She's Now A Certified Nurse!

Just wanted to share some good news --- my scholar Rose just passed the Nursing Board exams here in the Philippines. I'm not only happy for her and her family, I'm also happy for myself. Even if I made some wrong choices in my life, I know I made the right choice in this one.

Seven Corners

Seven Corners, located at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City), is where we go when we feel like celebrating. And celebrating Valentine's Day for the 17th year would be one special occasion, right? We enjoyed the buffet, specifically the smoked salmon, fresh oysters, lobsters, prawns, salmon and uni sashimi, steak and lechon de leche (just a small piece for both of us). They had a number of Indian dishes which E also enjoyed. For dessert, there were a lot of fresh fruits, plus of course my favorite, teppanyaki ice cream. Loved the ambience too, definitely more peaceful than Heat or Circles.

As Of Today

And so my full account of our anniversary trip has just been completed in the previous entry. What have we been up to since we got here:

1. I started teaching again (am now on my 16th term) on the day that we arrived from the US. We are having our midterms next Saturday. Halfway na naman kami!
2. To my shock, I've lost a few pounds and 2 of 5 jeans I bought in the US are already loose.
3. We're back to the usual busy days at work, but today, Saturday before Valentine's, E treated me to dinner at Seven Corners. Ever the practical guy, he says, "Let's avoid the rush and save a little. On Valentine's, it will be so hard to go around and the buffet will be twice the price." Oo nga, bigay na lang nya sa kin yung ma-save nya di ba? :-)

Friends and Our Last Day in San Francisco (and the US!)

We stayed in San Francisco 3 days and two nights and managed to see most of the city in a day. The best part of our stay was actually seeing friends and spending time with them.


We saw LCN and family on our 2nd day and our only full day. We spent time with the family the whole afternoon (see previous entry):



In the evening we met up with BB, E's ex-officemate who is now based in Vallejo, and her family. We had dinner at this pizza place in Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf where E and BB updated each other about their lives. E also updated BB about people and events in his Company. They reconnected through me, BB found me on Facebook!:

The next morning, we had coffee at the Union Square with my friend from Grade School CPD and her husband SD. We counted the years, and it was 27 years since we last saw each other. She looked great by the way, and I think she even looks prettier now! Does she look like a mother of a seventeen year-old?
After our coffee date with CPD and SD, E and I did some last minute shopping at the Westfield Shopping Center. Here, I did some last minute shopping at Bath and Body Works. Also scored a hoodie at USD12 and another pajama at USD9 from Victoria's Secret. There were also a lot of sportswear on sale -- didn't know Victoria's Secret carried a sportswear line-- and scored several items at 50% off.

LCN took a day off from her very busy schedule with the kids to finally see us off. We had lunch at this popular Thai food chain and then had coffee and dessert at Cheesecake Factory at the topmost floor of Macy's Union Square.

And soon enough, it was time to go...

It was another sad day for me... we have officially ended our grand vacation. Back to reality. Of course, reality isn't so bad. We have to go back to work eventually... how else could we pay our bills? To look at it the positive way: It's now time to plan the next vacation!

San Francisco in a Day

In San Francisco, we stayed at the Adante Hotel located on Geary St., walking distance from Union Square. Although the hotel was modest, the central location more than made up for it. And for about USD70 per night, including taxes (which was more than 10%), it was well worth it. An added plus would be the Filipino front-desk personnel Leo, who was so helpful. We felt right at home. Special thanks to my friend JDV who made this hotel booking possible.

We only had two nights in San Francisco and really just one full day, so we planned that day well. Leo offered us a city tour package that cost around USD40 each.

On the Tour Bus, everyone stayed on the upper deck, except E and me. We had the lower deck all to ourselves, and so it felt like we had our own limo service, hahaha!


The Tour Bus basically went around the city so we saw Lombard Street, or the world's crookedest street... but our tour guide said that it's not Lombard anymore, it's Wall Street !:-D We also saw the financial district, City Hall, Castro Street (and all the rainbow flags hanging on residential and commercial buildings),Chinatown and Little Italy.

Our first major stop was at the Mission Dolores, the oldest structure in the city.

Second stop was on Twin Peaks, supposedly the highest point of the city, and the view was breathtaking!


Golden Gate Park was next, where we saw the Japanese Garden where some parts of "Memoirs of a Geisha" were shot.



And then of course, the highlight of the tour was to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and take pictures!


After the tour, we had a few hours before we were to meet my good friend and high school barkada LCN and her family . We had lunch first at Jack in the Box because we saw one near Union Square, and they had this steak and rice dish. We were so hungry after the tour, and it was way past lunch time. After that E and I went on our separate ways. I went to Victoria's Secret where I saw pajamas on 75% off. Got two worth USD7 each! Here's a picture of E at Union Square.



LCN and family picked us up at the hotel and brought us to the Cable Car Museum first before taking us on a ride at a Cable Car! LCN's kids are soooo cute!


We rode the Cable Car to Fisherman's Wharf where we had a Clam Chowder snack!

All of those in one day! We had such a full and fun day.:-)

Fresno, Gilroy and San Jose

From Anaheim, we went to Fresno to visit another cousin and sister of RT, LB and family. E and I took the Greyhound this time, and it took us around 7 hours to get to Fresno. We were picked up by LB and husband RB from the Greyhound station and they brought us to this excellent Mexican restaurant. We had quesadillas, buffalo wings, nachos and margaritas. I finished my margarita in no time, it was delicious and refreshing, I hardly noticed the alcohol.

LB and RB were challenged when we told them what the T family said about Fresno: "Why would you like to go there, there's nothing to do, and Fresno doesn't even have a mall!" So they brought us to the nearest mall. This is where I tried to look for cheap hoodies at Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch. There were plenty of nice ones, but none under USD20.

At the Mexican restaurant with RB, niece T and LB. Look at my margarita!

With RB and JB at the B Family Home

The next morning, we had tacos for breakfast at Lola's Ricos Tacos. You can choose what fillings to put in the soft tacos, and I tried the most exotic ones. But I didn't ask what they were anymore.
After breakfast, we went on our way to San Francisco. We passed by Gilroy Premium Outlets, which was so big that we didn't have the chance to go to all the stores. We also had lunch at our favorite burger place, In N Out.

We also passed by Goldilocks in San Jose becauset the B family had cravings for Filipino food.
We had a really nice time with the B family in Fresno. Although less exciting than the other places we visited, it was still a good place to visit and we're so glad to finally spend time with the B family. The last time we saw our niece and nephews was maybe 10 years ago, JB was still a toddler!

Viva Las Vegas!

My good friend from college BS invited E and I to Las Vegas. We left their home in Corona at around 4:30AM, and got there right in time for breakfast. After breakfast at IHOP, we went straight to Mandalay Bay for the Shark Reef Aquarium. Couldn't resist a photo by THE Wedding Chapel. We saw a couple of similar chapels when we drove through the strip, but this might be special because it's in the posh Mandalay Bay.

We had a late lunch at Applebee's where I had the Shrimp and Pomelo Salad, and I loved it. After lunch we checked in at our hotel, and wow, were we surprised. BS and wife SS went all out and booked us at the luxurious Wynn Hotel. E and I were so excited, and so grateful for their generosity. It was so hard to leave our hotel room, but we still had a lot to explore.

After enjoying our hotel room and resting for a few hours, we walked through the strip and it was really exciting! The lights, people all dressed up for parties or clubs, and the party atmosphere, it was all so glamorous!

Right in front of the Wynn

In front of the Bellagio where we watched the dancing fountains

Paris and Bally's hotels in the background

Inside the Venetian

We got back to the hotel at around 1AM and we were exhausted walking the 2 mile strip. The next morning, we went to Caesar's Palace and the Bellagio because we missed those the night before.

The grand entrance of the Bellagio


Buffet Brunch at the Bellagio Coffee Shop

We were very fortunate to have been invited by the S family. It was such a grand vacation, the generous and very gracious hosts didn't let us spend for anything, and we are truly very grateful. We will never forget this Las Vegas holiday, and will forever be thankful for good friends!

Other Southern California Highlights

We love Southern California primarily because we have family and friends there. But in addition, (window) shopping is great. We came at the right time, all stores were on sale, whether it was Ikea and South Coast Plaza (love this mall!All the designer boutiques were there, Chanel, Bottega, Tory Burch, Louis Vuitton...you name it, it's there -- it was really nice to LOOK around, yup, that was all we did, look around) in Costa Mesa, Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga or Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

It was indeed great to have spent time with the T family (again) who were such thoughtful and generous hosts. We always look forward to time with them. I also caught up with high school good friend HF and friend from grade school MH.

Lunch at Ikea Costa Mesa with RT. Had the famous swedish meatballs.

Dinner with HF at Claim Jumper in South Coast Plaza

Dinner with MH at Kabuki in Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga

Bonding with the T family