day 17 - imported goods!

today i am thankful for these sosyal na sosyal na imported goodies from the philippines. you are looking at authentic gourmet purefoods tj hotdog and tuyo from the palengke of zapote! so yummy with fried rice, kahit plain pa :)

i cherish the first few weeks after a manila trip. this usually means you'll have a lot of baong goods that will last for about a month.

i bet you know that it's good to eat tuyo with vinegar, but did you know that hotdog with vinegar also tastes superb? satisfaction guaranteed! 

day 16 - sudoku

today i am thankful for the addicitve sudoku game. this keeps me company while the train is in a tunnel where there's no available mobile data. 

i first heard of sudoku from my good friend, michie. she said she bought sudoku pasalubong for her friends. i was clueless and curious! i learned the art of solving the puzzles and i got hooked :) this is a very good pastime because you get to exercise your brain. kailangang kailangan ko na ito! hahaha

day 15 - off

today i am thankful for fans turned off. it's been soooo cold for the past few weeks. love love love! feels so good when you don't sweat, when you don't need to turn on fans or aircons, when you feel the natural breeze flowing through the house. 

wish it would be like this for a long time. i it's about 26deg here, 17deg in manila, 8deg in baguio, and 5deg in benguet. can you imagine that?!? coolnesss!

* if it's this cold now, people are feeling the coming wrath of summer :-s

day 14 - estudyante blues

i am trying to study again! and for this i am thankful. well, not study study-in-a-school-with-teachers-and-classmates-and-graduate-soon-wearing-a-toga! but study as in self-study-and-take-an-exam-for-certification.

after 33+ years, i am trying to digest a reading material. and by digest i mean memorize, understand, analyze! naks! parang totoong totoo naman! may this be a wonderful learning journey :) and may i pass the exam. that's the most important thing! i am not submitting myself to pressure so i will schedule for the exam when i am done with my reading. sunday driving lang ang dating?! go go!

day 13 - eating alone

today i am thankful for having the opportunity to eat alone. i had a doctor's appointment at the clifford center and i had a couple of minutes to spare. so i went to have lunch at this vegetarian stall. 

i used to dread eating alone. now i realized how peaceful it is to eat by yourself once in a while. alone time gives you the chance to silently talk to yourself. in effect, eating alone is like having a date with yourself. craycray much lang ang dating?!?! 

note: i didn't enjoy the food that much. there's something weird with the pancit. 

day 12 - convenience

today i am thankful for an efficient transport system. no car? no problem! the buses, mrt, lrt will take you to your destination. no sweat. you'll be surprised how all places are magically linked. 

all stations have working escalators and lifts. a lot of walkways are covered. transport guide mobile applications are available so it's impossible to get lost... unless you're ligawin like me. 

i don't really mind crowded trains as long as it gets me to my destination :)

day 11 - friends

today i am thankful for this bunch. we may not see each other that often, but when we do, it's tingles all over up to the bones :) it all started with a common company that's ubs. that is the foundation of our friendship.

we met up for dinner to bid elzie goodbye and all the best as she ventures into the semi-unknown in new zealand. i am sad to see her go. but i am thankful that she will do something that she likes and believes in, with the hope of realizing her dreams!

nasabon nang todo si elzie! elzie, aim high, pasay!

day 10 - healthy options

today i am thankful for healthy (healthyhan) food! we are continuously trying to stay away from anything that makes us fat and unhealthy. above pic is my baon for lunch for the whole week, mon to thu. friday is eat-anything-you-want day.

trying. sometimes i go back to old ways. what can you do if there is masarap na ulam and rice that practically throw themselves at ya? of course, you devour! ehm, you ignore the calling!

grateful for finding these damo-damo enjoyable and yummy!

day 9 - off to the garden with ubs friends

today i am thankful for remembering 1) witnessing the wonders of nature and 2) catching up with ubs colleagues. 

gunnar was here! it was on late december. it was a good catch up with the 2 jans hehehe. the mighty tall gunnar with 3 tiny asian ladies. hahaha! odd looking bunch we were.

we brought him to the gardens by the bay - flower dome. it was a vast garden with plants coming from cool and dry regions of the world. we were amazed with the plants, flowers, vegetables, fruits, trees, baobabs! parang ang sarap tuloy mag salad hahaha! 

we had a wonderful time walking, talking, and having coffee! 

as a final note: coffee at the dome is expensive. kailangang sulitin, ika nga ni gunnar! hahaha

day 8 - the need for a pet

today i am thankful for pets and a child's desire to have one. this pic was taken in mike's house last december. it's only in the philippines where we could interact with pets. we don't have our own house here in singapore and not all owners are thrilled to have tenants and pets living their house. that plus noone will take care of pets while we are at work.

i am happy to see the ecstasy on keyla's face while she was playing with peewee. initially she was scared, then she was playing like there's no tomorrow. she likes pets. so does mike. as for me, i am not compelled to have a pet, but i know it wouldn't hurt if i had one. :)

day 7 - going home early

today i am thankful for having seen some daylight on my way home from work. we've had quite a number of late nights the past year, sometimes almost midnight. isn't that depressing? this is the drama queen in me acting up. hehehe.

on days like this, i feel so good! daylight, if not the sun, is oh so fun! sometimes, just the thought of going home early is enough! :)

day 6 - view from the 12th

today i am thankful for having been given the opportunity to live on a high floor. i say opportunity because i am not afraid of heights. i love high floors! i love how windy it could be. i love how you somehow feel detached from the world when you are on a high place. i love looking at things from a distance. which is an irony because i am farsighted. 

i feel (emphasis on feel) that this also reflects how i am as a social person. hehehe. trust me. i am a sociologist. i try to distance myself from people i don't know. i'd rather just observe people from afar than make friends. i know! so friendly, right? hehehe. just as i feel homey when i'm on a high place, i feel comfortable and at ease with the few people in my small circle of friends/family. and i wouldn't want it any other way. :)

i guess i could literally say, "i'm on a high!!!"

day 5 - slumber

today i am thankful for the gift of jan's friendship. she called for a slumber party. we both know what that means. opinions here, opinions there, opinions everywhere... NONSTOP... hinga lang ang pahinga.

it was cut short though because she wasn't feeling well. rest first before chika.

jan, wherever we may be in the near future, do know that you are one of my treasures. and that i highly regard your views and opinions. and that i still utter "what would jan do?" in moments of difficulty. and that you are a strong woman, much stronger than how you envision your self. and that you are a colorful kite, as colorful as a vinta, always eager to fly high and reach for the stars. and you fly without harming the other kites around you, in fact you help them fly too! and that you are special.

i am forever grateful for our friendship.

day 4 - martha's

today i am thankful for martha's red velvet cupcakes recipe. red velvet is the only variant that i could bake. i tried chocolate, vanilla, but only red velvet is

edibleremarkable. 

we give red velvet for any occasion. christmas, birthday, wala-lang-occasion, despedida. what better present to give than your gift of labor? :) and i am thankful too for the delighted faces of our loved ones who receive these cupcakes :)

day 3 - dormir avec les fenêtres ouvertes

today i am thankful that i can "dormir avec les fenêtres ouvertes". i just googletranslated that. it's french for "sleep with open windows". hehehe. 

i've been sleeping with no aircon for more than a month now. it started when yolanda destroyed a thousand homes. i felt guilty sleeping in the comfy confines of my room. aircon blasting and all. so i decided to just sleep almost al fresco hahahaha. ano ba ito. maka al fresco lang! at kung anu-ano pang pasosyal na salita!

day 2 - the table of plenty

today i am thankful for the abundance of food. 

when we were in manila, mami bought kiatkiat and gave some to keyla. it was the first time keyla tasted it. she then invented the term "orange juice inside" as she felt the orange juice explode in her mouth.

there was a stall selling fruits near pasir ris mrt. i bought 3 nets of kiatkiats because keyla loves it. 

when i got home, i was surprised to see that kuya and april also bought 3 nets thinking about keyla too. now we have 6 nets of kiatkiat!!! "orange juice inside" overload!

thankful not only for the abundance of kiatkiat but also of food. we may not be filthy rich but we are filthy full all the time ;)

day 1 - faithful God

today i am thankful for renewed relationships. for the last year, my spiritual life was hazy. it was trapped in a bottle. lids closed tightly. tucked under an old mattress. chained. collecting dust and cobwebs. cultivating molds. it was that bad. 

i found #365grateful in fb and thought it was a good idea. just take a picture of something you are thankful for each day. well, it will be 364 days for me because i started on the 2nd of january.

the beginning of the year will also start my renewal of vows with my God. thankful for a faithful and understanding God!