Lost My Virginity - Twice!

Opening Dive for 2009

Smiling Butanding! (Whaleshark)

Hello happiegupsters! Oh my i havent been blogging for over a month! YES , Dive season is open again and this little guppy simply couldnt resist the call of the ocean! Eve was going on a trip to Donsol , Philippines with Scuba Addictions/ James) so I thought, oh well.. might as well just join the group Eve was going with. A quick google of Donsol highlighted the super tempting promise of possible Whaleshark , manta and shark sightings! I'd never seen a whaleshark nor manta ray ever, so this time round i decided to splurge a little and booked myself on this trip to the Philippines!

later i learnt that besides Eve, Glenn, whom I'd not met for over a year was also on this trip, so it would not be a trip full of strangers after all!

Dive Trip Report

Date : 8-12 April

Location: Donsol Philippines

Happy Dive Kakis : Eve, Glenn, James, Kym, Angel, Cynthia, Pwa, Felix, Nat and Guppy!

Dive sites Day 1 : San Miguel - " 3 Caves" , "Rebecca's Garden" , " Lawrence's Reef "
Dive sites Day 2 : Manta Bowl

No of Orgasms 2 : WHALESHARKS !!! + 1 Giant Manta ray! 2m wingspan!

I really needed this dive trip to recharge and rejuvenate .

Hah and this trip certainly provided enough little highlights and a couple of low lights to really recharge my spirits. Over all very eventful and I had a great time ( Thanks to James for organising this trip) If i wrote out all the details I might never get around to finishing this blog entry so Im just gonna post up the pics and a quick summary of happenings:

Lowlights :

• My new dive knife got confiscated at Singapore customs - note to self :CHECK-in the dive knife whenever you fly! aaargh! $100 plus burnt before i even got to use the knife
• "You mean the hotel is still under-constructions? "- we arrived to find our hotel still underconstruction.
• watersupply is sucky in my room... its just a trickle.
• Ard 1 hour wait for all meals.
• budget airline sucks
• guppies are the first to Low-On-Air - aaargh! lost touch! damn it.
• urchins! Urchins ! Everywhere...
• got stung by jellyfish on 2nd dive as I surfaced
• Non diver tourists in orange live vests thrashing about in the water chasing/ scaring the whalesharks and this little guppy ( i think they are more dangerous than anything)
• loud australian diver - who sat beside me on the last evening over dinner and spent a good hour bitching about work conditions in Singapore . PUI! cant compete? then go home to aussieland ..sheesh..whinge n whinge n whinge.
• poor angel got food poisoning
• Sun burnt despite aggressively hiding from the sun!

Highlights

• Lost my virginity 1 : finally saw WHALESHARKS WHALESHARKS WHALESHARKS
• Lost my virginity 2: finally saw with my own eyes 2+ m wide huge MANTA RAY!
• Guppy's first firefly tour - *twinkle twinkle twinkle*
• dolphin pod swimming past the whaleshark tour boat!
• other marine life : porcupine fish, clownfish, lotsa nudibranchs, urchins , pipefish, lionfish
• Fatty porky meal
• "Uncle!"
• Super delicious seafood dinner!
• knife in mango seed.
• mini breads
• Pilli nuts!
• San Miguel Light

Dive trip Snapshots (Courtesy of Eve, Cynthia and Felix) :
My cam died on me, so most of these shots are from Eve , Cynthia and Felix's cam ..all pics are jumbled and in no particular order:

Camwhoring at Manila Airport (awaiting our domestic flight into Legaspi) check out our dive bags -- "UNCLE!" Surface interval views ...sigh...we'll make do i guess Overview of our journey :

Flight Singapore to Manila : 3.5 hrs --> Flight Manila to Legaspi city -->1 hr , Lagaspi city to -->Donsol Village by minivan : 1.5 hrs * blyeah*

Touch down ulu legaspi airport! careful not to fall off the stairs! a short walk from the tarmac to legaspi airport ermm terminal exiting the airport we were met with our host Conz..and his mini van views of legaspi city from the van it was a hot day. we stopped by a provision store , Glenn waiting for everyone to return to the van Eve and her Froggy friend waits in the van too we arrived at our hotel -and to our horror it was still underconstruction HAHAHAH! in this pic we are actually walking over where the Swimming pool is supposed to be...

where is the door to the bedroom? aaaa!!!

First meal in Donsol - LUNCH!

Wheres the van? we wanna go see whalesharks! Whaleshark interaction rego form Whaleshark interaction guidelines MY DREAM COME TRUE! BUTANDINGS SIGHTED!!!!! Group shot! San Miguel - 3 caves dive site

random dive pics : urchins urchins everywhere Porcupine fishy! PERCULAS Starfish Bladdy jellyfish...i got stung while surfacing on the 2nd dive.. pipefish! our sturdy vessel more group shots dinner time!

Butanding Spotter!

Fins mask and snorkel on! we are ready to jump once the Butanding is spotted! Whaleshark hunt group shotsthis shot was taken on day 1 dive when we returned to our hotel room, the door wouldnt open the lock was spoilt and all 4 of us had to wait in the makeshift pub area of the hotel , wet , cold ..waiting for the super slow hotel staff to fix the door to our room . we tried to order food and hot tea but everything was not forthcoming, (painfully slow) lucky for us cynthia had delicious crackers with her and milo powder, so we were wet but at least we were not starving. Guppies love cheap corn ice-cream! setting off on our evening firefly tour! it was amazing Id never seen fireflies until this trip...twinkle twinkle twinkle...so beautiful

Parting shot outside our hotel Giddy's place.

All in all, this Donsol dive trip was exceptionally fruitful for this little guppy. I got to see for the first time in my entire dive career, BIG BOYS of the deep, Whalesharks, Mantas and also got to see rare sights like fireflies! Lucky for me , the company was good

I always thought i would love to do rustic bare basic tours to the backwater towns and villages that have not become too commercialised yet. This trip as proven one thing -- Guppies are not suited to roughing it out in non commericalised tourist spots...hah think im just too spoilt and getting too old to rough it out no more.

Would it do it again ? for the Butandings and Mantas?

HELL YES! ( ahem ok ok mabbe in 1-2 more years time when Donsol gets more commercialised. )

Restless

Sleepless in Singapore

Hello happie gupsters! Are you still there?

Its sad but true. I havent been updating my blog since the last entry about the new addition to my funny little family

But i have been pretty busy :P

Things just seem to get tougher around me. Work day seems too short, and everyone from vendors, to customers, to even colleagues just everyone around me seem to have shorter tempers, less patience and have become more and more demanding - is it the continuing economic downturn that doesnt seem to end? or am i just experiencing PMS?

I am feeling restless.

I am feeling the pressure at work

I am feeling quite alone

I am feeling quite unappreciated

I am feeling melancholic

I am surrounded by people all the time and yet, I feel quite empty.

I just blew close to 2k on scuba toys.

Its almost 2am I cant sleep...and im getting hungry...

Gawd! I really must be PMSing...

Getting to Know You

Now Ive got a little boy and a little girl

Trace msged me this mornin that she found the perfect kitty to keep aidan company ,presenting Toffee...cute lil female kitten half aidan's size...awww isnt she adorable ?

So after i collected toffee from Tracie...i wasted no time to quickly bring her home to introduce her to Aidan! Toffee loves to sleep...mmm a little too much mabbe.

But when Toffee got to the house, she headed straight for Aidan's bed and plonked herself into it. then went to sleep.. Aidan could only stare on helplessly ...

Toffee surveying her new home...Toffee..sleeping again...rare moment when she is awake ...and when she is awake she just stares at Aidan as he sits at the furthest opposite end of the house...staring back at her.

come on guys!? why cant we all get along?
come on aidan! she's half your size and sleepy all the time...why are you so terrified of her ? aaaragh!

aidan tippy toeing across to sneak a closer peak at his new sister...before running away to hide in a discreet corner to stare at her...again

Awww guppy loves you both very very much. you are the 2 loves of guppy's life!

Love Guppy

Oh the stuff you find unexpectedly on the net ! Insane!

(by Sam Jones)(original, maybe)

Love guppy
You mean all the world to me.
Without you I can't be free.
You make me pant considerably.
You're my love guppy.

You have the finest rosebud's taste.
Without you my life is waste,
I'll stick to you like Elmer's paste.
You're my love guppy.

I'd break through a citadel.
I'd fight with a raging bull,
Though winning would seem improbable.
You're my love guppy.

My love's as strong as the mid-ocean ridge.
You shine like the rainbow bridge
or like that light inside my fridge.
You're my love guppy.

For you I'd consume haggis,
or lose the joys of Bacchus,
or live in sin with Mike Dukakis.
You're my love guppy.

No time's too long for me to wait.
For you, I'd fight against Fate,
though maybe you could lose some weight,
You're my love guppy.

Without you, I'd be not whole,
I would have to sell my soul,
or gulp a quart of Tide-E-Bowl.
You're my love guppy.

My passion is always mounting.
I'm like a geyser founting.
Well, maybe not, but who's counting?
You're my love guppy.

The love that is the more intense
always has the most silence,
like quiet bursts of flatulence.
You're my love guppy.

I know that my love is true.
I know that you'll love me too,
or I'll hold my breath 'till I turn blue
You're my love guppy.

I'd not forget you if I tried.
You make me all warm inside.
My love's as pure as Naugahyde.
You're my love guppy.

Then I hear the words let slip
From betwixt impatient lips,
"I want to have a relationship.
You're my love guppy."

Awww come on wont you be moved by this poem too if you were me ? hahaha too bad it wasnt written for me ..I came across this poem on the net today ...awwwww so cute. I swear I would melt if someone wrote me something THIS endearing :P

I spent the whole day hunched over my pc answering a torrent of emails..some friendly some not so friendly today. How was your day today happiegupsters?

More Porkchops Please

Yes I am Happie once again!


Its finally here, the moment i had been waiting for all these months! - Porkchop is finally back in Singapore.

I spent the entire day stocking up the refridgerator with foods that he likes , fresh milk, chocolate, cheeses, I replendished the pantry cupboards with rabbit food - muesli, cereals, oats, and even bought whole meal bread.

On hindsight- i have never had so much "healthy" food in my kitchen for so long. not sure i can get used to it again

I even made thai pomelo salad, marinated some chicken chops. and made tiramisu, ( incase he gets hungry and wants some food) before i headed out to the airport.

Im pleased to report , my precious porkchop had been safely collected, brought home, but alas he was so exhausted from the plane trip back that he had little appetite, too tired to go anywhere, we just cuddled, he surfed the net, watched abit of teevee before he plonked into bed and slept,

Hmmm guess I'll have to devour this delicious dish ...tomorrow!
* hehehehhehe*