My Very First Car

I have a ten-year old SUV here in the Philippines that I left with my parents for their use. But since my father's heart attack over two years ago we obviously didn't want him behind the wheels anymore. But I didn't want it to get idle so I let my sister use it. Since I arrived, I had a few things done on the vehicle like a/c clean up and engine thorough check up. There are few accessories that needed replacement as well but good thing they didn't cost that much as the shop has sources of affordable cars and truck accessories. If I had to dispose of my car it would just be to my sister for some sentimental reasons. It was the very first car that I bought brand new, lol. The other cars I had were all second-hands.

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Some Pending Chores

Even while savoring the last few days of our vacation here, my mind is already entertaining the thoughts of some pending chores in my house in US. My October calendar is already marked with list of 'Things to Do' from my son's pre-school requirements to a long list of doctor's appointments I need to make; to auto insurance quote I need to follow up; to pending bills I need to pay online; and all that sort. Needless to say I will be a busy bee as soon as I get home. It's gonna be business as usual for me, gone are the 'pampering' days, lol.

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Almost Over

I can't believe my two-month vacation is almost over. We are savoring the few days left in our vacation here. I've done a few shopping of Filipino handicrafts and some souvenir shirts to take home. I immediately loved that shirt with Philippine map embroidered on the left side of the chest, so we bought few pieces for the three of us. I've also done the last 'pampering' endeavor I planned to do - facial treatment! Like I've always said in my past posts, your dollar will go a long way here in the Philippines. You can do anything at very affordable price tags. Like my hb had an executive check up done at Makati Medical Center which would ordinarily costs thousands of dollars in US but we only paid a few hundred dollars here. We've had our eyeglasses done here too. We got the buy-one-get-one-free frame promo which was truly a great deal. I'm not sure how many more years it will take till our next vacay here, but one thing is for sure, every time here is always worth spending.

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Enjoying Filipino Dishes

We are sleeping over at our dear friends' house and they've been treating us to one sumptuous meal after the other. The night we arrived they were having Lord's Day celebration and people brought all kinds of delicious Filipino dishes. My hb has very adventurous palate and he'll try anything and he loved the Ukoy (Shrimp Fritters) and Lumpiang Ubod (Fresh Bamboo Shoots Spring Rolls). I must admit we're both pigging out a lot and by the time we go back to the states we will both need weight loss diet pills to lose the excess weights.

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Moving to Her Own Place

I heard that my 'adopted' sister has made an offer on a townhouse and it was accepted. Gone are the days of her search for more affordable homes for rent. This is a great move since prices of houses and condos really went down. It's been a while since she's moved to New England states so I'm very happy to learn that she can finally move to her own place now.

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Cramming

I couldn't believe that my hb enrolled in a course while he's got a plan of taking vacation as well. Now he's been spending a lot of time online doing some homework and attending to online discussion with his class. Since internet connection is really a problem in my place, we had to ask a favor from dear friends to stay with them for the weekend so hb can have continuous internet access. At 1am last night he was hooked to join online discussion with classmates, so our plans of going out-of-town with my cousins didn't push through. We still have exactly 10 days left in our vacation so we're cramming already to squeeze a lot of things in.

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Jurassic Internet Connection

I'm not sure how I am still surviving not having constant internet access for almost two months now. The week I arrived in the Philippines, I was restless for not being able to get connection to the outside world. My folks are old and not very fond of computers so obviously they don't want internet. While my neighbors have broadband and wifi's, I have the 'jurassic' dial up connection. While on vacation I always use the prepaid internet cards that you can buy in the mall. But recently I got this broadband USB with sim card which is supposedly faster and more reliable but not really. It still depends on where you are or if you're closer to a strong cell site. Before I left for my vacation, I was in the middle of getting quotes for term life insurance prices online and I regretted postponing it till I get here. Now I may have to wait till I get back to US to finish this task.

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Turn Back the Hands of Time

Are there really products that will help reverse the effects of aging? If that's the case, I'll be the first in line to try it. The time I reached the big Four-O, I've felt a lot of changes in myself. One very prominent change is my deteriorating eyesight and of course the lines on my face which I dread to call wrinkles, lol. I've searched online of products that will help slow down aging and improve one's physical performance. I've read of these supplements that will boost up the production of HGH in our body that will ultimately help turn back the hands of time as far as aging is concerned. These supplements are apparently designed to build lean muscle mass; reduce wrinkles; improve the skin; increase energy; increase sexual vitality; and revitalize health and wellness. And there is one site called BestHGHReleasers.com that provides a list of supplements that are considered best hgh releasers.

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Things He Splurges On

My hb is a very simple guy when it comes to personal needs. He's not into shirts and pants with popular brands, unlike some friends we have. He doesn't own numerous pairs of shoes, in fact he's only got a pair for each kind of shoes. But if there are things that he splurges on they would be electronics and computer gadgets. Believe it or not despite having a desktop in our home office and one laptop each for the two of us already; he still bought another desktop and a new laptop for me again. I don't know but he might buy industrial computer next time if he couldn't help it. He always like to have the latest upgrade when it comes to computers and it looks like there's no stopping him.

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Reunion With Childhood Friends

I've been here in the Philippines on vacation for over a month now, but I just visited the place where I grew up just recently. It was ironic that I had to see one of the good friends of our family in her death bed. I was able to talk to her the day before she died, but she didn't recognize me anymore. What was meant to be an overnight visit at my sister's house became a three-day stay so we could attend the wake. Though it was a sad event, it was also a happy reunion with my childhood friends whom I haven't seen in ages. Then over the weekend we attended the funeral and saw more old friends that I would have not seen if not for the death of a dear friend.

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A New TV for Nanay

My mom has so much stuffs in her tiny bedroom. The other day she asked me to help her move the TV from one stand to another. I opted to remove the antenna so I can easily lift the TV up but unfortunately I couldn't make it work anymore when I put the antenna back. I guess I should give her a new TV as what she's using is pretty old and dingy already. She's been hinting about the kind that you can install on the wall so she would have more room for her books. She loves to read and her books line up nicely on the floor. She would need a TV wall mount installed in her bedroom to accommodate this new TV.

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A Coffee Lover

I'm not a coffee drinker and I don't see my parents drinking a lot of them as well. I'm more of a tea drinker. But hb is both a tea and coffee lover through and through. Being a Brit, his love to drink tea is a given. Frankly I only bought a coffee maker here because of him, then when we're gone back to US, the coffee maker would also go back to hiding. Now that he's arriving very soon, I have to look for that coffee maker again. By the way, when I run out of idea of what to give my hb on any special occasions, anything that has to do with coffee drinking would be a great one. I've been toying with the idea of giving him a Nespresso Espresso Machine since he loves drinking Espresso as well. Oh he loves that potent caffeine in a tiny little cup.

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Ballroom Dancing

Friday last week and over the weekend we stayed at my sister's place in Manila because I would meet with my old friends to go ballroom dancing. I had a blast despite getting blisters on my toes, lol. It's been ages since I danced last, but no blisters could stop me from enjoying the night. Oh have I mentioned it was also raining hard that time and the traffic was so terrible? It was a gimmick night, and everybody seemed to be heading to Makati, based on the traffic. But like I've said nothing could get in the way of my ballroom dancing, lol. I danced everything, from Samba, to Cha-cha, to Rumba, to Swing, to Argentinian Tango and Foxtrot. Tango and Foxtrot are two of the hard-to-learn dances for me, I really need a lot of improvement dancing them. Swing and Cha-cha are my two favorites. Anyway, I wish I could still do more dancing before I leave and go back to my normal life in US.

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