Free Dinner always taste best...

It was about 5 pm. We have just finished our staff meeting. Our manager, Boyet has just gotten his new silver Innova Toyota. Last month, he got his promo.... We were teasing him that he ought to give us joy ride and treat us to dinner afterwards. Being a true gentleman that he is (ehemmmmm) he gave in to our request....



















On our way to Tagaytay, we were enveloped with very thick fog...almost zero visibility....The wind was so strong..as if a typhoon was coming...hmmnn...cold...brrr...The low temperature in Tagaytay did something to our appetite. We relished our yellow cab pizza and some fried chicken wings. Yehey..we had a nice time... and hope we could have another one like this soon:-) thanks a lot, Boyet....may your tribe increase!

STANDING IN AWE OF OUR GOD

I STAND IN AWE OF YOU

You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words
Too wonderful for comprehension
Like nothing ever seen or heard

Who can grasp your infinite wisdom?
Who can fathom the depth of your love?
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above.

CHORUS:

And I stand, I stand in awe of you
I stand, I stand in awe of you
Holy God to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of you.


In our life, there are so many things that are happening that we can't comprehend. It is so comforting to know though that Someone up there is in total control of everything.... We may not understand the reason why He allowed certain things to happen yet these things happen because of His great plans for all of us. Just like how my most favorite gospel song goes....

"Who can grasp your infinite wisdom?
Who can fathom the depth of your love?
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above"

Giving importance to what really matters... right now...

I am confused.

The other day, I accompanied my mother to the hospital for the first of the 3 sessions of eye laser treatments. It was done to stop the bleeding of some veins at the back of her eyes. Mother is suffering from type 2 diabetes and it can cause blindness if not acted upon fast. She experienced on and off vision which the doctor termed as an eye attack.

Mother is having a hard time coping with father's sudden demise. On top of that, we can't find her a permanent helper in the house. All her children are married and working so she is alone in the house except for her sister who visits her now and then during the day. One niece stays with her at night time. Mother is very frail and she doesn't eat much these days because she said she doesn't feel like eating:-( She needs someone who truly loves her to take care of her at this point.

I am sure that she will love to have a son or daughter live with her for a while. Getting her out of her 'territory' is not an option. She just wouldn't budge. This is a problem, indeed.

The only days that I could offer are my weekends. However, I have my MBA classes on Saturdays until 5:30 in the afternoon. This is the reason why I can't visit her on weekends as much as I want. When I enrolled this term it was more because I wanted to keep myself busy so as not to give loneliness some space. I forgot that my mother needs somebody by her side especially now..... So... I am in a dilemma - Should I drop one subject to be able to visit her more often? Or should I just wait for the end of the term? My heart says that I should drop it now but I am also thinking of the money, time and effort I have invested so far...

My mother is already 67 years old..I am young and I can have the rest of my life to finish my MBA...My mother needs me now......I believe I should give her my time now...

Tomorrow, I will talk to the dean that I am going to drop my class in the afternoon. I need to give way to what is more important in my life....

HONGKONG SIDETRIP

it's always beautiful when mountains and ocean meet....


Central Hongkong


What would you do if you have 7 hrs in between flights? Of course, you have to maximize and try to visit the country you are in with those limited hours. That was what my friend Leah and I did. We decided to see Hongkong as much as we could .....with these limited hours.

First, we took the airway express train and got off at Hongkong Central.



Then, we tried the Peak Mountain View ride.



We also cruised the Hongkong bay....



.....and we enjoyed harbor walk in the Avenue of the Stars.

Hmmnn..it was a marathon visit and we ached all over..all those walking and running....while reading the map.. (poor Leah lost her balance and fell down in Central Hongkong) and with our heavy laptop backpacks all the time.... it was a very tiring sidetrip but we will surely do it again next time.....

My first trip to SHANGHAI, CHINA (July 10-16, 2005)

Yu Garden


"Work on your Chinese Visa for the CS Asia Capital Face to Face and CCF/FAA Roadshow Training" that was Chui Lin, my manager. "Be ready to be in Shanghai on WW29". Cool! I will be able to visit one of intriguing countries for me since I was child. I have always been fascinated by the traditional Chinese houses, dresses and foods (yummy!) Here's the chance to see what I have just heard or read in the past about China and Chinese people in general.

The Golden buddha in the restaurant where we had teambuilding dinner


July 10, I was prompted by my husband to wake up following the alarm from my cellphone. Hmm.. it was 3:30 in the morning. My flight was at 8:00am but I need to be in the airport at least 2 hrs before the flight and we also live about 1.5 hr drive to the airport.
My flight to Hongkong was okay but my connecting flight to China was delayed for 2 hrs. When I finally arrived in Shanghai, I was flashing the Chinese name of the hotel where I have made the reservation to the taxi driver when there was this man who got my suitcase and prompted me to follow him. I thought he was a good samaritan helping me with my heavy load. He was walking so fast and I had a hard time following him. He led me to a taxi at the carpark under a building just opposite the airport. He talked to the driver in Chinese after putting my suitcase at the back of the car and then he left. I was starting to feel nervous that time. The driver seemed friendly enough and kept on chatting with me with his limited English vocabulary. I asked him how much it would cost me to the hotel and he said we will use the meter. I thought it was okay.


China's unique architectures




We were already in the highway when suddenly the man who accompanied me to the taxi showed up and rode with us. I felt that something was wrong. He sat in front with the driver and used his handphone. I just prayed that everything will be okay. When I spotted the facade of my hotel, I wondered why they did not park in the hotel entrance and instead stopped in the next street.

I had this gutfeel that they are going to trick me. True enough, when I looked at the meter, it was showing RMB450.00. What!?X%&* Earlier on my manager briefed me that the normal rate is only RMB150.00. Indeed! crooked people are everywhere.

With my friend Chern chern from Malaysia


This made my first trip to China really unforgettable. It's a good thing that I never tend to generalize people. I have good Chinese friends who upon hearing my sad experience sort of made up for me. I had a pretty hectic night life for the whole week. Shopping, or eating or just looking around....