My colleague Rita made me happy today. In the midst of having lunch and bashing our oh-so-nice (read: sarcastic) boss, Rita delved into horoscope which made all of us (well, mostly Gem and I) extremely interested to hear about our own signs.

Madame Rita gave us an analysis of our personalities—weaknesses and strengths—based on our signs. Here’s what she had to say about me:

                March—pure Pisces

                Characteristics: very effeminate, typical woman—dependent, damsel in distress  (oh, well), weak

                Strengths: healer; a person anyone can turn to for comfort

                Weakness: straight from Rita’s mouth: “mahilig mag-ipon . . . ng sama ng loob . . .  at pag sumabog sya, sya pa din ang nasasaktan” Ouch.

                Year of the Rat

                Characteristics: the luckiest sign; very cunning, very smart; God’s favorite (ehem)

Unfortunately, according to Madame Rita, this year, which is the year of the rat, I may not be so fortunate. She says one can have four lucky stars and four bad stars. And this year, my own year, I get three to four bad stars. L Madame Rita says that’s how it is: when it’s your year, you’re not so lucky. Oh, well. I guess that explains everything, if am superstitious enough to believe.  

Of course, Gem and I couldn’t resist asking her about our love lives. Hehehe. Here’s her analysis:

                Pisces and Taurus—earth and water: a good combination; a classic match of the provider and the nurturer. J

From now on, every lunch break, we’ll be having Madame Rita horoscope sessions. I hope she doesn’t think of charging us, though.  

Today, April 10, 2008, marks the official date of Sho and moi’s third year anniversary! After three years of blissful moments, petty fights, food trips, and travel adventures together, we’re still here, and we’ll still be counting countless years more of laughs and tears together.

To my ever-patient, understanding but ultra kuripot diddy, happy three years! Looking forward to more blissful years ahead (and that deep red Sony PSP you’re going to buy me this weekend! nyahaha!)

Yep, our spa of choice (more like mine only) for our Valentine celebration was Callospa Resort in Antipolo. Since I wanted a hint of nature and outdoors while we have our massage, I solely decided on availing the “Affordable Escape” (P650) in Callospa, which was both a spa and resort tucked away in Antipolo City. 

The first thing that greeted us in Callospa was a little garden by the stairways which was covered with mist. The resort entrance bore an earthy scent and promised an even better view inside so we wasted no time in entering the vicinity.

Upon entering the huge gate, what only welcomed us were a little closed door with a Visa credit card logo and voices singing along with the videoke. We followed the voices and soon realized that the entire resort was rented by a family. So we went back to the little closed door and finally found the spa—our promised haven.  Since we set an appointment a day before, the Callospa staff were already expecting us. They led us to a little room with lockers, a Jacuzzi, two shower rooms (one with a massage bed), and a sauna room. The staff gave us our locker key, cute Japanese slippers, and clothes to change into. My clothes were a spaghetti-strap top that exposed my stomach (more like a midriff top but slightly longer) and an oversized pair of shorts (that was the smallest size they have). Sho, meanwhile, was given floral shorts.     

Sho and I took a shower first and then went inside the sauna room for our “invigorating eucalyptus-scented sauna bath.” We were served with two glasses of water while we basked in the heat of the sauna room. The room, which can only accommodate a maximum of two persons, had little wooden seats and reeked of eucalyptus. Since I was feeling cold during the time, I sat on the topmost ledge so that the heat was directly on me. After a few minutes though, the room got hotter and hotter that Sho and I had a little difficulty breathing. After 30 minutes or so, Sho and I got out of the room with red cheeks and glowing bodies.   

Then it was time for our “luxurious hot Jacuzzi bath” with floating kafir leaves, pandan, and AHA calamansi tops. This was our favorite moment in our spa experience. The warmth of the Jacuzzi bath, the relaxing current in the water, and the soothing sound of water in the background were all just too perfect for our tranquil escape. While having the Jacuzzi bath, we were served with two small cups of hot tea a la Japanese style. Sho and I lounged in the glorious bath for 30 minutes or so, until a Callospa staff told us our little fun was over.

Alas, it was massage time, our ultimate reason for coming to Callospa in the first place. We were led upstairs by two masseuses in the common massage room. Luckily, there were no other customers during the time so we had the room to ourselves. The massage room has four beds, which can be separated by curtains if you want privacy. Callospa’s signature massage was Swedish-reflex Thai massage in their own sequence. It included a massage of the legs, thighs, arms, back, face, head, and even chest. After 30 minutes or so, our masseuses left us with soothing instrumentals to sleep. Although I loved how my masseuse massaged my always tensed-up shoulders, the entire massage was basic to me. It was not relaxing enough as I would’ve wanted it to be, which is why I did not fall asleep. Once our masseuses realized that Sho and I are “already” awake, they gave us another set of massage, which was better than the first one. While sitting on our beds, our masseuses massaged our backs and carried us in the air while massaging our bodies with their feet. It was an interestingly different kind of massage that we experienced. However, that massage was only good for 10-15 minutes. After that, our masseuses left us yearning for more.

Supposedly, our spa adventure was over after the massage. However, since Callospa also offers facial services, Sho and I decided to have our faces cleaned, or so we thought.     

Callospa’s basic facial included an application of facial cream (I don’t know what kind) steam, and extraction of blackheads/whiteheads. I actually thought that after my facial, my whiteheads would all be gone. But as it turned out, the Callospa staff only chose the whiteheads/blackheads that she wanted to remove. By the end of our session, I could still feel a lot of whiteheads on my face. Oh well, so much for 250 bucks. 

After the disappointing facial service, Sho and I went downstairs to take a shower and change. We tried to get a few pictures here and there but my camera phone just isn’t that reliable in dark places. L  

All in all, our spa adventure cost us Php1,800—650.00 each for our “Affordable Escape” massage, 250.00 each for our basic facial. Our other expenses include transportation and tips (which were mandatory).   

++

•  nice comfortable place to chill out in, with a relaxing nature feel 
•  affordable services in comparison to other spas 
•   includes other amenities such as pool resort, videoke, badminton court, multi-purpose hall, and apartelles for overnight stay (We didn’t get to tour the entire place but Callospa is actually bigger and prettier than we thought.)

 –-

• not-so-satisfying massage
• disappointing facial service
• rushed services: since Callospa is short on staff, the staff are always in a hurry to finish their services to accommodate other customers
• mandatory tips: after each service rendered, the Callospa staff hands you a small brown envelope which says: “Thanks for the tip!”  

For more info on Callospa, visit www.callosparesort.com  

**High-res photos were from http://houseonahill.net/travel/callospa-resort/

Oh gawd. I was having a particularly bad day and I was pestering Sho with endless rants about my job when I decided to just spend my idle time surfing travel blogs. So I visited the ClickTheCity.com and browsed through blog entries under the Boracay category. Guess what (or who) lifted my spirits: Marc Nelson! Haha!

There was a girl who wrote about her all-expense-paid Boracay escapade where she rubbed elbows with celebrity hunks such as Marc Nelson. Her entry included a picture of a deliciously appetizing hottie Marc in boardshorts only, with other hunks that don’t matter at all (at least to me, haha). That picture alone put crazy thoughts in my head: What if I moved our planned Bora trip to March, April, or May? Maybe I’d get to rub elbows with Marc as well. I might get to introduce myself, have a little chat, walk hand in hand with him on the beach. (Hahaha. Excuse my wishful-thinking self again.)

I never really liked Marc before. I never found him handsome, simply because his look isn’t the rugged type which I like. I even partly believed in the rumors that he was gay (sorry, Marc). But after watching him in Amazing Race Asia 2, I’m a Marc convert. I doubt any woman can resist his charm, wit, and sense of humor. I would kill just to see him in person now. Haha. Although he and Rovilson didn’t win the race, he’s still a winner to me. I am definitely smitten.

                                     
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