Singapore is the second country I visited. I went there with my sister to watch Machi's concert (a Taiwanese hip-hop group) back in 2005. We didn't plan to go there, but after my sister got a call from her friend that Machi is going to have a concert there, and in the middle of shrieks, giggles, and incoherent exchange of ideas, we arrived in a spur-of-the-moment decision to travel and watch the concert. So after securing our tickets at Tiger Airways, we travelled to Clark and flew to Singapore. My sister's friend was gracious enough to let us sleep and shower in her place for three days, and that significantly helped us stick to our measly budget (the call came in three days before the concert and we didn't have time to save up), even letting us have some extra cash to buy a simple souvenir; a cap from an F4 endorsed clothing brand for my sister, and a CD bearing the group's signature for me.
Because of our tight 3-day schedule (which includes stalking and waiting outside hotels for a glimpse of Machi), we didn't see much of Singapore. But there are a few places we were able to visit like the famous Orchard Road, Botanic Gardens, Clark Quay (which is right beside Singapore River), and Sentosa Island. Except for Sentosa, all of the places we visited are all easily accessible by MRT, and if I remember correctly, we had to take a bus from one of the stations to get there.
With my short visit, I have come to admire the Singaporean's discipline and their drive to be better. It's a melting-pot of different cultures, ethnicities, traditions, and beliefs, but they all managed to thrive in peace and live in harmony. I also admire their former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's zeal for strict laws and order (isn't this the country that banned chewing gum?), and for making Singapore a First World country, ranking 7th (or 5th?) richest country (GDP per capita) in the world. It's a far-cry from being that under-developed, former British colony, and sometime-part of Malaysia we once read in history books. If only our leaders would share half of the zeal LKY had for Singapore, we're probably in a much a better place than now.. but then, that's probably wishing too much.
This may not be entirely related to what I've written above, but I'd like to share an article written by Lee Wei Ling, daughter of Lee Kuan Yew. I thought it's timely and appropriate for the times.
5.31.2009
5.27.2009
Going Vegan.
Life seems to be anything but jumping lately.. In fact, I'm so bored there hasn't been a day that I didn't wish to be whisked away to some place more exciting. But my blog badly needs an update, so I thought I should write some of the stuff that's keeping me busy (Ok, I know that there are so many important issues that are far more worthy to put my two cents in, however, I want to keep this blog as personal as possible)..
Weeks back, I enrolled in a vegetarian cooking class. Before you start rolling your eyes on me (esp. those who know how much I love eating meat), let me say that I'm not a convert, and I still enjoy a big, fat, juicy steak without feeling any guilt whatsoever... So what the hell am I doing in a place that shuns those? Well, my mom was recently diagnosed to have type 2 diabetes, and part of managing her illness is becoming vegan. At age 57, she barely tips the scale at 93 lbs. But even with her reed thin figure, she has to go on a strict low-fat, low-sodium, low-cholesterol, and sugar-free diet, which basically means she can't eat anything besides vegetables and some fruits. Because of this inhumane, almost torture-like diet, her weight plummeted to 89 lbs. She has become dangerously thin that sometimes, I wanna force-feed her some cheeseburger and milk loaded with butterfat. So I asked her to enrol in a cooking class, so she could start whipping up things more edible than chopped raw veggies and stir-fried tofu to eat. Turns out she wasn't too psyched to go to class with her age, and so she asked me to fill in for her. I love to cook, and I love learning new things, so I thought it couldn't be that bad, besides I'm also trying to lose weight, and this might be the perfect chance to start eating healthy. The first day of the 4-week long class was a blast. I got to meet new people and stuff.. But as the lecture progressed to the theoretical part, it turned into a snoozefest. There's something about the teacher's raspy, almost humming voice that makes me yearn for a pillow more than anything. She probably recognizes me as the girl who keeps on yawning. I can't help it, as soon as I see her face, I start to yawn uncontrollably. Sometimes, it gets to a point where I get tempted to record her voice to help me sleep at night. Her class reminds me of "Ibong Adarna", and how the son of the King struggled to stay awake so he wouldn't turn into a stone figure. Instead of cutting my palm and pouring calamansi all over it, I take down notes so I wouldn't fall asleep by accident, it also keeps me from chatting with my seatmate who is really nice by the way. Her name is Nasha, a dietician, and a semi-vegan by choice (she still consumes eggs and dairy products, mostly from pastries and coffee)
Going to this vegan cooking class made me realize two things; one, I can't stand the smell/taste of Hoisin sauce (I'm more than surprised to know that there is a vegetarian counterpart for almost anything!), and two, soy milk gives me a bad case of stomach ache, which is weird cause I've never experienced getting a stomach ache from drinking milk, be it skim, whole, or half-and-half. But of course, it also resulted to good things which I'm really thankful for. I'm not sure if I should give it the entire credit for losing two inches off my waist (cause I've been religiously working out as well), but it surely helped a lot. More importantly, it brought me to meet and be friends with two wonderful, and very interesting people. One is Nasha (which I've mentioned quite a few times earlier), and the other is Renan. He's an advocate of PETA, and it's really interesting to hear his opinion as to why we shouldn't eat animals. He sounds like an over-zealous religious extremist whenever he does that, but I don't mind cause he's a genuinely nice guy (or operatively, a proud gay). Even he speaks of feminist theories and philosophies, he never bashed me when I gave negative comments on Katrina's well-orchestrated tears, and things that would normally trigger violent reactions from people who support her.
I owe it to these two people.. They take a couple of hours out of my incredibly boring week. And if not for their contagious sense of humor, wits, and interesting beliefs, I would've surely quit after the third class.
Weeks back, I enrolled in a vegetarian cooking class. Before you start rolling your eyes on me (esp. those who know how much I love eating meat), let me say that I'm not a convert, and I still enjoy a big, fat, juicy steak without feeling any guilt whatsoever... So what the hell am I doing in a place that shuns those? Well, my mom was recently diagnosed to have type 2 diabetes, and part of managing her illness is becoming vegan. At age 57, she barely tips the scale at 93 lbs. But even with her reed thin figure, she has to go on a strict low-fat, low-sodium, low-cholesterol, and sugar-free diet, which basically means she can't eat anything besides vegetables and some fruits. Because of this inhumane, almost torture-like diet, her weight plummeted to 89 lbs. She has become dangerously thin that sometimes, I wanna force-feed her some cheeseburger and milk loaded with butterfat. So I asked her to enrol in a cooking class, so she could start whipping up things more edible than chopped raw veggies and stir-fried tofu to eat. Turns out she wasn't too psyched to go to class with her age, and so she asked me to fill in for her. I love to cook, and I love learning new things, so I thought it couldn't be that bad, besides I'm also trying to lose weight, and this might be the perfect chance to start eating healthy. The first day of the 4-week long class was a blast. I got to meet new people and stuff.. But as the lecture progressed to the theoretical part, it turned into a snoozefest. There's something about the teacher's raspy, almost humming voice that makes me yearn for a pillow more than anything. She probably recognizes me as the girl who keeps on yawning. I can't help it, as soon as I see her face, I start to yawn uncontrollably. Sometimes, it gets to a point where I get tempted to record her voice to help me sleep at night. Her class reminds me of "Ibong Adarna", and how the son of the King struggled to stay awake so he wouldn't turn into a stone figure. Instead of cutting my palm and pouring calamansi all over it, I take down notes so I wouldn't fall asleep by accident, it also keeps me from chatting with my seatmate who is really nice by the way. Her name is Nasha, a dietician, and a semi-vegan by choice (she still consumes eggs and dairy products, mostly from pastries and coffee)
Going to this vegan cooking class made me realize two things; one, I can't stand the smell/taste of Hoisin sauce (I'm more than surprised to know that there is a vegetarian counterpart for almost anything!), and two, soy milk gives me a bad case of stomach ache, which is weird cause I've never experienced getting a stomach ache from drinking milk, be it skim, whole, or half-and-half. But of course, it also resulted to good things which I'm really thankful for. I'm not sure if I should give it the entire credit for losing two inches off my waist (cause I've been religiously working out as well), but it surely helped a lot. More importantly, it brought me to meet and be friends with two wonderful, and very interesting people. One is Nasha (which I've mentioned quite a few times earlier), and the other is Renan. He's an advocate of PETA, and it's really interesting to hear his opinion as to why we shouldn't eat animals. He sounds like an over-zealous religious extremist whenever he does that, but I don't mind cause he's a genuinely nice guy (or operatively, a proud gay). Even he speaks of feminist theories and philosophies, he never bashed me when I gave negative comments on Katrina's well-orchestrated tears, and things that would normally trigger violent reactions from people who support her.
I owe it to these two people.. They take a couple of hours out of my incredibly boring week. And if not for their contagious sense of humor, wits, and interesting beliefs, I would've surely quit after the third class.
5.20.2009
Wednesdays aren't all that bad.
It was a lousy day, till I saw this..
Now, I don't mind the seemingly interminable hours I've waited at COMELEC, or the fact that Jollibee turned into a screaming beehive during lunch, and the perpetually noisy street jammed with pedestrians and bumper-to-bumper, slower-than-a-baby's- crawl traffic, cause Wednesdays aren't so bad afterall!
Now, I don't mind the seemingly interminable hours I've waited at COMELEC, or the fact that Jollibee turned into a screaming beehive during lunch, and the perpetually noisy street jammed with pedestrians and bumper-to-bumper, slower-than-a-baby's- crawl traffic, cause Wednesdays aren't so bad afterall!
5.18.2009
Anniversaries.
When I met Chris for the first time, I didn't have the slightest clue that we would end up like this. I could still vividly remember how he looked at that time. From the airport, he went straight to the travel agency where we met. He was jet-lagged, had very little sleep, and was running on little more than adrenaline. And despite his ruffled clothes and messy hair, he still managed to look awfully cute! Our initial conversation had turned into a dinner invitation. I'm not the type who readily accepts dinner invitation from an absolute stranger, but for some profound reason, I found myself saying yes. As desperate as it sounds, I begged and bribed my unwilling friend to go with me, and thanks to her guile and wits, our awkward conversation about Chinese pop (which he didn't have the slightest idea), Confucious, and Manchuria (yup.. you read it right!) quickly led to a more interesting one. When the rain started pouring, and he offered me his jacket, my friend was utterly convinced that he sort of likes me. I don't know, but we seemed strangely unconnected that it made it hard for me to figure him out. He also took a couple of pictures of me and my friend that night, which made the air even more awkward than it already was (later on he told me that since I refused to give him my number, we might not meet again, and he didn't want to forget my face). When my friend momentarily went out, he took his chance to tell me in a very subtle way, and without sounding embarrassed or apologetic, that he likes me. If there was any doubt before about his true intentions for inviting me over to dinner, it was gone at that instant. It's really strange and super awkward to hear that (first meeting and all), and I didn't know how to respond so I just kept quiet and pretended I didn't hear anything (I didn't know he took my silence as a confirmation that I like him back!). Other than the rain, everything was perfect and unforgettable that night.
From then on, everything seemed to pass in a blur. He ended up staying in the same condominium where I live. He rented a unit there, so we basically see each other every single day. Some days he'd pick me up from work, other days he'd just ask me out on dinner. One weekend, we went to have lunch at Cibo (which is just 3 minutes away from where we live). And while crossing the street on the way home, he held my hand. I was surprised how comfortably and effortlessly he put his hand on mine, so I had to ask why. He said "because you're my girlfriend", and for obvious reason that I like him just as much, I didn't bother to disagree with him. I'll never forget how soft, and how white his hand looked against my skin. That day, I sort of made a mental note that a year after, it'll be our anniversary.
His stay in the Philippines went by so fast, and in a matter of one month, we managed to squeeze trips to Boracay, Baguio, Pangasinan, and Pagsanjan, which meant a lot of missed days at work. When I took him to the airport, I must have cried buckets of tears.. There was every chance he wouldn't come back like what he promised, so when he said goodbye, I took it differently. A week after he came back to Korea, he made a plan to visit the Philippines again before the school starts. 3 weeks later, we met again... He stayed true to his words and visited me 5 times that year. When our first anniversary came, we celebrated it in Korea!
We're celebrating our 4th anniversary next month, and I'm flying back to Korea a day before that. Chris is so bad with dates that I'm not sure whether he'll remember it on his own. He seems to remember the date we first met, but not the day he first held my hand and we officially became a couple.. ^^
From then on, everything seemed to pass in a blur. He ended up staying in the same condominium where I live. He rented a unit there, so we basically see each other every single day. Some days he'd pick me up from work, other days he'd just ask me out on dinner. One weekend, we went to have lunch at Cibo (which is just 3 minutes away from where we live). And while crossing the street on the way home, he held my hand. I was surprised how comfortably and effortlessly he put his hand on mine, so I had to ask why. He said "because you're my girlfriend", and for obvious reason that I like him just as much, I didn't bother to disagree with him. I'll never forget how soft, and how white his hand looked against my skin. That day, I sort of made a mental note that a year after, it'll be our anniversary.
His stay in the Philippines went by so fast, and in a matter of one month, we managed to squeeze trips to Boracay, Baguio, Pangasinan, and Pagsanjan, which meant a lot of missed days at work. When I took him to the airport, I must have cried buckets of tears.. There was every chance he wouldn't come back like what he promised, so when he said goodbye, I took it differently. A week after he came back to Korea, he made a plan to visit the Philippines again before the school starts. 3 weeks later, we met again... He stayed true to his words and visited me 5 times that year. When our first anniversary came, we celebrated it in Korea!
We're celebrating our 4th anniversary next month, and I'm flying back to Korea a day before that. Chris is so bad with dates that I'm not sure whether he'll remember it on his own. He seems to remember the date we first met, but not the day he first held my hand and we officially became a couple.. ^^
5.15.2009
Of arguments, movie, and a letter.
Chris and I had a not-so-pleasant conversation while chatting last night. Like with all our other arguments, it started with an extremely petty thing, blown out of proportion. You see, it's the time of the month where I let my bitchier side take-over, and I become the most deviant person imaginable. Too bad, he was at the unfortunate end of my childish, bitchy wrath..
We both knew from Day 1 that our personalities are the extreme opposite of each other, and yet we decided to defy the odds and stick to each other like a pair of star-crossed lovers. Well, I'm a non-conformist by nature. I feel diffiuclt to conform to a certain ideology, especially if I think there's something wrong with it, or if it's against my moral beliefs. But for the sake of making this interracial and sometimes-long-distance relationship work, I force myself to adjust and conform to all those rules he annoyingly mapped out for me. I do appreciate the things that he does cause I know it's all for the better. But sometimes his concern becomes way too much, and I would really like it if he'll give me some space to think on my own, and space to make mistakes and learn from them. I hate being told what to do, and what I cannot do.. and Chris has been doing this a lot lately. Last night, in the middle of his usual speech, I snapped. If my cheeks had been any hotter, I swear it would've burst into flames... and that's how upset I was at that time. I know I may have overreacted, and again I'm blaming the ever-so-convenient PMS for all the unnecessary rage. I just wanted to show him how sick I was from constantly hearing his piece, and all those rules and schedules I have to, but almost never follow. I cannot put it into words exactly, but if you happen to see the movie "One More Chance", you'll understand me more. Chris is somewhat similar to John Lloyd there (though not to that extent of being "pakialamero"), but in any case it's annoying, and I'm bound to snap like Bea one day..
Since my PMS is still in full throttle, I choose to continue acting like this bratty drama-queen and refuse his calls, even after he apologized thru mail right after the argument.. I'm pasting a copy of his mail (he's sooo gonna kill me if he knew I posted it here.. ^^) which is really simple but also incredibly sweet. The context may sound weird to some people, but he's Korean, and it's very much evident in his writing..
***
today, we didn't have nice conversation and i'm sorry for my mistake. but let you know I miss you a lot.
your Oppa.
We both knew from Day 1 that our personalities are the extreme opposite of each other, and yet we decided to defy the odds and stick to each other like a pair of star-crossed lovers. Well, I'm a non-conformist by nature. I feel diffiuclt to conform to a certain ideology, especially if I think there's something wrong with it, or if it's against my moral beliefs. But for the sake of making this interracial and sometimes-long-distance relationship work, I force myself to adjust and conform to all those rules he annoyingly mapped out for me. I do appreciate the things that he does cause I know it's all for the better. But sometimes his concern becomes way too much, and I would really like it if he'll give me some space to think on my own, and space to make mistakes and learn from them. I hate being told what to do, and what I cannot do.. and Chris has been doing this a lot lately. Last night, in the middle of his usual speech, I snapped. If my cheeks had been any hotter, I swear it would've burst into flames... and that's how upset I was at that time. I know I may have overreacted, and again I'm blaming the ever-so-convenient PMS for all the unnecessary rage. I just wanted to show him how sick I was from constantly hearing his piece, and all those rules and schedules I have to, but almost never follow. I cannot put it into words exactly, but if you happen to see the movie "One More Chance", you'll understand me more. Chris is somewhat similar to John Lloyd there (though not to that extent of being "pakialamero"), but in any case it's annoying, and I'm bound to snap like Bea one day..
Since my PMS is still in full throttle, I choose to continue acting like this bratty drama-queen and refuse his calls, even after he apologized thru mail right after the argument.. I'm pasting a copy of his mail (he's sooo gonna kill me if he knew I posted it here.. ^^) which is really simple but also incredibly sweet. The context may sound weird to some people, but he's Korean, and it's very much evident in his writing..
***
today, we didn't have nice conversation and i'm sorry for my mistake. but let you know I miss you a lot.
your Oppa.
5.14.2009
A Taste of Real Manila.
I met some friends last Sunday for a very late lunch in Malate area. Everyone was in for some good-old Filipino cuisine, and we didn't have to think twice in choosing Aristocrat. Their combo of Kare-kare and Crispy pata was superbly delicious, especially on an empty stomach like ours. As soon as our orders arrived, everyone grew quiet. That's probably the biggest proof of how good the food tasted.. you could barely talk.
Baywalk is right infront of the restaurant.. and since I haven't seen Manila Bay upclose for so many years, I pleaded them to go there with me. They probably couldn't understand why I got all excited and took pictures after pictures of something that seems so ordinary. Lucky for them, they didn't have to miss Manila like I do. More than the restaurants, posh nightclubs, or the colossal shopping malls, I missed seeing the real Manila, like how the ordinary people leisurely spend their Sunday afternoon enjoying the view and briny (but borderline stinky) air of Manila Bay.
Baywalk is right infront of the restaurant.. and since I haven't seen Manila Bay upclose for so many years, I pleaded them to go there with me. They probably couldn't understand why I got all excited and took pictures after pictures of something that seems so ordinary. Lucky for them, they didn't have to miss Manila like I do. More than the restaurants, posh nightclubs, or the colossal shopping malls, I missed seeing the real Manila, like how the ordinary people leisurely spend their Sunday afternoon enjoying the view and briny (but borderline stinky) air of Manila Bay.
5.12.2009
Challenging Korea.
While making my usual late night rounds at youtube, I came across a video ~ an excerpt from an old episode of the now defunct TV show "Extra Challenge" that features Cesar Montano in Korea. I actually watched the whole episode (with Carmina-Zoren, Sunshine-Cesar) a few years back, but this was my favorite part.
There are 3 things I find interesting about this video;
* I was never a fan of Cesar so I didn't know he could look this ehem.. 'cute' in a bahag costume.
* It's probably staged but it looks like he knows his way around the kitchen.
* The way Mrs. Kim talks in tagalog is really funny.. Especially the part where she asked "walang tulog?"... her intonation is so pinoy! I also find it interesting that she's married to a Filipino. It's usually the other way around so her case is quite rare..
Happy watching!
5.08.2009
Keeping up.
It's been a week since my last post, so I decided to write some updates about my stay here.. A lot has been happening lately, but somehow I didn't have the creative inspiration to write about them all.
I met my friends last weekend. We were supposed to meet at 8 pm in front of Rembrandt in Quezon City. I arrived around 8:10, but nobody was there yet (I forgot that there's this thing called 'Filipino time').. When everyone arrived, we all went to a Japanese resto called "Jozu". The place is a typical resto which you don't actually pay for the food, but for the dining experience. Let this post serve as a warning to those who are planning to pay the restaurant a visit. The hefty price tag doesn't justify their food, and I would've chosen Yoshinoya in a heartbeat.
Since "Gilligan's Island" is just a couple of meters away, it became our next destination. "Jozu" left us still hungry so we ordered more than the usual "pulutan". Beer was overflowing, and they drank as if beer would no longer be available the next day. I said 'they' cause I stopped with my 3rd bottle. For the longest time, I haven't tasted any form of alcohol, and with an empty stomach, I was a little 'buzzed' after the 3rd one. I ordered bottomless iced tea instead of drinking more beer, which turned out to be quite a hassle especially when two of your newly-single friends are venting about their cute-but-good-for-nothing bf's, and you have to make frequent trips to the restroom. The deafening music was great, but it left us with a bad case of sore throat from shouting just to hear each other. We left the place just before the clock hits 3. They didn't want to end the party just yet (heard some of them say "it's still too early"..), so we went to "Music 21" (a family KTV place) in Timog after that. Everyone was obliged to sing a song or two. When it was my turn to sing, they cajoled me into singing a Korean song. For a second, I thought about singing "So Hot" by Wondergirls which I know they'll like, but the part where I have to rap made me flip the pages quickly. I chose a song by Se7en called "Come back to me" instead. I thought it's a safe song and I know the lyrics by heart.
The song sparked interest in them, and they started throwing questions at me about everything Korean (though mostly, it's about Korean men ^^). The effect of 'Hallyu' is very much evident in them. Most of them showed interest in visiting Korea, learning the Korean language, and meeting Korean men. Collectively, I don't think Korea is that 'great' like what they portray in Koreanovelas. But I admit there are things that I really admire about them... sadly, those are the stuff that'll bore them so I just concentrated on answering their queries about Korean men in general.
It was past sunrise when we went our separate ways. My mom was already out jogging when I came back home. My friends were still surprisingly energetic after a long night, and there I was (I'm gonna use my old phrase again), 'limp like a cookie thrown into a cup of tea'. Just before I slept, they texted about having a night-out again next week, but thinking about crowded places, and suffocating air filled with cigarette smoke, greasy food, and beer, coupled with a hundred different perfume smell makes me wanna fake an illness come Saturday. Somehow, I lack the energy to do those stuff again. I feel so damn old as I can't keep up with my friends. I better listen to my mom and start taking multivitamins or I'd turn into a loner doing stuff that's anything but fun.
Since "Gilligan's Island" is just a couple of meters away, it became our next destination. "Jozu" left us still hungry so we ordered more than the usual "pulutan". Beer was overflowing, and they drank as if beer would no longer be available the next day. I said 'they' cause I stopped with my 3rd bottle. For the longest time, I haven't tasted any form of alcohol, and with an empty stomach, I was a little 'buzzed' after the 3rd one. I ordered bottomless iced tea instead of drinking more beer, which turned out to be quite a hassle especially when two of your newly-single friends are venting about their cute-but-good-for-nothing bf's, and you have to make frequent trips to the restroom. The deafening music was great, but it left us with a bad case of sore throat from shouting just to hear each other. We left the place just before the clock hits 3. They didn't want to end the party just yet (heard some of them say "it's still too early"..), so we went to "Music 21" (a family KTV place) in Timog after that. Everyone was obliged to sing a song or two. When it was my turn to sing, they cajoled me into singing a Korean song. For a second, I thought about singing "So Hot" by Wondergirls which I know they'll like, but the part where I have to rap made me flip the pages quickly. I chose a song by Se7en called "Come back to me" instead. I thought it's a safe song and I know the lyrics by heart.
The song sparked interest in them, and they started throwing questions at me about everything Korean (though mostly, it's about Korean men ^^). The effect of 'Hallyu' is very much evident in them. Most of them showed interest in visiting Korea, learning the Korean language, and meeting Korean men. Collectively, I don't think Korea is that 'great' like what they portray in Koreanovelas. But I admit there are things that I really admire about them... sadly, those are the stuff that'll bore them so I just concentrated on answering their queries about Korean men in general.
It was past sunrise when we went our separate ways. My mom was already out jogging when I came back home. My friends were still surprisingly energetic after a long night, and there I was (I'm gonna use my old phrase again), 'limp like a cookie thrown into a cup of tea'. Just before I slept, they texted about having a night-out again next week, but thinking about crowded places, and suffocating air filled with cigarette smoke, greasy food, and beer, coupled with a hundred different perfume smell makes me wanna fake an illness come Saturday. Somehow, I lack the energy to do those stuff again. I feel so damn old as I can't keep up with my friends. I better listen to my mom and start taking multivitamins or I'd turn into a loner doing stuff that's anything but fun.
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