Punta Fuego, IDP, and Zoe's new Barbie dolls

I haven't updated by blog for days, so i need to catch up.

Last week, we spent our weekend at Punta Fuego (courtesy of my sister-in-law). The place was nice, but as expected, we did not get inside the room where we're staying easily. We had a long drive going to the place, and when we arrived there, we had to wait for the room to be ready. When we went swimming, I saw the happiness in Zoe's eyes, and that made me forgot the earlier hassles. The experience at Punta Fuego was fun and luxurious. For more of the pics, you can visit my multiply.

Earlier today, we went to Makati for the IDP exhibition. Since the event is free, I grabbed the opportunity. There were a number of Australian schools in the exhibit including the University of Melbourne, Monash University, and University of Newcastle. I enjoyed the seminar and the exhibit. I just wish one of these schools would give me a scholarship.

Also today, we bought Barbie dolls for Zoe. She's a big fan of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses". Since my husband is so in to buying one of the 12 princesses' dolls, I eventually gave in to the idea. Even though Zoe was sleepy when we went to the Barbie shop, we still saw her excitement upon having her new dolls. We bought the box which contains Hadley and Isla, because they have the spinning effects. I'm just wondering, are we spoiling our daughter? Maybe, but there's nothing compared to seeing those twinkling eyes of Zoe when she's delighted with a thing. I'll just try to convince my hubby not to buy another Barbie in the next few months.

Jell and Issa's 18th Birthday Party

Yesterday, we attended the 18th birthday party of my cousin's twins, Jell and Issa. The event went well. It reminded me of the fact that I am really getting older. These girls used to be the little kids that I played with several years ago. Now, they're both ladies already... the babies are now the ladies. Well, I hope they will continue to reach for the stars, and be successful individuals someday.

Shown with this message are the pics at the said event.

Zoe looks like Rory!

JE and I are playing with the celebrity look-alikes of our pictures earlier this evening. We tried one of Zoe's pics. To our surprise, one of the results is a picture of Alexis Bledel of Gilmore Girls! I am a great fan of this series. I remember the days of my pregnancy. I always ask my husband to watch an episode with me, and that happened every night before we go to sleep. I would say that habit had some effect on Zoe. When she's 5 months old (I think), we started to watch our Gilmore Girls collection again. Since Zoe is familiar with the song of GG, she'd always move her head towards the direction of the TV, as if she's heard something very familiar to her. Now, that she’s two years old, she has advanced to the next level, she’s dancing and singing the GG song when we are watching an episode. When I saw Alexis Bledel’s picture as one of the matches of Zoe’s face, I was extremely delighted, because Zoe looks like Rory!

Remember to stop, look and listen when crossing a street.

Today is the last day of the Chem Congress. I went there just in time for the free lunch. I got my certificate, removed my poster and went home. On the way to Balibago Complex, a mother and her daughter happened to ride the jeepney I was also riding. The daughter was crying. This caught my attention. I eavesdropped a little, and based on what I’ve heard, the daughter is also a mother already. She’s crying because her son was hit by a fast-moving car. The driver took the boy to the nearest hospital, and that’s where the two women are going.

This event reminds me of what I’ve experienced during the day before the Chem Congress commences. I went to Tagaytay to post my poster, and to be familiar with the place so that on the first day of the convention, I’d reach the place hassle-free. But then, after I went out of the jeepney that I rode to get to the convention center, I did not practice the stop-look-listen guidelines in crossing a street. To my surprise, a fast-approaching vehicle is coming. Good thing, I was able to move backwards really fast to avoid an accident. Thank God!

The situation I have witnessed earlier reminded me to say thank you to the Lord, and always be careful. My experience proved that God intends me to live longer, for I still have a job to do in this world. That is, to be a good mom, wife, teacher, and friend to people who surround me.

Excellent pics of the year 2006

I haven't posted my daily entries last week, for I have been real busy. I've been working on my research on biodiesel. I want to finish it before the term ends.

Anyway, I want to relax right now, before starting on my report. I've cheked my mail, and I saw this greatly captured picture.
Really fascinating, huh?

Zoe's Date of Birth

I'm 23 years old and I have a two year-old baby already! Zoe just turned two last Tuesday, Feb. 13. JE and I didn't go to work that day to be with Zoe the whole day. We went to Mall of Asia, because we haven't been there since the opening day. It's so big! Gigantic mall! We ate pizza together, and later on, we bought petite ice creams for Zoe (Thumbs up). To see more of the unforgettable moments, just visit this link: jelontok.vox.com

Zoe's Birthday Party

Zoe will turn 2 years old tomorrow, Feb. 13, but we decided to have the party on the eleventh (yesterday). Last year, we celebrated the party at McDonald's, but the second birthday party was held at our place (it's much cheaper).

It went okay. Most of her cousins in the neighborhood are present. Zoe was obviously happy, for she kept on jumping and smiling. Last year, she was so grumpy, because she didn't take her morning nap. She didn't even have a picture wherein she's smiling. But this year, she didn't take a nap, yet she's still active and ready to party. She's really growing, and that's happening really fast. I feel happy, for I am seeing all her development and growth. There's nothing greater than being a mom to a super cute and sweet baby.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the 3rd National Workshop of ARRPET. This workshop was organized by the Chemical Engineering Dept. of DLSU-Manila. Since I have an elective course under one of the department's professors, I was required to attend the said event. I would say that the time I've spent there was very worthy. I had the chance to meet several professionals who are doing research works on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). By the way, most of them are chemical engineers and 90% of them have their PhDs. Isn’t that amazing? Plus, I have learned so many things about these POPs, and knowing about their existence and what they can do, can be really frightening. Another thing that’s great about this workshop is the free food and free entrance. I would tell you, the food is really yummy! Plus, the hotel (Angelo King hotel of DLSU-Benilde) is really elegant and cosy! I’m glad I’ve forced myself to go there, because at first, I really didn’t want to attend, but since it’s free and the place is near my school, why not?

Let’s discuss these POPs. According to the Stockholm Convention,

“Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemical substances that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. With the evidence of long-range transport of these substances to regions where they have never been used or produced and the consequent threats they pose to the environment of the whole globe, the international community has now, at several occasions called for urgent global actions to reduce and eliminate releases of these chemicals.”

It’s scary, right? Most of these POPs are used in pesticides, and if these pesticides are not yet banned in our country, if they’re still being used, there is a big risk posed in every Filipino’s health. Actually, this is not only for Filipinos, but for the rest of humanity.

In my next entries, I’d be discussing more about these POPs and the Dirty Dozen as labeled by the Stockholm Convention. If you have the time, please make some entries on POPs, too. It’s really scary, especially when I think of my baby, who will grow up to be surrounded by these POPs. Common, help me in disseminating information on POPs, may be in this simple way, we can help our generation and the future generation to live longer lives.

My family day at Enchanted Kingdom

Last Sunday, we had the opportunity to go to Enchanted Kingdom (EK) at Sta. Rosa, Laguna. My brother who went home from Dubai was the financier, so we did not worry about the money. Actually, we had planned to go there for almost two times - July and December of last year. I think it is just fate that those plans did not push through. I have thought of two reasons for that. First, because we can go there when the right opportunity comes, such as last Sunday --- we didn't need to spend that big money for the entrance. Second, we wouldn't enjoy the experience if we would go there without any relative. Originally, we planned to visit the place, just the three of us. But last Sunday, I realized that it was more fun to have a relative to take care of Zoe while JE and I are checking some of the rides that are definitely not for kids, such as roller coaster and up, up and away. I am so thankful for the opporunity; it's quite tiring, but lots of fun goes with this experience, especially when I saw the pretty smile on my baby's face that was brought by this magical day at EK.

The Launching of Wikiseek

I am a great fan of Google. It's a very helpful search engine who's been my friend ever since I started my college days. Right now, I’m doing a search on birthday party games for my daughter’s birthday on February 13 using Google. Then, while I’m checking Mybloglog account, I saw Megite’s site. I’ve checked out this site, and I’ve found very informative articles, very up-to-date. The latest info there is about the launch of Wikiseek, a vastly improved search engine for Wikipedia (another favorite reference site). I’ve also found some discussions on this topic such as “Wikiseek as a threat to the Google Empire”. Well, there’s so much to happen in the future. Let’s just wait and see who will reign over.

Fun and Tearful Weekend

I’ve just finished doing my powerpoint presentation for my laboratory class this afternoon. So now, I have time to update my blog. I was not able to do so during the weekend, for I spent most of my time playing with my pretty daughter, Zoe. That was really fun! Also, JE, Zoe and I have watched two movies, namely: Sandlot2 and Click.

Let me tell you something about those movies if you haven’t watched them.

Sandlot is about a group of kids playing softball. This game is just like baseball to me. I’m not a sporty girl, so I don’t know the difference (need to research on that one).

Here’s the synopsis (courtesy of my favorite site - www.wikipedia.org):

"The movie is set in 1972, 10 years after the events of The Sandlot. New kids have moved into the neighborhood of San Fernando Valley in Southern California, and have started playing baseball in the sandlot from the first movie. The previous kids have all grown and moved away. A young boy named Johnnie Smalls (James Willson), the younger brother of Scotty Smalls, the narrator of the first movie, has heard the legend of "The Beast"/Hercules owned by Mr. Mertle, who lives behind the sandlot. David Durango (Max-Lloyd Jones) is the leader of the five boys. Then, three girls join the team, one of them named Hailey Goodfairer (Samantha Burton),. The girls were league softball players, and Hailey always pitches the ball underhand. She starts to develop feelings for David, and it is revealed that he may have feelings for Hailey. In one scene, they challenge a little league team and the lead player hurts Hailey by hitting her in the belly. David punches him, telling him that no boy should ever hit a girl.

One day, when the kids' ball goes over the large fence of Mr. Mertle and they try to retrieve it, Johnnie makes them stop by showing them that there's something descended from the Beast on the other side, called "The Great Fear." That night, Johnnie tells them the story of the Great Fear, how it used to be a junkyard dog, eating or hurting others who trespassed the junk yard. There was a boy who loved the comic book hero named Rapid Rocket, and would run around fast like him. On his first day of school, he went past Mr. Mertle's house but forgot to lock the back gate, and The Great Fear got out and chased the boy. It was unknown what happened to him after he was cornered by the killer dog at the junkyard. Soon afterward, a fence made of assorted junk was built on top of Mr. Mertle's fence, and he was ordered by the officials to keep the dog locked up forever. Ever since, if anything went over the fence, it would not come out.

The main conflict comes when the space rocket for the future of NASA and the United States built by Hailey's father is blown over the fence, because Johnnie accidentally sets it off. The kids try many things to get it back, including hiring the one called The Retriever (Griffin Reilly Evans), but he fails, and retires from his job (even though he never really had one). Then, just like Benny Rodriguez from the first film, David is chased by the monstrous dog all over town. It is shown that he was the young boy from so long ago who was chased by the dog, revealed by the Rapid Rocket cape that he brings with him. When they get back to the sandlot, David falls onto the ground on the other side of the fence, and into a deep ditch. The dog then digs him up, and saves him from suffocation. David sees his tag, which says that his real name is Goliath (a play on the title of the Biblical story David and Goliath). The boys then meet the blind Mr. Mertle (James Earl Jones), who tells them that the same situation happened in the summer of 1962, how the boys got something over the fence, and how he could have gotten it for them. Johnnie was able to save the rocket, and David and Hailey become boyfriend and girlfriend. The movie ends with the revelation of what happened to all the boys when they left the sandlot."

This movie is just fine, we picked this one for Zoe would be watching with us, and we wanted a movie that doesn't have kissing scenes and adult scenes (though this movie has one kissing scene, just before the ending). In a scale of 10, I would give this movie a 6. If you want to know more about this movie, you can visit these sites: Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb (Earth's Biggest Movie Database).


Another movie that we have watched is a movie of Adam Sandler, "Click". This movie really made me cry...

I know that most of you had watched this movie, so I won't include the plot here. For photos, trailer, and if you want to know the plo of the story, you can go to these helpful links: about:humor and counting down.

I really love weekends! I can spend quality time with my family, and I got to watch movies I didn't see inside a moviehouse. I always look forward to this part of the week.

Nice Photos taken from Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park in Illigan

How do you spend your holidays? Wouldn't it be good to just relax, spend time with family and visit extraordinary places? Well, last Christmas vacation, I was not able to do the out-of-town part with my family, but I was able to spend quality time with them.

All the people spend their holidays differently, and here's one lucky guy who have visited a very beautiful place in Illigan called Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park. I just love his pictures! Nice work, man!

Helpful Links from a Friend

I was not able to make a post yesterday due to my enrollment conflicts. Finally, I've paid the required amount already, and I can now have a peaceful day.

While I've been checking my email, I saw a message from a friend in my recently registered Mybloglog account. It’s a good thing I’ve registered for that one. He gave me these links, you can check them out if you want to: Highest-paid Adsense, Lemon Apparel Sourcing, Apparel Designs . Thanks Vignesh Prabhu!

I guess this is my post for now. I will try to make one later, but first, I need to do other things.

My desperate need for Home-based jobs

I haven't write a post for almost 5 days now. It's because everytime I sat in front of our computer, my hand keeps on clicking the mouse and looking for home-based jobs in google. My extra time was spent on this for the past days.

Well, I saw so many ads looking for typists, encoders, telecommuters, but almost 90% of them are asking for money. They're saying that they need the money for the software and for programs needed to start the typing job. A first , I became interested. But after learning that most of them are scams, i've learned to close the window when I saw money involved.

You might ask, why look for a home-based job if I am currently employed by DLSU. The answer is I feel that I need to help my husband in our financial needs. As I am currently taking my MS degree, I am not earning that much, for I am a part time instructor only. The other reason is I would like to take advantage of the availability of our internet connection. I am starting to like the internet.

This morning, while surfing the net and continuing my search for those work from home jobs, I ran across Alfa Mercado’s blog. She’s also a Filipina, and she’s one of those internet savvy people who are fond of blogging. She has posted articles on different home-based jobs, and I am really glad I have found her site. Her posts are very helpful and informative. Thanks Alfa!

That’s it for now. I still need to fix my things for school this afternoon. Today is the start of classes for the third term of school year 2006-2007 at DLSU-Manila. I hope everything will run smoothly for me.