Sleep deprived.

Saturday with the family. My sisters have been urging the parents to go to this Ozine Fest. It's a festival for all anime and cosplay lovers around the metro. This year it was held in SM Megamall at the Megatrade Hall.

My sisters entered the individual drawing competition. Unfortunately since my sisters are aged 14 and 10, they had to compete in the same age category. I got an entrance pass too, but I wasn't really what you call an "otaku" so I only just went sight-seeing at the bizarre yet very creative costumes that cosplayers wore. The entrance fee per day is ₱100.

We were having trouble deciding where to eat (Megamall is HUGE!) and we kept on walking until our feet led us to Holy Cow Steakhouse at the Atrium.

This Tabasco sauce wanted to take a picture with me.

How can I not smile at this? Wild, Wild West wall mementos and look at that fine cascading wooden boards!

I was also amazed at this wall painting. It's so beautiful. And the wooden rafters above it is a nice feat too!

The moment we stepped in I was taken aback by the nice ambience it has, and also I have to give props to the waiter's costumes! Yep, they're in cowboy jeans, leather boots and hats! I was totally amused at the horseshoe decor on the wall & the carriage wheel-inspired light fixture. It's not something you see everyday. Themed food establishments in Philippines are hard to come by.

We ordered BBQ Calamari for starters. They're huge calamari slices and the lemony tartar dip was a perfect complement to it. My 14-year-old sister Ia Mae had chicken fillet, Java rice and steamed veggies. Irylle (the youngest, aged 10) had the typical fried chicken with rice while I sampled the Juicy Melty Burger with their large-cut fries and spicy honey mustard dip.

This Juicy Melty Burger has a lot to offer. First off, the fries on the side are well-seasoned. It's not overpowering but not too bland. The spicy honey mustard dip completes the feat. I don't know about you but I always eat my burgers and fries together, not one first over the other. The cheese melts as you take a bite, and you can actually taste when it blends with the sumptuous juice of the burger patty fresh from the grill. The lettuce is fresh and crunchy, the buns hot and steamy but well-toasted on top along with the sesame seeds. I'm glad I picked this over rice. Therefore, I can truly say this one's for the books.

For dessert we had a choco oatmeal cookie with vanilla ice cream drizzled in rich chocolate syrup. The cookie seemed to be 3 pieces baked together as a one whole unit, it kinda looked like clover-shaped, but only with 3 sections. It was a good way to end the meal. The only the thing we were having difficulty with was cutting the cookie. It was hard! But I found a trick to it: use the dining knife and stab it (I'm serious!) and gently wedge it back and forth until the cookie divides.

My review for this restaurant: 

A+ food, decent music (they played John Mayer's In Repair which is a smart choice) and lovely atmosphere. The only downfall is that they have quite a slow service. The parents did not eat together with us because they were meeting some old acquaintances, so when that meet-up got cancelled they had to order lunch when we finished eating. Papa asked for the menu and the waitress took more than 5 minutes. She didn't even get back to us. We had to ask another waiter for it (his name was Lito and this waiter talking to customers with a lot of PR skills is kinda amusing, he was trying to know the customers through small talks). 

When we asked for the bill I volunteered to pay for the lunch to treat my sisters. But it was such a big disappointment that they didn't accept nor even try my UnionBank EON Visa debit card. It's weird because they said only Mastercard & Visa credit cards are acknowledged. Oh well. Maybe I have to go run to the ATM next time.

If you'd still ask me if I'd eat at Holy Cow I'd still say yes. 

This is my sister Irylle's entry to the drawing contest. Isn't she amazing?

Ia Mae left early to meet her friends at the venue so it was only Papa, Mama, Irylle and I waiting at our booth. And then I suddenly had the funny realization: I told Irylle we resembled the How I Met Your Mother gang and that Holy Cow was our MacLaren's! We had our own booth; Mama and Papa were Lily and Marshall because Ma's into shopping and Pa's into supernatural stuff. I was Ted the overthinker and the OC-guy, Ia Mae was Robin because she's boyish and a tsundere as she says, Irylle was Barney because she keeps on obsessing over his Legendary-ness. "And how bout Ian (our brother) who's back home because he was suffering from body ache?" I asked. Irylle replies, "Well he can be Kevin or Ranjit. But Papa can also be Ranjit cause he drives."

It's so great to have good conversations over good food. We waited until 6pm at Holy Cow before submitting Irylle's drawing upstairs. 

View from the 5th floor.

My new kicks. Navy blue pumps it is.

We had to stay at SM Megamall until 9 or 10pm for the awarding of winners. I'm not good at waiting but seeing Irylle win the contest for the individual drawing category of 14 below was worth it! She's the sole winner among all the kids who have joined in the Ozine Fest. She even beat Ia Mae! :P

 I'm a proud ate :)

Did you attend the Ozine Fest this year? If so, how was your experience?

It's a tradition in my country to observe what we call "The Holy Week". It's a week of reflection for Roman Catholics with respect to Jesus Christ's suffering before he was crucified onto the cross. For us Filipinos, we are not allowed to eat meat for one whole week until Easter Sunday has come.

In our local community, my mother was tasked to make the float for the early morning parade. She thought it was going to be Mama Mary's so she made her pretty plastic flowers to a very beautiful illuminated rosary that embraces the carriage. Little did she know that it was for Jesus Christ's statue. She was very ecstatic about it that she asked us all to come and get up early to witness it for the so-called "salubong" (in Tagalog language, it means in verb form "to welcome" or "the welcome" in noun form). I've seen the float the night before even though it wasn't illuminated and it was pretty just by itself. Too bad I didn't get to take pictures but I think Mama has them in her digicam. The salubong starts at around 3 or 4am and the parade follows the carriage on its way to church. Little children can become participants too and they are dressesd as angels.

We got to the church really early. Surprisingly this is quite near to our village. It's at the back end after turning left to Salitran Road. When Mama came to see us we sat down at the pew and listened to the mass. Honestly, I haven't been to church for like 6 months or so! Shame of me, I know. One hour is just a little sacrifice for the whole week of good time I have in my life. But I think if I'd ever get to church I'd go really early so I wouldn't feel so sleepy compared to the afternoon attendance we usually get to go to.

After the mass, we were on the road to have our second breakfast in McDonald's. Second because we already ate at 7-Eleven before we got to church, it was when we couldn't get to the parade so we waited for Mama instead. And while on the road as I was saying... look what my awesome find is:

Man in motorcycle with his cool Reese's bag

So yeah my siblings and I were like, "oooooh look at that cool guy and his Reese's bag!" I scrambled to get the camera and take the precious shot. It was so funny we couldn't get over it. It would also be mindblowing if he had loaded real Reese's peanut butter bars in there! And where could I get a Reese's backpack too? Oh the things you find when traveling...

We had a really good family time today. Moments like this are one of the things I treasure the most. When everything is fine and we're all complete. Sundays like this are the best.

My sister and I just being kawaii (lol not really)

Before heading to McDonald's. It's freaking hot in where I am!

How about you? How do you like your Sundays?

Tyler had been sick with cough and runny nose for 2 days so I had to urge him to go to the doctor. We went to Festival Mall Alabang to have him checked and turns out it was acute bronchitis. It wasn't so bad as he expected (he didn't like going to doctors) but we ended up having Mongolian cuisine for dinner, thanks to my parents who treated us for yummy foods. 

Located at the 3rd floor in Festival Mall Alabang, The Mongolian Quick Stop is a delectable heaven for food trippers. The first time I ate here was when Papa took all four of us siblings to eat. Since then I loved the place! They prepare fresh veggies everyday, serving fresh lumpia, chopsuey and salad and they do not use monosodium glutamate or MSG to add flavor to the food. The thing that I admire the most is its wide variety of choices in their humble menu for a very affordable price. They also serve FREE soup along with your meal!

My honeyglazed chicken, egg, rice, soup & iced tea.

Deep-fried calamari with garlic & mayo dip

Thank you for the treat Mama & Papa!

They also offer food delivery via QuickDelivery.ph (or call 212-1212) and advance food order for pickup if you call the respective branch's phone line. Click here for more info. 

If you're tired of the usual fast-food and on a budget like me, I highly recommend Mongolian Quick Stop! You won't regret it!

Love is a commitment. This is what Tyler and I believed in. And this is our story. 

I am proud to say that after 6 months long distance, almost a year of engagement and 1 year of being together as a couple, we've finally tied the knot. What started as a stranger-to-stranger connection from Omegle quickly became guitar buddies and eventually... best friends and lovers.

Tyler and I first met on Omegle on the night of Halloween 2010. I was bored from trying to play my guitar (coincidentally, my guitar's name is Tyler too) and looking for chords online when I decided to go on chat online around 11 or 12 AM and probably talk to somebody out of the blue just cause I couldn't sleep yet. According to Tyler, he just got off from his previous work and he got home, went on his computer and on Omegle.

I honestly couldn't remember what our first conversation is, but I ended up getting his Skype and Facebook. :D

We shared a lot of things in common. What I liked most from him is that he knows how to carry a conversation and his neverending zest to be funny. He makes me laugh and has a lot of wit to back-up his humor. 

We mostly talked about guitars, music that we liked and recording songs. He gave me this demo mp3 of a song he made and I liked it. We swapped stuff that we wrote and sang and it became quite a habit. We talked day and night, even 8 hours on Skype! We bonded over How I Met Your Mother and both came to a conclusion that Barney Stinson and Marshall Eriksen are our favorite characters. I knew we liked each other but I knew it was impossible that there was something more to this. We live on the opposite ends of the world so it couldn't be what it should be.

He kept on asking me to approve the relationship request on Facebook, though I always tell him it shows as "sister (family) request" on mine. (Of course I was just dodging; I didn't wanna ruin a good friendship just yet). Still, he was persistent.

On November 11, 2010 he asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes.

A lot of people have been skeptic as to why we were even striving hard to keep a long distance relationship working then when we haven't seen nor experienced being with each other in person.

There was even a time that breaking up crossed our minds and thought it would be better to let it go. We don't know when will be the day that he and I will finally meet and hold each other's hands.

In all honesty we were never sure of anything but one thing: we liked each other and we seemed to click. Don't get me wrong - we had our ups and downs like normal couples too but we managed to get past almost everything. Patience, trust and understanding truly pays off. We kept in contact for as long as we could and by summer he planned a trip to Philippines to visit me and my family.

The first time Tyler visited Philippines was in May 2011 and he only had 3 weeks to stay. It's wonderful we didn't have any awkward moment from the first time we met each other. It's like... I have known him my whole life.

When Tyler & I first met in person (May, summer of 2011)

After fetching him from the airport with my parents and drove to my condo, he popped the question and knelt on his knees with his mom's heirloom ring in his hand.

"Will you marry me?"
"Yes," I replied with a big smile :)

"Lucky I'm in love with my best friend..."

Two months after, he returned here. The second time was in August 2011 and he extended his tourist visa up to February 2012 so he and I could spend more time like other normal couples. We had to make up for lost time.

Tagaytay (May 2011)

Enjoying our lovely summer together (May 2011)

We both decided to get married. We were sure of it. He asked my parents for their consent and knowing that they were quite strict, I thought they'd tell Tyler to wait 5 years or more. Surprisingly, after months of knowing him and seeing him mingle with us they liked him and finally gave their blessing.

At Rack's Mall Of Asia; (L-R) Me, Tyler, Tito Bing, my 2nd youngest sister Ia Mae, Mama & Papa

We ditched our plan to get married by November 11, 2011 because we knew a lot of people would get married then. And plus, we wanted a new date to celebrate.

We gathered most of what we needed before Christmas. We went to the US Embassy, the city hall in the town I live in, seminars and everything. By end of January all of it was done.

We got married January 25, 2012. It was a lovely Wednesday. We decided on that date because it was also my late grandfather's birthday. It was a simple celebration - just my parents (my siblings were aware of but they were at school so they couldn't attend) and a handful of close friends.

I couldn't ask for more. I'm glad to have him in my life now.
This is where our new life begins.

My wanderlust is growing, and I can always feel the thumping of my heart to it. Yesterday was rollercoaster. It didn't start as good as it's supposed to be but it turned out to be a really great day.

Tyler takes my heart away everytime we do something fun. I am happy. The wind was getting colder and I was feelin' the Christmas spirit already. 

I knew deep inside we had to go somewhere, somewhere special to spend the day. And so we headed to Alabang Town Center for a Friday night out.

I was starving when we left home so we went to NYFD first to get french fries. He offered to carry my coat and we walked holding hands.

NYFD is awesome - you're missing your life if you haven't tried it! We got the biggest cup and had 3 dips to choose from. Tyler got the Pepper Steak dip (which later on became his favorite) and 2 little dishes of my ever-favorite Honey Mustard for me.

We got Zagu for drinks - he had his mango puree smoothie and I had my usual Hazelnut Cappuccino. I couldn't ask for a simpler date, really. Just enjoying the things that I love with him is more than what I could even hope for. Sometimes I still get this moment of being starstruck that after half a year of long distance we're actually next to each other.

ATC garden with all its pretty lights

I wore my black & white lace dress underneath my black coat that night which I bought from an online store this week and the white ankle boots to match the outfit. Tyler said I was pretty, and I smiled. I was thankful to have a guy who'd rather love seeing me without makeup on.

My love (left); Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (right)

The night was just calm and breezy. There was piano music in the air and Christmas lights that looked like fireflies swarming the trees. We found a seating spot next to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf where we settled and started eating. My long sleeves kept me from being cold; he looked at me again and smiled. I felt a little pause in my chest and I knew there's nothing else in the world that mattered. I told him I would miss him by the time he has to leave again. And I didn't wanna get sad right away so I just focused on munching on my food.

I asked him then, "if you had one wish for Christmas what would it be?" To which he replied, "would this be an immediate or a lifelong wish?" He was smart to answer that way and I told him how much of the people I knew would be safe to say, "to have more wishes". I was amazed at his wit so I told him he could wish anything his heart desires. "Marry me," he quickly replied. For some reason he still likes to ask me that question and I would still get that butterfly excitement I've always had since he proposed. My eyes kinda welled up with tears but I managed to pucker my lips to lick some honey mustard and say, "yes." I glanced upon my engagement ring; a happy thought about a future we are going to have together fluttered by. I've loved him since the beginning of everything. He was the epitome of my love at its fullest, our love stood time and distance. It's surreal how this time last year we were just apart and this year we're spending Christmas together.

Tyler doing Christmas shopping with me

We walked until our feet grew tired and I could feel my heels were taking toll on me. My camera's rechargeable batteries ran out of energy so I had to buy fresh ones after we ate just so I wouldn't miss taking pictures that day. We were just frolicking around when I found this...

LazerXtreme, a Lazertag arena just right above Tempura grill! We didn't get to play Lazertag though, but at least I've managed to stare at its awesomeness for quite a while! Maybe next time, we will. It was a fun and fulfilling date that we had. I've learned a lot of things in a day and realized that days go by faster than usual. I may have to keep track of our adventures so we have something to look back to when we miss being together. Happy days with Tyler are always the best days of my life. It's like the flowers in full bloom during summer when we would celebrate our birthdays together in April.  Somehow I kinda wish he would still linger until then. x Iris

I don't understand.

I miss watching CSI and Kyle XY, reading approx. 8 books in one month, drowning in PHP/CSS/HTML for fun.

I want to be my old self again.