Happy feed for the day

I just feel like writing and I thought of sharing something that made me extra happy today. I'm now part of a choir again. I've actually been wanting to join our church choir for a long time but was shy to do so. Thank God Auntie Ellena saw me in the church last Saturday evening and invited me to join their choir. I was part of the glee club back in high school and I actually missed singing so much. I miss the rehearsals, singing for God and just being surrounded by people who love God. I'm really hoping that this is the start of something good, something that would draw me closer to God again. I know my spiritual life needs improvement as of today. I was actually looking forward to this day starting last week when I got invited. :) That's it for now, 'til my next post.

Dexterton Mattress Gallery Grand Opening

The company I worked with just celebrated the grand opening of a store in Greenbelt 5 last October 13, 2015. The store's name is Dexterton Mattress Gallery, it's a showroom of 2 reputable brands in the bed industry namely Viking beds of Sweden and Simmons beds and mattresses. Together with our boss, I and my colleague prepared for the grand opening of the showroom. We invited people from the press, valued clients, architects and interior designers, family and friends of the company to the opening. It's the first time that we organized an event and I was at first worried that we might miss something and scared that the event might not go as planned. But thank God everything went well. By the way things went I think it's safe to say that the event was successful.

Everyone enjoyed the night. The showroom looked great with guests enjoying our line of beds and mattresses. Cocktail dinner was served by Cibo, lechon by Ulcing Cebu and baked salmon by Contis. It was a beautiful affair, a 1 night stay at Eskaya Resort in Bohol was raffled for the grand prize and a Swedish couple was picked as the winner. Simmons pillows were also given to media guests as a token of appreciation. 

What I liked most about the event was that I got to meet a lot of people some of them I was only able to communicate through email and phone, but through this event I was finally able to meet them. It was just really nice. The event ended around past 8 and we were tired already since we arrived at the store before lunch to set things up. Thankfully, we were given ample time to rest, our work schedule for the next day starts at 1pm instead. Yey for that :)

Dexterton Mattress Gallery is located at 3rd floor, Greenbelt 5 and is open daily from 11AM to 8PM. Please do drop by! To know more about Viking beds of Sweden and Simmons mattress You may also visit our website www.dextertonmattressgallery.com 

What makes lasting memories

Though visiting new places is exciting and cool, it's the experience and emotions we've felt that actually turns the travel experience a memorable one. This applies for our recent Shanghai trip. I enjoyed strolling along The Bund and seeing the beautiful lights of the sky scrapers, eating delicious Chinese dimsums and shopping along Nanjing road. But what really made it extraordinary is the one of a kind experience that came along this trip.

Months before our Shanghai trip I have a dilemma whether to go or not due to personal mind boggling reasoning. In the end, I decided to go and just trusted that God's plans are better than mine and followed the advice of my parents. I'm also tired of trying to figure everything out and just put into mind that if the visa got approved then it's a sign that God wants me to go. It did so I went. 

What made this trip different was the various things I've experienced and felt. I've experienced a lot of first during this trip. It's the first time that I arrived at the airport 1 1/2 hours before departure time. Usually I'm already there 3 hours before to give ample time for security, boarding and immigration queue. For this trip we were still queuing at the immigration 40 mins the departure time. I was already getting paranoid, worrying that we might not be able to catch the flight. But, we did. The plane took off but had to return to Manila because a passenger urgently needs medical attention. We were asked to get down the plane and was informed that the next flight was still at 6pm. It was the first time that I've experienced this kind of scenario. Good thing the ground crew was very helpful and accommodating. My boss and colleague who we were supposed to meet at Hong Kong decided that we take the earliest flight the next day for safety reasons. We followed and informed the ground staff of our decision. The next day we woke up at 2am to catch the 5:35am flight but due to some computer booking error we missed the flight and got rebooked to an 11am straight flight to Shanghai instead. 

During those moments, I've felt that maybe God doesn't want me to go. Maybe this trip was not really meant to be. But when we finally arrived and was warmly welcomed by my boss and colleague, the mood changed. I felt hopeful. I felt that things are going to be better starting that moment. It did and I am very thankful for that. We went for what we came for -to attend the furniture fair. We also got the chance to explore the beautiful city of Shanghai. 

Looking back now, I believe that God do really works in mysterious ways. When things don't go the way as planned and frustration and helplessness creeps in, we should just entrust everything to God. After all God sees the whole picture, we just see what's on the present. Pondering on after everything happened I realized that there were a lot of blessings in disguise during this trip and I learned that the only way to see them is if we keep a positive attitude and just trust the Lord. I'm actually blessed to encounter this first experiences because with it I was also able to feel the presence of God in my life.

Weekend Escape to Hong Kong

Our Hong Kong trip this year was literally an escape - escape from work! If you're wondering why it's because I've finished off all my leaves on just the first month of the year. So when my dad invited me to go to Hong Kong I was kind of hesitant cause 1) I don't have any leaves left  and 2) have accumulated quite a number of absences already. We were supposed to leave during the Independence Day weekend to take advantage of the holiday but the fare and hotel price were whopping high. Well, if you know me and my hunger for travel you'll not be surprised that I still went for it! We left the succeeding weekend :)

I packed really light- my luggage can be likened to an elementary stroller bag. But I had all the things I needed and some extra clothes actually. My dad and I woke up early in the morning for the flight. Good thing we got to borrow my best friend's driver and car to bring us to the airport. I tried to get more sleep during the ride since I woke up earlier than required cause I was too excited!

After a few hours, we finally landed in HONG KONG! yehey! Time to relax and forget about work. We took the A11 bus to Sogo, walked a little bit and found our way to Excelsior Hotel in Causeway Bay. What I like best about the hotel is that you can see the beautiful skyline of Victoria Habor from it's top most floor which is actually a bar restaurant. I wanted to have 1 meal there but it was too expensive. We just took some photos and enjoyed the awesome view for free!

Usually people associate Hong Kong with shopping because it has lots of shopping places! From the branded store like H&M, Hollister, etc  to their very own stores that houses stylish and unique finds. When in Hong Kong we always make sure to drop by Island Beverley it's a 4-5 storey building that's full of retail shopping stores and La Foret - something similar to Island Beverley. What's great with La Foret is it's connected to our hotel! There are also some street stores in Central but we didn't get to visit those anymore to visit other places.

Another reason why Hong Kong is our family's go to destination is that we love their food!  We super duper missed them! The family's favorite is the baked pork chop at Cafe de Corral. The serving is big and it's really tasty! During our last trip we discovered this stall at a fast food chain that serves really good tasting duck so for this trip we didn't dare miss it  And of course the famous macaroons of Laduree. My dad took a photo of me smiling ear to ear when I got hold of the lovely and delicious pastry.

Bottom line is our trip to Hong Kong was something I'm happy that happened. It was a break from my usual routine and a come back to something familiarly good. It was great to have strolled Ocean Terminal again, ride the ferry, eat at their McDo, walk around their lively and busy streets, hop in and out the MTR, eat their delicious foods. Every time we go back, Hong Kong has always something new to offer like a new mall, new place to check out. Change is very dynamic in this place.

On our last day there which was a Sunday we attended a mass at St. Joseph's Church at Central. It was beautiful to see our kababayans praising God together. I'm thankful for this trip and for God's many blessing in our life. I'm happy to be reminded that God always cares and that He will always love us.

As always, can't wait for the next adventure. Cheers!

Another dream come true - Coron, Palawan

Since this blog is a dream come true for me I would like to share another dream that just came true almost a year from now. You see I've been really wanting to visit Coron in Palawan, Philippines ever since I was in high school. Various plans were made to visit the place throughout the years but it just finally came true last October 2014. We booked the flight just a week after my birthday and I was really looking forward to it.

We flew with Philippine Airlines and arrived on a beautiful, sunny afternoon. The flight was quick and enjoyable. Upon arriving there, we were picked up by our hotel's kind staff. We stayed at Sophia's Garden Resort, a truly relaxing place at Coron. The garden was huge and very serene. We enjoyed having our breakfast at the gazebo and just chilling.  

Rooms at Sophia's Garden Resort are clean and really homey- a great place to rest after all the island hopping during the day!

Life in Coron is very peaceful. I miss waking up to this view very early at the morning. It's a great escape from the busy life in the metro. 

Island Hopping Day!

For our Coron escapade we visited 6 spectacular places: Siete Picados, Kayangan Lake, Banol beach, Floating Village, Twin Lagoon and Barracuda Lake.

Kayangan Lake was my favorite - even way back when I just saw it in photos. It's the cleanest lake in Asia. It's fun how you're able to see what's underneath because of the very clear waters.

We all had fun swimming at the pristine waters of Kayangan Lake. I've never seen such a beautiful place - truly God's amazing creation.

To reach Kayangan Lake we had to climb up hill and then downhill. I'm glad that this was our second destination since I still had my energy! Seeing this view was totally worth the mini hike. And since we went here during October the place was not crowded with people yet - good for us!

So picture perfect! We took this shot at the "resting place" of our up hill hike to the lake.

Coron is truly a beautiful place and I would love to go back again someday! As the popular saying goes, "The only impossible journey is the one you never make." And I'm glad that this trip happened. All praises to the Lord. The next adventure awaits, cheers! 

First post: Welcoming remarks

Hello there! Let's welcome each other to my blog. To be honest, I've always wanted to have my own blog but never really had the drive to come up with one, until now- we all have to start somewhere if we want something right? Anyways, I think that it's a good thing to share some of my  life experiences - sort of a public diary. I originally wanted a travel blog which partly explains the title of the blog but then it's not everyday that I get the chance to travel to new places. With that I decided that the blog could just be any journey of my life - it may be something exciting like a new travel adventure (the thought of it makes me soooo excited), a random food trip with friends, or a simple day to day happening of my life.

Well for now I think that's it! Hoping you all will stick with me :)