Manila, Manila...

When I first came here in SG, there was no plan of visiting Manila 'til March of next year. I am not allowed to go home in December since most of my teammates had already filed their leaves even before I got hired. It's the sad truth. I will be spending Christmas away from my family.... first time it is. So I made the most out of my very short stay in Manila last week :) But it was still bitin.. :(

Oct 23:
I left an hour early in the office to finalize my stuff. I couldn't describe how I felt that time. Excited, nervous, happy, sad... haaayyy... Good thing I had already prepared my things few days earlier or else I might just missed some important stuffs. My mind was so occupied with a lot of things. I did not even feel hungry to think that my last food intake was about 7 hours ago. I left my place at 9:30 and reached the airport 15 minutes later. I was too early for my schedule in anticipation of whatever "trouble" that this trip would get me into. With the horrible stories I have heard about CebuPacific, I'd rather not want to take a risk. Just like what my friend Mitch had told me, "Mabuti na yung maaga ka, just in case na magka-aberya man, mahaba ang time mong makipag-away". Hehehehe.... Good thing, the check-in process was smooth, did not encounter any trouble and my baggage weighted just below their limit :)

Though I wasn't starving, I forced myself to eat. 3-hour flight is too long for me. I had Pasta with Salmon and an Iced Tea. I did not finish my dinner, though. The food could no longer pass thru my throat and my stomach could no longer accept it. Excited? Yeah.. I guess so.

I went around the Budget Terminal and got myself busy. Even surfed the net for 30 minutes while waiting for my 12:40 am flight. I Checked out some items in a perfume shop and promised myself to buy a bottle when I get back :)

Boarded the plane 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time. While I was making myself comfortable on my sit, a security approached me and asked for my passport and boarding pass. He read my name and dictated it to the one he was talking to on his radio. I did not bother to ask anything. I was too busy thinking a lot of things.

The plane departed on time.

Oct 24:
My Nanay's 60th birthday celebration at Max's Restaurant

After the party, nanay, tatay and I went to SM North for my eye check-up. I felt that I needed to upgrade my glasses and sadly, I was right :( While waiting for my new pair, I shopped for clothes and pants and my parents decided to go home. After an hour, I claimed my new eyeglasses then went straight to Lay Bare for some waxing. Got home at around 7pm, had dinner and slept.

Oct 25:
Because I requested for a kare-kare today, instead of having lunch outside (like we usually do when we go malling), we stayed home, savor the food that I missed so much plus 2 ripe mangoes for dessert hehehehe.... Few hours after, nanay and I were already in Trinoma, shopping for my clothes and some pabilin of my officemates. And of course, the day wouldn't be complete without Jollibee :D Had spaghetti, burger and even bought Jollibee doll which was supposed to be for my nephew but it ended here in my room bwehehehe.... Haayyy.... what a tiring but fulfilling day.

Oct 26:
Sunday, after attending a mass with nanay our destination is Megamall with tatay. Just before we stroll at the mall, my ATM card was captured in one of the machines after my 3rd attempt to withdraw (the first 2 were successful, though). I reported it to the banks concerned and I just decided to withdraw the remaining amount and transfer it to my tatay's account the next day. I couldn't wait a week to have my card returned and I didn't want this unfortunate incident to ruin my day. Good thing nothing happened bad to my savings :). So, we shopped a little, had lunch at Bangus restaurant and I had a hair treatment, manicure and pedicure at David's. While I was having a good time, my parents had their own share of "date" hehehe...

Oct 27:
I went to Glorietta alone to buy ensaymada for pasalubong to my friends and teammates. Around lunchtime, I met a friend and had lunch at SM Mall of Asia.

Oct 28:
Went back to SG :( I still found myself crying while waiting for my plane at the boarding area. Reasons: My next return to the Philippines is in March next year, won't be spending Christmas with my family; Won't be seeing my friends for a long while. Actually, I never got to see them during this short stay; Losing something (or is it someone?) that I thought would be mine eventually, but destiny has its own surprises.

It was the first time that I cried in a public place. I didn't mind of the people around me, all I wanted was to cry, and it somehow helped me but wasn't enough to ease the pain.

Nanay's 60th Birthday

October 24

In the middle of the flight... thousands of feet above the ground, my stomach was making noise. I'm hungry.. :( I did not bring any food or water. I wanted to buy from the staff but I could not see any of them. I just forced myself to sleep and waited till I get home :( Tatay, Nanay and Kuya were there to pick me up at the airport. I sssooooo missed them. Of course, I greeted my nanay a very happy birthday coupled with a very tight hug. We took a cab from Terminal 3 and since it was only 4 in the morning (ooopppsss.. I remember Gwen Stefani's song), we reached home in less than an hour.

The moment I stepped my foot on our house, I hurriedly moved to the next door and looked for my nephew Josh. He was lying awake on the floor and seemed like he was waiting for me :) I carried him and gave a lotta kisses (buti hindi umiyak...) and kidnapped him hehehe... And so, just before I had my rest, I unpacked my luggage and distributed my pasalubongs to them.

After 2 hours of rest, I had to fix myself up for the biggest event of the day. I asked my nanay to accompany me to the bank to settle some money matters and afterwhich, we will proceed to Max's for lunch. But she didn't know that it was going to be a lunch party for her. All along she thought it would simply be a family lunch. I even had to make up stories why tatay couldn't go with us to the bank, that Kuya and his family had to attend a baptismal first blah.. blah.. blah..I wanted them to be in the restaurant first before we arrive just to check if eveyrthing is ok. Finally, when we got there, nanay got the biggest surprise of her life.. hehehe.. I remember the first words she said as soon as we entered the resto.. "Oh, andyan pala ang lola mo e... " And as he was escorted by tatay going to the function room.. she started to cry.. "aayyy... ayyyy.. di ko alam 'to..."

crying nanay

tita ninang ganda and josh

with nanay's ex-officemates

tsibugan na!

my family

Familia Gutierrez

Happy Birthday, 'Nay!

Bakit Hindi Ako

Just arrived from a very short vacation in Manila. It's already past 2am and I can't sleep so I decided to listen to Jamie Rivera's At Her Best album which I brought. This song has been playing in my mind since the day my heart broke into a thousand pieces:

Bakit Hindi Ako

Bakit sya hindi ako ang kahawak mo?
Di ba't masaya naman ang ating mundo?
Ano bang pagkukulang ang nagawa...
At pag-ibig mo ay nawala?
Kung meron may ay 'di ko sinasadya....

Bakit hindi ako ang kapiling mo?
Sa lamig ng gabi sya ang kayakap mo...
Mabuti sana kung pag-ibig ko'y nagbibiro
Bakit hindi ako ang pag-ibig mo?
Sya nga bang talagang ligaya mong totoo?
Kung sakaling mayrong pagkakataong muli
Hindi kita iwawalay sa piling ko.....
Kahit sandali....

Kailan ko kaya matatanggap ito
Yung mayron kang mahal ngunit hindi ako?
Kundi lang mali ang agawin ka
Gagawin upang makasama ka
Kung may masasakta'y bahala na

Lungkot

Mag-a-apat na buwan na ako rito. Mag-a-apat na buwan ng nilalabanan ang lungkot. Lungkot na malayo sa pamilya, mga kaibigan at sa buhay na nakagisnan. Unti-unti, tinuturuan ko ang aking sarili na labanan ito. Subalit ang hirap, napakahirap. Paano pa kaya ang makaranas ng isang matinding pagsubok sa buhay na hindi ko alam kung saan huhugot ng tibay ng loob para harapin? Isang pangyayari na alam kong darating kaya naman aking pinaghandaan. Subalit, isang malaking pagkakamali ng inakala kong kakayanin ko sa oras na dumating. Isang pangyayari na hindi ko magawang ibahagi ng basta-basta lamang sa mga tao at magbakasakali na makapagbigay sila ng sagot. Isang bagay na patuloy kong sinasarili dahil alam kong hindi maiintindihan ng iba. Ang hirap itago ng tunay na nararamdaman, ang magpanggap na mabuti ang kalagayan sa tuwing nangungumusta ang pamilya. Ayaw kong ipaaalam sa kanila ang tunay kong saloobin dahil ayaw ko silang mag-alala pa. Sa mga panahon na tulad nito, sana kasama ko ang aking mga kaibigan. Maaaring wala silang maibibigay na tiyak na kasagutan sa aking isang-libo at isang katanungan, subalit nakasisigurado ako na lagi silang nariyan upang ako ay damayan... makinig sa mga walang kwenta kong paghihimutok... ialok ang kanilang balikat kung kailangan ko ng iiyakan... at pagalitan ako..bulyawan... ipamukha sa akin kung gaano ako kat*n*ga... at pagkatapos nun... yayakapin nila ako at bubulungan... "kaya mo 'yan, kendz... ikaw pa!"

Oo nga naman, ako pa. Matalino, matapang...malakas ang loob..yan ang pagkakilala ng iba sa akin.. Hindi pa nila nakikita ang mga kahinaan ko... lalo na kung hindi utak ang pinaiiral.

Habang sinusulat ko ito, parang sasabog na ang dibdib ko... nangingilid na ang luha sa aking mga mata, nanginginig ang mga daliri. Pagod na kong mag-isip, pagod na kong magpanggap. Gusto ko na lamang magkulong sa aking silid... umiyak hanggang sa maubos na ang luha... At sana, dumating ang araw na magising ako at ang lahat ng ito'y isang masamang panaginip lamang.

I Miss.....

1. my family... specially my nephew josh... :(
2. my friends and the gimiks... haaaayyyy....
3. SM North Edsa that has been my tambayan almost every week
4. taho, pandesal, tj hotdogs, jollibee, fried penoy, balut, chicharon w/ laman
5. luto ng nanay ko.. waaaahhhhh!!!! :((
6. tsismisan during lunchtime hehehe...
7. being mataray... I can't do it here.. you know.. I might get deported anytime hehehe..
8. chats during working hours.. ;))
9. receiving/sending forwarded text messages
10. saying "sa tabi lang po... sa babaan lang po... "
11. eat bulaga and pba
12. mga walang kwentang usapan with friends... basta may mapag-usapan lang after a hard day's work.
13. at this time of the year, I miss the Christmas spirit.... Christmas songs over the radio... the blinking lights... decors at the malls, neighborhood, office..... the atmosphere itself... :(

I Like.... I Don't

Things that I like, so far, in my stary here in SG:

1. My room and dressing it up :)
2. I make my own diskarte sa buhay. What to cook for tonight, for tomorrow for next week. What to do with the left-over foods without throwing it away. When and how to laundry and iron my clothes. How to budget my money for one month, how to deal with difficult people hehehe... (I'm so mean..:P)
3. Transporatation is so convenient. Almost has access to everywhere without traffic jam.
4. Weekly sale.
5. I get to see my friends as often as I want, anytime of the day, without worrying on how to ask permission from my parents to stay late.
6. Internet connectivity. Sooo fast. Or baka naman nasanay lang kasi ako sa dial up sa pinas.. :P
7. Got the chance to practice my cooking skills and it's not bad after all *wink*... I told you, nay! I can cook! All I need is lot of opportunities hehehehe... but you're still the best cook in the worldwide universe mwahhhhh!!!! miss you po...

Things that I don't like, so far, in my stay here in SG:

1. Living with strangers.
2. When my diskartes are being ruined by inconsiderate people. Breaking the rules. Crossing the lines. Arrghhh!!!
3. Hindi kaaya-ayang amoy sa mga public transpo. Kailangang tagalugin, baka may nagbabasang ibang lahi hehehe...
4. The once-a-month payday. Being used to a semi-monthly payday, budgeting my moolahs is quite difficult especially when sales, promos and alikes are everywhere. Good thing I'm very much in control of myself hehehehe...
5. Just a few number of friends around since most of them are in Pinas.
6. Piracy is a no-no here that's why I'm having second thoughts whether to download tv series and mp3s or not.
7. Local seasonings do not meet my taste buds' requirements. Have to buy our own brands at not so reasonable prices in Lucky Plaza.

Santa Claus Came to Town

Never thought that I would get a mobile phone this soon. Never imagined that I would get it for free. Never wished for it.... never asked for it. But I guess, I must have done something good that Santa decided to drop me a gift this early:

A Call from Singtel

Thursday last week when I received a call from Singtel:

SA(with local accent): Good afternoon, is this (my full name)?
Me: Yes?
SA: I'm glad to inform you that you won the 3rd prize in Singtel Ferrari Draw.
Me: What? Prize? What prize?
SA: A --------phone (I only got the word phone because the signal was not clear)
Me: What? A cellphone?
SA: No...no...no... a headphone (that's how I understood it).
Me: Ahh ok. I thought a cellphone.
SA: May I ask for your passport number for verification?
Me: Sure. (I dictated my passport number)
SA: Ok. We will send you the redemption letter by next week and you may claim your prize.
Me: Ok. Thanks. Bye!

*SA - Singtel Agent

And just an hour ago, together with my housemate Teena, we checked our mailbox. As I opened the letter, it wasn't a headphone that I'd won...... it is a..... Abangan......

Ordinary Sunday

No money yet to spend for shopping or just plain grocery today. So, here's how I survived my Sunday:

1. Woke up at 9:30 and had a breakfast. Thanks to Janet, my housemate, for her Goldilocks Ensaymada pasalubong from Pinas. I partnered it with an iced cold tea.

2. Day 2 of my HHA workout.

3. Room cleaning.

4. Cooked Pork Caldereta for lunch (which actually will last up to dinner and my baon for tomorrow :D )

5. Had lunch. I wanted a Coke but too lazy to go to a store which is about 3 blocks away from my place. I really miss the sari-sari store in our neighborhood in Pinas :( which will only take me 5 minutes to have Coke when I crave for one.

6. Cleaned the bathroom and took a bath after.

7. Read Twilight while letting my hair dry.

8. 2-hr sleep.

9. Watched The BUZZ with my housemates. What a revelation by Cristy Fermin about Nadia Montengero hehehehe.... kanya-kanyang labasan ng baho....

10. I really wanted a Coke very badly, so I bought outside. Good thing there is a mini mart in a nearby block. Got the direction from my housemate and also purchased a Magnum yoghurt ice cream.

11. Had dinner, and again, had the same ulam.

12. Waited for Mitch 'coz she'll be getting her groceries from Pinas courtesy of my ex-officemate from Lawson, Grace. Mitch also brought her luggage and backpack that I borrowed.

13. Blogging this :)

Will hit the bed before 12mn, I need to get up tomorrow at 6:30.

Mango + Nike

Got a newsletter from Mango today. And my search for this pair begins.........

HHA Again

Tomorrow, I'll resume my HHA routine after 7 months of rest from exercise. Hopefully I can make it on a regular basis just like what I did almost a year ago that gave me this:

I missed you Shaun T hehehehe... :)

This is my song........
"Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me..."

Room Make-Over Part 1

Since I moved into my new house (or room), I've been wanting to dress it up my way. You know, this is the first time that I got to have my own room and I badly wanted it to look brilliantly good hehehehe...

Just to give an overview of what this room had on the first day, hmmm.... a multi-colored printed curtain, a huge plain white wardrobe (cabinet), a king size bed, a broken study table, a wooden file organizer, another wooden thingy that I used as a storage, a green chair, a wall fan without a remote control and an AC unit. From then on, I plotted my plans for my room. And the very first furniture that I bought for my little paradise is a workstation:


A week after, I purchased this:
And up to now, I still can't believe that I survived my first 2 months here without a mirror in my room hahahaha.... being a kikay that I am... who would believe it? hehehehe.... Am I that confident with myself? Charus!

Also, I wanted to buy a new wardrobe cabinet since I don't like what I have now, it is soooo plain white and has a missing drawer. But we couldn't move the cabinet 'coz it's d*mn heavy. Arrgghhh! So, I just decided to clean it, put some decors and hopefully it would look better than what it was. My plan is to patch it with some Walt Disney Princesses stickers that's why I see to it that I buy at least 1 sticker a week. I have 4 now and still counting. For the missing drawer, I think I can just put some shoe boxes in it so as not to make the missing piece so obvious.

But there's one more missing item from my "initial" list, a chest drawer... a pink chest drawer hehehe...

Bad thing though, when I was about to buy it last Saturday, it was out of stock. When I asked the saleslady when will it be available, she said by October 2. She advised me to call the store by that day to confirm. Being an atat that I am, I called them up yesteday but the lady on the phone told me that the shipment would be delayed and it will arrive on the 21st of the month. Waaaahhhhhhh!!!! I can't wait that long. The lady told me that their other branch still has 9 stocks BUT it is located on the other side of SG that would cost me probably, I think, not less than 50sgd for a cab fare huhuhuhuhuhu.... Yun ngang workstation, tinaxi ko lang kasi namamahalan ako sa delivery fee nila and even asked for the help of my housemates to assemble it kasi mahal din ang assembly fee.. hmpfff!!! Kung alam ko lang e di sana, sinabay ko na yung chest drawer sa pagbili ko nung workstation kesehodang magkandakuba ako sa pagbitbit.

Anyway, my timeline for my room make-over is until the first week of November. That includes a new curtain, bedsheet, pillow cases and a side table with lamp with a touch of Christmas season. I still have 5 weeks and hopefully.... hopefully... I can make it.

Holiday

It's a holiday, Hari Raya Aidilfitri or End of Ramadan as we commonly know it. My first taste of a real holiday here. "Real" because the first holiday since I got here was last August 9, it was a Saturday, Singapore's National Day. And Saturday is a no-work day anyway. But since I had no money to spend today for shopping, I still stayed home hehehehe... watched some TV programs, had syesta and surfed the net.

And since I've been surfing the net the whole day, I just decided to review Subversion which I will install this weekend in the office. Yes! I'll be in the office this Saturday to setup SVN. Oh well, I'm not that frustrated after all. I won't be doing anything this weekend, so what a better way to spend the weekend in the office and get paid in return hehehehe.... I just hope SVN won't give me headaches this time :)