (KME), Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM), El Elyon Youth, Grain New Wine & Oil Ministries, Southern Philippines Muslim Unity & Development Association, Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) are some of the groups that will join the event.

Hizon said the activity with the rallying cry “Stand up against China’s bullying” is set on May 11, 2012 at 12:00 noon before different Chinese embassies and consular offices around the globe. He said protest actions had been set in Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston in the United States.

Protest activities will also be held in Rome, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore and the Philippines.

The event is primarily spearheaded by the US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG) headed by Loida Nicolas-Lewis, a renowned Filipino-American philanthropist and socio-civic leader.

The USP4GG also urged the Global Filipino Diaspora Council (GFDC), which represents 12 million Filipinos in 220 countries worldwide, to support the Philippines in its sovereign claim over Panatag.

“A strong showing of support and solidarity by Filipinos in the diaspora will impress on China that it is not just confronting a small country that it can easily bully, but one that has citizens scattered throughout the world who can mobilize and galvanize public opinion against China,” US4GG President Atty. Rodel Rodis said.

The groups also called on Filipinos to show their indignation in the internet primarily through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

“Those who can’t join the protest actions can still show their support by posting on the different social media and micro blogging sites. Let us avail of all legitimate and democratic avenues to express our sentiments on this issue,” Hizon said.

It was reported that the number of Chinese vessels in the Panatag Shoal has increased to 32, from 14 last week.

The Philippines has only two vessels in the area. These are the BRP Edsa II, a Coast Guard search-and-rescue vessel (SARV 002) and the MCS 3001, a vessel belonging to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

China at present has three big ships in the area. These are the Chinese Fisheries Law Enforcement Command (FLEC) 310 which is said to be its most powerful maritime ship, and the Chinese Maritime Surveillance (CMS) ships 75 and 81.

According to the local government of Masinloc, which is only 124 nautical miles from Panatag, Chinese vessels had blocked the entry of Filipino fishermen to the lagoon of the shoal. The lagoon constitutes the Filipino fishermen’s fishing grounds.

Last month, Akbayan held series of protest actions in front of the Chinese consular office in Makati to demand China’s immediate pull-out of its vessels from the Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

Panatag Shoal is 124 nautical miles from Zambales and is well within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and this is an integral part of Philippine territory, the group said.


My Swabeng Thoughts on this: It would be really beneficial for us Filipino's if we would be able to fully claim Panatag Shoal. The resources it has would definitely help our economy which is on a good path IMO.

Anyways, what would be your thoughts on this stand-off?

You may want to read more here from CNN and NY Times. 

The week that was (April 29 - May 5)

Sunday: Got up early to take Migmig out for some fun in the sun and had breakfast at Mc Donald's. Then when I gave her to her mom, I went to Max's in Intramuros to claim Migmig's birthday gift (one whole fried chicken). While waiting, I asked if my baby's ID is ready for pick-up but they said its not yet finished. I'm not surprised but I don't mind anyway. When I got the chicken, I went back home and had lunch before taking care of Migmig as my wife went to Divisoria to do some shopping. That leaves me again to take care of my baby. I made sure to turn on the aircon, before putting Migmig to sleep. I was able to get some sleep as well to recharge my body. When my eyes opened, Migmig was already awake and in her cheerful mood. I ask my wife's sister to stay in our room so I could do other things downstairs. Then, she pooped a lot. We almost had to wrestle to keep my baby still and to prevent her poo from spilling to our bed. My wife arrived at 4:00pm and I was able to get ready for the 5:00pm mass. Unfortunately while in the middle of the sermon, I need to go to the bathroom so I went home and went back to the church 5 minutes later. Migmig was not in the mood so we went to her lola's stall and yet she's not in good mood. It happens to be that she's hungry so we had our dinner at Jollibee. We went back home at 8:00pm and put her to bed before I joined them at past midnight. ^_^

Monday: I got up early to take Migmig out for some fun in the sun. My mom came to pay a visit first before she went back to work. By 9:15am, we took a cab to the hospital again for Migmig's monthly check-up. When we got there, she was at #14 as #2 was still inside the Doctor's room.We had to wait for almost 2 hours before my baby's turn. It didn't took me a hard time putting her on the weighing scale as she tries to balance herself and she gained some weight ^_^. Then its her turn. I thought she'd me more cooperative with a change of doctors (2 female doctors this time). But I guess once one of them starts to hold my baby, she cries out so loud, I guess people from outside can hear it XD. After that, we took a cab to Gateway to have some lunch there before taking the LRT2 going home. Well I was suppose to edit some pictures later in the afternoon but after seeing that device which helps babies walk without holding them, I took an FX ride to Trinoma and head straight to Landmark. I was able to buy her what we saw at the hospital earlier (Walking Wings) and at the same time take a look what's in store at Landmark's infant section. After that, I just strolled around Trinoma for a couple of minutes before checking my paycheck. I knew I'd get only almost half since I got a lot of absences and lates. My feet took me to Cinnabon to get some snacks before finally heading home. I got home at 5:00pm and freshen up before taking Migmig from her aunt and taking my turn in baby-sitting her. We went out again for some fresh air before we got back home. Her mom got home at almost 8:00pm and from there, its her turn. I was able to read Sunday's paper and go online for an hour before going to bed.


Tuesday: Got up early to take Migmig out for a walk. That was a good time to use her walking wings to walk on her own. I had her walk from our stall to Mc Donald's before having breakfast. After breakfast.We went back so her aunt could take care of her. Then its time for me to relax a little bit as my wife used our laptop being a holiday today. I left home early at 8:30am not to go to work but to go to Mendiola to get some pictures at the yearly Labor Day Rally. Compared with my takes last year, I think I was able to outdo myself though I feel I have to be more careful and keep my eyes sharp so I could get better photos. I got back home by 10:30am to freshen up and get ready for work. I had lunch at a nearby carinderia first before taking an FX ride to EDSA and bus dropping me off at Glorietta. I got in the office just in time and started working. For dinner, I was suppose to have cheesesteak sandwich at The Cheese Steak Shop but unfortunately, they're closed on a holiday so it took me a while to look for an alternative until I end up at Toast Box for some Hainanese Chicken and Nasi Lemak (not sure if thats the name of the spicy soup). After dinner, I wanted dessert so I had Gelatissimo and got three scoops of Gelato. Since were piled up with work, I was unable to upload my shots for the Labor Day Rally so after my shift, I went home via cab.

Wednesday: Got up at past 7:15am so I could take Migmig out for a walk. Using her walking wings, I was able to let Migmig walk without me holding any part of her body unless she wants to be carried. After giving Migmig to her aunt, I took the laptop down so I could warm it up before start to edit some more pictures. Somehow, with her aunt with us, I got to edit a couple of sets for the past 2 weeks now and I just need to get an external hard drive to free some disk space. Then I'm off to work at past noon and didn't took me that long to get to the office. Work was quite okay as I got some tickets to take care of. By dinner, I'm having a hard time to decide where to eat until I ended up at BFast for the nth time. After work, I took the next bus home and when I got home, I heard someone crying upstairs. It's my daughter having a discomfort of sorts so I comforted her before she was able to go back to sleep and I joined her thereafter.

Thursday: Got up at past 7:00am as I let Migmig play in our bedroom for a couple of minutes to get some more sleep. I used her walking wings again so she could practice walking all by herself. By the time we got back home her aunt was already there. By 9:30am, I'm off to San Pedro (I informed my colleagues that I'll be working half-day) with a quick brunch at Greenwich. When I got home, I unpack some things and sorted them in some of my storage cabinets there. By 12:00pm, my colleagues in the office informed me that my other colleague won't be able to report for work (sick!) and forces me to report early. I felt so pissed I want to smack their faces with my knuckles when I reach the office. But rather, finish everything and be there as early as possible. I took a quick stop at Krispy Kreme to grab some donuts to have some sugar rush in my body. I got to fix some tickets and requests before knowing its already dinner. For the second time this week, I wasn't able to satisfy my craving for cheesesteak sandwich as they're closed from 7:00pm-9:00pm for a private event. Its kinda frustrating that I haven't been able to satisfy my craving for the second time. Until I ended up again at Pepper Lunch for my usual dinner. Though I'm kinda off having the same meal there. I hope I could try their steaks come payday perhaps XD. Work was kinda steady as my boss had me to do some more tickets before ending my day and took a cab home.

Friday: Got up early since I had to take Migmig out for a walk. After taking her out for a walk, we went back to Mc Donald's so she could have breakfast before going back home. I was expecting that her aunt would be there when we got back but unfortunately, she won't be able to visit us since she's not feeling well. I don't want to get late again so my wife and I had a different strategy this time. I accompany my daughter to sleep with almost dressed-up for work. I just waited for my mom-in-law to arrive before leaving home at past 12:00pm. I had a quick lunch at a nearby carinderia before heading off for work. Good thing I got in the office at 2:01pm and I started working on some tickets. I've been working solo (together with my boss) for the past two days and so far, I was able to handle most of the requests and calls.By 7:00pm, I went to SM Makati to buy diapers for Migmig but I had dinner first at Mr. Bimbop (I forgot the name) and I was highly disappointed. When I got back, I'm just trying to wait for time until I have to log-off. I think I left the office a few minutes before midnight as I hail a cab straight home.

Saturday: I got up way too early at 6:00am as Migmig was crying and wants to go out already. Since I had only 4 hours of sleep, I let my wife took over for an hour before I took her down at 7:15am. We went out for some fun in the sun before having breakfast at Mc Donalds. I made sure we spend as much time as possible so her mom could get some more sleep. By 9:30am, my wife was finally in her senses and took care of our daughter from there. I left home a few minutes past 11:00am and got in the office at amost 1:00pm. I got to fix one pending ticket before going online to check some of my accounts. I had to wait for my boss to arrive before I left the office to check-out Bimmerfest 2012 at BHS. Unfortunately, because of traffic, it took me one hour before reaching BHS. When I got to BHS, it was raining though not that heavy. I waited for the rain to subside but it didn't stopped. I had to chill-out at Bo's Coffee and had my dinner at Chuck's Deli but the weather wasn't that cooperative. I went back to the office in dismay and took me another hour. By 8:00pm, I'm already back in the office and I got a call right away before going to the comfort room XD. That call was followed by several more though I was able to have it escalated and resolved on the other call. I guess the number of calls I had today is almost the same as the number of calls I have for a week at some point in time XD. Good thing that issue has been resolved plus my colleague from the night shift already arrived that gave me some time to check other things. I left the office at past 11:30pm and took a cab so I could be with my wife and baby.

Swabeng Food Trip: Me and my family at Naci

When you go to a restaurant, do you make sure that your appetite are satisfied when you left their door? Some may say yes, while others say no. I had my share of unsatisfied results not because of poor service nor poor environment but rather because of the food. Though it seldom happen whenever I (or we) eat out, I never set foot on that restaurant again after that.

 

When I've heard of Naci Comfort Food and Dessert Bar from Ensogo, it got me curious on how their food fare against my taste buds. The more it got me curious was after seeing several posts from bloggers on its recent opening. The food looks good on pictures from their blogs that I'm not sure how my shots would fare against them.

 

 

Anyway, we got there this afternoon at past 1:30pm with my wife and my daughter after making reservations last night. I informed my wife that they don't have any high-chairs for toddlers so we had to take turns in taking care of her. I used my 2 vouchers (worth 1000 pesos) from Ensogo and had a mental note on what to order.

While waiting for our food, we got their usual bottomless iced tea. While I got the Red Vanilla Iced Tea (90 pesos, bottomless), I told my wife to get the Lemon Iced Tea (90 pesos, bottomless). Her iced tea was just sweet enough while mine has this refreshing taste I finished my glass even if food wasn't served yet.

Red Vanilla Iced Tea? XD

Lemon Iced Tea? XD

Which is which? XD

For starters, I skipped the salad and take the soup instead. We tried their famous Tita Em's Chowder (175 pesos) served on a small bread bowl. It tastes just okay.

Tita Em's Chowder

Next was the Beef Caldereta Lasagna (310 pesos). Its rich, creamy and best eaten while its hot. I like the fusion of the two dishes most people (including myself) would love to eat.

Beef Caldereta Lasagna. So Rich, So Creamy!

My wife had a Baked Pesto Salmon (410 pesos). My wife loved it that's why I only got a bite so she could really enjoy her meal. The presentation was simple yet it would make you crave for more.

Baked Salmon Pesto (I only got a bite of it)

 


For me, I had Nate's Steak and Eggs (385 pesos). Its a two-piece patty with egg on top served on a bed of fried rice sauced with gravy. I liked how my plate was flooded with gravy. Thank God their gravy doesn't taste like ones in fast food dining. The burger steak was good that was complemented with the sunny side-up egg.

This is not for the weak of heart.

Then to cap it off, we had the Chocolate Ganache Cake (130 pesos/slice). I thought this was their signature flourless cake but still it tastes pretty good as well.

Taste their Chocolate Ganache Cake.

This is how its made XD

I was able to spend a few more minutes taking pictures of the place as well as our leftover plates before going somewhere.

 

Overall, the food was pretty good though I hope they would get 2-3 high-chairs for toddlers for a better dining experience. I would definitely come back to try their other dishes.