Singapore Lah!

Last June 16, my friends Blanca, Tiny, together with Tiny's friend Liza, and I boarded AirPhil Express' 3:20PM flight to Singapore from Cebu. We were to spend 6 days in Singapore for a holiday.

I must say, the immigration officers at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) are tough! They asked for a lot of documents from my friends (aside from the usual company ID that we know will be checked). After a few minutes of delay at the immigration counter, we breezed through the last security check before we settled in the waiting lounge.

When we got to Singapore's immigration counter, the only thing the immigration officer said to me was 'Good evening,' as a reply to my greeting. He did not even ask a single question!

Another college friend, Kirk, and his brother Don met us at the airport. Despite their suggestion, we chose to take the MRT instead of a taxi (or two taxis). Ha! We lugged our suitcases around as we moved from one train to the next, one station to the other.

We have already anticipated that we will be walking a lot around Singapore. In fact, I brought along some sneakers and flip flops just so I can go around Singapore comfortably.

For a Filipino earning in the Philippines, Singapore is just so expensive. But I had a lot of fun going around the different sights and attractions, meeting friends who have already called Singapore home, and just exploring a completely new place and culture with close friends.

We will definitely go back to Singapore. By then there will definitely be another new attraction to check out (Singapore Zoo's River Cruise, for one).

I'm sharing some pictures from our trip. Enjoy!

College Friends

I went to the State University.  I was an Iskolar ng Bayan - an Iska, if you may.  Embarassing as it may seem, I spent six years in college as I changed majors in between.

There were friends I met along the way, but there are only a few I hold dear.  My friends and I have our similarities and differences.  The similarities hold us close together, and our differences keep us unique.

In no particular order, I will name my closest friends:

1. Joan 

When I think of Joan, I think of the color green.  That is her favorite.  These days, Shanghai comes to mind.

Joan left for Shanghai, China late last year to pursue Mandarin studies.  

In our final year in college, we had this Business Plan, which was sort of our thesis.  We spent most of our time making this at Joan's house.  Her whole family was so accommodating of us and we felt right at home.

2. Tiny

Tiny, a.k.a. everything.com.  She has a lot of stored knowledge, trivia and tidbits about anything, and yes, everything.

She is my co-addict in Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese drama, movies, songs and artists.  

3. Choi

Choi always makes me laugh.  In college, somebody called her Jessica Soho, a Filipino journalist.  It may be because they have some similarities, and also because Choi has a future in journalism.

4. Blanca

She's one of my friends I feel I have the most similarities with.  She shares her problems with me, and I with her.  She's a very strong lady, a very good daughter, and a good friend.  She wouldn't think twice in helping her family out.

5. Lucy

It's sad, but I haven't seen Lucy in a while.  She must be busy with work.

She was our division's dancesport champion.  She's a very graceful dancer and a natural comic.  I remember we (with Blanca) made our Chicken Cordon Bleu for class.  We were so proud of it!  

I miss them all as we live in different parts of the world.  They were one of the reasons I loved going to school.  They keep me sane and grounded.

And I had to post my pic, according to Joan... So here it is.