Words on the Go

Going to the Land Down Under

2011-04-01T14:08:00.001+08:00

January 29 - February 6, 2011

We finally made it to Australia! *cartwheel*

My friend and I took separate flights going from Singapore to Australia: me via Perth, she via Sydney. We met up in Melbourne and followed our itinerary from there.

Day 1: Day tour to Phillip Island which includes a visit to some wild life sanctuaries, a chocolate factory, a beautiful beach, meeting the Koalas, feeding the Wallabee, and watching the Penguins come back to shore.

Day 2: This was our free day in Phillip Island. This was the most relaxing day of the entire trip. The day before I saw this fish & chip resto by the beach. My friend and I went there by bike and had a picnic nearby. Until now, I can say this is the best food I have eaten in all my trips.

Day 3: We're back in Melbourne's business district. We spent the morning touring the area on the free tram. After lunch we headed to the airport for our flight to Sydney. It just an hour flight so we still had time to claim our tour pass and transportation card. We also had our first dinner in one of the restaurants along Darling Harbour before we headed for West Ryde for our accommodation.

Day 4: The first activity we did was the Oz JetBoating experience. It was one of the highlights of this trip and totally unexpectedly fun. We were still somewhat wet when we joined the city tour. The last stop of the tour was Manly beach. We did not bring any swim suit so we just visited the Manly Aquarium. Then we took a ferry ride back to Circular Quay and on to Darling Harbour where we found a $10 steak available. Perfect! Since Sydney Aquarium was just nearby we decided to visit it before calling it a day.

Day 5: We had to start the day really early to be able to make the most of the Blue Mountains experience. It was a lovely day to spend with mother nature, trekking along the marked paths. I finally got to meet the Three Sisters and see the beauty that surrounded them. I bought a winter jacket for a souvenir before we went back to the city where we went up to the Sydney Tower.

Day 6: The last day we can use our city tour pass. We started off with another city tour which brought us to the Mrs. Macquarie's Chair that has a good view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, and the city's skyline. We also stopped by Bondi beach for 30 minutes before we headed back to the main city passing by suburbs with houses with iron terraces. The last stop of the tour was the Opera House. We also joined the informative tour of the Opera House. Interesting history. It was quite a hot and warm day, we finally decided to watch a movie (Black Swan) at Dendy Cinema -- this was included in our city pass. And on a last minute decision we visited the Aquatic Center and the ANZ Stadium.

Day 7: We met up with Ethel, a childhood friend of mine who now lives in Australia, for lunch and she showed us where we can shop for souvenirs. It was basically a shopping day.

Day 8: It's our last day in Australia. We attended mass in the morning, had our lunch with our host, then went to the airport for our flight back to Singapore.

Rough Start

2011-04-01T12:26:00.005+08:00

January 28, 2011

SG - PER via Qantas Airlines.

MISSED FLIGHT!!!

It was all my fault. I got out of the office late and there was a traffic jam on the express way.

We decided to spend the night in the airport and try our luck on getting the next best flight to Perth or Melbourne we could get.

In fairness, Changi airport wasn't a bad place to spend the night.

Sent from my iPhone

What a start..

2011-03-20T14:06:00.004+08:00

This is my desk calendar that I bought at Daiso, the $2-store. ^_^

As you can see, I had quite a lot going on even at the start of the year. I went home to Cebu for the New Year and stayed on for almost two weeks. I had a great time being back home. As usual I spent most of my time staying at home with my family and only went out to see some close friends.

When I got back to Singapore, however, I got sick. And some tasks sort of piled up when I got back to work. There was also my coming trip to Australia which I have not prepared at all except for the air ticket. I had a lot to think about and I couldn't focus well. It took quite a lot of effort to focus on one thing and work on it. Sometimes even at sleep I can't help but think of any one of the things that need to be done. I haven't been in this kind of situation for a long time. I was actually beginning to think that 2011 is just not my year. And honestly, it took a long time for things to settle and allow me some peace of mind.

Holland Noche Buena

2011-03-15T17:13:00.005+08:00

Dec 24-25, 2010

This was my second time to spend Christmas eve in Singapore. Last year I spent it packing my luggage as I was flying out and going home for Christmas. This time I spent it with my flatmates.

One Filipino Christmas tradition is having what we call a Noche Buena on Chrismas eve. If I'm not mistaken it is Spanish for "Good Night". So each and everyone of us in the flat prepared a dish for our feast. I prepared the spaghetti. -_^

Orchard Christmas

2011-03-15T17:11:00.001+08:00

Dec 18, 2010

I think I may have told you this before: one of the things that I miss in the Philippines is how we celebrate Christmas.

As soon as the "-ber" months starts one would certainly feel that everyone is getting ready to celebrate Christmas. Christmas songs and decors can be found almost everywhere. And as soon as Holloween ends... Well, it's definitely Christmas everywhere: in residential areas, shopping malls, business districts, everywhere.

Unfortunately here in Singapore, it's only at a few certain places that one would see Christmas lights and decors hanging, and mostly it is in shopping centers or malls. In this case it's along Orchard Road where one could see that the street is livened up with Christmas lights and decors. And there were a lot of people too. It was my first time to "join" with the crowd.

Actually it started with some of my friends meeting up somewhere for some Christmas shopping, and then I met up with them at Funan. I was planning to buy some gifts but did not find any in that mall so I did my shopping when we got to Orchard.

After treading the length of Orchard Road and battling our way through the crowd at the malls, alas we were exhausted. And the best way to gain back our strength was to eat. \o/ Our table looked like we were having a feast. ^_^

Office food trip

2011-03-15T17:07:00.001+08:00

Dec 15-17, 2010

We had a couple of celebrations around the middle of December.

First was the successful delivery of one of our projects at work. Our project leader brought this beautiful and delicious cake to share with everyone in the team. At first I thought it was just another ordinary meeting, until she took out the cake from the refrigerator in the room.

The second celebration was for our intern. He finally finished his 6-month internship with us. And to celebrate his moving forward the team decided to order some pizza.

It was also a great excuse to stop working. Hey, it was Friday and everybody was ready for the weekend. I'm sure you understand. -_^

Girls' day out

2011-03-15T17:05:00.007+08:00

Dec 11, 2010

This was probably our last "girl's day out" for 2010.

Vera and I met up at Vivo City intending to watch a movie. We changed our minds and so we headed out for Plaza Singapura. I did a little Christmas shopping for my mother and some window shopping on the side. All the while we were catching up on what's been going on with our lives -- sounds heavy but it wasn't really. After some time Vera got hungry so we went to StarBucks for some snacks. It was raining by the time we started having our Starbucks break and it did not stop until we finished so we went back inside the mall for another round of window shopping.

Vera was looking for a set of jewelries she can wear for her coming wedding. We couldn't find anything that suits her from there so we moved on to another mall, Tangs Plaza. She had fun trying on a number of set and I had fun assisting and taking pictures of her wearing the jewelries.

In the end, she did not buy anything. -_^

Weekends

2010-11-16T09:08:00.001+08:00

The first half of November has given me two busy weekends. The enjoyable kind of busy.

First, there was the long weekend which I spent most of the time in the malls with the intention of shopping. Yes. Shopping. After months of denying myself the pleasure of retail therapy, it's finally time to give in to temptations. That Friday we went grocery shopping. On Saturday I followed my friends to the mall where they were buying for winter clothes. Then I bought some toys for my sisters and nephew, and a winter coat for myself. We also went into the Sony shop to check out new cameras. I'm planning to change my old one. It took me some time to decide which I want to buy. In the end, it was my companions who bought the camera. I have decided to wait for the next IT fair to buy that same camera hoping to get a freebie in the form of an extra battery. The following day I went to the library to return some books and borrow new ones. Then I followed my two friends again to another mall. I did some more shopping while waiting for their reply to my text message asking them where they are. Then we had a little adventure of trying to find our way to the Marina bay. They want to practice using the camera and I want to see how the camera performs.

The second weekend was just as enjoyable. Last Friday some of our officemates/friends came over to our apartment and cooked dinner. It seems that two of them are celebrating their anniversary in the company. The food were delicious, and the karaoke after dinner was fun. The festivities lasted until the wee hours of the morning.

By Saturday we finally decided to go shopping again. I call it Christmas shopping. It was actually shopping for Christmas tree and decors. Afterwards we had dinner at The Asian Kitchen. I love their dumplings!

When we got home, we immediately set up the Christmas tree. Ever since I moved here in Singapore I've always missed setting up a Christmas tree or putting up Christmas decors. I have a friend here who had a Christmas tree since last year. I'm no longer envious of their tree 'coz we now have our own. It's beginning to feel more like Christmas!

A Quiet Holloween

2010-11-01T11:51:00.003+08:00

"Trick or treat!", said my friend the mini witch.

Yes, it's Holloween and probably a lot of places and people all over the world is having a celebration of some sort. But not from where I am right now. Bummer...

I like Holloween! The time for creepy crawlers, ghosts, and other monsters to come out. Mwahahahah..!

But that's not what I'm seeing rigt now. All I see are quiet, zombie workers. So lifeless! These people should learn how to live! Oh right, zombies. Boring zombies. Maybe I should ask my mini witch friend here to cast a spell on these poor fellows and make them dance. I miss Holloween parties!

October Best

2010-10-30T23:16:00.004+08:00

October is coming to an end. And what better way to end it than having 3 reasons to smile all day at work - for me, at least.

Friday morning, as I was preparing myself to start with my tasks, somebody came over to my desk and asked for a little help. It seems that he asked help from his friend first, and his friend, whom I worked with in my previous assignment, told him that I'm the one he should ask for help from because "she's the expert in" that area. (Take note of the quote.) I won't elaborate on my supposed expertise because I honestly don't think of myself as an expert of that. Though I have to admit knowing some people actually believed in my knowledge and skills about something to make them think I'm an expert of it is a really good thing. It was a good way to start the day.

Friday noon, I went with my "bowling team" for a celebratory lunch at a dimsum restaurant. A few weeks back our company had a bowling tournament and fortunately our score ranked us 9 out 24 teams that we actually received a S$50 voucher price. So we used our price to pay part of our lunch at this restaurant. The food was good, but the company was even better. It was a very enjoyable 2hour lunch break. ;)

Friday afternoon, back in the office, I was still happy with the events earlier that morning and at lunch when somebody came again to my desk. Let's just say that there was some discussion and that I was able to win that round. And that win made me feel so good I was actually able to do more than I set out to do that afternoon.

It doesn't stop there. I still have some reasons to smile outside of work.

Friday night, after work, my friend and I walked home from the office. It was a good exercise. I stopped by our apartment for a few minutes then went to the community center for the culminating activity of our Korean class. As I mentioned in one of my previous post, this time we are learning how to cook a couple of Korean dishes. They were actually easy to prepare. And they were delicious. Though the first dish was quite spicy for me, still it tasted good. Maybe I'll try to cook it myself next time. We'll see. ;)

Saturday midnight, my housemates and I went to Coffee Bean. They had hot choco while I had hot vanilla. We also ordered 2 cheese cakes and a crème brûlée muffin. It's been quite some time since we last did this. It's one of our ways to unwind, relax, and have time to gossip.

Today, I spent the afternoon with my friend. We went to a couple of places to window shop. We also had dinner together. She also gave me a drawing book and a small cork board. As always our time was spent mostly talking and laughing. I really had a good time.

And now, just before I started writing this post, I called (via Skype) home and talked to my parents, sisters, and nephew. It's good to see them and hear their stories. I can hardly wait to go home for the holidays again. Just 2 more months to go!

Sweet September

2010-10-22T14:08:00.002+08:00

I started September with a dinner with my college friends. This is the 1st time since a long time that we three are together again. I can't even remember the last time we were together.

Anyway, Hanna - the lady at the right - came for a short vacation. She specifically wanted us to meetup, even just for dinner. And considering her tight schedule, dinner on the night she has to fly back to Manila is the only time we had.

I contacted Rachel - the lady in the middle - and told her about the dinner plans. Good thing she had the time to spare from her busy work schedule.

There was a lot of cathching up, and a lot of food. And it was all good. One thing I noticed, though. This time they have long hair when they used to usually wear it short. Now I'm the one sporting the short do.

Speaking of long hair. I noticed that all of my friends who are getting married are wearing their hair long. The better to style their hair during the wedding, they say.

Now this leads me to a wedding I attended in Cebu. Nope, not my wedding - remember, I'm wearing my hair short right now.

Last September 22, my friend/housemate/officemate got married in Cebu. For a week our house was devoid of human presence. We all went back to Cebu for the wedding. It was my 2nd time this year to go home - more than I usually do. I didn't do much this visit. I simply went home to attend the wedding, spend time with my family, and eat lots of Filipino food.

Writing this post is making me miss a couple of things: my long hair and Filipino food. There's really nothing I can do about it now though, but wait.

August Rush

2010-10-22T10:38:00.010+08:00

Hello! It's nice to see you again. It's been a while since I last talked to you - 2 months worth of 'while'.

I feel like I should have a lot of stuff to tell you, and yet it doesn't seem like there's actually that many to tell. Sound confusing? Well, my mind is also somewhat confused now. Let me gather my facts and thoughts...

The month of August went by so fast. There wasn't much to tell about. But here's a quick run through to the few events that happened.

@ work: I was finally assigned back to my original project team. No more overtime. Yey! \o/

Unfortunately, somebody else left. We (the team) had a farewell lunch with him and talked about stuff. It now reminds me of the time when we all went for dinner and a movie. That was a good night with the team.

@ work: We had a celebratory dinner for the successful release of a project - the one I just left. Breek's Restaurant at Harour Front served us good food, and gigantic deserts. I was so full by the time we finished.

@ home: I signed up for the 2nd term of the basic Korean class at our community center. The class is again held every Friday night for 1.5 hours. On our first night, just before we ended the class, we were taught how to play one of their traditional games and one card game. On our second night we started the class with one of their famous pop songs. The teacher asked us to catch as many Korean words (that we recognize) as we can from the lyrics. We are nearing the end of this term. I'm looking forward to our last night where instead of dining out, we'll be cooking Korean food. And eating them, of course.

So there you have it. My August at a quick glance. I'll have my September in another post. See ya!

Lightning Up

2010-08-25T20:06:00.002+08:00

Work has been taking up most of my time for the past months. The only break I was able to take was my six-day vacation in Cebu. The moment I got back in Singapore it was busy business as usual.

After a really long time, it's good to be home early. Unfortunately I'm home alone tonight. It seems all my housemates are working overtime tonight.

Anyway, I'm cooking my own dinner tonight. While waiting for the rice to cook, I was thinking of what I can share with you here. That's when I saw lightning forming from afar.

It was SO cool! I like watching nature do its thing, like lightning. I did not hear any thunder so maybe it won't rain. Would you believe if I tell you that watching those lightnings forming in the sky somehow relaxed me? It did. -_^

Here are some of the photos I took trying to catch the lightning.

Surprise!

2010-07-21T08:49:00.005+08:00

I was supposed to sleep early last night. I've done my evening ritual and was ready for bed. I was checking for a message from my sister when I heard someone knocking on my bedroom door. I called for whoever it was that the door is unlocked while checking for the time. When I saw it was a few minutes past midnight I realized what they were up to, but it was too late.

There they were standing by my door with Cyt holding the cake up while dancing! Too bad I wasn't fast enough to catch it on video. But we did took a lot of photos with the cake. -_^

It was already very late when we finished eating, drinking, talking, laughing, and all the while picture taking. And as a result, we all woke up late this morning and were late for work! lol...

Anyway, it was sweet and thoughtful of my housemates and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. And thank you to those who have sent their greetings. :)

'Team' Building

2010-07-21T03:00:00.003+08:00

July 16, 2010

We had our annual R&D team building day last Friday at Labrador Park. This time I'm not in the committee so I was able to really participate in the games and activities. I was also in the light green team with 11 other people from different project teams all, except for two, of whom I've never met before.

The day started with a very fine weather, then the clouds started to grow dark as we were heading to the venue. And just as we were about to begin, the rain started pouring. Everybody ran to the nearest gazebo for shelter. It was kind of fun squeezing in a small place and still trying to pose for photos. We were actually there for quite some time before we transferred to another area in the park with a bigger shelter. Once we got settled.. well.. The fun and games began. Even though we did not place in the top 4 (there were 14 teams), we still had fun.

I was so tired that when I got home I went directly to bed for a nap. It was already dinner time when I woke up, so I guess it wasn't just a nap afterall. We, housemates, initially planned to dine out. But I suggested to just order for delivery as I was feeling too lazy to go out for dinner. We called for 2 pizzas, some chicken wings and cinnamon sticks. Dinner arrived just in time. This was our 'team' building activity in the apartment. We love good food. Happy eating, housemates!

Korean Dinner

2010-07-13T10:39:00.001+08:00

Have I told you that I was taking a Korean class at our community center? Well, if not then I have been remiss.

The course took 13 sessions of 1.5 hours per session. The class was only once a week, every Friday night. A very good reason to leave the office early on a Friday. -_^

We were taught how to read and write in Korean. That's the easy part. The diffucult part is the speaking, and memorizing their vocabulary and expressions. But it was fun!

We closed our 1st term with a dinner at an authentic Korean restaurant near our place. I like Korean food, except for the spicy ones. It was the first time that I got to eat a full course Korean meal. Yumm!

Go Green

2010-07-08T23:12:00.002+08:00

I had an interesting night tonight. I met up with my friends Rochie and Vera at the Marriott Hotel's restaurant for a buffet dinner.

Vera introduced us to her fiancé who arrived here in Singapore yesterday. Rochie and I got a very nice surprise. Vera gave us a gift along with a "save the date" invite for their wedding this coming December. And her wedding motif is green.

Thought bubble: Another green. I also need a light green shirt for next week's team building activity.

No Caffein

2010-07-03T18:35:00.001+08:00

I'm sick. Since yesterday. And yes, to my roommate's delight, I finally got to use one of my sick leaves.

Here's what happened: Wednesday night I went to bed around 11PM after calling home and since I had a very busy day I expected to fall asleep right away as I was very tired. But I had trouble falling into sleep. I also felt my heart beating fast. At around 1:30AM I got up to drink a glass of water and concentrated on relaxing my heart. It worked and my heartbeat returned to normal. Still, it wasn't until past 3AM that I got to sleep and I woke up at 8AM so that means I was only able to get around 5 hours of sleep tops. Thursday night I tried to sleep early, too. I was already on bed before 10PM. It wasn't until around 2AM that I finally got to sleep.

The following morning I woke up with a headache. I thought it would just go away. I didn't think of taking the day off since I find it troublesome to go to the doctor and ask for a medical certificate. Unlike in the Philippines, or at least in my previous companies there, where you can just call your boss or HR personnel to tell them that you're sick and taking the day off. Here you need to have a MC to be able to get the day off.

Anyway, as the morning progressed so did my headache. After having lunch I finally gave in and went to see the doctor. I told him what I just related here. He gave me some medicines and a MC so I could take the rest of the day off. He also forbade me from eating chocolates, drinking coffee, Coke, and iced tea.

I'm not really a coffee drinker, nor am I a chocolate person. I do drink Coke, but not as much as iced tea. So now it looks like I'll have to do with juices and water. No caffein for me.

Wet Wednesday

2010-06-16T11:44:00.002+08:00

It has been raining for the past two mornings, but today the rain did not stop in the time that I expected it to. Yesterday the rain stopped just as we were leaving our flat to go to the office. But today, the rain seems to have no plans of stopping.

This is the view I got from our living room window. I was waiting for my roommate to finish her shower and thought of watching mother Earth taking a shower of her own. Then right after I took this photo I saw lightning from a distance, and the thunder followed. I guess now that that was a sign that the rain isn't stopping anytime soon. It is still raining as I am writing this post.

I really hope it stops by lunch time. I need to go somewhere important.

Thank You Token

2010-06-02T19:35:00.003+08:00

I told you yesterday that I just came back from a 6-day vacation in Cebu. We have delicious fresh mangoes there. And summer is the best time for mangoes.

More than a month ago, my officemate asked me to bring her some mangoes from Cebu. She said she was able to eat some before and would like to have some again.

So when my friend came for a business trip here last month I asked him to bring some mangoes (he brought four) for me and I gave one to my officemate. This time I was also able to bring four mangoes (I could fit only four in the box and I was travelling very light). I gave her one mango and gave another one to our pregnant teammate.

I'm guessing she liked the mango very much. This afternoon she gave a thank you token: cheese cake from Starbucks. Yum! ^_^

Short Summer in Cebu

2010-06-01T23:56:00.005+08:00

Summer just ended. Good thing I was able to avail of it even for only a few days.

In case you did not notice, I've been away from here for almost 2 months now. I've been really busy at work I couldn't find the energy to write a post. I was even afraid my boss would tell me at the last minute that I couldn't go on vacation as planned. Good thing I was still allowed to go on vacation despite our tight schedule.

Everytime I go back to Cebu for a break I would always make time to meet my friends, and of course spend most of my time with my family. The 6-day vacation I just had was no different. Well, except for the fact that I was able to do and eat more this time than my previous 2-3-week visits.

And the second best thing for this visit is that I was able to go swimming in the clear blue sea of Cebu. \o/

Good Friday @ 25-413

2010-04-02T19:08:00.001+08:00

It's an unusual Good Friday for me this year.

Back in the Philippines, we usually spend this day either staying at home with no heavy activity, or go to my mother's hometown for a vacation.

Today, we spent the day cleaning the entire flat. Everybody did their share of cleaning. And after spending about five hours on it, we all got hungry and ordered online for food.

Don't get me wrong. We know what this day is all about. And we all practice our faith.

wattaday!

2010-03-30T23:55:00.001+08:00

That's the only way I can describe this day.

I had trouble sleeping last night, woke up early today, and went to the office early. That in itself shows that something is wrong with me. I was nervous for what I had to do today. I honestly did not get any work done.

What was I nervous about?

Well... We had visitors today in the office and I was tasked to do a demo of our project to them. The visitors weren't just anybody. They're from the Economic Development Board of Singapore. It was important that we do a good presentation.

And let me tell you, I'm not good at these things. I don't like facing, talking, or delivering speeches to people I don't know, specially those who have higher positions than me. No matter how much I try to prepare I'm bound to stammer and forget everything. I just couldn't help it when my nervousness gets the better of me.

Thankfully, the demo went well. That's according to my big boss. I'm just so relieved it's over.

And I just received another good news a few minutes ago. A nice way to end a rather stressful day for me. ;-)

Games Night

2010-03-21T00:12:00.000+08:00

My friend Cyt bought a Wii set today. We were excited as we were setting it up. But the adrenaline rush wasn't as high as when she and Jon were playing.

I just watched them fight it out with boxing. They remind me of my first time playing it. It was so much fun. I'm having a good laugh just watching the two of them.

As they were playing Wii, I was installing my new Sims3 game in my Mac.

All of us in the house working in IT, we need stress relievers, and games is one of them. Agnes and I have our Sims3, Mike has his DOTA, Christian has his PS3, and now Cyt has her Wii. Our recreation area just needs one more thing: a very big LCD/LED TV.

Bruised

2010-03-05T22:30:00.001+08:00

I had a medical check-up earlier today. It's been almost two years since my last one, so it was kind of nice.

I had my eyesight checked and I seemed to have passed that one. The doctor also asked some questions about my medical history and he seemed to be impressed that I only had to visit a doctor once for the past two years, and only because of a stiff neck.

And I also got a remembrance from the checkup in the form of a bruise on my left arm which I got when the doctor draw blood for a test. It doesn't hurt, but the bruise looks like it does so I decided to cover it up.

Fish!

2010-03-02T22:28:00.001+08:00

Q: What is your favorite dish?
A: Fried fish

Actually, I love seafood. Back home in Cebu, we always have it at least once a week. And if we're having fried fish, I'm in heaven.

Unfortunately, I don't get to eat as much seafood here in SG as I do back home. As consolation, some of my friends introduced me to this stall that serves really good fish soup. It's affordable, and more importantly the fish tastes and looks fresh compared to the others I've tried.

I've been craving for a bite of fish since yesterday. Tonight I finally had my bowl of double fish soup with eemian (not sure if thats the correct spelling).

Oh! And I had it after an hour of Body Jam at the gym. I've been away from the gym for about three months. It's good to be back. Mission accomplished! -_^

Valentine's & Chocs

2010-02-11T19:23:00.001+08:00

I decided to come home early from work today. Our service bus' route is only from our office up to the nearest train station. For me, I usually just walk from the train station to our flat. It's a 10-minute walk, max, depending on how fast I walk. It's my daily exercise.

Anyway, at the corner opposite the train station there was a boy and a girl. As soon as I crossed the pedestrian lane to them the girl came to me and greeted me with a warm smile saying, "Happy Valentine's Day!" Then she gave me the chocolate bar.

Isn't that nice?!

Workspace

2010-02-11T13:16:00.001+08:00

'All work and no play makes one a dull person.' And I certainly do try not to be dull at all.

Last night the entire Solutions R&D Team had a BBQ party. We had a good time eating, laughing, and taking pictures.

When I woke up (late) this morning I had a terrible headache. I thought of taking the day off. But! I have an urgent task that I need to finish right away. So here I am in the office. And I've finished my task. Yey! \o/

By the way, I think my 'boss+1' did not come in today. I have not seen him yet. He's usually here very early. Hangover?

Anyway, now that I have virtually nothing to do I'm playing with my phone's camera. These are the new accessories of my desk. I still have not found the kind of desk calendar I've been looking for, so I'm using the back of my old calendar. I also have a new DIY pen holder which I assembled myself. And there's my latest souvenir from my last trip: a small picture frame from Disneyland with a group photo of us who went on that trip. I think my office desk is getting more and more 'homey'.

I'm hearing my 'boss+1's voice. I guess he's actually here after all. I better get back to work now.

Cold Fun Trip

2010-01-19T20:40:00.003+08:00

Only one week since I got back to Singapore from my vacation in Cebu, I flew away again for another trip and this time my friends were with me. A nice way to start the year at work. ;)

We flew in to Macau then took a ferry to HK where we spent the first two nights of our trip. Why did I go back there so soon, you asked? Well, because that time I was not able to visit the Tian Tan Buddha. This time I finally did. And when I accompanied my friends shopping at outlet stores, I was also able to buy my self a new pair of shoes.

After a day at Disneyland, we all went back to Macau where we spent the first night strolling the streets after eating dinner. We also went into a casino. It was my first time to be inside a casino and we had fun. We were always laughing at our selves. Yes, we gambled and I'd say I had beginner's luck. I won enough to pay for my share of our taxi fare. :)

Our last day was spent sightseeing. From our hotel we walked all the way to the different attractions and historical places in Macau, like the A-Ma Temple and the Ruins of St. Paul. We also went to the Macau Tower where two of our friends did the Sky Walk. No, I did not do the bungy jump. Just looking at the ground from the observation deck already made my heart skip a beat.

Anyway, next stop was the Venetian. We had dinner, followed by a gondola ride along their artificial canal. I'm not sure if or when I could ever go to Venice, so I settled with this one for now. The design was very interesting with the ceiling looking like the real sky outside. By the way, our gondolier was a Filipina so it was easy to interact with her and she has a nice singing voice.

After the ride we still had some free time left. And a few MOP cash left (MOP20 for me). So we thought we'll have some fun of it at the casino while waiting for the time for us to go to the airport. Luckily, I won again just the same as the night before.

The whole trip was fun and worth it, despite of the climate. It was winter in the two countries. And I'm not really good with cold weather. My lips are still dry and cracked because of it.

Oh well. I had so much fun and that's what's important. My friends are already talking about their next trip to another country. Me? I'm going home to Cebu in summer. ;)

Happy Holidays

2010-01-11T22:01:00.001+08:00

Holiday season is best spent with the family.

After being away from my family for almost a whole year, I was so looking forward to going home for Christmas. And I did go back home on Christmas day, literally.

I saw a lot of my relatives who came by our house when they heard I'm home. And I also spent some time with my friends. I had so much fun catching up with them.

But what I liked best of all is the time I got to spend with my family. I spent most of my time just hanging out with my family and eating all kinds of Filipino food that I can think of.

And the annual gathering of our clan on New Year's day was more organized and more fun. As per tradition, we all went to church together. We then went to my cousin's place for the party. Dinner was served with one whole tasty lechon. Then the dancing and singing began. The party lasted until late. This is surely one family tradition we all always look forward to.

I ended my holiday in Cebu with a visit to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino. Fortunately for me, a mass was about to start when I got there. It's been so long since I last got to attend mass in that church. It's always crowded with people from everywhere. It is specially crowded in the month of January when we celebrate the feast of the Sto. Nino, and the Sinulog festival.

Now I'm back in Singapore. Back to work. Back to living away from home. And I'm looking forward to the next time I can go home again. -_^

Season to Celebrate

2009-12-18T23:29:00.001+08:00

I like wrapping presents. Be it a birthday gift, a wedding gift, a Christmas gift, or any kind of gift. Even a gift for my self. ;)

If there's something to celebrate, friends and families tend to give the celebrator/s gifts. And this season there's a lot to celebrate about.

Just this week I've accomplished most of my tasks at work, so that means I can really say that there's nothing (at work) that can stop me from going home for Christmas.

Yesterday my friend/roommate/model, Rachel, celebrated her birthday. We're of the same age again. Hahah... It was raining heavily yesterday, quite the opposite when I was celebrating my birthday with the sun shining so brightly. I can only wish that it means Rachel will be showered with lots of blessings and I will have a bright future. ;)

And the most obvious thing to celebrate is just 7 days away: Christmas! It's time to give thanks to the Lord, and give joy to our friends and families.

Tomorrow, I will be with my friends here in Singapore and we'll start celebrating the Christmas season the old-fashioned gen-X way: party! A Christmas party coupled with a couple of birthday celebrations. Of course a Chrirtmas party won't be complete without exchanging gifts. I hope whoever gets my gift will like. :)

And to you my avid readers, I have the perfect gift for all of you.

Early Christmas Gift

2009-12-05T16:08:00.001+08:00

Christmas is in the air.

Ever since the 'ber' months started, I've been looking forward to this festive season. Last year I got some really nice gifts from my friends. And I got my self a digicam.

This year I got my self some new cool softwares. I received the package yesterday at the office, and let me tell you this: It made my day!
;)

Bitter-Sweet Afternoon

2009-10-24T23:57:00.001+08:00

I usually spend my weekends cooped up at home doing almost nothing. However, after getting sick a few weeks back and being left home alone I've decided to get back my old habit.

Earlier this week I called my friend Vera and we set a date for a relaxing Saturday afternoon. That was today.

It seems we badly needed that break time. She from her studies and me from my work. I'd say we needed the break to recharge our batteries.

We met and spent the afternoon at a mall. Vera was looking for a dress she could wear at a wedding she's going to attend this December. We went to all the shops where we thought we'd find the dress, to no avail. In the first shop we went into I found a pair of shoes that I liked. Although I liked it a lot I did not buy it right away. I was weighing the practicality of buying the shoes.

As we were eating ice cream at Haagen-Dazs, my mind keeps going back to the shoes - a sure sign that I absolutely liked them and I just need to have them. So we went back to the shop and guess what. They don't have my size! :'(

Steak Night

2009-10-23T23:58:00.002+08:00

This is what my plate looked like half way through dinner. Don't worry, I was able to finish it all.

My friend, Cyt, told us of this place that serves delicious steak. The restaurant is called Astons. She and Jon dine there every weekend. I guess that shows how much they like the food there. She has also invited me to dine there the last time we passed by the place.

Earlier this week she insisted that we dine there. When I told her to set the date, she actually set it in our calendar and constantly updated it. My boss even saw it today when the reminder popped on my screen while we were discussing my code.

Now, we just got home from our steak dinner at Astons. There were only 6 of us who showed up. The other 4 declined. And I had pork chops instead of steak. I'm not really a big fan of steak. In fairness to the steaks, I think they were really delicious judging from how they finished their food off. Yum! ;)

In the Dark

2009-10-14T23:55:00.001+08:00

I got sick over the weekend. My tonsils hurt and were red and slightly swollen, it was probably what started the fever. By Monday I was feeling a bit - I repeat, a bit - better, but I still went to work 'coz I felt I'd just get worse if I stay home trying to sleep off my headache and doing nothing. And I did feel better while working. By Tuesday I was well enough to attend the Body Jam session at Fitness First. I have to say I had a good time then, not to mention a good workout. Just so you know, I'm not trying to lose weight or anything since I have nothing to lose. I'm just trying to make myself healthy and fit.

Oops... That introduction turned out long.

Anyway, last night was one of those nights when, no matter how tired I was, I just couldn't sleep. The lights were off and for some reason our neighbors were quiet, for a change. I wanted to go to sleep, but couldn't. My mind was so busy. I had a lot of things, random things, running through my head.

It started with my rubber shoes (I'll save the details about this for another blog post), then about saving more money, which led to travelling, which made me recall my birthday vacation, and that ultimately led me to the 'biggest' realization of my life. Before I tell you what it was, care to hazard a guess? Think you got it? Let's see...

Actually, that was a wrong description. It was the silliest realization I've ever had. Last night, in the darkness, I realized... (Are you ready for this? Here it goes...) I just realized... I'm already twenty-eight years old. Imagine that? I had my birthday almost three months ago and yet up until last night I never actually thought about my real age. I had so much fun on that vacation I actually never thought of that little number. I even tried to recall if my friends used the number candle with the birthday cake they bought for me. I just couldn't believe it.

You probably think it's crazy. It probably is. But I can only think of it as silly. So silly of me. And funny I can't help but laugh. In fact my friend Agnes and I had a good laugh about it at dinner when I told her.

I wonder if I'll have another silly realization tonight. I look forward to having something to laugh about my self. I surely don't mind laughing at my own silliness. ;)

5PM Dismissal

2009-10-05T22:15:00.001+08:00

My training request has finally been granted. I went to a training for Object Oriented Design Patterns at the Institute of Systems Science today and it will last until Wednesday. The training ends at 5PM everyday and I have to admit it's been a long time since I was able to go home that early.

Ok, I did not really go home early today. I met up with my friend Vera for dinner, but I did stop by our flat for a few minutes to drop my jacket and CD-book (from the training) and also get my digicam. We had Mexican food for dinner and a glass of Margarita. And as usual, we got so caught up whith our chit chat we forgot to take a photo of our main course. It was delicious.

I'm going to keep this post short. My phone, which I'm using to write this blog, had a dose of Margarita after the mishap that I had and I'm afraid to stress it some more.

Tres Marias Night

2009-09-29T23:49:00.002+08:00

It was my friend Carrie's last night here in Singapore. Vera thought of having a despidida for her, but Carrie was booked to watch the SGP F1 race with her dad for the weekend. Determined as we are, we scheduled a despidida dinner the night before she goes back home to Cebu.

So last night Vera, Carrie and I met up at Makan for dinner. But it was more than just dinner that we shared. We spent the entire time sharing personal stories, gossips, laughter, and even a few tears (got emotional at one point).

Before we know it, it was almost midnight. Like Cinderella we hurriedly left the place to go home, but only because the MRT service stops at midnight. And unlike Cinderella, we managed to take time for picture taking. When I told them about the smile detection feature of my camera they got more excited. We did have some funny and good pictures taken.

Now Carrie is back in Cebu while Vera and I are left here. Vera and I plan to go out again sometime, and I hope to see Carrie when I go home to Cebu for the holidays. For the meantime, I'll see them regularly online. :)

The Ultimate Spa

2009-09-23T00:04:00.001+08:00

That's really the name of the spa resort that I just came from. I went there to avail of the birthday treat that Sony gave me last July. The treat was valid up to 3 months from my birthday month that's why I was still able to avail it tonight. I tried to book for a weekend but they're fully booked so I had to make do with tonight.

The treat was a full body massage with complimentary abdomen contouring mask. It was actually my first time to try a massage. I never thought that it would take some effort for me to relax!

I admit that I'm somewhat conservative. I'm not used to other people seeing or touching my body. So whenever the masseuse starts massaging any part of my body I would involuntarily tense up. But I would then try to relax my body again. I often heard my friends say that they could actually fall asleep during the massage. Well not me. I was awake and well aware of what's happening the whole time. I know it sounds silly of me, I just couldn't help it. On hind sight I could even laugh at myself.

It was a good experience. The spa resort was good. The people were friendly. And they serve you tea while waiting for your turn, then some snacks after your massage. I'm going there again in the near future. Who wants to join me?

The Dead Sea Scrolls

2009-09-21T12:42:00.001+08:00

My friend Carrie found out about The Dead Sea Scrolls & The Ancient World exhibit, and she invited me to go and see it with her. I already missed the Da Vinci exhibit a few months ago I didn't want to miss this one, too. So off we went to The Arts House, where the exhibit was being held.

The Dead Sea Scrolls was very interesting. It was about the discovery of ancient artifacts, like clay jars with carvings of ancient texts and the scrolls, from the place near the Dead Sea called Qumran. I don't really remember exactly when paper was invented, but I originally thought the scroll were made of paper. I was amazed to find out that they were made of animal skins. There were samples displayed of these scrolls fragments. From the lecture we were told that there were about 18000 pieces of scroll fragments, that they were able to put it all back together again into 800 (if I remember correctly) scrolls, and that out of those only 200 hundred were of Biblical texts. Isn't that amazing?

The exhibit also talked about the history of the Bible, specifically the English Bible we have today. I never knew there were many different kinds of Bible, in different sizes and from different periods. There was even a Bible made for the astronauts of the Apollo 13 and Apollo 14 Lunar Expiditions, and we got to see one displayed at the exhibit.

The exhibit chronicled how we got the English Bible today. It talked about the people who tried to translate the scriptures into English, and how they were accused of being a heretic and then executed because of it.

Question: When Ferdinand Magellan came to the Philippines to spread Christianity, in what language was the Bible they used?

Okay, enough about the serious stuff. I never really liked History when confined in a classroom, specially when it's exams time. I always prefer learning about it in documentaries and exhibits like this one. I'm so glad we went to the exhibit. We even bought a souvenir book which came with a free t-shirt. ;)

Mini-reunion @ Serangoon

2009-09-20T03:42:00.003+08:00

Earlier today... err... Rather yesterday afternoon, I went to a friend's house for what we called a 'mini-reunion' with high school batchmates. There were only seven of us, so you can understand now why we used that term.

It was Rochie's idea and she even volunteered her apartment as the venue. Her place is located in Serangoon. It was my first time to be in that part of the city. When Agnes and I got off the train we headed directly for one of the exits. Unfortunately it was the wrong one. We had to go back inside the MRT station to find the right exit. It took us quite some time to figure out where we should go. Yes... we got lost. The signs were quite confusing, that's why I took a picture of it - a reminder of our adventure in that station.

Speaking of picture... I would've preferred to use a photo taken from our party, but we were having so much fun talking and laughing that I did not get to take one. Also, I did not bring my digicam because both of my batteries were dead. Anyway, Carrie Ann took photos from her phone's cam and some were taken by Aldrin's cam. I'll make sure to ask a copy of those photos later.

At the party, each of us brought food. There were chicken, macaroni salad, spaghetti, chapsuy, cheese cakes, ice cream, and beer. The whole time, even while eating, we were just talking, catching up on what's going with each of us. Even those who were not there did not escape from our conversations. Vera was like a showbiz talkshow host asking all sorts of questions. Each of us had a turn on the 'hot seat', except for Aldrin who was unusually 'quiet' and just played with the Wii. Ladiao was as talkative as ever.

It was a fun night. I can honestly say I enjoyed their company. It was already past midnight when we finished. When I got home I did not feel tired at all. And with our individual busy schedules, we can't really say when we can get together again. So for now all I can say is: until next time my friends and keep in touch. :)

P.S. Let's keep stalking each other in FB.

DIY

2009-09-01T20:37:00.001+08:00

Whenever I feel restless I would usually go to the mall. Watch a movie, do some window shopping, or actually buy something. When I feel like buying something but don't know exactly what, or if there are a lot of choices and I can't decide what to buy... I go for DIY kits.

I've had so many DIY kits I can't remember all of them. I do remember my mother reprimanding me for buying them and then giving them away, the finished product of course. Yes, I like doing/making the things myself. But I also like giving them away to those who liked the finished product. Usually I give them to my younger sisters and cousins.

Last Saturday I spent the entire day using the latest DIY kits I bought. It was one of those days when I want to cross out as many of my TODOs as I possibly can. The DIYs were the 3rd to go. Those DIYs were the ones I bought last June. It took me this long to work on them 'coz I've been either busy or lazy these past weeks.

This time my DIYs are Disney keychains. I'm reserving them as Christmas gifts to my younger cousins. Hope they'll like them. =)

Way to go

2009-08-17T11:04:00.002+08:00

It's been weeks since my last post. After that wonderful vacation of mine I got so caught up in doing things I've always been wanting to do. But this post is not about those things. No. It's something I did not expect to be able to do... again.

My friend/housemate/officemate wanted to get to the office early today so she can also leave early. She intended to take a taxi and invited me to go with her. I didn't mind since it will just cost me around 2-3 dollars. As we were waiting for a taxi, Cyt was quick to spot the one I've been avoiding: the 'limo taxi'.

Limo taxis are luxury taxis and there's quite a number of them roaming around here. Today was my 4th time to ride one.

The fist time was a mistake. I remember clearly that I hailed the taxi just after Cyt told me to avoid the limo taxis. We were anxious to get back to the office that time so I hailed the first car that I saw that has the 'Taxi' sign on it. I'm clueless when it comes to cars. I was not able to tell right away that we were riding a Mercedes Benz.

My second limo taxi ride was on a white Chrysler with my roomie, Rachel. We took it from TP going to our office. It was quite a distance. I refuse to remember how much it cost us for that ride.

When my friends came for a short visit they said they wanted to ride a limo taxi. Well, I did not see that in their itinerary but it sure was the first thing they enjoyed when they got here. I enjoyed that ride 'coz I know my friends were enjoying it. Pidit was even so proud he took a photo of himself getting off the car. I think it was a white Benz.

Today, Cyt and I rode on a black Chrysler. I don't know why, but she said she wanted to try it. She was quick to hail it for us. Guess how much the ride cost. Well, the 10-minute ride to the office cost a few cents more than what it usually cost me before when I took a normal taxi from my previous apartment which was about 25 minutes by taxi.

Way to go, huh... ;)

Fun-burned bday!

2009-07-24T11:53:00.003+08:00

I just had the greatest birthday since I was 6 years old. :)

That time I was surrounded by my family and relatives both old and young. I also had 2 cakes from my ninangs and aunts. Of course my father cooked 6 lechon manoks along with all my other favorite dishes. It was a fun celebration.

This time, even though I celebrated my birthday alone, I still had a blast. I was living two of my childhood dreams: travelling to another country and going to Disneyland! ;)

I went to Hong Kong for 5 days. It was raining on the first two days so I spent it just sight seeing and shopping around the hotel's area. There were museums nearby so when the rain starts to fall I would go into one and come out again when the rain stops. On the third day the sun started giving its all. Not minding the heat I went to Hong Kong island, toured the city for a couple of hours by foot, spent the next 6 hours at Ocean Park before going to The Peak for more sight seeing and dinner. I got back to Kowloon just in time to find a good spot to watch the Symphony of Lights show. I never thought I'd be able to do all that in just one day, but I did. :)

The next day, my special day, I moved to Disney's Hollywood Hotel. They have this promo that if you book a room for one night they will give you a 2-day pass to the park for the price of one. So as you might've guessed already, I spent my last two days in Hong Kong playing and watching shows at Disneyland despite the heat of the sun. And the room and buffet dinner were all worth the price. Even my sunburns are all worth the fun I had. ;)

Reinforcements

2009-07-12T16:06:00.001+08:00

My friends brought 3kg of lechon from Cebu. It's been a long time since I've had a taste of our beloved lechon.

The problem was, there are only 4 of us ladies in the house and we sure can't eat it all before it goes to waste. The solution? I called my father at home and asked him how to cook Lechon Paksiw.

I was the first person up this morning and cooked for everyone. I was cooking the Paksiw when I realized that we have no rice left in the house. We have a lot of viand but we have no rice!

When Agnes woke up I asked her to call for reinforcements. So in came Christian with a pack of rice and 2 bottles of softdrinks, followed by Genisis and Olga with their cooked rice. Problem solved!

I was just too happy they liked my Paksiw they ate it all up. B-)

Watta Weekend

2009-07-11T23:04:00.003+08:00

It was another day of fun and games with colleagues. This time the venue is in a theme park which is very far from our place.

It was already mid morning when we arrived and the parlor games have started so we just tried one of the rides instead. During lunch there was a magic show followed by some stage games. There was even a sort of dance contest involving those who are celebrating their birthday this month. Since we were sitting at the back I had an excuse for not joining the game. And although we were not lucky to win the Nintendo Wii grand prize for the raffle draw, Cyt and I managed to grab a prize from one of the Q&A contest. It was a question about the Singapore flag, and we aliens won. Actually it was a trick question and I think we were lucky we realized it sooner.

After the program we were free to wander around and try the rides in the park. We headed for the Go Kart. I've never tried it before so we started with the Beginners' track, and after two rounds I wanted more. So we headed for the Advanced track. It was so much fun, though there was a part in the track that was scary. But still. I had so much fun.

Then Cyt and I headed for the nearest mall. We only intended to check check this one shop - we had no plan of buying anything. But then we saw this newly opened Disney shop and we just have to go in. There were so many things I liked! In the end I went for three DIY kits. The finished products wil serve as my Christmas gifts to my younger relatives when I go home for Christmas. ;)

And just before we started heading home, we just have to stop by this Donut shop and get a dozen of them. Delicious!

Just Dessert

2009-07-11T10:32:00.001+08:00

I intended to post on this blog for this entire birthday month of mine. But as it happens, I got very busy with work for the past two days.

Last night we went to Vivo City for our anticipated team dinner. We went to Serenity instead of Marche Swiss. The conceirge told us that there's a live band performing that night. Who would've thought that they would take us seriously when we jokingly said Lili sings very well? The vocalist actually called her and came to our table to ask her to sing! Then Lili said it's our manager who sings well. Good thing our food was then served at that moment so they had an excuse to refuse to sing. That was just one of the crazy antics our team did last night.

The dinner was filled with laughter and delicious food. If this is one of the benefits for after every release of our project, then we'll surely try to do our job well. ;-)

Team Dinner Invite

2009-07-08T17:49:00.007+08:00

With the release of our project, we just have to celebrate.

I just received the email invite from our team manager. In case the photo is not that clear here's what it says:

I would like to invite you this friday 6pm30 (in the place) for the end of OSG 5.0 & SM 5.0, our 2 first deliveries, and also for the maintenance work done so far.

Why dinner so early ? ... because the place I'd like to go does not accept booking on friday and i'd like all of us to sit together (12 people). It's called "Marche Swiss" and is at Vivocity 3td floor.

So who is coming ?

Of course we are all going. What better way to end a workweek than to celebrate a job well done? Here's to the Server Team! ;-)

Traffic

2009-07-07T23:25:00.001+08:00

I have friends coming over for the weekend. They'll be arriving Friday night and stay until Monday.

I don't know how they're doing with their itinerary now. I suggested that they come up with one that will maximize their 3-day vacation here.

One of their concerns, which I just found out today, was the traffic condition here. I was surprised and had the urge to laugh. Honestly, in my almost-1-year stay here, I've experienced being in the middle of a traffic jam for about 4 or 5 times only. And these happened when I was taking a cab on a weekday.

Anyway, I told my friend not to worry. As long as they stick to the MRT they'll get to their destination, and fast. That's what I always do. ;-)

I'm Hungry

2009-07-06T23:07:00.001+08:00

I've been getting hungry quite easily these days.

Just this afternoon, just after 3 hours since I had lunch I could already feel my tummy begging for food. I wanted to snack on something.

In fact I was just about to have some snacks when my manager came over to my cubicle to discuss about my tasks. We were in the middle of our dircussion when my friend IMed me saying she's craving tocino. The moment I read her message I got more hungry, and at the same time I wanted to laugh at her timing. What I did instead was tell my manager, so when my manager saw my friend he teased her.

I miss Filipino food!

Busy Sunday

2009-07-05T21:27:00.001+08:00

I always prefer spending my Sundays at home so I can recharge my batteries before going back to work the following day. We usually call it 'Lazy Sunday'.

I did start the day late. It was already noon when I woke up. After having lunch, I tried to go online. But there was a problem with the internet connection. What to do then?

I started doing my laundry. On my last batch of the laundry I started ironing my clothes. That one was quite tiring and time consuming for me. But at least, as I was going through my clothes I was able to decide which and prepare the clothes I'm going to bring on my vacation in two weeks.

So my lazy Sunday ended up as a busy one.

Saturday Pineapple

2009-07-04T23:59:00.004+08:00

After a late night, I woke up today feeling lazy. What do you expect? It's the weekend. It's Saturday.

I had no specific plans for today. Rachel woke me up asking if I'd like something from McDonald's. Later Rachel left for the WCG. She invited me to go with her but I was feeling too lazy to go anywhere so I stayed behind. But then I thought of going to the library. It's been over a month since I last went there and borrowed some books. The nearest library is in Queenstown. Agnes and Christian went there with me and we borrowed some books. After which I went home.

I was home alone again. I cooked my dinner, and then I made my own pineapple jam. The last time I made a pineapple jam was a long time ago in grade school and I asked my mother to buy me the peeled and sliced pineapple in the market. It was the first time I peeled a whole pineapple on my own. I wasn't sure if I still remember how to make it, but I like how my pineapple jam turned out. Unfortunately, it only filled one small glass jar. Looks like I'll have to buy another pineapple. ;)

TGIF

2009-07-03T23:52:00.003+08:00

It's Friday night. The night when we can actually stay up late into the wee hours of the night.

As you can see, my two housemates are busy with their respective laptops. I'm actually working with my own laptop in my own little corner in our living room. Well, not really working. Just surfing the net, checking emails, and my other online accounts. Rachel is playing DOTA, and Agnes is on Facebook.

One housemate is missing. Cyt is actually in Bintan, Indonesia right now. She's taking her much needed break. She sent me a message earlier when she arrived to their destination, saying she's ready to sleep the whole day. Then later tonight she sent me another message saying they're having a barbecue buffet at the resort. I wonder when she's going to the spa.

Anyway, the three of us left at home are taking our own way to relax. I'll probably be sleeping most of the weekend. I have to recharge my batteries.

No Cook

2009-07-02T21:01:00.001+08:00

I've told you about my attempts at cooking. I'm no cook so this domestic task, which may be so easy for most ladies out there, is quite an adventure for me. And as adventures go, it can be quite tiring at times.

The past two nights I cooked our dinner. I was in the mood. But tonight I feel differently, or should I say 'today' I feel differently. I want to eat well cooked meals.

My friend Cyt and I went out for lunch. We had the chicken and spaghetti meal at Happy V - formerly known as Jolly V. And tonight I got the beef bulgogi set meal from the Korean stall at Fussionopolis' foodcourt. Simply delicious.

July Rain

2009-07-01T16:56:00.001+08:00

It's the 1st day of the 2nd half of the year. It's officially July!

And what a way to start July. It's raining. Though I find bringing an umbrella troublesome, I'm not complaining. I'm just too happy today that I can only look at it in a good way. I see it as God showering us with His blessings.

So why am I "too happy" today? Well, simply because it's my birthday month. ;-)

Here in Singapore when you sign up for a membership in shops or anywhere, you would usually get a treat from them for the entire month. In the Levis shop, for example, you can get additional discounts your entire birthday month.

I've also prepared a special treat for myself on my birthday. Can hardly wait! For those who know what it is.. Shush...

ME Time

2009-06-21T20:27:00.001+08:00

It was one of those days when I got myself some ME time.

It started as an errand. When I got to my destination I found that it was so crowded! As I made my way into and out of the building, it's like walking through a giant maze trying to avoid people along the way. And the hot weather just increased the people's BO... ugh! I got stressed! :-S

I hate too much crowd. The only time I don't mind it at all is during our Sinulog festival in Cebu.

Anyway, as I made my way to the MRT station I decided to go someplace else instead of going straight home. Like what I always do back home to relieve my stress, I went to the mall. ;-) Usually I would just window shop and buy a DIY kit before I go home. This time I did not get to buy any DIY kit, but bought some other stuff that I need and a few that I simply want. B-)

Independence Day

2009-06-12T14:52:00.002+08:00

There are a lot of things that I missed about my home country, things that are distinctly Filipino. Aside from my family and friends - that's a given - I definitely miss the food. I also miss all the holidays we celebrate, or should I say what we do to celebrate the holidays: eating and/or a day at the beach (something else that I miss a lot).

The Philippines is celebrating its 111st Independence Day today. Naturally, everyone back home is having a holiday. No work. No school. I know for a fact that some are having a good time at the beach, just enjoying this special day of no commitments.

How I envy them! I'm here in a foreign land, working as usual and just hearing from my friends back home what a good time they are having.

Ok... It's not that I don't like my work because I do and I'm actually enjoying the challenge. I envy them because they are spending quality time with their loved ones, most probably having home-made Filipino food. And some of them are at the beach right now.

As for me and my Pinoy friends here... We 'celebrated' the Philippine Independence Day at our lunch break. One treated us to StarBucks. B-)

Estapegi ;-)

2009-06-09T11:50:00.004+08:00

Me: I miss Filipino food!
Officemate: What specific food?
Me: Spaghetti.
Officemate: There are spaghettis here.
Me: I want the Filipino style.
Officemate: Why? It's still spaghetti..
Me: But they taste different.

So I went to the grocery store w/ my roomie, bought the ingredients, went back to the apartment, and cooked for about an hour. It was so obvious that I'm not used to cooking because there were times when some mishap would occur and I panicked. Good thing my roommate/assistant was there to tell me what to do.

When we were done I was excited to eat what I've cooked. I also wanted my other housemates to have some. Of course I wanted to know if I did well with the spaghetti. The verdict?

Rachel: Congrats, Jan!
Christian: It's not the Filipino style we're used to, but it's delicious!

:$

Caught Red-Handed

2009-06-08T11:21:00.002+08:00

Last Friday, I had this sudden urge to cook for dinner. And the more I thought about what to have for dinner the greater my desire to cook. If I were like any 'typical' Filipina this would have meant nothing. But the thing is, if you've read my previous posts you'd know that, I really don't know how to cook!

I really don't know what got into me that day. My friends were actually surprised and didn't believe me when I told them what I wanted to do. My roommate wasn't keen on me cooking. :-P She didn't even want to meet up with me at the grocery store, though her excuse has more to do with her laziness (I'll just not mention her full excuse or she might kill me). Let's just say I managed to convinced her with my powers of persuation. ;-)

So we met up at FairPrice. I listed only the things I needed to cook. Then my roommate remembered the other things we need at the apartment so we had to buy those, too. I did not realize beforehand how many, or should I say heavy, it will all be. Our place is a couple of blocks away and it was quite a heavy and long walk. We were also laughing a lot with the situation we got ourselves into. And the more we laughed the heavier our packages felt. And just look at what happened to our hands! That's also what you'll get when carrying heavy loads of groceries in a plastic bag. :-S

Oprah

2009-06-05T17:32:00.002+08:00

Back in Cebu we don't have cable TV, we did not apply for a connection because it's just going to be an additional expense. Besides, there's a local chanel that shows foreign shows and not the usual teleserye with predictable storylines. I still get to get my daily dose of anime and English show.

One of the shows I liked to watch was Oprah. Even though they don't show the latest 'episode' I still watched it whenever I can. I prefer watching it than the local news which tells about the stupidity of our government officials who does nothing but publicity stunts. I liked most of the topics in Oprah. I get some tips on some things that I can relate to. I also get to learn something new at times, including about the American culture.

Last year I signed up for the 'O' online magazine. Almost everyday I get to read some interesting topics. Sometimes they also provide online workshops, which was the reason I signed up in the first place.

Whenever I find something interesting in the O mag I also share it to others. Just before I started typing down this entry in my phone, I shared a link from the Oprah website to my Twitter followers and Facebook contacts. The topic is about fast mood-lifters, which I admit I need sometimes. I'd say the last item in that article works well for me, only I use anime music. ;-)

Get Backers

2009-06-03T15:54:00.002+08:00

Get Backers is a Japanese anime about a freelance retrieval team. For a fee, they will recover your lost or stolen item with a 100% success rate.

I wrote last night about my laptop's charger's cover that I seemed to have lost. Apparently, my forgetfulness caused me all the worry I went through, and my OCD actually kept me from losing the thing completely. And it's my love for listening to anime music at work that lead me to finally find my precious charger's cover. Yey!

I have no need of the Get Backers anymore. ;-)

Lost

2009-06-02T23:03:00.002+08:00

I know it's already late, but I just had to write something about this misfortune that I have.

I have a mild case of OCD. I like my stuff to be clean and in order. I have to admit though that I can easily overcome my OCD with my LD. There are also times that I can be forgetful.

Now, what does this have to do with my misfortune? Well... I lost the cover of my laptop's charger and I can't accept it!

I seemed to have lost it the night we moved into our new flat. I distinctly remember seeing it on my bed while I was busy arranging my stuff in the cabinet and in our bedroom. I've been looking all over the place for it for 3 days now, and to no avail. It should just be around here somewhere and yet I can't find it. The thought of me unknowingly throwing it away by accident makes me want to cry. Why? Because that would mean all hope of finding it has gone down the garbage chute. :'(

24

2009-06-01T16:33:00.002+08:00

24 was one of the TV shows that I used to follow. I liked watching the action and the thrill Jack Bauer goes through within those 24 episodes. Now imagine going through something like that. Well, not exactly like that. Me and my friend/roommate/model just had that kind of adventure, sort of.

We were due to move in to another flat over the weekend. It wasn't until Friday night that we started packing our stuff - we were so lazy! We started at around 9PM and I finished at around 2AM. And we were not even 100% done yet. We went to bed around 3AM and woke up about 8 hours later. I had one more errand to do. I asked Rachel if she'll come with me and have lunch at Yoshi Noya. After having lunch we stopped by the library so I could return the four books I borrowed. Then we headed back to do the final packing. We also asked 'James Dee' to help us with our double deck bed. When everything was ready, we waited for the lorry we hired to arrive - they were late! (I still have a lot I can say about them, but I just won't.)

So anyway, we have finally moved in to our new flat. After thanking 'James Dee' with dinner for their help, we went back to our new home to unpack our things.

So you see how busy we were during that 24 hours? It's a wonder my model still had the energy to pose and enjoy her moment with our sako-bags. ;-)

Did you have breakfast?

2009-05-19T13:34:00.003+08:00

I only had a cup of hot choco this morning.

I'm used to having breakfast everyday. I can't leave the house to go to school or to work without having breakfast first. My father would give me an earful if I miss it.

Another adjustment I have to make since moving here is having NO breakfast. My housemates are not into breakfasts so when there's no food left from the previous night's dinner, then it means no breakfast for me.

You'd probably say "Why don't you cook?" That's simply because I don't know how. Well, I do know how to boil and fry some, but always having fried food is not really healthy. I also know how to cook rice but it takes time. I'm still looking for a way to resolve this no-breakfast issue.

For now though, I take alternatives. When I get to the office I get a cup of hot choco from our vending machine to warm my tummy. I also store some biscuits in my bottom drawer. Just this past two weeks I had a pack of Otaps. Yum! And just now I bought a pack of Butter Coconut biscuits, one of my favorites. I hope it holds up until Friday.

How was your weekend?

2009-05-18T14:28:00.005+08:00

I've been asked this question quite often since I moved here. And I would usually simply smile and say "It was good" without elaborating. If you'd ask me now then I'd do the same, except this time I'd elaborate.

Assuming you've asked the question, here's my response:

:-) "It was good! I started my own farm in Facebook and managed to catch up on my friend who invited me to create my own farm. Though I had a mishap when all my grapes got wasted when I was not able to wake up early to harvest them. Anyway, I also went back to YoVille from time to time. I had to go to the widget factory to earn more money to buy furnitures for my apartment. I've started with the bedroom and the living room. They still need a lot of work. And I haven't even started with the kitchen and dining room.

"I also watched quite a number of videos. While I was busy tending my farm and apartment, I was loading DragonBall on YouTube. I was able to watch 17 episodes. I was having a good laugh watching them.

"I also made time to go to the cinemas and watched 2 movies. My roomie & I watched Star Trek last Saturday. It was a very good movie, makes me want to watch the series. Last night all of us housemates watched Angels & Demons. It was a good movie, too. I did not read the book on that though I figured out who the villain was, thanks to some stuff I learned from the Criminal Minds series. I just have to admit though that for a moment there I got thrown off the loop. But I recovered right away."

So there you have it. How about you? How was your weekend? ;-)

Whose desk is this?

2009-05-14T21:39:00.003+08:00

People working in the IT field have been stereotyped as geeks. And geeks have this image of being the polar opposite of cool. Wearing overly casual clothing, thick-rimmed eye glasses, and the mussed hair which could really use the help of a comb. They are also said to have a workspace clattered with their stuff, both for work and other interests - like Star Trek collectors' items.

I wonder if people who stereotyped IT professionals knew some of the latter in person.

I remember one time when we ate out during lunch. There was one woman who correctly guessed that we are IT people, but what stuck was her comment that she was able to tell who we are just by looking at us. I KNOW we did NOT look like the way I described above. Yes, we were in casual clothes, but it was office casual. We were neat and presentable. And my hair was definitely well kept - I'm never without my comb.

As for the untidy workplace, I can't work if my desk is very clattered and dirty. I'm sure there are others like me who also prefer to work in a clean environment. The photo above shows my desk when I'm very busy. And that's as clattered as it can be.

Why so stiff?

2009-05-13T15:53:00.002+08:00

I got out of bed this morning still feeling very sleepy. It wasn't until I was halfway through my shower that I came fully awake. And it was due to an acute pain that shot through my neck when I tried to look up.

By the time I got to the office it got worse. It became an official stiff neck. So I went to the clinic across the street. The Aviva card was very useful - didn't have to pay for the consultation and the meds (cream and pain relievers). And I hate taking meds. This time I also had trouble taking them 'coz my neck hurts when I try to raise my head to swallow the meds with water. I have not applied the cream yet. It has a certain scent that I'm not sure I want to wear for the rest of the day.

Right now I'm writing this post with my phone at eye level. I'm trying to not move my head as much as I can. Don't want to hurt myself more.

Why does it have to be on a work day? :'(

Synchronized... flying?

2009-05-11T23:39:00.003+08:00

It's that time of the year when everyone gets the itch - the itch to go to the beach for some fun under the sun, on the sand.

Two weekends ago we did go to the beach. I did not see anything really interesting, though my friend saw some guys with good bods. Needless to say, she stole some pics of them. I think that's how she got the "swan" flu. heheheh.. :-P

Anyways, it wasn't until last Sunday, when we went to the East Coast Park for a barbecue party, that I found an interesting thing at the beach. Up on the not-so-distant sky were 4 kites doing a routine which my ever-loyal model called "synchronized flying". The kites are so different than the ones I used to play with when I was just a kid. Oh, I miss kite flying. B-)

Going somewhere?

2009-05-09T19:42:00.002+08:00

My friend Carrie and I embarked on a quest to find the best Mother's day present we can think of. She mentioned that her mom has a green thumb and that she once saw this place that sells a lot of floral plants. So we figured a flowering plant would be the best gift for her mom.

And off we went on a journey to find the land of the flowers. So how do we get there? Do we really know where it is? Can't find it in the map!

Ah! The magic carpet has arrived. It should take us anywhere we want to go. And fast. But wait... This is already the other end of the country. Are we lost? We are! Oh no!

I want my mom... :$

Lamps anyone?

2009-05-08T19:11:00.001+08:00

I've recently started playing YoVille in Facebook. I think this is one game I'm not gonna get bored easily. It's like playing the Sims. You have a character and a home. What I like most is decorating the apartment. But it's hard to earn money to buy the furnitures I want for my apartment, and they are expensive! Anyway, one of the few things I was having difficulty to buy are the lamps. I can't decide which style to buy.

Maybe I should get one from this exhibit we saw at the Esplanade. Or make my own. It looks easy to make. Just a light bulb, a frame, and a floral dress.

But wait. I can't do it. I don't own any girly floral dress... :-(

Heard of the Swan flu?

2009-05-07T10:52:00.007+08:00

With all eyes on the H1N1 virus, nobody seemed to have noticed the new virus this lady caught. The virus, called Swan flu, was first noticed and named by Ms Ivy when she visited her friend. It seems to affect only the ladies.

Symptoms
1. Eat a lot all the time without getting fat.
2. Stays up late on weeknights for facebook.
3. Stays up late on weekends to play DOTA.
4. Likes watching gory horror movies.
5. Is a guy magnet.

So ladies, if you suffer from all the symptoms mentioned above... Take heart. It's not so bad. ;-)

Who wants a sunset?

2009-05-06T14:00:00.003+08:00

I do!

Oh, how I miss seeing mother earth's spectacular work of art. One of my favorite past times in the years gone by was watching the sunset on the distant horizon. It's one of the things I look forward to when I go back to the country, specifically my mother's home town in Leyte.

I don't get much sunset in the city. Not with all the tall buildings blocking the view.

I took the photo above from my office PC monitor. It shows one of my favorite pictures of a sunset taken by my friend's dad and posted on flickr. There's a whole lot more in his gallery to choose from. Just visit sunsetcolors' gallery and find your favorite sunset.

Want some?

2009-05-05T11:40:00.003+08:00

A Thai colleague of mine just came back from her home town and she brought back some food. And I like the food. It's sticky rice with mango, a.k.a "puto maya ug mangga" in my native toungue.

I miss this food. Back home I used to have this for breakfast at least once a week, usually when I have nowhere to go in the morning.

I especially miss mango. I'll tell you a secret. They have mangoes here, but not as good as what we have in the Philippines.

I miss Filipino food! ;-)

Guess who?

2009-05-04T17:01:00.001+08:00

"Hello! I'm a bear wearing an Elmo hood. I'm Elmo, Elmo Bear. That's what my owner named me so I have no choice. I like it anyway so it's okay. Jana found me last Saturday at a stall that sells crocheted stuff like me. And the sales will go to charity. You can see more of my brothers at www.teddythotz.com.

Right now I'm just sitting here in the display cabinet along with Paris, Dolly, and the chinese lady. I'm still new here so I'm still a little shy with them. But I'm sure we'll get along soon, they're nice to me. I just know we'll be friends then. Jana expects it of us." ;-)

Lady in love?

2009-05-02T16:48:00.001+08:00

I'm trying out this feature of posting pics online and blogging from my phone. Good thing my friend is lending her modelling talent free of charge. She volunteered to post for me. She's even sitting beside me right now patiently waiting as I write this post. She looks like a lady in love with the guy in the poster, doesn't she? Or just sleepy. ;-)

Ok, I'm going to end this now. She's beginning to complain I'm having too much fun out of this.