Month: April 2014

Going gaga over Toby

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…Toby’s Estate, that is. It’s the new Aussie coffee place that has made its way to Philippine shores and keeps me coming back for more. Considering that its two branches are both located in the busy, made-far-by-traffic city of Makati, that says a lot about its coffee. It’s simply delicious.

Going hipster in SG’s Tiong Bahru

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This post was supposed to be for yesterday, but since it took me forever to upload photos, I’ll just settle for a belated Happy Easter. And since I skipped a couple of days–whoops–I’ll make this an extra-special post…and that means PHOTOS. People are always surprised when I tell them that Singapore’s among one of my favorite places to visit. It might be small and–let’s face it–pretty hard on the wallet–but I find it far from boring. Aside from the super efficient public transportation system and the good security, one of the things I love about the Lion City is its interesting neighborhoods, among which is the über-hip Tiong Bahru. It’s a bit far from Singapore’s central area, but like every other place in the country, it’s accessible by bus or train. I took the bus, since I had time to kill, and I always like seeing the scenery pass me by. Just a quick primer about Tiong Bahru: it’s actually one of the oldest neighborhoods in Singapore. It was once called Mei Ren Wu (den of beauties), because this was where …

I want me some Mr. Coffee

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Came across this cool cafe while I was exploring Singapore’s Tiong Bahru district. Unfortunately, I had just gotten coffee at Forty Hands, so I passed up on trying Flock Café–which means I’ll just have to go back. Not that it’s such a hardship. Look out for my post about the ultra hip Tiong Bahru!

Signs and Second Chances

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Because I didn’t want to break my recent blogging streak (and because I haven’t posted any of my fiction stuff in a while), here’s a short story I wrote for my creative writing class two years ago. It’s loosely based on my NaNoWriMo 2012 novel–which I haven’t finished to this day, LOL. This was actually my initial draft, but I preferred it over the final work I submitted. The photo was taken during our stopover in Heidelberg back in 2009. We only stayed for a few hours, but I fell in love with the picturesque German city all the same. *Disclaimer: This is completely a work of fiction. * * * An hour from now, she’d think it had been serendipity that brought her there. But in that exact moment, it was the sign that called to her. Rather, it was the inscription on the sign. Six letters in the old German typeface painstakingly carved into a slab of weathered wood. Kaffee. The sign hung from a simple wrought iron rod protruding from the shop front, as did those of other establishments crowding the …

Hanging out with kids in a cemetery one Palm Sunday

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Yesterday, I joined one of my closest friends in celebrating her twenty-somethingth birthday in a cemetery. Wait–what? Yep, you read that right: in a cemetery. Before you get some crazy ideas in your head, I’ll go right ahead and tell it to you straight. We spent the afternoon hanging out with a big group of kids in a cemetery as part of ATD Fourth World‘s Festival of Learning.

Last week, I learned how to save a life

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*cue in music by The Fray* No, I’m not being dramatic. I did learn how to save a life…theoretically, anyway. That’s because I took a class on CPR, AED, and first aid for adults. You probably know what CPR is — cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or revival techniques like chest compressions and what we often call “mouth to mouth” — but if you’re anything like me, you’re might be going “huh?” about AED. It stands for “automated external defibrillator,” that handy device that “shocks” a failing or irregular heart into proper rhythm. But more about that later. I’d never planned on attending such a class, but when my brother invited me to join him and his team, I figured I might as well give it a shot. You never know when it’ll come in handy, right? They hired a team of licensed medics, and we all gathered bright and early on a Saturday morning for a full day of lectures and exercises.