Back in Cebu !!!

Last week, I arrived in Cebu with a heavy load :D  I had two luggage and a hand carry.  All of which weighed 50 kilos.  My check-in was okay but had to pay around 200 SGD.  My other stuff is still in sea freight, and will be arriving anytime sooner (I guess). Good thing my dad fetched me at the airport so it was a relief.

Dad and I arrived in our humble abode and our dog was the first to jump from the doorway.  It was good to seeing our pet? Hehehehe.  Anyway, I was tired and at the same time I caught some colds.  I immediately took some medication and chatted my friends online, buzzed some other friends and planned to go out with them. Another Cebuano friend of mine, who is based in Singapore, was inviting us (high school friends) to their mini party (they had a CNY vacation).  Well, I was tired so I decided to take a nap first.  Woke up after 2 hours of sleep and then prep up, and went to go.

There was some singing, booze and really tasty Cebuano Food.  I miss home cooked meals. Oh, I actually had some food at home because there was a baptism of my nephew and there were some food left (from the caterer).  Even if I was a bit full, I still devoured lots of food :)) We were feasting pigs and I guess I'll be overweight?  Anyway, we were a bit drank already at around 10PM. After some more karaoke, we decided to call it a night.  I was rather tipsy and not drank :))  We part ways going home you see, and Miggy oh Miggy, my friends kid is so fun to play anything with :) Thanks Tilay for such a warm and great friend.  Wish you all the best for your family.


Anyway, I arrived home quite late and went to wonderland. Zzzzzzzz.


The next day will be a great day to battle it out for my next adventure.  One is applying for a new job and the other is to setting up a company. I am still having this feeling of nostalgia for all the people and events I had had in Singapore. I somehow realized, that I am not the luckiest person but I am so happy that I am blessed and always be blessed and loved.  Thanks to God, family and friends :)   

Cebu and Palawan :D

Well the longest vacation for the year was in Cebu and 5 days trip to Palawan.

I went to Cebu for my brother's university graduation :)  At last, he will be able to sustain himself and create some of his own adventures!

After some few days in Cebu, I went to Palawan with some of my closest friends from my university - Ate Mars and Jayka.

I was happy when I was in Cebu and I was amazed at how beautiful Palawan is.  The rock formations at El Nido were grand comparable beauty to that of Phuket.  Palawan is more pristine though :)

After Palawan, I spent some few days in Cebu and enjoyed the company of my family and friends.  Never mind the finances involved as the experience was priceless :D

This is quite long overdue same as other travel blog entries I had.  I am actually not sure of how to go through already about this blog.  At some point it felt boring, honestly... .  At some point I missed writing some personal accounts, great or utterly lame.   Maybe because of a lot of things that's going on inside my head right now, that I lost track of some of the things I want to do.  Anyway, this blog is not exclusive of the travels I made but rather those experiences I enjoyed and had managed to put a smile on my face ...

And for that, three weeks ago, I had my first dragon boat experience.  It was super fun and but then I had to be a bit disabled from the body aches I got :)  I was also following the Spartacus series - really gory which makes me sick but after a while I got used to all the blood and spilling organs.  I met old friends from Cebu here in Singapore.  Also visited my friend's house for some catching up - we played mah jong! lols :P

This week would have been another vacation for me.  I was booked to go to South Korea to visit Seoul, Jeju and Sorak mountain but then I had to cancel for some personal reasons - Mamul and Epoy enjoy your trip!

Lastly, I am actually in a dilemma of quitting or not from my job. Or maybe going back to the Philippines :(  Or going for an MBA?  This has bothered me for quite sometime already.  All I am asking for is God's guidance and blessing or wisdom... .  But yeah, I still have lots of financial obligations so, that will be a major factor in this decision which I'll be making. 

According to Francois Bacon, "A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds." Well the question right now, if I am that man he points out if not then I will first have to strive harder to be that wise folk :))  Just kidding!

I think I just need to stop over thinking and just believe in the Almighty that things will come at the right time and place.

Have a happy Saturday guys!

What took this so long ?

I dared not to write anything for the past days grrrrrrrrrr .... I tried to but can't get it off my mind. I have been blogging since 2007 and actually been writing since grade school. I guess an old habit will always find its master.

Well a lot of things has happened - really a lot. Sorry for the great hiatus, though it's not enough to say those words, still I'd like to utter those words....

After July's passing, I went to Vietnam with my officemates. We strolled the streets of Ho Chi Minh and ate some local food. I love their Pho (noodles) with all the spices and vegetables and of course meat. Toured the countryside and checkout some historical sites and places of interests. Therefore I conclude wahahahaha I am really scared of snakes because when we had a Mekong delta tour, we landed on an island and there was a boy who brought a python and to test myself, I dared to hold it but I can't deny every muscle in my body was shaking and I was trying to hold my breath when my friend took a photo. I did it so the shaking were not visible blllleee.... Wahahahha ... I am also a bit claustrophobic because when we explored the tunnels of Cu Chi, I panicked. So I was not able to cross under the tunnel to the other end.... I'm not sure if its the small space I was in or I guess the darkness which enveloped the whole place, or maybe - both?

Recently, also went home which is in Cebu, Philippines. Feeling homesick and missing home cooked meals was one of the reasons I booked a plane ticket via SilkAir. Seeing my dad and my brother was great ;) Most of my days were spent at home but during the night I went out and met some friends for dinner. Also, I watched local TV shows excessively and play with our house pets. On a particular Wednesday, I attended my officemate's wedding. I was their candle in the ceremony. It's a Catholic wedding so there were some symbolism to it. The church wedding was really beautiful and I could see that the couple, together with their families and friends were really happy. All in all, I spent 9 days in Cebu.

Also, our pet dog died of some viral infection.... It was so sad for the whole family. We treated our pets like members in the family. It was a Sunday and I was watching a dog movie early in the morning entitled, "Hachiko" and my brother just buzzed me via facebook telling me that our dog passed away. I couldn't do anything but wept.

Another engineer was recruited in the office and there's another one who came, an Indonesian lad but he resigned just after a month of work. I guess there's something wrong, somewhere, on how the things were managed because people were leaving.... Hope someone can notice and take action on this. But sometimes, to some, it's easier to turn a blind eye to certain things rather than deal with it. Good luck to my mates who had left Gemalto tools - team. Personally, I understand their decision and sentiments and I wish them success. And to the newcomers, I welcome them too.

Also, I quit from Fitness First, subscribed and bought an Iphone4 with Singtel and lastly, finished reading a Sidney Sheldon book entitled, "Are you afraid of the dark?".

I think those were the major things which took place in the past months which made those days memorable and worth retelling.

I guess I'll be signing off and I can't promise when I'll blog some of the happenings. I wish I had all the luxury to do so.

8 days in Cebu

I realized the 8 days I spent with family and friends in Cebu was not enough just when my flight via SilkAir went off the runway. There was a nostalgic feeling of everything about my hometown. Even so, I was happy with the vacation as it was a great opportunity for me to see and appreciate the fun and great life I had.

The activities I did in Cebu were dining again and again with friends and also some clubbing courtesy of MJ. Since I missed some home-cooked meals, I had my dad cooked food for us. I bought the sweetest mangoes ever in the face of the planet. I was so surprised that there was an organ in our house and my brother plays with it nicely. He even played a classic song and some piano rendition of Jason Mraz's music. I also had some bit of shopping for myself and for my family. Also bought some delicacies and the various snack foods for my officemates at Gemalto Singapore. I was actually planning to go to some beaches which Cebu is also famous for but there was not just enough time for that. I also visited churches within the metro Cebu to pay homage and also took silent moments for personal prayers. There was just so many things to do for a short period of time but I am so grateful with the vacation I had.

I am planning for a vacation this Sinulog which is a huge and fantabulous festival in Cebu but there was a change in plans. So, this trip back to Cebu will be rescheduled for the next months of 2010. I am so excited of what's going to happen.

Vacation to Cebu, why not?

How much do I have to put-up of trying to re-assure myself that I do not miss home?

I am actually planning to have a vacation to the Philippines. Sad to say, I need to find a good schedule and a nice timing for that. Somehow, I still am connected with my friends from the Philippines. In fact, yesterday, a friend of mine from Cebu has arrived in SG to work.... Is Singapore the new land of milk and honey?

Well lots and lots of "pasalubong" - translated as gifts, from Olga will be about to go to my belly. She has some sort a bit of flu though but not the media hyped swine flu.

Another great thing was, my best friend MJ had a card for me and a pooch stuff. A great smile was painted on my face while reading it :) Grrrr I need to fly to Cebu now! Hehehehe.

Speaking of swine flu, I heard from a friend that in the Philippines, the infection has gone high but then there's not even one reported fatality, which is a good thing. I have never heard of any fatality here in SG as well but based on the news yesterday, three newly reported cases where because of local transmission of the virus.

Hoping the vaccine is on its way. Hoping that my sooner vacation to Cebu will be realized. I have to really save and save more thus, I'll have to start growing money-trees.

A little bored then from messy and having to sing "Linger"

Yes, I am a little bored. For the past month already, I have been reading so many documents and did not have any programming action. Sometimes I would be very sleepy and since I have hypertension, I can't take coffee as it is really bad. This week would have been the actual development and testing of the codes and let me elaborate.

Last Monday, I should have been doing the code verification with the hardware but then the usb connector from the hardware to my workstation is missing. I was just amazed at how did the verification team tested it and so then I knew, they have not done any test yet. Today, my technical lead was able to secure a cable for the hardware and when I have to test it, it is not working. When we tried to debug it, it does not have any proper logging so I suggested that we try to access directly the hardware through the code examples in the manual. I actually have the code already so we just need to run the code in debug mode. The thing is it prompted us that it's evaluation product has expired already. It was a little frustrating for me though I did not show it to my technical lead. Hoping things would get better and brighter with this project.

Still today, I had to go to the infamous Lucky Plaza to send money for my brother's tuition. Going there was a tough one hour ride and walk. I arrived at the remittance center just on time as they were about to clos e in about 30 minutes. My after-office itinerary was succesful as I was able to send money. Then I went to McDonalds after that to eat dinner. It was kind of messy. When I got my order I proceeded to the condiments section and got a ketchup and when I pressed the machine it all splattered into my hand. I was so clumsy and I felt stupid. Anyway, I just pretended that nobody was looking at me and I just got so many tissue paper to clean my hands. I did not even bother to go the wash room. So messy I was during that moment. Anyway I let it pass since I was so hungry already. I ate and finished everything in a snap. My stomach was satisfied with that chicken burger and fries plus the unhealthy soda.

After that simple dinner or was it even a dinner, I went to a bus station bound to Ghim Moh which is my place. It was a big bus so went to the rear seat at the second floor or deck of the bus. I was the only one there and it felt so lonely. I then remembered the song "Linger" by The Cranberries. Just want to share also this video, of one of my very fave band:



That's it for this day guys :)

A New Year in Singapore

Happy new year to everyone! More fruitful life, more blessings to share to our loved ones, friends, and community, and a great journey to life for the new year 2009.

WOW, I love new years. Christmas is amazing but new year is fabulous. These two celebrations are unique but they mean different in our lives. Well I am not here to write and compare the two important celebration and jubilation but I want to narrate what has happened to my new year here in Singapore.

We actually have office work in Dec 31st but after work, Olga and I planned to purchase a piece of cake somewhere in Tiong Bharu. It was also Analyn's birthday so we thought of buying a cake for this celebration well this is also for the New Year (wink). We bought a black forest cake. We came home at around 5:30PM and Razel has prepared the pastas and chicken and other goody-foodies. It's going to be a mouthful feast.

At around 7PM, our housemates' friends arrived and the birthday celebration began. We sang the infamous birthday song then the blowing of candles. After that, it was dinner time. The spaghetti was yum-yum, the breaded fried chicken was really sumptuous and the rest of the food were all tasty, so much that I don't know how to get them inside my tummy - I mean all of the food. I was filled and stuffed. I thought everyone was:)

After the celebration, Olga and I decided to watch the new year countdown at the Marina Bay. So I took a bath to refresh and Olga had her ritual as well. We bid new years and greetings and we went out of the flat.

Olga and I had to walk from our flat to the MRT station for 5-8 minutes. At last we reached the station and there was no crowd at all. I just thought people have celebrated new year in the comforts of their labyrinths. Well I was wrong! When we arrived at Raffles interchange and alighted to get to the other train bound for Marina Bay, there was a crowd. Olga and I did not know where the place was so we just followed the pile of people traversing the pavement. Wahahahaha I had a feeling that we are going to be lost or already lost. Well we reached a park where people set up some picnics but there was no music or what. So we decided that it was not "the place". We went back and rode a bus going to the Marina Barrage but prior to that, we had to walk for like miles =)). The pounds that we stocked in our tummies an hour ago were slowly eaten up. Going back, Marina Barrage was a nice place but it wasn't "the place". I sent an SMS to my Indonesian friend and told me that we should have gone to the City Hall MRT Station and from there walk to Esplanade. So Olga and I decided to get out of the building and move our way to City Hall. It took us another 30 minutes of our time and the clock was ticking for the countdown. We arrived at City Hall at around 10:30PM. We just wanted to get there because there's this concert where River Maya will be playing and it spelt fun but it will cost us 19SG dollars so going to the concert was not the main point of going there but more of watching the fireworks display. We were greeted by a really huge crowd at the City Hall going our way to Esplanade. Olga and I just walked and walked. It was getting 12 midnight. We stopped in front of Mandarin Oriental and decided to wait there. After minutes of waiting, the crowd cheered. There were few balloons being flown out to the sky. Inside this stadium was the concert but it did felt like a party though. Anyway, the moment we have waited for arrived. It was the fireworks display already. To our surprised it took place just 300 - 500 meters away from us and we were just luckily situated in front. There was extreme elation when the first batch of amazing fireworks jumped from its bunk. There were cheers all over the place and claps. It was a 1o - 15 minute show. I forgot my digital camera but Olga did bring hers so it was capturing the moment time. Well I sent my SMS to the Philippines to my family and friends and I was getting a network busy tone. I did not stop until my messages went through. It was fun and great even if we had to walk far. We got back home after the fireworks display and the flood of people was getting visible.

Compared to the Philippines, the new year in my hometown is celebrated with free as in free street party with charity campaigns and the same thing, a fabulous fireworks display. The neighborhood will have to make a lot of noise like blowing horns and noisy firecrackers (I hate firecrackers). What I am trying to say is, it's more fun to celebrate new year in the Philippines. Anyway there is this cultural differences and I cannot expect more. It's more of finding meaning to what or how it is. I just enjoyed the celebration as much as I could.

We arrived home really tired and our housemates were actually drinking beer and champagne. I had a glass of wine and that was it. By the way, it felt so starving so it was another belly feast. Hehehehe. After some small chit-chat and fun debates about relationships and hearing drunk people having to debate which was really fun, I just felt sleepy. Lots of opinions and lots of things to learn from your housemates. There was even a mini sing-along using youtube live streaming. I felt tired so at around 2AM, I said my prayers and then I went to bed.

That was how my friends and I greeted the new year.

Christmas is in the Air, smell it!

Holidays are coming and are really unstoppable.

At work, our officemates organized Monito/Monita - a kind of exchange gifts activity where there is a specific theme. Last week, we had something green and just this week we had something dark / black / evil. I received a pen that's colored green with a hand sign of peace and yesterday, I received a head and a wrist band which is good for badminton. They were cool gifts and thanks to those who gave them.

I am thinking if there will be gift giving or even big Christmas celebrations or parties in Singapore. Also thinking if vacations in Singapore would be long which I doubt. Sigh :( An hour ago, our HR emailed everyone of the holidays this December (Philippines) and they are as follows:

1. ) December 1, 2008 declared as a regular holiday in lieu of November 30 which commemorates Bonifacio Day
2.) December 25, 2008 Christmas Day
3.) December 26, 2008 Special non-working holiday
4.) December 29, 2008 Special non-working holiday
5.) December 30, 2008 Rizal Day
6.) December 31, 2008 Special non-working holiday

Quite a long holiday here in the Philippines. I will surely miss Christmas as I have foreseen that I will be spending it somewhere else away from home. I'm getting nostalgic already of the thought of it. Well I will be going home to Cebu first week of December and I will spend those days with my family and friends. So I'll make the most out of this mini vacation.

Christmas is really in the air and I am breathing it already. The spirit is sharing and forgiving and if you can do those things, I think you have celebrated Christmas. My way of redefining Christmas looks good to me :)

I'm seeing my family again - Take 2!

In my most recent blog, I have announced I am going home to Cebu. I don't want to announce the date but I think I will be out blogging for three to four days. Since I am so excited about it, I was thinking of what song or drama that will describe this. I was checking out youtube again, as usual as ever. And there, I found Faith Hill's song, "There you'll be". I think the song does not describe of someone leaving and never coming back. I find it more about on treasuring a memory. There you are!

Treasuring memories was the thing being amplified.

I have with me lots of memories - sad and joys. I wish I can only take the happy thoughts or memories but sad things happen. I feel that I need to also be reminded of them for me to be adamant, resilient, and passionate about pursuing what makes me happy.

It's obvious, pretty obvious that I am uber excited. I am assured that more of these memories will be in my bag when I get back to Cebu.

I'm seeing my family again.

I am away from home.

It's quite amazing how I survived from being too far from home. This has been the longest time that I haven't seen them. I went here in Makati for work - to support my family. It's a little lonely but I managed to cope with it. I pay the bills and pay my brother's tuition for that sense, in exchange of me being too far away from them. I have been very thankful that the Great Divine, our God, has never left when times get rough. God made sure I am surrounded with people I call friends, whom mutually have had trust and care.

Well right now, I am uber excited to see them. I will be going home to Cebu, after almost a year. I will be going home because it's my brother and my father's birthday. I feel that I need to celebrate it with them. I am so happy. And oh, I will be seeing my two pet dogs as well. I will be seeing my college mates and friends as well in Cebu. I really don't have enough itineraries when I get there but I am sure that it's going to be great.

Bye for now because I need to get my laundry. I need clothes to wear you see?