These Days

PasikBlogan Challenge # 5 is A Different Tongue.   Blog in a language/dialect that you typically don't blog in.  If you typically blog in English, now blog in Filipino (or your own dialect). Kung karaniwan kang mag-blog sa Filipino, gumamit ka ng Ingles o Cebuano.   Naawatam? Quamo mi paqueman? Anggapo la. Jaaaavid! ;-) =============================== Ako gyud gi-look forward to ning moabutay nga duha ka adlaw sa weekend.  Galista na ko sa mga kinahanglan buhaton unya daghan kaayo sila!  Dili raba gyud dali mangahuman nga buluhaton.  Pero way kaso.  Feel kaayo nako nga daghan ko ma-accomplish ani nila. Sa niagi nga isa ka bulan, mao pa gyud ni akong una nga weekend nga wala sa byahe.  Mobalik na sa normal ang mga butang-butang. Mao ni akong lista o (updated): Magpa-pest control treatment sa balay - postponed to next month Manglaba ug mamalantsa Mag-sort sa mga dala gikan US Magpadala ug box sa Iligan - tbd tomorrow Magpa-facial (pwede pa pod next week) or pa-konsulta

Here are the other restaurants I was able to visit on this trip that I haven't been blogged about.  Overall, great food in SD.=) Emma's Mexican Food For a small cantina, they had a lot of choices.  I find simple, neighborhood places charming. Red Sails Inn Beautiful outdoor dining area by the water. El Torito If this restaurant does not make you appreciate Mexican food, I don't know what will.=)  The tortilla soup was super - bursting with flavor.  We had dinner here on Nang Lani's birthday. Antique Row This is a popular place for El Cajon locals.  We had breakfast here one Saturday and a lot of people had the same idea.  It was pretty busy but they didn't take long to serve the food.  Beware of the pancakes, they are huge!  I only managed to finish half of one.  Restaurant is decorated with interesting memorabilia. In-N-Out Burger Fast food but they serve fresh burgers so I'll make an exception.=)

Neil started Junior Nursery on the week before my flight to San Diego.  Our household was still adjusting to the new schedule (daily classes) and I had to rock the boat some more by traveling.  That was one of my reservations regarding the trip, but we had to deal with it.  I am thankful for my housemates who picked up the load while I was away. I still believe in homeschooling.  But we decided to enroll Neil this time so he can have regular interaction with kids his age, and learn while at it.  I think it has been good for him.  Worth it na. I missed the first day that he wore his uniform, but Em took photos and posted on my FB wall.  Awww moment.... I also took pictures when I got back. ******** Today, they had their first program at school to celebrate Grandparents' Day.  No lolo and lolas present for Neil but both Richard and I were there.  The sang songs and presented the grandparents and proxies with tokens. It was a riot but fun.=) Daddy gets the token.  

This was my plane book on the way home to Manila.  It was given as a parting token from the team meeting in San Diego. Marc Woods was our guest speaker from last year's meeting in Orlando and this year, we get his book.=)  This is about achieving personal best which includes goal-setting, motivation, leadership, mentoring, etc.  While exploring these topics, Marc also shares his personal story of battling cancer, having one of his legs amputated and winning gold in the Paralymics swimming.  He is now a motivational speaker, swim coach and active in several charitable organizations. This book reads like a conversation.  It was really easy to get into because I've heard him speak before, so I was familiar with the voice of the author.  But even without this advantage, it's still a good read with practical lessons that can benefit everyone.  More importantly, it's inspirational how he was able to overcome difficult circumstances and win. http://marcwoods.com

Last week, I had a quick lesson on the basics of baseball.  I learned about innings, hits, runs, outs, etc.  It was necessary because we were watching the San Diego Padres play against the Arizona Diamondbacks. My first baseball game! Free shirt for everyone!  I wore mine right away. We were seated in the bleachers near the sandbox.  A lot of families with young children buy tickets for this area because the sandbox provides additional entertainment for the kids. Baseball-themed ice cream! Home runs for the Padres were celebrated with fireworks. Family pictures. I can understand why baseball, or sports in general, is big in the US.  It's a venue for family/friends to get together, cheer for home teams, and just all-around good time. We did not finish the game, left early to avoid traffic.  It was over when we got home.  And oh, the Padres won.=)

My first visit to the Old Town and Gaslamp Quarter were in February this year .  We decided to go again this time because we wanted to explore the areas some more, and Cess hasn't been there yet. Our first destination was the Old Town . It was a Friday so there were fewer people around.  We also made it all the way to the Heritage Park, unlike the previous visit.  It was really nice out there.  We checked out a few shops.  Pretty things! And took a few photos by the fountain. After Old Town, we took the trolley to the Gaslamp Quarter .   Our first mission was to find Hotel Indigo , just to check it out. =) "In the flesh."   We ran into a colleague at the lobby and she suggested we check out the 9th floor, so we did.  You can see the Petco Park (Padres stadium) from there. We were very hungry at this point so we HAD to find a restaurant.  We passed by Nathan's Smokehouse and Deli and decided it was as good a place as any to have

On these all-team meetings, we don't just sit around and listen to presentations all the time.  We have quite a interactive team activities as well.  These are really good opportunities to meet and catch-up with people. *** DAY 1 *** On the first night, we had a quick reception at the hotel before the groups went off to dinner at different restaurants.   Welcome Reception For our team, dinner was at Bandar Restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter.  It's a multi-awarded Persian restaurant, with numerous plaques decorating the walls.  The servings here are really huge!  It would have taken me three meals to finish everything on my plate.  Even though it was delicious, I had to quit after 3 pieces of the chicken. Those are regular size spoon and fork.  That plate is huge! This is the first time for our team to be in one place since February this year so dinner was time for catching up. Taiwan, India, Philippines and South Korea represented. ***DAY 2***

We had blocks of free time last week.  Our team of four (minus boss) decided to check out Balboa Park.  I haven't been there before but heard good things about it so I was excited to check it out.  It was a short cab ride from the hotel to the park. And it was nice out there.  I can imagine spending an afternoon just walking around and enjoying the view.   We only had a couple of hours free so we decided to check out the San Diego Museum of Art.  They had a special exhibit entitled From El Greco to Dali: Spanish Masters from the Perez Simon Collection .  I know El Greco and Dali from the Humanities books that I used to read a lot back in high school and college.  I love the arts and here was another opportunity for me to see works by the masters up close. Aside from El Greco and Dali, there were works by Picasso, Georgia O'Keefe (starstruck moments), and a host of artists I haven't heard of.  It's great that we have these art from centuries ago that giv

Have you heard of sitting volleyball before?  It's a Paralympic event and it's precisely that - playing volleyball while seated.  I was introduced to the sport last week, in one of our team meeting sessions.  There are a few rules and regulations that are different from regular/standing volleyball, like the smaller playing area, lower net, and having part of your upper back to butt touching the floor when you're hitting the ball. We had four members of the US team as guests.  They will be playing in a tournament to qualify for the Paralympics in 2012.  Most of them served were injured while serving in the armed forces.  Second person from the right is still on active duty. US Team, the pros. The team showed us a demo of how the game is played.  It is no less difficult or competitive or fast just because it's sitting!   All of us had the chance to try the game out.  It was a riot with volleyballs flying around the room with more than 160 people.