Dugong Atenista

The Ateneo de Naga University's Office of Student Affairs is currently having the Dugong Atenista today. The opening ceremony started at 8:00am and the blood letting will be until 5:00pm. This is open to everyone, both Ateneans and Ateneans by heart are welcome. Please visit the Xavier Hall booth if you're interested.

Ring Finger

According to tradition in some countries (derived from Roman belief), the wedding ring is worn on the left ring finger because the vein in the left ring finger, referred to as the vena amoris, was said to be directly connected to the heart, as a symbol of love.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_finger

Favors from God

Ever since I had been attending the Christian Church, I have been consistently receiving graces from the Lord. Everyday, from the moment I open my eyes and feel the rays of the sun touching my skin, I would thank the Lord for giving me another day to live, to be with my loved ones and to do things which will please Him. However, there are days when God would usually go out of His way to make ordinary days EXTREMELY extraordinary. Just like today.

Kuya Ryvin and I were supposed to meet up at the Good Shepherd Church to attend the 10:00am mass but something 'extraordinary' happened. I woke up at 8:00am and prepped up immediately. As soon as I was done washing my hair, the water just suddenly stopped flowing! I can't help but grin and be thankful that I woke up early today than usual. I left the house at 8:45am and I started looking for bus 960, unfortunately, I forgot to check where the bus station is. I just assumed when I checked the route in google maps that it will pick up the passengers at the Bukit Panjang Interchange (which is my normal experience by the way) but the bus number is not on the list. I tried asking the owner of the only Filipino store here in our area and she gladly directed me to the bus station. Again, a mistake, I forgot to ask which side of the road I should be on. To cut the story short, I went on the wrong lane and instead of going to Bugis, I ended up going to Kranji. The alloted travel time from our place to Bugis is about 45 minutes and since I wasted at least 20 minutes of the travel time just because I rode on the wrong lane, as expected, I was not able to attend the mass. 

When I got to Bugis, I informed Kuya Ryvin that I won't be joining him anymore since I have been trying to look for the Church but I can't seem to find it. I ended up having breakfast/lunch at McDonalds. I had to eat because I was too hungry that I felt like my world was moving on its own :)) 

I decided to have Filet-O-Fish and orange juice for my brunch. It was quite expensive though. This meal cost me around $7.00. Imagine how expensive this meal is :(

As soon as I finished my meal, I texted Kuya Ryvin that I will try to look for the church again. I passed by the National Library and SMU. When CHIMES caught my eye, I knew I was on the right track. Yes, I found my way to the church but the mass was about to end when I arrived. I decided to offer a simple prayer instead and since it was my first time in the Church, I offered a wish. 

Kuya Ryvin had lunch at McDonalds and we met this cute girl who kept on smiling at us. I called her 'Mutya, the Singapore version'. She is about 3-4 years old and her eyes would literally lighten up whenever she smiles. We waved goodbye when we left and she shyly smiled at us and immediately buried her pretty face in her mom's lap. Then, we started walking towards 'Bugis Divisoria'. There, we found these amazing souvenir items being sold at a very reasonable price (I won't mention the price here though). 

We bought 6 sets of these surprisingly nice key chains and I even got the magnets for free. This is the first international magnet that I'd put on refrigerator. Yes, I do collect fridge magnets because it reminds me of the happy memories of a particular trip. I am hoping to collect more :) Too bad, I forgot to buy magnets when we went to Malaysia.

Moving on, after our Bugis Divisoria trip, we went to Orchard to meet Uncle Greg. However, they had to go the the Philippine Embassy first to arrange ate's passport renewal and we had to wait for them until 3:00pm. We decided to take a stroll at Isetann since we wanted to check the movies at Shaw Theaters. Kuya Ryvin and I were debating if we should watch the movie given our limited budget. We were already queuing to purchase our movie tickets when some random guy with his friends approached us and asked if we are watching Spiderman. He was giving us tickets that we thought is being sold to us but eventually, it turned out that he was giving two tickets to us for free. We were really caught off guard that we forgot to thank Mr. Stranger. We were still high with the 'favor' when we bumped into them and eventually, it gave us the opportunity to thank them a number of times for their kindheartedness. It also turned out that the tickets include a free meal.  

Upon entering Lido 4, we were given a sweet-flavored regular popcorn and a pepsi bottle for our snacks. I can't help but grin because it was the flavor that I like and I was also kind of hungry that time and I was even thinking of buying snacks since we were already spared of the expense for the ticket. It was also a coincidence that we did not have to rush to the restroom since the theater has one. Yes! Lido 4 has its own restroom inside the theater. See how blessed we are? :)

After the movie, we met up with my uncle and we headed for Serangoon to purchase chocolates for his kids. We went to Value Dollar at Nex Mall to scout for the most affordable chocolates. We got the chocolates at a very affordable price. I just hope I won't go over the allowed 20kg baggage allowance.  

We bought enough chocolates for Uncle's kids and he gave me one pack of Mars and Snickers. Yes, I am intending of keeping it to myself :)) I might still change my mind though, I can always share these chocolates anyway. 

Later on, uncle brought us to Carl's JR for dinner. I somehow felt awkward choosing our meals because the cheapest meal there is about $6.00. Imagine converting it to peso, it would cost around p200 per person! I decided to order the cheapest meal for me and Kuya Ryvin but our bill still totaled to 45 SGD which is about p1,485. The good thing though is that the drinks are refillable but I doubt if one could still afford refilling his glass because the serving is really big! When our orders arrived, you could imagine the look on our face when we saw the burger. It was bigger than my palm! Look!

But since I was really, really hungry, I finished every piece of the burger :) You must be proud of me Tim! :) We stayed at the restaurant until 8:00pm. We talked and talked about our families, career and plans. We ended up with big bellies after consuming that crazy burger. Overall, I really had a great day and I thank the Lord for it, for the surprises and for the kindhearted stranger :)

Thank you, Singapore! :) 

The Untold Story

Ever since I was a kid, I have always wanted having a big sister. I would imagine my big sister helping me choose the right clothes, giving advice on zit outbursts and sharing her own experiences on how she got through a particular girl dilemma, dealing with boys!

I have always wondered how it would feel like having a sister. Mama, coming from a big family with 8 siblings, has 3 sisters while my papa has two younger sisters. I can imagine a regular 'make over session' where your sister paints your nails while you do her hair and a frequent fashion show where you'd get to wear her hand-me-down clothes. You'd be more lucky if you're elder, I think.

Nevertheless, there was also a sense of fascination when my friends would tell me that they would rather have a big brother instead, that I am so lucky because I have a 'kuya'. I would retort, 'having a sister is more fun, kuya doesn't play dolls', with a matching sad face. I was a kid then, who would have thought that an innocent fascination would turn out to be a real blessing.

My kuya is just a year older than me. He was born on April 9 and I was born on the 5th. I don't know how my parents did it but they must have a purpose why we were born on the same month. Since we are just one year apart by birth, I get to have the same age as his for 4 days. My consistent mischief would be calling him by his first name, besides, we are of the same age right? But I could only do that on the first day, maybe because it was more than getting used to calling him 'kuya' for 361 days but he deserves the respect of the title 'kuya'.

My brother has always been my 'protector'. I remembered the time when we were just little kids and we were used to playing in our neighbors' house. There was this one time when I was bitten by our neighbor's dog, kuya immediately grabbed me and all the way to our house, his small hands were encircling my 'fat' thigh just so the rabies won't go up to my heart :( He was pushing me to go on, to keep on walking until we reach our house so that lola could put something on the wound.

There was also one incident when he had to get some coins at our school's fish pond (it was thought to be a wishing pond) just so he could buy me a fishball. He got the coins while I was on the lookout, trying to avoid our ever strict school guard 'Guard Edwin'. I was so hungry that time and we had no money left on our pockets. We were waiting for someone to fetch us and my kuya tried to find a way to feed us both.

I was a crybaby and he was always there to make things seem okay. As long as I have my brother, everything felt right, I feel like nothing bad will happen to me. However, a protector would also have a time of weakness. I remembered crying when I learned that my brother broke his right arm while he was playing at school. It was my Chinese teacher who told me that my brother got into an accident and I rushed to the room where he was but instead of being strong, I fled because I could not bear seeing him like that. I cried and cried until the second period. What was worst was that I could not see my brother in the hospital until his x-ray is done. I ended up calling in sick the following day just to sit beside him all day, watching cartoons.

Don't get me wrong but we would also quarrel. He would squeeze my hands until it makes me cry and when we were getting old, whenever I did something wrong, he would not talk to me for weeks! Even if I tried to win his apology by doing the chores, he would treat me as if I was not physically there. Yes, I am scared of my kuya and I hate it when he gets mad at me.

Now.

Ever since I was a kid, I have always wanted having a big sister but having a big brother is way better. I may not share my clothes with him, won't have make-up and make-over sessions but having someone who will stand by you and encourage you to go on even if the whole world doesn't feel like going with your plans, it's more than to be thankful for. My kuya and I don't regularly talk but when we talk, it's worth the days and weeks that we're not communicating. Even if he would often call me 'spoiled brat', he would always see to it that I get what I want, from my goals to my 'wants' (thanks again for the DSLR kuya!) even it means that he has to sacrifice, that he has to work harder.

Now.

I do not know if I could still make it here in Singapore knowing that I only have 3 weeks left to find a job. Nevertheless, should I not be destined to be here, I'd be more than happy to go back. I am more excited to see my brother and share the space with him. I am excited to clean our house, to cook meals for him and to do the groceries, just like the old times.

Even if I failed here in Singapore, I have a bigger blessing that I am looking forward to when I get home :)

F21 Overload

It was my first time in Forever 21 Ion Orchard and I must say, the place is huuuuuggee! Took some photos for my own pleasure :)) I really controlled myself not to squeal when I entered the shop.

Feather Earrings

Colorful headbands

A floral top that I have been crushing on :)

My favorite side of the store

Laces and Peaches