BIRTHDAY! A great way to get old and new friends together!

I was never one for wanting to having a 'huge' birthday bash. If people were around I would ring them and figure out something fun to do. Actually, I barely remember what I have done for past birthdays! From 03-05' I was in the Philippines.

Last year, I had the surprise party of my life and have to give a HUGE kudos to John for setting it up with the help of Kebin. Sadly, the Frying Pan restaurant that we ate at at the pier. It was demolished last fall but the feast we had will forever be in our memories.

After looking through the New York magazine, I read about a new Filipino restaurant near Union Square. Pistahan restaurant specializes in dishes called 'Bicol Express', which is best known for using coconut milk or cream in many of their dishes - other wise known as gata in Filipino.

The food turned out to be delicious and thank gosh for family style eating though generally I prefer to have my own dish!. We ate Chicharron Bulaklak (literally "crispy flowers" or fried chicken intestine), Lumpiang Shanghai (very thin and short spring rolls), Lumpiang Sariwa (vegetables in crepe), Pancit Canton (chinese egg noodles with sprouts, chicken, garlic), Ginataang Sari Sari (mixed Filipino vegetables with coconut milk), Daing Na Bangus (boneless deep fried milkfish servced with vinegar and soy sauce), Chicken Adobo (chicken slow cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, garlich and pepper corn), ube (purple yam) and mango ice cream.

Pistahan ($$) 229 1st Ave, New York 10003 Btwn 13th & 14th street Phone: 212-228-9000

Of course, the unexpected gifts were also just as good! I received the most spectacular rainbow obsidian rock I have ever seen by my girl Rudy. Boy Rudy gave me a children's book in Filipino and English while I turned down his offer to give me the movie - The Piano and I am also looking forward to going to a Broadway show thanks to John!!

Here is a toast to finally reaching my 30's!

Paintball - bringing out the combat fighter in me.

I will say that paintball is obviously not for everyone.

The wife of John's friend organized the paintball for her husband's birthday.
Our group was small so I could not imagine if we had more people. After suiting up I was primed to take action. It is fascinating how an activity like this brings out the fighter in you. Each round was 5 minutes long and after the first one my adrenaline was high. It did cross my mind how thankful I was not to be in the military considering how scary it was to be hit by a paintball.

As one of three girls and outnumbered by the boys it seemed like we had to prove our strength and capabilities to them. After one round of boys versus girls we were triumphant and I know they were startled to the point of seeking retribution. This is when tension began to escalate and I witnessed more aggression from the guys.

The rules of paintball are that if you run out of ammo you raise your arms to exit the 'battle grounds' and no one is to shoot at you. If you are 5 yards from the opponent they are supposed to surrender and retreat. No shooting at the face or 10 yards from the opponent. The team who has the last man standing is victorious.

I found myself crawling and tumbling to areas protected by cushioned barriers. I did get shot at while I clearly surrendered, shot in the face and even while I was walking out of the room and I noticed my hostility was on the rise. I realized that in the moments of combat our ability to remember the rules were hard to control.

In the end we all apologized for the mishaps and compared our battle wounds. I had a nice welt on my neck, which luckily did not bruise. On the other hand I did get a beautiful purple tattoo on the back of my arm for a couple days. John had two big marks on his chest even after wearing the chest protector!

Rockin in the Rockies
Filipino Heritage Camp
Frasier, CO


This is my third summer traveling to the Rockies to volunteer as a counselor at the Filipino Heritage Camp.

FHC was developed for children adopted from the Philippines and their families to spend a weekend to meet other adoptees, learn about their Filipino heritage/culture and also have lots of FUN.

I found FHC on a web search and thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to travel west and especially meet other adoptees. Some of the same kids have attended the camp and were familiar faces this summer. Difference was they are now in high school and no longer the rugrats they were 6 years ago.

Interestingly, when I visited the Philippines for my first time in 1998 I met up with a group of adoptees and their parents on a Motherland Tour. Those same people coincidentally were also part of FHC so it was quite a reunion to see them at the camp. I accompanied them to all the orphanages they were adopted from.

There were families old and new - some came from California, Indiana and Ohio to the 3 day camp. I was taken aback how grown up all the kids are since I saw them in 2004. They definitely kept me on my toes but I loved every moment of trying to keep up with them. One night we played speed ball - water polo with out the water. My legs were pulsing the following day.

Noah is a great baby to travel with. He was a little chatty on the plane but otherwise was wonderful - both ways.

Thankfully, John was helpful and looked after Noah while I spent time with the high school kids. He spent time with the Filipinos who cooked our Filipino meals and spoke to the Titas who could not keep their hands off of Noah.

I know in future years Noah will benefit from the cultural aspect of the camp and I want to make sure he is exposed to all things Filipino.

After years of making excuses not to go to dance classes I finally went to a West African class with my friend at the Djoniba studio near Union Square. He preferred Afro-Brazilian and I can understand why. As we walked into the studio the advanced class was just finishing up. The pounding rhythms of the djembe and other instruments could be heard from the elevator. The percussion alone had my heart racing and as I walked to look through the studio window my excitement grew even more.

At the end of each class students line up in rows to go through the routine they just learned. Arms were flailing, bodies gyrating along to the drums and I was about to spend the next hour and half exerting my body in ways I have not done since my days playing sports.

I have a long way to go to learn the basic movements but looking forward to get back into shape.


Some tips:
Djoniba offers a free trial class for new members;
Wear loose clothes - the air circulation in the studios is limited;
Bring a water bottle!