Malls Hours This Christmas Season

Bday Party at CenterStage!

Me and my brothers' bday would be three weeks from now and I am sooo excited! I've been planning this since January of this year. I thought it won't push through anymore. Good thing my brother could come home this month to celebrate our bday! Its been a long time since we had our bday party together. By the way, we have same birth date, its Dec05!


The theme would be Black & White party! All guests are required to wear only black and/or white. I already booked the Presidential(biggest)room in CenterStage - Jupiter St., Makati since end of October. And my sister-in-law to be just ordered our black & white bday cupcakes this morning at Serendra, as bday gift!! Lots of thanks!! Plus there will be photobooth to serve as souvenirs for the guests!
Hope we will all have fun!

By the way, I also accept gifts! LOL! =D

Budget Hotels in Makati

I am a budget tripper, whatever they call it, so i wanted to help those who share my passion too!

I have selected few budget hotels one can stay in Makati. Cheap though still decent. Some I was able to try myself, but mostly I just heard feedback from friends. Hope this could be of help.

St. Giles Hotel - a newly opened Hotel in Makati Ave. with a sparkling facade. Nice and clean and located at the heart of Makati. The hotel is a 30 minute drive from Ninoy Aquino International Airport and close to some of Manila’s local tourist attractions. Currently they have Balikbayan package promo below:

Include:
- Return airport transfer (ex Ninoy Aquino International Apt) to hotel.
- Daily breakfast
- internet broadband access from privacy of your room
- Welcome RO bottled water
- 2 nights stay in hotel for 2 persons.
http://www.stgilesmanila.com

City Garden Hotel - a cozy hotel in Makati Ave. with rates starting from USD 67. It includes daily breakfast for two, free wifi anf unlimited city calls. The hotel provides you with luxury living in an elegant setting at an amazingly practical cost.
http://www.citygardenhotels.com/makati/index.php

Isabelle Royal - if you just wanted a place to sleep at night when you are busy scouring the city or if you want a comfortable place to stay for a week or more and you have a limited budget. The rooms have small kitchen with dinner table aside from the usual hotel amenities. Rates starts from Php 1500. It is just a few steps from the church, Avenue Mall at Makati Ave., SPA's, bars, Coffe shops and restaurants. Few minutes drive to Greenbelt, SM or Glorieta.
http://www.isabelleroyalemakati.com/room-rates/

Salcedo Suites Makati Hotel - just like Isabelle Royal when it comes to room amenities. The rate starts at USD 48.
http://www.salcedosuites-makati.com/promo.php

There are also budget yet decent Hotels near Makati like the following:

The Legend Villas - even great for a weekend family bonding. The hotel has a pool and with weekend activities for kids. Rate starts at PhP 2,970. The hotel is near Robinsons pioneer and near Boni Edsa.
http://www.legendvillas.com.ph/index.php

Go Hotel - a newly opened/renovated hotel along Edsa - Boni MRT station. A good place for an overnight stay or so. I heard the rate is really cheap, may be Php800 or less if you book few months before. Just check for their promo in the internet from time to time. Simple yet decent place to stay and located just beside Robinsons Pioner mall.
http://gohotels.ph/rooms/

New Horizon Hotel - a European inspired hotel with rates starting from USD65 inclusive of breakfast for two. Located along EDSA across Go Hotels. MRT- Boni station is just few steps away.
http://www.newhorizonhotel-manila.com/

Coco Beach - Puerto Galera Batangas

Every year at my company, we are required to take a 7 working days off from work. We call it Mandatory Time Away (MTA). We can't enter office premises, cant log on to intranet, cant access shared drives and systems. We can access only our emails offsite which I didnt practice in my 3yrs at DKS.


Its always been a pressure for me every time I need to take my MTA coz its so hard to get a nice schedule. This year, I spent few days for some personal errands, hair cut, facial, dental and went to Coco Beach at Puerto Galera!

I was hesistant at first when I heard the name of the resort because my friend once told me that the beach wasn't good because it's rocky and full of corals. But we still booked for it. We chose to go there on our own since the service would require us to get up very early in the morning. And so we took a bus from LRT Buendia going to Batangas Pier and rode on a big motorboat going to Sabang. From Sabang we took a small motorboat to Coco Beach.

When we arrived, we were offered Buco juice in a coconut shell & a garland made of small seashells which I took home for my daughter. We originally booked for 3 days, but we cant get enough of the place, so we extended for another day.

The resort has 1 big pool with restaurant at the middle and the native cottages are all over the place. Each cottage has veranda where you can relax while enjoying the cool sea breeze and of course the view of the beach. I soo love the feeling. They also have a revolving restaurant though we were not able to try it coz we are always late for lunch or dinner. Lol!


The resort has activities everyday and you can book yourself for all of them if you want. You can even borrow DVD dics from the reception area or watch movie at their mini theatre every night. You can also go diving,snorkling, pool/beach swimming during the day,or play basketball, table tennis, badminton, billiards etc. And during dinner time, they will serenade you with music.


I so love the place that I still dont want to go home. It is soo quiet and relaxing. I spent every afternoon at the "duyan" in front of the beach doing nothing. It is also my first time to swim at an 8ft pool, huh! coz before I am soo afraid even only in a 5ft pool. Maybe because I feel safe with my companions who are good swimmers.

I remember the first time I am trying to jump into the pool. I was hesitating when a 10 yr old dutch boy pushed me to the pool! I didnt drown myself though I gulped some water. His name is Victor. We spent the whole afternoon playing/tricking with him. And it was alot of fun! Before we left the pool, Victor invited me to play billiards with him after dinner. He thought I am just a 15 yrd old girl haha... we were laughing so hard!

In our entire vacation, all we did was swim, eat, watch dvd, "duyan", drink, snorkle and eat some more. And so after that, I gained 8 pounds! grrr I already look fat on my swimsuit on the 3rd day! But overall, we were so happy, well rested and satisfied. For sure I'd want to go back to that resort. =)

Resignation Letter

Two weeks ago, I was googling for samples of resignation letter when I bumped into this funny RL, lol.

Well, it does not only take an effort to decide on resigning but also it takes an effort to prepare a not too short, direct to the point RL. Just thankful that after several months/days of sleepless nights, I was able to make a firm decision. It was really tough. A lot of what if's. I feel excited and tensed knowing that I have to take a lot of risk in looking for a new job. But I am hoping for the best. After all, its better to have taken risk and follow my hearts' desire, than doing nothing at all and regretting at the end. Wish me lots of luck!!! =)

Gift Check from Citi!

I just got a P200 GC from Citibank today, wooohooo!! This is in connection with Mercury drug citicard promo, where you can avail PHP 200 off the price of Wyeth's Progress Pre-school GOLD. All you need to do is swipe your card and show the GC! I love CITI more!! You should get one! =)

Naphil Thought for the Day- Oct. 22, 2010

THOSE WHO CAN’T TAKE DIRECTIONS GRACIOUSLY HAVE NO BUSINESS GIVING THEM.

If you are an irresponsible or argumentative worker who cannot accept instructions from others, you are destined to remain at the bottom of the workforce. Before you can ever hope to manage other people, you must learn to manage yourself and your relationships with others effectively, particularly with those in higher positions in the organization. Unless you can learn how to manage your relationship with your own boss or bosses, you will never be able to manage a relationship with your subordinates.

Napoleon Hill Foundation - Thought for the Day