Week in Review

Man oh man, was I GLAD when Friday rolled around or what?! Talk about e-x-h-a-u-s-t-i-o-n! And to be quite honest, I have no one to blame but myself...as usual. Lol! Let me give you a rundown of my week...

*Last Saturday, my sis, her fam, and myself headed downtown to attend the grand opening of ARTE, a collaboration of the three kuyas of Likha- Rudi, War, and Jay. On display (and for sale), they had authentic costumes, jewelry, accessories, instruments, and paintings from the Philippines, mainly from the tribes in which they visited on their research trips. It's a small place and it got packed quickly. Although we didn't stick around very long, here is a pic of a cool painting that I totally dig...

Pandanggo Sa Ilaw


We decided to head to the Metreon since they've never been before...these East Bay people...lol. We walked around checking out the place...there seems to be a lot of construction goin' on or at least changing up of some of the stores. We went outside towards Yerba Buena to take some pictures (you know how we do...) and heard music and a crowd? What was going on? Turns out that it was the Ukelele Festival! It wasn't the traditional Hawaiian chillin' on the beach ukelele music...it was contemporary, indie-like...but nevertheless, pretty cool. I automatically thought of Firemarshal J 'cuz I know how he's been teaching himself. After hanging out at the playground for a bit, we decided to go eat, but had to walk back through the Metreon. As we were, a lady with a clipboard approached us. Uh oh, we thought...survey! But get this...

They've got this Leonardo DaVinci exhibit happening at what used to be the Discovery Store...pretty huge and totally mind boggling...neat that we were able to get free admission! How? Well, the lady was "recruiting" families to do a commercial...yes, as in on TV...to appeal to more families to attend the exhibit. Unfortunately, they already had chosen families with dads and they only needed a mom with kids (sorry BroMan!). My sis agreed and we gained free admission while they filmed the commercial! Kinda neat...there was a camera guy, the mic guy (i forget the technical term...), umbrella lights, and the lady who recruited them. Ate was giggly-nervous...Nico was deer-in-the-headlights nervous...and there was Sabrina, all calm and cool. Lol! I think she's made for the spotlight! In any case, after a few takes, it was done! Hopefully, we'll be able to catch it...if you're watching Channel 7 this coming week and you see it, let me know!

*After service on Sunday, I had lunch with a really cool family from church. The week before, I had sat next to them, struck up a conversation with them during the welcome-and-greet-your-neighbor portion, and later on, exchanged contact info. She asked how long I've been attending church and after sharing my story in a nutshell, she told me that her sister was in almost the same exact situation. We had lunch at Hillsdale Mall at Nordstrom Cafe...didn't even know they had one up there! Food was YUM and the company was even better. A very nice and welcoming family...very cool that I can now say that I know someone at church!

*TNT training update: I finally got off my ass and went for a bike ride around Lake Merced...TWICE. Okay, first off, it's been YEARS since I've rode a bike...not that I've forgotten...more like, damn, my bum hurts after 8.8 miles! Plus, as I pushed myself a bit more, I began feeling muscles that I've barely used...hell, barely even knew was there...and really paid for it the following day. 'Tis a good thing, I'm sure, but sheesh...the pain! As for the rest of the training...it's coming along. I'll be hitting my month-left mark this week....aiya! And my fundraising is coming along slowly, too...SOOOOO if you'd like to support me (pretty please!), check out my TNT site...thanks in advance!

*Farewell Dinner: headed out to the East Bay for Phil and Sharmila's going away party. Met up at Outback and boy, saw some people whom I haven't seen in a while! It's always so great to have these mini-reunion of sorts. Though many people couldn't make it last minute, it was still a night full of laughs and reminiscing...and even when the restaurant closed, we took the lil' party outside on the patio for about another hour! Looking around the table, it's just neat that I've known everyone for a long time...we're talking about 14 years! Just thinking how we all met, how we were all in PACE, how we partied and did some stupid stuff, and how we've grown...wow. Almost got me teary-eyed...almost. I think because I know I'll be having dinner with lil' bro again, I won't waste time getting sentimental just yet.

Phil & Sharmila...I'm gonna miss you guys!



Thanks Jose for having us at Outback!


...with the Rosario fam...old roomies reunite!


The dudes...menses...little boys...


Half of the Get-Along-Gang...


So what he missed dinner and came five minutes before the restaurant closed! JP- I've missed you, too!


*Other than that, yours truly has NOT been sleeping well...but you better believe that when I'm at school, I'm ON IT as I should be. I'll credit adrenaline, but at around 4:30pm, I start my downhill crash...it never fails. I think between Wed/Thurs, I had a total of about 5 hours of shut-eye. Not good. Hopefully next week will be better in terms of getting more rest!

*btw: this is my 500th post! Wowzers and yay for me!