Happy Friday!

Everyone at work's happy today. Why? Because we received our Annual Incentive Package! Ka-ching, ka-ching! BONUS! Yey!

It would've been a truly happy day if not for the amount of taxes deducted from our paychecks. My tax deduction is almost 10 grand! That's nothing compared to the deduction of one of our colleagues--almost 60 grand! I could go to Hong Kong with that amount!

My OHA and I will be celebrating tonight. I was thinking Cafe Ysabel or Casa Armas, but we might just settle for Cyma or Bubba Gump. We're also going to be shopping for our LBJC. Happy day!

Btw, as promised, here are our bookstore purchases from Singapore:

From left to right top row: Eternal Egypt, Heroes Volume One, Richie Rich Classics, I am America and So Can You, The Au Pairs, The Au Pairs Skinny Dipping, The Au Pairs Sun Kissed

From left to right bottom row: Nova Swing, 20th Century Ghosts, Daughter of Hounds, The Atrocity Exhibition, The Overnight, Best New Horror, Dead Sea, The Everlasting, Ghouls

Manila Ocean Park

One of our media activities for ASM this year is a tour of the recently opened Manila Ocean Park in Luneta. It is said to rival Hong Kong's Ocean Park and Singapore's Underwater World so everyone's pretty excited to visit the park.

When two of my colleagues went for an ocular last March 10, they found out that the ticket costs P400. It's a bit pricey, but since the park promises a lot of unique attractions, they thought it was worth it. The thing is, my colleagues said that a lot of exhibits are still closed. Now that's just unfair. Why charge for full price when you can't tour the entire park?

Anyway, to give you a clearer picture of the park, I lifted this from one of their brochures (I uploaded some photos to make the entry a little less boring but the photos here are from Underwater World and not Oceanarium since my colleagues forgot to bring cameras):

The first world-class marine themed park to adopt a fusion concept--bringing together in one complex an Oceanarium, a mall, a restaurant row, boutique hotel, open water marine habitats and multi-purpose function facilities.

Here are the exhibits:

Agos (Flow)

Begin your journey in Agos and learn about the natural flow of water from land to sea. Giant arapaima, piranhas, and various types of crabs can be found in this zone. At the Touch Pool, a hands-on experience awaits those who want to interact with some of our friendly residents, such as the blue-spotted stingray, starfish, and sea cucumber.

Bahura (Reef)

Bahura features some of the most fascinating creatures in the Philippine coral reefs. Find out why the clownfish loves hanging out with the magnificent sea anemone or why the Japanese spider crab is called the largest living arthropod.

Laot (Fishing Ground)

In Laot, you will find a wide array of fish in the deeper waters of the sea. Keep an eye out for the giant grouper, which can weigh up to 660 pounds, making it one of the largest coral reef-dwelling bony fish.

Buhay na Karagatan (Living Ocean)

Experience underwater life through a 25-meter tunnel that showcases various marine animals and how they interact with each other. See how they protect themselves from predators and observe their techniques for finding food to survive.

Ang Kalaliman (The Deep)

Ang Kalaliman features different kinds of schooling fish like the barracuda. Discover why many fish feel safer in groups.

Pagi (Stingray)

The overhang tank offers a unique top and bottom view of stingrays. Enjoy their wonderful co-existence with the beautiful golden trevally.

Pating (Shark)

In the Shark Tank, observe how sharks behave and interact with one another. Find out why they are called the "Masters of the Seven Senses."

Hopefully, they finish the park before the year ends or at least early 2009 so I can take my LBJC there. I think he's still going to be too young to appreciate all the creatures but I think it can be a good, stimulating experience for him. I just hope he's not scared of fishes. Like his mom. Yes. I'm deathly afraid of fish.

Also, I hope that this is not one of those ningas kugon projects which will eventually be scrapped due to lack of maintenance funds. I really hope not. I think the park is going to be a nice addition to the list of tourist attractions in our country.

If you're hungry, don't look at this post

I need to curb my appetite because my OB told me I gained five pounds since my last checkup. That's probably the worst news I've heard all year! I just want to eat, eat, and eat! It's not fair. I don't even think I'm that fat :(

It's not my fault that I gained weight, you know? Who in their right minds could resist these?

Duck rice

OHA and I found a nifty little hawker center right in the middle of Bugis. I was so tired and hungry that I already had three or four bites before I remembered to take a picture. OHA had a heaping serving of crabmeat fried rice.

Chicken chop

After Sentosa, OHA and I visited the food court in Vivo City. When I saw the words "chicken chop" scrawled across one of the blackboards in the food court, I almost cried! I love love chicken chops! The one they sell in the night market in Taipei is way better than this one though.

Three-cheese lasagna

I don't think I've eaten anything else on NYDC except for this lasagna. It's made of ricotta, parmesan, and mozarella. It's very yummy and very filling. Worth every cent.

Gyoza

I don't remember where I ate this. If I'm to hazard a guess, I'll say in one of the restaurants in City Link? It's only a few steps away from VNC.

Chicken and sausage pasta

We decided to have dinner in Bongo Burgers before entering the Night Safari. I ordered this pasta and OHA had a burger. This pasta was very good, but when I saw the burger that OHA ordered, I kinda wished I ordered the burger instead!

Godiva chocula

This one does not need explanations. The Holy Grail of chocolate. I. MUST. WORSHIP.

Ice kachang

We had this snack the same day we had lunch in the hawker center in Bugis. I ordered the ice kachang and OHA ordered kopi.


So tell me, is it my fault? Let's try to ignore the fact that I have no self-control. It's my LBJC's fault! He's always hungry! It's true!

Too much time on my hands

And because I've been bitten by the Friday bug, I'm too lazy to do anything that requires moving a lot of muscle groups. I'm looking at random photo folders in my flash drive and I found a couple of pictures that I think are worth posting.

This was how our room looked like after OHA and I got home from our Singapore trip last November :

This was our loot:

We are such tourists! OHA and I have been here a couple of times (separately) already but we never tire of shopping for touristy items!

What we bought (from upper left): noodles, laksa and other food for my dad, Hang Ten shirts also for my dad (dirt cheap in Singapore), Charles and Keith bag for my sister, a glittery Singapore souvenir banner, T-shirts in can for OHA and his brother(The Departed and Kill Bill), a bottle of Body Shop's Bergamot body spray, seven of OHA's shirts from Bugis, several dresses also from Bugis, Merlion souvenir fans, a Night Safari glow-in-the-dark cap, matching mushroom slippers, 2046 portrait, a bunch of Chinese toys, a bottle of Private Reserve ink and Noodler's ink for OHA's Mont Blanc, souvenir shirts for my brother-in-law (my sister's husband, not OHA's brother) and my father-in-law, clothes for my niece and my nephew, an Underwater World tumbler, Craisins, Godiva demitasse, Underwater World backpack for my nephew, three pairs of shoes for me, one pair of black sandals for my mom, a test tube-full of water from the fountain in Suntec City (I forgot what it's called. Something like the biggest fountain in the world thing), Underwater World pens and bookmarks, huge-ass case of Ferrero Rocher, spices and herbs for OHA's aunt, six Chinese-print silk bags, three chests of chocolate coins, a pink whale named Taffy from Underwater World, Chinese lanterns, Cadbury chocolates in a vintage tin, tops for OHA's sisters, souvenir magnets from Bugis, Strawberry shortcake lunch case, Barney book of colors for my nephew, spicy fish chips, OHA's batman jeans from the DC store, a mahjong tile-type tissue holder.

Not in photo: the cutest Merlion stuffed toy (it's tongue's sticking out), Monty Python's Complete Flying Circus for OHA, Canon IXUS i-7 zoom for me, Uzumaki DVD for DHA and his best friend, Lamy Safari fountain pen for OHA, the mucho expensivo RISIS panda necklace, teddy bear necklaces for my friends, gazillions of books from Borders and Kinokuniya. I'll save that for next time :)