A Blissful Day in Bohol

We got up early on Saturday to have an early breakfast in the Starbucks at the ground floor of the hotel before taking a taxi to the pier. Our 8:30 AM ferry ride from Cebu to Bohol took 2 hours. My mom was able to rent a van and driver in advance to take us around the island. He met us at the pier at 10:30 AM and we decided to have an early lunch first before we went touring. I suggested we go to Bohol Bee Farm because I remember having a great meal here the one other time I visited Bohol. I will write about our lunch in more detail.

The Chocolate Hills

It rained throughout the day sometimes quite heavily. Fortunately for us, the rains came down only when we were in the van and traveling from one place to the next. Each time we got out, the sun was up. Talk about good luck! Our first stop was The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis, simply known as Dauis Church. Located on the shore of Panglao, it is one of the most beautiful churches in Bohol.

Dauis Church

Similar to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu, this church was rebuilt a few times, with the present church being started in 1863 by Fr. Julio Saldana. There are a lot of beautiful ceiling paintings inside the church.

Ceiling painting inside Dauis Church

Another point of interest inside the church is Mama Mary's Well. It is believed that this well was formed when the townspeople were forced to seek refuge and lock themselves inside the church when pirates invaded Dauis. They eventually ran out of food and water, and at this point, the well miraculously appeared. Despite the church being located right next to the sea, the water is fresh and potable. Locals believe the water from this well has healing power.

Mama Mary's Well inside Dauis Church

After this, we paid a visit to the Blood Compact Shrine in Tagbilaran. This monument was built by the Philippine Historical Committee and the National Historical Institute to commemorate the blood compact between Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna the chieftain of Bohol on March 16, 1565. This is considered as the first treaty of friendship between the Spaniards and Filipinos.

The Blood Compact Shrine in Tagbilaran

Our next stop was the Tarsier Sanctuary. When I visited Bohol years ago, there was a spot by the Loboc river where people could go right up to the tarsiers to take photos right next to them. However, this proximity to humans apparently causes the tarsiers a lot of stress, especially since these animals are nocturnal and sleep mostly during the day. As such, the Tarsier Sanctuary was established, providing visitors a better understanding of this endangered species endemic to the Philippines.

Philippine Tarsier

The Chocolate Hills is one of the most famous natural landmarks in the country. These limestone hills are covered by green grass that turns brown during the dry season, giving the hills a chocolate brown color. There's a viewing area at the top of what I think is the highest hill but it's a bit of a climb so my grandmother 'Nanay' waited for us at the base while everyone else went up to take photos. There were some sections at the base with good views of the hills though so we still managed to take photos with Nanay once we got back down.

Me at the Chocolate Hills

It was late afternoon when we left the Chocolate Hills and by now it was time to head back to the pier. However, we passed a few beautiful churches on the way to the hills so we took quick stops at each to take some photos. The first we passed by on the way back was the San Pedro y San Pablo Parish Church in Loboc.

San Pedro y San Pablo Parish Church in Loboc

Next was the Santa Monica Parish Church in Alburquerque, Bohol. I love the facade and the architecture of this church, and its grounds are filled with palm trees. However, upon entering the building, it seemed like it was being used for something else as so many people were sitting on the pews while filling out forms or answering an exam.

Santa Monica Parish Church in Alburquerque

Finally, we visited Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Parish Church. Known simply as Baclayon Church, it was built in 1595 by the Jesuits and is considered to be one of the oldest in the Philippines. The doors were closed by the time we got there which is too bad because it has an opulent interior and an impressive altar. Nevertheless, we still took a few photos of the church while we were there.

Baclayon Church

It was a full day in Bohol that perfectly complemented our great experience in Cebu. This is the second time I visited Bohol, and both times, the group I was with rented a van to take us around the island. I think this is the best approach when traveling here since the places of interest are all quite far from each other. This trip didn't include a visit to the beach so I have a reason to take my family here again in the future.

Cebu: History, Thrills, and Good Food

My family went to Cebu and Bohol almost a year ago but I didn't get a chance to write about it when I got back. So this blog post is very late but hopefully it's better late than never. :)

I decided to take my family to Cebu for my grandmother Nanay's birthday because it was her first birthday after Tatay passed away. I have been to Cebu once before, about 10 years ago, but my time was spent in Mactan. This time around, we spent a long weekend in Cebu City. We arrived on Friday around lunchtime and checked into the Crown Regency, where we had a filling lunch buffet in Wang Shan Lo (if I recall correctly, the lunch buffet is a bit more than P400). We then walked over to the nearby Robinsons Cebu to do some shopping before taking a taxi to go to Magellan's Cross.

The cross that we can see is made of tindalo wood and is supposed to encase the original cross planted by Magellan in Cebu when he first arrived here back in April 21, 1521.It's awe-inspiring to think that this cross has been here for almost 500 years now!

Right next to it is the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño. This beautiful church is believed to have been built using wood and nipa back in 1566 but was destroyed by fire. After being rebuilt in 1605 using the same materials, it once again burned down. After a failed attempt to rebuild it in 1628, Father Provincial Bergaño, Governor-General Fernando Valdes, Bishop Manuel Antonio Decio y Ocampo of Cebu and Juan de Albarran Prior of the Santo Niño, started the foundations of the present church in 1735. The facade itself is simple yet elegant, and the interior of the church, especially the alter, is quite ornate. There is a museum, a pilgrim center, and a religious store in the church grounds. We decided to purchase a few items like Sto. Nino souvenirs and rosaries from the store while we were there.

We headed over to Casa Verde, an American-style casual dining restaurant which was just around the corner from our hotel. I think this restaurant was a house that was transformed into a restaurant, much like Romulo's, Adarna, and La Cocina De Tita Moning here in Manila. The awesome thing about Cebu is that the food here is very cheap. I ordered steak which cost only P218. Wow!

After getting back to the hotel, I went with my brother and his sons to the Sky Experience Adventure at the Crown Regency Hotel. We all got on the Edge Coaster, a rail seat that goes around the edge of the top floor of the hotel. You can tilt the seat up to 55 degrees forward which gives you full view of the sheer drop from the top of the hotel to the ground, and it does make you a bit acrophobic. As if that wasn't enough, we also tried the Sky Walk Extreme, where you step outside the building (with harnesses of course!) and walk all the way around on a platform that has some transparent sections that allow you to look all the way down yet again. My nephews got a bit rattled from the edge coaster so we just told them to keep looking straight ahead and not down. I think the fact that one of my nephews joined my brother on the Tower Zip right before the walk added to the fear. The Tower Zip is a zip-line that takes you from the top of one tower (which is 437 feet high) to the top of the other tower 250 feet away. I didn't have the nerve to try this myself so I'm pretty impressed that my nephew actually braved this.

While I enjoyed these Sky Experience Adventure thrills, I feel almost like it was a bit of highway robbery. Guests aren't allowed to bring cameras while on the Edge Coaster and the Sky Walk, so you have to buy the photos that they take of you. And the photos are pretty expensive (I think they were about P300-400 each). The Tower Zip was the only thrill ride that allowed us to purchase a CD of the digital copies of the pictures while the rest required us to get the actual printed-out photos. (The guy at the Tower Zip photo section very nicely gave us an extra picture.)

Most of our Saturday was spent in Bohol (which I will write about in my next post), and when we returned to the hotel late at night, we decided to have another meal at Casa Verde. This time, I ordered Brian's Ribs (baked pork ribs with a sweet, tangy sauce served with rice and corn and carrots), which cost only P208! (Note of course that this was a year ago so the prices may have changed since then.) The quality of the food is pretty good and the portion sizes are pretty hefty. That, along with the cozy and homey ambience, wide selection of menu items, and good service, make this place highly recommended.

The one thing still missing from our Cebu Experience at that point was Cebu lechon, so while my brother and I took my nephews swimming in the hotel before we checked out on Sunday, my mom headed out to get some lechon that we brought back with us to Manila.

It was a pretty short stint in Cebu and there a few things in the Sky Adventure Experience that we didn't get to try, like the 4D theater and Melvins Reef Black Light Mini Golf. There are some restaurants that my friends suggested I try that I didn't get to visit. Maybe in the next couple of years, I can take my family here again. Either that or I save enough money to bring my family to Shangri-La Mactan.

Date-Krumm wins at 42!

In her heyday, Kimiko Date was regularly in the top 10, reaching a career high ranking of #4 during the era of Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario before she retired in 1996. In 2008, she picked up a racquet again and made a relatively successful comeback, challenging a lot of top players, notching some good wins over them, and even winning a title in Seoul in 2009 as a 39-year-old.

Yesterday, Date-Krumm made history at the Australian Open. In the first round, she trounced the 12th seed Nadia Petrova by a very lopsided scoreline of 6-2 6-0! This win made her the oldest person to reach the second round of the Australian Open. She followed this up with another straight set win, this time over Shahar Pe'er, who reached her highest career ranking of #11 just two years ago. This win makes 42-year-old Date-Krumm the oldest person to reach the third round of any of the Grand Slam events since 1979. That she is winning over players who are ranked much higher than her and who are practically half her age is a testament to her resilience and durability. It also make me firmly believe that while players nowadays hit the ball harder than the athletes who played 10-20 years ago, good court smarts and precision still have a place in today's game.

Kimiko will be playing Bojana Jovanovski, whos is currently ranked 56. I'm hoping Date-Krumm can secure another win and get to the fourth round. Good luck, Kimiko!

Trying out Nomama Artisanal Ramen

Apart from the large discounts you get, one of the things I love about deal sites is that sometimes you see some new restaurants that you may never have heard of otherwise. This was the case when I saw a deal for Nomama Artisanal Ramen. I love Japanese food and I enjoy eating ramen so I thought it would be a good experience for me to try this place.

I felt I had to order the Nomama Ramen (P295) since it carries the name of the restaurant. It has chashu (pork), tamago (egg), and seaweed in the house pork stock and a special miso-sesame blend. The verdict? I thought it was just okay. I thought the soup lacked a bit of flavor although the pork and egg were cooked well. I don't know if Nomama has a more authentic Japanese noodle flavor, but I personally prefer the ramen dishes from Ramen Bar and Sumo Sam.

I did enjoy the Mushroom Gyoza (P125). It did have a bit of sweetness to it but overall, I thought it was seasoned well with just the right amount of sear at the base of the dumpling.

Looking at their menu, they carry quite a few free range meat dishes, which is not very common in the Philippines. I have heard that free range meats are supposed to taste a bit better and I have one more voucher so maybe in my next visit, I will try a non-ramen dish. The Roasted Chicken with Ponzu Ramen does sound quite interesting.

United States of Pop 2012

Somehow I have gotten into the habit of checking out DJ Earworm's compilation of tops hits from the previous year. Here is the video for 2012 chart-toppers:


video uploaded in youtube by djearworm

I do have to say that my favorite DJ Earworm compilation, probably because the songs meshed the best with each other, is the 2009 mash-up.

Aussie Open minus Nadal

The tennis season started a few weeks ago but to me, it never truly starts until the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament to be played each year. The women's side seems almost like a given. If Serena Williams plays well, she will take her 16th Grand Slam title. The same can't be said on the men's side. With the top three men - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray - all having won Grand Slam titles last year, you wouldn't be surprised if any of them take the title. Of course, the chances that any other male player will win are minuscule.

One person who will certainly not win is last year's finalist, Rafael Nadal. He pulled out of the tournament due to a stomach virus. Because he got to the final last year, he will be dropping a huge number of points, which means he will certainly be dropping out of the top 4 for the first time since 2005. I hope he can start playing again soon. He needs to get back to fighting form within the next couple of months to help him gear up for the clay season. Get well soon, Rafa!

DLSU tops round one

Season 75 of the UAAP Women's Volleyball tournament started late last year and it's amazing how many followers this competition has. I don't know if the growth in number of fans led to increased television coverage or if it was the other way around but thankfully, all the matches are now being televised. This means that you get some bad matches and very one-sided beatdowns, but you also get to see some spectacular battles.

Such as the gem of a five-setter between La Salle and Ateneo last Saturday to practically close out the first round. The atmosphere was very electric and there was a lot riding on this match. Last year's finalists. The defending champion versus the (previously) only undefeated team this season. The team with the best attacker versus the team with the best blockers. All of this set against the long-standing rivalry between the two schools.

It initially looked like Ateneo, which was on top of the standings leading up to this match, would remain undefeated after the first round after they took the first two sets. However, La Salle drew on their championship experience and turned things around and they took the next two sets to tie things up.

This took the match to a fifth and deciding set. Ateneo lost their team captain late in the fourth set due to a rolled ankle but La Salle kept their momentum and maintained a lead all throughout. The closed out the set with a score of 15-13, handing Ateneo their first defeat of the season. This means that after the first round, DLSU goes to the top of the table. While both schools have one loss, DLSU have lost fewer sets, giving them more points.

The finalist spots are definitely still up for grabs, with Adamson, NU, UST, and even FEU challenging the current top two. However, I think the finalists this year will be the same as last year's. I am definitely looking forward to more UAAP women's volleyball.

Post-Christmas celebration

When I saw a Deal Grocer voucher that provided a big discount for dinner at La Cocina De Tita Moning, I thought it would be a perfect Christmas gift for my high school circle of friends. After all, among all of us, it was just myself and Anna who had been there before. I won't write about this restaurant in detail anymore; instead, you can read more about my first dining experience here.

The meal that came with the voucher seemed to include all the house favorites: Whole Baked Lapu Lapu with Olive Oil and Garlic served with Grilled Eggplant Salad, Lengua cooked in White Wine, Slowly Roasted Pork with Candied Sweet Camote, Paella Valenciana, and Tita Moning’s Bread Pudding. We also had a choice of either soup or salad. I opted for the Vichysoisse, which is a cream of potato and leek soup. Needless to say, I loved the food. And so did everyone else. Joyce even told one of the wait staff "Isn't there anything here that doesn't taste good?" to which I immediately replied, "Don't say that, you might jinx our food!" To make the dining experience even better, Anna decided to treat us all to a bottle of wine.

We were the last group of people to leave that night, and before we left, Joyce purchased the vinaigrette that was used on the eggplant salad which she really liked. Everyone seemed really happy with the meal as well as with the overall experience of dining here. My gift seemed to pan out very nicely. Thanks to Deal Grocer and thanks to La Cocina De Tita Moning!

Friends and food

The weekend started early on Friday night when I joined Anne and Georg in Eat Well at the Fort. They organized with their friends in Manila before they fly out, and it was great that a lot of folks came most of whom I haven't seen in an a long time. Since people were hanging out after months or more of not seeing each other, we ended up chatting the night away until we realized it was already quite late and we were practically the only people left in the restaurant.

After dinner, I headed over to Wursty Wursty in McKinley Hill to join Marco for his birthday celebration. Marco and our other friends had already been there for a while so I had some catching up to do. However, because I was so full from my very heavy dinner, I opted to have wine while everyone else was drinking beer. We called it a night at around half past three. Which was probably the best time to go home because I was meeting up with Walter and Robert for lunch in Tong Yang. I hadn't seen these guys in months, and it's been even longer since I last ate at Tong Yang.

We split up at close to 3pm because I also had to drive to QC for Jelo's first birthday party. I was expecting the traffic to be quite bad getting there but somehow, it was smooth sailing up until around 3-4 kilometers from the party venue. I was initially planning to bring a pie with me since Iona told me that the party would be semi-potluck but my back, which gave me problems late last week, started acting up again. I guess I was really tired after my long first week at work after the holidays. Anyways, I was already running late so I opted to go straight to the party; after all, Iona told me not to worry too much about bringing something. Thankfully, I didn't because there was a ton of food at the party. I had two platefuls upon arriving and then another half-plate plus a slice of chocolate cake before I left.

So the first part of my weekend has been positively busy but I am looking forward to Sunday while will mostly be me-time. Hopefully I can get a bit of rest tomorrow and my back starts feeling better again.

Thy Womb

"Thy Womb", directed by Brillante Mendoza and starring the legendary Nora Aunor, already gained international acclaim before being showcased during the Metro Manila Filmfest. I had planned on watching it earlier but apparently, lack of moviegoers drove cinemas to pull it out of the theaters. Thankfully, a few cinemas in Metro Manila were still showing it so before its theatrical release officially ended, I headed over to Megamall to catch the last full show. To be honest, while I was fully expecting to see a well-made movie and appreciate its value, I wasn't really expecting to like it. I was wrong. I was truly blown away.

photo courtesy of wikipedia

Spoiler alert: please stop reading if you don't want to know how this movie turns out, especially since there's a pretty big moment towards the end that you may not want to know about.

Set in the beautiful islands of Tawi-Tawi, the film tells the story of a woman, Shaleha (played by Nora) who is unable to conceive a child. That she is a midwife who regularly helps other women give birth, and knowing that her husband, Bangas-an (played by Bembol Roco), has been wanting to have a child in the house, makes this situation even more difficult and painful for her. Because of her intense desire to make Bangas-an happy, Shaleha suggests that he find a second wife. It is in this journey to find a second partner that we get to see life through the eyes of Shaleha and understand and feel her struggle and how strong the bond is between her and her husband. They eventually find Mersila (played by Lovi Poe) who agrees to marry Bangas-an. However, on top of the very expensive dowry that Shaleha and Bangas-an had to raise, Mersila has one more condition for the marriage to happen: that Bangas-an leave Shaleha once Mersila bears him a child.

This "revelation", which happens in the last 10 minutes of the film, was so jarring that I was shaken up in the remainder of the movie. Especially because most of the film puts on display the difficulties and challenges that Shaleha and Bangas-an go through on a daily basis as well as in the journey they took to find a second wife. You could clearly see, understand and feel Shaleha's devotion and sacrifice to make her husband happy. So when you realize that all her efforts will result in her losing the one person in the world to whom she has given her whole life, it shocks, moves and even disturbs you.

That scene when Bangas-an tears up while assisting Shaleha in weaving a banig, and that other scene with Shaleha looking up at the moon at night with eyes that conveyed an understanding that she was soon to be alone, gave me goosebumps. Bembol Roco gives a stirring performance as Bangas-an (I feel cheated that he lost to Dingdong Dantes as best actor in the MMFF!) but there is no doubt this movie belongs to Nora.

The original superstar of Philippine cinema is an acting genius who has won dozens of acting awards both locally and internationally. Her uncanny ability to convey emotion and thoughts through her eyes are unparalleled. Those eyes were front and center in the last few scenes of the movie as they had very little dialogue, allowing audiences to see Nora at her glorious best. While the story and scenes are powerful already, Nora's brilliant performance takes the film to another level. It is haunting and it stays with you even after you leave the cinema.

I can understand though why this movie did not draw any crowds during its theatrical release here. It's not a feel-good film or one that features currently popular celebrities. It is also open-ended, resulting in audiences having lots of questions or making them wish that things happened differently. Also, it was shown during the Christmas season, a time when most people are more interested in watching things that cheer them up and make them happy. With movie tickets being quite expensive now (I can't believe it costs P210 to watch a movie in Megamall now!), people are more reluctant to spend, especially after watching 2-3 other entries in the Metro Manila Filmfest.

I can also understand how some - most? - can find the film dragging or too long. However, it was this detailed and "immersive" depiction of the lives of Shaleha and Bangas-an that allow audiences to connect deeply and emotionally with the lead characters, making that final "revelation" significantly more impactful and effective. The cinematography was spectacular and I now want to go to Tawi-Tawi and visit this village on stilts. The camera work, with a kind of shaky, rocking motion, made you feel like you were actually on the water or in a boat with the characters, making the viewing experience even more authentic. While I thought the film could have done without the specter of daily NPA threat (it's hard to tell whether this is accurate and realistic or if it is an exaggeration), it was in its documentary-like presentation that one gets a beautiful glimpse of Philippine Muslim culture in Tawi-Tawi and thus gains a better understanding and appreciation of a part of our country's heritage that we don't normally get to see and experience.

I hope this movie gets released on DVD soon so I can watch it again. It is now one of my favorite Filipino films of all time.

New washer-dryer

In theory, I could have just had my old washer-dryer repaired. It would've cost me a lot less for sure. However, my old one already broke down a couple of years ago. I also had this feeling that my clothes weren't being washed all that well anymore. So I decided to set aside some money to get a new one.

There were only a few washer-dryers in the Metro Manila market that dry clothes 100%. These were produced by Samsung, LG, and Electrolux. I ended up getting the Samsung WD0804 with it's Eco Bubble technology. Psychologically, seeing my clothes immersed in foamier water makes me more confident that they are being cleaned better. :) Here's a video on how Eco Bubble works:


video uploaded in youtube by samsungifa2010

Second, the price, along with the discounts and the freebie, made it the most economical choice for me. Anson's was selling it with a P15,000 discount and they were throwing a free 16 megapixel Samsung camera (which retails for about P6,000). Since I already have a camera, I ended up giving this one as a Christmas gift to my brother.

Thankfully, they were able to deliver my new washer-dryer the day after I bought it, and the installation was done the day after delivery. One additional benefit that I didn't realize with this new machine is that it is a whole lot more quiet than my old washer-dryer. It also has a Super Eco Wash option that allows me to wash clothes using less energy. Pretty cool! Hopefully this one lasts me as long, if not longer, than my previous one.

"When the war is over" by Cosima

I heard this song on a plane years ago and discovered that the singer, Cosima De Vito, was a contestant in the first-ever Australian Idol. Cosima was forced to withdraw during the top three week (so close to the finale!) because she developed a throat condition that prevented her from continuing. If she remained healthy, who knows if she, and not Guy Sebastian, would have been the first-ever Australian Idol and gained a lot more international fame. In any case, I am pleased to have stumbled upon this brilliant singer. Check out her amazing performance of "When the war is over":


video uploaded in youtube by stageaddiction 

With this song, Cosima became the first independent artist to debut in Australia at #1.

The Brunch Club

I don't know if it's an age thing when instead of meeting up with friends over dinner or drinks, you have brunch together. But over the holidays, I ended up meeting with the same set of friends twice for brunch in Serendra. Since I'm not a morning person, I actually ended up late on both occasions. But at least my friends knew in advance that I would just be catching up so no issue. I think. :)

The first time was in mid-December, right before some people would leave for the province. I met up with Che, Me-Ann, Joh, Raffa, and Chris for breakfast in Chelsea. I honestly can't recall what I ordered haha but it had to have been at least decent because if I wasn't happy with it, I would remember. :) I guess I was more focused on chatting with my friends. Peegee passed by before we left to drop off his gifts for us.

The second time was two weeks later. Mike, Alvin and Doray were in town but they all missed our major Christmas celebration so this was our chance to at least see each other before everyone started flying back to the US or Singapore. Somehow, a whole lot of people were available to meet up mid-morning at Sentro. Also there were Joh, Raffa, Suzanne, Gi, Pau, Tim, Steph and Chris. I do remember ordering the corned beef breakfast here and I thought that it was so-so haha.

I told the folks that next time, we should meet at 9:30 PM instead. :) That's most likely not going to happen but I'm glad I was able to wake up early enough to make it (albeit late) to both get-togethers.

Desserts!

Big dessert fan that I am, I made sure that I got to try a lot of new desserts during the last Christmas season.

One place I visit regularly is Dulcelin. I've tried their Mango Torte multiple times before and I love it. Their Caramel Pecan Walnut Pie is also pretty good. So I decided to try a couple of their other desserts. First was the Strawberry Cake. This was one incredibly good dessert. The chiffon was light and the cream was the right amount of sweet which matched perfectly with the strawberries. There were crunchy bits in the cream in the middle of the cake; I'm not sure what they were but they added an additional textural element to this wonderful dessert. I got the large size (10 inch, P1,100) but they also have a smaller size (6 inch, P600). I will definitely be buying this cake again.

Dulcelin Strawberry Cake

I also tried the Dulcelin Callebaut Chocolate Ganache Cake (P1,300 for the 9-inch cake, P650 for the 6-inch one). This cake, made with Belgian chocolate icing on a chocolate mousse center and sprinkled with chopped almonds, is extremely rich. It tastes really good but you can only eat a few forkfuls at a time. I think the 6-inch one would actually be sufficient, although I think my family got through the 9-inch cake in a couple of days. :) (There are quite a few of us so it shouldn't be all that shocking.)

Dulcelin Callebaut Chocolate Ganache Cake

Dulcelin

Address: 36 Times Street, West Triangle, Q.C.
Tel: 374-2165 or 67
Mobile: 0917-535-2592

http://www.dulcelin.com/

I had major cupcake cravings for a large part of December, so while I was in the Midnight Bazaar in Rockwell, I got to try Kim's Cupcakes. While a lot of other cupcakes are priced in the P70-80 price range, these ones cost P50 (some variants were priced at P40). And they tasted pretty good. My favorite one is the Cookie Dough cupcake with its good-sized dollop of cookie dough inside. I decided to get a few boxes and give them as gifts to my relatives. Naturally some for myself too. :)

Kim's Cupcakes from left to right, top to bottom without repeating: Red Velvet, Chocolate Ganache, Tiramisu, Cookies and Cream, Cookie Dough, and Strawberry Cupcake.

Kim's Cupcakes

Mobile: 0917-835-8886

E-mail: kimijao@yahoo.com

http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAboutCupcakes

My friend Bett, who recommended Dulcelin to me a while back, also told me about Delize at that same time. These two are known for their amazing desserts but the main difference is that Dulcelin has a lot of desserts that you can just buy on the spot whereas Delize requires you to order 2-3 days in advance. For this reason, it took me a while to finally place an order there. Now I realize I should have put a bit more effort into ordering dessert from Delize before as I have been missing out big-time! The Concorde (P920) is one of their most popular desserts so I tried that and it was absolutely superb! I'm not a baker or chef so I'm not sure exactly what it's made of, but the cake seems to be made of alternating layers of meringue and dark chocolate mousse. Decorated with chocolate meringue sticks thrown generously all over the cake and dusted with icing sugar, I can understand how the Concorde is one of their two bestsellers (the other being the Pistachio Sans Rival that I now have to try in the soonest possible time.)

The Concorde from Delize by Jill Sandique

Delize by Jill Sandique

Address: 33 Sunrise Drive, Cubao, Quezon City

Tel: 721-7022

Mobile: 0922-826-2673

One place I also need to try is Parvati in Trinoma. My friend Joyce told me about this restaurant which is supposed to carry a wide variety of some of the best desserts from different home-based bakers. I do think I need to start losing some of my Christmas weight first before I go there. :)

Starbucks planner

I just got my Starbucks planner. I decided to go green. I'm not sure how many Starbucks planners I have gotten already - I think I have gotten one every year since 2004. In the past though I would get a planner really quickly and in fact I'd get at least 2 since I was a daily Starbucks drinker. I've cut down on my Starbucks intake (mainly because a lot of other coffee places - including McDonald's! - have become just as accessible) so it takes me longer to get the required number of stickers now. I don't know how much of this new planner I will use. There are a couple of new free coupons though so I'll try to make sure I use as many of these coupons as possible. :)

Pangasinan Trip: Hundred Islands

I've been to the Hundred Islands only once before and that was when I was still a kid. So I was definitely looking forward to this return trip with Anne, Georg, and a few of Anne's other friends.

A few of the islands have been developed for tourists but Anne (and well practically everyone in our group) wanted to be away from the bustling crowds. As such we requested the boatmen to take us to a less popular and more secluded beach. I don't know the name of the island we went to but we initially were the only visitors there. (A few more visitors joined us shortly after but they didn't stay too long. Some time after they left, another group of people found their way on the same beach we were on and left again before we did. So there were moments during the day when we had the beach all to ourselves.)

Anne, being an environmental technologist, brought proper glasses and real dinnerware with us so that we wouldn't have any plastic or even paper trash with us. She also brought a grill as we would be cooking the food at the beach. Or well we wouldn't actually be cooking. :) Anne brought with her a couple of people who would prepare the food for us.

As our food was being grilled, we hit the beach. The sun was out and the water was really nice and warm and inviting. So much so that I got into the water immediately without putting any sunblock on my back. (I am now sporting a sunburn on my back. Ouch.) I sort of lost track of time, or rather didn't pay much attention to it, as it was truly the first time in weeks that I was able to be fairly relaxed. At some point I noticed everyone else converging around the grill, so I headed out of the water as I figured people were hungry and we were about to eat. We had some (lots of?) green mango and alamang while chatting, then lunch was served. And boy what a lunch it was!

Liempo, grilled bangus and kinilaw na bangus, shrimp, itlog na maalat with tomatoes and onions, more green mangoes and alamang, and a lot of rice. All laid out on banana leaves that served both as picnic blanket and serving tray. Needless to say that we all had our fill of the great food.

The downside of the swim was that there was at least one jellyfish in the water and I got stung three times. It wasn't too bad - it was more like an itch really - but I don't really recall the last time I was stung by a jellyfish so in some sick, masochistic way I actually welcomed this experience LOL. Towards the mid-afternoon, I decided to take a few more pictures. So I went over the island - granted, it was a pretty small one - and the views that greeted me on the other side were pretty awesome.

At around 4pm, we decided to call it day. We boarded the boats and headed back to the pier. There are toilets at the pier where you can take a shower for P10 although in my case I just got into clean clothes. We chatted a bit more before saying our goodbyes. After all, I still had a 5 hour drive ahead of me that night (Alaminos where you can find Hundred Islands National Park is 5 hours away from Manila; it takes another hour to get from Alaminos to Bolinao/Puerto Del Sol). It was definitely a long drive from Manila but the company, the food, and the Hundred Islands experience were all worth it. Anne and Georg said they would be in Manila for one night before they fly back to Austria so I may just get to meet up with them one more time before they go.

*****

I am also really pleased with the camera I got last year. The 16x zoom is working extremely well! I was able to get a lot of really good photos even from afar.

Pangasinan Trip: Puerto Del Sol

My friend Anne and her husband Georg are in the Philippines for the holidays but she decided to stay mostly in Pangasinan which is her hometown and where her family are living. Anne and Georg got married back in 2011 but work got in the way of me being able to join them for their special day. So when Anne asked me and some of her other friends if we could join her and Georg for a picnic in the Hundred Islands, I had to go to make up for missing their wedding.

The plan was for us to meet up at the pier at 1030 A.M. Since Pangasinan is about 5 hours away from Manila, I figured it would be better for me to just stay overnight somewhere near Alaminos the night before. That way, I wouldn't have to wake up too early. Anne suggested that I stay in Puerto Del Sol in Bolinao, which she said was the only decent resort in the general area. I had been there before and I thought it would be more convenient for me to stay in a place that I had stayed in before so I booked a room for one night.

My plan was to leave Manila early that day so I could check in around mid-afternoon. Also, I didn't have good directions to Puerto Del Sol because their website was down. The best instructions I could find online were not very specific, but I banked on the fact that I had driven there before (albeit a few years ago) and I could always stop and ask for directions. Thankfully, the instructions I got were good enough. However, as I left my house at 2pm and stopped a couple of times for a nature break and to get coffee, it was 8pm when I finally arrived (yes, a gruelling 6 hours of driving). I immediately went to the restaurant to have dinner. I was famished!

The downside of staying at Puerto Del Sol is that the TV has only three channels: ABS-CBN 2, TV5, AND GMA 7. There wasn't anything interesting to watch so I just read a book and listened to my ipod until I finally dozed off. But not before I took a photo of the pretty cool light fixture in my room. :)

By the time I woke, I only had time to have breakfast and take a few photos of the resort before driving back to Alaminos. I didn't have a chance to enjoy the beach...

...or the pool (although in my last trip to Puerto Del Sol, I did spend quite a bit of time in the water).

There are quite a few things to do in the area like go to the nearby lighthouse or visit the Enchanted cave. I also wanted to see and take photos of the Bolinao church but I didn't have time. I'm thinking of maybe visiting this place again, maybe with family or friends, and spending more time here not only to enjoy the resort but also have a more enriching experience in Bolinao.

Jack Johnson covers "Imagine"

I heard this a while back on Jam 88.3 and I think it's an absolutely beautiful cover of a great song. Check out Jack Johnson's rendition of the John Lennon classic "Imagine".


video uploaded in youtube by Musicobsessed999

Looking back at 2012

So I've been doing this every start of the year now for the last couple of years and it's a good tradition to keep. As such, here are some of my 2012 highlights:

TRAVEL

• I visited Batanes for the first time and I had an absolute blast. Check out my posts about Batanes (including Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and final thoughts and travel tips).
• I also took my family to Cebu and Bohol, although I failed to write about that! I'll do so within the next few weeks.
• I went to Singapore twice. Both of which involved some firsts. Trip #1 was the first time I flew out of the country mainly for shopping purposes. Trip # 2 was to attend my first-ever Malay Muslim wedding (and this was the first wedding I attended where neither the bride nor groom were Filipino).

SHOWS

Several high profile musical artists came to the Philippines, including Lady Gaga, J Lo, Maroon 5, Keane, The Fray, James Morrison, Sting, and Tears for Fears, but I didn't see any of their concerts. Instead, I saw Phantom of the Opera, four operas (La Traviata, Madame Butterfly, The Barber of Seville, and Carmen), and the Cirque Du Soleil show Saltimbanco. Great shows all!

ONLINE DEALS
I have now purchased 248 deals from sites like Deal Grocer, Cashcashpinoy, Groupon Beeconomic, Metrodeal, and Ensogo. These purchases allowed me to discover and experience a few new things, such as:

• Photobooking - I have always wanted to created photobooks of my travels and because of online deals, I finally achieved this. I have now created 17 photobooks - 11 for myself, 3 I gave to my mom, and 3 I gave as gifts.
• New hotels - My family and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Ortigas a couple of times, once for my birthday and another for my nephew's birthday. My family and I also stayed at Widus Hotel in Clark, Pampanga. I also spent a night at the F1 Best Western hotel earlier in the year.
• Food - I got to try Shi Lin, Relish at Ponte, and Harvest Gastropub for the first time because of vouchers I bought for all these places. And while I have been to Old Swiss Inn many times before, my discount vouchers for fondue here allowed me and my family to try out and enjoy their Fondue Bourguignonne and Walliser Fondue for the first time.

WEDDINGS
I've mentioned the wedding of Ben and Laila, but I attended several more: Val and Louie, Allan and Cami, Audrey and Primo, Alvin and Doray, Chachie and JM, and Jim and Mira. My cousin Charmaine got married in Boracay so I missed the ceremony but I did attend their reception in Manila.

OTHERS
Aside from all these great experiences, I also won an HTC phone in a raffle. And just a few weeks ago, I also won a 1 Tb external hard drive! Talk about luck. Of course, not everything was positive. I also ended up being knocked out of commission for long periods of time due to a sprained ankle and then conjunctivitis. And while Liverpool are doing very poorly now, some of my favorites had pretty good success. Meryl Streep won her 3rd Oscar, Rafa Nadal won his 7th French Open title (before being out due to injury the rest of the year), and Adele won 6 Grammys.

Of course, a lot of what made this year great was being able to spend time with my family and friends. I also continued to work on and build our Corporate Social Responsibility organization at work. I've got a few things planned out already for the coming year that I am really looking forward to (I won't mention them yet as I don't want to jinx things). With my 2012 being a great year, I'm hoping 2013 can be just as good if not even better. :)

2013!

Happy new year, everyone! :)

2012 was a blast and I'm definitely looking forward to more amazing experiences in the coming year. As we wait for the year to unfold, check out the amazing fireworks display in Dubai.

 
video uploaded in youtube by SuwalefVideos

Way to go, Nonito!

Congratulations to Nonito Donaire for being proclaimed boxer/fighter of the year both by Sports Illustrated and ESPN. He won all four of his fights this year which clearly locks him in as the year's best boxer, but it's his attitude that puts him head and shoulders above everyone else. He is the only fighter in the world who has enrolled in VADA for random drug testing. This means that the organization is allowed to test him any time 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, whether he is in training for a fight or not (read more about this here).

photo courtesy of espn.go.com

That Donaire almost took his own life as a ten year old is a testament to how much he has had to overcome in his life to reach the pinnacle of success. Congratulations Nonito!

Coffee spill disaster

A very tiring week ended in a bit of disaster. It was past 9 in the evening and I had just finished all the days chores but I hadn't had dinner yet. So I drive by to a nearby cafe to get some pasta and coffee for take out. Naturally, the coffee came first so I decided to bring it to my car while waiting for the pasta. I mixed in the sugar and cream while still inside the cafe, put the lid back on, and headed to my car. I must've thought the lid was perfectly locked in so in a monumentally stupid move, I held on to the lid as I lifted the cup onto the cup holder. As I did, the cup slipped out just short of the cup holder and practically all coffee spilled into the passenger seat. Argh!!!

To say I was frustrated and stressed out was an understatement. Most of the coffee went straight into the passenger seat and a so the few documents as well as my CD case also got a bit soaked. It could have been worse though; I could've spilled the coffee onto the driver's seat. I spent several minutes trying to clean up my car as best I could with tissue and the waiters actually had to bring my take out to me at the car. I knew I had to get my car cleaned ASAP and I know Banawe is the best place for anything car-related but it was a bit too far. So I looked for other options online and I stumbled upon Big Bert's.

Big Bert's Professional Detailers is located in Ortigas Home Depot and is open on Sundays so I decided to drive there as soon as I woke up. I thought the process would be more lengthy and tedious - and maybe there is an option that is more thorough - but they ended up just shampooing the seat. There's still a coffee smell in the car - at least it's coffee so the smell is a bit tolerable - but at least the seat is in better condition now. And it took only 20-30 minutes (I thought it would take up a whole day).

Waiting for my car to be cleaned made me think about getting a full auto detail. The guy there told me that it would take about 4 days and would cost about P7,500 (big car; it'll cost less for normal sedan-type cars of course). I'm thinking of having this done in late January or February.

Dinner buffet at Paseo Uno

My mom had a voucher for a buffet at Paseo Uno that was expiring by the end of this year. She had only one voucher and since I am always in Makati and I eat more than she does, she decided to give it to me. Once again I put off my plans to lose weight by gorging myself. But hey, it's not everyday that you get to enjoy a grand dinner at Paseo Uno! My favorite was the grilled rib eye. Sooo good...

As if that wasn't enough, I feasted on a few items from the dessert station right after.

It was close to 9:30 pm when I was done with this wonderful buffet dinner. Not surprisingly, even hours later I was still pretty full. As such, any plans I had to run or exercise a bit at home were thrown out the window. I have now become one of those people who always have an excuse not to work out. (Whatever happened to my 21-day-challenge-championship mentality?) I need to start talking to and hanging out with people who regularly go to the gym. That way, their exuberance and desire for fitness may hopefully rub off on me.

Ber-month weddings

After Ben and Laila's wedding last November, I attended 3 more weddings to round out the year. First to tie the knot were Alvin and Doray. I was a bit late for the ceremony in Mary the Queen Parish right next to Xavier School. The reception was held at The Marriott in Resorts World. Food was served at the table and it took a while for everyone to be served all courses, but Alvin and Doray had the right idea: during dinner service, we played a game where people would have to identify the movie from which each of ten songs being performed by the band was taken. This meant that people were all paying attention to the band and talking amongst themselves and writing songs down on pieces of paper. This obviously kept everyone entertained. By the time the band was done with all ten songs, we were midway through dinner already.

The next wedding I attended was that of Chachie and JM. The ceremony was at the Archbishop's Palace (I've been there once before to watch a performance of the Philippine Madrigals) and we moved to the Light of Love Events Place for the reception. I also sang two songs. The first song I performed was Kahit maputi na ang buhok ko by Rey Valera. It's a beautiful song which was specifically requested by the couple and it's the first time I ever sang that song in front of an audience. It's also the first time I did a bit of an ad lib talk during the instrumental part to keep people entertained and eliminate dead air, much to the amusement of my friends there hehe. I then sang Cruisin' with JM's sister. We didn't practice at all but Chachie wanted us to sing together so we just went with it and it seemed to turn out okay (I guess we both knew the song pretty well anyway, so it was more a matter of matching each other and harmonizing).

Finally, my "uncle" Jim wed Mira a couple of Fridays ago. I use the term "uncle" loosely here because he's my mom's cousin so he's a generation ahead but I'm several years older than him. :) They got married at the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Makati. I've been there once about a decade ago for Amy and Duncan's wedding, but somehow I still remembered how to get there. We ended up being very early for the wedding because my mom was a 'ninang' so we had to make sure we got there before the start of the cerermony. As it turned out, the time indicated on the invitation was 30 minutes early so we had time to get settled. I was also asked to be part of the offertory. The reception was held at the the clubhouse of McKinley Hill. Thankfully, I was very familiar with the area because I managed to avoid the rough and tough Friday traffic during Christmas and we arrived at the clubhouse about an hour before most other people. At the end of the wedding, we took home some of the flowers that we ended up using for Tatay's death anniversary a few days later.

Most of the weddings I've attended before these last three have been suit-and-tie events so I'm quite pleased that in two of these, I got to wear a barong. I miss wearing a barong during weddings actually. It's so much easier and comfortable to wear than a suit. I did notice though that the sleeves of my barong are just a smidge short now. I don't know if it's because they shrunk a bit from washing or because I have gotten wider. Whatever the reason, I need to start losing weight ASAP and maybe I should also get a new barong for the next wedding I attend.

"Little things" live by One Direction

I can't believe I'm actually posting about a boyband here on my blog LOL. I recently saw an episode of David Letterman and One Direction were performing. I was seriously surprised that I quite enjoyed, and was even impressed with, the group's performance of their song "Little Things". Check it out here:

 
video uploaded in youtube by soundcreepsTV

I wasn't expecting to hear a singer-songwriter vibe, nor was I expecting them to connect to the song. It makes me realize that while pop celebrities earn their big bucks through a lot of hype and catchy songs, a lot of them do break into the scene because they have a lot of talent. Of course, it also helps that this beautiful song was written by the amazing Ed Sheeran and Fiona Bevan.

A different and not-so-different Christmas

Happy Holidays everyone!

Christmas Day was naturally spent with my family. It was also a bit of a unique Christmas celebration. My mom, brother, and I visited my grandmother Nanay where we had Christmas lunch. After lunch, mom and I took Nanay to visit one of her best friends who was in the ICU. We then went to the cemetery to visit Tatay and our other relatives there. After which we headed over to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary church near Times Street for the wake of one of our distant relatives. We got there shortly before 6pm so we heard Christmas mass there. We decided to have dinner in Wee Nam Kee in Ayala Triangle so we could also catch the light show. It was 10:30 PM when we finally got home after a very long but eventful day.

Then again, not everything was all that different. Christmas isn't Christmas without a bit of binging and this year was no exception. I have to admit that I have unfortunately surpassed the amount of food I ate in past Yuletide seasons. I've always wanted to order some good food for Christmas but I never got to plan this well enough in the past and by the time I wanted to place an order somewhere, it was too late. Until now. I called Dulcelin early last week and ordered their US Beef Belly Roast Beef (P1700) and Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese (P1800). I had this during Christmas eve dinner, Noche Buena, and Christmas lunch. And there are still some leftovers. :)

US Beef Belly Roast Beef (P1,700)

Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese (P1,800) 

The weekend leading up to the 25th involved a lot of eating too (of course):

• Friday night: dinner with my colleagues and ex-colleagues where we wined and dined on lechon (wow!), pancit, chicken, fish fillet, and red velvet cake which we enjoyed with Nespresso, courtesy of Raffa and Joh and their Nespresso machine.
• Saturday lunch: I attended (albeit extremely late) the 2nd birthday of Trigo where I had two full servings of spaghetti, chicken, barbecue, mixed vegetables, and a few other items from the buffet.
• Saturday dinner: I met up with my college groupmates for our annual Christmas get-together which we had in CPK in Power Plant mall., followed by dessert and coffee in Brida.
• Sunday lunch: I met up with my college gang ('the clan') for lunch where we had two different pasta dishes, pancit, barbecue, lumpiang ubod, chicken, ham and bread, vegetables, fish, and a caramel cake and ice buko. 

I reckon I must have now piled on at least 5 lbs. Now it's time to redevelop the discipline needed to hit the gym regularly.

Ersao late at night

Christmas season in the Philippines, or more specifically in Manila, is always a busy time. People are always moving from one party to another, doing their Christmas shopping or buying other stuff they need for the holidays. I was not an exception, as this last weekend brought with it a lot of driving through gnarly traffic to meet up with different sets of friends and get some errands done.

Thankfully, the roads were pretty clear on Sunday but I was still pretty active all throughout the day. I somehow missed dinner so on my way home late at night, I decided to stop by Ersao in West Avenue for a good, hot meal. I was starving by this time that I got two dishes - the pork steak with rice (P105) and a small bowl of noodles with dumplings (P75). I tossed in a regular order of passion fruit green tea (P65).

Clearly, I was really hungry since I took this next photo about 11 minutes later:

All that for P245. And I do like the food. So for me, this place is good value for money. There are a few branches (check out this link for the list) although the closing time varies per branch. Thankfully the one in West Avenue stays open until 1am so I was still able to have a hearty meal to end the long weekend.

Tatay's First Death Anniversary

Can't believe it's been a year. Today, my family and some friends joined us in the cemetery for my grandfather Tatay's 1st death anniversary. Technically, we observed this a day early, but Nanay didn't want a lot of us to take a day off. Of course, we also considered how horrible Monday traffic in December is, so we decided to gather one day ahead.

There is a chapel in the cemetery so we offered the 4:30 pm mass to Tatay. The chapel is pretty near the area where Tatay is buried where we had a tent, some chairs and a table with a lot of food set up for the day. We walked over there after the mass so we could all have some food and catch up with relatives and friends. Once everyone had their fill, we prayed we said a rosary.

A lot of us were together this afternoon, including an uncle and an aunt both of whom I haven't seen in years. It was a good day despite the rain. Hopefully, Tatay is having fun up there. We love you, Tatay!

Knock out

It's a sad day for the Philippines as Manny Pacquiao suffers his second loss in a row, this time against nemesis, Juan Manuel Marquez. While their previous three fights have gone the full twelve rounds, this last one ended in half the time, when Marquez knocked Pacquiao out in the sixth round.

It hasn't been a very good year for Manny with respect to his boxing career as he also lost his belt to Timothy Bradley about six months ago. I'm not sure what impact this will have on Manny, on whether he decides to keep fighting or if he decides to hang up his gloves and retire. Either way, he has brought immense glory to the country and will still remain as a boxing legend.

'Tis the season for parties

Late this year, there was a bit of reorganization in my team late and we had several more people join us. As the size of our team practically doubled, I felt it would be good for us to have a Christmas celebration to celebrate the work everyone put in during the year and to have everyone spend a fun evening together and get even more integrated. I didn't want us to have the celebration in the office and I thought that having the event in a big hotel room would be a lot more fun so we ended up getting a room in the Ascott Makati (thank God for Agoda for allowing us to get the room at a cheaper rate.

This was the first party I attended where I was sort of in charge of the music. I put together a couple of playlists on my ipod a few months back that I had intended to use for an out-of-town trip with friends but I missed it because of my sprain. I wasn't sure if there would be an Ipod docking station in the Ascott (there wasn't, at least not in our room) so it was a good move on my part to bring portable speakers. Everyone seemed to enjoy the music, which also made the party just that bit more fun and interesting.

We celebrated with a lot of food, drinks, games, music and conversations that made everyone learn about each other just that bit more. So much so that we stayed up til about 7am (or well, I did, a few other people carried on with the chit-chat up until around 8am). Hopefully we carry with us this momentum of working more closely together into 2013.

I still have several more Christmas parties lined up this month, some with work colleagues and others with family and friends. That's a lot of celebrating to do! I'm definitely looking forward to the next few weeks. :)

Attending my first Muslim Malay wedding

My really good friend Ben tied the knot last weekend and I flew to Singapore - where he has been based for the last six to seven years - to attend his wedding. It was a weekend of firsts for me, as I attended a Muslim Malay wedding for the first time (Ben's wife, Laila, is Muslim Malay and Ben converted to Islam.) It was also the first wedding I attended where neither the bride nor the groom were Filipino. In fact, as far as I could tell, I was the only Filipino in attendance.

Their wedding spanned two days. The first day consisted of the legal and religious ceremony, which was held at a mosque. It was fairly straightforward, although since part of the ceremony was spoken in Malay, I couldn't really tell you what was being said. It lasted 30 minutes and when we left the mosque, we headed over to the void deck of a nearby apartment block - this is where the reception on day 2 was also going to be held - for some food.

The second day was more celebratory. Apparently, in Malay weddings, part 2 of the wedding is meant to treat the couple like royalty. Ben arranged transportation to the venue for both days and since I didn't know how to get there, I headed to his apartment. As soon as I got there, the guys were all doing some Gangnam Style-inspired choreography. When Ben spots me, he immediately directs me to the back of the group and tells me I have to join in. It was slightly awkward because everyone else had on traditional Malay outfits and I was in a suit. But well, Ben did ask me to join the group and it was his wedding so I couldn't say no. This piece of choreography was performed during Ben's main entrance. It turned out pretty great, I think, as the Gangnam Style dance moves are universally recognized and enjoyed by everyone all over the world. :) The thing that scared me the most about this was that we were supposed to fire party cannons once the dance was done and I was concerned I would do it wrong or that I'd fire my cannon straight into someone's face. Thankfully, we pulled it off without incident. :)

The wedding was held outdoors so everyone was sweating buckets (I ditched my suit jacket as soon as our entrance was done but it was still hot; after all, we were in Singapore). Ben and Laila actually did one outfit change in the middle of the day. The event lasted from around 1pm to very late afternoon, during which time I actually went to the buffet table a couple of times. The food was really good! There was also a karaoke machine set up during the event and a lot of people had already performed in the early afternoon. At some point, Ben asked me if I had already signed up for karaoke and I said I hadn't. He said I had to do it. Once again, I couldn't say no. The song list didn't really include any of my usual repertoire of songs so I ended up singing "Unchained Melody". It was a different version played at a much lower key, but that was a good thing since I didn't have to worry about the very high note towards the end. It was fairly well-received although I was nervous throughout and my hand was even shaking. Not sure why, I guess it was my first time in a long time performing in front of a crowd I wasn't familiar with.

It was awesome for me to experience my first Malay Muslim wedding. Of course, the fact that it was held in Singapore meant that it gave me another excuse to fly to the and hang out with my good friends who are based here. I got to meet up with Anna, Tim B, Sarah, Kokog, Ina, Orly, Lalai, Lawrence, Hannah, Steph, Tim T, Che, and Paul. I also got to sneak in a couple of trips to the cinema to see Argo and Pitch Perfect (I missed both of them when they were shown in the Philippines so I felt I had to see them in SG while I still could.) All in all, a packed and very good trip.

"Jump In" by Jessica Sanchez and Apl. De.Ap

I heard this on the radio today. Needless to say, I am not at all surprised that Apl.De.Ap and Jessica Sanchez collaborated on a song. :)

 
video uploaded in youtube by JessicaJumpIn

Would be awesome to have them both come to the Philippines and perform together.

Back from hiatus

I haven't blogged in the last three weeks, which is longest I have gone without posting in recent years. That's mainly because this November has been absolutely hectic. Not only did I had lots of deadlines at work but I also took a trip to Singapore in the midst of it all to attend my friend's wedding, which I will write about shortly. While I do have finally have some breathing room right now, the holidays are coming up so things will start getting crazy again. Which reminds me, I need to start working on my Christmas list.