Where is this Question leading?

Blast from the past - August 3, 2009

Sweets arrived from his onshore assignment last July of 2009.  Before he arrived, we already planned for a one day vacation to rest and have some time together. Only the two of us to bond and catch up.  It was a Monday, August 3, 2009 and therefore it was the perfect time to catch up for the lost time.

Even before we arrived on this day, Sweets already told me that he wanted to hike.  There is this hill near their place where they used to climb during their CAT time.  For me, hiking is one good way to exercise and thus I agreed to this one.  Besides, I love walking and walking together with someone you love can never be more exciting.

Sunday night, we agreed to start our hike at 5:30am.  At this time, its no longer that dark but the sun is still not rising.  


- 5:00am, Sweets is waking me up and I told him that it is still 5:00am and our alarm is at 5:30.  
- 5:15am, Sweets again is waking me up and I told him that our alarm is at 5:30am.
- 5:20am, Sweets again is waking me up. Ok, ok, I said.. we then woke up and prepared for our hike.


The foot of the hill is like 15 minutes walk from Sweets place, we stopped by a bakery and went to buy pandesal.


While we were walking, Sweets was telling stories about how they climbed the hill during their CAT time. I was just listening and imagining what they did during that time.  The hill that we climbed was going to the Eastridge Village in Angono, a gate entering the village is where you will see the famous Blanco Tree.  It was situated on top of a mini tower over looking Angono, Antipolo and other neighboring towns.

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrecawagas/ 

This is when the Duhat Tree was still alive

This is when we went there.. No more life left

This is what you will see when you are up there...

It was about 6am and the sun have risen.  It was cool and quiet and I loved the view of the city from where we were standing.  It was like all calmness and peace.  


I cannot recall how long we walked but it was quite tiring.  Nevertheless, we had water and pandesal to help us on our way up.


When we were on top of the mini tower.. I told Sweets...


KL: Ang ganda ganda ng view
Noel: Sige ivideo mo ako
KL: (Kuha ng camera at vinideo si Sweets)

Click here --> The Video

Noel: (grinning) Survivor series ito

KL: Kase?
Noel: Kristine Loidz, you are the first team to arrive. And on this point, since you are the first team to arrive, Survivor Series has something for you...
KL: My God, Ano yan?


Okie, ako na ang bulag, alam ko na tinatanong ko pa! Well I guess that was what I thought of that time and then everything that followed was history.


The proposal was not as emotional as what I have expected it to be, like the ones in movies but I really did not expect it and I was still on high heavens even when we reached home.  I still can't believe it that I was engaged.  


I did not thought of "what will my parents say?" "what will my friends say?".  In my heart my answer came from my heart and what I wanted to happen in my life with Sweets.


This is where it all began, this is where our dreams slowly became reality.


--------------------------
Of course, I had to ask, how did he knew my ring size.  It was then that he said he asked help from one of my friends, Portia :)

The ring that symbolized it all!

That same morning, I called Portia to tell her the proposal which she already knew before I did :)


Everyone were very excited and were very supportive of this road that we are about to take and I thank everyone for always being here for us. Through the good and not so good times!


It was a happy beginning indeed and from that time until now I have never been happy in my life!

Talk to Nature! Broga Hills Malaysia

After 4 months of being here in Malaysia, I was lucky to be invited to join a morning hike at Broga Hill.  This place is almost 45 minutes from KL. You should have your own transport to be able to get there because of the location.

My last hiking was when Sweets proposed for our wedding and then after more than 2 years, here I am again ready for another hike of my lifetime.  Walking is one of my passion (its another form of exercise) but this one will be different since we are going up the hill.


We left at around 5am. At the start of the day we were all fresh, smiling and so much excited! This was our first out of town trip together!

We arrived at the foot of Broga at around 6am. It was still dark and you can see people with their flashlights.  Yes, people! and lots of them!  For me, it was like one of the normal routines, to hike Broga on a weekend!


Hiking provides a lot of benefits:


 1. It is a form of exercise
 2. It is a time for bonding for family, friends and partners
 3. It is taking responsibility of ones action (when you are up there, you should know 
      what you are doing)
 4. It shows how you care for the people around you
 5. It gives you the opportunity to appreciate nature
 6. It gives you a sense of fulfillment 


A lot more benefit and this will all depend on the person doing the hike.


Anyways, walking all the way up may be challenging for some and maybe simple for some.  In my case it was like at the middle.  At first I was enjoying but when we were going all the way up I was already catching my breath! Whew!


We don't want to torture ourselves and thus we had several pit stops as we go along.  This one below was our first! :p

We needed to keep going because we want to reach the top before sunrise and that's exactly what we did! We kept on inspiring one another that we are not tired and we can all make it! hahaha! That's the spirit of positive thinking!


All the way up, I noticed that there were a lot of people hiking as well.  Mind you, teenagers and kids and they were like very much energized all the way up.  Which reminded me of my younger years, where my energy is so much that I can sustain my hiking for long hours.  Enough of our age, I know deep in my heart that this journey was a test that we were not just young at heart but with our mind and body as well. Literally!

Going all the way up and thinking that I can make it was my motivation at that time! I wanted to show myself that I can still walk and hike! 


I have to be honest, I got tired of walking, especially it's all going up the hill.  However, all my sweat and tiredness was replaced with fulfillment and joy when we finally reached the top.  The view was breathless with the fog and all and it was a wonderful sight to see and realize how Nature can be this beautiful.


I have seen a lot of breathtaking scenery already, like the ones in Kiangan, Ifugao, Banaue Rice Terraces and a lot more mountain places but Nature never failed to amaze me of what she can offer, of what she can show me. Everything has always been breathtaking for me.

This was what we saw from above. All fog and just Nature showing off.

We were all pushing ourselves to get to the top as fast as we can because we all want to see the sunrise. For this goal, we never failed ourselves.  We were able to see the sunrise at Broga!

We were able to reach just the first part of the Hill.  There was another hill but we decided not to go there anymore because we were already contented with what we have achieved.  


Of course we will not miss our opportunity to take photos with Mother Nature!

All in all it was a fun and good experience for me! Spending time with my friends and at the same time appreciating Nature in Malaysia.


More photos at This wall! (if you have access :D)

The Support I got!

Indeed Life is Sweet especially when you share it with the people whom you love and who loves & believes in you.  


When I resigned from Accenture, I had no work to jump into.  It was with my strong desire and belief that I want to be with Sweets more than anything else instead of continuing my career in the Philippines without him.


It took a lot of mind boggling discussions, in and out emotions, what ifs and a lot of prayers.  It finally dawned into me that my decision is to be with him.  Only 90% convinced, Sweets, supported me with this decision and took on the challenge and possibility that I may never find a work in Malaysia.


A month after I resigned, I flew here in Malaysia to be with Sweets and tried to pick up my career here in Malaysia.  It was not easy to begin with, I was used to waking up at 5:30 in the morning to head to Mc Kinley for my work.  I was used to answering emails, calls, pings, meetings, training and a lot about busy stuff.


Now, all I have to do is to wake up each day and make sure that Sweets has his breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared. Make sure that his clothes are all pressed for work and our room clean.  I don't have my own money and thus I make it a point not to spend for unnecessary things.  


Sweets has always been very supportive of me.  When I was looking for work and failed, he was there to comfort me and say "try lang ng try" and I will stood my head and say "Yes, we will try again" but it came to a point wherein trying may not be an option anymore, it was also tiring, I must say.


Sending a lot of emails to potential employers and receive no response is like torture to me.  But hey, it is my decision and was supported by Sweets and my family and thus "I should not give up!".  I stood by the support given to me by Sweets and my family, their prayers made me strong and their belief in me made me determined that I can make it.  


Not in my time but in HIS time.


When I was close to my 2nd month stay here in Malaysia, I was already loosing hope.  Sweets and I were already discussing that I will be his dependent and so on and so forth.  The thought of me not having a job is like waaahhhhh!  Although being a full time housewife was never a problem at all, its the thought that scared me.  When people asked me if I was not bored at home and all, my answer was "no" because there were a lot to do but can I do it for 2 years? Maybe yes, maybe no, this one only experience itself can tell.


Answered prayer! I received a call from EPS and it was the call that I have been waiting all along for 3 months.  Everything else was history!


When I gave the news to my family, I can sense that it was like a huge thorn picked up from their throat!  It was a relief and I know that they were all happy for me and Sweets!  Prayers do come true, all we need to do is to believe and do our part!


I was surprised when our friends (sa pangunguna ni Sweets) here gave me a Congratulatory Dinner! It was very touching to see how we were supported by our friends!! 

This picture was taken by Che! :)

Special Thanks to the following:

- Sweets (Noel Fernando)

- Cedrick

- Nelven

- Az

- Karl

- Aries

- Che

- Khristian

- Connie

I love you all!

Trip to Cebu (3D, 2N)

Blast from the past - March 2011

January 2011, we already planned to visit Cebu together with my In-laws. This is going to be the first time that Mama and Papa will go out of town as in via plane.  They were excited!! Sweets and I were also excited because it was also our first time to Cebu. 

Lucky us, we have Sandy to join us in this trip as she is already working in Cebu!

First time to arrive in Cebu so it's just right to take photo opps!




We were fetched by Sandy's van and first went to our hotel.


Again, we don't want to waste our time and thus we started our three day journey in Cebu.

Our first stop was the Lapu Lapu Shrine! Of course he is one of our famous heroes and we will not miss this chance to see his statue in person ^_^




Then here comes his statue!

This area is an extension of the sea.  There were little pathways that leads to a hut where anyone can sit and enjoy the view of the sea.  In front of this hut is a wide sight of mangrove.


Before we headed to lunch, we visited a Hotel that we will not choose to stay because we are saving money! haha! However, if one wants to feel a five star hotel accommodation in Cebu then there is nothing else to stay but in Shangrila Hotel in Mactan.  Here we just took some pictures and had a feel of the place.

It is just about lunch and so we were told by Sandy that one of the best cheap restaurants in Cebu was the AA Restaurant.  In here, raw meat and seafood are available and you just have to pick which one you want and how you want it cooked!  All of them were yummy! Plus the fact that it was cheap made it even more delicious!!

We had pork liempo, pansit, squid and many more - yummy! Plus a cold mixed fruit juice!

Again, we do not want to waste time, we headed to Taoist Temple.  It was quite far from the city area but was worth the visit.  Most of the people that we saw were Chinese (of course) but there were also other tourists.

Upon entering, we were given a list of things that we should observe while inside the temple.  This is to pay respect to the Gods.

When you go further up, several prayer rooms were there.  You have to enter barefoot, light some incense and pray.  There was this one large prayer room, with several Chinese Philosophers, you have to enter barefoot, and you can drop two wooden oval blocks and see if your wish will come true.

I was quite disappointed because of the three times that I dropped the wooden oval block, it says that none of my wishes will come true! How sad! Eeer!

Anyways, it is not always about how your wooden blocks were dropped and how it fell to the ground.  It is how you believe!

Mama, posing in one of the temples!

After this stop, we decided to take a rest and go back to our hotel. 
I took this opportunity to bring Sweets to my surprise.


Before we went to Cebu I did some research if there were any Kart Racing Track in Cebu.  Lucky enough, I was able to find one (that is still operational) and coincidentally it was near our place.


We first dropped Mama and Papa to the hotel, then I blindfolded Sweets for the surprise.  I have the address with me and I asked our Kuya driver to bring us to the place.  With the help of the people around the area, we were able to find the place and I asked Kuya driver to leave us there.


While we were walking towards the track (Sweets still blindfolded) was asking where we were.  I told him it's a surprise.  Then suddenly, all of the karts ran and then of course it produced a sound.  Then Sweets told me "alam ko na!" then I took off his blind fold. :)

Fun and fast night! Then we had fries and McFloat at Mcdo, just near the area.
We went back to our hotel via cab.


To make the day complete, we headed to Ayala Malls to have our dinner.
Sandy recommended Casa Verde!

Nachos for our appetizer 

We were all full because of everything that we ate! Casa Verde is a must when you visit cebu!

Day 2:


After having our breakfast in our hotel, we headed to White Sands Resort and Spa.  Here our only intention was to swim and dine! It was quite far from our place but it was good enough to give us the relaxation that we need.

Me resting in one of the beach chairs after going for a dip!
It was hot but the tree made it cooler!

Mama and Papa will not miss the chance to take a dip as well.  

They also enjoyed the banana boat!

But the banana boat was not moving, it was still! hehehehe
After the swim, I got tired and fell a little asleep.  During that time, Sweets took the chance to take some shots around the resort.  Images were cool! (for me). :)

After we have all washed and before we leave the resort.  We decided to eat and enjoy the resort dining.

Before heading home, we went to Regency Crown Plaza for Sky Experience Adventure.  We went to have the "Edge Coaster" but since cameras were not allowed we were not able to take some photos. Nevertheless, the Sky Experience Adventure Team has their own shots and we got them for Souvenirs.

This is how it looked like when we were riding the Edge Coaster. I was scared I admit especially when the coaster was tilted to 45degrees. Aweee.. I asked Sweets to bring it back to normal. KJ me :D


There were also telescopes, drop a penny and you will see from afar! 

We will not miss more shots up there!

Before we went straight home, we went to SM to buy the famous Cebu Lechon!
Indeed, it was!!! Nothing else but CNT Lechon!

Day 3: Packing up!


We were all up early to make sure that we will not miss our plane!
But before we finally bid goodbye to the accommodating and sweet staff of Premiere Citi Suites, Mama and Papa had their photo opps with them.

Beautiful us!

In the plane, we bumped into Migz Zubiri.

I hope this family trip will be repeated but together with Diaz Family! Given this, we need to prepare for the expense! Aww!