Because I SERIOUSLY miss my daily dose of caffeine
Nine days to go…hopefully *fingers crossed* Photo taken in Gyeongju, South Korea by my brother. Thanks, Kuya!:)
Month: September 2012
Korea Day 3: Gyeongju Weekend Jaunt Pt. I
Back when our trip to Korea was still on the drawing board, we’d asked Sue what place/s she’d recommend for cultural/traditional value. Straight out, she said, “Gyeongju”. I don’t know about you, but I myself had never heard of that place before then. And so, I turned to the modern encyclopedia of Wikipedia and the master catchall of knowledge–that little thing we call Google. Gyeongju was the ancient capital of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. It is located in the province of North Gyeongsang in South Korea, a bit over two hours from Seoul when traveling by rail. Notable spots include the Seokguram grotto and the Bulguksa temple, both of which have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Aside from these though, Gyeongju is liberally peppered with historical and cultural treasures that bring in both local and foreign visitors alike.
Apple Updates
My brother just bought a new MacBook Air, finally converting to Apple. He was asking me all these questions about the features, and I was like, I don’t have that in my laptop?! Yes, I’ve been lazy in updating my software. I heard about Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion, but was never really interested in them. First off, because I had to pay for the updates. Even though Mountain Lion IS relatively cheap at $19.99, I’m a cheapskate when it comes to things like this. I’d rather buy a good cup of coffee, a new book or a round-trip ticket to some faraway Now that I’ve the time to actually review the updates on the Apple website, I found myself giving in to the lure of that Buy button — if only so I can really utilize the iCloud feature in tandem with my phone. I had to get the latest update for my OS X first; that took around an hour to download and set up. As for the Mountain Lion…dang, that download is …
And The Verdict Is…
Acid reflux. Say whuuut? I guess it’s one of the many wonders of the human body–the interdependence of the different systems and organs. Two years ago, I experienced this clog in my ear, like what you’d get after swimming. Only, I had not swum in ages, and no matter how much I tried to clean my ear or pound water out of it, it was still there. I was scared that I was going half-deaf, plus I was worried that it would worsen during my upcoming business trip to Germany. So, I hustled myself down to the hospital, and after consults with two ENTs, it was determined that there was a buildup of mucus at the back of my ear. Basically, it was a byproduct of your common cold. The doctor prescribed meds for my cold, along with painkillers. The heavy juice was for my flight, in case I’d have problems due to the pressure when changing altitudes–you know, when your ears pop during take off? True enough, I did experience some pain. Felt like …
One trip I’m not excited about
At this very moment, I’m sitting in a blue polycarbonate chair, waiting for the doctor to show up. Hospitals are probably the only places that will never be appealing to me no matter what glamorous city or picturesque country they’re in. There’s always that heaviness in the air, that feeling of dread that’s only highlighted by the ultra white glare of the typical fluorescent lights, that sense of gloom that permeates in the almost frenetic energy of doctors, staff and patients alike. Can you tell just how phobic I am of hospitals? Back when I was in high school and was in the process of figuring out what courses to apply for in college, some of my classmates thought I’d go for Medicine. I was flabbergasted; I couldn’t figure out if they were joking or not. Apparently, they came to that idea due to my enjoyment of the whole frog dissection assignment in second year Biology class. But really, I cannot stomach the notion of spending most of my waking hours in hospitals. The mere …
Starbucks
Last night, I passed by for my friend over at Starbucks and noticed that they were featuring a new coffee concoction–Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuccino. I like caramel; I love mocha…come to think of it, I do like salt, as well. What’s a girl to do but go and check it out? I had the perfect opportunity to do so earlier today, as I killed time in Starbucks while waiting for my 1 pm “Online Journalism” workshop to start. Got the hot drink because, once again, more calories in the frap (or is that all in my mind? LOL). So about the drink…well, it was – of course – served in the standard Starbucks paper cup. I was curious as to the “presentation” of the actual drink so I removed the lid. It basically looked like your typical mocha with whipped cream, only this time, the cream was also topped with caramel sauce and rock salt. The first sip was pretty good. Nothing mind-blowing, but good. As the name suggests, it was mocha infused with caramel …
Gadget Lust: Kindle Paperwhite
My golly, I’m in lust again. One of my favorite gadgets and among my top travel must-haves is Amazon’s Kindle. Back in 2010, I bought the Kindle Keyboard as my first “Ooh, I’m a working girl now!” gift for myself. It took much deliberation until I decided that, yes, it’s worth the investment, and finally gave the go-signal for the purchase. True enough, I never regretted trading in my paperbacks for an e-reader. I remember that moment of breathless wonder when I first opened that cardboard box and unearthed my newfound treasure. There was an image on the screen and it looked to me like a graphic protective sticker. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that it actually was the screen itself. That was just how amazing the technology was. It’s nothing like an iPad–though I’ve had many friends press the screen, expecting it to be touch-controlled. I’ve never really had the urge to purchase an iPad, for the very reason that I’ve got an iPhone for all those games and apps, a …
SG Snapshots
It’s been more than a month since I got back from Singapore. Think it’s right about time that I close that particular chapter of my trip journal. Here are some photos of memorable places that I explored and experiences that I encountered. 🙂
New trip lined up! :)
Yes, I am officially going to Boracay!!! SO excited; it’s my first time there! It really wasn’t in my plans to go anytime soon, but my sister’s spending the All Saints Day week there with my brother and their friends, and she invited me to stay with her for free at the hotel she booked. That’s one big expense down, at least. I was initially dithering about booking my flights–they’re quite expensive since it’ll be peak season at that time. Then I promised myself that I would finalize everything by today. As my luck would have it, Cebu Pacific opened a Seat Sale just this morning, and that included flights from Manila to Caticlan. Binggo! I purchased a one way promo ticket from CebuPac then got the return flight via Airphil Express. It all amounted to P5,207.56, more than a thousand bucks cheaper than the flights I initially intended to get. It’s still more expensive than my booking to Cambodia, but that’s pretty good, considering that I got them kind of last minute. After finalizing …
UCC (Ueshima Coffee Co.)
Kori Kohi. One of my ultimate coffee indulgences. The first time I tried this (probably a year ago or so), it was just a special offering of UCC’s. Now, it’s already included in their regular menu, and with good reason–it’s sooo incredibly good! It’s served in threes: a 0.25 liter carafe of warm fresh milk, a small pitcher of sugar syrup and a tall glass filled with delicious coffee ice cubes (or should I say cubelets, as they’re small? LOL). You pour the milk over the ice and watch in delight how the ice melts and mixes with milk to create a really nice taupe color. Then you pour in a bit of syrup for sweetness. Yummy!!! I love this different take on iced coffee because it eliminates that pesky watery taste of regular ice melting into the drink. Best thing about it is that you can flavor it according to your taste. At Php199, it’s pricier than a Starbucks or Coffee Bean drink, but it’s totally worth it. So far, I haven’t found …
wander write now 