and again!

i feel a teensy-weensy guilty that i haven't been posting in months. just a little. it's not as if loads of people read these nonsense anyway.

i'm still in manila though i'm flying back to davao in a few days. never make plans. i'm useless with plans. they almost always never happen.

when i came here last may, it was supposedly only for two weeks max. of course, things never turn out the way that i intended. God knows how to make fun of me and drive His point home. so here i am still.

the silver lining was i got to join Couchsurfing. it's this innovative concept meant for budget travelers, a.ka. adventurous freeloaders (haha! kidding!).

fiona mentioned it to me awhile back, but i had too much on my mind and simply forgot about it. but she pushed me to sign up and finally got me to attend a CS meet-up earlier this month. honestly, the thought of going to a party of strangers is intimidating, but once you make that first step and endured the first few minutes of awkwardness, it's a really fun experience!

last night, we went to regular meet-up at Ponticello in makati. fiona and i arrived early and my priority was filling my tummy with pasta so i can fill it up with liquor later, hihihi.

hanneke and martijn, couchsurfers from holland who had just got in from the airport, arrived soon after and we joined tables and had a blast! they are food-crazy and willing to try just about anything! they're intending to stay two months in the country so martijn took notes. soon other CSers started to arrive and his notepad was filling up with suggestions.

and this is why Couchsurfing is such a great idea. virtual strangers meet up, connect, learn from each other, and walk away better people (i think!) than when they first came.

some manila CSers will be going to davao for the kadayawan, maybe hanneke & martijn too, and i hope to connect with them there. maybe i'll get to know my city more through their eyes. ooohhh, mushy thought.

on a teeny-weeny break

i need a break...seriously.

and i don't mean a vacation--though i seriously need one, too--but i mean a time where i can catch up and accomplish everything on my to-do list.

dubai is floating further and further away.

people around me keep encouraging me to leave for UAE, to finally work on my design career, to finally take care of myself. i just wish they'd give me a break about taking care of things for them, too.

no wander

i've been neglecting this blog since i set up a new one at wordpress. baaad blogspotter.

but there was a lull in my work load and i thought to review my old posts.

ack. there's nothing here about travel. this was supposed to be a travel blog! haaaaay.

how's this for irony? ever since we opened a travel agency, the amount of travel i've done--barring work-related stuff--was zilch. nada. zero.

i'm seeking to remedy this sometime soon. i'm flying to manila next week for a meeting. hopefully, i'll be able to squeeze in a celdran tour and a solo trip to vigan.


*** fingers, toes, and eyes crossed, and fervently wishing santa's not hibernating or off to tahiti on vacation.***

just one of those days

tapping my fingers on the keyboard.

breathing in and out.

glancing at the clock.

busy day.

give back the glory

*photo courtesy of TrekEarth

the Beaux Arts Luneta Hotel is my absolute favorite building in manila. i saw it when i first moved to the big city and stayed in a nearby hotel. it was old, it was dilapidated, it was beautiful. i fell in love with it immediately.

every time i pass by roxas boulevard, i'd risk whiplash just to get a glimpse. i fall more and more in love each time. i harbored a secret wish of one day owning this building or at the very least, living in it. in my fantasy, i had the moolah to restore it to its former glory with all the modern conveniences, of course. only beautiful and artistic people can live in it and i naturally have a whole floor all to myself. *sigh*

there was an unvoiced fear that the powers that be might decide--stupidly--to demolish it and turn it into a parking lot. so it is with utmost relief to discover that that will not happen. beaumont properties, the new owner, plans to restore the entire building, preserving the hotel's facade and identity.

i am disappointed that i am not its savior, but still i am more than happy that my beloved is safe.

what have you done lately?

Copy the list and then "bold" everything you've done.

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone (electricity went out, eh)
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped (sort of)
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger (does a blind date count?)
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was s*** faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. Visited Japan
54. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
71. Taken a martial arts class
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days (okay, 3 days lang...but still!)
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (catfish!)
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

r.s.v.p. for one

one day you wake up and realize that you're old(er). it's not a bad feeling, but you wonder if you've made an impact, that those past years were not worthless, not frivolous, not obscure.

i am a single woman blithely soaring through life. most women my age have settled into their happily-ever-afters and raising 2.5 children in white-picket-fenced cottages or rented townhouses. case in point, the week i just spent in manila.

my childhood friends and i flew to the big city to attend another friend's wedding. said friend and hubby already had their civil wedding in the US. but like most pinoy weddings, a marriage isn't truly celebrated if without a grand shebang, hence wedding number two.

we decided to stay on for a few more days since it was a chance for some girl-bonding and my friends and i rarely traveled together. but they were mommies & wives foremost, so while they were sharing mushy i-wuv-yous with hubby and kids, i was on a text marathon with The Boylet. (yep, virginia, the boylet lives! haha!)

malling for them means shopping for the toddler while for me it means biding my time before rushing off to meet a client at yet another mall.

hanging out at the coffee shop involves dishing out the hottest gossip and invariably, the my-kid-did-the-darnedest-thing stories--all of which i love hearing but have nothing to contribute to. somehow, my ang-weird-ng-pamangkin-ko stories cannot equate.

during the wedding, we had to quickly revise the usual bouquet and garter ceremonies upon realizing that there was no single, marriageable person left...apart from me! i was giddy with relief that i did not have to suffer through that wedding ritual, haha!

which brings me back to my muni-muni. my friends and i have been like peas in a pod growing up, but at a certain point i veered off to a different direction. the friendship, thank God, is still there, but i know that fundamentally i am no longer in the same pod as them.

i see their contentment and i feel my restlessness. they are eagerly looking forward to the trip home the same way half of me is eager to go back to the office while the other half is itching to stay. they chose home and hearth, i chose a sturdy suitcase. so what's wrong with this picture?

nothing, absolutely nothing. after often being put into a defensive position for my choices, i have learned to accept that being me is okay. God and i have an understanding. i know what He wants for me and He knows me. that is all there is to it.

and as for impact...what do you think?