Back...

I'm glad to be back. Missed wifey terribly, and wished that she could have been there to celebrate the joyous weekend...

***

We all have memorable moments in our lives, and I can count mine with both hands. A few of them are:
- marrying wifey (top of them all)
- graduating
- back operation

But what defined me for who I am right now is the life experience after high school. Everything I learnt about life in general came from the influence of my friends.. and last weekend, two of them got married. Kris, the often misunderstood but a great great friend, and Marc, the people man, loved by friends, admired by not-so-friendly-friends (as to this day, I have not known anyone who has hated him). So to them, Cheers, and keep enjoying life.

***

The wedding was awesome... The best wedding of this year, though all four was AMAZING... The only drawback was that it was humid, and it was a good thing they gave away fans (pamaypays). LOL. Did I spell that right?

Can you count on my speech as a drawback? It was horrible! Horrible... About 3 hrs before the reception, I was trying to write my speech, and used short description like Greetings, introduce yourself, talk about marc and kris, etc etc. I even wrote a small joke, but, alas... It was so horrible.

I'll blame this first on Kris and Marc. Were you on crack when you decided this? eh? Then to Ian, the best man (este woman) who gave an awesome awesome speech... She's a comedian so my joke seemed so lame and corny. LOL. She's way funny too, and wifey would have enjoyed chatting with her... Oh well.

My speech was to go something like this:
I have known Marc (este Harvie) and Camacho (este Kris) for more than 10 years now, from the time of dating, to courting, to being together, and today. I guess they had many doubters, but not me. No, I see a relationship which defines who they are, and how they match each other perfectly. Sure there were good times and bad times, but as they say, life goes on. And oh how they did. Look at them now, in their brightest hour, their love still shines. So to Mr. and Mrs. Marc Harvie Calim, if there's one thing I learnt from you, it's that Love will prevail even after your Darkest Hour. And in the future when you feel lost and despair, remember that we are here.. just a phone call away.

My actual speech went something like this.
Err.. stutter stutter... hmm. hehe.. Uh.. yes.. Oo nga..

Shayt, and I spoke in tagalog. Sheesh.

***

Highlights of the wedding are:

- Forgetting the box from the hotel containing the marriage certificate. Kyle (Kris' sister), was suppose to hand over the marriage certificate during the signing of the certificate, and with a smile, she says "Kahit ano mangyari, smile pa rin kayo", and she opens the book and a blank paper says something like "Nakalimutan namin yung certificate sa hotel.. Sorry. :)" Get a scanned copy of that!

- After ceremony intro... Walking to a rap tune... Hysterical!

- A small game to determine which table goes first to the buffet table... A representative from each table (Jim and Hal chose me) has to go in front of everyone, and dance... Oh see and believe... I went second. Hehe.. Only because I didn't dance kaagad. Haha.

- Nebula picture taking.

- Kris' friends rapping with the band.

- Kris' cousins playing as a band.

- Marc and Kris' speech.

Please guys, post the pics and vids! Raw ones ok? Personal copy.

***

I'd like to share some travelling tips when going and coming from Dubai to Pinas.
- If you're ticket is paid by your company, book with Emirates Airlines, and apply for Skywards. I now have a free ticket to use just because of Skywards.

- If you're a frequent traveller, try to get the e-gate card. This will reduce the hassle time on the passport control while departing/arriving in Dubai Airport. I have been using mine for more than a year now, and it is one of the cards that I am happy to use.

- If you're flying with Emirates Airlines, use the online check-in. Not only do you choose your own seat (I prefer the window seat A or K), but the travellers at the check-in line is less than 10. This allowed me to receive my boarding pass 7 minutes after I arrived at the airport. Coolness.

- Do not exceed the luggage weight limit. I've been guilty about this in the past, but the rule is there for a reason, and sooner or later, they are going to be strict about this. And if you can try to check in without hand carry (at the cost of exceeding your luggage), then do so. The limit for luggage is 22kg, but mine was around 27kg and had no hand carry, so they didn't even charge or ask me to decrease the luggage weight. This is great because when in Dubai airport, the distance makes you walk long, and there is no hassle inside the airplane. I had a few looks from travellers who were envying me just by briskwalking, while they were bringing backpacks, small luggage, etc.

- And finally, try to tell your relatives/friends who will be picking you up at the airport to not bring the whole batallion with them to act as a welcome committee. It's just not right.

***

It's now 7am and I have to be ready for work. I hope I don't fall down and sleep.

5 things you don't know about me...

There are a couple of things that people don't know about me... Some secrets hidden for ages, which are not meant to be shared, due to embarrasments and public humiliations. But since I am going to be a father, I have to suck it up and share them to you. So without further ado, 5 things you don't know about me...

- I love rock music. I enjoy rap music. But sometimes, just sometimes, when alone while driving, I would sing to the tune of Britney Spears, N'Sync, and wait for it.. wait for it.... the BackStreetBoys. Don't ask me why.

- I don't like thriller, or scary movies. I hate being surprised, and I always end up getting pissed. The last time I watched a scary movie, wifey got turned off when I hid behind her after I screamed like a little girl.

- Men being responsible for all things DIY does not apply to us. Wifey is more knowledgeable when it comes to fixing anything related to house. She does better wall drilling, plumbing and anything related to tools/hardwares. Just recently, there was a clog in the toilet wash basin, and she told me to pour acid. After doing it, the acid melted through the pipes, and all the dirt and gross stuff just came running down the floor. I didn't know that you have to pour the acid slowly.

- I heart celebrity dirt. See? Who says heart?!

- I am not a sentimental guy. I am not a sentimental guy. I am not a sentimental guy. I am not a sentimental guy... I'm repeating this over and over again until I start to believe it. Contrary to popular belief, I have a soft spot that only a few have seen. Don't believe me? Put in the movie I am Sam, and wait for it. Just today, I ready the book Marley and Me, and tears just wouldn't stop... for the life of me why?! BTW, Marley and Me is highly recommended.

Rage against the dying of the light...

First of all, congrats Oliver, for passing the nurse licensure exams!

***

Last Friday's preggy party was also the same day as my office's server revamp work, which means that I have to work until 5pm, reach home by 6pm, and help wifey with the guests. Easier said than done, because by noon, I knew the work was behind schedule. By 4:30pm, the guests have arrived, and the 5pm time had turned to 6pm. Fortunately, by 6:30pm everything was done, and I was about to call it a day when, "why are the phones not working?"

*&!@.

Friday is a weekend, so no vendor support. Wifey was already cranky as it is, and I became a bit annoyed by what happened. It was a good thing my other colleague had a mobile number of an engineer, but was not answering his phone. He kept retrying and retrying, until after an hour later, he finally answered.

While waiting for his instructions, the cabling engineers were fixing some mishaps in the cabling, and by the time we finished, it was 10:15pm! Le sigh.

I literally ran all the way to the car, and oversped to 170km going home. By the time I arrived, guests were already leaving, and found out that they played basketball without me. Sigh. How can I show them my new move? By 11:30pm, the rest of the guests were leaving, and I went with Mau to collect Allan from the airport.

On the way back, my mind started to wander again, and I took the wrong turn home. Sigh Sigh Sigh. It has not been my day.

***

Watched Neil Gaiman's Stardust with wifey and MauAllan yesterday. A little different from the book, but highly highly recommended.

***

I f*!&ed up today. Since today was the first day of the week, I told wifey that I had to drop by my other office to do a 20 minute job. 20 minutes became 50 minutes because of last minute instructions by my infrastructure team. It would have been ok if it was planned, but wifey had to get home ASAP.

So I took the Garhood bridge thinking that it was never traffic going that way, and I ended up being pissed, missed a right turn due to a new road block which was never warned, and got honked by a taxi who was overspeeding, which ticked me off big time. All the frustrations building up inside finally blew, and I honked back, waited for him to overtake, and we made hand gestures, while I motioned for him to park the car so that we can "talk". Arrgh.

Wifey got upset, and I was still in the road rage mode, that I snapped at her. We were silent all the way home. It's now 9pm, and we haven't said a word because she slept early.

A long time ago, before papa left pinas back to dubai, he told me that I have to change my attitude while driving, that road rage will never help anyone. Been there-done that is what I remember him telling me.

I'm such an ass.

Return of the Cat...

Now that wifey is preggy, we have decided that we should only focus on one baby in our life. And to do that, we have to part with our MiMi the cat. The last few weeks, MiMi has been quite noisy for our taste, and maybe it's our fault since she's used to the sun and the grass and her freedom to run around and mingle with other cats. Maybe our choice of appartment-housed the cat is wrong, and that maybe we imprisoned her in a smaller environment.

We returned her to the place where we found her - our earlier villa. She was groaning and meowing the whole 30 mins I was driving, and I was afraid that she did not adjust to the heat and the sun. But once we reached the villa, wifey opened the car door, and she got out, went inside, and never looked back. I guess she was homesick and was glad to be back home.

Sigh.

RAV4 - Rebirth...

MTV's Pimp My Ride is one of my favorite shows, though the UK version sucked big time. If you must know, Pimp My Ride is about picking an old, ugly looking car and turning it into a high tech, brand new ride, with tv's, sound system, and other gadgets.

It has been a dream of mine to pimp my RAV4, and before we went on leave last July, wifey said... Go ahead... Pimp it! So I did.

Check out my brand new ride.





So thanks Nooner, for Pimpin' my ride!

Dinner Invite

We're inviting our DXB friends to join us for dinner at our house. Kung friends namin kayo, you should know where we live. Early dinner po sana. Boys kasi would may want to play basketball, binggo night for the ladies.
Please call us up if you have any questions.

Good times, bad times, gimme some of that...

An eventful week once again. Good news, bad news? Let's start with the good...

Wifey is preggy. Yep folks... I am gonna become a dad. Like big news. So far it's exciting, not feeling the nervousness or the Shrek 3 syndrom.

So yesterday, I sent the following text to a group of friends on my phonebook:

Did you hear the updates? Bourne Ultimatum and Sturdust are showing this week. Yay! Tagal ko hinintay to! Nuod tayo ha! Oo nga pala, I'm gonna be a dad.

So I get the following texts from friends:

Nette: Mabrook dadi nooner! I bet xcitd ka abt ur baby nooner! Hehe iwan nyo samen pg date kep wkends ha! congrats!

Badz: naks d ka pla baog hehehe

Luan: And did u know dat bourne ultimatum opend 2 an estimated $70.2 million in the US&canada. 1 of d best starts ever of an action film... nga pala, congrats dude. - Super natawa ako dito.

Lori: Congrats! tatay kana! okey sama ako manood. - Yea... pangpatawa lang yung intro no! hehe.. pero sige nuod tayo.

Obet: WTF dats a great news. - WTF pa? hehe

Mei: Haha we know! when ang blow out dadi glenn? u owe us a dinner partei! twins twins! - nakow... twins hanap nyo? hehehe... Hirap yan!

Ronald: Hahaha. Ayos sa entry. Congrats! Congrats! - magaling ako mag enter eh.. lol

Stan: Dadddyyy! U got milk? Congrats to th both of u. Magkaka trophy k n! - Hehehe.. Sunod lang ako sayo master!

Justin: Dude Congratulations! Make sure dat ur kid is gud in DDR ha. Heheh.. - Siyempre! pati dun sa hand revo.. hehe... DDR tayo!

Ruth: Finaly may tatawag na syo ng 'idol'! Congrats - oo nga!!! No daddy, no papa.. Idol! hehe

My conversation with my younger sister goes like this:
G: Uy, nasan ka?
E: nasa work. Nasa meeting. Pede ka tumawag after 30 mins?
G: May sasabihin lang ako.. You're gonna be an aunt.
E: Ah ok. bye.

Hehe. and she left me a comment on friendster. I want little scheela not little glenn... pls... ok?
LOL

By afternoon, I called up the clan in Canada. Twin says that she wants it to be a girl ... Nephews says they want boy. And I told Mama that she should come here for 6 months to take care of them, because she did the same thing to twin's kids. hehe.

***

On a very sad note... Allan's dad just passed away this morning. Allan is perhaps the closest friend I have here in Dubai, and it's an added bonus that he is married to my wife's cousin. So every get together with them is a blast. So dude, my sincere condolences, and remember that we are here for you.