the testament

i finally finished reading grisham's "the testament". i liked it because it is about:

- the just distribution of the world's goods

- a man's rise and fall in overcoming drugs and booze addiction

- and how he triumphs in the battle

- dengue - because i am a dengue survivor

- how beautiful corumba is and how exciting it would be to get there

- how you need to summon a lot of courage to survive the adventures

- how missionaries leave everything behind to evangelize

- and how all material things become superficial if you are called to serve

- friendships 

- dirty lies

- love and the absence of it

- beautiful souls and being stripped of worldly things

it made me think... if my father left me with billions, what would i do with the money? 

ps: while i was reading the book, i asked mike how it would end (he had read the book and i have no issues about spoilers). he said the lawyer and the daughter will

end up together. that is so NOT the ending! hahaha!

music and me

i like music! i am currently listening to rx and they have sad love songs on the playlist. ayan, mangilid-ngilid na ang luha ko. i like music and i like how it has the power to affect and move me.

if you ask me what type i like, i can't give an answer because i like them all! i know, so middle child-y. bilang mabilis mauto, just let me listen to a song and i'll learn to like it.

here are my musical eras:

- metal era - i grew up with an older brother who blasted our speakers with metal/heavy metal music. during the irc days, whenever chatmates ask what music i like, i say i like metal hahaha! one budding weirdo, they probably thought. metallica, pearl jam, guns n roses are most memorable.

- jazz era - and the likes of basia, swing out sisters, kenny g, eagles! i love love these! pamana ng ama kong mahilig din magpasabog ng speakers. whenever i iron my clothes, i really like to play this type. ewan bakit.

- emy fujita era - OMyG! this one is really crazy! on one night out during my early days here in sg, jan and i heard this music playing in a record bar. wow! like a vampire drawn to blood scent, we were attracted to the music. for weeks, emy's songs played on repeat as i sleep (shared a room with kuya then). until one

day, kuya couldn't take it anymore and (almost violently) asked me to stop playing this music while we sleep! hahaha! pasensya na! now i realized that this music, i feel, is an effective way to induce bowels. i know, so gross!

- 96.3 era - i don't know why i like the feeling of depression brought about by listening to sad music. during my teenage years, i don't remember having heartbreaks, but i liked the feeling of being heartbroken. the power of music!

- wave era - during college days, i was in love with the quiet storm aired by wave 89.1. tamang senti rin! 

- pa-cool era - about a year ago, i was addicted to checking out new songs, downloading them, and updating my iphone playlist so i could listen to new songs only. pa-cooool!

- worship songs era - ito... singing with all my might! naluluha pa! at minememorize ko pa ang lyrics! :)

there was also the cruisin' series era, nina/nyoy volante era, rnb era, dance music era, parokya era, madonna/mj era! lahat na!

wag lang sigurong country, death metal, jologs (wow define jologs!) music!

i am thankful

• that i have family members who are just there no matter what
• that i have a work that provides for my needs and occasional wants
• that i am living in a place that's just a 10-min-walk away from the mrt
• that i have food and drinks on my table
• that we are gifted with good health
• that i am surrounded with positive, cheerful people
• that i have friends celebrating the gift of life
• that God has always been good despite my unfaithfulness

batam city tour

last may 5-6, we had a get-away in batam, indonesia. this one is different because we did not visit a beach, but we went to batam city for a city tour, massage, and hotel stay. 

we boarded at the harbor front ferry terminal. it's a bit odd for the ferry to show the film titanic to the passengers. entertainment or horror? hahaha! umm, we are in a boat. titanic is a big boat... that sank.

we did not sink. hehe. we arrived at the sekupang, indonesia terminal at around 9am local time.

i know what a "city tour" means - you will go to some shops where they will lure, almost force, you to buy goods. this was what happened on a china trip some years ago! but ok, we went to the city tour anyway. no harm in trying :)

our tour guide was agun, a cool dude with a raspy voice and a lot of benta jokes (at least for me). i like him. he didn't force us to buy stuff. we went to a lot of shops that sold "grade a" fake bags and clothes. very reminiscent of greenhills or ever or waltermart in the philippines. at may grade grade pa talaga ang kapekean! hahaha!

we also went to food item shops. we bought luwak coffee (alamid coffee in the philippines), coffee beans that have been through the worst in life. hahaha!

we also visited a temple (apparently the biggest in batam). i wanted to try the incense thing, but mike was afraid we might do it the wrong way and we would look like fools. hehe ok, we stayed away from the incense and the kneelers.

there was also a "cultural show" where 2 male dancers performed while a band played some local musical instruments. i wish they showed more gusto while dancing, but mike said if you do the same thing day after day then you wouldn't be able to hide the boredom. ganun? come on dancers! energy! energy! you could do better than that! this is coming from a person who's always charged with energy day and night (sarcasm). then... the male dancers became perya performers when they started to remove husk from a coconut using their teeth, and when they started to eat fire, walk on fire, and eat bubog. peryatik! hats off to manongs! you did well!

lunch was good! i would like to believe they were authentic indonesian dishes. beef dish was very similar to our tapa if only it had more vinegar and salt. was yummy! kropek was superb hehehe! when i go places, i like to taste all the dishes so i just take a little bit of everything (menos empacho) so i could say, "i tasted em all!"

massage was next. agun taught us the phrases to mutter if you want to make the massage harder or softer. i had memory gap so i couldn't remember how to tell auntie to make it softer. i said, "soft" but auntie just chuckled and gave a hard massage anyway. hahaha! it was a bit brutal but i liked it! one of the best massages i've had.

we stayed harmoni one hotel. it was a very big hotel, a bit old but still ok. we loved our room and bathroom.

we had dinner at nagoya mall. another mall that's not even at par with our sm malls! hehehe. but the food is definitely cheap :) and that's what's great!

we capped the night with a glass of beer and a lot of fickle mindedness (mine) and finally hit the sack. it was a tiring day.

i wish we skipped the city tour on our first day and just enjoyed the facilities at the hotel. loved the pool! an afternoon dip would have been perfect. we ended up doing our hot dip after breakfast. hot because the sun was so out and about!

 i tried to use the bath tub too (and silently apologized to other people who don't have water to drink). it was very relaxing - my first bath tub experience. i wonder why i've never tried it before (again, apologies to the thirsty).

overall, it was a good (and cheap get-away). my thoughts:

• batam is very similar to the philippines... complete with sari-sari stores, turu-turo, ambiance that's very pinas-like.
• i wish they showcased more of the historical, cultural spots, museums instead of counterfeit goods shops.
• in batam, a liter of petrol is cheaper than a liter of mineral water. "why not drink petrol instead?" asked agun.
• we wanted to dare and ride their public transpo, but agun discouraged us for safety reasons. "don't play play!"
• i wish they don't allow smoking inside malls, hotels. God bless the children and other 2nd hand smokers.
• in batam it feels like you are a millionaire!
• would i recommend this tour to others? yes, but skip the city tour! just a relaxing stay in the hotel is worth it!