T+N Explores: Manila museums

Noah and I planned to go on leave last month, just because. Haha! Actually, it was for no apparent reason at all. We just wanted to relax and spend some time together before he leaves again for a business trip. Since Noah is a big museum fan (spell G-E-E-K!), what better suggestion did he come up with but for us to tour around Manila's famous museums. We had been planning this for a long time but didn't find any common time to do it. I was kind of hesitant at first but I thought, what the heck. It might be fun to discover the places where our national heroes and ancestors frequented and made their marks. So I went along.

And with this, I thought of starting a new section of this blog: T+N Explores. This is to document and write about reviews of our adventures. Obviously, T+N stands for Tam + Noah, just in case haven't figured it out yet. Hihihi. :P

1st stop: Fort Santiago
Fort Santiago is a historical park located inside of Intramuros, Manila. It is said to be where Jose Rizal spent his last few days before his public execution in Luneta. A museum is found within the park that showcases certain garments and stuff owned by Rizal, as well as copies of his literary masterpieces. The place is actually nice and picturesque. In fact, a pre-nup photoshoot was being done when we were there.

Parking: Yes (pay parking)
Entrance fee: 75 pesos (adults)/person

2nd stop: BSP Metropolitan Museum
This was actually an accidental stop. Haha. Honestly, didn't really enjoy this museum  much coz most of the exhibits were closed and those that were left were the ancient gold and pottery and the art gallery. I'm not sure of their formal names but that's what I can remember. Hihi. Didn't appreciate it and i kinda felt short-changed. :/ No pictures here because it's not allowed.... Boooo!

Parking: Yes (free)
Entrance fee: 100 pesos/person

3rd stop: BSP Money Museum
I actually  liked this one because the history/evolution of our money interests me. I've learned a bit about it in one of my econ classes but to see the money for real is a nice experience. It started from rocks/minerals, which were used as currencies back then up to the paper and coins that we have now. We also discovered that the Philippines had different kinds of money during the different foreign occupations of the country. One of the most interesting pieces for me was the note sent by then President Marcos' assistants to one of our national artists to give instructions on the portrait of President Marcos to be reflected on the bills.

The exhibit was really good and worth our time. And to top it all off, entrance was free! Haha! Just note that bags are not allowed inside the museum. They'll ask you to leave it in their provided lockers. This wasactually nice since we got to go around without the burden of our bags. :D As a result, we forgot to take pictures. hahaha.
Parking: Yes (free)
Entrance fee: Free!!! :)

4th stop: MOA Eye
Oh the MOA Eye. Haha. As the name implies, it is our local version of the London and the Singapore Eye, which are huge ferris wheels overlooking the cityscape. It is found beside the Mall of Asia, on the side near the Manila Bay. The ride is actually bitin and i think will be better if you ride it at night. And in my opinion, hmmm you could probably do better things with your 350 pesos. Hehe! :D

Parking: Yes (paid; MOA's parking space)
Entrance fee: 350pesos/person

So that's about it! We spent the whole day traversing Manila and exploring these spots. It was a nice and fun day and even though I didn't enjoy 100% of the places, the day's adventure was a nice refresher from a busy work life. :)

Here's to my special guy on his special day

Here's to the guy who can make me laugh (and cry) the hardest.

Here's to the guy who'll try to make everything okay.

Here's to the guy who makes sure he's there for me whenever i need him, and even whenever i  think i don't.

Here's to the guy who'll always patiently walk with me even though he just had a long and tiring day.

Here's to the guy who can always see the brighter side of me.

Here's to the guy who'd give and do anything just to be with me.

Here's to the guy who'd always serenade me whatever the circumstance is.

Here's to the guy who'll never run out of trivias and stories whenever we're together, and even when we're apart.

Here's to the guy who's never afraid to be silly with me in public.

Here's to the guy who has shared his life with me, and is willing to share the rest of mine with him.

Here's to the second awesomest guy in the planet (next to tatay hehehe). 

I know i've been a pain in the a$$ the past few months, but thanks for sticking with me after all that.

To my bestest best friend and my love in the whole wide world...

Happy 26th birthday!!! I love you Noah Jethro Duran!

Ah true

For realssssss :) <3

The Day My Boyfriend Saved Me

It was Tuesday and I have a class in UP Diliman at 6pm. I usually leave the office at around 5pm, but today I got to leave a bit earlier (around 4:30pm) because most of my officemates were leaving as well. I decided to tag along since I know that I can make up for time with our full flexi work schedule.

So we rode the car and I told them to drop me off in Shang so I could ride the train for faster travel. I got at the station; used my Stored Value card and waited in for the train to arrive. When it came, I squeezed myself in, remained standing while listening to music on my iPod and got off the Quezon Ave. MRT station. It was around 4:55pm. I didn't have the chance to grab lunch that day so I was starving. I thought of buying myself some donuts and siomai which I could munch on during class. The saleslady already gave me my plastic o' donuts when lo and behold!!! My wallet is nowhere in sight!!!!

I searched for the precious thing inside my bag, turning it inside out. But it was nowhere to be found. I returned the plastic to the lady and got off the first flight of stairs down. I was panicking. I looked outside and thought of what I can do. waaahhhhh!!! so much for leaving early.

Since Noah and I were chatting through BBM along the way, I told him what happened and he told me to calm down. He said maybe I should ask Zella (one of my friends in class) if she's coming to school and maybe I could get her help. So I did. But Zella told me she wasn't coming to school. And Noah was kinda worrying too that time. So he suggested the unsuggestable: he leaves his office to fetch me from the station and accompany me to school. At first thought I was like uuuhhhhhh coz I know it would take him a long time to get to me (his office is in Taguig and I was "stranded" in QC). But he assured me he'll be as fast as possible. So I went inside the mall and try to cool myself down... down.... down... After about 30mins he BBM'd me saying that his already 1 stop away from me. Ahhhhh I was able to smile and breathe a sigh of relief. When I saw him coming out of the station I felt myself grinning stupidly. He was also sweet enough to remember that I haven't had lunch yet as I saw him holding a plastic bag with food in it! oh yeah!

I got to school at around 6:10pm. Not bad. But this experience was definitely something. I know we've been through mega rough patches, but knowing that there's this guy who'd go through all the trouble and hassles just to get to you and make sure you're alright is one in a million. And with this, I have resolved something that was bothering me for the past couple of months. I know I'm home. And somehow I know God is poking me in the head, pointing to the right way.

And with that, I'd like to thank you :)