Gifts and buffet lunch

Yesterday, I got two gifts, these are from Roman and Joe. Roman gave me a Kenneth Cole set of perfume. While Joe gave me my ultimate favorite perfume, Polo Black and it comes with "bloody expensive" bear. He believes that bear will help me not be so afraid of ghosts, hahaha. Kasi daw may makikita akong something cute pag pasok ko ng room.

And this afternoon, I had a blast of Japanese food. Grabe ang sarap ng lunch na to, parang ito na yata ang pinaka busog na lunch ko sa year 2008. Limang snow crab ang natibag ko at kung anu-ano pang jap foods like teri yaki, sushi, etc etc.

After my lunch, I went to nearby hotel, the Pan Pacific .... para umebs, hahah! Of course, sa hotel lang ako nagde-deposit para sureal malinis :)

While I am typing this, I am also finalizing my stuff to bring home. Nakakabilib kasi 10PM pa lang pero tapos na ko, unlike before na inaabot ako ng madaling araw sa pag-iimpake kasi lagi na lang ako galing sa work bago umuwi kinabukasan.

Malapit na akong umuwi

Dalawang tulog at isang araw na lang at nasa Pilipinas na naman ako! Kung ide-describe ang tibok ng puso ko, pwede ko syang i-compare sa paborito kong sayaw ngayon. Just Dance ang title nya, pero madami syang version na nagkalat kasi pinaglaruan talaga ng iba't-ibang DJ kasi nga danceable talaga sya. Pero may isang version na gusto ko kasi sumasabay sya sa tibok ng puso ko.

It goes like this :)

Hala! Sumige ka pa!

Shopping after work

I took advantage of the good weather after work and so I headed to Takashimaya and Tangs to have some last minute shopping pasalubong. I was with with Joe, and after he knew that I wanted to get a present for my parents, he immediately joined me and voluntarily bought a present for mama and papa. He bought a nautica shirt for my dad and a nice bag for my mom.

We had a crispy pata dinner in the Pinoy resto in Orchard road, isa na namang ma-cholersterol na hapunan. I visited the nearby shopping mall after our dinner and I got a present para kay Ate. Isang set ng isa sa mga paborito kong brands :)

Busog Saturday

Literally busog ako last Saturday, hindi lang busog ang tyan but also my spirit. Bakit ko nasabi? I went to Carmen's house, she invited me and other two friends to celebrate house warming cum Christmas party cum thanksgiving. First, madaming pagkain kaya ako busog, may ham, menudo, turkey, kare-kare, lasagna, etc etc. I only have these photos below kasi I really stood with my sweet tooth and laging dessert ang apple of my eye when I go to any kainan. Dessert is a must have! This time round, we have chocolate fondue. Hindi ko tinigilan ang marshmallow hangga't hindi lumuluwag yung lalagyan nila.

Sa spiritual side naman ..... I was very surprised that after our dinner, Carmen says she wanted to play a short film (30 mins) in conjunction with Christmas. It was a Christian film played by Filipino actors, and the moral of the story is welcoming Jesus Christ in ourlives. The film was followed by a short prayer.

Honestly, the feeling was a little weird. Not because I was with "free thinker" friends but because I have never been into prayer meeting for quite a long while already. To be exact, I think my last prayer meeting was during the SFC days pa. But nevertheless, it touches me in one way or another.

Weekend Movie

December 12, Friday - I watched Twilight. There was one scene I really liked which is the baseball scene, I thought that was a fabolous showcase of awesome outfit. When the three bad vampires enter the field, I only see American Eagle and Abercrombie fashion show, I thought that was really cool and artistic. It was like a fashion show of vampires.

The whole movie? Hmmm, it was just ok. Nothing really special cos I have seen Titanic's love story, Romeo + Juliet and many others which will really leave you breathless. The first 20 minute of the movie was so dragging. But nevertheless, it is something to watch where there are no other good movies around.

December 13, Saturday - I watched the "The day the earth stood still". According to one article I read few weeks ago, it was an anticipation that will revive Keanu's career. And what can I say about this movie, this is the movie that will make Keanu's career be forever still. All my expectations were slowly turned down by the movie as it plays, I was expecting Keanu to move like his "The Matrix" moves but it just didn't happen. And where are the effects? Goodness, the cinema was so boring, I was wishing it will end asap cos it wasn't exciting at all.

I'm Yours

I have few new songs in my playlist and I have been enjoying them for a week. "Love Lockdown" is something that gives me groove, "Just Dance" is while waiting for train, "If I Were A Boy" is when I feel like listening to flawless voice, and many others. But to top it all, my winner for this week is "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz.

This artist captured my sentimental side again, just like how India Arie captured me. When I am listening to this sound, I feel like Christmas, I feel like I am home, I feel like I am in love (that's insane, I know), somehow, this sound is bringing me back to relaxing mood, something like I am driving in the province and about to pick up some fruits sa bukid or sitting under the tree while drinking fresh coconut juice (nagdidiliryo na ba ako?).

Anyway, here is the song:

Haircut

Umaatake na naman ang sakit ng ulo ko, nakaka-bad trip. Kaya nagpa haircut na lang ako para ma-divert yung sakit. Siguro nakadagdag na din ang isang sad news from pinas na my Uncle passed away. Anyway, I got to talkedto my Mom, and it was nice to know that she is coping with the lost and she sounded calm. Life has to go on for all of us, and as the saying goes ... "the show must go on".

At home, I was so lazy to eat outside and so I settled for this .....

Christmas Party @ Pan Pacific Hotel

It was organized by Karyn since last week, and after dropping so many hotel names and so many dates proposed, we finally had our Christmas party yesterday, December 9, after work at the Global Kitchen.

It was a successful one as everyone in the invitation turned up, although we missed to invite some friends, nevertheless, it was as meaningful as we wanted it to be. The place offers an international buffet with a variety of chocolate cakes for dessert. The most awaiting part of our dinner was the exchange gift, where I got a very nice nike singlet which is perfect for my running, Lorie was the one who picked me.

Aside from the nice foods, beautiful gifts and non-stop conversation, it was the photo shooting that lighted the night away.

Hari Raya Movie

I met my United Nation group and wacthed a movie. We catched Quaratine.

"Television reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris) are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. Unbeknownst to them, a woman living in the building has contracted a rare strain of rabies. After a few of the residents are viciously attacked, they try to escape with the news crew in tow, only to find that the CDC has quarantined the building. Phones, internet, televisions and cell phone access have been cut-off, and officials are not relaying information to those locked inside."

This movie gave us headache because of the camera shots, but nevertheless, it was very thrilling. I enjoyed the movie although it was a little stressful cos of the gruesome scenes.

Christmas Party @ Flamingo Valley

December 7, 2008 - I arrived at the venue at 7:30PM and I started eating foods in the living room area where the host placed all types of grapes, cheese, ginger cookies and my ever favorite m&m's holiday edition which comprises red and green colors only.

These are the images of the foods which delighted our stomach.
I was luckiest cos I was eyeing all the while at this Gucci perfume, and I just got it. Ang bango-bango ko na naman.

Watches for my heart's

For the past few days, I have been wondering what present I can give for my family this Christmas. I went to Suntec in search of the best gift I can give them which I thought a wrist watch could be a suitable one cos it has a personal touch and signifies closeness. These are few watches I got para kay Mama, Papa and Ace.
I didn't get one for my sister yet, kasi inatake ako ng sakit ng ulo kaya naghanap ako ng mauupuan para makapag-relax, and that ends my shopping moment. Anyway, may few days pa naman ako para hanapan sila ng "aginaldo".

Butas ... butas ...... butas ang bulsa.

Friday Movie

I have no friends to disturb after a long day of work in office, most of them were all rushing for Christmas shopping and busy preparing as most of us will be back home (Philippines) in the next few days. My local friends were also out of reach (suddenly), so I decided to make a quick walk at the nearby shopping mall and check out what I can get for myself. Unfortunately, none of the display catches my attention.

It was a boring Friday night turned into entertaining one as I watched Bolt. It was a no non-sense movie, in fact, I was laughing out loud even if I was alone. Well, I really don't like Miley Cirus, but I still enjoyed watching this heartful movie. It was filled with heart, inspiration, getting real and many other righteousness that is not only for young people but also for those young at heart.

When I reached home at about 11:30PM, my sweetest friend brought me sweets from Hyatt. Ang ending ng gabi ko ...... kain ng asukal, and yet, sobrang sarap.

Smile when your heart is aching

The moon shines over the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, India, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. Soldiers removed the remaining bodies from the shattered Taj Mahal hotel on Monday, searching each room in the labyrinthine building and defusing booby-traps and bombs left by the gunmen who killed 172 people during three days of terror.

The planets Venus, top left, and Jupiter, top right, came in close proximity with the moon as seen from Earth Monday. In reality, Venus is almost 100 million miles way and Jupiter nearly 550 million miles from our planet. The moon is 252,000 miles away. The exact combination of planets and the moon in the right place to appear together, even when they aren't high enough in the evening sky to be appreciated, won't happen again until 2052.

I was wondering what was the message of this happy sky when it appeared to human after our very eyes . Surely, none of the angels from heaven will smile while looking at the gunmen in Mumbai as they teared someone's life in seconds. But who knows, maybe the heaven wants us to keep on smiling even in times of tears.

Hari Raya - Announcement

Yehey! I say! Holiday na naman sa Singapore sa December 8, and I just got the mail announcement from my HR.

This coming weekend, I have few Christmas parties to attend to. Those alone were already sending me to holiday mood, plus this holiday na wala namang kinalaman sa buhay ko ... perfect!

Bills Bills Bills ..... and many more bills

I settled so many bills today, I had a thought that it will give me more problems if I won't settle my bills earliest as I need to budget te more this month. Having a credit card is like "enjoy now, pay later" bonanza. And this is what happening to most of us. I enjoyed Avenue Q, Rihanna's concert, shopping here and there, eat anything and anywhere .... then here comes the bill after few weeks. Whew! I always get a schock everytime I open my credit card statement. And considering that I am holding 5 different credit cards, huhuhuhu! When it will end? WHen? When? Of course, I know it will never stop. I work, I play, I pay ... And that is how it goes. So am I complaining?

Wait Ray, before you complain ... check the paper bag you brought home. Goodness gracious me, CK was on sale just now and I really can't leave the place without purchasing that gorgeous shirt .... my friend bought 3 and so did I :) Matagal ko na din namang iniisnab-isnab ang shirt na to, pero ngayon, oras na para mapasa akin sya.

I took time to finished all the things I need to settle for this week, that includes buying stuff for the three Christmas parties I will be attending. Ang hindi ko maintindihan sa mga kaibigan ko, lagi na lang gastos ang alam. And with all the budget on each exchange gift, I settled for perfume for each party. At least I considered it the safest, and good thing cos puro lalaki ang nabunot ko, mas madaling mamili ng regalo.

December is here

I am enjoying the countdown to Christmas ... as of today, there are only 24 days to go before the big day. And 19 more days to go before my flight back home. During my lunch break, while I was waiting for the next available table, I got to call my sister cos I have been chasing her for the past two days. I asked for some stuff and if I can find 'em in the Philippines, and etc etc.

As the countdown to Christmas gets louder and louder each day, I have here some of the beautiful spots in Singapore where they showcase a marvelous image of how Christmas should be like.

Christmas in Singapore 2008

Sunday food trip

I attended 4:20PM mass at the Sts. Peter and Paul and asked Joe to join me for a dinner after my mass. But before our dinner, I saw another branch of the shop selling my ever longing shoe in the Raffles City. This time, I really took time trying it and adoring different colors. This time was more enjoyable as I have Joe to comment on the shoes. I ended up leaving the shop with a brand new pair of shoe. Yipi!

We had a japanese ramen (our favorite food actually), and thanks to my credit card for giving us 15% off the total bill.

After the dinner, we walked around the shopping mall and looking for another next purchase. Pag pinagsama ang dalawang matakaw, isa lang ang pwedeng gawin ... ang kumain. We had half dozen of J. Co donuts. These are really good donuts.

Weekend with Friends

November 28, Friday - I had a bountiful dinner with Doc Cleofe and Guen in Lucky Plaza (the Filipino store place). We were supposed to be more watchful on our diet as we keep on telling each other that the festive season is harmful to body as it is also the season of cholesterol. As a matter of fact, in the coming days, we will be having celebrations and non-stop buffet and good dining cos there will be X-mas party everywere. They asked me to decide on which food is cholestorel free and something which will not leave them guilty. What will you expect if Ray did the job??? I ordered ... crispy pata and sinigang na baka! Hahahahaha!

I grew up sa piling ng sago, kaya naman sobrang nami-miss ko to lagi sa Singapore. Kaya pag may chance, lagi akong umoorder kahit na mahal sya. And of course, the Philippine sago is incomperable to what we have here, it tastes like an immitation of the original sago. But who cares, sago is sago :)

November 29, Saturday - I woke up with the voice of utility guys that cleaned our aircon. But it was a good thing cos it was also about the same time where I had to prepare for a buffet lunch for the celebration of Bibay and Len's birthday. It is the exact birthdate of Bibay, while Len will be on December 1, but we treated them a nice lunch together, an international buffet that is.

My female friends were so amazed how I eat. Pinabilib ko sila sa kasibaan ko, hahaha! Ilang piraso ng salmon ang tinibag ko. Ilang plato ng crabs ang binuno ko. Ilang plato ng chocolate cake at cheese oreo ang tinira ko. Everyone else were just wondering how I did it, and still look payatot aside from my katakawan. Hmmm, secret ko na lang din yon :)

I enjoyed the buffet lunch so much. Why oh why??? Because they have my favorite mochi! It was indeed the first restaurant that offers unlimited mochi.

After the good lunch, my female friends spent time in the shopping mall looking for gifts on Christmas. While the ladies to their thing, I also did mine of course. Hindi ako pwedeng sumama sa shopping nila kasi napaka bagal nila, kaya nagliwaliw ako sa mall while naghihintay sa kanila. Na-corner ako ng "ever-longing" shoe ko. Ewan ko ba kung bakit hindi ko sya mabili-bili, I guess my kamahalan ng konti. Pero this time, gusto ko na sya talagang bilin. So I went inside the store and look for my size. The sales lady was Pinay, so it made us both convinient to talk, hehe. Unfortunately, I don't have my size anymore, but she helped me checked on the other branch, and I guess, I will really save money for this one.

An image with my pretty friends.

Kung hindi puro babae ang kasama ko, puro lalake naman. Hindi ko sila mapagtagpo-tagpo lahat.

Sa Kasal Ko

Dalawang bagay lang ang pakikialamanan ko, yun ang cake at simbahan. Simbahan, kasi sentimental akong tao, gusto ko ikasal sa simbahan kung saan ako lumaki at natutong magdasal ng taimtim. Cake, dahil mahilig ako sa cake. At anong klase ng cake ang gusto ko.

Eto sya: Ray's wedding cake

Sa F&S

Naghapunan ako ng napaka sarap na teriyaki noodle. Special request ko na damihan ng patatas than the noodle. Syempre laging nasusunod si boss. Here are the images of my masagana and healthy hapunan.

What a Wednesday !!!

Yesterday, I received a call from Urban Homme (face and body studio for men) and I was told that I still have two sessions left for an eye treatment with them. Then I recalled that I bought a plan with them way back year 2004 when I had to undergo a treatment cos I keep on having pimple and it stays at the same spot for over few months.

The eye treatment comes free with the plan, and since they reminded about it,I immediately made an appointment and re-visited the clinic tonight. I really had a pampered moment in there, I got one hour of face massage and eye treatment. Sobrang relaxing, parang nawala lahat ng isang taong pagod ko. I love the moist in my eyes after the treatment.

After my treatment, I went to Fox for my dinner where I ordered smoked chicken sandwich. Matt was preparing a chocolate smoothy when I arrived and so I hijacked this to accompany my sandwich.

The reason why I went to Fox was to collect a box from my friend in Australia, Amor. She gave me an early Christmas present filled with all my favorite goods and an A&F shirt. Here is the image of some of the goodies she sent me. I am loving these!

I will forever be thankful for having such generous friends :)

Exactly 1 month before Christmas

And that makes 25 more days before I go for my ever longing and most awaited vacation. My last Christmas spent in Philippines was 2005. Hmmm, I'm wondering how our Christmas Tree looks after 3 long years. But one thing is for sure .... it is taller than me :)

I gave a call to my Mom right after I knocked off from work, I just kind of missing her voice and makikibalita lang kung ano ang ulam nila for tonight.

My mom was so excited telling me how well her kitchen renovation is going, and that actually sent me to nostalgism cos I can't wait to see how is the new kitchen looks like now. As far as I remember (2003), I had a very funny incident in the open kitchen cos I was taking something from the fridge when a big rat ran in front of me. And since then, I hardly go to that kitchen anymore, especially at night. (Daga at paniki ang pinaka kinatatatakutan kong hayop).

There was a major renovation of our house aside from the kitchen cos my Dad also decided to change our roof. According to my Mom, our roof now can be seen from far .... Hmmm, that sounds like a castle to me. But of course, it will not be the case :) All I know is that our roof now is bootyliciously ....... RED. My mom rocks!!!

New Scent

I roamed around the Robinson's shopping mall which is just few steps away from my workplace after my lunch break as I have been thinking of getting new scent for my room although I still have a bunch of good smell oils untouched.

I got so lucky that this brand is on 20% off sale today and I took time to smell each of the scents they have, and I finally got this one. And of course, I was a little too excited on going home so I could test this small wonder.

And I was just blown away with the smell. My room smells like a real Christmas. Ang bango-bango!

Saturday House Party

Last Saturday, Roman cooked paella, some kind of noodle and adobo. This was a tail of his birthday celebration, this time he invited few female friends and grace the simple dinner with us. Doc Cleofe brought her special home-baked brownies and beef steak. And as always, pinili ko ang crab sa paella at sya kung nilantakan ng walang humpay. My friends were just too clever on bringing cakes with 2 puroposes. First, it was a birthday cake and the same time, it was a log cake, which we all know for yuletide season only. Thank you so much for having friends who doesn't like chocolate cake as mush as I do, so ang ending ... ako lang naman ang umubos ng pagkasaap-sarap na chocolate cake na to. Para lang akong kumakain ng mane habang kumakain ng isang malaking cake. And of course, this won't be a party if alcohol is missing. So due to insistent public demand, I offered them this special edition of vodka. Its black with OA 50% alcohol. I am the barista as always, and I gave them screw driver. But before this drinking session, we already started the dining with one bottle fo wine. It was one of the very unfortunate events of my life cos I was the one holding the camera all through the night and that was the reason why I only have this very poor image of myself.

Friday Movie

One of the cutest and sweetest movies I have seen. Drew made it again.

Charice @ Good Morning America

She did it again!

Regalo

I rushed to Amara yesterday and had my hair done the fastest as I need to rush back to Orchard and do some errands.

I was so amazed by the beautiful Christmas decors in Orchard, the theme for this year is "Sweetest Christmas". So expect to see candies and lots and lots of sweet stuff all over Orchard road. I will surely capture this scene and I just can't wait to see myself standing side by side by these larger than life cup cakes :)

I wento to Gramophone in search of the best gift I could get for my housemate Roman. I was thinking of giving him Nat Geo photo collections but I ended up in the DVD section which leads me on meeting this cool girl with dark eye shadows and a pierce on her lower lip :)

I got him the latest installment of the Incredible Hulk which comes in a very unique packaging including "behind the scenes" and "the making of" plus some uncut versions of the recent movie. This is by far the most expensive DVD I bought after the "Passion of the Christ" way back to 2002/2003. It's a gift anyway to a person who have helped me a lot in many ways.

Good girl won't go bad

Pop singer Rihanna is in a campaign for Gucci’s “Tattoo Heart Collection,” which will be donating proceeds to UNICEF. Rihanna is currently a spokesmodel for Gucci and has been working with Director Frida Giannini on the brand’s 2008 Holiday ad campaign.When anyone purchases an item from the white “Tattoo Heart Collection,” Gucci is going to donate 25% of the sale to support UNICEF programs for orphans and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. The campaign will go on from November 19, 2008 - January 31, 2009. This will be the fourth year that Gucci and charity foundation UNICEF has partnered.

Even though this is for a great cause, the bags are not cheap, the Gucci python messenger bag costs an estimated $2230.

In addition, a full-length film documentary chronicling Rihanna’s work with the campaign will be debut online on Rihanna’s and Gucci’s websites come December 9th.

Come taste this ad. I love you Rihanna!!!

Gucci UNICEF e-Trailer

My housemate's birthday

My ever rich housemate celebrated his birthday yesterday. He took time few days ago asking me where we should celebrate his birthday as it falls on Tuesday and not many of our friends could join us as it is a working day. So he finally choses to just have dinner with me and celebrate another party on the coming weekend with all other friends.

We went to this fine dining Japanese barbeque restaurant in City Hall and we had only the finest meat ever eaten in the universe of meat. They have a set meal for two which consists of pork, beef and shrimp .... and the best part was, we grilled it ourselves. So it was cooked in a way my tongue likes. And what is the perfect drink to match barbeque? Nothing but wine. So we took the finest wine in the menu. I felt so privileged eating in this restaurant :))

And how much this dinner costs? Whooping $250 bucks! Damn, that is equal to my ever longing iPod nano!

We then walked out the place and thought of going to Long Bar in Raffles Hotel, this hotel is the one to blame for the success of Singapore Sling as this famous cocktail originated from this bar. It was called Long Bar cos obviously, they have a very long bar in there. We just had singapore sling there and another friend joined us kasi sawa na kami sa muka ng isa't-isa.

After the Long Bar, we moved to Hotel Stamford and went up all the way to the 70th floor where we chilled with tequilla at Asia Bar. It was my 3rd or 4th time in this bar situated 256 meters above sea level. That was cool!

We also tried their famous home made bacon pizza. Really very yummy!

We finished this grand and yet quiet celebration at 3AM. And I have to post this picture cos it will be my first picture for this year surrounded with Xmas decor. I can feel the yuletide season already.

Ang ending, hindi ako pumasok today kasi 10AM na ako nagising. I am becoming a good boy each day!

Madagascar 2

Watched this movie last Friday ..... I say the first one was betther than this 2nd shot. That's all.

Nov 15 - my dear sister's birthday

I went to Fox and had carbonara as my meal as I celebrate my Ate's birthday. After a while, few pinoy friends came to the cafe as well, it was in honor to our good friend Alvin who gathered everyone of us and gave us free CD of David Archuleta. Ang numero unong fan ni David sa Singapore na namakyaw ng CD sa launching day para lang ipamudmod sa amin :)

After all the pasta, pizza, good coffee, tiramisu and many other foods .... I went to Woodlands with Joe and Matt to deliver some computer games and we had dinner at Billy Bomber's at about 10PM.

Then we received SMS from Dr. Chua (one of our friends) inviting us to drop by and have some drinks with other friends at his house.

Eto ang inabutan namin sa bahay nya ... anim lang iinom jan!

It was around 1AM already and my battery is about to be discharged when we reached his house. But something just changed my power level nang malaman ko ang price ng wine na to. Magkano? $1,000 lang naman. Susko, 32 thousand pesos! Biglang tumaas ang level ng dila ko, hahaha!

Hindi pa jan natapos, ang champagne na to worth $600 naman.

At isang nakakatawang habit ang na-discover namin sa ilang tropa. Kapag nalalasing sila, gusto nilang binabago ang interior design ng bahay, hahaha! Halos mamutla ako kakatawa everytime imo-move nila ang kahit anong makikita.
Ang united nation group sa piling ng mahal na lintek na alak. Matapos ang wine at champagne, dumating na ang tunay na inuman. Ito ang always favorite ko screw driver, syempre ako ang nag-mix para sagad to the bones ang sarap. Around 3AM when I started to vommit, yuckkkk! Ang ending, wala kami pang-uwing energy dahil hindi ko na talaga kayang itayo ang sarili ko. Salamat kay Yei Meng na inayos ang guest room at pinalitan ang beddings.

Nakauwi ako ng bahay ng alas dose na ng tanghali kinabukasan. Good boy!