Krua Thai Experience

When I was in Cebu last month, I had the pleasure to dine out with my family (they visited Cebu) at the famous thai food resto in town - Krua Thai. i remember that it was like 4 years ago that i was able to visit this resto and i even forgotten what the taste like. :-) actually Krua Thai means "Thai Kitchen" and its actually wonderful that we have authentic thai resto in Cebu.. I hope it would reach Dumaguete...

I have visited Thailand once, and while i was in Bangkok my SSEAYP (Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program) host family treated me with all the thai food and it was superb.

but nevertheless, i treated my family with the most delicious thai food at the resto and the judgement: the best!!! we all loved our food. i recommend for those asian food lovers out there!

beef sprinkled with sesame seeds.. yum! priced around P200.00-250.00

chicken dipped in butter priced around P200.00

pineapple rice priced around P180.00

The world famous tom yam.. coconut milk with ginger, etc.. super hot! priced around P200.00


me and mom!

sister patricia looks like real "thai" hehe..

Thank you Krua Thai!! One big happy customer! till the next visit...

My gadget wishlist

This year, i was just happy that i was able to have my dream gadgets, an Ipod Touch 8Gb and a Nokia E63 mobile phone in aquamarine color. But while, i purchase such gadgets i always remind myself that there is so much to life than cellphones and mp3 or any technology for that matter, and that i should not be a slave of technology.. but then again, i am happy having this gadgets and it makes me happy. i am pretty sure that in this age and time, these stuff are necessary.

Well, for me, its about the need. when i purchased my ipod touch, i want to have a gadget that i can use while travelling and use it while i am in the office to perk me up and of course, the Wifi built-in feature is essential so i can keep up my mails whenever I am on the go. With touchscreen technology, it makes it more special and interesting for me.

Whenever, i purchase a gadget, i think it over and over again. i think the practicability and the need, i always have to go visit the store often to really feel that need. (weird huh?!) but thats how i think over a major purchase.. you can try it if you want. hehehe..

well, i am listing down my wishlist for next year. i hope i could have them soon. here it is.




The canon 40D EOS i am not really a photography freak but i want to learn. there are a lot things we could capture in the camera.. also i would like to study adobe lighthouse technology or photoshop to improve the pic image. If ever i would travel again to another country, i have a ready professional SLR to boost. I currently have a Sony Cybershot which is with me for the past 2 years.. if i can't afford to buy this, i would choose the Sony Cybershot




I just love the color and it has a higher pixel from my 7 pixel Sony Cybershot DSC s650, but i would rather have an MP of 10 or above to capture a very nice image.


The apple macbook is a dream come true for me.. i am not really keen on the specs coz i am only a simple techie guy who is not really into games and programming.. the thing with macbook is the white color..thats it. hahahaha.. and of course the slim design.


well, there are my wishlist for next year, for those people who have those stuffs already well, good for you guys, i envy you. i guess i have to work hard to buy those stuffs.. time will come..

till the next blog.

Happy Birthday Sis!

I am quite delayed in posting this, but last August 13, it was my sister's birthday.. i was planning to bring my family to eat outside in a restaurant but they said they got tired. well, maybe next time. just want to say to my sister: HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! i am so proud of your accomplisments, you made me really proud to be your bro. take care and enjoy your natal day! (i think you did..hehehe)

The New Me

Just yesterday, i was trying to look at my face in the mirror (which by the way, i always do!) i noticed that the patches in my head were already gone. I looked at my back using another mirror to focus on my patches at the back and I was surprised that it was already gone! REALLY!

fast rewind: I had alopecia areata few months back (extreme falling hair that would actually leave patches at my scalp) The culprit: stress due to the nursing board exam last November The victim: me! of course! hehehe.

anyway, going back. I was stroking my very very short hair and at the same time locating where are the patches in my head and suddenly I shouted at my sister " pat, tan-awa ba gud ning akong hair, ni tubo na xa! yipeee (translation for my friends located all over the world: pat, look at my hair it's starting to grow)"

It actually made my day!

the back of my head now. Look closely and you wont find any patches anymore.

this was the picture taken last February this year. I often get a lot of stares from people this actually made me very conscious. And in my blog previous blog. People always ask me what happened to my hair, and i always have a scripted answer. smile.

yes it was tough, really tough. i had a lot of adjustments when i had my hair bald. It was tough since i have to use a cap whenever i go out (downtown area) just to hide from the stares of the people, not to mention that while riding my motor bike i sometimes get stares from passengers sitting at the pedicap (the three-wheeled passenger vehicle here in dumaguete) whenever I overtake them and at that time I am not wearing a cap. hahayz!

after scalp injections, oral medications, bottles of PREGROW shampoo and conditioner, triamcinolone solution inflammatory medication and minoxidil hair regrower, i have finally come to a conclusion that i am healed. YEHEY!

One of the things i really miss most was when I sit in front near the altar whenever go to church on Sundays and I don't get to do this since i have to wear a cap when i go to church and i have to stand near the door just enough to hear the priest at the speaker near the church entrance. So Saaad.

But last Sunday was different, i get to sit in the church pews after 7 long months of being bald and being conscious about it in the public.. I didn't wear a cap this time when i went to the church and i was really proud I have hairs on my head. Thank You Lord. :-)

After church, i was ready to have my first haircut in months, this time, it was not shaving but trimming only just to get rid of unwanted extra length of hairs at the side of face. and it went perfect.

my first haircut.. sweet! hehehe. i love the trim afterwards.

I just felt alive this time around, that after that painful decision of shaving of my hair, now, its back. I am just pleased that my hair is back. I know that i have to take care of my self this time, like less stress and i have stop being vain with all the hair colors, hot oils and hair relax. I have learned to love my self more. Some people would usually ask me:

friend: "Jay, did you lose your self-esteem when you lost your hair?"

Jay: " actually no. i was pretty much confident about myself and i am very proud of myself because i fairly accomplished a number of things already in my lifetime, the only problem is that, i get uncomfortable whenever people give me a hard stare (like straight 5 minutes of staring), i would really melt. :-)

friend: " so from now on, your self-esteem is multiplied to 5 times more"

Jay: "actually yes (laughter) i am extremely loving my self now and I know now that my imperfections made more human and whenever i look back in my life, i could actually laugh at this situation and learn from it, and that there is more to life than having no hair. Cheers!

The Happy Me!

Going GaGa over Boys over Flowers

I admit, i am one of those fans that fell gaga over this new korean-hit telenovela (thank God for ABS-CBN for bringing to the Philippines). I am currently still playing the episodes and i am not even close to the last episode but as of right now, I am declaring myself a "fanatic" fan of BOYS OVER FLOWERS.

I don't get to see the episodes since it is placed in a late afternoon timeslot so I have to borrow a DVD copy from my officemates.

I am posting this article from www.dramabeans.com, i am so happy they are actually detailing the episodes and the cast in their site. so here it is guys, enjoy!!

Kim So-eun (Yuki), Lee Shi-young (Sakurako)

Yeah, I know I’m posting a lot about Boys Before Flowers, but nothing else is getting me all that excited these days. Plus, it goes to show just how anticipated this drama is when we get news reporting not just on the leading actors, but even the very peripheral members of the cast.

So, with the main characters all lined up (the boy-men of Flower Four, main character Makino, beautiful model Shizuka, and tough older sister Tsubaki), now it’s time to turn our attentions to the rest.

Gu Hye-sun’s (Makino) character’s best friend Ga-eul (meaning Autumn; Yuki in the manga) is 19-year-old new actress Kim So-eun — and yes, she will share a “fresh” and “dramatic” storyline with Kim Bum’s Soujiro (er, So Yi-jung).

Sakurako will be taken on by 24-year-old Lee Shi-young, who recently drew attention for her role as Yeon-hwa in the sageuk drama Kingdom of the Wind. I haven’t seen her act, but she definitely looks the part — fresh and innocent on the outside, but potentially “I will cut you” on the inside. Her character’s name is Oh Min-ji.

The Geum family

Of particular note are the members of main character Jan-di’s family. (By the way, it does appear that Gu’s character name has been changed from Yeon-woo to Jan-di, which means grass.)

First you have her father, played by actor Ahn Seok-hwan, now in his fourth drama collaboration with director Jeon Ki-sang. You probably recognize him as Jae Hee’s dad from Delightful Girl Chun-hyang and Witch Amusement, or from My Girl, or as the China-phile (is that a word?) minister in Hong Gil Dong. The dad operates a dry-cleaning store and the Geum family is staunchly middle-class (though closer to the lower end).

Mom is gonna get some Goong comparisons, since she’ll be played by Im Ye-jin, who played Yoon Eun-hye’s mom in that drama (which is funny since the Japanese Hanadan mom always reminded me of her).

Jan-di’s little bro is a precocious computer geek played by 13-year-old Park Ji-bin (My Man’s Woman, Yi San). (Sorry, that picture is probably a year or two old.)

The mean girls

Now that our big names have been doled out among the main cast, there are some new faces mixed in with the rest of the cast. These tertiary characters have been cast on the basis of their closeness to the original manga characters, as well as their ability to mesh well the principals.

The three mean girls at school who torment Jan-di (named Jin-hee, Seon-ja, Mi-sook) will be played by the trio above. From left to right, they are Kook Ji-yeon (who reminds me of Bin), Jang Ja-yeon, and Min Young-won (put on some clothes, woman).

Kook is a 24-year-old model, Jang is a 26-year-old model, and Min is an actress of indeterminate age who’s done an episode of Drama City and had a role in a 2003 drama Twenty Years Old.

Jan-di and Ga-eul work in a joohk (rice porridge) restaurant run by Kim Ki-bang (Lovers, Thank You, New Heart), at right. His role is a comic one, as his character believes he receives messages from aliens.

The drama began filming on November 5, and will travel abroad for its overseas shoots sometime mid-month. The 24-episode drama premieres at the end of December on KBS.

Here we have Jan-di (Gu Hye-sun) on her bike, and Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho) sporting Tsukasa’s famous permed hair:

Boy, does he look the part! Kim Hyun-joong gives his Ji-hoo character Rui’s soft touch:

Kim Bum as So Yi-jung (Soujiro):

Kim Joon as Woo-bin (Akira):

Here is where I start to worry that the Korean version will mirror the Japanese one too closely… I hope they don’t take that path (and I have hope), because the comparisons are going to be inevitable anyway, and we don’t need to see an exact replica. Below, Ji-hoo parts with Han Chae-young’s glamorous character at the airport:

This time Ji-hoo talks with Jan-di while the rest of F4 wait nearby:

These may be hard to make out, but they are of Gu Hye-sun in her high school uniform. The Korean student who posted these on her blog today (Nov. 13) explains that she’d arrived at school in Daegu to find buses bearing the title “Boys Before Flowers” on the side. She texted her friends and took phone-cam photos while Gu Hye-sun shot her scene. Crew members joked that her uniform was obviously fake (re: the short length). The blogger said Gu was adorable and pretty, but her makeup was way too white.

Lee Min-ho wears the perm well, imo. The blogger who took the photos points out that the sunglassed and hatted man in the first pic is Director Jeon. Apparently Lee had come out to watch them shooting a scene he wasn’t in (allowing fans a closer look than expected), and the director eventually reminded him, “I told you not to come out before I called you.”

(Who’s excited now?)

New Face

I am currently overhauling my friendster, multiply and blogspot account.. it just happened by chance.. i am not supposed to do it now, but while i was browsing my friend's account, the profile page was AWESOME!!i cant help but envy her work. well, i am not that that techie, and i have to move my way to the different buttons in the lay-out sites but thankfully, i made it.. so there, i have a new image for my multiply, blogspot and friendster.

do dropby:

jaldecoa.multiply.com
www.friendster.com/jayaldecoa
www.jayaldecoa-mylifenow.blogspot.com

take care everyone!

NO hAIR

I am having a serious case of Alopecia Areata.

It is actually a condition where the person's hair falls beyond the normal hairfall in a day, and looses too much hair.

I lost too much hair. I lost my crowning glory.

It all started when I was taking the board exam in Cebu, while taking shower in the dormitory, i started to notice that there were hairs all over my shoulders while shampooing my hair..

at first i didn't mind the hair shredding, my thought was maybe it was just normal.

However, after taking the exam, i noticed patches of scalp in my head without hairs. I told my family about this and they were alarmed, as for me, i was just calm and relax and just thinking that this will grow back.

the next day, I went to the dermatologist. The doctor injected my head with a solution to stimulate hair growth and prescribed a daily topical solution along with oral antibiotics for my scalp.

However, mid February, the patches that seemed to be so small before became very prominent to the observers.

Most of the time, people would ask me what went wrong, and i have scripted answer to answer them, I didn't mind the questioning actually

One time, i gave a thought of looking thru the mirror, taking a glimpse of what might look like at the back, i was shocked to see that it was really alarming.

The first two pictures are the recent balding i am experiencing the other week and this week i had my hair shaven. first time in my life!

I am having meds right now and hopefully everything will be alright soon.

Tiny hairs at the patches of my scalp are now visible as of the moment.

No worries. Everyday, a brand new hair is attempting to grow.

smile.

Shoes.

Haven't you noticed why women are so obsessed with shoes? It seems that the whole department store rack is in their closets.

Actually, my mom just renovated a wall across our toilet just to accommodate her high-hill shoes, and that's only high hills, not to mention sandals, walking shoes, rubber shoes, slippers, etc. her closet is another world you should visit.

Often times, women are guilty to some extent the having too much shoe collection is beyond normal. That owning the same shoe design with the complete set of colors would actually make life worth living.. My sister on the hand, her shoes are still in the box. She neatly places every shoe in its box, but not all of it coz of the lack of space.

I googled this and I found out that women have reasons as to why they love shoes so much, here it goes:

1. VARIETY - Women simply cannot wear the same shoe every day. They need change. Plus, shoes need to match outfits and outfits need to match activities and lifestyle. Plus, variety is the spice of life.

2. STYLE - Women want to look good. No, women want to look HOT! No, women want to look comfortable. See what I mean? The bottom line is that women need different styles for different looks.

3. COMFORT (AKA High Heels vs. Falts) - High heel shoes look great, but let's face it, they can really hurt the tootsies! Most women I know alternate between high heels and flats. You know what that means.. more shoes!

4. TRENDY - Unlike that hot pink leather skirt you partied like it's 1999 in, the shoes that you may have worn with it are still in fashion.

5. OPTIONS - "Should I wear my 5 inch Marc Jacobs heels today, or my 2 inch Gucci loafers?" It's a woman's fundamental right to be able to make a choice on her own footwear. In order to make those choices, women need (you guessed it) to have many different shoes.

6. COLLECTION - Some men collect FHM magazines. women collect shoes. Enough said.

7. FRIENDSHIP - If diamonds are a girl's best friend than shoes are a woman's best friend. Shoes will always be there for her. They will never shun her or treat her wrong. They will never try to steal her boyfriend or call her fat. They will never let her down. The bottom line is a women needs as many of these friends as she can get.

So there you have it. Now you know.. this is not only for women but only also for guys who have a mother, a sister and a bestfriend/girlfriend.

Bye for now, i have to go buy a new pair of Chuck Taylor Converse shoes. "Mom, where's the money!"

My Birthday Wish

I am turning 30 this wednesday..for those who were late to read this blog, I turned 30 last Feb 11.

I have never been complete in my whole life.. simply because I have matured and have become that "somebody" I dreamt in my whole life.

I dreamt of seeing/ travelling the world, I did.
I dreamt of putting an organization for the youth, I did.
I dreamt of winning a national award. I did. Actually four times.
I dreamt of experiencing love. i did. and it hurts so bad.
I dreamt of studying abroad. I did.
I dreamt of joining a competition. I did.
I dreamt of being on TV. I did.

I have dreamed a lot. and with passion and dedication, I got it.

But there are things I still want to do. . owning a car, having my own condo, building a house for my family, visit europe and put up a business.

I have accomplished a lot in my life, before the age of 30. Now I am wondering whats up for me.. just praying that things will run smooth this year.

Thank you Lord for making me 30 years old this year. It is indeed a blessing.