Wyndham Vacation Resorts Time Share Presentation

So we purchased this Wyndham vacation package for $150 on 12/2008, which includes a free one night stay for a year on any Wyndham property and a two night stay in Poconos in exchange for a time-shae presentation. We purchased the package, since for 3 free hotel nights, ok na din sya. we used it on March 27, 2009. Poconos is about an hour-ish drive from Manhattan. When we got there, we went to the welcome center where they assigned the hotel we would stay in. There are 6 hotels you could choose from. We were first given the Budget Inn & Suites, but I got scared since I didn't know the rep of that place. We were trasnferred to Howard Johnson, which was horrible! Other places we could have been placed at were Chateau, Hamton Inn, Shawnee Inn Historic Hotel (I think this is the best one by far), and Quality Inn.

Overall, I don't think I'll be buying any timeshare packages again. In fairness, the salesperson assigned to us wasn't pushy at all, but overall, I just don't like being pressured to anything (not that they could ever pressure me!). It's simply annoying, that's all. And when we got the package, we thought the accomodations would be good, but Howard Johnson was horrendous! It was so dim and dingy.

Lesson: No more time-share presentations! Ever!

Flashbacks

It's Sat night, and mom is sleeping on Kuya's bed, Wowowee playing on TV. Dinner is shrimp, I said I wouldn't eat, but gave in still. I had a good nap from 630p - 9p. Too tired from doing a double at 10th floor yesterday and working w/ Carmel at 13 today. I'm back to floating (sort-of, since I'm usually placed at 13 w/ Alison) after my 6 month stint as charge nurse on ten. I sort of miss it, because the aides there are awesome (Valembraum in particular) and conscientious. I've learned that it matters more how great your team works than how difficult your patients are.

Ruz went straight home after work today to pick up his car from the shop. His car was bumped by a speedy gonzelez one night while his car was quietly parked on the street). He got nearly $2700 for the damage from StateFarm and had his corolla fixed for less than that.

PPC continues to enjoy. This summer, we went to Disney World on June and Cape May on July for a July celebrants bday bash. Disney World was just how I imagined it would be, less the thunderstorm. We stayed at the Carlos' timeshare property. Cape May is always a beaut with its old town charm. Butch is turning one and his grand shindig is this Sunday. We have another beach thing this Sat, as planned by Ivy.

Kuya remains as he is - a prick. He's with another girl now, Anette. As heartless as ever, he's gotten loads on his return (as he slyly took mom as HIS dependent), and of course, mom and I never got anything out of it. Sometimes I fantasize of ways how I can trade him for a better brother. To this day, I have never met a person as selfish as he is to his family. He argues we live for free and he pays a grand for my car monthly. Granted that's true. But what me and mom argue is that it would not hurt him to be practice sporadic thoughtfulness.

Dad and I still don't talk.

This year, just before Circuit City closed, I bought my first SLR camera. i think I got it around February. It's a Sony 200 i think. I love it. At first, comparing to Kuya's Nikon, I was remorseful that I didn't choose the Nikon, as it was priced similarly. But now, I love it. I guess I just needed time to bond with it.

As when it all began, Ruz remains consistent. Last week, he sent me a lovely bouquet. For my bday, he gave me the best-smelling perfume (lol, same as what Gretchen Barretto wears), and the most expensive one I've craved for. I spent my day w/ Tranformers and 3 cheap grubs in the LES. - otafuku, franks, and crepe. His day was way swankier, we went to a Bobby Flay restaurant and there, I had the most delectable, mouth-watering chocolate layer cake covered in chocolate ganache with a side of cherry compote. It was dessertgasm on spot.

This year, my top shopping splurges were 2 Burberry coats. No remorse there, hahaha. And don't even get me started on Bloomies, BCBG, AG, & Zara. Way.too.many.jeans.

Oh, and my iphone was stolen on June, on duty.

I belong! *snicker*

DO YOU BELONG IN NYC?
Yes, but sometimes you wish there were a better option.
You do love New York, and you fit in here better than you have anywhere else. You're committed to the city, and you take advantage of all of its amazing food, culture, nightlife and arts. But you have nagging doubts about this relationship. Spend your whole life here? Not sure about that. Sometimes you wonder about that farm in your fantasies or even just a smaller city. But in reality, you know there's nowhere better. Click here for suggestions about how to really enjoy NYC.

Do you belong in New York City?

Food to try!

Momofuku Noodle Bar
- A young Korean-American chef trains at top New York restaurants like Café Boulud and Craft, soaks up some local culinary culture in Japan, and builds an unassuming nook in the East Village, where he proceeds to cook precisely the type of food he likes to eat

Piece of Chicken
- 362 W 45th St (b/n 8 & 9th Ave)
- a soul food take-out joint (really a kiosk fronting a kitchen) where most things on the menu are a buck or two.

Le Cirque

Thursday, Ruz and I had dinner reservations at Le Cirque. I have been persevering for weeks to get reservations in this place and it is tough! We did get prior reservations, but things would come up, like Lloydie's birthday treat and weather problems. I'm just glad the dinner finally pushed through.

Le Cirque is in a whole different league. Right outside was a nicely dressed doorman greeting incomers and I was in awe when right behind us was a disheveled old gentleman that he greeted by name. Coolness.

You walk in and a host was immediately available. I said we had reservations and he offered to check in our jackets. The place is subdivided into two, left is the main dining room and to to the righ is an upscale cafe/bar. I wsa happy we were sat in the dining room as I have read that many-a-diners are sat in the cafe. I wanted my first Le Cirque experience to be tops and off it went to a great start!

The main dining room decor is contemporary & exudes total class. All the men were wearing jackets (as they are required to dine in the main dining room), and i thought, even at this day and age, that its a nice touch. The plates have this whimsical monkey insignia on them that you really can't say fit perfectly with the ambience, but still pretty amusing



There was a man offering all sorts of bread on a fancy tray throughout the meal. I am usually a big fan of bread baskets, but I was sort of full even before we ordered, and I didn't want to mess up my appetite. They had multigrain, raisin, olive rosemary baguette, and some more. Good variety. I had the multigrain and although I wish it were a little softer, it was good and nutty nonetheless.

For appetizer, Ruz had the Sauteéd Gulf Shrimp with carrot confit and kaffir lime sabayon while I chose Lobster Consommé with ricotta dumplings. Not good. For entree, Ruz had succulent Pork Filet with candied turnips and tamarind. I had the Diver Sea Scallops with sunchoke, grapefruit, and hazelnut crumble. The servings are fairly minuscule. Crème Brûlée “Le Cirque” and Pineapple Carpaccio lemongrass sorbet filled up our sweet tooth.


The experience was a teeny tad pretentious, but then I guess that's what you pay for too.. My night was made when I saw Sirio, the famed owner. Lol, I freaked out a little. Food is good but not great. Better than Tavern on the Green most definitely. I liked Nobu better. I wish I could keep coming back here whenever I want to feel special, but my savings tells me otherwise.

Dr. Jaime Oro DDS at Park & 63rd

Today, I was fortunate enough to get an appointment with Dr. Oro, a dentist referred by Sonia from work. She gave such nice praises that I knew I had to go see him instead of Dr. Nelli at Lexington. See, on Sat night, the gum portion in between two of my teeth  started swelling. Then Sunday night, as I was taking a bath, I felt a lump just below my left jaw. Yesterday morning, I felt another lump below my chin. The pain was most excruciating on Sunday. Yesterday and today was much bearable. 

So at 4:30, Ruz and I were at the clinic waiting. The whole staff were flips, and I appreciated that. I like flips helping out co-flips. The hygienist was a young flip and very pleasant. Dr. Oro was equally nice and explained to me that I was infected by a bacteria and that I needed deep cleaning in order to remove plaque and tartar which increases gum problems. He gave me 6-8 injections of a topical anesthetic to numb the swollen area, as I was at increased risk of pain there during the procedure. 

I'm soo used to cleaning (I am religious when it comes to this preventative dental care) that the sensitivity I felt was sort of, well, better tolerable since I knew what I was to anticipate.

What I wasn't prepared was this: I needed surgery.

HUWAAAT??!! I'm way too young. I'm 25. Apparently, he said that the infection has been present for some time and have already caused damage leading to bone loss just below my my two teeth. I needed bone grafting surgery. And if I don't do it, I may lose my two teeth eventually (even if they aren't loose) because it is the bone that keeps it up. He was pretty surprised that I just had my previous cleaning done on December and that the other dentist didn't see the problem. He gave me prescription meds and scheduled for me to come back in a week.

Anxiety overfilled me while I bit on my numb lower lip. SURGERY? Gosh.

Ruz and I had dinner at East after my numbness subsided (took about 3 hours post-dentist). I just had to have tempura despite my still too sensitive teeth. The age dashi appetizer was fine for my teeth condition. 

After dinner, we went to CVS and ordered my VERY FIRST PRESCRIPTION filled. It's awesome that the pharmacy was just a block from the apartment and open 24 hours. I had a copay of $10 for each medicine, so I paid $20 (well, Ruz paid) for the antibiotic and Peridex mouthwash.

                              Wish me luck!

Being in charge

Mila, Ruz, and I are hanging out right now here in Kuya's waiting for 7pm to arrive. For a long time, we haven't been complete for a gimmick and I'm glad that changes today. Tere, Alvin, Butch, Ace, Acie, Ivy, Miss G, Karla, Sonj, and Lloydie are all coming here in the city. We're having dinner at Tony's di Napoli in the Upper West Side. It'll be loads of fun I'm sure, kahit na I don't feel very well. My lymph nodes (under my left jaw and I found a new one directly under my chin) are swollen. I have swollen gums too, but just in one area in between two tooth. 

I didn't like work today. Sometimes, it doesn't pay to love what you do and be great at it. I.e, I've been feeding this one resident, O.P., because I love her to death and she's been really sick. I feel for her because she's super sweet, giving hugs a million times a shift. For the nearly 3 months I've been working on tenth floor, I've never seen a relative visit her, and its saddening because she's so dear. Her family doesn't bring any clothes, so she wears socks and clothing from deceased residents. She's legally blind and she wanders around the unit aimlessly. One time, she got caught fiddling around another resident's balloons and was trying to get it. The other resident hysterically freaked out. I thought the whole thing was hilarious!

Back to the story, I've been feeding O.P. because she's had a rapid decline and been continuously refusing to eat. Today, another resident's been persistently coughing and her aide thought it best to leave her in her own room for lunch, as not to possibly contaminate the other diners. So guess who feeds her too? Me, the nice unit nurse.

And then this really cool aide who changes colostomy bags for me just stopped doing so. Buuuut she's been doing it for the real charge nurse on the unit (I'm covering for the charge nurse while she's on leave). I.do.not.get.it. I'm very certain she has nothing against me. Positive. I can only assume one reason: That it's ok if she doesn't help me with it, kasi I'm easygoing naman to work with.

Moral of the story: Be firm and stop being so nice when you're in charge.

I have a headache. 

Woodbury, missing a friend, and Papa John's

Just got back from CVS to get cash for mama's laundry. This thursday, Ruz, mom, & i went to Woodbury. We got there at 2 and stayed till closing. That's a new secret I discovered in outlet shopping: Either go really early to pick out new stuff brought out or stay still closing since they take out the new stuff for the next day. Saks had great stuff on clearance and I was giddily browsing the racks despite my feet being so painful from the 6 hour non-stop walking. Ruz and mom gave up and sat on the side. I spent a week's salary that day (but I paid for mom's stuff too, so it's ok). I got 3 tops from Saks, blue cardigan at JCrew, dainty beige flats from Ferragamo, capri jeans at AG, and orange iguana flats from ColeHaan. I am a happy girl.

We ate at the infamous So Kong Dong afterwards. Their prices has gone up. The soup from $8 to $9 a

nd the short ribs from $12 to $15. I'm just glad they let us in even if we got there 15 minutes before closing.

Yesterday, Tere and Alvin came back here in NY to visit. I had a flashback moment last Friday of how good times were when Alvin and Tere were still childless. Don't judge, I'm not against kids, but having a child totally transforms lives, even the ones you think aren't much affected (like me). It used to be that we could just call Tere and she'd be up to go anywhere (i.e. food tripping in Long Island). Not the case anymore, and I guess I'm just missing those good old times. I love Tere.

Ruz and I had pizza delivered today for dinner. Papa John's has a deal where you get a 3 or more topping pizza, you could get a $0.25 medium pizza. First time I got the thin crust from Papa John's. Not bad. But Famous Pizza in Elmhurst is still waay better. 

Bride Wars - 1/28/2009

Ruz and I watched Bride Wars last night at Atlas Park, after a dinner of shrimp dumplings, siumai, roast pork w/ egg noodles, and cold almond tofu. For reasons I don't know, I had higher expectations of the film than what I saw. It was... an ok movie. I have to say, mejo low-budget sya, as the reception of both Anne & Kate's wedding looked like it was as small as a living room. In the beginning of the movie, they were talking about The Plaza grandiosity, so akala ko the wedding itself would be smashing.

At least, Atlas Park didn't fail me with my hope na konti lang tao sa theater. There were six of us watching!

2009 NYC Winter Restaurant Week

You've got to love New York for all the events it offers its residents!
Take this last 2 weeks: NYC WINTER RESTAURANT WEEK!

It's my first time to do this whole restaurant week thing. I found out about it on the web while reading some blog, and it most certainly piqued my very interested taste buds.

January 19, 2009
Ruz and I had dinner in Tavern on the Green. We took a cab from the apartment to save cash with the valet and parking fee. Good thing, mas nakamura talaga, lol.
The place is beautiful. It's serene/romantic. The service was splendid. We had mushroom ravioli with peas, sauteed shitake mushrooms, and truffle oil appetizer. It was good, very fresh. For entree, Ruz had Fennel-seared atlantic salmon in red wine sauce and mashed potatoes. Amazingly done. I, on the other hand wasn't so lucky. I had very fatty braised lamb shank with apricot and preserved lemon and pearl couscous. The best part of the entree would be the couscous.
Dessert, Ruz had a sour cream mascarpone cheesecake while I chose creme brulee with demarara sugar crust and almond tuile. Dessert was A++.




January 29, 2009
Attendees: Ms G., Robert, Inah, Nico, Ruz, & moi
Where: Nobu Tribeca
Ahhh.. Good food comes in little packages nowadays.
Reservation was at 6:45pm. We took the subway kasi we were thinking walang parking dun, and besides anim kami sa car, too many.
The host was kind enough to seat us kahit na wala pa si Inah. When we were finally complete, we asked for the restaurant week menu, but they weren't offering it. Good thing Nobu Next-Door was, so we went there, pero we were willing to stay na din naman duon since the a la carte had more choices and the price looked good. But, we still went next door dahil... wala lang. Same menu, WITH restaurant week menu choice.

St. Vincent's 1st Day

Ok, so good things so far this year. My St. Vincent's dateline:
October 25, 2008 - Entrance Exam Date
November 7, 2008 - Interview w/ Ms. Darcy
December 2008 - Received Acceptance Letter
January 15, 2009 - Orientation
January 26, 2009 - First Day of Classes

SO far, I like St Vincent's. I have to admit, I'm thru with stress La Guardia gives the students (I am proud though that my two friends Karla and Norman got in the Transition Program. Kudos!) They say St. Vincent's is easier than the other nursing schools (source: allnurses.com, lol). I'll let you know in two years.

I did have difficulty deciding kung Helene ba or SVCMC. Pros of Helene is that you'll finish in a year. Big con is the stress factor again. Con of SVCMC is the ginORMOUS tuition fee and 2 yrs to finish. But then, i get to start classes this Jan already and the class load is way less.

Oh, another con, I have to challenge 5 classes, costing $640 in total, and walang kasiguraduhang you'll pass kaya puwedeng masayang yung $640. The major one among the 5 is the Fundamentals 101. The test was 100 questions, NCLEX style. Pramis, the test was as tricky as the real thing. BUT, i passed, so whew. BIG whew.

So orientation day was 3 days ago. It was eeriely different from my environment at LAGCC. Puro puti, lol. And ha, compared to students sa LaGuardia na todo paper brown bag ang medyas (think Eva, hehehe), dito aba katabi ko, naka-Fendi, harap ko naka-Juicy Couture jacket, and EVERY GIRL was wearing uggs. Classic uggs, metallic uggs, arte uggs. Hanep.

Im glad may Filipinos dun. I'll guesstimate nasa 6 (4 boys, 2 girls).

Oh, I forgot to note I passed my English CLEP. Medical dosage, I wasn't as lucky. Hehe, i was at a loss with all the conversion. So 3 down, two more to go!