finding strength

towards december, i was finding the courage and strength to write. but words just fail me. i can't even make a cohesive thought, everything is jumbled up and there were so many missing pieces in my heart and mind. they would just not connect at all.

i wanted to write about my feelings, but i'm too afraid for it to be too much. i'm afraid that too many questions would be said, and no answers would suffice. and then it would hurt. my patience is being tested, and i'm trying to breathe. i'm at lost for emotions, because i don't know exactly how to feel and react. i guess it's my fault... all along, i had high hopes which i wasn't even sure. and now, it's all gone... pieces of me are shaved off and putting them back all together is a mess.

rainbows and sunshine

It’s fascinating to watch the sunrise coming in through the windows and catching the warm sunshine in your face. It’s like admiring a rainbow shine at its best after the rain and realizing how great life is. I would like to think about wonderful miracles these days. Especially when you’re expecting something wonderful to happen, a miracle perhaps.

When you find yourself in a situation that you cannot control, that is out of hand, all you can do is cry, pick up the pieces of your broken heart and move on. Don’t feel sad or defeated, because you’ve done your best and it’s the utmost of your capabilities. So don’t blame yourself… sometimes, things just doesn’t turn out the way we hope it should be. And I know it must really hurt big time, but we are all interconnected. And whatever the other person decides, will affect us further on in a different manner that we can’t explain at the moment. It will reveal itself maybe tomorrow, next month, next year… who knows. Some day you will just realize the purpose of that unwanted incident in your life and nod your head and say to yourself, “ahh now I get it.” But ‘til then, just remember the rainbows and sunshine. They might not be there at all times, but it happens. And so will your miracle and mine.

to be swept away off ur feet

what does it take for you to be swept away off your feet and be in cloud9?

i have been watching too many chick flick and romantic movies these days, and i get totally carried away with 'kilig' on those sweet moments when the boy would propose to the girl on his knees spontaneously... or those profound moments of kissing and hugging. *sigh*

the best part is the saying of i love you's... especially when i imagine myself being the girl on the movie being professed with love and devotion. i could just imagine how surreal that moment is...

today is a milestone

after 12midnight on this 22nd day of november year 2008, i sent a simple text message to my father. i greeted him a very happy birthday and i told him he's 59 and by january2009 i'll be 30. so i'm almost half of his life. i told him to take good care of his health and i thanked him. it touched my heart when he immediately replied to me, "thank u at ikaw sana matupad lahat ng pangarap mo. i'm proud of you, take care ka lagi jan." (thank u and i hope all your dreams would come true. i'm proud of you, take care always.)

i was teary-eyed... it was the first time in my entire 30years that my father told me that he is proud of me. we had gone through rough times together and after all these years, he finally sees me and i'm so moved by his words. he was never good at expressing himself, and i'm grateful for his courage.

to you papa, happy birthday and i love you always.

beyonce, be scared, be very scared!

this link was forwarded to me by a friend, blessie, who was browsing in youtube.com to find latest song hits.. she found this and i was so amazed! i was laughing my heart out and furious with envy!




now, due to the overwelming response of the viewers proven by more than 1million hits, he guested in BH talk show (Bonnie Hunt). here's the 'purified' version... watch it here!

2nd monthsary alone

new things i've mustered so far being in a different environment and experiencing 1st's in my life..

1. the earth does get very cold in some parts of this world. i never expected that a vast space would be like a cold freezer with cold mist splashing in your face.

2. staying in a suburban area is cool although it sometimes gets boring when there's only one bus passing by your neighborhood and the nearest civilization (malls) is 40minutes away.

3. autumn leaves are really fascinating and wonderful. before, i didn't really care when i come across them in magazines and the internet. now seeing them in person makes it feel so delightful. the changing of colors are awesome!

4. that in these events, i should take very good care of my camera :( it's been more than 2weeks now since it's been in the repair center. please get well soon so i can still catch the autumn leaves before snow comes in.

5. it takes a lot of patience waiting for the bus to pass by and getting there in the train station 30minutes before the arrival. it takes a lot of warming power to sit or stand in the shed while cold wind is blowing and smoke is definitely coming out of your breath (but i kinda like the smoke thing hehe).

6. you learn to do chores on your own and well, do all of them by yourself. *prang redundant haha*

7. i learned to read the maps and be observant of the road signs and bus stops and shops, banks, church, groceries within the area so that the next time, i know when to hit the stop button in the bus and where to alight in train stations.

8. i learned how to find a way to entertain myself when sadness, loneliness, depression and homesickness kicks in :( *sigh* i really miss my kids and dadi rak. *i already watched grey's anatomy from season1-4*

sadyang ganoon

minsan, kahit gaano kalabis mong ipakita sa taong mahal mo na iniibig mo sya, sadyang di ka nya nakikita.

minsan, kahit gaano kaalab ang iyong pag-irog sa kanya, sadyang di nya maramdaman ang kapurihan ng iyong pagsinta.

minsan, kahit gaano kahigpit ang iyong yakap sa kanya upang ipadama ang init ng iyong pagmaliw, sadyang kumakawala sya sa iyong mga bisig.

minsan, kahit gaano mo sya gustong punuin ng iyong pag-aaruga at proteksyon, sadyang pilit pa din syang lalayag at papalaot sa piling ng iba.

minsan, kahit gaano kasakit sa iyong damdamin na makita syang masaya sa piling ng kanyang sinisinta, sadyang kailangang tanggapin na kahit kailan di sya para sa iyo.

minsan, kahit gaano kaganda at kadalisay ang iyong intensyong mapaligaya sya, palalayain mo sya kahit lumuluha ang iyong puso.

sadyang ganoon talaga.. mas mahalaga ang pagmamahal nya sa iniibig nya kaysa sa pag-ibig na nilalaan mo para sa kanya.

noted

a gentleman knows when to walk away and doesn't settle for anything less than what he deserves. - mrs. burke, grey's anatomy

bbrrrr

it's end of october and snow should start in supposedly 2weeks... not!
i'm forcing myself to walk my way to the bathroom, turn on the showers and bathe, but my cold feet are creeping its way back to the covers.

bbrrrrr... the cold weather is coming.. and i'm missing my warm human blanket :(

haberday!

happy birthday to my ever dearest gwaping baby boy, nixon :) mami loves you so much! i hope you'll grow up to be a much stronger and braver person. dadi, mami and noah will always be here for you. we love you! mwah!

bright leaves.. windy wind

as i am looking outside the window inside my room, i saw that the leaves are falling from the trees and they look pretty. it's so colorful. and the wind outside is humming its way to fall season. i think the weather helps to dampen your emotions or lift them up in such a way that it clouds your judgement and perspective. i'm trying my best to stay focus and be in the game. it should happen, if not sooner, then later. i just have to breathe and think about the nice colors of the leaves, the brighter side of the humming wind and cool breeze. this is just a phase, to renew, discover and learn. maybe it won't turn out the way i expected, but at least i enjoyed the ride and realized something new. i need to prioritize myself sometimes, and be kinder to my own self. i deserve a chance to be happy and discover who i really am.

colder than LA

i'm in hayward, california for the past 5days and tomorrow i'll be flying off to new jersey to face the reality of my purpose why i'm here.

anyway, the 1hour flight sucks as it was so bumpy and all windy so we were all buckled up the entire journey. of course you know me, the girl with the ever-ready med kit who never runs out of white flower and candies during travel. yes, i really hated it coz i felt so dizzy and i was thinking, i should've taken the 6hour train ride. so i got off safely, thank god and christen and hubby ryan and baby kyle were there to take me home to their nice place. grabe, the wind was blowing cold in my face and body.

the following day, we went to fisherman's wharf to stroll around. there was heavy traffic coz of the airshow so parking was a disaster, imagine 2hours to find a space! finally we got late lunch from tarantino's restaurant and had the famous clam chowder soup and pasta. then we went around pier39. the place was packed with lots of people. and btw, my camera broke huhuhu *big time sob*. it fell when we were inside the wax museum. we weren't able to go view the alcatraz but we just took some pics.

the following day, our college buds, bien and lesther, picked us up to go wine tasting in napa valley. it was kinda far but when you get there, it feels like a sossy suburban area hehe! lots of tourist trying out wines from every vineyard. we went to two, one is very famous for their wines and the other one was where they shoot some scenes in walk in the clouds movie of keanu reeves. of course, the wine tasting session was the most fun of it. i think i got tipsy after trying 6 kinds of red/white wine.

my experience here was awesome! a break on the buzz and hustle of the city of LA. i'm so thankful with my friends who made my 1st month here in the US very awesome! pictures to follow =)

it's never ending.. it's pointless coz it's going in circles.. i'm tired, frustrated and stressed.. and it never has a conclusion. so why bother.. just let it go.

i remember

i need you back... i need you here to guide me... please come back, you're the only one who's ever loved me... i need you back... let's start all over again. share the love you had for me then..

i wish he could just be supportive and loving right now.. as in, now. *sigh* wherever you are, i hope you're happy always.


thor

ang nakaraan..

eto, delayed ulit posts ko. since i have few more days left here in LA, might as well write an update. sa totoo lang naiinis ako ngayon dito sa multiply account ko. may mga pics kasi na high resolution that i uploaded previously and you can view them individually so mas clear sya kasi malaki. but right now, di mo na sya makita. baket? kasi nagpapabayad na multiply!!! kainis!!! ggrrrrr!! natuwa pa naman ako dati sa kanya dahil masaya mag-upload ng pics for your friends and relatives to see. tapos ngayon $19.95 ang upgrade para lang maka post ka ng high res pics?!?! wadaf**K! can somebody just give me an alternative?

anyway, last weekend i was busy *buti na lang kasi may mga taong nagpapasira ng araw ko lately*. we attended hya's nephew's birthday tapos i met with my high school friends for dinner and get together. and then sinundo ako ng common sg friend namin ni faye na si anie and stayed overnight in their house. promise ang ganda ng house nila! post ko next time in another site kasi imbiyerna dito sa multiply.

tapos nung monday, namasyal kami sa universal studios. buti na lang mabait un pinsan ni hya at sinama kaming ipasyal dun together w/ his wife and kid. thanks again kuya danny and hya! again, pics to follow. tinatamad kasi ako mag-edit ng pics para lang magkasya sya sa acceptable size dito.

Closing Cycles

*i found this in my stockroom hehe.. it's a very nice read.*

Closing Cycles
By Paolo Coelho

One always has to know when a stage comes to an end. If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through. Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters - whatever name we give it, what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished.

Did you lose your job? Has a loving relationship come to an end? Did you leave your parents' house? Gone to live abroad? Has a long-lasting friendship ended all of a sudden? You can spend a long time wondering why this has happened. You can tell yourself you won't take another step until you find out why certain things that were so important and so solid in your life have turned into dust, just like that. But such an attitude will be awfully stressing for everyone involved: your parents, your husband or wife, your friends, ! your children, your sister, everyone will be finishing chapters, turning over new leaves, getting on with life, and they will all feel bad seeing you at a standstill. None of us can be in the present and the past at the same time, not even when we try to understand the things that happen to us. What has passed will not return: we cannot for ever be children, late adolescents, sons that feel guilt or rancor towards our parents, lovers who day and night relive an affair with someone who has gone away and has not the least intention of coming back. Things pass, and the best we can do is to let them really go away.

That is why it is so important (however painful it may be!) to destroy souvenirs, move, give lots of things away to orphanages, sell or donate the books you have at home. Everything in this visible world is a manifestation of the invisible world, of what is going on in our hearts and getting rid of certain memories also means making some room for other memories to take their place. Let things go. Release them. Detach yourself from them. Nobody plays this life with marked cards, so sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Do not expect anything in return, do not expect your efforts to be appreciated, your genius to be discovered, your love to be understood. Stop turning on your emotional television to watch the same program over and over again, the one that shows how much you suffered from a certain loss: that is only poisoning you, nothing else.

Nothing is more dangerous than not accepting love relationships that are broken off, work that is promised but there is no starting date, decisions that are always put off waiting for the "ideal moment." Before a new chapter is begun, the old one has to be finished: tell yourself that what has passed will never come back. Remember that there was a time when you could live without that thing or that person - nothing is irreplaceable, a habit is not a need. This may sound so obvious, it may even be difficult, but it is very important. Closing cycles. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because that no longer fits your life. Shut the door, change the record, clean the house, shake off the dust. Stop being who you were, and change into who you are.

*amen to that*

i guess i would not be receiving that email after all... *what was i thinking*

trying..

i'm still trying... trying my best to be less sad. trying my best not to be scared to express my emotions because i feel that every time i do, things get screwed up. trying my best to listen, to understand, to have patience, to endure. maybe next time, i'll try not to speak.

breathe.... just breathe...

other side of the world

Where should I start? I can’t even seem to find my words right now with all the pain and misery that I’m feeling. I’m miles away from my love ones, and I can’t do anything but pray and have faith that everything will get better soon. But why does it feel that I’m so alone in my hopes and dreams? Why do they continue to send me to oblivious pain? I have tried my best to express my sadness and hurt diplomatically… but they still keep on insisting their logical reasons which I find very insulting. I thought I left a strong boulder to keep our family intact… but pieces are crumbling away and I can’t find a super glue to keep it together because the rain of tears won’t stop flowing… and along with it comes my hopes and dreams drifting away off the shore. I should pick up my pace and accept the loss. I pray that things will get better eventually… I need to believe that there is still light at the end of the tunnel.

Artist: KT Tunstall
Song: Other Side Of The World

Lyrics:

Over the sea and far away
She's waiting like an Iceberg
Waiting to change,
But she's cold inside
She wants to be like
the water,

All the muscles tighten in her face
Buries her soul in one embrace
They're one and the same
Just like water

Then the fire fades away
But most of everyday
Is full of tired excuses
But it's too hard to say
I wish it were simple
But we give up easily
You're close enough to see that
You're.... the other side of the world
to me

On comes the panic light
Holding on with fingers
and feelings alike
But the time has come
To move along

Then the fire fades away
But most of everyday
Is full of tired excuses
But it's too hard to say
I wish it were simple
But we give up easily
You're close enough to see that
You're.... the other side of the world

Can you help me?
Can you let me go
And can you still love me
When you can't see me anymore

Then the fire fades away
most of everyday
Is full of tired excuses
But it's too hard to say
I wish it were simple
But we give up easily
You're close enough to see that
You're.... the other side of the world
Ohh.... the other side of the world
You're.... the other side of the world
To me.

*sigh* <-- youtube vid

ladidu

i'm so sorry, i'm procrastinating. ang hirap promise! sobrang busy with packing, meeting with friends, doing last minute errands and sis grace and her friend touched down in sg yesterday. in between all those, i try to spend quality time with my boys and gather our pictures. i promise to give you the juices when i settled down on the other side of the world. *huhuhuhu* when i'm able to update my blog, it means i landed to my destination and currently miles away from my dearest family and friends.

*21hours to go, and i'm crying a bucket full =( *

hbd eram!

since friday is our usual night out and eram's birthday is on a sunday *which she would most likely spend with her family*, we decided to give her a pre birthday celebration in clarke quay. we ate at cuba libre, kind of a mixture of mexican, spanish, cuban food i guess hehe! nachos and quesadillas are perfect to d taste buds. eram and i tried d shiraz wine while ami and dadi rak took the mojitos. ulrik, *pa-girly effect ata* drank the pink guava vodka ata un! haha! then ashoeshwal we had coffee at the coffee bean, surprising the birthday lady *who btw turned 23 for d 7th time? hahaha* with a mudpie cake.

happy birthday dear blessie! =) pictures --> here!

dadi's off d calendar

last aug21, dadi and i decided to spend time by ourselves and have dinner in a nice place in clarke quay. it's been a tradition every year that we have dinner somewhere on the night of dadi's birthday. this year we held it in a spanish restaurant named tapas tree. my friends have tried it a year ago and recommended the beef stew and paella. so i made reservations and we arrived just in time. the paella takes some time to cook to i had it done 30minutes before we arrived. we ordered picadillo and gambas together with the paella. some cocktail drink and beer to go along with the sumptuous feast. i forgot what our dessert was called but it was kinda like bread pretzels dipped in nice belgian chocolate.

we enjoyed the night and i was happy to see that dadi was so pleased. happy 32nd birthday dadi rak =)

that ring

this morning, i listened to my fave radio station, power98 with dj harry as host. *he's pinoy btw* he has this trivia contest where he gives out prizes if you guess the answer correctly. his question today was: most women worry about the size of this but according to survey, 80% of men worry more about the size of this. what is this? i know most of you are smiling on the thought of this thing... but no, it's not a part of the body. there was a girl who answered a wedding ring, then dj harry said almost close. next caller was another girl, he repeated the previous answers and the clue...

dj harry : what is this? there was a previous answer, wedding ring which is almost close to the to the right answer...

girl : ok... wait, is it an earing???

dj harry : nope i'm sorry but thats not correct. thanks for calling.

i immediately texted him *he's a good friend of mine btw*...

me : bwahahhaha! grabe, natawa ko sa earing syaks! *bwahahaha! that earing really made me laugh!*

dj harry : hahaha ako nga nalaglag sa upuan haha *hahaha i fell off the chair haha*

that was classic! started my day right! hahahaha!

any time now...

even if i try so hard not to think about it or how much i hide from it, the reality is... it's going to be any time now. i should succumb to the truth that it's just 11days 'til i empty my desk in the office... 13days 'til i go back home to be with my parents and siblings for just 4days... and only 30days before i bid adieu to sg and have a good crying 'til i get on board on that plane.

i must start talking to my boys and spend quality time with them. any time now...

jeng's 888

to one of my ever dearest best friend for more than a decade, jennifer... happy happy birthday! hope that your birthday, falling on exactly this 08-08-08, will be blessed with so much love and prosperity within this lifetime and the next. love u friend! i miss u so much!

timely coincidence

i just remembered.. i was suppose to blog about this incident last month. remember our nice driver/tourist guide from bohol? mang jun? well, we suddenly remembered to send in some 'tip' for his generosity during our trip to bohol. we weren't able to hand him some token of gratitude because we were expecting that he'll be the same driver who'll take us to the ferry terminal to cebu. unfortunately, he had another appointment so we were taken by another guy. so we decided to deposit some amount in his bank account during our remittance trip to LP.

i asked for his bank details, and told me how thankful he is. his exact words were, 'ma'am, siguro po hulog kayo ng langit sa akin. kasi po nasa ospital po ako ngayon, bukas ako discharge. buti na lang po may dumating na tulong pinansyal galing sa inyo. god bless po at maraming salamat!' *ma'am, maybe you were sent by good fate. i'm currently confined in the hospital and will be discharged tomorrow. good thing you're financial aid was in time. god bless and thank you!*.

it really sent chills to my body and i was so touched by this incident. truly, another one of god's mysterious ways.

a101-ers

ava, mae and me

mae, carlos, ava and me

it's been a while since we got to spend time together. the last time i've been with ava was 5years ago... when christen left for the states and i went to sg. we had karaoke and beer at kbox in greenbelt. while mae has been here in sg for more than a year already, we haven't gotten the time to chit-chat and catch up. same goes with carlos who has been here since last dec07 and gerome, who got here a few months after i did.

ava made it a point to have a one day stopover here in sg going to penang just to be with us. isn't that sweet! even if we haven't been communicating for years, she still contacted us and i was honored to have her stay in our house even for just overnight.

ava and i go way back in our 1st day registration in college. we got into mapua and was scheduled to register to acknowledge our slots as comp eng freshmen. she was the only person in the room who i thought was nice and pretty so i sat beside her and we kinda got along. we ended up as classmates for class a101 coe freshman year. mae, carlos and gerome were also part of the class. sadly, by 3rd year majoring, ava shifted to ie and mae to ece. but we still see each other, but not that often.

so when ava announced that she'll be coming by, i was so happy! and more so, she was getting married this october! bad news is, i won't be able to make it... good news is, we were still able to spend time here in sg, so i kinda made up for it. another good news was that carlos' wife and baby will be staying with him come september, while mae and chris will be having their church wedding come jan08. i'm so glad we were able to spend time together. gerome couldn't make it but then of course he tried.

strolling down memory lane

this was one of my faves during my college years. i guess it's the message and the beat of the song.

People say that together we were both sides of the same coin
That we would shine like Venus in a clear night sky
We thought our love could overcome the circumstances
But my ambition wouldn't allow for compromise

I could see in the distance all the dreams that were clear to me
Every choice that I had to make left you on your own
Somehow the road we started down had split asunder
Too late to realise how far apart we'd grown.
How I wish I, wish I'd done a little bit more

Now " Shoulda woulda coulda," means I'm out of time
Coz "Shoulda woulda coulda", can't change your mind
And I wonder, wonder, wonder what I'm gonna do
"Shoulda woulda coulda" are the last words of a fool

People ask how it feels to live the kind of life others dream about
I tell them everybody gotta face their highs and their lows
And in my life there's a love I put aside, cause I was busy loving something else
So for every little thing you hold on to, you've got to let something else go

[Chorus]

Fool if I would now forsake the opportunities are fate
I know I'm right where I belong
But sometimes when I'm not so strong I..

the hubby meme

Got this tag from janine, medyo long overdue na din hehe.. here goes mine

How long did you date? hmmm we didn't actually date kasi we were very good friends back then so everytime we go out, its like meron kang alalay kasi nakakalungkot mag-isang mag-malling hahaha

How old is he? turning 32 next month

Who eats more? pareho (para fair hehe)

Who said “I love you” first? ako ata hihihi

Who is taller? sya po, your honor

Who sings better? ako ata? hehe (or mas vocal lng ako, in short mas mahilig ako kumanta ng walang hiya!)

Who is smarter? aba syempre ako! (pro minsan sya)

Whose temper is worse? ako (aminado)

Who does the laundry? si tita juvs :D

Who does the dishes? si tita juvs kasi masyadong masipag e

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? ako hehe

Who pays the bills? both of us

Who cooks dinner? madalas si tita juvs padin, pro ako din minsan pag weekends

Who drives when you are together? wala kaming ida-drive hehe

Who is more stubborn? Me

Who kissed who first? ahhh sabay?

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? sya kahit di tlga sya may kasalanan heheh

Whose parents do you see the most? mine kasi pag umuuwi kami ng pinas, sa manila kami nka-stay. nsa tarlac family nya.

Who proposed? di na uso sa min ata ung ganun hehe

Who is more sensitive? ako

Who has more friends? ako din hehe

Who has more siblings? ako

Who wears the pants in the family? pareho kami nagsusuot nyan hehe.

That was fun! If you think it was, too, and you want to blab about your husband, go ahead and grab this! I’m passing on this tag to these married ladies: faye, twix, sookie, pazette, carola, lengirl, trina, and kendz. :)

to daddy dearie...

...happy 3rd year anniversary. =)

makes sense

"love is not a feeling, it's an ability"
- marty, bf of cara

excerpt from the movie 'dan in real life'
=)

may27, day2 in bohol

The following day, we had garlic rice, tocino and fried bangus with coffee and local chocolate tablet. We lazed around the beach the whole day and took lots of pictures. Good thing we’re here on a weekday so not much people are present. The water was warm and clear. Even if we were surrounded by small bangkas, we didn’t mind dipping into the water and feel the healing waves behind our backs. I think from the shore, you can walk up to 100meters with the water just on your waist! It was amazing! I thought that somehow the waters would be deep, but good thing it wasn’t so we had plenty of space to swim in. And the best thing was that I learned to do floating and a little backstroke… hehehe!

After a while, we strolled along the beach and took some pictures. It was almost sunset, and the kids in the neighborhood were playing around the beach. For dinner, we were served with lechon kawali and chopsuey then we strolled along the beach again and rested on the duyan (hammock) on the tree. It was a quiet night; dadi and I had a nice time talking about things and the latest happenings in our lives. We talked about the kids and our plans for them. We went back to our hut afterwards and started packing for our next day trip to Cebu.

may26 entry.. bohol part2

The ride to the Choc Hills took a while; it’s in the city of Carmen. Going up the viewing deck was very challenging (more than 200steps I think), but when I saw the view, it was worth it! I love the hills, they really look like nice gigantic chocolates laid down on a field. The scientific story goes that long time ago bohol was submerged with ocean water and volcanic eruptions in the water, with flowing lava that mixed with salt water, created those lumps. As the years passed, lands showed up then the pouring rain helped in contouring those lumps into pretty hills. Previously, the natives call it Carmen Hills. But when the Americans came, they said that those are chocolate hills shaped like the Hershey kisses so now its called Chocolate Hills. Some legends say that there were two giants that build them up while others say they were created by enchantments of the land. All together, there were 1,678 hills in those lands… huwaw!!!

We passed by a butterfly reserve hut owned by a 27year old lady from New Zealand. Imagine, a girl that young was an environmentalist and chose to live a quiet life in the suburbs of bohol and established this butterfly nursery. His caretakers and gardeners toured us around the place and gave a lecture on the difference of moths and butterflies. Then we went to visit a hanging bridge, which unfortunately was under repair so we just took pictures at the mouth of it. We also visited an old house, the Clarin Mansion, which was turned into a museum upstairs and café downstairs. I like the ambiance of the place as it was so relaxing. The lady who toured us around the house told us that the owners were one of the oldest politicians in our country. One of the sons was the 1st president of the senate house during the American regime.

Our last stop was at the tarsiers reserve. Tarsiers are believed to be part of the mammal family and are said to be the ‘smallest monkey’. Their eyesight is not that good during daytime but they are best onlookers at night. Obviously its due to their big bulging eyes. They are joined by the lemurs in the reserve, but during our visit, they were lazy and sleepy hanging on the tree branches. After all those visits, we headed to the resort in Panglao Island that was across Tagbilaran City. It’s connected through a bridge and the island has small population with only two towns in it.

We rested through the night and had a wonderful dinner. Our menu consisted of the island delicacy, beef bita-ug and fried spring chicken cooked in local ways.

may26 entry.. bohol

Our first day in bohol was dedicated to sightseeing and tour around the nice places in the area. First stop was at the Sanduguan monument that commemorates the blood compact tradition when the Spaniards came to our country. It was said that during old times, our ancestors would require the ceremony if you have intentions of making friends with the tribe. We stopped by an old and gigantic banyan tree (balete tree) inside a mansion of a german folk who started living in bohol during his retirement years. The tree was 100years old; he bought it together with the land where his mansion was built. Next stop was Baclayon Church, which was believed to be one of the oldest churches in the Phils. There was a mini museum upstairs, a grotto and bonsai garden at the back and a school beside it. The inside of the church itself was breathtaking! I had chills when I stepped inside and all visitors were respecting the solitude. Now I understand why some couples choose to get wed in this church. Another church that we saw was the Cathedral of Sta. Monica, which was also an old church with Spanish-like structure.

We had an early lunch, 11am at the Loboc river where we ate inside a floating restaurant. Of course my nerves were killing me, I have issues with the waves and boats/ferries that’s why I didn’t eat much. I was surprised, though, that when the floating resto started moving, the cruise along the river was pleasant and soothing. The air breeze was so cool in my face and the serenading voice of manong was calming. We stopped for a while at a barge with teenagers and old folks who sang and danced in different songs using guitars and yukulele (small guitars). We even joined them for a while and the Koreans who also watched them joined in the fun. Getting back, we went to the man-made forest area along the highway going to Chocolate hills. During the 1950’s, the governor passed a law requiring citizens of bohol to plant trees on the 3hectare land.





you may view more pictures in our multiply website. =)

may26 entry

*my first thoughts when we started our trip to the visayas region...*

i thank god that our flight wasn’t delayed… i thank god for the safe and smooth flight… i thank god for the nice weather as soon as we landed in Bohol… i thank god for the kind and reliable driver… i thank god for all the wonderful creations that we experienced going around Bohol… i thank god for our peaceful resort… i thank god that I was with my sweet and loving husband as i discover His great wonders.

back again, and nag-eemote

hello we're back! *para bang kanta ng boy band ang subject title? hehe*
kwento ako sa inyo ng details ng trip namin to manila sa next entry ko. inaayos ko pa kasi ung sobrang daming pictures namin from the trip. but let me just blog about my feelings right now...

as i was putting my two little boys to sleep, i was seeing their faces together with dadi and the rest of ptv4 in the airport waving their goodbyes to me and hugging me... tears just suddenly rolled at the corners of my eyes. i'm counting the weeks now... everytime na maiisip ko na malapit ko na sila iwan for some time, i can't help but cry.

never

i will never heed nor attempt to befriend that person anymore... it proves to say that that person is not worthy and is totally and absolutely superficial. i'm letting go of our so-called friendship. period.

counting d days - 10days!

yehey! i'm counting the days when we can finally go back home to pinas and enjoy a 2week vacay! this is the longest vacation we'll have after more than 3years here in sg. and the best part is, we're going island hopping!!! sobrang exciting! dadi and i are going to bohol, cebu and boracay for 3 days each! yiippeee! thanks of course to our friend ulrik, who introduced our ever reliable travel agent, melynn. we'll be spending our 1st three days at panglao island in bohol, including tours in chocolate hills, tarsiers reserve and loboc river. then we'll be ferried to cebu for a tour around cebu city and mactan. finally we'll be flying to boracay where we'll be meeting some of my friends from accenture and my best bud from high school, jeng. we're scheduled to flyback to manila on jun1.

i just can't wait to have a break hehehehe.... btw, the thing that i've been waiting for almost a year now is finally over. i'm so happy it's finally over and now i'm ready to move on to the next phase. =) will tell you more about it on my next entry. but for now, im so excited to go home!

missing u

i've been missing my blog for almost 2months now... and i really hate it coz i've so much thoughts in my mind that i haven't 'unloaded' yet. and promise, as soon as i have sorted things out in my busy schedule now, i will off load all thoughts that i should've shared with you guys. i just need some time to filter out the stress, fats and cholesterol and laziness in my system hehehehe!

so for those tags i've received, promise they're on top of my list. and i've got loads of good and bad stories to share. *wink*

baby alexi...

welcome to the christian world dear baby alexi beatriz! =)
baptismal date: 06 April 2008
thanksgiving: 12 April 2008
you may view more delightful pics here.

alooohhaaa!

i'm back, good thing work nowadays is tolerable *i think* so i can go back to reading my books and blogging of course. presently, i'm finishing the 3rd installment of the dark materials series. (for those of you who's not familiar, it's the northern lights series or as the movie had it, the golden compass.)

before i go on, i'd like to include in my entry the 2nd birthday celebration of my noahby last feb15. yeah yeah, its so late already. it was just a plain and simple celebration with the blowing of the candle in the cake and a quiet dinner at home. nevermind the valentine coz i spent it blowing my brains out in the office. its a leap year as well,some friends and i had a simple dinner at a new restaurant in raffles mall. nothing fancy, food was ok and doesn't really have that wow factor. we met hanipay's sister apple and welcomed her here in sg.

by end of feb to early march, everything just came by like a blurr because overtime work was inevitable and i couldn't even keep track of time properly. anyway, i was still able to squeeze in a little time to go and buy myself my own 1st camera! wiippeee! after 7years of working, i finally got my own digicam hehehe! got it from the IT show in suntec. originally i was eyeing on a new macbook for my own personal use but unfortunately, dadi and i agreed that my camera is much needed in the future events of our plans. we'll be watching maroon5 tomorrow at kallang stadium and of course its difficult to bring dadi's dslr, yehey maroon 5 live in sg!!! my 1st ever concert show to watch after 29years hehehe *oo na sobrang oa na hihi* i'm so excited to finally see the vocalist adam levine.

we also plan to go island hopping in pinas when we go home for our 2week vacation. that too has been booked already yiippee! we're off to pinas on may23 then flyback june7. dadi and i will drop off the kids then transfer to another plane for our cebu-bohol-bora trip. this one i can't wait to experience! as in finally we'll be able to have a vacation by ourselves, the two of us enjoying the sun and the views across visayas hehehe...we haven't arranged on our cebu-bohol-bora trip yet, hopefully the weather will be great and airfare will be cheap. we're also training for a running marathon, the singapore passion run, come june8 so dadi is training me for the 5km run *oo na, fun run lang sya.. keber e first timer po! hehe pagbigyan na!*

btw, i'm now doing a regular hosting job every sunday at the arena in clarke quay for the pinoy sunday entertainment show. it's organized by our friend ulrik and his colleague, ronald. it's like a variety show with bands and live performances. the audience can participate and jam with the bands and join the contest. april will be a busy month as there will be a pinoy amazing star contest coming up. its sort of like american idol style with the elimination and judges and voting thru sms. please do try to come down on sundays if you're in sg and watch great pinoy talent.

eram's sister, debbie, and niece, sam, also came for a week's vacation. we saw them on the eve of their flight back to manila. we had some coffee at citylink after ami and i went to the chinese temple in bugis to seek some 'divine intervention' hehe.. then we celebrated ami's birthday at our pinoy sunday show in the arena last march23. o diva, sosyal!

ayun so that's how life is at the moment. happy easter! =)

*i have to blog this right away, as in ora mismo when i had this conversation with nixon*

nixon going to bed and hugging me...

nixon: mami, something happened to me today...

me: what is it baby?

nixon: somebody told me i'm sexy boy

me: who said it??

nixon: *covering his face with his palms* lincoln did!

*lincoln is his bus buddy and school mate*

me: *trying to recover* why did he say that!??!

nixon: i don't know what he was thinking

me: how about you?

nixon: i don't know what to think also

*moment of silence*

nixon: mami, i have an idea! i'll just ignore him!

me: absolutely!

*kailangan ko na ba ikwento ang birds and the beast 101 sa anak ko!??!*

btw, my nixon has another friend besides lincoln... his name is benjamin.
o diba sosyal! may nixon, lincoln at benjamin franklin! hahahaha!

hay kahit sobrang pagod ako sa overtime for the past 2weeks, nawala ata
lahat ng sakit ng ulo ko! hahahaha

looking forward

i can't believe it that 2007 went by in a breeze. i have a 5year old kid now and noah is turning two on feb2008. i've survived the year working at sgx and still trying to conquer the odds of my career path. we were able to do some clutter organizing and hopefully our rent won't go up in the next few months.

right now i'm so happy to finally do some things that i promised myself i'll get back on. i've found my right pace in jogging so i'm very happy joining dadi during his evening jogs. i've also started reading again.. right now i'm burried with northern lights, the 1st of three books of the golden compass.

dadi and i watched the movie on the last week it was shown here in sg and i was so angry at him that night becoz we were late. good thing there was a book sale at carrefoure so dadi was kind enough to search for all three books. i was so ecstatic becoz i was really anxious to get a copy of all three.

don't ask me about my yoga class right now becoz i can't find time to squeeze it in in my ever so busy work schedule and my muscles are aching so bad lately. i really must book myself for a deep tissue massage.

nixon has started back in school as kinder2 and all he can say whenever we ask him how school was is that its fun! noah is more active and curious each passing day. dadi has moved to the tampines office from millenia walk so i'm officially missing him.

hoping for the best this 2008!

noche buena

our house warmly welcomed some of our friends for the noche buena feast last dec.24. it was my first time to cook and prepare roasted chicken, fortunately it went well and i complimented it with some steamed veggies. of course ham and grapes would always be served, then the ever famous sopas, bistek and fish escaveche, and our favorite puto. after dinner, we exchange gifts, watched a movie and some picture takings.

please visit our multiply site, i've uploaded the pics there.

late dec2007 posts.. KL trip

swamped with so much to do's last dec2007, i wasn't able to blog about how we got through til new year. the highlight of our christmas was our trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with the kids and tita juvs. i think it would be a shame not to be able to see the KL twin towers which is just some few hours from SG.

we decided on it last minute, actually a week before our target date. out of so much stress and boredom, ate vi and i decided to check on KL trips and fortunately we were able to get a booking at people's park chinatown. it was a great deal, 164sgd each for 3days, 2nights to legend hotel including breakfast buffet and tickets to ride the eye of malaysia.

our trip was 12.30pm so we got there at KL almost 7pm already. we checked in and had dinner at mcdonalds *talaga namang mcdo pa din* then we let the kids rest first while we adults went to chinatown. the place was really pretty at night with lots of bargain hunters scattering around.

the next day we had early breakfast and proceeded to KLCC to catch the trip going up the KL towers. unfortunately we got there late so we just took pictures outside and look around the mall. then we went to times square with the kids while ate vi and kiko strolled around putrajaya. we decided to meet afterwards and have dinner at times square. it gave me a bugis-like feeling going around the building with lots of stores each floor (note: bugis is a big shopping place here in sg). i got so tired with this place, as in! lots of sales and so many shoppers. eating at kenny rogers was disappointing though. when ate vi and kiko arrived, we went to the theme park and the kids really had lots of fun!

on our last day, we went to ride the eye of malaysia in the morning. good thing the place wasn't crowded but the heat was exhausting. nevertheless, we enjoyed the experience and then went back to the mall near our hotel to do some last minute shopping and lunch at KFC. our bus arrived on time and we got back in SG saturday night.





more pictures here