visitors from vancouver & chicago

it's only a few days till the 25th. and we have some visitors here from vancouver and chicago. we had just picked up bridget from la guardia and we went straight to tita uchie's apartment on the upper east side. there we had dinner and hung out with their aunt and cousin from vancouver (tita mimi and aj).

as i said we had dinner there and afterwards we ended up playing hoopla. was a fun game, though it was a bit unusual given that its a game where you all work together against the clock unlike cranium or other games wherein you are in teams against each other.

below are the pics from that night.


franny, tita mimi, aj, bridget & me


aj, bridget & me

a night around the city even without the mta!

even though the mta subway and bus operators are on strike, franny and i met up with her aunt and cousin in the city. luckily it wasn't too cold. well it was cold but bearable and it helped that it wasn't a windy night. we met up at the corner of 59th and 5th ave. from there we went ice skating in central park. it was fun since there werent that many people. i guess thats one benefit from the strike - people become too lazy too go out and see the sights! hehehe =)

afterwards we then walked all the way down to 34th street to check out the empire state and to eat dinner at minado. though the cold was bearable streetlevel, up on the 86th floor however it was downright frigid, and the winds were howling! i really the lookout since its out in the open, unlike in other buildings where you are indoors. i like the fact that you can feel the wind against your face. as much as i wanted to lookout you really couldnt given the conditions. on the way home, we passed by rockefeller center and of course took some pics.

below are the pics we took.


ice skating in central park - aj & franny


empire state - me, franny, aj & tita mimi


franny, tita mimi, me & aj at minado

a few quotes....

"professional investment may be likened to those newspaper competitions in which the competitors have to pick out the 6 prettiest faces from a hundred photographs, the prize being awared to the competitor whose choice nearly corresponds to the average preferences of the competitors as a whole; so that each each competitor has to pick, not those faces which he himself prettiest, but those which he thinks likeliest to catch the fancy of other competitors, all of whom are looking at the problem from the same point of view."

from the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money - John Maynard Keynes

"WORKINGMEN OF ALL COUNTRIES UNITE!"

from the Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

"in those unfortunate countries, indeed, where men are continually afraid of the violence of their superiors, they frequently bury and conceal a great part of their stock, in order to have it always at hand to carry with them to some place of safety... ...this is said to be a common practice in most other governments in Asia."

from the Wealth of Nations -Adam Smith


just thought you'd enjoy these quotes. =)

so i guess the strike is on...

right now i should be sleeping, but just as i was about to turn off the tv they cut to a press conference where there was to be an announcement. as we are all aware of, the transit workers did decide to be true to their word and go on strike.

when i was in manila, i never really paid much attention when the jeepney drivers went on strike. i was pretty much fortunate enough to have access to a car so i never really felt how crippling it could be. but now that i live in new york and do not have the luxury of my own car, i can see how frustrating it can really be.

even though i really have no need to go out, just seeing how things got chaotic in the city made me feel really happy that i didnt have a great need to be there. i just feel a bit bad since franny's aunt and cousin arrived last sunday and they are here for only a few days. it really is frustrating since we can't really bring them around that much since we don't want to make them walk that much. walking 10 blocks isnt all that bad, but having to walk 40 blocks then another 40 to see another attraction is a bit too much. plus you have to factor in the cold weather!

i just hope that they resolve the problem and agree on a contract to end it.

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personally though, i never did like the idea of unions. they just mess up the market! but that's just my opinion.

on his way back...

well i just got back home, and my dad is right now at JFK airport, terminal 1. he'll soon be flying back to manila. it was nice having my parents around, it really is a bit disappointing that my bro is still in manila. at least he'll get to spend Christmas day with my dad.

as for me, i won't be able to spend Christmas with my mom in florida. instead i will just meet up with her on the 28th. ill be driving down there, it'll be a fun road trip with franny and bridget!

have a safe flight back dad!

watching narnia...

its a cold night outside and i'm so glad to be back in the warmth of my apartment.

was a rather eventful night, franny and i went out and did some holiday shopping. we did manage to cross out a good number of people from the list. hehehe =) also met up with friends who we haven't seen for sometime. whether it may be due to all of us getting busy or to the fact that they live in another city already. it's always nice, catching up and finding out how friends are doing.

since we were out we thought we might as well watch a movie. we rarely go out to watch. i think this is just the 3rd movie we've watched since she came here last year. unfortunately we weren't able to make it to the 1210am showing of harry potter. instead we watched the Chronicles of Narnia.

it was an enjoyable movie. i really didn't know what it was about, aside from the fact that it was based on a book. usually i prefer reading the book or books before i watch the movie version. franny on the other hand prefers the opposite. =) i would recommend it to other people, though of course its no lotr. still its something i wouldn't mind purchasing a dvd copy for my collection.

Gainesville, Florida it is....

as most of you already know, my parents are here in the U.S. and they plan to stay. They had originally planned to stay in the tri-state area preferably in new jersey. But given my dad's inability to get acclimated to the cold weather they have instead looked elsewhere and it seems florida is where they'll be.

they actually called me up earlier and it seems that it is permanent already. my mom was able to find work already. she just needs to fix some paperwork but she is already sure of a job. they also got an apartment as well as a mini-van!

at least franny and i have a place to go to in case we want to escape the winter cold! hehehe =) as soon as i get the chance to visit them ill post some pics!

since we were in the city...

it was just a regular nightout for franny and i. we were walking around the lincoln center area, going to barnes and noble and finding some items which would be good gifts! we then went to bed, bath and beyond just to check out some stuff.

we came out with a few items and more importantly, we registered for our bridal registry! hehehe! we had planned to have it there but we really didn't plan on doing it that night. Since we were there we might as well start putting some stuff. hehehe! nothing wrong with it. hehehe =)

it was fun having the scanner and just adding stuff to the list of stuff we would like to have! you should all try it though they might not lend it just to anyone!

results from the compre

i finally found out what i got for my monetary comprehensives. in some ways i knew that i was going to get a Pass for it. i really didn't prepare for it as much as i did for my previous comps. clearly i didn't deserve to get the High Pass that i was sort of really hoping i might have been able to pull off.

not that it really matters. so thats 2 down, and two more to go. next up will be my international comprehensives next semester. maybe i'll give myself more time to prepare for it. =)

happy birthday to everyone!!!

again, i'd like to wish all of you celebrants a wonderful birthday! may the good Lord continue to shower you with His blessings!

1 - ton-ton f
2 - mariel e
6 - tito kiko
7 - mich b
8 - anna m
9 - jay p
11 - maharl s
15 - tonypet a
18 - nicol p
24 - bridget j, kristine k
25 - our Lord!
26 - pia d, erika c

to all the celebrants, i wish you enjoy your special day!