A Not So Little Furry Friend

We have a rodent problem.

Well, we haven't seen the actual culprit yet, but from the scratch marks left on the garbage bag and the 0.5inch pawprints, i think it's safe to assume that it's a rodent and not just the household lizard.

The first attack was mid last week wherein we saw the mangled garbage bag and the hose of the washing machine was also removed from it's place in the drainage. We think that the furry friend crawled up the drain and gnawed at the machine hose up to the point that it could push it out of the way and up to our kitchen.

My tubby's rather boggled by the fact that he saw the pawprints on the kitchen sink. I mean, how did it get up there? The kitchen wall's pretty vertical so it couldn't have crawled up. Did it fly? Weird....

My tubby bought a sticky board from the mall so we could catch the furry bugger. No luck yet when I left the house this morning. Maybe my tubby would get lucky today ;)

Spa Hopping

Body Wellness
Aromatherapy & Relfexology
Location: #84 Jem Bldg., Sct. Fernandez cor. Tomas Morato, Quezon City

This is the spa that my tubby and I really frequent since not only are the prices reasonable, but their service is also very consistent regardless of the masseuse assigned to you.

It's situated along Scout Fernandez St. along Tomas Morato in Quezon City, and some landmarks are Fabricare and Chillis. It's a two-storey affair with separate facilities for men and women, with individual lockers for clients as well as a dry sauna and shower area. The lockers, sauna and shower area are at the 1st floor while the massage area is at the 2nd floor.

Since it's a small place, they don't have individual rooms for the massage proper but they can accomodate 5 clients at a time in the common area. They also have provisions for curtains that serve as partitions in between clients.

For a facility that has a shower and sauna, their Swedish or Shiatsu massage which costs Php400 an hour is not bad at all. And the best thing about it is that you could ask for an extension of 30minutes which would just cost you Php50! In other spas, an extension of any kind would make huge dent on your wallet since it would mean double the cost. But not in Body Wellness ;) And as a promo to increase their traffic during off-peak hours, they also offer 25% off for the Swedish and Shiatsu massages from 10AM to 5PM daily. This is such a good deal already, I'd go there every week if it wasn't a bit far from where I stay.

They also offer other services such as Foot Reflex, Body Scrub and Facial Massage, but I always go for the full body massage as a special treat for myself ;)

For reservations or inquiries, you can contact them at this number: +632.372.3403

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Ton Ton Thai Massage
Branches: Cebu, Makati (in front of the Makati Sports Clubs), Subic Proper (near the Petron Station), Shaw Blvd. (across 10Q Convenience Store), Tomas Morato (near Wonton Restaurant), and Nichols Pasay among others

The original branch was in Cebu City, but my former employer decided to expand it here in Manila. This is a no frills place since they only offer dry massage to clients, and they don't have the usual sauna and shower area anymore.

I personally love the Thai Foot Massage since it really focuses on your tired feet and legs, with a short hand and back massage to boot. It would start off with a warm foot soak while they massage your hands, then they'd also give you this warm shoulder bean bag which helps you relax even more. After the soak, they'll do some short stretching for your feet and start with the massage proper. In the traditional Thai method, they have this wooden tool which they use to provide just the right amount of pressure on your feet, and I tell you, it just feels FANTASTIC. It also helps that they use a minty kind of lotion (not peppermint) to soothe your tired muscles, and they spread a special kind of powder on your feet and legs after the foot massage so there's no lingering sticky sensation afterwards. And to finish it off, they work on your back for 10 to 15minutes so you basically had a full body massage but with special attention on your feet.

A must-try for people who complain about tired feet (like me!), but you can also try their other services such as the Back Massage and Full Body Massage. The nice thing about this place is that they offer services for as short as 30minutes for people who work in the area but would want to have a quick stress-reliever in between breaks. Prices vary based on the type of massage as well as the duration, but it's usually between Php250 to 350 for the Foot, Back and Full Body Massage.

Lookee Who I Foundee!!!

i had to stay late in the office due to some mobile tests and i couldn't even go to the canteen to grab some grub, so suffice it to say that i was STARVING by the time i got to Galleria. i was just looking for any food chain or shop that was still open at that hour so i wasn't paying much attention to anything else but FOOD. as i was making my way to Chowking (thank God they're still open even after mall hours), i suddenly saw Pumsee just standing there smiling at me :D

this was actually the second time we accidentally bumped into each other in the same mall, at roughly the same time, and for the same reason -- coz i was STARVING and was looking for FOOD :D hahahaha

i ordered some rice topping meal, and as i was devouring my grub, Pumsee just kept on playing with my N70 cam phone, and took this funky pic. haha, so now Pam, you should avoid taking pics of yourself coz i shall have no remorse whatsoever before i upload it for everyone to see!!!! bwahahahaha!!!! :D

after eating my meal, i was still hungry so i decided to order halo-halo also. Pam and i split an order, and really made the most out of it since we finished even the melted ice + milk.

we finally left an empty Chowking (save for the employess who probably wanted to kick us out already since it was already past 10pm) and made semi-plans about watching Chuck and Larry on Wed.

Upcoming Spa Review

on my way to work this morning, it suddenly dawned on me that i could actually make a spa review since i've been to several haunts in the past few years. it also helps that my tubby shares the same passion for soothing massages, so we sort of try out new places from time to time.

the places we frequent are actually just in the metro since we don't have our own ride, so we go to spas which are accessible via cab, for the most part at least ;)

i just have to make an initial draft about the spas which i'll include in the review, but they would most probably be composed of the following: TonTon Thai Massage, Body Wellness, Excelsior, Sonya's Garden and Sanctuario. there was this another place that i go to, but i honestly do not recall the name right now :D i just KNOW where it is ;)

Thinking of Getting Babies - 05 January 2007

yep, babies. but not human. seth and i were walking around in megamall last night and we saw this pet stall on our way out. they had hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, and birds. i was seriously thinking about getting a pair of rabbits coz they looked so furry and cuddly. shucks.

the guinea pigs would’ve been okay but they were just too skittish. and they look like they might bite me if ever i’d want to take them out of the cage and play with them. so, rabbits are the way to go.

i also promised seth that i won’t drown the cuddly things since i kinda have this track record of mangling my pets. but that was years ago. i think i’ll be a better mommy this time around. after having a roster of pets from white mice to chicks, rabbits and quails, i think it’s about time to give it a try again.

Cable Thieves - 14 February 2007

yup, i had to contend with cable thieves last weekend. the thing is, our cable connection at home was perfect when we signed up for the service sometime Q1 2006. i don’t recall the very first call we made to ask the provider to check the connection, but i distinctly remember trying to schedule a repair during the christmas season.

but it was only last weekend that the cable guy came over to check the connection and reception. i told him that i suspect some people have illegally leeched onto our connection, so the guy had to check the cable path to verify.

guess what? there were unlicensed cables latched onto our connection! not one, not two, but THREE neighbors were connected!!! all of them within the compound itself!!

i was FUMING when i found out. the cable guy started cutting off the other cables and we checked the reception inside the house.

it was PERFECTLY CLEAR.

i traced the 1st cable to Unit A which is right at the gate. the nerve. those people just moved in a couple of months ago and they had the gall to do that?!?!

the 2nd cable was hidden behind the chicken wire on top of the wall, and it was fixed in a way that the cable was secured by twisties every 1 or 2 feet. and i traced it to the unit right in front of our pad, where it was divided again by a splitter!! i swear, i wanted to cut it off and chop up the cable into tiny pieces and dump them in front of the leeches’ units. but i couldn’t reach the darn splitter.

i confronted the guy in one of the units, and i asked him why there was a cable going to their pad which was latched on my line. he goes, “but that was there before we even moved in”.

yeah right.

i knew the people who lived in that unit before, and they would NEVER do that.

*sigh*

i called up the cable provider and asked if people like my neighbors could be jailed or fined given the situation. i was told by the customer service representative that there is no existing law yet in the san juan area governing such situations. only manila and makati are covered.

damn, damn, damn!

seth told me not to pick a fight, but i honestly wanted to confront them and call them THIEVES!!!! can’t they just pay for their measly cable connection???? if they want foreign shows, then they better be ready to pay for it! i’m not working my ass off everyday just to go home to an unclear tv reception because of their stinginess.

so every night when i head home, the first thing i do after switching on the lights is to open the tv to check if the reception is still clear.

Of Patience and the Government - 03 April 2007

i’m a chinese citizen.

nope, i’m not proud of it but it’s a fact. it’s not something that bothered me before, but it started making my life a living hell when i finally accepted an offer to travel abroad for work.

i was born here in the country, i pay may taxes to the government, and i will get sanctioned by country rules should i even attempt to violate any. so what makes me any different?

the thing is, despite the fact that i was born and raised in this country, i still have to endure all the bureacratic red tape that this country is so known for. most people just tend to accept it as it is, but it really is frustrating when you want to get things done.

i had to get a medical clearance from a government hospital, secure clearances from the police, NBI, fiscal court, metropolitan trial court and regional trial court. afterwhich, i had to fill out all these papers to affirm that i REALLY wanted to denounce my chinese citzenship and submitted these to immigration.

it would be great if after all the hard work (running around in various buildings, and all the fees that i had to pay) that i would actually get my application approved in a month or two months’ time.

WRONG

it’s been four months already, and right now, i’m just waiting for a pathetic initial (read: signature that would probably just be a squiggle) on my petition so it go back to immigration and finally end this farce. but with the nearly week long holiday and the elections coming up, my chances of leaving in a week or two is really becoming slim. bordering on non-existent really.
so, what to do?

1) wait. for how long? well it really escapes me right now.
2) pay someone. yes, bribe someone to actually get my petition and dump it on the signatory’s desk and tell him, “sign here please”

it’s really frustrating. i don’t know what else to do, and how else to go about it. if someone knows someone in the justice system, preferably someone really HIGH UP THERE, i’d really appreciate it if i could be endorsed to that person.

in the meantime, i guess i’ll just wait.

*sigh*

Annoyed - 11 July 2007

there’s this person who i’m supposed to work with and get along with but i really don’t. i’ve been trying to be nice but somehow it’s just starting to become really annoying. for the purposes of this blog, let’s just refer to that entity as “IT”.

okay, it just so happens that IT and i have to work together for several projects. plus the fact that we also have to co-exist. it would be bearable if there were other people around, but that’s gonna end in two weeks’ time. i don’t even know what’s gonna happen by then. IT considers me as a friend. i hope that didn’t happen coz now i have to be nice since IT thinks that i’m on IT’s side. ouch. i don’t know if i’m supposed to be happy about that or not. wait, let me take that back. NO — i’m NOT happy about it.

IT even admitted to some of ITs errors, like purposely having typos in business communication and the way that IT does not stand up for ITself when faced with an argument. IT cites that it is a strategy which IT decided to do when IT joined the company. i told IT that it’s no surprise that most people look down on IT because that was the path that IT decided to take.
when i heard it i’m like, HELLO. don’t even be surprised that people don’t like you, or if they look down on you. YOU MADE THEM THINK THAT. please. if it’s a strategy that you think would work, wake up fool — it didn’t and it won’t.

how tiring. plus the fact that IT is always defensive and cites that so and so people has got ITs back. now that i think about it, IT could probably just throw ITs supposed weight around the company. then we can just see who’s got who’s back and all that.

and to think that i get cornered almost every night with this inanity. it’s not funny anymore. IT brags that IT got an offer from another company for double ITs current pay. deep down inside, i hope IT would just take the offer and leave. good for IT, good for the rest of the people in the company.

i wish IT would just grow up. period.