Thank you guys for reading my article on SOPA. I know it’s not the best explanation but it’s sort of a brief intro on it. I really want people to become aware of THIS HUGE ISSUE that’s going to affect the whole INTERNET. Call it communism or socialism but they are trying to hold a monopolistic power over your Internet freedom. Please read as much as you can about it even though it has been TEMPORARILY SHELVED at the moment because the FBI isn’t waiting for some bill to pass. They’ve already killed Megaupload and Megvideo and what’s stopping them from taking Dropbox (aww sh*t I have some files in there! I better back it up…). If you haven’t read it yet, I hope that you do read it if you have time!

Imagine that, Timothy Brown after 4 years of an innovative procedure… suddenly has no more trace of AIDS in his system… this is groundbreaking news! I hope that this year, I’d be able to blog more responsibly and spread news such as this more. I do like sharing information with people, information that I care about too. Maybe this is one reason why I’ve thought of being a journalist… but it isn’t one of my top career goals. I just really like sharing information with people… is there a name for such person?

If you were able to read about my very depressing post (the one about hamsters), I dreamt a very weird dream that night and I have been dreaming and have recalled EVERY DREAM THE PAST TWO WEEKS. Is this normal? Do you dream and then remember your dream every night? I was able to do some research online and every article says that EVERYBODY dreams except you probably don’t remember it since you woke up too far from R.E.M. stage or you didn’t have an R.E.M. stage. It’s so strange that ever since I internalized and thought about death and was frightened and shocked at the possibilities because of my sickness, I’ve been dreaming EVERY night constantly and sometimes I dream more than one dream. Sometimes I feel like the dream has been going on for a LONG TIME and once I even dreamt of the dream TWICE in a row but in a different manner. And just the other night, my dream felt SO REAL, I thought I was having a lucid dream. I somehow knew in my dream that I was dreaming…. and swimming in the ocean under the bright blue sky and I thought to myself, “Wow this is so realistic” inside my dream. Usually though I have weird dark and morbid dreams (i just had my Zombie Apocalypse dream, also me getting sliced by a meat cleaver at my back, don’t worry I wasn’t frightened of these dreams since they’re so common and I probably got used to it :/) so the wonderful dream about swimming in the ocean was such a respite from the past days.

Maybe it’s my subconscious telling me that graduation is nearing…

In one month I’m about to enter the real world…

and my subconscious is saying…

Not yet.

Questions

1. Did you hear about the medical breakthrough?

2. Have you every dreamt and recalled your dreams EVERYDAY for more than 2 weeks? Just hope that I’m not alone…

OF THE BEGINNING! *oh also the beginning of a new rebranded look of my site! Pls read my previous post on explanation THANKS!*

Sorry just wanted to twist the words a bit! But you know with the impending Mayan prediction that 2012 is gonna be our last year ever… I’ve been thinking a lot… like which planner to get. (Okay the least of all my worries but I’m a realist-optimist-ifthere’ssuchathing and in my gut feeling, the earth still has many years to come -andheckIdontwantittoendyetcoz…) Everybody has been raving about the 2012 Starbucks planner and as my brother and I’s annual Christmas tradition of collecting at least 3, we indeed were able to get 3! Maybe we might even get a 4th in January, all these thanks to the help of our friends! We gave away 2 and 1′s for my brother. Actually one was set aside for me but I didn’t find it appealing enough and I needed bigger space. I’m not really a planner person but I want to sort out my life on 2012, it’ll be a good change.

Another planner that I’ve been hearing about is the moonleaf planner. But I’m not that much of a fan of moonleaf to actually want a planner from moonleaf but I can’t deny the sleek and wonderful design.

More info on this blog

And I figured that a lot of people would be eyeing this planner and I’d spot everyone using that planner now (do you also get that feeling of wanting to be unique? I’m kinda like that especially with clothes. The minute I see someone who wears the same shirt as I do, I don’t wanna wear that shirt again and I might stop buying clothes from there. Just like what happened to me and Zara though I still like Zara!). Belle de jour is also out of the question since it’s too thick for me.

So where can I find this unique, inescapable, awesome planner? Well I think I have a few choices and maybe you can help me? Being Little Miss Fickle, I need help!

So there’s

1. Slate – liking the planner because of the color, simple front cover and the art inside! More info here and photos of pages

2. Because I love food and this planner is by Our Awesome Planet food blogger so there’s definitely a lot of food tips in here. And the design isn’t too bad too!

3. Cover says it all. And I doubt that this is sold in stores.

Hmmm so there, am in a pickle…

On other news… WE JUST GOT A NEW DOG! We wanted to preserve the lineage of our first favorite poodle, Hollywood the first (R.I.P. ), we asked for one of Pawpi’s pups. So we got little Hailey! Isn’t she adorable? The great thing about her is she isn’t too boisterous nor too timid. She’s just right (ala Goldilocks LOL)!

Isn’t she adorable? 8D

OH AND I CAN’T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO BLOG ABOUT THIS! OMG! After that long disappearance and that stint with cooking (please check out my gastronomic food post!), I’ve decided to try my hand at…

BAKING!

YES! I HAVE ALWAYS DREAMED OF BAKING AND I’VE DONE IT!! Crosses off bucket list

*EVIL CACKLE*

So I’ve done Butterbeers and such, BUT WHAT ABOUT…. BUTTERBEER CUPCAKES? My love for Harry Potter is still alive and will always be alive, so I decided to celebrate Halloween by baking my very first batch with the help of Chair! The first 6 didn’t come out that nice but the rest were like natural cupcakes! I lacked moisture and softness but they were edible and looked like cupcakes! I then tried Carrot Cupcakes on my own and I can say that my cream cheese icing was AWESOME! hahaha And they turned out better too. So here’s to MORE BAKING STUFFS!

Creamy Buttebeer cupcakes!

Adding ze ganache

I suck at icing decors. Well I think coz I have the wrong icing tip.

FINALLY CARROT CUPCAKES!

Next on the agenda is baking a REAL CAKE! I have to study a few youtube videos still though. Baking cakes are definitely WAAY harder now. I’ll start with chocolate cakes. Nothing too fancy yet. Hope that I’ll be able to do it!

WELLL TOODLES NOW

Questions:
1. Which planner did you like best? Do you have a planner or planning to have one?
2. DOGGIES?
3. Do you cook? Bake? What’s the last thing you cooked/bake/what’s your fave food? LOL

Sorry if this post came out so late! I actually have a new issue in the works but I’ll go ahead and post this first. It’s most likely that you’re here because you’ve been waiting for the second installment of my experience with the most stressful travel agency I’ve encountered (please read this first if you haven’t). Well surprisingly… they were able to book everything except again, I have some complaints.

Photo credits to Mich and Chair! THANKSS!!

Us!

Airphil’s Airbus

Puerto Prinsesa Airport. It’s a really small terminal

It wasn’t written in the deal but the airline that they got us was Airphil Express and it was my first time to ride with them. I was really nervous because the only domestic flights I trusted were Philippine Airlines (even if they’re always late, they are established) and Cebu Pacific so I was really apprehensive. And to think I watched this feature on National Geographic about this air-crash investigation before boarding haha! Good thing though nothing bad happened except for a few delays of a few minutes. I was asleep for most of the 1 hour and 10 minute-ride there so didn’t experience any strong turbulence unlike the one I experienced with Cebu Pacific going to Shanghai. Man THAT WAS THE WORST FLIGHT EXPERIENCE -__-. This flight didn’t me migraines at all and I commend them for that. So don’t be afraid of Airphil express Their terminal by the way is located at NAIA terminal 3. If your flight is at 7:30am, don’t be deceived that there will be a “short” line. There’ll actually be a long line when you arrive at around 5:30am but this is manageable as the long line is actually for Cebu Pacific flights. GOOD LUCK TO THEM! By 6:15am we were actually waiting at the gate and had enough time to kill. Oh and for those who booked with Ensemble, you only need the photocopy of the credit card of Joey Regis or whoever PAID Airphil thing. You don’t need their valid IDs but don’t forget to bring your valid ID too and the travel docket!

This photo of Kookaburra Travel Lodge is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This photo of Kookaburra Travel Lodge is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This photo of Kookaburra Travel Lodge is courtesy of TripAdvisor

We stayed in Kookaburra Lodge finally after demanding Ensemble that this hotel was the one written on the deal so I really wanted to transfer here. It was a good decision even if the location was 10 minutes away from the main city because the people there were really so friendly and SERVICE-ORIENTED (unlike some people *COUGH COUGH*). I was texting one of the staff before we arrived because I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to attend the Underground River Tour that we booked with them (instead of Ensemble, GOOD THINKING. it’s 1,500 pesos though but I think you can get a cheaper deal if you book early) because our flight was scheduled to arrive in Puerto Prinsesa at 8:40am and the tour was at 9am. Of course I feared for the worse like our flight getting delayed and true enough it was delayed for 10 minutes. Surprise surprise when we arrived, Kookaburra arranged to have a separate van to transfer our things to the hotel and the Underground Tour van was already there waiting for us. Good thing we were able to dress properly and we immediately got on! Our tour guide Tita Nids was so nice and was very motherly to us. We were with other tourists from another hotel and Kookaburra. Oh a tip, book your tours in advance with the hotel because they need to secure permits for the Underground River tour.

I kinda forgot how many hours exactly it took from Puerto Prinsesa City to Sabang where the Underground River was (it was 8 kilometers long under a mountain! we were able to travel only 1.2km though as the rest of the river can only be traveled when you’re a researcher). I think it was around 2-3 hours of a joyous ride because of the remnants of the “Abortion Road” (when the road to Sabang wasn’t developed and when pregnant women can’t travel there XD). Because there were foreign tourists, conversation was very lively and interesting as we got to know that they were traveling around the world and Tita Nids was also sharing her stories and explaining the different cities in Palawan. My friends and I bought sun hats too which were perfect for the occasion as it was really so hot and sunny that day! We then had lunch at this coastal restaurants where Badjaos (people native there) were selling their handmade accessories. They were really cheap too but DON’T FORGET to bargain! haha! And be careful because usually a swarm of sellers will surround you O_O You have to be assertive when you don’t want to buy at all. I was able to buy some though WARNING TO FOREIGNERS, please make sure that they are selling you the right price.

Food that comes with the package

Boat ride to the Underground River

Entrance to Underground River.

Tips: PLEASE WEAR JACKET OR PUT PLASTIC AROUND YER BAGS Droplets of water and maybe some guano (aka batpoo) will fall on top of you. Helmets are provided so don’t worry about your crown. Also spray INSECT-REPELLENT coz there are little insects buzzing around. If you’re lucky, you might get a glimpse of a swimming monitor lizard, LOVED IT! We were able to see one at the entrance of the cave. Also if you want to hold the spotlight (it’s POSITIVELY DARK INSIDE THE UNDERGROUND RIVER), sit up front but again, you will attract lotsa little critters. The bats I found out are SUPER CUTE! They’re not vicious at all but tiny little darlings Also get RENE as your boat guide. One of the corniest/funniest man I’ve ever heard/met. Seriously he’s really funny.

Overall, the Underground River was a lovely 40 minute experience. Those afraid of the dark though, this experience would be quite scary…

Us by the beach

TIME TO PARTEY HAVE DINNER! One of the best Filipino restaurants I’ve been to!

So here’s evidence of our pigging out. OH and we ate WOODWORMS. WORMS.

Fish Chips

Rice

Gising Gising (my fave! veggies, shrimp, etc!)

Buttered Prawns OMG YUM

Beef steak (Filipino style!)

Crispy Pata (Pig’s thigh feet) OMG SO HEAVENLY BUT OH SO CHOLESTEROL-Y

THE CARNAGE! Our moms taught us well to not leave anything behind

Oh yeah, did I mention THE WORMS??

Day 2 begins! Now I was really worried about our tour that came with Ensemble, the Honday Bay Island Hopping tour. I was reassured a bit when Joey Regis, their ACCLAIMED CEO (I was wondering though, WHY THE HELL IS THE CEO THE ONE UPDATING OUR TOURS? WTF?), suddenly called me and reminded me of our tour at 9am. It said though in their travel docket that we were supposed to be picked up at 730am. I wondered what the hell happened but I told him okay. I also asked for the contact number of our guide and got it anyway. I asked Kookaburra’s staff about our tour and they honestly can’t give me any answers coz Ensemble really is the only one who knows about it. SO PLEASE, WHOEVER GOT ENSEMBLE’S DEALS, PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK WITH THEM ALL THE TIME COZ YOUR HOTEL WON’T KNOW EITHER. And I actually asked Tita Nids about Ensemble and they have been hearing horrible things too especially this story about Ensemble ruining a couple’s honeymoon because they booked them at wrong times and they could only go on the City tour which they had to book themselves. Really frustrated couple. SHEESH. Ensemble MUST LEARN.

So we got up and had breakfast at 8am and surprisingly, the guide arrived before 9am and we were able to go with a couple of people who also booked with Ensemble (again we shared our own experiences with them, ALL NEGATIVE). It was cool that we met Mich’s long lost relative there and also met a very nice couple. They got Cebu Pacific’s flight though. It turns out that Ensemble ONLY provided a tour handler, NOT EXACTLY a tour guide so he wasn’t like Tita Nids who talked about Palawan. So I absolutely didn’t learn anything about the islands. We didn’t have a snorkeling instructor or guide too (I saw that other groups had someone go snorkeling with them) which was a pity coz they could have taught us the proper way to snorkel. I knew how to swim but I didn’t exactly know how to dive. I did see the pretty fishes and got to feed them! Oh by the way, we rented out beach shoes and snorkeling gear and had some free fish food There’s a stop on the way to the port. We were able to hop to Snake Island (my fave coz of the LOADS of fishes) and Pandan Island (LOTS OF ALGEA! Some starfishes and fishes but not as many, you could ride on banana boats, jetski and other activities though) only because our guide said that they were doing some renovations or what on Starfish Island. SO THEY SAY. So Ensemble again FAILS in this department because our tour wasn’t really equipped with a guide. WTF really. To those who have arranged Honday Bay Island hopping with other travel agencies, did you have a “real” guide? So I’ll let the pics do the talking

On da boat!!

DELICIOUS LUNCH THOUGH!! Our tour handler was a great cook! Now that’s a good thing

Snake Island!

Next stop was DINNER AGAIN! haha boy we loved our dinners! Oh by the way, Kookaburra can arrange tricycle rides to the main city BUT it’s really MORE EXPENSIVE! 20 pesos per person though the tricycle was indeed better than Manila’s trikes, i still think 20php is STEEP. So when going back from your location, you can either get another trike offering a cheaper price or contact Kookaburra again to pick you up So we had ours in Kalui’s! They were fullybooked by that time and it’s a good thing we reserved a place. I LOVED the ambiance of the place and we had to go barefoot inside the restaurant. The sounds and lighting were perfect. Except I actually loved the food at Kinabuch’s better though. Kalui’s seemed lacking something… hahah!

Front of Kalui’s. Yeah Lui owns this restaurant

No slippers or shoes please

We kinda pigged out again except we had more fishes and vegetables Kinda too lazy to put everything. I’ll only put if someone requests the 7 dishes we 4 girls ate

Dropped by Puerto Prinsesa’s Bay walk area!

BEAR CAT! SO FLUFFY!

Baker’s Hill!

DELICIOUS HALO HALO!

Basically I LOVED my Palawan trip except for some minor flaws (Ensemble -__-). Our island hopping day could have been better. I sure wish we stayed here for more than 3 days. It just isn’t enough. And now I’m wishing I could go back. But definitely not booking with Ensemble anymore (unless they hire me and I’ll fix their booking system, HA! XD)

So toodles all!