Archive for August, 2009

Huge events and huge sale

August 9th, 2009
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Singapore could be a paradise to those who love shopping and with extra money to burn, ofcourse. They just had the Great Singapore Sale, which usually happens from June to July. And now because of Singapore’s National Day, there are mega sales everywhere. That’s why I decided to just stay at home despite the long weekend.

I took a look at the newspaper last Friday. It was full of sale ads that made me drool over those very low-priced laptops and other gadgets! Not only that, there are lots of travel packages that are on sale, too! Travel packages to basically every country here in Asia are sold at a buy one take one for free. Travel packages to the Outer Banks, Istanbul, Australia, and many parts in Europe are sold at very low prices, too! Ahhh if only I could just afford one of those tour packages for Cambodia, I could be in that country right now updating this blog or tweeting!

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Lifestyle

“Healthy”

August 9th, 2009
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When I was still in Japan, I think I managed to lose weight almost effortlessly. Especially during cold season, I tend to lose weight as opposed to the majority. Was it because of bathing with almost 40C water or constant intake of green tea? Even in summer, despite my craving for icecream and cakes, I tend to keep my weight gain at bay. Was it because I had my bicycle back then? Nah, I think the culprit behind it was the pressure at work. I think it’s more effective than the best diet pills. But then I had huge eyebags back then and that sort of haggard appearance. Now, less pressure at work is making me well, chubby “healthy”.

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Health

Wishing for a getaway

August 8th, 2009
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Tomorrow is Singapore’s National Day. It falls on a Sunday, so we have no work on Monday. Many of my friends are either in Malaysia or Indonesia right now. Me? Infront of my computer and becoming more of a couch potato day after day. Luckily, my laptop shares my boredom! She wouldn’t turn on most of the time.

I hope it would help just imagining myself lying on a very comfortable outdoor furniture with the horizon infront of me, reading a book or just listening to my favorite music. Or maybe a day or two in Cambodia or Vietnam, exploring the place alone. I envy my friends in Osaka now. Today is the first Saturday of August, thus, they are having the Yodo River fireworks!

The photo below was taken during last year’s Yodo River fireworks festival:


Oh, how I miss the excitement of a “matsuri” (festival)…
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Things I love

The $2 Shop

August 8th, 2009
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Yes, it’s Daiso! For me, it’s the best store in the world. In Japan, two Daiso stores are just a few steps away from my apartment, so it’s one of the things I miss about Japan.   I often dropped by Daiso almost everyday! That’s why I’m soooo glad that they have it here in Singapore, too! Albeit too far from my place, it is still worth a visit. The photo above was taken at Daiso in VivoCity, almost an hour away from my place by train. There are four Daiso stores here and I’ve visited two already. The largest one is located in the opposite side of Singapore but I will definitely go there soon.

Click here for the location of all Daiso stores here in Singapore.

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Singapore, Things I love

Should have taken up nursing

August 7th, 2009
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My mother grew up to be very unfortunate that she and her siblings had to be separated and work as household helpers. She was very fortunate that the couple she worked for sent her to college. When she married my father, they had a hard time making ends meet until my father got a good job in Saudi Arabia. From that time until I finished college, we enjoyed a few luxuries, thanks to my father. But things became difficult again when my father had to quit his job abroad. Then I was given the opportunity to work abroad and be able to help my family. When I received the bad news about my previous company’s situation almost five months ago, I relayed it to my family. Worried about getting a good job amid the recession, I longed for comfort from them. Even simple words like “Don’t worry. It’s gonna be OK”, would have helped a lot but all I heard was… “you should have taken up nursing. It would have been easier for you to find a job again”. I admit I was a little bit disappointed but all those difficult times my mother had to face might have given her a huge scar that made her say that.

Thank God I’ve been blessed with a good opportunity here in Singapore. Aside from that, I still enjoy being in IT. From time to time though, I wonder what if I am one of those wholesale liquidators or personal shoppers. I think I would enjoy doing them, too.

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Sentiments

Thank you, President Cory

August 6th, 2009
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I’m ashamed to admit it, but I had not really looked deeper into what our late President Cory Aquino did aside from taking up the responsibility of leading our nation to be freed from dictatorship.  We owe her our freedom. Yet, I had not reflected on the depth and weight of such responsibility. Little did I realize how extraordinary leader she had been.

When the People Power took place, I was just a small girl and I really didn’t understand why we had to wear something yellow. When I became old enough to comprehend what’s going on around me, I lost my interest in digging up what the country’s leaders are up to because almost everything that I could read and hear about them are frustrating.  The loss of such a great leader led me to read articles about Pres. Cory.  The necrological service even revealed the unknown but great things she did not just to the country but to the people that are always around her.  Now, all I have for her is gratitude and awe.   President Cory, maraming salamat po!

I hope and pray that our nation’s next leaders would be true servants like her.  I hope that in the 2010 election, we Filipinos would once again vote as if we are fighting to be free.  Yet, we are in bondage once again. Ipagpatuloy ang laban!

Here’s one of the articles that has once again ignited my sense of patriotism.

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Philippines

Responsibility and Life Insurance

August 6th, 2009
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When I was still a child, some agents approached my parents to introduce to them some insurance plans. At that time, they didn’t completely welcome the idea. For them and for most of the grown-ups, it is like wishing for one’s death. Most people got offended by the mere mention of life insurance. As I have faced my share of trials and now being the sole breadwinner and the mother of a four year-old, I have fully grasped the importance of life insurance. I shall say that we are fortunate that we have a variety of life insurances to choose from, like mortgage life insurance, credit card insurance, etc. But we also have to make sure that we get it from a strong and reliable insurance company.  After all, setting aside a portion of what you earn isn’t a walk in the park.

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Lifestyle

I’m round?

August 5th, 2009
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This mug was a gift to me and I’ve been using this one in the office for quite some time. This morning, while I was drinking coffee, a colleague stopped by my desk…

Colleague: I like your mug. It is so cute. I thought it was sort of a 3D or something. And it is round, like you!

Me: …

[Speecheless for a few seconds as I felt my face and ears redden with embarrassment.]

How would you react if you were in my shoes?

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At work, Ooopppssss

Harry Potter Fever

August 4th, 2009
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I’m not sure if HP6 is still being shown in the theaters here in Singapore. But I still have it, the Harry Potter fever. The company gave us free tickets to the movie so I took advantage of it and last weekend, I watched Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince the again. That time, I had some preparations. I “reviewed” all of the previous HP movies. Too bad I didn’t have enough time to read all the books again!

Anyway, watching them all over again made me want to be one of those students or even a teacher at Hogwarts. Even having one of those magical things from Fred and George would be so cool. Imagine having mobile homes that could be stuffed into your bag!

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Movies

Night effect with Photofiltre

August 3rd, 2009
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The photos I post here are mostly taken using my mobile phone, some I got from friends. I still love my mobile phone when I was still in Japan but I could no longer use it even its camera, because I need to buy a transformer to be able to charge it! The one I am using right now doesn’t give me pictures that are as good as my previous phone. Fortunately, I found Photofiltre and I guess I’d have to use it more frequently until I could afford to buy a DSLR in say, 5 years?
The following photo was taken at VivoCity (I’ll post more pictures soon). I enhanced its color using Photofiltre’s “revive colors” option.

Here’s the same photo using Photofiltre’s “night effect”:

You can still do a lot about your photos with Photofiltre, including a very good “sepia effect”. The best thing about it? It is free!
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Gadgets, Singapore

I want Shaynna to…

August 2nd, 2009
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A lot of my relatives, on my father’s side are born artistic. My father was very good at drawing. However, as we only belong to a family of fishermen, nobody got a degree in Fine Arts or any related course. When I was a little girl, I had always wanted to join summer classes for painting but we couldn’t afford it. When it was time for me to decide which course to take up in college, I wanted to pursue a degree in architecture but was told that it’s costly. So, I took up computer engineering.

Now that I have Shaynna, I want her to pursue anything that she loves to do but as a parent, I have to guide her in finding her passion. If I were to choose for her, I want her to do things that I didn’t have the opportunity to try, like join summer classes to be able to play piano or violin perhaps? Or sign up for a ballet class? Or painting lessons? However, summer classes like these are hard to find in my hometown. I wish I could find good ones by next summer vacation.

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Shaynna

Japanese Gourmet Town

August 1st, 2009
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I have noticed a Japanese restaurant somewhere in Vivocity during my first visit. That miniature of an okonomiyaki seemed to haunt me. I couldn’t stop thinking how it tastes so when I met up with friends last weekend, I suggested to go there for lunch. Okonomiyaki is one of my favorite Japanese dishes and I was hoping I could find a restaurant here that serves okonomiyaki that is as delicious as the one in my favorite restaurant in Osaka. The place has this very “Japanese feel”. They only played Japanese pop music and they have a wide variety to choose from the menu. There’s this wall that’s really eye-catching that Kay and I couldn’t help but do the “Japanese pose” and have our photo taken:


I tried to capture the whole wall but my cellphone’s camera just couldn’t:
Some of the food we ordered:

Of course, seafood okonomiyaki:

How was it? Far from my favorite restaurant in Osaka’s okonomiyaki. At least I would no longer be “haunted” by it.  Maybe I should try to learn how to cook okonomiyaki.  Perhaps after a dozen of tries, I could somehow get a little bit of how true Osakan okonomiyaki tastes like.
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Food, Singapore
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