Our Crazy Itinerary (A.K.A Mercy Killing- The Happy and Fun Way)

 

July 3, 2009 (On the Way)

 

3:30 PM- Patty’s still in the office =S

4:49 PM- Patty got a text from Kate saying that she’s still in Makati having her last minute shopping before going to her place in Boni and heading to the airport! Patty reminded Kate that we have to be in the airport by 6:30!

6:30 PM- Patty, Ai, Len and Randolf’s at the airport already. Kate’s still nowhere to be found.

8:30 PM- Off to Singapura J Len and I were beside one of the hottest singers now, LADY GAGA!Hahaha! We were privileged to sit beside this Lady Gaga looking pinoy, which by the way made me look like one of her personal assistants because of her western-looking star appeal hahaha..After a couple of minutes though, she said she was going to the restroom but saw her sitting beside an American guy at the back already

 

July 4, 2009 (Malaysia)

 

12:30 AM- Arrival at Changi airport. Again, another international singer caught our attention- Katie Perry guys! Haha! Pinoy Katie Perry!

12:35 AM- Patty was panicking each and every time someone sneezes or coughs at the airport

12:45 AM- We were singing a song by The Carpenters while the Taxi driver whistles to the hymn with delight! Rock on NFF (Newly Found Friend) number 1!

1:30 AM: In Ate Carla’s condo unpacking millions of Avocado, 1 box of Spanish Bread, Cheese Whiz, Tapa, Lengua and other Pasalubongs mommy asked me to bring for ate Carla and family.

2:30-4:30 AM: 2-hour nap at the living room

4:31 AM: Shower time! Flight to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia leaves at 7:30

6:20 AM: We were still in the condo fixing ourselves

7:00 AM: We were being scolded by the Immigration Security because I was insisting on having a picture beside a cool ad. 2 offenses- 1) no picture-taking. 2) Running around making the airport a playground is strictly prohibited

7:30 AM: Off to KL

7:50 AM: Having breakfast at Mcdonalds, KL

8:00 AM: Bonding with the airport information personnel and trying to make an impromptu itinerary for Malaysia.

9:00 AM: Hopped on a bus going to KL Sentral. Patty asked her seatmate (an Indian Guy in his late 40s) how long the ride would take and was astonished to learn that it would take around an hour.

9:50 AM: We got off the bus and learned that the place exactly looks like Taft/EDSA- we suddenly held on tight to our hand-carries.

10:15 AM: We were at the KTM Train Station going to MidValley. We were so haggard and sticky our train ticket could stick on our face already (yes, friendship spans from happy to gross moments also hehe). It was announced that the train will arrive in 10 minutes

10:25 AM: 10 minutes after, we were expecting the train to arrive but heard the announcement “ Please mind the yellow gap, the train going to … will arrive in 10 minutes”

10:35 AM: At; last, the train came. We were squeezing ourselves to get in.

10:55 AM: Len was speaking with “Betty? No guy..It’s Beddy..B-E-D-Y, BEDY!” and making bus reservations back to Singapore

11:05 AM-2:30 PM: Shopping in Midvalley

2:35 PM: In the bus going to KLCC. Patty’s head was so close to banging like a rockstar while sleeping. Obviously, we were so tired.

3:00 PM: Heavy lunch at Burger King. When I say heavy, it’s really heavy.

3:30-6:30 PM: Shopping in KLCC Mall. Len was sporting her “reversible top” for a couple of hours hehe..

6:30 PM: We were dead tired and so we decided to just sit and get refreshments. Len and I loaded ourselves with this milk shake with ¾ ice cream content. Hello calories.

7:30-8:15 PM: Took pictures with Petronas Tower at the background and walked till it rained (rain loves us)

9:00 PM: We got off the train and realized we were not supposed to go down yet- Pudu’s different from  Puduraya Plaza something. Getting lost excites me anyway

10:00 -12:00 MN: Waiting for the bus to Singapore. Took pictures, played Pinoy henyo, took pictures again, panicked and thought we were schemed by the scalpers who mobbed us and other tourists, ate apples, took pictures, and, panicked again- until the bus came.

 

July 5,2009 (Singapura atbp)

 

12:30 AM- 5:30 AM: Bus trip back to Singapore. Slept. We weren’t able to fully enjoy the bus features (massager chair, LCD TV, etc), because our tired bodies knocked us off.

6:00 AM: Back to Ate Carla’s place, had breakfast and, fixed ourselves for an early swim at the clubhouse….

6:30 AM: ….but we fell asleep

7:30 AM: Patty was awakened by Ate Carla because she was modeling in front of me! I thought I was just dreaming hehe…

9:30 AM: Swimming, Sauna and ate Carla’s revelations about Patty hehehehe….(salamat sa yummy bowl of fruits! :) )

12:30 PM: Mass at Saint Theresa. We were late. Boo

2:00 PM: National Geographic and free lunch at this nice nice Food Republic in Vivo City c/o super Lupos Family :) We each got noodles good for 3 hehe..

3:00 PM: Train to Sentosa

4:00 PM: Patty, Len, Ai, and Kate were off to Skyride in their dresses!

4:10 PM: Patty, Len, Ai, and Kate were off to the nearest T-shirt shop to change from dresses to shirts. It rained soo hard during skyride, we were soaked all over.

4:45 PM: Luge!

5:30-8:15 PM: The Songs of the Sea ultimate bonding moment. Waited for the rain to stop at Coffee Bean over Nagaraya, shared childhood stories and lovelife, got wet again while watching Songs of the Sea (we love songs of the sea!)

9:00-10:00 PM: Went around Vivo City

10:30 PM: At Ate Carla’s place contemplating on what we should do next. Ate Carla and Kuya Mikey made an itinerary for us the next day and fought over Bugis (should we or should we not go to Bugis?) hehe..

11:00 PM- Checked-in at Oxford Hotel

11:45 PM- Off to Clark Quay to experience Singapore nightlife…

 

July 6, 2009

 

12:30 AM- …apparently, most of the bars close early during Sundays hehehe….

1:00 AM- at The Pump

2:30 AM- we realized we were just humans who get tired also and need sleep

2:35 AM: We went back to the hotel

3:00 AM- sleeping time

7:30 AM-5:45 PM- Felt so bad we missed Botanical Garden.. Went to Lucky Plaza (perfumes yehey), Takashimaya, another mall, and another mall, walked (while raining-again!),Suntec, Carrefour, Pasalubong!

5:46 PM: At Suntec. We realized we had to check-out at 6 PM!Time check? Err…5:46 PM.

6:00 PM: Check out at exactly 6 hehe..

7:30 PM- Coco entertained us

8:00 PM- Ate Ate Marlene’s yummy spaghetti!

8:30 PM- Coco was supervising us while packing. He decided to get in my luggage and played the persimmons I will be bringing home.

10:45 PM- Thank yous and farewells

11:00 PM- Airport Check-in 

 

July 7, 2009

 

12:40 AM- Bye bye Singapore! See you again!

2:30 AM- Len and Patty endured the consistent coughs and sneezes of the people in their front, side and back.

4:30 AM- SING/MA ADVENTURE COMPLETED.

TIRED LEGS,

ACHING BACKS,

 GREAT MEMORIES,

 HAPPY FACES AND ALL

 

 

We were in Spicy Fingers last night and heard one of my favorite songs- These Dreams. I’ve been hearing that play in my mind over and over since then.

Click this to listen to the song

Many many years back, I was browsing the net and saw an ad about clicking links and getting paid. I was of course enticed and joined. And yeah, it was a hoax.

Crap I was gullible enough to believe hehe..

and then those obtrusive popping ads coming from different “companies” keep showing still and believe it or not, I at times still tried it out with the belief that it’s real. My view point was that, it won’t take too much of my time anyway. I was online most of the time during my school days and so why not give it a shot. Imagine, being paid to do minimal things, how cool can that be. It was unfortunate however that I often register but to no avail.

My view on getting paid online wasn’t so positive then, not until I came across amazon affiliate program. I thought that hey, it’s amazon so it must be a real deal.

Yes, it was. I made an Amazon astore and advertised it to my relatives and friends. Ate, being so supportive as she is, often buy from my astore so I get a percentage from every item she buys online. Yehey, at long last, something real!

And then another success story. Kuya’s fond of Foreign Exchange Trading and made a blog on that, he joined Google Adsense and after a few months, he’s getting checks from Google already. It’s real, it’s really real!

So yesterday, while updating my facebook, I saw an ad about answering surveys and earning points and I got interested . It’s cool coz the user interface and scheme is not so complicated. If I register, I will be a small spider and will grow bigger everytime I earn points. Hehe..sounds fun. I started with just 10 points (sign-up bonus) and after a day, I got 26 points already I looked at the Claim Matrix and saw that I’m qualified already to avail $2 of gift check to be donated to World Vision. If I want to get cash redemption though, I still need a minimum of 300 points to get $50.

I searched online and read forums to check the genuineness  of the site and great to know that it is. Some people got their checks already

If you guys are often online and have lots of time to spare, you might wanna check out this site Please put pattymc as the referrer Thanks!

http://www.spidermetrix.com/sm120.php?refspider=pattymc

Mommy, Ate Nanah and I we went to Tagaytay over the weekend and stayed at Moon Garden, an 8-Casitas garden resort situated in a semi-remote place near Pink Sisters and other retreat houses and convents in Tagaytay. The place made me feel so close to nature.

 So close, I slept with the sound of birds chirping, Kuliglig and, occasional “krok krok” sound of the frogs at the background.

 So close I was awaken by the morning breeze that swayed the plants and flowers I could see from where I was lying.

 So close I saw 2 “Bubulis” outside crossing the stone pathway right in front of me while speaking with someone on my cellphone.

 It’s indeed a perfect getaway- a great place to relax.

The thumbs up side is that they only have 8 Casitas (made of stone and has an old Asianic garden feel) and so the garden resort’s not so crowded. Also, it seems like the secrecy of the place attracts customers more.  

 The only downside is the bathroom which is situated at the back of the bed and divided only by an unclosed stone wall. Thus, hello world when nature’s calling or if you’re taking a bath hehe…(“Mc Gyvers” as we are, we used the sofa cover Mommy accidentally put in her bag and used it as a curtain)

 Okay, before I gear away from my topic, here goes.

 Why Pig-out weekend?

Because I got home feeling so bloated realizing that during the weekend, I ate 85% of the time.

 Really.

 On our way, I felt like eating so I ate chocolates (go pinoy chocolates! Ang sarap ng Goya milk and dark chocolates hehe).

 After going to Ilog Maria at Silang Cavite (honey bee products!the best lotion and lip balm (= ), we headed straight to Mushroom burger. Ate Nanah and I were not satisfied with 1 burger each and ordered one more and halve it. Still, we’re still yearning for more food so we ate Barquillos.

 We then went to check-in and dropped by Bag of Beans after. I ordered Blueberry cheesecake (and never thought their serving’s not so small) and finished it while occasionally stealing ate Nanah’s Shepherd’s pie and playing Pinoy Henyo.

 I decided to order for take-out just in case I feel like eating that night and so I got Seafood Pasta with bread.

 And I was right, I got hungry that night and ate half of the pasta and the bread.

 The morning after, I could still feel the fullness but still indulged myself with Moon Garden’s free breakfast kasi sayang hehe.. I opted for American and mommy took the Filipino dish. While eating my omelet, bread and langka jam, mommy said she couldn’t finish her Adobo flakes so I decided to have a try and ended up finishing it all while drinking my coffee and Guyabano shake.

 The breakfast was a sumptuous one but we had to cut it short (no!!! I haven’t tried the dessert yet!) so we could catch the 9 AM mass (which by the way, was 8:30 AM pala).

 After the mass at the local church, we went to Caleruega and headed back to Moon to check-out. We went to Sonya’s Garden, bought pastries and yes, I ate Spanish bread.

 Just a few hours after our breakfast, I found myself in front of the dining table again at Pamana (nice resto owned by the Ongpauco clan). I couldn’t resist the Bulalo and Chicken Inasal! So for the nth time, I felt soooo full again.

 Its raining!Slept on our way back to Manila and before I got off the van, I saw those inviting Sonya’s Spanish breads again and took one before heading to the grocery store..

And now, can I just say while I’m typing this blog, I’m waiting for my pizza  (super home-made hehe,.just pizza bread, catsup, hotdog and mozzarella cheese) to be cooked?

Man, I’ve eaten so much.

My tummy’s aching already.

But that’s okay.

What’s life without eating anyway? (=

And tes, eating is one of the many ways to bond with family and enjoy the weekend! =p

(Note: This entry was obviously made many months back na hehe…)

There are 3 cool things most kids would like to receive this Christmas:

-          iPod touch worth 24,000 pesos

-          PS3 worth 20,000 pesos

-          A pair of comfy Crocs slippers for daily use worth 1,450 pesos

For the 95 kids of Kapatid Foundation from Payatas and Mano Amiga however, they have received gifts worth triple  or even gazillion times more than the above stated items- gift of precious time and love, wrapped with a warm hug from their newly found ate and kuya.

It has always been the aim of Living Dreams (LD) Philippines to put realization to the dreams of underprivileged kids as such. Last December 13, LD had its Annual Outreach Christmas Party at Big Red Barn, Funranch, Frontera Verde Pasig City with a theme “Paskong Pambata ng Living Dreams”. It was attended by an overwhelming number of volunteers who took the opportunity to bond with the kids and to celebrate the joy of the Christmas season with the Kapatid Foundation and Mano Amiga kids.

The event officially started with Kuya Kimo’s opening prayer. After which, the party host took over the floor and rolled over a sequence of games and other fun-filled activities prepared most especially for our chosen beneficiaries. The games were done in pairs so as to build a bond between the kids and the volunteers which is one of the objectives of LD in each and every outreach activities. Of all, the game “Utos ng Hari” or “Bring Me” was the crowd’s favorite because it led the selected Kuyas to strut their talents out in dancing so they can be crowned as the most “handsome Kuya”. Kuya Franco, Timothy and Dennis did their share of moves as they dance to the beat of the modern song being played and it elevated the energy of the kids and volunteers alike as they cheer for their favorites.

It was also apparent that magic show is still the best eye-catcher because it gave so much amazement to the kids and to almost everyone who was watching it. To relieve the spirit of Pinoy Christmas in everyone and at the same time, to stimulate the creative juices of the kids and volunteers. parol-making activity was also done and the end-result was a spectacle of colorful star parols showcased in different sizes and styles. And of course, the party will never be complete without the appearance of the guest of honor, Santa Clause who gave away gifts at the end of the program.

Amidst the slight glitches at the beginning, the organizers found relief in seeing that everything was eventually put in order evident on the smile of the kids and the contentment on the volunteer’s faces. The laughter, the new friends, the jumps, the dances- it was indeed a testimony that Living Dreams has been once again a bridge that connected hope and realization. LD has been once again a medium that connected the underpriviledged kids and the volunteers who are willing to reach out and make a difference.

The chosen beneficiaries of Living Dreams may not be like the normal kids who can afford to own iPod Touch, PS3, Crocs slippers and other cool expensive things in the market nowadays. It doesn’t however make them less as a person in any way because the material things they lack can be covered by the overwhelming love and care their new Ates and Kuyas can give. The attention and love being showered by the volunteers will make the kids believe that not all things can be bought by money. And thus is the saying- “the best things in life are free”.

Living Dreams Philippines would like to thank Big Red Barn, Unilab and all individual generous sponsors who made this event financially viable. If you want to be posted of the latest LD activities, please join our LD multiply community at http://www.livingdreamsph.multiply.com and be part of our yahoo group http:///groups.yahoo.com/group/livingdreams_ph.

I am welcoming myself back to wordpress! (as per my page, my last log was May 1, 2009)

Lately, I’ve been preoccupied with lots of stuff I haven’t had the chance to make an entry.

Or maybe not so.

I had some rare chances but didn’t feel like making an entry mainly because I was being pushed (by myself also hehe) to do some other things than write.

So here goes. Update, update. What have I done lately? Hmm…

1. I forgot to post en entry about my Corregidor trip with college friends! (notable words: Ferry Trip and Patty’s Out-of-place seat hehe, yummy buffet, hotta hotta sun, malinta tunnel show, sweat, sweat, and more sweat, jollibee after, planning for next trip, fun )

Ferry Trip (With Angela, Jill and Tim)

Si Patty at ang Bantay sa Malinta Tunnel

Santan Princesses

Afraid of the dark

Freaky-ness

Canyon ulit =p

2. … and our summer glam party (Our own version of Summer Party in the middle of the city!and of course, the April and May birthday celebration =p Highlight of the night? Hep-Hep-Hurray! and our new names!)

With Tyra, Herb Ty, Kate Moss, Shell Sy, Cleo and White Ny

Busy sila kate sa likod

“Yes!” picture

“Touch Sabrinie” picture

Flowers by Ai Masuda

Burpday girls

________________________________________________________________________________________

Would like to upload the dance-a-thon pics also. But unfortunately, dont have some of the pics yet.

Well,can I juts say dance-a-thon’s one of the most martyr things Ive done this month pala haha. Why? I was down with H1N1 (joke lang hehe colds and cough lang pala) an hour prior to the party and didn’t feel like getting out of bed but still decided to go and danced the whole night-morning amidst my sickly sneezing self. It was fun! and with God’s grace, I ironically got better day after

Weird stuff.

Weird Patty.

Till next time

What: First Mano Amiga Academy Field Trip
Where: Museo Pambata
When: April 25, 2009

The kids kept on screaming out of excited on their way to Museo Pambata and once they got in, they were elated and ran around the museum smiling and ecstatic to examine everything being showcased by the Museum. It was indeed a fun way for the kids of Mano Amiga to learn (=

Thanks to all the volunteers and to those who helped us in this activity (=

Ninz and Patty, Pinoy Style

I tried composing a narrative story for this entry but after typing for a couple of minutes, I’ve decided to just delete it all because I’ve come to realize that I was already making a novel out of it- something that would definitely bore to death those who might attempt to read it =p

So here, aha!

Just bullet points on some notable realizations and affirmations in life because of the Mission Youth Holy Week Missions in Pililia Rizal that has passed.

I realized that….

- I can cook rice in a HUGE Caldero.

- I was the only one in the team who can climb up the bunk bed without hurting my feet.

- I sometimes just feel like listening and absorbing information instead of joining conversations (which is so odd if you know me!)

- A 3-year old kid could have a “girlfriend” already

- People think I’m gonna be a nun because of what I’m doing. Patty Camacho wants to her own family.

- If I only trust Him wholly, I can be totally worry-free.

- At times you just have to shrug off your apprehensions in life in order to do the things worthy of doing. Who cares if I looked like a walking stick haggard oily kid on the street, if it was my first time to lead a focused-group discussion before, etc. I learned not to put too much weight on the things around me; what matters are my objectives.

I was affirmed that….

- Filipinos are generally warm and hospitable.

- Humility should be on top of your priority in doing things as Missions. The praises and commendations given by the locals might be so overwhelming. It should never ever get into our heads

- Language is an obstacle but is never a barrier

- Patty Camacho is a forgetful person. When I left, they told me I forgot my shirt, my pillow, my prayer book (among many other things I think hehe).

- You can be spiritual and totally cool at the same time and….

- “Party Team” Rocks!

Candelaria Mass

With the youth of Pililia RIzal

Wala na ako dito hehe..After the Missions

Walking with our lifesaver- Gulaman Snow Ball

Sticky Moose!

The cool Priest father Nante with his cool shirt

After the Kids Cathechism

Panoramic Pic taken by Pam

Sunset by the lake

Nagiintay

Dancing with the youth of Pililia

First-time Missionaries Pic

PT! (Party Team) with Krizna!

House-to-house. Haggard but fun!

Siksikan sa Trike

I’ve always wanted to take a graduate course in Marketing and after I chanced upon this course in Ateneo-CCE website, I have decided that yes, this is it. This is finally it.

And so there I was yesterday, after 3 or so months, about to enter a classroom with a bunch of classmates  I hardly even know (except of course from Isabel and Chiara who are my default friends in class haha)

The awkward smiles.

The shyness.

The feeling of stiffness surrounding the entire place.

That was how it felt like the moment Me, Isabel and Chiara entered the room. First day jitters wohoo..

And of course, there was the “introduce yourself” activity again (= I was expecting it, sooo expecting it.

Our lecturer said we had to state our name, company we are in, our work, the nature of the company, and why we took up the course. The blonde girl in black blazer, I guess in her 40s started and introduced herself as the Marketing Director of company X, she was then followed by another marketing officer, and by a lawyer who was sent by their president to study marketing, and by another officer, and another company owner, and by a newly grad girl who works for her mom’s fabric company, and by an artist, who unlike others who elaborated so much, just introduced himself in 4 lines:

“I am an artist. Artist ako. I was sent by my wife to study here and take marketing.

We deal with marketers in our business”

It’s funny. The work and personality of my classmates (21 of us) are so diverse. Its so interesting to know why we are all convened in that classroom at that moment. Taking further studies isn’t mandatory in life already so I often wonder the main reason why we we all got involved in this course

After the introduction, it was good that everyone warmed up a bit and the ice finally broke

That’s always been like that. Like every first day, every jitters must always come to an end.

Today’s our second day and yes, we have an assignment already. Assignment that mahn, must not be passed in hard copy but must be presented in front of the class in our next session. Its graded and that added a little pressure on me ( I’m joking, it added a HUGE chunk of pressure on me   ).

I’m praying that we pass this course the best possible way we could. I may just be a lowly account manager in a Japanese IT company as compared to our so experienced classmates already but yeah, hopefully we can pull-it off really well

God bless us.

Hoping,

Patty

I was tagged by Mamsi to the wedding of her friend’s daughter earlier. The wedding was so lovely and there I was, an appreciative spectator observing everything that could be captured by my peripheral vision  

While waiting for the program to start, I cracked the fortune cookie in front of me. It says:

Me in a wedding with that message