Stories of 2020

1/19/20


Today, I received my first moving violation. A traffic policeman cited me for “speeding” going 35 on a 25. I honestly didn’t realize that the road or stretch of road going downhill from my street is even a 25 mph zone. Always thought it was 35 to be honest.


Anyway, I had the ugly feeling that I was getting cited when I saw the policeman riding behind me and I knew or realized I was zooming in at nearly 40 going downhill on a wet foggy early morning on the way to work.


I pulled over to the parking lot of a grocery store which is nearby and thankfully my husband had cleaned out the glove compartment of the car and put everything in place. Thus, I was able to produce the registration when asked. However, I knew for a fact, and in fact asked for it from the hubby some weeks back, that I do not have a copy - paper or digital - of insurance coverage. I guess I should be thankful that the policeman took my word for it that I had current and valid insurance coverage.


Well, it took nearly 25 years of driving for my first ticket to come. I should at least be grateful for that right? At some point in one’s life, we all get traffic tickets. The fact that mine came after 25 years of driving should tell you how careful I am and how obedient of traffic rules I have been. Or simply I just got lucky all those years and not get caught. You judge.

This is how the cookie crumbled in 2019

When I first thought of writing a recap of my 2019, only the rough spots came to mind. Thankfully, I didn’t write this piece right there and then, or it would have been a totally different narrative – one that is not accurate and completely misleading and full of bitterness.

If I did, I would have only written about regrets, pain, disappointments and how 2019 screwed me over. Yes, I am a cry baby and whiner. Public admission takes so much weight off my shoulders. Hopefully in 2020 I can totally shed my cry-baby whiny skin and learn to grow more spine.

At the point in the year where year-ender reviews are being composed, it’s sad to think that all I could really focus on were the challenges that this year has brought. I realized that life is not meant to be lived like a television series where problems are solved in 30 minutes and everyone had a good laugh afterwards. In real life, the pain lingers, the tears continued to flow days after and the bitterness simmers and bubbles continuously.

I bought a notebook – yes a journal – specifically for this so that I may write down every single thing. But the journal remains blank. I never got the courage to write down every raw emotion coursing through me at the time. I don’t want people to find out someday that I harbored bitter resentments. That I was unable to move on. That sweeping things under the rug just doesn’t cut it anymore. That turning a blind eye is not as satisfying as looking the tiger straight in the eye – recklessly dangerous and there’s a big chance you’ll end up dead, but at the time you’re doing it, it was worth it. That turning the other cheek is simply not my cup of tea.

However, after the explosion of emotions had subsided and I had time to sit in quiet I realized the year did not begin and end with my challenges. The year began with me cruising the Canary Islands with my college roommate and the mother of my godson. As the year opened its doors, I was in Barcelona, one of my most favorite spots in the world. What a blessing that was, right? On the same trip, I got to visit new places with my husband and friends. What else could I ask for, right?

Following this trip, I found myself faced with a big decision. After giving it a little thought I decided I needed to shake up my life. I read the situation as the world or fate giving me a way out. I saw it as a sign to leave. It was the sign I was waiting for in years and somehow it was a now or never kind of decision. I was afraid either way. If I leave, the unknown is pretty scary. If I stayed, the ennui and stagnation are lethal and that’s pretty scary.

Thus, I made my first (stupidly) brave move in as far as I can remember. I left a job I held for a long time to sit on my couch for an unknown period of time. I told you it was stupid. But my husband supported my whim and encouraged me to take a few months off to think things through and devise a new game plan for myself. The funny thing is I learned that introspection is not my strong suit and that I have a hard time reaching my very core to learn what exactly it is that I need and want to do with the rest of my life. I was completely satisfied with the “status quo” that getting the boat rocked was a situation I did not allow myself to ponder. But I sailed through the first few weeks, basking in the glory of extra hours of sleep, no hour and a half commute or the stressful days at work. Eventually I got bored with that as well and I started to troll every employment website there are available and got myself into examinations for county and gov’t jobs. Pretty soon I got called for one interview after another. It was an anxious time because the last time I was at a job interview was some 20 years ago. You read that right, 20 years ago was the last time I went for an interview.

Thankfully, the interview process as I found out remains the same. In fact, I remembered that the interviews I went on 20 years ago were tougher in the sense that I faced a panel (at least 5 in a conference room) of interviewers instead of today’s 2 people or at most 3 people “panel”. The questions were pretty much situational and I suppose it’s not actually the “qualifications” that they are focusing on but on the attitude and how you tackle a particular problem. I answered as I saw fit and in all honesty I did not get very nervous. I did feel a little nervous before the interview while at the waiting area, but as soon as I was ushered in the interview room that all went away.

I got a new job that is a 180-degree change from my previous job. It is also a 15-minute commute (at most) and the boss does not micromanage. It’s quiet, the phone doesn’t ring and everyone just goes about their work when it’s time to work. I love it. There’s a downside to this job, but I’d rather not mention it here right now. I don’t know if I’m going to stay here long, but I love it so far.

Another blessing this year is the realization of my dream to see the so-called Utah’s Big 5 National Parks - Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce and Capitol Reef. How can you go wrong with a road trip to visit these natural wonders? In addition, we also visited both the Upper and the Lower Antelope Canyons in Nevada. This road trip was formulating in my brain for a decade or so; thus, I was really glad that we finally got it done.

So what will 2020 bring? I don’t know, but I can assure you that whatever it is I’m ready for it.

Farewell to you, my friend.

On a routine check on Facebook this week I found get-well-soon posts for a friend. The very next day, the posts became RIP. Only a few days before that he posted photos of him getting together with school buddies eating, drinking and singing karaoke. So much joy in his smile.

I met him in school. I was in the fifth grade; he was a third-grader. I know, what third-grader mingles with a fifth-grader right? I remember how I met him. Our classrooms were a few rooms apart, but were in the same building. My friends and I were playing in the grass across our room and they were playing in the grass across their room. Somehow, he and two of his buddies ventured to our grass and that's how we met.

I remembered seeing him again in high school, when I was a senior and him a sophomore. Funny thing, I don't remember seeing him as a freshman, although we went to the same high school. The reason why I remember seeing him in my senior year is that he used to help out a buddy of his to get to me. Somehow, he managed to convince this guy that he's friends with me and he can help him get close to me. Such bravado, huh! I think that's how I will remember him - he was not shy at all. He easily made friends with both upper classmen and lower classmen. The friend he was helping, we got close alright. That is another story for another day.

Sometime this year through a mutual friend he found me on Facebook. I'm really hard to find, because I am under my married name on FB. He knows me through my maiden name. We were chatting one time and he mentioned he's been looking for me on Facebook but couldn't find me until this mutual friend mentioned my new name. I told him that logging in under my married name act as a filter. Only those "close friends" can find me. He sounded hurt that he's not in the loop.

In the chat we talked about our lives and families and how proud he is of his boys who were doing so well in school, garnering awards and honors. He even sent me a link to a video of one of his boys delivering a valedictory speech during graduation. He was a proud dad. He also mentioned the last time we saw each other was in Manila, by San Sebastian Church. That was a Wednesday afternoon. We regularly attend novena on Wednesdays in San Sebastian because one of the acolytes was the cute guy from San Sebastian College. He was cute. A lot of college girls from universities nearby would come to the novena to see him.

But I digress. I was so surprised to see him there. It's been years since I last saw him. He was really surprised to see me there and the smile he gave me was so nice that the girls with me - my best friends in college - remarked afterwards that it seemed like we had something going on because of the way we were talking.

I really don't know if there was something going on, because I didn't stop to think about stuff like that. We've been really friendly throughout our friendship. He promised to show me around when I go back "home". He said our town has changed a lot and it's no longer a sleepy town that you pass on the way to Baguio from Manila.

Honestly I don't know why I got affected by his death. Sure he was a friend of mine despite all the years we haven't had any communication. I suppose I got sad because he was too young to die. His kids are still in school and he didn't yet get the chance to reap what he sow with his kids.

Dear G - thank you for being my friend. Farewell and rest in peace.

Words to Live By

In short: Jesus, take the wheel.

Have a great week.

Still Here

I am still here!

I'm well aware that I have been gone for nearly 2 years. Busy schedule is to be blamed. Maintaining too many blogs too. However, a major change in my life and schedule has made me realize how I cherish the way I used to write about nonsense here, things that I cared about.

As mentioned above, I had a major change in my life this year and while trying to maneuver through all these knee-buckling changes I made a pass at the old posts and they cheered me up. I was writing about stuff that I was going through and I realized that I managed to pass through all those challenges as well.

That gave me some inspiration to keep this going.

I think I will just jot down what I think, what I feel, what I overcome, or what drowns me.

I will survive just so I can write all about it.

Happy New Year

New Year again. A fresh start. Clean slate. Another chance to write a story. Hopefully a better story than what we wrote in 2017.

As this year begins, I am hopeful. Hopeful that I can have a fresh slate to do better by me. I need to look out for me. To take care of me. It’s not about being selfish. I need to be healthy to take care of others. I cannot be running out of steam. Others are relying on me.

Besides that I still want to do so many things, to see many places and experience life. In order to accomplish that, I have to be in good physical form.

I have to resist the temptation of eating junk food; of eating when not hungry; of eating when bored.

I need to read more, find more activities that engage both the mind and the body.

I need to start acting like a grown-up.

I also must start writing again. Here. Not in my other blogs where I write about my travels and adventures. Here, where I write about feelings and thoughts.

Here’s to a kinder version of ourselves in 2018.

June Breakdown

I just got back from camping in Sonoma Valley. It was the annual church camping and I believe this was the fourth year in a row that we are having this group camping. The first one we were lucky to have found one group camp spot in Samuel P. Taylor Park. That park is beautiful with tall trees and despite being so close to the road, we could not hear traffic noise from where we camped. The next year, we missed it, but it was held in Mount Diablo. I cannot remember why we missed it, but we joined the group for a day camping instead. The third year we camped at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park , the same one we camped this year.

The beauty of Sugarloaf Ridge park is that it is generally an easy drive, without traffic you can get it under 1.5 hour. Another asset for this park is that it is right smack in the middle of all these beautiful wineries and only a short drive away from all the yummy Mexican food and incredible wine tasting. There are wonderful trails to take if you like that sort of activity. There is a creek that was full this year and provided entertainment for many of our campmates. There is a waterfall trail which ends in well you guessed it – waterfall. Although it’s barely a “waterfall” in the truest and grandest sense of the word. The trail descends and is an easy short trail that even someone like me could tackle. We were told that earlier in spring the waterfall was full and the runoff to the creek downstream was bulging as well, which became such a popular spot during the hot afternoon hours.

The preceding paragraphs were written two weeks ago now with the intention of posting immediately, but as is my life nowadays, something came up and I had to stop blogging and voila, days later I still haven’t posted.

Anyway, the camping was just one of the things that happen in the month of June. Historically this month is pretty quiet and also mostly centered on church activities. In this month we have our annual church fundraiser, famously known as Chocolate Extravaganza and since its inception I was a cashier at the night of the fundraiser. I guess I can handle a credit card machine that’s why I was assigned there; although two years in a row now that we only decided to go with cash and check basis for all the silent auction items purchased.

Another worthy of mention here is our monthly birthday dinner with a group of people. An old church friend of ours who moved away last year joined us for dinner. She actually had found a job so far away from the church that she and her husband decided to leave the area altogether. We definitely missed her bubbly presence at church and during church related functions, thus when she visits occasionally we make plans with her right away. So that was the reason she was part of the birthday dinner.

At the dinner we found out her happy news, she got a full time job. The sad part is, for us, that the job is in the East Coast. She just relocated a few days ago.

June is such a drag. Such a boring time. I mean one week it’s hot as hell and the next it’s knee-shaking cold.

I must do something about June next year. I have to plan a little get-away to break the monotony of the month.

I would "promise" to write here more often and go back to the purpose of this blog as a journal for my life. It doesn't need to be about the travels because I already have a blog for that, nor about cats which I also have a separate blog for that. The thought of sharing one's feelings and unspoken thoughts still make me cringe. You know once you put anything down in writing and hit send or publish you just don't have any control over those thoughts any more. So, yes still having second thoughts about that part of my blogging life.

May Breakdown

What can I say about May?

Nothing really exciting happened in May. After an April that is full of traveling, May gave me back the sense of routine that I may not have craved, but my body had needed.

In May, we plunged back to normalcy, to the demands and stresses of work and church, to the joy of hanging out with friends over amazing bbq or rooting for the home team – that is the Golden State Warriors, who at the time of writing needs only 2 more wins to be the Champions of the NBA.

Our 10th wedding anniversary was May 25. Sometime last year I had envisioned that we would have a church wedding to commemorate the 10th year, but somehow lack of interest on my part due to incredible work necessary to get that done, not to mention the amount of money needed to put that in motion, the dream fizzled. Furthermore, the hubs has always wanted to do a church wedding when his family members can be in attendance. Having both parents pass away, we want the wedding to happen when his only sister could be present.

Having taken an early anniversary trip to Morocco in April, we settled for a no fanfare day in the city spending most of the day at the California Academy of Sciences. It was a very fruitful and enjoyable day. In addition, we made brief stops at Stow Lake and a little walk around the Rhododendron Dell nearby.

To top it all off, we had a wonderful anniversary dinner at Tadich Grill, which if I may say, ticked one item off my foodie bucket list.

Since we are back to normal this May, we have decided it is the right time to start having our backyard fixed. We found the same guy who replaced our back fence willing to do the job so it’s a work in progress right now. I will definitely share a photo of it here.

The backyard job is quite long in coming. We have been living in this house since 2009 and I thought that replacing the carpet upstairs would come first, but I’m glad that the backyard is getting worked on right now.

No travels in the near future, although there is a camping trip in sight at the end of June. Also we might do a little traveling by the end of August, depending on the schedule of our travel buddies.

So far that is what’s been going on around my real world. Hope your summer is memorable.

April Breakdown

April had been one busy month. Three weeks of it were spent touring the Kingdom of Morocco and beautiful Lisbon, Portugal.

This would be the first time we joined a large tour group. You know the ones who get shuttled from one spot to another in air-conditioned bus?

There are some countries that are best suited for the tour group way and I believe in my heart of hearts Morocco is one of them. There are so many beautiful spots to see, and places to go to are far from each other. We have seen and experienced so much in our 11 days there.

You would have to read my narrative about the trip in my other blog to get the most of the experience, because in that blog I tend to post a lot of photos.

Among the cities we visited were Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Erfoud, Ouarzazate, Essaouira.

Some notes about the trip:

THE FOOD: Moroccan food is not new to me; in fact there is a very nice Moroccan restaurant near where I live and we’ve been there and ate the food. But I learned in Morocco when you order tagine, any kind of tagine, it DOES NOT come with couscous like it does anywhere in the United States I assume, because it does in California. And when you are craving for couscous, wait until Friday. We’ve been told few times that they only served couscous on Fridays. And this from different restaurants and different cities.

THE CITIES: If you only take a photo of the street and no landmark, you’d guess the photo is from anywhere else but Morocco. However, Morocco is modern and the infrastructure in the cities is modern. You’d really think you are somewhere else. Also, aside from Casablanca, which is the biggest city, the cities are very clean. Everywhere else is clean. When we mentioned this to our tour manager, who was with us the entire way, he told us that there are street cleaners all day long, in 3 shifts, no wonder it is so clean.

THE SHOPPING: We did very little shopping even though we went to souks in every city we went to. The vendors are not pushy and the selection of rugs, ceramics, etc is incredible. I simply did not have any shopping money when I was there.

ARCHITECTURE: I love tiles and tilework and this is one country that is abundant with that. My eyes feasted on incredible tiles in riads, schools, old buildings, mosques, etc.

THE ROADS: Wide city roads with mini park in between the roads. I really like that feel when people have open space in the middle of the road for rest and relaxation and for kids to play in.

THE RUINS: I was blindsided when I saw the ruins here. Who would have thought that I would see ruins here? But they are magnificent particularly in Volubilis. Incredible.

THE MOUNTAINS: The mountains are so beautiful and another special bonus for me. I did not really pay attention to the itinerary thus I was again blindsided by the mountains. Some parts of the scenery reminded me so much of California and the agricultural lands and the orchards are nice to look at.

THE DESERT: What else can you say about the Sahara? It’s huge, it’s incredible. I would do this trip again just to be able to see the desert again and marvel at the different hues of the sand.

THE TOUR GROUP: There are 36 of us, all from US and Canada. I’m guessing the age ranges from 35-70. We did not mingle as one large group, but we were all cordial. Everyone is respectful and friendly and kind. We eventually found a small circle of people we regularly go to dinner with. What a fun group. I also liked our tour manager so much; he’s awesome and all the local tour guides we had.

After the tour was over, my husband and a couple that traveled with us in Morocco as well flew to Lisbon to spend a few days there? They opted to stay for 2 days and we had 3 1/2 days there.

It was their first time in Lisbon and on the first day we tried to show them around as much as we could. On the second day, we explored the city on our own. They went walking around and were pleased with how their day went. We opted to take the Hop On Hop Off bus to sightsee. The reason behind this choice is we wanted to see the sights we missed on our first visit in the city in 2014 and we accomplished that goal. There was an impressive looking church that we spotted late in the day in 2014 and we knew that we could not stop there because it was late. This time we especially stopped there first to see the interior. We were not disappointed; even though it wasn’t as glistening in gilded designs as the other churches. The ticket we purchased for the bus tour enabled us to take the historic #28 tram around the city. Oh boy, this was one wonderful trip. The tram is used by locals, but popular with tourists as well. We also walked where we used to stay and I was disappointed that the restaurant where we used to eat breakfast no longer exists. I was told by a wait staff in next door restaurant that the restaurant business is tough and staying open is difficult to accomplish. We met up with our friends for dinner and a short walk around before stopping for a little nightcap.

They left the following day to spend a couple of days in Barcelona; we went walking around the neighborhood some more and also signed up for a half day tour of Sintra. That is one incredible experience as well.

On our last day in Lisbon, we went for another round of exploration on foot and made sure that we had paella negra for lunch. In the afternoon, we caught our plane to Casablanca where we stayed for one night.

In Casablanca, we arrived late in the afternoon. We were staying in a riad near the airport. The shuttle was late. We had been waiting outside the airport for a long time, until a local asked if he could help. The hubs told him we were waiting for the shuttle. After inquiring what hotel, etc, the kind local dialed the number and told them where we are and that we were waiting for a ride.

The riad is cute; the owners – French and Moroccan couple – were very friendly, and so were their cats and dog. The room is nice too, but we were there for a very short time. Only a few hours to sleep before we got up at 3:30 am the following morning and banged the door to get someone take us to the airport.

I don’t know if this covers the entire month of April, but it is one incredible month. I think I would love to start booking travels in April when the weather is so fine and the flowers are abloom.

March Breakdown

March is a transition month. Historically personally March is a quiet month. Nothing happens in my March. Mom's birthday is historically the highlight of this month. Of course this 2017 version is no different than all the other March that passed. There was a wonderful bonus to Mom's birthday this year. We finally got to meet my cousins face to face. I knew of their existence. I love their parents and while we have had relationships with their parents, we never really knew them. It was such a pity that we never connected before this year. We have such a close blood relationship. Not only are our dads brothers, they look so much alike that there is no denying they are brothers. So two of my cousins came, two girls and a cousin-in-law - the wife of their brother. They live in Texas and have jumped on the plane for a short weekend visit to the city by the bay. Great timing too because they chose the weekend when we were celebrating mom's birthday and so they were able to meet practically the entire family. The reservation for the buffet restaurant went as high as 40 people. We are a big family.

On the work front, all's well. Busy as can be. Boring sometimes. Although with the change in weather, I caught a bug. I had colds and the cough stayed on and transferred to the husband.

Went out for a night out with girlfriends on a Monday night. We needed it to just breathe. You know, life happens and we need to exhale sometimes.

Managed to go to the cinema this month for LOGAN. What a really nice movie. I hope there will be more movies that would include Wolverine even though he died in this one.

In a week's time, I will be traveling. To say that I'm excited is a bit of an understatement. I do hope that in addition to documenting the trip via notes and photos, I also make time to be IN THE MOMENT. I feel that in the past trips I was more concerned of taking photos to feed the blog than to enjoy the place in the moment I was there. That would be my goal this year. In addition, there's another country we are going to visit for a brief time. It's a return to one of my favorite cities in the world and I'm already tingling with anticipation.

February Breakdown

This is looking more like a monthly breakdown blog. Anyhow, here's what has transpired in the second month of the year.

LOTS OF RAIN

The rainy stormy season continues. The sky kept pouring in wet blessings causing major flooding. Potholes, sink holes, downed trees, urban flooding, some of the things awaiting the commute. It's been great having this very wet winter but the damage has been tremendous as well. Add the strong wind gusts, oh my lordy. My house was shaking from the howling wind last night, giving me a bit of apprehension. Thankfully except for 3 Mediterranean cypress trees on the front side of the yard, we don't have any other trees that would be a major concern for falling into the house. Plus the husband says that cypress don't really fall down. Okay!

ON THE HOMEFRONT

Nothing has been accomplished. My projects remain sitting where I left them. However, I have finally made a home made face mask, the recipe of which I found online. Easy peasy and feels effective too.

The newest member of our extended family turned one several days ago and so that was exciting. She slept a good portion of the party and so people come over and touch her while she slept. Some people even left before they could get a picture with the birthday girl.

FRIENDS

Our birthday dinner group had a fabulous time at an Irish pub one Thursday night. The food was great and in large portion so the sharing was awesome, the drinks were good, but the company was incredible. Must have been one of our best dinner outings so far. We have a group of friends that go out and celebrate a birthday and this month, 2 of our friends were co-celebrant.

My dorm mate in college and her family and the two of us went on a short 3-night cruise recently. Nonstop chatting. We hope we'd be able to do something similar with a larger group when we decide to have a dorm reunion since many of us who lived in that dorm reside here now.

TRAVELS

Only the short cruise to Ensenada, Baja Mexico. Otherwise, we're staying at home and cannot even go out that much because of rain.

RANDOM

Our company got access to Hardwear Mountain, the employees store and so the minute I got the email from my company we went to their store. I'm not much into outdoors and sports and hiking, but the selection of clothing and shoes were incredible. Some caught my eye. Hubby spotted a pants that I was looking for in like forever and so he wanted to get it for me, I was on the fence about it until the very last minute. What I was sure to get was this sandals that I always thought cool, but couldn't find anything of the sort that I liked until that day so it was a good $20 purchase. I can use it for traveling and camping.

EMOTIONALLY

Still struggling to get healthy and have a good workout regimen. Husband scored a second-hand pilates machine. We will set it up tonight and I cannot wait to make full use of it. I am really unhappy about my weight and I need to have the discipline I need to cut down the weight and eat healthy and move.

MOVIES

Via redbox, I saw THE GIRL IN THE TRAIN and THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS. Love them both.

Hopefully, something exciting will come up in March and my mood will be pleasant like spring time.

January Breakdown

So here's a little breakdown of what transpired in the first month of 2017.

LOTS OF RAIN

So much rain that the 3-year-drought in NorCal has been eliminated in one winter and flooding occurred in low-lying areas affecting so many residents.


ON THE HOMEFRONT

Finally got the awning over the main door erected. Dear friend made the plans and hubby got the permit from the city and somehow also managed to find a contractor to build it. I love it, now we don’t get soaked while trying to get inside.

FRIENDS

Early in the month we hosted the now becoming an annual tradition of getting together with husband’s former co-workers. It was well attended as usual and lots of good eats. A friend brought a gigantic red bottle of wine that we made into a few batches of sangria.

A friend took us with her on her house-hunting trip. I love house-hunting and hopefully she’ll get the condo she wants at a price she is willing to pay. You know everything here is so expensive.

Went to another friend’s house for takeout Lao food and pre-trip meeting of sorts. I love her house. I was sick when she had her housewarming last year and so I didn’t get to see it, but boy it is like a house out of the pages of a magazine. Not fancy. Cozy as a matter of fact and quite in the minimalist side, but has the feel of a lived-in house and the dog is just a bonus too.

Another tradition that lives on, a New Year’s Day lunch/dinner with a couple of elderly friends of ours. This time around we took them to Troy – a Greek restaurant in Solano Avenue. The couple enjoyed the food so much especially the woman, a vegetarian, found plenty of yummy options for her on the menu.

TRAVELS

A canceled trip to Lake Tahoe for some snow fun due to inclement weather. Unfortunately the resort could only reschedule us in June – beggars can’t be choosers after all it is a voucher for a free 3-night stay. So no trips this January.


RANDOM

I was killing time at Marshall’s after work one day before meeting up with the hubby to go to a friend’s house for Lao dinner (see above) when I saw this cute little notebook with a travel motif. I was at the store for a good solid hour and was able to resist temptation on clothes and makeup and bags and other goodies, but not the notebook. I simply had to have it. I’m hiding it because I have plenty of notebooks in my drawer right now and the last thing I need is another notebook/journal. It’s not going to make the hubby happy with unnecessary purchases.

Another random thing, Vista Print was having a sale so I went and made a little postcard of Buster, my cat, 50 pieces for $4.99 + shipping. Now I am realizing that is a lot of postcard, so expect to get one from me.

EMOTIONALLY

I am not really happy with January historically, probably a down from the highs of the Holiday Season. This year though, very busy and quite stressful work-wise and no trips can make the spirit sag more than usual.

Struggling to get healthy with exercise and eating the right food and getting enough rest, that means sleep. I think I will continue the struggle; I need to buckle up and work hard on this.

MOVIES

Rogue One in the theater. I am not a fan of Star Wars but I had to go because hubby wants to see it. He’s not a crazy fan either, but he wanted to go so we went. I’d rather we went to see SING. I heard good things about it and the trailer was entertaining.

Finding Dory on Red Box. Not as entertaining as FINDING NEMO. I’m keeping an eye out of THE GIRL IN THE TRAIN. I wonder if it’s out on Red Box yet.

This is all for January. Hopefully, February will be more fun so I can blog more often.

A Time For Reflection

I am having a tough time doing my year-end post over at my other blog. Usually this comes in easy. I enumerate the places I've been throughout the year and voila I got a post. This year it felt different for some reason. I cannot really pinpoint where the change is or what factors might be affecting this change in my feeling. I have traveled my fair share this year. Somehow I felt it was less than last year, although that is not true. I was hoping that by writing here, somehow, a switch will flip automatically and I'll be able to come up with something to post in the other blog.

I was sitting in front of the computer for a few hours yesterday, which was a great day to just chill after the chaos of the Holidays, but when nothing comes into my head I turned on the tv and lo and behold GAME OF THRONES is running a marathon. I hit record all and thought I'd go out for a bit to see what's on sale, although I truly was not interested. The hubby just needed to get some fresh air, so we went out.

As expected, we didn't see anything worthy. Of course we didn't hit the big stores in the mall, because...why? Anyway when we got back I was eager to continue watching my Game of Thrones, when I realized that the setting on my dvr only records up to 5 epis. OMG, I lost the first five epis. That kinda put a wrinkle on my face right there. Anyway, no harm since I have seen those episodes before.

Anyway that's not why I am posting here now, two months since the last post, I want to practice my year-end post. Sort of a dry run.

In the hopes of getting an inspiration from last year's year-end post I went and scrolled my posts and I found out that I did not do one last year because we left for Bangladesh middle of December and got back home January 9 or something.

Thus my 2016 started in Bangladesh with family and friends and being reunited with a girl I met some years ago who now is a mother yet still maintain the girlish charm.

From Bangladesh we flew to Bali for a 6 day interlude before flying back home. A wonderful time was had by us. Bali is known for beautiful beaches, but I didn't dip in the pool once and we only saw the beach once. We were chasing temples and being culture vultures, ate at local food stands where we got freebies because they want us to discover and enjoy Balinese cuisine.

In May we celebrated our anniversary in Cancun, which is not really a surprise given the fact that we both enjoy Cancun. This time around with a whole week and no itinerary to adhere to we were able to visit Xcaret, an ecological theme park. In past visits, we have tried to dismiss coming here because we thought it was a Universal Studios kind of park, but wrong we were. What an incredible place to enjoy culture and nature.

For my birthday in August, we went to Florida and had a theme park trip visiting both Universal Studios and Disney World. In addition we had a beach day at Cocoa Beach. I'm starting to like Florida, especially since the food is awesome. Had Venezuelan and Puerto Rican cuisine while there.

In the fall, we gathered up friends and had a weekend of quiet in a cabin in Alpine Meadows in the Sierras. What lovely time we had and such a beautiful cabin. We hoped to be back someday.

Now just before all the craziness of the Holidays friends emailed us of a cruise that's reasonably priced. Since I had a previously approved vacation time around the same time we said yes to a cruise. So in November we sailed the Caribbean stopping in both the British and US Virgin Islands and Bahamas. A much needed break before the chaos of Christmas preparations.

2016 was just another year in terms of travel, but the focus of the year for me was friendship. We have continued to develop the friendships we have and enjoy other people's company more. We went out to eat more, we went to each other houses to eat more and we traveled together this year. We are lucky that we have friends who become family.

May 2017 be kind to all of us. And please laugh more this year, it's good for you.

Hello There, Again!

Just when I’m giving myself a little blog break I chose to write something here. Work has been quite hectic recently that whatever things I needed to write here stayed in my brain and wouldn’t get out for me to write about them.

A dream became realized recently when we rented a cabin (what a cabin!) in Alpine Meadows by Tahoe and stayed for 2 nights with friends of ours. It has always been a fantasy to stay in a cabin in the mountains. What a fun, relaxing weekend it was. It rained the entire time, from our arrival on Friday night to our departure on Sunday afternoon. We ate, chatted, napped, watched a lot of tv, both sports and chick flick, observed the kids playing with each other and found a quiet time to oneself amidst a cabin full of people.

What made it more dreamy was that the trees were showing their fall colors. The cabin was surrounded by yellow everywhere you look. Quaking aspens dance in the wind, which was viewed from the large glass windows of the cabin. There was this one big window by the dining room, what a joy. I started daydreaming about how lovely it would be to do one’s sewing in the dining room table while looking out at the trees outside. What a cozy cabin, a bit compact, but each nook and cranny had a purpose.

I made a mental note to do more of these weekend trips. They are cheaper, does not require long travels, and they are so reinvigorating. We are looking at coming back to this cabin next summer. Why next summer? Because this cabin, that is owned by husband's co-worker, is booked solid from November to May. Fingers crossed we could go back here and enjoy the surrounding area with a hike. We were unable to hike because of the rain and the cold; our friends walked under a mile to reach the nearby creek, the watering hole around these parts where people swim in the summer time.


My friends going out for a walk after breakfast.


View outside the dining room window.


Stuck to the kitchen window.

We Are SF, We Are Giant

So frustrated! That's how I have been feeling since July this year. Well now, I am not the only one to feel this way. The entire Giant nation shares the aggravation.

Us Giants fans, we don't ask for a lot. We just want our championship parade every other year. It's looking more and more like that's not happening this year. What is more hurtful on my part personally is that I wasn't around in 2014 during the exciting World Series because I chose to gallivant all over Europe, opting to see Venice, soak in Santorini and meander the historical alleys of Genoa. Thus, I missed the masterful performance of Madbum, of how he singlehandedly carried the team past the rampaging KC Royals - who won it all last year.

What is perplexing is how everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, so far. Nothing they do is working. Well, they are not doing anything. The Giants are not moving the runner to second base. They are definitely not hitting home runs, let alone scoring runs. What they are doing? They are allowing the opponents to score on them, to hit all their pitches. So annoying. I cannot put my finger on it. It makes my blood boil. Even my husband who is at most a casual bystander gets outraged.

For my health, I stopped watching. I know I shouldn't. I should keep on supporting them. I am not just a fair-weather fan, but them getting a meltdown in the past few months is stressing me.

I love you Giants. Right now, I can't even look at you.

Hello

I have requested to move up an approved vacation from management. I don't care whether it gets approved or not. Either way I am still going to get vacation time. Except that if approved I might be going to enjoy a few Carribean islands versus a combination of Vegas/San Diego if not approved. If it gets approved, I'd meet up with friends of ours; if not approved I'd meet up with other friends of ours. I think it's a win-win situation.

In another news, we recently went on a Monday night eight-some with 3 other couples - all friends of ours we met at church. One of them was having a birthday and his lovely wife planned this surprise birthday. However, him being a contrarian did not approve of the choice of restaurants. So funny. He wanted to go to an Indian restaurant and despite this occasion being his birthday we all vetoed because we all wanted to drink (on a Monday night!) and most Indian restaurants don't have variety in their alcoholic beverage menu, if they even have it. So all tired and stressed from a whole day of work, we had a fun-filled and loud dinner. Now they want to do this regularly. Another is having a birthday at the end of the month and husband's is not too far away. Really fun to get together with these people.

What else is happening? Not much. I'm still coloring, although I don't spend as much time as I did before; I started to read again. A medical thriller by Robin Cook. So glad that I am reading again. What I need to go back to is Zumba.

Fall Season is fun for tv lover like me because the shows I follow are back. So far, only Big Bang Theory has aired its new season and it was funny as ever. The writers of the show have not shown a decline in their ability to write humorous situations and the actors appear to be better than ever. Thus, I was DISAPPOINTED that there were no acting/writing/directing/bestcomedyshow in last Sunday's Emmy Awards? Unthinkable.

That's all for now.

September!!!!!

So here we go, September!

Only four months before the year ends. It is not funny anymore that at this time every year we go shake our heads in disbelief that 2/3 of the year is over. And the last 1/3 of the year would be busily spent making preps for the Holidays and various parties. This Monday is Labor Day and while I welcome the day off, I know that it’s going to be downhill from there.

As a matter of fact, a couple of days ago, the unmistakable scent of fall made an appearance here. I was surprised when I felt and smelled it, I’m sure it didn’t really have a smell, but you know what I mean.

There are various changes that signal the end of summer as well. On my commute to work in the morning, there is that not to be missed sign in my face. Pretty soon when the clock falls back, I would have a quiet morning as my companion for commute. I so welcome that prospect.

It’s been over 2 decades since I left the homeland for good and I had fond memories of Christmas carols being played as early as the calendar changes to September, but I am glad that is not the case here. I am just not ready for the Holidays and the hustle and bustle that the season entails.

Right now, I want to have a quiet September, cool breeze on my face, exploding sunset scenes, September baseball, and waiting for pumpkin spice latte.

Happy September everyone!

This Is How The Florida Vacation Went

Day 1 – Left for Florida. Flight was delayed by half an hour so we left about 11:30 pm PST. We arrived at the airport about 7 pm. A long wait in the airport especially when there’s an 8-year-old that’s easily bored.

Day 2 – Arrived in Orlando at about 9 am, local time. Took the shuttle to the car rental place, that took longer than necessary, but was in Universal Studios by noon. Went to a couple of rides and the Hogwarts Express. It rained. Got to the resort about 9’ish or more around 10 pm. The two men went to nearby Walmart to shop for supplies. They arrived and made a wonderful saltless (we forgot to put salt and pepper on the grocery list) chicken fajita.

Day 3 – Second day in Universal Studios. Got to take a lot of the rides and was in long lines for most of the day too. Those rollercoaster rides were too much for me, but I had to go on them. I just closed my eyes the entire time. Also went to a ride that soaked us from head to foot, which was good given the heat and humidity of the day.

Day 4 – a break from the theme park routine. Decided this was beach day. Drove 1 ½ hours to Cocoa Beach. Beautiful beach, warm water, wide sandy beach and not crowded. On the way back, stopped at a Venezuelan restaurant for dinner – we had arepas, tostones, fried yucca, empanadas, etc.

Day 5 – DisneyWorld day. Today is the only day we allotted for Magic Kingdom. And today happened to be the hottest and most humid day of the week. The heat was brutal. I nearly lost it. We did a few rides, went back to relive memories by going to Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World and Jungle Cruise. These rides are not magical anymore. Anyway, rain happened again, like each day this week at about the same time every day. Waited out the rain then resumed activities and watched the magical electrical parade and the fireworks at Cinderella’s castle. Left after the 9 pm fireworks, our friends stayed behind until the park closed.

Day 6 – Husband and I went back to Universal Studios to take the Transformer ride, because we didn’t do it on day 3. We also took the Hogwarts Express going the other way and did a bit of shopping. While we spent the day in Universal Studios our friends had another beach day. They drove to Daytona Beach and enjoyed sun, sea, and sand all day long.

Day 7 – Flight out is at 10 pm today. While our friends went to Universal Studios, the husband and I went for a drive to Tampa a little over an hour’s drive. Then we scouted out the food trucks and got some more Latin food before heading out to the airport. Husband got sick on Day 5 – he was coughing and was running a fever. On day 7, I got sick. Got home at 3 am.

COMMENTS: I enjoyed Orlando more than I expected and more than I enjoyed Miami. Although in Miami's defense, I was only in the city for 2 days and that is simply not enough time to taste and see the offerings of the city.

Cocoa Beach is quite nice too. The beach part is awesome, the main city is not so much. At least didn't get to see much. I would not rule out a return to Orlando with or without a visit to the theme parks.

One more vacation time on the list for 2016 and that's coming up in November (2 weeks) and I still don't know where we'll go. However, one thing is sure, we will stay stateside for this vacation. We are thinking of revisiting San Diego since it's nearly 10 years since we last visited it and now that I have reconnected with my college pal who lives in San Diego and who came to visit me in July I thought San Diego is a sure destination. Likewise, I am thinking of spending a few days in Sedona, long overdue. I've been planning on going back to Sedona since I fist visited it nearly 10 years ago also.

A little update

Checking in right before going to Disneyworld. Been here in Orlando for 3 days now, today is day #4 for this weeklong vacation. I understand I have not written here in nearly 2 months, which is really a shame. NOt that there are a lot of things that happened that's worth a post, although come to think of it, there definitely are a few stories I would love to share. But that's for another post.

We've been lucky for the most part with weather here. The heat is there but the low humidity makes the heat a lot easy to manage. Today however is different. The forecast calls for 87% humidity + 90+ heat, can you handle that? The question is can I handle that and I'll be going around Disneyworld.

See you later. I'm going to change my wardrobe into something that would make me cooler the whole day.

Got So Excited

I lost my mind at Michael’s yesterday. Ok let me back up!

I am preparing for a chocolate creation for the annual fundraiser that our church hosts in connection with the local high school’s art and music program. Every year, members of the church make something chocalatey for participants to sample. The fundraiser billed CHOCOLATE EXTRAVANZA is a chocolate buffet. I have always made truffles. I believe this would be the 5th year of the fundraiser and I am the reigning people’s choice champion in the truffle division (cake, cookie and bark are the other divisions). Because of this, there is more pressure for me to up my game with my chocolate creation.

Last week, I tested my recipe. While it was good, my friend who barely eats anything had three of my “truffles” and she said they were good. I knew they were good, but I felt they lacked some oomph in them. Consulting my husband on the recipe we decided to switch it from all chocolate flavor to lemon flavor (my winning truffle last year was a green tea truffle).

Shopping for ingredients was slated yesterday. Hubs called me at work to make arrangement to meet at Grocery Outlet after work. I came early and texted him that I would be gawking at all the beautiful things at Michael’s which is next door to the grocery store.

I picked up a set of coloring pencils (my first set needs replacement after I’ve colored so many mandalas and zentangles). On a whim I made a beeline to the food decorating section……………… and Oh Em Gee!!!!!!

Who knew there are all these utensils and devices to make chocolate creations easy breezy. The husband went straight to Michael’s and I showed him what he needed to make his creation. We bought a mold. And I had to contain myself from hyperventilating. I was so excited and I am already looking forward to making edibles for Christmas gift giving. I love you Michael’s.