The Pasig River Ferry

I went to Quiapo with friends yesterday and one of them suggested that we try the Pasig River Ferry instead of taking the car. Because I was apprehensive about it, we compromised by taking the MRT-LRT on the way there, and the ferry on our way home.

Although I did agree to the ferry ride, I was silently praying the entire time for rain to pour or any other thing that would prevent us from actually going on the ferry. My heart was racing as we were headed towards the terminal. I hate boat rides. First, I have motion sickness. Second, I don't really trust boat rides in the Philippines. Especially since it's common to hear stories of boats that sank because they were overloaded and without enough supply of life vests. And third... the Pasig River?!? Doesn't that stink? I shudder at the thought of any part of my body touching that in case the ferry does sink!

When we finally got to the terminal in Escolta, I was surprised to see a clean and modern structure. Even more surprised that the river didn't stink. Though I'm not sure if it stank in other parts of the river, it seemed to me that the Pasig River rehabilitation program is actually paying off. The tickets were printed on thermal paper which you simply scan on the turnstile to enter the area. The ferry was clean with ample leg space between rows of seats, and yes, a life vest under each seat. It was airconditioned and had big windows so you can see the view of the river bank.

There's potential in making this an organized tour for those wanting to experience a different view of the city. It turned out to be a smooth and pleasant ride -- definitely a good way to cap off a sightseeing or food tripping in Binondo!

Unarmed with a camera yesterday, I snagged the photo above by Eric Sales from http://www.adb.org/Media/PhotoGallery/photos2.asp.

15 Questions

Thanks to A Nice Thought for this tag :)

It's a very simple game, just follow some few rules:

1. Add your blog/s to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs. It’s okay if you only post this questions in one blog as long as you answer them.

2. Get back to YEN and will add your blogs to the master’s list here! Yup, another linking thingy but this one has 15 questions and you get to enjoy answering them too!3.

Tag as many friends online you know. But you don’t need to be tag in order to join.


QUESTIONS:

1. When you buy a greetings card, are the words or the picture more important to you?

- I don't buy greeting cards. Hardly give them, and when I do, I usually make it myself.

2. What’s your favorite kind of cake?

- I go through phases. Right now, I like Dulce de Leche.

3. Do you ever make gifts for people, if so what, or do you buy them?

- It depends. If I have time and I can make something the recipient is really going to like, I make it myself.

4. What’s your favorite holiday?

- Christmas!!! Love the decors, love the music, love the gifts!

5. Are you going on holiday this year?

- Wish I could!

6. What was the best party you’ve ever been to?

- Hmm...

7. If you are married, describe your wedding. If not, what would your ideal wedding be like?

- Fun and non-traditional, with just my dearest family and friends. I don't mind eloping, though, and get married in a small church in Italy!

8. What’s the most romantic thing that’s ever happened to you?

- Hmm.. Hahaha.

9. What’s your favorite girl’s name?

- Chloe

10. What’s your favorite boy’s name?

- Enzo

11. Which celebrity would you like a dream date with? Right now?

- Justin Chambers haha!

12. Which female celebrity do you find beautiful?

- Liv Tyler

13. Which male celebrity do you think is attractive?

- Brad Pitt

14. What is your best character trait?

- fair

15. What is your worst habit?

- cramming


The List: 1. Me and Mine 2.Creative In Me 3.Little Peanut 4. Pea in a Pod 5. Sugar Magnolias 6. 6. A Life in Bloom 7. Because Life is a Blessing 8. Nita’s Random Thoughts 9. Nita’s Corner 10. Nita’s Ramblings 11. Thomas Web Links 12. Thomas Travel Tales 13. Great Finds and Deals 14. Make Money Online 15. Recipe Collections 16. My Wandering Thoughts 17. Filipino Online Community 18. Famous Lyrics Collections 19. Thomas Digital Services 20. Bohol Paradise 21. PRC Board Exam Results 22. My Paperless Writings 23. As The World Turns 24. My BIG Picture 25. When Silence Speaks 26. Felicity’s Vision 27. Bienvenue `a la Noryfel 28. Inday’s Kitchen 30. My Life 31. My Life in this Wonderful World! 32.Me,Myself+2 33.FunFierceFabulous 34. Supermodel Wannabe 35. kathycot dot com 36. buhaymisis.com 37. In Depth 38. My so called Life 39. Life's Impression 40. Vhiel's Corner 41. Anything and Everything in Between 42. Designs By Vhiel 43. Can of Thoughts 44. Raptured Dreams 45. My Daily Thoughts 46. Health, Fitness, Science 47.Blogger's Recollections 48.Embracing Health For Life 49. A Nice Thought 50. Charmed Blossoms

And now I'm tagging Darlyn Gem Words and Heap Up

Tags & Meme's 20 Questions

Got tagged by Aeirin Collections. Thanks!

Here are the Rules for this tag:

Remove one (1) question from below and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag eight (8) people on your list. List them out at the end of this post.

1. What is your favorite food?

ice cream! yum!

2. What was your happiest moment when you were a child?

eating soft serve ice cream at Camp John Hay

3. Where is the place that you want to go the most?

italy -- soon I hope :)

4. What's your favorite color?

pink!

5. When you encounter a sad moment, what do you do?

try to counter it by thinking happy thoughts.

6. What are you afraid to lose the most?

my sanity... hahaha!

7. If you win $1 million, what would you do?

go around the world with my loved ones.

8. What is the saddest moment for you last year (2007)?

hmmm...

9. Which actor/actress would you like to play you in a movie?

oh no! can't decide!

10. How do you cope with boredom?

bug my younger sister

11. Till now, what is the moment that you regret the most?

omigosh! don't get started on this!

12. What type of person do you hate the most?

someone ill-mannered

13. What is your ambition?

to be the best i can be in any endeavor

14. If you had one wish, what would you wish for?

to win the P180M lotto jackpot tonight! haha!

15. How did you celebrate New Year?

quietly with my family

16. What has been the craziest thing you’ve ever done in your whole life?

giving up the financial stability of being an employee to be an entrepreneur

17. What do you look forward to in 2008?

better business prospects

18. If your life is a song, what title best fits it?

so many questions... hahaha!

19. What is your inspiration in life?

people who continue to fight for what they believe in no matter how difficult it can be

20. If you were to change one event in your life, what would it be?

i wouldn't want to change anything because good things are always good to remember and bad things make me stronger

Now I'm tagging Filipino in Canada, Brown Pinay, The Chic Shopaholic, Heap Up

My L'il Green Patch

I recently added this application on my facebook profile. For every 10 plants I send to my facebook friends, I help save 1 sq ft of rainforest. Inviting Filipino in Canada to post this widget on her blog.

For others who'd also like to help this cause, feel free to just click on the widget to get one for your blog.

Kids Say the Funniest Things!

I’ve always found it amusing to talk to kids. Whenever I’m really, really bored, there’s nothing like a kiddie conversation to liven things up. They always give a simple, fresh, innocent perspective on every topic.

Here are snippets of conversations with my 5-year old niece, 7-year old nephew, and my younger sister when she was round about that age range.

On a rainy day, a conversation between my younger and elder sisters…
Younger sister: San galing yung rain? (Where does the rain come from?)
Elder sister: Sa clouds (From the clouds)
Younger sister: You mean, butas-butas yung clouds? (You mean clouds are full of holes?)

My sister and mom, listening to Joe D’Mango’s radio show:
“Mommy, si Joe ba, tao or mango?” (“Mommy, is Joe a person or a mango?”)

My sister, somewhat panicked, while watching a tv show wherein the mom grew old and was played by another actress…
“Mommy, when you grow older, will you still be my mommy?”

Planning a day at the Ontario Science Center with my niece and nephew…
Nephew: Oh, you’ll see invisible woman when we take you to the Science Center!
Me: How will I see her if she’s invisible?
Nephew: Hmm… hehehehehe! (Eyes looking up, trying to find a logical explanation)
Niece: Of course you’ll see her! She’s just invisible on tv but you’ll see her when we go there! (Rolled eyes after the sentence. If “idiot” were part of her vocabulary, that’s probably what was on her mind at that time.)

Playing with my niece, I see her crinkling her nose…
Me: Oh no! Don’t do that to your nose!
Niece: Do what?
Me: That thing you just did to your nose (Scared to demonstrate it myself. Even that short demo might give me wrinkles!)
Niece: This? (Again crinkling her nose)
Me, panicked: Yes! That! Stop doing that!
Niece: Why? (Still with her nose crinkled)
Me, even more panicked: Because you’ll regret it when you grow older!
Niece: Why? (Turns to look at her still crinkled nose in the mirror)
Suffice to say, we had a 3 minute “Why” discussion, with her nose crinkled the entire time until she was satisfied with my explanations!

My niece, when they came over for a vacation…
Niece: Lolo, when will you visit us in Canada?
Lolo: I don’t think I can visit you because I’m scared to ride the airplane.
Niece: Huuhh? I don’t understand why you’re scared to ride the airplane. You just get on the plane, sit down, and that’s it! (Complete with hand gestures to emphasize the simplicity of air travel)

Out of the blue, during a long road trip to the US:
Niece: Tita, are you EVER going to have babies? (As if she’s been waiting for as long as my parents have been for me to get married and have kids!)
Me: I need to find a husband first before that happens!
Nephew: How about Mr. X from our school? (Ooh! My nephew, the matchmaker!)

Newspaper Headlines

Staying Fit

My First Award

I got my first ever award from Of Colors and Styles. Thank you!

Arte y Pico Award

The rules of this tag are as follows:

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award. http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

Make sure you visit the link above.

And now, it's my turn to give this award to: Barefooted Me, Gracey's Journal, Lalaine's World, Paperback Designs, and The Chic Shopaholic.

Do you prefer a Mac or a PC?

US Presidential Elections

Okay, so I'm Filipino and I should not really have a right to choose the next US president. But at least I get to cast my vote here.