ho chi minh city - day 1

my biggest fear when traveling is this: that by some negative force of nature, my alarm will not work and i will miss my flight. that's why i check my alarm 100 times to see that the correct am/pm setting is used. 

i did just that the night before our march 14 7am flight to hoh chih minh city. i set the alarm at 4:30 am. but that did not save me from not waking up to my alarm. i woke up to my phone ringing. weird, i thought. why is jan is calling me? but what's even weirder is that it's 6am! and we're supposed to meet at the airport at 5:45am! my alarm went off fine. it's the volume that's so low it didn't register in my ear canals hehehe.

reality hit me that i just might not make it to my flight. unless... i don't take a bath, i don't brush my teeth, i just strip off and change. and. i. did. just. that. yuck. but what is yuck if it saves my flight? yuck it is. by some positive force of nature that overpowered the negative ones, i made it just in time - in my grossest physical state ever. i don't mind. but it's a big deal, ok?

after less than 3 hours, i found myself in a foreign country. feeling hungry and dirty, jan and i waited for jake. his flight was coming in a few hours after ours.

i was unsuccessful in finding a bathroom (for a shower) in the airport. no choice but to take a bath in our hotel after a few more hours. 

we roamed around the airport while waiting for jake and found some local instant noodles and coffee at the star cafe. we loved them!

then we went to find a cool spot where we could wait for jake. you see i was in danger of expiring anytime soon. hehehe.  view from the departure hall:

we finally found jake and we headed off to our hotel. and i had my much needed bath. all perfect! 

we headed out to face the scorching sun and looked for some place where we could eat authentic vietnamese food. we found a place that looks like a karenderya in manila. we had these: sticky rice with chicken flakes (that turned out to be an appetizer hehehe), some rolls, and a tiny coke to seal the deal. it did not disappoint me. food was very tasty, except for some hard carton-ish stuff in the rolls wrapper that was far from edible.

and then the trio was ready to face the streets of hoh chih minh city! 

we just had to...

we found the ben thanh market. so many stuff to see! fruits - fresh and dried, food, liquor, clothes, bags, decors, souvenirs. name it, we've got it all for you! the only thing that turned me off are the tinderos who almost force you to buy and get offended if you don't purchase their goods. 

next stop was the saigon notre-dame basilica. it was a bit far from our hotel but it was worth visiting. 

one thing we all loved are parks, parks, and more parks. could be compared to parks here in sg. i wish we have more of these in the philippines!

tindero/tinderas for a minute!

and the most fascinating thing is this... the motorcycle traffic. it's insane! what's more amazing is that when you cross the street, they won't hit you. It's like the red sea that parts when you set your foot on the road. but i guess you have to master the art of crossing the road first before you dare to do it! 

we capped the day having dinner at jollibee! the chicken joy did not give me much joy though hehehe. Iba pa rin ang orig!

cr? you are in a filipino store indeed!

twix

keyla, having a sweet tooth, discovered all the tingly goodness a pack of twix can bring. who wouldn't love it? a pack consists of 2 sticks of biscuit that's embraced by chocolate and caramel. it will never disappoint!

last night, kuya opened a pack. keyla's eyes twinkled. aware that too much sweets will be bad for her, she asked, "daddy, will you give me one stick only?" to which kuya replied, "anong 1?! 1/2 stick only! it's too sweet."

no problem, she probably thought. as long as she can have some then it's all good! but somewhere in her heart, i know that if she had a choice, she would consume it all!

then i decided to tease her. i just want to see how funny her face would be. "keyla? can i have some? can i bite?" i was expecting her face to go sour, or for her to say no, or run away. what i saw instead melted me. without hesitating, without even thinking twice, she smiled and said, "ok!" she then approached me to give me some of her treasured half stick of twix.

don't you just love children? they are honest and selfless and pure! i think we should emulate them. let them be our role models instead of the other way around. :) i love my niece!

how failures give you the best presents

i failed a calculus subject during college. and a digital systems subject too. for someone who took computer studies for a course, i shouldn't be proud of these failures because these are major courses! hahaha! what could i have done? the only math i love is geometry. i just perceived calculus as a jumble of numbers and my mind just chose not to digest it.

these failures pushed me out of the block section during 3rd year, out of the comfort of the circle of my barkada. i thought it would be the beginning of a miserable life because i find it very "easy" to blend in a new group. i thought i failed big time.

but the universe had other marvelous plans for me! i met two new friends, len and wendy. we had nothing in common but we somehow got attracted to each other. we even had a term of endearment for each other: BI, which means bad influence hahaha!

they taught me a lot of things - like cutting classes to watch a movie. and the more important thing that i learned here is that you are only licensed to cut classes if you are super smart because you are capable of catching up even if you don't attend class. well, len and wendy are super smart. i am not. hahaha! so i learned that cutting classes is really, really bad for ME!

after college, we kept in touch but we seldom met each other. we had a memorable caliraya trip though. memorable because we rode a bus to get to laguna and rode a tricycle to get to the resort. looking back, i realized how crazy we were to go uphill riding a tricycle! we also enjoyed kayak! maybe i enjoyed more because i wasn't holding the paddles. hahaha! i went home happy, they went home with sore arms. i love these girls!

ca. 2008, we all met once here in singapore. len and i were already based here and wendy just came for a visit. wendy brought us along when she went shooting photos somewhere in the cbd.

and fast forward to feb 21 2014, i met len again for lunch. a lot has changed. the old kalokohan talks were replaced with serious, mature talks. like plans in life! oh my! :) things indeed change.

i thank God for my failures. you see they come with unexpected presents like wonderful friends :) 

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!