Yikes!

Tessie did a very bad thing today. She has the habit of going through doors and gates and not taking care to close them. She doesn't take much notice either if cats or dogs pass through with her. Once, a cat got in the house and ate the food on the dining table. Another time, Heidi attacked Becky because Tessie left the gate separating the two dogs unlocked (Heidi has taught herself to open gates, therefore they must be barred or locked to keep her out).

This time, Tessie left the gate separating Harry from Heidi open. The two dogs are separated because Harry could think of nothing but having sex with Heidi... which is natural as male dogs cannot resist the smell female dogs emit. When we heard Heidi howl in pain and rushed out ... we saw Harry humping her and could not separate them.

Don't know if today's incident is enough to get Heidi pregnant.

Sal's request

Sally called earlier this week me asking me to buy some things for her which Willy is willing to bring back to California. Most of them I would be able to buy at Greenhills. Sam offered to accompany me and we met at the Ayala MRT station at 9AM.

The shopping center wasn't open yet when we got there. We had finished shopping by lunch, which was great because the place was starting to get crowded. Had lunch at Max's Greenhills and left for Mall of Asia by 1:30PM.

Did more shopping at the mall before stopping at Rai Rai Ken to eat. Jon, who was in Binondo to buy hopia from Eng Bee Tin, met us there. After eating we watched the Happy Feet movie.

Had coffee at Gloria Jean's before heading home. Sam liked the cafe and plans to return, bringing her mom with her.

The Pacquiao-Morales rematch

Was in Mall of Asia with Jon early morning in order to watch the Pacquiao - Morales boxing match via live telecast in the cinema. The match is shown on local TV but on delayed telecast. Since we were watching the match with a hundred more people, there is strong energy in the atmosphere. It's almost like watching the match live.

It was disappointing that the match lasted only three rounds.

Walked around the Mall afterwards. There are large TV screens on the ground floor showing the delayed telecast for free.

Passing by the Globe Service Center, I decided to upgrade my SIM card.

Went to the supermarket next to buy something for Sam's mom and grandmother who were hospitalized due to food poisoning. Jon said that the diet should be BRAT (Banana, Rice, Apple and Tea). Bought bananas, apples, tea and oatmeal.

When we got to the University of Perpetual Help Rizal Medical Center, we found out that Sam's grandma is still in the hospital, but her mom was just discharged and is recuperating at home. Decided to meet Sam at their house.

While I was in her mother's room, I was audience to a funny exchange between her mom and their maid. The maid just came back from the drugstore with the medicine for Sam's mom. The maid said that one of the medicines was out of stock, and since there is still some money left, she decided to buy tissue paper instead. Sam's mom perused the receipt and repeated the words "tissue paper".

Okay...if I had been the one asked to buy medicine, I would return the change if one medicine was out of stock.

What made it funnier was when Sam told me later that they already have lots of tissue paper in stock.

Renewing a Passport in the Philippines

When I applied for a passport, I joined the hundreds who line up in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the morning.

Someone told me that renewing would be easy if I go in the afternoon when the line has already dwindled.

I was at the DFA after lunch. There are many photo shops on the street going to the building, and people there will actually assault you to have your picture taken with them. They tried the following with me:

• The application form I downloaded from the net is old, I can get the new one from them for free if I have my passport ID photos taken with them; and
• The background of my photo is not white enough, ergo I must have it taken again, this time at their establishment.

I actually got into word fight with one of them. If the sole of my shoe hadn't come off, there would be nothing embarassing about stomping away from them.

Once I got into DFA, I found to my relief that my picture is passable and that although I filled up the old form, it was still okay. For the entire process I was on uneven shoes ... the sole of one of my shoes wrapped in my jacket. The moment I got out of DFA, I hailed a taxi to take me to Makati where I bought rubber shoes to change into.

I also bought some books and the Rizal DVD.

Tonight's the ACI Christmas Party the the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The mall is near it but I wasn't dressed for the party so I didn't go. Told Jon to meet me at Makati. We ate at the Outback Resto.

Learned that Willy, Edith and Williejohn was at Pacita today. They'll return tomorrow.

Bloomberg Forum

I could be staying at home playing on the PC, but decided to go ahead and attend the Bloomberg Forum held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel.

It is after all, a free lunch.

Errands

Left after lunch for Metro Manila. As the bus was only half-full when I got to the station, I decided to go to the photo shop to have photos printed for the renewal of my passport.

I was in PNB by 4PM. Someone had told me long ago that people who don't avail of SSS and Pag-Ibig loans run the risk of having their account used by someone else. That is why some people are surprised upon retirement to find that they have outstanding loans with said agencies. I decided to fill out the loan application forms for both.

Got PJ's gift and the dried fish I asked Jeng to buy for me in Cebu. PJ gave me a necklace made of wooden beads. It is likely to be one of the products she is exporting.


A broker gave away tickets to watch the Pacquiao-Morales rematch live from the Mall of Asia cinema. I got two.

Forced Leave Starts

Have not availed any of my 10-day forced leave so I availed 5 of them for this week.

Jeng texted me to say that PJ has a gift for me from Cebu, and that the dried fish I asked her to buy cost PHP420.

Jeng and the rest of the Domestic Market Trading Group are MART members. MART had its annual convention at Cebu this Nov. 10-12.

Lunch with Natixis

The Natixis guys from Singapore are in town again this week. They treated us to lunch at the Spiral Restaurant of the Hotel Philippine Plaza.