Milk Tea Love

Bubble tea shops have been around for a long time but they're weren't as accessible as now, I remember having to troop all the way to Megamall or The Block just to satisfy my craving.

It's only quite recently that the craze caught on. The only downside is having to queue for a really long time. I remember Rhommel and I getting frustrated at how bad the queue is being handled at Happy Lemon Trinoma with us having to wait for almost 45 minutes just to get our drinks. 

My first real bubble milk tea experience here in Singapore was with Monica, she introduced me to Koi Cafe and I loved it. 

I then noticed the long queues at Happy Lemon Ion that I decided to give it a try. I found the Green Tea with Rock Salt and Cheese to be a bit weird but found myself craving for it a day after.







I've tried a few other bubble tea places and I more or less liked them except for Share Tea. I don't know why but I just didn't like it.



Back in Manila, Chatime is pretty popular and I loved their place in Pioneer. The bubble tea shops back home are better because they upped it a bit by having sitting areas.





Moonleaf is fairly new in the business but it is one of my favorites. I loved their Wintermelon drink plus their interiors are nice looking. The pic below is their Sgt. Esguerra branch.





With so many choices, my ultimate favorite remains to be Bubble Tea in Megamall. I always felt that they've struggled to find a crowd then but they're still there. They've become a full service restaurant now, I don't mind as long as I still get my milk tea fix with the small bubbles as before. 

On Losing a Job

I have been getting daily spam comments delivered straight to my phone that I guess served as a constant reminder that my personal blog has been neglected for more than a month now.  One day, I'll finally get to posting most of what happened this December, just let me get the elephant on the room addressed (well, at least for those who know me).

2011 has been very challenging for me and some of my friends. I, along with more than 100+ employees received one of the most shocking news last August when we got to work and found our office locked. I won't go into details as to what happened cause I don't want to get sued.

I'm very thankful for my friends here in Singapore for being very helpful and supportive. Several people from work also created a couple of Facebook groups to help each other out in securing new jobs.

The first month went by pretty fast. I mostly spent them eating out, having desserts and looking for jobs while having coffee with a friend. Don't get me wrong, I'm not burning money. I just feel that its easier to be with friends than being alone and wallowing in depression.









The rare moments when I'm at home, I spent it chatting and Skyping with friends. Some of my college friends also reached out to me and it was a great feeling to be connected to them once more.



After nearly four months, several interviews, a job offer, a denied work permit application, a rejected appeal, I finally landed a job. I got word that the work permit has been approved as 2011 was coming to a close.

The question I've been asked the most is what have I been doing all this time. I focused on our little endeavor, The Little Mermaid. It was time consuming, stressful and most of all, surprising at how slow the tickets have been selling for a children's musical and a Disney feature at that. I guess 2011 was just not the time to be making a little extra. But again, I am very thankful for my friends who helped out.



It wasn't really all that bad, every cloud has a silver lining. I had 4 trips to Manila, I went to a couple of beaches and the land of class A Northfaces without having to worry about filing for leaves or being exhausted from a trip and having to work the next day.







I leave 2011 behind and started 2012 fresh taking with me all the experiences and the learnings from it as well as the rekindled relationships with friends and family as well as the new relationships I've formed the past quarter.