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My Home Sweet Home

March 18th, 2012 | Posted in Personal - (4 Comments)

“Nagtatrabaho para mabuhay pag weekdays at mag enjoy pag sabado. Ayuz”

I LOL’d when I read this tweet by the famous Ramon Bautista. As a corporate slave, you work and you work to get through the five working days, 8-9 hours a day. While doing this, you’re looking forward to the weekend so you can enjoy it by lying around the house, going to the mall, watching a movie, traveling, or just spending some quality time with loved ones and friends. Lather, rinse, repeat–it has become a weekly cycle. But of course, life is not just about these. There is so much more to live for. Mr. Bautista’s statement above just makes complete sense sometimes. :)

For me, one of the reasons I am working my butt off everyday is so I can pay off my mortgage loan. This is the result of the decision I made two years ago to stop renting and get a condo unit near my office. Some days, I regret that decision I made (because paying off a loan is not actually a walk in the park) but most days, I am just glad I have a place where I can stay permanently.

Just last week, the bank and the condo developer called me up to say I can pick up my Condominium Certificate Title which is now under my name. I was beyond thrilled! The condo is finally under my name!

Although, nothing’s changed really. I’m still gonna be setting aside thousands of bucks every payday and queuing at the bank every 7th of the month to pay my dues. I’m still gonna be incapable of building my “savings”, but it does feel good to finally hold another “Evidence of Assets” in my hands that I’ve so worked hard to get.

Fourteen years until I can really call this place “mine.” It’s a long way to go, but #LetsLookAtTheGlassHalfFullShallWe, LOL.

Here are a couple of pictures of my place taken two years ago. So clean and so new! So far from what it is in its current state! I won’t even dare take a photo of it now and post it here. Haha.

Now, that we’ve got the CCT-under-my-name thing out of the way, let’s restore this place to it’s former glory, yes? :D

Beijing and Harbin Trip 2012

March 2nd, 2012 | Posted in Travel Tales - (1 Comments)

So I did say that I was going to document my trips this year. But seeing that I’m still too lazy and busy to write, I’ll just post this video I put together a few days ago. Although, it would have actually taken me a shorter time composing a blog compared to the time I spent creating this video, which took hourssss, as I had to learn iMovie from scratch. (Final Cut Pro was acting up on me, thank Jobs for iMovie!) Guess I enjoy making videos now (See more here.) The amateurish outcome does not bother me at all. Haha.

One word to describe China in February: FREEZING. And at -20°C, I mean that quite literally.

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2011 Travels

January 21st, 2012 | Posted in Travel Tales - (7 Comments)

A few weeks ago, while I was fixing the wedding site of my friend, Van, I got to reread what she wrote about me on her ‘bridal party’ page:

I met Joni 3 years ago through Jeff’s friend Deej, Joni’s boyfriend. At first, we usually saw each other whenever there were surf trips and I came to know Joni as soft-spoken, intelligent and someone who I can have great conversations with. A photographer and blogger, our trips were well-documented…

Upon reading the last line in the quote above, I felt disappointed in myself. Where did the “photographer” (just a hobbyist, really) and the “blogger” in me go? Whatever happened to the “trips well-documented”?

More importantly, will I ever win my blogging mojo back?

So for the sake of looking back on my 2011 travels that I may share them here as we start the year 2012 –since I don’t really have the energy to go through and document them one by one– let me just give the summary:

Hong Kong

In January, our boss invited Deej and me to join him in a Sqwishland event in Hong Kong. Out of the three times I’ve been to Hong Kong, I consider the trip last year the best one, weather-wise! (I would say December-February is the best time to visit Hong Kong.) And of course, I will never ever get enough of Disneyland Hong Kong. <3

Cebu and Bohol

In February, I planned a trip to Cebu and Bohol for me and some friends from the office—from booking the flights and hotel, to preparing the itinerary. The new thing I did on this trip was to try out the zip line at the Loboc Ecotourism Adventure Park. My second time in Bohol and fourth in Cebu, I have once again proven the phrase “the more the merrier!”

Zambales

The only summer beach trip I went to in March last year was to Nagsasa Cove with girlfriends. I extremely enjoyed basking in the beauty of nature and bonding with friends, but I can’t say the same for our camping site which was frog-invested! Eek.

Bauan

In September, Sarj and I mustered enough courage to cross out one item from our Bucket List: becoming a certified scuba diver! Our checkout dives at Dive & Trek in Bauan, Batangas almost caused me to develop thalassophobia (I had to look up the exact term for Fear of Open Water, LOL). However, when we moved on to our “fun dives”, I realized how enjoyable and relaxing diving really is! The last 3 dives we did was, for lack of a better term, nakakakilig. It’s too bad my dive buddy is not here in the Philippines. I can’t just go on a diving trip by myself anytime I want. :(

Singapore

They say a trip has to be spontaneous if you want it to push through… and I couldn’t agree more! During one of our Skype chats last year, Bheng and I spontaneously booked return tickets to Singapore for October. We realized it’s been a while since the three of us spent some quality time together that we took Sarj’s invitation for us to come visit her too seriously. And of course, CebuPacific’s 50% Seat Sale only but hastened our decision.

Thoroughly enjoyed my third time in Singapore with these lovely ladies!

Korea

No doubt the best place I’ve been to last year is Seoul! Saw it in its lovely autumn state in November and felt the coldest weather I have yet to experience. Thanks to Jep and Vanny’s dedication to come up with a comprehensive itinerary, the Korea trip was a complete success. How apt would it have been if I was also into Koreanovelas or K-Pop! But the place itself is enough to make a tourist like me fall in love with it.

They say it’s lovelier there in Spring – I must go back. :)

Well I must give myself a pat in the back for successfully writing and finishing this post… after such a long, long time! *Crossing my fingers* that I may keep up this blogging thing. For trips this 2012, let’s see if I can get them well-documented.

Happy New Year!

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