ROBERTISMS' CLONE

I created a Robertisms clone in WordPress. However, it's called rob.in.riyadh over there. Here's the new address - http://robinriyadh.wordpress.com/

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Overview
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Highlights
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You like? I like! In white.

I AM THIRD

At the right time (I would like to think actually, in God's time), I would like to establish a group (or a foundation if you will), that I will call, I Am Third.

I came across this phrase from one of my readings in the past, I think Reader's Digest, which indicated that I Am Third is already a movement somewhere in the USA. It further read that the First is God; the second is Country and the I/the self, am third.

If I can call the group/foundation that, then the name would sound good.

But more than sounding good, I hope for the group/foundation to focus on helping families left behind by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), if not some of the OFWs themselves, specially those who get involved in situations that do not make their lives any easier.

I realize that there are already many a non-government organization (NGO) doing the same things but I don't think another one will hurt at all, specially if it does not get involved in advocacy activities that tend to look political. These groups, for sure, have their good and even noble reasons for adding a political hue to their advocacy work. The media mileage alone that they generate helps these groups to elevate their profiles, which in turn, come in handy when trying to attract the attention of the government and the general public to certain concerns such as the call for more assistance to OFWs imprisoned in foreign jails, or for clemency for those in death row.

But I Am Third will hopefully be a silent worker or partner of these families and workers in every way possible.

PFEIFFER-ON-THE-ROOF

Just as we named our Laguna abode Merrill Court, after our first feline pet, so did we name our rooftop villa in Riyadh Pfeiffer-On-The-Roof (POTR), after our second one.

Although completed in August 2005, POTR was blessed in September, in time for Dennis' birthday celebration that year. When Dennis turns another year older this year, we would have been staying at our rooftop villa for more than two years.

The joke among first-time visitors to POTR was that it appears that the famous IKEA store somehow managed to shift one of its displays/showcases to our rooftop. He he. But truth to tell, POTR is also a SACO Hardware display area, with a few haraj (fleamarket) pieces thrown in.

If you are wondering what's so special about POTR, here are some shots that will hopefully relive its so-called "grandeur."/live up to its hype. He he.

The entrance/main door, "guarded" by Merrill and Pfeiffer.

The covered tent/gazebo at the concrete garden.

On entering the main door, to the immediate left would be the bookshelves/library effect...

... and then to the living area separated from the dining area by a divider/shelf and a long side table.

Details of the dining area; cased opening leads to... a small kitchen and to an equally small toilet. Toilet details.

Ironically, Pfeiffer, has been banished from POTR since about six months ago after she gave birth to five kittens and started to behave really protective about her brood, so that she would engage Merrill in a noisy and potentially harmful scratching matches. She now wanders around the compound, but away from our other pets.

Below are details of the sleeping area/bedroom.


POTR was the venue of many a memorable night with friends, specially from the other villas in the compound and from the defunct FACES socio-cultural organization. And though sandstorms and lazy rooftop villa owners have dulled its once-pristine allure, and with additions/deletions here and there that somehow changed the layout/configuration of certain areas, it remains what we would call home in these parts. Well, at least until May - hanggang may langis!

CHARMED ONE IN RIYADH - The Photos

So the Charmed One finally made it to Riyadh and back to Al Khobar (August 1-3) in one piece! Read his own account of the visit here: http://chriscafuir.blogspot.com/

In his whirwind descent to the deserts of Riyadh, here are some of my favorite photos at Pfeiffer-On-The-Roof/POTR [courtesy of Charmed One] of his visit -

Charmed One: in a pose worthy of Jo-Ann Q. Maglipon's Yes! magazine.

Charmed One: definitely more charming than the Venetian carnival masks?

Charmed One: with ever-charming Robertisms, he he.
[Dissenting opinions not allowed!]

BURJ AL ARAB

September is Dennis' birthday month. One of the most memorable celebrations we had in the past was when he and I marked it at Burj Al Arab no less in 2002. The photos (and the Burj Al Arab experience) are therefore about five years old. [Disclosure: I used these photos and captions in a PowerPoint presentation and sent it out to family and friends via email, long before I learned how to blog. It was a very unique experience for us that I thought it is worth blogging about. Hope you agree!]

The Burj Al Arab as seen at dusk from the bridge/gate. The hotel juts out to the sea on reclaimed land, and forms part of the Jumeirah complex that also includes the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Wild Wadi Water Park. [Photo credit: Burj Al Arab brochure.]

The hotel’s awesome interior/atrium as seen from the ground floor lobby. All rooms are called suites. All suites have a view of the hotel’s lobbies and atrium. [Photo credit: Burj Al Arab brochure.]

A suite’s ground level would look like this, at least the one-bedroom two-level suites. This suite has a toilet, an office, a bar, a dining set and a very spacious living room equipped with a wide screen TV set and automated curtains that when open, allows you a view of the sea. [Photo credit: Burj Al Arab brochure.]

Dennis by the door to our suite (No. 507). There are no keys to doors, just cards and electronic card readers. This door’s reader is to Dennis’ right. The reader also allows guests (when they are inside) to see who rings their bell through the suite’s TV set.

Dennis infront of the famous Dubai landmark.

One of the more amusing anecdotes during our stay was that the Filipinos who worked at the hotel (they were everywhere!) mistook us for some other nationality except as Filipinos. One of them seemed to explain why: We haven't seen any Filipinos here as guests, only as hotel workers.

Roberto with the hazy silhouette of the Burj Al Arab in the background, as seen from the beachfront of the nearby Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

Roberto on the winding staircase that leads to the second level of suite 507.

Roberto on the made-up bed at the suite’s bedroom on the second floor level.

Our next dream destination is the Banyan Tree (Al Areen) in Manama. Heard it is as luxurious if not better than Burj Al Arab, if only because of the spa facilities.

We've got to dream larger-than-life. One of these days, it just might come true!

MYX

At Dennis' birthday celebration last year (September 2006), one of our friends, Omar, gave Dennis a dog. As per Omar, the female canine - a mixed breed of Pekingnese and Tibetan-Spaniel, was already six months old at that time. We called her by many names but we eventually settled on Myx.

All through most of the night, Omar just kept holding the copper-colored dog on his lap and the dog stayed put. She didn't bark; she was just content to sit on Omar's lap and to seemingly enjoy the company of people specially the little kids who would come by and stroke her. Later on in the night, she started moving around and yelping and running around with the kids.

I searched the Internet for more information on Tibetan Spaniels and I found out that just as Myx is, Tibetan Spaniels are vigil dogs - they bark and bark whenever someone new comes into the villa but won't bite. They yelp and jump at you when you come home from work and they want to be cuddled (Myx would jump into the bed with me or with Dennis and would expose her belly to be scratched and won't budge until you do it to her). Tibetan Spaniels are very playful and are said to be good for kids. Kids can rough-and-tumble it with Tibetan Spaniels without worrying the kids will get bitten. Currently, however, her fave playmate is Grey, our small white kitten (one of Pheiffer's offsprings) called as such because of the streak of grey on her head.

Myx also likes to be bathed although frankly, she does not get as much bath as she can from us. He he. She eats dog food sometimes but does not mind sharing cat food.

Next month, it's going to be September again and Myx would be 18 months old by then.

Here she is then at 17 months old in her first-ever photographs, courtesty of Charmed One. They're not her best shots; she seemed raring to jump at the pool all through the night of Charmed One's visit to Riyadh last August 2.

This post is specially for Dominique and her siblings Renzo and Chinchin who I promised ages ago, will at least get photos of Myx.

CHARMED ONE IN RIYADH

Kapatid na Chris (Charmed One; http://chriscafuir.blogspot.com/) is visiting Riyadh for the first time over the coming weekend, since his move to the Eastern Province about four months ago. It's a big deal, obviously, so we are preparing a fete fit for a Charmed One tomorrow/ Thursday/August 2. Catering for about 25-30 of his friends in a swimming pool setting (urrgh, the temp hereabouts is 45 degrees Celsius and up, and that's in the morning huh). It's actually nothing new, this gathering of friends (and in the same venue), but we haven't done it for the longest time that Charmed One's visit to Riyadh is as good an excuse as any.

It's not naman that difficult to go all-out to make Charmed One's visit to Riyadh memorable. He has been such an excellent and wonderful friend. Always true, always upfront. You can't find a truer and finer friend.

Hopefully, we'll have loads of laughter and photographs to share after Charmed One's visit is over. In the meantime, I hope you'll settle for our smiles....

Charmed One, patroness of the arts.

Charmed One, world traveler (in HongKong).

Charmed One, heroes' friend.

Charmed One, with charming friends.

Charmed One, in a charming land (Tagaytay Highlands,
with Rusky, charming guide).

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

I finished reading HPATDH/HP7 last night (July 29, 2007). I read the book over four nights (not consecutive, with the rally last night - I read almost half of the book - when I couldn't put down the book no matter how droopy my eyelids had become. I just had to find out what happened to Harry!)

My thoughts, without hopefully being a spoilsport:

• I liked how J. K. Rowling wrapped up the Harry Potter epic/saga. It's an ending you will heave a sigh of relief over. The last chapter, actually an epilogue, is a nice touch.
  
• I hated the deaths of some of the characters. I was surprised to be touched by the death of one of the elves. Maybe because of how Harry treated it/him in death?
  
• I could relate to the dynamics among Harry, Hermione and Ron, specially when Harry seemed to lose his leadership role toward the middle of the book, and Hermione and Ron expressed their doubts leading to Ron leaving and Hermione struggling to stay in the group.
  
• J. K. Rowling obviously wanted to tie up all loose ends - some are welcome while some feel like really contrived. In the process, one must indeed have read the previous editions, to connect the dots, so to speak. The plot and subplots may appear to be convoluted/confusing at first but things clear up later on.
  
• Everyone being accounted for at Hogwarts toward the end seemed very, very contrived. Just about everyone must have a cameo at least (Trelawney hurling crystal balls, etc.)
  
• The action scenes are really dynamic; the movie version would be edge-of-your-seat excitement if the movie director would be up to it.
  
• I somehow feel Lord Voldemort was quite a letdown in this final edition - anticlimatic would perhaps be the better term. After all the build up as to his seeming invincibility that you can't even say his name out loud....


• The revelations about Snape and the last Horcrux are very plausible; the Dumbledore back story, likewise.
  
• The other back stories (the Lovegoods, Petunia and Lily Evans, etc.) add a lot of value. The love angles (Hermione and Ron, Tonks and Lupin, and even Snape and ...) are good stuff. Intriguing was the youthful bond between Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
  
• The come-uppance of the bad characters (the Malfoys, etc.) are well-deserved while a few others are vaguely redeemed (Dudley, for one).


• Other characters considered minor earlier, come into their own (Neville Longbottom, etc.) here.


• This must be the edition that has a lot of spells, old and new.


• The manipulations (such as of the press) by the Ministry of Magic as taken over by the Death Eaters, and of how the Muggles were being treated due to their lack of wizardry in their blood, reminded me of how dictatorships also behave (think Ferdinand Marcos) to force its will on the people.


• The tale of the Deathly Hallows was very intriguing and interesting. And though it's in the title, it figures belatedly in the book.

BIYAHE TAYO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jyyfFiBZ8k

MERRILL COURT - Completed construction

Construction of Merrill Court was completed in early 2006. With a lot of help from Ate Mayet and family and the rest of the Mendoza clan including the Esta couple (Ger and Lani who were our chief architects, with Dennis as chief design consultant - CDC huh), as well as from friends (the likes of Ate Agnez and family who helped a lot in settling legal/deed of restriction issues during the construction). Dennis had it blessed soon after in May of the same year (I could not join him due to work commitments), with Dennis' classmate-turned-priest officiating. Housewarming (organized on my behalf by my sister Doris with Dennis' sisters) was belatedly held on New Year's Day 2007 with both the Mendozas and the Magnoses in attendance; it was timed with our annual break.

Blessing led by Fr. Bien.

The facade now.

The terrace and garage now.

The terrace now.

The master bedroom now.

The master bedroom wardrobe closets now.

The master bedroom T&B now.

The kitchen now.

The dining area now.

The living area now.

The Turkish chandelier at the living area.

Our first Christmas tree.

The housewarming crowd.

The impact of having a home I can call my own (ok ok half my own) finally did not really hit me until I saw the master toilet and bath (to me, it is the best part of the home). I just found myself shedding a tear (of joy obviously) when I realized that I have fulfilled a long-cherished dream of mine.

Merrill Court is still a project-in-progress. There are a myriad interior decoration elements that still need to be added, as well as furnishings and knick-knacks from travels abroad. It is yet to achieve a lived-in look.

But without a doubt, Merrill Court is truly katas ng Saudi (literally, juice of Saudi - a nod to the proverbial blood, sweat and tears that Overseas Filipino Workers/OFWs like us, have to shed as we earn our livelihood away from the country of our birth).