All I know is "today is all we've got and today is all we'll ever have," so let's live. 

This collage could pass as a puberty challenge in a span of nine years but there really isn't any major glo up except for me probably gaining weight? Hahahaha and me knowing my best angle (if there is such) so I won't look too fat (not that I am ashame of my body or what. Flaunt it, yeah?). But if there's anything that's constant it's me smiling through/after anything. 

Smiling even when hurting.

When I'm failing myself. And has disappointed others.

When achieving something I've worked hard for.

When people appreciates me for being me.

Whenever I would finish reading a good book.

When I listen to the music that I like.

When I get to meet the people that I admire.

Whenever I thought of a good (or probably bad) pun.

When I am at my worst and yet knowing that one day it will only get better.

When I am with the people that I value the most.

When I get to experience life at its fullest.

When God gave me opportunities (too much that sometimes I get anxious if I could handle all of it) to make an even better woman out of me.

When God has blessed me more than I would ever deserve.

Life will not always go your way, but you can choose and act on how you want to see it, on where you would want it to lead. You can choose to pick which battles that you are going to fight for and then graciously let go of the others. You'd know who amongst your relationships are for keeps. At the same time, it is okay to allow yourself to grieve for the time and the people that you have lost in your quest for love and maturity. I may be saying this every year but only because is it not what life is about? There may be no definite answer as to getting to be who we wanted or where we wanted to be because we always only end up wanting for more. But we can always do something about our happiness.

We are living. 

We are loved. 

It is never too late to give that love back.

It is never too late to empower each other.

And that's what's making me happy.

That is what I am grateful for.

Year twenty-six, I am embracing you with all my heart. I am stoked as to what you have for me and the people around me.

Here's to more of life. 

April x

For today's VERSUS, as promised, let me take you to these two interactive 3D museums in the metro, Art in Island in Cubao and the Upside Down museum in Pasay City!

Visiting museums seemed to be a trend for millenials these days. Not only because are they so aesthetically pleasing and Instagram-worthy (hashtag feedgoals), they are almost everywhere and are easily accessible. One will definitely enjoy them especially if you are into arts and stuff most especially these days when they are even interactive as inspired by our neighboring countries'works (Malaysia, Thailand and Korea who are the pioneers of this kind of art museums.)

Both AII and USD are accessible as they are located in the metro! It's an easy treat to your group of friends or family if you're sick of the usual weekend at the mall bonding. The entrance fees are also affordable and they are giving discounts for children, students and the senior citizens.

Ticket prices for AII are P500.00 for adults and P400.00 for students, senior citizens and PWDs. Do take note to bring your ID to avail the said discount. Children below 3 feet are FREE of charge. (What a treat, right?) 9:30AM to 9:30PM.

Art in Island

175 15th Ave. | Cubao, Quezon City, Luzon 1109, Philippines

Upside Down Museum

AII is huge in land area and there are so many artworks and pieces for you to choose from: 

It is even hard to pick one from the amount of photos that you will definitely taking once you go to this place. The only downside is that, more people actually flock to this place so it is a must to go early for you to be able to experience every single thing.

I remember not taking photos of some pieces because of the number of people lining up. Also, you feel rushed and that you don't get to fully enjoy everything. This also make you miss the best angle for the optical illusion that is needed for the artworks to actually be 3D-fied. (THE BEST ANGLE is the key for better photos, apparently or it may seem like a typical photo on a museum and you don't want that, of course.)

USD is relatively smaller with only 15 galleries/features but whatever that USD lacks in land area (1,700 sq. ft only), they made up with the services. Also, lesser area means lesser people for you to be able to take your photos in peace.

There are people (actual people!!) assigned to every gallery to assist you in achieving your perfect photos. They even give pointers for you to come up with the best pose that even if you decided to go experience this place alone (in which there is nothing wrong, although it's more fun if you are to go with a company), you will still be able to go home with your Instagram-worthy portraits.

The Floating Corner, Upside Down House (my favourite!!), Mirror House, Giant Sneaker, Giant Headset, and the Inverted Steel Bridge are just some of the areas that you will definitely enjoy seeing.

I've been to AII in 2015 and they might have new features that I am yet to see so it's exciting if we ever decided to come back. 

I don't get to update the blog as often as I would like / should, so whenever I get back on and the internet at home is not as crappy as it usually is, I try to introduce new things on the blog (and hope to be able to get on with the concepts  for a long time). 

On a quite unrelated note (but somehow it is), Zayn is going to work with Donatella Versace for a campaign/line that will be released in June, I think and it is called Versus x Versace. Actually, it has sort of inspired this concept. But instead of going on about fashion, in which I knew nothing, really, I decided to put up two almost similar things, places, food and the likes up versus each other to emphasize its good points and points for improvement and rave about what I loved the most about them. Also, to give insights if you are to try them as well.

Basically, this part of the blog is a huge excuse to share some of my experiences as we travel and devour anything edible, being a certified foodie that we all are. So for the first ever edition VERSUS, I am going to go for the staple comfort food whenever life gets too stressful, at least for me: RAMEN!

Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish served with meat, eggs and vegetable topping in fish-based, soy sauce or miso broth. To be totally honest, I cannot differentiate them aside from the color of the broth (Ramen Nagi has black, red and green broth, I think?) and the obvious fish-meat difference and I do not have a specific toppings preference. I personally would choose laksa (Singapore's authentic noodle dish) over ramen in a heartbeat but I love ramen as another person does. The heat may be on for most parts of the year but the ramen craze is here to stay even on summer days! Recently, my friends and I have tried Ippudo Ramen and Hokkaido Ramen Santouka in Manila and it's now time to see how they fare against each other!

IPPUDO RAMEN

versus

HOKKAIDO RAMEN SANTOUKA

A little background:

Ippudo first started in Fukuoka by Shigemi Kawahara, the CEO of Chikaranomoto Company. "Ippudo" means "one wind hall". The restaurant got its name because at the time, there were dark clouds over the Kyushu ramen industry, and the founder CEO Kawahara intended to "blow wind and revolutionise the era". (Straight off of their Wiki page)

The Place

Do note that this may vary depending on the branch that you may visit. Ippudo in SM Megamall is fairly okay, if you are into submersing to the actual culture and Japanese ambiance. They have long tables in which you could share with strangers who share the same cravings as you. The Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Mall of Asia branch has smaller area but it has separate tables, if you are more of the private type AND they have better lightings which also means: better selfies and photos taken.

Point to: Santouka (because of the better lighting, haha come on.)

The Food Aesthetic

* service charge not yet included

Point to: both (I cannot choose, really)

Value for the Money

Both are worth its price although if you are on a budget and you also want side gyoza and full bento rice dishes, Santouka may have an edge on this one. It gives you more value for your money. Maybe it's just me who prefer a spicier broth but I had to add some spices to my kara-miso ramen. But of course, preferences. 

Point to: Santouka

The Service

Santouka people are more accommodating but considering the size of the place and the number of  hungry customers during our visit, I guess the Ippudo staffs are nice as well.

Point to: both

Overall Tally

Ippudo: 2

Hokkaido Santouka Ramen: 4

But I love both and would 100% recommend. Also, RAMEN is life so let's try more ramen dishes and eat as much as we can!

And in Japan, too, soon... hmm? ;)

***

The next VERSUS post is about museums! I am excited to share them though I really hope I'd get to finish the post within the month. It's been a loaded one, being the birthday month and all but we'll see.

x