HEALTHY SHABU SHABU [09 Dec 2009|07:26pm] irene82 [ mood | sleepy ] Healthy Shabu Shabu 2/F SM Mall of Asia Entertainment Center, Bay City Pasay City, Metro Manila +632 556-0354 Every so often, I get cravings for steamboat. Fresh ingredients cooked just the way you like - what's not to love? I like the individual servings because buffet style is too filling, but this one the servings are just enough to be full and be satisfied. I only order the fat beef because it's the cheapest on the menu (LOL!) and meat + balls + veggies = perfection! When I traveled to Taiwan a few years back, I remember a slew of steamboat restaurant scattered around the city - for the 8 days I was there, we had steamboat meals at least once a day. I wish we had more selections of shabu shabu style restaurants here in Manila - going to the same places can get kind of repetitive. :( But nevertheless, I LOVE steamboat and can never get sick of it! The one that we frequent is Healthy Shabu Shabu. "Healthy" because it claims to have NO MSG in the soup - which ummm, I don't really believe! EEEE! But yeah, if the marketing works, why not? :P They have branches at pretty much every single mall here in Manila, so when a craving hits, you're set to go. :) The entrance It was a pretty slow night! No other customers! Extensive menu with pictures! Pouring the soup on the individual pot Sate, chopped garlic, chopped chillies. "special" soy sauce Mix mix mix Fresh ingredients! Yummy! Fat beef! (Scary red though!) Simmer simmer simmer Squid balls and Shitake mushroom. Nom nom nom! A side order of Tempura! Goodnight, MOA! :) + [Comments]: 31 Smiles -- Smile .

i wanna be a kid, again! [03 Dec 2009|12:32pm] joy15 [ mood | nostalgic ] While running some errands during my lunch break, I passed by an elementary school and saw kids anxiously waiting in line outside the cafeteria, all ready to chow down on the delicious but oh so unhealthy meals, and kids playing on the playgrounds. Suddenly, all the childhood memories came flooding back and I found myself yearning for those simple and innocent times again. Why can’t there be recess times and lunch breaks, where the most important decisions to be made are whether to play jump rope or dodge ball or kick ball, etc… and whether regular or chocolate milk would taste better, for adults? I so miss those days! It’d be awesome to not have to deal with work-related stress, being a good role model for my younger siblings, personal dilemmas, other people’s morals and fidelities (Tiger Woods, anyone?!), the war in Afghanistan, and the list goes on and on. *Sighs*. And I wanted so badly to become an adult when I was 10 years old. Now that I’m considered an “adult” by all means, all I want is to be a 10-year-old kid again. + [Comments]: 2 Smiles -- Smile .

FRIENDS IN MALAYSIA! [02 Dec 2009|04:29pm] irene82 [ mood | excited ] I will be going to Kuala Lumpur on the 26th to the 30th and was wondering if there are any MUST SEE places I shouldn't miss? I'm going on a tour and if time persist, I would love to visit your recommendations! I'm really excited to shop in Forever 21 - I did some research and I know that it's located at 1 Utama (Mid Valley) and was wondering if that place is near The Prince Hotel? :) Also, what kind of delicious food should I be on a look out for? I'm so excited to try Cendol and authentic Char Kway Teow but that's pretty much all I know about Malaysian food. If you guys have any suggestions and input, it would be truly appreciated! Oh!! And I might have a chance to go clubbing there, so if there are any happening places, I would love to know where! :D Thanks in advance guys! + [Comments]: 21 Smiles -- Smile .

ON BEING POSITIVE [02 Dec 2009|12:40pm] irene82 [ mood | happy ] Every now and then, I like to click the archives section of my LJ and re-read entries dating back 7-8 years ago. I like to laugh at myself writing about the most useless and random things! It's fun cringing about the things that were so "important" to me then and how much things have changed and also how some things have stayed the same. I'm glad I have LJ to keep the memories in tact. I noticed in my entries (especially the earlier years) that I was so positive and carefree. When I complained about something, I'd follow with a "But it's okay, I'll do better next time" or "oh well! Hahaha" and even though my mood says I was "depressed" - I was always positive and upbeat. I never put anybody down just because I was in a bad mood and I never talked shit about people. I never continuously complained about things because I was frustrated with myself and I always had something good to say about everyone. I miss the old me. So I'm making a pact with myself. Starting today, I will TRY to be more positive. Try to be a little bit more relax and not take things too seriously. Life is way too short to be angry all the time. It's just not worth it. I'm going to try to let the small things pass.. and not be so annoyed at my co-worker, who let's just face is, can be quite annoying. I will evaluate all the people I look up to and pick point all the good traits they have and try to be a little bit more like them. Being happy, smiley and just oozing with positive energy is never a bad thing, right? :) + [Comments]: 13 Smiles -- Smile .

it's the little thing that makes me happy [30 Nov 2009|09:43pm] joy15 All it takes is just a simple "How are you today?" from a stranger to make me smile and my day that much brighter. :D + [Comments]: 2 Smiles -- Smile .

new beginnings... [28 Nov 2009|03:14am] msbean [ mood | hopeful ] i don't even know who goes on lj anymore, but perhaps that is for the best. less traffic, more privacy. i spent a good part of today reading through my journal entries, from the year 2002 when i first started on lj. i was 7 years younger, and although i smile at the naivete and innocence of my early entries, it still amazes me that so many of my basic principles and beliefs have not changed over the years. this past year has been the most trying of my entire life. i think i have probably endured more than the average person, and somehow am still generally happy with my life and have things to look forward to. in a nutshell, to be perfectly blunt: - i got married in august of 2008 - i got divorced in october of 2009 - i sold the condo and handled all of the closing on my own - sold off most of our belongings and packed up most of the place - moved on my own to a studio in cambridge - got a new position within my group in investment management - started studying at the end of september for the CFA exam in december they say that most people have to endure one major life event at a time, and it causes major distress. i had to deal with multiple life events, all within probably half of a year. and yet, somehow, i am still ok. i have some key people in my life to thank for that, and i will never be able to fully express to them how much i appreciate their support and good advice, at times when i needed it most. the divorce was one of the hardest things i have ever had to deal with in my life. not only did i have to make the difficult decision to end a relationship with someone whom i've known for almost half of my life, but i had to end a life that i have known for almost a decade. not to mention, a marriage, that ended before it almost began. i had such hopes for our future together. i honestly did. but in the end, the negatives outweighed the positives, and although i am a person of infinite patience and a never-ending capacity for forgiveness, all fuses reach their end, and mine did just that, this past year. it was a hugely depressing thought, the idea that i could never bring myself to get past the hurt and bitterness that i had felt for many years. and that i could somehow endure all of this and one day wake up, at the age of 40, with kids, and feeling supremely unhappy in the life i had chosen. this year has been a year of personal growth for me. i have learned to finally, after so long, value myself, and to recognize what is important to me and what makes me happy. it's interesting the perspective that one gains after such a traumatic experience, and to have the ability to finally step back and see one's life, from a distance, and realize that so many things were wrong. it takes a lot of inner strength to gain the courage to make the decision to step away from a life that, although comfortable, is ultimately not the right one. getting over the divorce was one of the most difficult times in my life. i'm still going through it now. i don't think, in the past, that i have ever fully let myself feel the pain of losing someone that meant a lot to me. and now, finally, i have felt the pain, and have allowed myself to shed the tears for a life that is now gone. and now, i feel like i can start to look to the future, and not dwell on the past. it's not to say that i will block the past from my mind, because there were good things in addition to the bad. and all of the experiences that i had, have made me into the person that i am today. and it's a nice feeling to know that i am happy with my life, regardless of the mistakes that i have made. it is an important realization, to feel secure with oneself and to leverage the regret and unhappiness experienced into lessons learned for the future. i can't guarantee that i won't make more of the same mistakes, but at least i know enough now to recognize them for what they are. and so, the day after thanksgiving, i give thanks. thanks for everything that i have in my life, for i know that i have more than i deserve. thanks for the people in my life who are so good to me, and who i appreciate beyond measure. thanks for the way that my life has unfolded, for i am happy with what i have and look forward to the future ahead. i will work on feeling forgiveness for the wrongs that have been done to me, and hoping for resolution for the wrongs that i have committed against others. i will continue to try to be a better person towards others, and to always put myself in other people's shoes. and finally, i will learn to forgive myself, for all of the transgressions, real or imagined, that i have felt guilt for. i look forward to the future, but only after i have learned how to be on my own, and rediscover who i am. i feel like along the way, i have lost that, and i hope that i can regain it again. here's to 2010 - may it be full of hope and new beginnings. + [Comments]: 27 Smiles -- Smile .

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