Amelia's Nest

I can’t help but to get pity to those people who thought people will get envy at them bragging about what they have. To those people who thought they were the best at what they do because they were chosen to do something but not realising the reason why they were chosen. They were chosen because there were no other choices, except them.

Life is not about what you have. But what you make out of your life. It’s not the things that you owe or the things that you acquire. It’s about how well you relate to yourself and the people around you. It’s not about how many riches you make but how rich your soul is. At the end of it, people will remember you on how you make an impact in their lives or the question of how significant your life was to them.

It was exactly one year ago when I had my first flight bound from Manila to Singapore. And there was a blessing in disguise story behind that travel that only my immediate family knows about it. A somewhat interesting story to share after a year.

Let me bring you back to the 26th day of May 2008. Two days after my husband left Manila to work in Singapore. The day when I was supposed to be two hours early at the airport waiting and preparing myself for boarding. But I had only thirty-minutes left on my hand to do all the necessary things before boarding the plane. Yes, I arrived thirty-minutes before my intended flight at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2, where Philippine Airlines’ delegated airport is located. Poor me, I thought I will arrived at the airport two hours before but because the taxi driver that was supposed to pick-me up at the agreed scheduled didn’t show-up and the night before that day our car was parked at my husband’s cousin since hubby already left. And this leaves me with one option. And option, to ask my neighbor to drive me to the airport. Which I did, early morning I was knocking at their door and asking my neighbor a big favor. A favor that I was so thankful for. Luckily my neighbor was so kind to drive me to the airport. He was even so cautious of the time that he makes it a point that we didn’t get stuck in the traffic.

We arrived at the airport safe and sound, and gives me a second to thank them for their kindness. Then I hurriedly proceeded to the boarding pass counter. While on the queue I was praying so hard that I will be able to get through the trip. I was the last person that was listed. And to my surprised the supervisor advised the ground-attendant at the counter to checked me in at the business-class. What at a business-class? I asked my self why at the business-class because for all I know I bought an economy ticket. Did I hear it right I will be at the business class? Upon receiving my boarding pass I still didn’t get it or maybe my mind is just pre-occupied with another process at the airport. Next stop, the immigration counter. After the ground-attendant handed me the boarding pass, I was advised to go straight to the immigration counter. And again I got frustrated, another long queue. I prayed again that this will just be quick. And turned-out to be just quick. I immediately proceed to the bridge and gave my boarding pass to the flight attendant and she was very nice to me. She showed me my seat and I was shocked that I was seated on a business-class area of the plane. Wow! Was the first word I uttered upon seeing my seat? I looked around and it was indeed the business class area. Then a flight attendant asked me for any drinks, a wine, juice, coffee of my choice; asks me on what reading material I want, a magazine or newspaper; asks me what meal I want; asks me if I want a blanket; and the list goes on.

My heart was so delighted with what I got. I just can’t describe the feeling. I experience a hassle and stressful start of the day and later I got a so relaxed and enjoyable trip. I only got an economy ticket but I was seating at a business-class. A first-class service is what I got from what happened the morning of May 26, 2008. It was a blessing in disguise and God’s intervention works in mysterious ways. And this proves, everything happens for a reason and purpose. Just be grateful for whatever comes your way.

Last Tuesday, my colleagues invited me for lunch and since am new to the organization I give it a call and also to meet the team for that project. But I have to come down to their location since they are at the client’s office. It’s just one train station away from our office. Normally they have their lunch at 1:00 in the afternoon. I was in the meeting place five minutes early. I thought we will be eating at a restaurant or something more cool and cosy. But to my surprise they brought me to a hawker centre.

A hawker centre is a place where you can find many food options at a lower price compare to a food court. Say, you can buy a complete set of meal, like a bowl of noodles, a hainanese chicken rice, a nasi gore meal, an Indian curry meal or a mini-tampeng at a food court for S$5.00 but at a hawker centre you can buy it at the price of S$3.00. It’s cheaper but mind you the place is not as comfortable as in a food court. You have to bear the heat since it’s an open-area and sometimes you can see flies around. There are lot of variations, from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, and Indian food. The term "hawker" centres is mostly used in Hongkong, Malaysia and here in Singapore. They are usually located near a public housing and bus interchange or train stations.

That was my first time eating in a hawker centre been living here for a year now. But we never tried. Since husband and I prefer not to eat at those areas. Thou it’s inexpensive but we choose not. We rather cook our own food. Probably because we are used to Filipino food and husband’s stomach is so sensitive that we are cautious in what we eat. And since that was my first time I don’t know what to eat and so I relay with what my colleagues had ordered. I ordered for a local food, a Singaporean food. I give a so-so rating for the food and the over-all ambiance.

"Only those who know the supremacy of the
intellectual life can understand the grief
of one who falls from that serene activity into
the absorbing soul-wasting struggle with worldly annoyances."
-George Elliot, British Novelist 1819-1880

It was a dream come true for me when I had my wedding ceremony at the church that I so wishfully thinking when I was a little girl. Twenty years back, when I first stepped on to that church I was amazed and in awe on the structure. It was a magnificent church that I ever saw. The church has a long aisle, a very warm atmosphere with an impressive altar. Knowing it was the only steel church in Asia adds up to the grandiosity of the church.

From then on I promised myself that if I have to get wed it’s only here that I want to make that happen. And that promise came to life, on the 4th day of February, year 2006 at exactly five o’clock in the afternoon just before the sunsets; I was marching at the aisle of my favourite church to meet my husband-to-be, at the Basilica Minore of San Sebastian or popularly known as San Sebastian Church.


The church is located at Plaza del Carmen at Quiapo, Manila in the Philippines. Where the National Shrine of Mt. Carmel is placed. It has Gothic architectural structure and is said to be designed by Gustav Eiffel. It was recognized as one of the National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government since 1973. And in 2006 it was listed in the tentative list for the possible designation of World Heritage Site.

Have you ever thought of quitting from what you are currently doing? Because you’re no longer challenge. It becomes so monotonous for you that you can even deliver with a closed eyes. Or pressures coming from nowhere. That you can not handle the chaos in the work load given. Or worst you’re no longer happy with the people you’re dealing with. That it becomes so painful for you to go to work. There are a lot of reasons why employee quits from their job. Reasons that drives them to think cautiously if they will or will not resign.

And if one decides to quit, one should never burn bridges. That they should always have a smooth exit. Observe proper turn-over of tasks and unfinished to-do list. Render appropriate duration when terminating your service. So as to give due time for the company to look for a replacement that has more or the same skill-sets as yours. In this case, respect should be observed by both parties for them to be in the win-win situation. After all, it’s a small world. You’ll never know who you will encounter in the future.

The night before Mother's Day for 2009 I baked cake for my mother and twelve cupcakes for the kids. It's just a simple white cake with chocolate frosting and filling. Nothing extravagant about it but I still post it here anyway. My kids love the cupcake especially my son, he ate three cupcakes morning of mother's day after greeting, hugging and kissing me and my mum.

Afraid of losing our files again. Files that we most value, treasure and cherished. Pictures captured from those important gatherings and events. Videos that were taken candidly without take two's or take three's or cut. Music that we earnestly copied and saved. And some other things that were stored from my notebook. Must be stored in another place, a safer place. And so with this hubby and I decided to bought an external hard-drive for back-up. An external hard-drive that has 640GB, a Maxtor One Touch ™ 4 that gives you more space to save and back-up those important files. A back-up storage that you can depend-on.

Wish life has also this kind of thing.

Just like to drop a message to all mothers....

...I've thought a lot about that night. I believe my mother saved my life. I also believe that parents, if they love you, will hold you up safely, above their swirling waters, and sometimes that means you'll never know what they endured, and you may treat them unkindly, in a way you otherwise wouldn't.

But there's a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother's story, because hers is where yours begins...

-Mitch Albom, For One More Day, 2006 page 194

After two weeks of being away from us, my mother is back again. She went back to Manila to do so important things. She brought us some Filipino delicacies that I so missed such as Lala, local chocolate candy; Choc-nut, a combination of ground peanuts, milk, sugar and cocoa; Polvoron of Goldilocks; Yema, it's a sweet concoction made with milk and egg yolks; Matamis-na-Sampaloc, sweet tamarind candy; Hopia-Mongo, its a pastry filled with sweet split mung bean paste & Hopia-Ube, its a pastry filled with sweet split purple yam paste of Eng Bee Tin; Cinnamon bread from Red Ribbon; and Mamon of Goldilocks, a Filipino version of sponge-cake. Plus some other stuff for the kids and a rosary from my uncle. A sweet pasalubong from my mum and family back in Manila. Our dining table is now full of those delicacies. I love seeing those in our table.

Every time we go to Sentosa we never fail to miss riding The Luge and Skyride. A lot of fun and excitement. As the slogan says, "once is never enough", you will really hook into it. This picture was taken last March 28, 2009 and finally for the first time my son agreed with us to wear his helmet and ride the luge with his dad. As we were driving down the track that has 650 metres, I can hear him screaming and shouting "faster dad, faster". That was so memorable and unforgettable experience for all of us.

Finally, she arrived! That was my husband’s comment after a week of patiently waiting for his notebook to be delivered in our house. He bought the notebook last April 25 and it was only delivered yesterday afternoon, May 4. He really wanted that notebook and even after he purchased it he never stops browsing the net looking for pictures, reviews and write-ups for Dell XPS M1330. He really wanted that even asking my approval before purchasing it. Well, I have no doubts on my husband’s choice when it comes to gadgets, techie as he was I am convinced that this is a good buy.

What took it that long to arrived? It’s because it was customized for him. Instead of a 2GB it has a 4GB SDRAM Memory. Instead of 250GB it was upgraded to 500GB hard drive. Instead of Home Windows Vista it has Business Windows Vista. That makes it unique. Tailored fit for the user’s specification.


Compare to what I am using, a Compaq Presario V3000 that has simple features and specification his notebook has other superior one, it has:

Intel ® Cor ™ 2 Duo Processor T6400 (2Ghz/800 FSB/2MB Cache)
500GB SATA (7200 RPM) Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive
Tuxedo Black Slim & Light WLED display with VGA webcam
13.3” Ultrasharp widescreen WXGA (1280x800) display with TrueLife (0.3MP webcam)
6-cell 56Whr Lithuim Ion Primary Battery
Wireless Network Card Driver Kit
Intel® 4965 AGN Wireless-N Minicard
Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Roxio Creator 10
Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Combination Drive with dual layer write capabilities
Dell ™ Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module
Dell™ Travel Remote Control
Dell™ Media Direct
Palmrest with Fingerprint reader
RJ-11 Modem cable (AP)
Integrated Stereo sound
Noise Isolation Ear Buds
Video: VGA/HDMI output

What I like about this notebook is that it performs close to Apple MacBook and has no more disc tray just have to insert the disc on the slot. The keyboard is silver in color with aluminum casing and can be replaced and it has a good quality and size. No doubt that it’s a good gadget. To my husband, happy new toy and enjoy!

Do you prefer your meal to be prepared it's as if you're dinning in a fine restaurant? Or a buffet style? For me, I have this desire or whatever you may call it, that my meal should be prepared the same way as of those in the restaurant. Artistically arranged in a plate that is so pleasing to my eyes. And since I want that way, I also do this at home. Not only satisfying my want to have a nicely done meal and also I got to pamper hubby with my cooking and the presentation, and he loves it. As the saying goes "a way to man's heart is through his stomach", do you agree?

Here's one of the typical meal that I do. Baked fish (with tomatoes, garlic, onion, ginger & cucumber stuffing), fried shrimp(seasoned with pepper & thyme leaves), steam-buttered corn & carrots (side-dish) and white rice. Served with soda and dessert, a banana split. A nicely done meal!

All of us have experience pain in all its form. Be it physical, emotional, spiritual pain and what-not. But of all what weighs the most pain?

I have experienced both physical and emotional pain. The most painful part of being a woman, that is giving birth. Physically speaking the operation, the surgical cut and the risk of losing my life or my child’s life as well as the healing process takes a lot of courage and determination for me to overcome all of those. Taking into account the post-operation pain. The scar it leaves that will mark for the rest of my life. Emotionally, I have been in the most trying times of my life. Experienced losing a love one, been in a broken relationship, been betrayed, failed to meet the expectation and the list goes-on. This also leaves a spot in my heart.

We experience pain from the simplest to the hardest form of it. And we all undergo the healing process. We get hurt, feel the pain, we concentrate on what to do and then we heal and on the course of healing we experience pain again. It’s unending process. It’s a cycle. Pain is inevitable. That’s part of human life. It's been there before we even exist.