Pinoy Birthday Party

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday happy birthday. Happy birthday to you. Hep Hep! Hurray! Hep Hep! Hurray!

The Celebrants

Yesterday, a couple of my friends had a joint birthday celebration. Ate Lydia Chua and Mona. Happy Happy birthday you guys. I wish for all your wishes to come true...lalo na Ate Lydia's ( to win big from the Casino-para may balato). Nyehehehehe. And for Mona-that you will be granted permanent residency na, para maka ligo na si Xander sa Casino Pool!!!!


BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!


Man, when I said CELEBRATED...I meant with a BANG! It started the night of the Earth Hour up to last night. All we did was eat!!! No wonder most of my pants are popping-up. We had chibugan on the 29th of March , then yesterday we had buffet lunch at the Sunset Cafe (Casino). Not contented, we got Alan (Mona's other half - ay 1/4 pala!) to make his oh-so-nice-well-guarded BBQ . PEACE my brother ALLAN!


So all afternoon, we spent slicing and tuhugan. Cat also made a Ginataang Bilo-bilo na my God...so sinful!!!


While having dinner... we all planned our Menu for August!!!! Yes August. The Darwin Barrio Fiesta. Mag titinda po kami sa Barrio Fiesta. Pangalan ng aming tindahan: TRIBONG TRALALA...



"Welcome to heavens resort. Welcome to heavens resort. Such a lovely place. Such a lovely place. Welcome to heaven's resort, where you can rest in peace. Welcome to heavens resort..." praktis ka na Mona huh?


Buhay nga naman, napaka Tralala!!! Kung hindi kainan ang pinag u-usapan, pagluluto...




Cat and the two Donyas.




Si Aida o si Lorna o si Fe?


The VIPs


Oi si Ivy naka smile!!! Si cat naman ready, willing & able yan parati. Single sila pareho. Pero yong isa, merong palibreng apat na anak at kalahati...hulaan nyo kung sino.

Nasa Fantasy land sky city.


Hoy mga residents ba kayo dyan???

Haaaay...ang hirap ng buhay kapag kayo'y pinanganak na maganda...



Specialty ni Alan. he's selling the recipe for a Million Dollars. Tuhog mga kababayan! Tingnan nyo si Kuya Boy...nanonood ng Porno sa likod!JOK


Hala pausing muna at para mabenta.....ang BBQ!

Earth Hour Dinner at the Chuas

Did you observe the Global Earth Hour last night? It's been asked that everyone, all companies, businesses, etc. turn off all the power sources in their abode and respective work establishments from 8:00PM to 9:00PM. It's a global event pioneered last year by the World Wildlife Fund in Sydney Australia where a lot of people turned off their lights for an hour in an attempt to reduce Green House Gas emissions. We might think it's not much, but hey, this time around, it's global. It was not just in Sydney.

Imagine what it was like in Las Vegas last night. Not that we expected all of those great-grand-casinos to participate, but some of them actually made a commitment, which is good. Imagine the amount of power saved globally, only for an hour....

In Philippines, I doubt if the majority even knows about it. Out there, when there is no power, they use candles. Candles usually meant trouble for communities living in a hive-like environment where every home is divided by mere cardboard boxes. It would have spelled out disaster in capitals for fire fighters and would have been more catastrophic to the environment.

Well anyway, as for us mere mortals in Darwin, trying to make a difference was not a simple sacrifice either, because it's hard to say no to all the yummylicious food that ate Luz Chua prepared. The ever caring matriarch of our group, hosted a lovely and romantic dinner so we instead EMPOWERED our stomachs with her usual complete dinner menu.

No wonder I felt so energised right after the dinner that I was not able to sleep 'till 3:00 this morning.

Easter Sunset By The Bedroom Window

Taken Easter Sunday2008-a time of reflection.



Despite all the misgivings and hurdles in life,
I am thankful.
For each day brings new sunrise
and for every sunrise, it pronounces new hope.
Though sunset comes with every sunrise,
it gives you that time to just rest, and trust everything up to Him.
So I welcome everything that comes my way
one that makes me feel, makes me see and hear.
They are the facets of life.

"Man is ready and willing to shoulder any suffering as soon and as long as he can see a meaning in it"-Victor Frankl ( a Jewish psychiatrist imprisoned by the Nazis)

WHO'S YOUR BEST FRIEND?

Warning: Please do not try this experiment.....

Who's your best friend?

If you are not sure, put your dog and your husband in the boot of the car for an hour.

When you open the boot, who wags his tail with happiness and thanks you?

Have a wonderful day............

LEUKAEMIA FOUNDATION BRAVE THE SHAVE

It started with emails exchanged between me, my former boss and my boss...oh, also our BBR Carol Caldwell. The big EXECs in our department, DCIS, are participating in the yearly "SHAVE FOR CURE" for Leukaemia Foundation.

Somewhere between all the email exchanges, I challenged my boss, James Edwards (Finance Manager), to also participate. Suggesting blond, I didn't really think he'd do it, but he said yes. So I left it all for the social club to arrange. Later on, Cheryl Opitz, my former boss suggested, Blond with pink streaks...then someone said he should go all pink...another one suggested shave. Anyway, we settled with blue, and my boss was happy with that because it's his footy team's color.

Anyway, it's really good to know that a lot of people are willing to put something in for a good cause, even their locks. Pete, a 104.9 radio announcer here in Darwin went for the 'shave' and gone bald for $25K. He was also willing to loose his MO (apparently, one he'd been sporting since he was 17 years old) for $30K...and I think he lost it around 3:00 today.

I'm not sure how much exactly we've raised in DCIS Casuarina, but we're all happy we have given something for a good cause....our BOSS.

...And whose fault is it???

Oh-oh...

MY POOR $$$$$ PUG

Ikki's gonna have an eye operation tomorrow!!!! Bhuhuhuhuhu...Poor poor poor puggie............

POOR PUGIE

Call it premonition....

A day after I posted "PUGS IN DARWIN" , I got an email from Claire, the pugalicious pug master, whom I haven't heard from for a while. She told me last Friday that her baby Matty survived a cancer scare over Christmas. She must've spent gazillions on Vet bills because Matty had to have a portion of his chest tissues and fats removed to take out a mast cell tumour. Oh...poor puggie..... I really hope he's fine, Claire. I hope he'll live a vvvveeerrrryyy long pug's life so he can teach Bella to swim.

Anyway, came Saturday, and I noticed my Ikki's eyes so teary. It got bad as the day went. His eyes were turning so cloudy and the whole iris just turned white. I panicked so I rang a round-the clock vet who gladly offered advise free of charge. She told me to take Ikki to an animal hospital ASAP. So we did first thing Sunday morning. Turned out he's got eye ulcer. So after a needle, a couple of drops and a couple of hundreds later, I am hoping he's gonna get better.

Ikki is recuperating but I need to take him back to the vet later today to determine whether it definitely is improving and that the medication is working. Otherwise, his eyes will be stitched up until it's fully healed...I hope it won't come to that though.

........So for all the sick puggies out there, get well little ones. The world won't be the same without you............

See how the left eye is so cloudy?

DEATH OF AN OLD FRIEND

I'm never the one who gives up on a friend. Unfortunately, this friend of mine gave up on me....


So what's a techno-gadget-freak woman to do????

Ditch it!!!

Too bad so sad.

My old Imate Jam used to be a very powerful gadget I could never do without. It's got Words and Excel, etc. But ever since the battery started faltering, it's just never been it's old self.


So, hello my new friend Nokia N95 8G!!!!!!!!! Welcome to my world of blogging.




Notice the difference of the picture quality? I took the photo of my old friend from the new one and the new one with the old....

Oh well... says a lot, doesn't it? So, no regrets and happy to have a 5MP digital cam with it.

As they say, if it does not serve it's purpose, no matter how much you take good care of it, then it never is a good friend anyway.


..................Actually, my Imate was good. It's just run it's course.

Adios mi amigo.

Pugs in Darwin

Just recently, I got asked by a couple of friends why I decided to have a pug instead of a Shitzu or a chihuahua. Maybe because they think I look so much like an over weight shitzu or chihuahua...or for what ever reason they decided that these two breeds suit me more than a pug...I don't know.

PRADA (IKKI'S GF) GOT THE HEADLINE


A few years ago, My son and I went back to Philippines to visit my family. It was then that I first encountered this alien-looking being. My sister, Shnaggy, was a proud and loving master of a guy named Wally(I think she named him after one of her best mates-Wally Alcantara)...Now, she might deny that....

Anyway, I used to hate dogs, cats, rabbits....anything that has furs and moves. We used to have a German Shepherd named REX, and I used to treat him so badly. But when I met Wally, It was curiosity at first sight. I really wondered why my sister loved her pug so much. She treats Wally like a baby!!! Wally has his own Yaya(nanny)!!!


We stayed there for almost three months and as days went, I got to know Wally more. He was a very loyal but very jealous pug. When my sister is on the bed sleeping, he'd also be sleeping quietly on the floor right next to the bed. Whenever she's in the toilet, He'd dutifully guard the door. He's very friendly, but whenever my sister hugs my son, or whoever, Wally goes crazy. He'll bark like there's no tomorrow. When we go shopping, he'd sit right near the gate awaiting our return. Once, We went to the beach... he'd never go swimming unless my sister was also dipped in the water. If my sister goes deeper, he'd most willingly swim after her, even if he looked like he was already about to drown. I've noticed soon after that this dog is not normal!

Unfortunately, Wally died soon after we came back to Darwin. My sister called me in the middle of the night, but my phone was switched off. When she finally got me early in the morning...she was bawling!!! She was bawling for months and months. But now, I think she's recovered because she's got another pug, a girl, named Kookie.


All of a sudden, I became a pug lover!


Upon our return to Darwin, My son and I nagged my husband repeatedly about getting a pug. So, five months after we bought our house, My husband and my son bought me a pug for my birthday. We had to transport him from Dubbo New South Wales because pugs can be very expensive here in Darwin. They can cost around $1800.00 to $2000.00 here.



Then came Davincci (yup spelled that way) a.k.a. Ikki, Ikkiaiow, a 7 week old pup. Prior to him arriving in Darwin, I sent SMS to all my friends saying we have adopted a son from somewhere else...everyone texted each other confirming whether we really did adopt...Well, I left out the little fact that, HE, is in fact a dog.


We picked Ikki up from the airport in the middle of the night (yes we paid for his interstate fare!). We saw this little cage, and there he was!!! So Friendly and so little. He couldn't stop licking us. After a long flight, we knew he was about to bust, so we let him off around the car park, but he wouldn't let go of us. He was just the cutest pug ever.


Jashkah & Rex

My husband have always wanted another German Shepherd or some other big burly dog. But guess what's happened to him now... A number one Pug Lover. He spoils him like no other. He feeds him on his hand, so up to now, Ikki still eats on our hand. He would not eat from a plate...Yup!



We started off funny too. We had to toilet train him through a wee wee mat. I found this amazing product from the pet shop. It has a disposable mat along with a bottle of a chemical with drops. I'd put several drops of this chemical on that mat and here comes ikki, wanting to pee on that mat. The whole concept is simple. This chemical makes dogs want to pee, then k-9 instinct kicks in, they claim that as their territory. He'd do that over and over. Eventually, he sees that mat simply as the wee wee mat. Even without a drop of the chemical, he'd still wee wee and poo poo on it. When he was about four-five months old, he wouldn't pee nor poo on the mat anymore. He'd scratch the door whenever he feels like relieving himself...then we know what to do...


When we get home from work and school, he'd dutifully offer us our thongs (sleepers, chinelas). He knows which one is mine. He'd go find it and give it to me...the things is, he'd offer me only one...yup, only one and leave the other for me to find. Still a defective pug huh?


Ikki gets excited whenever we say "TARA, WALKING-WALKING" or "TARA, DRIVING-DRIVING", because he loves walking around the block and he loves going for a drive. But when we say "TARA, SHOWER-SHOWER"...off he goes under the bed where no one can reach him!


Anyway, late of last year, we got invited to a pug party. It was the meeting of all pugs in Darwin. Amazingly, there were only a little over 20 pugs in Darwin. Maybe because they are so expensive around here. There were journalists and photographers there covering the unusual meeting. But for all the pug owners, we have come to a conclusion that we will always choose pugs over other breeds. This is due to the fact that we've all experienced the loyalty and the uniqueness of pugs. They have attitudes like no other!



A few weeks after the first meeting, Claire, the lovely and pretty host, invited us over at her beautiful house. Ikki spent his 1st birthday there. We brought over a cake. All the pugs went swimming, socialising and of course....sniffling butts of other pugs.




It was so funny looking at all of them. They all looked the same yet, unusual. Ikki had the time of his life!!!

THE ESPLANADE FULL OF PUGS

Before, whenever I go past a pet shop in a shopping centre, I'd go out of my way to avoid getting near one, because they stink! But now, every time I see a pet shop, I can't help but get something for Ikki... be it a shirt, a hat, a goody or just about anything to make him feel excited when I get home.



Pugs @ Clare's

I always look forward to going home and seeing him wag his curly tail, so happy to see me. It's that happiness that makes me feel so loved by this little creature. Never have I experienced this kind of loyalty from anyone, not even from people.


I think it was Einstein who said (correct me if I'm wrong) '....those who lived without a dog in their lifetime have never lived to really know the true meaning of the word LOYALTY'

Yup...I completely agree. But if you choose a pug, then you will also find the true meaning of "LOYALTY WITH A LITTLE BIT OF ECCENTRICITY AND A LOT OF STYLE AND ATTITUDE"..........

PRADA...She's our GP's pug. Ikki & Prada are now committed to each other. But Prada is still in school, so shes not allowed to have a boy friend yet. Her mum said, in due time...