Sawasdee Kah!

I took this photo a few months back during a visit to Bangkok. It was my first time to see Ronald McDonald in a different pose. Very unique indeed!


I'm back in Bangkok! =)

Colombo, Sri Lanka

This year has been full of surprises, most of them involving traveling to places I've never been to. I spent about 5 days in Sri Lanka last May. Each day was packed with work-related activities, but I still manage to take a few snaps (mostly while in transit). I was traveling so much during that month, I didn't have the time to read up about Sri Lanka, so I had no clue what to expect. I only knew that I had a packed schedule and I didn't have to worry about anything because everything was planned.

We arrived in the middle of the night and the airport was about 45 minutes away from the hotel. When we got to the hotel we were immediately whisked to our rooms by our personal butler (wow!) and we just checked-in from the room. I didn't have time to appreciate my hotel room because I crashed right after I took a shower. Woke up bright and early the next day because we had to head to our event. On the way to the venue of the event I noticed that there was a lot of military vehicles and personnel around the city. My favorite Sri Lankan, Rohan, said that there was celebration that was going to happen during the weekend and they were practicing for it. He also explained that the government wanted to "show force" since the war just ended recently. I didn't feel anxious at all because it was the same way in Manila after the EDSA Revolution and even years after that.

Looking around the city I felt like I stepped back in time and I realized that Colombo was a city that was built on its own. I did not see any foreign-owned gasoline station or shops. I did not see any large malls that is common in Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. And guess what, I immediately fell in love with Sri Lanka after realizing that there are still places that are untainted with so much commercialism. It was a country that was built by its own people and everyone seemed so simple and focused on their own lives, their families. I'm probably being very naive about it, but that's the impression I got.

I love how the whole city seemed to be dotted with trees all over. And mind you the trees have obviously been around for a long time already. I spent some good time just looking at Colombo from the top floor of my hotel and wondered how they managed to preserve all the trees around the city. And since there were lots of trees, I observed that there were a lot of birds too -- different species!

When I arrived I noticed that there were a lot of ads at the airport about Dilmah tea. My favorite Sri Lankan, Rohan, explained to me that they are famous for Ceylon tea and that it's one of their largest export products. Sweetie loves drinking tea and always tells me to buy exotic tea for him whenever I travel. I made sure to find time to buy him some flavored tea and he said that he loves the stuff I bought for him. I also don't think I'd tire of drinking Ceylon tea with milk. It's just really perfect.

What I love about Sri Lanka is the people. They were so warm and friendly and I just felt right at home. I hope I'd be able to visit Sri Lanka again soon =)

Hello Morocco!

I was ecstatic when I found out that I was going to attend gMaroc. gMaroc is an annual Google conference held in Morocco. This year it was held in Mohammedia, a city between Casablanca and Rabat. To me Morocco is a faraway exotic land. One place that's on my wish list to visit.

One of my Mom's favorite movies is "Casablanca". When I saw it on the list of movies in the plane, I made sure to watch it.

Now I know where my Mom based her hair-do. 

I didn't get to see much of Morocco since I had to attend the event for two full days. I certainly loved the fact that we stayed at a beach hotel. It was the closest I got to a beach this year (poor me!). Much as I wanted to wade in the water or walk on the sea shore I didn't have time to do so (was badly jetlagged!). So I contented myself by taking some photos from my balcony.

Morocco is very different from all the places I've been to. I had my face plastered on the plane's window so I could check out the terrain. It was my first time to see a different kind of land. In Asia most of the places are either green because of trees and crops, in Africa everything was brown with a mix of black (still trying to figure out what those black spots were).

The culture is also unlike any I've encountered. Some colleagues told me that I should wear a scarf to cover my hair, but a friend who's visited Morocco said that I didn't need to since I was obviously a foreigner and they weren't that strict there. My plane seatmate also assured me that I was going to be okay without a scarf. I noticed though that only men and boys swam at the beach and the women were just sitting around covered from head to foot.

I had the chance though to learn more about local culture by chatting with some of the Google Student Ambassadors and Google Geo Advocates. I must've bored them a lot because I kept asking questions - mostly about how they conducted weddings and if their marriages were arranged (it used to be they said). Too bad though I wasn't able to sample any local food (we always ended up eating in French restos!), save for the Moroccan bread David passed around (it was yummy!).

Rick's Cafe is a replica from the movie (Casablanca).

Well, maybe someday I'd be able to visit Morocca again... but for a vacation!

*BTW, Filipinos don't need a visa to visit Morocco!

Josh' Art

Kids are really so creative. Here's some clay art made by Josh (my playmate!) during Jay and Miguel's birthday dinner. I never managed to make anything out of clay (except balls) when I was a kid. Thought I'd post some photos of his work of art so that someday he can take a look at what he used to do. 

Android and a little girl in while gown. 

Yum!

Android nomnoms the hotdog sandwich.

Gown gets dots. 

Android gets dressed up too.

Filipino Music in Singapore

I'm challenging myself to make a post every day this month of July :)

I was ecstatic when I found out that my friends from Pinoytuner were coming to Singapore for a gig. It's been quite sometime since I've watched a show so I got some friends to go with me. 

The gig was organized by Requiem Rising Singapore and the artists who performed were Vin Dance (Peryodiko), Jerome Alcantara (Teeth) and Carlos Castanos. It was a really fun evening and at some point I thought I was back home watching a gig (most of the audience were Pinoys!). 

Here's some photos I managed to take:

The first set.

Vin Dancel.

Jerome Alcantara.

My SG girlfriends (Cathy was taking a video of Vin singing her favorite song) and Norman and Mongks (not sure about spelling). 

Carlos.

The girls with Vin. 

Thanks Norman and Vin for inviting us!

*To get more updates about what's up with Filipino music you may want to follow Pinoytuner and Vin Dancel on G+. 

Eighteen

OMG, I just realized I haven't blogged for almost 2 months now! I've just been so terribly busy. :(

I definitely need to make this post though since it's a major milestone in my life. My son, Miguel, turned eighteen last week! Time flies so fast and it seems just like yesterday when I brought Miguel to this world on a rainy day. I remember classes were suspended due to a typhoon (I think Typhoon Gading) and I only had my relatives visit me at the hospital.

I labored for about 18 hours before my 5.6 kgs., 18 inch boy finally decided to come out. Doctors were already considering doing a cesarean procedure because Miguel was distressed, but alas just before 8 in the evening my toes wiggled and the doctors did a dance of joy. They said that it was a sign that the baby was ready to come out. It was really hard and the doctor had to help push him out by massaging my tummy (I had some black and blues after) and out he went and cried loudly. They counted his fingers and toes and said everything was alright and he was healthy. The big surprise though, the baby was a boy.

I didn't really want to know the gender of my baby, but during an ultrasound someone said that a baby girl was coming. Apparently they read it wrong so unfortunately the quilt blanket I worked on was pink and not blue (haha). I was just happy that despite all the stress that I went through during my pregnancy my baby was healthy and peaceful.

I don't really talk much about Miguel here in blog because I don't want to encroach on his privacy and so he could make a mark on this world on his own. I'm really lucky to have a very intelligent, loving, understanding, simple and dependable son. I just wish sometimes he wasn't so shy, but I guess he'll eventually outgrow it (just like I did) and be more confident with his abilities. I'm going to stop here before I start embarrassing my son (haha). Just wanted to say that I cannot imagine my life without him. He's been my rock and my inspiration to do well and as one of my former bosses said, "The best achievement one can have is the accomplishments of your child."

Happy birthday Miguel. Welcome to the adult world :)

The Typewriter

My Mom used to have the exact same typewriter when I was a kid and I think I was just about ten when she started to teach me how to type properly. I breezed through typing class in high school and college because I learned how to type early.
I was so enamoured with the typewriter, I used to put it beside me when I slept. Aside from writing mundane stuff I remember typing up song lyrics too. Unfortunately the book I made was destroyed during Typhoon Ondoy.
My son has never experienced using this old school device. Too bad he won't be able to feel getting his fingers stuck in between keys.