I’ve been to New York several times since my sister moved here.  And I’ve learned to love the city.  Or at least love my little spots in the city.  I have my favorite shopping areas, favorite stores, favorite restaurants.  And creature of habit that I am, my visits here usually mean making the rounds of those spots.  It means multiple visits to DSW (both on Union Square and 34th St).  I try not to (but always fail and do anyway) enter every Sephora I walk by.  I have to have that muffin thing at City Bakery.  I have to eat the ‘Shroom Burger at Shake Shake. and on and on and on.  

But every now and then, I discover new things that I’d like to try here in NY.  And this time, it had a lot to do with my favorite past time–SHOPPING!

I went to my very first sample sale!  My sister and I were talking about the bags that I wanted to buy (but never would thanks to the HIGH price tag) and I said that one of those bags was by Mulberry.   And she says to me, “They’re having a sample sale!”.  So she pushed and prodded me to go and so I did.  I was supposed to leave at 8 so I could be there by the time it opened at 9.  And that way, be at the head of the line (yes there are lines!).  But alas, I overslept and ended up leaving the house at 930.  I didn’t have any appointments so I figured, if i needed to stay there all day, then what the hell?  

I stopped by a coffee shop to buy my breakfast of Corn Muffin, Pound Cake, Potato Chips and Diet Coke.  (Didn’t know how long I’d be in line so I needed provisions).  When i found the building I was excited because the line inside didn’t look so long, until the security guy pointed across the street, the line is there. Oh ok.

If I counted correctly, I was maybe 50th in line.  So I turned on my ipod, put on my headphones and got in line.  They were sending people in 10 at a time, so in about 40 minutes, i was part of the group that was asked to enter…THE BUILDING.  Because yes there was another lne inside.  My sister had instructed me to bring a small wallet cause we’d have to check our bags, and that’s where there was a bit of an incident, because those who didn’t have bags to check were taking the places in line of those who did.  But when the security guy saw this, he took people to task.  And once I was back in line, there was more waiting, this time to go up the stairs that would finally take you to handbag heaven.

When i finally got up the stairs, i had to wait my turn to enter but I could see this huge table in the middle covered with bags and the big sign that said ALL BAGS 70% OFF ORIGINAL PRICE.  I called my sisters and told them the good news!  When i finally entered, I eagerly grabbed and tried different purses, brought out my calculator and got excited at the wonderful deals.  I tried on boots that could only fit my toes, I look at shirts that could only fit my fingers and i looked at bags that, even after the discount, still cost more than my airfare.  I did finally end up choosing two bags, but after walking around with them for a while, I realized I didn’t really LOVE them.  And if you’re spending that much on a bag, you kinda have to love it.  So I left.  After waiting in line that long, i decided to walk away.  I was quite proud of myself actually.  It was still early so I decided that I needed a reward for being a good girl, so I walked to the DSW a block away and bought myself a pair of boots.  And headed home…or so I thought.

I saw the sign for the number 1 subway which could take me to the doorstep of another New York must visit–Century 21. And while I was there, i bought myself two more pairs of shoes.  

So wait, maybe it was cheaper to just buy the bag?

But I digress, this was supposed to be about firsts….After I left Century 21, it was around 130pm and I was starving.  THough the apartment was only a few blocks away, I decided I would just grab a bite nearby first.  I saw a Halal Food Cart/Stand whatever it was called.  Those had always intrigued me, and the girl running the stand looked like she knew what she was doing, so I ordered the Chicken Gyro and a Diet Coke.  While I was waiting for my order, a line had formed and some of them were regulars.  I thought to myself, “maybe this is a good idea!”  I got my order and started walking, but between juggling my shopping bags, holding the napkin to wipe the dripping sauce and taking a sip of my Diet Coke, I figured I should just sit down somewhere.  The closest somewhere I could find where the steps in Lincoln Center where Fashion Week was being held this week.  

 

So I joined the group who were either eating their lunches or waiting for celebs to arrive for that day’s Fashion Week event.  

As I usually do, I eavesdropped on people’s conversations while I was there.  There was a group giving away free fashion magazines, another group was there for an Activation event for a mobile dating app.  Should I check them out?  NOT!

It was a bunch of little firsts, no world peace moments, but it was still fun to try out new things.  Wonder what I will do tomorrow?  There’s an Hermes sample sale next week….hmmmm

That’s all for now….bow.

After depositing my nephew at his new home for the next four years, my sister and I decided to reward ourselves with a short trip (a day and half) to Chicago.  We took the 745 (or something like that) AM train from Ann Arbor to Chicago.  (for more info about the train ride see earlier post Patience is a Virtue)

i treated us to the train tickets and my sister paid for the hotel.  She decided that we deserved a reward so she booked us at the Radisson Blu Hotel.  The location was excellent, just a short walk to all the important spots in the city, and a hop, skip and a jump away from CVS Drugstore.  Now that’s a great location!  And the room was beautiful!

On our first day, we decided to take a walking tour to see the old mansions, reminiscent of the walk that Sandra Bullock took, with special instructions from Keanu Reeves, in The Lake House.  (I really did search for Lake House walking tour and found the map that we used as reference).  Before we headed off on this tour, we stopped for lunch.  We were on our way to the restaurant we chose online when we spotted Lawry’s Prime Rib.

I asked my sister to take my picture, and we decided that we would just have lunch there.  That was one of our dad’s favorite restaurants and since we felt that he was with us for the trip, saving us from one scrape or another, it would be a nice tribute to him.  So we filled up with prime rib for her and turkey breast for me.  And we were ready…or so we thought.

We had only gone on about 15 minutes when my feet started to hurt.  Alas, I realized that the cute sandals that I chose specifically for this trip was not designed for all that walking.  By the time we finished visiting 15 of the 17 mansions on the map, my feet were blistered.  I couldn’t walk to the hotel anymore so we hailed a cab.

We decided to recharge at the hotel (and make a CVS stop to buy some band-aids for my feet).  We enjoyed our recharging so much that we were too lazy to go out for dinner. Thankfully, the hotel has an excellent Italian restaurant called Filini.  We were still full from our huge lunch so we just had appetizers.  Then decided to walk to Michigan Avenue for some dessert and shoe shopping.  Well it was just supposed to be dessert, but I found some shoes.  And then it was time for some Inday photos!

We went back to our room and planned the next day’s itinerary.  We got up early to have brunch at a small cafe that my sister found online (can’t remember the name right now) but the food was really good! and we were lucky enough to beat the crowd.  We still had time before our river tour so we went back to the hotel.  When we came out for the tour it started raining and as we stood inline waiting to board the boat, the rain kept getting stronger.  We bought ponchos from the tour office and got on board.  (the ponchos weren’t very cute so no photos!)  The rain stopped halfway thru our tour Thank God!  It was a really great experience.  We had a really funny tour guide who told us the history of the buildings.  The architecture in Chicago is truly beautiful and fascinating.  Almost every building’s design had a meaning and a significance.  

After the river tour, we had lunch at Pecking Order, a Filipino-owned restaurant that served reinventions of Pinoy dishes like Adobo.  The food was very good.  My favorite was the Coconut Adobo Rice Arancini which is a fried rice ball filled with garlic rice and Adobo with gata.  We also had the Grilled Chicken which was very juicy and flavorful, even the white meat was tender.  For desert, we had coffee leche flan.  By the time we finished, the weather had gotten quite nice and we needed to walk off all that chicken we ate for lunch so we took a stroll around Millenium Park and visited the Cloud Gate Sculpture, or as I liked to call it, the bean thing-y.

That night, as much as we tried, we were just too tired to check out Chicago’s nightlife, so we did the next best thing, we ordered pizza and had a quiet dinner in our beautiful hotel room.  And slept early so we could be ready for early morning train back to Detroit where we would take the flight back to New York.

It was short, sweet and very tiring.  And i have the memories of those blisters to treasure forever.

That’s all for now….bow.

After bringing my nephew to Univ. of Michigan it was time for yet another college move.  This time it was my brother who was starting college in Princeton.  While we were in Michigan, they had already done all the heavy lifting.  And i mean that literally.  He will be staying on the 2nd floor and there was no elevator.  So that meant multiple trips up and down the stairs carrying suitcases, boxes, shopping bags etc etc etc.  

After the initial orientation activities, we all met up in New York and took the train together back to Princeton.  It was a quick and painless train ride on the NJ Transit.  We were lucky enough to take the express train which meant arriving in Princeton in just under an hour. We were booked at the Hampton Inn, which by the looks of the other guests, was the hotel of choice for Princeton parents.  

My brother arrived from San Francisco the following morning with the rental car and before long we were off to the freshmen’s (and their parents’) go-to stops–Target, Best Buy and Bed, Bath.  We just had some last minute purchases to make which would complete my brother’s must-haves to begin his college life.

Along the way, we decided to sample the local restaurants.  First meal was at Delizio Pizza. A small, neighborhood pizza place that served a variety of flavors, along with salads, pasta and sandwiches.  At first, we were kind of worried about the place, till we saw that, even around 2pm, there was a constant stream of people coming in for a slice or two.  Our pizzas turned out to be really good.  I had the Buffalo Chicken Pizza and White Pizza with Tomatoes.  Both were winners!  As it turns out Delizio Pizza was Delicious!

We decided to drop off the rest of my brother’s stuff at his dorm so we could get a chance to see the campus before the next day’s official move in began.  Princeton is a beautiful campus with old buildings and lots of Inday photo opportunities.  

And once you walk out the gates of the campus, you see a very pretty town with lots of small restaurants, shops and, most importantly, a big Starbucks with free wi-fi!  

The next day, which was the official move in day for the students, we attended the Family Brunch.  We were able to sample the offerings of the dining hall and there was a lot! I had the chicken lunch special, while my brother and stepmom chose the breakfast specials of French Toast and Omelette (to order mind you!)  not satisfied with my big meal, i still had to have some scoop your own ice cream with frosted flakes toppings.  Thankfully, due to limited visitor parking spaces, we would have to walk back to the car (so i could burn all that food).  

All these college visits is bringing back so many memories.  College days were so simple.  Not much to worry about.  You just had to get your ass to class,  pass the tests and register for the next semester.  The biggest problem was “What do I wear to the party on Saturday?”  These days, there are bigger things to worry about plus you still have to think “What do I wear to the party on Saturday?”

I still can’t believe that these boys are in college already.  What’s even more mind-boggling is that my oldest nephew, who I used to baby sit, is now a college sophomore!!!  

Inday, you are not so young anymore!

That’s all for now….bow…time to put on some of my anti-aging moisturizer.

 

 

 

I don’t know why it still surprises me how rude, inconsiderate, uncultured people can be. 

Today, my sister and I took the 7:26am train from Ann Arbor to Chicago.  We were looking forward to a peaceful train ride where we could catch up on some much needed sleep.  But alas, fate and our seatmates were not cooperating.  We managed to board the train ahead of most of the passengers and found, what seemed like good seats.  We were seated across the aisle from two women who seemed like they were heading to a bonding weekend in Chicago. 

But alas, were we ever wrong.  A few minutes after we sat down, 4 college kids sat down in the seats behind us.  They were trying to cross to the next car but the Conductor wouldn’t let them. They declared that they would be loud and my sister and I looked at each other with fear and trepidation in our eyes.  Before we knew it, college kids and the women next to us began a conversation that ended up being a discussion of the different kinds of alcohol they were carrying with them.  And soon, there were drinks being passed around and runs to the bar. 

My sister fell asleep, before all this drinking began, but I couldn’t.  I put on my earphones and watched the TV shows on my laptop but they were so loud, even my computer on full blast couldn’t drown out their chatter.  

Just one more hour before we arrive at our destination.  I am praying for patience for me, and a little bit of consideration for them.  Hoping fates and some good manners and a little breeding cooperate from hereon. 

Patience is a virtue.  Patience is a virtue.

That’s all for now….bow

When my nephew decided that he would attend the University of Michigan, I didn’t realize how much that would affect Inday.  I was happy for him, of course, but it seemed a distant reality.  A few months, my sister called to ask me to be part of the move-in committee.  And yes, I am kaladkarin and chiching, I said, “Ok.” And so here I am in Ann Arbor, Michigan, ensconced in my queen sized bed at the Red Roof Inn writing this entry.

I arrived in New York on Monday afternoon and by 6am was heading back to the airport for our flight to Detroit.  In between, we finished packing our bags, had dinner at Ippudo and got caught up with each other’s lives.  Of course, I had no sleep that night so I was looking forward to the flight.  We landed in Detroit with no hassle…or so we thought.  We had recovered five of our six bags from the carousel, when it suddenly stopped and the sign flashed “Complete!” Wait, where’s my bag???  Yes my bag, with all my clothes, computer and cell phone chargers, plus some of my nephews things were lost.  We filed a report with Delta and with American Express and then crossed our fingers and headed to the rental car office.

Whenever I visit San Francisco I always drive myself around (as well as drive my brother crazy) but given the convenient location of my brother’s place, I hadn’t had to drive on the freeway in years.  But this time, I was going to drive from Detroit to Ann Arbor, neither of which I had ever visited.  We rented a Ford Edge, a car I had never driven.  So, armed with lots of prayers, high blood medication and with fingers crossed we were off.   Thankfully, we arrived at the University of Michigan without incident, my legs were cramping from tension, but we survived the drive and soon we were in my nephew’s dorm room unpacking.  It went smoother than we thought it would and before we knew it were on our way to Target for some last minute shopping and also to buy some “just in case they don’t find my bags” clothes.  Not satisfied with our purchases, we also stopped by Bed, Bath & Beyond for more stuff.  And then went back to the dorm room for more organizing.  By the time we left the campus it was already around 9pm and it was raining pretty hard.  So imagine my inner voice shrieking in panic and my inner second voice reciting every prayer I had ever learned.  By the time we arrived at the hotel, I was just about ready to cry.   Until my sister told me that the airline found the bag.  Whoohooo!

Day 2 meant returning all the things we bought for me in Target, plus more dorm stuff for the boy.  And then it was time to buy the all-important TV.  We were so proud of ourselves for the rewards and freebies we got from Best Buy until we realized the speakers wouldn’t work.  So we headed back to the store, speakers in tow, and found out the problem was that we bought the wrong TV.  This meant a change in Day 3’s agenda.  What was supposed to be a leisurely day became a hectic one.  We had to bring the TV back to Best Buy, finish some bank stuff before returning the rental car.  But alas, we were running behind schedule, the return in Best Buy took longer than expected so we had to return the car and walk to the bank.  Google maps said it would be a 3 minute drive, so we thought “not a bad walk”.  It wouldn’t have been, but this all happened at 2pm when the sun was high up there so we were quite the sweaty bunch by the time we entered the bank.  The rest of the day meant souvenir shopping at M Den, a walk around the Central Campus and coffee at Starbucks.  We had our last dinner with the college boy before he headed to a party in school and we headed to bed.

And tomorrow, we leave the college boy behind and head to Chicago for more adventures and a well-deserved movers vacation

…

That’s all for now….bow.

Yes, I am off on another adventure. This time my bags are packed and I’m ready to go walk the concrete jungle where dreams are made…of.   Can’t wait to be in the city that never sleeps, cause I dont sleep much either, so I think I will feel right at home.  (notice all the New York song lyrics that are sneaking their way into this entry?)

I am off to New York to do my Ninang duties and accompany my sister when she brings my nephew to college in Michigan.  We will do a side trip to Chicago and see what kind of mischief we can weave in the Windy City.  And then after a couple of days in NYC, a short train ride to NJ this time to help my brother settle in to college.  After that…who knows? Or you might be saying who cares?

This trip is very special because for the first time in my life I will be spending my birthday in NY with my siblings and we’re watching the SF Giants play the NY Yankees.  We will also celebrate the birthday of my youngest sister.  This is the first NY trip where we will be complete.  It is also a much needed bonding time considering all that’s happened in the last 12 months.

This trip also means that the Travel Poor Diet (see earlier entry) will once again be in action.  The diet combined with the new Me Project should prove productive and effective.  Am already looking forward to all the steps I will be taking armed with my brand new pedometer.

So stay tuned, for tales of fortune, and knowing Inday, misfortune, as she conquers Broadway (as an audience member!), Wall Street (as tourist), 5th Avenue (as window shopper), Central Park (as walker) and so many more NY corners.  I promise you there will be lots of photos that will embarrass my family, and delight everyone else.

But that’s all for now…bow.

I decided that for my next adventure, I’d choose one a lot closer to home.  Myself.  Yes folks, Inday has embarked on a Fitness Adventure.  To paraphrase a friend of mine, “It’s time I helped God finish perfecting my body.” And while I had some free time and no long trip scheduled for a while, I figured now was as good a time as any to, yes, EXERCISE! Not my right to vote or my willpower, but exercise, as in down and dirty, stinky and sweaty work out.  I knew that I was over the whole enroll in a gym and lift weights kind of workout.  Been there, done that.  Don’t feel like doing that again.  And with all the different workouts available these days, I thought I’d explore what was out there.

1. TRX

I had heard about this workout for a couple of years now but wanted to try it on a one on one basis.  Did not want to fall flat on my face in front of a crowd, if you know what I mean.  I found this guy who was willing to give me a free TRX trial, but since it took me two years to reply to his email, suffice it to say the offered had flown away.  But finally I found Reema Chanco, who offers TRX training at her home.  We scheduled our first session and the rest, as they say, is history.  Reema keeps you entertained with funny stories while she makes you push and pull and plank and before you know it, an hour has passed and you’re dripping with sweat.  Plus, there’s the added novelty of having her two dogs hang out with you because they like the airconditioning.  I’ve taken about 15 TRX sessions now and I do see the difference.  TRX uses gravity and your bodyweight to perform different exercises.  You adjust your body position to add or decrease resistance. One of the most important things you get from TRX is a solid core.  Or, after all those planks, sit-ups, crunches we’ve begun to call, “stupid core.” It’s fun and it works.

2. KETTLEBELL

I was also intrigued by the different Kettlebell training videos that I’d seen, especially those of Korean actor/singer Rain when he was training for his role in Ninja Assassin.  I was even more excited when I read that you can burn up to 1,000 calories per session.  So I searched for Kettlebell classes and a friend suggested contacting Paolo Villaroel for a personal Kettlebell training session.  Paolo combines the Kettlebell training with some Plyometrics to increase your heartrate.  He gave us 8Kilo Pink Kettlebells to use.  And we swung and we lifted, and once again, we engaged that stupid core.  It was fun and I was very interested in trying it again.  Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts prevented us from going back to additional sessions.

3. ZUMBA

I have heard so much about Zumba but I wasn’t always a fan of group classes.  I had had bad experiences before where the instructor focuses on the regulars and other people just had to figure out a way to catch up.  But after we found out that SilverPOD, new dance studio opened just 10 minutes away from my house that offered Zumba, we decided to give it a try.  We tried two sessions.  The first one was high energy, exhausting and fun.  But he was just a substitute teacher.  The regular Zumba teacher is small and quiet.  She didn’t shout out instructions but rather used gestures and pointed her fingers.  For a moment we thought that she had a speech impediment or something because she didn’t speak till we were 30 minutes into the class and only to whisper, “Water Break.” We were confused and kind of bored.  We decided that we’d go to Zumba class when our schedules allowed, but not adjust our schedule for it.

4. CARDIO GROOVE

SilverPOD also offered a class they call Cardio Groove.  Our super hyper instructor Arnold creates these dances that he teaches over a few classes.  Arnold’s energy is infectious and even when your tongue is hanging halfway out of your mouth from exhaustion, you still want to go go go.  Or at least you are motivated enough to try.  So far, I’ve attended two classes and plan on coming back for more!

5. WENGA

Arnold also teaches a class he developed himself called Wenga but pronounced Venga.  Yes folks, the Venga Bus is back!  This a dance exercise class and the steps are kind of funky, kind of hip hop-py, and kind of NOT ME.  I did all the required moves but I knew, even without looking at the mirror, that I looked kind of stupid.  But never mind, we went there to sweat and we did.  Not sure if I’ll go back, but who knows.  I didn’t hate it, I just hated that I felt I looked stupid.  I am disco, I am not hiphop!

6. D-I-Y WORKOUT

When I don’t have any of the above classes scheduled, I walk around the village.  And sometimes I wiggle my hips a bit or hop and skip depending on the song playing on my iPod.  I tried working out in our village gym but I got bored.  I was going to try swimming with my nieces paddleboard but I haven’t gotten my underwater mp3 player yet so that’ll have to wait.  So I walk and I strut instead.

I still have a couple of workouts I want to try or get into, but it will have to wait till after the upcoming trip.  For now, I’ve already formulated a plan for when I come home.  After all, I will surely need to burn off some of the excess calories left over from this year’s attempt at the Travel Poor Diet.  (see earlier entry)

For now I am still working on this new project.  So far, am happy with the results.  No photos for now. Let’s just let it all be a surprise….

That’s all for now…bow.

When we were kids, our parents taught us how to read, write, spell, share, values, good manners (some of us at least) and many other valuable lessons that we carry with us till today. But there are some that really stick to our minds, mostly because they scare the s#*t out of us, or because we just don’t understand where they came from.  One night, I was having dinner with some friends and we started talking about the things our parents used to say.  Here’s what we came up with:

1.  When you die, everything you didn’t eat on earth you will eat in purgatory.

I don’t eat the egg whites of fried eggs and to this day, I am still dreading the thought of ending up in purgatory and all the egg whites I’ll have to eat when I get there.  My friend’s daughter (who finally admitted this to her mom) would put the leftover pieces on her plate back onto the serving platter, so she’d be “safe”.

2.  If you cry for a long time, eventually you’ll run of tears and blood will come out.

Not really sure if it was my mom or someone else’s mom who said this, but being as iyakin as I am, I really hope this isn’t true.

3.  If you have a cut and you keep crying, soon the food you ate will come out of your wound.

I would stare at my cuts and wait for the rice to come out.  Gross I know but hey, I was a kid!

4.  If you swallow the seed of a fruit, the tree will grow in your stomach.

For some reason, I would always accidentally swallow the seed of the santol when we were kids.  I was always afraid I’d wake up and a tree branch would grow out of my mouth.

5.  If you swallow gum, your stomach/intestines would get stuck together.

Picturing the wads of Texas, Bazooka Joe, Tarzan, Juicy Fruit and Orange Chiclet that somehow ended up in my stomach, and thinking hmmmm.

6.  When it starts raining while you’re swimming in the pool, you have to get out because you’ll get wet.

I could never understand why, but once it started raining, my cousins and I would always leave the pool, because “They told us to”.  It was only when I was in my 30’s that I learned it had something to do with lightning striking you. 

Am sure many of you can relate…

that’s all for now…bow. 

 

 

 

On May 31, 2013, Inday lost one of her biggest supporters—financially, emotionally and yes, photographically (is there even a word?). Inday lost her dad.

He was with Inday on several of her visits to New York and San Francisco. He took Inday on her first trip to Kota Kinabalu and even attempted to teach her how to play golf (not sure who was more frustrated—him or Inday) He took her pictures at the Marina in Singapore and was perplexed at the really baduy poses that she made. “Ganyan talaga ang pose na gusto mo?” Yes dad, ako si Inday remember?  Inday even walked the streets of Washington DC with him.

at the Smithsonian, Washington DC

And, even before I unveiled my Inday alter ego, he and my mom took our whole family to HongKong and then to the US to discover the Magic in the Kingdom, meet Jaws and King Kong and see where Norman Bates went Psycho. He drove us around LA and SF while the rest of us slept in the van. (He wasn’t very happy about that). And years later, he took us to Boracay for a family outing at the newly-opened Shangri-La where Inday found many spots for photo ops.

When I finally decided to start chronicling Inday’s adventures, I was a little worried about what he would think. The rest of the family had already offered their rounds of applause and pats on the back, but he had yet to read my entries. And then, one night in San Francisco, he finally had some time to see what Inday had been up to, and he gave me the thumbs up. He said he enjoyed reading my tales of adventures and misadventures. Dad was never one to say something nice, just to be nice, so I knew that his positive reviews were sincere.

I wish that we had more adventures to share together, more cities to discover, more photo ops, but I know that no matter where Inday travels to from here, he will always be with her, probably shaking his head and thinking, “Ganyan talaga ang pose na gusto mo?”

Till our next adventure Dad.  I miss you.