Spotting Celebrity in LAX

I havent spotted an American celebrity except once when I happened to be at the Manila International Airport and I saw Tom Jones getting out of a car for his departure after a show in Manila.

We were lucky on January 24. We arrived in LA in the morning of January 24 and we were supposed to meet up with my sister Bambi who was also planing in from Canada at 9am on the same day. However she got the wrong flight and she arrived in the evening around 9:10 at Terminal 4 of LAX.

As I saw her flight from Ontario flashed the arrived sign, I waited patiently for her at the arrival gates when I noticed two paparazzis suddenly taking photos of arriving passengers. I certainly knew that a celebrity is coming but I havent seen any celebrity looking person coming out. Then a girl dressed in denims and a coat accompanied by a guy looking more like her lawyer suddenyly arrived and the two papparazis took several photos of her all the way to the parking lot infront of Termional 4 arrival area. Me and my sister and hubby followed them.

I really didnt know who she was so when she was able to enter the parking area we asked the paparazzis who she was and they told us TINA FEY.

I only got to know about Tina Fey because of her Sarah Palin impersonations. Other than that I havent even heard of her name before.

I didnt know that there were a lot of actors arriving on that day because of the SAG(Screen Actors Guild) Awards on January 25.

Incidentally Tina Fey walked away with the Best Female ACtor for a Comedy Role.

AMERICA IN RECESSION

I havent experienced walking into a Mall and seeing nobody there and several shops closing(not in Singapore and Manila anyway). But in San Diego, if this part of the US is reflective of the general state of economy of the US, then US is in the worst recession I have experienced.

Just the other day we walked into a mall and nobody was there, RObinson May is closed and several other shops. Hubby even bought a diamond ring for me at a jewelry store announcing closing down sales of 80%.



When we saw the billboard sign of Mervyn , we attempted to go there for shopping even if my sister Bambi told us that the Mervyns store in Ontario has already closed. When we drove to Mervyns the neon lights outside was on but the store was closed and vacated.

Stores are advertising sales of 50-80% and offering prices barely meeting their overhead costs. Its a bit scary looking at this scenario and with more people losing jobs, there will be more people who would be desperate enough to kill or commit a crime.

Just today on TV, they reported about a family of 7 whose parents were laid off and as a result shot and killed all their 5 children(all below 12) before committing suicide. This is just in California,what more for the rest of US? Close to 150,000 residents of California are being laid off monthly, the TV news reported tonight.

Really scary!!!

After five long years....

FInally I had convinced my sister Bambi to meet up with me in LA. One hitch though, we thought she was arriving at 9:10 am and we will wait up for her since our flight arrived at 8:40 am, to find out later she was booked for the 9:10 pm flight.

When we finally saw each other, she was with a celebrity "Tina Fey" ....so next time you see paparazzi photos of Tina Fey (with a guy) arriving at LA airport on Saturday January 24, u might catch a glimpse of me and my sister walking alongside her. Who is she? we asked the two paparazzis...They said Tina Fey (the Sarah Palin impersonator).

Now I know why Tina Fey arrived in LA, she won Best TV Personality in last nights (Jan 25) SAG(Screen Actors Guild) Award

Upon our arrival at my cousins place in LA all 3 of them:Susan ,May and Oyen with their spouses and kids were all there waiting for us. We stayed up till 1 am just telling stories about our childhood and having a lot of laughs at small silly things we did in the past.

The next day we went to visit Tita Noemi who has already 3 healthcare facilities(nursing homes) in Sta Barbara. Kwentuhan uli..non stop story telling.

Sarap magbakasyon sa California pag marami kang kamag anak.



Anyway we are now back in Carlsbad after 3 hours driving from Sta Barbara to San Diego.Bukas kami na lang ni Bam ang mamamasyal.Imagine the last time my husband saw her was during our wedding...which is a loooooong long time ago.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

Happy Chinese New Year to my Chinese Friends!


Tomorrow marks the start of a long week end (Jan 24-27) for most Chinese countries like Singapore. Last week was spring cleaning week for most chinese households all over the country and tomorrow everybody will be at home having their traditional Lunar New Year dinners and get together.

WHat do Chinese families do during the holidays...well normally they visit their relatives to partake of the NY feast and to get ang pao (red packet containing money)from married relatives. Only singles are given ang paos. Each ang pao( in good times) would contain $10-20 money but now with the gloomy economy maybe the norm would be to give $2-4 for each red packet. Aside from giving ang pao, mahjong playing and steamboat dinners are common.

Well I wont be in Singapore during this long week end. I will be in LA, Carlsbad and San Diego California with hubby from Jan 24-Feb 2. I am excited since I will be meeting up with my younger sister Bambi who resides in Canada. She will be joining me for one week. I haven't seen her since Mama died(5 years ago) so there will be a lot of catching up to do.

A Happy CHinese NY everyone!!!

Wait for the Two Solar Eclipses this 2009

TWO RARE EVENTS THAT YOU SHOULDN'T MISS in 2009:

The first one will be on January 24th,2009.It is an Annular Partial Solar Eclipse and will be visible only in some parts of India and Southeast Asia. The eclipse is annular, which means that the moon will appear entirely inside the sun's disc so that the edge of the sun forms a ring (annulus) around the moon.



The second one on July 22,2009 is a total solar eclipse and will be visible in some parts of India ,China and Southeast Asia, This will be the longest total solar eclipse in the 21st century lasting about 6 minutes 39 sec .

A total eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely obscured by the Moon. The intensely bright disk of the Sun is replaced by the dark silhouette of the Moon, and the much fainter corona is visible.

Total solar eclipses are rare events, something that happens or recur at any given place only once every 370 years, on average.


(Above: Total solar eclipse on August 1st, 2008, observed at Eclipse City Camp in the Gobi Desert, near Jiayuguan, China.
Photo: Susanne Büter)

I havent experienced a total solar eclipse .I have experienced and saw how the skies turned pitch black during the Mt Pinatubo eruption and also the long lasting Kahoutek comet in the 70s but never an eclipse.

I remember that my Mom would always tell us about the solar eclipse of 1955 which actually happened on June 20,1955 and it was visible only in Southern India,Sri Lanka,Indochina and Philippines.My mom said that it was around noon time and the roosters started crowing as if it was early in the morning since the skies suddenly turned dark like late evening.

I will certainly sit it out on July 22 even if the total solar eclipse will only be partially visible in Southeast Asia.On second thoughts maybe I should travel to India or Shanghai in China just to experience that 6 minute eclipse.

The Obama Presidency

I was in a Bangkok Hotel when he won the US Presidency.Hubby and I purposely left the TV on just to watch the results turn in his favor. And when he won both me and hubby were so happy. The happiness is contagious...its as if somebody we knew won the election.

When I heard him first speak infront of the crowd acknowledging his victory ,I was mesmerized by this mans personality that I felt a lump in my throat. Its the first time I was so affected by the victory of someone.

Imagine a boy born from parents whose father was coming from a poor African country rising to become the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world. This is AMerica...the land of opportunity. This shows the power of the spirit, importance of education, perseverance and ambition. Anyone can make it!

and Today is his official inauguration.Watch this.

Barack Obama..he will define history.

Happy Birthday to the Loves of my Life

Today January 17 is the birthday of three of my beloved

To my sister Bambi (or Mariafe) who was named after my mom (Fe) .She has already migrated to Canada and although we hardly see her, somehow technology has brought us closer. Everytime I see her online we start chatting about news back home. _7 na c sister pero she still is as slim as ever. Happy Bday Sis!

To my third sister Mariecel(named after our Papa Cecil) who has been my buddy since elementary school(nakapila pa kami sa line sa St Joseph every recess at nanghuhuli pa kami ng tutubi every study period) Even if she is a little bit with a temper just like Bam and my hubby(pare pareho nga sila ng ugali), she has been one of the closest to me. I have seen her fight in school nanghihila pa yan ng necktie pag nauunahan sa pila. She is a fighter really since young. But one thing that she loves most in life is her son Nicholas or Nico our very first pamangkin. Love you sister. Di ko na alam ng edad mo nalilito ako.

And to my very precious possession(hindi c Lucky ha!), ang aking one and only asawa...my beloved Antonio(Tony) who is Gods gift to me....Happy birthday Darling! Sabi nila pag mabait ka raw pagpapalain ka ng mabait ding asawa.. kayo ako nagkaroon ng mabuting asawa dahil sa mabait ako (he he).

Although he has a temper like my two sisters, bihira kaming mag away. At pag nag away kami di kami nag uusap.Kaya lang si hubby hindi sanay ng hindi nagsasalita so siya lang ang daldal ng daldal pag nag aaway kami. Pero bihira nga so sometimes maganda rin kung paminsan minsan nag aaway lalo siyang bumabait. I love you sweet heart. Ngayon lang ni rerequest na naman niya akong samahan siya sa US. Talagang mahal na mahal ako nito! Buti na lang di pa nagigising. Love you!!!!

BORACAY is one of the 44 Places to Go in 2009

(Above: Hubby and our 2 boys in Boracay)

The New York Times has come out with a compelling list of 44 Places where one should go in 2009 and Boracay Islands is one of them. However it is a bit annoying that the write up said that Boracay might be the next Phuket?

Please go to this website and click on the recommend button for Boracay so that we can promote our very own.

I think there is no comparison since the shores of Boracay will surely win hands down vis a vis Phuket in terms of the purity of the sand, the beauty of the place and the atmosphere created by the culture and its people. I am giving my unbiased observation since we had been to Phuket in November and Boracay in December.The fun in Phuket is mostly due to its numerous girly clubs in Patong beach whereas Boracay provides a more wholesome atmosphere that even clubbing can include children in Boracay.

(Above: Me in Hubby in Phuket,see the color difference in the sand)

The only advantage of Phuket at this time is that it has several beaches and Boracay basically has developed only the part from Station 1-3. The tourism also in Phuket has been very well developed and managed by the government such that everything from the attractions, transport, and even beach chairs are well packaged and controlled /supported partly by the government.

These are the places to go to in 2009 as listed by the NY Times:
1)BEIRUT
2) WASHINGTON DC
3) GALAPAGOS
4)BERLIN*
5) LAS VEGAS*
6) FJALLNAS,SWEDEN
7)HAWAII
8) VIENNA
9) DOHA,QATAR
10) DAKAR ,SENEGAL
11)MAREMMA,ITALY
12)PHUKET*
13) MARRAKESH
14)CHICAGO
15)AEGEAN SEA
16) MONTEREY ,MEXICO
17)DALLAS
18) BHUTAN
19)FLORIDA KEYS
20) ROME
21) CUBA
22) PENANG,MALAYSIA
23) SEYCHELLES
24) FLORIANOPOLIS,BRAZIL
25) COPENHAGEN
26) BORACAY,THE PHILIPPINES*
27)MONUMENT VALLEY
28)STAR ISLAND,BAHAMAS
29)CASTLES IN BRITAIN
30) COLOGNE*
31)REYKJAVIK
32)RED SEA,EGYPT
33)DEAUVILLE,FRANCE
34)SOUTH AFRICA
35) INDIA
36)KAZAKHSTAN
37) BUFFALO
38)MADAGASCAR
39) METZ,FRANCE
40)TAZMANIA
41) STOCKHOLM
42)ALASKA
43) PENNSYLVANIA FARM
44)ZAMBIA
I ,myself, had been to only 5 of these places (Berlin,Cologne,Boracay,Phuket and Las Vegas). Maybe we should travel to Penang,Malaysia this year since its only an hour away by plane.

Long Queues at Phil. Embassy in Singapore

I have never visited the Philippine Embassy in Singapore on a Sunday because I know that there are a lot of people in the embassy during this day. But I had to today since I had to apply for the Machine Readable passports(MRP) for Nygel and Niles whose passports are expiring in July.



So far nobody has openly criticized or commented on the slow service in the Embassy.Probably I will be one of the very first "few" who will.

First of all, the Embassy has been operating in Singapore for a long time and they know the number of people going to the embassy on Sundays. I dont really know if they have any plan on improving their services to lessen the waiting time and queue for services.

Our experience is that we started queueing up (at Window 5)for verification of our application at exactly 2:45 pm. We were served at around 3:55. At 4 pm we queued up at window 1(we were given a number which will be called) for encoding of our application.

After another hour we were called into a holding area(I was thinking it was like a ride in a theme park were you will wait to board your ride except that we waited in a library). Every 15 minutes 10 numbers were called. The waiting time was long because there were only 2 encoders in a small room keying in our passport information.

Finally at 5:30 we were called into the encoding room. We still have to wait for our number to be called.After that we had to pay the processing fee of $85 at another window. Good that there was no more queue at window 7 (payment window) otherwise we would probably finish at 7 pm.

A procedure that would take less than an hour was completed in 3 hours. My God thats a lot of waiting time....we consumed 3 canned drinks ,two packets of shrimp crackers and we had to queue up even for photocopying service.

My suggestions:

1) The process could be shortened for passport processing by issuing numbers everytime an applicant comes in.

2) The minute the number is issued, the applicant for new passport can just give all her documents to a counter(should be manned by at least 4 people on Sundays).

3) Once everything is verified and encoded, then when the queue number is called the payment should already be accepted. This will save the time on queueing up in 3 windows.

If they need more encoders and cant afford to pay additional manpower why not offer university attachment programs or training programs for students who will do encoding for an allowance. They can utilize these students during week ends when the embassy is packed with people.

Just a suggestion dear Ambassador Mindy Cruz.

A Travellers Year for Me

I never realized that 2008 was a busy travelling year for me.Most of these trips are to accompany hubby in his numerous business trips. Although I fear flying, somehow I am getting used to going on short week end trips.

January 25-28,2008 Bangkok with hubby (joined him for his business trip)


Feb 27-March 1- Bangkok (Spent shopping and window shopping)Joined Tony on his sideline business.



March 8-9 Bintan Indonesia ,spent weekend with hubby and the kids relaxing and swimming. Our school holiday trip for the kids




April 27-May 5 USA Joined Tony on his business trip



May 17-20 Bangkok Joined Tony on his sideline business



June 6-8, Bangkok Joined Tony on his own sideline trip



Oct20-22- Kuala Lumpur We joined Tony on his business trip



Nov 4-6 Chiangmai I joined Tony on his business trip




Nov 28-30 Phuket,Thailand Scheduled school holiday trip with the kids



Dec 20-Jan 4 Boracay, Manila , Our yearly trip home

New Johor Bahru Immigrations Checkpoint

Today I was actually forced to go to Malaysia since I already run out of my medications. After asking from the local pharmacy if I can buy my medications here they asked me to get a doctors prescription.

Rather than go to a local SIngaporean doctor and pay S$30 just to get a prescription, I decided to go to JB(Johor Bahru).

My medicine costs P30/tablet in Mercury drug which is almost the same cost as in SIngapore.However in Malaysia it costs only $16/tablet a good reason why the less than an hour trip is my best option.

I took the bus bound for JB at exactly 5:48pm and entered Malaysia at 6:01. I didnt know I was going to have a big surprise. I thought i rode the wrong bus when the JB bound bus failed to stop at Immigrations.

Initially I wanted to say"para" eh wala na pala ako sa Pinas. I didnt know that the new JB immigrations checkpoint has already opened on December 16.

It is a spanking new edifice very much bigger and more impressive than Singapores checkpoint. It is often said that there is a running rivalry between Malaysia and Singapore and with the opening of this new edifice I would suppose in a few months time Singapore will renovate a new checkpoint.

The new JB Malaysia/Singapore checkpoint has two separate buildings. The first one which connects the checkpoint directly to City Mall shopping centre would probably also be a shopping mall called JB Central. The second structure holds the Arrival and departure areas. The interiors are bright and looks like an airport complete with fountains and a wall with cascading waterfalls.

I took some photos of the interior just to show Tony. Now everytime I go to JB,Malaysia I dont really need to bring an umbrella because the minute I take a bus from Singapore it will take me directly to a shopping mall after I clear immigrations. One only has to be prepared for a lot of walking.

Happy with my medicine purchases I was back in Singapore at 7pm (less than 2 hours trip).

My Best Cousin's Wedding

My cousin Susan is the second to the youngest of six daughters of my favorite uncle Tito ELing on my mothers side. They had no brother so I remember everytime my uncle visited us he would always embrace my brother Bongbong and treated him as a son.

At the age of 12 or so Susan and her sisters lost their father and so their mom Tita Naning sent all the daughters to university. Their eldest sister Anabelle graduated Magna Cum laude from UE and so did their two other sisters ALice and May graduated with cum laude honors from UE. All of them graduated with honors from the university.

Susan had a very good IT career starting off at Jollibee then DBP and ADB then she set her wings to overseas jobs in Tokyo, Hongkong and finally USA.

Everything was always going well for Susan...the only thing lacking was a loved one. And so her sister Oyen tried making her to her numerous friends but somehow nothing was working.

I remember prior to her mothers death(that was shortly after Oyens wedding), my mom and I and my sisters visited Tita Naning.On her deathbed the only wish that my Tita Naning said was her fervent wish for Susan to find a husband. She told my mom that she was happy that she has seen all her daughters get married except for Susan. She told my late Mom" Fe, masaya na ako kaya lang mas masaya ako kung makikita kong nakalagay na sa tahimik si Susan".

That was the reason why I almost cried(I think I did) when I saw her walking down the aisles..I remembered my Tita Nanings wish....I think the wish has been fulfilled today January 2,2008 on my Tito ELing's (Susan's fathers) birthday.

I wish all the best to Nani and Susan. Marriage is not all a bed of roses but knowing that they had entered marriage at a later part of their lives...it will be the fulfillment of my Tita Naning's wish. More photos of the wedding at my multiply site.