oec

everytime an overseas filipino worker like me goes back home to the philippines, we have to secure an oec(overseas employment certificate) and present it on the immigration officer in the phils on our way back to where ever we work. 

yesterday, i had my appointment at 1:00pm and fritz came along with me to the philippine embassy. 'twas a bit raining on our way there but it heavily poured when we are only few meters to the embassy...

indeed, having an appointment going to the embassy is a faster way to process it. it only took me less than 30 mins to have my oec. unlike last time, you have to be on a long queue very early in the morning to be able to be included in the day's quota and finish after lunch time...

frustrated no more ;)

frustrated :(

yesterday, i left the office early to go to philippine embassy to get an oec(overseas employment certification).

i walked as fast as i can, even if my legs' still ache from my last sundays' marathon, to be able to reach there before 5pm. i reached there just around 4pm catching my breath and sweating. but i was so frustrated when i read a notice at the gate that processing for oec is closed as they already had hit their quota for the day... i felt so weak and i wanted to cry :(

but one thing i've learned, they already had set up an online appointment which is easier, faster and cutting off the long queue... had i check online before going there it could have been better...

and so i just left and went on my other errands for the day...

standard chartered marathon singapore 2012

december 2, 2012 the day when a total of 53,000 registered runners ran for a reason. i ran the half marathon to prove to myself that I can do it. and i was so happy i did it. with so much thanks from God above for the strength and endurance He gave me on that day... with encouragement from friends and of course from you, brad. 

a bit of pose at universal studios ;)

it was a great experience to be able to join the largest running event here in singapore :)) there were 10,000 registered runners for the half marathon and i am so amazed to know that i rank 1074 overall for the said category :)) my nett time was 2hrs 52mins 29.83secs beating my previous timing by almost 10mins. 

sweat on after the run...

i have so much respect for the full marathon finishers especially to lerie and frank. you did a great job guys!!! 

with fellow runners (full crazy, half crazy and almost crazy) hehehe

dinner

last night was a wonderful time over dinner with nice people... pastor bayu and lerie invited us for dinner last saturday, the few filipino member of chuan hoe sda church...

pastor bayu cooked malaysian chicken dish, so yummy :)) and fish soup. i ate a lot, i wanted to stop as im full but pastor bayu's chili was just so tempting, hehehe...

we agreed to visit them at least once a month.

guys, i had a great time...!

happy faces :)) over a yummy dinner...
(photos taken from kuya erwin's fb page)

rooster embroidered pillow

before mrs. kacir's birthday last 16th of this month, i was thinking of sending her a gift. should it be flowers or anything rooster… brad told me that her mom just love anything rooster, maybe because she was born on the year of the rooster :) 

searching online for anything rooster gift items, i came across hobby hill farm's. and i found this pillow that looks so nice, i ordered two... it was delivered the day after her birthday. 

brad told me how her mom was so surprised, so excited and so happy when she received it... that her mom really love it and that it's so nice and beautiful :) 

i'm so grateful that she love it! i'm hoping and praying to meet you one day, mrs. kacir and the whole family :))

rooster embroidered pillow
(photo taken from hobby hill farm)

bohol & cebu city 2012 with nanay

nanay turned 60 last march 27… we celebrated it my way ;) she usually prepares a lot of yummy food for her birthday and invites her friend to come over. she just love to cook specially on her birthday. she would be busy the day before and on the day itself, and you would hear her say, "i'm tired of being beautiful..." when everyone's gone :)) 

early morning walk along alona beach at panglao island

but this year was different, i took her with me to bohol for a trip. just the two of us... we stayed at bohol for two nights and three days. 

sandugo (blood compact) statue

left: baclayon church,built in the 18th century
right: the shiphaus

butterfly garden

we had fun exploring the island. we had fun sitting by the shore at night having our barbeque, looking at some other tourists, the fire dance, the breeze coming from the sea and the early morning walk... things we missed on our trip, island hop and swimming :( but it's fine we still had fun... 

nanay having so much fun on loboc river cruise stop-over

tarsier conservation area

man-made forest of mahogany along the way

we also stayed for a night at cebu city. we met up with kuya lokie, my former colleague at rafi (ramon aboitiz foundation, inc.), his wife ate tata and chubby/talkative daughter nikki... they helped us get a place to spend the night. after having dinner with them, nanay & me shopped a little and watched the last screening of the hunger games at ayala mall. 

the famous chocolate hills

i'm so glad and happy that nanay had so much fun on our first ever trip together... 

tardiness

i've been late for work but not because i woke up late or missed the bus...

lately, i've been riding the car of my colleague  the boss' brother-in-law, in the morning and this is the second time i'm late for work...

i should have learned from the first time that when his car is not park in front of the house it's stolen again by his son and would be coming home very late...

now, it's past 8am and i'm supposed to be sitting in the office instead of waiting for that car to come back...

this is the last time i'll be fooled...

isla jardin resort, glan, sarangani 2012 - anrio+anne wedding

i left singapore together with LM friday night. we arrived at general santos on saturday morning at around 11am and a van pick us up. we reached isla jardin resort at glan, sarangani few hours before the wedding ceremony will start. so it was a bit of a rush to fix ourselves but we were able to manage :)) 

6.9.12
paAn & maAnne

it was one of the june weddings of the year, on the 9th day of the month. my first time to attend a beach wedding and i'm so happy and honored to be one of the bride's maids… it was a solemn and wonderful ceremony. guests were so happy to witnessed the union of the couple, some also shed tears, tears of joy... 

top left: with raquel / top right: with te nene, bride's mom
bottom: with the rest of the entourage

it was followed by a dinner party, and some activities like fireworks, lighting and flying of the lantern, fire dance and dance party :) 

nanay and the beautiful bride 

i was also very happy to be with my mom even just for awhile as i have to fly back to singapore that sunday morning... it was the quickest and tiring trip i had but was so happy to be there to witness the wedding of maAnne and paAn :)) missin' you guys...

with my nanay :))

kuala lumpur, malaysia - may 2012

last may, laurence brought his parents on a trip here in singapore and kuala lumpur, malaysia. i joined them on their trip to kl... 

we left singapore saturday morning by bus, it's a 4-5 hours travel... but it's fine as the couch's seats were comfortable.

the petronas tower

we went around the city, shop a little, stroll along bintang walk and of course, not to miss the petronas towers...

fun at bintang walk

we went to batu caves and kl bird park...

giant statues at batu caves

kl bird park

we also took a few hours bus trip to genting highlands and took a ride on the cable car. it was a cool experience, seeing the nature from above and feel the cold...

nice and cold genting highlands

i had fun joining them, and lau's parents were so nice to let me join them...

with lau and his nanay & tatay...
happy faces :))

bishan-ang mo kio park

i woke up past 5 in the morning last sunday to have my long run for the week... and i decided to run towards bishan-ang mo kio park.

i ran along ang mo kio ave 10, it's not that far from my place... it's only around 2kms...

and i was so happy i decided to run towards the park. it's nice and beautiful out there. 

and one thing that catched my eyes is the presence of mcDonald's at the park, hehehe... i wish i had some bills with me and had my fave caramel frappe... but someone told me, it's not good for my running, huhuhu...

my new running track... i'll be back ;)

beautiful sunrise :))

countless

it's been three months since i've known you but it feels like way longer than that. thanks to skype and/or viber we can  talk almost everyday, almost the whole day :)

less than two months left and we'll finally meet :)) 

thank you God for leading us both to each other. thank you God for letting someone like brad love me as he does, for letting me feel so special. thank you God because he is so sweet, so nice and baliw ;)

i'm so happy to have you in my life, baby ko... i pray that we'll have countless months, years & time to spend with each other...

iLoveyou, baby ko :))

adidas king of the road singapore 2012

adidas king of the road 2012, a running event held across five countries - thailand, malaysia, indonesia, philippines & singapore.

the culmination was held here in singapore last sunday, 28th of october at the meadows, gardens by the bay.

with my singlet, bib, runkeeper track, finisher medal
& the fulfilled adidas running shoes

it was a hot sunday morning run... at 10 km point towards the end of my run the sun was just burning hot that i had goosebumps. a little part of me almost wanted to stop but i encouraged myself to finish the race. also, inspired running with my wished adidas running shoes, i was able to step on the finish line... thank you, baby for fulfilling that wish for me :))

charmley is all in :))
yes! i was...

i finished my 16.8km run after 2 hours 3 minutes 24.62 seconds. i ranked 261 for womens open ;) i hope i knew how many runners on this category, but for sure i didn't rank last, hehehe...

i was alone as my running buddy lerie ran on a different running event. we didn't get a sweaty hug at the finish line, hehehe...

next run will be on december 2, 21km for standard chartered marathon singapore 2012 :)

home - july 2011

i was home for 3 weeks last july 2011. i celebrated my birthday there along with the blessing/thanksgiving of my baby. 

sunrise

nadette & me...

nadette, a friend and a former colleague came all the way from cebu to visit me and spent few days there. we went to coco beach at gumasa, glan with the mariano family and had a good time at the sunny white beach...

view from above, the best shot i've got :)

one of the seven falls at lake sebu

laurence  & me, we're flying...

we also spent a day at lake sebu together with laurence. it was an unforgettable experience. it was my first time to zip line. it was just so amazing and the view of nature is so wonderful from above. it's the highest zip line in south east asia. 

lunch at the floating cottage

we had a wonderful time... 

a quick visit

nanal is a fun, sweet, bubbly friend. we've been room mates for quite a while during college days. there's never been a dull moment with her as she can always crack joke in any situation. 

nanal at sentosa island

i was so happy to pick her up at the airport when she had her transit here in singapore on her way back to dubai last december 2011. we had dinner and roamed shortly at sentosa island before we meet up with her other friend where she has to spend the night. 

nanal & me at changi airport

even if it was quick but i was so glad to see you nal after more than ten years. hope to see you again anytime soon...

blessingS

we talked about it and it became a plan... we both look forward to it... both excited & happy... can't wait but we can ;)

there has been frustrations & disappointments along the way but patience and being calm made it through.

thank you God for such blessings...

survivor season 25

outwit,outplay, outlast... that's how survivor is being played.

outwit, outplay, outlast

i can't remember which season i had seen first, but from then on, i was hooked and i watched previous seasons as well. thanks to hardworking uploader(s) on youtube...

as i wait for this season, i'm a bit excited because this time they chose islands of caramoan, camarines sur in the philippines among other remote areas in the world. season 25 premiered last september 19. i was sad 'cos i can't find any upload on youtube. usually after a day it is shown on tv, it is already uploaded on youtube, but this time there's none...

caramoan islands, camarines sur

but this week i was so curious if i can download it from a torrent, and yes! there it is :)) 

missing my run(s)

it's less than two weeks before my next run, 16.8km for adidas king of the road on the 28th but i haven't run much to prepare myself for it. i've only run five times out of sixteen after my half marathon for safra.

lately, i've been having headaches (migraine), sometimes just lazy to go out or it's raining :( 

still looking forward for this coming event... but oh yeah, i'll be running alone :( friends that i run with will be running on a different event on the same day... no one to hug on the finish lane, huhuhu... 

reven8e (season 2)

yey...! revenge is back on it's second season...

i was hooked on the first season and i bet i'll still be... i've come to learn about this show thru ms cecile's blog, chuvaness... 

"centers on a young woman who is welcomed into a community filled with people who don't know she's only there to exact revenge on those who had destroyed her family."

photo taken from imdb app

"what goes around, comes around."

pageviews

uh oh :( i opened my blogsite today and it says 0 (zero) pageviews...

i don't know what went wrong... i already had a thousand plus pageviews, huhuhu...

so worried, i look into it and found out from google product forums that it is a known issue...

Known issue: Blogger stats missing 
Hi everyone,

We are aware of the issue with missing stats on Blogger. Our engineers are working to resolve this. We realize this is an important issue and hope to fix it as quickly as possible. 

Thanks for bearing with us.

-Lisa

this gives me peace then...

missed calls

i am sad :(

yesterday, i called nanay when i reached home but she did not pick up. it's been few days since we had our last talk...

also, i tried to call brad for few times last night but all i hear were the ring and the voice saying, "you have reached the voicemail box of brad"...

i miss you guys... hope to talk to both of you today...

"@Notebook: I hate going an entire day without talking to you."

forgiveness

"forgiveness is the only way to get rid of the past. that's one of the values of prayer. it helps you unload, forgive those who have hurt you and let it go so you can get on with life." this is part of my devotional reading this morning by rick warren and i was so inspired by it. indeed, it is true...

while i was enjoying my holiday at bangkok last february 2011, i had a chat with my cousin michelle. that chat lead her to a revelation that she was not willing to spill while i was still on that holiday. but i was persistent and i assured her that i'll be fine...

a revelation that changed the course of my life. it took a lot of courage for her to tell me that my boyfriend for like 10 to 11 years had been cheating on me. i was a bit shocked knowing it, 'coz through out that relationship, a third-party had never been an issue between us. i had so much trust on him that i never thought he could do it...

we were about to get married on july of the same year, but i called-it off... one betrayal is enough to end that relationship. no matter how long we've been together...

i still went home as scheduled and met up with him and settled some few things.

and one thing that i've been wanting to do when i see him is to forgive him even if he would not ask for it.  and i'm so happy i was able to. i've been praying for guidance and strength for me to forgive him. i don't want to live and go on with my life with resentment towards him because of what he has done. i wanted to live life happily. i wanted to meet someone else who deserves me and that someone i deserved as well. and i thought i will not be able to until i forgive him...

glad i'm brave enough to forgive him... and so i'm living a happy life now. smiling everyday knowing that someone loves me this much.

if we can, let us forgive those who have hurt us as much as God the Son offered His life on the cross to forgive our sins.

luv bumps

an individual usually have bumps on the skin when he/she gets cold or experiences strong emotions. it is commonly known as goose bumps or chicken skin. 

but I call it luv bumps... 
every time you express how much you love me...
every time i hear sweet words of love from you...
every time you whisper, i love you, angelbaby...
and even just the thought of it gives me luv bumps :))  

universal studios singapore - march 2011

the mariano's visited singapore again. and i've got a chance to go with them to universal studios 'cos they've got a spare ticket, yehey..! and it's jasmine's day-off so she went with us also… 

it was a bright sunny day and we had fun inside the theme park and the rides. yes! we took the chance to get on battlestar galactica: human vs cylon, but only on 'human'. i wanted to ride the 'cyclon' but nobody will join me :( another roller coaster ride was inside the ancient egypt temple and i was so thrilled because it's dark. 

celebrity moment...
oopppss!!! there's a paparazzi...

betty boop

with anne & jassie

the shows/attractions are just so amazing that even the adults will enjoy. i'm looking forward for another fun-filled day here with their newly added attractions... 

my moment ;)

ayutthaya, thailand - february 2011

lau's so nice to brought me to ayutthaya on the next saturday of my stay at bangkok. it's a few hours trip from the city. we had a good time exploring the ruins of ayutthaya kingdom under the heat of the sun. it was quite an adventure also, from alighting at the terminal to finding our way to the ruins. 

ayutthaya kingdom was a siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. it was a day of all walks around the place and not to mention the pose here and there :)