The Power of Introverts
Photoblog: Henderson Waves
Singapore may be a small dot in globe but there are tourist attractions in this country built though the creativity of talents.
One of them is Henderson Waves.
Henderson Waves is one of the attractions that shouldn’t be missed by photo lovers. It is one of the bridges connecting Telok Blangah, Henderson Road, and Mount Faber.
When going there at night, you can capture a glimpse of Singapore city lights.
Just don’t forget your tripod!
Exposure: 1/8 sec. F/4.2. Focal 62mm. ISO 1600. Nikon D200. Title: Henderson Waves, Singapore. 2010.
Til next time. Au revoir.
Dreams Never Die
I was watching series of videos in YouTube. And I accidentally watched this video in the form of advertisement.
I was amazed and touched by this video and can’t help not to share with everybody.
Dreams never die.
An inspiring story of a band borne during the 1960s. Time went by but the grandfather’s passion for music didn’t fade.
We all have our dreams and passion. Sometimes, life just made us continue living. Sometimes, we give up those dreams for our loved ones. And a lot of various reasons – countless chagrins in life.
The video imparts that no matter what, we shouldn’t let our dreams buried in silence. Time passes and dreams will always remain in our hearts.
These are the pioneers of Singapore.
Til next time.
Au revoir.
From A Dollar To Hundred Times Fold!
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Luke 06:38 NIV
It is unknown to many that our third sibling battled cancer for the last two years. When our mother passed away last January, she casually told the rest of the siblings that she will will be next. It never occurred to my mind that her statement will happen. And so, be told.
In the hubris of our youth, death is a black mark that we don’t spoke of. And to grieve is a parcel that all of us will receive. Death is part of life and the subject of grief normally caused numbness in the brain; a subject most people will deny.
As we succumb to the black hole with the passing of loved ones, hard as it may seem, God has always been there overseeing the process and ensuring that we will overcome the loneliness, anguish, and confusion.
It took a while before I realized and recall how God helped our family during the passing of our third sibling.
One benefit of compartmentalization is your ability not to cry nor show sadness to your customer as you receive the Facebook messages that your sibling passed away. I was in the middle of customer systems setup and testing when I learned about my sister’s passing. I hold on to my composure and waited few hours; burst my tears as soon as I reached the hotel.
A day after, I traveled back to Singapore. In the flight, I was seated with Caucasian married couple. There was a flight delayed due to one passenger who checked in with luggage and decided not to take the flight. The budget airline flight stewardess started to offer the drinks to us but it came with a fee. The wife, who was having tough time understanding the Malaysian accent, mistakenly thought the drinks come free so she ordered coffee. The husband was asleep at that time. As the flight stewardess asked for payment, the wife was astounded. The husband awoke and started to look for Malaysian Ringgit only to find out that they were short of currency. Alternatively, the flight stewardess advised them that they can pay with Singapore Dollars. As they started to look for another set of currency, they started to panic. They were only a dollar short.
I spoke to the stewardess and handed her a dollar. The sheepish couple started their argument until I told them not to think about it. It’s part of traveling to foreign countries. Some practices we’re not used to; we will pick it up along the way.
The couple’s name was Dave and Misti, both Americans but relocated to Italy due to Dave’s work. As we’ve started our descend to Singapore, the three of us started to talk about so many topics. They wanted to treat me at Starbucks Coffee, but I have to declined as my husband will be waiting for me at Changi Airport. We had very good discussions and laughter; an experience I’m grateful as it let my mind off from grieving.
Couple of days later, we had our Moriah AG caregroup scheduled. I decided not to attend and have requested our caregroup to pray for my sister’s eternal repose. It’s better to isolate and seek God; a moment grieving people need the most. My sister’s passing was painful to us but the deep cut went to her family – her husband and her children some of them are still in primary school. My brother in law supported my sister all through out and battling cancer back home can immediately wipe out savings and assets if you’re not covered with proper insurance. My brother in law’s properties were mostly gone and our siblings can’t help much in the interment as we’re just recovering financially from our mother’s hospitalization and interment expenses.
The following day me and my husband Gnex attended our church service with Moriah AG. To my surprised, one of our caregroup brothers talked to me and handed me a white envelope with our caregroup’s condolence money for my sister’s family. Flabbergasted with teary eyes, I thanked my caregroup for being there. It meant so much for my sister’s family; not only for the interment finances but also to the kid’s allowances as they’re still schooling.
In the end, God proved His faithfulness and showed His mercy to our family during difficult times.
Ever grateful. Ever thine. Ever loved.
From a dollar to hundred times fold.
Til next time. Au revoir.
Life Or Death Or Exodus: Christians at the Middle East
A call to public!
A benevolent tears from fellow Christians!
A call for prayers.
When me and my husband were on our way back to Singapore from my Penang consulting assignment, I decided to get a Time magazine for April 21, 2014 issue. In the flight I was digesting the reason why I bought the magazine:
Credits: Time Magazine: http://www.time.com
I immediately flicked my fingers to the article that caught my attention. And sure enough, I can’t help not to be teary when I started to read the article. Our Christian brothers and sisters in northern Syria are on utmost distress. Faith, which is supposed to give comfort to the human soul are now tormenting them. For them, being a Christian would require paying 650 Syrian pounds as protection (Baker 2014). It can only be equivalent to USD 4, but when there is no stable economic resources, even this can be tantamount to huge amount for people living in the war zone. If they cannot pay, it can only mean conversion to Islam or face the consequences through the sword (Ibid.). While a number of Christian population have fled the region, those who were left behind are facing the fear of giving their lives or an ‘exodus’ of their faith when the economic tides are low. I often ponder,
Just how deep is our Christian faith that we’re willing to give our lives and die for Christianity?
How far would you go?
Credits: Time Magazine: http://www.time.com
Here’s a call for prayers. A call for all denominations of Christianity. Roman Catholics. Eastern and Oriental Orthodox. Protestants. Anglicans. Pentecostals. Independent Churches. And all other denominations that I haven’t name due to my limited knowledge of Christian study and history.
Let’s pray for our Syrian Christian brothers and sisters. Let’s pray for all our brothers and sisters in the Middle East facing the crossroads of retaining their lives or die in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That God would defend them from the hands of corrupt Muslims and Islam extremist.
Islam is a religion of peace. It’s only when human take matters into their hands through a twisted ideology and hunger for power comes the extreme group which aims to justify the use of violent Jihad. Requesting our Muslim friends to help us pray that Christian lives in Syria would be spared from monetary obligations and tyranny.
Reference article from Time Magazine dated April 21, 2014 – Unholy Choices by Aryn Baker.
Til next time.
Au revoir.
In Memoriam: Jovita Regis Ipanag
She was born in 1933. Her mother is a Filipino and her father with Spanish blood – Regis.
In her teenage years, World War II has broken. Like majority of her age group, education during World War II is scarce. She wasn’t able to finish her primary school. She was the eldest daughter in her family; she looked after her younger siblings while helping her parents the best she can. Nearing her 20th age, she fell in love. But her parents favors someone whom they know can provide her a better life. She stand on her decision to follow her heart; instead, she married the man she loves.
Her marriage gave her 9 children; one of them died. Stricken with poverty, the family was able to breakthrough. Like many of my countrymen, working overseas is one of the best way alleviate poverty. And so does our family. She did the best she can and be the best mother to us. She lived the life of a homemaker, so she can take care of her kids. And when we were sick, she always have the best medicine – Royal True Orange with egg yolk to drink and there’s always Skyflakes to eat. Life is simple back then.
I was sickly among her kids. Since the day I was born, my first month is celebrated in Cebu hospital. During the time of sickness, I remember her carrying me until the age of 10 so I can go to the toilet and move around our home. All the things a mother would do for her children. Even though she didn’t finish school, she did all she can to help our father. I remember helping her to make ‘Ice Candy’ and ‘Yelo’ (home made Ice) and we sell it to kids and neighbors during late 1980s.
She have undergone the hurdles of married life. At one point, I recall when I was 12 years old that she wanted to break the marriage, that she couldn’t take it anymore; but then, she decided to stay. I overheard her conversation with her friend, she stayed as she doesn’t want me to grow up from a broken home. And she loved our father so much to break the marriage.
So even when our father passed away, remarrying never crossed her mind. She rather spent her time with her children, her grand children, and great grand kids.
She embraced getting old with her own style of feminine grace. Always well groomed with her classy outlook and nature. Even when she stayed in the hospital, doctors and nurses can’t help but to praise her fashion sense and her tidiness.
However, all good things has to come to an end. Our physical body degenerates and accept that one day, our once strong and healthy physique will shake hands with frailty and deterioration. Until the time our body will cease to perform and embrace death.
Life is real! Life is earnest!And the grave is not its goal;Dust thou art, to dust returnest,Was not spoken of the soul.~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
She left us last January 2014 at the age of 80. It was only few weeks before her 81st birthday and we’re praying that we would still celebrate with us.
Sadly, she rejoined God.
Her last request was that she and our father will be buried together. She carried her love to our father until the grave.
It is then I realized how the vow of marriage is fulfilled – Til death do us part.
Few weeks ago, on March 5th, the family celebrated her 40th day of passing. It is our customary belief that on the 40th day, the soul of our departed loved ones would crossover and rejoin God.
She will always be in our hearts. She was a daughter to her parents, a sister to her siblings, a mother to us. Amazing woman who undergone the challenges of life – her own personal self, her married life, her family.
Family photo when our father passed away – May 1993
Family photo when our mum passed away 20 years later – January 2014Photo Credits: Geraldine Ipanag
To a great woman. Our mother. Not only that we owe you our lives but our entire being.This is in memoriam of Jovita Regis Ipanag. We will always missed you Nanay Bita.
This is the song she used to hymn with us.
Cheers.
P.S. This article is the toughest one I’ve written in my life.
Til next time. Au revoir.
Photoblog: Sunrise
The beauty of sunrise reminds us the wonders of our upcoming day. God’s love is like the sunrise – touching our lives with its conglomerate of rays. Each of us has our own battle to face and and sunrise gives us the strength each day reminding us that God is always there and will never abandon us.
The early morning mists lying on the leaves of the plants will simply bow down like an accolade giving way to sunrise. A beginning of hopes, dreams, and aspirations. A beginning of change for the better.
When was the last time you experienced the invigorating beauty of sunrise?
Take some time off from the noise of the city and relived those days when you can enjoy sunrise with your loved ones. Create your inspiration and passion. Recognize God’s love.
This picture was taken at Cameron Highlands Malaysia on July 7th 2013 when me and my husband needed a breather and enjoy one of God’s creation.. The nature…
To see the full size picture, click here.
Til next time. Au revoir.
A Taste of Heaven at Calle Real
I often admire my Singaporean friends and family on their love for food. Singaporean loves to eat. And that makes Singapore a food paradise for everyone. Singaporeans will not restrict their taste buds to their own but is willing to get savory taste on new culinary places in the country.
In the heart of East Coast Road lies a restaurant waiting for everyone to experience the authentic Spanish Filipino dishes that will delight everyone including the food connoisseurs.
Calle Real at 425 East Coast Road
I have known the owners of Calle Real since early 2000 when their family moved and settle in Singapore. A very lovely family and their kids grew up here as they have been here since 1996.
The owners came from a family a chef. Needless to say, their aeipathy for creating their own food fusion will never ceased.
Fall in love with Calle Real’s Seafood Esta Galore – This is their fusion of coconut milk with a little brandy, coconut flakes, basil, mussels, squid, scallop, prawns, & dry shitake mushrooms cooked in perfection.
Why Calle Real?
The owners’ family food business started with Cafe Calle Real influenced by their father from their Spanish blood lineage. Their parents came from the lines of professional chefs in Philippines. The decision of choosing the name Calle Real for the family restaurant came from an old book called ‘Old Manila’. The said book was given to their family with the desire of opening their own family food business in Calle Real in Intramuros Philippines. Their motivation to continue their passion for cooking came from all the compliments they received not only from friends and family but also from big renowned restaurants in Philippines including ‘Josephines’ restaurant in Tagaytay. Due to their family’s frequent movement following the job relocations, they opened up their food catering business in Singapore since 1998. Later on, they opened up their first restaurant in Roxy Square.
Why choose East Coast Road?
After choosing few locations for their food business, they decided to settle to the place where they started. They fell in love with East Coast Road; their very place when they first set their foot in Singapore.
What are the MUST TRY dishes?
Calle Real’s grand opening last April.
Calle Real offers a whole lot of food variety to satisfy your Spanish – Filipino cuisine cravings. Among my favorites are the following:
1. Lechón de leche (Baby suckling roasted pig): Lechón is from Spanish influence and very famous in Spain colonized nations such as The Philippines. Calle Real made this dish stand among others.
The tender meat of Lechón de leche..
2. Tripple Enchelada: Enchalada is the Spanish word for ‘salad’. Tripple enchalada is a three set of salads in one serving – a combination of mango salad, eggplant salad, and a salted egg salad.
Tripple enchalada: Mango Salad (left), Eggplant salad (Middle), Salted Egg Salad (Right)
Mango Salad..
Eggplant salad..
3. Seafood Paella: The Paella dish originated in Valencia, Spain. Widely accepted around the world and due to Spanish influence in the Philippines, paella has become one of the favorite dishes that mothers and wives will cook during special occasions.
Calle Real’s yummy Seafood Paella…
4. Seafood Esta Galore: Ahh… this is my favorite and my featured food here..
A 100% must try at Calle Real..
5. Calle Real’s Baked goods: For the sweet tooth folks, you will never be left out with Calle Real’s variety of cakes and baked products.
Sylvannas cake
Leche Flan (Custard Based)
Ahh… My favorite Brazo De Mercedes.. They made it right in Calle Real..
This Red Velvet cake is an entry from their daughter.. Cooking and baking will never run out in the family..
Combined it all together..
The Ambiance
Calle Real’s ambiance depicts The Philippines and its cultural heritage from Spain. The place is decorated with books, paintings showing their gratitude to the soil that gave life. The music is dominated by Ottmar Liebert, their favorite music artist.
CONCLUSION
Calle Real is a must try place if you want to experience the Spanish Filipino authentic dishes that you never had before.
Buena comida, buenos amigos, y buen vino son siempre bienvenidos!
English translation: Good food, good friends, and a good wine is always welcome!
Til next time. Au revoir.
Walk by Faith. Walk by Moriah.
We often wondered the existence of God.
How spiritual are we?
How can our emotions linked to our spirituality?
Why is it that positive people have the most fruits and happiness? While the opposite lives on angst and depression?
Why does our decision and judgement affects not only our lives but also of others?
Why do our lives intertwine?
Like a child, we asked humongous questions until we see ourselves in that breaking-free ultimate question,
WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE?
At first, I thought of correlating faith with Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. And that religion will only play role on a person’s love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization phases of life. Until I proven myself wrong.
In this walk of journey I’ve seen a lot of wealthy, career, and successful business people who still feels empty. Some achieved success in their younger years; while others passed their mid-life and still on ‘catch 22’ in building their dreams. While the irony of all is that people living below the middle-class possess more happiness. They are more grateful for small gestures that they receive.
One thing we can’t deny is the linkage of spirituality to God’s existence. Happy people at most keep constantly thanking God for all the blessing He bestowed upon them. While struggling people still awaits for their experience with God. Waiting that God will awe them in wonders. While others does not believe in God’s existence.
Interestingly, Pew Research Center on Religion reported approximately 84% of the world’s population in 2010 believes in God based on their religious affiliations. The remaining population on the other hand have either neglect the idea that there is God and others have decided to abandon the notion and turn up to irreligion.
One admiration I have for Singapore is the freedom to express religion or faith due to its cultural diversity. Here in Singapore the common religions are: Christians, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist. On another perspective it attracts the foreigners – immigrants mentality to move to a country where their religion is openly spoken. It gives them the sense of belonging.
I started attending Moriah Assembly of God (one of the Christian churches of Singapore) early 2012 while me and husband were still dating. A small community of Christians where the walk of faith is rather intimate. The community knows each other and the essence of caregroups give more intimacy to the faith. My husband and I believes we all belong to a church. It’s just a matter of time to find your church. And we both felt it; we both belong to Moriah.
With our busy schedules, we do our best to attend the church service; caregroup, and other means of fellowships. Needless to say, Moriah church played a big role to our marriage and now our married life. I reborn my Christian faith in Moriah; and during our wedding ceremony, our Moriah family helped us and our Pastor Simon officiated our wedding.
As we grow, age, and continue our walk of life, we need a church. We need a church family that will walk with us in growing our faith and experience God in our lives. Experience God, experience Jesus, experience the Holy Spirit.
Last June 2013 I attended my very first church camp through Moriah in Phuket Thailand. With God’s financial blessings, me and my husband able to listen and further grown our faith through the church.
Our Moriah family. Church camp 2013 in Phuket, Thailand
My husband with our youth Amanda
While the kids were busy admiring the beauty of nature..
The camp is very active.
And the kids are attentive to the game masters..
We were divided to teams where camaraderie starts to kick in!
Excellent service! Where we held our camp…
Our Moriah Youths graced us with their talents for dancing…
The fun and laughter where all generation gaps were forgotten..
And here’s another one..
Our youths happy faces..
A game is a competition regardless of age.. Uncle Alan showing off with his moves..
The church camp may have last only for few days but what we’ve learned and experienced was a leap of faith. Science cannot disprove God’s existence. The more we resist spirituality, the more unhappy we become.
Leading back to our question, What is your purpose in life? It’s simply being happy. But we dragged ourselves in societal norms and rat-race competition that we wined up living a complicated and overstretch life. We forget to appreciate the beauty of nature and the people surrounding us. We stopped growing personally and spiritually.
If you want to be happy, start putting smile in your face when you wake up each morning. Paired it up with a silent gesture of giving ‘Thanks!’. I always believe that we could have just died in our sleep but God gave us another morning to be with our loved ones. Accept that you cannot control life and you need God to be with you. If you have a Christian friend whom you have constantly rejected the invitation, why not give it a chance?
If you’re a fellow Christian and feels hungry for God’s words, you can always open your stashed and dusty Bible in your home. Alternatively, through smart phones, electronic Bible are in various digital application stores –> the word of God is always within reach.
As for me and my husband, our faith, like our lives… is a constant journey. We’re walking by faith. And we’re walking by Moriah.
As we wanted to share it to everyone, if you feel the need to be connected to a church, feel free to join us in our worship every Sunday in Golden Village Cinema, Vivo City, Harbourfront Singapore from 10AM – 12PM.
Til next time. Au revoir.
“God will provide”
Disclaimer: This article is a living testimony of how God provides as we put our faith and trust in Him. This article do not insinuate negativity towards the entities mentioned in this blog.
My hubby Gnex and I just attended our caregroup session (Moriah Assembly of God) last saturday. We had a very interesting discussion.
Faith in God leads to trust and obedience. Three key words complementing each: Faith, trust, and obedience towards God.
We’ve shared our own testimony which happened recently:
After my hubby and I got married on my birthday, it is to our hearts intent to stay in my husband’s workplace. Teen Challenge has been an instrument for us to meet, started our dating, and later on settled down. My hubby Gnex has a biggest bond with Teen Challenge, God’s ministry close to his heart. It is where he started anew, it is where God touched his heart and reformed, it is where we had our Christian wedding ceremony.
We professed our intention to be living staff to Teen Challenge; that I can stay with my husband while he’s serving the ministry. We prayed that our heart’s desire will be granted. After series of conversation in different forms, we finally had the response. Our request to stay in Teen Challenge was declined. We were never informed of the reason. Our hearts were crushed.
Christmas of 2012 came. With our low morale, we decided to accept things as they are and searched for our rental space. We took it as a message that ‘This is what God wants. And so be it Lord.’
Christmas is all about giving and sharing our blessings. Instead of lingering towards what happened, we decided to serve God and shared our blessings to the residents of Teen Challenge. My husband’s passion is to serve the people. We had the Christmas pot-luck, thanks to other fellow staffs who contributed and the residents experienced their exchange-gifts. We felt happy and fulfilled in the end. I remember telling my husband, “This Christmas I missed my family; but the emptiness was fulfilled by seeing the residents happy.”
After Christmas we were busy hunting for our own rental space. As the Singapore property market is a big boom, the rental space has tremendously increased as well. We were faced with the challenge of finding the fund for the first set of cash out – the deposit, the advance, the agent’s fee. We have to be practical, we have just got married; most of our cash flows were out. I saw my husband spending late nights to scout for affordable room rental which will fit our budget while I was busy with work as we were on year end closing for 2012. We didn’t manage to find a room rent. We grew tired and weary; and so we leave it all to God. We took a break and rested.
Out of no-where a miracle happened. God blessed and provided us with a room-rental which we considered to be affordable as compared to others. And God blessed and provided us with the fund as well to pay for everything – the deposit, the advance, and the agent’s fee. Very unexpected, truly a blessing.
True enough, God see and help us through. No matter what circumstances it is, God is always there to help and guide us.
Our friends, we hope that our simple testimony will provide enlightenment to your life. It maybe simple but the most important point is your truly reliance to God in everything that you do.
In the upcoming days, we will be settled to our rental place.
And now, whenever we feel doubt, we always give the affirmation that ‘No worries, as long as our hearts are in-lined with God; God will provide and God will see and help us through.’
After truly relying to God, obeyed, strengthen our trust and faith, we started to see God’s blessings in uncountable ways.
Til next time..Au revoir..
life's but a journey 