My Plate Repost

I just read my old journal. 

It reads....

Dated Nov. 10, 2009

Title: My Plate

Do you know what funny is? I have been so tired for the past few days, with school, parties and work. It's time to put something straight in my life. Maybe a little less of the parties and more work and school. I am about to do some dramatic changes in my life for the coming months. It will be for the better. I can't tell you guys but one thing for sure, if all things go my way, I might not be here on my next birthday. By saying "here" means in this city. 

Finally, I know what I'm going to do with my life. Getting back to school and learning new tricks in engineering has always been so amazing lately. I know I have a lot of catching up to do but its never too late. I am preparing actually for an exam on March 2010 and by early next year, I'll be starting on my requirements for my admission for next year also. And there are tons of tons of people I'll be talking to. Time for me to go back to Ateneo and talk to my Profs. 

Life's really amazing and full of surprises. It's not perfect, and it will never will, but i am having fun. It's how you handle everything.

I am not going to worry about tomorrow. I will enjoy this wild ride.

Guess I did it. I am here.

Dreamy Seoul: Your Unofficial Guide to Food, Koreanovela and Winter Fashion

Destination: Seoul, South Korea

K-pop? Not exactly what I was hoping for but I was in it for the "whatever comes my way" attitude. I was like an empty cup ready for things to fill me in. What I'm more excited though is the weather. Winter. For someone who lives in a tropical country like me, winter is totally a different experience.

Myeongdong

Myeongdong-gil Main Street By Google Map

Myeongdong is the most strategic place for me to stay. I can see why my cousin likes the place very much. It is close to shops, foods and Lotte Mall. A lot of koreans and foreigners like myself come here for one reason, to shop. Shops like H&M, Etude, Zara, ABC Mart, Nike, New Balance, Adidas, Uniqlo and other korean brands. And Christmas, like most other cities in the world, Seoul is a discount haven.

Ibis Ambassador Hotel By Google Map

We stayed in Ibis Ambassador Hotel located along Namdaemun-ro for 7 days. It's a nice and clean hotel. I highly recommend this place. Room rates are reasonable and their bathroom is terrific. I forgot to take a picture but I am a bathroom kind of a guy. When I say its clean, it's really clean.

Like most travellers, "gastronomic" indulgence is on top of my list. I always like korean food and their wide arrays of sidedish. On our first night, we had our dinner in this traditional korean restaurant along Myeongdong 8-gil near Eulji-ro. But my favorite is the Twotwo Chicken. This is one of those accidental finds I share with my cousins. When you see a big pile of mouthwatering checkin cuts, we just go crazy. They serve generous serving of the best tasting garlic chicken in Seoul. They also have those authentic korean double fried chickens similar to Bonchon but richer in terms of taste. You have to find it. Its in Myeongdong 8-gil close to KFC.

First Korean Dinner

Christmas Eve Dinner at a Japanese Restaurant near the Hotel

Koreanovela

Heard of Coffe Prince? I am sure you all do. Thanks to the 5 year old map from a blog that I read, we got lost. To save you from that, take the subway and get off when u reached Hongik University Station and exit to gate 8, the blog said gate 4 (don't go there). You can just walk from the station. It is just a few blocks away. Refer to the map below.

You cant get inside if you want to take pictures only. So we decided to try out their best selling coffee so we could have our picture taking inside. We ordered cappuccino and white chocolate mocha with their best selling cake, the tiramisu. Surprisingly, the coffee is terrific. 

Coffee Prince Exterior

Inside Shot

Next stop is Nami Island. Even if you are not familiar with Winter Sonata like myself, you have to check out the island. We are not familiar how to get there, so we decided to take the tour. You can sign up online or ask for help at the hotel lobby you are staying in. The backdrop of the TV series is just breathtaking. Take a look.

Tita, Tito, Jan, HK, Me, Mhadz, Trisha and TJ

Everland 

Don't miss the Snow Buster!

Winter Fashion

You gotta love koreans during winter. They dress up so nicely. Definitely fur is so in. So if you are planning to go to Seoul during winter, get yourself a good quality thermal inner wear. The biggest misconception is layering of clothes. Avoid that unless you wanna be a 200lbs looking guy. Don't go there without a thick scarf, thermal gloves and cap. 

Overall, the key is try to read blogs about Seoul and go crazy around the city. You can check Seoul Tower too. If you are a big foodie like myself, this city wont disappoint you but if you are not a fan of spicy food, try to avoid any food with red color. I just ran 3 blocks with my mouth open to get to a convenience store to buy water after eating a super hot spicy chicken barbecue. If you are lucky, you get a non-english speaking korean. Just tragic. LOL

I will surely miss this city.

SOVEREIGN

“All the people of the earth, are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the people of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “what have you done?”” Daniel 4: 35

God is sovereign. 

As the summer of 2010 came to its inevitable end, I was standing at my life’s crossroad. Everything seems falling apart at that time. Our business was dying and relationships lost from betrayal and contempt. Although I have known Jesus Christ and accepted him as my saviour, I found myself drifting away because it was more comforting. I thought I deserve to be alone and miserable. 

My Mom has always been supportive all my life. During those times, she felt what I was going through. Considering it was more painful for her to have experienced our family tragedy,  she has this innate unconditional love for me. We talked for days about my plans of working abroad. Even though my plan was bleak as those summer nights, she gave her trust and helped me, financially and emotionally. I don’t know where she got her strength from, but nevertheless she was able to provide.

Four days after the May 10 Presidential election, I came out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport clueless. I remember staying in the arrival area outside for hours, gathering myself and looking for a place to stay for couple of days. I have so little that will probably get me through for two weeks in Manila. I stayed in a dorm type hotel in Cubao for two days. It turned out to be a strategic location because all my Job interviews were within the vicinity. 

I have vast experience in sales and quality control. As an engineer, it was a bit unnatural. God is indeed omnipotent. Although I had zero experience in design engineering, he gave me five job offers as a designer. God led me to an environmental engineering company in Quezon City. With my modest earnings, I was able to stay afloat and moved to a place in Mandaluyong City. 

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

I was involved in wastewater management projects for private companies within Metro Manila. It never crossed my mind to be in depth with environmental engineering but God has a purpose for me to be in this field. I forgot about my original plan to look for jobs abroad. I enjoyed learning and working with young engineers like me. New friends found and connections were formed. I committed fully to be an earth warrior.

My life was gradually picking up. I was able to reach out to those people I hurt in the past and my family here in Metro Manila. Yes, I have family here and life would have been easier if I reached out in the first place. But I want to learn life, with its bitterness and triumphs; the highs and lows. My family here helped me re-ignite my relationship with the Lord.

2012 was a year of change, both my personal and professional life. I know God gave me a lot of time to make myself fully equipped to take bigger responsibilities. By His grace, a door opened and gave me an opportunity to serve millions of Filipino. With this position, I am able to educate people about social responsibilities for environmental protection, giving people access to services that improve the quality of life and lobbying environmental policies to local government units. I know that we have a long way to recuperate the things that being lost from the environment, but the battle has begun.

I know my relationship with God is not perfect. I have a lot of things to learn about Him. I am not perfect. I have to learn how to forgive my father who caused my family tremendous pain. I pray to God that someday I might be able to fully let go. Everyday, I am grateful for the things that happened in my life. I am here because I was able to trust God. 

If you are reading this and you are in your life’s crossroad, my advise is to pray and trust God fully. You may not understand his plan, but God never falters. My life experience is an example of how God is faithful to his promise. 

Let me close this entry by quoting my favourite Bible verse from the songs of Psalm 31:6, “I trust in the Lord.”

Resonating RESON8S

For someone who works 24/7 as a Captain Planet, I can’t help but get excited when I hear something made from organic materials. Most of the products we have on the market today undergo intense manufacturing processes. It usually comes with solid and liquid wastes. It costs us millions of pesos to clean when wrongly discharged back to the environment. Trust me, I know this.

Last Thursday, I got my smartphone speaker made from Bamboo, RESON8S. This is one of those products I get excited about. Not only its 100% made in the Philippines but I personally know the designer. There are 2 people I know who are music junkies as I am, so I dragged my cousin and his wife to “test drive” this amplifier.

Reson8s is a bamboo amplifier that doesn’t need Meralco to play. Our first impression is, its simplicity – its OUTSTANDING. The best part is it works. It really amplifies the music. I got the RESON8S Titan. It fits perfectly to my Samsung Note 2. But we think that the smaller versions like the Minions and Nomads amplify louder. We feel like there is a significant correlation between the diameter and the length of the shaft on how the music is being amplified. Titans are huge so I hope they make it a bit longer.

Overall, I could not think of any product that is more suitable for your smartphones. With the increasing awareness on how we can contribute to the environment, I think RESON8S fits the bill. Available in different vibrant colours and sizes.

For more details please visit:

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/reson8s

Webpage: www.reson8s.weebly.com

And follow them on Instagram: reson8s

THIRTY

What is new after 30 years of existence? I would like to believe I became wiser and tamer. But in all honesty, I have no f*cking idea. I wonder sometimes if everything I have gone through and every changes I decided unto are worth it. 

Change is more than enduring a 4-hour painful tattoo session or updating one's zip code to another. I think change sometimes needs constant effort. What do I know about change anyway. I think I am just an ordinary guy who dreamt about making it big but instead found some unimaginably unwavering solace and solitude that make everything worth living in this huge new city. And think as if I made that huge impact in this world.. Hahaha 

If you guys look at my life right now, its not that promising. Not at all. The thing is that I am free, free in the sense that I can decide what coarse to navigate without worrying someone else as a collateral damage if I ever fucked up. Free in the sense also that I can just turn everything in my life in hell easily. You know what am I saying? The control that I have right now is so intensely and insanely mine. No excuses. No bullshits. 

Now, what to look forward to, let say, another 10 years? I am not sure about another 30 years though. LOL. I just wish I can be healthier and embrace vegetarian lifestyle soon. I need it so badly. I love my work, I just wish it will love me too in as much. Gee no relationship please, trust me, I am better off without it. My own place, I have this industrial, pipe exposing and chromed effect fetish for my place. I cant do those things at home because my lease contract doesn't allow me to do major changes.  

So yeah, I guess Happy Birthday to me.