I was just appreciating recently the silly little things we single people enjoy in living solo. Here's my top 10:

10. SCHEDULE FREEDOM! Getting home at odd hours without needing to apologize, going on spur-of-the-moment road trips with other BSGs
9. Not having to do the cleaning up immediately
8. Having coffee/dinner/movie with a friend of the opposite sex without any weirdness
7. Hogging the bed, not worrying about snoring
6. Experimenting on dishes using whatever's in the fridge/pantry without worrying that you'll kill someone else with your cooking
5. Playing dress-up -- never grows old (^____^)
4. Happy-Silly-Dancing  around in your pjs/underwear/...etc
3. ALL THE CLOSET SPACE IS MINE, MINE, MINE!!!
2. Uninterrupted quiet/worship time with God
1. Thinking up qualifiers for the sentence: "I like my coffee like I like my man..."

Lord, thankyou for the food...

I just finished my first month living solo in Makati, I finally attempted to cook for myself for the first time after ten months of enjoying other people's superior cuisine. Let's just say that praying for the food has taken on a whole new meaning.

Old Prayer: "Lord, thank you for the food set before us, bless this as we partake of it. Let this food nourish and strengthen our bodies. Bless also the hands that prepared this. Amen."

New Prayer: "Lord, thank you for giving me money to buy this food. Bless this, let this nourish and strengthen me. Protect me from harm, danger, and food poisoning, and my own lack of culinary skills. Amen."

I've been living alone since my 2nd year of university. I spent my freshman year with a family that my cousin's cousin (3 years my senior) had been living with for 5 years. Anyway, I have long appreciated the fact that living alone has a lot of perks, which in set theory, would probably have a lot of elements in common with the Singledom-Perks set. A few examples: No curfew, no external dietary restrictions, no external distractions, no arguments about who left the toilet seat up and being able to burst into song and/or dance out of nowhere, laughing at my own jokes (which very few people do anyway)...

I lived in a "managed" students' unit (translation: condo-style dormitory), and now that I live in a "grown up" studio unit, I've discovered a few differences:
(1) Now I pay association dues and the water bill, and
(2) I have to clean my own place, floors, toilets and all. 
But all in all, my studio is really a blessing, as well as all the stuff inside.

Short Backstory:  For the benefit of my non-Pinoy friends reading this, Filipino parents usually want their children to live at home until they get married. My parents are progressive: they gave me my freedom and kicked me out. Lovingly, of course.

So, Yay!
After 6 months of living with my family again after five years of independence, I needed my own space again. I mean, I couldn't love my family any more, but... I'll leave it at that. Those of you who have relatives know what I mean. (Yes, you.)

When I started work the 1st of October 2008, I also started trawling through the online and paper ads for places to rent. I found a few potentials, but those I'd have had to share with others, and no one was ready to commit, either to leaving the family nest, or to living with me. Anyway, then I found this studio unit at Star Centrum, talked to the broker, found out the rates were really low for the area (right in the heart of the nation's central business district) and put down a deposit before the end of December.

Around the same time, I also spotted an ad on craigslist for a blue Ikea clothes cabinet, so I arranged a looksee. Turns out an expat couple (English lady, American man, sunburnt kids) were moving to China after 10 years in the Philippines, and were trying to sell as much stuff as they could because they couldn't ship EVERYTHING they had. I ended up buying the cabinet, a desk with chair, a side table, a chest of drawers (all from Ikea) and a suede sofabed from BoConcept (only a year old and bought originally for around P30,000) all for P17,000. Great buy huh?

It was really an answered prayer because I was starting from scratch -- my student dorm was fully furnished and the only thing I had was an electric kettle, a camping stove, a small fridge, my clothes, and boxes of books. Since moving in I've bought a brand spankin' new air conditioning unit, a super space saving shoe rack, a microwave,  a rice cooker that makes you go "kawai!" on sight, a 16-piece Corelle set I'm adding to my own dowry, an airbed, and a ton of space-saving goodies from JapanHome (my new favorite place, where everything sells for P55 or P88!). And, yes, practically everything I've bought was second-hand or on sale. When you're a military brat, you learn quickly how to be frugal.

Next projects: BOOKSHELVES, a "real" stove, a breakfast maker (this really cool gadget that has a coffee maker, toaster AND fryer!), a foldway table and foldaway chairs (for when I have guests, max of 2 hehe), and I should be set for the rest of my life!

Here's to flying solo! (Sabay toast from my wine-in-a-box) Cheers! 

I just wanted to update you on life here in Manila. Well, let's just say I've found the reason for the past 5/6 years of my life!

Brief Recap: My four years studying Information Systems in Ateneo were not the best for me. I did pretty well but I always felt like I was supposed to be doing something else (ie. something more artsy). And then after three years of praying and planning for my year in France, on the last minute my scholarship got cut. So I was pretty gutted. So then I took off for my first vacation in 5 years, then when I got back to Manila I fixed up my resume and portfolio (check it out!) and applied to multinational ad agencies, as Art Director of Mabuhay Magazine, (Phil Airlines' inflight mag), and other random design jobs I found online.

So anyway, my first interview was with Mabuhay Mag and it was very promising, and the environment was good and the travel opportunity was... tempting. So I did a "design audition with them." And I really wanted to join them. But at the same time this US-based web design company got back to me about a web design position so I visited them. Cambria is as old as I am (since 1984) and their reputation is so solid they don't even have to look for clients, and they can charge pretty much anything. Basically it's a solid company. They were really nice and they were very impressed with my portfolio and skillset. So anyway, on my third interview, Mike (the American guy heading the Manila office) told me that he'd been telling US office about me and they were considering me for project management as well, especially as the Manila office seemed to be self-sufficient, he might be spending more time in the States and would need someone in Manila to make sure the projects were handled by the right team, etc.
 
Basically, it's exactly what I envision myself doing (project management + art direction) in animation in the long-term. And while I had always planned on learning this in grad school, now I'm gonna have the opportunity to learn it on the job, which is a lot better! And I realized that the past 5 years had prepared me for this job: my MIS degree means I won't get lost in all the web programming jargon and my passion for Art means I will be able to do web design and art direction well, and  even my non-France trip meant that I was able to practice project management in print (it was a year-long crash course in everything from dealing with clients, to concept development, to juggling multiple projects, to delivering a quality finished product). So anyway, the whole time I thought I was so off track from the path I thought I was supposed to be on, God was actually taking me on a shortcut!

So anyway, it was a perfect fit! And the work environment is really nice, the Manila office is very young, but the team is made of the best in their respective fields, and the atmosphere is very relaxed and comfortable, and the company is very employee-centered. And basically Cambria wanted me on so bad that they were willing to offer me anything, so I think I ended up with a pretty good package (understatement of the year!). So God is just amazing! I've spent the past weekend just marvelling at how BIG AND AWESOME He is, truly His ways are higher than our ways. I mean the job I'm taking on only opened up after my 2nd interview, so the timing was just PERFECT! What's more is that I'm only 22! My heart's desire is really to learn as much as I can while I'm single, because I know when Psalm1 comes along the corner, all my plans will fly out the window. (Yes, I do want the mush so badly, that's why I can't have it right now. Children, it's called delayed gratification...)

I'm just really happy because for the first time ever, I know that I'm at the center of God's will. I'm just glad I obeyed my parents, or I wouldn't have had this opportunity.

So I said YES to Cambria corporation and I'm very excited to start work on the 1st of October. I'm hoping to move to Makati by November, so just looking for places to stay now.

And there... God's been amazing and I'm sure that I'm gonna enjoy this next chapter of my life. :-) Yun lang po...