I was contemplating on whether to write or not on what happened to me yesterday. But it was a ‘first’ for me. Yes, I’ve been into that situation before, but this time, it was me alone…I was behind the wheel. It was a minor ‘fender-bender’, but it was a big deal for me because it was my car that got hit. Thank God I was not hurt, no scratches or bruises. But my little ‘Alex’ (yes, that’s the name of my car, hehe) now has his first scar… on his rear bumper. No dents of whatsoever, I guess Alex has ‘buns-of-steel’, hehe.

The incident happened yesterday, around 3:15 pm, on my way home. It had stopped raining, and the asphalt were wet. I’m a very careful driver and I know for a fact that the roads are the most slippery when it first rains after several dry weeks…so I was very cautious. Apparently the other driver behind me was not. I guess she was following me closely.. on one of the dangerous intersections in our area. Tsk tsk not following the space-cushion rule!

I was slowing down on the intersection when I first saw the yellow light and stopped when it turned red (of course). Then the dreaded thing happened. The ‘bump’. It was strong enough to shake me but not causing a severe ‘whiplash’.I opened my window, looked to the driver who hit Alex’s rear. She was still holding the steering wheel, looking shocked, and was trying to hide her face. I went to her and said ‘Are you alright?’. She answered with a trembling voice ‘yes I’m fine, thank you…I guess my tires are not good enough.’ I was examining if there was a severe damage on my part. Nope, just scratches (thank God!). I guess I handled the situation calmly. Kit was even surprised when I was talking to him on the phone that I was not in shock or panicking. The girl was fine so that was also a relief for me. We exchanged infos and went our separate ways.

Lessons learned:
- Always be more cautious when driving.
- Things happen which we can not control.
- Your life is more valuable than your car.

I always check the mail before entering the house…mail box open…hmmm bills, junk mails, freebies…hmmm what’s this? a package? “To Carmina…”. At first I thought it was just the stuff that I bought from Ebay, I wasn’t really paying attention to the return address (yes Edc, Chie it has a return address, hehe)… But then again I thought, this must not be it, the package is too small for the item….so I turned my eyes to the upper left corner…aha, it’s from Edc! OMG OMG…I got so excited.

And I thought that Edc was just kidding when he told me to expect something from the mail. But surprise, surprise it’s here! A package from the ‘dynamic-duo’!

I first opened the card because the soccer ball sticker caught my attention (i love soccer!), and as expected, Edc wrote something sweet and very thoughtful that got me teary-eyed (again) and made me miss him more (have you ever thought of writing for Hallmark? hehe). The thoughtful Edc, never fails to give me ‘extra’ surprises…there’s a set of soccer ball stickers secretly sneaked inside the folded card! awwww that was sweet :-)

Here’s another ‘OMGness’ lol…Richie knows that I love cats, he got me this cute kitty bookmark made of metal! The tassel even has little kitty trinkets. I especially love what was written on it “Happy is the home with at least one cat” surrounded by paw prints :-)…so adorable! I will definitely use this one!

And lastly there’s the True Faith CD from Edc. Oh my, it’s reminiscing time once again… Back to the good ol’ 750 connection days,haaaay. I love the cover Edc, very inspiring… for my next web project haha.

Thanks guys, you’re the best!

It’s definitely Christmas in July!
I’m so happy today because the package from Mimi has finally arrived…and it’s heavy! As I anxiously opened the well-sealed box, my heart was throbbing…I guess to the tenth power! One by one, I pulled out the much-awaited goodies from Edc, Richie and the sweet Mimi. You guys are the best!

Edc never forgets me during his travels. He sent me souvenir magnets from his trips. I especially love the turtle magnet…my tarsier magnet has now a companion, hehe. The shawls are adorable too, I now have an addition for my fall wardrobe…good choice of colors Edc, green and brown, luv them! The picture frame is very nice, luv the bamboo and the woven canvass…so unique…so ethnic…so tribal! hehe… though I still have to figure out how to make it stand.

As I continue to pull more goodies from the box, the tiny soccer cellphone trinket almost fell on the floor. It’s so tiny and cute, it needs to be showcased…I think i’m going to hang it inside my car.

I can’t believe Edc sent me a Japanese fan…he remembered! I collect anything that is Japanese…arigato gozaimasu Edcel San!…I want a kimono next time, hehe.

It will never feel the same if Edc will not include something with Lea. Thank you so much for the magazine. Is that lea’s signature? ohhh how I wished! hehe.

So what else do I have here…hmmm…Oh my gosh, a Ronan Keating CD! “I bet this one is from the darling Richie” hahaha. Walang kakupas-kupas, Richie never fails to send me Ronan stuff and a cd is a staple goodie…it’s a must, LOL.

I luv the Scooterista magazine. I never knew it existed, LOL…and nope Richie, I’m not the editor, just the walking model, hahaha.

Another suprise were the stuff from Mimi. The sweet note from her made it really special. It was very heart-warming and I was touched, we will definitely meet someday my dear Mimi, maybe we can visit Manila together :-)

The heart-warming note from her was enough for me but I didn’t know that there’s some more.Inside the nicely wrapped box were Malley’s chocolates. You know me, when it comes to chocolates, resistance is futile! The scrumptious chocolate cookies were so delectable, very rich and decadent… the box is almost empty now, hehe…

Thank you so much guys for everything. I’m so happy, my birthday is just days from now, but it feels like today! Wow, this really made my day :-)

Again, Edc never fails to give me pleasant surprises. Awww, he’s the best!

While we were chatting last week, he told me that i’ll be getting some postcards soon, but I didn’t know that he also included DVDs! My heart was pounding as I impatiently opened the yellow-orange Jiffylite package…And there they were: the much awaited films that we’ve been talking online for quite some time now, “The Kite Runner” and of course “The Coffee Prince”.

The postcards were very nice as well, with Edc’s doodles and the ‘wish you were here’ remarks, really made me miss him more. But the best of all is the picture of him with Lea. It’s definitely a photoframe-material. I promise to showcase it. Thank you so much Edc for this natural high moment. This will linger throughout the day or so. By the way I still have the LSS of the mp3 you sent me last night LOL.

Manila city…hot and humid…there are only two seasons: wet and dry.

I bet friends and families back home are now planning for their summer vacations…Ahhh the white sand beaches of Boracay and Pagudpud…the cool climate of Baguio…Scuba diving in Puerto Galera…Snorkeling in Palawan…Trekking in the Mt. Province or Sorsogon…and so on and so forth…

And I’m here…still suffering from the winter climate. I’m just glad that spring is on its way. Last week’s winter storm was the last straw for me…I’m just getting tired of the snow.

I’m planning to visit this year…and i’m crossing my fingers…I still don’t have an exact date…But a visit to Manila is long overdue…It has been ummmm, hmmm four or five years already? So Edc and Richie, get ready with an itinerary ok…

Some pictures taken from last week’s snow storm: It was around 8:30am and
I’m on my way to work.
* You can view the original pictures here –> “scooterista crossing” or here “cca stardust gallery”