Hanasanpo at Chichibu

Huling hirit sa panahon ng tagsibol. The super overdue post.

"finally katamaran left! i can now make my Chichibu post. Yey!"

after 5 seconds....

"Uh-oh katamaran's back. will do it tomorrow na lang..."

I was like this for a month. Actually right now I'm thinking if I should continue doing this or just eat my ichigo purin and continue watching IronMan II. Hee ^_^

So last April 17 I (together with Kuya Mylo, Ate Rhodz and husband) went to Chichibu (West Saitama) for this:

image from google.com

I've been seeing this picture since last year and I was really curious if this place really exists! I wasn't able to go last year kasi wala ako kasama. Hanlongkot naman kasi mamasyal mag-isa.

The place was a 2hr (around) train ride from our place. So I took some pictures while on the train.

Sa tagal ng biyahe and with all the trees and mountains we thought we were already in Pinas. Wahleylung. We just thought of that ^_^

After reaching Chichibu Station we had an early lunch at Sukiya because Kuya Allan was already hungry. Wasn't really that hungry so I just ordered a small bowl of gyudon.

The artistically designed hill of moss phlox is located at Shibazakura near Hitsujiyama Park.

I did not expect that we will be seeing lots and lots and lots of sakura trees here. I wanted to cry! Happy! ^_^

Lovely!

shidarezakura or the weeping cherry

I want to do hanami in this place. Under those weeping sakura trees. They are so lovely I wanted to eat them! haha

I was a little bit disapponted (konti lang naman) when I saw the hill. It was not the same with what I saw in the picture. Arte ko lang. Kahit mukhang ulo na may poknat yung iba e sumatotal I enjoyed the place. Kahit nangitim ako kasi naman tanghaling tapat nung inikot namin yung lugar :P

I was here!

Some parts do not have flowers.

Up-close views of the flowers. I call some of them "santan" because they look like one.

We stopped by this place which is located near the hill for meryienda.

I tried their ikayaki which is a grilled squid. The head with all the tentacles looked scary so I just bought the body part which looks like a hand.

ikayaki or grilled squid

There were also some sheep in the area which I find adorable. Kaso I don't find their smell adorable hehe. Panghe. I don't know why there were sheep in that place. Kinda weird.

Hello Mr. Sheep! Can I take you home?

Reminded me of Shaun the Sheep ^_^

Before going home we checked this place which looks like a small market selling foods, souvenirs, plants, etc. Chichibu lang naintindihan ko dun sa banner hehe

This plant caught my attention because it looked fake. I thought it was fake. But it wasn't! First time I saw this kind of color of sakura. I wanted to buy it kaso bulky and looked heavy. Ok fine it was expensive. And I do not have a good history with plants. Sayang ang anda.

I love this plant.

Meryenda ulit! Food stalls like these remind of the fishball-an and all the ihaw-ihaw things in the street of the Philippines. ^_^

One stick of the barbecued meat costs 600yen. Mahalia noh? Anyway minsan lang naman ^_^ By the way the food was for me and Ate Rhodz. Kami na matakaw.

yakisoba and barbecued beef meat

At around 4pm we decided to go home. It was a great experience. ^_^ I hope to visit the place again next year.

We bought omiyage or pasalubong in this place which is just beside the station.

*Hana means flower in Japanese and Sanpo means take a walk.

P.S. Thanks to Khanto for the tip. Nakapagpost na ulit ng pics ^_^ doumo arigatou ne.

Spring Cleaning

Simula na ng isang linggong paghilata at pagtunganga!

Hello Golden Week!

Kahapon pa kami walang pasok at sa Biyernes May6 na ulit ang pasok sa opisina. Pinapasok pa talaga kami ng Biyernes. Di na nila sinagad :)

Naitago ko na ang aking mga winter clothes kasama na ang mga comforters, fleece na kumotsss at bedsheet. Sa ibang araw nako magpapalit ng kurtina para meron pako gagawin :D

Goodbye Kitty-chan and my ishtwobewi slippers :(

Kelangan ko na silang itapon dahil mainit na sila sa paa at kung makikita niyo lang sila ng malapitan e masasabi niyong mashado na silang gamit na gamit. si Kitty-chan mukha ng pusang kalye :P

Say Hello to Mr. Froggy :)

May tsinelas ka na may panlinis ka pa :)

Sa loob ng 1 taon na paggamit ng credit card eto lang ang kinaya ng points ko. Hindi ako palagamit kasi ng credit card. takot ako sa utang :P

Kapag sinapian ulit ako ng espiritu ng kasipagan sa paggawa ng entry e ipo-post ko yung pasyal namin sa Chichibu nung April17.

Tamad mode ulit... Ciao!

My First Hanami

Noong nakaraang Linggo ika-sampu ng Abril 2011 ay nagtungo kami sa Shinjuku Gyoen Garden upang masilayan ang mga namumukadkad at naggagandahang cherry blossoms o sakura. Ang nasabing aktibidad ay tinatawag dito na Hanami. Hanami is one of the most popular events of Spring in Japan. Crowds of people - families, groups of friends, and groups from companies sit under the fully open cherry blossoms, usually on plastic tarps, and have a picnic celebration. The picnic fare consists of a wide variety of foods, snack foods, and sake (rice wine) or other drinks.Ito ang unang beses na nakapag-hanami ako. Sa kabila ng krisis na nangyayari ngayon sa bansang Hapon e hindi na namin pinalampas ang pagkakataong ito para mag-hanami. Mahirap na baka wala ng kasunod. Sa unang pagkakataon ay nakumpleto kami ngunit sa kasamaang palad ay ito na rin ang huli. Nagresign na kasi ang isa naming kasamahan sa trabaho at sa katapusan ng buwang ito ay pupunta na sha sa kung saang lupalop man sha dapat pumunta. Sikretwu itwu :P Nagkukuripot pa ang lolo at ni singkong duling ayaw gumasta para sa kanyang farewell party. Anyhoo...

Paborito ko ang panahon ng tagsibol dahil sa ito lamang ang panahon na lumalabas ang mga sakura. Yung larawan na nasa header ko ay isa mga kuha ko nung linggo. Ang ganda nila no? Feel na feel ko kapag humahangin kasi nagbabagsakan ang mga talulot ng mga sakura. Parang nasa isang Korean teleserye lang ^_^ Actually yung dati kong background pic ay larawan din ng mga sakura. pero that was last year. Anyway nais ko mang maglagay ng maraming pektyurs e binigyan na naman ako ng reminder na lagpas na ako sa limit at kung gusto ko daw ng mas malaking espasyo e magbayad daw ako. Kahit tamad ako e nakuha kong magresize ng pics makapaglagay lang ng kahit konti. Kung magkaibigan tayo sa pesbuk e tignan mo na lamang ang aking album na Hanami 2011. Happy viewing ^_^

Sendagaya Gate of Shinjuku Gyoen Garden

Gutom na kami

all-white sakura ^_^

my pinakamatinong pic (^_^)v

sakura petals on the ground

white magnolia - nakita ko lang sa gilid ng daan pauwi ^_^

Flash Report

*Ginulantang na naman kami ng isang malakas na paglindol nung 1st monthsary ng March 11 earthquake. Lunes. April 11. past 5pm. Akalain niyo bang nasa inidoro ako ng mga panahon na yun. Nung naramdaman kong hindi na guni-guni yung pag-uga na nararamdaman ko e biglang umurong ang dapat umurong, pinunasan ko kagad ang dapat punasan at dali-dali akong nagbihis ng aking pants sabay karipas ng takbo papunta sa aking upuan. isolated area kasi ang comfort rooms namin meaning kailangan mong magswipe ng card para makalabas sa area na yun. takot ko lang na biglang mag-shutdown/maglock ang mga pintuan at ma-trap ako sa toilet area. Ewan ko ba. pagkatapos ng ilang araw na pamamahinga ng mga lindol e umaariba na naman sila ngayon na para bang nakainom ng energy drink.

*Itinaas na sa Level 7 ang Nuclear Problem ng Fukushima Daiichi Plant sa rating ng International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). The highest in the scale. Same rate that was given to the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident in 1986. Nanlumo kami lahat nung narinig namin ang balitang ito. It seems like merong tinatago ang Japanese government/TEPCO sa mga tao. Hindi namin alam.Tokyo is located 200+km from Fukushima but we're still worrying about the radiation shit because it is airborne. Malapit na ang tag-ulan and once dumating na ang summer the wind will be blowing southwards. May isang bagay na lang akong hinihintay at pag nagkataon malapit nakong mag-Hello Pilipins. Promise.

In the Lord I take refuge.

pray.pray.pray. Oyasumi!

trade off

watdaep. status ko sa fb nung sabado at linggo. natapos na yung exam na nabanggit ko sa post ko isang libong taon na ang nakakaraan. imbes na makapagpahinga nung weekend e 2 araw ako na parang natatae na naiihi na nanlalamig with matching panginginig. nerbiyosa lang. pag naalala ko yung mga pinagsasagot ko gusto kong mamaluktot sa hiya. ang katangahan nga naman lumalabas sa mga panahon na ayaw mong palabasin. pero wala naman na ako magagawa. tapos na. move forward. gawin ang susunod na hakbang habang naghihintay ng resulta. kapag hindi na kayo nakabasa ng patungkol sa resulta nung pagsusulit ibig sabihin hindi ko nakuha yung kailangan ko na band. pero shempre umaasa pa rin ako na makukuha ko yung target ko na band. ang mahal kaya nung jinayupak na exam. heniwei.....

++++++

graduate na si bunso ^_^ sa wakas. naka-sched ang paguwi ng tatay kong saudi boy para sa graduation ng bunso naming si macoy kaya ako lang ang absent sa family picture. sabi ko nga sa tatay ko e magretire na siya para naman may kasama na ang nanay ko sa bahay. meron pa kasi siyang naiisip na project para sa kanila ng nanay ko at pag natapos na daw yun e tsaka siya magreretire.

family picture minus me :(

graduate na si bunso ^_^

nung nakita ko itong larawan na ito akala ko nanay ko ang grumadweyt ^_^

++++++

flight kahapon ng kapatid ko papuntang abu dhabi. at pangatlong beses na niyang alis ito sa pinas. para lang nagbabakasyon. sabi nga namin ng tatay ko last chance na itwu kung hindi ibabaon na namin siya sa pinas para hindi na siya makaalis. officially tatlo na ulit kaming OFW sa pamilya.

si magie at ang asong niregalo ko sa nanay ko nung pasko, si mica.

++++++

sa weekend in full bloom na ang mga sakura (cherry blossoms). baka pumunta kami sa Shinjuku Gyoen Garden sa Linggo. Last year kasi busy sa trabaho at kung anik-anik kaya hindi man lang ako nakapunta ng park. ang napiktyuran ko lang e yung mga sakura na nadadaanan ko papuntang office.

++++++

lately madalas kong naiisip kung worth it ba lahat ng ginagawa ko dito. worth it ba na unahin ko ang career ko kesa sa pagkakaroon ko ng sariling pamilya. i'm not getting any younger. kasal nga ako pero hindi ko naman kasama ang asawa ko. parang masabi lang na kinasal ako. it's just so fucking senseless. kung kelan naman nakaayos na lahat para sa pagsunod ni Basuraman dito nangyari yung malakas na lindol. basta. oo inaatake ako ng pagiging homesick tapos samahan mo pa ng kung anu-anong shit ng nuclear plant. fuck.

Save.Help.

The first time TEPCO announced the scheduled power outage, people started again to panic buy. This time flashlights, batteries, rechargeable lamps and the likes easily vanished in stores. Even candles were not spared. We were able to buy a small flashlight and a pack of candles from the 100yen shop. We tried to minimize the usage of the candles by alternately using our laptops as source of light. I even used my kindle. Scheduled brownouts usually last for 2-3 hrs. So it was not really that bad.

When TEPCO and the government asked everybody to save electricity everyone responded. These are my observations.

-       Lights from the vending machines are turned off (leaving only the lights of the selection buttons on).

-       Grocery stores also lessened the number of lights in use. Same with the convenient stores. Even the temperatures on the coolers/chillers/refrigerators were set higher than the usual. There is this one store (Maruetsu) which has an escalator still unoperational. Kawawa tuloy ang mga thundercats.

-       Lights on the displays of some shopping malls are turned off. Electronic billboards are not in full operation.

-       Government offices use less numbers of elevators as well as the number of lights switched on.

-       In our office 50% of the elevators are temporarily not being used. Lights on the hallways are switched off. Nakakatakot tuloy lumabas sa gabi. Ako na matatakutin.  I think they also turned off the warmer for the seat covers of the toilet. Lamig tuloy sa pwet hehe.

Siyempre pahuhuli ba naman kami ^_^


- There are nights when I sleep at Ate Joy and Kuya Roel's room so we just have to use 1 heater.
- We eat at the same time so that we can turn off the lights in the kitchen as soon as the chores are finished.
- Before we sleep we turn off our heaters or set the timer for an hour.

What I do not like about the system of the TEPCO is that when they see that the supply of electricity is enough they cancel the brownouts 2 hours before the scheduled time. This is a problem in our company. Just like what happened last Thursday and Wednesday. The company decided to transfer the Saturday and Sunday rest days to Thursday and Friday because of the scheduled brownout. Thursday and Friday came but no brownout happened. TEPCO decided to cancel them. Hassle. Sayang. I know they have been thinking a lot about the nuclear plant problem but I hope they can fix this issue.

      Bottled mineral waters are starting to be available in supermarkets but selling is restricted to 1 bottle per person. The ban on giving tap water to infants was already lifted. However we still refrain from drinking tap water. Palipasin muna namin ang 1 linggo. Nag-iingat lang kami. So aside from bottled water I'm taking sports drink and Calpis water. Yun na lang kasi ang available sa grocery the last time I went there.

    Thank you very much for the words of encouragement. For the positivity. For the prayers. With God on our side I believe this too shall pass. ^_^

oyasumi nasai!

Mother knows best

When I had to move to another country for my new job I asked my mom to make curtains for me. I know I can buy the curtains wherever place I will be but I just want something that is created by my mom. Since I have trouble sleeping in a very bright surrounding I see to it that my windows have curtains to block the light coming from outside. My mom would choose the pattern of the cloth from plain to floral. There was a time when she just picked two cloths with different pattern and combined the two to make my curtains. These past few days I was considering of changing my curtains to vertical blinds. The color of my curtains is stating to fade due to frequent washing. I am also planning to change the theme of my room so the curtain also has to go. I got the idea of the blinds when I had a chance to visit my husband’s sister’s house last year and saw her blinds. It was awesome and since it is customized I can add some tweak in my blinds. How great is that? I am getting excited again.

Since my mom’s curtains will be gone I will be asking her to make me a set of bed sheet. I just hope this time she won’t play with weird combination of patterns and colors again. Love you mamoo ^_^