All posts by ishg

Vintage Love at Oakham Market

Obviously, this is where all the fashionable bears go.

I seriously should consider renaming my blog as ‘The Accidental Shopper’.

It began innocently enough. My mission for the day was to sift through Chinatown for some toys and souvenirs for my nephew and niece. Continue reading Vintage Love at Oakham Market

Good Morning, Sunshine! at the Botanic Gardens

Feeling guilty about the bag of Doritos I wolfed down by myself last night, I decided to do something extra special for my day’s morning jog. With the Circle Line recently opening its new stations, I thought it would be great to pay a visit at the once-almost-unreachable Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Kind hearts are gardens, kind thoughts are the roots.
Kind hearts are gardens. Kind thoughts are roots.

Continue reading Good Morning, Sunshine! at the Botanic Gardens

Glimpses of a Scottish Summer

The Anti-Midas Phobia: fear of doing something, lest turning gold nto lead.

I’ve been putting off making this video for months now. Yes, I was excited to share the clips I took during hikes, tours and walks around Scotland, but there was always the problem of finding the perfect song, concept, <insert-other-excuses-here>. Finally, the perfect song hit me during my morning jog, and you have to love it when things fall into place. It was a loooong labor of love, but it was well worth it.

Stunning landscapes. Killer hilltop views. Everything wonderfully Gaelic. Thanks Scotland, for just being you.

The good thing is the memoirs are already done — if you want to read about how Scotland bowled me over, the write-ups are over here: https://ishg.wordpress.com/tag/scotland/.

Azkals Loose in Singapore

Us trying to put on our scariest game faces. As to what the hell I'm doing, I have no idea.

Ever since I left Manila, the list of the things I’m missing out on seems to grow longer and longer. Artists like Jason Mraz and the AI S10 idols oblige their throngs of fans in Araneta, but couldn’t be bothered to even take a peep at wee Singapore. Football-fever struck Manila as well, and I could only watch the FB updates as my high school friends troop to the game stadiums together.

So when a friend sent a shout-out about watching the Lions-Azkals friendly game in Singapore, I immediately raised my hand for tickets. At last! I have ZIP knowledge about football; I couldn’t tell you what the red/yellow/technicolor cards meant, even if my life depended on it. But what the hell, it’s been so long since I’ve been to anything nationalistic and I’m determined to yell, cheer and heckle for my country.  Continue reading Azkals Loose in Singapore

A Glimpse of the 2011 SG F1 Night Race

23-25 September 2011
Singapore Formula One Grand Prix Night Race


This post is dedicated to 3 people.

First of course is my ex-boss Vic, who I have to thank for the free Friday grandstand tickets. Long live the SWAT alumni!

The second goes out to the Merlion — thanks for making any event held in Singapore grand. And I mean grand. The mini-shows around the track in between the races were a nice touch; hoping for a more exciting lineup next year, though.

And lastly, it goes out to Auntie Ruth, the real-estate agent who found our nook in Mountbatten. The view of the Singapore Flyer & Marina Bay from our unit is just simply A-MA-ZING. Honestly, I think half of the video is all about the fireworks as seen from our window. I can’t say it enough — A-MA-ZING.

Bali, Bungee and Bugsy

11 April 2011
Double Six, Legian, Bali

Better Über late than never. We’ve been friends for more than a decade, yet here we were at only our first trip overseas. Bugsy* invaded Bali last April for some much needed eat-pray-loving. Here’s a clip of us trying out the bungee jumps at AJ Hackett in Legian/Seminyak. It was Jam and Dana’s first tryst with flight; we enjoyed it so much we went for 2 jumps each (I actually went for 3… they would let you bungee jump riding a bike. How could I resist?). Although the jumps were not as high as the ones from AJ Hackett in Macau, Bali’s definitely the place if you want to jump in style — they have costumes, motorcycles, even fireballs! Sadly, I just found out that AJ Hackett closed shop in Bali; hopefully they put up a new spot.

* The name with which my high school friends and I christened our group. Don’t ask why; it’s a loooong story.

She Finally Snapped: The Promo Flight Spreadsheet

Online access + itchy feet + a dash of geek = THE spreadsheet.

Yesterday, some friends and I were poring over promo fares for Cambodia and Australia; today, I found myself reserving another impromptu ticket to Beijing. I’ve been a having a few love-hate relationships lately, and the most recent one is with budget flights.

To be fair, the romance has always been brewing;  it started when I found like-minded friends at work who ate wanderlust for breakfast. I would go as far as saying that budget flights will be known at the greatest contribution to mankind from our generation (yes, even surpassing Facebook and the iPhone. gasp!).

Continue reading She Finally Snapped: The Promo Flight Spreadsheet

Epiphanies that Saved My Sanity

Spend your most precious resource sensibly.

It’s a bit odd that most of us are obsessed with how to make and spend money fast, easy and shrewdly. What most of us overlook is that money isn’t the most valuable resource that we need to guard — it’s actually time. Money can be made, spent and regained. Time, on the other hand, is more than scarce — it’s non-renewable. This moment right now — yes, now, when you’re reading my post — you have no other choice but to expend it at this instant. If you think about it, you can never save or stock time like you do with money & other necessities; what you can learn to do instead is how to invest time in only the best ventures. Continue reading Epiphanies that Saved My Sanity