50th Samoan Independence Day

The 50th Samoan Independence Day Dinner was a window

for me to meet a lot of Samoans residing here in Hong Kong.

It was such a great privilege to know Mr. Ramesh Mahtani,

the Honorary Consul of Samoa and his wife.

Along with their children, they hosted a gathering in the name of the Samoans

here in Hong Kong who continuously serve their country

with their own talents and  remarkable service.

Last year was held in their very own home. Hogan couldn't stop

talking about it when he got home as I remember.

Fortunately, I was able to attend the 50th along with his brother.

A couple of speeches, sharing well wishes for a stronger camaraderie
between Hong Kong and Samoa, were made to start off the evening.
Mr. Tony Nguyen, the Director of Protocol for the Government Secretariat Protocol Division
hopes for a direct flight from Hong Kong to Samoa

to help out more in the tourism and trading between the mentioned countries.*

Chief Malama Pilae (Samoan) had been staying here in Hong Kong for more than 20 years

ensuring Samoa's pride sharing the culture and value his own country stands for.

RESPECT, HONOR AND ALOFA (LOVE), to name a few.

Some that I have met are rugby players, fire knife dancers/performers and academic scholars.

No time to get bored when you're around with Samoans that's for sure.

Samoa, being the heart of the Polynesia, had been lived by happy people.

There had been a saying that Samoans are known as the gentle giants.

I remember Hogan sharing that to me.

And I think I couldn't agree more.

Despite the title that they own as strong athletes, body builders, and fire eaters,

you'd be surprised how gentle those teddy bears are in the inside.

The night continued to be fun as they all graced us with their traditional dance.

Prizes were given to the lucky winners of the raffle draw.

I won coffee mugs!!!!!

Excitement didn't end there as we headed to Wan Chai

to have an after party ourselves. We enjoyed each other's company

and hanging out with them made me feel I'm at home as they are not

far different from Filipinos when it comes to having a good time.

Dancing the night away with one of my new friends, Samantha Scott,

made this whole experience memorable as we both share the Filipino blood.
(Click on her name for more details about this
award winning body as one of the best rugby players here in Hong Kong).

A part of her is from Bicol, which is actually near to my Dad's hometown, the island of Romblon.
I believe there are similarities with each of the island's respective dialects. 

And to that, I'd like to thank them all for the warm welcome.

Go the Manu!

Related posts:
1. SAMANTHA ROSE SCOTT FEAUSI - this lady can kick ass at a rugby game.
2. 8th INTERNATIONAL SIVA AFI COMPETITION, CHAMPION: Hogan Toomalatai - and this guy can kick ass at the Fire Knife Competition also known as the SIVA AFI COMPETITION.
3. EMBRACE WHO YOU ARE - and you can kick ass with this outfit for a day out!

*For now, flights from Hong Kong to Samoa have to go thru New Zealand and/or Fiji.

There's more than just "TRAVELLING"....

When I travel, besides the fact that I want to extend

my horizons in terms of knowledge and experience,

I simply want to have a short story to tell about how I made my trip interesting.

That "story" that you tell to everyone and they would respond this way,
"That is really something to tell."

As I saw the label beside my name on the vacation leave

notice on the bulletin board at work that said, "APPROVED" last March,

I already thought about how I'm going to make my vacation to Los Angeles
memorable (for me) to blog about. Just like the rest before.
And how I could make it exciting!

PROJECT!!!!!

So I called my sister right away to ask for her opinion. It took us 2 days to figure out what to do.

We considered the following...

1. I just have 8 days all in all to spend.

2. I have to hold on to a tight budget so I could spend more for SHOPPING. (Lol!)

3. My sister and my mom would be at work most of the time.

So here it is!!!!

We decided that we should visit places where movies have

been shot or that we should try out movie-inspired experiences.

What I'm saying would make sense as you read thru.

Remember this?

Of course...

Who wouldn't remember how "A Walk to Remember"
had given us scenes/conflicts in the movie/storyline that we can relate to, huh!?

(Ex. being sick, being in high school and struggling to belong with peers,

having strict parents, being in love and wanting some changes in our lives.)

This particular scene was remembered by Khrista (my sister).
 We were headed out of Vegas at the time when she
pointed out to this sign and suggested about it.
And so, it would be fun to do the same thing they did.

Being in two places at once.

I didn't straddle a line because it was too dangerous.
I have to literally stand along the highway to do that.

We just took the less risky one.
We had to slow down from running a high way speed

then parked for 10 minutes at least, just to capture a good photo.

It was already 9pm that time so my sister had to adjust

her head lights to give us a little lighting effect. Hehehe!!!!
My mom took this.

"A WALK TO REMEMBER" scene, achieved!

Guess what's next in line...

Yup, the next one is experiencing my all time favorite holiday flicks,
"SERENDIPITY", starred by the ever gorgeous Kate Beckinsale
and the chatty John Cusack (or at least, just in certain movies).

The one I visited is in Vegas, not entirely the same one
that they shot the movie in (which is in New York)
but the Frozen Chocolate which was worth lining up for,
was available there too. General merchandise was also displayed upfront.
It looked preppier and more colorful though than the New York one which
looked a little bit fancy for me. Or at least, they
made it look like that in the movie.
I wonder where the one in Florida is patterned from.

Not a fan of dessert and we were pretty hungry so
the meal that we had there is basically, for late lunch already.
I ordered this and it came with a fortune cookie that said,
"Never give up until you reach the finish line."
I considered not giving up in finishing my project. Hehehe!!!

 

Now, if you'd notice, the restaurant is actually named, SERENDIPITY 3.

I thought the "3" there stood up for the 3 restaurants

that are up at the present. But actually, it was named

after the 3 legendary princes of Serendip (Sri Lanka) which the writer

Sir Horace Walpol of the 18th century coined serendipity from.

The restaurant besides being colorful and preppy served good food.

I loved what I ordered. The fish was fresh and it was grilled just right.

My niece Ashley was given activity materials while

waiting for our food. She didn't get bored.

SERENDIPITY experience - CHECK!

AAAAAHHH!!! This was so nice!!!! The "Urban Lights" of the LACMA museum!!!! I loved it! It was so good to be there where Ashton Kutcher (one of the hottest men for me) took Natalie Portman (superb actress) for their first formal date in the movie, "No Strings Attached". I love outdoor art, I've always been a fan and I suggest for all tourists visiting Los Angeles to take a photo here ... It's really something!

Movie No. 3 - "NO STRINGS ATTACHED"

Movie No. 4 - "THE INDECENT PROPOSAL"
This particular area where you check gaming status like:
RUGBY, NFL, HORSE RACING and everything else
was in this movie when the husband was starting to regret letting
Demi Moore go to the very rich Harrison Ford in the movie.
We walked thru it and it was a long strip.

Along with that, Vegas in general reminds me of one of my favorites also....
"WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS" - which is Movie no. 5.
We stayed in Planet Hollywood when we were there and
they also shot the movie from there.
Proven true when she showed up the tissue where
"Jack and Joy 4EVA!"
on a ph tissue which stands for Planet Hollywood!

So many places we tried to go to but like what I said,
we've had our own share of prohibiting factors.
It's hard not to be able to drive myself around.
Ahahaha!!!! But I shared this for the other travelers to somehow
be aware of the places they go to because most likely,
you've seen these places in the movies and it's fun to check the
shoot location for yourself.

Have fun seeing the world!!!!

"The Lucky One"

The "Lucky One" is yet another captivating novel by Nicholas Sparks. 

It is about a U.S. marine who came to stumble on a woman's picture which had turned to be his lucky charm during the time he served in the army. When it was time for him to return home, he thought of returning the photo to the woman personally since nobody claimed it in Iraq. He intended to thank her for saving his life from a number of life threatening circumstances where two of his best buddies during the war had never survived from or simply by winning a series of poker games. That's how he knows her the least.

As the story went along, he learns about the purpose for him finding her picture and how his fate is yet to unfold because of it.

Being a fan of this kind of novels, the book made me curl on my seat for 9 hours (out of 13) on my flight back to Shanghai from Los Angeles. I had put it on halt at first, reading only 1/4 of it and I managed to finish the rest on air. I had watched the movie in The Grove, Los Angeles and for the first time, I love the movie equally as I loved the book. Blame it on Zac Efron's remarkable portrayal of the marine.

It is a must-see. My mom didn't sleep in the movie and tried to ask what the leading man's name was. I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy staring at Zac in this movie...

2012 Fireknife Championship: Joseph Cadousteau

I was in Los Angeles while Hogan was in Hong Kong during the entire competition
when a good friend of mine, Jane Logan, left a message on my
wall on Facebook sharing her jitters about the 2012 Fire Knife Competition.
I called Hogan right away to check on the latest update.
At that time, JOSEPH CADOUSTEAU was still
doing his routine for the last round of the competition.

I shared the good news right away to my family

the moment I heard that our dear friend won the title.

Joseph and Jane, I wish we were there to witness this

and celebrate with you. Nonetheless, I still would want to extend

our hugs for a job well done.
Both of you truly worked hard and you deserve to win.

Congratulations!!!!

You did a superb performance
and your routine was outstanding!!!!
We're so proud of you!

Fire Dance - Festival of the Lion King @ Hong Kong Disneyland [HD 1080p]

Thank you to Arnold Lee for having this performance

by Bobby King and Hogan Toomalatai

documented as they share to a thousand audience

the talent that God had bestowed them.

And to the rest of the people who always share their time to watch

and support us, taking our photos and uploading it at the very same day

they took it, we offer you our BEST every time

we would go out on that stage.

DISNEY CALIFORNIA

This 2012, I had the chance to visit Disney Anaheim for the first time and I am more than thankful since my family was with me in experiencing this. There's no denying that I had been a Disney baby ever since. That being said, working for Disney had been such a pleasure. Huge thanks to the opportunity Mr. Russ Jordan (who passed away recently) gave me. Because of him, I get to own priceless moments with kids. I get to bring them happiness even in the most subtle way.

And so, for my vacation to Los Angeles, to see my mom after 8 years, it was more than remarkable. We get the chance to become kids again as we relive our unforgettable moment in Disney Orlando way back 1994. But this time, in Anaheim.

I got excited as I found out Disney Anaheim got 2 parks. Disneyland Park and their Disney Adventure Park. Ashley, my 4 year old niece, was also looking forward to play with us as she blabbers of the places that she wanted to see with me. I had to see the parade first of course so I told her, we shall watch it first then we'll go wherever she wanted to go.

 

The SOUNDSENSATION Parade shares a lot of similarities

with Hong Kong Disneyland's Flights of Fantasy Parade in terms of music .

It is started off by a drum line and I thought that was so cool!

Their costumes are beyond amazing as it tantalizes with colors and flow.

They have Rapunzel on the princess float and they have an Aladdin,

Peter Pan and Mary Poppins unit.

As of Hong Kong Disney's one, bungee monkeys and bungee bees 

looked playful and enticing.

The floats and choreography are also dreamy.

We all loved Disney Anaheim's parade.

It made me miss Flights of Fantasy the same time I was 

appreciating it at that particular time.

After that, we headed to Disney Toontown.

(Ashley's choice.)

We rode the Disney railway going there.

The first house that we saw was the boss' house.

I'm amazed at how they imagined it to be.

Mickey loves his fans so, it's important that he gets all

their mails and sees to it that he gets back to them.
So, after passing by the post office, his house awaits.

His house actually is packed with everything that keeps him busy

in running the park, making and designing playrooms and different toys.

You would see a typewriter, a mini theatre and a huge phone.

He awaits for you as you exit his house for a personal meet and greet.

Ashley got 5 smooches from Mickey I think and

she got a signature from him. We were so happy for her.

We just had a short afternoon so we just saw Minnie's house after that

which on the other hand is full of cute stuff. She loves baking and grooming

for Mickey so everything looked lovely and pink.

 Minnie Mouse loved her garden.

For her, dreams are meant to happen.

She shares her hopes to everybody who dreams and had

put a very special wishing well at her backyard for them.

We walked and walked,

played and played,

and just had the best time of our lives being worry free.

All the Disney cast members there gave me a very warm

welcome as they learned that I work in Hong Kong Disneyland.

They take time in asking how nice it is in Hong Kong and

that they would want to pay a visit someday.

I was overwhelmed because they made me

feel special and so did my family.

Before we know it, the day had gone pass and we were already

eating our dinner and waiting for the last attraction that we had to go to.

It was painful for me that I wasn't able to see the Disney Fireworks
because it got me all emotional the first time I saw it in Hong Kong.

It was too late for all for us and we were beat.

So, we decided to see "World of Colors" instead.

Like I said, Disney fireworks had a different impact on me.
And since I know it would be an awfully long time again before I see Ashley,
 I carried her the whole time while watching the 45 minute (approximately) show.

My heart melted when she kept on looking for her mom.
I just told her,
"Don't worry. This is the reason why I'm carrying you so
that you won't miss a thing. Because you have to tell her
every detail of this. And that's your mission."
She agreed.

There's a particular cast member named Alvis
who made this experience extra special for us.
He had let us take the vacant area for fast pass holders when it didn't get full.
We were holding fast passes which was good for another half an hour later.
But we were all exhausted and Ashley's mom, my cousin, Maan,
was already outside waiting for us. We needed to go already.
He was understanding enough and made us get a better view in no time.

I didn't get to watch other main attractions except for the parade and the "World of Colors".

But it was more priceless for me to see Ashley snoozing
while holding popcorn for her mom for her own "pasalubong" (treat).

I know she got tired because she had loads of fun navigating for us.

Yet again, Disney, thank you for letting us experience MAGIC.

WHAT DO YOU ASPIRE?

I recently posted Forbes’ Top 15 Richest People to drive us all into striving for our aspiration. It's seldom that we get hold of a great understanding of seeing the bigger picture of what life has in store for us. Usually, what we aspire the most are the hardest to achieve. Hence, I came up with a theory to keep our sanity intact and not fall into despair. I encourage you to put your dreams of material things such as a mansion, a billion dollar worth of savings or a yacht, down a notch. As I learned from my one of my favorite books (The Rules of Life), let's start aspiring for something within your reach at a given specific time. And whatever it is that you have in mind, you aspire it now because it can give you SATISFACTION one way or another. 

Right now, let's name that aspiration as "SATISFACTION". Again, I repeat, you can think of anything as long as it gives you the right balanced amount of it.


Let me share to you something that made sense of it all to me.

When I was still in college, I completely understood two facts about man.

First, that man is a complex being as I was playing “The Sims”. Yes, an online game helped me out, particularly, a simulation/role playing hybrid game.You start off with creating your sim (a.k.a. avatar) by completing its whole well being; Namely, psychological attributes, as far as aspiration is concerned, and physical appearance, ETC. It's like taking care of it, nurturing it, making it learn and making it build relationships. I was surprised how my sim represented myself you know. But what really caught me to analyze was that, how my sim reflects the ASPIRATION that I assigned to it.

ASPIRATION is the personality attribute that determines your sim’s wants and fears.

         You have to choose just one amongst these:

           1.      Knowledge   
           2.      Fortune

           3.      Romance

           4.      Family

           5.      Popularity

Realistically, we aspire on at least one of these. I chose Family for my own. That's what I would aspire I told myself. Relating it to SATISFACTION, for now, my family makes me satisfied as long as I could provide for them, as long as they don't starve and that they're healthy, I am satisfied.

It also allows you to choose its zodiac sign in which certain likes and dislikes are predetermined accordingly. But they’re adjustable as to how you want to support the aspiration you choose. Along with the zodiac sign that you choose for your sim would be the attitude that a certain scorpion, taurus, or virgo for example, would most likely dwell to.

Of course, other things will come next. Choosing how your sim looks like, you'd dress it up and build it a house. Feed it, let it rest and bathe it, ETC.,.

Being a keen observer and being an over analytic, I started asking myself of my own aspiration. For  In order to level up in this game, you’ve got to establish relationships well. First of course, you’ve got to get a job. And one huge factor to get promoted was to get social and gain friends. Hence, income increases and it allows me to buy lovely furniture that you'd find cute. You get to design, choose among a wide array of recreational stuff and even make your sim go downtown for the social and fun meter to go green.

In gaining friends, this becomes relatively easy when you have same likes and share a common thing with another sim. The best way is to find a neighbor who desires the same aspiration as yours. If you get lucky and comes across with somebody who has the same aspiration with you, intimate relationship is possible. 

Your sim owns a wellness meter. When it shows green, your sim is happy. When it goes red, you need to find what makes your sim unhappy. Is his comfort compromised? Does he need a friend to talk to? or Is he tired? Just what in real life would make you feel off, you've got to avoid that. Otherwise, it'll die. Amazingly, when I agreed to a boyfriend for my sim to marry, the energy meter goes white and blinking... probably a state of ultimate ecstasy? And promotion comes in, I get to renovate my house, make it bigger and complete with state of the art appliances and furniture. Of course, you need to get up on time, fill your mind with ideas and increase the necessary skill meter required of your job. (Logic for a mathematics professor, well-versed in magazines and having elite friends for a model and fit body for a policeman) And so on and so forth.


So, witnessing all of these, it all boils down to another realization about man. 

Humankind (Yes! All of us in general!) never gets satisfied. 

That state of ultimate ecstasy doesn't stay that long. The wellness meter after several hours just goes back to green once again. And it surprises me that my sim seemed complete of what he needed as far as BASIC things are concerned (food, sleep, sex); All the necessary learning had to be built. Logic by playing chess, Cooking meter by cooking for friends, and a lot more. Until such time that the game builders came up with a lot of other simulations to innovate the game. There's Sims 2, Sims 3, Sims University, Sims Vacation.... I could go on and on about every expansion pack they got. I guess the Sims too, live up to the cliche, "Life goes on."


I came across a book that talked about man's pursuit to happiness. It mentioned about a high percentage of respondents, when asked of what they want in life, speaks of being happy. But to think about it, what makes you happy? Because I tell you my friend, being happy is such a HUGE goal. What makes you happy exactly? A boyfriend? An entertainment showcase? A house and lot? Because to some people, a bath could be so rewarding as well compared to your other wants like jewelry, travel opportunities and/or a BMW . Today, I suggest, we put it down a notch. And aim for SATISFACTION. It removes too much expectation, excess baggage and it would give you wonders beyond your imagination with the first two mentioned set aside. After all, we're not the sims.

Limitless

As of September 22, I came across YAHOO New Zealand's News,

of the Top 15 of FORBES' List of the Richest American People.

I just thought you'd know too.


15. SERGEY BRIN, a Russian-born American Scientist and internet entrepreneur
who co-founded GOOGLE, earns US$16.7 Billion. (Not sure if annually though...)
*GOOGLE as we all know is one of the largest internet companies that
recently had its newest office in New York launched.


14. The 27-year-old, MARK ZUCKERBERG, as we all know, co-created
FACEBOOK, which occupies most of my time. Guilty as charged with that!
I've cheated having a good rest, spending quality time with friends,
discovering some new adventures and doing household chores
with social networking. He hit my weakness which is relaxing in front of the computer.
Oh come on, don't just keep me hanging here!
One way or another, you're guilty of being preoccupied by it too.
And that's just how this guy gets paid... KACHING!Do watch this movie, "SOCIAL NETWORK" and it will
amaze you how normal moments in life could be the huge trampoline
in making some CHANGES in your life.He earns US$17.5 Billion Dollars...


13. Another internet monster, JEFF BEZOS, being the Chief Executive Officer,
founder and president of AMAZON.COM, earns US$19.1 Billion at age 47.

12. Being Mayor of New York City since 2002, the now 69-year-old
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG is earning US$19.5 Billion.
He was the founder of Bloomberg L.P, a financial information
and news service media company and owns majority of it.

11. WAL-MART had been there for consumers to satisfy their needs.
And who's the man standing behind such success of WAL-MART?
The eldest son, of its founder, the late, Sam Walton, who now holds the title of being
the Chairman of the Board of Directors after the death of his father.
He is S. Robson Walton, now 67 years old, who earns US$20.5 billion dollars.


10. ALICE WALTON, now 61, is the heiress parallel to S.Robson,
being an heiress of the Wal-Mart fortune, earning US$ 20.9 Billion.

9. The name, WALTON still earns a place in the top 15 as the youngest
of Sam Walton, JIM WALTON, now 63 years old. He stands farthest on the far left
next to Alice in this picture. He holds a record of earning US$21.1 Billion dollars
and the title of Chairman of Arvest Bank.


8. SHELDON ADELSON, being the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
the LAS VEGAS Sands Corp, is a self-made casino magnate.
He earns US$21.5 Billion.
7. GEORGE SOROS, the philanthropist, aged 81 years old,
graduated Bachelor of Science and Arts in London School of Economics.
I guess that's the main reason why he knows how to handle money.

He just announced last July that his fund will now just be
turned into a family office and that he returned just under US$1 Billion dollars
of his US$25.5 Billion dollar assets. Maybe that's why last August, his ex-
girlfriend (28 y.o.) had become confident enough to sue him for a
US$50 million dollar apartment that he failed to give as promised.
Define a "gold digger"!
He wouldn't mind making her shut up just by paying her off
with this amount of assets but then again, he was mindful of his
commitments such as... to the human rights, public health and education,
he had been donating US$8 billion dollars since 1979.
In addition, he pledged US$100 million dollars to Human Rights Watch,
in part to counteract America's loss of the "moral high ground".
And US$150 million to Roma Rights (Gypsies).

Soros is best known for earning US$1 billion in one day for
shorting England's currency, "breaking" the Bank of England in 1992.



6. CHRISTY WALTON
Her family shares US$2.7 Billion worth of the First Solar.
Thanks to her late husband John,
who instantly made her the richest and wealthiest "Walton" woman.

4. CHARLES AND DAVID KOCH shares the 4th place
for being worth US$ 25 million each.
 The brothers continue to bankroll chemicals and the conservative insurgency.
Still, the Kochs’ political contributions, including gifts to the RNC,
are down by more than half this year.
Meantime, their industrial conglomerate seems to be thriving:
It has more than $100 billion in revenue from refining, chemicals,
building materials and energy trading.

3. LARRY ELLISON
 seems to be spending more time in court than on the water:
Oracle has been battling German software firm SAP over alleged software theft
 and rival HP over Ellison’s hiring of its former chief Mark Hurd.
Oracle stock is up 15% from a year ago.
He's worth is US$ 33 million

2. Warren Buffett – $39 billion
His fortune is down $6 billion, the largest dollar amount of any 400 member.
Yes, he gave away $3.27 billion in stock, but shares of Berkshire Hathaway have sagged 10%.
Buffett recently brought on Richard Weschler, a hedge fund manager,
as a top investment honcho. Maybe for a time that will quiet the perennial carping
 about finding a successor.

1. BILL GATES - CEO and owner of Microsoft,
who occupies himself continuously with the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, is still the 1st amongst all American billionaires,
now in his 18th year of reign being on the top.
This US$23.5 Billion Foundation had brought a lot of people into working
for disease prevention and education in the past year.
He continuously tries to eradicate polio completely
and still tries to work on how to provide
low-cost vaccines and bed nets to places where malaria is common.

* DISCLAIMER: This information was on the FORBES website last year 2011.
If  you want to know of the latest list of the Richest People, just hit their website. *