Terima Kasih, Indonesia!

"A person just doesn't wake up living his dream,

He gets up every single morning chasing it."

Believe me, I never thought I'd get out 

of my comfort zone back in Manila

and go to marvelous places that were just mere images I would only see

on Discovery Channel, Asian Food Channel or The Amazing Race.

Let alone the thought of being a Millionaire for a few days

in a foreign country is just so not your everyday amount of 

pocket money you'd expect to have.

Selamat Datang Indonesia!

They say if you felt like you never really made the best out of something for the first time,
Try doing it for the second time and maybe it will be better this time around.

It was definitely much better than the first.

Shangri-La Hotel Sentosa, Marina Bay Sands, The Singapore Flyer, Sentosa Cable Car Lines

Batam, Indonesia is just a 45 minute Ferry Ride away from Harbourfront, Singapore.

The best thing with a ferry ride aside from the cool breeze of the sea 

are the spectacular sights you definitely don't want 

to miss out capturing on your camera.

It was just breathtaking.

Arriving at Harbour Bay, Indonesia,
We had to adjust to the time differential of being 1 hour late from Singapore/Manila time.
Especially to the exchange rate with their
overly exaggerated denominations of Indonesian Rupiahs/Dollars.

"$1 Singapore Dollar = $7750 Indonesian Rupiahs"

Quite a lot right? But it really isn't.
Mind you, one fast food value meal costs around
$44,000 Indonesian Rupiahs.
So long for being such a Millionaire at this place.

Aside from the tour around the City, the Seafood Lunch Buffet at Golden Prawn
And a lot of shopping stops at Polo Ralph Lauren Outlets and Factory outlets for
Billabong, Calvin Klein, Zara, Louis Vuitton and lots more,

The real deal that I waited during our entire stay at Indonesia
was the traditional Massage With Natural Body Scrub
and Aroma Therapy for 2 full Hours.
I was waiting for this time to come since the last time I had a massage
at the same place here in Indonesia about a year ago.

Getting a tour package deal like this is more convenient
than having a regular massage in Singapore.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Checking in at our Hotel room in Harmoni One, Indonesia

was undoubtedly a huge stress reliever.

The whole Hotel was just timeless and the whole place was just so

out of place from what you would see outside the City.

Everything from the Ambiance, the Great Food we had 

for Dinner and Breakfast, and the Over all Design 

of the Hotel was just amazing and unforgettable.

It was so unexpected that we were going to stay 

in such a high class place like this.

The feeling was just so indescribable and perfect.

It was such a huge surprise.

We checked out at 11:30am to get picked up 

by our private coaster to send us at Harbour Bay for our 3:30 departure.

An authentic Indonesian J.CO Donuts Cafe was the last stop for our Indonesian tour.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Terima Kasih, Indonesia!

"The World is definitely so much smaller than what you think,
You just have to cross your personal boundaries to reach your own paradise."



for more photos from this post, visit facebook.com/red.mora

follow us on twitter! @redgiewedgie @iamOwnLine

Hard work has literally paid off.

It's finally a reality.

Today was the official launch of the newest drinks menu for our group of restaurants Singapore wide! :)

It includes my official entry from this year's RE&S Mocktail Competition: "Momo Breezer" (launched as "Momo Dazzle")

Witnessing your creation being sold for $4.90 each or almost 160php in pesos and seeing customers from all over the world drink it up and receive their satisfaction is such a surreal feeling.

At the same time, the rush of pressure and stress is starting to catch up as the other entries all looked supreme in their own right.

Let us all have a fair and square competition

And let the actual sales decide the outcome.

No bargains to anyone or any fixed deals.

All five drinks have its unique quality,

The one who has the most appeal to the public is deserving to get the gold.

Getting into the top five was just the first step,

Winning the $300 SGD prize is the real goal. :)

Cheers and good luck to all!

---------------------------------------------------------

Feeling Thirsty?

Quench up have a sip of Momo Dazzle whenever you visit any of our outlets. :)

"Integrity is still the key ingredient to one's success.

It is what champions are made of."

Drink and Strip at Marina Bay Sands

A birthday invitation from a good friend would be so impolite to turn down,

A chance to check in at Marina Bay Sands is too much to pass up!

And the fun moments with great people goes beyond any excuse for you to miss out!

Mr. Neal Ong's "somewhere around the midlife 20's" birthday bash at MBS! :)

*a photo supposedly taken inside a cab. hahaha. complete bullcrap.*

It was a night full of randomness and madness.

The usual things you would expect from recent College grads 

who went out just a few months removed from school 

to be pulled into the sweet suicide of being

among the ranks of "the newest bayani ng bayan" or OFWS.

Aside from the countless number of canned beers, packed sushi and a plastic full of satay sticks,

were the immensely outrageous gayness behavior by the guys spearheaded by the dance number prod 

*Mah Boy cover by Sistar* from Mr. Jupao Perlada and Mr. Red Mora followed by eventual bed scene 

dramas by the others. 

*let us not name the cast for the sake of their anonymity & their whole family* :))

The ridiculously over priced items and amenities by the hotel just led us with the multiple requests for ice buckets. Which occurred in between takes of our cam whoring photo shoots.

The traditional card games eventually came up to fight the kick of alcohol and craziness.

And thus, we came up with a game called *STRIP TONG ITS* while drinking up some vodka *Jaysonized* with the thirst quenching coke vanilla.

*strip tong its at its start*

The night concluded with our clothes back on and went back to our regular life nursing some disarranged sleeping habits yet again and a pair of puffy eyes.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEAL ONG! :) 

*each time always feels like the old times*

---------------------------------------------------------------

for more photos from this night visit : facebook.com/red.mora

Twitter: @redgiewedgie @jaaytuazon @jeddyums @alvinskyy

The Last Christmas Pimpin' for IBNS

 

The set up resembles an old college feasibility project named "Auntie Aella's".

It could be one of the very few reasons why i fell in love with this place.

Since this could be my last time setting up my restaurant for Christmas, i wanted it to be extra special. :)

At the same time, this made me remember the feeling of getting in touch with my artsy fartsy side.

Back in highschool, i was always involved in designing the bulletin board in our class room, me and Jr Geronimo always had these brilliant ideas to "pimp that board"

We would put up this huge mountain from rocks made out of paper and styros.

Different letterings and borders whatever fits the current month's occassion,

May it be christmas, halloween or linggo ng wika.

The excitement with these much awaited events in the calendar continued in college with Monster Monique De Guzman.

We have always dreamt of hosting the perfect halloween or Christmas party for H1, which is yet to materialize until now.

We usually end up just celebrating the holidays in our own hilarious and ingenious way,

with unusual trick or treats and big time exchange gifts *ehem porcelain doll :))* just to get by the holiday rush.

I could really be artsy fartsy at times but i try not to do too much since i get *o.c.* with these kind of stuff. As in overly o.c.

I don't know,

Maybe i watched too much art attack episodes when i was younger.

-------------------------

In a year's time, i'll be spending the Holiday season back to the place where Christmas is so much merrier! :)

I can't wait to be back. :)

But there is no doubt, i will surely miss pimping up IBNS for Christmas.

At least this time, i will always remember doing it with my dearest manager, Ate Lanie  :)

 A few more weeks to go before the last Christmas in Singapore! :)

Japanese Peach

Do your best and He will do the rest.

Among the long list of my bucket list in life,

This simple taste of achievement has definitely

showed me a glimpse of greater things that could possibly come that i hope and pray to accomplish.

It all came down to desire and a touch of luck.

The opportunity to

Prove the doubters wrong,

To compete against the defending champion,

The pressure of representing your own brand,

And heeding the call of the believers,

Were all too much to pass up.

I just needed another push to go for it.

"Sometimes even hatred fuels your passion."

And Finally, it's official. :)

My first original Mocktail Concoction to be released and sold on every drinks menu at selected 17 outlets of our company all over Singapore! :)

"Momo breezer"

A fusion of Peach and Mango flavored soda topped with Lime Sherbet and fresh minced peach slices.

After joining the Annual RE & S Mocktail competition last September at Great World City, Momo Breezer is among the top five drinks out of all the 17 entries that are set to be released later this year.

The grand winner will be decided based on the accumulated sales within the period of the promotion.

It is $300 SGD in cash and a certificate of recognition all for the first place winner to take. :)

After all this time when i thought i wouldn't stand a chance against international flavors in a bigger stage,

A simple yet appealing combination of flavors in a glass is now another piece of joy that i'd be glad to drink up anytime. :)

I know this isn't like winning an NBA championship or earning a million dollars,

But knowing that you've just created something that will be sold in different restaurants in a foreign country is definitely one of the best feelings at the moment.

Now you could pass by this certain restaurant and say, hey they sell this drink here, and you could say, "yeah, Red made that drink!". :)

It's only the top five, the real battle is just about to kick off.

Win or lose,

You still leave it all to destiny to decide your fate.

It was make it or break it,

Whatever the outcome is, it is what you deserve.

Yes, this could be something awesome now,

But i haven't really done anything yet.

-------------------------------------

I can't wait to conduct the workshop for the operation later this month!

I was never a big fan of Peaches, 

But it is Definitely one of my favorites now. :)

The Last Halloween in Singapore

Hearing Miss Jovelyn Aguilan's scandalous voice at an MRT subway,

Isabel Malabonga's 2nd look at Plaza Singapura,

Followed by Jerico Echo Littaua's big hug from behind,

The chances on an escalator at Ion with Mr. Louie Lazo,

To the bag pulling of Mae Ilisan inside a train,

Call it fate or great chance,

Singapore is just too far away from home,

But never from your friends and buddies.

Look who i just bumped into on what could be my last halloween in singapore:

What I thought was going to be a boring threesome night for Lilo and Ironman,
Came to be a night filled with Alcohol, Music, and Korean Chicks.

I was strolling around the bridge at Clark Quay coming from Senor Taco to buy some smoke
When i thought of the possibility of seeing someone I know.

I looked left and I saw Jay Tuazon,
and not too far from him was Jeddy Umali and Alvin Icamen.

And like every time when we get the chance to see each other, we start it up with a group hug
That goes on with fun, laughter and stories and concludes with us all having a great time,
in a College Days Fashion.

As I've said, Singapore is a world contained in a single place,

Where White People, Black People, Asians, 

and Smelly People all get together.

At the same time, it is a place 

where the chances of seeing people close to you

Is similar to seeing people being brought back from the dead.

You'd have to see them in the flesh before you actually believe that they exist.

When all along they were just there & the memories never grew old or turned gray.

Each time always feels like the old times.

----------------------------------------------------------

P.S. Robert Gonzales and Jayson Tuazon are not the same person in any circumstances.

I just couldn't provide a proper image from the past. :))

Double Decker

I was never fond of bus rides or buses in particular.

The thought of being in a single vehicle
with suspect pick pockets,
exhibitionists and suicide bombers
while stuck in a traffic along Edsa
are just too much for my paranoia.

Having seen a movie like "Speed" with
Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as the
main cast that had most of the movie's
story revolve inside a bus that is running
on a time bomb helped to add more scare about bus rides.

Let's not forget "Battle Royal", you fall asleep,
and the next thing you know, you're
on an island where you have to kill all the
people in your class.

It's pathetic to actually admit such fear,
But i see them as a one way ride
that ends to somewhere not nice.
Especially when it is among the regular mode
of transportation back at home  in Manila.

Dare to try riding on a Novaliches killer bus
late at night around 2 in the morning and you'll
know how i feel.

I was only excited during school field trips,
having tons of snacks, express ways stop overs,
and a coleman jug filled with alcohol mixed orange juice.

A handful of trips to Batangas with Eric and Jr,
and a couple of 8 hour rides on a bus
when i had to settle in Baguio for a while back
in college were some of the longest trips i ever had to take.

I'd be asleep most of the ride instead of
letting my sick imagination play tricks on my head.

As much as i was disgusted with public
bus rides in the Philippines, were the dreams of getting on a
double decker in a foreign country.

I knew when i would get on one, i'd feel
like i'm in another hollywood movie or
sitcom but all you will see is nothing but
bright lights and good times.

I was right.

--------------------------------------------------------------
The bus situation in Manila has just made
this experience one of the must do's in my existence.

I never realized it at first, but yeah, i had a big smile on my face
during the whole ride on my first time on a double decker. :)

breaking the silence.

I am on a stand still.
Seperated from reality.
In denial of what has hit me.

I am struggling with my words,
As i try to stop myself from breaking down all over again.

It all started with a few trips to cavite & bohol,
Bottles jugged down & cigarette rims puffed off in mayrics & balay.
An after clearance party somewhere along the kamuning area,

A funny blue tulip and a kitkat bar on a valentines day,
The tempura chips, the late night chill outs at a quadricentennial park.

And on a salinggawi concert, i fell in love with her.

She came when i thought there was no one else left for me.
Her door was open,
she welcomed me with a box of yellow cab pizza.

She is a great person.
Such a selfless individual with a good heart from what i have seen and felt.

A perfect, independent and truthful daughter,
A sweet, playful and thoughtful sister.

She was an innocent, simple and a very caring girlfriend.
How long could it take before i can find someone better?

These has been said and brought up a handful of times,
But it was a magical half a decade,
that made me see things what i thought could only happen in romantic movies and fairy tale stories.

Making it rain with thousands of roses on our second month together,
I will never forget when she spilled hot sauce over my eye.

The unbelievable resistance to survive a 2hour ride
on a thief filled, sweat dropping jeepney
along the smokey and grid locked streets of
espana to north avenue daily.

Double dates, paskuhans spent with her greatest friends.
Rappeling, pig out eating,
how i was weirdly fine for being a straight guy
and having shopping moments at forever 21 & other boutique shops with her.

Let's not forget the trying nights,
cramming for school works and silly video projects for
'takoyaki' and flair bartending.
Even those times when i try not to be late since she was always early.

An absolute bliss from watching hundreds of butterflies being freed,
To that lovely night while watching fireworks
spark up the sky while at a shuttle terminal
station somewhere in cubao going to novaliches.

Now suddenly i had to wake up the next day,
Thinking it was just another college puppy love story.

If only it was that simple.

Had i known that leaving on a jet plane would
make her feel that i am leaving us altogether.

"I am so sorry for making you feel that way."

How i just surrendered myself to her,
Living each day with the promise of love,
happiness and success that was just simply swept away.

It has happened.
We fell short.

It pains me to even remember the last moment when i was with her.

How i held her hand,
the last time i kissed her on her forehead,
How i tried not making her cry
when i had to say my temporary goodbye.

How i breathe deeply
as i felt myself trying to freeze time while watching her sleep in my arms.

It was my fault for loving her too much,
in such a way that it was as if no one else could compete.
Not even her.

I feel so guilty for feeling so hurt,
despite the feelings that i still have for her.

They say she was so lucky to have me as her guy,
even tagging me as the best someone could ever have.

But how could they even say that,
When it was her all along who made me the best.

This time, even love wasn't enough.



---I have nothing but utmost respect for her.
I wish her all the best. I really do.
It took some time for me to speak up,
As I didn't want any of my words to hurt someone in any way possible.
But i knew eventually that i would have to let it all go.
And this time, i'm finally breaking the silence.---

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Bad Birdie.

We had an uninvited visitor tonight.

Roomie went rushing.

Freaking out because of some bird inside our kitchen.

Meet Bad Bird.

We thought of capturing and domesticating it.

Train the thing with some bird tricks.

Bring it for an audition for the next Rio movie.

Or just simply selling it for not less than a hundred bucks.

We just left the bird at the kitchen for the whole night.

The next morning Bad Bird was gone.

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08-09-89

We literally lived our moments together in friendster.
Captured together in the most important events of our family life.
Uploaded almost every images of our insignifcant and
non sensical parodies and cosplays all over the web.

We were playmates since birth.
Included in a trio of innocent and promising toddlers
who would scribble doodles all over our house.
Weekends spent playing langit lupa, iced water and Pepsi 7-up.

Went through the toughest and roughest stages of adolesence.
First love, high school projects, zits and alcohol.

Japanese animes, Korean dramas, movie marathons,
Soulja boy dance steps, gloc 9's fastest raps,
girl and boy crushes, innovative and patay gutom foodtrip,
from being ganghsta to just plain stupid and corny.

Saw ourselves bleeding blue and green.
Surviving in college, suffocating neckties, deadly high heels.
Black Gold, black white,
We were cheering for the same team.

Job hunting. Star gazing.
Soul searching, tambay until morning.

We dreamed dreams as far as when we get to age 80,
thinking probably on where we could be.
Fairytale weddings, finding the perfect job,
Falling in love with the person who fits our long list of must haves.

We saw each other get through our struggles,
through family problems, identity crisis, heartbreaks,
and even through a chest deep flood.

I couldn't stop myself from calling her
Minutes before she had to walk down that aisle.

Hearing her voice filled with excitement and fear,
We had nothing to say except for tears flowing at each end of the phone line..

It was such a huge step in her life,
i could miss the event,
but not the moment.

If I had to buy a house in another place,
It has to be right next to hers.
Or right on top would be even better.

She's the best neighbor ever,
The best cousin, yet we're actually uncle and neice.
The best "kaservice" on a school bus,
the best look a like of aya from imago.

she is the bestfriend I never had to label as one.

-----------------------------------------
Happy birthday Lala!
I miss you soo much!
I hope to see you soon and baby jahzen! :)
Love yah!

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not another out of the country vacation.

The amazing architectures, endless sky scrapers.
The gigantic ferris wheel, the boat on top of a hotel.
Designer boutiques left and right.
Bright lights, the hottest party places.Exotic ladies, legal prostitution, a man made beach.

The value of money.
Lust for social significance.
The good life.

Unforgiving and impatient employers,
Atrocious scent from strangers as dark as the endless subways.
Canned meals 4days a week, chicken rice 3days a week.

Gadgets instead of the classic street games and old fashioned past times.
Bulky muscles and false eyelashes makes you beautiful.
Weekly crazy night outs, over priced cancer sticks and a bottle of vodka are your emotional outlets.

Go crazy over tfc, go insomniac tweeting and surfing fb.
Go out on a Sunday to see Manila in Singapore.

You could be Myanmar, Malay, Chinese, Japanese, even an Angmo, and they could not even tell the difference.
The world contained in a single place.
The lahs, the orredis, nehminds corrupting your system.

Cultural differences.

Even talk about the cold Christmases.
The non-pyro new year.
Birthday spent while bleaching the floor.
Hearts day without your heart.

They think you're earning gold,
But the truth is you're in a stand still and just getting old.

Living a life for someone else is quite heroic, brave, risky and could be potentially dangerous for your mental and emotional state of mind if you never read the instructions manual.

It takes a lot of guts and a pair of huge balls to get through every single day.
A ticket back to reality, a simple paper that says home is the only cheat code to solve the puzzle and put together the missing pieces.

A video call on skype, long distance messsages and phone calls,
Just doesn't feels like the real thing.

1 is equivalent to 33.

There was never an instructions manual for this,

You just left your heart somewhere else.

-i never thought i'd be one of them, but yeah, i am a filipino working overseas. An OFW. and this is not another out of the country vacation.

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Stars

Take me to a place where i feel comfort and secured.

"You brought me here."

He is the foundation of my being,
A figure of strength & a source of ease.

He guided me from my first step,
To my first ever lay up on a basketball rim.
I built my dreams and lived my fantasies on every amusing toys
& awesome lego blocks he bought for me.

He stayed with me when i thought my room was haunted,
Gave me a bucket of ice cream every after appointment from the dentist.
A lot of things we still wanted to do,
We haven't even reached half of our checklist.

He is part of the reason for my joy,
And part of the reason for my frustrations and tears.

No matter how hard i cry
And no matter how hard i try,
There is nothing made in this world that is possible
To bring him back.

He has set a standard for my life.
Made promises & left that sense of security
That covered all my flaws & any feeling
Of vulnerability.

He allowed us to live a life full of dreams,
And it really hit hard when i had to wake
Up from the reality
That he is actually just
Another part of my memory.

It would have been great,
Had he stayed on the ground.
He would have been so happy
to see all that was yet to come.

I love you, at least just give me this chance to say it to you again.

The stars in the sky will never be the same.

Happy father's day dad! Mom misses you, and ate even more.

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over a can of Carlsberg and a stick of Marlboro, that ended with a thousand peso taxi ride. 05-01-12

Does Distance really matter?

I always ignored the thought
of all these moments that
we're not spending together would really
make a huge difference.

I could be easily right at her doorstep at
12 midnight, holding a boquet of roses
with a box of yellow cab pizza
ready to celebrate. Just like what we had
for a midnight snack on the eve of
her 17th birthday.

Maybe we could have had a fancy dinner at
a fine dining restaurant in Greenbelt or Highstreet
with all those expensive dishes with a 'generous'
serving of a single teaspoon from
appetizers down to desserts.

But for sure we would have just settled
for a simple movie date, preferably watching The Avengers
while hoping to witness again some fanatic weirdo pump up his fists
in the air with a screaming "YES!" after the credits just a few seats away from us.

With occassions like this,
your deepest sentiments surfaces.
And you're scared to deny it
to keep yourself from being numb
from what you really feel.

I miss her face, her eyes,
and the way she runs like a duck.
I always miss her cat like lips,
her chipped pedicures on her toe nails
and her mom's home made yema.

I miss watching her sleep on my shoulder
with her mouth wide open.
I miss her little brother, Massi,
and how we spend the whole day
playing y8 games and left 4 dead.

I miss our movie dates at Trinoma and Gateway,
also her insatiable and very unique
home made adobong hotdog.
I miss how we could trust each other with our deepest secrets.
and I miss how i see the stars in her eyes.

I miss us.

We have come a long way,
from ups and downs,
from the 1st month to the 48th.
from Manila to Singapore.

And yet, I still get the jitters
whenever the 1st day of the month approaches.
I admit to still procrastinate on what surprise
to show off on every occassion possible.
I still get my hands sweaty when I want
to reach for her hand.

And it's true that all these words that I just blabbered
all over this post is because I'm trying so hard
to find the right words to say just to complete her day.

Distance does makes a difference.
It gives that illusion of losing what you have,
Making things difficult and complicated,
And yet, making you miss those things more,
before it's too late to miss them forever.

I know what I have. And I'm lucky and content with what we have.

One thousand four hundred sixty days,
I don't mind adding up more on that.

Happy 4th year anniversary Tammy!
See you soon! I love you!