It’s been awhile since I made any decent post. I’ve been busy with work and family.

One of the blessings of working from home is you having to witness your child’s development first hand. I’ve heard countless stories on how awesome it felt when a parent saw their child did something for the first time, oftentimes you’d dismiss the parents as easy-to-please types. But when it’s your turn to experience such joy the feeling is overwhelming. So overwhelming in fact that it hurts your chest when you can’t blurt it out openly without sounding cuckoo.

You see I work from home and the only social interaction I get is with my clients (over the phone or via the internet) or when Maan is around. I try to make a conversation with Yana but oftentimes I don’t know if she understands what I’m saying or she’s just being cute and smiles at me at every glance.

So where do I unload? isn’t it obvious, I’m writing this post right now. Cousin Sheryl thinks it’s pathetic, I disagree but she is a party animal so I can’t really blame her hehehe (peace out cuz). Plus, I don’t dig crowds, I’d prefer to stay home rather than goto some wild party. What I do miss, is entertaining folks in our place.

When we were in Curacao we used to have tequila binge-drinking gatherings at our place. Our friends would bring their guitars and we’d take turns playing good old love songs. If our neighbors were around we’d invite them over and everybody was cool about it.

I remember this one time when Maan was so drunk she started asking everyone how many fingers she had, in Spanish!? Man that was so funny. That’s why I love my wife so much, she knows how to have a good time. My liver got screwed up though, that I don’t miss hehehe.

Nowadays I get a different high. Everyday Yana learns something new. She’s adding more words to her vocabulary, she can operate our home theater with ease, she can pick a dvd she likes and clean up the dvd pile when she’s done looking for her pick, she can clean-up her toys when told to; and a whole lot of other small things. It may seem petty to some but to me that is simply astonishing. It is a high knowing that my baby is no longer a baby but person in her own right.

She still does a lot of silly things and when I try to remind her of that she pulls away from me as if telling me “bugger off daddy, I know what I’m doing…” but when something wrong did happen she comes running back to me, ahhh, the joy of being needed, priceless.

By the way, we didn’t enroll her on that tumbling class anymore. We felt it was no longer appropriate for her. We’re waiting when she turns 3 yrs old at least by then there will be more classes that are age appropriate. That’s one of the things we love in Pearland, very family oriented, I can help but feel sorry for our friends stuck in Miami, that place is not family friendly at all and we are happy we have left as soon as we could.

We’re going to this easter egg hunting thing in Sugarland tomorrow, hopefully Yana will enjoy. I’ll bring my camera as usual and take some snapshots. I’ll upload as soon as I can.

Till then take care and thanks for reading my ramblings.

At last, lumipat na rin kami.

On November 1, 2007 6:15 AM just before sunrise me, maan and yanapot entered our new home.

Iba pala talaga ang feeling. I mean we’ve moved to so many homes on different continents but never have we felt so fulfilled on one single move. Iba talaga nga pag sa’yo na yong bahay.

Although, technically we don’t own the house just yet dahil me 30-yr utang kami hehehe.

It’s already the 9th pero marami pa rin kaming mga kahon, utay-utay (unti-unti sa tagalog) binubuksan namin at nilalagay sa mga dapat kalagyanan. On top of that bili kami ng bili, walang katapusang bili. Me utang na nga kami sa bahay baon pa kami sa utang sa credit card sa kakabili ng mga essentials.

Dati rati nung nag-re-rent kami fully furnished, so kumbaga yong renta lang prinoproblema namin, this time around ang laki na nga ng perang nilabas sa closing malaki pa rin still pag lumipat ka na.

But then again, you get the fulfillment that every home-owner feels. Lalo na kung yong bahay na kinuha mo e yong bang ideal home mo talaga.

Maliit ang bahay na binili namin by Texas standards, I mean most pinoy folks who came to Shadow Creek Ranch almost always bought two-story houses with very big yards. Us it’s a different story.

Who needs a giant house kung tat-tatlo lang kami?

Who needs a big yard kung pro-problemahin mo namang mag-garden?

Tama na ang single story sa min madali pang linisan hehehe.

One thing though, nagawa ko na rin yong matagal ko ng pangarap ng home theater. Bumili kami ng projector at cineiling mount ko, tapos bumil kami ng speakers at receivers at pinalibut ko sa living room. Nung ngang nanood ng My Best Friend’s wedding si Maan parang maiiyak daw sya e para daw sya nasa sinehan, tapos nung nanood kami ng Transformers ang ganda ng tunog ng speakers lalo na yong subs dahil pag lumalapit si yanapot tumatayo yong buhok nya sa ulo hehehe.

Anyhow, tama na muna ramblings ko, wala lang akong makausap at makakwentuhan kaya dito na lang ako nagyayabang, eto hirap sa tate di tulad sa pinas maraming barkada maraming kainuman, maraming kakwentuhan.

Hanggang sa muli.

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This whole week has been a whirlwind of experiences.

- Maan landed her dream job, she gets to work at the world-renowned Texas Medical Center plus her pay is way better than what she had previously in Miami. Initially, she was upset because some hospitals weren’t so accommodating but I kept telling her maybe those jobs weren’t for her. Well, tama nga ako hehehe.

- She also started driving lessons again, with me as her instructor, ahem. (I tried to be calm as best as I can). This sunday nga challenge ko sa kanya sya mag-drive papunta ng church. Hopefully we’ll get there in one piece.

- Speaking of church, we’ll try to enroll yana at Sunday’s day care again. Me day-care center kasi sa simbahan (oh di ba sosi, wala nyan sa Miami hehehehe) tapos libre pa. Hopefully this time di sya masyadong mag-i-i-iyak. Kasi last sunday iyak daw sya ng iyak sabi nung isang pinay na attendant.

- Our house is nearing completion but we are feeling the nationwide crunch on mortgages. I mean the barrage of questions we had to answer from our loan officer was astonishing. They even had to inquire about our tax returns in the UK. Can you imagine that?! I guess things are definitely changing. We can only pray that by the time we close with the house they start improving.

- I started playing hoops with the local pinoy hommies. Iba laru nila dito sa Shadow Creek Ranch, whole court tapos non-stop 3 hours. On top of that they usually have a drinking sessions in the afternoons. Nang-hingal ako, nahihiya nga ako sa mga kalaru ko e, lakas ng resistensya nila. Di bale siguro mga ilang linggo pa makakahabol din ako hehehe.

- We initiated Yana’s early intervention program. She’s almost 20 months old and yet could barely pronounce any intelligible words. I mean she does say Daddy and Mama and some other words but aside from that, the rest are just gibberish. She does sing in the mornings, in her own language of course.

Some folks might say it’s too soon to worry but it wouldn’t hurt if we had a specialist check her out. Kung walang problema well and good, kung me problema at least maaagapan ng maaga.

As a father who works from home, it can be frustrating sometimes when you get the flack for some of your daughters supposed developmental delays. Sinasabi nila “ba’t kasi iniiwan sa tatay but kasi hindi nanay ang kasama”. I feel that’s unwarranted. Our situation requires me the father, to stay home. As it is quite obvious that nursing jobs are far secure and stable than IT jobs, hello!. Plus, other pinoy families with mothers working as nurses are pretty much in the same shoes as we are. And their kids seem to grow and progress along fine. Nobody said it’s an easy job but as a responsible father and spouse, we have to make sacrifices, the least other folks could do is acknowledge our efforts and not blame us for things beyond our control like our children’s supposed delayed development. Anyhow, I’m getting carried away. Let them think what they want. Basta ang importante ginagawa namin lahat para sa kapakanan ng aming anak.

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Anyhow, that’s our whole week, next weekend I’m watching Parokya-ni-Edgar live in Houston, wooho, my first live concert since we came back from London hehehe. Kasama ko yong mga bago kong kaibigan na nameet sa basketballan.

Sayang hindi makakasama si Maan, walang mag-aalaga ke Yana, but then again she never really liked Parokya-ni-Edgar, so ayos lang.

I’ll try to take some pics tapos lagay ko sa Photo-Ops, sana lang wag nila akong sitahin, last time kasi nanguha ako sa concert ni Ogie at Vina sinita ako, sabi masyado daw malaki yong lense ko.

After a two day road trip, we have finally arrived in Pearland, Texas last Monday.Medyo kakaiba yong trip naming ito. Despite my best efforts to speed up and be at Daphne, Alabama by sun down, we still ended up nowhere near the Florida-Alabama border.Perhaps it was because we were carrying a heavier load? But my odometer was reading 80-85 mph on average. Siguro our beloved CRV was reminiscing the roads of Florida hehehe. Anyhow, as I said we arrived last Monday, the next day we set out early to the do in making us permanent Texans. We went to the vehicle registration in Pearland then drove to a town called Alvin for our driver’s licenses. While on our way to Alvin, we can’t help but tease each other about how eerie the road felt, dahil siguro sa sobrang kakapanood ng mga movies like the Texas Chain Saw Massacre kaya kung anu-ano naiisip namin. Pero, enough of that, we must be loyal to our new home State noh!

Pero teka, me nakalimutan akong ikwento. While on our way, ang dami pala naming nasagasahan. Oo totots po, marami kaming nasagasahang mga langaw, lamok at insekto. Sa malayo parang tae, pero upon closer inspection mga insekto talaga, defensive ba ako?! hehehe . Tignan nyo na lang nangyari sa bumper namin.

Anyhow, hanggang sa muli.

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It all started when Maan posted her resume on the job boards. Almost every other day she’ll get a call from nursing head hunters offering jobs at some far-flung hospital; obviously, being courteous and mabait Maan would entertain them and answer the typical Q&A; pero at the end of each conversation she’d remind them what she had stated on her online job profile, that she wants to get a job sa may Texas Medical Center area sa Houston.

But one particular head hunter agency(All-About-Staffing ata pangalan), the one representating some hospital called HCA have been calling her for quite some time now. It even came to a point na borderline stalking na dahil sa frequency ng mga tawag, we had no choice but to screen calls just to avoid them.

I’ve been prodding Maan to just tell them to bugger off pro her argument was: they should know when to stop, specially if she intentionally don’t return calls. It’s not that Maan is being rude, it’s just that she has been warned about HCA and on top of that she has read numerous horror stories from the Nursing boards about how bad it is/was working for HCA facilities.

The funny part was that they’ll leave voice messages threatening Maan that her not returning their calls might affect her job application with them. I mean, imagine the nerve of these guys; sila tong mga may kailangan, sila pa tong mga galit. Plus, she never applied in the first place, sila tong nag-initiate, it was them who searched the job boards and tried to push their luck. Nakakatawa talaga sila hehehe.

Anyway, so nakahalata sila na di nya sinasagot yong mobile nya, tapos ako naman di ko sinasagot yong landline (kami lang kasi ni Yanapot naiiwan sa bahay) so they tried something different. They called her mobile phone but hid the number, so it appeared na it was an international call. Ako naman akala ko yong isang ospital na inaantay nya yong tawag, so ginising ko naman si Maan. Lo and behold, yong palang bombay na head hunter agent.

Nagagalit hehehe, bakit daw iniiwasan sila, nasasayang daw yong oras nila. Hahahaha. Nasasayang pala oras nila e bat sila tawag ng tawag hahaha. Di ko mapigilan tumawa, pero si Maan nde natuwa, ako tuloy napagalitan (nakalimutan ko na bawal na bawal kulitin ang nurse na matutulog na lalo na’t galing sa pag duty).

Hindi pa nagtatapos dyan, this afternoon tumawag uli yong manager naman. Sinasabi na pangit daw yong location na gustong pag-applyan ni Maan, dapat daw dun sa mga ospital nila. Me mga sign-on bonus pa raw. Na-te-tempt nga akong sagutin yong tawag kanina pero nag-pigil na lang ako, tumawa na lang ako malakas hehehehe. Si yana tumawa rin siguro iniisip nya nababaliw na Daddy ko hehehe.

Naalala ko nung panahon ng DotCom boom ganyan din kami dati, pinag-aagawan. But sadly I can only reminisce. Masaya kami kasi pareho na namin nagagawa yong matagal na naming gustong gamin, ako me business sa bahay, si Maan mag trabaho na talaga as a nurse. Sabi ko nga dati, kung di sya mag-nu-nurse sayang lang yong pagsusunog nya ng kilay. Buti na lang at napadpad kami dito sa tate, at nakapag-nurse din sya.

On our third road trip we decided to head to the beautiful city of Houston, Texas.

This time around, our goal wasn’t more about the leisurely purposes but rather to scout the possibility of making roots (ag-ramot like my parents say in Ilocano).

So we drove 1200 miles one way for two-days (we had to rest coz we had yana on board).

I must say the drive was awesome. For the third time we really felt we were in america simply because we got out of Miami hehehe.

So when we reached we houston, we hooked up with my aunt who then hooked us up with her real-estate agent who in turn toured us around the pearland area. And I must say we were awe-struck. The Shadow Creek Ranch subdivision in the Pearland area is one of the best little-known places to live and raise a family in America. I mean you have four brand-spanking new schools inside the ranch, you have the beautiful bike and trail paths, and on top of it the house prices are much much affordable compared to Miami.

After a couple of days searching and discussions we’ve picked a home builder with a specific model plan. We’ve decided to have our first house to be built from scratch. Man marian was so excited, specially in picking the interior fixtures of the house while I was busy making sure that any additions done were within our means.

And today we signed our contract and got our pre-approval for the loan. Six months from now baring any unforseen circumstances we will finally own our very first home. We are excited and at the same time scared. You experienced house-buying folks may laugh but to us this is one of the most major decisions we’ve made in our married life. And unlike previous faithful decisions this one wont be easy to get out when the going gets tough so we have to tread lightly. Fortunately we have family in Houston specially Auntie Precy who have been very very accommodating to all our silly questions hehehe.

“…Unti-unting mararating kalangitan at bituin. Unti-unti mga pangarap ko’y ma g-niningning. Hawak ngayo’y tibay ng dam-damin. …” ika nga ni ate Shawie.

We just got back from a week of holiday from California.

It was my little insan’s (Mabec) wedding. And yana was one of the flower girls. It’s almost eerie to think that our little mabec ahem correction she is now known as Maria, oh so precious; has grown so fast and is now a beautiful spouse.

I barely know my cousins, they’ve left the Philippines when they were very young; but when we met again it was as if we’ve known each other for so long there wasn’t any awkwardness. Although, I had to get used to them being older and more american hehehe.

We also met my other west coast relatives, funny coz they too were shocked when they saw me, all they could remember was the small popoy they left behind. They couldn’t believe themselves that I’ve grown much much older, have a beautiful wife and a wonderful daughter. There were some awkward moments but I guess that happens sometimes. But overall it was nice finally meeting them.

I couldn’t say the same about LA traffic. Oftentimes I moan and groan about Miami, but nothing compares to LA Traffic, well maybe Manila traffic comes a distant second. But man, it amazes me that everyone in LA, can sit it out for hours behind a wheel. I remember on the night of the reception, we were on our way home, it was 12 AM, but for some unknown reason we were stuck in a two hour jam. Imagine that, 12 AM, you’d think that everyone would be sleeping already! But no, not in LA, guess folks just love their freeways hehehehe.

Despite the traffic mess, we manage to do our thing, which was to hit the Pinoy hotspots (Jollibee, Goldilocks, Max’s, and Chowking). We also had a chance to try out Seafood market at West Covina, man that was awesome. A real pinoy supermarket, we never had one of those in Florida. That made us consider of moving to California, along with the sales pitches from our friends and family to come over.

Our house lease is about to expire 1st week of September so we are considering the move. But the traffic jam, the high cost of living, the expensive real estate and the so so quality of Life, are preventing us from considering California. I mean don’t get me wrong, you can do far more cool stuff in California than Florida hands down but based from what we saw from our friends and family, they barely get a chance to appreciate their state’s God given gifts primarily because they’re too hanged up maintaining their expensive way of life. I mean almost everyone have two jobs or at best both heads of family are working. They wake up way early in the morning to beat the traffic mess and come home late in the evening because of the same.

Like I always told myself, there is no life at all with that kind of pace. The reason I’ve tried so hard to make my own company work was because it gave me a chance to stay at home with Yana. If we moved the California, I may be forced to get a desk job again just to make both ends meet; and we may end up sending Yana to day care, negating all previous effots not to.

Plus, I don’t know about other parents, but we believe in old school parenting and that means avoding day care as much as possible. We’d rather adjust our lifestyle than jeopardize her chances of growing up properly.

Anyhow, despite the negatives, we will definitely go back to California. Maybe someday when the real-estate prices go down we’ll consider moving. As of now, we’ll just settle ourselves visiting.

Ang sarap talaga mag-road trip, this weekend nagpunta kami ng Key West as part of our “Bisita Playa” tour para ke Uncle Mar at Auntie Connie na galing London na gustong magpa-itim. Alam nyo naman deprived ang London ng sunshine kaya every chance they get they get to the fullest.

This time around we were more adventurous (tama ba spelling ko?) well kasi game din kasi sila so off we went to the not-so-touristy spots at BHAM instant nirvana. First stop was Fort Zachary, ang ganda nung lugar ma-puno pero tabing dagat best of all wala masyadong tao, as if we owned that strip of land. Nag-swim kami (yup including yana which I must add e naging swimming addict na bago pa nakakalakad) pero most of the time nag-snooze lang kami under the tall coconut trees, hay, just thinking of it e narerelax ako.

Second spot was the Anne’s Beach along the highway, ang ganda ng location kasi tago, walang mga signage or billboards, basta isang maliit na off road tapos ayon White Sandy beach.

Speaking of Yana, ayon nga every time she sees a pool of water (mapa-swimming pool dun sa Hotel) or dun sa beach bigla syang nabubuhay at hinihila kami para maligo, as if magaling na syang swimmer hehehe. Pero ang saya ko sobra, addict na sa tubig ang anak ko, hopefully this will strengthen her legs para makapag-lakad na sya fully. Kasi sa tubig nakakatayo na sya e, sa sobrang saya nya nagpapadyak na rin sya e as if lumalangoy na rin e.

Anyhow, itutuloy ko pa mamaya tong blog, nood muna kami ng Babel…

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I just had to repost this article, as it conveys exactly what I am going thru as WAHD (Work-At-Home-Dad), ngayon alam nyo na ang buhay TIGAS sa America…

Enjoy,

Marius
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10 THINGS

Don’t Call Me Mr. Mom!
What Not to Say to an At-Home Dad
by Buzz McClain Oct 2000

Men who chose to stay at home to raise the children while the mothers commute to work experience things most fathers do not. Not the least of these are the insensitive comments by people who can’t comprehend the concept.

It’s the price at-home dads pay for being daring and non-traditional. After all, it’s not everyday you encounter an at-home dad — then again, maybe you do and just don’t realize it because they look like ordinary fathers, except they have slightly more spit-up on their shoulders — so you can’t be blamed for saying the wrong thing. Well, we’re here to help.

Here are a few things that make at-home fathers cringe, according to the members of the National At-Home Dads Association, who have heard it all.

1. “What are you going to do when you go back to work in the real world?” Oh, how at-home dads hate this. It implies raising children isn’t real and it isn’t work. It is lots of both.
2. “Wouldn’t it be better for the kids if the mother stayed at home?” No offense, but no. Studies show that working mothers are more involved in their children’s lives when the father stays at home than when given over to professional day care; and because of the circumstances, the fathers are far more involved with the children than the dads who see their children only briefly after work and on weekends. The kids get two parents with strong influences.
3. “What do you do with all your spare time?” No matter the ages and numbers of the kids, the statement is baloney: There is no spare time. Besides seeing to the children’s feeding, clothing, bedding, amusement and education, at-home dads typically assume command of household chores, from laundry to kitchen duty to lawn care. And you can’t punch a clock after eight hours and go home. You ARE home.
4. “Who wears the pants in the family?” This implies staying at home with the children makes you less masculine; true, at-home dads are likely to wash more dishes, fold more laundry and go to the tot lot more than the father who commutes, but when mom is home dads play and watch just as much sports, ogle just as many women and perform just as many testosterone-driven activities than other fathers. And they do it with more gusto because getting out of the house means more to them.
5. “Oh, so you’re Mr. Mom.” Don’t call us Mr. Mom. The kids already have a mother. At-home fathers do not replace mothers, they simply assume duties traditionally performed by them. If you must call at-home dads something, try Mr. Dad.
6. “That’s a nice Mommy Wagon you drive.” Ahem. It is NOT a Mommy Wagon. It’s a marvelously functional all-purpose utility vehicle that just happens to have enough room to seat more than half of the Stingers Little League soccer team.
7. “What does your wife think about you not working?” Ordinarily a fair question, but often asked to see how the woman is handling the pressure of being the primary breadwinner. Get real: The empowerment is a heady sensation, one most women don’t get to experience, and she loves it. As a bonus, she goes to the office each day knowing her baby is in good hands. Real men deal with the role change just fine, thank you.
8. “How can you stand to change diapers all the time?” This is likely to be asked by the “traditional man,” the kind who will overhaul a greasy auto engine but can’t bring himself to wipe a baby’s butt. We know of one such man who, when confronted with a messy diaper, put the baby in the bathtub until the mother came home. Diapers are easy, pal. (Plum-and-sweet potato spit-up is another thing altogether.)
9. “Do you miss the security of having a job?” Maybe at first, but who isn’t disillusioned by the general lack of loyalty companies express these days? Mergers, takeovers, layoffs, forced relocations and a slavish devotion by corporations to the bottom line are enough to rattle anyone’s sense of security. An at-home dad has the job of a lifetime — you can’t be fired or transferred to a lesser position.
10. “What do you mean you didn’t get a chance to finish the laundry?” Most often asked by frazzled wives coming home from work. Well, honey, things got really fun at the tot lot with the playgroup and we stayed a few hours longer than we expected . . .

Yup, anim na taon na po kaming kasal, grabe no parang kelan lang…

Ayon, lumabas kaming tatlo, pumunta dun sa “The Original Crab House” sa kendall at umorder ng isang dozenang steamed blue crabs, pasta at frenchies (fries po para sa mga di nakaka-alam).

Ang sarap ng crab sobra, wala ng kanin-kanin, basta latak na lang kaagad sa alimango sabay nguya ng frenchie, nasira nga diet e (required po kasi ako ng aming family physician to take off at least six pounds by the 2nd week of April) pero well worth it naman, dinamihan ko na lang reps dun sa morning exercises ko and tinagalan ko na lang yong sa stationary jogging.

The following day naisip namin di pa kami nakakapag-road trip ever since bumalik kami ng tate, so initially nagbalak kaming mag-Disneyworld kaso nag-dalawang isip kami dahil baka di pa ma-appreciate ni Yana (also medyo me kamahalan ang Annual Pass, gusto namin Annual pass dahil once naka-pasok kami sa Disney malamang babablik at babalik kami).

So naisip ko bakit di na lang mag-Sanibel tutal di pa namin gaanong napapasyal ang West side ng Florida. At hayun off we went to Sanibel. And I must say this is one of the best instant decisions we’ve ever made.

Ang sarap mag-maneho, ang ganda ng panahon, scenic yong route at mapapalayo kami sa mga kumag na driver ng Miami (oo taga-Miami kami pero hate na hate namin mga driver dito dahil they remind us of Manila, actually mas gusto pa namin mga driver sa Manila dahil miski papano me modo bwahahaha). Anyway balik sa kwento, ayon since di namin kabisado ang lugar umasa kami sa GPS/Laptop at buti na lang updated yong mapa so madali naming nahanap yong Isla at naka-hanap na rin ng masarap na tsibog.

Ang ganda ng Sanibel, di namin maiwasang mag-reminise nung nasa Curacao kami, kasi ibang-iba ang lifestyle compared sa Miami, mabagal, tahimik at malumanay. Tapos we got a chance to drive by Captiva Island, yong isla ng mga mayayaman ng US, sobrang ganda parang paraiso ang lalaki ng mansion tapos tabing dagat na sobra ang pagka-azul.

Isang araw lang kami kasi nga road trip kahit na 3 hrs one-way it was well worth it, iba talaga pag-SUV gamit mo mas comportable, dati kasi sedan gamit namin kahit na full-size parang cramped ba, this time around ang daming bitbit maluwag pa rin, although we had to do a couple of stops dahil nababagot ang munti naming prinsesa, pero mukhang nag-enjoy ang maldita hehehe.

Definitely mag-ro-road trip uli kami, lalo na dadating sina Uncle Unggay at Auntie Connie, mag-ke-key west naman kami, sana by that time magka-extra akong pera para makabili ng wide-angle lense, sarap manguha e lalo na dun sa Seven Mile bridge.

O pano, hanggang dini na muna, hanggang sa muli,

Marius