Arte arte lang 25062013

Bakit nga ba ako nandito ngayon? Syempre, kasi stressed ako. Nung college, bababa ako sa lobby ng The Luxe Suites para lang magsulat sa blog na to at sabihin na, "Dear stress reliever..."

Malamang hindi ko naman iisa isahin ang mga issues sa buhay ko kung bakit ako napadpad sa sinusulatan ko ngayon. Gusto ko lang sabihin na, "Uy, gusto ko lang sumulat." Para kahit papaano, naiibsan yung pagiging stressed ko.

Sa totoo lang, mababaw lang naman lahat ng ito eh. Maarte lang talaga ko. Maarte, madrama. Madrama, maarte. Saka, masyadong marami kung mag-isip.

This is harder than what I expected. Lord, ikaw na po ang bahala sa akin.

Anthony's graduation message

FYI, my cousin Anthony is their batch's salutatorian. So I helped him write a speech. Here you go.

***

For the yearbook.

Stand your ground, let your light shine

“Graduation is the first of those pivotal times in our lives when we look back at our past, turn consciously away from it, and begin to stare our future straight in the face.” Dr. Robert Lynch once said.

Distinguished guests, members of the faculty, proud parents, friends, and above all, my fellow graduates – a pleasant morning to all of you.

Time goes by faster. It has been four extremely great years, not to mention, long challenging years, that I spent here in the academe. Our schooling days, which some of us once hated, are finally over. It seems like we were just Freshmen students who were all skeptical and awe-filled with the new environment that we were trying to adapt with. I am still astonished with the fact that we are finally here. We now have our names written on that piece of parchment paper tucked under our arms. In a while, we may be leaving the portals of our Alma Mater  for the final time as high school students, but learning will not stop as it is happening everywhere. 

All of us worked hard to get through here. But we didn't do it by ourselves. There were a lot of important people who were on our backs throughout this journey. First of all, to my parents who guided me towards the right track of life. Without the two of you, I would not be able to accomplish these things and would not have come this far. I wish to give my sincere thank you for the trust, support and unconditional love you have for me. I would also like to acknowledge and extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the teachers who have been my second parents for the past four years. Thank you for guiding, inspiring, and making us what we are today. I will always be thankful for all the effort and hard work you have put in. Moreover, I would like to thank my friends who stayed by my side through ups and downs. Thank you for all the beautiful memories that I will surely cherish for a lifetime. Lastly and above all, I would like to thank the Almighty God who have been showering blessings since the day I saw light in this world. I found love, kindness, friendship, and everything in between through You. I am offering these achievements to You.

As I am standing here in front of you, I feel honored not so much in being one of the leads of this graduating class. However, sometime during this ceremony, I have a strong feeling that a bit of sadness will come our way. There might be tears in our eyes that will soon slide down our cheeks, but all things considered, this special occasion is just reminding us that the end of one season is just the beginning of another.

High school is the rite of passage into adulthood. As soon as we reach the end of this day, it would make us look forward into something much better. Remember, every good bye makes the next hello closer. Earth will spin around again and we will face another chapter of our lives. All we need is to pursue our dreams and be stronger on every challenge that this journey will bring.

Let me take this opportunity to encourage each and every graduating student here. For we are the youth, the challenge is bestowed upon us. We have the right to change the world, let alone, to betterment. All of us can be heroes of tomorrow. Let us all make a remarkable difference in our generation.

My dearest friends, we may say our good byes for now, but not to the dreams we made up in our minds, not to the lessons that our Alma Mater has taught us, and most specially, not to the treasured moments we created altogether.

Congratulations graduates of Batch 2012. Keep moving forward and strive to fetch for your star. May God bless us all. Thank you... Till we meet again.

***

During the graduation rites

How time flies. Our schooling days, which some of us once hated, are finally over. Mixed emotions are coming on my way. I assume all of us have this too. The bittersweet ending of this journey is quite unexplainable. I'm feeling very nostalgic over what happened in the last four years. But all things considered, this special occasion is just reminding us that the end of one season is just the beginning of another.

We can be the servant in the story that Hans shared to us earlier. Remember? He bought the painting out of gratitude even he had only a dollar left. What the servant did teaches us that we should always remember the people who have been through with us. We must not forget to say thank you to our beloved school, parents, teachers, and above all, our Almighty God. Because at the end of day, those people might be the reason for our sweet success. 

My dearest friends, we may say our good byes for now, but not to the dreams we made up in our minds, not to the lessons that our Alma Mater has taught us, and most specially, not to the treasured moments we created altogether.

Congratulations graduates of Batch 2013. Keep moving forward and strive to reach for your star. May God bless us all. Thank you... Till we meet again.

Doesn't make sense

"Loving again..."

Last night, I found myself asking this question... "Am I ready to fall in love again?" This simple question, yet hard to answer, has been haunting me for the whole day.

3 years ago, I never expected that a heart wrenching break up would happen. I used to believe in happy ever after. I believed in you and me. I believed that the journey of love will remain forever. I believed that we'll conquer every problem that would come our way. I looked forward for more food trips, movie dates, months to celebrate, sweet nothings, crazy stuff, etc. I believed in all of these. I believed in my faith. However, everything has changed. I still remember the feeling I had when I found out that I was cheated on. I tried to be calm, yet my heart couldn't handle the hatred and anger it contained. I let all my feelings came out for a week. And after that, I promised myself to stay strong and avoid thinking about what happened. Truth be told, it was one of the hardest things to do. But I assured myself that I'm gonna win this battle. Fortunately, I ruled out. I moved on. I stopped asking myself with why's.

In a span of 3 years, I met different people with different perspectives in life, attitudes, characters and beliefs. My heart battled and was challenged with unknown signals. It tried to understand, read and decode. But still, questions remain hanging inside it. Though of course, I enjoyed this adventure as it taught me a lot of lessons.

3 years after, my heart stood still despite the fact that it hadn't beaten for someone special. Well I guess, it did but it wasn't sure. It does but still, isn't sure. Uncertainty. Still. And yes, uncertainty is one of the reasons why I'm still single.

But now, I came to realize that I shouldn't be afraid to try and believe again. Who knows, this time, it might work. Who knows, this faith I have at the moment might lead me to the right path.

Trip to Singapore 2012

I just saw this draft in my laptop's files. It's a sign that I need to update my blog site! So here.. Now updating.. :)

As I am writing this draft for my blogpost, we are currently dominating the family of clouds underneath us. As much as I would like to sleep, I am not able to because of the inconvenience of this airplane's seats. Well, I guess seats are always non-friendly for economy planes.

Today is September 17, 2012. We are going back to Philippines from a 6 day-vacation from Singapore. I am writing just because I would like to share the experience I had during my stay in the land where wonders bloom.

I've set aside the stress I had from work. This was really a good timing to relax, enjoy, have fun and bond with my family. Because I need to take a long term leave during my probationary period, I always crack a joke to my friends that I'm scared to lose my job, but deep inside I'm not. It would be a bad and embarrassing thing to be dismissed because of absences, but the bonding experience with my family is priceless, that no single cent can ever replace the memories I have with them. I am still young and could always find another job anyway. But my parents are already aging and I could not afford to let this opportunity be deferred.

So here it is. Sharing with you what Singapore has to offer when you visit the place.

First Day.

We arrived at Changi Airport at around 11 in the morning. We've experienced a bit problem when we were in the immigration because my Kuya Charles wasn't able to give us the exact unit/number of room of their building. So the immigration people slightly held us on their bay saying we should know the number of the room. But Nanay suggested to give my Kuya's contact number since we were not able to give the complete address.

We rode a taxi from Changi Airport to Commonwealth. We wouldn't fit one taxi so we had to rent two. Their taxis have seat belts at the back! The driver told us to use them, or else he would be fined.

After around 20 or 30 minutes, we reached Kuya's place. By the way, If I remember it right, Kuya spent around $30 (each taxi) for the fare.

Here we are! At the Tanglin Halt street and inside the building where Kuya lives.

We rested for a while after we fixed our belongings and went straight to our first destination – Orchard Road.

We rode Singapore's MRT for the first time! Kuya gave us these EZ-Link Cards and had it reloaded with $10. This card will be used for our MRT and bus rides :)

 

I liked a part of the recorded message playing inside MRT. It says "...please alight." I would always repeatedly mimic the message "Please alight." on my mind. Hahaha!

So we alighted at Orchard Station and walked through its streets.

Our first ever family picture outside the country!

 

My parents and my Kuya :)

Of course, I wouldn't miss a jump shot! 

After taking pictures around the shops and streets of Orchard, we rode another MRT and alighted at Bras Basah station. We explored its streets and passed by the Singapore Art Museum and National Museum of Singapore. 

We went to Hawker center/Kopitiam for late merienda slash early dinner. My parents, Kuya, Ninong Eric and Ate Jek ordered the famous Chicken Rice of Singapore and mine was Porridge (the lugaw version of PH)

       

Jump shot along the corridor of Singapore Art Museum!

It's getting tiring so we decided to go home after passing by the Singapore Management University. This school's kinda weird because the buildings were literally away from each other  - that you need to cross one street or another to get through the other building. Heehee! Rode a bus in going home.

Ninong Eric in front of one of the buildings of SMU and our group picture along a street

Bus ride picture with family

Day 2.
Destination: Sentosa Island

We took a bus in going to Sentosa. The bus stop where we alighted was accross Vivo City.

Photo op in front of Vivo City!

 Walked inside the mall until we reached the the Sentosa Express. 

The Sentosa Express is different from the usual MRT so we had to buy new tickets/passes in going to Resorts World.

 We alighted at the Waterfront Station and walked through the entrance of Resorts World where the giant globe of Universal Studies Singapore is at. Too bad we weren't able to go inside USS :(
But I'll go inside on my next visit! Promise!

 We had a long walk from RWS to get through Imbiah where outdoor activities are in place.

Picture with the Merlion

 Tried to use a telescope for a minute view of Sentosa from a high place for $1 but I couldn't see anything! Fail telescope.

 Kuya, Tatay and I experienced the luge and sky ride!

A luge is like a small cart where you have full control in driving. You just have to pull the handle bar at the middle so it will start moving. 

Right after taking the luge, we boarded the sky ride. All we had to do was sit on a wooden bench of a ferris-wheel-like giant structure. And from above, we could already see some parts of Sentosa Island. It was breathtaking at first but Tatay and I bravely managed the heights!

 

After that, we walked again going to the Beach station.

When we reached the entrance of the beach, we rode a tram in going to Siloso beach. Use of tram is free.

Took pictures with these giant letters!

 

The view of the beach.

I wouldn't swim on this beach because the water's dirty. :(

 We rode back using a tram and bought tickets for the Songs of the Sea

The show was great. It's similar to the musical fountain show in Manila Ocean Park.

We were starving so we went through another food market near Vivo City.

I ordered a Ramen bowl which I wasn't able to consume all. (not a fan of noodles! and the bowl was super big for one person)

 

 Not to show the tired faces, we flushed big smiles instead!

 



Day 3.
Destination: Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, One Fullerton, Merlion Park, Esplanade, Makansutra

We rode a bus in going to Marina Bay Sands. It's quite a long travel from Commonwealth to Bayfront.

Kuya's place has a bust stop in front of their building. So while waiting for the bus, we took a picture! 

Picture at the ground level of Marina Bay Sands Hotel

We used elevator to go through the middle part of the hotel.
Look at my mom's face, she tried to smile but she couldn't open her eyes because she's really scared of heights! Hahaha!  

Photo op!

 

The Gardens by the Bay is just in front of the hotel. So we just had to go through a short walk. There were also elevators in between the hotel and garden.

My Kuya told me that Gardens by the Bay is more beautiful at night because the giant tree groves have lights on it.

I will have to check it on my next visit!

Inside the forest-sized garden are flower dome, cloud forest, supertree grove, heritage gardens, dragonfly and kingfisher lakes, world of plants and lot more tree/nature related stuff ;)

Jump shot! When you're in Gardens by the Bay, you would see the pretty structure of Marina Bay Sands.

After having explored the whole garden, we rode MRT to go through Raffles Place.

During our walk through the MRT, we passed by on this place where the walls are colored with different hues. They're really relaxing on the eyes. 

When we reached the Raffles Place, we went to the nearest Mcdo branch and ate chicken burger. I liked how they asked us if our orders were to be taken out or eaten inside - "Having here or to go?"

Kuya and I at the bay..

After the sun has set, we had a walkathon to reach the Merlion Park.

We passed by the famous Fullerton Hotel and a musuem for Islam.

 

We reached the Merlion Park and watched the show.

It's the Merlion's birthday that night!

After the show, we went to Esplanade for dinner. Near the place is a food market called Makansutra.

It's Kuya and Ate Joan's treat! They ordered seafood rice, chilli crabs, satay, and a bread I forgot the name.

Day 4.
Destination: Singapore Zoo and Bugis

Jurong East was quite far from our place. We had to ride MRT and bus to get through the zoo.

Breakfast with Ate Raissa and Kuya Mags who joined us all throughout the day.

After the MRT ride, we queued for a shuttle bus going to the zoo.

In front of the Singapore Zoo!

We then started our journey inside the zoo.

Ninong Eric had a map on his hands. 

To start our day, we decided to try the Elephant Ride. The fee for this ride was different from the entrance fee in the zoo so we had to shell out another $8 each for a 3-minute ride!

 

We rode a tram inside the zoo. This was free and included in the entrance fee.

When you purchased a ticket in the zoo, you are entitled to watch the shows inside. During our visit, we were able to watch the marine life show, bird show and elephant show. They were all entertaining!!! :)

Marine Life and Bird Show

 

 

I was able to bravely held a snake after the show :)

Elephant Show

Some pictures inside the zoo

 

We were all tired from whole day's adventure!

Nice one, Ate Raissa and Kuya Mags! Hahaha!

We dropped by Bugis to buy pasalubongs for our relatives and friends. Bugis is like Divisoria of PH.

Day 5.
Destination: St Teresa's Church, China Town, Lucky Plaza, Takashimaya, Ikea

To start our day, we attended mass at St Teresa's.

 

 

After mass, we rode a bus going to Chinatown. It's our first time to experience the double decker bus. It's fun!

I took these to see the view from the second floor of the bus

 

Chinatown is like the chinatown in Binondo, PH. Chinatown in SG was just cleaner than in PH

 

We had our lunch in a Chinese restaurant

After buying some stuff and exploring Chinatown, we went to Takishamaya and Lucky Plaza via bus to buy shirts, key chains and chocolates

At the back of these pics was a bazaar. We tried different mooncake flavors because they had free taste for everyone! ;) 

We went home and rested for a while. Late in the afternoon, we decided to go to IKEA.

In IKEA, we were allowed to use all of the things inside the shop. So we sat down on the chairs and benches, crawled and laid on the beds, and used their kitchen utensils. 

Ending our day, we had our dinner at IKEA. The meals were sumptuous, I must say!

Day 6.
Changi to Clark
Going back to Philippines

Our flight was around 11am so we had to be there around 9am.

At Changi International Airport

Waiting...

 

Good bye Singapura!

Thank you to Kuya Les for the opportunity in bringing us in Singapore. Thank you also to Ate Joan! We really had fun during our stay there. We will be back there soon!!!!