the terminal

waiting for your flight inside the gate of an airport could be boring or exciting, depending on how you use your time. when in singapore airport, i'd normally have looong layover inside, like more than 4 hours...not that i choose my flights that way. i guess that when you make Singapore as a passing thru port, they make sure that you spend more time inside the airport or enough time to be outside and tour the city. the reason for this is because they want you to spend your money in their country, inside the airport or in the city. that's good tourism.

Changi Airport contains hosts of shopping stores, that you can almost find it a shopping paradise. the last time i was here, there were only the Terminal 1 and 2. now they've opened the Terminal 3. all of which are "punta-able" by the skytrain inside the airport. if you've been here you know that the two terminals are big enough, a few hours is not enough to see all...and still, they opened another terminal.

this is one airport you would want to spend time inside, sometimes not even wanting to leave yet even if your flight is boarding already. they make it this way so that people will want to stay and spend. it has nice food and coffee shops too....and oh, did i tell you that it has free wireless internet too?

well, i guess that's what a developed country is all about. being able to provide comfort and niceties to visitors.

i wish the time would come when we would also like to spend longer time inside our own NAIA airport, instead of always hurrying to come out of it as soon as our plane lands in Manila.

the airline crew is now calling our flight number for boarding...i wish i could stay behind longer.

bye for now, singapore...i'll see you on Thursday.

life isn't perfect, but it is good.

life could be a never-ending search for perfection....this i learned

sometime ago i discovered that no matter how hard we try to make things better for us, we at times fall flat on our faces with failure riding our backs....we just have to learn that life isn't perfect...i have learned to stop looking for perfection, and the moment i did, i have learned that what i have with me is the closest thing to it.

sarap ng tagalog

tagalog ang blog ko ngayon..baka kasi mabasa ng kausap kong mga banyaga sa isang mainitang pag-uusap patungkol sa kinabukasan ng mga kabataan sa lugar kung saan mahirap maabot ng isang natural at simpleng pamamaraan.

paminsan-minsan habang nag-uusap, sumusulat ako dito..hahaha.

ang sarap talagang mag-tagalog kapag isang linggo ka ng nagsasalita ng wikang banyaga, mula paggising hanggang pagtulog.

magkokomento ka lang tungkol sa bulaklak o lamok, iinglisin mo pa. imbis na sabihin mong "ang laki ng mga lamok dito", sasabihin mo pang "can you believe how big the mosquitoes here are?"...naks! ang hirap talaga.

simula ng pagmumog mo hanggang paghilik, ingles mga kaibigan. imbes na "glug glug glug", dapat "gargle gargle gargle".

sandali muna..ako na ang magsasalita sa usapan namin...ingles na naman, hay!

pagkalipas ng dalawampung minuto......

haba ng sinabi ko, puro ingles...hahaha...akala nila nagsusulat ako ng mga pinag-uusapan. pero nagsusulat ako ng mga gusto kong sabihin...hahaha.

hindi sa kawalan ng galang...nasabik lang ako sa ating sariling wika, kaya ako nagsusulat.

sige na, mga kalahi...akin na sila muling haharapin.

bye for now guys...este...paalam panandali mga kaibigan.

our home

thailand is fast becoming my second home. i've lost count on the number of times i've gone here, i've almost never have to adjust to their culture as it has almost become my second nature to act the way a thai person does.

i have fallen in love with thailand, because the people are so nice, friendly and very respectful...at least the people i have met. this could be attributed to their style of governance, which is monarchy. they have so much love and respect for their king...who is by the way the longest reigning king in the world, 60 years in throne...that it has become their nature to be respectful of others.

food is great and cheap, and their iced coffee is one drink you'd never want to pass up on.

everytime - and i really mean everytime - somebody would come up to me, he'd always talk to me in thai, because i look like thai. filipino facial features are very similar to thai features. this happens to me not only here in thailand, but in indonesia, cambodia and malaysia as well.

thailand is a lovely country (Phuket, so far is the best for me), but nothing beats home. home is where friends and family are.

i am travelling to asia in the next three weeks. and after several days of having been out, i would have had taken at least 10 different plane rides, gone in and out of 4 different countries, and checked in and out of 7 different hotels.

sounds glamorous? not at all, because there's nothing like home. i would rather be home with my family than be travelling crazy like this.

but this is God's call for me for now. i know He has called me to minister not only within the confines of my church but also outside and into the unchartered territories, so i can affect the destiny and lives of many people. i am totally submitted to God's purpose in my life right now. no matter how insignificant i think the things that I do for God, He has always reminded me that it is not the role that i play that is important but it is the purpose that i serve.

so wherever He takes me...thailand, malaysia, singapore or even to Payatas...i am so grateful that He has seen me useful for His kingdom. at the end of all our journeys, He'll take us where we will not want to go anywhere else - home.

things to do

i never believed in New Year's resolution, because i thought that it's only an excuse for the things you failed to do the previous year. it could become a vicious cycle if you're not really serious about "correcting" the "defects" you got yourself into.

but i do believe in to-do-list. it does put a positive pressure on you because the list will contain the things you want to accomplish the year you decide to do them. (actually, a to-do-list could also be good excuse for not believing in resolutions.)

i am listing mine, but this is more a wish-list than a to-do-list.

1. start hitting the gym again
2. eat healthy and live healthy (this means less carbo more protein, less meat more fruits and veggies for me)
3. read some more
4. drink more tea than coffee (whoa! am i really saying this?...this is one wish i hope not to fulfill, but will try still)
5. landscape our small front yard
6. manage my finances (or the lack thereof) better
7. sleep earlier and get up earlier in the morning
8. retire old clothings that have remained inside my closet for the longest time
9. study the Word some more
10. write some more

so there...i am putting pressure on myself by writing this down and letting everybody know what i hope to accomplish. the more witnesses you have, the more effort you exert.

and hey..this is my first official blog for 2008. so, i better get down on it.