O’96 annual xmas gathering…for the first time, hindi house ang venue.

annual xmas party with college friends…

As per tradition and having Kris as a BF, the Christmas season isn’t complete without watching any MFF movie.  My pick was “Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo” (we miss you Mel in this year’s Juday-film watching); Kris’ was “Super Noypi.”   

The two films were actually good; we enjoyed watching both (yes, marathonic — from one cinema to another within the same day). 

Of the two, I give more props to “Super Noypi.” Story (great unexpected twist), acting, direction, and cinematography were good…except for the short portion near the end where Mr. John Pratts was crying to Ms. Katrina Halili because he thinks his parents are not proud of him — duh, why did they insert that clip at that moment when the main characters were about to board the ship they will use to go to the film’s villain?! Wrong timing talaga.   Other than that, everything went smoothly.  Heck, Ms. Sandara Park was actually bearable to watch (admittedly she was quite funny there)!  Oh, just as I’ve suspected, do stay until after the credits, ok?

As for “Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo,” it was a good depiction of a Filipino whirlwind romance and early married life.  Typical romantic comedy with some bits of drama.  Good enough to pass time with J.

Enjoy the movies!

To those who followed and/or chanced upon this blogaserye, MERRY CHRISTMAS! J

From the casa of berby’s world:

“Ready na ang timer!” *run*pose*smile*

“Ay, hindi focused properly. Ang loser naman natin magkuhaan ng picture J. Again, again.” *press timer*run*pose* smile*

finally, i was able to have xwind checked yesterday after the overheating incident on our way home from dagupan last week.  basically, rust was the culprit.  thus, the people at shell-magallanes service center simply cleaned out xwind’s radiator. 

with cRApide’s we-gotta-change-your breakpads-scare, i also asked the service crew to verify if indeed my breakpads and break shoes are in need of replacements.  lo, they were still thick and in very good condition (yup, i saw with my own eyes)!

best part is, the radiator cleaning and the breakpads/shoes checking were all done for free pa ‘coz wala naman daw sila gaanong ginawa for xwind and i was gonna have underchassis wash with them naman. 

really?! *pinch*  no i’m not dreaming!

nice and knowledgeable people, great and thorough service,  well maintained and complete service lubes, clean and air-conditioned lounge — mabuhay ang shell-magallanes service station.

so, emergency or no emergency, i ban cRapide for the lives of Wudju and Xwind!

additional:  while waiting for them to finish xwind’s under chassis cleaning, a guy came in the lounge bearing P1,000-worth of GCs for car wash there.  He didn’t have time to use the GCs and asked if i can just buy them even for just P200.  The service center receptionist verified that the GCs are authentic and will be honored there.  ayun, today, si Wudju naka under chassis wash, whole body wash, and vacuum.  the remaining P500 GC, for Kris’ vios next week. merry christmas to our vehicles!

thank you and merry christmas to shell magallanes service center and that anonymous man!

p.s. the only draw back sa service center is, since they’re good, maraming customers lagi.  minsan, medyo may queue so wait up talaga.  oh well, there’s jollibug, cinnabon, select, max’s, and magallanes church beside/nearby naman eh.

disclaimer: this is not a paid ad for any of the stores/centers mentioned.

            I decided to act on our dilapidated bagwa and finally went to a feng shui store in SM MOA last week.  Lo and behold, I was told they no longer sell bagwas.  Why?  Because since 2004, we entered a new cycle that bagwas are not considered acceptable anymore. 

*Toink* Whaaaaaat?! Eh I hung our present bagwa in 2004 pa man din!  Is this info for real?!

            And so I asked, paano na the houses na perpendicular to a street (the so-called “tumbok”)?  Drop down crystals (colors depending on what you want for your house to have — blue ata for good career, green for wealth, pink for harmonious relationships, etc.) or chimes (which has five cylinders) na raw ang solution. 

Talagaaaa, ha J?

I asked Mildz to verify this new “rule.”  She said she hasn’t heard of such thing; baka binebentahan lang ako ng kung anu-ano dun sa store kaya they said those.  Since time immemorial bagwa rules daw eh. 

Ay ewan!  Palakasan na lang kami ng “powers” kung ano mang “bad vibes” meron ang pagiging situated sa ‘tumbok’ na kalye.  For all its worth, my friends tell me kakaiba rin naman ang “powers” ko eh.  Hahahaha J. 

*disclaimer:  I’m not really in deep belief of bagwas and all.  I just wanna heed some of the pieces of advice I hear from people lang.  It won’t hurt to go along with them din naman*

            three days before Christmas, three poignant yuletide memories.

            One.  When I was a kid, I loved this certain magnetic-battery-operated-kitchen-cooking-set toy.  It’s a bit pricey for a toy back then; but my dad, even as a single parent and all, bought the same for me.  I think I was already allowed to play with it from the date of purchase. However, the young O.C. and the then E.Q.-enriched me chose to contain my excitement and wrapped the toy so my Christmas day will be ultimately great — me having a big gift to open which I can then play with after a long wait.  Weird self-imposed set up actually, but the excitement built up over the days and the happiness during the first hour of Christmas day was way worth it! J

            Two. The Christmas season before my second batch of cousins went to Australia was very memorable.  I dunno what it was that time because we celebrate together every year and we still didn’t know they were leaving soon anyway; but that time was one of our happiest together.  Everyone was participative during the games I prepared.  We got lots of presents that wrappers covered the floor after we’ve opened them.  As usual, there were lots of food. The mood was very festive.   And all were in good spirits. 

Three. My dad has been confined for days in December 2002 (as he has been every month for that year).  Despite being restless and weak, he did not want to spend Christmas day at the hospital.  I totally can sympathize ‘coz the dowdy white walls and disinfectant smell aren’t spirit lifting especially during the holiday season.  The afternoon of December 24, 2002, his doctors finally relented and sent him home.  God provided even further as one of his good friends sent financial help for hospital bills the very hour of his discharge.  That was our last Christmas season with my dad; but his happiness of being home on those special days is still very fresh on my mind.

            Happy holidays and happy reminiscing of your joyful Christmas memories!

            I miss Christmas money given by my elders before.  I miss the numerous gift baskets papa used to receive everyday — I miss being allowed to just get a piece or two from these baskets then repacking them to be given to less fortunate people.  I miss the overflowing ham, cheeseballs, and fruitcakes given to papa. I miss how many of us were in the family gathered to celebrate Christmas day together. 

            Now: I’m the ‘elder’ giving money; Christmas day includes a trip to the cemetery; I actually buy stuff and assemble gift baskets to be given to others; family/relatives can be counted by my fingers. 

            Happy holidays!

I know I should not sweat the small stuff, but the lack of common courtesy these days has got me miffed the past weeks.   I understand people can be busy at work — more so during the holiday season.  I don’t expect immediate/instant replies din naman; but I do hope to be replied to even after a couple of days kahit papaano in any form of communication possible — especially when my sms message/email do not actually just concern me but involves common group or circle of friends. 

Yes, a reply is just a reply; but looking deeper at it, ignoring to do so reflects one’s valuation of the existence of another.   

Forwards, chain letters/texts, and sometimes even greetings can be excused from being replied to (the first two can be useless and thoughtless of the sender sometimes anyway; the latter can be given the allowance that the “greetee” has been piled with lots of well wishes that it has become ‘impossible’ &/or very expensive already to reply to everyone). 

But queries, queries call for answers; and the inquirers deserve to be recognized.

C’mon, people; let’s not keep others hanging.    Polish up our manners and key in &/or type those replies! J