Splish Splash

        Shyly, he asked her if she would like to make a trip with him to his hometown, just a short drive away from Manila.  They have only dated three times and she was a bit apprehensive about coming along.  She knew she could trust him... he was so comfortable to be with, always smiling and making her laugh even at the smallest of things and she felt as if she had known him for a much longer time.

        And so without thinking further, she agreed.

        Along the way, he kept telling her of this special place in his hometown where he went to everytime he needed to think or have time for himself.  From the way he told of that special place, he seemed really very excited.  And his excitement was rubbing off on her... her heart started beat faster in anticipation of seeing this "special place".

        They arrived at his hometown and he excitedly showed her around the place, starting from the park, to the municipal hall, to the church and all the way to the market where she enjoyed tasting the native delicacies and buying some gifts to bring to her siblings back home.  He showed her all there was to see... except this special place. 

        Finally on the last night that they were there, he told her to get dressed.  He took her down to the edge of town where the park was.  At first it didn't seem like a special place to her.  All she saw were some bushes and some small plants and some big boulders strewn about. 

        He asked her to get out of the car and she did.  He took her hand and slowly they walked down a path with only the lights from the car showing them the way.  After all it was almost midnight.  She wondered why he asked her to get dressed when it seemed as if they were going for a hike.  Her body tensed at the thought of what he might do to her in the woods.  It was very dark.  She didn't know anybody in town and she was very far away from home.  She couldn't readily call for help if something bad happened to her.  In her excitement to get dressed, she even forgot to bring her cellphone along. 

        She started sweating from mixed feelings of excitement and fear.  She didn't know where she was being led to.  They continued walking further.  He walked her up over a hill and through some thick trees.  She could hear a river up ahead.  The continued walking down the hill to the river and to a tiny little peninsula that stuck out into the water.  There they stood on the tiny peninsula with the water surrounding them, the little eddies of current almost splashing water at their feet.  The full moon and the stars were in place above them, making the water glisten and shine. 

        Slowly, he faced her.  He took her hands in his, bent down on one knee and looked her up in the eyes, the light from the moon illuminating his face.  He took a deep breath and with the fervent passion that only a person in love can say, he breathed out her name and asked her to marry him. 

        It was just too perfect for her... the moon, the stars, the little peninsula, with the trees and the water all around them.  A tear broke out from each of her eyes.  She was completely overwhelmed... and without thinking she said yes. 

        She wrapped her arms around him and they shared the biggest kiss they had ever had.

        It was such a perfect moment..... until they fell in the river. 

        They were embraced and they both lost their footing, falling together into the water, making a very big splash and laughing like little children as they tried to "save" each other. 

        The moon, the stars, the river and the trees all shared in their laughter and joy.

Online!

        Finally, I'm online once again!

        Yipee!!! Yipee!!! 

        Hip Hip Hooray!!!

        I still have to get my thoughts together though, so that I can get back into my blogger mode.  There's so many blog topics that crossed my mind that were lost in the netherness of cyberspace as a result of being offline, and I had no choice but to simply let these go.  I'm starting off with fresh new topics...  It's like starting to blog all over over again...  whew!

Moving... Moving... Moved!

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          It's almost one week and still there's no Internet connection at our new office... Everyone's getting restless, fidgety, and almost at their wit's end.  Well, what can you expect if people are unable to browse their favorite websites, retrieve their e-mails, chat with others via Yahoo or MSN Messenger, and even unable to check their new messages on Friendster.

          Oh, there's no telephone line also!

          Aaaarrrrrggghhhhhhh!

          What more, even Friendster's remote blogging feature is acting up and so I am unable to post to my blog even if I want to.

          Double aaaarrrrrggghhhhhhh!

          Oh well...  That's just some of the pains of moving to a new office address, albeit temporarily.

          We've expected this move a little more than a month ago.  The company we were leasing our old office from gave us sufficient notice period to vacate because they had to do some major rehab works in the floor we were in.  But then, due to numerous other jobs that we had to prioritize, we haven't really planned for this move very well and so we were caught slightly off-guard.

          My officemates were already showing signs of worry because with just two weeks left, we still haven't found a place to transfer to.  We had already scouted several vacant office spaces and we even contacted several brokers to help us in our search but the places we saw were either to big, too expensive, or too far away for our liking.  The few available places that were acceptable to us were in Makati but then we will have the problem of re-applying for a new business license (our company's registered in Pasig City) and confronting higher tax rates come February 2006.

          Surprisingly, I wasn't worried quite a bit even if we only had two weeks left to vacate our old office.  It was as if I was "expecting" things to fall into place exactly at the right moment... Prayers helped, of course.  And so not surprisingly, things did fall exactly into place at the right moment!

          Just last week, the company I'm doing consultancy work for in Makati suddenly decided to consolidate its offices into one location so that they can save on rental cost.  However, they were unable to terminate their lease contact in one of its offices because they signed a one-year lease term that will expire only on February 2006, thus they are still obliged to pay the remaining portion of the contract term even if they won't be using the office space anymore.

          "Wow!", I thought.  What timing!  I quickly grabbed this opportunity and happily proposed that we take over the remaining portion of the contract.  The company was just all too happy to turn over the office to us.  Of course we were happy, too!  We no longer had to pay the two-month deposit and one month advance rental just to get the office space.  And there will be no long-term lease agreement for us.  Our former landlord had also agreed that we can still maintain our business address in our old office in Pasig, thus we no longer had to re-apply for business permits and go through some more bureucratic paperworks and approvals.  It was like getting a three-month reprieve so that we can still continue looking for our "ideal" office space in Pasig City while we are temporarily based in Makati City.

          Our new location is a very lovely plave for an office!  It's actually a two-bedroom condo unit, located at the second floor of the building, with elevator access and guarded entry.  The environment around the building is a bit laid back, not like the glitzy, noisy atmosphere in Emerald Avenue in Ortigas Center with its ostentatious yuppie crowds.  I could actually hear birds chirping outside the windows of our new office... just perfect for capturing that inspiring and creative moment that's utterly important in our line of work.  I could also hear some dogs barking and some roosters crowing in the distance.

          And for our gastronomical urges, there are numerous places to eat around that offer pang-"masa" delicacies ranging from tapsilog, lugaw, goto, isaw, sisig, balut and even taho and fresh buko juice in coconuts delivered at our doorstep!  And mind you, the prices are also pang-masa!  Yum!!!

          So now, the only thing that's lacking is our Internet and phone line connection.  But this is only a temporary setback.  Actually, there are some benefits to being "offline" for a while...

          Here's what I've done so far while offline:

1. Organize the files on my computer neatly into their very own folders and subfolders.  My computer desktop, which used to be cluttered with too many icons and folders, is now clear and I can now clearly see the wallpaper behind it.


2. Back-up the files on my computer's hard drive and burn them on CDs.


3. Defragment my computer's hard drives.  Now my computer runs "a bit" faster.


4. File away the few printed documents that are still residing inside my table drawers.  (I have almost succeeded in running a paperless office, if not for the contracts, proposals and invoices that still need to be printed anyway).


5. Get acquainted with the new landlords... They're a very sweet old couple who run and manage the entire building, They're really very mabait and accommodating and always ready with their smile =)


6. Lay out plans for next year's activities and timelines.


7. Make kulit to the service providers to install our Internet and phone line connections ASAP.


8. Make kulit to the service providers to install our Internet and phone line connections ASAP.


9. Make kulit to the service providers to install our Internet and phone line connections ASAP.


10. Sort out my e-mails and reply offline to those that need to be replied to.  (Finally I was able to use Microsoft Outlook's "Work Offline" feature)


11. Make my Christmas List: the list of people who will receive gifts from me this Christmas (are you in it?).  And more importantly...


12. Make my Christmas List 2: The list of people I will be receiving gifts from this Christmas (again, are you in it? hehehe)

So there it is.

Now I know -- I can definitely survive without Internet...  but for one week only!!!  I might exhibit withdrawal symptoms beyond this period, hehehe.

Now, plz, plz, plz, I need my regular Internet fix  ;-)

The Magic and the Mystery...

Love is like magic
And it always will be.
For love still remains
Life's sweet mystery!!

  Love works in ways
That are wondrous and strange
And there's nothing in life
That love cannot change!!

  Love can transform
The most commonplace
Into beauty and splendor
And sweetness and grace.

  Love is unselfish,
Understanding and kind,
For it sees with its heart
And not with its mind!!

  Love is the answer
That everyone seeks...
Love is the language,
That every heart speaks.

  Love can't be bought,
It is priceless and free,
Love, like pure magic,
Is life's sweet mystery!!

---------------------------------
"Love has its own reasons which reasons do not understand."

Break It To Me Gently...

"How to Tell Someone You Just Want to Be Friends"
    -- from Dexter d'Mango's archives

 
            

                 "Er... I have to tell you, I'm involved with another pig..."

        Aha!!!  So you want friendship... But he or she wants more. How can someone draw the line without making future encounters awkward?

Steps:

1. Try subtle hints that let the other party know that you're not interested in romance. For instance, "I really value our friendship" (with emphasis on "friend"), or "It's so nice to have a guy/girl friend who I can talk to without any kind of romantic tension to get in the way."


2. Mention that you're involved with someone else (assuming that's true) if the other party is a new acquaintance and shows unwanted romantic interest.


3. Tell the person up front that you enjoy being single right now and are not looking for a romantic partner, but that you're always looking for new friends.


4. Make a joke out of your rejection if the person is an older friend: i.e. "We'd never make a good couple; we know each other's hang-ups too well - there'd be nothing to argue about!"


5. Be honest and tell your friend why you don't think a relationship would work out, unless the real reason is that you aren't attracted to him or her. Even the closest of buddies would have a hard time rekindling a friendship after such a harsh rejection.


6. Change the subject after you've dashed the notion of romance and try to forget about what just happened. Dwelling on the reasons why you don't want to get involved with a friend won't do the friendship any good.


7. Enjoy the friendship as you always have.

 
Tips from other people:

Be honest
Forget the subtle hints, they are no good. If you really like him as a friend, be honest, tell him directly that what you want is a friendship. Relationships have to be based on the truth! If you know he wants more, it's cruel not to tell him how you feel. He will understand! And remember to be happy for him when he finds someone else. ;)
- Marie S.

A more honest approach... 
Tell them casually that you want to talk. Simply explain they are important in your life, but you would prefer to be friends.
Other good ideas:
    - Can't handle relationship emotionally
    - Met someone new
    - Don't want a serious b/f or g/f
- Meagan M.

A comment on tip #1.
If you want to tell someone that you "just want to be friends", don't tell them that you met someone new. You'll be creating a challenge, a nearly competative situation. Use the vague, but direct "there's no chemistry".
- Joe D.

It won't happen 
Guys, do not ever assume that if you remain friends with a girl she will gradually warm up to you. Usually, when a girl says she wants to be friends, she really means it. Friends - period! You can either chose to be her friend, or get out of the picture before something ugly happens to your bank account. It is a vain hope that you will ever win her affections. Girls can smell desperation from a mile away, and it doesn't turn them on.
- Deedee D.

How to break the news
Be honest, but definitely don't mention that you like someone else. If this happened to me, I'd be mad and upset. If they really like you and you don't feel the same, it'll only make things harder the longer you drag things on. Don't wait, because you don't want them to like you even more.
- Anonymous J.

---------------------------
So I‘ll be movin‘ on
In time you look I will be gone
‘Cause when I needed you
You were never ever there for me
So I‘ll be floating in the breeze
Like a falling leaf
Don‘t look for me ‘cause I‘ll be moving on

Sole Searching

Here's a Million Dollar Question... "Why do women love shoes?"

It's a very interesting fact of life that I still find so hard to comprehend. 

And so after doing a quick survey and frantically searching the Internet for answers, here's what I got:

Answers from women:

• Even if it took me hours to decide what shoes I'm gonna buy at least I don't end up not liking the shoes I bought.


• I adore them because I love walking in a room with the stride of confidence that a great pair of shoes gives me.


• Shoes can make an outfit look completely different. A skirt with flip-flops is casual, but put that same skirt with some strappy sandals, and yowza - super sexy! I have to have tons of shoes to suit my every mood!


• Alam mo kasi, napaka convenient kapag bumili ng shoes kaysa damit kasi, pag shoes, right there and then you can try it on, while kapag clothes you need to go the fitting room to try it on. At kadalasan pa, you need to queue up to wait for your turn.


• Me, I feel relieved of my tension and stresses kapag may bagong shoes. Feeling ko nga ang ganda ganda ko kapag maganda rin shoes ko. And it also adds confidence in me


• Hmm... I think a big part of my obsession is because they're so easy to swap around with outfits and they can change the whole ensemble. I can be wearing flip flops with jeans for a casual look-- but if I change into stiletto boots, the whole outfit is transformed. It's magic, I tell ya!


• And what about those stiletto heels? They make a woman taller! Need we say more? They also make the muscles in the legs flex while walking - which is a beautiful sight. And they make that distinct noise of sharp pounding, watch out, femme fatale approaches...


• Each shoe can say something different about you and your outfit.


• Beautiful feet make a woman beautiful all over and every lady knows this.


• Whenever I go shopping I would always buy a pair or two. Ba't ba ang hilig ko sa sapatos? Sakit ko na ata ito.


• While nowadays almost all artictles of clothing have become interchangable between men and women, the shoes remain distinctly gendered. A man wouldn’t dare to put on most shoes that women parade in every day! Thus, wearing ultra-feminine shoes simply makes women feel and look more sexy!


• Every stylish outfit requires a perfect pair of shoes. Wearing the right shoes with that killer dress is a sure sign of a lady’s impeccable taste. That’s why "How many pairs of shoes do you really need?" is a ridiculous question.


• Buying shoes makes me feel sexy especially if it fits well.


• Hay naku.. ako every payday ang bili ko ng shoes, kasi nung bata pa ko panay hand me down kaya yun nung nagka-work na ako, sarap ng feeling talaga kapag bago and shoes!!


• Shoes can be a reflection of our mood for any given day. High heels if you’re feeling sexy, slip-ons for comfort and so on. I think if diamonds are a girl's best friend, then shoes are her best lover.


• At ang sarap feeling kapag bago ang shoes.


• As a woman it's just something that is part of me - I love shoes.


• Maybe women are born with a part of the brain whose sole job is to deal with how we feel about shoes. It’s possible I suppose because it’s something that is so ingrained within us, most of the time we don’t question it - it just is.


• Shoes contribute so much to how we feel about ourselves. It’s like having a good or bad hair day.


• Feeling ko lang na-re-release ang stress ko everytime I get a pair of new shoes. Sounds weird pero ganyan yata talaga kaming mga babae.


• Its our fetish!

 

And some answers from the boyz:

• This is more complicated than rocket science.


• Beats me!!???


• Ganun talaga ang mga girls especially kung quality shoes ang gamit nila and quality shoes can only be found @ firstquadrant philippines! kaya visit na -- www.firstquadrant.org and kung interested kayo...email me @ xxxxxx@yahoo.com thanks a lot! POWER!


• It's okay to have many shoes... but just remember this... marami man silang sapatos... pagdating nila sa bahay tsinelas pa rin ang hahanapin!


• hehe! the thing is... madami ring tsinelas ang mga girls... in different colors pa... hehe!!

------------------------
She's got new shoes.
Oh! How she dances!
Twist and turn!
Step and shimmy.
She's a feather in his hands.
Together they weave among the crowd
so easily!
She's got new shoes.

Bloopers Galore

          (Nov. 11, 2005) I had to rush over to Naga City in the Bicol region last friday to meet with some prospective clients so I had no choice but to take the 7AM Philippine Airlines Manila-Naga flight. The flight was delayed a bit since the pilot still had to wait for take off clearance because of the threat of some typhoon in the Bicol region at that time, so I was psychologically preparing myself for another "bumpy" flight just in case we would be met by rain and strong winds again when the plane lands in Naga.

          So I was pleasantly surprised that the flight proceeded smoothly and 45 minutes later the plane was already flying over Naga City. I haven't even finished reading my newspaper!

          As the "fasten your seatbelt" sign came on, the stewardess announced on the plane's intercom in a very professional (and sexy) voice: "Ladies and gentlemen once again the captain has turned on the fasten your seatbelt sign to signal our approach into Manila. Please ensure that your trays are stowed... (long pause, like someone was talking to her) ...to signal our approach into NAGA. Please ensure that your trays are stowed, the window shades are up and that your seatbelts are in the upright position. Thank you."

          The group of foreigners in front of me started chuckling but before they could make any comment, the stewardess quickly came on the intercom again, without the sexy voice this time, and said quickly "...that your SEATS are in the upright position. Thank you!!!"

          Ok. So all's well that ends well. I won't mention na lang about how the pilot attempted two times to land on the runway because he didn't get the landing approach right the first time and he had to abort the landing and had to circle the plane above the runway while banking it steeply to the right in order to attempt another landing approach. The plane was so close to the ground that it seemed as if its wingtips would graze the treetops and chop off some leaves and branches (and some unfortunate fellow's head if he happened to be on top of the tree).

          So nope, I won't mention about that incident anymore. Sorry... People might be scared to fly PAL because of this.

          P.S. Good news! We all landed in one piece (obvious ba?). There wasn't any standing ovation from the passengers though, hehehe =)

 

 

 

Finding Wings

        I first read Trina Paulus' book, "Hope for the Flowers" back in High School.  It is a story about a caterpillar named Stripe.  The story had no impact on me back then; I just read it because it was required reading for our English class... And so I went on to college, graduated, got a job and started working.  It was then that I stumbled upon the book again inside National Bookstore.  I flipped through the pages, started reading and before I knew it, I had finished the book right there and then, right in front of the "No Private Reading" sign inside the store. 

        I couldn't get enough of the book and so I bought a copy for my own even though I had already read it from cover to cover.  (And that was how the name "Pepperstripe" came to be.)

        Stripe's story goes like this:

        Stripe was born a tiny striped caterpillar who loved to crawl around and eat leaves.  He became bored with just crawling around in a field. One day, when he was looking off in the distance, he saw a pillar going up into the sky. He thought, "I wonder what that is." He crawled toward the pillar, and saw that it was a pillar of caterpillars climbing upward. He couldn't see the top of the pillar because it went up into a cloud. He thought, "Maybe that's what caterpillars are supposed to do--climb caterpillar pillars." He got on the caterpillar pillar and started to climb up. The only way to do that was to step on other caterpillars' heads, so he kept pushing his way up. Every once in a while, he would ask another caterpillar, "What is at the top of the pillar?" They all said, "We don't know, but everyone is going up there, so it must be something important."

        On his way up, he stepped on the head of a little yellow caterpillar that was very pretty. He felt bad about that, and did something someone isn't supposed to do when he is stepping on others' heads--he looked her in the eye. He thought, "She's a lovely little caterpillar." He said to her, "Maybe it would be better not to climb this caterpillar pillar, but to go back to the field and just hug a lot." The two of them worked their way down the caterpillar pillar into the field, and hugged a lot. After a while, hugging got a little boring, and Stripe said, "I'm going to go back up the caterpillar pillar and see what's up there." She said, I can't go back up that," so Stripe left her.

        Lonely, the pretty yellow caterpillar was crawling around in a field when she saw something funny hanging from a branch. It was half of a little case and half of a caterpillar. She said to the caterpillar, "What are you doing?" He said, "I'm spinning a cocoon." She asked, "Why are you doing that?" The caterpillar said, "Because I'm going to die." She said, "Why do you want to die?" He said, "Because if I die, I will be born again as a butterfly." She said, "Are you sure? Suppose you aren't born as a butterfly?" He said, "I will become born again as a butterfly, because that's what caterpillars are made to be. But they have to die first."

        She thought about that for a long time, because doing that was a big decision. Finally, she decided she'd be willing to die and be born as a butterfly. She realized that if she did that, she wouldn't have to climb the caterpillar pillar; she could fly over the top and look down to see what was up there. She spun a cocoon and died, and became born as a butterfly. So she flew over to the caterpillar pillar and found Stripe, very close to the top of the pillar, almost about to find out what was at the top.

        Do you know what happened when a caterpillar got to the top? A caterpillar underneath him would push him off, making him fall all the way to the bottom of the pillar and die. But before that happened to Stripe, she rescued him. Later on, Stripe spun a cocoon and became a butterfly too.

        Once again, there was hope for the flowers...

        What does that story say?  It says that if you're willing to die, you can be born again into a better life.  For two caterpillars, we all know, surrendering to the cocoon is the only way to finally fly.  For us humans, surrendering to the Lord and allowing Him to fulfill His purpose for us in our lives is the only way to finally fly -- to have eternal life with Him.         

        That is His purpose for us... 

        If you want to read the longer version (full text) of the story, click here. Or better yet, buy a copy of the book from National Bookstore and experience the fun reading it with the illustrations and all. 

-----------------------------------------
"Life is changed, not taken away."

Google Talk

        Ever wondered what Google would say if it could talk?  Wonder no more. Enter three or four words and Google Talk will finish your thoughts by searching for what comes next after these words.  Then it will remove the first word of the search string, add the found word and repeat.

The result seems to be meaningfull sometimes. Other times it is giblish. But always fun.

Here's what I got when I entered "dexter is so..." as the seed entry:

"dexter is so... adorable! and i love you In many languages, and dialects. in the Netherlands. from the United States Code Title Chapter and section headings contained herein are PROVIDED as IS, without express OR implied WARRANTIES INCLUDING, but not LIMITED to the following: plants are considered to be the most important thing You can do to Help the homeless Walkathon on the National Mall in Washington, DC. and the surrounding area."

Hmmm.  Not bad, eh? =)

Try it out: Google Talk

Madilim ba?

        I used to think that this song was "Jologs" when I first heard it aired over the radio.  Nowadays, this 1988 Awit Awards Song of the Year by Gary V. is starting to become my regular morning repertoire inside the bathroom.  It's a good thing the neighbors (and their dogs) are too far away from the bathroom window so they can barely hear the racket I'm creating every morning =)

        It's a spirit-lifting number with a reassuring message that He will always be there for me, no matter what...

Take Me Out of the Dark
- Gary Valenciano

Just what is it in me?
Sometimes I just don't know
What keeps me in Your love,
Why you never let me go

And though you're in me now,
I fall and hurt you still
My Lord, please show me how
To know just how you feel

You have forgiven me
Too many times it seems
I feel I'm not what you might call
A worthy Christian after all

And though I love You so
Temptation finds its way to me

Teach me to trust in You
With all my heart
To lean not on my own understanding
I just forget
You won't give me what I can't bear

Take me out of the dark, my Lord
I don't wanna be there...

 
        I really like this song but don't come to me saying na "tumatanda na ako", because I'll answer you back "eh ano? guwapo naman!", hehehe.  Well, ganyan lang talaga, it's just part of the pleasant discoveries that I find along the way as I journey through life with a renewed purpose.

        Life is surely worth living for Him!

        Now, if only I could find a guitar chord music sheet for this song -- my daily early morning rendition would be truly complete =)

-----------------------------------------
Find the complete song lyrics here.

1...2...3...click!

        I'm not really a photo bug.  The way I take pictures is I just snap away with my cameraphone like a trigger-happy gunman with the hope that my shots will come out just fine.  It's a good thing that this is now the era of digital technology, otherwise I would've wasted rolls and rolls of film if I was using the standard "Kodak" to take pictures.

        So after sifting through the 747 images squeezed into the 256MB memory card of my phone, finally, here are some pictures that are worth sharing.  If you notice, there's few pictures of people in my shots.  Well, that's just me... I prefer taking photographs of odds and ends to chronicle the travel highlights. 

        So here they are...  Lolo Dexter's Sing-Thai photo gallery...  =)

The famous "Elephant Show" in Thailand.  Notice that the purple elephant is sitting on his behind -- that's a very difficult trick for an elephant!

 

"The Alien" is caught by Dexterazzi shopping in Thailand...  in the ladies clothing section.

 

This is the Golden Pagoda containing the relics (bones) of Budhha, who died 2,600 years ago.  The Pagoda looks like an inverted ice cream cone.

 

Feet galore!  You have to take off your shoes to enter the temples.  Hmmm... is that feet I smell?  Ha-chooo!

 

People are so cleanliness-conscious that they take off their shoes when they get into their cars.

 

Mosquito nets protect lions from dengue.

 

Cash offerings at the temple.  Monks are fobidden to touch any form of money...  so I wonder who gets the money?

 

Three Lotus Flowers in bloom mean "I Love You" =)

 

Wow!  A bunch of Blue Roses at the temple!

 

Thais are so fond of flowers.  Real orchid flowers even adorn the restrooms inside their airplanes.

 

If Singapore has its Merlion, Thailand definitely has its very own Merelephant.

 

"Tuk-tuks" are incredibly fast and noisy too.  They can do wheelies and jump over cars just like in the James Bond VISA commercial ;-)

 

Notice the street posts and road barrier?  Nope, this is not a flooded street.  It's actually the waterway (highway?) leading to the floating market, accessible only by long-tail boats (which actually have long noses).

 

An intricate woodcarving from a tree stump.  Notice the fine details of the leaves, the vines and the animals.  This quality work will definitely rival, if not outshine, the works of the mountain tribe woodcarvers in the Philippines.

 

This is what I call free signage...  Fake Louis Vuitton bags being sold outside a Louis Vuitton store selling the authentic pieces. 

 

Sawasdee Girls quietly say "Welcome to Thailand!"

 

Ey!  Sawasdee Babes!!!  "Welcome to Thailand!!!"

 

So THAT's how they clean the windows of the plane!

 

Here's how to make cotton candy...

 

Is the Merlion sick?

 

Another "sick" creature... Hmmm, there must be something in Singapore's water that make animals do this...  dwaarrrrkk!

 

Bawal maligo dito. More water... The Fountain of Wealth in Suntec City.

 

Pink walkway!  How happy and gay, hehehe!  ;-)

 

Wow!  Our favorite junk foods are now available in Singapore!  Yessss, way to go, Jack 'n Jill!

 

Aloha daw o?!  I think it's supposed to be "Mabuhay Banana Philippines"

 

Free groceries!!! =)

 

Is that a building or a billboard?

 

Wow!  I didn't know buildings could do that!!!  The Westin Stamford hotel in singapore practices its 9-11 evasive manoeuvers.

 

Jealous husbands and wives go here to swim.

 

...and non-jealous husbands and wives go here to dance.

 

The Merlion (which looks like King Kong) stands guard over Sentosa Park with its eyes a-glowing.

 

Spiderman working undercover in Singapore.  No wonder the city-state is relatively crime-free!

 

         So there they are!  Now, if you're looking for real people pics with all the smiles and poses and the 1..2..3..clicks, you can visit my sis' photo album and photo gallery for some other travel highlights (quickly now, while the pics are still there, hehehe).

 

 

 

 

 

 

a conversation between torpe_guy and manhid_girl

<- I just saw this somewhere on the net while browsing around, hehehehehe. 

Just click on the pic to read it.  =)

HHWW

Just having some fun...

Well, whaddya know?  Holding hands is allowed in Singapore and even in Thailand, where PDAs are generally frowned upon.

Even the signs in the parks and in the malls indicate so...

Holding hands, this way pls...

See!!!  This was taken at the night market outside the mall.

At Sentosa park... Ladies must wear mini skirts while men must wear bowties.

Aha!  Gotcha!!!  hehehe

Lets all hold hands and make this world a very happy place to live in...  but wash your hands first, ok?  =)

Mighty Mousy Mouse

        Ahhhh... Finally I'm home again after a long vacation.  Aside from some small pasalubongs, I've brought home with me loads of laundry and soiled clothes inside my luggage.  If the customs officers at the airport insisted on opening up my luggage, they would have suspected that I'm running an "ukay-ukay" business here, hehehe.

       Having rushed up in packing my things before the vacation (it took me only 30 minutes to pack up, rushing to catch the 7AM Philtranco Bus at the back of SM Megamall), it's not a surprise that I arrived home to an unkempt house with things strewn about here and there.  So I tidied up the place, loaded some laundry into the washing machine, put it in auto-mode, and then went on to sleep for the night.

       I woke up in the morning and the machine had already finished its wash job.  I hang up the clothes to air dry and put in another washload of laundry.  I checked on the laundry 20 minutes later and as I looked down on the floor, I saw an itsy bitsy small creature looking at me, as big as my nose if it has a pimple, its soft fur standing on edge and its whiskers moving about as it raised its nose trying to catch my smell.  As I looked at it closely, I realized...

        IT'S A MOUSE! 

        Oh no!  There's a mouse in my house! 

        It didn't run when I tried to scare it away.  I even stamped my feet close to it but it didn't even budge an inch, like it was too weak to move.  Hmmm, that's strange, I thought.  Maybe it almost drowned from the wash water that's why it couldn't move...  But it's fur was very dry so it couldn't have. 

        I still couldn't figure out why the creature wasn't scared of me, so I took my trusty metal pliers and grabbed it by its tail.  It cried out in protest and gave an "IK-IK-IK-IK" sound as I pulled it up by its tail but it was too weak to move and defend itself.  As I looked at it up close, I realized that it wasn't a mouse at all.  It looked like a mouse but it also looked like a baby from the way it cried in pain.  Oh no!  It's actually a BABY RAT!  It must have fallen from the ceiling or from the rooftop where the rat nest was.  It's a BIG BABY RAT!  And it's going to be a BIGGER RAT if I let it go, so I had to get rid of it quickly.

        (Warning!  If you're scared of rats or if you are an animal rights activist, stop reading right here!)

        I quickly took a plastic bag, put the baby mouse in it, sealed the plastic bag shut, put the plastic bag inside an empty pork-and-beans tin can, sealed the can shut, put the can inside another plastic bag, and finally sealed the plastic bag shut.  I could still hear the baby rat crying out "IK-IK-IK" and so I quickly drove over to a garbage dump in an adjacent town and put the plastic bag on top of the garbage heap so that it would be exposed to the heat of the sun.  Hopefully the baby rat will become toast before the day is over. 

        Poor rat, tsk tsk tsk.

        Was I cruel to the rat?  In that past, I've burned hairy caterpillars to death and sliced them open so that their green slime would ooze out (ewww). I've also salted many many earthworms to death, watching them wriggle in pain as I sprinkle salt on their bare skin, finally picking them up and dropping them beside an ant trail so that the ants would devour the helpless earthworm.  I have even dissected several frogs in my high school biology class and made soccer balls of them with my dormmates when we didn't have soccer balls to play with in the field...  Boy, was I bad!  So that does it, now I know I really can't be a Buddhist.

        Anyway, as I was about to leave the garbage dump, I again put my hands in front of my chest and said out loud... "Sawasdee Rat!"

 
DISCLAIMER (to protect myself from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals): The story depicted above is purely fictional work.  Any similarities to names, events and places is purely coincidental and do not depict any real event.

Sawasdee!

 

        Thailand truly stands to its name as the land of smiling faces. Everyone is so shy and friendly and always ready to greet you with a smile. Coming out of the Bangkok airport, one is always greeted with "Sawasdee" with the obligatory "Wai" (hands brought together in front of the chest or the face as if in prayer). "Sawasdee krap" they would say to a man and "Sawasdee ka" if to a woman. "Sawasdee" is actually a loose translation of "welcome" or "hello" or "greetings" in the Thai language. 

        Since their country has never been colonized, I find the Thai way of greeting as truly genuine, being rooted deeply in their culture and history (just like the ''bow" in the Japanese culture and rubbing noses in the Eskimo culture). Our "Mabuhay" greeting in the Philippines pales short in comparison. 

        Here's some of Dexter's observations while in Bangkok:

• Bangkok is actually pronounced “bahng-kok”.  "bang-kok" has no meaning in their language. 


• When meeting Thais, return the smiles. The smiles are part of the conversation.


• Thais always talk in moderate tones, so they may be irritated when you raise your voice (or shout) when you try to talk to them.


• Forget the temples. Bangkok is a shopper's paradise! It's just like Divisoria and Tutuban but the shopping is much more pleasurable, the goods are of much higher quality, and there's simply so many places to shop at -- it gives a "shopper's high" to anyone even to a person like me who hates shopping. Make sure to set aside more than enough time for this activity.


• Just like any big city, Bangkok has its own share of traffic congestion problems (just imagine Edsa during rush hour). The air is much cleaner though and the public buses do not belch out black smoke.


• If you're lucky, you'll spot elephants on the street. We were walking along one night without suspecting anything; suddenly a baby elephant surprised us when it trumpeted his trunk loudly, prompting my mom and my sis to shriek in surprise, hehehe.


• Most of the city's taxis are late model Toyota Corollas (the Altis variety), painted in gay colors like yellow, green and fuschia (no lavander though).


• "Tuk-tuks" are incredibly fast ard noisy (just like our tricycles in the Philippines). They can seat up to four people with some cargo at the back.


• Real authentic Thai food can be sampled on the city's sidewalks -- just select the ingredients you want and allow the ''chef" to cook it up. I didn't try it out though -- I'm ''afraid" of spicy food, hehehe.


• Elephants galore! For a taste of the real thing (or rather, for a sight of the real thing), go to the Thai cultural show at the Rose Garden outside of Bangkok.


• I couldn't cross my legs even if I wanted to. It is considered rude to point the soles of my feet at someone since the Thais regard their feet as the least sacred part of the body.  Conversely, the head is considered to be the most sacred and noblest part of the body -- so never touch a person’s head or ruffle his/her hair.  Make  a sincere apology if you unintentionally touch someone's head.


• As Buddhists, the Thais believe in karma, reincarnation and nirvana. This is what prompts them to be good and to do good at all times. They never hurt any living creature intentionally, believing that they could be reincarnations of their ancestors.


• Here are some quotes from our tour guides:

"We can all live in peace together if we purify, meaning no selfish stuff. If the words ''I am" and ''I want" stop, then we start to purify and we can live in peace"

"Life is like a candle. It melts and then the melted wax is made into another candle. If you are pure, then the next candle will also be pure. Therefore commit only good deeds while alive."

 

 
        Anyway, while at the tour bus, I spotted a mosquito flying near my chest. Without thinking about it, I quickly swatted the mosquito with my hands and I ended up in the “Wai” position. As I opened my hands, there I saw the mosquito squashed up and all, so I cheerfully said, "Sawasdee!"

 

        Oh well... Bye-bye mosquito. I’m not Buddhist anyway, hehe =)