| Thursday, May 31, 2007 |
| Worst Case of Pambabasted |
During office hours, my colleague Gen and I would usually chat at topics about anything under the sun - a breather from the work that we're doing. Most of the topics that we discuss is something that is usually discussed in the morning show of RX (in which we're both fans of). But usually, we would usually discuss things based from what we read - one of the sources is the website from Peyups. Most of the time, we would discuss about ourselves - an exchange of ideas. Sometimes, we would include other colleagues in our discussion.
One article from Peyups: Basted: The Female Experience became the source of our discussion. Based from this article, there are four reasons that a female is rejected:
1. The guy likes someone else
2. The guy has other priorities (career, outlook) and unfortunately you're not one of them
3. He has a calling
4. He's gay
I asked my colleagues about the worst case of pambabasted. Which reason could be the hardest one to accept? Some of us picked the gay factor. Although it may sound ridiculous and funny, its the hardest one to accept because its hopeless. But the winner in our survey is the reason that the guy does not like you back at all - regardless on whether he likes someone else or he has other priorities. The sad part is that no matter how you expressed how you feel to that person, it just does not work out.
Regardless of whatever the reason on why someone is rejected, the bottomline is that it still hurts if the intense attraction that you feel is never reciprocated. Believe it or not, even females feel this way.. ang nababasted. |
posted by subhuman @ 12:07 AM  |
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| Wednesday, May 30, 2007 |
| Back again! |
After a more-than-a-week long hiatus in blogging, I'm back. Night support and Sex and the City marathons were keeping me from writing. Anyway, I decided to post even a single (short) entry.
Anyway, I'm happy that finally my high school best friend, Sharon, sent me a message in Friendster. We left almost left Philippines at the same time last year - she went to the US to continue her practice as a nurse while I pursue an IT career here in Malaysia. I haven't heard from her for a year. I'm so glad to hear from her :) I hope that with this, we'll communicate more frequently, just like the old times :) |
| posted by subhuman @ 12:26 AM |
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| Thursday, May 24, 2007 |
| Life's Curve Balls |
Note: Due to my being on support these days, I don't have the energy to update my blog. In the meantime, I posted this article below that I think is worth sharing. I rarely post entries from other publications in this blog but because I share the sentiments as with the author of this essay, I chose this as an exception =) Being an OFW does not mean that I choose money alone - it's mainly choosing independence, my personal growth and accepting the opportunities that life brings to me. Enjoy reading =)
YOUNGBLOOD
Life's curveballs
By Jennifer Galang
from the Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines -- Too many times I have been asked, by foreigners and fellow citizens alike, why Filipino professionals leave our country to work abroad.
On one occasion in Tokyo, a light dinner conversation took a more serious turn when my American friend brought that subject up. “Everywhere in the US,” he said, “There are Filipino doctors, nurses and IT and business professionals like you. If you all go back to the Philippines, you could easily drive your economy to a boom,” he said.
I was quick to argue. I am, after all, one of these professionals. “It’s not like most of them have a choice,” I said. “People leave because otherwise their families back home wouldn’t have anything to eat.”
“True, but not for you. Your families are well-off,” he said, referring to me and another Filipino at the table, a lawyer who’s also working here in Tokyo. I almost choked on my kimchi. My Filipino friend rebutted, “The economics of our present situation is not that simple. If all the professionals return, you have to deal with the unemployment and the loss of remittances. Our economy, our people, just can’t afford that right now.”
The debate went on for a couple of minutes more and, as expected, ended on a hanging note. If I only knew the answer to our country’s problems, I would have shut all the politicians back home up, and that would easily win me a Nobel Prize.
The interesting thing, though, is a few years ago I shared Inquirer columnist Conrado de Quiros’ fervent views about professionals leaving for work abroad. I lived a rather comfortable single life in Manila. As a CPA, I was paid enough to enjoy an apartment in Makati City and a few occasional luxuries. I didn’t have any reason to complain. I frowned upon the professionals who chose to leave (as opposed to those who had to leave for the dire need of a better income), for I thought life in Manila was quite livable. However, I gave up those views like someone would drop a hot potato when I received an offer to work abroad. I packed my bags without hesitation and left.
For most professionals, especially CPAs like me, I could have chosen not to leave. Clearly, in my case, it was not a question of needing a higher paying job. Nor was it a question of nationalism or lack thereof. I am here because of a desire for personal growth, to realize my potential as a young, skilled professional. This, I believe, is not essentially bad in itself, which is why I’m bothered that we, the “leavers” are branded to be the bad, unpatriotic youth.
On what basis are we Filipino professionals being criticized for working abroad? Will our going back to our own country be able to solve our economic problems? To tell you the truth, those questions are not even relevant to me anymore. I believe the more important question is, why should I be expected to live my entire life in the place I grew up in? Is there something fundamentally wrong with living and working outside your country?
I will not appeal for your empathy by saying that under my circumstances, what I’m doing is a sacrifice. It is not, and I might be the first one to admit that. On the contrary, I feel privileged for being given this excellent work opportunity.
Some say that living away from your family is a sacrifice in itself. Yes, it could be tough at times, but isn’t that true wherever you go? Life throws curveballs at you wherever you are. As a person who always sees a glass half-full, living independently for me is just a part of the appeal of living abroad.
The experience of stepping out of my comfort zone in Manila was nothing but exhilarating. I fend for myself, cook my own dinner and clean my own apartment. I have made friends from all over the globe, exposing me to new values and new realities. My office is a hodgepodge of cultures -- American, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, British and so many others -- that my accent is now all confused. My work is well appreciated in my job and that has made me confident enough to deal with clients from anywhere. I have countless choices I’ve never had before and numerous opportunities that I would never have had, if I had chosen to stay. I can choose to stay here or move to our office in another location, or I can take my MBA in the United States or in London. Even my overactive imagination as a kid never conjured that life could be like this. And all of these are because I am here.
This is not an encouragement for others to leave as well. I have my personal reasons, as I’m sure others have their own. My being here is essentially about living in another country, and not about leaving my country. I’m not here because I wanted to leave the Philippines. I’m here because I want to be here. Because I like being here. I believe that clearly distinguishes between being a sincere Filipino and an apathetic citizen. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with wanting to stay here. I have chosen to brave the other side of the fence with the purest of personal convictions, and without regret. I should not be condemned for doing so.
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Jennifer Galang, 24, left for Tokyo in June 2006 to work in an auditing firm. She is 100-percent Filipino, and proud to be one.
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| posted by subhuman @ 3:59 PM |
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| Tuesday, May 22, 2007 |
| Thoughts of a sleepyhead |
Here I am, in front of the computer at 5 AM in the morning, writing this blog entry as I'm having a hard time getting back to sleep, although my mind is not that working right now, that's why I think I put one of the least creative title for this entry. I'm on night support once again and I received a call at around 3:45 AM. Good thing the page that I received is something that I've done before.. I have to bear with this thing for the rest of the week.
****
We have a visitor once again! Mars' mother, sister and a family friend, Tita Marissa are staying in 2 weeks for a vacation. And of course, they brought a lot of Filipino goodies that Agri told me that we have a sari-sari store at home. Just like any parent, Mrs Rodriguez and Tita Marissa cooked a lot for us - at the expense of my diet ahahaha!!! It is also nice to get to Sunshine, Mars' younger sister who has the same age as I do. I hope they'll enjoy their stay here in Malaysia.
****
One of my colleagues, Tza, found out that her father passed away this morning. I don't have the details yet on what happened but I heard that they're coming back to the Philippines tomorrow morning.
That call is the most dreadful one that most OFW doesn't want to hear - a death of a loved one, especially if it's from their immediate family. Many Filipinos would leave their families to seek greener pastures, leaving the opportunity of feeling the warmth of their hug, having a shoulder to cry on, witnessing all their loved one's significant events (like a wedding, a baby's first step, etc). Usually, its the OFW who's in the difficult position.
I can only imagine Tza's pain when I heard her cried when she found out about the sad news. She was not there to be at her father's side when he needed her most. I'll just pray that she and her family would have the strength to endure this challenge.
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| posted by subhuman @ 5:12 AM |
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| Monday, May 21, 2007 |
| A tale of two musicals.. |
 Last Saturday night, I watched My Fair Lady Musical at the KLCC Plenary Hall. It was my first time to watch a musical alone. Many people thought that I'm crazy of going here, but hey, I don't have a musical buddy here in Malaysia (although I was expecting to be seated on a cute guy who's also watching that musical alone so that I can ask him to become my musical buddy hahaha.. wish ko lang hahaha). Just like my experience in Esplanade when I watched the Phantom, the audiences were dressed up (flop lang talaga yung Broadway experience ko kc mukha akong DH noon). One good thing about going to the musical alone is getting a good spot even if I bought the tickets late. I was seated at the center of the most affordable section (I can't say its cheap because I still find it to be pricey), probably 30 rows away above the stage. The musical is presented by a London-based production (another West End musical yipee! =P) which was staged in Singapore early this year. Here is the synopsis of the story from Rotten Tomatoes web site: Egotistical linguist Professor Henry Higgins bets his friend, Colonel Hugh Pickering, that he can transform Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle in time for an important society ball. His gamble could pay off--but the spirited Eliza is more of a handful than the Professor could have predicted. As she slowly becomes more refined, and less reliant upon him, Higgins realizes, to his confusion, that he can’t live without her. Even though I'm seated at the farthest possible location, it was still okay. I have to give credit to the production since I think they did a good job. However, it is not the type of musical that has the spectacular entrance song which is usually what I'm expecting in a musical(no offense to the fans out there.. this is just my opinion). I can't help but compare it to the feeling that I had while watching the Phantom - probably because its in the plot which I find to be mushy (what can I say? Its a romantic comedy). Too bad, I don't have a camera with me to take my picture beside the poster (and besides, who will take my pic anyway?). But overall, this is the kind of play where I think I need to watch its movie first for me to appreciate it that much. As what Simon would put it, I wasn't jumping up and down.  The longest running musical, the Phantom of the Opera, was staged at the Esplanade since last month. As what I have mentioned in my previous blog, most of my musical enthusiast friends (like me) recommended this (If I have to watch a musical, it must be the Phantom). So when I bought the tickets, I made sure that we would have the good seats (at the expense of our wallets, but hey, it's a once in a lifetime experience). In my opinion, it has the most spectacular production. With all the backdrops and the costumes which I learned to be imported from different countries. At the opening scene where the chandelier was brought up to the stage while listening to the overture gave me goosebumps - and it made me realize what to expect from this play. It was really effective to catch the audience's attention. Maybe I'm not a fan of the operatic/classical music so I'm not that ecstatic compared to what my friends have been telling me about it (I found it to be overrated actually). I think my musical buddies- Rye and Mars, also think the same way. With regards to the actor's performance, there were some instances that we found the actors to be sharp in some songs.One thing that I noticed about the reviews about the Singapore production was that the chandelier in the end of Act I was not broken, which is expected to create more impact to the audience. This is what's how the Broadway and West End productions were staged. I agree that it would create more impact but probably because its not part of the Singapore production. Anyway, it was a good experience to watch it finally onstage and I can finally say that as a musical buff, I can add the Phantom of the Opera in my list. =)Anyway, I wish that I can learn more about musical theater by watching more musicals in the upcoming months. I just wish that I would have a chance to appreciate it better if only I can find a musical theater course here in KL. Oh well, in the meantime, I'll have to think if I should watch the King and I (to be directed by Bobby Garcia) on July and find out how I can go to Istana Budaya where the play will be staged. |
| posted by subhuman @ 1:41 AM |
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| Thursday, May 17, 2007 |
| On writing.. |
When I was young, I used to maintain a journal, sort of a diary which I keep to write my thoughts. And when there are days where I felt like looking back at what I felt while I'm writing it, I would take a peek on those journals.
English was my weakest subject when I was a student. I was discouraged to write because of this, knowing that my essays would be subjected to criticism. The journals that I submitted in my class were just mediocre and I was not inspired to write at all. When I was in high school, our teacher required us to submit a poem to look for our class' representative for the poetry writing contest. It was my first time to create a poem and I had considered myself lucky to be chosen. But I was not confident during the contest itself as it required us to write a free-verse poem and I was never exposed in that type of literature (I only read Sweet Valley and Sweet Dreams/Love Stories during that time). During my college years, I don't have the opportunity to write. I was focused on getting my degree that time. But one of my favorite past times in the dorm or in the library was to read the Youngblood articles. I was amazed with the articles submitted, hoping that someday I could see my name under its byliner.
When I began working, one of my favorite past times was to read the articles from Peyups and Youngblood. Also, I became more confident in English writing since my job requires me to express myself in English (due to our onshore counterparts). It's a good thing that blogging became a trend.. and this blog became an outlet for me to express myself. But due to my lifestyle during that time where most of my time was spent on working and commuting, I can't update my blog regularly.
I write more frequently on this blog when I moved here in Malaysia because I got tired of writing several emails to different distribution lists (so that when people asks me for stories about my misadventures, I can just point them to my blog.. and some of my friends give up because my story is sooo long hahaha). I am pouring all my thoughts on this blog (as you may see it). It made me realize that my dream of seeing my name in the Youngblood section of the Phil Daily Inquirer is not impossible; I just need to write more.. and I'm glad to hear good feedbacks from my friends who read this which inspires me to write more =)
So what's instore for me? Well, I have created a list of topics that I'm planning to write about.. it's just that I don't have enough time and energy to write these. I'm also planning to enroll in a Creative Writing class but since I'll be having a vacation in the Philippines on July, it might not be worth it (damn, and I still haven't enrolled myself in a voice lessons aargh!). Also, I wish that I could do an article in Filipino - because the first time that I attempted to do one, I ended up writing the article in English after 2 paragraphs. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed! =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 12:12 AM |
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| Wednesday, May 16, 2007 |
| Small world! |
I was chatting with my colleague, Dru. He found out that I love to write and asked me if I can contribute in their mini-project, Back to Basics. He is an active member of the Bukas Loob sa Diyos Catholic community and Back to Basics is a weekly reflection on Sunday's mass readings which will be sent out to the group. I asked if he know Ate Charo, my dorm mate who's also a member of that group. He said that once, he asked for an advice regarding his lovelife, which my dorm mates always do when we need advice on relationships as well. Anyway, as we talk, we realized how much we missed her.
Inspite of the distance, I have proven that I can still run to her for advice and I'm blessed to have her as a friend. Anyway, I know that she's really happy right now with her married life.
I'm so glad that even though I may no longer be with my closest friends physically, meeting people connected with them made me feel close to them as well. It is such a small world indeed =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 11:36 PM |
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| The Geek in Me |
Yes you heard it right. I am a geek and I'm proud of it.
As a student, I'm studious. I also love to do research. I don't rely on the books recommended by my teacher alone - I look for other books as well and use it as a reference. During my High school days, I was a diligent student when it comes to research - I usually have 2 different sets of homeworks/projects to ensure that my research are unique. Since our library in my previous school was only small so I'd go to the Quezon City Public Library and National Library. When I first saw the UST Central library, I was amazed - imagine, having a building full of books that's accessible for students.
The research junkie in me helped a lot to get through my college years as I was lucky that most of the books that I found are where my professors were taking questions for our exam (just to clarify, this is not cheating as I was just using these books as a reference in the first place, I always rely on probability if a question would be likely to be given in an exam), that's why my college friends were lucky to have me as part of their group.
Since I love being surrounded by books, my regular tambayan during my college years is the library. Even though I'm not studying, I stay there to read the newspaper and the magazines. I love staying in the library - just the feeling of being surrounded by books, it brings out the joy in me that I can't explain (cheesy as it may sound but its true). My college friends can attest to that - check out my Friendster testimonials. They even once called me as Hermione from the Harry Potter because we have a lot of things in common. =P
When I began working, I missed doing research (not the type of research that's related to my job - it's another story). Maybe that's why I've been longing to go back to graduate school. The only place where I can do express my passion (naks) in research is via the Internet by researching on subjects that I'm interested into.
On my visit to Singapore last December, Hazel brought me to the Singapore National Library. I can't help but feel amazed as we enter the vicinity of the building - it is modern and everyone is free to just sit back and read. I felt that I was Charlie who just entered the chocolate factory and it reminded me once again the happiness that I felt of being inside the library when I was a student. Too bad, I didn't have enough time to explore the place and its treasures =(
Anyway, I'm glad that I found another geek here in Malaysia - Gen. This weekend, we're planning to go to the British Council library and check out what's in store for bookworms like us. We hope that it would be a good venue for us to express the inner geek in us and to meet people who's not afraid to express their geekness. |
| posted by subhuman @ 1:13 AM |
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| Monday, May 14, 2007 |
| Wazzup Wazzup?!? |
Aside from the vacations where I've gone in the previous weeks, here's what I've been up to..
After a long time, I finally managed to attend a body jam class last Saturday.. and the good thing about it is that the theme is hiphop! Okay, just to set everyone's expectations, I'm not a good dancer.. I just wanted to burn the calories and have fun.What can I do? I love hiphop music and I wanna dance to its beat ;-)
****
Last Wednesday, Mars gave her second speech about our Singapore trip at Toastmasters. Gen and I were there to support her. Daniel Teh (I hope you remember him from my previous post) was there also as a guest. That night was full of booboos - first was when Gen and I tried to "run away" from Daniel as we're trying to avoid him calling us to the meeting early so that we won't speak up at the table topics. But unfortunately, we did. Another blooper that happened to me was that Mars took the pictures that she used for her speech from my website. If you're in that room with 2 managers from my project and the pictures that we took from the Phantom and Bintan were shown on the projector, you'll know how embarassed I felt at that night.
****
Last Friday night, my former boss from Accenture, Rhom, met us at KLCC. He was here in Malaysia for a week to attend a training for senior managers. It was a bit awkward at first knowing that my previous company is aggressively hiring its former employees. Rhom met with me, Leo, Rey, Gen, Issa and Lawrence. He was with Emerson, another manager from Accenture, when he met us. We ate dinner at Bongsen, a Vietnamese restaurant and after that, we took some pictures at the Petronas. It was cool to meet him that night - it just shows that we can still maintain that kind of relationship even though we're not connected with Accenture. Just to clarify, it was just a casual meeting ;-) Thanks Bossing for your time =D
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In connection with my previous post, I have confirmed from Rhom that most of our old team mates are either engaged or getting married this year - Denise & Eric, Cindy & Bong, Mylin & Kirk, Marilyn & Jeremy, Candy & Lance.. Congratulations to all of you and I wish you all the best as you prepare for your new phase in your life. =)
**** That same night, Rey, Gen and I (gimik ng mga kapre ahahaha!!) watched the third installement of Spiderman at KLCC. Well, most people does not like this movie compared to the first two installments as they find it too cheesy. As what Gen would describe it - "Disney'ng disney!" - all's well that ends well. Anyway, I don't care, it was sort of a double treat for me - Tobey Maguire and Topher Grace. Although they may not be the typical heartthrobs, but they are the reasons why I watched that movie.
****
Recently, I've been addicted with the peyups website. Even though the website is not updated frequently, I love reading most of its old articles. Good thing that Gen has been very patient with me, entertaining a lot of questions that I learned from its articles. Thanks for bearing with me Gen =P **** Our office has a lot of events promoting charity work. One of them is the upcoming Fund Run this coming Saturday, May 19. My agency sponsored all of its employees working with Scope (SCB) and all of us were asked to run 5 km for less than an hour. If we can't make it in an hour, "rescuers" will come to our aid.. I maybe working out in the gym but running is not my thing. Let's see if I'll become one of those who will be rescued..
****
This Saturday, I'll be watching the London production of My Fair Lady at KLCC. This will be the second time that I'll be watching a musical this year and I'm so excited about it =) That's the good thing on being on this part of Asia - a lot of musicals from West End are shown! That's it for now. Ciao! |
| posted by subhuman @ 11:28 PM |
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| Sunday, May 13, 2007 |
| Happy Mother's day! |
As an OFW here in Malaysia, it exposed me to things that made me appreciate the things that my mother does to me (and to others as well)..
--> I do all my household chores - from cleaning my room, doing the laundry, ironing my clothes, everything! Since I got to experience doing all of these things, I learned to appreciate what our mother do to us (hello! sarili ko pa lang, hirap na ako, yung sa iba pa kaya?).
--> Being on night support is a nightmare to me. Imagine, giving up the pleasures that things that I usually do at night (like staying up late to blog or watch TV - akala nyo na kung ano no? =P) and to get paranoid waiting for a damn phone call.. and when i get paged, imagine my horror and anxiety while resolving an issue! And if get lucky, I would stay awake all night to work for an issue and go to the office on the next day. Because of this, I thought, if being on support for a week is difficult for me, what about the mothers out there who have to be "on support" for their babies and be sensitive when they cry? Then, after catering to their children at night, they need to go to work to provide for the family. --> As an OFW, I've met a lot of mothers who have no choice but to be away from their children to provide a better future for them. I have witnessed how they've tried to cope when they miss their children (parang Anak ba ito? hehehe..)... and how they hide their loneliness if they are away from home.. I know that this is not the melodramatic posts but the bottom line here is that I really appreciate what my mother is doing to me and that I love her for that. So to all the mothers out there, I wish you all a belated happy mother's day =)
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| posted by subhuman @ 12:58 AM |
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| Wednesday, May 09, 2007 |
| Something that made my day today! |
There are times when I search my name over the Internet and see if what's with my namesake. This is one of those days. I googled my name and to my delight, here is what I found:
a day in Ghildon's life...
Hazel Ortiz, Tina Pazzibugan and Anai Villanueva – for the continuous friendship that never been thwarted by distance nor time zone. ...ghildon.blogspot.com/ - 91k - Cached - Similar pages
If you click on the above link, it came from Gilbert's blog entry that he wrote during his birthday where he thanked all his friends. This really made my day today =)
I'm so touched with your entry lolo (kahit palagi mo akong inaaway hahaha). And I also thank you for the friendship that we have. Kailan ba ang next chat session natin? =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 11:37 PM |
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| Tuesday, May 08, 2007 |
| On love, part one.. |
A friend just told me that she has a boyfriend for the first time. He seems to be the perfect guy - he manages his own business, has a PhD in History, intellectually stimulating, very mature compared to the guys she had met - he doesn't beat around the bush. But there's only one problem though, he's married and is in the process of annulment.
My friend and I have the same outlook when it comes to relationships, which is the probably the reason why we're still unattached at our age. We let reasons dictate our actions. In our circle of friends, we usually have the same stand with regards to love. She mentioned that it was not easy for her to decide if she should go for that guy. She suppressed her emotions and tried to do the most logical thing - to stop seeing him until the annulment is granted (which is hello, would take a long time to process in the Philippines).
But she know that she can't afford to lose him. She likes him so much. On what's supposed to be their last date, he gave his piece which convinced her to give him a nod. And now their a couple, to the disappointment of her conservative mother and shock of her friends.
This situation made me think that it is possible that no matter how rational I am right now, it could happen to me as well - to defy reason for the sake of emotions.
I'm happy that she finally met the man who made her take the huge leap. I guess that what's everybody is saying about love - take a risk =) i just wish that the gamble is all worth it. Good luck my friend =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 11:26 PM |
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| Monday, May 07, 2007 |
| In memoriam... |
When I heard the news that Auntie Luding (my mother's youngest sister) passed away, I didn't cry - I was shocked because I didn't expect that it would happen. Honestly, I was quite bothered with this kind of reaction. Have I become cold-hearted and detached now that I won't cry with the loss of a loved one? Maybe it was due to the fact that I'm a thousand miles away and I won't feel their grief.
We are a tight-knit family on my mother's side. We used to go to Cagayan during summer to celebrate the annual fiesta but that was when my grandparents were still alive. Every New Year, we have a reunion where each year, there's a different host among my mother's siblings. Everyone is expected to be present in that family affair. However, we did something different this year (or should I say last year) - we had our reunion last Christmas at Cagayan where Aunt Emie (my mother's eldest sister) played as the host. Usually, the reunion is celebrated in Manila but since my Manila-based relatives rarely go home in Cagayan, everyone thought it was a good opportunity to go there.
That was the last time when I saw Aunt Luding. Aunt Luding is the most caring among her siblings. We really feel her warmth and hospitality when we visit her home in Tuguegarao. Also, she never fails to give us longganisa (whom she sent to my parents when they went here in Malaysia), peanut candy or carabao milk candy everytime we go home for our pasalubong. She was like a mother to all of us. What I won't forget during our reunion was that she hugged me so tight (see the above picture) as she greeted me a Merry Christmas (and mentioned that I lost some weight hihihi). I took a picture while her arms was wrapped around me =P
If there's one thing that I'll always remember about her, its the fact that she's a great mom. She struggled a lot, just to make the ends meet and to ensure that her children, Mark and Suzette, will get a better future. Both of them are studying Nursing but Mark recently graduated and passed the board exams. She's the type of mother who will give everything to her children, to the point that she ignored her own health. She was earlier diagnosed with a heart problem.
On April 13, while sweeping her own yard, she collapsed and was brought to the hospital. She was placed in the ICU that night and became comatose on Saturday morning. That afternoon at 4 PM, she passed away.
The way I see it, she wants to fight so that she can witness her children as they reach for their dreams. But given her comatose state, she knew that she might become a burden and she does not want that. She knows that her children are on good hands with her siblings and that we will do our best to support them. This is why she decided to move on. Most of my relatives are sad because she won't be able to see when her children achieves their dreams, which is the most rewarding experience that any parent could have. She won't be there to receive her children's treat when they receive their first salary, when they will be treated for a vacation, and so on.
On Tuesday night, I spoke to Mark (who's like a younger brother to me due to our 3-year gap) and Suzette. I asked how their family is coping with this. Mark said that Uncle Dante (her husband) would just sit with a blank stare. They were all shocked - Mark just went to another hospital to submit his mother's blood for an exam, only to find out that she passed away when he got back. Suzette, who's very dependent on her mother, was also is shocked and it hasn't sunk in that she died. What's more painful is that she celebrated her 19th birthday that day. I didn't realize that a tear fell on my cheek as I spoke to my cousins, encouraging them to be strong, while I can't imagine myself in their situation.
Then it hit me. I didn't cry when I heard about Aunt Luding's demise because I know that she's in a good place right now - away from suffering and hardships. I felt my cousins' grief and the pain of losing a mother which is what brought me to tears. I realized that I was not numb after all. |
| posted by subhuman @ 11:27 PM |
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| Sunday, May 06, 2007 |
| Langkawi Adventure |
Note: I apologize for this uber late post.. anyway, better late than never right? I'll try my best to recall what happened here. Please bear with me..
I am not the type of person who loves the beach because I don't like to swim (lahing pusa ako). I only like the beach because I love to take its photographs, especially during sunset. In fact, most of my favorite pictures that I took have the beach as my subject. But if given a choice between going to the beach or exploring another city for a vacation, I would choose exploring a (busy) city life.
This is the reason why it was a big question for some people that I availed a 3D/2N package in Langkawi during the MATTA fair last March. I really wanted to bring my parents in a famous place here in Malaysia which is away from Kuala Lumpur and my original plan was to bring them to Penang. This is the reason why I went to the MATTA fair with Minnie and Gen. What we found is a 3D/2N hotel accommodation in Langkawi, which is what Malaysia has been promoting as somewhat similar to Boracay in the Philippines. I decided to avail it right away because I thought it was a good deal. The package that I availed was good for 4 people, so Minnie decided to tag along with us.
The trip to Langkawi via plane takes almost an hour. Meanwhile, the road trip from KL to Langkawi is from 8-9 hours which includes a 7-hour bus trip and an hour-long ferry ride (whew!). Since we're on a stingy mode, we opted to go for the long trip.
On the April 13, my family and Minnie took the midnight trip from Pudu Raya bus station going to Kuala Perlis. The bus that we boarded was a Konsortium double-decker bus, which all of us found to be comfortable because we can stretch our legs. It was shakey at first because we were seated at the back of the bus, but eventually, we all fell asleep. We all slept soundly that we didn't notice that all the passengers took off the bus. We just woke up and found out that we're the only passengers inside the bus. So we hurriedly took off the bus.. and the bus left the terminal. We have no idea how long had the driver waited for us to wake up (but I think the driver should have bothered to wake us up ryt?). It was already 7 AM when we landed in Kuala Perlis. After that, we booked for a ferry that would take us to Langkawi Island. We were able to book to the ferry that departed at 7:30 AM.
The ferry that we took on our way to Langkawi is kinda gross - there were a lot of roaches (eew!). Another that Minnie and I noticed is that we crossed the Thailand border because our mobile phones were already in roaming mode (panalo di ba? nag-cross country na kami bwahahaha!!). Langkawi Island is so close to the Thailand border. In fact, there are some ferries that goes to Satun, Thailand from Langkawi. This is a good opportunity for some tourists to have a Thailand stamp in their passports =)
We arrived Langkawi at 8:30 AM. It was too early for us to check-in the hotel so we stayed in the port area in Langkawi. Good thing, there's a Starbucks where we can hang out. The thing about Langkawi is that its tax-free so duty-free shops are very common. All the prices are cheaper - its really tempting to shop! So Minnie and I went around the port area to do some "window shopping" and I ended up buying 2 shirts while my parents waited for us at Starbucks. When its their turn to go around, Papa bought 6 cans of Carlsberg (na-miss nya ito hehehehe).Anyway, at 11 PM, we ate lunch at the nearest KFC then we took a cab going to Langkasuka Hotel, which is 20 minutes away from the jetty and is very near the airport. In Langkawi, most of the taxis are paid on a contract basis and most of the cab drivers would take advantage of this. This is also one of the reasons why the car rental is a common thing in Langkawi. Unfortunately, none of us has a driving license so we can't rent our own car. Anyway, the taxi driver (Uncle Aminuddin) who brought us to the hotel seems nice so we asked him if he could take us around Langkawi.
We arrived at Langkasuka Resort (at the Cenang beach area) at around 1 PM. The room was big for 4 people - it has 2 queen size beds and has a veranda. The comfort room is big as well. But the thing with our room was that - the disinfectant really stinks and the room is not that clean. The toilet bowl has even stains in it and the bed has some insects crawling (eww!). Anyway, I don't think this experience deserve more space in this blog so enough about that hehehe..
While my parents snoozed, Minnie and I went around the resort and the beach. Of course, picture taking is included. I had fun taking pictures because Minnie is a willing subject hahaha and in fairness, she's happy with the pictures that I took (*wink wink). Minnie and I also inquired on the tour packages in Langkawi and we planned on availing the Island Hopping tour on Sunday morning and the Langkawi tour (by hiring the Uncle Aminuddin's cab) in the afternoon. While we explore a resort, we saw a beautiful black butterfly. I am not the type of person who believes in those type of things so I was not bothered when I saw that butterfly.
At 4 PM, we went to the grocery to buy some necessities during our stay in Langkawi. While we're in the store, I received a text message from Uncle Llano (my mom's brother) to call him back. I did and spoke to Aunt Genny. She informed me that Aunt Luding passed away at 4 PM. She suddenly collapsed while sweeping the floor and was brought to the ICU on Friday afternoon. She was comatosed on Saturday morning. Aunt Emie (my mom's eldest sister) was beside her when she died. When I received the news, my mother saw my reaction so she knew that there's a bad news. I didn't tell her right away. But since she knew something's wrong, I decided to tell her before we took a cab that brought us to Langkasuka. The whole 20 minute ride was silent. Before we hopped out of the cab, Minnie and I smelled a floral scent but there's no perfume no air freshener inside the cab. According to Minnie, her mother said that if someone passed away, there are 2 scents that can be smelled - if its a scent of a candle, that person has an unfinished business. If its a floral scent, that means that he person who died is happy. My mother was happy when she found out about this, knowing that Aunt Luding is happy.
After a looong talk, we decided to go back to KL on Sunday morning. I also spoke to the manager of the tour agency (Kembangan Holidays) where we got our package and asked if we could refund the rest of the amount that I paid him since we're planning to leave on Sunday morning. He didn't get back on us which was disappointing. Also, there's no available trip going back to KL on that day so we decided to maximize our stay in Langkawi.
Needless to say, we didn't go to the Island hopping tour as we're not in mood for that. So we spent the Sunday morning swimming. Oh wait, let me correct that =P Minnie and my mother swam while I took the pictures (as always) and my dad watched TV (hindi rin sya beach person katulad ko! harharhar)
 On Sunday afternoon, Uncle Aminuddin (the cab driver) picked us from the hotel and picked us from the hotel for our city tour. We asked him to bring us to the Langkawi cable car. Man! The cable car is not for the faint hearted.. The cable car is mounted 45 degrees from the top (very steep indeed!). and the highest point is 710 m above the sea-level. My father is scared of heights so he opted not to join us. The 3 of us went for a ride. We were all scared from the view from top especially while its going up because we can feel that we're being pulled up - we're really scared. Once we arrived at the top, the view is magnificent. We got a glimpse of the Datai Bay beach, considered to be the best beach in the island and home of the most exclusive resorts in Langkawi. Notice that the small buildings in the picture below is actually our starting point (kakalula no?)
Our next stop is the Black Sand beach. The sand is black due to the tin and mineral ore deposits which were washed up on the shore.
Our last beach stop is the Tanjung Rhu beach, considered to be one of the best beaches in the Island. We took a few pictures again and shopped in the nearby bazaars.
 To complete our Langkawi trip, we shopped once again for our pasalubongs at the duty free stores. I shopped for a lot of chocolates to be given by my parents to my friends in the Philippines. Uncle Aminuddin has been such a good driver to us that we asked to pick us up from the hotel going back to the Jetty on the next day.
On our last night, Minnie and I decided to take a quick dip at the beach (para hindi naman masayang ang ipinunta ko sa Langkawi maliban sa picture-taking). We're the only people at the sea so we didn't swim that long. We stayed at the beach and talked how we found our stay in Langkawi. Minnie has been very understanding for the entire trip despite our family crisis and she deserves credit for that. I just hope she enjoyed her vacation with us =)
On Monday morning, Uncle Aminuddin took us to the Jetty at 9:00 AM. We took the 10:00 AM ferry from the Jetty to Kuala Perlis and the 12:00 bus going back to KL. The bus trip took us 8.5 hours (whew!). Good thing that my parents are used on long travel because they would usually take a 10-hour trip to Cagayan from Manila.
Despite of what happened, I enjoyed my vacation with them. I just hope that my parents did as well, and so is Minnie. I would recommend Langkawi for someone who's looking for a tranquil and laid back vacation. If someone is looking for parties at the beach, then this is not the place. If I would be asked how beautiful is this island, well, I'll just show you the pictures that I took =)
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| posted by subhuman @ 12:35 AM |
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| Friday, May 04, 2007 |
| Uniquely Singapore- Prologue |
This is my third time to visit Singapore. Unlike in Taman Negara where we've been planning for it for 2 months, we just planned this trip for a month! Originally, our plan was to watch the Phantom of the Opera in Singapore. There were 5 of us who bought the tickets for the April 28 Matinee show - Mars, Rye, Nina, Issa and I. We had good seats as we were seated 10 rows away from the stage! However, a few weeks before Nina and Issa backed out because they made other plans. So Nina had to sold 2 tickets.
Just in time, April 26 and May 2 were declared as a public holiday in Malaysia which means that it is going to be a long weekend (hooray!). Mars and I filed a vacation on April 30 to maximize our trip in Singapore. So Rey also decided to go come along with us as well. Once again, another episode of misadventure! Hehehe..
Mars booked 4 tickets at the upper deck (bunk bed) going to Singapore via the train but the guys thought that they won't be comfortable with the bunk bed so they opted for the bus instead. Our train departed at 10 PM and is expected to arrive at 8:20 AM at Woodlands terminal - that is a 10-hour journey, very loong indeed compared to the typical 5-hour bus ride.
Rye was back once again in Malaysia. He just got back from Bangkok and we're teasing him that he'll be doing his Southeast Asian tour - Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (whew!). He arrived on April 27 and was scehduled to go back on May 2 via Air Asia.
I was lucky because I completed my task earlier that day, just in time for me to meet with Rye at the Asia Jaya station. Even though I talk to him always in email and chat, it's still fun to chat with him personally, face to face. We went to section 14 to do his last minute shopping for our Singapore trip and had dinner at Secret Recipe. At almost 9:40 PM, we went to KL Sentral where we seperated as I headed to the train bound for Singapore with 13 of my officemates including Minnie and Gen while Rye went to Masjid Jamek where he's supposed to meet Rey.
 We arrived at the platform 3 minutes before the train departed. So close right! Right after I placed my stuff on the bunk bed, the train left immediately. Mars and I were seperated from the rest of the Scope people. At 5'7, I can still lie with my leg stretched on the bunk bed but there is no other place where I can put my stuff in the train aside from my bed. So I ended up sleeping with my legs curled or my feet on top of my bag (which caused it to become numb huhu). Inspite of my unfortable position, I still got a good sleep on my way to Singapore.
At 8:00 AM, we arrived at Woodlands in Singapore for Immigration Inspection. Gen and the rest of the Scope people took off at this station while Mars and I went back to the train because its final destination, Tanjung Pagar, is where we're supposed to meet our friends. I think going back to the train was a big mistake because it took us 1.5 hour to get there - the train was very slow. We reached Tanjong Pagar at 9:45 AM! Imagine, staying in the train for 12 hours! Whew!
At 11:30 AM, I reached Ate Jing's place at Marine Parade Road. My nieces were very excited that they've been looking for me a few days before I arrived. Ate Jing met me in front of their building. Wee! My nieces, who just woke up, greeted me with a big smile as I played with them once again =P
And the misadventure begins... |
| posted by subhuman @ 1:53 AM |
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| Singapore Day 1 |
The thing about watching musicals in a venue like Esplanade is that the audiences were expected to dress up. I remember the first time that I watched the Chicago musical in Broadway where I was dressed up casually while the others were wearing from smart casual to formal attire (good thing it was a matinee show!).
I'm not the type of person who wears a dress most of the time so I opted to wear a long dress that I wore in my friend's debut a few years back as I don't want to spend money on that. I brought 2 dresses during that time - the other one is a black dress that I bought in Langkawi a few weeks earlier. After asking my housemates which one is better for the occasion, I wore the long dress instead.
My nieces Gela, Sistine and Issa were having fun as I dress up - they wore my clothes, my accessories and even my sandals! They were also amazed with my makeup. Aba, mas kikay pa sa kanilang tita! Hahaha!! I left Marine Parade at 1:25 PM and the show would start at 2:00 PM. I was running late.
At 1:45 PM, I met Mars and some of her friends at the Esplanade. Rye had not arrived yet so we headed to the theater. Our seats were really good! =) The musical started at 2 PM sharp. Too bad, Rye came in late but he was able to watch the play from the television outside the theater. Overall, the musical was okay but I'm not really ecstatic about it. More about the Phantom in a seperate entry (feeling critic ako nito hahaha!).
After the play, we took some pictures outside the theater as a remembrance of our affair with the Phantom of the Opera. Funny because we didn't realize that we took some photos in a restricted area! Of course, being the snapshot addicts as we are, we did some funny poses - to the horror of some of the audiences who were also taking pictures at that time.
After our pictorial, Mars met her friends while Rye and I met with Rey at the Esplanade. In a span of 2.5 hours, he was able to take pictures around the City Hall area. We took a cab going to Bugis Backpackers Hotel, where the 2 of them were staying. Of course, we changed our wardrobes and rested for a while. At around 8 PM, we went to Suntec Convention Center to check out the Karaoke bar there but we found it to be expensive. As we were all hungry (and weak) at that time, we decided to eat in a Thai restaurant - Tuktuk where we had Thai Iced Tea (my favorite), Chicken Pandan, Bean sprouts and Prawn cake. It's been a long time since I ate Thai food. Yummy! =P
After dinner, we went outside Esplanade and took some pictures (syempre picture taking pa rin hahaha!). Our backdrop includes the Fullerton Hotel and the Merlion statue as well. We're supposed to go to Clark Quay that night but we don't have enough energy for that so we decided to hang out at Starbucks near the Merlion statue - just like our typical Saturday night - but this time, there's no webcam nor a computer in front of us. O di ba? Hantaray kc sa Singapore pa kami tumatambay hahaha.. Of course, the kulitan was still there but this time we talked about serious stuff as well. We talked until 1 AM.  |
| posted by subhuman @ 12:47 AM |
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| Thursday, May 03, 2007 |
| Singapore trip - Day 2 |
On our second day of our Singapore tour, this was labelled as our QT day - a time for us to meet our friends. I decided to spend this time with my nieces.
I woke up at 9 AM at the Bugis Backpackers hostel. A few hours before that, I woke up because it was so cold. Being the cowgirl that I am, good thing that I brought a pair of socks and I used the dress that I wore on the previous day as a blanket. (O di ba? Ang bibo ko? Hindi ko na lang pinatay ang aircon hahaha!!). When I left, I realized that I left the bus book that Hazel gave me a few years back when I visited Singapore. So I texted Kuya Abe for directions on how to go to his unit. As I waited for his text message, Rey, Rye and I ate breakfast at the nearby McDonalds.
At 11:30 AM, I still haven't receive a reply yet so I went home with the directions that I remember - riding bus 36 from the Suntec Convention Center. That means that I had to take a train from Bugis to City Hall (which is just a station away) and to walk from City Hall to Suntec (which is quite far). Not wanting to get lost again, I bought a bus book once again at the first MPH bookstore that I saw. While waiting for bus 36 in Suntec going to Marine Parade, I learned that I can take the bus 48 from the Rochor Road (where the Bugis Backpackers hotel is situated) going to Marine Parade. Grr!
At around 12:30 noon, I arrived at Marine Parade and Ate Jing prepared a sumptuous lunch - munggo, squid and pork ribs. After that, I took a bath and watched ASAP in the Filipino Channel with my Gela, Sistine and Issa (my nieces who are 8, 5 and 2 years old respectively). I fell asleep at around 2:30 PM and woke up at 5:00 PM. We know that we can't make it at the evening mass that night to we decided to go to Vivo City - the most recent mall that opened in Harborfront.
Vivo City is considered to be the biggest mall. It reminded me of Rockwell Powerplant Mall in Manila. Anyway, we had dinner at the kopitiam where I ate Japanese food and then we strolled the mall. I found a white watch at Esprit that I really like but since I need to be stingy, I didn't buy it. Anyway, there was a time when I need to take care of Issa all by myself. When she started looking for her mom, I brought out my camera to take her pictures. I found her amusing because I don't need to teach her how to pose - she knows how to project! Just take a look at the pictures to see what I mean.
The mall closed at 10 PM and I bought 3 slices of Secret Recipe cakes for us to eat that night. It may seem like a very laid back day for me compared to the usual trips that I had but spending time with my nieces is enough to become a memorable day for me. =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 1:35 AM |
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| Day 3 - Bintan Trip |
 Since Indonesia is just a ferry away and we wanted to obtain an Indonesian stamp, we included it in our itinerary. I've been to Indonesia 2 years ago with my family and Kuya Abe. We went to Batam, Indonesia and there's nothing to see there. So we opted to go to Bintan, which is famous for its beaches. It is a getaway for most of the Singaporeans because of its proximity and the beaches are nice, compared to Sentosa.
A few days before our trip there, we made an attempt to do an advance booking online for a day trip package at the Mana Mana Beach Club for 98 SGD each person. But the agent said that it was alrady full due to the holiday season. Anyway, we still persevered and decided to go for it anyway, hoping that we can still get a good deal when we get there.
Anyway, Mars, Rey, Rye and I agreed to meet at the Harborfront Center on April 30 at 9 AM. As usual, I was late for 30 minutes but Mars was worst because she arrived at 10 AM. Of course, Rey and Rye got annoyed with us being late hehehe. When we went to the Cruise Center in Harborfront Center, we found out that the ferries departing in that area goes to Batam only. All ferries bound for Bintan are found in Tanah Merah station, which is found on the other side of Singapore. So we all hurried up in order for us to catch the next train not to waste our time. (This was an opportunity for us to walk as fast as the Singaporeans do).
We arrived at the Tanah Merah station at 11:10 AM. The next trip available is a 2 PM so we had to wait for more than 2 hours before we board the ferry. The ferry round trip ticket costs around SGD 54.20. As usual, we entertained ourselves by taking lots of pictures and eating at the Kopitiam in the ferry, bwahahahaha! ;)
We boarded the ferry at 1:40 PM. The ferry ride took us almost an hour to get there. Bintan (Indonesian) time was an hour delayed compared to Singapore, so we arrived at around 2 PM there. Once we arrived, we booked our return trips on that same day (we took the last trip which leaves at 8:15 PM). At the Bintan ferry terminal, we looked for a good deal and found a taxi that would take us to Mana mana resort. The round trip cab service for the 4 of us costs 26 SGD.
We arrived at the Mana Mana beach club at around 3 PM. We paid 10 SGD so that we can use their facilities - shower room, changing rooms and use of towels. It was a fun-filled 4 hours as we spent it just laughing, picture taking, swimming and playing games (Rye, sana hindi sumakit ang likod mo nang dahil sa akin). We were the only ones who were noisy and I think the other tourists who were staying there found us to be amusing (what can we do? Filipinos loves to have fun right? So we're loud) doing all those jump shots. Just look at the pictures posted and you'll see what I mean ;-) The sand is not a white sand but it is very fine. The beach is not crowded and is very tranquil (we're the only noisy people there). But it's not as tranquil compared to Langkawi where there are only 2-3 people swimming in the beach.
 We found the food to be very expensive in the resort. Imagine, a 500 ml bottle of mineral water costs 3 SGD (almost 100 pesos!). Since we're all in a thrifty mode, we didn't eat there and decided to eat in Singapore instead. We just ate what we got - choco chips, chocolates, choco mallows and some nuts.We left Bintan at around 8:15 PM. All of us were tired from our misadventures. Unfortunately, Mars left her sandals in the ferry. By the way, notice that she wore a dress on her way back because she had a date (yihee!). We arrived in Singapore at around 11 PM. Mars went ahead with her date (*wink wink) while the rest of us ate dinner at McDonalds in Bedok station.It was already late when I got home so I took a cab. When I arrived at Marine Parade where Kuya Abe lives, Issa (my youngest niece) was still in a playful mode. I was very tired that night so I was able to fall asleep even though Issa was jumping and playing on the bed where I'm lying. Very exhausting but I had so much fun! =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 12:11 AM |
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| Wednesday, May 02, 2007 |
| Singapore trip - Day 4 |
Note: I'll be writing from the most recent experience that I had since it would be easy for me to complete this. I know there's a lot of entries that I need to write..
On our last leg of our Singapore tour, we decided to go to Sentosa. That morning, Ate Jing (my cousin) and I had chatted that morning, talking about our experiences in Singapore - her life in Singapore as a mother, the misadventures that I had on that trip and updates with our family. I rarely had that kind of conversation with her for such a long time and I missed that. Ate Jing was like an elder sister to me - she witnessed how I grew up and its through her that I felt like on what its like to have a sister. Anyway, she's my parents' adopted daughter as well. We helped her when she was pregnant with her first child, Gela while her husband, Kuya Abe is working abroad. Its one of the reasons why I opted to stay in their house - to bond with them once again hehehe. And its a good thing =) Thanks Kuya Abe and Ate Jing for accommodating me during my stay in Singapore! =)
Anyway, I left their house at 9:30 AM and met with Rey and Rye in Bugis Village. I left my stuff in their hostel and we looked for good bargains for souvenirs. At 11 AM, we went to Harborfront for our Sentosa trip. Mars was supposed to join us for that trip but she was "tired" from her date (*wink wink) from the previous night so there were only the 3 of us who went there. We arrived at Sentosa at 11 AM and took the cable car on our way there. Ryan was afraid of heights but underneath the river is the sea so he's not that afraid (he's a swimmer). Our plan that day was to take some pictures in Sentosa, go to Underwater World and meet some of our friends there.
When we arrived, we walked around Imbiah lookout, starting at the Merlion statue and took some pictures there. We walked our way to Siloso beach; since it's a holiday (Labor Day), the beach was full of people playing volleyball. We spent too much time walking and envious of the people who were playing volleyball. We only realized that we're hungry when Janjan texted me where we're going to meet for lunch. So when we saw the delifrance restaurant near the Rasa Sentosa Hotel, we ate right away and told Hazel and company to meet us there. It was nice to see them once again - Hazel, Janjan, Khris, Mavic (my former housemate) and Joyce. We spent a few minutes as Sentosa and took some picture at the Siloso beach. Thanks for going all the way to Sentosa guys, really appreciate it =)
After a few minutes of chatting, we went to the Underwater World which is just nearby. It was my second time to go there. Rey, who had been to Aquaria in Malaysia, said that Aquaria is better than Underwater World. We spent almost an hour looking at the marine life and decided to leave Sentosa so that we'll catch our bus going back to Malaysia.
A funny thing happened on our way back to the cable car station - from the underwater world, we're supposed to take off at the Merlion park which is just a station away from where we came from. But we reached the other end of the red line bus so we had to take off and wait for the long queue for the next bus. Rey went ahead with the bus (madaming singit) and Ryan and I did not make it on that bus. Once again, we reached the underwater world station and that's when we realized that we should take off at the merlion statue to reach the cable car station. Talk about our misadventures! Hahaha..
It was 5:30 PM when we arrived at the Bugis Village to take our stuff from the hostel. We did our last minute shopping and retouch in a span of 30 minutes. We took a cab from Bugis Village and made it for our 6:30 PM trip going back to KL in Harborfront Center.
Our journey back to KL was a fast one. We left at around 7 PM and arrived at Menara Axis (near my office) at 11:10 PM. We all headed to my unit and invited Migs and Tza, Ryan's best friend who's also working here. We spent the night chatting until 4:00 AM. It was a tiring but fun-filled vacation for all of us. I had so much fun and can't wait for our next trip (kung san man yun ahaha).. Sa uulitin! =)
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| posted by subhuman @ 4:32 PM |
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| Red Box showdown..Again! |
 There are lots of things that I wanted to do with my parents. These are the things that I've been planning while I'm still working in Manila. I wanted to bring them to a theme park, which was fulfulled by going to Genting (an upgrade from the Enchanted Kingdom which I've been "planning" years ago hahaha). Another thing that I wanted to do is to bring them to a Karaoke Bar. Fortunately, Gen expressed that she wanted to have a "break" and sing her heart out (bakit kaya? I will survive ang drama mo siguro hahaha), so I invited once again the rest of the barkada - Minnie, Rey and Agri for our Karaoke session. Agri wanted to try Red Box here in Malaysia so we decided there. So I tagged along my parents since my father loves to sing (suki ng videoke yun ahahaha!!). For Easter Sunday, we're planning to celebrate it with a bang - videoke! I booked a room at Red Box Low Yat for 7 people beginning at 1 PM.
I brought my parents to St. John's Cathedral to hear the Easter Sunday Mass. Rey also attended the same mass and met us since we're going to the videoke. But before we headed to Low Yat, we bought tickets for our Langkawi trip in Pudu Raya bus station which is very near the Cathedral. After that, we went to Low Yat and had ate Chinese food in Good Happiness restaurant. We were a bit worried because we might lose our reservation as most of us arrived late.
Minnie and Gen arrived at Red Box a few minutes earlier. It took us sometime to finally get it started because there's a lot of clarifications that we need to do. I think the receptionist must have been annoyed but hey, its part of her job right? The fares are higher compared to Green box and we don't think that we got a good deal compared to our Green Box experience - the food is not good and the drinks is not bottomless. The interior is quite old fashioned and the song selections are not good either. But anyway, we still managed to enjoy ourselves (kami pa! as long as may camera, masaya na kami! =P).
Of course, my father is quite shy (alam kong gusto nyo nang bumirit hehe) but still he managed to sing a few songs. Of course, My Way is part of it, hehehe. Anyway, in exchange for the not-so-good deals that we had, our room was vacant after our so-called shift. So we ended up singing for 7.5 hours! Woohoo! Of course, the night won't be complete without Agri singing any Korean songs. She sang a few songs from Rain. My parents were both amused with her antics. We sang One Love Blue as the finale of our songfest.
After that, we ate at the Hawker nearby and headed home. It was a fun night for me. I hope everyone did as well =)
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| posted by subhuman @ 1:19 PM |
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| About Me |
passionate about music; an aspiring teacher; a frustrated mathematician; an explorer |
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