GRACE AMIDSTS DEATH AND DISASTER

An inevitable sadness consumes me these past few days. Seeing how Japanese people endure this huge disaster is really heartbreaking. I have been to Japan and had the luxury of staying in the home of nice Japanese family in Komoro, Nagano who became my foster parents. They really took good care of me. It was this moment in my life that I had a glimpse of how Japanese lives. They are honest, hardworking people, sensitive and so attached to their culture. In the face of recent disaster, the world is amazed on how the Japanese showed a reasonable amount of discipline and grace even in the midst of crisis. How they would quietly fall in line just to buy basic items that they needed badly. There was no pushing, shoving and fighting over who should go first. There was not even a report on looting. Surely, as a whole, we have something to learn from these people. As one who lives in Philippines, it is common to see disaster victims wailing and crying their hearts out. On the other hand, when Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans, you see people, cursing and shouting at their government for being too slow in action. This crisis had made the world see how Japanese can be, seemingly subdued in public and has a sense of solidarity. After watching CNN, people are puzzled to see disaster victims still so polite and demure when being interviewed by the reporters. Their resilient nature is their exceptional virtue and has helped them survived throughout their history.

Touring around the World in One Year

I am really glad to know of someone who has the real guts to leave her comfort zone behind and tour around the world via backpacking ALONE, bringing only with her few necessities. I was able to have the chance to listen to her talk before she left. She is now in Tel-aviv,Israel and going to Jordan. Ms Lilianne Cobiao is an experienced backpacker. If you are interested in her travels, she has a website. http://www.wanderlass.com/. She is also a bonafide member of couch surfing site. I cannot imagine myself touring around the world in one year, leaving everything behind. Usually after vacationing for two weeks, i would always look forward to coming home. In her case, it will be a year before she comes home. Given the chance to tour the world, I think Europe would be on top of my list of priority, then I would like to visit Kazakhstan, heard they have so much oil there. Then Africa, Brazil, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Morocco, Iceland, Alaska. I would also love to have a tour on a real castle. I already did the Hearst Castle in the U.S. and the Casa Loma in Toronto but I know Castles in Europe are the best. Imagine touring a huge medieval castle with dungeons and long stairways going to hidden moats. It's like transporting yourself back in time.

china accessories

WE SAW THESE IN 3 GORGES DAM GIFT SHOP. I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT SOME. THEY LOOK SO NICE.

Angry Birds passport holder

A NICE GIFT FROM MY FRIEND FROM GUANGZHOU

GOT THESE FROM DIVISORIA

America's most embarrassing dad? source: new paper singapore

America's most embarrassing dad?

Bodies

Bodies exhibit is maybe a bit scary but quite educational.

turntable

can't believe there is a turntable now with usb and is mighty cheap. Found in Costco and Best buy.
Now , we can still play our old vinyl records.

my galaxy

Bought 10 dollar prepaid internet sim card from at & t to put in my galaxy tab. Easy to use !

Galaxy Tab uses ordinary sim card while IPAD uses micro sim. Galaxy tab can serves as a router and has a gps map.  Great value for a reasonable price.  I think Galaxy tab is more practical to use.  No wonder Apple is mad and is suing samsung.

what's with china men and ipad 2 ?

Saw a lot of "china looking people" sleeping outside apple store  in San Francisco last March. They are  waiting in line, camping at night and wait for dawn. . Learned that they are buying ipad 2 for resell to china

Border's demise

sad sad day for book readers. Border's is closing shop. Saw this last March while I was in San Francisco

starbucks machine

Starbucks self service machine found in my hotel in Washington DC.  You can only pay via credit card

scary earthquake faultline

Saw Phil Daily inquirer today. They featured a map showing west valley fault line. It passes through marikina, down to pasig (ortigas ave corner lanuza ave) then to pateros and taguig.

cats

our cats have their own condo units. See for yourself

beats headphones

lovin my "beats", glad i bought it. It brings music to a new level.

art tricks and illusions

  exciting,  funny illusions and tricks.

Cupcakes in Georgetown

Washington DC has their own famous Georgetown Cupcake. It became more popular when it was featured in Oprah show. I had the chance to line up and taste it and the verdict ? I don't really know what's the fuzz all about. Or maybe I am not just a Cupcake Person.

of sails and ships

am really scared of travelling on a ship. Think Titanic, tsunami, jaws, somali pirates 

BINONDO THRILLS

My 200 pesos worth of lunch including coke at quick snack. Kikiam and polunchay

One of my Binondo Thrills is to have quick lunch at Quick Snack Restaurant which is almost always full. I have no choice but  to share table with strangers. It is funny, when eating with strangers, I cannot help but look at their food. Thinking why his food seemed to look more appetizing than mine.

Si Gerald

Gerald Anderson is one actor we love, so kind and humble. He used to play basketball with my son kenny. We were happy to see him while dining at chili's

Of Fabrics and silks

Lucky to have the chance to visit my home country which is CHINA.

Except for the obnoxious smell of their ladies room, everything seems worthwhile. I visited an old town with shops and am sharing them with you

Simple things, Simple Pleasure

Nag halungkat sa baul, saw this picture of mom with dad, courtship days. Everything then was so simple. Going out of town to La mesa Dam is already a big event for them. People then were so laid back and "mababaw" ang kaligayahan. Unlike now, we can't seem to be contented with simple things. Like me, I think I cannot live without my ipad, samsung tab, cellphone, laptop, creative zen ipod and camera. Really, such excess baggage is making my shoulder weak from heavy load. hahaha !

starbucks china

Am not really a starbucks collector but i saw this cute starbucks demitasse in Chongquing and can't help but bought it. They are so cute.

concerts of Justin Bieber

saw from tweets. Many people swearing not to watch concerts sa moa due to theft. Siksikan kasi. Many people lost cellphones, wallets and some cars fell victim to bukas kotse

Bonifacio High street is a hot hot place to be during summer

Almost had a heat stroke 2day for parking at boni high street. My car is like a sizzling piece of steel iron. Had to drive to the nearest gym to take a shower again bec i smell like sh.....t

Tagaytay HIghlands running trail

10 k run in highlands turns out to be an off road run. Almost 90% trail running uphill and steep downhill. Grabe! i need a foot massage! And it started so late so the sun is shining so hot hot hot !

What is it with Books ?

So amazon now sells more kindle e books than paperback and hardbound. Am not an avid fan of e books. I am a sniffer. I prefer to read, smell and feel the texture of its pages. Books with musty smell gives me a high. If there is a wine connoisseur, i guess there is a sniff connoisseur and that's me.

cats cats cats

Ever since I was a young girl, I have this close affinity to cats. They are adorable, fun loving and playful. One would forget any problems just by looking at them. They are truly adorable creatures. I cannot understand why some people are so scared of them. In the olden days, when you say "Cat Lady", it implies an old haggard woman with cats as her only companion in life. Cats are very smart as compared to dogs, no offense meant to Dog Lovers. Truly, dogs are too trusting to their owner to a fault while Cats seemed to have their own sense of reservation. They may love you to death but will not show it. In other words, Cats have more pride than dogs. I am talking about Cats who are well fed, living comfortable life and has never seen a real mouse. These Cats, like ours ( 2 siamese and 2 persians) are a bit spoiled but we love them very much. We enjoyed their antics, their games, their quarrels, their quirks and their snootiness. To us, they are our celebrities since we have tons and tons of pictures of them in different poses. Life in our home would be so boring without our 4 crazy cats. The whole family are Cats Lovers and we are indeed lucky to have 2 maids who also adored our cats. They are the ones who bathe them and clean their poos. I make it a point for my four cats ( Lucky, Sassy, Ashley, Ashton) to have their regular medical check ups. The medical expense, the cat food , kitty litter would really put a hole in my pocket but who cares, we just love them. By the way, Sassy is the only female among the cats and most snobbish of all, if I may say so.

Banapple Pies and Cheesecakes

so yummy

There is a new branch of Banapple Pies and Cheesecakes in greenhills. It is located in North East Square in Connecticut st. Their cakes are simply delicious and yummy.