thank you..

ok, 2 boxes have been filled up.. now 2 more big boxes and 2 smaller boxes left.. =X and they are so so so heavy than it would require an elephant to move it.. =X

and i'm left with no more space in my house to put the boxes.. =X

but still, a very big thank you to all those who have been such a great help, in whatever ways i can think of.. =) all i hope for is to make this coming trip a more successful and more meaningful one..

but i'm getting more and more blur and forgetful as days pass by.. so please god, give me more time.. 24 hours a day are not enough.. i need more.. =(

performance at esplanade..

today's performance at esplanade was alright, of course with glitches here and there.. but what made it interesting was, there was a dedication from an audience (an auntie) requesting us to play "Peng You" by Emil Chau (Zhou Hua Jian).. haha.. of course we couldn't entertain her lar.. we are not that professtional to be able to play a song on the spot without any score sheets.. haha..

and of all parts of the performance, i think i enjoyed the interaction the most.. =) i always like to interact with people of different countries or cultures.. oh erm, maybe not always, but sometimes.. anyway, it's good to talk to people of different cultures, to share with them our cultures, and to learn theirs.. i think it's fun to talk with the ang mohs.. haha..

not in a good condition..

i think it's time for me to take a short break, or maybe treat myself to some peace and good chocolates.. i don't know if i'm stressed out, getting caught up with tons of things, because i think i'm immune to realise that..

i was sick a few days ago, and i've been so forgetful these few days, that i can leave the house without my handphone.. and almost without my wallet and ezlink card.. wert.. and i almost mess up my labwork's readings..

and today's performance at the Esplanade was ermm... no comments.. mistakes, creaky sounds, off-tune.. and all will be repeated next week =(..but still, thanks kathy, for your encouragement, and the rest for being there to listen to our performance..

and nanay bambie, your surprising email managed to uplift my mood.. =) this is the first time you sent an email to me.. haha.. usually the news and good wishes start spreading through patrice or other people.. and yes i will see you in december in Bago, i will make everybody practise their english, and i will practise my bato-bato ilonggo and tagalog.. =)

for the next week, things are going to be in havoc.. boxes coming in, collection of items, more labwork, more tuition, and 1 more performance..

manz.. i think i really need some chocolates..

a dear friend leaving..

i just came back from the airport, after sending my dear-friend-little-tiger-princess-sarah huijie off.. going London to pursue her dreams in arts, it's hard to reach out for the stars, but she has the faith, and i have faith in her too.. =)

i have a few friends who are overseas studying.. and i only had that "oh, so good, he/she is studying in australia, USA etc.." kind of feeling..

but for huijie, it was different..

for many moments her leaving reminded me of the ups and downs of our Bago trip in 2004, and of course mine in 2005..

she has been quite an impact in my life.. she was just 17 when she joined us for our expedition trip to Bago.. a 17 year old girl with a bunch of university students, and she is much stronger and more courageous than many of us.. her strengths, her beliefs, her passion, her faith have made me looked back on myself.. how childish, naive, aimless i was (and i still am)..

we share the love for chocolates and cheese, and we will always find time (or excuses) to meet up and enjoy chocolates or cheese or ice-creams.. =)

huijie, go on, and fight to make your dreams come true.. you are a star, a special one, and go on and find the real star that truly belongs to you.. i know you are strong, so keep on carrying the spirit, and don't ever think of giving it up! your dearest friends here in Singapore and also in Bago are always here for you.. =)

miss you gal..

sick, but not down..

i am hit by the sickness bug again.. ok, at least i managed to tame down the fever fast enough.. but i'm still getting giddy spells, having sore throat, and feeling the cold.. doesn't sound too bad right.. haha.. blame it on the weather!! it was so damn hot the other day, and then it poured so heavily on the next.. arghh..

putting that aside, i should be glad that things are going relatively smoothly, at least for the sponsors' side.. =) hopefully things will be this good for the next few months.. haha.. and i'm kinda relieved, able to see my air tickets 3 months before my trip.. wahaha.. a sense of assurance.. =)

and i can't stress this enough.. OLD CLOTHES, BOOKS AND TOYS FOR THE CHILDREN!!! =D thanks to all who have been supportive and helping me along, and having to tolerate my rantings.. haha..

happy early teachers' day!

haha.. for the first time in my going-3-years of teaching tuition, i've got teacher's day presents!! not one, but two (!!) presents!! =P haha.. but i think i can only laugh it off, because firstly, you can't expect much from primary school kids (either too kiddish, or most probably the mum bought the presents.. haha) and secondly, they are all in pink!!! ahhhhh.. you know i don't like pink.. both presents are pink, and even the wrapping paper is pink.. my god.. oh well, it's the thought that counts hor? i should be glad that i still get to have presents for teachers' day.. wahaha..

anyway, i've booked and paid for my air tickets already.. so it's confirmed.. there's no turning back.. as if i would.. haha.. at least i need not worry anymore about price inflation of the tickets when the holidays get near.. =D

and more good news.. one sponsor agreed to help me ship more boxes to Bago City.. yeahhey.. so more stuff for the children!! =D

i hope good news never stop... hehe..

so here i go again.. I NEED YOUR OLD CLOTHES, TOYS AND BOOKS FOR THE CHILDREN!! ADULT CLOTHES ARE WELCOME (THE SMALLER THE SIZES, THE BETTER..) BUT PRIORITY GIVEN TO STUFF FOR THE CHILDREN.. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME.. LEAVE A TAG, EMAIL, CALL, SMS ETC.. AND I WILL SURELY GET BACK TO YOU!!! THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH!!! =D

childhood..

i think today people had a good laugh about me falling asleep during today's yoga session.. haha.. well you see, after all the straining posture stretchings, we were supposed to lie down in the relax posture and sort of meditate, concentrating on our breathings.. but i was so comfortable in that position that i actually fell asleep.. haha.. until i had to be waken up by one of the instructors.. manz that was so embarassing.. haha..

and somehow people ended up talking about my pathetic childhood.. haha.. perhaps "different" or "unique" is a better word to use.. haha.. like how my parents used to lock the switches for the tv and the computer, how i only got to have my own set of house keys only when i was in sec 2, how i only got to go out with friends after school for a fast-food meal when i was in sec 2, how my dad cut the wire for the tv when me and my brother didn't behave.. haha.. and then how rebellious i was, trying to unlock the switches, trying to stay out late, and doing things that went against my parents..

i think everybody will have their own experiences during their childhood, be it wonderful, memorable, or painful.. well, we all have different parents, don't we? haha.. even though my parents were strict with me (and now they still do), and i used to hate them for over-controlling my life, but still i am glad that i have a family.. though i don't express my feelings out to them, and sometimes i still go against them.. haha..

but i'm proud to say that my mum has been the one who is secretly doing things to plan for my future, buying all the groceries so that there will be (sometimes) food in the kitchen and toiletries and stuff are always available.. haha.. and my dad, a wonderful cook and baker.. who will sometimes give in to my demanding requests, like how i would pester him to let me go overseas.. haha.. my grandma, who prepares all my dinner, who used to take care of me, and wake me up during my primary school and early secondary school days.. =)

the moral of the story is, treasure and cherish your childhood memories, as well as the people who have been part of your childhood.. and in the future, give your children a childhood that they will be thankful of.. =)

national day..

HAPPY 41ST BIRTHDAY, SINGAPORE!! =) ok, i'm not that patriotic, but at least i'm still proud to be a singaporean.. cliche, but i still have to say that if i'm not here, i won't be having the things that i'm having now.. =)



went out with NUSCO friends for (again) ktv-singing, shopping and eating and shopping and eating.. haha.. yar, shopping spree again.. and of course i won't buy anything that is not of any good deal.. haha.. a skirt from Topshop for only $21.60.. good deal? of course it is.. muahaha.. and i also bought a tee.. so no more shopping when school reopens.. hehe..

hoping to catch some fireworks display today, but i supposed it's better to stay at home to watch it live on tv.. because everywhere was so crowded! oh well, at least i know i did watched live fireworks when i was in Bago, and i was only a few streets away from the coliseum where they released them.. simple, but still spectacular.. wooh.. haha..

but darn.. my camera failed on me!! damn.. need to send it for repairs.. boohoo.. my dear camera that has been accompanying me through my most memorable trips is now spoilt!! arghh..

and i just did some fortune-telling for myself, thanks to gurus huiling and hweeming.. =) and i realised what they have predicted are not what i'm expecting myself to be.. but some facts are really very true.. wow.. haha.. so i'll have a good life!! yeah!! =D

pleasant surprises..

good news comes in threes... haha..

good news number 1 - ryan is getting married!! no no.. i don't mean the ryan in singapore.. the ryan in Bago! he's getting married!! on 21 october!!

good news number 2 - temogen may be going to canada this year.. all the best my friend! even though i would very much want to see you again on my visit back to Bago in december.. but still, i would wish you the best of luck in searching for your better future..

good news number 3 - another cheap airline to Manila!! CebuPacific!! yeah!!

it's always so pleasant to receive texts from friends, especially when they carry pleasant surprises.. hahah.. but the stoopid me was sleeping like a pig, and i missed a call from temogen.. arghh..

and i want to attend ryan's wedding!!! maybe i'll make use of the holidays in october (21 oct and 24 oct are public holidays) and make a short trip down to Bago.. i want i want i want!!!

i found a sponsor!

damn.. my handphone failed on me!! on such an important day!! arghh!! it was always loyal to me, waking me up whenever i want it to, but today, it failed on me!! and i woke up so damn late!! i was supposed to meet a potential sponsor for my december trip this morning at 10am, but i woke up at 11am!! hell.. thought i almost screwed up this meeting..

but then again, i have good news.. haha.. i've got the sponsor!! =D.. yeah!! a sponsor for stationery items.. haha.. it was kinda nerve-wreaking, partly because i was late, and i have never try to secure such deals before.. haha.. now i'll have to settle all the paperwork, and i must find a shipping company, asap.. pray pray pray..

after that i met up with helen, to buy a yoga mat.. haha.. yar, i'm starting my first yoga lesson tomorrow.. i'm a healthy baby.. wahaha..

yes, time to get down to serious work.. and i'm still coughing.. *faints*

cars..

*cough cough* yes i'm still coughing.. kinda got worse (a little).. please please please, i don't want to finish my vacation with all the coughing..

oh, i watched the movie Cars yesterday night =D.. the disney pixar one, the cute cute one.. hehe.. i strongly recommend it.. hehe.. even though i enjoyed it at the comfort of my small room, with no popcorns and snacks (i'm sick!) and coughing.. bleahz.. but still, go watch it, people!! =D

and after watching it, you will realise that life is not just about racing.. racing to be the first, to be the best.. but to enjoy whatever that comes to you, and do what you really love.. =)

now, is there anybody who knows where to get those cute little cars in the movie? =D

the diary..

i was reading the diary that i wrote during my first stay in Bago, 2004.. it made me realise quite a few things.. i used to write a lot of chinese then, but now i think i need to write more.. haha.. starting to lose the touch of the language.. haha..

back to the point, the entries in the diary (the brown one which all YEP participants would have) reminded me that everything is not forever.. the entries not only reminded me of what the 24 of us did over there, but also recorded my thoughts, what i saw in the filipinos, and what i hope of.. and sadly, i didn't fulfil all that.. other than making a trip back again last year..

it contained memories, and all the problems that we had faced.. faded memories.. which is what a diary is for..

it makes me wonder, how imperfect i am, then and now.. and how we should make our lives less imperfect.. by living it to the fullest..

suddenly i miss how we did the "hi-5".. nobody knows the "hi-5" culture here.. it's so filipino, and nobody knows it here.. sometimes i reached out my hand for a "hi-5", and when there was no response, i forgot that here is not philippines.. can anyone over there fly here now to do that with me?!?

"the truth about the truth is, it hurts.. that's why we lie."

--------------------

cough cough.. when u get sick, everything comes in a package.. fever, flu, cough.. now fever and flu's gone, but still coughing.. and my throat and abdomen hurts whenever i cough.. arghh.. but i want to get out of the house again!!

another sentosa outing..

arghh.. i'm officially sick.. ar choo~~!!

went to sentosa again.. my third time back there.. manz, this holiday very happening huh.. but anyway, it was with NUSCO friends again, and today was frisbee playing and ball playing (and the ball disappears after 2 throws.. wert) and more frisbee playing.. in the water! haha.. ok, i hate getting wet, because i was lazy to change and it would be very troublesome to wash my hair if they got wet with sea water.. but anyhow i was wet up till the waist.. and i didn't know there are so many "yuhui"s in NUSCO.. keke..



it was fun, but not with the flu.. yucks.. i don't mind having lobster-red arms and face, but not the flu.. wasn't feeling very right in the morning, and perhaps staying too long under the sun made it worse.. so yes, i'm sick.. ar ar ar choo~~~!!!

break..

my foot is hurting.. rheumatism acting up again.. yar old granny is speaking here..

went out for a ktv session with huiyan, yanyi and eric.. surprisingly this holiday i've been singing quite a lot.. the last singing craze was a year ago.. really! no kidding! everything was in such a rush for the past year.. after cramming for 4 months, i hurridly set off to Bago, and came back just in time for another 4 months of cramming, before i got this break..

and i really quite enjoy this break.. i have full control of my time (or at least to a certain extent.. haha).. i can go wherever and whenever i want.. to swim, to meet up with friends, to give tuition to 5 kids, to watch tv, to watch my philippino shows (and with my mum occasionally popping by my room and staring at me for laughing at the screen in a language she don't understand.. haha).. and of course this holiday was brightened up by the appearance of tricia and joenil!! =D

and before this holiday is going to come to an end - one month left!! - i'm going to make use of the sale to do some shopping, to sort things out in my room, and to seriously get started for the preparation of my donation collection..

wish me luck.. haha

laugh!

laughing too much will make me hungry.. =D but it's the best medicine, so why bother with all the calories and fats and whatsoever? =P

and somehow i'm thankful that my saturdays are occupied by music (most of the time, noise.. haha) and much laughter and also food.. haha.. it would be boring if everyday becomes similar.. haha..

and the ktv session.. laughed until stomach pain.. haha.. we shall have more of such activities in future.. keke.. for the good health of everybody.. haha..

sentosa outing..

it was my second time back to Sentosa this week.. first it was bringing tricia and joenil there for the Underwater World.. so we didn't much explore the beaches and enjoy the sun there (it was drizzling when i brought them there.. haha).. this time round was with a group of NUSCO friends.. =) not much sun either, but at least the weather was good for an outing an a picnic.. haha..



we played frisbee, soaking our feet in the sand and in the waters.. i never really get to play games when i go to the beach.. even if i go there, i would just sit there and enjoy the sea breeze.. but i would say i quite enjoy playing and running on sand.. i'm a nature lover, remember? hehe..



lunch was some snacks bought from Cold Storage.. and we moved from the Palawan Beach to the Siloso beach.. for more fun, sand, waters and the sun.. =D



and yar, i was a kid again when me and hweeming started playing with sand trying to build a sandcastle using coconut husks.. hoho.. or rather, i'm still a kid.. haha..



but this was what we ended up making..



and more frisbee playing and trying to get the frisbee down when it got stuck on top of the tents..



wanted to try the new attraction on Sentosa, the luge and the skyride, but was a bit put off by the crowd.. perhaps next time.. =)

i still want more sun! i want to fly!

sending off..

i feel lost.. tricia is not around.. suddenly i have nowhere to go, nothing to do.. how.. tricia i miss you!!

i didn't sleep much last night, and i woke up at 4.30am, getting ready to send tricia and joenil off to the airport.. thanks to ryan who came and fetched us.. flight was 9.40am, and we reached the airport early, so together with dannies, andy, aline and stephen, we had some drinks (of course non-alcoholic, if you may wonder)..



i miss the days when they were here.. i miss how we bring them around Singapore, and how much fun (though tiring) i had being their tour guide, and how much fun they had touring around too..

and no, i didn't cry when they went in.. seeing the look on tricia's face kinda make me wanna go in together with her.. aww.. tricia, wait for me over there in december!!





the rest of us then went for breakfast at MacDonalds.. i was feeling kinda lost, so me, Dannies and Andy went to sing ktv.. it has been a very long time since i sang there, and too bad, no pinoy songs.. keke.. afterwards we went Lucky Plaza for some philippino desserts.. had a good chat with the guys, and brought back a lot of memories of my stay in Bago.. bought back some graham biscuits too..

and now, back at home, i'm feeling even more lost.. tricia, tricia, tricia.. Bago, Bago, Bago.. *sobz* tricia, glad that you are back home safely, and i will see you again on the beautiful island of Negros Occidental..

last day..

today is the last day of their stay in singapore.. not a very spectacular last day, for joenil at least.. but still hope they had enjoyed themselves as much as how i had enjoyed myself while i was in Bago..

breakfast at the cheese prata place together with tricia, my mum and bro.. joenil wanted to stay at home, so we left him in the house, but i also packed some prata back for him so he won't go hungry in my house.. haha.. after that we drove one round within NUS, and then brought tricia to clementi for her meeting with the previous group that went there.. i stayed there for a while, until they were leaving to bring tricia to Sentosa (again).. long and complicated story, and i was blamed for the spoiling of plan.. because of a stooopid idiot.. arghh.. i don't want their trip to be spoilt by this, so i'm keeping quiet..

but anyway, i chatted with joenil when i got home, and i was surprised when i saw him always reading something whenever i walked past the room.. the newspaper, books on computers and technology, and my secondary school's history textbooks.. wow.. haha..

then i brought him out for dinner together with huijie at Crystal Jade.. xiao long bao!! haha.. he tried using chopsticks.. very funny, but good try.. managed to eat the xiao long bao without the soup leaking on his second attempt.. not bad eh.. haha.. and we will tempt tricia with the photos and make her jealous.. haha..







tomorrow we are all to wake up at 5am, and make our way to airport..

i shall not cry.. because i'm not the one that's leaving on a jet plane.. =)

another day in Singapore..

yesterday's itinerary : community centre, Lucky Plaza, CK Tang, Sentosa, parks, huijie's house

11am: finally everyone was awake. after all the washing up, we were ready to go.

12pm: brought them to the community centre near my house. let them had an idea what kind of facilities and activities it has. perhaps they can bring back the ideas and modify their own community centre or baranguay hall, whatever. haha.

12.30pm: reached Lucky Plaza, the philippino paradise. we were all overwhelmed with the huge crowd of philippinos there, especially tricia and joenil were in awe of this philippino paradise. haha. they didn't expect to see so many philippinos out there in this building. well, it was a sunday. haha. and since we were there, we had to find some philippino food for lunch. tricia misses philippino food a lot. haha. so we managed to find this Kabayan Filipino Fast Food Restaurant with the familiar philippino food. for a while, i was as if in philippines itself. haha.



after lunch we walked around the plaza, and of course it was shopping time again. and wow, joenil could spend sooo much on those souvenirs. i was so surprised. manz. tricia also added some to her shopping bags. haha. good, contribute to the Singapore's economy. haha.

and being in Lucky Plaza, it wasn't too difficult to strike a conversation with their fellow kabayans (countrymen), especially for joenil, who bluffed girls that he is single. haha. hindi totoo (not true)!! and i threw in some Tagalog words that i know into the conversation. haha. but they said the philippinos here were too loud. haha. but nice experience for them indeed.

3.30pm: tricia wanted to buy a bag, perhaps for her work, so i brought her and joenil to CK Tang. there was a sale on handbags, so i left them around that area, while i visited the washroom. and after i came out from the washroom, they were already choosing the few bags that they saw and liked. that was fast, haha. tricia was already deciding which bag to buy, and joenil was also choosing one for his wife. i didn't quite like the one he chose (looked a bit too old for his wife) so i went to pick another one for him. asking him what was his budget, he said around $200. my eyes stared wide for a moment before going hmmm.. haha. so i chose one around $150, which i quite like the design, and he immediately took it. wow. at least my taste is not bad. haha. when i turned my head to look for tricia, she was already at the cashier. that was fast. haha. after she paid for her bag, i asked her how much was it and she said $200+. oh man. i was speechless. haha. that was the only thing that she bought for herself, and she said it would last her for 5 years. haha. to make the bag worth its value. haha.

4.30pm: reached Sentosa, with our dear ryan driving. haha. we didn't plan that, but since we might not make it the next day, tricia suggested we could go there, since they only wanted to see the Underwater World. haha. coming into Sentosa only to see one attraction. haha. but the tickets we bought was together with admission to the Dolphin Lagoon, so we visited these two attractions.



and then they said their tour in Singapore was completed with the Underwater World. haha. but i was glad they enjoyed themselves even when they only visited these two attractions. haha. maybe tricia can upgrade her fishpond again to make it something like what she had seen in there. haha.



besides that, we drove around Sentosa, but they weren't interested in other attractions. i suggested the Calsberg Rotating Tower and the cable car, but tricia was scared of height. haha. i also suggested the musical fountain, but they weren't too keen too. haha. weird tourists. joke lang, haha.

6.30pm: we drove to some parks around the west coast area so that joenil may get some inspirations and bring back to Bago. Labrador Park, Kent Ridge Park, Clementi Woods Park, and West Coast Park were the stops along the way.

8pm: reached huijie's house for dinner. tricia was a bit blur when it comes to wrapping the po piah. haha. mango graham and ben and jerry's ice cream were also part of the course. haha. we all had a nice talk and a good laugh looking at the videos and photos we took during our trip to Bago. =) and we all were surprised that joenil could sit there for hours reading the newspaper. haha.

12.30am: back to home. manz. tired. and had to listen to ryan explaining his charity fiesta thing. sorry but my brain was on the verge of shutting down, so i couldn't think properly. give me some time to think through, haha.

tomorrow we all need to wake up early. and perhaps rest early too. haha. hope it will really be a good and perhaps unforgettable last day for them here in Singapore. =) i need to shut down now.

tricia in the house!

today's itinerary : bugis, civic district area, marina south, geylang

11.30am: was waiting ryan to come pick me up, before going to pick tricia and joenil from the hotel with all their luggage, but he was held up.

12.40pm: he finally finished his stuff, and we went off to pick them up at the hotel. we were super late, and still got lost some more. haha. again.

1.15pm: finally got to the hotel. super late. haha. picked up all their luggages, and ryan didn't expect they were huge and many. haha. i already warned him beforehand.

1.30pm: brought them to bugis for lunch. tried chicken rice, satay bee hoon, sugar cane juice, satay, and some icey dessert. haha.

2pm: we stood outside the guan yin temple for a while, before i brought them to the flea market at bugis. another round of souvenir-buying. haha.



3pm: took a train to city hall, and visited places like the St. Andrew's Cathedral, walking past the Supreme Court, Victoria Concert Hall, Fullerton Hotel, the Merlion, and crossing the bridge over to the Esplanade. long walk indeed. too bad the Merlion is taking its shower, we couldn't take any pictures with it, but to make do with the small one.





we were offered free Heineken beer, because there were people playing the Heineken challenge and had to offer people beer. weird to drink beer in the afternoon, but since it was free, why not? haha.



4.30pm: walking around the Esplanade. saw a group of artists drawing on the ground on the outdoor area of Esplanade. interesting.



i also brought them up to the rooftop terrance, into the library, and the forecourt of the "durians".





5.30pm: a walk through CityLink Mall, and again, tricia bought 1 more tee and joenil bought a watch for his wife. sweet =). they also bought a present for the mayor. hehe.

6pm: brought them up to the 70th floor of Westin Stamford hotel to have a skyscraper view of the central district area of Singapore. they were in awe. =)



7pm: steamboat dinner at marina south. it wasn't a full gathering, and i was a little disappointed by the turnout. but anyway it was still good to see some familiar faces, together with some new ones. a nice catching up with friends over a hearty dinner. =)



9.30pm: a night drive around some prominent places, and we discovered the Marina South Pier at the end of Marina South where i bet most people don't know. Romantic, ryan said. now we know where to go dating. haha. an attempt to spot postitutes along geylang was unsuccessful, because all the guys were sitting at the eateries watching world cup. duh. we also drove around other places like Suntec City, across Benjamin Sheares Bridge, down the central business district area, Ayer Rajah Expressway. and princess sarah reminded us of the last night in Bago, when we sang many songs in the van, and of course, I'm leaving on a jetplane, awww.

11pm: reached home. welcome to my small and messy home. haha. tricia and joenil are sharing my brother's room and i hope all is fine for them.

time for them to rest, time for me to brainstorm for tomorrow's activities. tomorrow will be another good day. =)