boredom.
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i was so bored last week, and i feel that i will be bored until i go back home. i am not saying that i hate it ah, actually i like it, since i can do non-urgent stuff, or stuff that i need to do in the next few weeks. i can focus on that, which is good. actually, i have lots of pending items, pero not on my end, more on their (3rd parties) end - meaning status quo lang ako. nice!

anyway, some photos on my iphone below!


neutrogena attached a sample of their new product - HYDRO BOOST. wala lang, nice packaging.


nisa (thai colleague) came back from her vacation in bangkok, and got me few stuff. sweet!


piu (chiro's wife) got us these presents from india - very sweet of piu.


this was the cab stand along queen's street, going to Johor Bahru in Malaysia.

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sergeant pepper's chicken rice @ food republic, 313 somerset.

i saw 2 movies last week - and we watched on a weekday, cheaper tickets vs weekends. we saw "did you hear about the morgans" and "new york, i love you".. both nice films.

i am currently watching "kim sam soon", i saw this back when i was in manila, and am just repeating it, it has a nice story and am just enjoying that at the moment.

my birthday is coming up this friday, i am excited about that. i love birthdays, and presents (haha!) though i don't think i'll be getting presents at my age anymore. :( i have a few things planned, so we will see.

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few things planned:

jan 26, tue
have to get exit pass from the embassy, am getting 4 pieces na.

feb 6, sat
off to JB to pick up tita bot's laptop. ryan is joining me.

feb 7, sun
off to tanjong beach @ sentosa to relax and unwind, ryan and kristine coming with me, and we can invite a few more people. we will see

feb 11, thurs
off to manila. yay! celebrating birthday with my cousins, either JAY-J's or dinner at the new house. i prepapred a list of menu with aggie, it will be fantastic.

may 28, fri
i have yet to book my ticket back home, but i have booked a june 9 flight from manila to singapore. am excited since we have booked a flight to taipei from june 2 to 7, and the most fantastic news, it will be with family (minus dad).

july 2010
paulo visiting singapore.

aug 26, 2010
have to be home for dad's 60th birthday

oct 9, 2010
home again for rom's wedding.

oct 27, 2010
if mom doesn't come to singapore for her 50th birthday, i will definitely go home as well.

year-end, if i have enough time and money, am going to japan. i have to find someone that will go with me though.

my birthday wish
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this is my only birthday wish. please make it come true. :) i guess, i want it badly.

korean food
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when i travel, food photos are a MUST. i take photo of everything, even before taking a bite. i never forget. HAHA!


this accompanied me, throughout my trip.


korean dumplings at W4,000, its good, but xiao long bao is better. i think once you have tasted din tai fung's xiao long bao, you never go back.


i ate kimchi everyday, thing is you can go back at the counter for refills.


the hotdog was the best, it costs W3,000. some of the sausages would have ricecakes inside.


i had hot chocolate like everyday, and sometimes even 2x/3x a day.


gigimbap at W2,500 per roll. its super good, plus, its healthy.


the fishcake taste so good.


doughnut plant new york in seoul, i was giddy when i saw this, and of course bought a few.


these donuts smells so good.


dunkin donuts cream cheese filled donut, W1,200. it was good too, and i think dunkin donuts in korea is so different than the one in manila.


LOTTERIA's bulgogi burger, W3,500 each, it was good and has a different mix of sauce. the only thing i did not like was the bun itself, it was so dry.


i ate this at the airport before we flew back to manila. it was so-so.


you have to go to cafe bene - their waffles are the best!


first nights dinner was barbecue dinner, it was soo good, this you have to do in korea, or else, why bother go there?

korea, dec 2009 in photos
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i fell in love with korea. i love the place, the surroundings, the people especially, the food, but not so much the shopping, which then again is good, since i did not spend so much money buying things. i think if my sister, or obee, or mom, or mech would go there, they would but more things than me. i didn't get anything aside from touristy things actually.

i definitely want to go back to seoul, and explore other islands - nami, jeju, and all that, it was just so cold that it was so hard to travel. one highlight of my trip, was definitely seeing snow for the first time. i loved it, and i was like a kid playing with the snow, throwing to ryan, franco and cheryl. it was just like being a child again.


ryan and i travelled for 2 hours just to get to this UNESCO HERITAGE SITE, and it was freezing cold.


namsan traditional korean village, was actually just behind our hotel. i would think that it would be better to see it without the snow. but i love the look of the frozen lake.


ryan and franco insisted to visit the world cup stadium, but the thing is, it was closed, and we weren;t able to go inside anyway. so really, the highlight of that was eating bulgogi burger at LOTTERIA.


from the traditional village, you can see the tower. we visited the seoul tower that evening, it was freezing cold, cause its up on the hill, and you would need to walk up there. entrance cost is at USD 7.


we went to 2 palaces, and witnessed the change of guards, entrance at USD 3.


on the way to that UNESCO site, we had to switch train lines like 4 times. this wasn't even an underground train anymore, it was like going to tagaytay or laguna by train. it was a good experience though.


i just brought sneakers to seoul, but my feet were getting numb. i got these boots at the dongdaemun market for 13,000 WON or 13 USD.


myeongdong is very near our hotel, it would take you around 10 mins by foot. i think we were here for like 4x since it was so near, and if we need to eat or get something, we would just drop by. and the thing is, there are so many streets aside from the main street, that you could explore.


i was just taking photos of the food he sells, and then all of a sudden, he just pulled me inside the tent, and asked ryan to take our picture together. he even gave me his chopping knife. he was super nice, so i went to the coffee shop and bought him coffee, since it was really freezing. he was so grateful, and even wants to pay for ryan's order, but ryan refused.


entrance fee at USD 35, but it was so boring, and basically when we went it was a holiday, and there were just too much people/kids/family. queue would be around 30 to 45minutes for one ride, so much for wasting time.


we stayed at astoria hotel, it was a very nice hotel, near a lot of places, and clean. there's also 2 computers ready for your use. the staff are so helpful and friendly, i would go back and stay there, if i visit once more.


de xocolat cafe serves all their caffeine with chocolate. don't you love that?


we had to stop buy everytime, around 4x a day, since it was so cold outside, and one cup of coffee cost USD 5, you calculate.


i bought a lot of these, and its all in manila. hopefully, when i return to manila in feb, there are some more left, as i want to try some, especially the biscuits.

to sum it up, i enjoyed korea, and i recommend people to visit the country, it is so beautiful, and the people are the nicest i have ever met. one example would be, i asked these 2 local guys to help me locate the gangnam area, and they said, we could not walk, and its easier to take a cab. so i said, okay. i went to the cab stand, and was supposed to enter, when they stopped me, and told me that i should go on the other side of the road, since its the other way. you know what they did? they accompanied us to cross the street, spoke to our cab driver, and said goodbye. we even exchanged introductions, since they were so nice. i wish i could have korean friends, or i wish i left them my business card, so if ever they travel to singapore or manila, i could show it to them.

i have prepared another set of photos, but it would all be dedicated to food, and i adore them all. goodnight. ;)

di naman masama mangarap.
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my birthday is coming up, not that i am really excited about it, i don't have any plans of celebrating it here in singapore. i don't exactly celebrate my birthdays, anyway. but i always like receiving presents, whether it be Christmas or birthdays or pasalubongs, i just love it.

i already had 2 things that i want for my birthday:
1. external hard drive - i already told ryan that i wanted this, and he will ask people in the office for money to buy me this.

2. roomy backpack - where i can put my laptop and things inside, it should serve as my daily bag + travel bag as well. i asked chicho and aggie to get me this, kasi they were asking me for too long na what i want for Christmas and birthday.

anyway, this is something i also want, but i am sure that i will not be getting in the next year, maybe 2011, you never know.


IWC Ingenieur Automatic Watch, USD 4950.


IWC Classic Pilot, USD 3739


IWC Aquatimer Automatic, USD 3899.

i think i like the last one (aquatimer automatic) best, though am thinking whether i want steel or leather. haha! just saying, di naman masama mangarap, maybe if i get a bonus or something - like either i get more money in my bank account, without knowing who it was from. there's a higher probability that that will happen, rather than getting bonus from the office.

anyway, i have so much more to think about rather than buying another watch. growing up is shit. HAHA!

2010 goals and objectives.
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it's getting more evident to me that i am getting really older. i know that i am more mature for my age, ever since i was in school, but i think that now, its more of a good realization, i guess.

life has been good to me, and i continuously thank the LORD for that. i am always grateful for everything that i have, and not taking anything for granted.

some things that i am thankful for:
1. family + extended family. i thank the LORD that we were brought up around each other, that we have traditions, and that we genuinely like each other.

2. friends. i am the type who can count his friends with both hands, but quality rather than quantity is so much more important to me. i thank the LORD, that when in times of trials, i am able to lean on some people who knows me inside out.

3. travels. this is my one indulgences in life, as in i can't live without traveling. korea is super nice and i really enjoyed it, especially the nice and warm people.

4. faith in GOD. i have always been proud of this, that my faith has really gotten me thru a lot of things in life. i know that my experience, is not that deep as what other people might have went thru - but its enough for me to keep my faith to my Creator.


some of the things that i want to do in 2010:

1. go to mass/church every sunday. i don't really attend mass, but do church visit. i think now, i see increasing importance in really attending mass and hearing the words of our Lord.

2. i want to be more healthy, i want to play badminton more often, once a week, i want to be able to jog and live life.

3. i want to be less affected by the stress in work. i have to master that art of blocking certain things, and keep my sanity.

4. i want to live in manila once more, although this post, needs a whole page dedicated to itself.

5. i want to save up money in 2010 to buy my own car, and pay my existing obligations.

6. i want to travel to 2 of the following countries/ cities this year: new york, sydney, melbourne, taipei and tokyo.

7. i want to live life to the fullest.

8. i will adopt one more kid from worldvision, i am going to trinoma today to adopt the second kid.

hopefully i can post some photos later on to feature my korea holiday. looking forward to a brighter and better 2010.

2009/2010 HOLIDAYs.
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i apologize to my blog for being incredibly lazy these past few days, i have been busy -- eating and traveling if i may say so. hahaha! anyway, i just came back from our family province in NUEVA ECIJA, where i had a blast spending time with my cousins. as chops and chobs would say -- we are all abnormally close, and truth to be to told, that's one thing i am really proud of, that aside from the fact that i have a few circle of friends, most of my time, i spend with my cousins, and i like that, i genuinely enjoy their company. i will post more on that later on, here are some christmas day photos:


noche buena was spent with dad's side of the family, at tita beb's house. you have jugger, ken, chuy and jacklord. jacklord is grandson of my aunts longtime helper.


this was taken before we had our dinner.


yaya dolly made 2 pasta dishes - one was carbonara and the other was the one with spanish sardines. its good, that we all got to taste it. aggie loves the bakes salmon topped with cheese and garlic.


dinner on the 24th was spent with mom's side of the family at akim baby's house. in this photo, aggie, cho and mom nagkwekwentuhan, after some photo op with the tree.



this was somewhere in intramuros, outside dad's office.

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we celebrated the NY in nueva ecija, as we do every year. last year was definitely the most boring, and this year was the most fun for me. last year was when angkong died a few weeks before we celebrated Christmas, so it was bleak, and we really felt the sadness of it. this year though was fun. we slept at around 4 to 5am every night, we just talked and laughed, i had really the best time there.


i always ask ken to have photo with me.


with the cousins wearing grey shirt, tops, etc.


incomplete family photo, over at uncle telly's house. i didn't get to take a photo of uncle kenneth's house.


braeden is the newest addition to the family.


achi posed with the lechon here, before it all goes out. i did not eat lechon kasi i was so full from dinner, where i had 2 servings of rice. i really need to go on diet when i go back in singapore. i will let it pass now, since this is a holiday and everyone has the right to eat. haha!

i also went to seoul, korea, but i will blog about it later.