Weekend with friends...

It was quite a packed Saturday.

In the morning, it was over at Boon Keng for a BBQ gathering with Jon and my ex-colleagues Arlyn, Joann.

In the afternoon, I was in Mountbatten for a gathering with fellow museum volunteers. One of our friends recently gave birth so we dropped by to say hello to the new parents and their wonderful baby.

Sunday was just as busy. Hehe.

Jon had free tickets to the SG Garden Fest. Together with our other friends, we tropped to the Gardens by the Bay where the event was held.

Since it was the last day of the event, it was packed.

The tix also included a free entrance to the Flower Dome, where the current theme is orchids. The place was also crowded. Hehe! It was a bit of a challenge to appreciate all the beautiful flowers.

Tiring weekend but good one.

Weekend with visiting friends...

The higlight of the weekend was meeting up with ex-colleagues.

Last Friday, it was with ex-colleague from Smart Steph. There are three of us ex-Smart PA peeps who are now here in Singapore - me, Arlyn, and JoAnn. I'm really glad that even though I don't work in Smart anymore, the friendship with the PA girls stays alive. Arlyn decided to bring Steph to Swee Choon for dinner. The place is always a good idea. Food is good. It's affordable. It has a local feel. It's not touristy. After feasting on dimsum, we headed to nearby City Square for dessert and more chitchat at Cocoa Colony.

Yesterday, my catchup was with ex-colleague from Magsaysay Weng. We went to Ikea Alexandra to buy some stuff followed by lunch at Anchorpoint across the street. Aside from being an ex-colleague, Weng and I went to the same university, and took up the same degree... though she is a few batches ahead. Hehe! I'm guessing being both Peyups grad is one reason why we really hit it off. Hehe!

Anyway, really glad to see these guys! My Singaporean friends always say that I have a lot of friends visiting Singapore. I always tell them it just so happens that my friends visit Singapore at the same time. I dunno why that happens. Haha! The other week, another ex-colleague from Smart and a friend from Couchsurfing days were also in Singapore. However, I didn't get to meet up with them as the invite was last minute and I already made plans for the day. Some other time, I guess...

Ex-Smartees reunion yet again...

Today was mostly about meeting friends.

Ex-Smart colleague Rej is in town for work since last Monday. However, she was only free to meet up friends by yesterday.

Together with also ex-Smart colleague Arlyn, the three of us agreed to have brunch at Robert Timms Wheelock. I wonder if Robert Timms has a frequent customer/loyalty card. Haha! I've been to the place quite often in the past few weeks. Anyway, it was good to catch up with Rej since a lot has happened to her since we last saw each other. It was also good to catch up with her because I got to meet up with Arlyn again. Though we both live on the same island, we hardly see each other. Haha!

Unfortunately, I had another appointment in the afternoon so I didn't get to hang with the girls.

However, I met up again with them in the evening for dinner at JoAnn's place. That was really something I was happy about not just because I get to see JoAnn and her family again, but also because she and her helper prepares really good Filipino food. Nothing beats home cooked meals! Haha!

I guess I'll write about the other meetup separately. Lol!

Another packed Sunday...

Sunday was just as busy as Saturday.

I didn’t even have time to hit the gym. Lol! Even if I got home from the Christmas dinner past midnight and slept at 1AM, I still woke up at just after 6AM.

For about thirty minutes, I just stayed in bed thinking of my schedule for the day. I had a lunch with Smart colleagues JoAnn and Arlyn. There was a lecture at NMS that I had to attend. I wanted to squeeze in some library time. In the evening, I had dinner plans with Mon and Richie. I had to think if I should go to church in the morning or before meeting up with Mon and Richie.

In the end, I decided to get up and leave the house at 8AM. This was so that I can attend the 930AM Mass at the Church of the Holy Cross. From there, the rest of the day went by as planned.

Following Mass, I met up with Jon (who lived near the church) and we took the bus to Ikea Alexandra for the lunch with JoAnn and Arlyn. At 1PM, I left the group and took the bus to head to the National Museum for the lecture. Afterwards, I managed to join a guided tour by seasoned museum volunteer. I picked up new information and techniques. From the museum, I took the train to 313 to spend a few hours at the library.

The final agenda for the day was dinner with Mon and Richie. The former suggested Tonkichi for dinner. Neither Richie nor I objected. Haha! Tonkichi actually has a set for 3 people. It was a better choice compared to ordering individual sets. For $75 (excluding tax), the set included 3 pork fillet, 3 oyster tempura, 3 ebi tempura, 1 pork loin, 3 cups of rice, miso soup, dessert and the usual unlimited cabbage. Not bad, huh!?

We ended the day by sharing a teeny tiny piece of dessert from Robert Timms. Lol! We all wanted to go home soon because we were yawning by 9PM. Lol!

I’m going to see these two guys again by Friday. In fact, I’ll be spending the entire weekend with them. That’s something I’m looking forward to.

Brunch, museum, dinner, angels...

My Saturday ended 30 minutes past twelve (and it was already a Sunday).

Today was another busy day. There was not much activity. It was more of a going from one place to another to either spend time with friends or to attend a prior commitment.

In the morning, I met up with Mon and I-van for brunch. The latter was flying back to Kuala Lumpur this afternoon. I didn't get to spend much time with him since I was also entertaining other friends. Thankfully, Mon messaged to invite to brunch at Wild Honey Scotts Square. It was good because I get to see I-van again before he flies out and also because I haven't been to Wild Honey in a while, and I miss brunch. Haha!

Hmm, I-van, technically, is not really a visitor anymore since his work trips to Singapore is getting more frequent. Hehe! But still, it's always a joy to see him. Back in Manila, my workplace was only a few buildings away from his. We would sometimes meet in the afternoon for coffee and a smoke (well, just him). In a way, it kind of feels like that again.

After brunch, we walked around a bit Scotts and Taka before parting ways. Mon needed to go do some errands. I-van had to head back to the hotel to get his luggage and head to the airport. I, on the other hand, had an appointment at the National Gallery.

I'm excited for the opening of the museum. Hmm, I'm done with the first of two papers. The next thing I need to work on is to prep for my assessment tour. It is scheduled for the end of September. I need to spend the next few weeks to prepare for that. At the same time, I have to start writing on my other tour paper, which is due end of October.

The activity with the museum ended by 330. My next appointment was around 5 or 6PM. Since I had to stay in town for the next appointment, I decided to just head to the National Library to do a bit of reading.

By 5, I left the library and took the bus to nearby Plaza Singapura. Grace, another ex-colleague, is in town for less than 24 hours. Of course, a meetup was necessary. I suggested that Grace, ex-colleague/SG noob Arlyn, and I meet at Tim Ho Wan for a light snack. It was only 5PM. Surely, the queue won't be long. I was right. THW was also a good choice because Grace has never tried the food at the restau.

For dinner, we went to Lau Pa Sat and had a feast - char kway teow, satay, dumpling soup, naan with different dips. Grace requested for hawker food. Lau Pa Sat was the quick solution. Hehe! Again, it was a good choice because Arlyn has never been to Lau Pa Sat. JoAnn then also joined us for dinner and chitchat. Thankfully, LPS was not extremely crowded. It also got cooler somehow so the four of us just decided to stay at LPS for chitchat and dessert.

The last time I saw Grace was when I left in 2011. Less than a year ago, she was assigned to Melbourne. This was definitely a reunion. I'm really glad that even though I'm no longer with Smart, I continue to be good friends with my ex-colleagues. Every time we see each other, the feeling is like we're still working together. Friendship with the PA girls is something I'm really grateful for.

We called it a night a little after 10. I was already very tired. I couldn't wait to take a shower. It was hot the entire day, and I was not wearing summer-friendly attire. Hehe!

Instead of heading home, I decided to swing by the National Museum first to catch the last performance of Garden of Angels by Theater Tol for the Singapore Night Festival. I was initially planning to catch the 9PM performance, but of course I had to choose hanging out with my ex-colleagues. Hehe!

Thankfully, there was an 11PM performance and thankfully, it will end not too late and I will still get to catch the train back to my place.

It was a good decision to go catch Garden of Angels, even if I was by myself. Haha! The performance was really enchanting and it was my first time to see an aerial performance like that.

I finally reached home before 1. I rested for a bit, showered and then before I knew it, I was already in lalaland. Haha!

About tonight and last night...

I just got home not too long ago. I came from the library to do some school work.

Sheesh, almost three hours at the library and I didn't even finish half of the things that I wanted to do. Yes, I finished my assignments for tomorrow. Yes, I finished reading and prepping for tomorrow's lesson. However, there are still some other things I wanted to work on.

Before I know it, the PA announcement went on saying that the library was closing in 30 mins. Then came the fifteen minute announcement. The last was a five minute announcement. And finally, at exactly 9PM, the announcement that the library was closed came on. Hehe!

I really, really, really love the libraries in Singapore! I sometimes wish though that there was a library that's open until 11PM. Or even better, how about a library that's open for 24 hours? There's a gym that's open round the clock for people who want to work out at 2 or 3 in the morning. There's a department store that's open 24 hours in case one wants to do his/her grocery during the wee hours of the morning. Why not a 24 hour library then? Hehe!

Anyway...

The other thing I wanted to write about was a spontaneous get-together with former Singapore- now Dubai-based friend Rej. She surprised all of her friends when she messaged yesterday morning that she was in town for work. Her close girl friends then organised a surprise get-together for her.

I was originally planning to go to the library last night so I can go to the gym tonight. But when a friend is in town, you drop certain things for them. No questions asked. Hehe! So along with all her other friends, we surprised Rej when we showed up at the karaoke place in Cathay Cineleisure.

It's always good to see old friends. Last night was also extra special because it was also a reunion of sorts for former Smartees PA people. CorpComm = Rej and I. MedRel = Arlyn. ComParts = Joann. We just had to take a photo and I sent it to our dear boss, RRI. Hehe!

This entry will be rather short as I really want to get up early tomorrow to have a short run around the neighbourhood before I start my day. Just before I started to write this post, my Japanese friend called me via Facebook (I didn't know there's such a feature) to confirm that he and his family will be in town this August. We chatted for a bit before he went back to his colleagues as they were out drinking on a Wednesday night. Hehe! Looking forward to see him and the fam this August.

Another late night...

As expected, it was another sorta late night tonight. Haha!

I met up with my ex-Smart colleague-turned-PRU AVP Reena at Grand Hyatt for a quick chat.

Prior to heading down to the city, I popped by Ikea Alexandra to get some stuff for Tey, Rhyz and Moneigh.

Knowing that Reena was going to be in town, I checked with the girls what they wanted. I kinda expected the reply - Ikea chocolates! And this time, there was also a request for the chocolate butterscotch spread. I didn't know Ikea had it. I'm guessing it's similar to the Speculoos spread(?).

Since I was already at Ikea, I decided to have my dindin there. Luckily, there was no major queue at the cafe. I was quickly able to get the dinner of pasta and meatballs which I really wanted to have. Yay!

Done with dinner and buying the pasalubong, I walked over to the nearby bus stop and took 14 to the city.

Reena and I didn't get to spend much time chatting. She was in the middle of work and couldn't leave her colleagues.

Still, it was really good to see her. Always happy to see a familiar face.

In other news, few more days to 9 April!!! Woooohooo!!!

Arlyn and Ryse in SG...

Despite the haze that choked the whole island for days, the week still ended on a good note because of visiting friends.

Sisters Arlyn and Ryse, who I both met through my best friend Tey, were in town for a holiday. It was Arlyn's first trip to Singapore (surprisingly). I wasn't able to ask Ryse if it was the same thing for her.

It's always a happy moment for me whenever friends from Manila come and visit. Aside from the catchup, it is also an opportunity to play tour guide to friends.

Hmm, personally, I'd like to show friends the not-so-touristy parts of the island. I know that Orchard, the Esplanade and Merlion Park, Bugis, to name a few, are mandatory places to visits.

But if possible, and that is if visiting friends are interested and they have the time, I'd bring them to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, or cafe' hopping at Tiong Bahru, or even cycling at Pulau Ubin just to see another side of the island-state. It's not really Singa-bore.

Thankfully, the air quality improved somehow by Friday night and we were able to do a bit of both.

Originally, Arlyn and Ryse wanted to try chilli crabs and cereal prawns. No Signboard or Jumbo Seafood could have easily been an option. Instead, I suggested instead we go to the chilli crab place in Ghim Moh.

However, because of the PSI readings that day, it was better that we dine indoors. We sacrificed the chilli crab and just went for the cereal prawns (and coffee pork ribs, ngor hiong, and fried rice! Hehe!). I brought them to Le Chasseur, which was right across Central, and is one of the nicer zi char places.

Afterwards, I was ready to go to Clarke Quay, which is really not my fave place and is not my scene for obvious reasons (hehe), but I know it's a must-visit for tourists.

Instead, we ended going to Club St. in Ann Siang Hill since Ryse's SG-based friend was there. I forgot about that area as a (better) alternative to Clarke Quay (again because it is not my scene). Hehe!

We took the bus from Central and had to walk a bit to Club St., but it was also an opportunity to show Chinatown, Maxwell area, Neil Road(!) to the sisters before leaving them at Club St. with Ryse's friend.

Saturday, I met up again with the sisters. PG Boy had class and I didn't have anything scheduled so I was able to hang out with them before they leave for Manila. (I was tentatively scheduled to play museum tour guide to Tipz's folks, but they had other plans, I think. Hehe!) Simon, a common friend who's SG-based as well, joined us, too.

That day, we did the touristy activities, which was still fun. We started the afternoon by shopping at H&M, followed by a long, good lunch at Din Tai Fung in Paragon, and then going to Ion for more shopping for them.

Simon and I agreed that it was a short visit. There were still more to do, more to see. Hehe! Arlyn and Ryse said they will be back when friend Rej visits from Dubai and when JoAnn gives birth months from now. Yay!

This coming weekend will also be a busy and happy one because another two friends - I-van and Moi -are flying in.

Spectaculoos...:-P

Thank you, GossipGehl!!!

Now, I'll get to find out what all the fuss about this jar is. Hehe!

Friday nights at OT...

When I was still in my previous job, some of my colleagues, including my best friend Tey, would usually stay back at the office on a Friday night.

One, Manila + Friday night is a recipe for horrible traffic. Two, there is more work to be done. Hehe!

The good thing is that our office was smack in the middle of the business district. That meant having easy access to the malls, drinking places, etc.

On certain nights where we didn't feel like heading to Greenbelt or we just wanted something very laidback, very casual, we would go to this place along De la Costa called OT.

It was a stone's throw away from the office and on many nights, it served as our version of the bar that Ally Mcbeal and her colleagues would hit.

There ws nothing fantab about OT. People were allowed to smoke. Food was your regular stuff. When you leave, you bring with you the combined smell of cigarette smoke, smoked food and so on. LOL!

But we love the place for two things - cheapo buckets of San Mig Lights and cheapo karaoke. Haha! We're talking about five peso per song here.

If I remember correctly, karaoke starts at 10PM. By then, there would be quite a few tables occupied with fellow yuppies who wanted to relax but nothing too formal and chichi (chichi talaga?!). Most of them were colleagues from other departments - Engineering, IT, Customer Service, and us Public Affairs.

Because we'd always see each other

A catalogue of the songs would be passed around and we would take note of the number code for the songs we wanted to sing. We'd give the piece of paper to the waiter who would then key in the numbers to the karaoke machine. Haha!

And for the next two hours, we would have our own karaoke night. No one cared how you sung the song. When you had the mic, you owned the place. LOL. No fights erupted. No broken bottles or noses. Just pure, unapologetic singing. Haha!

Good times, good times, indeed!

Good luck, Rej...

Last night, I had dinner with Rej. She was one of the people who really inspired and encouraged me to make the move to Singapore. She was one of the people who really helped in making my Singapore dream come true.

In a few days, she'll be flying out Singapore and heading to a new country for work. Huhu!

I'm really glad that we had the chance to get together one more time before she flies out. I hardly see her but I know that she's one of the people I can really talk to about buhay OFW.

Over dinner, we talked about how things currently are for foreign workers in Singapore, visiting the Philippines, plans after Singapore. We talked about friends in Smart, life when we were still in Smart, school, going back to school, relationships. We talked about how being OFW changes someone.

Definitely a good dinner. What I thought would just be a one-hour dinner (because she had to go back to work) turned out to be a three hours over get-together. Haha! :)

Thank you, Rej, for everything! Here's to new dreams... *wink wink*

More about Manila trip...

Though it was a very short trip and that the main reason really was to visit fam, I made sure I was able to see some good friends.

In a short span of six days, I got to hang out with friends from SMART, Twitter buddies, good friend/brother Carlo, and classmates from UP.

Hmm, it's my first trip back to the Phils since I left almost two years ago. Not much has changed, but it felt like the eating out was so expensive. Haha! I was converting prices at restaus and prices were close to what I'd usually pay for at SG. Haha!

The one thing I found to be really cheapo was cab fare. Hehe! Again, I was converting and I was super happy that taking a cab in Manila is still waaaay cheaper. Hehe!

It was such a short visit. I should plan another trip. Maybe PG Boy can join the next trip. If he does, I def want it to be an out of Manila trip. Hehe!

Good weekend despite being indisposed...

Despite being unwell, the last few days have been really good because two really good friends from Manila were in town for holiday - my former boss/mentor and really good friend Aimee and my best friend Tey.

It was really good catching up with both of them. And I was really, really happy that my best friend finally met PG Boy. I really want for them to meet each other already.

Yey!

F1 weekend with friends from Pinas...

I didn't get to experience any of the recently concluded F1 fever. Hehe!

That's because both my home and my workplace are far away from the city (which became a race track for a couple of days), from the roaring engines of the race cars, from the excitement of F1 race fans coming from different parts of the world.

We'll see. Maybe next year. =)

But one good thing I had thanks to the F1 event was that several friends from the Philippines were in town and I got to catch up with them - Manny, Joi, Reg. Franco was also in town but we didn't get to meet up because he was only here for a day.

Sunday night was spent clubbing with the club-going friends. I missed tugsing I have to say. Haha! Last time was in HCM, and that was just whoa! So Sunday, no very early Monday morning, was ultra fun dancing to the awesome beats of DJ George Leong.

Monday night, on the other hand, was spent with Joi, her husband-to-be, and Manny. It's a good thing Manny missed his flight. Hehe! At least, we got to finally hang out.

We all met up at Vivo City, had dinner at Food Republic (which had nice interiors) then drinks at some Irish pub facing the harbor.

It was definitely a good F1 weekend. Hehe!