> top 10 travel destinations

i love to travel and discover new places. i love to eat local food, and shop to my hearts content. i love bringing back small things to put in my house, so everytime i see it, it reminds me of my experience in that certain place. i also love to travel in a small group of friends, like maybe 5 at max, more than 5 becomes a bit to stressful for me.

so here is a list of places i want to go to in the next 2 years:

1. nyc, boston, washington DC
i have been wanting to go to NYC since 2009, but alas i have only booked my flight for the trip this october 2012. it's been delayed for 3 years, but its better late than never, right?! i am flying with mechie and selwyn.

2. australia.
i would love to spend a month in AUS and go around the country, like melbourne, gold coast, brisbane, canberra, and of course sydney. my friend, sarah is getting married in sydney next year - feb 2013, and i think it would be the perfect time to go. i am going with sid, helen and satya.

3. west coast, USA - like las vegas, los angeles and san francisco.
but to top the list, it would really be SFO. i heard that the city itself is beautiful. i cannot wait to come and visit. romina, one of my college friends is already based there, so it might be the perfect time to go.

4-6. a lot of european countries i want to see and on top of my list - spain, italy, portugal.
i'd like to spend a lot of time traveling around EU, especially italy and spain, i want to be able to visit certain cities and not just the capital. hopefully, i would have more time in my hands.

7-8. turkey and greece.
it has been my dream to visit this 2 countries together. my cousin mechie has actually been and she was telling me of how beautiful istanbul and capadoccia is.

9. nepal
nepal has enchanted me for quite some time already, but i never had the guts to go there still. i know paulo wants to go here too, and maybe next time i should travel with him.

10. dubai
i want to see dubai and some other cities in the UAE. i want to see the sand dunes, do some major shopping, etc. :)

> 10 little joys in my life

i decided to come up with a list of TOP 10 anything. and for the first edition, it will be the 10 little joys in my life. this are small gestures, cheap and cheerful things that makes me genuinely happy.

1. chocolate/ ice cream with peanuts/almonds/macadamia. anytime i feel like shit, stressed or bored, this will surely make my day a little bit better, a little bit brighter.

2. a good cup of latte / mocha. if i start morning with a good cup of coffee, almost always it turns out for the best.

3. greetings / shout out from my friends - especially with my move to China, most of my closest friends are in singapore and in manila, and they checking up on me, thru BBM, Whatsapp, MSN, Yahoo! keeps me sane and happy.

4. i love smelling good, thus i hate sweating and being under the heat of the sun. and thus, i make sure to rotate different perfumes / colognes that i have. latest one that i got was HERMES VOYAGE - smells so good. you also cannot go wrong with my other favorites such as TERRE D HERMES, BLEU DE CHANEL and CLINIQUE HAPPY.

5. a good foot massage is always good, but i need to try and be more relaxed. the only thing is if its a new masseuse, i always get stressed, since i dont like people touching me. i get stressed and akward.

6. a good review on work by my superiors, teammates and clients never fails to make my day better. guess its due to the fact that i am sacrificing a lot of things to be here, and the only thing i want to focus is to make sure i deliver quality and great work.

7. my ipod with music i love. i need this to be able to work and function especially when doing analysis - it gets me going.

8. movies, series - anything from american to korean doesn't fail to entertainment me, and serves as something to do when i don't feel like being around people.

9. talking to my family and making travel plans with them is a pure joy. i look forward to just the slightest idea of seeing them and making new experiences with them.

10. catching up with friends. i love one on one relationships, intimate ones, rather than the bar/drinking sort of thing. i love hanging out and having coffee with a few close friends. i enjoy talking about everything under the sun, without feeling pressured to talk, smile or whatnot. i like anything that's casual and simple.

next 10, are the next few travel destinations i would like to go to in the next 2 years... ;)

> first post in chinaland

i have stopped blogging, and was focused more on facebook - quick updates of life and what's been happening. anyway, i decided to write a post, the first time since i relocated to china, since 4 mos ago.

anyway, i found these, and would want to answer these questions, its supposedly for a new year kind of thing, but i find everything new (relocating), so its kind of a similar situation. ;)

What did you do in 2011-12 that you have never done before?
- i have never been to europe, last march 2011, i went.

What countries did you visit?
- i have visited france, netherlands, UK, germany, belgium, india, philippines, malaysia, indonesia, china, hong kong, macau, and quite a lot actually.. i remember last year, my schedule has been so crazy that i fly every month. (thanks to that for my miles)..

What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
- i would like to spend more time back home, spend more time in singapore with my friends, spend more time to travel and discover new places.

What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? - it would have to be dad's 60th birthday, i flew back to manila to attend the dinner that happened on a friday, i arrived at the place at 9pm, due to the bad manila traffic (stuck for 3 hours, from airport to greenhills - yikes)
What was your biggest achievement/s of the year?
- career-wise is the promotion, and being able to enjoy the new role i had back in 2011. well, 2012 is a new role for me as well :)

- from a personal one, was helping my cousin mechie and selwyn with planning their big day - it was exhausting yet super fun.

What was your biggest failure?
- its not spending more time back home, but i got to see my family quite a lot.

What was the best thing you bought?
- i bought mom a prada bag for mothers day / birthday.. :)

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
- xmas, dad and moms birthday - i love planning surprises and family trip.. it makes me giddy.

What song/s will always remind you of 2011?
- has to be katy perry, watched her show at the beginning of 2012 and i had soo much fun!

Compared to this time last year, are you
– happier or sadder? Happier!
– thinner or fatter? Same-same...
– richer or poorer? Richer, I suppose...

What do you wish you’d done more of?
- cooked more, woke up earlier to get a good cup of latte, read..

What do you wish you’d done less of?
- less intake of coke light / coke zero!

How did you spend Christmas?
- with my family back in manila.

What was your favorite TV program?
- cougar town, how i met your mother, how to make it in america, 2 broke girls, happy ending.

What did you want and get?
- a new pair of shoes.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
- last jan, i turned 29, celebrated it back home and had another one in singapore :)

Who did you miss?
- my family.
- sometimes when i look at photos, i miss my friends that i haven't connected with.

Who was the best new person you met?
- some new friends in china - like my local teammates, some filipinos working here too, like jill, etc.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
- oh i wrote 10 things i learned when i turned 29 and i will stick with that.

2012.
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i turned 29 today, and i really feel like whatever i went thru the past year really helped me grow to become a better and hopefully a wiser person. i want to just list down 10 things that i have learned for the past 28 years.

1. always say thank you, to waiters, immigration officers, colleagues, secretaries, assistants, everyone!

2. tip generously, to people who serve you well, as for me, its the masseuse, hair dresser, hair stylist, maids, hotel staff who help me with my luggage, etc.

3. be loyal to your friends, i am more focused in growing real relationship and friendship, quality over quantity.

4. you cannot please anyone and i accepted the fact that i won't be friends with everyone. so i stopped caring and it doesn't bother me anymore.

5. learn how to say no. this is the hardest for me as i really try to accommodate everyone, but i think i have progressed a lot.

6. always be grateful, for all the blessings i have every single day.

7. good deeds = good karma. try to make one good deed a day, and it feels damn good. i believe in this passing the love around kinda concept, when you try to be good to someone and eventually it comes back to you.

8. believe in your own gutfeel. i know trust my own personal judgement.

9. travel travel travel. everyone is busy, everyone has work, but its good to stop once in a while, feel the wind blowing on your skin, smell the flowers, see new places and experience new things.

10. being festive and celebratory. i try to celebrate every small little thing to the big ones, always find time to celebrate, and have a good time.

thats it. cheers to 2012.

so much to be thankful in 2010, and excited for 2011...
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thank you Lord for a 2010 that rocks! wishing that 2011, could only get better.

xmas 2010.
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i have not updated this blog for nearly a month, i promise to put things in, especially the maldives and korea photos - i don't have much photos though, most are just quick snaps especially korea.

anyway, am more excited about now, and that means Christmas at home. i put on weight, one week since the vacation, i have been eating non-stop, and i have to do some control. starting tomorrow, will manage food intake, and take more fruits and veggies, less carbs, and will do walk a bit more around the village. anyway, off to more festive things...

i have to say chicho (my younger brother) did a good job in making our new home more christmassy, the decors, the tree, and everything, it looks really nice, and i love it. i think, what i can add is to buy a xmas flavored aroma oil, buy tons of ensaymada (am craving for one), and the smell of hot chocolate and cappuccino. now, thats perfect.

anyway, our house in photos, though i was not able to take photos of our door, where cho put in grass ferns decored with xmas balls and bells on top of our door. our veranda, where we have santa sitting on a swing, and santa climbing up the stairs, , parol (star) and lots of colored lights.



our 2010 christmas tree, our theme was shiny gold.


sorry bad photo, i just wanted to feature the crystals in the snowflakes, it is really something. and the color gold in all shades, some shiny, some glittery, some matt.


i love the tall glass vase with lots of green xmas balls. yes, you guessed it right, last years theme was green and red, therefore we did reuse some of those decors. the santa's on the left were purchased by cho at gourdo's.


cho all of a sudden just bought snow globes, and put it all together. next year, i will propose that we should do a christmas village of some sort. that would be uber-cool.


christmas lights outside my room.

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PJs from forever 21, mom bought 2 pairs for me, am thinking of getting another one, in another plaid shade, its on sale, am thinking, it would be a very nice xmas gift to people.


dec 25 dinner with lim cousins at little baguio.


dec 24, noche buena at tita bebs' house (damar village)


another shot with lim cousins.

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Merry Merry Christmas everyone! happy birthday to our Lord, Jesus Christ! Thank you for all the blessings, and i am truly grateful for the life that You have given me! i promise to give You, your gift before the i go back to singapore.. :)

all i want for christmas...
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it took me a couple of days to write down my christmas / birthday wish list, but the good thing is i finally have it completed now, in no particular order.



1. i saw this topman bag back in manila, selling for Php 3k+, and i think it would really be a cool office back, where i can put my laptop and other things.



2. sanook standard slip-on at USD 48 or SGD 88. i have this one in black, and i like it very much, i use it to go to work, i can use it when i travel, cause its light and convenient to bring along with me. i like the dark blue and grey version as well.



3. prada messenger bag, SGD 1,250. one thing i like about prada is the nylon material. its very light and therefore very convenient when i travel. plus, it won't give me shoulder ache like how i am with my other bags, i just wish you can hand carry this also, but i love the color.



4. canon digital camera s90, SGD 699. i want a new camera and most of my friends are raving about this canon, so am thinking of selling my old camera and buy a new one.



5. marc jacobs laptop case, SGD 90. i was roaming the streets of orchard over the weekend, and saw this. ain't it cool? i like it, but this ain't a priority. haha!


6. apple ipod touch 32gb, SGD 429. okay to keeo you updated, i switched phones to blackberry bold 9700, and am definitely happy with that decision, i like BB cause i think it suits me better than iphone. i don't use a lot of apps, i need all forms of communication rolled into one, and thats what BB does for me. and since my old ipod 3rd generation was a gift 4 years ago and currently there are no more space for new songs, thus i want this! i can still load games/movies and music, so i can play with it whenever am bored.



7. clinique happy, SGD 60. this is one of my favorite scents of all time, together with akka kappa, chanel's allure men, M&S iris scent, and the new zara blue spray. whether its perfume or body spray or EDT - i love the smell because it reminds me of something, usually fun memories.



8. cathay pacific, MNL - SFO flight, USD 937.50 - i want to go this year, and am thinking of taking 3 weeks off to visit friends from both east and west coast. i don't have final date yet, all i know is that it might happen, march-april or sept-oct 2011. so fly to SFO to see roms, then drive to vegas with roms, then back to SFO, then off to NYC to see pau, then to boston, to see mel, then back to NYC, and then back to MNL. i think i have to sort this out intelligently, as i might not need to fly back to MNL. or fly from NYC straight back home. i dont know, but we will see.



9. swatch gents watch, SGD 99. i like either the blue or grey one. i think its too cute, and i can use it everyday as well. though the only thing is, i don't wear watch as much as i should, and i have a few watches waiting to be worn.



10. jason mraz waiting for my rocket to come CD, SGD 15. i like his songs, but i dont have the album, i have the latest ones, but i want the old one too. haha! or just a voucher from any book/music store is definitely a must! yay!

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well, i just want to list it down for the heck of it. anyway, am thinking of giving back this christmas, i should start doing my research as soon as i am back in manila, am thinking unicef or world vision, as those are the 2 causes i support the most. or maybe, i should get involve in a children's charity this year, lets see, hopefully i can do something more meaningful. then again, i encourage everyone to share if not in a timely manner, definitely its this season. let us make the less fortunate feel, how christmas is like, and share our blessings. always remember, to whom much is given, much is expected.

wishing everyone an early happy christmas before the season gets busierrr!! :)