Monday, August 15, 2011
in espana.
we are finally in madrid and it didn't take long for me to fall in love with the city. it must have been plaza de espana, or the churros con chocolate at the chocolateria de san gines or the rowdy crowd at the james joyce for the barca vs madrid game but last night did it for me.
here are some pics for now.
will follow with more.
the view from the apartment
the view from the apartment
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
3 more days
till we fly to madrid!
i am so excited.
but first things first...the packing must be done. as you know i have an aversion to packing. i don't know why. i'm looking at this heap on my bed (with a bag of miss vickie's. argh. argh) and thinking, it just can't be done. harhar.
i need one of these things:
bbt, season 2, ep 1
where does one get a contraption like that?
anyway, we've been planning this trip for months and it's now all coming to fruition. i don't think i'll be able to sleep a wink on thursday night!
benedetto y father javier, see you soon! :)
Saturday, June 4, 2011
spring cleaning.
cleaning my room never fails to drive me nuts and always takes me at least a day to do. now that life has slowed down a bit, i've decided to roll up my sleeves and tackle my room, with gretchen rubin's 10th commandment in mind: "do what ought to be done".
i'm starting off with all the visible clutter - remnants of a past crafty life, altoid tins (i don't know why i thought it would be cool to start collecting them), empty rouge coco #19 lipstick tubes (why do i keep them???), bank statements, etc....then work my way to the closet.
(confession: i have a hamper of folded clothes from when i unpacked from my vacation. in december. gak.)
it's going to be a long afternoon. so for those spring cleaners out there, have a snack, put some good tunes on (katy perry? hehehe), open the blinds and bust open that window. then start your engines.
have a pleasant weekend :)
UPDATE:
2 1/2 bags of garbage
2 bags of clothes for donating
1 pile of crafty stuff sold at a garage sale
1 clean happy room.
it took only 7 hours to do. geez.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
espana, aqui vamos!
i don't know if this is accurate, but this was taken in correigdor, philippines. according to this, madrid is only 6672 miles/kms away. for us, madrid is approximately 130+ days away!
we have finally booked our flights to madrid and put down deposits for the apartments. we are going to one of the world's biggest catholic celebrations of all time. after an awesome week in madrid with the pope and the world, we will be taking the train to barcelona, a city to me that's become synonymous with javier bardem and penelope cruz (think, vicky cristina barcelona. swoon).
this definitely gives me something to look forward to at work, especially on gray days like this (except rain = spring, so that's totally okay). i can almost taste the paella and the churros.
if you've ever been to spain (particularly madrid, barcelona and zaragoza), i'd love to hear from you. and if you're going to world youth day, see you soon! :)
Monday, March 14, 2011
little finn.
2011 started off with a dismal bang with the death of linden, our faithful cat. his ashes (yes, his ashes) are contained in a pretty jar, which sits in the display cabinet. each family member got a little paw print on terracotta and a snippet of linden's little fur. it sounds crazy, i know, but linden was like a grandpa, dog, baby all rolled into one. he's been with us for over ten years and to come home without him waiting for us by the door was just too painful. the day we had to put him down, we sat in the living room waiting to leave, and my little sister in tears, blurted out, "if it hurts so much for linden, how much more will it hurt for a human being?"
i signed his life away, and i felt culpable for his death, even though it was the right thing to do (for an animal, anyway). that day nobody wanted to go home.
the house was not the same without a pet, so after careful deliberation, we decided to get a puppy (i wanted to get another cat, but it would have never been able to fill linden's shoes. er paws.).
meet finn.
(no, not from glee)
he is 10 weeks old, loves his sock money (and the family den rug. yikes. had to pull out a chunk of it from his mouth!!!), hates his leash, goes to puppy kindergarten, taught himself to go down the stairs, wags his little tail a lot and gives kisses as much as he can.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
jollibee + bora
day 9 in the motherland.
our days are numbered. there are so many things to do, so many people to visit but so little time. i don't want to leave.
woke up at 4 today to go to mass at 4:30 am. today starts the simbang gabi a novena in preparation for christmas (mass at dawn). i love how christmas is pretty much still christmas here and not happy holidays.
i just got back from boracay and i had the greatest time. everything was amazing; the seafood, the water, the sun. i am stocking up on vitamin d for when i get back to gray, cold fast-paced toronto. i didn't take as many pictures - i had the hardest time fiddling around with the cam settings and it was too sunny that i couldn't really see what i was taking on the cam's lcd.
a summary of my bora trip:
- jollibee's before our flight: 1 burger steak+chicken joy = heaven
- 1 flight on a propeller flight + 2 bus transfers + 1 boat ride = gorgeous beachfront
- mojo potatoes at shakey's
- buko shake+papaya shake = not a good idea (but still very tasty)
- running on the beach without shoes on
- seafood under the stars and live music
- island hopping
- pukka shells on pukka beach
- sun bathing on the parao (sail boat with nets on either side that you sit on)
- breakfast of champions: garlic fried rice, over easy egg, dried fish (tuyo) with vinegar
- waking up at 5:45 am and sleeping past midnight
- starbucks runs and white chocolate sans rival (DIVINE)
- massage on the beach
- falling asleep on the beach
- firedancers
- mochi balls stuffed with ice cream
- a nice definitive tan line from my bathing suit
tomorrow's excursion involves greenhills. the quest for black, cutout flats continues.
enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend everyone!
ps: more pictures here
Saturday, December 11, 2010
mmmmanila
day 5 in the motherland.
- i am having so much fun. especially with my adorable cousins.
- still jetlagged, as you can tell. i was thisclose to falling asleep but then i had to take a shower.
- or maybe i just can't sleep on time
- i have been having wooonderful food, three times a day. unprocessed, home cooked and fresh.
- i love that when i come down there is breakfast waiting for me. sigh.
- getting used to the traffic. now i totally get why they say filipino time
- in fact, i'm loving the traffic (since i'm on vakay). i get to nap in the car.
- more on traffic: despite the horrible traffic, there's not a lot of road rage, from my experience anyway. since traffic is an accepted reality, there's really no point in getting mad.
- they don't have intersections here. they have u-turn slots! i kinda like that better.
- bought bathing suits and dresses for $137 CDN
- i am excited for bora on monday! i cannot wait to tan. can't go back without one. teehee my aunts were being funny about it..."really, that's what you want?"
tomorrow is the rosehill reunion. can't wait to see the old classmates!
Monday, December 6, 2010
homecoming.
i am in manila now. i survived a 15 hour flight and a 2-day stop in hong kong with my lovable but mischievous brother.
sunset on the plane.
i first had my misgivings about the city, upon seeing the line of smog that the plane had to descend into and being welcomed by the familiar smell of foody mart as the cabin doors opened.
smog.
but i am in love with hong kong. it was definitely an assault for the senses, in the best possible way. lights and huge ads everywhere, people shopping and laughing at midnight, christmas songs, the smell of perfume and food. believe it or not, it felt like paris to me.
shopping is so cheap, if you know where to go. :) my aunt, being in the garments business, took me to an area where everything is at wholesaling price. *_* swipe, swipe went the card, but i didn't feel bad. i bought so many for less than $100. i spent more on wifi access (relatively speaking) than i did on clothes.
on our last evening i finally gave in and tried peking duck. i probably wouldn't try it again when i go back to toronto, but it was a good combination of the taste of pork and chicken. hehe. our most gracious host gave us some lessons on dinner etiquette...like tapping your index finger twice when the server pours out your tea for you. or having your left hand on the table while eating.
my last day in hong kong was spent in macau, china. we took the turbo jet which sped through the murky and brown waters of...the south china sea? i'm not sure what it was, but it looked pretty dirty. luckily i didn't have that much to eat that morning because the ride was sickening. so i popped a gravol, slumped into my seat, closed my eyes and listened to music all the way to macau. we didn't do much gambling, which is what macau is known for, but we did have lunch there and strolled around the venetian.
we took the 10 pm flight to manila and i was ko'd. i felt drugged and beaten up. i woke up at...2 pm today. my aunt drew the curtains, and for the first time looked at manila in daylight. banana and papaya trees in her backyard, all swaying with the light breeze (not so hot after all! thank god we're here in december!). i sat down for lunch (sinigang! spareribs! ah!) and marvelled at the bananas - they are soooo yellow and soooo sweet here! (compared to the oversized, white canadian bananas). my shirts got ironed for me (i cannot and should not get used to this) and my wonderful, wonderful aunt took us for a massage and i felt pains that i never knew existed in my legs. oohhhhhh it was lovely. afterwards we went for dinner at eastwood, which finally satisfied my curiosity.
oh dear friends, my vacation officially started today. my brother hid my citrix token for me. so i can stop checking my work emails. tomorrow i am going to wake up at the normal hour, get waxed, get a haircut and get a bathing suit.
enjoy the hong kong pics. i have yet to take pics of manila. coming soon :)
Friday, November 26, 2010
a free woman.
(taken with jarvis. in, of all places, oakville.)
finally, dear friends. i have finally allowed myself to get excited about my two upcoming trips: mont tremblant for our national sales conference, and the long awaited family-food-fun-heat filled manila trip.
the only downside really is packing.
i HATE packing. what's worse is i have to pack for two kinds of weather.
so being the googler that i am, i googled how to pack for a trip. and i found a nice packing list. it's quite helpful.
and just like when shopping, i think it's important to have a full belly to pack. and this is when i say good bye and make myself a nice open-faced nutella sandwich.
yum.
have a good weekend everyone. and if you're packing for a trip too, good luck. :)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
it was so easy and the words so sweet
how time flies! and this poor blog hasn't been updated in ages. i looked at it today and i must admit that my little countdown on the left shocked me a little bit.
16 days before i leave. and before that i will be travelling again.
gak.
*i need more time!*
so many things to do: applying for travel insurance, getting shots and drugs (teehee, dukoral!), packing (which i hate), clean my room, do my laundry, getting painfully waxed.
as it gets closer though i am getting more excited for this grand finale of the year. i am in need of a break.
despite all the savasanas and deep inhales and exhales, the mind can not relax. when i used to dream of forgetting to hand in essays or being caught cheating, i now dream of work - missing speaker's notes, conference materials that never made it to its destination, missing a plane.
i will make sure that this break will be full of simple things, to erase those cold, grumpy november days. i will have 8 hours of sleep. i will forget about work. i will spend quality time with family and friends. i will take pictures. and eat freely.
have a good day everyone.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
goodies
my siblings did such a good job with birthday presents this year that i must share!
from my sister i got the prettiest tea set (cups+saucers, dessert plates, creamer, sugar pot and a teapot). i don't really drink tea. the closest thing to tea that i drink is um, bubble tea and tea that they serve in japanese/chinese restaurants. i don't really go out of my way to make myself one. when i want something warm and comforting to drink, i usually go for coffee or a latte. my room is like a little kitchen cupboard with my teapots and teacups and cake stand. the next thing i want are...no not pans...but worse: fake little macarons. harhar.
i love the packaging...just like hat boxes
she also got me a copy of miss dahl's voluptuous delights !
i must admit that i have been watching delicious miss dahl over and over again. when i want to induce myself to sleepiness, this is what i watch. not because it's boring but because her voice is so calm and soothing and her show has the best soundtrack ever. unfortunately the BBC cancelled it. she wasn't very well received in the UK: she was accused of being a nigella wannabe, was slammed for her want of kitchen skills, and was criticized for exploiting her "rich girl" and literary (her grandfather is roald dahl) roots to create a cookbook (blargh, but who doesn't really these days? we've got disney actors/actresses-turned-singers). but argh, sophie, we love you here. she is exactly what we need. i think food shows nowadays are either too testosteroned or too technical. every week they take you to the grocery or the market. sophie dahl cooks from childhood memories and takes you to a fromagerie one day, an antique store, to the cemetery or to the seaside. her food is easy and simple to make and if i had to describe it would be like a blankie or your favorite doll: it's comforting.
my brother bought me four of the pretty penguin classics designed by coralie bickford-smith to start off my collection (which has led to a purchase of another eleven from amazon.com). i only have 5 left to collect (have to wait until they are released in september). unfortunately crime & punishment and madame bovary are sold out, and i refuse to buy lady chatterley's lover (the last thing i want is for one of my future/imaginary kids to crack open the book and lose themselves in lady c's lustful escapades with a...gardener? was lady c's lover a gardener? i only know this because i HAD to read it for school and write a paper on it).
i remember reading little women when i was in grade 2. having re-read it as an adult, i have to say that i still hate amy and love jo but have now finally come to terms with the fact that she ended up with mr baer and not laurie. jo and laurie would have killed each other.
i love the bookmarks.
that is all. i should really update this blog more often.
today felt like thursday. it should be friday tomorrow but alas it isn't.
if you want to buy the tea sets, indigo still has them. as for the books, hurry before they are all gone!
have a good week all :)
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