63rd

It should have been my mom's 63rd birthday today and I would have started this day with a phone call to her wishing her a Happy Birthday and telling her that I love her so much. I have missed her last 2 birthdays as I was (and still) working in a foreign land far away from Manila. But what I can tell you is that nothing changes: I didn't miss greeting her a Happy Birthday (but without a charge from M1) and I didn't miss telling her that I love her so much. What I am missing are her  replies to my Happy Birthday and I love you. But even if I would not have any chance of hearing her replies, I would always continue telling her happy birthday every year, and telling her I love you every single day. 

You are being missed Mommy. 

Mahal na Mahal Kita. 

When in Singapore: Minced Meat Noodles

Of all the things and places I can feature about the country I am currently in, I have chosen to write about food as my pilot. Why wouldn't I? Singapore is a melting pot of different cuisines- from the most common ones (Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines) to highly specialized cuisines like Spanish, Turkish and Russian to name a few. Definitely, this country is a haven for foodies out there.

In this entry, I am going to share a personal favorite (to the point of ensuring I get it at least once a week for lunch). This delicious dish is the Minced Meat / Minced Pork Noodles. From the name itself, its main ingredient is ground pork partnered with noodles. Other ingredients include fried dumpling, fried pork, spring onion, cabbage, marinated mushroom, pork liver and some chili (optional). I haven’t tried preparing it on my own, but from the looks of the dish, it’s as simple as cooking the noodles in their special broth, and add the ingredients and voila! there’s the dish.

Indulge in authentic Chinese noodles for only six dollars or less from any hawker/ food court shops in Singapore. If you love noodles, you will definitely need to try this when you’re in Singapore.

When in Singapore is a series of entries featuring the beautiful Singapore - it’s people, it’s culture, it’s food and it’s places). Join me in my journey to get to know this country deeper. 

Hiring a Movie Buddy

Hey hey! I need a movie buddy this year! With the list of the movies that will be available in the big screen, definitely, I'll be munching popcorn at least twice a month. I wonder what will be the best flavor for action-packed films of the year? Any suggestions?

"2014 will once again be a year of sequels and remakes. There will be over 20 movie sequels in 2014, including Transformers 4: Age of Extinction, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Expendables 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, X-Men Days of Future, Night at the Museum 3, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, The Amazing Spider-Man, 22 Jump Street and 300: Rise of An Empire, among others. Expect remakes of Godzilla, Robocop, Annie and Pinocchio on the big screen too." - Movie Insider Website

I am excited with the sequel of the Amazing Spider-man, Transformers and Rio.Also, I am looking forward for the movie version of one of the most beautiful books I have read so far, The Fault in our Stars (though I already have my girlfriends with me for this movie). And I am very thrilled with the new productions such as Pompeii, I,Frankenstein, Endless Love (Alex Pettyfer! Yey!) ,The Love Punch and The Monuments Men. 

Here's the link for all the movies for your reference. Hope someone is willing to be my movie buddy. Kindly send in your application through email. HAHAHA. 

http://www.movieinsider.com/movies/-/2014/

With Trailers - Recommended! 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/31/2014-movie-preview_n_4524802.html

Coming Soon..

Yes! Mission accomplished! After 2 long years of not seeing a dear friend of mine (exclude the time he visited me during my saddest days to date), I finally have met up with him. Not only did we catch up with each other's lives, we actually had some fun with his passion and my frustration. Imagine travelling from North to South, skipping lunch and encountering non stop technical issues; we still pulled off some good stuffs (photos of me). Though we didn't continue with my original concept, thanks to all the delicious food during the holidays, at least we got some good shots. We agreed to have another session this year, may it be when he'll come to Singapore or when I'm back in Manila again. Whenever it will be, I need to get ready for it. 

Here's a sneak peek of the actual outcome of this day. There will be lots more after he finishes the editing as compulsory for a  professionally taken photographs.  

Spread Wars ( I will always go back to the original)

I guess I am super late on writing about one of 2013's craze, Speculoos, also known as the Cookie Butter Spread. I believe it started with Filipino artists posting about them eating Trader Joe's Cookie Butter on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Accounts. Then there goes their fans trying them out. Oh well, if Adam Levine had posted about the same and did love it, I guess I would be that interested in trying it out and I guess I would have been crazy about it with the mere reason that he loved it (talk about influence and bias). But then again, he didn't post an entry about it so here's a  fair review about the Cookie Butter Brands and to make things more interesting, I added up my all time favourite spread - Lily's Peanut Butter.

Trader Joe's versus Lotus

The reason I made this entry just now is because I just had a taste of Trader Joe's Cookie Butter (Thanks to a dear friend who gave it to me). Yes, I am a loser but it's all because of the fact that the product is not available in Singapore. Imagine being curious about a product that's all over your Facebook Feed and never had a chance to try it, well, it sucks. But thanks to my sister who had numerous business trips to Holland that she bought the Original Biscoff for us to try it. And I love it. It's very creamy and it's super crunchy. It may not be the brand that everyone is drooling about, but at least I had a taste of what it's like. I love Lotus' Biscoff Crunchy, and their Creamy version. My sister also did buy speculaas ( the cookie itself) that I can crush to mix it with the creamy version once I finish my Crunchy. This spread became my breakfast for few weeks and I didn't mind the calories behind it. On my defense, I eat the spread with wholemeal bread. So let's make a fast forward to the day I tasted Trader Joe's, well, it didn't make me drool. My first reaction was like, it's not creamy enough. Then I tried it again, and it's not crunchy enough. I guess I was expecting something extraordinary out of the bottle since I saw a lot of posts about it, but then, the OriginalSpeculoos is better. For those people who haven't tried Lotus Biscoff ( if you bought it in US) or Original Speculoos (If it's from Europe), please try it out. Trust me (a certified sweet tooth), that it's better. 

Though Lotus won, I would always prefer Lily's Peanut Butter. This is the king of all Peanut Butter Spreads. Nothing beats the taste of Homemade Peanut Butter (the butter oil is still there for you to mix it). In fact, I can finish this pack in less than 10 days. I partner it with toasted wholemeal bread. Sometimes, I add banana inside as a filling. It's my favourite breakfast when I'm overseas. Plus, include the fact that it's healthy - I guess this fact makes it perfect.

I am sure that there will be a lot of new products that will come out this year 2014. I will always try them out and let's see if there will be this one product that can replace my all time favourite. I doubt there will be but who knows?  

Repost: The Five People Who Determine Your Success

Let's start the year right with an interesting article from Forbes about the five people who determine your success. According to the article, one's success is not achieved by doing everything by yourself. Everyone who strives for success needs inspiration, challenges and  empowerment. This article is a good read because it describes these essential people with the positions being played in Basketball. 

1. Point Guard – The Facilitator. The point guard is the floor general. They see the big picture and support you in managing the flow of information. They’re good at knowing when you can speed things up or slow things down. In short, they can see things that you can’t.
2. Shooting Guard – The Playmaker. The playmaker is the Molotov Cocktail. They light the scoreboard up. They are in the midst of making great things happen in their life and when you need a jolt of creativity, business brainstorming or a push, they are your person. They move fast and don’t have much patience for indecision. They remind you that if you miss a shot, just keep shooting.
3. Small Forward – The Encourager. The role player is one of the most underestimated players on a team. They do the work that many don’t see and they don’t regularly show up in the post-game statistics. But when they’re around, you always seem to be at your best. During tough spells they support you with perspective and their never wavering commitment.
4. Power Forward – The Bruiser. As much as you love your power forward, you may equally hate them. Their genius is holding you accountable to what you said you were going to do. If you tell them you’re writing a book, they’ll ask questions like, “When will it be finished?” They are metric-based and measure success by the progress you do or don’t make.
5. Center – The Rock. This is the veteran. When all hell is breaking loose, they help you remember what’s most important. They make sure you don’t mistake the forest for the trees. They know that goals are great but sometimes we just lose sight of why we are doing whatever we are doing in the first place. You need them to keep you grounded and supported.

If you want to achieve something out-of-this-world and significant in your life, surround yourself with people who will make you better. Be with people who challenges you to be a better version of yourself. 

To read the original article, please click the link below. 

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2013/12/30/the-five-people-who-determine-your-success/

Selfie & Me

Let's start the year with 2013's "Most Overused Word", Selfie (#selfie)

I am very sure that everyone have heard and used this word. But for the benefit of those people who are too busy to be updated with the social networking world, selfie is defined as a picture you take of yourself (commonly with the use of smart phones or webcams). Now,  I am sharing  a fact about myself: I do selfies and I have my reasons of doing so.Unlike others, I seldom share it in the social networking world.Most of the photos are only stored in my phone for future use.

I do selfie when:

• I visit a new place. Do I need to explain why? I believe even before the selfie word was invented, most people are already taking their pictures with the new place they come to visit. A memory, a remembrance. A photo is a way to for us to not only remember the place, but also to share the experience with others. Of course, photos of the place alone is a good way to remember it but with you in a photo with the view as the backdrop makes it more personal. It's like you are telling the world you were there without vandalizing the place. Here's a photo I took when I visited Legoland, Malaysia.

•  It's my birthday. One way for me to cherish being a year older is to take a photo of myself. Here's the photo I took last year. I decided to celebrate my birthday in Manila with family and friends. This photo was actually taken at the airport while waiting for boarding.
  
   

• I like my makeup. I seldom have a perfectly done makeup and when I do, well, I usually take a picture of myself.

• I simply like how I look. I bet most of us have these moments when we think we look our best without the use of makeup. In other words, we are like "glowing". During these moments, I highly encourage for everyone to snap a photo of yourself. Rare moments should be captured. Here's a photo I take when... I really don't know when, as it's a spur of the moment one.

 

These are some of the reasons why I take photos of myself. As you may have noticed, I do it for myself. For boosting my confidence and for remembrance. Whether I share it with the world or keep it to myself, it is for me to decide.

I am sure everyone has reasons for doing it, even posting their photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. And if you are one of those people who gets irritated when their friends do it, kindly keep your comments/reactions to yourself. After all, it's their account and you have the choice to hide them on your timeline, unfollow their twitter account and Instagram account.