new little blog buddy - ASUS Eee PC 1025C

..Been missing in action. I was blaming it on my old PC - well, I probably took the old thing for granted :s

I rely on my mobile phone so much but I still prefer blogging from the computer so I bought this little buddy and I was happy when I started using it. This little dude hopefully will help me with my simple online needs.

Got this ASUS Eee PC 1025C ---- such a mouthful for a netbook :)

Nice finish and does not attract much fingerprints and... small. cute :)

This is just a 10.1 inch baby perfect for my little hands when typing. So far, I can't complain. This also has 2GB of RAM but only 320GB HDD (since I have an external one) 

I'm not the tech type of person but surprisingly this has a MAT/matte screen. I wasn't expecting since I knew that most netbooks of this size comes with the glossy screen so that was a plus for me :)

So far I'm not a fan of the track pad buttons. It was just ok. I only heard of 2 colors from this model. Grey and Pink - but I always choose the safest colors so I got this grey one. It's got this nice chrome finish on the sides :) 

On the left, It's got the usual ports. VGA, power/charger, air vent, a USB 2.0 and their new addition - HDMI port. I haven't tested this port yet so we'll see later.

On the right, same old ports. Card reader, headphone/mic, 2 more USB 2.0, lock and ethernet. I think the 1025CE is the one with the 3.0 USB port.

Since when did I started to review gadgets? Just felt like doing it today :)

I got used to the 15' inch lappy and my desktop so still needed some adjustments when using this netbook.

Nice one ASUS! so far I'm a happy customer :)

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one rainy sunday - Maria's Ilocos Empanada

One sunday afternoon at Maria's Ilocos Empanada...

There had been lots of changes along Dahlia in Fairview. Since I at least live near the area, me and the big bear decided to tour around to see what's new. We've seen the milk tea houses before but we became interested in Maria's Ilocos Empanada.

Last time when we stayed at one of the milk tea houses, we already saw this store but we were not sure what it was that it closed before 9pm.

Their space was just small. Can only accommodate probably about 4-6 people. We also watched how they made it.

We ordered their empanada (with veggies, double vigan longganisa, 1 egg, 2 cheese) which was about 85Php -- I was only able to eat half of it as the serving was really heavy for me.

Honestly, I am not fan of the garlic type of longganisa but I liked the taste somehow . My big bear on the other hand enjoyed it.

I was able to bring some left overs to my mom and she also liked it. She even asked me to buy one for her next time. They also have Bagnet -- we will try it on our next visit :)

Happy eating, papa bear? ^__^

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"Himas" - part 2

My co-worker Macky was in the mood again to mold some clay. That mood was when everybody was waiting for the Dark Knight Rises movie.

He usually do this every after finishing his office deliverables or just when he's bored and doesn't feel like working at all (peace Macky!)


Took some photos of the Batman Villains with some description borrowed from Google:

TWO-FACE

Former district-attorney Two-Face (Harvey Dent) has an obsession with committing crimes themed around duality and opposites. He makes major decisions by flipping a two-headed coin on which one of the faces is scarred. One side of his face was scarred by a gangster in court throwing acid at him. Over the years, he has reformed at various times, with his face being surgically repaired, only to later adopt the alias of Two-Face again.

THE JOKER

The Joker's clownish appearance and big smile hide a devious mind bent on creating as much trouble as possible for his archenemy, Batman. His arsenal of weapons includes razor-cards, acid-spewing flowers, and laughing-gas. He is Batman's greatest enemy as well as the most famous and recurring.

THE SCARECROW

The Scarecrow (Professor Jonathan Crane), an insane psychologist/biochemist who lost his job for his methods, specializes in the nature of fear. Dressed symbolically as a scarecrow, he employs special weapons, equipment, and techniques designed to use fear to his advantage in his crimes. His "fear-gas" stimulates the phobias of his victims. Coincidentally, he has a fear of bats.

BANE

Masked villain Bane's immense strength comes from a steroid called Venom. His power and intellect make him one of Batman's most feared adversaries, and he once succeeded in breaking Batman's back.

Whether my co-worker had a photographic memory or just copied it online, all of them were detailed and the effort was there.

Nice job once again, Macky!

Uphill at Timberland Heights

Couch potato. That's me - I go out but I don't exercise much. Since I'm not getting any younger I had to stretch and do something for my body. I have no favorite sport but I remembered being part of our track and field team during my elementary days that most of my friends would say that my legs were meant for running .. yeah, right.  I easily get tired these days. Me and the big bear decided to jog and run a little at least once a week. We usually go to La Mesa Eco Park early morning for at least 2 hours then later we increased it to 3 hours. A friend of mine was trying to trim down and invited us to do some uphill walk. She took us to Timberland Heights one time.

So far this was our 2nd visit to Timberland Heights

 Good thing it wasn't raining when we went there. It was a nice mountain view that it looks free from pollution. It appears as if the place was meant for bikers. We started to walk and at first it was kinda exciting but after almost half of it our legs were already tired even if we did some stretching.

with our friends Donna and Jerrvy ~ Timberland Height's regulars

It was nice to see some old people determined. I started to admire the bikers as it was really, really tough for them. They had to drag their bikes and bodies up  just to get to the top. It was such a shame that me and my bear had to stop every after 30 mins to an hour. It was as far as I can remember a 2km uphill that we managed to finish. I just forgot to clock it :(

Almost near the top was this view that we had to stop and admired it. We sat for a while, took some photos and started to walk up again to reach the gate of Timberland Heights and Country Club that they were boasting. We also saw this :)

Before reaching the gate, there was a little restaurant serving Goto, Tokwa't baboy and others. We had to rest for a while and we ordered some. It was only 25 pesos and was truly worth it that I almost forgot about my leg pain. 

Lots of bikers dined in as well or I should say as usual :)

After resting, I told myself:  Thank God we're finally walking down and it will be easier. I was wrong. Another part of our legs and lower back were reacting. SInce that time it was downhill, we had to balance and control our bodies from slipping or rolling. 

Here's my panorama shot of the downhill curve (with some friends taking photos as well)

It was tiring but a great experience. I would want to go back but next time I'll make sure that my legs will be ready for some action :)

Thanks to this little buddy that kept me going ^__^

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Run.. run at the UP Oval

It was around 5:30am when I woke up and I remembered the uphill challenge that we did just last week. I felt a little tortured that time. It was Saturday again.. so off we go but this time to the UP Oval. Finally, time to run :)

Tied my hair up, headset on and turned the music, stretched a little then off we ran. It was my first time to run in the Oval. It's nice to see people running early morning. I was not a student from their campus but we usually visit the Chocolate Kiss Cafe for their Devil's cake :)

We only finished 2 rounds as we went there a little late and the sun was starting to show up so we had to finally stop. There were food vendors selling corn, lumpia with suka and more and they were very tempting. We bought some corn and rested for a while. Tired bikers were resting as well, taking group pictures and chatting.

My heart was happy. My breathing was better. I just had to make it a habit to do this exercise :)

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happy, happy bear - Tender Bob's

I have always loved to surprise him.  He had no idea where we were going. I usually ask my friend's suggestions during these birthday times :) 

Since he loves to eat steaks.. I took him to Tender Bob's (SM North - The Block)

Location

 It's not that I don't like eating steaks but I'm just afraid that I won't be able to finish eating it.  We were patiently waiting after placing our orders.

RIb Eye starving  525Php

US Short Rib 465Php

Their steaks were so tender and flavorful which was perfect for our hungry tummies that time. Surprisingly it was not crowded when we went there and we enjoyed eating while watching Alvin and the chipmunks from their TV.  We partnered their steak with some red wine. It was a perfect dining experience at that time for us :)

Yellow Tale Merlot red wine 125Php

We're not really good at choosing wines but this was the waiter's recommendation so we gave it a shot and it wasn't bad at all.

I was right. I wasn't able to finish eating my steak though actually  I didn't want to be on a full mode as I needed to give more space for some dessert. Not much on the selection but I was happy on the ice cream action.

Mango Caramel 175Php

Of course this wasn't  just for me.  Probably about 3 people can share on this mango caramel. It was a happy day for the big bear and I was happy about the experience. 

'Til  next birthday, Papa bear!  *hugs and kisses*

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i want some nachos - Mooon Cafe

I have been craving for Nachos and nope.. I wasn't pregnant or anything. Just the normal me.. always hungry :)

There was a new restaurant/chain in SM Fairview. I wasn't sure when did they open. We just saw the nice  interiors from the outside.

Welcome to Mooon Cafe!

We were able to speak with the owner/manager that day when we went there and was told that it was a family business that they've been wanting to bring here in Manila from Cebu. He was really approachable and was very happy to introduce their Mexican inspired dishes.

We tried some of their Nachos :)

Nacho de Salsa - 120 Php

Crispy corn tortilla served with salsa rojo, salsa fresca  and sour cream

Campesinos - 160 Php

crispy flour tortilla chips layered cheese and tender beef fillings, topped with melted cheese and spiced paprika

Chimichanga - 160 Php

crispy flour tortilla filled with tender, mild-spiced beef, cheese, sour cream and salsa rojo. topped with strips of lettuce and sour cream

I liked their Campesinos but you can easily get tired of the of it's taste that you won't be able to finish it. Although the serving was big. For me, I'd say this is good for double to triple sharing.

I love sour cream so this is where I always dip my crispy corn tortilla from their Nacho de Salsa. Actually you can dip them in all 3 at the same time :)   This was also, I think good for 2-3 people.

Their Chimichanga was kinda interesting. If you look at it, there's really nothing special but just the cheese and the sour cream on top. But when you started to slice it and see what's inside, it was really stuffed and it was delicious. This, I think was good for 2 people.

We actually had to call some of our friends to help us finish all of them. I just tasted each and ordered their watermelon shake which was may favorite so far.  I love the taste of milk in it - refreshing. We'll also try their other beverages next time.

Watermelon shake - 75 Php

Great food! :) 

Hongkong Day 3 - Disneyland and Ocean Park

Disneyland and Ocean Park in one day? CRAAAZY, right? But we did it anyway!!!

Since our fellow Filipinos gave a discount on the Ocean Park tickets - we decided go to Disneyland in the morning and Ocean Park in the afternoon. That was from point A to Z - I could not believe that we had survived that day! Whew!

Off we took the MTR from Tsim sha Tsui to Lai King (red line) then transferred to Tungchung Line (orange) stopped at Sunny Bay then transferred to Disneyland Resort Line (pink)

at Sunny Bay - waiting for the Disney train to the resort

We rode the cute train to Disneyland Resort . It was about a 5-10 minute ride and we're excited to finally see Mickey! :) 

Advantage of being early? Of course no queue and no crowd.. perfect for some picture taking. Thanks to the Filipino families we saw and took our pictures :)

It was a Sunday when we went there and they chose a foreign family to hold the key to open the door as part of their program. But before that, Mickey and Minnie already said hello then left.

Upon entering, most people took the right side so we went to the left and to our luck, the first  thing we saw Mickey and Minnie *wink*

They were ready for some picture taking. Unfortunately, the lady who assisted us when it was our turn, took a blurry shot :(

via sign language: Minnie asked if we're a couple.. when I said yes she jumped for joy!

 There were lots of vendors and Disney items.  We felt like kids running around searching for Disney characters.

The climate was a bit tricky. It was windy then later became sunny. We were supposed to visit Hongkong early February but we were not lucky to get an earlier flight. At least we got something available mid March :)

There were so many things to see. We took lots of photos that it was hard to post them all here! 

One simple ride that we liked was the Jungle River Cruise. We sat at the middle part of the boat  as my mom told me that we may get wet :) -- well, almost. 

checking our ticket to the river cruise with -- oh, Goofy! :)

Some of my favorite shots from the Jungle River Cruise 

The Hippo

and the Elephant

he loves to shower people with water :)

There were also shots from the Toy Story Land where we rode the Slinky Dog and watched the Toy soldier parachute drop.

feeling and looking like a kid :)  - ohh big LETTERS!

I honestly spent most of my time in their souvenir shops where the items were expensive. Though they were, it would be sad not to buy at least something from the store. So yea I bought these mickey mouse pens, key chains and other tokens. Just for those things, I already spent more than one thousand pesos.

Disney hologram stickers - proof that we bought it in Disneyland :)

How I've always wanted to have a Mickey or Minnie headband but since it was expensive and I promised that shopping was not the main purpose, I just asked Pao to take a photo of me wearing it.

Mickey or Minnie??? 

i just bought one Stitch key chain

We were already tired of walking and forgot that we have not eaten yet. We had no choice but to dine in. Food was expensive. We didn't want to be full so we bought some burger with fries and soda which was more or less 50-60HKD just for a little meal at Tomorrowland's Starliner Diner.

Some of the characters we met along the way

Pao's "buddy" - Buzz Lightyear

Pao's twin brother - Pooh Bear

More attractions and things to see inside Disneyland

It was already sunny before we left Disneyland. Sad to say we missed a lot. Some rides, shows and the parade (oh dear!) but it was okay at least we still have a reason to go back. We just wanted to have a bit of a Disney experience so it was okay. We had to get going as we need to ride the train to the other end - - to Ocean Park. Goodluck to us! :)

To be continued....