Sunday, June 29, 2008
 
Week Past 6/23-06/29/08 (Pacman)
Sat 06/28 attend birthday party of one of W's staff, Meds. She's 'ty-4. It was also Pacquiao's fight with Diaz. So we stayed and watch the fight on the Pay Per View. Pacman is still The Man. Everybody was waiting for his interview after the fight. He's getting better in answering questions and expressing himself in English. We had a laugh when they interviewed Diaz. Since it's live they can't edit or bleep what he was saying. He kept saying the f... word when he's emphasizing something. It's part of his vocabulary. So be careful with your daily conversations with close friends and relatives. The ones you don't mind what you say or how you express yourself. It becomes a habit. Given the opportunity to speak in public unrehearsed you'll be in a bad form with your habitual expressions.
Sun 06/29 after mass we met some of W's staff at the Clubhouse for a brunch. Sort of hanging out.


# posted by Rey A @ 6/29/2008 10:10:00 PM 0LeaveYourMessage
Sunday, June 22, 2008
 
Week Past 06/16-06/22/08(More Tiling)
Mon 06/16 Dennis with his Dad who is vacationing continued installing the tiles at the facade of the house that was started Sat 06/14. They came a little after 6:00 pm since Dennis had work that day. Helped them but more on dismantling the pallet and cleaning up. We had a late dinner around 10:00 pm before they went home. This work schedule continued on until Wed 06/18. It's tiring to say the least. You don't get things squared away until past 11:00 pm.
But when it's done it feels good.

(L) The finished product. A new facade. There's still work to be done: Cleaning and sealing the tiles. My sole responsibility.

(R) From a different angle.


Sat 06/21 is the First Day of Summer according to the calendar. For me it started more than a week ago. W and I attended Dante and Lydia's Off to College celebration for their son Stephen who got admitted at Fordham. Then we went to Linders Garden Store by Rainbow Foods parking lot in CR 42 and Hi-way 13 to exchange some of the plants we bought last year that did not thrive.

(L)Proud parents Lydia and Dante with Stephen their son who is going to Fordham in the background wearing maroon shirt and drinking pop.

(R)They had a lot of guests from lunch to dinner. Extra seating in front of the yard.

(L)Like a fiesta with various Filipino food on the table. Each labeled with a description for the uninitiated.

(Below)The usual guests. Some of them helped in the preparation and clean up. And of course get the spoils from the left overs.

Sun 06/22 was Dennis and Jackie's turn to host a birthday party for their precocious daughter Sam. Another food galore.

(L)The birthday girl Sam second from right.

(R)Blowing the candle.

(L)They also set up an inflated castle at their backyard. Never had that when we were kids. Think of how that castle expands their imagination.

(R)Birthday girl about to blow the candle with proud Mom looking on.


# posted by Rey A @ 6/22/2008 10:32:00 PM 0LeaveYourMessage
Sunday, June 15, 2008
 
Week Past 06/09-06/15/08 (Tiling)
Mon 06/09 gas prices broke the $4. One of the gas station on my way to work had a sign for $4.09. In SF it was already at $4 when we were there last week. This is crazy.
Sat 06/14 a former co-worker of W, Dennis, started installing the exterior tiles we bought about a year ago. He's a programmer at Northwest Air but he's hobby and sideline is doing handyman stuff. I had to help him buy materials and install the tiles. Busy day and hot. We rented a tile cutter at Home Depot around 11:00 am and returned it before 6:00 pm. We were charged the full 24 hours. They did not mention that if you rent it 6 hours or more you'll be charged the 24 hour rate not the hourly. It amounted to $87.00 ++. Felt like a rip off.
Sun 06/15 is Father's Day and I have to work. Called my Dad in LA when I got home to greet him. Seems he and my Mom had what I call "old couple's tiff" in the morning putting my Dad in a state of snit. So he decided not to go out to celebrate with the rest of the household. Anyways when I called early evening everything's okay. But to me he missed the fun.

Installing the tiles. Finally after a year since we bought it. (L)Dennis working partly covered by W

(R)Different angle. Notice bigger tiles lying on the floor. These are for the cement floor.

(L)Another shot. Foreground front wall beneath the window will also be tiled


# posted by Rey A @ 6/15/2008 10:43:00 PM 0LeaveYourMessage
Sunday, June 08, 2008
 
Week Past 06/02-06/08/08 (Pannekoeken)
Mon 06/02 is W's Golden year. It's also our scheduled flight back to MN. Back to reality. We took the BART(Bay Area Rapid Transit) system going to the airport. We had to transfer train mid way. We realized we took the wrong one, duh. Again Ryan picked us up at the airport. Took the car from the apartment. Treat W to dinner at Mystic Lake before heading home.
Back to work on Tue 06/03 .....
Sun 06/08 after mass we decided to have brunch at Pannekoeken. We were surprised that it 's closed. We thought they were doing good. But then again we only ate there about two times. Both on a weekend when they have a good crowd. Weekdays might be a different story. It's a restaurant specializing in Dutch pies. But they also have your regular fare (e.g. burgers) in their menu. So we ended up at McHugh's Grill next door. I ordered their Dagwood sandwich. It was filling and good. I remembered the comic character Dagwood who likes to make a sandwich for his midnight snack.
Side note on gas. It's at $4.00. Ugh. At San Fo it's more expensive by a few cents.

# posted by Rey A @ 6/08/2008 09:24:00 PM 1LeaveYourMessage
Sunday, June 01, 2008
 
Week Past 05/26-06/01/08 (San Francisco)
Mon 05/26 I got a missed call message on my CP from my sis-in-law in NJ. I think they were in Pennsylvania vacationing with the kids taking advantage of the long weekend when she made the call. I was concerned when I saw the message. Turned out they were worried when they saw the news on TV about the tornado that hit MN over the weekend. I told her we're not even near the affected area. We were also thankful that we were spared.

Thur 05/29 thunderstorm mixed with hail struck our area. Again, we're thankful that the hail were small and short in duration when it rained. The weather is really going bonkers.

During the week I had to scramble to find somebody to cover my schedule for Sun 06/01 and Mon 06/02. It's W's golden year on Mon and she was planning on going out of town over the weekend to celebrate. Thank God for Chris and Craig. They saved the day at short notice. W was already busy making reservations to San Francisco.

Early morning Sat 05/31 off we went to Edina to meet with Ryan so he can drive us to the airport for our 9:00 am flight to San Francisco. That saved us from the long-term parking fee at the airport.

Our flight was delayed by an hour giving us time to grab a snack at Northwest's lounge before boarding.

Arriving at San Francisco I already have a missed call message from my brod JD when I switched on my CP. I told him we were visiting his city by the bay and he insisted that we meet Sun 06/01 so he can drive us around. I think we exchanged about three missed calls until we finally got to talk to each other.

So where did we go after checking in to our hotel? Jollibee to have lunch. W already had their address written down. So we ordered burger, palabok and their freeze drink ube and macapuno. Burp. That was good. Afterwards...

Pics below shows our general activities:

(L)Powell St. Facade of our Hotel Building

(R)Cable car approaching at Powell St station about 5 min walk from the hotel. Line starts at right

(L)The Sax Man at Powell st Cable car station. Entertaining people waiting for the ride

(R)San Fo Fisherman's Wharf where restaurants abound selling crabs cooked in a variety of ways

(L)Golden Gate bridge as viewed from the bay cruise. Windsurfer foreground

(R)The Alcatraz as viewed from the bay cruise

(L)Other side of Alcatraz as viewed from the bay cruise. This is the side where you dock

(R)The famous landmark in San Fo, Lombard St. with its one way zig zag downhill course overlooking the bay

(L)Lombard St. as viewed at the other end. There was a party at the top floor of the building at left

(R)In front of the Capitol with JD and Ces. They picked us up in our Hotel early Sunday and this is our first itinerary

(L)The Golden Gate bridge up close and personal

(R)The Golden Gate bridge up close and personal with moi and W with your typical "turista" pose


# posted by Rey A @ 6/01/2008 10:04:00 PM 0LeaveYourMessage

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