gratitude

Five things that I was grateful for yesterday:

1. Good health and good weather. I've learned to not take them for granted.

2. That the stock market was closed and I didn't have to watch $AAPL circle the drain. Oh, I still believe in Tim Cook. I just wish more people did. That's the company's problem right now, in a nutshell.

3. That my beloved Harman Kardon worked perfectly. Thank you, Mr. DJ and Wikireena!

'tis the season

Conan O'Brien tweeted: 'Tis the season when we get to use the word 'tis.

Marina Bay Sands lobby, 11 Dec 2011, 10:22PM.

The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 11 December 2011, 11:06AM.

a beautiful mind

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently-- they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Thank you, Mr. Jobs, for changing our world.

the last time i did something for the first time

Today, I shot a gun for the first time in my life.

Forty rounds.

Turns out that I'm pretty good at it.

my new look 3

Today, I suddenly decided to change my blog's template. All my life, I've been True Blue. I thought I would try going verdant for a change. After years of believing that eagles are naturally colored blue, it's not easy being green, I tell ya.

My old look.

These new templates are really so interesting!

more things i learned about my ipad

Well, I finally learned what an "app" is.

When I first got my iPad, my sister-in-law told me to take it to Greenhills so that I could have some apps installed, so I did. I paid a guy 800 pesos and after an hour, my iPad was full of crap that I didn't understand or need. Plus, the apps weren't organised in any recognisable manner. Not alphabetical, not by category... and there were ten pages of them. Hundreds of apps!

For MONTHS, I didn't know what to do. Should I just erase everything and start from scratch? What about my 800 bucks? What if I later find out that I deleted something that was important to me?

Ah yez, the travails of an obsessive-compulsive Luddite.

Finally, last month, I signed up for an iTunes account (which i resisted for the longest time because they want your credit card details right away when you register), held my breath and deleted everything. So now I had a clean slate. And for the past few weeks, I have been researching, downloading and installing stuff.

First I looked at iTunes Store's most popular apps, then I Googled "best ipad apps" and read other people's suggestions. I like this one: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362572,00.asp

I am very pleased with my iPad right now. The first "page" still has the apps that came pre-installed. I moved the Settings icon to the dock because it makes more sense to me for it to be there. iBooks is there because Steve Jobs told me to put it there. I added a calculator and a currency converter-- absolute necessities which the iPad doesn't have-- why not, Steve? IMO is an instant messaging app which I use to connect with my Yahoo! Messenger friends. I like it because it's always running in the background and I can still receive messages even when I'm surfing the web or reading an e-book. And for my to-do list app, I chose To Do's Lite because it lets me peek into my Calendar app.

 

 

still life: sun jar

The coolest Christmas gift I got last month was this Sun Jar from my father.

all i want for christmas 2010

Here's my wish list for this holiday season:

1. The iPhone 4. See? I knew there was a reason I didn't get the iPhone earlier. But wait! What if Steve Jobs comes out with the iPhone 5?

 

2. My drool-worthy bag for 2010 is the Mulberry Alexa. The butter yellow color pops, but at the same time, it's strangely neutral and will go with everything. I've seen this bag in person in Singapore, and yez, it's very pretty. And it's as light as a feather.

3. Now isn't this the coolest thing? The Korg iElectribe app is one of the reasons that the iPad is the best gadget in the history of the world.

4. I still love my Panasonic Lumix LX3, but the Ricoh GR Digital III is a handsome little devil. And it takes killer pictures. Take a look at Daphne Oseña's photos. They have that lomo-esque feel that I love.

5. Why are the Japanese so good at making us WANT things? This Uniqlo coat has the most amazing shape and color.

6. How do you know that your sunglasses are right for you? Simple: When they make you look like a richie rich. I've been looking for a decent pair of aviators that are NOT Ray-ban, and these John Galliano gold-rimmed aviators are bee-yoo-ti-ful.

7. I don't really wear jewelry, but if I did, the Pandora charm bracelet would be the one. With all the charms in their collection, of course.

8. I want my home to be completely energy self-sufficient.

9. The Auto Assault-12 (AA-12), aka the Atchisson Assault Shotgun. Wikipedia says: "The AA-12 uses many different types of cartridges such as 00 buck shot, #4 bird shot, 12 gauge lead slugs, or less-than-lethal rubber stun batons. It can also fire flares or special Frag-12 19 mm fin-stabilized HE, HEAP and sensor fused HEAB "air-burst" fragmentation shells that can detonate in mid-air." Plus it's maintenance-free and you can mount it on your vehicle and control it remotely... I just love it. It won't fit in the Mulberry Alexa, though.

10. Finally, a year's supply of Meiji Meltykiss.

Out of the ten items on last year's list, I got the Starbucks cup only. How about this year, I wonder? My boys are betting on the AA-12.

over the edge

We arrived in Singapore on the evening of 27 November, and our flight out was 9pm on 30 November. I really wanted to visit the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark during sunset, so that we could see both daytime and nighttime views of Singapore, but it was not meant to be. Mornings were nice and sunny, but it just kept raining and raining in the afternoons.

On our last day, we decided to go for it. With passports in hand, we headed towards the biggest thing in Singapore. It makes the rest of the country look like Lilliput. 

You can't miss it-- from anywhere in Singapore, actually.

Being a certified nerd, two weeks before our trip, I watched the Discovery Channel's feature on how they built it, so I was chock-full of trivia and useless information about the place. The taxi dropped us off at Tower 1, the hotel's reception area and check-in counter.

Fantastic engineering and lots and lots of manual labor.

The SkyPark entrance is at Tower 3, so we got to walk through the atrium. Or is it atria? The three towers are connected by this long and massive hallway that is completely weather-tight. I love the fact that there's tons of natural light, and super-cool AC at the same time. Can't survive in Singapore without AC... I wonder if they've ever thought about scenting? (I'm a big fan of scenting commercial spaces now.)

Happy anniversary, you guys!

In general, I like Singaporean architecture--- both old and new. Marina Bay Sands is a lovely graceful structure that's undeniably magnificent, but the interiors were kinda blah. What they need is a (very) gay Filipino artist to go over and zhuzh up the place.

Giant lanterns. Seriously?

Excuse the blurry picture. It's an outdoor sitting area that's accessible from one of the cafés that line the atrium. We all wanted that barrel thingy for our backyards.

The cheapy industrial table ruins the effect. Grrr!

I bought a refrigerator magnet from the hotel gift shop.

Nice addition to my collection.

Bloggers wrote that the queues were very long and that waiting time would average an hour. But since we went in the morning, around 1030am, there was no queue! Actually, I'd noticed that in Singapore, the pace doesn't seem to pick up until after lunch, and that means not many tourists in the mornings, like when we visited the Singapore Flyer and the Singapore Art Museum in February.

No need for passport.

Funny story: When we got to the ticket counter, we saw this scale model of the Marina Bay Sands. Of course, we all wanted pictures of it. We took turns posing, exchanged cameras, smiled and chatted a bit. After everyone in the room had posed with it, some guys came in from the sidelines, picked it up and took it away. Turns out it was meant to be displayed elsewhere, and we were lucky to be in the right place at the right time for some kodakan.

Yez, it really does make the trees on the ground look like tiny green lollipops.

So up the elevator we went, and the first thing we saw when we stepped out was the city's skyline.

The little white dot in the middle is the merlion, hehe!

There's the giant lotus that's supposed to be a museum, the Helix Bridge, Formula 1 grandstand, the floating football field and Esplanade.

The lines make it all look like one gigantic alien organism. The lotus is the eye. Ayeeeee!

The "bow" of the SkyPark (as it's shaped like a ship) points towards the Singapore Flyer and on its starboard side is the pier and open sea.

It's those sexy ladies again!

We meandered up the stairs, to the upper deck where the "lifestyle venue" Ku De Ta is located, as well as the famous infinity pool.

Higher and higher.

More views from the upper deck:

The colonial buildings still manage to stand out amidst the skyscrapers.

The white clamshell-like pavilions are the casino. Passports required.

Dizizit! Now tell me, don't you have to be a bit of an exhibitionist to be swimming here? When you're in the pool, you're part of the tourist attraction.

Looks like bungy swimming, if you know what I mean.

I can't get over how LONG that swimming pool is. Here's a panoramic shot of it, using an iPhone 4. What would take me at least half an hour to set up, a tripod assuming I had a place to put it, and some Photostitching-- It took just a few seconds with the iPhone 4.

Click to enlarge.

There are six outdoor Jacuzzis opposite the pool. Looks like fun, but the view on that side leaves a lot to be desired.

Commercial shipping toes the line in Singapore. Ten-hut! Straight lines!

Marina Bay Sands is a must-visit in Singapore, although I feel that they still need a few more months for it to become a really happening place, when all its restaurants and facilities are finally open. Mario Batali, we're coming for you.

The most interesting part of the building, I believe, is the building itself, but you can't see it when you're in it. I look forward to seeing how Singapore grows around this new and exciting landmark. Definitely, Marina Bay Sands is changing the face of Singapore.

how i spent it

When it costs just PHP2,700 to fly to Singapore (round trip all-in promo fare, via Airphil Express) and your friend offers to put you up in her apartment, what do you do with all the money that you've saved?

Spend it, of course.

From Takashimaya, my current obsession is the Kimmi Doll.

The cutest note pads for me and my gurls.

Hardbound notebook and burloloy bag for all my chargers.

From Carrefour, these goodies called out to me:

Ready-mixes and three-in-ones: so convenient.

Squid flakes in varying degrees of heat.

Preserved whatsits for my Pop.

A Ben-10 toy for my nephew/godson.

I am addicted to matcha, and will sniff it out wherever it is.

The sales attendant said that this was the best they had.

When I bought this at Toast Box, everyone congratulated the cashier:

Single-serve coffee press. Very Muji, actually.

And speaking of Muji, I went a little crazy in there.

I didn't really need... I just WANTED.

Cap and woolen shawl in anticipation of our non-existent winter in the tropics.

And then there was Sephora...

All the cosmetics you will ever need under one roof.

Lipgloss for SIL and Tokidoki nail files for Ma. Why so cute?

I can't count the number of times that I went inside Takashimaya.

Their theme was teddy bears.

Loot from Watson's-- things they don't have in their stores here.

I bought S$100 worth of dried pork and minced chicken. Yum!

A vegetable peeler might come in handy. (I dunno, don't ask.)

Steph bought these and gave me some. Nama chocolates at supermarket prices!

Finally, on our last day, I decided to buy a local fashion magazine.

We should have bought this as soon as we landed.

It came with all these catalogs and shopping guides.

Yez, I bought the original iPad case from the Epicentre store at Ion Orchard, as well as this really useful magazine at the Kinokuniya book store:

Give me a couple of months to go through it.

And that's where all my money went.