A-Tissue!

Almost every morning, I would have this sniffling attacks and  It's not because I have a-year-round colds.  

It runs in the family... My Papa would always have this sneezing fits every morning (too).  His brothers and sisters also have the same ordeals.

And I wasn't spared. : (

Add to that my hands are clammy.  I've tried everything (except getting an operation). 

 Before I used to buy handkerchiefs, but I'm so forgetful that by the end of the month, I would have around 4-5 hankies left from the original dozen.  Hence, this thing called "tissue" is an important part of my life right now. Hopefully in the future I would be able to find an alternative...or better yet find a solution to my dilemmas.

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Dinner at the Butcher Shop & Grill

Deciding where to eat was difficult last night.  We were tired of the usual CPK, and just recently visitid Chilis and TGIF so we decided to try something new. 

The Butcher Shop & Grill is situated along other restaurants such as CPK, Japengo, Chilis, etc. but it is almost at the end and before you can get there you will be tempted to go in the other restaurants, aside from location I think their marketing team (logos,etc.) should revamp their concept.  But there were some people eating there already so we thought we'll take the risk.

They served us a free bread and with butter and two other I don't have an idea what they call it.  But they were all delicious and complimented the bread very well.  They also serve a Boerewors tid bits with red sauce. Boerewors is a South African favourite; it is a course, loosely-filled beefe sausage flavoured with spices such as coriander, cloves, nutmeg and allspice. This really taste amazing, I actually want to go back to that restaurant because of Boerewors haha!

I ordered Sirloin Steak with mashed potatoes, while my bf ordered Chicken BBQ with puff something (I can't remember what he ordered haha!).

The chicken was really nice but I don't like the side dish.  It's like a tasteless puto (rice cake) topped with ketchup or some other red sauce.  The Steak was delicious, but next time I will have to order it medium well only because it is too dry.  Not their fault, I ordered it to be cooked well done.  The mashed potato is to die for, one of the best mashed potatoes I tasted!

I wish they would have two side dishes though, just like in CPK, Chilis and Fridays.  I miss the crunchiness of a steamed vegetables. Oh well, next time..


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Add Colors

 “In our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love.”  

-Mark Twain-

Imagine our world in black and white and gray...
Imagine never ever seeing the rainbow...
Imagine the sky not being blue...
Imagine a colorless sea...

Imagine...Just imagine...
It is a picture of sadness...of monotony...
lifeless..

Then..
Imagine your life without love

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Down Memory Lane

We do not remember days; we remember moments. 

~Cesare Pavese, The Burning Brand

I started being fascinated with photographs when I was around 10 yrs old.  I remember, I always wanted to be the one in-charge of the camera.

Sadly, that was also the beginning of the "not so easy" times in our family.  There were rolls of films after our reunion with my mom's relatives that never got developed. I still can recall the feeling I got every time I see those films in my mom’s drawers; I told myself then that I would somehow get those films developed…never happened. 

Up to this day, I don't get my photos printed...But they are stored in this little memory cards, in my external hard drives, CDs (yes I am paranoid), and in my computer.  Thanks to these things, photography is not that expensive anymore! And yes memories are somehow preserved…

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Listen

"I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I'm going to learn, I must do it by listening." - Larry King

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Cookie Monster

And I'll be a cookie monster today! : )

:


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Sweet Surprise

This Valentine's Day is the sweetest of all the other 30 other VDs in my life... just want to share his way of showing how he loves me.

By the way, I am a self-confessed hopeless romantic who never really like celebrating VDs, how ironic is that? haha!

this is his gift...he left this on the bed, but I re-arranged it before taking a snap..actually there were earlier shots I took di ko lang gusto.  This was taken right after midnight so pasok sya for today's pictures.  Below pictures were taken last night : )

He prepared a simple dinner... Yummy!
 

Dinner Just For Two

Perspective

It's a good sunny day today and I hope it stays that way.  For the past few days, the weather here in Dubai is quite cold and windy! One friend got sick already because of that.

Anyways, today's valentines day and I just want to share with you the view I see every day since last week.  As I've written in one entree, I am stuck in the middle of nowhere, that's an exaggeration ofcourse haha! I'm just so sad that my workplace is so out of the way and public transport, ie bus, taxi and train is not nearby for my comfort in travelling.  I don't drive, so yeah I'm depressed LOL!

The good thing about this is that I got a corner desk and a view...even if the window is dirty I still appreciate that I got to look somewhere outside of this office when I get tired and stressed from my work.  I told myself that I have to appreciate all the good points and look past the ones I don't like, afterall my happiness depends on how I see things. 

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Munchkins and Coffee

I had a quick visit to Ikea last night and on our way home, I saw the Dunkin' Donuts stand...can't resist the temptation so I bought myself this munchkins and it's my snack for this morning : )

I've decided to include my mug which keeps me company in this place which I call "in the middle of nowhere" haha!

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2nd Cup

My second cup of coffee today. I need this to stay awake! Arghhh!

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Read..Read & Take down Notes

Yesterday I was told to report to a different office location... A new department, different job scope, and great advancement opportunities. For 2 days now, all I ever did was to read and take notes...getting ready for the workshop this Thursday.

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W3D6 - Shabu Shabu

A fun-filled friday at Wild Wadi followed by our fave Shabu-shabu dinner!

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W3D1 - Sleepy Head

Last night I was sooo sleepy...maybe because I'm wearing the new socks that my flatmate gave me! hahaha! 

Instead of jogging/walking, it was a sleeping exercise I did! Lazy Me!

Ain't the socks so cute? She also gave me this cute fluffy green slippers that I might take a picture one day...



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W2D7 - A Day at the Park

About Two weeks ago, my ex-boss called me for a favor.  Her Mom-in-Law who is currently living with them for a 2-month vacation will be leaving for Holland around the first week of February.  She wanted me to take photos of them - She is married and have a daughter who just turned two.  So I said "Yes" thinking that it would be fun running around the park and enjoying the cool weather while taking snaps of these lovely family.

I could say that I'm her family's official photographer Hahaha! But really, I was there to take photos on her daughter's 1st and 2nd bday, took the photos for her husband's bday, took the portraits of her mum...and now her MIL.  The photos posted are all of her daughter's as I don't want to post something that is directly showing their faces.

The original plan was actually yesterday, but you all know what happened...so it got moved to today. 

W2D6 - New Bed & the Story behind It

Earlier in December 2010, I moved from a company-provided accommodation to a rented 2 bedroom flat (I'm sharing it with a couple so I'm like paying half of the rent only).  It was challenging at first because I have to look for an apartment that would be situated not too far from the office and must be near a Metro Station (I don't drive yet so I need to rely on public transportation), it should be in a safe community, near friends (don't have relatives here), and affordable rent (a bed space here is like renting a whole apartment in Manila!). 

Then after the apartment hunting was done, I had to buy furnitures / appliances, I only have the entertainment type appliances and a few shelves for books and decors. I opted to buy brand new appliances like the ref, stove & washing machine then decided that for the bedroom things I can settle for a 2nd hand.  There's a lot of 2nd hand shop here, especially in Deira & Karama - so yeah I got this "bedroom showcase" as my flatmate called it, King Sized bed frame & foam, two side table, a dresser and a mirror - it's a really great find and deal. 

Until this morning... We decided to inspect & clean the bed as I had some rashes and bites.  And guess what we found! Bed Bugs ewwww! So out goes the bed frame and foam to the trash! No bed, not even a foam...

I'm lucky coz I have some extra cash to buy this bed - it's way smaller (only a double-sized bed) but I think it's cozier and I like the fact that I have so much space now in my bedroom.  I remember I used to tell my flatmates that I like their bed better coz it's smaller, now I got my wish, only with a prize (be careful what you wish for literally!).



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W2D5 - Thank God It's Thursday

If in the Philippines it's TGIF, here in Dubai it is TGIT – Thank God it’s Thursday.  

Dubai is a Muslim country therefore their day of worship is Friday, however since it is also one of the most well-known travel spots in the world and for them to be in line with the international market, instead of a Thursday & Friday weekend they have shifted it to Friday and Saturday. 

That’s why I love Thursdays…and most of the time hate waking up on Sunday mornings.

In the company where I am currently working, we have this gathering every last Thursday of the month.  A certain department will be in charge of a 1-hour (or so) program, that includes speech from the HOD (head of department) or one of the team members, games (where there will prizes given), and of course a very delicious breakfast catered by the F&B department of one of the prestigious 5 star hotel here in Dubai. 

I was suppose to bring my DSLR but since I was running late, it went out of my mind (As always!).  Fortunately, my colleague brought her DSLR and told me to take pictures as their department is in-charge of today’s program.  As expected, my favorite subject of the day is FOOD!

Note - I will add more pictures of the food later : )

W2D4 - My Hair is my Obsession

Too busy to take a decent photo today.  So this picture will have to do : )

True to the title of this blog, my hair is really my fetish.  I was born with a very silky straight hair transformed now to thick and curly.  To add to my misery - its curls are not so well-defined, it is sooo dry and frizzy...I could go all day complaining..

Had my hair rebonded about two weeks ago and Thank goodness it came out well.  But ofcourse the treatments are just so expensive that when I saw this I almost shrieked and jumped for joy LOL!  Finding beauty products here is just not so easy compared to the the Philippines.  Actually this is the very first Cellophane treatment I saw in the mall.

Initially I took pictures of the product because I am not good in remembering things - so yeah that's the reason why I took this photo and not because of the 365 photo a day / my project 52. 



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Tuesdates

I have a friend who always goes out on a date with her hubby every mondays and they call it Mondates. For me & my bf it's Tuesdates : )


Last night we went to one of our current favorite place...I just love the food at CPK.


As always Kung Pao spaghetti was one of our orders though I think it was more spicy this time, then we tried their steak.. I also love their spicy chx starter, can't recall the exact name of the dish and it is not included in the photo because we finished it before the main dishes arrived.


Sarap! Busog!


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The Twin Shadows

Passed by one of my colleagues desk before going home yesterday and saw the shadows of the building I'm in - Jumeirah Emirates Towers - this is taken at the 38th floor.

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Carrot Cake

Treated myself to a delicious carrot cake at starbucks... Yummy but my tummy got upset!

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Week One - Day Seven - Kikay Mode

Had my nails done last week, and bought this french manicure set hoping to do my nails on my own. Not a good idea haha at least I tried.

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Week One - Day Six - Migraine

Suppossedly I was going to attend the marathon, but I was not able to wake up on time. I woke up around noon and thought it was still early morning...t'was so gloomy outside and the pounding pain in my head didn't help in brightening up this day. Yes it's the migraine attack once again!!!

To remind me of this day, I took a picture of the tablets I usually take when I can't stand the pain anymore... Thought of taking the photo in the dark as it was gloomy outside. Aarghh! What a way to spend the weekend!!!


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My Nol Card

Thursday is the last working day of the week here and I always look forward to this day, not that I hate my job... It's just that I love the fact that I can stay up all night without worrying about getting up early the next morning.

Every Thursday, I see to it that I will travel by train and bus hence I always have my Nol card. This is just like the card used at MRT & LRT... But way better because I also can use this for my bus ride! No need for a different card or cash.

As you might have noticed, I have 2 cards already.. that shows my being so forgetful haha!!



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New Phone

An out of focus shot of my new phone! 

I've been planning to buy this type of phone since the first one was released in the market.  But I've got more important things to focus and buying this is the least of my priorities.  

Then there was this cool promo in our company and it was just too good to pass up.

Movie Night

Tuesday night was movie night.  I think it's been months since me and bf last visited the cinema.  We were torn between watching the Tourist and Season Witch...obviously we watched the latter.

The movie had a  very good start and an intriguing story.  I was just a bit disappointed near the end of the movie, the reason I'm not going to say for the sake of those who have not watched this movie yet.  But I think it was justified by the ending...just a little bit.  

I still can say that I've enjoyed it, at least I did not sleep!

Sound Trip

I love music and I can sing a bit, but most of the time I choose to watch TV.  Today is just one of the few ones when music prevails...

Although I must admit that the song I'm listening to over and over again is one of the soundtrack of my current favorite show.  Ooohhh! Just ten more days...and Vampire Diaries is back!!!