Holidays and a business trip

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I spent the holidays in Japan three years in a row: in 2006, 2007, and 2008. I was very homesick during those days but thanks to my friends, I was able to celebrate Christmases, New Years and birthdays Pinoy-style in Japan.

This year, I’m not looking forward to these major events but I’m looking forward to summer 2013. Why? Because this year, I’ll be spending the holidays away from my family, again. This year, I’ll be spending the holidays in a Catholic country. I’m happy that I get to have another unique experience but I can’t really shake the homesickness off.

See you again soon, Mexico… but I still need to hear from the embassy about my visa!

D.I.Y.

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Are you fond of getting do-it-yourself kits?

I like assembling things and making different electronic products work together. However, I am not a fan of doing things myself when it has something to do with food, clothing, or shall I say, something that a housekeeper makes. I can’t imagine making my own apron, pot holders, refrigerator covers, etc. And I think it is all the more impossible for me if it has something to do with food, like making my own salad dressing, barbeque sauce, etc.

However, I came across HomeBrewIt.com for a beer making kit. I don’t like drinking beer but having recently watched the drama adaptation of the anime Moyashimon, it somehow piqued my interest in bacteria and fermentation.

Singapore Flyer for the first time

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I am based here in Singapore yet I seldom post about Singapore. So here goes another post after many months!

One of the main tourist attractions here is the Singapore Flyer. I’ve been passing by this gigantic observation wheel for almost four years, yet it was only last Saturday when I finally got to try it. Our company has some corporate passes and if not for these free passes, I wouldn’t have tried it yet. After all, S$33 is quite expensive for me.

I was afraid that the floors would be transparent, thankfully they aren’t. It’s just a bit scary getting on and getting off because it doesn’t stop. It’s just continuously moving so slow.

One turn takes about 30 minutes, yet because the view was magnificent, we felt that 30 minutes wasn’t enough. I can’t wait to go back at night time. Singapore at night would be undoubtedly more gorgeous.

In the photos above: Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands Hotel

It felt so good seeing a great view from the flyer. Here’s my favorite photo (I wanted to at edit it a bit but…):

I still have tons of photos even after we got off the flyer but I’ll just post this for now, another successful attempt at using my cam’s iSweep Panorama feature:

Mood and music

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There are times when I really want to focus on what I’m doing but couldn’t because I’m distracted with the conversations I hear around me. Thankfully, earphones are allowed in my current company. Most of the companies I worked for in Japan don’t allow its employees to listen to music while working. So, I turned to blogging when I got really sleepy and here I am now still blogging after 6 years.

Aside from helping me concentrate, listening to music affects my mood a lot (and I bet it also affects everyone else’s). If I’m sad and worried, I try to listen to feel-good and funny music. If I wanna cry my frustrations out, then I listen to sad ones.

So in my dream house, I would definitely put a music room, equipped with state-of-the art equipment with its own Loudspeaker Management System . Of course, video karaoke system will be there as well.

Passing by Mexico City’s Zócalo

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The Zócalo is the main plaza of the historic center (Centro Histórico) of Mexico City. My colleagues have been telling me to visit this place and on my third weekend in the city, I finally managed to see it.

I was pretty sure that taking a cab would cost me a lot because it is quite far from my hotel, so I decided to just take the Turibus. It cost me MX$165 and I got to see the whole city. I didn’t hop off the bus, though. I wanted to, but the bus interval is quite long and on the stops, there were always long queues. I didn’t want to lose my good seat so I just stayed on the bus for 3 hours to complete the whole route.

The Turibus’ Circuito Centro passes by many interesting places that I can’t squeeze everything in here. For now, I’ll just show some photos of the Zocalo.

A photo as we approached the Zocalo:

The building on the left is the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary of Mexico City (Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de María).

The huge Mexico flag tells you that you are indeed, at the Zocalo:

True to its name, this part of the city has many buildings of historical importance. Most of these historic buildings were constructed between the 16th and 20th centuries.


If my memory serves me right, the buildings on the photo on the left house some restaurants and shops. The building on the photo on the right is the National Palace.

Below are some photos taken a few blocks away from the zocalo. The traffic was bad but I didn’t get bored because the area was bustling with activity. It was a good opportunity to observe the Mexicans. ^^

I actually got to visit this area again to view some ruins but I’ll save it for another post. :)

Tablet of my dreams

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When iPad was first released, I was never really interested in it. For me, it’s just too big and it won’t be easy to hold it. I was more interested in getting the Samsung Galaxy tab 7″. The size is just right. A lot of sites are offering free download audio books and it would be fun playing them in the tablet of my dreams. Then iPad 2 was released, still I couldn’t afford a tablet. Now, the iPad mini is out, still no Samsung tab for me.

Image from FoneArena.com

I am now more interested in iPad mini but price-wise, I would still go for the Samsung Galaxy tab 7″. Christmas and my birthday is coming. I wish someone will give me a tablet and an iPad mini at that. ^^

Oh.. and I need a new phone, too!

All Soul’s Day

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For us Filipinos, All Souls Day is as important as Christmas and New Year’s Day. Yet, I can’t remember the last time when I spent these days in my hometown together with my family. This year is no different and all I can do is offer my prayers.


God our Father, we ask that you hear our prayers and bring us some consolation in our lives.

As we remember in our prayers all of our loved ones who have died, we pray that they will have received the promise of eternal life and that they are with you in experiencing the joy of heaven.

Amen.

Keep it simple and light-colored

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I’ve been staying in the same apartment for almost 3 years now. I like this unit so much because when we first moved in, it was recently renovated. The walls were painted light and it requires minimal effort to keep the floor clean. I feel so relaxed when I lounge on the sofa while watching TV.


Living room and dining area

When the time comes for me to own a property in a city in the Philippines, this unit’s size would be great. Frankly, this is huge compared to the condominium units in the Philippines and I’m sure would definitely cost at least 4 million pesos in Metro Manila. I would also like to use the same materials and buy the same type of furniture.

The only thing that doesn’t appeal much to me in this apartment is the kitchen. I personally prefer
cream kitchen cabinets and light-colored floor.


The kitchen