...you can take the girl out of the city...
                                                 but never the city out of the girl...

Friday, July 06, 2007

i have been to chicago three times yet i have never been able to appreciate the area for what it is - a great city. all three times i visited there was always snow on the ground that i was beginning to think that chicago never get good weather. i was proven wrong when i was there two weeks ago and the temperature hang around the 80's. besides the quick thunder shower in the afternoon, the weather was perfect with the hot sun drying the wet grounds right away. we were able to walk around, see some of the famous sky scrapers and had a good meal. i was also able to meet up with joy who i haven't seen in a long time! overall, this latest business trip was just the way i like it: fun.



Time at Chi-Town, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

1. Dinner at Roys: Ostrich!, 2. Dinner at Roys: Yummy Butter Fish, 3. Dinner at Roys: Salmon Cooked Perfectly, 4. Dinner at Roy's: SuPa, Ray and me!, 5. Chicago Water Tower and the John Hancock Building, 6. Chicago Firehouse, 7. Chicago Water Tower, 8. jun2007_chicago_08, 9. Downtown Chi-Town, 10. Downtown Chi-Town, 11. Downtown Chi-Town, 12. oh joy!!!

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posted by G. @ 4:54 PM -- 1 comment(s) -- Post a Comment



Saturday, April 07, 2007
crossing off my to-do-in-this-lifetime list
finally, another thing to cross off my to-do-in-this-lifetime list: visit australia and dive the great barrier reef. done!

There were so many things that I wanted to do while in Australia. So many things I wanted to see. Luckily, I was rational enough to realize that we weren't going to be able to do them in two weeks. Uluru, Perth, Melbourne and Tazmania will have to wait until the next time I make it back to the land down-under.

We spent our time in Australia hanging out with friends and seeing the sights in Sydney, admiring the views of the Blue Mountains, and just relaxing and working on our tans at the beautiful Hamilton Island. I also had the chance to go scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef which was definitely a dream come true.

Now, let me shut up and share some of the pictures with you (mainly because I really don't know where/how to start to tell you what an amazing time we had).

Not too long after our arrival, Matt took us to Bondi Beach. It's probably the most popular beach in Sydney. It was a bit too cool to hang out and lay down on the beach but we did walk around the area and checked out the stores. Afterwards, we grabbed some Greek food for lunch and then headed back to the apartment to recuperate from the jetlag before we met up with some peeps for dinner.

At Bondi Beach, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

After a few hours of sleep, we headed out to Om Thai for dinner. The food was good but it was topped by the great company we had.

First Dinner in Oz at Om Thai, originally uploaded by gealouxy.



Maz took a couple of days off to take the tourists around. On our second day in Oz, she and Steve took us to the Blue Mountains, about an hour and a half from Sydney. We spent awhile admiring the view and then took a half hour hike down to see The Three Sisters (a set of three rock formation) upclose. It was a hot day and what seemed to be an easy hike proved to be a bit more taxing than I thought it would be. After that short hike, we ended up just lounging by the area until it was time to head back to the city.

click on thumbnails to maximize photos


I felt like a geriatric while in Sydney. After every activity, I felt the need for a nap. Needless to say, we took one after coming back from Blue Mountains. Matt let us sleep until five minutes before we needed to head out again for dinner at Ray's favorite Japanese restaurant in the city (the name escapes me at this time - sorry!)



Dinner, originally uploaded by gealouxy.


After dinner, Ed and Jill took us to Opera Bar for a closer look at the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. We spent a lot of time trying to get some decent pictures with the bridge on the background and what I have on here are all that I have to show for (a lot more than Ed has to show for! nyaaah).


The Harbour Bridge, originally uploaded by gealouxy.





Me with my LJ, originally uploaded by gealouxy.



Posers, originally uploaded by gealouxy.


We spent Thursday at the Sydney Aquarium and the Wildlife World. It was pretty amazing to be introduced to the many - some deadly, others VERY deadly - creatures that thrive in Australia, a country considered to be one of the most unhospitable to living things on Earth.



After all that walking, we headed back again for yet more sleep prior to hitting up 333 for pre-wedding celebrations with the Googzies. Many drinks were consumed while we talked, laughed and bopped our heads to the music (Matt was DJing that night).



Friday turned out to be beach-gorgeous. We took advantage and headed out to Manly Beach with Matt and Mikey. Since driving there would have taken forever, we took a quick bus ride to the ferry station and a half hour boat ride to the town of Manly. The boat ride was awesome since it gave us a great view of downtown, the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.

I took this picture while we were on the boat on our way to Manly beach. Although we were at the Opera House grounds two nights before, this was my first encounter with the Opera house where I was able to see it's full grandeur.




this stone wall reads:
"... seven miles from Sydney. Thousand of miles from care..."
or something like that.

Manly Beach..., originally uploaded by gealouxy.








With the sun on my back..., originally uploaded by gealouxy.


After Manly, we rested a bit and then headed out again for our first ever rugby game, courtesy of Steve and his brother-in-law. That game was pretty gruesome. I mean, these guys weren't wearing gear like our football players yet they were going at each other like their lives depended on getting that ball. Most of the time I didn't know what was going on but I have to say that it was so cool to be sitting there, watching it all unfold not too far away from our seats.


My first rugby game!, originally uploaded by gealouxy.




Paramatta fans, originally uploaded by gealouxy.



On Saturday, we all got dressed up and headed to the Sydney Botanical Garden to witness the Googz wedding. The ceremony and the venue were both perfect. Very beautiful and romantic. Afterwards, we walked over to the American Club for the reception.

We felt pretty honored to be invited to Lon and Paul's wedding. We've only known each other for a couple of years but we absolutely adore the two of them and I'm glad we were able to be a part of their special day.



We had an early flight to paradise - i mean, Hamilton Island on Sunday. We stayed there for four days and it was such a contrast from the days that we spent in Sydney. We had fun at both places but while at Hamilton Island, we didn't do anything but relax. I think the most stressful thing I did while there was scuba diving and only because I didn't want to end up killing any of the corals!

So, yeah, I finally got to scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef. It was more amazing than I ever imagined. I mean, the dive instructor told us that visibility was bad and he was right. but, even with only a few feet of visibility, it was still an awesome, AWESOME experience. At one point, I was swimming side by side with this huge turtle which we followed around for quite a bit. The corals were amazing - I have never seen so many different ones! And the fishes! They were everywhere coz, duh, it's the effing ocean. But there were so many of them!!! (DUH again!!!). My old camera has an underwater kit but Steve still has it so I had to buy this other camera but I didn't realize until we were out in the water that it didn't have a flash. So, I'm not sure how the pictures will come out. I'm hoping for some decent ones, specially with the turtle. I'll post when I get them back.



I was really sad to leave Hamilton Island not only because it was so gorgeous there and we were having the best time just lying around and eating and lying around and eating but, also because it meant we would have to come home soon. We flew back to Sydney, had dinner with friends and finally had the chance to drive across Harbour Bridge courtesy of Ed and his sexy car. The following day, we did a bit more shopping prior to meeting up with Maz and Jill for some drinks. Afterwards, Ed picked us up in his sexy ride and we all headed out to the Sydney Dance Academy to sample their hiphop dance class. Ed and Jill are regulars and Maz just started going regularly again so, they were pretty good. I won't speak for the hubs but, I have to admit, I don't think I did too well in that class. I always thought I could dance but to learn an entire routine of steps seemed such a foreign concept to me. Nevertheless, I had fun. I was sore afterwards, but I enjoyed myself. After the class, us girls headed out again for a couple more drinks before we called it a night.








Drinks at Cargo, originally uploaded by gealouxy.




Squooshy faces, originally uploaded by gealouxy.



The following day, we had breakfast with Mattie just before he dropped us off at the airport. On our way there, we got a call from RayRay to say our temporary goodbyes. Afterall, I know I will be seeing them again. Soon! =).

posted by G. @ 11:40 PM -- 7 comment(s) -- Post a Comment



Sunday, March 18, 2007
two mountains and four cities in one week
i was in california this past week for a team summit. just like before, i managed to mix work with pleasure. i flew in to san jose on saturday night and my long time friend, aloba, and his girlfriend picked me up just before midnight and then took me for some longsilog and sinigang prior to getting some zzz's. a few hours later, we were up and on our way to Sugarbowl in Lake Tahoe to hit the slopes.




gearing up for the slopes with aloba and darlene. when we got to Sugarbowl, it was about 50 degrees. so, we started the day with layers of clothes. that didn't last long, as you'll see soon.




it's been two years for all of us since we've strapped our feet on our boards. we couldn't help but feel scared and excited at the same time as we took our first lift up the mountain.





Old Friends, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

with aloba, who i've been friends with since gradeschool.
we had the usual mountain fare for lunch - burgers (grease) and fries (and more grease). but we enjoyed it as we sat outside in the sunshine.

and, yes, it was so hot that we ended up in our tanktops.





you can't beat this, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

i can't say i've been outdoors without sleeves on while there's snow in the ground - atleast until i went boarding in Lake Tahoe! (Sugarbowl in Lake Tahoe - Mar `07)




i was very tempted to hit the super pipe at Sugarbowl. but, i didn't have my helmet with me and i was too chicken shit to break anything.











old friends, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

when aloba found out i was going to be in the bay area, and that i have not put on my snowboarding gear in awhile, he went ahead and planned a trip to Lake Tahoe just so we can hit the slopes.




i had such a great time snowboarding in Sugar bowl in Lake Tahoe, I don't know if I can ever bring myself to snowboarding in the east coast again. (Sugarbowl in Lake Tahoe - Mar `07)




the perfect snowboarding weather, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

after lunch, i put my underarmour shirt back on only to remove it after one run. it was so friggin hot i was left with just my tanktop on. how can i go back to snowboarding in the east coast when i can snowboard in the west coast, in 70 degree weather, without all the layers and the bulky jacket?





cannibal!!!, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

after boarding, we stopped by claim jumper where we ordered the biggest ribs i've ever seen. the food was awesome but i felt like getting sick after eating all that meat!





Ribs almost the size of my arm, originally uploaded by gealouxy.




i went to work on monday and tuesday and then back on the mountain again on wednesday. my company sponsors a yearly ski trip for our CT and CA offices. since i was going to be in CA for meetings, i decided to join the CA trip to Tahoe to Sugarbowl where the weather was nice but not as warm as sunday.





Super Pipe at Northstar, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

Northstar had a half pipe and a super pipe and their terrain park is pretty famous because of the variety of jumps, pipes, boxes, etc... i was ready to try it out, atleast one of the mailboxes, but it was so crowded with teenagers that i bowed out.





happy on the snow, originally uploaded by gealouxy.





snowboarding at northstar, originally uploaded by gealouxy.




i was so sore when i woke up on thursday but i had to suck it up since i still had to go to work. at the end of the day, after having dinner with my team, i headed to the airport and caught a late flight to san diego where my cousins and niece were waiting for my arrival.


sweet, sweet, lucy, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

i worked from my cousin's house on friday. i really didn't have much time in san diego but i made sure i had time to meet aud's baby girl, little lucia. she's such a beautiful little girl! can't wait til aud takes her to visit new york in a few weeks!





birthday girl, maddie, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

my niece's 2nd birthday celebration was on saturday which was one of the reasons i went to san diego. i figure, i was already on that side of the country, i might as well hang out with my cousins and maddie since i don't get to see them often. i'm glad i did, even though it was a quick trip.





beauty and the beast, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

beauty is my cousin's dog. she's adorable and can sing (or howl) happy birthday! having her around made me miss my doggies a lot.




Chillin' with the cousins, originally uploaded by gealouxy.

peope love going to san diego because of the climate, the environment, the neighborhood. all of that is good but the reason why i love going to san diego is because of my cousin sheryl. she and i are a day and a half apart on age and grew up together. Also in the picture is Erwin, the eldest of the cousins, who sheryl and i are pretty close to. he flew in as well to hang out and celebrate maddie's birthday. while i was there, the three of us stayed up late, laughing and reminiscin' about old times.

i wish i could have stayed longer to hang out with them more but the shuttle showed up right on time to take me to the airport. it's ok... i'm sure i'll be back in san diego again before the end of the year


posted by G. @ 5:58 PM -- 4 comment(s) -- Post a Comment



Monday, December 18, 2006
a trip to where home used to be (loooooong post)
i got to jfk airport super early not only because i wanted to score good seats (and, was trully hoping for an upgrade) but because i was overly excited about my trip to manila. there were no upgrades to be had (booo!) but i was able to score good seats. after i got my boarding tickets, i sat at the JAL gate for THREE.LONG.HOURS.

i started to wonder how bored i'd be when we're finally airborne for fourteen hours to tokyo and another four hours to manila.

but, i managed.

anyhoo, i arrived at the ninoy aquino international airport (NAIA), the worst on the planet (while everywhere else in the world you're allowed to carry with you a small amount of non-flammable liquid/gel substances, you are allowed NONE at NAIA. even though this was the case, i managed to get through five - FIVE! - different security checkpoints with a 3oz bottle of lotion that i accidentally left in my purse.), at almost 11 pm. Customs and Immigration were a breeze but claiming my one, itsy-bitsy luggage took forever. i have never seen sooooo many balikbayan boxes in my entire life! one after another, after another. and they seem to all belong to one family! anyway, an hour and fifteen minutes of my life passed and FINALLY, my bag appeared. i thanked every saint still awake at that time.

my poor cousins had to wait for me - one played the lookout, trying to make me out in the fracas, while the other kept on circling around in all that chaos. i couldn't thank them enough for coming to get me!

the following day was jun's wedding. jun and i have been good friends since high school. he now lives in dublin where he promises to put me and kat up whenever we decide to visit. anyway, his wedding is the main reason why i was in manila. the last time i saw jun was october 2005 during his visit to SF. he told me then that he's met 'the one' and that they are heading back to the PI to get married there, in front of his family and friends. i'm a friend, so i said i'd go. and so, i did (feeling guilty yet, aloba?).
  • san agustin church
  • the wedding was at the san agustin church in the historic district of intramuros.

    one thing to note about getting married in famous sites in the philippines: they rush you in and out of the church. while most weddings i've been to here in the states are solemn and intimate, the ones i've been to in the PI are just the opposite. the solemnity of the sacrament is lost with people talking and laughing through the ceremony, and the intimacy is ruined by the next wedding already waiting at the nave of the church. granted i've been to many more weddings here in the states but the few that i've been to in the PI are very much alike with each other.

    anyway, the important thing is, jun and malot were wed and they looked so happy - that's what mattered in the end.
  • the happy couple

  • some of the barkada at the san diego gardens at intramuros where the reception was held

    from the reception, where we had some good food, we went to gerry's grill, where we had some more good food. with a spread of nilagang bulalo, sisig, chicharon, sizzling squid, chicharon bulaklak, you wouldn't think we just came from a wedding! when it was apparent that i couldn't keep my eyelids open any longer, we called it a night and my friend opep and his girlfriend, carol, drove me home. and that was day 1 of my trip to manila.

    day two wasn't as exciting. i specifically did not plan anything for friday to recupe from the long flight and the debauchery from the night before. i woke up at 7 AM and spent the morning flipping through the channels on the tv. when i travel, i'm always curious about what is going on at the locality where i'm at. after a couple of hours, i fell asleep a bit (thank God!) and before you know it, the phone was ringing which meant it was time for lunch with my aunt.

    after lunch, i spent the rest of the day shopping for my niece (due to pop out in february). i bought TONS of baby stuff for her that i ended up buying luggage just so i can take them all back with me. since spending money tires me out - gives me that i'm-so-drained feeling - i decided to stay in on a friday night.

  • saturday was a different story. i woke up early and very hungry. since the apartment i was renting (i refused to stay with family because i wanted to be able to do whatever i wanted during my vacation) had no refrigerator or stove, i kept no food. so, i abandoned the apartment and headed across the street to holiday inn where they had a spread of filipino, japanese, and chinese food. i went for the longsilog, of course, and also had some ensaymada and some fruit.

    one fruit in particular caught my eye. 'it's called dragon fruit', one of the servers volunteered the information as i stood in front of the fruit bowl looking all perplexed at the white-fleshed-speckled-with-black-seeds fruit. i was curious so i took some back to the table and braved it. it was pretty good, actually. sweet enough and a little tart. the consistency reminded me of kiwi. i enjoyed it and went back for seconds.

    after breakfast, i headed back to the apartment and snoozed a little. at noon, my aunt called me and told me to be downstairs in fifteen minutes. together, we went to 'pot and noodles' in megamall for our little family reunion. i know i have a lot of cousins but i didn't think i had that many! and some of them even have kids already and they were much younger than me! it was a little odd getting questioned by some of them as to when i'm planning to have a kid. it always makes me laugh when people ask me that, specially if it's coming from someone who (1)have kids unintentionally or (2)have kids but can't really afford to have them or (3)are irresponsible yet have kids. anyway, the reunion itself was pretty cool. i was able to sit down and bond with some of my cousins and laugh at our aunt and uncle's craziness. eventually though, we had to say goodbye so i can get ready for the next to-do on my list for that day.

  • some of my very big, crazy, beautiful, (maternal)family


  • i moved to the states right after i graduated from high school. i was able to complete a whole semester of college but that was about it. as a result, i do not have any affiliation with any colleges in the PI. However, i am proud to admit that i am a paconian. i am an alumnus of paco catholic school, went there from kindergarten to high school. it's a good coincidence that my visit coincided with this year's PCS alumni homecoming. so, of course, i made it a point to go. opep picked me up and on our drive from ortigas to paco, we passed by my old town. i was very tempted to make him stop so we can walk around a bit but, as it was, we were already running late. so, we headed to paco and saw some people i have not seen for 13 years.
  • batchmates i have not seen in years. most of them have not changed...

  • some of the 'barkada', cooling off at the old stomping ground

  • goofs!


    on sunday, i met with a couple of blogger friends at 'the podium' where we dined at a filipino restaurant that had really, REALLY good bibingka. present were tito rolly, toni who brought me some pastillas and polvoron, ate marie who gave me a really cute chinese doll keychain, and suze who gave me a nice picture frame. it was the first time i was meeting all of them in person but hanging out with them was like hanging out with friends i have not seen in a long time. i'm so flattered that they came out on a rainy day just to meet with me!


  • some of my friends and i planned to spend some time on the beach while jun and i were in town. at first we planned on taking a trip to bohol on monday and stay there for a day or two. but that was reduced to a trip to batangas, which was further reduced to an overnight trip to laguna. we headed out on monday morning and stayed at a resort owned by ate marie (thank you sooo much again!) and had tons of fun! we had a lot of time eating, drinking, swimming, talking, reminiscing about the old times. it was unfortunate that not all of them could come to laguna but i had an absolute blast with those that did make it.

  • the crazy boys


    there are many things that can test the bond that friends have: time is one of them. i trully value the friendship i have with my 'barkada' from high school. they saw me go through a lot and most of them stood by me through those times. and, even though we haven't seen each other in years, while some of them faded like a distant memory, most of them remained true friends.

  • a lot of 'you guys' missed out! we all wished you were there...



  • the following day, after getting over hangovers (you know who you are!), we packed up and headed out to tagaytay for some really REALLY good nilagang bulalo. we also bought some local goodies like espasol, cheese yema, buko pie, etc...

    jun's request was to stop by the 'pink sisters' convent'. it was eerily calm there i felt weird about taking pictures. however, i took my camera out when the guys obliged my request to stop somewhere to take pictures of the taal volcano. it sat there, in the middle of the lake, calm as ever.


  • with my boys who made sure that our time with them were spent in nothing but laughter


  • i had planned on hanging out with my friends again before i left for japan enroute to the US. but, i ended up going home thursday morning instead of my planned departure of friday. call it homesickness or what have you, but i started feeling sick after i got back to the apartment tuesday night and all i wanted was to be in my own bed. so, i changed my flight wednesday morning, had one last dinner with a couple aunts/uncle and cousins, skipped japan (which i was very much excited about exploring!), said my goodbyes to my fam and friends, and headed back to where i now consider home.

    posted by G. @ 9:11 PM -- 6 comment(s) -- Post a Comment



    - previous trips -
    Jul `06
    Jun `06
    May `06
    Oahu Apr`06
    Boston Apr`06
    San Diego `06
    Atlanta Apr`06
    SanFo Sep`05
    Italy Nov`05
    Breckenridge Feb`05
    Vegas Feb`05

    - archives -