juls random thoughts

It started from a discussion of Eastwood's 200,000 eggs on Easter sunday. My MIL heard us talking about it and suggested that we do it instead at home. It was wednesday night, three days away from Easter sunday and we're talking of starting from scratch. But since we all loved the idea, SIL and her sister went to Divi on saturday to look for plastic eggs while my other SIL designed the real eggs.

When we got back from Batangas for our Holy Week vacation, this is what we saw on the dining table:

Cutesy thirteen boiled eggs dyed with food color and designed with glitter glue. Then on the buffet table was a big plastic full of various sizes of plastic eggs. While written on the white board in the refrigerator are the rules of the easter egg hunt.

Apparently, there are 101 eggs, 13 of which are the original dyed eggs which if found is equivalent to P100 each, while the plastic eggs contain various goodies inside. The smaller ones are sealed when they bought so we have no idea what goodies can be found inside. The hunt will start at 9am, kids only and no eggs will be hidden inside the cabinets, cars, bodega.

Funny as before the hunt starts, the little boy was playing with his shape sorter, when one shape fell and was under the sofa, as he was trying to get the block, he also saw one of the hidden eggs to which all of us shout. We just told the little boy that, that is what the eggs that they will look for look like, at ang nakakatawa, bigla syang sumigaw na there are more pa outside! LOL! you see, the little boy woke up early then played outside with the yaya and nung andun pala, nakakakita na sya ng mga eggs so bigla tuloy nilipat ng taguan. Funny talaga etong little boy ko.

Here are some pics during the day. Hoping to get the other pics from hubby as these were taken using my phone.

Kids given instructions holding plastic bags where they can keep the eggs they got:


Their baskets being filled with eggs found. Nearest in the pic is kurt's (together with the plastic box), then followed by sean's, pau's, giang's and the farthest gelo's.


This pic shows the kids making reklamo of hubby kasi he's helping the little boy. As he is the youngest qualified sya to have an adult companion. Same as Gelo, his yaya is helping him. The adults are not actually showing where the eggs are, medyo nili-lead lang nila to where it can be found.

Showing the contents of the big eggs:

All eggs on the table:

To follow is the picture of the kids with their basketful of eggs and their picture on the move, I still have to get it from hubby.

I have to say that MIL and SIL really did a wonderful job with this egg hunt. Since galing pa sila sa easter vigil, they started hiding the eggs past midnight and they ended at past 3am, complete with flashlights (ala bulglar) they placed the eggs strategically all over the house and even in the garden. Galing pa kasi they prenumbered the eggs and logged where specifically they placed it para we would know kung nasaan yun mga hindi pa nahahanap. I wish I had taken pictures of where they hidden the eggs kasi ang galing talaga that i think even if kaming oldies ang naghanap eh for sure mahihirapan din.

The kids searched for an hour. The winner was Pau with 21 eggs, followed by Giang with 19 eggs, Sean with 18 eggs, Gelo with 15 eggs while Kurt (the youngest) got 14 eggs. But lucky for my little boy as out of 13 true eggs, he found three so he got P300. Pau got P200 for finding the most egg.

Now we started a fun family tradition. According to FIL, next year, he'll be adding more prices for those who'll find a certain number of egg.

I am out of touch again. First, the holy week vacation where we spent in Batangas. Though we have a DSL connection there, the computer is busy with the almost whole day til night webcam and voice chat with my siblings. My sister and I together with our family both spent the holy week in Batangas so naturally our siblings would want to be connected, so we're chatting with my brother in Singapore, his wife and baby left in Pasay, my other brother in Saudi (busy opening Jollibee stores) and my sister in the US.

Then this week, work is up to my neck. As in super busy. Add pa the fact that I attend review classes everyday from 6pm to 8pm, back to unfinished work or study. I always go home, earliest na is 10pm then aral again. So ayun, hopefully, load will be lighter in the next few days. I miss blog hopping, i miss looking for opps and i definitely miss writing about our life here.

Happy easter everybody. I yet have to post the easter egg hunting pictures that we had this morning at home. But for now, I am posting some pictures I took from our Singapore trip on our first few hours. LOL! that was the only time that I am masipag in taking pics using my phone. After that, I didn't bother take any pictures na.

This is the cereal prawn that we ordered from No Signboard for our lunch.

This is the gigantic Australian snow crab. It's more than a kilo for one piece.

And this is hubby, seryoso sa pagsungkit ng crab. LOL!

The view by the bay outside Esplanade. Overlooking the business district near Raffles Place and the famous landmark of Singapore, the Merlion.

A snapshot of Esplanade "Theater by the Bay"

Another long overdue tag from Tet.

Rule: Copy the entire list and add your name on the person who tagged you. Then tag at least 5 friends (but you can tag as many as you like) and visit their blog to let them know you tagged them.
Abie - Journey to Life
Abie - MyPlanetPurple
Bela
Kaptyurd by Howell
Chat
Aggie
Apols
Apple
Thea
Jacqui
Jane
Jody
Joy
Kelly
Mich
Peachy
Pat
Leah
Farah
Vien
Nick
Tet1
Tet2
Juliet

Now, I have to think of who to tag with this one. But if you're interested, feel free to grab.

I've been linky-love tagged by Em. It's actually ages ago but you see the "blogging ignorant" me thought I have to copy each of the links below. So thanks Em, now I know how to do it! You're a heavensent.

Cut and paste the following starting here. I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!)It’s real easy! Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially! The benefits of Viral Linking:- One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!- Increase your Google PageRank fast- Attract large volume of new traffic to your site- Build your community- Make new friends! The Strategist Notebook, Link Addiction, Ardour of the Heart, When Life Becomes a Book, The Malaysian Life, Yogatta.com, What goes under the sun,Roshidan’s Cyber Station, Sasha says, Arts of Physics, And the legend lives, My View, My Life, A Simple Life, Juliana RW, The Callalily Space, Petra Summer in Blue, Confessions of an Army Wife Bless’ Sanctuary Happy Life, http://bless519.bravejournal.com/, La Place de Cherie, Chez Francine, Le bric a brac de Cherie, Little Peanut, Pea in a Pod, The Creative In Me, Me and Mine, Pinay Mommy, Expressions from the Heart, TeacherJulie, Sweetbites by Bang, Paul, Toni and Lance - Bridging the Distance, Our Growing Family, The Uncensored life of me, My Untamed World, Something Purple, A Detour, Something Purple, Wifespeaks , Mrs. Working Girl, Juls Random Thoughts

Now, I'm tagging Quel, Nyree, Meeya, Nol and Pat! Let's increase our PRs. Go! go! go!

We just booked six tickets for the Duran Duran concern in Araneta on April 10, 2008. It'll be a triple date with hubby's siblings and their respective wives. Funny as Faye, will be on her due date on that month so I just hope that the concert will not trigger contractions. There'll be a lot of concerts happening this April in Araneta. There'll be Toto on April 3 followed by Swing Out Sister on April 7 then Duran Duran on the 10th and others. And, Dora the Explorer is also coming here to Manila, it'll be in Aliw theater though, been thinking if I'll take the little boy to watch this.

Title of the concert is 'Red Carpet Massacre: Duran Duran' - this is the title of their new album that's why.


Hubby and I actually originally planned on watching Toto and Swing out Sisters but his brothers convinced us otherwise. The hubby is now convincing me that we watch all three concerts, or at least two. Our love story started kasi with Toto and Mike Francis when were in college. We're having this conversation and it got to him learning that I like these two bands and that he happens to have 'cassette tapes' of them so he made me copies, and that started everything. While for SOS naman, I super love their songs. Haay... ano nga ba? or should I just buy cds of the two and just be content with the Duran Duran concert. It's not cheap you know.




Toto, SOS and Dora photos courtesy of Ticketnet Philippines, while the Duran Duran - sorry, I forgot where I got these.

I am currently in a critical stage of my career. I have to take and pass a certification exam that is, although not required per policy, is impliedly needed to gain credibility and reliability which in some profession requires only experience. The exam will happen on June. So now, I have to make sure that I use my best to pass the exam. I have no excuse not to and it would be such a shame given my level and number of years working. Oh God, talk about pressure. I'm sorry I have to write this as I need an outlet. Pressure is up to my neck already. - blogged using my phone :-)

Pahabol: I want it to be second half of June already, meaning, I'm done with the exam!

Disclaimer: I've only been to Singapore three times. The first two times that I was there, I stayed for more than a week while the third and recent visit, I stayed there for four days. So, all my tips here are based on my actual experience, to those who've been there or live there, you may or may not agree with me BUT as mentioned, these are based on actual experience unless specified in my post.

Warning: Very long post

Intro, as stated in my previous post, this tips sheet was created for my younger batch officemate as they are going to Singapore tomorrow. I posted it here as other people planning to go to Singapore may find this useful too.

Recommended places to visit:

• If you want to see animals not caged and in their normal habitat, Singapore zoo is highly recommended. It is best that you pair this with the Night safari as they are situated in one area. If limited time, ok lang not to go to Jurong birdpark, for me, mas worth it to see the zoo and night safari though if you only have two nights in Singapore (and you want one night in Sentosa then another night in Clarke Quay) ok lang not to go to the Night safari. But if you decide to see all three, allot one whole day, compressed pa eto. Morning will be for the birdpark then afternoon until evening in Zoo and Night Safari.

Night Safari – S$ 22.00
Park hopper: zoo, night safari & birdpark – S$45.00; night safari & zoo – S$30.00

• Sentosa – there are two recommended ways to go there, one: through the Sentosa Express and second, through the cable car. See prices below. Must try: Skyride and Luge – take the skyride going up then the Luge going down. Meaning, from Sentosa Express, don’t go down on the first stop, go down on the beach (that’s the second and last stop of the monorail). You can also bring swimwear and stay until night time to watch the “Songs of the Sea” show in the beach area. Visit din the Imbiah Lookout – andito yun malaking merlion for picture taking. If you took the cable car going to Sentosa – dito kayo sa Imbiah Lookout bababa. Of course there’s Underwater World(not sure of the term) and dolphin show – we did not go here na, sabi nila better pa dolphin watching in Subic tapos been to Aquariums na in the US so did not try, probably if with kurt, we'll go.

In Sentosa:

Island admission ticket and transpo: Sentosa Express (better choice because unlimited ride inside Sentosa) – S$3.00 (Vivo City, Harbourfront, St James Power Station) – last train from Sentosa – 12 midnight; Sentosa Bus – S$3.00 (Harbourfront); Cable car – normal cabin: S$10.90 (one way)/ S$11.90 (two way); Glass cabin (two way): S$18.00. If you decide to take cable car, check first if hindi mahaba ang pila para di sayang ang time. ako nung 1st time ko, we only took the cable car pabalik kasi haba ng pila papunta, though mas mahal pag one way lang.

Carlsberg Sky Tower in Imbiah Lookout: S$12.00 (9am to 9pm)
4D theater – adult S$16.00 – Imbiah Lookout – 15 mins. Show of pirates
Skyride: ride from beach area going up to the Imbiah Lookout and Luge: ride going down – combo good for two – S$16.00

• For night life: go to Clarke Quay but eat dinner before you go here kasi expensive ang food (expensive sya pag nag-convert ka and if you're earning peso). You can try here the Turkish ice cream (creamy sya) then tambay-tambay lang and watch the reverse bungy jump and extreme swing

Clarke Quay – G-MAX Reverse Bungy Jump – weekend 12pm to 2am; GX-5 Xtreme Swing – free fall and rapid flying experience

Shopping (based on MRT stops):

Orchard Road – Ngee Ann City-Takashimaya, Tangs, Wisma Atria, Plaza Singapura, Isetann, Robinsons
City Hall – Raffles City, Citylink Mall, Suntec City, Marina Square/Millenia Walk – when you go out of the station Raffles City agad, but if you stay in the basement, that’s the Citylink Mall which will connect you to Marina Square and Suntec City
Harbour Front – Vivo City (schedule visit here on the same time that you’ll go to Sentosa)
Also in City Hall but different exit – Funan Digital Mall for techie items na mall format or if you want tipong style Greenhills, you can go to Sim Lim IT mall – medyo maglalakad from the Bugis MRT station but it’s six levels of techie stores

Night shopping:
Mustafa Center – 24 hours (haven't been here)
Chinatown night market – Weekend: until 1am – try local finger food stalls at Trengganu Street (haven't tried this)
Late Night Shopping – every Saturday until 11pm – Paragon, Tangs Orchard, Wisma Atria


Attractions:

DHL Balloon – helium balloon ride- open 11am to 9:30pm – MRT: Bugis station (haven't tried this)
Esplanade (durian shaped theater) – go down City Hall station then follow the signs or para scenic go out of the station, you can see it already so just use the pedestrian walks towards there. On my first time, I tried this instead of sa ilalim kasi at least you’d get to see the surroundings. After Esplanade, cross the bridge and you’ll see the smaller version of the merlion then in front of the merlion is the famous Fullerton hotel – cross the street towards the hotel then walk to the side going to the back – it’ll be a riverbank – lakad-lakad lang until you reach the parang business section – there’s an MRT station near there, Raffles Place yung name. May bago pala at the back of Esplanade – yun malaking ferris wheel, when we're there di pa sya open but I believe March open na.


Food:

• Food is really great in Singapore because of the different cultures – basta don’t eat on restaurants and it won’t be that expensive (if converted to peso). Don’t eat on American fast food chain kasi through food mo talaga mae-enjoy ang Singapore and for the price you’ll pay for Mc Do – same amount na rin when you eat at Hawker centers
• For breakfast, eat the kaya toast with teh (milk tea) or kopi (local coffee), or you can have their numerous variety of noodles
• Try the following food: chili crabs (when you order this, samahan nyo nung mantou bread), black pepper crabs (though ako I like the chili crabs better), cereal prawns, bbq stingray, laksa, roast duck, chicken rice (hainanese chicken) – this can either be roast or steamed chicken
• While in Orchard you can eat in either of the two: mini hawker center near Le Meridien or in Food Republic in 4th level of Wisma Atria
• For experience, buy the S$1.00 icecream na binebenta ng mga mama sa kalye most especially in Orchard in front of Takashimaya. You can have it sandwiched between wafer or nasa one piece of loaf bread.
• For drinks, try the sugarcane drink, Pokka tea
• If you want to eat in a restaurant, I recommend these two for chili crabs: No Signboard (in Esplanade) or Jumbo (in Clarke Quay) – both are good!

You can go to Orchard by going down to either of the three stations:

1. Dhoby Ghaut station – farthest from the other side – first mall you’ll see is Plaza Singapura, continue walking and you’ll see the house of the prime minister – Istana Park (their version of Malacanang) then you’ll see Le Meridien and after that yung mini hawker center na.
2. Somerset station – (middle of Orchard shopping area) when you go out, cross the street and you’ll see on your left side the Visitor Center – you can get pamphlets and maps here for free, may free foot massage pa. You can also buy here your park hopper tickets.
3. Orchard station – the farthest naman from the other side after Wisma Atria.


(Recommended by their website):

Note: I brought this list too when we went there the last time, but due to time constraints, we were not able to visit any of the recommended restaurants here.

Breakfast:
Chin Mee Chin – hole in the wall on 204 East Coast Road opens 8:30am – 5pm; closed on Mondays – Food: kaya toast, swiss rolls, cream puffs and coffee the old way (20 unique things to do in SGP)

Lunch:
Katong Laksa Wars (stalls 47, 49, 57 and 328) – in East Coast Road claiming to be the best/the original/the real McCoy – Corner of Ceylon road and East Coast road (20 unique things to do in SGP)
Hokkie mee stall Thye Hong at Wisma Atria’s Food Republic – noodles served on traditional opeh leaf (20 unique things to do in SGP)
Joo chiat area – Kim Choo Kueh Chang (60 Joo Chiat Place) – glutinous rice dumpling, Awfully Chocolate (451 Joo Chiat Place) – melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake, Canton Wok (382 Joo Chiat Place) and Casa Bom Vento (467 Joo Chiat Place) (20 unique things to do in SGP)

Dinner:
Makansutra Gluttons Bay – 01-15 Esplanade Mall daily 6pm to 3am
Eng Seng Restaurant – 241 Joo Chiat Place – signature black pepper crabs. Open 5pm – 10pm (20 unique things to do in SGP)
Sin Huat Seafood Restaurant – signature Crab Bee Hon – place is fully packed so better to visit after 9pm – Geylang Lorong 35 (corner of Geylang Road) – opens 6:30pm – 12:30am (20 unique things to do in SGP)
Chomp Chomp – hawker center in 20 Kensington Park Road – serves up one of the most authentic local food experiences – bbq stingray, won ton noodles, fried carrot cake, laksa, sugarcane juice

Note: I only tried the Newton Food Center, haven't been to the others recommended below.

Hawker’s Center: - to really save, I suggest that you eat here. Kami parati hawker center except pag may manglilibre we eat sa restos
Lau Pa Sat Festival Market – 18 Raffles Quay – MRT: Raffles Place – highly recommended
Newton Food Center – along Clemenceau ave. North – MRT: Newton
Geylang Serai Market – Beside Blk 1, 3, 4, 5 Jalan Pasar Bahru – MRT: Paya Lebar
Glutton’s Bay – refer above
East Coast Lagoon Food Village – 1220 East Coast Parkway – MRT: Bedok


Don’t forget:

• Bring your own tissue paper – they don’t usually provide you with this when you eat
• Don’t bring gum – BAWAL! As in big deal sa kanila
• It is better if you get the reloadable MRT card as even on bus you will use this pay – but since hindi practical to buy as tourists kayo – be sure to always have coins kasi sa bus, dapat eksakto ang bayad. Ako, my MRT card has been with me for three years and hindi sya nag-eexpire even if on that three years eh, once a year lang ako nagpunta
• For big purchases (above S$100), make sure you ask for the GST refund receipt para you can refund the amount you pay for tax sa airport
• Bring folding umbrella and sun block – it’s a tropical country with weird weather as ours so better be ready


If you’ll ask me of a good itinerary, I suggest the following:

Day 1: go to Orchard, go to the Visitor Center and get the maps and pamphlets, buy ticket for park hopper and ask for directions na like paano kayo makakapunta sa mga zoo and Jurong bird park kasi may bus pa eto after train ride; ikot na sa mga malls, check out Istana park then sa gabi – go na to Clarke Quay

OR, kung ayaw nyo ikot sa mall after going to Visitor’s center go to Istana park na then take the MRT in Dhoby Ghaut station then diretso Harbour Front station na for Sentosa.

Day 2: visit the zoos (Jurong bird park in the morning, zoo in the afternoon then night safari). Though eto sobrang puno na (kasi maganda talaga is whole day sa zoo then tsaka night safari)

Day 3: Marina Bay area naman– go first to Funan (my opinion – better pa rin to buy at Funan than Sim Lim kasi mas sure kang di ka lolokohin, sa Sim Lim kasi, if they know that you’re a tourist, minsan lokohin ka pa) then Raffles City then go down and use Citylink Mall to go to Suntec or Marina Square

OR if you don’t want to go shopping: from Raffles City, don’t use the walkway at the basement, instead use the pedestrian walk to go to Esplanade para you’ll see the scenery, then since you spent the night of Day one in Sentosa, pwedeng this time naman you go to Clarke Quay.

Recommended website to check: http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/index.html

Church:
St. Andrew’s Cathedral – MRT: City Hall
St. Joseph’s Church – MRT: Bugis – 143 Victoria Street; Sunday mass: 8:30am, 10am, 5pm
The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd – MRT: City Hall and walk along Bras Basah Road. ‘A’ Queen street; Sunday mass: 8am, 10am, 6pm

So what exactly did we do in Singapore. Hubby and I have no itinerary for our Singapore trip, I only requested that we go to Sentosa during daytime (since I haven’t seen it on broad daylight yet) and we have a list of food to eat. Yep! That’s the only requirement for our trip – that we eat the food on my list. This trip was originally scheduled last year, unfortunately, we cannot get airline booking as we’re both using free miles for this trip. Hubby left ahead of me, his flight was Thursday evening while mine was Friday morning. Since we did not plan on anything, even our hotel booking was done the night before he left so not a lot of choices already.

So, what exactly did we do in Singapore? Walk and eat. As in! that’s all we did. We wake up, walk, then when we get hungry, we eat, then we walk again. That’s the cycle!

Day 1, Friday, Feb. 22

• I was early for my 8:20 flight, spent the time waiting in the airport with my sister and her officemates as they’re going to Hongkong, their flight is at 8am.
• Hubby fetched me at the Singapore airport, top-up my MRT card then went to our hotel to drop my things and freshen up
• Our first agenda: lunch in No Signboard in Esplanade. Our food: chili crab (Australian snow crab) and cereal prawn. The bill: never mind. Let’s just say that this is the most expensive food that hubby and I ever ate in our entire life. Imagine, the crab we ate are more than one kilo!
• After eating, we strolled on the river bank, hubby took pictures of the Merlion across the river then we walked on the bridge. Seeing the good view of the esplanade hubby took more pictures of the durian shaped theater. Crossed the road and walked at the back of the Fullerton hotel until we reached the business district and took the MRT from Raffles Place station – our next stop – Orchard road
• In Orchard, did some window shopping in Takashimaya and Wisma Atria. We saw the LV boutique in Ngee Ann City with people all lined up outside the store, so out of curiosity hubby and I lined up too, we’re actually thinking that probably there’s a sale going on, only to find out that well, it’s just a way to control the crowd as LV is so popular in Singapore that you’ll see a lot of Chinese or Singaporean clutching an LV bag.
• Met my brother then had dinner in Food Republic of Wisma Atria. Of course I ordered Hainanese chicken and the experience will not be complete without buying the S$1 ice cream sandwich along Orchard.
• Went back to the hotel then walked around our “wholesome” neighborhood. Yung mga akala kong houses, eh hindi pala houses but not so wholesome place, then the side streets becomes a "casino" at night and there are a lot of girls waiting for customers. Haaay... see related post here.

Day 2, Saturday, Feb. 23

• We woke up late. We’re supposed to watch the air show but since we arrived in Orchard visitor center at 11am (the airshow will start at 1pm), we decided to postponed it to the next day, we just bought the tickets. Had lunch first in the mini-hawker in Orchard. Ate barbecued stingray and noodle hot pot soup. Looked for kurt’s avent teats, unfortunately we can’t find #2, I guess out of stock and did more window shopping.
• Went to Sim Lim to look for some gadgets and other techie things, explored more of the Little India then went to Vivo City (the new mall) and took the ride to Sentosa.
• It was my first time to see Sentosa during daytime so I was happy. Saw people sunbathing, watched for a while, pasyal-pasyal, then hubby and I decided to try the sky ride and the luge. The sky ride was terrifying and exciting at the same time while the luge is all about excitement.
• Went back to Vivo city then had kaya toast and kopi for merienda. Then more pasyal in the mall.
• We met up with my brother again. This time, we decided to have dinner at Clarke Quay. Ate at Quayside Seafood and ordered satay, calamares, beef with broccoli, Chinese cabbage and seafood rice which I partnered with Singapore sling.
• Stayed in Clarke Quay for a while, ate the famous Turkish ice cream then watched those brave people who rode the reverse bungy jump and extreme swing. My brother left ahead of us as he still has work the next day. Hubby and I had a big adventure because we were not able to make it to the last trip of the MRT. We took the wrong bus, walked and walked hoping we’ll get to our hotel (we’re actually on the right road – but we found out that the bus stopped on the other side –not near our hotel). When we finally realized that we can’t reach our hotel walking, we decided to ride a cab, I think we arrived in the hotel at past 2am.

Day 3, Sunday, Feb. 24

• Had breakfast in a nearby mini-hawker, had roasted duck and rice partnered with teh (milk tea) while hubby had congee.
• Since we were able to buy our ticket already yesterday, we proceeded to the pick up place for the air show.
• Spent two hours on line baked in the sun waiting for our turn to ride the bus (abuso sa dami ng tao). When we got to the place, stayed the entire time out in the sun again! Grabe! Nangitim talaga ako even with sunblock (to think maya’t maya eh naglalagay ako tapos may taklob pa kong shawl). What can I say about the experience? Well, the only thing I enjoyed is seeing the new airbus A330 up close. I guess the reason why I did not enjoy the whole experience was I actually watched an airshow already in San Francisco and that was even better but hubby really had a good time. Well, he’s really the one who wants to watch this, ako, I just went with him for bonding pero sobrang I want to tell him na that I will not go with him, that I’ll just spend the day on the mall. But decided against it. After the airshow, we checked the aircrafts in the exhibit area, mesmerized at the arrival of the HUGE airbus 330. We got really good close up photos. I also enjoyed having pictures taken with the hunky US navy LOL! Spent another 1 ½ hour on line waiting for our turn to ride the bus back to the MRT station. I am so MAD with these Singaporean police or martials when we passed by the long line of waiting buses. Imagine my disgust. Ang haba-haba ng pila ng tao waiting for a chance to ride the bus tapos nakita ko na ang haba-haba din pala ng pila ng bus somewhere sa may labas naghihintay na papuntahin na sila dun sa sakayan. Maryosep! Kasi naman, ang bagal-bagal nila magpasakay, nung una, it’s one bus at a time, hinihintay nilang mapuno muna yung first bus bago pasakyan yun sunod na bus. Grabe talaga! Good thing later on ginawa nilang dalawa. They could at least have more bus there like nun papunta na like mga 3-4 bus yun sabay-sabay na pinapasakyan nila. The children are fussy and crying na kasi ang tagal talaga ng waiting time. Grrrrr….. I was so dead tired after that. That’s when I really realized how big and heavy I am na kasi nahihirapan na yun legs and feet ko carrying my whole body eh I remember in 2006, I was able to walk pa thirty blocks in NYC with my boots ha! Eh eto, naka-flip flops lang ako.
• After resting for a while, took a bath then went to Newton hawker center for a dinner with Francis friends. We had a good meal and great conversation, enjoyed my sugarcane juice then we had cereal prawns, barbecued stingray, calamares, sinigang na fish, Chinese petchay (not sure of the proper term).

On a good side, please read about it on this website if you want to know more of how it turned out and for pictures. The pictures that hubby took are still in his camera.

Day 4, Monday, Feb. 25

• It’s already hubby’s last day. We packed up our things, checked out then went to my brother’s apartment to leave our things there.
• That’s when we did our shopping. Went back to Ngee Ann City and bought ourselves Lacoste polo shirts (hubby’s gift to me) and Lacoste shoes
• Went to Funan and hubby bought external hard disc, while I bought a girly laptop bag and dvd case for kurt’s portable dvd. Finally, hubby decided not to buy the Apple laptop as wala naman talagang reason for him to buy that and finally he decided din not to buy muna the Samsung LCD TV. I’ve been convincing him not to buy kasi meron naman kaming TV sa room and we still don’t have our own house so impractical talaga to buy.
• After Funan, hubby went back na to my brother’s apartment and got his things for his flight back to Manila. I went with him to the airport but did not leave the MRT na para walang charge. Hehehehe… kuripot!
• On my own, went to more malls: Raffles Place, Citylink Mall, Marina Square and Suntec city looking for more things to buy and looking for my Melissa shoes, I found the shop that sells it kaso the style that I want has no more available size for me = (
• Went to a children’s mall near to my brother’s work to buy pasalubong for kurt
• Had dinner in a famous bah ku teh restaurant with my brother and his officemate. Sabi nila, this is the original bahkuteh and people are lining up just to eat here kaya we went there early. Bahkuteh is pork ribs with soup tipong nilaga style but with additional spices for that different twang
• Decided just to go home to my brother’s apartment after dinner as I am really tired with all the walking that I did.

Day 5, Tuesday, Feb. 26

• My flight back to Manila. I was able to buy Charles and Keith shoes from the airport, it's on sale tapos tax free pa. Good thing, di ako agad bumili, too bad lang na yung isang shoes na pang office sana doesn't have my size anymore. Nakakatawa pa ko kasi nasa boarding area na ko, when I decided to go back to buy the shoes that I tried =)

Hubby and I enjoyed this vacation. We’re so tired with all the walking pero masaya kasi walang pressure. Hubby wants to go back to Singapore on September to watch the Formula One. If we push through with that plan, I’m thinking of bringing kurt along na.

I have to log this. I have a new favorite breakfast/snack item from Starbucks! well, I started with this love affair last January but I only realized now that I've been frequently buying this, truly enjoying each moment while I savor my BAGEL! Yep! That's my new favorite from Starbucks, their multi-grain bagel toasted until I can feel its outer skin crunchy, smothered with yummy cream cheese and partnered with strong brewed coffee, heaven! I used to buy even the cream cheese from Starbucks but yesterday I've decided to buy my own tub in the grocery.P35 for a small cream cheese is not cheap you know, so I decided to buy my own 1/3 less fat Philadelphia cream cheese! yum! yum!



Photo courtesy of http://blissfultravel.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/greg-olsen-bagel-a-day.jpg searched in Google.
Note: this is not how the Starbucks bagel actually looks like but it is the closest. Starbucks bagel has more grains (right term?) on top and it's more brownish and flaky looking being a multi-grain bread, I can't take a photo of my bagel as I already finished the top half LOL!

And while I'm at it, I realized that the blog I found on google is really nice because the entries are all about travel. Now, I have a new addition to my fave reads.

I just finished my tips for Singapore which I sent to my officemates. I really enjoyed doing it and I hope to do this for other places that I've been to a number of times na. My post for the San Jose, CA is completed already, I can't post other things na as those are specific na to work.

Now, I'm thinking of Hongkong, not to make the tips, but to look for some tips. You see, I did not enjoy my first visit to Hongkong. It was an OB trip and we just extended our stay until weekend. Since marami kami, I did not prepare any itinerary, did not do any research, so in short, we were not able to go to must-go-shopping places, well, we saw the night market and Tsam Tsi Tsu (sp?) pero we were not able to go to the outlet malls. To think we did not go to Disneyland and Ocean Park para lang makapag-shopping and we're mostly moms so we know na malulungkot lang kami if we go there without our family, eh ako, I've been to Disneyland in California na. So, now, can somebody make the tips sheet for Hongkong please or refer me to a site that has one? No plans of going to Hongkong yet though as parang ang gustong next travel destination ni hubby eh Korea.

Tip # 5: Recommended places to visit

Warning: this post is long.

Recommended places to visit:
• Paramount’s Great America – nearest theme park, this is in San Jose.
• Six Flags – another theme park. If you love thrill rides, you’ll love this place. This is farther, it’s in Vallejo, California, 2 hour drive from San Jose.
• Napa Valley – if you’re a wine drinker, you’ve probably noticed that there are a lot of wines from California, these are made in Napa Valley, you can visit this and see for yourself the winery and vineyard.
• Monterey/Carmel – a very nice place. You’ll see here the pacific ocean, aquarium, seven-mile drive. If you want to see what to expect there, I’ll just show you the pictures.

Downtown San Francisco

I recommend either of the two ways to get there.

1. Bring your car and drive up to Millbrae BART (bay area rapid transit) station – Do not attempt to drive up to San Francisco if you intend to visit the stores as the parking is expensive (and medyo mahirap i-drive if first time driver). It’s better to take the train. Or instead of Millbrae station, you can also take the Caltrain from Palo Alto then transfer to BART in Millbrae, they also have a parking space there but parking lot is bigger in Millbrae.

2. Drive only up to the Caltrain Diridon station – Caltrain is the train that will take you from Diridon station in San Jose to Millbrae station where you can ride the BART. (www.bart.gov)

From Millbrae station, go down Powell station then look for the visitor center. Buy your city pass here (that city pass will give you unlimited ride to the cable car and other Metro buses). Don’t forget to visit the following in downtown San Francisco: crookedest street, Pier 39/Fisherman’s Wharf, Union Square, Chinatown, Palace of Fine Arts, Coit tower, Postcard Row. If nobody will tour you around, you might want to consider joining the tours to give you a preview of San Francisco, at least, you will know where to go back. I also recommend driving to San Francisco when you’re more experienced already in US driving so you can drive by the Golden Gate bridge and visit the Golden Gate park. If you can, try walking the bridge, I’ve been wanting to do that but wasn’t able to do so. Alcatraz visit can be done with the Muir woods tour so reserve one whole day for this. There is a tour that combines these two, just check out in the web or from the brochures that you’ll get from the visitor center. Try eating at Cheesecake Factory, it’s on the top of Macy’s Union Square, they’re cheese cakes are to die for!

Los Angeles

If you plan to go to LA via long drive, it’s better if you go there on a long weekend kasi you need to have 3 full days to really enjoy LA. Leave San Jose in 2-3 am so you’ll be in LA or Disneyland before 10am. Traffic is bad in LA so you wouldn’t want to waste your time in traffic.
I actually recommend going to Disneyland first since this is the farthest, it’s in Anaheim so better if you go here directly.

Day one is to visit Disneyland in Anaheim, day two is to visit Universal Studios then day three to visit Hollywood blvd., Sta. Monica Beach, Malibu beach and Beverly Hills. It will take you one whole day to see everything in Disneyland even if you stay until closing and that is only by visiting the main park. If you intend to visit the other park, which is the California Adventure, you’ll then need two days for Disneyland alone pero for me, its ok na not to visit California Adventure. Also, would recommend if you buy the tickets ahead of time, either online or in the grocery so you will not be wasting time lining up to buy the tickets. For Universal Studios, its also recommended to stay there the whole day but if you don’t have a lot of time, you can go to Hollywood in the morning then after lunch na lang ang Universal Studios. Don’t forget to take the studio tour in Universal Studios, it’s scheduled and it will take one hour of your time.

If you have time, try joining the LA tour kasi you can only see the celebrity houses if you take the tours. What to see in Hollywood: Kodak theatre (Oscars!), Mahn’s Chinese temple, Hollywood stars’ stars on the side walk, hand and foot prints at Mahn’s Chinese temple.

Thanksgiving

The next and last long weekend of your stay will be the thanksgiving weekend. Last year (2006), thanksgiving was Nov. 23 then 24th is also declared holiday in the office (The office always declare the Friday after thanksgiving day as holiday). The office people usually take the whole week off so you can probably schedule your vacation during this time to visit east coast. Actually, this is the best time to visit east coast since it’s a long weekend and it’s better to be in east coast for the black Friday sale. If you intend to buy electronics like, laptop, IPOD, etc. it’s best to buy it on a black Friday sale since it’s their biggest sale but of course, you should research the internet first because Americans are so competitive on this sale. They even stay overnight outside the stores just to be the first ones to enter the stores. Some malls open as early as 5am on this day. (see tip #3)

Recommended places to visit in East coast:

Since your time in East coast is limited, I recommend the following itinerary:

Thanksgiving day, Thursday – stay in New York, they have the best thanksgiving parade. Watch the parade in the morning then tour in the afternoon, don’t schedule though to visit Empire state building on this day as the line will be long since there are a lot of tourists. You can probably explore Central Park on this day, this is a very nice park so don’t forget to visit it, there are a lot of movies filmed here. You can’t do much shopping as the stores are closed on thanksgiving.

Friday – go shopping!! Delaware is tax-free even for electronics. On this day, you should have a plan, prioritize what you want to buy, on sale electronics are always the fast moving items so if you intend to buy, go there really early, Best Buy is a good place to buy electronics.

Washington, DC – you can visit DC in one day but you have to be there really early since there are a lot of good places to visit. I definitely recommend to go there as this is the US state capital and this is the only place where the museums are free and all tourist spots are just nearby each other. Consider taking the hop on hop off tour, so you won’t get tired walking and there are some places na medyo malayo lakarin. Since you can’t visit all the museums, at least visit the Air and Space, and Natural Sciences museums. Don’t spend all your time trying to see all the museums as there are more places to see in DC.

In New York – take also the hop on hop off tour (of Greyhound) so you can go to all the tourist spots. It’s better to come from New Jersey if you intend to go to Statue of Liberty since mas konti ang sumasakay from there. Schedule the trip to the Liberty island separate with your New York tour kasi it will eat up a lot of your time. Tip on empire state, check first if its not foggy because if its foggy, sayang ang bayad kasi wala ka ring makikita.

If you still have time, visit also Philadelphia, this is where the history of US is, visit the Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. You’ll learn a lot about US history here.

Tip # 6: Other Matters

• Bring prepaid sim for roaming. Very useful in your first few days in the US.

• If you suddenly miss Filipino food or if you want to buy unfrozen meat and seafood, look for the map/direction to Seafood City, San Jose (or you can get the directions from me, I still have it in my notebook). This is a grocery that sells Filipino stuff and beside it is Red Ribbon and Chowking. You can also buy Globe prepaid load here and landline call cards for Philippines. (Note: It’s better to buy call cards that are specifically for the Philippines rather than the generic international call cards that can be bought in the grocery, it will give you longer minutes)

• If you want to take the public transportation. Try logging on to www.511.org, it will give you the complete instructions on what to ride. This site is so good, you just have to enter your starting point and destination and it will give you the instructions of what to ride, how long and how much will the travel take.

• Plan for Labor Day weekend, last year (2006) it was from Aug. 31 – Sept. 4. Friday before the Labor Day is always a holiday. This is your first long weekend so take this opportunity to travel. If you’re already comfortable in driving. I suggest that you go to LA on this weekend so you’ll have enough time to explore LA. LA is 5-6 hour drive from San Jose. If you can’t take driving that long, you can also go to Monterey, CA (2 hour drive) and stay there overnight, they have a lot of B&B (bed & breakfast) there. A really nice place.

Tip # 4: Recommended Restaurants for daily eating

• Applebees – definitely American but not for daily meals though as American food are the most expensive. I love the riblets here.
• In N Out – a must try. Their burgers and fries are very good.
• Black Angus – from outside, the restaurant looks intimidating, parang mahal but once you go inside, steaks are really affordable, you can have a complete steak meal for $15.
• Sizzler – another alternative resto if you want to eat steak.
• Happy House – a Japanese fast food, it’s in Saratoga ave., on the north side. Food here is cheap, averages $6.
• There’s this Korean restaurant that has buffet grill on your table top – I so love this, I even took francis here when he visited me, unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the resto.
• Olive Garden – buffet salad, pizza and pasta. There are other buffet restaurants which I can no longer recall. So bear with me. There’s this sushi buffet pa but medyo malayo and I don’t know how to go there, hubby’s auntie just took as there – ok ‘to kasi pinipilahan ng mga tao. If you’re really interested, let me know so I can ask hubby’s auntie.
• And one more thing, if you’ll be part of a big team, there will always be weekly free lunches. So through this, you’ll get to try different restaurants.

Tet gave me these two awards. Thanks sis! sana pwedeng ipambili yun card noh? :)



Now, I'm giving this to Joey, Pat and Joy.

Tip #3: Don't forget to SHOP on the Black Friday Sale

As the timing of our secondment in the US is usually July to December, we're so lucky to be in the US during thanksgiving. More than experiencing the holiday, which is the most awaited and celebrated holiday in the US, we also got the chance to be there for the sale, the day after the thanksgiving, the famous Black Friday Sale.

On my two separate US assignments, I got to experience this. This is the mother of all sales and everybody "as in everybody" who are eyeing on big purchases wait for this moment. All stores put their items on sale, so the biggest key is planning and prioritization. Also, it is better to be in East Coast during this time, Delaware, to be exact as it is tax-free for everything. Though usually, some stores are tax-free during this day.

So again, what can help survive this very important date? PLAN and PRIORITIZE.

Few days before the Black Friday sale, sale info are already available on the web, so it is best to check the web for Black Friday ad. This site lists all stores participating and the items on sale including sale amounts, conditions like how many stocks available or are rain checks allowed, etc. The site is updated everyday until the day itself and send email alerts of new ads.

On my last visit, I want so much to buy a videocam, this Black Friday ad helped me look for the best deal. I compared deals offered by Best Buy, Circuit City and Office Depot and through the ad, I was able to buy my Sony HD video camera from Best Buy. I learned that they'll be selling limited stocks only, I already checked the price, so my sister and I woke up really early to be in Best Buy by 5am and so shocked we are that the line is so long already. We're really thankful for my research on the net, if we haven't searched beforehand, I wouldn't have known which store to buy my videocam.

From the same Black Friday ad, I was able to list all the stores where I can buy all the items that I want to buy. One, I bought Leap Pad books from Toys R Us as I saw that these will be on sale. Second, we're also able to buy a $20 Philips cordless phone from Circuit City (that's from original of $40). Third, my sister was able to buy a really cheap ladder from Home Depot, while we both bought two way radios from the same store. All of these, only because we researched before we hit the sale. Would you believe that by 9am, we're done buying our major purchases (the fast moving items)? that we're still able to enjoy a very good breakfast and after the breakfast, that's when we went back to the stores to buy the rest of the items that we want (these are the items that we know will not be immediately gone).

There are actually items that can be bought online. I bought my Apple IPOD Video online. I learned that Apple will be selling online refurbished units at half the price, of course, I grabbed the opportunity, I was able to buy an IPOD at half its price delivered on my doorstep.

In summary, one must really be prepared for the Black Friday sale. I was actually surprised on my first time to experience it. I was shocked that people actually camped outside the stores, just to be the first ones to enter the store once it opens. I've never seen that kind of sale, and we were not prepared on my first time, that's why on my second time, we were so prepared, we researched before we attacked. By afternoon, we're done shopping based on our list. Isn't it great?!

Younger batch of officemates are going to Singapore this month, and since they know that I went there a few weekends ago, they were asking me for tips. As I am preparing to write one, I suddenly remembered the same "tips sheet" that I gave to some of their batchmates when they were seconded in the US. You see, I was the first from our group to be seconded on that side of the US as the previous batches were all seconded on east coast, that's why I prepared that "tips sheet". I am saving here part by part the tips I provided to them, specific to their needs but can be useful too to anybody going to the Pacific Northwest US.

Tip topic # 1: On driving
Note: when I was there, hindi pa uso ang GPS, so I am so dependent on maps.

- Use Google map – for me, this is the most reliable and provides the simplest directions compared to Yahoo and Mapquest though if you have time, it’s better that you compare the three, as it might be case to case basis, depending on the location.

- Also, if you have a friend in the US who’s a member of AAA, ask that person to get you maps of San Francisco, San Jose and nearby cities since it really helps to still have an actual map in case you get lost in following the directions from Google map.

- Always plan your trips, study the directions and map. It helps to have a small notebook where you can copy the directions if you have no printer access. At least with a notebook, you will retain the copy of the directions rather than using looseleaf paper where you’ll risk of losing it after use.

Tips topic # 2: Recommended Stores

1. Seafood City – Filipino food, unfrozen meat and fish, only grocery that sells atay (liver), balun-balunan (gizzard), etc., sells balikbayan box, Globe prepaid load. You can also ask them to clean and fry the fish with no fee.

2. Target – sells everything, from groceries, clothes, electronics, toys, supplies, etc. It’s a good place to buy Mossimo clothes, chocolates for pasalubong, etc. Very near Oakwood Saratoga. Ask Maris, she loves this store. Virgin Mobile top up (prepaid load) is cheaper here by 10%.

3. Safeway – grocery, you can find this anywhere. Don’t forget to get a Safeway card, there is no fee for this and you’ll save a lot as they have special rates for Safeway club members. You can get the membership card from the cashier, ask about it before you pay so your purchases will be discounted. Also, always check out for Safeway’s weekly catalog that they will send to your apartment mail box, this contains coupons (for discounts and promo). Safeway always have a buy one take one promo for ice cream for Safeway club members. Their cooked baby back ribs is good! = ) and always check out their sale of steaks! I always stock up on steaks as this is the fastest food to cook. There are two Safeway stores near Oakwood Saratoga, one is near Target and the other one is near Valleyfair.

4. Valleyfair – this is the biggest mall na in Northern California. Has two department stores: Macy’s and Nordstrom (Nordstrom is like Rustans here meaning expensive). Tip: don’t buy clothes here for regular price, clothes are cheaper somewhere. Buy here only on sale. It’s very near Oakwood Saratoga.

5. Santana Row – in front Valleyfair, this is their gimik place, parang Greenbelt 2 ang set up.

6. Great Mall – outlet mall. Best place for shopping of clothes, shoes, bags, etc. In the US, its always the outlets that are the best place to shop since they’re always cheap. This mall is very near Cisco, you can go here by taking interstate 880 or 280 but from Oakwood Saratoga, its nearer to take I-880. Search google for directions, it’s in Milpitas. They also have Marshalls here – a bargain store, same with Ross, if you’re matyaga, you’ll get good finds here.

7. Ross or Marshalls – bargain store. You can buy branded clothes, shoes and bags if you’re matyaga. I always check out these stores for new stocks and I bought most of my pasalubongs here.

8. Dollar Stores – try finding a nearby dollar store since everything here costs only a dollar. Don’t buy food here though. Would recommend buying the tissues, extra hangers, food containers and other non-food stuff here. Don’t buy shampoos and soap here too kasi baka expired na or fake.

9. Best Buy or Fry’s – for everything electronics.

Disclaimer: My tips are based on my almost six months stay in the US, these are the things that helped me survive given my circumstances.

This awards are given by my new cyberfriend Joey. Thanks!



I am now passing this to those who recently left comments on my cbox: Jane, Quel, Krisha and Em!

With a heavy heart, we’re now selling the CRV. Hubby and I both love his CRV, this is our second car as husband and wife, this is the second car that we spent our savings (mostly his). And now, we’re selling it. Why? As much as we don’t want to, we have to be practical. One, we don’t have our own house yet, so parking is a big issue – if we do not sell this, we’ll have three cars (my car, his new car and the CRV), add to that my FIL’s two cars, hubby’s SIL’s car and another car that his brother will buy (if we don’t sell the crv to him) so total of seven cars for one house to think the covered parking can only accommodate three cars, so that means four cars will be parked outside. Second, we won’t be using the CRV much now. Why? I can’t drive it as it is a manual car while hubby will prefer to drive his new car (kasi syempre bago and that’s his company car so better na yun ang laspagin nya di ba? And that car has free gasoline). Kumbaga, hubby will only be using the CRV when his car is on coding or when we need a bigger car or just for the fact that he has to use the CRV. Third, hubby is still paying for this for two more years so sobrang impractical to be paying for a car that he seldom use. Fourth, he’ll be spending for maintenance, insurance and registration on a car that he seldom use. Fifth, we can use the money for other reason. And sixth, we realize that it’s really about time that we sell it kasi mag 5 years na sya and when a vehicle reaches it’s fifth year, lalaki na lalo ang maintenance cost. The car won’t be far from us though as it’ll be hubby’s eldest brother who’ll buy it. He wants to buy the CRV ASAP kasi last year they sold their two cars and so far, isa pa lang ang nabili nila and they’re having a hard time coping with just one car so ayun, biglang napa-decide kami to sell it, though if it’s not that he’s brother wants it, we *might* not sell it as it is really dear to our hearts. Reason kasi why we don’t want to sell it are: One, how can we survive the rainy season if we’re both driving kotse eh dati pag tag-ulan, I don’t bring na my car, we just ride the CRV kasi yun mataas, hindi delikado sa baha. Second, paano na when we need an SUV – like punta kami sa rough road, etc. Third, wala na kaming bigger car and fourth, love namin pareho yung CRV lalo na yun folding table nya, perfect for picnics.

I know our reason not to sell it are so mababaw, kaya talaga the reason for selling it is for practicality. I actually had tears in my eyes when hubby informed me today that it’s final that we’re selling it. I can just imagine how confused will kurt is going to be kasi alam nyang sa min yun CRV tapos biglang si daddy2 na nya ang gagamit. Eh hubby told him pa na sa kanya na yung CRV. LOL! 3 years old pa lang eh may sarili nang kotse.

I've been tagged by Em. Thanks sis! this is long overdue.

Overview: Kurt is our only child. He's three years old. 3 years, 4 months to be exact.

1. He is so talkative. As in! His record - He’s talking non-stop from Baguio to Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan then from Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan to our home in Pasig. His lola will usually do the talking hand signal to him and say, “kurt who’s like this?” Then the little boy will reply: “it’s really hard!” As if trying to say that it’s hard not to talk. LOL!!
2. He is independent. He learned to eat on his own when he was one year old (and he’s clean I tell you – lahat bilib kasi malinis sya kumain). Potty trained on his own when he was one year old. Slept on his own bed when he turned three years old – without us teaching him to do so. Sets up his own plate, wants to get his own food and cleans up his dirty dishes afterwards. Decided on his own when it’s time to go to school. Loads the dvd of the movies he want to watch, brushes his teeth on his own (nagagalit pa sa kin when I do it though pagkatapos nya brush, sabihin nya, help para I can brush na his teeth, final clean kumbaga), wants to take a bath on his own (he'll just ask me what part of the body to scrub) among other things. I'll update this pag may naisip pa ko.
3. He is so helpful. He’ll always try to help me on anything. He’ll help me do my laundry, help me set up or clean the table, take my things from my car to our room, set up his own bed, attempts to make his own dede (which I am still not letting him do so I just let him shake the bottle), bring our bags from our room to the car, and a lot of other things.
4. It’s easier to take care of him when we’re in the mall than at home. Kasi when we’re in the mall he’s contented with us just looking around, sa house, malikot.
5. I can take him to a toy store and leave without buying anything. He’s contented with just looking and playing for a while. Even if we tell him to choose a toy that he like, he’ll not get anything.
6. He doesn’t get tired easily from walking. Proof – when he was two years old, last May 2007, when we were in Boracay, he walked from La Carmela (which was between station 2 and 3) to Jonah’s (which was in the opposite end of station 1) and back to La Carmela from Jonah’s. His cousin, who’s six year’s old, got tired, that he asked his dad to carry him, but the little boy, as in hindi napagod, kumakanta pa while walking. This is the reason why when he started walking on his own eh we do not bring umbroller na kasi he enjoys walking.
7. He’s layas as his parents. Automatic yan, pag weekend, he has to leave the house otherwise he’ll throw in tantrums and he’s usually (or always) behave when we’re out. According to MIL, for sure tutubuan na rin daw ng nunal sa paa ang little boy as hubby and I both have nunal sa talampakan. We can even go out nang kaming dalawa lang, I’ll just strap the seatbelt on him, while he’s seated beside me sa harap ng car, he’s so behaved, while I am driving.
8. He loves sabaw. In all his meals, gusto nya may sabaw, most especially sinigang. That’s why he doesn’t eat breakfast or on rare times that he does, dapat may sabaw and his ulam will only be egg. So, my MIL always makes sure that we have a soup in the ref, ready for the little boy when he asks for it. And gusto nya pa, he always have a soup bowl, where he can sip the soup while eating, in addition to the sabaw on his plate.

You can see my posting about him by looking on label: Kurt
I think I'm too late na on this so, to my blog visitors, please feel free to grab if you haven't answered this. Let me know though if you did, so I can check out your kids random facts

I have always been very grateful of the technology, most especially the yahoo messenger chat with voice and webcam (not very techie and new but super useful). Countless times, we gained a lot of benefits with this service. One, when I was in the US, I celebrated my son’s 2nd birthday with them here in the Philippines, via webcam, I was there when he blew the candle on the cake, me even singing with them the happy birthday song, live through YM instant messaging. Another thing, my siblings and I also used to chat through YM conference, me in California, eldest sister in New Jersey, another sister in Kamias, QC, my two brothers in Batangas but separate houses, my other brother in Singapore, my sister in law in Pasay and hubby in Pasig, complete with webcam and voice chat. Technology is great, really! This task is really hard to manage if through the phone, not to mention, expensive.

Technology again, bridged and made us closer to relatives on the recent hard times on hubby’s side of the family. Last weekend, we went home to Pangasinan for hubby’s uncle’s burial. It was a tragic death, soon, unexpected, sad and more that I can’t disclose anymore in this blog. Hubby’s side of the family is close to their second cousins. You see, his dad has only two siblings but they are close to first cousins. Meaning, the sons and daughters of FIL’s dad’s siblings. Magulo ba? To explain in tagalog, FIL’s dad and his 3 other siblings family are really close na tipong kahit tatlo lang na magkakapatid sila FIL, it doesn’t matter kasi part of the family talaga yun cousins nila, kumbaga, you will not see the distinction kung sino lang ang magkakapatid. FIL and his cousins are 19 all in all, some in the US, some in Canada, some in Pangasinan and others in Manila. Basta they are so close so the unexpected death of one of the cousins was traggic for the whole family. Two siblings of the cousin who died went home to the Philippines but other cousins were not able to do, so that’s how technology bridged the distance. All throughout the lamay, we’re connected with them, online, through the internet with voice conference and webcam, they are with us through all the puyatan. They saw the casket, the visitors and even the nechrological (not sure if right term) service the night before the burial. They were there even in the inuman of the second generations (hubby and his cousins).

We arrived in Pangasinan, Friday night (night before the burial) and sa buong time na gising kami for the lamay, the relatives in the US, Canada, Korea and Saudi Arabia stayed with us through the internet. Kahit na malayo sila, nagpuyat din talaga, for those in the US, nag-leave sila from work, as gabi here is daytime there.

Mas nakakaiyak nung actual libing na, they were there to witness yung paglabas ng casket from the house and they all cried with us. We actually tried to look for a “WeRoam” user sana para even in the church service and the actual burial eh we can go online kaso we did not find any na. When we got home after the burial, they are there waiting for us and even the next day, which was the 9th day, we spent it together. They also have a gathering in the US for the padasal and we connected through the internet.

Hay, galing-galing talaga ng internet, kasi even if people can’t physical be there, they can be there through the net. Good thing din that hubby’s brother installed wireless internet in Pangasinan and that the entire family compound has a signal so they were using two laptops to broadcast the happening.

I was tagged by Em! I learned a lot of random things about you sis.

The rules: Link to the person that tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Share six un-important things/habits/quirks about your self. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let these random people know that they are tagged by leaving comments in their blog.Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Learned from Em that quirkiness means strikingly unconventional. I can't think immediately of 6 but I hope I'll fill this up.

1. I can't just watch television. Yep, there must be something else that I'm doing while watching tv. I usually pair this with reading (kinda weird huh?! pero naiintindihan ko pareho)

2. On buffets, I switch eating main food with dessert. So, usually, I already have my dessert plate with me, when I start eating.

3. I can't stand dust. I'll never stop sneezing and my nose will get all itchy not until I leave the place. But cleaning is not my fave. I guess because I don't like the dust on me,kumbaga eh ayaw ko sila istorbohin. hehehehe.. I can do other house stuff pero cleaning is my least favorite, but if I have no choice, I'll do it pero for sure, I have sipon after.

4. I posted it here before, I am inpatient. As in! I hate waiting. Sobra! and hubby can testify to this and has always been my victim.

5.I love sleeping. Although, it takes a lot of effort for me to fall asleep as in I have to be conditioned to do that kaya I hate being disturbed once I am asleep that’s why I don’t have an alarm clock even on working days except when I have early meetings – good thing I work on a flexi time company. And this is the main reason, why I can’t have another baby, i'm not ready yet to go back to sleepless/deprived nights.

6. I don’t care about the news. I don’t read the newspaper or even watch the news on TV – if I happen to watch it on TV, it was not me who turned it on or I only have it as a background to do something else (see item 1). I know, it’s irresponsible of me not to be up to date with current events BUT who can blame me, I only see bad news. Though when I was in the US, I always watch their news.

Wow, I had a hard time with this one, and I had to thank Jane kasi her entry about this made me think of my last two items (5&6).

I am now tagging Quel. Sis, I want to know your quirky habits.

I still have to post about our singapore trip and hubby's new prized possession, a new car. can't start yet as now, we're here in pangasinan. arrived last night and will stay until tomorrow. good thing they have wifi here. i can squeeze blogging while looking after the little boy. got to go!

Got this from my cyberfriend Tet.