I started writing when I was 8. My mom got me a journal where I could rant (prob so I won't be an annoying brat). I stopped writing for 8 years until the pen and then later on the keyboard called on me again. I blog because I like writing and that's just about it. Hope you get inspired though... Bite the apple!
The past few months have been really crazy for me. There was typhoon Ondoy, then I had to handle a project that took up every waking moment and required me to travel a lot and then wedding preparations. I realized last night that I have not spent any quality time for myself before the wedding.
After getting scolded by some friends and colleagues I finally succumbed and asked permission from my boss to take some time off. I did. But I've still been doing some work the past week and finishing up with preparations for the wedding. Good thing my loyal and lovable high school friends have been really helpful and they've planned out a surprise for Sunday. I really have no idea what they are up to and they've been really secretive about it!
Anyway I've been experiencing some wedding jitters already and that's the reason why I have not been able to blog. I thought I'd make a list of stuff I'd do before the big day:
1. Get a massage, body scrub and a facial.
2. Buy myself a Christmas gift.
3. Go out with the girls.
4. Get a lot of shut-eye.
5. Spend some time with the son, the siblings and the bestfriend.
I got this question from my Formspring page. Years ago I asked the same question and I bugged quite a number of married friends. Most of them said the same thing,
"You will just know."
So I bugged more people, including my brother and he said the same thing. One friend though gave me very valuable advise. Her then boyfriend (now husband) was 7 years younger than her and she felt very anxious about their age difference. She kept breaking up with him, but he kept wooing her back. Throughout their relationship she would ask for a sign and the signs were very specific signs like a certain number of flowers, food and the last one she asked before she left for another country was a white angel. She prayed for all those signs and got positive responses each and every time.
So I did the same thing. I asked for several signs and got frustrated each and every time. It took years before I finally settled on one specific sign, white roses.
I followed Brother Bo's advise from his book, "Finding Your One True Love." He said one should meet as many guys as you can and turn these guys into friends and then pray. I can no longer count how many guy friends I have. A LOT! But looking back I think I met Sweetie during the first month I actively followed Bo's advise. He became a friend, then my best friend, my boyfriend, then my fiance. And things have been easy going between us. Things just fell into place.
And the white rose came into play the first time he visited me at home. My friends and I held a despidida de soltera for our soon-to-be-wed friend at home and I invited Sweetie to visit so he can meet my parents and my childhood friends. I was cooking spaghetti when he arrived and I didn't expect him to bring anything, much less flowers.
When my Mom called me to meet Sweetie at the door I almost fainted when I saw what he had brought me. Three white roses.
And my spaghetti? It burned. Worst spaghetti I ever cooked.
I get goosebumps whenever I see Santino (with Bro) perform miracles in the hit telenovela, "May Bukas Pa." I mention the show whenever I do speaking engagements and I always see people smiling and nodding when I say it's one of my favorite shows. And I think everyone is watching it (but most are doing so secretly).
We need a miracle.
Our nation needs a MIRACLE.
I cannot explain to my friends and colleagues abroad why these things are happening in my country. Nakakahiya. I have to keep defending that there are many good things in my country too. It's sad because there are a lot of good things happening, but these bad things just keep happening, one after the other.
I keep the belief that God only gives us what we can bear. And the things that are happening in our nation is something that we all have to slug through together and rise from.
Miracles do happen.
I have been healed by Bro twice this year. The first one was in Lucban and the other time was at the Jaro Cathedral in Iloilo. Both times I felt a kalabit and an overwhelming feeling of love.
Maybe, if we all pray together and act then hopefully the golden age of country will soon come. Diba Santino?
“When anger rises, think of the consequences.” - Confucius
That was the opening line of Fr. Rudy Fernandez in his homily last Sunday and it stuck in my head. Fr. Rudy cited a traffic altercation he experienced in another country. He was the one who was wronged, but even though he was angry he surprised the other guy by giving him a pleasant greeting. The other guy was taken aback and the anger just dissipated.
The homily was still on my mind all day Monday since I've been wanting to update my Homegrown blog every week (have failed miserably). Mid-afternoon I was surprised to see Avel's Plurk about unconfirmed reports that more than 40 people were killed in Maguindanao. A number of them were his media friends. Later on it was all over the news.
I still could not quite grasp what happened in Maguindanao. I cannot understand why people were massacred and news reports say that it’s because of warring clans. The area reportedly has warlords ruling over the territory.
The struggle for power. We’ve seen this happen again and again throughout history and it usually involves bloodshed and death. The want for power seems to always have anger involved and innocent people are always victimized in pursuit for it. We always see this plot in movies and telenovelas, but it's really shocking to see it really happening.
A lot of people in the blogosphere have been asking what can be done. I honestly have no idea what we can do about this because this is really big, big stuff. What my Mom always tells me is to start with yourself and pray. And going back to what Fr. Rudy said when he quoted Confucius, "When anger rises, think of the consequences."
Hope you can take a moment of silence to pray for the victims and their families. God bless!
Yesterday the Gospel was all about LOVE! Yes, love, wonderful love! And the guest priest focused on 2 things: selfish love vs. sacrificial love. And it got me thinking about my past relationships and the plight of some of my girl friends now.
I know only one person in this whole wide world who never experienced a break-up (well not that I know of) and that's my Mom coz she's been with my Dad since she was 16! And they're celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary a few months from now (that's why I'm going bonkers over preparing for 2 weddings). And most of my friends (except the ones who are NBSB*) have experienced heartbreak one way or another.
And that's why I take back what I said that I will be forever 25. I'd rather be 30.
Why?
Because at 25 I didn't know what a good man is. At that age I thought that being miserable in a relationship was better than not being with the one you love. I thought that sacrificing your happiness was being a martyr for the one you love. I thought that not doing the things you want because your partner says so will keep your relationship intact. I thought that when your boyfriend tells you he doesn't love you it's okay as long as he is still around. I thought that it was sweet if your boyfriend checks with the guard what time you left the office and who you rode the elevator with. I thought that agreeing to something you don't really want to do would spell forever.
I thought. I thought. I thought.
Well, I was really stupid and being stupid ate a huge chunk of my life. Eventually I realized I wasn't happy anymore. I was miserable because I was in a miserable relationship. It was then that I realized that I wasn't the person I used to be. It took a long time, but I eventually found the courage to break things off.
I'm thankful though that I never gave up on love. The most important thing I realized though is something my Mom kept telling me since I was a kid, "Find someone with the same values you have." It took me a long time (and more toads) before I understood what she said and I can meaningfully say that I am so glad that I waited for the right one.
I originally wanted to write about my pet pig since it was brought up in a conversation the past week, but this thing about Napoleon has been eating me up in the past few days.
Wikipedia says that the Napoleon Complex is a colloquial term describing an alleged type of inferiority complex which is said to affect some people, especially men, who are short in stature". Quite derogatory, but for this blog post isn't about men who are short in stature, but people who have severe inferiority complex.
You see I've fallen victim to a couple of people with this complex and when I was younger I would just cry, sometimes under my table. It was frustrating because I was taught by my parents never to answer back to "elders". I just accepted what they would hurl at me. I was too subservient. Too mabait. And stupid me I allowed them to conquer me.
Love. The worst kind of boyfriend one could have is the one who'd try to conquer your whole being. Calling the office guard to find out what time you left and who you were with in the elevator, controlling what you wear, where you go and what you eat is something that should scare the @#$% out of you.
At work. Someone told me the other day that politics starts when you bring 2 people together. And that's true because politics is about the struggle for power. I cannot explain how much pain I've been through with the trauma I got from Napoleons at work. It's hard to describe what I went through but I think you'd get the picture with this infamous line:
"You are after my job!"
I have since moved on and thankfully regained my battered self-esteem. It's been years and I just find it funny now. I guess I have since grown up and realized my worth better. The world is also huge, what you may think as big may just be a tiny dot in the ecosystem. And those Napoleons? I hear they are still very much the same. Defending their small little turf and getting more mean every single day.
It was a lesson that took me a long time to learn. I wish though I had my Mom's guts since she told me the other day that in her day she'd throw in some punches to defend herself. At least I have learned how to walk out at the right time. I do pray though that someday Napoleon(s) would realize that there is more to life than power and there are people who would love them if they will just let them in.
Why is it as you add more days to your life things seem to get more complicated? Or does it mean that you become less innocent, that's why things get more complicated? Does age make people more wary?
I dunno I just realized how things are much more different today than it was five years ago. I don't think I have changed much since a few years ago. I'm still very much cowboy and prefer living a simple life. And inasmuch as I'm a lakwatsera, I prefer to stay at home when I'm in town.
After spending the weekend with my girl friends and Miguel, I realized that I miss doing so many things and these were things that made me deliriously happy a few years ago:
1. The 200-peso Wendy's challenge. Every once in awhile, my staff-turned-barkada and I would head to Wendy's after work. I would shell out PhP200 buy burgers, fries and iced tea for all 5 to 6 of us (yup kasya siya!). We'd also spend a couple of hours just chatting at Wendy's.
2. Wengweng and Chicken Sisig. Back when I was still allowed to drink alcoholic beverages, my best friend and I would spend our Friday evenings at Giligans. Of course, we were both unattached back then and had the time of our lives sipping Weng-weng. And I'd never forget the time that I had to do a McGyver on her sandals. LOL.
3. Monday morning reporting. Every Monday morning I'd have my staff give weekly reports. I was very strict with this. I had set targets for their work and usually left them alone to do their thing the whole week. Everyone looked forward to Monday meetings because we'd usually move immediately to fun matters when they report that they have completed or exceeded their targets. I got complaints from the manager next door because my team was very noisy. LOL. BUT, my boss was very cool about it since she knew we were meeting our targets (she never told us to shut up).
4. Mantrade and the FX. I could only laugh now at the time that I spent a couple of months sulking in the FX on the way to work. The other passengers probably thought I was crazy because I'd be so emo (read: crying) on the way to work. They probably thought I hated my work so much I'd cry about it every morning, but that was over a broken heart. Ambaduy! I also miss Mantrade since I worked in that area for 5 years. And I miss the kwek-kwek and the White House longganisa.
5. Pink. I know now it's funny. And my other best friend is thankful that I've gotten over my pink phase. Oh yes, like Elle Woods I used to wear pink almost every day to work. HR got hooked by it and had the Wednesday uniform in pink (I had nothing to do with it promise)! And I'd only wear the uniform on Wednesdays. LOL.
And I miss having the time to dabble on my bead-work. Oh well, things change. Cheerios!
I did not want to write about this, but it's been hounding me for a week already. I did not want to write about it because I felt I was going to sound like my parents. But I realized I am a parent and if I do not stand my ground about the issue then my son would probably get mixed signals from me.
I cannot help but admire how my Kuya brought up his kids. His eldest just turned 20 years old this month and I could not forget how he answered the question about getting hooked on adult content. He was just about 15 then and had just gotten his own PC and his own room. This spelled privacy and more freedom to do whatever activity without parental supervision. His parents were scared that he might get addicted to stuff that's not right for him.
His answer was very plain and candid. He said, "I am not going to go that way because pron* is not good. It shows disrespect for what God has given us." We were taken aback by his very mature reply and his parents knew then that they have formed him well. Now at 20 he is on his own in a faraway land and we all know that he will be alright (I do peek at his FB every once in awhile, I'm his Tita anyway).
I was really saddened last week seeing how people have been proliferating more interest about the tragedies of other people. Everyone makes mistakes, but that does not give us the right to be voyeurs to that tragedy. It's unbelievable too how much justification can be conjured just to prove that it's okay. And it's more sad that people will start attacking your own person just because they do not agree with your position. Geez.
When I was a kid my Mom's boss called me the ugly duckling. I was short, had a pug nose, bunot-like hair and my skin was very white! My classmates would always kid me that my Dad was Redford White and that really made me upset.
Being an adolescent wasn't only awkward, I was reed thin until my late twenties. I had to wear braces for more than ten years and I have just given up on having straight teeth since my gums wouldn't cooperate. Up until now my hair has a mind of its own and even my hairdresser grumbles whenever he has to fix it up for a wedding.
My former staff from the YP would always recount this story, "Nung ininterview ako ni Maam Aileen, naka-tshirt at maong lang siya, naka-banana clip, salamin, walang make-up at may pencil pang nakasabit sa kanyang tainga!" And then they (my staff who are now very good friends of mine) would always roar in laughter after hearing the story. They then took it upon themselves to do "Project Aileen" where they would force me to fix up every single day.
During that time I managed to fix myself up every single day since there were people breathing down my neck, but I've slipped back to my usual routine and the only take-away I have from that "project" is a splash of cheek-tint whenever I go out.
I realized though after attending Dove's launch of Sara Black's photo-book, "When I Look in the Mirror" that you just basically have to accept what God has bestowed on you. The awkwardness and all the flaws you think you have would just fade in the background and you should just be you.
Real beauty isn't about being a cover girl. It's about being you and letting your inner spirit shine through.
*This is BTW, my belated post for Women's Awareness Month (that's the reason why my header had a "Proud to be Woman" slogan on it). I'm also one of the featured bloggers on Dove's Real Thoughts page on their website hehe.
I would assume that a lot of us go through several relationships first before we find the right one, after all we usually get our bit of first love as teenagers and due to immaturity, stupidity and what-not it just doesn't always work-out. Fear not since it just usually gets better and when it comes at the right time things will just fall into place.
My Mom married her first boyfriend, my Dad and they would usually rib each other about being together for the longest time. Earlier today my Mom was saying, "I don't want a grand celebration for our golden wedding anniversary." (It's going to be next year).
My Dad answered, "Well we won't, we don't have money to spend anyway." (Siyempre that's our job na).
And then my Mom told me, "You mean I have to marry the same person?"
Then Dad quipped, "Yeah, our contract is only for 50 years since that's the prescriptive period for marriage contracts." (He is of course just kidding and making things up. I definitely don't remember any prescriptive period for marriage in the Family Code.)
Yes, my parents are still very much crazy in love with each other and it drives me nuts when they are in that mood. And I guess despite all the upheavals in my love life in the past I never gave up on love. Baduy man, but when you find that person you can giggle with over some insane, mababaw jokes you just know you are on the right track.
And this post was inspired by the McDonald's TVC "First Love" which I plurked about over a week ago.
Year-in, year-out we always get all these forecasts from "prominent" manghuhulas and they're all over the news and most talk-shows. I have to admit I used to be crazy over reading my horoscope every day through the newspaper, Friendster and even had it delivered to my mail. That was about 6 years ago when my life was really going crazy.
This morning our parish priest gave a very interesting homily about the not-so-three-kings-but-they-are-maggis. He said that we have erroneously interpreted the maggi (learned people who study the stars or astrologers) as kings. They aren't. Anyway, our parish priest explained in a very funny way how going to manghuhulas, reading your horoscope, doing feng shui etc. is definitely something that's not true because nobody can predict your future. Only God knows where you're really headed.
I couldn't help but look back at the time I used to rely on how my day would go by reading my horoscope. Pati horoscope ng "Libre"! I know it's pathetic. I always went through a couple of self-help books, but was generally dissatisfied and wanting. I guess I was lost back then. I had a lot of unanswered questions and eventually realized that I just made a lot of bad decisions.
So, I started to pray to St. Jude who is known to be the patron saint of the impossible cause. I found his prayer in one of my Mom's prayer books and prayed it every night. I did not really know what I wanted, but just kept praying. Eventually I found myself reading Bo Sanchez' books and and that gave me some direction.
I realized back then that you just really have to let God be your navigator and no one else. I still read the horoscope once in a while just for fun. I just usually shrug it off because I know if I want to have a great day it's up to me and no one else.
Happy Sunday everybody! And happy new year once again! (I'm not going to greet "Happy Three Kings" since our parish priest might read this and bonk me on the head).
It was Fr. Hilarion who asked the question this morning during his homily. He asked it again and again until everyone answered back. The sermon was all about why you are happy and it made me realize a couple of things.
I've been through 5 weeks of hell. Well, hell for me is being unwell and not being able to do what I usually do. I've been feeling really sad about it too, but thank God my real doctors are back and I'm feeling so much better now. No thanks to the doctor who made a wrong diagnosis when I was in the hospital, I would've probably been in tip-top shape 3 weeks ago if I managed to take the right medication. But, I'm just glad now that I'm (almost) back to my cheery and perky self, I hope though that all the pain would be gone soon.
I'm also happy because I have a loving family, Sweetie and a bunch of really crazy friends who hovered around the past few weeks. And mind you I could get really cranky when I'm sick and I'm just really glad that they put up with me. And I believe that's what is really important in life coz you can do without all those material things, but you cannot do without your family and friends. That would be a really lonely life. Sniff, sniff, sniff.
And it also made me remember an old friend who said that in his province they have to show-off to show their status and wealth. We had an argument about that and it came to a point that he told me I had no ambition. He was then pushing me to buy a car and buy other stuff. I'm a very prudent person especially when it comes to buying things. I buy only when needed (a very important lesson I learned from my Kuya).
Eventually I parted ways with this friend of mine because he had very different beliefs (and he betrayed me). I can only shake my head now because I got news about him selling his soul, just for money. Well, I hope eventually he'll realize that happiness and wealth is not about having all the latest gadgets or being able to buy material things.
The gold of happiness is in relationships and not material things. That's what Fr. Hilarion said this morning and I hope you guys are happy too.
Five years of riding the LRT every single day gives you really good train-riding skills. I rarely ride the MRT or LRT now (coz I'm lazy to go up the stairs), but I was definitely challenged this week when I had to commute to work (I just usually wake up and work is just about 10-steps away from my bed). I could take a taxi, but I decided to take the more "adventurous" route by taking the MRT.
When you become as lazy as me when it comes to commuting, you'd realize that commuting is HARD. It took me an hour to get to work the first two days, but one of my colleagues challenged me to find a better (that means less walk) route and I'm happy to say that I've cut my commute time by 15 minutes and the route home is much better since there are more sites (meaning SHOPS) to see.
I also realized that I probably stood out from everyone else here in Singapore because:
1. I'm not wearing black or any of their regular colors. 2. I don't have bangs and I certainly stood out more when I had my hair up. 3. I've been wearing sneakers the past few days coz my feet were sore from walking on my first day. 4. I carry this huge bulky bag with my laptop, unlike all the girls who seem to be carrying stylish bags. 5. I'm FAT! All the girls seem to be just half of me (boo!). I wonder if they eat at all.
A few weeks ago Fr. Dandee asked during his homily, "Have you ever thought about your death?"
It was an early Sunday morning and I was in a daze (this was the week before I got admitted to the hospital) and when he asked the question I just went blank. Coz I never really thought about my death. I do worry about losing any of my love ones and I've only so far lost my Mama Lola and my favorite Tito and despite my heart condition, my own death never crossed my mind.
When I found myself gasping for breath hours after hauling all the stuff from the event I started thinking about it. I stopped myself though from thinking such horrid thoughts because I had to focus on getting some air in and hopefully get myself to sleep. It was a very painful experience and I thought that it was just going to pass.
It didn't, so I found myself asking my Mom via SMS (coz I could barely talk) to bring me to the hospital on Monday. It took awhile since all of my regular doctors were out of the country (hindi tama yun!) and I've never been admitted to the hospital coz I don't get sick (never had chicken pox, measles etc.) and I usually respond to meds anyway.
I admit I overworked myself last October, almost getting myself killed in the process since the doctor had to calm down my heart. I'm healthy now save for my usual leaky heart that needs attention soon. My good friend Honey told me earlier, "Sometimes God finds a way to make you stop, to force you to rest and then you realize that despite that everything just goes on."
And my other friend Jihan said, "Hoy di nabibili ang puso sa Glorietta!" Very true indeed. So before God boinks me on the head harder, I'm going to just sit down and listen to what He is trying to tell me.
There's something very important I'm going to do next week. Please pray for me.
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Oh BTW, please do watch "Laughs and Gasps" a benefit show by our blogger-magician-official-event-host Marcelle and Jay with Ms. Giselle Sanchez.
November 22, 2008, Saturday 7:30 p.m. Vibal Publishing Rooftop G. Araneta Avenue (near Sto. Domingo Church)
So it was raining so hard, the lights began to flicker and the electricity went off then on then off again. This happened several times before I was enveloped in darkness.
I sat in my swivel chair for a few minutes. I was quite dumbfounded on what to do since there was no electricity. Ate Razel brought me a candle, so I sat still for a few more minutes until I realized I had to get myself moving.
So candle in hand I shuffled off to my room, put the candle on the floor, sat on the bed and then realized... I had nothing to do! I was staring at the candle when I remembered having to finish a lot of school work back in high school and college. I finished reading the third installment of Noli and Fili (forgot the title) by candle light and remember typing away by candle light my term papers.
Now I was definitely at a loss on what to do, so I did the next best thing to being online... I used PHPlurk to ask people what would they do if there was no electricity. Here are some stuff I got as responses:
1. "Kaya dalawa anak ko" - methinks that does not need any further explanation. 2. Read a book. 3. Go out. 4. Sleep. 5. Play with the shadows. 6. Stare at the candle. 7. Stay online until the battery runs out. 8. Play with the DS or PSP or with one's camera (or any other gadget). 9. Have a home musical.
And of course, 10. Plurk!
And just as I was about to enjoy being in the dark - I was set to take a nap - the lights went back on.
I have come to the conclusion that birthdays makes a person contemplative. I'm about to tick another year in this happy, blessed life of mine (oh yeah one must always think positively!) and yes I've been contemplating a lot in the past two weeks, not only because of my upcoming birthday but because of some challenges I've had to face.
Looking back I realized that the past year has been quite uneventful compared to last year. Everything seems to have settled down and quieted. Compared to the buckets of tears I cried more than a year ago, whatever tears I cried this year were only brought about PMS! NOT that I'm wanting. I think this is largely because I've made really sound choices and I guess I have finally matured a bit.
I finally got to watch "Kung Fu Panda" and that's where the title of this post comes from. I told Sweetie before I left to see my Kuya that I thought that the trip was going to reveal something important to me. A lot of questions have been plaguing me the past few weeks, making me frustrated and anxious for some weird reason.
And usually it's my dear Kuya who unravels the answer. He just normally quips something and it's already a eureka moment for me. This is what he said,
"Pressure is the fuel for personal development. We are pressured when we have not yet achieved our goal so we search for knowledge and development skills, find solutions to get our goal. If you are not pressured, you have no challenging goal. What is your goal?"
I was feeling antsy the past few weeks because I realized that I have reached a comfort zone and I don't feel good about it. It's about time for me to reassess my goals and plans and evaluate if the things I'm doing is still at par with my mission.
A few years ago when I went to see my doctor he asked me what kind of exercise I do. I said in a sheepish, little voice, "Malling." He didn't quite get what I said since he's Singaporean and well I didn't speak up so he asked again and then I said in a louder voice, "Malling."
And then he said, "Very good." I was quite pleased with myself coz he agreed that the exercise I was doing was good for me. Who would've thought? was my balloon thought. We were half-way through my check-up when he asked again what exercise I did and then he paused when I said, "Malling" and he said, "Malling? Malling? What's that?" It was my Kuya who explained that I normally just walked around the mall to go window shopping on weekends as my exercise.
My doctor burst out laughing and then promptly scolded me. LOL.
Is there such a thing as being "zen" in a mall? My good friend Juned keeps reminding me to relax and just "be zen" since he knows I've been quite stressed lately. So yesterday I brought the kids (Miguel and 2 nephews) to the Mall of Asia. Miguel was scheduled for a lesson at the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Center while his cousins didn't want to go with their Mom and sisters to Glorietta. So I was in-charge of three boys yesterday.
When we arrived I was curious why there were a number of policemen, security guards, a medical team and a lot of people lined up outside of the Adidas store. After seeing a couple of posters we found out that Gilbert Arenas, a NBA player, was going to visit the Adidas store. I shuffled the boys away from the store since there were a LOT of people and I was quite scared that I might lose one of them to the crowd. Anyway, after lunch we got to about a foot away from him and I caught him on video! Here it is -
The boys thought that the experience was "Really cool Tita!" I was quite pleased with myself after that compliment. After that I left them at the SM Science Discovery Center. I had about 3 hours to myself and I actually didn't know what to do. So I went malling. I walked and zipped in and out of different stores. I've been so used to having someone with me whenever I go to the mall and the experience of just going wherever I wanted to go without anyone in tow was quite refreshing.
At some point, of course, my feet got tired. So I debated with myself whether I was going to go to the spa or get a magazine and hang-out at Kopi Roti. I did neither since Time Zone was just in front of me and the Simpsons pinball machine was beckoning me to play a couple of games. I indulged myself and was quite pleased about my game. My feet were still killing me after the game. I decided already on heading towards Booksale, but then the tram stopped right in front of me. So I jumped in and for the next 15 minutes I just enjoyed observing people walking around the mall. I think the other people in the tram found me quite weird since I was busy taking photos and I guess I looked pretty happy with what I was doing.
That 15-minute tram ride actually relaxed me a lot. After I got off the tram, I got a magazine at Booksale and parked myself at Kopi Roti. I bidded my time at the coffee shop before I went back to pick-up the boys. I had nothing to worry about anyway since they had a grand time at the center.
I should window-shop more often then. (And stay offline on weekends). LOL.
