MELON

August 27-December 5, 2020

You will be sorely missed, apo.

You were the gentlest among your siblings, well behaved and I felt so much love from you.

I hope you know how much we tried to save you and how much we love you.

If love could save you, you would live forever.

Run free, darling baby. Enjoy rainbow bridge.

Pawtraits

CHOCO

Today, we celebrate all the beautiful moments spent with our dear kitty, Choco.

Born October 15, 2019, Choco was was the cutest little thing. At 15 days old, Choco went missing
and was found in the storage area at the yard and that was when he got his first real scolding.

He was always peeing on his grandma when he was still a baby boy. After Taal Volcano erupted, Choco and his siblings Butternut and Coffee plus Mama Alex came to live indoors in our bedroom. The adventures never stopped since then.

Choco would always play around my legs whenever I had something important to do. He made sure his presence was known. I really didn't get what he was trying to say. Maybe it was just his way of making "kulit." He would wake us up every morning and climb up on our bed to say, "Hello grandma! Get up, get up. It's time for us to eat."  Every time he would go outside and play, we would clap and be extra happy upon his return. He would spend the day sleeping under the bed and then would carry on being a playful and loving cat.

Today, he crossed the rainbow bridge and our hearts are left with a big hole. Thank you Choco for making ECQ and this difficult time bearable, for comforting us during times we cried, for making us laugh over and over again, and for showing us what unconditional love is. If only I can turn back time and rewind it a little, I would make sure your are still under my bed sleeping soundly.

We love you, Choco. The time with you was too short but they were the sweetest days on earth.

Run free! Enjoy heaven but don't forget us because we will never ever forget you. We love you forever, apo.

Colours of Cambodia

I knew it wasn't going to be easy coming here. Back in Singapore,
all you had to do was prepare a set of drawings and before
you know it, the fit-out work is complete. What was once on paper
is literally constructed in front of your eyes and built exactly the way you want it.

But that is not always the case here.

I think this country is so interesting, that in a span of 8 months in
Siem Reap, I've had a considerable number of  "colourful" experiences -- challenging,
funny, and unbelievable, to say the least.

First experience... Lost in translation, perhaps?

Don't get me wrong, I am not hating on everybody. I have met
a lot of great human beings who strive hard to achieve their goals.
I shouldn't have been surprised the first time I saw one work done by a local supplier,
but I was, and I certainly want to do something about it.

My wish is to leave Cambodia with a sense of fulfillment in knowing
that my colleagues and suppliers have a heightened level of appreciation for their craft.

My wish is for them to have a good work ethic, where the customers'
needs are met despite trying many times and failing.

Lastly, my wish is that I be given the patience and understanding
so I can impart the skills that I've learned to anyone here willing to receive it,
just as much as I am willing to learn from those who will take the time to teach
me new things.

This prayer below sums it all up.

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change.
The courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

Hello New Chapter

It is officially more than a year since my last post and I just remembered about
this old blog site of mine.

Here we are in an entirely  new town called Siem Reap, in the northern part
of Cambodia. It is an interesting choice because on our first two months here,
there wasn't even a cinema yet. It is indeed a far cry from the concrete jungle that is
Singapore. However, you have to surprise yourself sometimes with decisions such as this and I am not sorry I made the decision to move here.

We arrived here in February this year and spent 2 months training in Phnom
Penh, the capital. I must say, I like Siem Reap a whole lot better than Phnom Penh.
The capital is reminiscent of Manila in the early 90's. I always feel unsafe when I walk
in the streets due to warnings from colleagues and acquaintances. It sure does not have
a very good reputation safety-wise.

We managed to find a newly-built apartment in Siem Reap which had a Western and modern feel to it. Just a few touches here and there we finally felt at home, at least for this year.

Had to purchase two bicycles with baskets that are just way too cute not to post on Instagram.
Having a bicycle helps you save a couple of bucks on tuktuk rides daily.

Our very cute bicycles

So it has been officially 10 months in Cambodia, and so for the time being, we will call this home.

Who knows what will happen next?

Tomorrow marks our 15th anniversary and I think that is the only aspect in our lives that have
remained constant.

I do not mind that we move around so much, as long as we do it together.

Ciao for now.

 

Thou Shall Revive Thy Blog

I am reviving this blog from almost 10 years ago because it has proven it's longevity. However, I had to sign in through google and claim entitlement to tinymartini.blogspot.com and go through a few other quick steps.

Oh well, that's done. So here I am 10 years on, and a lot, I mean A WHOLE LOT has changed in my life. Nobody ever reads this blog. It has been a secret hideaway where I could just write about daily nonsensical things, rant to the universe, celebrate my WINS and leave it here for, well, my reading pleasure. And I have not done so in years. In fact, I've actually forgotten about its existence. I wish I kept it alive though. It would have been a fun chronicle of events to read. Now, I view Facebook for past events (yes there's no more Friendster and Multiply) but my best friend has been Twitter. You see, Facebook has become a marketplace. Back in the day when Friendster became a hotspot for sellers and buyers, I fled to Multiply to regain that sense of belonging and the intimacy. Well, it is just a cycle. Now it's Twitter and Instagram that make more sense to me. Funny, my Facebook account has been deactivated for quite some time now.

Other than all these coming and going of Social Media sites, let me talk about ME.
I've been residing in Singapore for the past 6 years. Wow. How time flies. Ive stopped speaking to some people. There are new people in my life and there are people who've remained close to me, if not closer.

Will give more details on the next blog. I gotta feed my turtles. Yep, I have 2. And my life partner (still the same person, hooray!) is almost done with her night swim. So, until the next blog. Ciao.

summer solstice

mah gurlfriends comin over tonight.. its a saturday and whattaheck.. i cant go out to party yet the party comes to me.. amazing.. the heat is killing me..
what's taking them so long?

tomorow at 6am the interior design staff's heading to quezon..

dat means il have circles under my eyes by that time from too much booze and lack of decent sleep..

dis week i might go to tali beach if im lucky..

was wid my baby the whole day.. ~snuggle.. i can do that for the rest of my life.. c: