I had been meaning to blog about my favorite apps for quite a while now, but I kept putting it aside for the same reason I don't clean my room when I need to. Hehe. But then yesterday, I saw Lauren Conrad post hers on her blog and I got the push I needed!

So, anyway, here's my list in random order!

1. Instagram

I first used Instagram 63 weeks ago (says my first ever Instagrammed photo), and have loved it ever since!

I know some people say it's hipster yada yada but I don't really care. For me, Instagram was one of the first user-friendly apps with photo filters to come out and have nicely grown into a huge photo-sharing community. So, honestly, what's not to love?

2. Pink Pad

This app comes in handy when your appetite gets wilder than ever and wish you had PMS so you'll have a scapegoat and then, boom, you find out you actually do have PMS! 

Ok, you see, that's my PMS talking. Hehe. Let's blame all the wrong/weird things we do on it! :p

P.S. Buy the full version so you can ditch this very pink and cluttered theme. Check out the other themes they offer here.

3. Battery Doctor

I hear this doctor is supposed to prolong the lifespan of your battery, and if that is true, then how can I not make it my favorite? 

4. Stanza

Best e-book reader I have so far, mostly because I get to adjust the brightness of the screen by running my finger up or down the page.

5. Path

I don't know a lot of people on Path yet, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. But, anyway, I like it because it's Twitter, Instagram, FourSquare, and Soundtracking all in one app!

6. Pic Stitch

Because I'm a fan of 1 & 5, Pic Stitch becomes a necessity!

7. Unspeakable

The handiest version of Taboo so far, with a built-in timer and score sheet for two teams.

8. HDR FX

I think the photo says enough. ;)

9. Justin.tv

I use this to help myself fall asleep sometimes. And I think what I like about Justin.tv the most is that it's really like TV! No need to load the video whatsoever!

10. YouVersion Bible

I know there are other good Bible apps out there, but YouVersion provides (or used to provide?) New Living Translation for free! That said, I get to read this even when I'm offline. 

1. The Krispy Kreme sign lighting up exactly when Thei, Rendy and I were standing in front of it. Hence, free donuts!
2. Getting free Starbucks treats from Marcelle -- Black Iced Tea (a.k.a. my new default drink) and an oatmeal cookie which I was just craving for last night

1. "Waste Time On This, Not That" by Kristin Tennant - Where I learned that Bible and beer may actually be a not-so-bad idea after all! (Clearly missing the point of the article. Hehe.)
2. "How to Be a Christian Grown-Up" by Aaron Chung 
3. "Shoot Christians Say" by Addie Zierman - This is probably my favorite article today, as I've been having intense allergic reactions to boxed-type Christianity / church culture these days and the sentiments of the author sums it up for me.
4. "10 Ways to Do Dating Right" by Jake and Melissa Kircher 

Because I rarely do anything ahead of deadline, I once again packed for this trip the last minute, keeping me awake until past midnight last night. Considering my flight was at 7:55 in the morning, my procrastination caused me to wake up 30 minutes later than 5, which couldn’t have given me much time allowance to begin with. Then again, my mom was also slow and late, so even if I woke up early, it wouldn’t have made a difference. :p

That said, we arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 shortly before 7, which was not early at all. But, thanks to Cebu Pacific’s very effective web check-in, checking in indeed became a breeze! No lines; no waiting. (Oh how I wish life could be like that! Hehe.) And then, after travel taxes and ACR fees (for my mom), we soon boarded and flew to HK.

It was my first time to fly Cebu Pac, and so I had quite a handful of thoughts about the airline: 1.) Their crew’s uniform is very casual. I don’t like it, but I guess it’s comfy for them? 2.) Why don’t they serve food? Even PAL’s seat sale flights provide food—a pretty good meal, actually. 3.) The airplane was small and space-lacking, but at least it flew generally smoothly for me. 4.) Ohh, they have in-flight games! Hehehe. 5.) I noticed they’re sporting Bench, and wondered if their uniforms are an ex-deal/sponsored?

But enough about them!

We arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at 10, and because we had less than four hours to kill before our check-in time at the hotel, we took our time there.

After the immigration and baggage claim, we had our late breakfast at Maxim’s, which wasn’t anything special at all. I once again just wanted eggs! :p Upon/after eating, I also figured out how to activate our PCCW sim cards, while taking advantage of HKIA’s free wifi. :)

And then it was Airport Express time! We rode ‘til the Kowloon stop, and transferred to a shuttle bus – Route K2 leading to Nathan Road which was the location of our hotel—Imperial Hotel.

When we got there, we were greeted by a lot of Arabians/Indians! And by greeting, they didn’t really say hello (well, some did, but that’s not what I meant to say!).

Our hotel room was so-so. I didn’t really expect much from it, after seeing the pictures on Agoda and Trip Advisor, so I wouldn’t say I was disappointed. However, our hotel last year—Butterfly on Prat—was undeniably better. It was new, and at that time, was also pretty affordable. Plus, they offered complimentary broadband in the room! But, okay, I should stop comparing!!!!!!!

So, anyway, after checking in and settling down, we went out to have lunch……………at McDonald’s! Hahaha. I don’t get it either but when we’re here, we really look for McDo food!

We just had a quick bite, so as not to waste more time, and walked all the way to Canton Road from Peking. My agenda? H&M, and luckily, we found it pretty fast. Apparently, my memory isn’t so bad after all. :) 

From that point on, my day started getting brighter! I was back in H&M!!!!! To be honest, though, I didn't find a lot of nice stuff... at first.

As you can see, two hours later, that changed completely. 

Still, I’d say most, if not all, of the stuff I got were pretty cheap! Plus I could wear them often in Manila. 

After that, because I had a pretty full shopping bag in my hand already, I was okay to slow down with our day and agreed to have an early dinner with my mom. Since we were already at Silvercord and spotted Din Tai Fung, which I just found out yesterday supposedly has the best xiao long bao, we ate there. 

I don’t know if it was because I still wasn’t hungry but I didn’t find their food that special. Their xiao long bao was good, but only as good as Shi Lin’s, I guess? And compared to the other places we ate at today, I found it quite expensive there. Oh wait, after converting it to PHP now in my head, I take it back! I guess it’s safe to say it’s just not as cheap as McDo? Hehe. 

And because we got our stomachs to shut up for a longer time with (more) food, we continued on with our walking and shopping. :)

Eventually, we ended up at iSquare, after passing underground (which for me is the quickest way to get to places I’m not so familiar with). 

I’ve been there before already, and I got really happy to know that it was the mall where the store Log-On was located! The store isn’t really a tourist destination, I guess, but it sells a lot of cute and girly stuff. Me likeeey! They also had a lot of Hello Kitty things—look below!

I didn’t buy any of those, though, because I have self-control (sometimes) and ended up buying makeup instead. (I know Beauty Bar has these already but I heard it got out-of-stock so soon? So I thought they must be that good!)

For our last stop—my mom’s choice, we dropped by Market Place and my mom bought bread.

And now, an hour later, I’m writing all of this!

*Written 2/17/12 – Nighttime       

I just got home from our CS Small Group, and felt the need to write down all the things I was able to take home tonight.

I just thought maybe you'd want to hear them, too. :)

---

So we started off our discussion with a question that immediately created squeaky silence in the room, because it's one of those questions that says, "Wake up, sleepyhead!"

"What should you have achieved or experienced first before you can say you're ready to face death?"

And to that, I only had two answers. I'm not sure if I've thought of them well enough but they were undoubtedly top of mind:

1. I want to get married. I really, really do to such an extent that when people ask me what my dream is, that has probably become my most honest answer.

2. I want to point more people back to God more than I have turned away. (With this, I'm not sure my sentence is perfect grammatically, but I hope you get what I'm trying to say.)

Keeping in mind my ultimate goals in life--of course, also being open to better ones coming my way, we were asked another mind-boggling question:

"Is what you're living for today worth dying for tomorrow?"

And the thing is, a lot of us--or at least I--have this paralyzing tendency to live life blindly. We go on our days thinking we're doing (more than) fine, but if and when we look at the bigger picture and realize that life isn't and shouldn't be all about us (our happiness, our selfish ambitions, our great need to prove ourselves to other people, etc.), we get slapped in the face as we see how much we're falling far behind in the race going to where we've always truly dreamed to be.

And as for me, I must admit that I haven't been living a life of purpose these past few weeks, or maybe even months. I say this because I've felt what it's like to dream bigger than myself, and it had been so wonderful and full of love and grace and so much possibilities. But then, how typical it is for me/us to to go back to that small world we delude ourselves to calling our own!

I guess the reason why I'm writing this entry (besides the fact that I truly have missed writing) is because I also want you to take the time and pause for a bit, and reflect on how you're doing. On how you're really doing. And on that note, I'll end this entry with a quote I like to use A LOT when talking to people about life:

"How we live our days is how we live our lives." - Annie Dillard

Make your days count! :)