How Life Changed the Way I look at Things

Armin van Buuren’s “Alone” is blaring loudly on my eardrum. The song somehow made me realize it is actually telling the truth. It made me smile; now I have something to write about. Sipping my hot coffee while feeling the repetitive drops of rain against my roof, I reach out to my blank journal and began to write. This is one those afternoons where the most pressing thing you have to do was nothing; when an idea comes to my head, my fingers suddenly become busy. 

The Armin song was ranting about being alone, telling me connectivity has lost its meaning when no one is connecting. Are we really? Are we well-connected with life? Well, let me talk about life (my favorite subject of all time). Life is often weird. In most cases, life is funny. Some people think life is always playing little tricks on them. Some thought life has been harsh and unfair. But for me --- I like it. 

Since I'm a not-so-full-grown adult now, maybe I could list down some of the realizations life has been feeding me. I know some people would laugh at me now, but who cares? Each of us has its own way of dealing Life. What matters most is, were you able to deal life pretty well? 

Exploring Downtown Seoul, South Korea

Pyeongtaek-si temperature that day was -2 degrees Celsius. Our Korean friend said, it's good to go out since there was a bit sun out. For a regular Filipino who rarely experiencing this kind of extreme coldness, it was an exciting event for me. Though three days after I was there, I haven't really tried to go out for that long since most of the time I was in an office, in a car, hotel, mall or train where a heating system is on. Armed with thermal leggings, thick pants, a cotton sweatshirt, a leather jacket, a parka and scarf (which felt a bit heavy for me), I was excited to finally roam some parts of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. 

A Twosome Place is one of the coffee shops with a lot of branches around South Korea, locals consider it as a close competitor of the famous Starbucks. 

Ocean Suites : Serenity at its best

Solitude, a word that sounds lonely and isolated, shutting yourself off with the rest of the humans. But some people who are pretty occupied with work, stress and anything that consumes them  find ways to revive themselves, anything to get themselves back. Isolate themselves from the world, it is true that solitude matters; for some people, it's the air they breathe. I don't believe unhappy people often isolate themselves; there are some people who find simple happiness alone with nature.

I was home for the weekend. I had to admit that being at home is always a relief for me : no phone calls associated with work that could ruin your day, my mind is free from always thinking of ways to improve managing the operation and the people, no paperwork to work on, no meetings to attend to.  Just pure bliss at home, enjoying my family whom I miss the most and playing with my adorable  baby nephew.

She appeared smaller from the outside but looks can be deceiving, so I've heard.

One fine Sunday afternoon, I decided to isolate myself from people, er, not literally people per se, but I wanted to be with nature for a few hours  -- with a cup of coffee, of course. Ocean Suites was my destination that day. 

Relaxing, isn't it?

Talicud, Island Garden City of Samal

Mark has been urging me to go to Talicud Island. So when his birthday came, he decided to bring the whole family, picked me up in Cebu  to experience this interesting island. 

It is true that you got to have a lot of patience getting here.  The trip was a bit exhausting but once you get to Kaputian Port, you can now glance at what lies ahead of you. 

White sand beach front at Kaputian Port

When we arrived at Sta. Cruz Port in Talicud, the port water was  clear, unlike the usual ports I've been to. School of fish can be seen at a distance, water color ranges from green to deep blue.  A small motorized boat took us to a private resort. Having been born in Bohol Island, the usual view is always normal for me, but when I got to Talicud, it was another awesome experience. 

Sunday 2PM Cafe : Cafe with a Twist

I am a coffee-addict.  

I love coffee. I cannot last a day without coffee. 

Trying everything with coffee and it seems to be my way of life. 

My craving includes frequent visits from different coffee shops in the city or wherever I go. 

When I heard about a new Korean-owned cafe called Sunday 2PM located on the ground floor of Sarrosa Hotel in Cebu, I scheduled a Sunday trip to see what this cafe can offer. After our Kadasig Festival Photowalk, my coffee-buddy and I decided to chill for a while trying to regain our drained energy for that day. 

The floor space was  smaller than what I saw in pictures and compared to some usual coffee shops I've been to. There were shelves of books, manga, magazines and other reading materials to read on. A lot of little Polaroid pictures lined up on the walls, some  hanged like little clothes on a clothes-line,  hundreds of post-its everywhere, cute little wooden tables and chairs, cozy Korean music and I find it relaxing; I like it. 

Colorful, isn't it?

Some people find it a bit messy, I find it  cute

And this? A big thumbs-up!

                          

Cafe Noriter : A Playground

Saturday afternoon. I stumble upon this cafe called Cafe Noriter, a korean-owned cafe located at One Acacia Unit 10 and 11, Archbishop Reyes Ave Cebu City,  just a walking distance from Ayala Center Cebu. Since the name appeared foreign to me, of course searching it on the internet is tempting ---- and it means "playground" in Hangul. When my coffee buddy, Jocelyn and I came in, the name itself explained it well for me. 

There were post-its on the walls and even on the ceilings, plush toys everywhere, shoes on the floor and pictures everywhere. A playground, it is. I remember another Korean cafe called Sunday 2PM Cafe at Sarrosa Hotel, the ambiance was like this, only this is a bit bigger and not so quiet. I was thinking, since these are all Korean-owned, how come I wasn't able to get into this kind of setting when I was in South Korea? 

With freebies and discounts 

We got ourselves a mug of hot  and cold latte. It was as good as the price itself, worth it. On the counter, they were giving away some cards; like when you gather about 10 stamps from ordering drinks, you got yourself some discounts on your next drink or the staff could take a photo of you, print and hang it somewhere within the premises. Quite inviting isn't it? 

Everyone's talking about La Vie Parisienne

So, I heard about La Vie Parisienne.  Actually, I first saw it in a location shoot for an episode of MagTV, a local magazine TV show in Cebu. The pink trees intrigued me a lot and thought, this place is worth a try. 

When our boss told us that it's time for us to "unwind" (short word for our monthly team weekend-bonding at the office), this place first came to my mind. His first plan was for us to get pampered at a spa, but some of us wants to go on a pigging-out spree and the boys on a regular relaxing and drinking session talking about mostly nothings. When I shouted " I want to go to La Vie Parisienne!",  I won. 

I just love the pink lights at La Vie Parisienne at night

After dinner, the group went straight to 371 Gorordo Avenue Lahug Cebu City. La Vie Parisienne is a French deli, bakery and has a wine library. My boss who happens to be a regular  here says this is owned by the Lhulliers who has their own vineyard in France. We got there at around 9:00PM and the place was not surprisingly crowded. Cherry blossoms replica adds a bit of excitement for the first timers here. 

A lot of wines to choose from

I went directly to the bakery where the Wine Library was located and I was so excited by the time I opened the door. There were people enjoying their wines inside, as my colleague said, it's a first-come, first-serve basis when you want to stay at the wine library. I took that in mind, and so when I came back, it was easy. It was surprisingly smaller than I thought. The cellar looked bigger on some photos I saw.