at the thunderbird resort in poro point

went to thunderbird resort in la union with my friends to hopefully take contest-worthy photos and get the chance to win cash prizes. from the main town of san fernando, we took a tricycle and a jeepney ride going there and was dropped-off at the main gate. the journey from the town took 20 minutes, but in order to get to the hotel we had to walk another 15 or so minutes. it was tiring, but the view was truly breath-taking. immediately i thought, it was a good decision to include this visit to thunderbird resort in our short itinerary.

situated in a scenic cliff at poro point, the resort is quite huge and is the only one in the province that offers 5-star accomodation to its guests, including a mediterranean-inspired hotel, a golf course and a casino. the beach however, did not seem bum-worthy nor surf-worthy. yes, it had waves but the shore seemed too rocky for you to even walk on easily.

upon getting to the resort, the first thing we did was look for a place to somewhat "disappear" into. there were already too many photographers in the pool area and in the lobby and we didnt want to further contribute to the chaos. we left our baggages at the reception and walked a little further to the where the golf course was (which was prohibited to photographers, by the way). a few minutes later on, we found ourselves walking an unusual path. after crossing a concrete road and climbing slightly upwards we arrived by the side of a huge rock, on top of a small cliff and we're all standing a few feet away from the edge! looking down i can see the waves angrily crashing onto the rocky foot of the cliff. i had to ask myself this: what have we gotten ourselves into?

knowing that i was at a restricted area, i felt quite embarassed and quickly prompted my companions (mavic and skip) to hurriedly take photos and go back to where we're not unallowed. i dont remember bringing out my camera to shoot. i was too afraid to fall off or get caught so i held on tightly to the rocks and made sure my feet are on stable ground.

half-excited, half-anxious... the edge seemed too close for comfort!

so having walked all the way to the cliff and back, i was quite exhausted and decided to stay by the hotel cafe, order some ice cream and watch the sun go down. from where i was, its easy to see the other photographers do their thing. some brought their own models, others strobes and light stands and there's this one who brought a ladder, the necessity for which i could not fathom, since the photographer was really just shooting at the sunset... a tripod would have made more sense, perhaps?

skip, mavic, yeye and me at the thunderbird resort in poro point, la union

anyway, as you can infer, i was not able to take any photocontest-worthy photos but i did have an awesome time at thunderbird. no thousands of pesos won for me, but at least i get to enjoy my ice cream, the lovely sunset and what seems to be quite rare these days: good times with good friends :)

inviting you all to checkout thunderbird's website for more information. it maybe too pricey for you to stay overnight, but a visit to the resort is definitely worthwhile.

The Desert Song

here's a song that's been playing over and over again in my media player this past few days. i think the song captures quite beautifully how faithful God has been (and can be if we allow Him to be) throughout EVERY season in our lives. unfortunate that i cannot upload and share the MP3 with you all, but i do hope you can check out the song in Youtube via this link. let me know what you think. God bless!

Desert Song
by Hillsongs United

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

CHORUS:
I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

BRIDGE:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow

recipe for steak ala pobre

steak ala pobre ala estrella (my mom) actually.

just taking down notes from a recent cooking experience, so i don't forget:

• beef sirloin cut thinly at the grocery is preferred*
  
• marinating the beef with soy sauce and just a few drops of calamansi a few minutes before cooking is preferred. less calamansi, more toyo. this is not bistek.**
• in a heated pan, put one tablespoon cooking oil then garlic, lots of them
• add butter, lots. less cooking oil, more butter.**
• place the beef when butter is heated, around 20seconds each side. steak is good, once meat is brownish not red.*  
  

*got this wrong the FIRST time
**got this wrong the SECOND time

FIRST attempt was done a few months ago. i bought all the ingredients as told. forgot to have the meat cut at the grocery though and had to cut it myself. my mom was there to instruct me so we got the taste right, but the texture wrong.

SECOND attempt was done over the holidays. i bought all the ingredients and had the meat cut at the meat section. mom not around this time. cant remember whether to marinate or not. whether to put more oil and less butter or the other way around. so i struggled and ended up with steak that has good texture, but did not really... have much taste to it. awww.

i have no photos as i was too hungry and bit exhausted after cooking which is ALWAYS a challenge for me. i hope to take some on my third (and hopefully successful) attempt.

home (and at the hospital) for Christmas

unforgettable Christmas, this is.

JP goes home from Singapore and spent the eve of Christmas with me and my family at my lola's house. the fact that my parents are together is a miracle alone. being together at my lola's house is unprecedented as we have been spending Christmas at my parents ever since i can recall. really happy that JP was able to join us and was able to experience a family tradition: tablea. without sugar, he thought it was awful, hehe.

kuya couldn't be with us the night before Christmas as he had to be in the hospital with my uncle who was confined due to pneumonia, among other things. on Christmas day, i had to relieve my brother and had to spend Christmas attending to our patient. it was difficult to accept at first, but there was no other option, as everyone else had already spent their time at the hospital.

i decided to bring with me some cake, ham, grapes and some left-over food, thinking that my uncle and i will somehow be able to celebrate Christmas this way. i ended up eating most of what i brought, except maybe the grapes, hehe. so instead of feasting at the dinner table, i was eating some of my uncle's left-over from the food tray along with what i brought at the hospital bed.

after being in the hospital for two days, my uncle was regaining strength but it was still evident that he had difficulty breathing on his own. from time to time, a nurse would come in and wake him up to check-up on his blood pressure, hand him his medication, nebulize him or inject some steroids into the dextrose. it was a routine i had easily gotten accustomed to.

what was new to me was the fact that we had to record my uncle's water intake and output. we recorded when he drank water and how much as well as how much he took out. my uncle much preferred this over the catheter.

by the evening, JP would bring some coffee and some entertainment in the form of high-definition movies. he stayed overnight, sleeping in one of the hospital beds and would drive me home in the morning. he saw me fulfill some of my duties as nurse to my uncle and gladly helped when he could, such as when we had to change the cover for the hospital bed and the pillowcases. it was good to have him around.

it was such a blessing simply to be together with the people you care about and those who care for you.

these are photos from Kabisera at BHS, the 24th when JP came home. as expected, JP misses Filipino food a lot and bringing him here i thought would be a good idea. i think, and they agreed with me on this afterwards, that Kabisera has the best pinakbet in the country. their sinigang and lechon kawali we thought were really good also.

JP, his mom and sister and me at Kabisera in Boni High Street

this was definitely a different Christmas, but a good Christmas nonetheless.