My Cravings!!!

Time Check, it's 12 noon... No lunch yet and I had only 2 pandesal for breakfast. Maybe my blood sugar is already dropping, hands cold and clammy and a little bit tipsy. But I have to wait patiently. They're still cooking. As of now, I am practicing my new found picture editor in "picnik". Oh noes, I could not find any other photos to edit. All I could see is food all over. My mouse looks like a chocolate to me, yeah for real, I am starving, alleluah!!

So here's my first try... the collage!

Friends with the same feathers flock together. And if there's one common denominator with us is that, we are all "matatakaw!". We splurge a lot for food, everywhere, anywhere! And guess what's our favorite? rice! rice! rice! Well, that is my personal favorite too.... I always go for extra rice. Isn't it ironic? We binge a lot, we aim to gain weight, but we are all skinny. My golly.. Anyhow, we never lose hope. We starve, we crave, we binge, all for the glory of somehow getting fat!

So this is how we crave and these are the few of my favorite food!
From left, that is from seafood island... Imagine, 3 lang kami kumain nyan... And burp, excuse us but naubos namin yan!!! We eat like construction workers... But we look like we're always gutom. I'm always weighing myself and sigh, a kilo for a month is already tantamount to a sack of rice. (exage lang!) lol...

Then the ice cream. I have ice cream buddies, and this is our comfort food. Whenever emo days struck us, there's always ice cream to rescue! We go to ice cream house, or my new fave yogurt, or kahit ice scramble lang, solve na! lastly, the crabs!!! Actually that is what I want to eat right now. Sigh, but hotdog and lumpia is the only thing we have for lunch... Geezzz, so isipin ko nalang, crabs yun! hehe

O sya, sya, so much for these cravings. I am seriously hungry!!! Now who could have thought that a skinny girl like me could have an appetite as big as a hippo?! ^^

LOVE

I have visited my previous blogs in (multiply.com), then there was one entry that caught my attention. It was entitled, "100 things I wanna do before I die."

It was funny to know that I was just 19 years old when I wrote this blog. Now that I am 26, I realized that I am almost halfway upon reaching those 100 things I want to do. So, does this mean that I'm halfway before the day I'm gonna die? haha... Nah,,,, Ayoko pang mamatay and day by day, my dreams vary and of course, dumadami na yung mga gusto kong gawin.

Then suddenly, I got stunned by my 78th dream. It said: I wanna have a foundation of my own someday for the unfortunate children who could not go to school...

I realized, it was really something big! Yes, a big dream I wanna reach one day. But how??? First, I am not yet rich..ME. Not yet. Rich. Sigh.

I then came researching on how to sponsor a child to school. And then I saw some ads on google.

World Vision!! Perfect! If the time comes that I won't be able to have a foundation on my own, because I believe it's way too dreamy to do so, maybe sponsoring a child to school would be something that could alternate my dream. Oh, why not? I, myself have been an iskolar ng bayan. I have survived my college years as a nursing student with my tuition fee half paid by the government/CHED, and I needed to maintain high grades... It was a great feeling though that I was able to help my parents lessen their burden...So maybe one day, I will be happy seeing a child who'll be able to finish school because of....uhmm, me!

when I was browsing, I found these pictures of celebrities who have a big heart, and made me smile.

KC concepcion

Jolina Magdangal (oh gosh, she has her own foundation. So inggit ako. Okay, she's rich)

(Bianca Gonzales on Unicef)

Isn't it so moving to know that even these popular celebrities do have a time to share their hearts to the little ones? well I believe it is a great feeling to do so. And touching someone's heart is worth more than a trip to Europe (as I have been dreaming too for so long.)

Now let me share my own happy encounters with the little kiddos.

As a nurse, I barely could attend volunteer programs like, early childhood education in the barrios, though my sister is an early childhood teacher. As much as I want to, ako na ang babaeng walang pahinga. Isang dakilang nurse! So what do you expect? Everyday I am touching lives, and I could never leave my patients. Then, one day, I was called by our supervisor if I could volunteer and sacrifice my 1 precious day off to have my duty as a nurse for the free "Operation Smile". (free operation for the children who have cleft lip/palate, in short bingot). before I could say no, my heart already said yes. Okay, Yes, I did it. I was just so surprised that there were a number of them. And I was the only one who showed up for the 50++ babies I think??! Whoah, d ko ata kaya, I thought. Good thing, 2 other nurses came up. (because I insisted to have someone else..hehe) Tao lang! D ako superwoman!

Operation smile indeed! It was not only the mommys we have created "smile" on their faces but also us were fulfilled afterwards. Of course ironic it may seem but we made the babies cry out-loud! (with all the tusok and medicines)

Another little thing I have made for God was...for two consecutive Christmas, I went to Baclaran with my friends to give away little presents to the street children. Ano lang ba ang konteng laruan, pagkain at damit? But for them, it was priceless!!!

See? I know I was not able to accomplish my 78th wish yet. Not exactly as I wished it to be. But if ever I won't be able to, I promise to myself that I would be helping and reaching out in my own little ways. I believe I am so much blessed already with so many things by God. He has spoiled me with whatever I pray. Parang lahat ng hinihiling ko, eh bininigay nya. Now, this is gratitude. And believe it or not, it's an innate feeling. Nobody told me to be this generous. I learned it myself. Being loved teaches you to love even more. So  don't let hatred nor greediness reside in your heart. Hate is such a strong word....

Make it lighter...
Love!!! =)

Thank you!

Let me first have a deep sigh. I just felt like having a great relief after panting from a long run. I know that no one in this world knows what I have been through all this time. I have been proud of myself that I was able to cover up my pain with laughter and smiles, that each day I am trying to create for me to survive.

Well, God knows what. He knows every little thing that I was and am feeling. That is why I never hid anything from HIM. I cried, I ignored my pain, and confided only to Him.

I have this line from Paulo Coelho that said, "writing is a way of praying in solitude". 

And this is what I am doing right now. I wanted God to hear my heart through this.

I need not to tell you what was making me cry. I believe it would not matter anyway. But today, I just have felt God's grasp. I felt that after all, finally, He has given me my heart's desire. I have been praying over and over everyday, and I don't even know if God has been deafened from my unrelenting prayers. But truly, I wanted it to be heard.

I sat down. I told Him I am already tired. I lifted everything to Him. And I said, "pagod na po ako." It's all up to You now.

I give up. I am no longer expecting, but still I am hoping....

As I opened my email today, it brightened up my day upon hearing the good news. God knows how happy I was. My anxiety raised up to the point of a result to a projectile vomiting (seriously). I was so tearful. Finally, God heard my prayers. 

As much as I want to share the good news, I held my breath and stopped myself. Soon, in due time, it will be revealed. But as of now, I just wanna say,

Thank you, God!

My Soul Sister

Ever since my parents were away, I had no other folks left home but my siblings...I thought I would get as much liberty as I could. But then..... it was even harder...

My sister is really strange..
She's sweet but very moody
She talks a lot. When i say, a Lot, it's really a LOT! Di yan nauubusan ng kwento. Whenever she starts talking, as if she remembers every detail of her stories at work, and even the people she encounters on streets. Most of the time, I pretend to be listening. Coz if I won't, she'll get mad and rawr!!!
She loves to watch a lot of movies at home. And whenever she does, she wants me to watch too, kahit pa ayoko. kulang nlng hawakan nya ako sa ulo para makapag concentrate...
The worse is, she's very jealous. Dapat on my rest days, sya lang ka date ko, at wala ng iba. Whenever I'm texting anybody, she's peeking.
Then I always have a curfew. I MUST go home at the time she wants, or else....... (patay tayo jan)

So on a weekly basis, everytime I am free from work, most of the time, this is what we do...

Stay at home, watch movie, face the computer, then go to ATC (Alabang Town Center), shop (try as many clothes as we can), babalikan pag sale na, eat squid balls, zagu, sometimes watch movie, grocery, go to powerbooks, then repeat!!!

 It's so routine... everytime we go there, parang dejavu lang..

 I really wanna buy these stuffs from Topshop and Kamiseta, but then again, I know I have lots of priorities right now. So sige, babalikan ko nlng pag sale na.

Then, I remembered that I would be attendending my cousin's debut next month and I still don't have anything to wear. the theme would be, "confessions of a shopaholic". So it must be so teeny look. I tried this. Oh well, I reminded myself not to be impulsive. And buti nalng, my inner self is just so obedient. I did not buy it....


After that, I went home. Suddenly, I feel a sudden shift of mood. It made me realize that in few weeks time, I would finally get a dose of my independence since my sister is flying to Japan already to work. Sometimes it's a boon, and sometimes a bane. I'm gonna miss being scolded, but it's time for me to stand on my own feet and grow up after all... bye bye sistah!

The Confessions of an always-complaining-NURSE!

I rarely talk about my work-related stories. I seldom blog when it comes to my job. I got a gazillion reasons for not doing so, and the top of them is that, whenever I think about it, it is digging through my veins, that reminds me of how stressful life is!

And today must be a rare day, because I am writing this!

So on a daily basis, may it be Morning, PM, or Night shift, I always have to drag myself to work. Every time I have to imagine the day at work, I always have to pray soooo hard, na sana  BENIGN (in layman's term, sana hindi busy and critical ang patients.)

And one thing about me is that, outside work, I am so hyperactive. Para akong kiti-kiti and super energetic to talk, and I walk and move so fast. Then I don't know why, but pagdating sa work, suddenly, I'm so lowbat. My head bangs to and fro as if my serotonin (sleeping hormone) is so high that keeps me so narcoleptic.

So on our Christmas Party the "Gagamba Award" goes to...... ME!!!
Bakit nga ba gagamba? They explained it. Kasi daw, ang gagamba, pag naihipan, tulog na. nyorks?! okay fine...

I know that every time I pray that the duty will be smooth and swabe, though fate always favor my prayers, I am guilty of being so "mareklamo". Once and for all, I always wanna escape the doom days. I always have to pray that my schedule would be super nice. And God is good, I always got great shifts....

But then again, over and over I keep on complaining...

At some point in my life, whenever I do rant and rant over and over again about my job, I could almost believe that maybe, being a nurse is really a so-called, "CALLING"!!! why? well, uhmmm....just think of it. when it wasn't a calling, then why on earth did I ended with a job I am not indeed happy doing so? Somebody tell me, WHY???!! Somebody's got to be pulling me and gravity is just so irresistible.... Thus, the "calling" happens.

So what do we do that I always complain???

Whenever the intercom rings....dumbidumdum! eto lang yan eh, either,

 "pa change po ng Diaper, the never ending suction!!! we always pronounce it as "sekshon" with wrinkles on our forehead, ung IV line may dugo, d tumutulo ang dextrose, worse, yung "paabot po ng remote".... My golly, as much as we try to rant and rant at the station, syempre pag dating sa room ng patient, with a smile and soft voice, we should  say, "ano po un Mam/sir?!" deng, ang plastik lang.

At sinong nurse ang d gumagawa nito, batukan ko lang....

Of course the courtesy call...Sa tuwing nagriring ang phone, it's as if everyone's shaken, "wag nmn admission or trans-in". Then when we answer, a sudden voice shift happens, "thank you for calling...blah blah blah". So we were trained like that. A bipolar-like person who has dual personality. And so, it has always been a no-no to be a nurse who is short-tempered.

So these are just the few things that makes a life of a nurse lighter on a daily basis.

We do starve a lot!!! Well, we work for 8 hours, and sometimes we do it 12-16 hours at most. And take note, we never do have a break. I mean a formal meal break. We just have to manage our time for us to feed our empty stomachs. So, it is such a pleasure when there would be thoughtful patient who would remember to give something. Minsan, kahit isang tinapay lang eh sobrang appreciated na!

And of course, depende sa kaduty and kaendorse ang severity ng duty. Whenever I am with cool and "efficient" stuffs, mas swabe ang duty. You can see me smiling when I can go downstairs, stay at the canteen, (at the vendo machine) for the refreshments, and sometimes, playing "angry birds....(hihi)

On a lighter note, we as much as possible make our life lighter by joking around, taking pictures, and binge, as much as possible when it is not a busy....

Madami pa, madaming madami pa! iniisip ko pa lang, nakakasuka na Sigh!

Honestly, I wanna be another person. I know that I could no longer get rid of that RN title of mine, but maybe in the near future, I could be someone else. I want a life!!! And I am sick of nursing other people's lives.... I think I am losing mine....But at the end of the day, and even if the world ends on 2012, I will always have that RN thing at the end of my surname.

God save the nurse! =)

Pilipinas!!!

I have always been inspired of the blogs about different personalities who have almost toured around the world. I just remember when my sister told me that she could not sleep upon reading all the travel blogs of "Patty Laurel". It was like 28 countries at the age of 28. Then I told her, I even had watched on TV when an old lady confessed that she had made it to 54 countries already....whoah! That is so amazing!

I believe I have become a fan of traveling since I have appreciated a different culture from beyond and actually witnessed it. And that is worth seeing by everyone! It's a nice feeling when after few days of touring to different countries, there would always this urge to come back to your homeland because you just miss the food (sinigang, sangkatutak na kanin, adobo, bagoong, mangga, and all those na that is eaten only in the Philippines). The friendly faces (na d ka magiging dayuhan). And everything talaga mamimiss mo. So then I began to reminisce the beautiful places I have been to sa Pinas. So I started...

Byahe na!

Mindanao: Dakak beach Resort!

Most people are scared to go to this place because of the so-called "Abu Sayaff" thingie, I know right?! But well lucky me, this is the place where I grew up, and most people should have missed a part of their life because this place is incredibly beautiful!

That's me on jetski! What made this picture fake is that I was not on life jacket. Meaning, I just grabbed that pose for picture sake. haha

After few years of stay in Mindanao, we transferred in Luzon where I started to spread my own wings and started to fly, enjoying my own independence.

I have to enumerate some few popular places I have been to, but need not to reiterate because I have blogged about them already before (Boracay, Cebu, Palawan, Anawangin, Bataan, Davao City).... They were priceless!

Then, out of the blue, I realized, "Hey, hindi pa ako nakapunta ng Manila Zoo!" Seriously, I have been so curious about the stories I have been hearing from my childhood friends.. As I said, I grew up in Mindanao that is why we never had experienced the famous "Manila Zoo" field trip. Sabi nila, wag ko na daw puntahan. True enough, I have been to Safari Zoo in Indonesia, pero the thought of going to Manila Zoo ay di pa din mawala sa aking isipan.

So last year, at a very unexpected event, when I was waiting for a ride somewhere in Malate, I saw Manila Zoo. So I told myself, this is it! tara na! pasukin na natin....

So there goes, my very first time in Manila Zoo at the age of 25!

me and the friendly ostrich. Ilang try akong buhatin ng Manong bago ako nakapag balance.

With my very supportive friend, Olah. Pagbigyan nyo na ako. first time ko to eh

Well, obviously, I got terrified and satisfied. So much about my Manila Zoo Experience. At least dba? Naranasan ko din!

Now, let's go somewhere that is soooo Pilipinas!

Coregidor Island!

My cousin came home from Saudi and that she told me that I should go with them to Coregidor Island. I was kinda hesitant because I was actually from a 12 hour night shift duty. I could not imagine how I would survive the day when I was sleepless the whole night. Then my cousin said (who was also a Doctor), "Ako nga 36 hours d natutulog pag duty, cge na please?!". Okay so I could not say anything more.

Baby let's cruise to Coregidor!

When we got there, I was like doomed into a time machine at bumalik sa sinaunang panahon. Welcome to the retroic place. It was awesome! Truly, it was so Filipino-ish place, even the food and the tour guide was so tagalog!

As far as I could remember, this place was the actual footage of the place where the Spanish has thrown a grenade..Okay, pinasabog daw to. (kelangan may tagalog transalation?)

I was not actually so attentive with the tour guide. So here yeah, with my niece. We were having our own thing- Pictorial!

So after all, who said I was sleepy then? i was H_A_P_P_Y!


Next: The not-so-adventurous place: Lago de Oro (Batangas)
Whenever my sister got home from abroad, she would always plan for a trip to somewhere away from home. My always-favorite trip is out of the country, but most of the time, when she has low budget for it, we just stay Pinas. Then she said, Let's go to Lago de Oro!!!

I know that I have a sporty side of me. But this time, I admitted, d ko to kaya! My brother though tried the wakeboarding...

So after a few semplang, I overheard someone singing, "great things start small beginnings"....lalalala...
Then when I told him about it, he finally quit! nyahaha... He was like so mayabang at first, then his ego decelerated to zero level... Nice try bro!

Bro: Ayoko na yang ulitin!

So, NEXT!!!

Well, kung merong disneyland sa ibang bansa, who says Philippines don't have? I heard from one friend that the Fantasy world in Batangas is really awesome!

truly, it was fantastic. Sad to say, it isn't functional anymore. We inquired about the place, and the care taker told us that it only open for people for picture sake. Aww!

 Then on my 25th Birthday, I spent it with my favorite girls in a homey place in Batangas, The Golden Sunset.

My friends danced the Tinikling! I was so shy to do so, thus I just watched them.... It was really a great Birthday Bash!

So much about my Pilipinas!!!

So from every now and then, no matter how far I have been through from out of the country, I should say, there's a lot awesome Philippine places we ought to be proud of.

There's no indeed place like home. Every time I go places, I always have that thought of comparing things and sceneries. And somehow, I am so thankful of the places I have been. Do you know that feeling when you know that no matter far you have been, there's always that home you want to go over and over?

I have always been in love with beaches. It was where I grew up... So remember, home is where your heart is.

WAG MAGING DAYUHAN SA SARILING BAYAN!

The heartbreaker and the heartboken

We always have a time for the story of a person who broke his heart. We listen to the cries and rants about his pain. We defy the story, because we could hear the sobs and see the tears of a broken heart. We always know how a broken-hearted person feels like. In one way or another, we strongly believe that anybody should not feel that way.

But how about the story of the heartbreaker? Could it be a happy one? Does he/she laughs out loud because he/she made a soul cry? Broke somebody else's heart? Definitely not. Personally, breaking someone's heart is the most painful thing that could happen in one's life. It is so hard to see someone bleeding because he thinks you are his happiness, loves you but you could not love back. It's so painful to know that there's this one person who believes that you could change his life, but you just could not repay back just because your heart beats the other way around. It's sad, just how painful reality bites....But after all, the most liberating feeling is to tell the truth before the damage would worsen.

These past few days, I have been in hearing a lot of boy talks since my shiftmates were all boys most of the time. Sometimes, it's hard to be in the midst of the talks you just could not relate. However, what I did not come to realize is that, it's sometimes healthy to listen to a heart of a man. There were a lot of questions that have been answered. Queries that I most likely would like to hear from someone I like, but I just could not dare to ask.
 
Then the untold stories woke me up from the realities I failed to realize. 

Well, for a girl like me, which I bet almost all girls would agree, it has always been a no-no to show a guy what you really feel, not until when he told you so. We, girls would always want an assurance, so we won't be labeled as "assuming". But on the other side of the story, guys do think the other way around. As much as girls try to hide their feelings, it also pushes away a guy, fearing that he might get rejected. I had this guy friend who told me that he fears "rejection" so much. He said, "kung d nagpapakita ng kahit konting motibo yung girl. D nako tumutuloy. Hindi nmn sa sigurista ako. Ayoko lang magmukha akong tanga." At first, I came arguing with him. I told him that a guy could never gain anything without the guts! As much as I wanna win the conversation, I got bombarded with 3 opinions (all were from a guy's point of view). So then I thought, maybe "all guys are just merely scared of rejection-that is, coming from a girl they really like/love.

So what if you really don't like someone? How could you tell him in the nicest way? Or....is there even a good thing on rejecting someone? Definitely, no! It hurts, I know. but on the part of the "heartbreaker", do you think it's as easy as saying NO?! Of course not!

As much as we would not want to hurt anybody, things just happen unexpectedly. Just as much as we must learn and accept to be fooled by guys, they should also learn how to accept rejection. On the part of the girl, "mas magmumukha bang tanga pag nabasted ka? O pag sinagot mo na at niloloko mo lang pala?"

I must admit that they had a point. They told me that at the end of the day, "boys will be boys", but they will always end up to the one they truly love. Well, I must say that, "girls will be girls and we are most vulnerable of getting hurt that rejection is the finest way to protect ourselves, but in the wisest decision we should have....

For the guys,
There's nothing wrong with telling someone what you really feel---REGARDLESS!

For the girls,
I think there's nothing wrong of showing a little bit of your feelings if you really love him----REGARDLESS!

What A Journey It has Been...

I was approached by someone who was not so close to me and told me that he has been reading my blogs. He told me that I was indeed been a great influence to other people's lives without me knowing it. I then started to download a "fidjeet", to somehow track my blog readers and I was shocked to see that I have a lot of readers from all over the country of different places. I have no idea how accurate it was, but then I was just got so flattered that those thoughts of mine matter to some people.

Well, i have been blogging for almost 8 years already. However, different blogsites emerged that I keep on hopping from one site to another.

At this moment, I intentionally created this page to rant and rant about everything without restrictions but with limitations. The most common thing that I rant about is that, "I'm tired! and Tired! and tired! over and over! i began to ask, "Where did I get that stupid idea of being a nurse?" Ooppps, sorry for the word. ha-ha

Then, I realized that no matter how I try to whisper it softly (my rants),,, God hears me. How??!

Okay this.... I believe I have this supernatural power to talk to God and I am so much spoiled by Him. (walang kokontra, paniniwala ko yun. At naniniwala akong malakas ako kay God, whatever u say, skeptics!)

When I was a kindergarten, I was asked by my teacher, "What would you like to be when u grow up?"
On stage, I stood up and said, "When I grow up, I want to be a nurse!"

Inocentes de Pobres ang drama.... I was 5 years old here. I don't know what I was saying about, but I was praying that I would become a nurse. What a wrong wish! I should have prayed to become a millionaire, eh di sana narinig na agad ni God. But proudly, I was a witty kid before. (pers honor daw ako nito). That was before, okay, everything is changing, so does my neurons!

Then fastforward..tentenenen! I am now a full-pledged, always tired and complaining "NURSE".
After I graduated, I could not wait any longer for my license, and so I worked as a korean teacher for a month. Then I prayed, "Lord sana magkawork na agad ako para may pera nako agad." It was a magical feeling that I got hired so fast at Han Maum Academy, and I had so much fun! But then, it was just a temporary madness...

When I knew that I passed the boards, I got hired at one of the prestigious hospitals in Manila. Wala na akong pinagpray na ibang hospital kundi dun lang. I don't know why, but I was so stocked with that thought that sa Capitol Medcial Center lang talaga ako. I was claiming it with finality na sa CAPITOL lang ako magwowowrk at wala ng iba. Truly, I got hired....(so fast! galing ni God noh?)

I couldn't ask for more. I had a very nice workplace, very kind boss, super sweet staffmates and a reasonable salary in the Philippines. I even got a bonus of a very cheerful dorm life!

I got these 2 kikay room mates, Wendee, (a workmate from Capitol and Let, a college buddy). We get along a lot! Para lang kami nagbabahay bahayan everyday and there were no dull moments.

However, I don't know why I was still not contented with my life then. I still asked for something that I would not be tired. At first, I planned to go abroad right there and then that even if it broke my heart, I left and resigned from my everdearest workplace. I then again asked God. "Lord, gusto ko po pa rin nmn maging nurse pero gusto ko hindi ako napapagod."

I felt like God was running my life with whatever my heart desired. He made everything happened. After a month, I got hired in a company as a Hotel nurse! Wow, I was really overwhelmed. I told myself that it was a perfect job for me. I would just sit down like a receptionist and still, I am working with my profession.

Tralalala.... 1-2weeks was so perfect! I was just sitting pretty everyday. Until the day I got so much bored. i felt so bobo sitting down, doing nothing and waiting for the time for me to go home... Then again, I said, I wanna quit! I did! i only worked there for only a month... Then I finally became a bum nurse! I know I was a loser but then I knew that I was not happy anymore. I asked God another chance to start over.

Maybe I was just a lucky kid that I got hired at Brent International School to teach little kids. They hired me just because I passed the English Proficiency Exam. There I said, "Promise, d ko na to pakakawalan til I end up to working at the hospital again."

This time, I fell in love with my job. I fell in love with the Korean kids, and the place, and my salary. It was then I started to become more responsible with my savings and my decisions.

All of a sudden, I felt the need for me to go back to the place where I belong- the hospital. It was creepy but then I prayed, "God, ayoko man pong magwork sa hospital na to pero kelangan ko na pong magwork. Please give me this chance to bring back what I lost and I promise, I will not break my contract of 2 years and I will be satisfied."

2 weeks after that prayer, I got hired at DLSUMC! That was the living proof that God resides in my heart no matter what.

I found peace and happiness in this place. It's almost 3 years already and still I am here. Now I believe I have already been overdue with my promise and that I need to take another step forward.

 But wait.... There was one funny prayer that came true. While i was watching the "America's Next Top Model" it suddenly rushed my thought, "Lord, bakit yung ibang tao, magpopose lang nmn sa camera, magpapaganda, and it's like they won a genetic lottery of being lucky to be beautiful and instant rich. D ba ako pwdeng maging ganun?"

Wala lang naman, naisip ko lang. But then, it was so strange that one day I got invited for a photoshoot. damn, para akong matutunaw sa hiya. i can't even smile coz I kept on squirting my face... After the first pictorial, I was invited for a PAID photoshoot. Oh, lumelevel up! So change profession na ba ito? I never thought I would be going through this crazy stuff. I began to wonder, what on earth am i doing with my life?

Oh ha?! Kunwari lang yan confident. ha-ha-ha! Well, I then realized that modeling is not indeed as easy as eating a pie. No it wasn't. maintaining your poise under pressure and under short notice was so DAMN hard and embarrassing. So that was just a taste of a bitter model wannabe. At least i tried, dba? and I made it, kahit papaano.

Hmmmmmm..... As of Today, I believe that God is working on my next prayer. I am crossing my fingers....
I have a time frame. After this next BIG prayer, I am wishing and hoping that I will finally end up my being single life. Of course I wanna be a full pledge-not-complaining-and-never-be-tired to become a loving wife and mother someday. Oh, that's soooo fetch!

Kidding aside, In everything that I have been through, I learned a lot from it. I learned to be contented and happy, patient for my prayers, determined and consistent. And no matter how many times my heart got broken, God never failed me. He was always there no matter what and I believe until the end, He will be. =)

The Secrets of the Thrifty Travellers

After I went through some tasks today, I tried to elevate my feet to have good venous return of blood and somehow relieve my aching extremities. Then I came staring my feet. Funny but I just felt like those 2 pairs have gone through a lot and there's just so much stories to tell. Then here I am, starting to blog and try as much as possible to tell the stories my traveling feet have been through with my favorite traveling partner, my friend (Janet).

I never thought that I could do those things (traveling)  for a not-so-well-compensated-nurse-like-me, who always have a tight budget for everything.
In fact, when I was a kid, I thought that going to places is just a luxurious thing for people who are super duper rich. Then things just happened like a genie in a bottle appeared and made things possible for a wishful girl like me...

Then I met this friend of mine, Janet. She's also a nurse whom, I never thought I could share a lot of my traveling memories with. We started to click when we went to join the company outing in Palawan in 2009.

I remember this day when she woke me up and said, "Jen, sobrang ganda sa labas." Gaddd, we were hopping for joy and we did not even realize that exage na kami kung makapagreact. Palawan was just the first start of our adventure. It was then we realized that we indeed would click when it comes to traveling...

That's when we started to plan our next trip. With our very tight budget, we decided to go to Jakarta, Indonesia, where my sister was working. First, we would be having a free housing plus the food. Well good for me, my sister sponsored my plane ticket and gave me an allowance. That was so awesome!

There we were at Dufan.... Enjoying every bits of our first time abroad. The people, the dialeact, and oops the smell (of the Indonesians-that-smells-like-onions), the customs, and of course the stares of the people that seems like we were the finest creatures on earth. haha Feeling foreigner lang eh...

We could not help ourselves taking pictures from all over.

 Then finally, we ran out of budget already that we just spent our time at home doing silly things.... Okay. low bat na!

Next stop: Hongkong and China!

I was really super hesitant when I knew that the next company outing would be Hongkong and China. My two close friends were so excited convincing me to join. Then again, I told them that I had some priorities and I don't have enough money for the allowance and food, since the accommodation and plane ticket would be c/o the company. I took a few "No" til I ended up with Oh noes, I made it!

Before the trip happened, we already planned our 3 meals for the 3-day tour. We bought a lot of noodles, canned goods, bread, and bottles of water. We just like having our panic buying... Takot lang magutom ang mga puritang turista.

Truly, for again first-timers in Disneyland, we were like the happiest kids alive. I could not explain or describe the happiness we had. We were so amazed with everything that we almost tried all the rides. What made it fun was we were both not scared of the rides!!! Weeeeeee....

Then I shared a little secret to them. I said, "when I was a kid, I told myself, Lord, makapunta lang ako ng disneyland, pwde nakong mamatay". Then I realized, this is it, and ayoko pang mamatay! lol

After few days, feeling namin, nangangayayat na kami sa kaka de lata. And we were insanely doing nothing but to crave for food.

So ganito ang nagagawa ng mga taong gutom... We just played around our room as if we were still happy... Tuloy lang ang ligaya... Picture fever!

Okay then, 3 countries in a row!!! We just took few months to rest and of course to save again, not for the rainy days but for the next trip ahead...Okay, what's on our mind? This time, my greatest wish for my 25th birthday was to spend it with the special people in a beautiful place. And since not all the special people are all not around, I just spent it with my favorite few....Syempre, present ulit si Janet.

Okay, that's was a simple but happy-almost-wish-come-true-birthday-wish!

Fastforward to the next trip! let's go South!
When I knew that my friend in Davao will be getting married, I was wishing I could attend but I got few problems. First, the budget again, then whom to go with? Okay, so the ever helpful friend and her very useful credit card came to the rescue! I didn't expect that Janet would agree to accompany me to a wedding of a friend she never knew.

So here we go, Davao!

Davao is indeed a place for adventurous and extremist people.. Well, it's us! We tried almost everything as far as we could. Sadly, we had so little time to do so... Well, we had to maximize our time and as much as possible, try everything we can.

The Davao specialty: Durian, the zipline, etc.

After all, na solve din ang aking dream to go to Davao.

Summer is fast approaching, and hmmmmm...looks like everyone's looking forward for our beach get away. Syempre mawawalan ba ng lakad? Thriftwise, we chose the Anawangin Island for our next destination.

Well, it was a wise pick, I should say. The island was heavenly! And as usual, as much as we could make tipid, we did it! We cooked our own food, and minsan, nabubuhay na din kami sa mga libre ng mga ateng galante...

I guess we already had a blast from the Philippine tours...
Boracay:

Of course, we tried the water activities...

Then, Subic!

I am much guilty of being so "brave wannabe" when I once dreamed to try the bungee jumping. That wish just vanished like a flash when I tried the treedrop from a 100 feet tree... My golly, I thought I would not wake up alive since I closed my eyes and dropped off from the tree... Hell yeah, I survived but never again!

After all these things, we always end up being guilty of splurging so much. But at the end of the day, babawi nalang kami with the thought of, "we are just treating ourselves after sweating from a tiring nursing job of changing diapers and linens and cleaning shits of our patients. We certainly deserve this". After that, plano na nmn... Saan tau sunod? We both agreed to go out of the country. so si Miss "promo fare", went browsing the net to find for cheapest flights....

Hello, macau, got yah!

That's the RUINS at our back.

THE VENETIAN! (which we both dreamed to try the Gondola, but we were too scared to know how much was it. Then the regrets happened when we knew that it was only 500 pesos and we did not even grabbed the chance. Oh, crap!)

So far, so good... We just had a good start touring around the Philippines, and now ASIA. We were still in the process of creating our dream to go to Europe. As for Janet, she's already on her way to achieving it soon as she will be visiting her family in Europe. And as for me, I am looking forward to working abroad, to God knows where (will be revealing soon).

As for the realizations for both of us, it is indeed not impossible to make your dreams come true. And dreams and good things are not just for rich people. We just need to be determined and wise enough to use our resources. Life is journey that we need to fulfill with good memories. We are all entitled for our own happiness. So make the best of you life too!