Growing Older.

 “Please go to counter 10 for verification. Please ask counter 4 for the schedule. Counter 1 please…” Imagine you have to do this for more than 5 times, I tell you, it is patience-draining.

Forums about the current situation of the pre-need company, College Assurance Plan (CAP), are everywhere. This shows how many Filipinos was hoping to secure good education and retirement (for some) years ago and my dad was one of them.

Since college, though I lived with my aunt and cousin in Manila, I was doing and learning most of the things on my own (well, this is how my dad raised us). Since my dad worked in a Real-Estate company (before he moved to work independently) and mostly project-based, he hoped to secure my college education through CAP’s College Educational Plan which went down during the time that I was in college. It was so disappointing having that piece of paper on hand but couldn’t do anything to pay my school bills because the pre-need company don’t have funds plus the fact that they would never give back the promised ROI to its plan holders. It was a gamble and my parents need to start over.

I normally have no drive to try and visit the CAP office because I’ve experienced the rude and very slow process for reimbursement but when I was playing around with my phone and thought of calling them, for the first time someone answered their hotline and told me that I have check to collect. But that didn’t entice me that much because the last time I got a check, it was 599 pesos which was almost just what I spent for transportation and time to pick it up. As I go through the old papers, I’ve seen that my parents started thinking about securing my future at the age of 5 and I’ve realized how much money they invested on it especially now that I am working.

I went to their office to check the status of my reimbursement and as expected, there was a long line of people hoping to get money from their investment from different parts of the Philippines. It was so sad to see people, mostly old parents, from different regions/provinces endure 5 to 8 hours of bus ride to go back home with nothing. I tried to observe just to let the time pass by. I had long conversation with people, listened to their complains and watched them smile as they start a new friendship to the people they spent almost a day with waiting for the office to give them answers to their questions. But even if it turned to be an easy and happy experience, I still don’t want my parents to experience the long waiting and not-so-nice process. As I looked at the huge room packed of people waiting, I realized that the window serving the educational plan holders was busier than the window serving the pension plan holders. I was fixing my dad papers for his pension and was done in less than 30 minutes while the educational plan reimbursement inquiry was finished after 3 hours (including not having lunch). I’ve seen angry and disappointed faces in the packed window and grasped that Filipinos are not that educated or don’t put much priority on thinking about “retirement.” Filipino parents normally give everything to their children’s education which is very adulating but may or may not be the reason why some parents force their children to support them on their retirement as return. I am a daughter and I care about my parents so much but I’ve seen a lot of Filipino parents putting all the responsibilities to their children after graduation that force them to just think about earning and not do what they want in a long run. I’ve seen parents blame their child of not having a good life after spending so much for the child’s education. I’ve seen corrupted children that seems to stay in where they are for 5 years just because they needed to stay “just earning” monthly just because they are not thinking of the “long-term” and they chose to be blamed.

Every society has a good and bad side and I think this is a part that the Filipino society needs to improve: the education on retirement. I also think that Filipino youth should think more of their long-term plans and the cause and effect of their every action. This is what I like with the Japanese society, they always leave you with the question “How do you see yourself 5 or 10 years from now?” (But I hope there’s back up when the insurance company closed down. Haha.)

The power of posting and reposting.

I have been busy working on with the tasks that piled up at work after being away for almost a week for the Southeast Asia Blogger’s Conference in Bali, Indonesia. Aside from work, I’m still worried about how my dad reacts on his current condition. There were so many things that happened that makes me want to blog 5 times a day. Haha. In the Philippines, Social Media has played an indispensable role in the past election and some disasters like the typhoon Ondoy. Lately, the trend in Philippine’s Social Media inspired me, it was not just about the former President Gloria Arroyo being arrested but also, when a Facebook user (Jeddie JS) has helped an old couple find each other amidst the crowded city through posting and sharing a photo in Facebook.

The story of Lola Aurelia & Lolo Luis was in Facebook and Twitter the whole week and I was surprised to see in the local news today that Jeddie and Lola Aurelia finally met each other to greet and thank each other.

According to reports, Jeddie saw Lola Aurelia in Roxas Boulevard sitting and wearing a daster pinned with flyers at front and back, of the husband that she was looking for in weeks. The good-hearted Jeddie was touched how Lola Aurelia patiently gives out the flyers to every person who passes by, hoping that someone will lead her back to her husband, Lolo Luis Matias. The photo that Jeddie took and shared was reposted more than 60,000 times in Facebook that lead to the attention of a GMA News Team that later on helped Lola Aurelia in her hunt for his one and only love.

I’ve seen in my Facebook News Feed and Twitter Timeline touching posts of friends about the moment of reunion of the couple and I was intrigued on how it went. Here’s the video of the touching reunion:

I was touched with Lola Aurelia’s interview when she mentioned of how worried and sad she is whenever she eats because she thinks about if her husband has something to eat or if he has a place to stay. It reminded me of my dad saying that he needs to go home in our province even if he’s sick because my mom is alone. Being a hopeless romantic as I am, this incident taught me 3 important things:

1. That true love exists. Fighting for your love (and his welfare) is never a waste of time.
2. That a good heart can make this world a better place to live in and our good intentions can help others through our own simple ways.
3. That New Media or Social Media is truly playing a vital role in today’s generation so we all need to be responsible in everything that we share in the internet.

According to some articles of John Russel of asiancorrespondent.com, Japan is the model for mobile social networking, Hi-5 is the most popular social mobile networking in Thailand, Jakarta has the largest Facebook population of any city in the world with 17.5 million users, while Philippines has the highest proportion of users per population naming it the Social Networking Capital of the world in his article in May 2011. You can also refer to Tonyo Cruz’ post on the Nielsen’s first report on Southeast Asia’s Digital Consumer Report.

As I switch from one channel to another, I’ve seen so many news about a person’s ruined reputation through blogs and social networks that remind me that whatever we post can make or break a person or organization. It can also make some people furious and annoyed. I like what Dian Paramita, an Indonesian friend and blogger that I met in Bali, have said in her post that talks about how people should not react or comment on things that they don’t fully understand. (Haha. I don’t understand why there are some funny people who just talks without understanding the whole picture, generalize and force others to believe in what he/she believes in.)

Anyone is free to write and express their thoughts in the internet anytime and anywhere about anything. But I really hope that everyone should always think that there’s a consequence in our every action and every post. Remember, internet is not limited to your network, it is global and has the power to make this world a better place.


As what Maria Ressa said in her interview with Philippine Star, “As social media becomes bigger and bigger in our country, it has the power to spread the following: Terrorism. Fear. But also hope.If corruption spreads through social media, we can also counter it. If we spread that within our networks, and share the action they can take for it, then we begin to change reality.”

Not bad, Asia-Pacific's Call for a Photography Talent!

I got this email from Campaign Asia and I know it is worth spreading because of a lot of interesting people I met for the past months with talents in photography! C'mon! If only I ahve that talent. Haha.

Calling all those wonderful people and talents!

Organized by Panorama Stock and in association with Campaign Asia-Pacific, the Muse awards invite the region’s creative community to submit photographs that symbolise their inspiration. The best images will be awarded top-end photographic equipment:

Gold: Canon 1Ds Mark
Silver: Canon 5D Mark
Bronze: Canon 600D

The competition is open to all employees of creative, media, digital, PR agencies and in-brand marketers. A shortlist will be decided through online votes, with the eventual winners picked by a jury of leading creatives and photographers.

For your chance to win,

ENTER NOW at
www.muse-awards.com

For further information, please contact
Georgia Proctor, +852 3175 1925 or at georgia.proctor@haymarket.asia

LOL for a quality life.

“To have the life that you’re wishing for, you should improve yourself to be deserving of it. To have an upgraded partner, you should upgrade yourself first. Please make sure that you’ll learn one important thing every day so you’ll improve step by step.”

When I had my heart entirely broken for the second time during the hardest year for me and to everybody I know and the time of financial crisis, 2009, my mom didn’t know what to tell me but the words above. Parts fell into pieces that I didn’t have any idea on how I was going to get by every minute but that particular time proved to me again that everything might fail and everyone might leave, but the family will always stay. I am not saying this just because I am a Filipino (and known to be family-oriented country) but because no matter what you call it—clan, tribe, network, family--definitely, you need one.

For the first time last week, my tough and strict dad was admitted to the hospital. He volunteered to visit the doctor so I knew that it was a bit serious and it was. As cry baby as I am, tears fell down as I read my mom’s sms about him and the fact that even my mom was admitted to the hospital. Then my sister and I rushed home and endured the 6–hour bus ride for our peace of mind. What I learned from it was the same with what I’ve learned on the hardest moments of 2009: live each moment and continue improving because you’ll only see the quality of life if you slow down and enjoy. Sounds cliché, but living each moment has been on top my goals whenever I write my daily to dos and it’s the hardest task to check as “done” daily. But this weekend, when I decided to see my parents and we laughed together, it was a moment that I can put on a big check: I have lived.

In the fast changing world that we’re living, we tend to overlook the things that we’re experiencing at the moment because we’re too busy thinking what we’re going to have without noticing that by not living at the moment, we’ll not be able to figure out precisely what we need to improve to avoid having regrets. Simple things like saying “sorry” to someone you unintentionally stepped on while rushing to the train, saying “thank you” for a free ride or a cracker when you were too hungry from a co-worker and asking “how are you?” from parents away from you. These moments may not matter to you, but might matter to them because they’re not walking as fast as you walk.

I stumbled upon this video of one of the pranks of Improv Everywhere, and I think that it would be nice to have this podium somewhere that I’ll pass by every morning for a beautiful and inspired day. J

I like Improv Everywhere so I think it would be nice to listen to the guy (Charlie Todd) who has been transforming these playful ideas to unexpected joys that reminded us to stop, play, laugh louder and try each day to improve you and some stranger’s quality of life.

Laughing more won't hurt, it's a worthy hobby.

(Filipinos know this for sure) 

Singapore, it's always Sunday.

“There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing”—that’s what I read in one of the under renovation shops in Marina Bay Sands and I think, that’s Singapore for me. Living in Singapore I think is like living only once in a week-- only on a Sunday when everyone’s getting together, happily greeting each other, eat out, unlimited sharing of stories, fast paced but friendly environment and definitely can be a day with books and sharing of stories over a cup of coffee. For someone from Manila like me, Singapore is like a big Fort Bonifacio High Street, a safer one.

Singapore is such a mixture of culture and the diversity makes this small country interesting and fun to visit. First stop, Chinatown.

The Chinatown amazed me for its cleanliness and entertaining atmosphere. Maybe it’s because most of the people in Singapore is Chinese and walking in the stretch with Chinese decorations made me feel that I was actually in China. I got our pairs of chopsticks for S$2 each.

Of course the Chinatown experience won’t be complete without eating frogs which has the taste of “in between fish and chicken.”

Bollywood is the new Hollywood, that’s what they say. Well, watching 3 Idiots, I will definitely agree to that, but Singapore can also be a haven for Bollywood fans. Then we transported to a different culture, The Little India.

India is one of the most colourful cultures for me and we were just so lucky when we visited because they just finished Deepavali (also known as Diwali Dipawali, etc), the “Festival of lights” which is one of the most important festivals in a year for Hindus when the families get together and performs traditional activities together. It was a national holiday in Singapore.

Of course Indian food is one of the most distinct and delicious food ever made by mankind. Haha. And so we tried the famous fish head curry in Singapore and finally met Gulaab Jammun.

                After trying out various dishes, our taste buds craved for the original Singaporean food so we headed to Hawker Centre and had a taste Laksa and taho.

   We also tried the famous Chili Crab in Jumbo Seafood Restaurant near Clark Quay. 

     And definitely, Halloween is awesome in Singapore.

                I can consider Singapore as one of the best places for walking, especially if you want to feel like traveling in different places when you can stop your feet (well depends on the mood). Maybe a few steps from Singapore Art Museum, we’ve reached the Arab Street where I found nice shops and restaurants that will definitely transport you to the Middle East. I think it’s one of my favourite streets there.

                A few more steps then we reached Little Thailand, Little Malaysia and maybe the Lucky Plaza can be Little Philippines. Haha. (I'll surely visit Lucky Plaza on my next trip to Singapore.)

                Every street in this country has different character. Taku and I were so amazed on the architecture of the city.

Look at the water in the ceiling! Woaa!

                We sneaked in the bar of Marina Bay Sands not just for our usual Mojito but to see the beauty of the city from the top. It was breath taking.

                We just moved around the city, tried the bus and MRT, and were wowed with the way of life and amiable nature of the Singaporeans. 

               With Taku’s friendly and nice nature, I believe that he fits in Singapore. I wish I could live there too so that every day is Sunday.

Thanks to Heidi, a couchsurfer from Malaysia for walking around with us! See you soon!

Few days left for New 7 Wonders!

New 7 Wonders of the Ancient World

As a kid, I used to dream about visiting the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Until now, I passionately aiming to see The Pyramids of Egypt because I connect it with my favorite constellation, Orion. Whenever I look at those stars, I know the time to see the pyramids will soon come.


But now, we only have a few days to participate in deciding who's gonna be the New 7 Wonders of the World! I like Halong Bay in Vietnam, Grand Canyon in USA, Islands of Maldives in Maldives, Bu Tinah Island in UAE, Dead Sea in Jordan, but of course Puerto Prinsesa's Underground river is my favorite! Philippine Primer, a free monthly lifestyle Japanese magazine and website participated in the promotion of Puerto Prinsesa to the Japanese and Filipino communities!

Please vote on or before November 11, 2011 via text or online. Let's all make history. :)

Hong Kong & Filipina OFWs

I've been asked a lot of times about how I was held in the Philippine immigration for an hour before my flight to Hong Kong last April. When I saw the photos of the trip, I thought of reminiscing about it, hopefully for the last time. Haha.

My flight was around 5am on a Saturday. Since it was so early and I was traveling alone from Manila, I decided not to sleep and just proceed to the airport after a late off from work. I wore jeans, flat shoes and black jacket. I didn’t put on makeup and having no sleep, I looked so tired.

It was my first time going to Hong Kong and when I was asked what was my purpose of going there, the immigration officer scrutinized how I look, looked at me from head to toe then said, “Hay naku ne, andami daming mga Filipina na napapahamak sa Hong Kong ngayon, hindi mo ba nakita sa TV?” (*sigh* young lady, there are so many Filipina that have been in danger in Hong Kong, haven’t you seen them on TV?). Then, I answered, “oo nga po.” I know I look young but I answered as smart as I could so that she could determine that I know what I was doing. Then she asked me to wait and fill in some immigration form. At first, I was patiently waiting for the late immigration officer that was scheduled to question me and the rest of the 15 Filipinos who were going to HK and Singapore but when they started to curse each other saying “son of a b*tch, blah blah” at front of us, I felt bad of how our officers behave. Well, at first I thought, that it’s something that I have to accept but the way they talk to fellow Filipinos who go out of the country may it be for travel or work, I think is unacceptable.

Given that fact that there are really a lot of Filipinos going outside the country illegally to find their luck, which we couldn’t avoid (I even have good friends and cousins who did that and looking at their motives, I think that that determination to get what you want is really good), I started thinking that maybe that’s why they are so rude to the fellow Filipinos but looking at the bigger picture, their attitude is really unacceptable. They’ll say “oist, punta ka don!” “bakit ka pupunta don?” with the rudest intonation I've ever heard in the whole Philippines.

I waited for an hour, some waited for 8 hours to be interviewed. Then, when it was my turn, the officer said “your ID is unacceptable.” I told her that it was my real ID and if he thinks there’ll be problem with it, I should tell my employer to change the appearance of the ID. He said that he could think that I just asked someone from Quiapo to replicate it (Quiapo is a place in Manila where you can replicate all important papers and IDs) and I replied, “if that’s the case, what’s the need of having this interview if you can just base your judgement in a person’s ID? Couldn’t you figure out if the person is lying or not?” Then he reasoned out then let me go.

When I went back to the cubicle to finally go (because I was the only passenger that my flight was waiting), the officer said, “If I were your sister, I won’t let you go to Hong Kong just to see your boyfriend. Can’t you be a true-blue Filipina? Be ashamed of yourself!” (I met Taku and HK before he goes to LA for a job assignment. He was from Japan, I came from Manila).

Well, everyone is entitled of his/ her opinion but it’s never right to judge and force someone to believe that your opinion is the right one.

As I arrived alone in HK, I felt so at home having seen a lot of Filipina. They’ve talked with me from the airport, to the bus, showed me around, and helped me explore the city while trying out the trum, MTR and even by walking. I loved the smile and eagerness of storytelling in their faces upon seeing a fellow Filipino. I felt the Filipino hospitality and love for kababayan. I think it was one of the things that made my trip memorable.

When they brought me to the World-Wide Plaza, everything was so familiar: from banks to grocery stores!

where you can find Filipinos in HK during the weekend...

trying not to miss home with these?

And upon seeing the balikbayan boxes and upon listening to their stories how they save and try not to spend their hard-earned money just for their salary to be enough for all the relatives that depend on them, I felt the hardships that each OFW has been going through for years. 

the place when you can send everything back home.

then Filipinos are hoping that what they'll give is enough... 

Then I started asking myself, is the close family ties still an advantage or is it making Filipinos become dependent to their relatives who are brave enough to gamble?

I had a glimpse of the hardships our Filipina OFWs are facing from the moment they step out of the country up to the "living alone and missing home" feeling in Hong Kong plus the fact that in every corner that there's a Filipino talking to a family over the phone, she'll say "Isn't it enough?" or "He is having a mistress?" then cry or get angry. hay...

what I saw in Hong Kong on a Sunday afternoon- Filipino picnic!

I wish our kababayans well and happy.

these were my beautiful tour guides!
I wish to see them again (I hope I remember their names.)

When I grow up...

"...I want to be a doctor"-- the usual answer of kids in my time, I used to say the same. Haha.

I used to think about how my 25^th birthday is going to be, thinking that it’s quite like a “moment of truth” for each individual. I was born and grew up in a countryside, so growing up, I found myself daydreaming on how I want to live my life. I’ve been writing so many things to accomplish before I turn 25 and I even have this 5-year goal listed in a small index card after my college graduation that made me realize today that I’ve quite did a great job in sticking to my goals (except for being financially literate. Haha) for the past years and how some things really change. But yes, what’s important is how you live every day of your life.

When I was in preschool, I wanted to be a teacher.

When I was in Kinder, I wanted to be a doctor.

When I was in Grade 1, I wanted to be an Accountant (My mom even got mad of the student teacher that told me that I couldn’t be an accountant because I was bad in Math. Haha)

Then I started to think about short-term goals like being top in class, best orator, best in Reading and Comprehension competition or the winner in provincial quiz bee, just because with so many influences and so many options, I couldn’t figure out what I really want to be when I grow up. On my third year in high school, I figured out, I wanted to be a Broadcast Journalist, I simply wanted to be in media because of the observation that Filipinos has been influenced by media a lot (every house has a television regardless of their status in life) and I wanted to contribute to the growth of every Filipino. I’ve wanted to understand each side of the story, I’ve wanted to be part of the history and lastly, I want to influence even a single mind.

In 25 years, I lived by my mom’s advice: “every scar, pimple and wrinkles in your body, is a sign of a life well-lived” (you can imagine what my legs look like because of outdoor activities).

My first life lesson: determine what you want at the moment, trust your instinct and follow your heart. It’s a bit tough to try to convince and prove to everybody that “it will make you happy” especially with Filipino closed family which everyone has something to say about you and what you do, that's why you have to trust your instinct because it’s your life and it’s definitely what defines you. Just like what the great Steve Jobs said, "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards." Everything happens for a reason. Five years from now, you'll know why things happened that way because no matter how hard the rock hit you in the head, you surely learned something good from it. 

Second lesson: determine what you deserve and life will give it to you. If I hadn’t written my life goals in 5 years, I would never know where I was going and what will definitely satisfy me. In life, you need to have a benchmark, to evaluate and define your life. I will now renew my 5-year life goals and maybe make it 10 years since things are getting clearer in my view as time goes by! But one definite example is that, in 25 years, I’ve been in a few relationships, was hurt, cause hurt, didn’t get satisfaction but learned, that forced me to list down the things that I deserve and in a few months of aiming it and living with it, I got the relationship that fits… just crazily beautiful.

Third lesson: no matter what you achieve in life, you’re never greater than others because the moment that you think that you’re better and greater, that’s when you start to be envious, judgemental and greedy. This is related to what Steve Job’s said “stay hungry, stay foolish.” There’s always something to learn so always keep an open mind and heart because life never fails to give us surprises.

Hearing about the great Steve Jobs death recently and reading his speech is a devastating moment, knowing that in the era that I belong, this great man contributed a lot in every progress of my time and of my life. I am fascinated by Apple and used iPhone for a couple of years. I know Pixar and love their movies. Job’s stories happened in my time that’s why they feel so near and real. He is a great man whose contribution will always be in our hearts and inspire us to choose, now.

It’s still 4 days to go before my 25^th birthday, all I know is that I promised myself that I’ll explore the Philippines and make sure to go out of the country before I turn 25, and surprisingly, I did, twice. Now, I need to make another list and I still have 4 days.

Family Times Two.

Whenever I talk to foreigners, they always talk about how Filipino families are so tight and how we care about each other. In other countries, when you bump to someone with the same family name, most of the time, you just care less or not care at all but for Filipinos, it’s like a magical moment—determining your connection with each other, then thoughts fly so fast that we think that we might be relatives, etc. That’s what good about Filipino values but when we care about each other too much, that’s where complications start. Well, that's why people are saying "when you marry a Filipino, you also marry his/her whole family! And that's how you'll understand your spouse." Haha. 

Well, today is my (2^nd degree) cousin’s house blessing and we had a mini family reunion and played Bingo where I won 100 pesos! Yehey! I just realized that every year when I celebrate my birthday, my cousin Zarah always provide me with a cake! And today, she bought a humongous Black Forest Cake (with dark chocolate and cream cheese) from Conti’s. Well, she actually just want to eat the cake and made my birthday as her excuse (Haha) but it was really sweet of her to give me cake every year. Thank you couz and to her fiancé, Ego, as well!

On my 24th birthday!

Talking about cousins, please don’t forget to vote for my cousin Katchie Mejias as your favourite Hair Stylist in Mega Fashion Crew by liking her photo in Facebook. We’re proud of her dedication in her craft. 

Her mom, our Tita, will tell us stories about how she appreciates the passion of her Katchie seeing her study about her hairstyling even if she’s alone in her room. Who would ever think of a very quiet girl becoming a very passionate Hair & Make Up Stylist? We’re so proud of her and don’t forget to watch het at Mega Fashion Crew at ETC! 

Less is good.

I don't know if this is just coincidence but recently, I've talked with so many people saying the same thing: when they got older, they realized that there are just few important things in life to keep, may it be dress, furniture, shoes, bags or even friends.


I am thinking if this conclusion was formed at a certain point in time. Is it a fad? Or maybe because the world is advancing a lot and we're facing a lot of options but most of the time, we don't get satisfied. Or maybe my friend is right, that's how it is when you mature, you evaluate and remove unnecessary things in your life that are not your priority and don't give you the satisfaction that you deserve.

Both true for me, I guess. I believe that life is all about making choices and living at the moment. If it's not your priority then, don't be affected by it and always choose to be happy.

I've stumbled upon these videos in TED that gave me a better view on less important stuffs and paradox of choice:

Less stuff, more happiness by Graham Hill
Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz

As for me, traveling helped me a lot in realizing what are the important few things for me because as I go from one place to another, I can only bring the good stuffs and I only remember the people that matters.

I remember when my bag was stolen with all the things I used to consider as 'needed' a few months ago and I compare it with the things in my bag now, (well, I still have a lot I guess but it's lesser than before. Haha.) then I realized the big and complete set of make up kit that I used to have is not really needed! Now I just have a few things and maximize them!

Comfort Food

Lugaw / Arroz Caldo (photo from Nestle)

Today, I confirmed that my comfort food is Lugaw (porridge). When I was still working in the network, the pressure of coming up with a good story or the consistency of the continuity of each scene pushes me to look for good food that will make me feel better then I always end up eating congee. 

Champorado (photo from energychef.com)

Whenever someone asks me about my favourite food, I always say “Champorado” (sweet chocolate porridge) because I grow up with it! My mom used to cook it if I got good grades or she feels that I need pampering so I think growing up, I treat champorado as a prize. Most of my foreign friends think that it’s weird eating dried fish with champorado (which Filipinos normally do) but the sweet and salty taste make it so much interesting and worth craving for.

Zousui (photo from foodosohpy.wordpress.com)

Last night, Taku cooked Zousui, a Japanese rice soup made from pre-cooked rice, water and some vegetables and spices, and I found myself thinking about it while I was working this morning! I know I’ll not be able to have it for lunch because Taku’s working and there’s no Japanese restaurant near my office. I feel so upset but when I walked around the street while I was looking for place to dine in, I saw Ba Noi’s Vietnamese Restaurant and I immediately ordered rau muong xao (stir-fried water spinach in garlic and Vietnamese seasoning) and Pho Ga (steaming hot chicken noodle soup with soy bean paste and chilli sauce). Ba Noi’s Vietnamese Restaurant’s ambience is really cosy (the menu is like a cookbook with ways on how you’ll enjoy eating Vietnamese food) and the food is authentic. I think it’s the best Vietnamese restaurant in Metro Manila next to Bawai’s Vietnamese Kitchen in Tagaytay.

Pho Ga (Chicken Noodle Soup)

Just for your information, according to Mr. Yong Tatlonghari, opwner of Bawai’s Vietnamese kitchen, in Vietnamese, “Ba Noi” refers to to the grandmother on the father side while "Bawai" refers to the grandmother on the mother's side.

My comfort food, regardless of “what” dish, is something with rice and watery or noodle but should be hot. It's a proof that i grew up in Asia and i love rice. Haha.

To support this conclusion, I thought of the times that Taku asked me about what I am craving for lunch or dinner and I remember thinking about Risotto a lot. Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency (according to Wikipedia).

Risotto (photo by supermamafitness.com)

I’m feeling better now but I still expect to eat Zousui cooked by Taku in the days to come… :)

It just comes.

Boracay Trip 2011

Romance can never be forced, you can just set the mood but certainly, it comes unexpectedly.

Everything was in its place during our Boracay trip, even the cancelled flight turned out to be a blessing. I couldn’t believe that there would be a perfect trip or maybe it’s because I changed the way I look at things now. Funny how we tried to spend a perfect romantic moment in the spa treatment when the romantic mood was set with candle lights and aromatherapy, but ended up playing with leaves and flowers in the pool designed for couple that made the therapist say, “Sir, Mam, you still have 5 minutes...” then smile. Haha. Maybe she's thinking "play" to add to her sentence.

My favorite is the parasailing, that's the sweetest moment, i guess. Here's the link: to the photos.

I don’t know why this guy has unlimited ways to make me laugh. I want to put him in my pocket and keep him there hoping he will not change. Haha. 
He's bored in this video but he knows how to entertain himself. Well, normal for a Japanese. :)