...

Slaughter the fattened calf...

The prodigal son is dropping by... Haha...

Signed up for another course...

It seems like a significant part of 2013 will be about "learning new skills." Hehe!

Uhm, I may have mentioned in a previous post that I registered for a language class. Since I feel like I have some free time on certain nights during the week, I decided to sign up for a language class at the ERC Institute.

I've been looking for more affordable language classes, but I've been having difficulty finding one. Most of the classes average at SGD400. Eeep! I dun want to shell out that amount of money. I could go for a language class at the local Community Center but my problem was I couldn't find a schedule that fit mine.

Constant Googling paid off though. I stumbled upon the ERC website and a post saying that they're offering the language course at half-price. I decided to email and ask if it was possible to pay in installments and they agreed. Yey!

Classes start end of February.

There is another course I wanted to take. It's completely not related to my present or previous work. I dunno how I'll use the skill if I do go for the course. Hehe!. I am just interested. Again, I think I have too much free time so I decided I can probably take another short course.

Just like the language class, the courses I found for this skill I wanted to learn were expensive. If the language classes were about SGD400, this skills training I was interested in were a few thousand. Yaiks! No way! Haha!

Luck was only my side again because on a recent trip to the Philippine embassy, I saw a tarp standee for a certain organization that provided skills training for OFWs.

When I got to the office the following day, I gave the org a call to inquire more about the short course. Hehe!

Yesterday, I signed up for the short course. Whereas the language course will only run for about 10 sessions, this short course will run from April to Oct/Nov. It's twice a month. Each session is about three hours. Hehe!

I'm kinda excited because I have zero background about the course. I'm kinda nervous because I dunno how the course will be like. Hehe!

We'll see how it goes.

More on this as the course start date nears.

So there, it does seem like "learning and personal enrichment" are among the major themes of my 2013. Major themes talaga?! Haha!

Wiley goes to the zoo...

The pouring rain yesterday didn't stop me from attending the Wiley Family Day at the Singapore Zoo.

When I briefly got up at 4AM just to pee, I was hearing heavy rain. I thought to myself that it will probably stop by morning. I was wrong.

When PG Boy and I left his place and headed to Pasir Ris to catch the shuttle the company chartered for the event, it was still raining. When we reached the zoo, which was on the other side of the island, it was still pouring.

Still, we tried to enjoyed the event and the zoo. It was great seeing colleagues outside of the office. It was also great that I got to bring PG Boy with me. He got to meet a few of my close friends at the office. I also brought Miru, another good friend, since I had a few extra tix. Meanwhile, Bernard invited Anthony, Chinmay and Ling to the event. The six of us hung mostly during the day.

It was my first time to the zoo. I once said that the only time I would go there is if Singapore is already kicking me out. Yaiks. I hope this isn't a sign. My work pass is currently up for renewal. Plus, technically speaking, I am going only because of the company event. It wasn't my decision to hold it at the zoo. Lordy, you know this right? Please keep me in SG for a few more years. Hehe!

Despite the rain, it still turned out to be an enjoyable event. We didn't get to explore much of the zoo because it was raining the entire day. Most of the animals were hiding as well. Hehe. But I did get to see the elephants, the feeding of the white tigers (beautiful animals!!!), some otters, a lot of monkeys, and the latest addition to the zoo - pandas KaiKai and JiaJia and a very lonely red panda.

The other highlight was winning in the Lucky Draw. Bernard was hoping to win the Grand Prize - a 3D/2N stay at a luxury hotel in Sentosa. I was hoping to win the 2nd Prize - an iPad mini. We both didn't get what we wanted, but I won a consolation prize - an iPod shuffle. Hehe! Whooppee!


Now, I dun have to think of a pressie for my brother Raymond. His birthday is this coming week. I hope he needs a music gadget. Hehe! Thank you, Wiley! :D

From the zoo, PG Boy and I headed back to civilization for an impromptu date. We decided to catch The Impossible at Shaw Lido. Prior to that, we had dinner at Din Tai Fung in Wisma. It was the perfect place for dinner. We had noodles with dumplings, porkchop with fried rice, and hot & sour soup. The hot soup and the noodles were just great for the rainy weather. Hehe!

Twas a good Saturday! :D In a way, it was still good that the Family Day pushed through. Otherwise, PG Boy and I would've probably just chosen to stay at home and lazed because of the rain. Hehe!

Jersey Boys night...

Catching Jersey Boys tonight at the Marina Bay Sands.

Hmm, I'm not too familiar with the story and I dunno much about the songs. I just read that popular classics such as Can't Take My Eyes Off You and Big Girls Don't Cry are to be expected from the show. Hehe!

I hope it wouldn't be a bore though.

Speaking of musicals, I recently got myself the soundtrack of The Book of Mormon. It's good. It's really good. No wonder it won the Best Musical at the 2011 Tony Awards. Some of the songs are bordering on blasphemous though. Hehe! It makes me wonder how the Church of Latter-Day Saints reacted to the musical.

I hope some production company in SG or Manila will stage it. I would definitely want to catch. Or maybe I can catch in the US and finally use the US visa I have? LOL! Hehe!

Anyway, happy Friday.

Bali nice weekend...

The travel for 2013 has begun.

Good friends I-van and Edsel were recently in town for a holiday and we squeezed in another holiday trip within their holiday. Hehe.

Some time last year, Richie told us that he has free accomms in Bali thanks to his brother who couldn't make the trip.

He invited some friends to accompany him. The weekend trip was not just any ordinary holiday though. I'll leave it at that.

So, from Friday until Sunday, I was with the guys and one lady enjoying the brief getaway from the Little Red Dot.

It proved to be a very short trip though because I found myself wanting to stay a few more days to explore the island.

Oh well, we can always go back I suppose. Haha!

More photos in the next post. :)

Monday, 409 PM....

The thing I've been expecting to happen has finally happened.

The good thing is I'm expecting another thing to happen after this one.

So things are just starting. Crossing my fingers.

Two good friends are in town...

I-van and Edsel, two good friends of mine from Manila, are in Singapura for a holiday.

They arrived yesterday afternoon and will fly back to Manila early next week.

It's been ages since I last saw these guys, especially Edsel. That's why I tried to finish as much as I could at work yesterday so that I can leave the office on the dot to see the guys.

Another reason why I wanted to get as much work as possible done is because I am going to take Friday off. Together with Rich, Mon and Mon's friend Evelyn, we're going to take a short break from Singapore and fly off to a nearby island to enjoy the sun and the sand, and have some rest and relaxation. PG Boy was invited and originally, he said he was going but later on decided to back out. Anyway, the trip should still be awesome because I've never been to the place and I'm traveling with very good friends. Wheee!

This morning, I checked the weather forecast for our destination and... boo. Seriously??? :-/

I am hoping that the weather will cooperate and that the sun will come out when by the time we arrive. Please, please. :)

Brunch with the bros (Lol)...

Met up with Chris, Ian and MkSurf8 last Saturday for brunch.

MkSurf8 suggested that we have a brunch to celebrate Ian's bday as well as to welcome 2013. And if it's MkSurf8 who calls for a get-together, you dun say no to Madame. Hehe! Kidding.

As always, it was great seeing these three guys especially since we all had our own New Year celeb. Ian was in Shanghai for New Year. MkSurf8 was in HK with the folks. Chris was in Upper Boon Keng. Hehe!

We agreed to meet at Robertson Walk and decide there where to go for brunch.

Initially, we thought of going to Kitchen + Bar by the Merry Men or Bar Bar Black Sheep but I think neither were open yet.

em by the river was suggested since it's also a great brunch place.

However, we decided to try something new so we settled for Toby's Estate.

If you want good coffee, you'll definitely want to head down to this place. It's definitely one of the best coffee places in town.

As for the food, I did enjoy the brunch that I have. Most of the brunch plates are below $20, which is quite great.

I ordered the croissant with scrambled eggs and espresso maple bacon, which was just $10. I ordered extra sides of sauteed mixed mushrooms and honey baked ham, which together cost $5.

When my plate arrived, I was pleasantly surprised because it was quite a big serving, even for me.
Oh, one thing I like about the place was that they were okay with replacing the croissant with two pieces of brioche. (Or maybe because they already ran out of croissant and had no choice. Hehe!)

Chris and Ian had the Peasant Eggs with some add-ons. MkSurf8 had Toby's Breakfast.

I dunno about the guys, but I did enjoy my breakfast. I definitely also enjoyed the Latte. It was good and I wouldn't mind having a second cup... errr... glass.

Toby’s Estate
8 Rodyk Street
#01-03/04 Singapore
Tel: +65 6636 7629
Daily: 7.30am – 6pm

The best countdown to 2013 fireworks show...

One thing I definitely like having during New Year's Eve is fireworks.

I dunno. Maybe because it has been an annual tradition in the family to have fireworks to welcome the brand new year. Year after year, I look forward to seeing fireworks.

This is one reason why I wanted to go down to Marina Bay for NYE. I know there will be tons of people. I know heading back home would be quite difficult. But I also know that the fireworks would be great.

For two years in a row now, I've been welcoming the new year at the Marina Bay with hundreds of thousands of other people all waiting to be wowed by the fireworks.

I thought the fireworks for 2012 was much better than the recent one. Still, it was an enjoyable moment.

I can imagine how much, much, much more awesome it was at the Dubai countdown celebration. If you haven't seen the fireworks show, click on Play now and just be amazed.

No wonder it was dubbed as the best countdown celebration.

Hello, January...

Even with that particular challenge that welcomed me and a bunch of people back in the Phils. this 2013, the first month of this brand new year is still an exciting and a busy one.

On top of the volunteer work I'm doing with this particular group which takes up two nights every month, Wednesday nights will also be quite busy (for the next three months) because I registered for a language course at the ERC Institute. It's quite a challenging language to learn, but we'll see, we'll see. Haha! I aced my Spanish courses back in uni. I learned Nihongo quite quickly after attending a few sessions. We'll see about this one. Haha!

Workwise, things are also quite busy. My team lead signed me up for two trainings, which will take up three days all in all. Uhm, it should be okay lah. Training is always good and will definitely be of use.

The one thing with work that is causing me stress at the moment is the impending renewal of my work pass. I am praying double, triple hard for the renewal. I don't even care if my work pass type is downgraded. As long as the work pass is renewed, I will be one happy boy. I'm not ready to go back to the Philippines. There. I said it. And I have my reasons. Hehe.

The other two major things happening this month are two trips. One is to a beach place I've never been to. The fact that it will be with some good friends from Manila makes it really exciting. Another trip will be happening some time end of the month. That one is also worth looking forward to, at least for me. No deets yet.

So, yeah it's a busy January.

How is your January looking?

Thank you... :)

Thanks, thanks! :)

Second day pa lang...

It's only the second day of a brand new year and already there is a brewing storm headed to my direction.

I will choose not to write about it in detail but I will write though that it's been causing me stress.

Have you ever felt something in your nape from thinking too much about things? That's stress, right? I tell myself that I shouldn't be stressing myself because doing so would not do me any good. The last thing I need is for me to be in the A&E unit of some hospital. LOL!

I don't really know what to feel right now. A certain part of me is worried. Another part is angry. Another part is feeling rebellious.

Worried because I dun think we're ready for the worse yet. Angry because I feel that I and two people close to my heart are subjected to a situation we did not choose. Rebellious because in my head I am questioning why, why do we feel like we dun have a choice, and how, how did we get into this situation?

And since things have yet to unfold, there is really nothing I can do but wait. Wait and see how things will pan out. I am praying for guidance. I am praying for strength and faith. I am praying for clarity in thought and seeing. Surely, there must be a reason behind this early test.

Above all I am praying for acceptance. So far, acceptance is the one that turning out to be an extremely difficult thing to do on my part.

Because to accept things would mean that I am okay with it. And that's the thing, I'm not okay with it.

Maybe I just have to accept it and have faith that things will turn out for the better. Maybe things feel that they are extremely difficult at the moment, because I'm trying to resolve it all on my own when there is no need to do it alone.

I really pray for things to be better. And I am hopeful that this will just be for the first month of the year. The rest of the year will turn out to be awesome. I have to believe that.


God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Happy New Year! :D

Happy New Year from the Little Red Dot! :D