Hey everybody!

I thought I’d fill you guys in on what’s been happening with me these last few weeks, as I haven’t been around the last month to really say anything here. I’ve kind of been on a hiatus of sorts during that time, and wherever I used to be active online I wasn’t for that time period (sorry to all my readers and to those at WGSpectacle — mianhe)

As you all probably know, I ended my summer classes in UPLB in the middle of May and I subsequently left for my home in NYC for a short (but well-deserved) vacation. There I met up with my family, my girlfriend Jeannie and also my good friends Danny and Marlo.

Me and Jeannie on the lunch cruise.

I did a lot of things while I was at home, but most of it consisted of me eating lots of good food. When you realize what you have in America and the variety of things you can eat and how good things taste at home, it can’t be helped. I lost a lot of weight while I spent the summer in the Philippines, mostly because of the crazy heat and all the extra walking I did (just because I could), but I’m pretty sure that I gained it all back within a week because my girlfriend, her family and my family took me out to really good restaurants. I got a good taste of Chinese food (from my girlfriend’s side), tons of great homemade Filipino food (from my family), BBQ (courtesy of my aunt, uncle and me) and even a taste of Cajun (from a new restaurant that opened on my street).

What Jason did for me and Jeannie.

One of the first things I did when I got to NYC was to take my girlfriend out on a date. Since I missed actually celebrating our 3-year anniversary together (which is at the beginning of May), I had to make it up. Romantic? Yes. Overly cheesy? Maybe. But considering that it was the first time in about 6 months that I had got to spend time with her, it was well worth it I think.

We first took a trip to Chelsea Piers, where I told her to dress up and look nice. She didn’t know why we were there or where we were going so I took her for a walk in Manhattan near the Chelsea Piers Sports Center. I ended up surprising her to a lunch cruise on Spirit Cruises, where my little brother works as a singing waiter. Yes, you heard right, “singing” waiter. I had arranged some things with him beforehand and by the time we got there she was shocked. She had no idea we were getting on a boat for lunch, and of course with a full tour of some of NYC’s coast line along the Hudson River. During the lunch cruise, my brother and some of the other waiters danced, sang and served amazingly well. Jeannie was satisfied… ๐Ÿ™‚

Yummy Lunch Cruise Food!

Next, we took a walk to the Museum of Sex. Interesting place we always thought we should visit together. When you walk in, it’s a gift shop which is open to everyone. When you want to go into the actual museum you have to pay a fee–something we did. They have three floors of exhibits, with each one specializing in a different topic. During our visit the first floor dealt with sex in movies (e.g. straight, gay, and celebrity porn genres). The second floor focused on condoms and different fetishes of people. The third floor (which was my favorite) was about how animals have sex. The place had amazing papermache models of elk and pandas doing it. While it was quite interesting to see these animals doing that, we had fun looking around and learning about how different animals mated. Definitely a cool place to be.

The Museum of Sex!

After that, we ended up in Times Square. Since what was next was a surprise, I took her to a nearby area and we sat down to rest a bit. I pointed to a tall building and asked her,

“Do you know what that building is?”

She answered, “No, not really, but I think it’s a hotel… it seems to have the same layout in each room.”

Later on when I told her it was time to have dinner, she followed and I lead her to the entrance to the hotel. The hotel was the Marriott Marquis. The Marriott Marquis is one of the biggest hotels in Times Square and a pretty fancy one at that. On the 50th floor is a special restaurant, called The View. It’s special because it revolves around the top of the hotel slowly, allowing one to see the many attractions of the NYC skyline. Once there, she was shocked again. There was a buffet table full of good fresh salad, fruits, entrees and such and also a separate dessert table with different breads, cheeses, cakes and even a chocolate fountain. I sat her down at our table, ordered a bottle of white wine and we decided to eat and enjoy the view together.

Dessert Table!

All in all, I had a nice time with her during our special date. Afterwards, I spent the weekend at my girlfriend’s house where her family brought me to awesome restaurants filled with Szechuan and dim sum dishes.

The sunset from The View Restaurant.

During the rest of my 2 weeks at home I spent it with my family, helping to cook up some BBQ I had learned while I was in the Philippines. I also got to visit my friends’ place in Sunnyside, Queens. Both of my best friends Danny and Marlo had moved in together as a couple and for the first time are independently living together. Getting my own place is something that I hope to do in the future as well. Both of them are doing well and they have a nice apartment in an interesting part of Queens which I’ve never really gotten the chance to explore. Danny and Marlo gave me a tour of their apartment and their new neighborhood, which was really charming to say the least. Unfortunately, I was only able to spend one day with them during my two-week vacation, but it was a nice time.

A photo from the top of The View.

All in all, my vacation consisted of a lot of family, friend and girlfriend time and I think I spent it wisely. I really needed to unwind from the schooling that I had done. It was something that I hadn’t been able to do since my week trip to Singapore earlier in April.

Now I’m back in the Philippines, getting back into the groove of things. And since it’s almost 10:30pm here I think I’m going to say goodnight. I have my first Pathology III laboratory tomorrow and I have to bring in my dog Whitey to examine his blood. It should be a short exercise, but I’ve still got to get up at 6am to prepare.

Oh, and before I forget I want to wish all of the 1st year proper students who are new to the UPLB Veterinary Program a great start to the semester. I had one reader of mine originally from Nepal tell me awhile ago that he/she was starting up at UPLB as a new 1st year proper student. (So if you’re reading this, then know that if you need help I may be of assistance.) Things will certainly be different once you start the proper subjects and if you guys are new and need some guidance don’t hesitate to hit me up with questions. You can use the “Contact Me” form here on the web-site to send me questions and/or comments. I’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible.

Okay everyone, I think it’s time for me to get some shut-eye. Talk with you all soon. ๐Ÿ˜€

Back To School Again
2nd Day of Clinics at UP Diliman