Monday, March 05, 2007

What's Up?


Been socializing a bit more lately...definitely an improvement from before. Saw some old friends...my kindergarten teacher came to visit from the Philippines and it was nice to see this person who influenced my life in a bigger way than I probably realize (since after all everything one needs to know in life he or she learns in kindergarten).

Attended my manager's retirement party and it was nice to mingle with my old co-workers again. Ate as much good food as I can despite being sick. Yes, I've been in and out of semi-good health for the past 2 weeks and I'm not getting any better.

Been suffering through horrible weather (I actually had to shovel the driveway! Where is my brother when I need him?) and had to skip out on some of my tutoring sessions due to bad weather and bad health. Oh my poor students...yeah right...they're probably jumpin for joy!

My sister got back from a 2-week vacation in Europe and after hearing her fun times I'm inspired to put on my travelling shoes again. India in May? Africa in June? The world is my oyster....I just gotta get a job to finance my trips!

Started a new diet today. So far so good...but I've only been on it for 2 hours. Wish me luck!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

anti-sociability

So I've been feeling a bit down lately...discouraged and unmotivated and down in the dumps mainly because of my feelings of inadequacy and uselessness. I know I haven't been in touch with a lot of people for a while...no calls, no emails, no messages or letters and I really don't have any good excuse. I've even rejected invites to parties and get-togethers stating that I'm really tired although I know that if my mood was at its normal high that would not stop me from hanging out. A friend blames it on the bf-syndrome but I think it's much worse than that. I've just basically been avoiding people because I'm sick and tired of being asked the same questions and having the same sad answers. That and this cruel blast of winter we're having is feeding my yearnings of cozy couches and general unsociability.

But this note is a tad cathartic.

So here's a big "I'M SORRY" for all those whom I owe a little "hello" and "Watsup" to.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Memoirs of the Under-employed

So it's been several months now since I've stopped gallavanting around the world...I guess that's pretty obvious since I have not been able to update this blog in a long time. It's also has been several months now since I've joined the job hunting field and judging by the the title of this blog, you don't need to be a genius to realize that i have yet to find a suitable employer. I admit...I haven't given 100% to this task but for a University graduate with some sort of experience to not even get at least an interview...well...it's pretty down right depressing and discouraging.

To top it off...since I'm uber broke...I can't even scratch my itchy feet and am stuck in boring Maple, with no cash to hit the malls or go out for fancy dinners or a night out in town.

I know, I know...it's partly my fault and I also know I'm not alone in my misery but sometimes...make that a lot of times...it feels good to just complain.

I hope you are faring better than me.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Summer's Over

So the leaves are slowly turning and the weather's getting colder and though summer isn't officially over, it might as well be.

What can be said about the past couple of months? I guess one can call it a not-super exciting summer of love, although it did have it's moments.

Top summer moments:

Camping at Algonquin Park with Rudolph, Shareena, Aaron and John where we had to canoe to our site and had an island all to ourselves.


Game Night with Gavin, Juan, Ate, RJ and mom...and Shaza made us some yummy cookies. Nothing like beer and games (Cranium, Scene It....Char and Gavin...ultimate Game Night Champs!)

Charlotte's Bday and April trying to DJ at some bar lounge...the name of which I can't recall.

Hangin out at Bern's townhouse downtown and playing Taboo. That was fun too.

Getting smashed over Jager Bombs with Joey, Gavin and Rudolph and playing fun xbox games.

Kuya Jerome and Cecily's wedding where Shani and I took a bunch of pics and danced like crazy. Unfortunately, my mom's comp harddrive died and I lost all the pictures. Booo!!!!

Visiting Lola Buds, Tita Cora and Tito Benny at Olympia, Washington...going shopping, eatign a lot and playing poker with Lola Buds.


Well, now the long days are getting shorter which also means that I really gotta get out of my lazy mode and start doing some serious job hunting.

Sigh...I miss the road...

Friday, June 23, 2006

some more Ireland pics

At the Giant's Causeway in Northern, Ireland
On top of the Monastery tower in Slane Hill, Ireland. It was soo windy up there!
A stone age tomb in the Burrens...check out the limestones.
Rudy and I conquer the Guinness Factory in Dublin. Good times!!! Posted by Picasa

some Ireland pics I wasn't able to upload before

At Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge area in Northern Ireland. Beautiful place!!! Mine and Rudolph's first pints of Guinness in Danno's Restaurant, Dingle, Ireland. Bottoms up!
Ross Castle in Killarney. It was a very well preserved ruin that we explored.
Me pretending to jump off the Cliffs of Moher. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Beautiful Ireland

With its quaint harbours,friendly atmosphere, rolling hays and gorgeous coastline, Dingle truly is beautiful. I can totally see myself retiring in a place like this (given that the weather stays as beautiful as it was when we were there). Yeah, after obsessing about it in years, Dingle did not disappoint me at all. Afer cruisin around the small peninsula, we headed back to Dublin to drop off Charlotte. Unfortunately, we were too late for last call but we did enjoy a short walk around Temple Bar. The next day, to avoid getting our car towed, Rudy and I left early in the morning to head to Northern Ireland. First stop was Newgrange, a stone age tomb that predates the egyptian pyramids. Unfortunately, it was still closed when we got there so we had to satisfy ourselves by takin a pic of it from the road. Next stop is Slane Hill where it was believed that St. Patrick lit an easter fire and proclaimed Christianity in Ireland. He also used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity here to some Irish pagan king...hence makin the clover leaf a national symbol. After a long drive, we finally made it to the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge...the site we were looking forward to. The bridge itself wasn't that scary (although Rudy did hesitate to cross it for a bit) but the place has spectacular views. Then we went to the Giant's Causeway. It was super cool and very windy there and I almost got blown off several times. We didn't want to stay in Northern Ireland for the night since we didn't carry enough pounds with us so we made the long trek to Donegal. The best part of the trip however was when we spent the night in the car parked on Slieve League...the highest cliff in Europe. Rudy actually thought of putting a rock by our wheels just in case the brakes fail on us. It was amazing!!!

The next day we explored the area around Donegal and went to the Maghera caves where we saw a waterfall and climbed sand dunes to see the clear waters of the Atlantic. Then we went to Sligo known for home of W.B. Yeats and where Rudy and I had a long trek to the top of Knocknarea Cairn where Queen Maeve is believed to be buried. That took us so long that we didn't get a chance to go see some megalithic tombs and had to once again take pics of them from the roadside. After such a tiring day, we decided to splurge and check into a hostel in Galway and enjoy some yummy fish n chips. We also got to see Brazil kick Croatia's ass and enjoy some good live Irish music while enjoying a couple of pints of Guinness.

The next day, we drove a little bit around Galway towards the Connemara area where we also visited an old castle. It was pretty cool coz we actually got to go in and check it out. Then we drove through the Burren, a vry wierd but beautiful landscape of limestones where we visited some crazy stone age tombs. After taking pics, getting lost, oh and climbing yet to another pile of stones (Pollock cairn similar but smaller to Knockanerea) we headed to the cliffs of Moher. At first we tried to go to Hag's Head to see the cliffs from a less touristy spot but they barred teh way and we didnt' feel like trespassing. The area around the Cliffs was so packed and we had to pay 5 euros just to park but it was worth it. Rudolph and I jumped the fences and got real close the the cliff edges....well I did and Rudy stood from afar, took pics and freaked out a little on me coz I was too close to nothingness. hahahha. Last night, we headed back to Dublin to chill with Char and her roomies adn have several pints at the famous Temple Bar and another club near it.

Tired but still up for exploring Dublin, I can't believe the trip is almost over and that we're leaving tomorrow morning. I must say though, we probably saw a lot more of Ireland in a week than a lot of the locals here in their lifetime. Ireland is truly amazing and I'll come back here any day....maybe when I have more cash and can afford to stay in B&Bs and buy some local Donegal wool and tweed!!!!

Sunday, June 11, 2006

The Rings of Kerry, Beara and Dingle Peninsula

How beautiful is Ireland...I don't even know where to begin. After a long flight, Rudolph and I arrived in Dblin where Charlotte met us. It was so nice seeing her again after a long repas. Driving here is a challenge. Rudy who has never driven on the left side of the road...shifting lefthanded with a manual cars as well and well...crazy roundabouts everywhere was having the time of his life. hahahaa. First stop we made was at a little town called Montaverin where according to Char's friend is a good pit stop for food...umm..not really but we did have some yummy fries (i mean chips) with curry sauce. Then we hit the city of Limerick where we checked out King John's castle but didn't go in coz we had to pay so we ended up at the tiny museum instead coz it was free. Limerick is pretty busy, lots of shops and pubs but after buying some food, we decided to head out since we still had a long drive to Killarney where we are to stay for the night. Our hostel in Killarney is awesome, small but clean and the host is pretty friendly. We walked around the National Park where we saw the Ross castle, it was beautiful, right by a pretty lake. We wanted to hit up a bar but decided to stay in for the night since we were pretty exhausted.

The next day, we took in the ring of Kerry and Beara. It involved a lot of driving on very narrow and winding lanes but it was a lot of fun. Saw some stone forts and stone circles of long long ago. This part of Ireland is truly beautiful. One of the best parts of it was the Healy Pass on the Beara peninsula...it was crazy rainy and windy and cloudy up there but it was SPECTACULAR!!!! It took us all day to drive everything but it was worth it. Tomorrow we go to Dingle...I can't wait. After obsessing about it for a long time, I can't believe I'm actually going to be there!