Seoul Sisters Part 1

For my birthday last year, Omay, Chic and I went on an all girls trip to South Korea! RB was supposed to join us, but his visa was not released in time for the trip. Sad! :( Anyway, we still had a good time though!

Seoul is such a vibrant city that is an interesting mix of traditional and modern. We visited a couple of palaces, including the grand palace of course.

And then there’s Seoul Station. The architecture was very European, and it was adjacent to the very modern main station building. The contrast was incredible.

We also went to a couple of hanok villages. Hanoks are traditional Korean houses. The hanoks in Bukchon are the most famous in Seoul, and up to this day, people still live in the houses there!

If you are into antiques or other traditional souvenirs, then head to Itaewon! While we were there, we discovered this tourist center where we got to wear traditional hanoks and take lots of pictures.

There are so many things to do and see in Korea, a week is not enough! Watch out for more stories about this Seoul sister trip.

XO,

telai

Eleat: The Return

Oh wow. Where do I even start? It’s been almost 2 years since I was last here and so many things have happened already! Here’s a quick update about us:

Chic is still in school studying for her MBA/Law Degree and juggling a full time job at the same time. And she has met a nice young man and is now officially engaged.

Donna had a baby last year. She’s the cutest bundle of joy named Andi!

Frank is about to graduate next year! He’s been traveling on his own for his birthday these past couple of years (which I think is absolutely awesome), otherwise he is going to exotic destinations with his partner in crime!

Jude is currently in London taking up his Masters in Economic History (his second Masters Degree!) and will be graduating this December.

Lady graduated from med school this year and she has relocated to Manila for her PGI. She is also happily in love!

Omay passed the Medical Board Exam last year and she is now a licensed doctor! She will specialize in ophthalmology and will waiting for her training to commence in September, she spends her free time traveling the world.

RB is now based in London where he is working as a nurse in King’s College Hospital. He’s earning thousands and thousands of pounds now, big time!

And I finally got my MBA degree after 3 years! I can’t believe it took me that long! And I recently quit my job and planning to spend this time in between jobs traveling. And I’m still friggin’ single. Damn it.

It’s been 5 years since I made this blog. As I was browsing through my old posts, it amazes me how I feel like we’re still the same people and yet so many things have already changed for us. In our 13 years of friendship, our discussions switched from homework and crushes to work and grad school and now to weddings and babies and world travels! And through it all, our friendship is now stronger than ever which I am thankful for.

xoxo,

telai

Chapter 12:Reality Bites

Praise and blame alike mean nothing. No, delightful as the pastime of measuring may be, it is the most futile of all occupations, and to submit to the decrees of the measurer is the most servile of attitudes. So long as you do what you wish to do, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say.

So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons.  And maybe we'll never know most of them.  But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.  We can still do things.  And we can try to feel okay about them. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have. Good and bad. And really, I don't think I have it any better or worse than others do.  I don't know.  It's just different.  Maybe it's good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there. Because it's okay to feel things.  And be who you are about them.

The goods things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.

I think if I’ve learned anything about friendship, it’s to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don’t walk away, don’t be distracted, don’t be too busy or tired, don’t take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff.

 No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater…The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that’s the key. It’s like a big pie chart, and the love in a relationship has to be the biggest piece. Love can make up for a lot.

Note: These words are not my own, but they might as well be.

telai

Summer of 2012

I know I am guilty of ignoring this blog for months on end, but here I am again - with a little spare time in between reading and having my Sunday brunch - to give you updates on the lives of me and my friends!


We didn't travel together this summer. Each of us had our own agenda.

Danica
Chic went to Hong Kong and Macau last March with some friends.

Frank

For Frank's first trip abroad, he went with a friend to Vietnam. They visited Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi and Halong Bay.

Before their trip back, they met with Lady and her travel buddies in Ho Chi Minh.

Lady

Lady went to Indo-China without me (sob sob). She went on a 9-day trip to Bangkok, Cambodia and Vietnam with Lloyd, Ian and a couple of Ian's friends.

Omay

Omay finally graduated from Med School this summer. She was in the Top 3 of her class! Congratulations! Before she started her medical internship, she went to Palawan with her familia.

RB

RB spent his 19-day mandatory vacation leave muttering about how ungrateful a friend I was. We didn't go to any trips together since I had work. But he did go on road trips with his friends - if he wasn't standing under a tree in some busy sidewalk, counting cars that passes by for hours on end.

Jude


We haven't seen Jude in more than a year I think! Although some time last year, Lady did bump into him at Ayala Cebu. But I saw on Facebook that his family went to Hong Kong 4 months ago. I was in Manila for a whole week to attend a training and orientation, but I still missed him because he want to a secret place - where his mom was - for mother's day.

Donna

Her membership to this friendship is almost expiring according to RB. We haven't seen her in a while, but a few days ago, she met up with Lady in Cebu so yay! Finally they saw each other again!

Telai


I was supposed to fly to HK with grade school friends last February, but we got left behind by the plane so I stayed in Manila for a whole weekend instead. And then I went back there mid-April to attend an event at the US Ambassador to the Philippines' home that was hosted by AmCham. And then I went back two weeks ago for a week-long training (work!), detoured for a weekend in Cebu before going home.

***

While we didn't have any major trips together, we did see a lot of each other. We've been having dinners, lunches, game nights, etc together. Such a laid back summer for me, at least!

telai

Happy New Year

"True friends are never apart. Maybe in distance, but never in heart."

All out support for RB's interview with PAGCOR. Lunch at Ahfat, snacks/dinner at Grand Regal Hotel's Champagne Bar, and then a movie at NCCC Mall afterwards.

Surprise! Surprise! Guess who came to visit us for a while? It was a long weekend filled with lunches and dinners and coffees and catching up with friends and meeting new ones and de-stressing and getting stressed and everything in between!

  

Our first Christmas Party after high school. The invite said "come in your favorite character" and among those who went, only a handful of us wore costumes. But this was so much fun so we should be making this an annual affair. Next Christmas' theme: Gods and Goddesses. 

  

Post-Christmas visit to Mana and then coffee at Caffe Firenzo afterwards for more mochilato! 

How the years fly by - it was the new year and we were already celebrating Frank's 24th (fine, 21st) birthday by good food, good friends and good music - never mind the tone deafness!

An accidental meeting at one of my favorite resto's with Frank's badminton buddies (and a couple of my former classmates).

RB's sister turned 18 in January. Of course Frank and I were representatives of the barkada to support our quasi-little sister!

   

We all met up again at Cams' for her 23rd birthday. Good people plus incredibly good food!

Just last Wednesday, Emily and I finally recruited some people to join us at Bigby's Trivia Night where we won 2nd place! Weeee!

We also went out last night because Lady was in town - but photos from her aren't up yet. Watch out for it in the next blog update! Overall, we had a pretty hectic past couple of months but spending time with my best of friends is worth it!

x,

telai