Halfway

I just gave the Midterm exams to my students today. That means we're halfway through the term. I can't wait to check the exams and see how my students performed. Of course how my students performed is also a reflection of how effective I was as a teacher. Hmmm, I hope I won't be disappointed...

Reconnecting

This week has been one of reconnecting:

1. Spent a good hour talking on the phone with good friend from MS Comp Fin,CG, who is based in New York. She works in Wall Street and is currently in the middle of all the action. It was nice to know that despite the uncertainties, she is having the grandest times. Am so happy for her.
2. I spent several days on instant messaging with another very good friend from MS Comp Fin, CC, who is now based in Hongkong. We exchanged notes on a lot of things. I miss my MSCF days. It was hard work, what with full-time work worsened by tough academics. I couldn't imagine how I survived that, but it was also filled with good memories because I gained a lot of good friends.
3. Spoke to good friend, former classmate from MBA/MS Comp Fin and former boss in Old College where I used to teach. We had a great time updating each other. Apparently, both of us have been expanding our horizons.

It was indeed a refreshing week, I should do this more often.

Healthy Restaurants

Found this article online: America's Healthiest Restaurants, and found it very interesting. I also thought it can come handy one day:-) Of the 10 Best Casual Dining Spots, I've gone to three: Uno Chicago Grill in San Diego and Romano's Macaroni Grill in New Jersey on our recent trip to the US, and Olive Garden in Pennsylvania on my 2006 US trip.

In Manila, we have had several discoveries for those who are trying to eat healthy:

1. Cyma. We love their Roka Salata. They also have a wide variety of grilled entrees.
2. Pho Hoa, a Vietnamese restaurant. My favorite is their Shrimp and Pomelo Salad.
3. Italianni's. I discovered two great salads: Seared Tuna and Grilled Chicken, both with vinaigrette dressings.
4. Pancake House. Their Fiesta Taco Salad is the best!
5. Most Japanese restaurants, for their sushi, sashimi, ramen and grilled entrees.
6. Most Filipino restaurants for their Sinigang na Bangus or Sinigang na Salmon.

Feel free to share your own discoveries!

Dining in Singapore

Singapore is definitely food heaven, and during our stay, we had some of the best that Singapore has to offer:

Jumbo Seafood (various locations, we went to the the Riverside branch, 30 Merchant Road #01-01/02 Riverside Point, +65-65323435)
A trip to Singapore wouldn't be complete without a visit to this fabulous restaurant. Its specialty is crab. We had the popular Singaporean chili crab and the Black pepper crab. We also had the delicious Prawns in cereal. I love this dish! We were pleasantly surprised when TS paid for the bill! Thanks, TS! It was a fantastic meal. The Riverside branch's location is perfect because it is in the Clarke Quay area, the heart of Singapore's nightlife.

On our third day in Singapore, E and I spent the day in Orchard Road. We had lunch at Pepper Lunch (Ngee Ann City) and had the Pepper steak (yup, I was a bad girl). The Pepper steak in the Singapore branches was cheaper by at least about P100+ than the Manila branch, I wonder why. And, while walking along Orchard, we couldn't resist the street food of Old Chang Kee.

We also had the chance to go to a hawker center when E's friend S brought us to the Bukit Merah town center where we had a couple of local favorites (sorry, don't know the names of the dishes, but I had vegetables and fish).

More F1 Excitement

More F1 Videos:

2008 F1 Singapore- World's 1st Night Race

September 26-28, 2008
Marina Bay Circuit, Singapore

(Some photos courtesy of TS)

Play the video for a taste of F1!

Hiking in Singapore?

Yup, you read that right. We went hiking in Singapore. TS, E and I set out Saturday morning (Sept. 27, Day 2 of our Singapore trip) to the MacRitchie Reservoir Park specifically to set foot on the HSBC Treetop Walk.

When we got to the entrance of the park, the trail to the Treetop Walk was described to be "moderate to difficult" and would take about 3-4 hours. Uh-oh... What have I gotten myself into...

So without exaggeration, the trail was indeed "moderate to difficult" and it was a test of determination for me, there was no turning back...

But when I got to the Treetop Walk, everything was worth it, I knew that it wouldn't be easy to have another opportunity to experience that.

By the way, it took us 3.5 hours to finish the trail, not bad! I must have burned more than 400 calories and this gave me an excuse to eat more liberally during the trip:-)

Singapore F1 - Day One

Free Breakfast at the Miascor Lounge, NAIA

We had the Lounge all to ourselves:-)

The F1 Boys




Practice Sessions


The Hawker Village



The Singapore Flyer

Motorshow at Suntec City


It was too noisy, and the camera can't keep up with the cars! (If you look hard enough you would see a race car whizzing by)

September 26, 2008 - Friday

We took SQ's earliest flight at 8:20 AM. Again, our trip is courtesy of Kris Flyer mileage points, and for this, we are forever loyal to Singapore Airlines. We also took advantage of the American Express Platinum privilege at the Miascor Lounge in NAIA. We had a choice of using the Northwest Lounge (a privilege for Citibank Platinum holders) or the Miascor lounge, but decided on the Miascor lounge because it was less full:-) Free breakfast included pasta, pork and fried rice,cereal and several savory snacks. If you are hungry and have the Amex Platinum, be sure to take advantage. It was a nice perk even if we had to fly coach, now that is what I call value for money. At the airport, we saw E's friends who were also going to Singapore to watch the race.

Upon arrival, we went straight to TS and family's apartment where we will be staying for the next few days.

E and cousin TS went to the Marina Circuit Bay in the afternoon to watch the practice sessions, see the motorshow and basically tour the place to plan out their strategy for the succeeding nights.