ATC, Sky Ranch Tagaytay, Glorietta 4: a Busy but Relaxing Long Weekend with Baboo Peter

I booked a flight to Cagayan de Oro earlier this year for Oct. 26-31. I was thinking that since baboo is always busy with work, I might as well spend time with some of my friends I rarely see. The thing is they live so far away. But what's an hour of plane ride and a few hours of commute to the City of Golden Friendship if only to see them, right? 

Well, a lot of things happened in between. For one, I didn't expect to be attending training for NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) plus the heavy workload that fell onto my lap. To cut the story short, I had to cancel my intended CDO vacation and just make the most of the holiday. Honestly, with everything going on in my life, I totally forgot that it was a long holiday (Oct. 28 being the day for Barangay elections). So I guess that's where the silver lining was in all of this. At least I got to spend three happy whole days with my baboo. He was available to me, for my pleasure, at my beck and call (hehe) for 72 hours and I wasn't going to let those precious hours just pass me by.  But the thing was, WE DIDN'T MAKE ANY PLANS AT ALL. Oh bugger!

Fortunately, my baboo was very easy to please. If I am the O.C. type who prefer scheduling every last minute detail of whatever plans we have, baboo Peter is the opposite when it comes to domestic/marital/personal matters. He loves to chill and just relax and just let everything flow. So having had my Breaking Through Barriers (BTB) training with Train Station a month ago (while baboo Peter had his a few weeks ago), we learned to adjust to each other's preferences. That's what you call second positioning. It's when you take on the position of the other person, immerse yourself in the way he/she thinks and feels and from there, get an insight as to how he/she is thinking, feeling and seeing things. So in short, we came at a compromise and it all came out naturally and subconsciously, meaning, without even trying so hard like how we used to do it before we had the BTB training. 

So, what happened was, we both let everything flow while still maintaining some sort of schedule for the long weekend. 

Oct. 26

Seafood Ilsand, ATC

We stayed in bed most of the day. It wasn't until late afternoon that we showered and dressed up, hoping to catch a movie. 

But then what do you know, it's been a while since I last prettified myself and I was just being so slow. So we got out of bed, prepared for our date and got out of the house early evening, decided to just splurge on dinner and just do the movie date another day. 

My Umagang Kay Ganda Interview: Marriage w/o Kids

I was able to watch my interview for the segment "Sabi ni Mister, Sabi ni Misis" in Umagang Kay Ganda this morning on ABS-CBN. The topic is about whether having kids is a prerequisite to having a happy marriage or not. Being a part of a small percentage of people who agree that kids are not that important in having a happily married life, I tackled a few important things during the short interview itself but unfortunately were edited out in the final airing. From what I recall, I remember also saying these two things:

- Since the start of our courtship period, I've already expressed my desire to not have kids to my then suitor, Peter. I didn't want there to be any regrets for him should he indeed choose me to be his wife.

- That should the opportunity come for me and my husband, Peter, to get pregnant now, we are more open to the idea since we're more financially secure and we are more confident that we can provide a good future for our child.

Anyway, here's the part of the segment I recorded. I hope I made sense. Thanks for watching! :)

ABS-CBN's Umagang Kay Ganda Visited Me

this afternoon with the Umagang Kay Ganda crew

I just came back from my El Nido honeymoon with baboo Peter. For the first time ever in our almost 11 years of marriage, we sort of tried conceiving a baby. I say "tried" coz we sort of did stuff we haven't done before, if you know what I mean... hehehe. If a baby comes out of it, then it's probably meant. If not, it's no big deal. We've always prided ourselves for marrying each other because we simply love one another and want to spend the rest of our life together and not because we got pregnant or because we want to have kids. Not that we don't respect that kind of choice for other couples, we do. We're just different I guess. We're sort of weird and unconventional that way but we're happy... mostly happy. :)

A Walk in November (Alabang Walk Under the Moonlight)

My baboo Peter and I were supposed to be in Virac by now. Our flight was last Oct. 31 and we were scheduled to be touring Catanduanes until Nov. 4. But as luck would have it, baboo couldn't get off work. His job, being one of the top digital marketing strategists in the country, is very demanding. While we were in Bacolod two weeks ago for the Masskara Festival, he had a crisis situation at work. I almost had a heart attack! And so did Peter. We had this fight and we were almost on the brink of falling apart. His work can be really stressful and it's been affecting our marriage for a while now especially when I'm at this stage in my life when I'm being very needy, hormonal, emotional and insecure that sometimes (well, recently, it's been most of the time) I'd wish I'm single just so I'd stop hurting... just so I won't miss him anymore. 

Chasing Mambukal's Seven (7) Waterfalls

This is a continuation of my travel posts about Mambukal Mountain Resort, a beautiful nature park located in Barangay Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental. 

To know how to get there, please head to this link: How to get to Mambukal Mountain Resort

To read all my posts about Mambukal Mountain  Resort, please go to this link: Mambukal Mountain Resort

On this post, I'll focus more on the best thing you can do while visiting this wonderful mountain resort: Climbing the 7 Waterfalls

Boating at Mambukal Mountain Resort's Lagoon

Why do I have this feeling that it will take a while to finish all my Mambukal Resort posts? Hehehe. I just have so many photos and videos I want to share so I'll take it slow. For now, let me share with you our experience at Mambukal Resort's Boating Lagoon.

For other posts on Mambukal, just go to this link: Mambukal Mountain Resort

It was before 10 am when we reached the gates of Mambukal. There were a lot of young guys outside the gate asking if we want to go inside with a tour guide.

How to get to Mambukal Mountain Resort + Rates (Bacolod Trip)

When we were at Saltimboca Inn, we asked the receptionist if they can tell us how to go to Mambukal Mountain Resort. At first the receptionist just stared at us before thinking of consulting her companion who recommended that we rent their van for half a day which would cost us Php1,500. This does not include the entrance fees to the resort and its amenities and no food would be provided. We said "thanks anyway" and proceeded outside. My hubby and I will just figure it out somehow. We walked towards Calea and asked one of the guards there instead. Fortunately, he knew how to commute to Mambukal Mountain Resort. Thank God for manong guard! He proved to be very helpful than the people at Saltimboca Inn.

Stingless Jellyfish @ Sohoton Cove, Bucas Grande, Siargao

You've already seen the virgin beauty of the Hidden Island Resort; I've already shown you what it was like to enter the enchanted Sohoton Cove; Now, I will show you through videos we took, what it was like to see thousands, even millions of stingless jellyfish and be able to swim with them! Are you ready?

Guyam Island in Siargao

Look at the photo below. See those two islands from afar? This photo is taken right in front of Patrick's on the Beach located in General Luna, Siargao. The two islands there are Dako island on the right (the bigger one) and Guyam island on the left (the smaller one).

From Patrick's on the Beach, you can actually rent a kayak for Php500.00 and kayak your way over there especially if it's not as wavy. In fact, when the tide gets really low, you can walk all the way to Guyam Island.

Naked Island in Siargao

Naked island is one of the best white sand islands we have ever visited. As its name implies, Naked island is a small round piece of white island that is basically naked, meaning, it doesn't have any trees except for a small patch of greenery on top.

Caleruega Wedding, Thoughts and Other Things

I usually stop myself from writing about sad things in my life. If I can handle it by just being quiet about it, offering it during my meditations and tarot card readings, then that's what I do. I originally intended to just write about a wonderful wedding we attended at Caleruega last month...

Magalawa Island Water Rafting & Snorkeling

To see Day 1 of our Maglawa trip, please head to:
Magalawa Island - Day 1

To see Day 2 of our Maglawa trip, please head to:
Magalawa Island - Day 2

To see all posts about Magalawa Island, please click the link below:
Magalawa Island
~~~oOo~~~

Part of the package we paid for when we went to Magalawa island last weekend was a 45-minute snorkeling adventure at Magalawa's coral garden.

Magalawa Island Trip - Day 1

To see all posts about Magalawa Island, please click the link below:
Magalawa Island
~~~oOo~~~

Magalawa island is a nice small white island off the coast of Palauig, Zambales. It usually takes about 4 hours to get there from Manila. Click the highlighted link if you want to know how to get to Magalawa Island.

On this particular blog post, I will TRY to just share with you the highlights of our Magalawa island trip. I think photos do say a lot more than words, so I hope you enjoy this...

Windsurfing @ Surf Kamp, Lake Caliraya

Being on the surface of the water has always been very appealing for me. This is why I prefer snorkeling more than diving, why I swim with my head up all the time, why I did wakeboarding a couple of times, and why I got hooked into surfing.

Video of Our Boracay Zorbing Adventure

I blogged about Boracay Zorb before but it was just last night that I discovered we had a video of the whole thing. Here you will see how one of the locals helped take the video of our Boracay zorb adventure... from the time we went inside the huge zorb ball until it went down with Peter and myself inside. Then there we were alive and safe (Thank God!). Cameras are not allowed inside as they can cause not just serious injuries to the riders but may cause damage to the zorb as well. So thank you, manong, for taking this video for us. ^_^

There's another video of us being run over by a zorb which I discovered taken by one of the locals again using our camcorder but I haven't uploaded it yet. For now, enjoy our Boracay zorbing video! For more information about where this is located, prices and types of zorbing adventure, please head to this link: Go Ride the Boracay Zorb

Boracay Island Hopping

One of the things I love to do when I'm at the beach is snorkeling. So it was quite tragic for me when I suddenly had my period during my last few days in Boracay. I was planning to bring Peter to Carabao Island on Easter Sunday so I can at least stay at the shore while I watch Peter swim in its virgin waters from a distance. Unfortunately, the people we were supposed to go with backed out the last minute. They must have been so wasted from the previous night with all the parties that were held. Tsk, tsk. Our tickets got refunded and we had no other choice except to make the most of our time in Boracay.

Scouting for Cheap Boracay Buffet

When Peter was still here in Boracay with me, there was one time when we would walk from Station 3 to Station 1 at around 4:00pm to look for possible places to eat.

We noticed that many of the restaurants at this time prepare their buffet table arrangements, and some restaurants would even have a guy or a girl telling passers-by about their menu and pricing.

Buffet prices at Boracay range from Php250.00 to Php385.00. The closer we got to Station 1, the more expensive the prices of the food got. We still wanted to make sure though. So even if we had to climb this mini cliff due to the high tide, we still did it just to check out if there's anything exciting to eat at Station 1.

Boracay 2011 Day 1 Videos

These two videos below were taken yesterday March 25, Saturday... Youtube took a while to upload these, so I'm doing a separate post as a P.S. to my Boracay Soul Searching Adventure Day 1 blog post. Enjoy! Once again, greetings from Boracay! :-D

Boracay 2011 Soul Searching Adventure Day 1

First day in paradise was challenging. To summarize:

- I didn't sleep anymore after my shift which ended at 12noon
- NAIA parking was full
- Our Cebu Pacific flight to Caticlan at 3:40pm was rerouted to Kalibo at 5:50pm which finally took off at 7:00pm
- Boat ride from Caticlan to Cagban jetty port was more choppy than usual
- We arrived at our humble accommodation at Bonueva Guesthouse at around 11:00pm
- I had work at 12:00mn which means I'd be awake with no proper sleep for three days

If I'm a negative person, I'd probably take these musings as bad signs from the universe. But since I've learned and disciplined myself to see the glass half full in any situation, I can only be thankful for the following:

Week Before Valentine's 2011

The whole week before Valentine's Day started out beautifully for me.

• I managed to finish work on time.
• I was able to go to VTRs/auditions.
• I got in contact with some of my colleagues in the theater industry which I have been planning for a while now. I know I need to further hone my acting skills and hopefully I find the right theater company for me. If only my schedule is not this toxic (I barey sleep as usual), I'd gladly join PETA. It's on my wish list this year.
• The universe must be listening to my heart's plea when I was given an opportunity to showcase my talent in a video shoot. Honestly, despite my lack of sleep, that was the first time I felt really alive and exhilarated after a looong time. It's really different when you're doing your heart's desire. You don't feel tired, you don't feel short changed. You're just grateful, happy and feeling blessed. Hayyyy....Acting... it's the only one in my long list of passions that I have a love-hate relationship with. Let's just say that I'm in love with it again. Last year, I dodged most of the VTRs my agents sent me to coz I just didn't feel like it. After all, the business of acting is 10% acting and 90% waiting. Nevertheless, this year, if I physically can, I should just say yes to every acting opportunity.
• I made concrete steps to start a career in training. And guess what? The people I'd be working with are mostly theater actors too. I feel that where I'm headed at this point in time is just so aligned with my inner desires. Hopefully, when this new career path gets lucrative enough, I can use big funds for my other passions like soap making, reselling clothes and making beaded accessories which I will turn into regular businesses as well. *Crossing my fingers*

So my week was going well until a little bump appeared. My mom got food poisoned...