Marina Mandarin Hotel

My mom booked a room at the Marina Mandarin Hotel in Singapore.

In fairness, maganda yung hotel.

Their service was excellent. My mom requested an early check-in and late check-out and they happily accommodated her request.

Here's a view of the bars and restaurant of the hotel.

Here I am stressing over my phone. Bumili kasi ako ng sim card sa airport, when I place them sim in my phone, it wiped out my phone. As in, nawala lahat ng laman ng phone ko. I don't know if it was an issue on the side of the carrier or ganun lang talaga pag naglagay ka ng ibang sim sa Blackberry.

The pillows were either Goose or Down. I could never make out the difference of both. The beds and sheets were amazing. I love the spring mattress. Great for my back.

The bathroom. Yun lang.

They didn't have that many channels I could watch but they had HBO, Fox Movies, Starworld and Cartoon Network which was good enough for me.

Since nagyoyosi kaming dalawa ni Mama, she requested a room where we can smoke. Ayan ang terrace kung saan kami nagyoyosi ng nanay ko.

The view from our room during the day.

The view from our room at night. It's breathtaking. Ang sarap magmoment hahaha.

This is by far one of the best hotels I've been in. My only complaint is that the room did not come with free Wifi. =(

For their Wifi, you'd have to pay a certain amount depending on how long you plan to use it.

Thank God I was able to get my Blackberry Internet Service to work, I didn't really need Wifi anymore.

Great hotel and the staff was amazing. Two thumbs up.

Medyo mahal nga lang ang rooms nila. I asked my mom how much was it per night. Di ko kinaya ang price hahaha.

Singapore Day 1 (Around the City)

For my Mom's birthday this year, she wanted to celebrate in Singapore.

So ayun, we left for SG on the 21st of January at 5AM. 

We arrived at around 9AM and went straight to the hotel.

My mom scheduled some tours for us for that day.

Kesa magkwento ako, eto nalang :)

Safely landed in SG.

At Marina Square on our way to the Duck Tour

On board "The Duck" which is a vehicle that travels on both land and sea.

Something fountain which they said is the biggest fountain in the world.

The Duck, waterbound.

Hongbao River

Outside the bus, on our way to the Singapore Flyer.

Singapore Flyer. To think, I have this fear of heights.

View from inside the flyer.

It was a fun day.

We went around SG and got to see some landmarks.

After the tour, we went back to hotel to rest a bit. 

What happened that evening was a dream come true for me.

I watched Wicked The Musical.

(To be continued...)

Keepsake Bakeshop

Because of the amount of work I've been doing lately, I needed a planner to make sure I wont forget anything.

I know I have a Blackberry and one of its main purpose is to be an organizer but I still prefer using a planner. I'm old school that way.

So I searched online until I came across this gem on Facebook called Keepsake Bakeshop.

They had this really cute Paris-inspired planner so I ordered one.

It was suppose to be delivered the next day but it took 3 days. It was the couriers fault. She used XEND which I swear has the worst customer service people ever. They could not even determine where my package was.

The owner of Keepsake Bakeshop, Sheela, was very apologetic and updated me everyday as she tracked my parcel. She also agreed that the next time I order, she'll ship it through LBC instead. Very professional, which is a very good thing in my book.

It has a Weekly and Monthly organizer. Beri beri kyut!

There are also pages for taking down notes and what not.

Take a look at some of their other items:

I'm a sucker for things cute. Hahaha.

To see their other products and/or to order, just click here to visit their Facebook Page.

I highly recommend them. Very good service and the item was really nice.

PiADiNa

Robinson's Galleria.

"So what do we do now?", he asked.

"I don't know", I answered.

"Wanna grab something to eat?"

"Ok. Where?"

We were in the second floor and there were several restaurants.

"Choose: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5?", he asked with a smile

"1", I answered.

"PiADiNa"

"Alright"

While waiting for my food to arrive, he was checking something on his laptop. I on the other hand, was reading this book. He speaks French very fluently, so I'm brushing up on my French.

There are times when he would talk to me in French. I'd understand the gist of what he's saying. But I have a hard time answering back.

He said he does that to serve as practice for me.

After 20 minutes, the food arrived.

I ordered calzone and their pasta of the day.

He ordered baked chicken and their pasta of the day.

The food was good. He said his order cost more but the serving of mine was more fulfilling.

I wasn't that hungry because I had lunch a few hours earlier.

I finished my pasta and gave him more than half of my calzone.

After eating, we went to Tom's World to play some arcade games.

It was a fun afternoon.

I'm still smiling as I write this.

By the way, before any of you get any ideas. He's a friend.

Just a friend.

Okay? Okay.

Baggage

"Nasa office ka pa ba?", tanong ng kaibigan kong si Rich sa Facebook.

"Yes"

"What time out mo?"

"8pm. Why?", tanong ko.

"Gusto ko maglamyerda, wait mo kami ni Maynard hahaha", sagot niya.

"Saan ba kayo?"

"Maliligo lang ako tapos dadaanan ko siya then punta kami diyan sa office niyo sunduin ka namin", sabi niya.

Mga bandang 8:30 na nang dumating sila sa office para sunduin ako.

"Saan tayo?", tanong ko.

"Sa Tides", sagot ni Rich.

Pagdating namin sa Tides, punong puno ang lugar. May pila talaga sa labas. Kaloka lang.

Patuloy na nag-drive si Rich hanggang sa mapadpad kami sa Gerardos.

Ayun sakto. May parking space na, may bakanteng mga upuan pa sa loob.

Wala kami sa mood uminom ni Maynard nun kaya si Rich lang ang uminom. Kami ni Maynard, nag iced tea.

Umorder kami ng food, pulutan/dinner ang drama ng meal.

Nagkwentuhan kami tungkol sa mga buhay buhay namin. Mga bagong kadramahan, etc.

Nabanggit ko sa kanila na nag-apply ako na peer counselor ng Love Yourself Project.

It's a group that helps the LGBT community. Yes dear readers, I'm planning to make a difference, or something to that effect.

Biglang napagkwentuhan namin ang father ni Rich na nasa ibang bansa at ang relationship ni Maynard sa magulang niya.

Apparently, matagal na palang hindi umuuwi ng Pilipinas ang tatay ni Rich at si Maynard naman, hindi pala out sa family niya.

Well, nagparamdam na siya noon pero hindi pa daw niya sinasabi straight out sa magulang niya that he's gay. He said na may idea na daw sila.

Kwinento ko sa kanila ang coming out story ko. Natuwa sila kung gaano ka-supportive si mudra.

In fairness naman sa nanay ni Maynard, tanggap na niya na ganun si Maynard. It's his father that's having a hard time coping with it.

Si Rich naman, kahit papaano, may sama ng loob din sa tatay niya.

As some of my loyal readers would know, I've also had issues with my father in the past.

Kaming tatlo, mas malapit kami sa mga nanay namin.

Nakakatuwa nung gabing yun, tatlo kaming magkakasama. Tatlo kaming malalakas ang mga personalidad. Tatlo kaming masayahin.

Pero pareho din kaming tatlo, may kanya kanyang dinadamdam. May kanya kanyang mga bagay na pinapasan.

I think that's the reason why we find comfort and solace in each other.

We don't like boring people. Gusto namin masaya lagi para kahit sa sandaling panahon, makalimutan namin ang mga bagay na bumabagabag sa amin.

We don't need more drama. Our lives are already overly-dramatic as it is.

I guess it is true what they say.

Kung sino yung mga masasaya, yun ang ginagamit nilang defense mechanism. They put on this brave façade because they're the one's with excess baggage.

Most of my friends are like that. Mas nakakasundo ko ang mga taong ganun.

Kasi we can all understand, in a way, what the other person is going through.