Happy New Year!

I really haven't updated in a long time. I've been so busy! (笑)

Or maybe a little too lazy? (>_<)

A new year has begun and I feel like I haven't accomplished enough in the past few months!

I'm very glad though, that I haven't been completely idle. I'm grateful for the chance to work and earn money, because a lot of people are really struggling.

I must admit, though, that I do want a steadier job, even though I know that being a cashier has improved my disposition and attitude towards working. I'm glad to know from others that I've made their days brighter, and that I make people happy. The work environment also appeals so much to me that I wish I could be here for much, much longer. But I know it probably won't be permanent, and I'll have to shift somewhere else after a while. I don't want to depend on retail jobs so much anymore, as it drains a lot from the soul. Plus, as a cashier, I'm so restricted to the cash register and don't get to help people with books or merchandise as much as I'd like to.

Also, since I started work, I feel like I really haven't had enough time to do the things I wanted to accomplish. Whenever I come home from the city, it ends up being quite late. Also, I have to accompany my mom to fetch my aunt almost every night, and the back-and-forth trip takes about an hour, so that's an hour of my time taken away almost every night. In addition, it drains me of a lot of energy especially since my aunt works so late. (>_<);; I know it's not her fault and I shouldn't really blame anyone for my lack of time, but seriously, I cannot help but feel as though my own family is draining me of every spare moment I desire to use for my own little projects and needs.

It doesn't help that every time I get a day off, that day gets filled with chores that they decide to bombard on me. So it's draining in every possible sense: physically, mentally, even emotionally, I guess.

I'm sorry to sound so whiny on my first post of the year, but I guess I haven't had much time to think about this, either.

I've been feeling a lot more headaches and pains lately, even double vision. and I'm starting to be afraid that I'm also sacrificing my health for all this. I've always believed in balancing things out and I've always been confident that I've handled stress well in the past. Now, I'm not so sure (T.T);

I can feel my head swimming, even now. (>_<)

I guess this means it's time for some New Year's Resolutions? (笑)

1.) I will eat properly.
By this I mean I will also cut costs and start eating more food at home than out in the city. And by eating food at home I don't mean making instant noodles. (笑) I've said I wanted to lower my sweet intake, and honestly, this is one of the most difficult things I've had to promise myself. I need to control myself more, considering how quickly I manage to consume a box of cookies. (笑)

2.) I will have some form of good exercise every day, even if it's just a few push-ups, some ballet exercises, or even jumping jacks.
Ideally, I would have music to dance to every morning. That would be a good way to start the day.

3.) Read more books.
And by this I mean actual books, like classics, bestsellers, et cetera. I bought an e-reader expressly for this purpose, and I think I've been getting some good use out of it (^^)

4.) Write and draw more.
At least once a week I should have a few drawings completed, and some more ideas jotted down for the stories in my head. I have three different genres to write for, and I know my manga has not been properly drawn or planned out! I have to accomplish something this year! Ideally, I should have a chapter of the manga out every month. I'll see how far I can go~

5.) Following that, I will need to study my Japanese in earnest.
I have everything at my fingertips and I should not hesitate to use them.

6.)All in all...I need to take care of myself.
Because looking back, I have been very lucky in life, even if I'm not exactly where I want to be. And even though I'm not, I have the ability to get to where I want to be, if I only pick myself up and go towards it.

So I will.

I think, in the middle of everything, I've forgotten what it means to be strong. And forgotten the source of my strength.

So I'm going back.

Music, words, prayers.

I need to bring it all back.

To anyone who still passes through and reads, and checks this blog, thank you and I love you.

明けましておめでとうございます！今年もよろしくおねがいします！
皆さん、一緒に頑張りましょう!

[Happy New Year! Please be kind to me this year as well. Everyone, let's work hard together!]

お久しぶり!

It's been a very long time (笑)

I've been busy! My job as a Halloween store sales associate is over, so I went around looking for a job around last week.

I'm extremely happy that I got employed again, this time at a bookstore! (笑) I think I'm only going to be hired for the holiday season, but I think they have a tendency to permanently keep their holiday temps, so I hope I do well (^^)

Today was actually my first day as a cashier there, and the process is very different, but I'm slowly getting used to it. I really want to stay for a long while, so I hope for the best.

Oh, and before I forget, here are some photos from our apple picking several weeks ago!


Here are all the apples we picked (笑)


And me with a pumpkin! Since it was that close to Halloween, there were so many pumpkins. And this one was heavy!

And speaking of Halloween, this was my Halloween costume on my last day of work (笑)


In other news, I have become an almost-regular customer at Kinokuniya! I have so many cute things now thanks to them, but I have to curb my spending now. I need to control my spending! But I'll show you guys what I got sometime, okay? (笑)

I've also been more active on Livejournal again lately; I've kind of turned it into my fangirling journal. I'm probably gonna pop a new little icon for the sidebar soon.(笑)

I've recently become a huge fan of the BL anime/manga Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, and clearly, it has impacted my life that heavily. (笑) For those of you who enjoy reading/watching BL, and enjoyed Shungiku Nakamura's Junjou Romantica, I encourage you to take a look at her spin-off, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi! Granted, there are no official licensed translations as of now, but there are scanlation groups working on it for now. I enjoyed this series a lot more than I did Junjou Romantica, and

I hope to update some more soon! I missed blogging, and I hope I have more things to post!

頑張ります!

I live on a farm?? (笑)

My family has been growing some vegetables lately (笑)

And we managed to harvest some green bell peppers and cherry tomatoes (^^)

We also have some eggplants and another variety of tomato growing on our property, but sadly, the squirrels and other animals seem to be eating them, even before they ripen! (>_<)

We set up a fence recently, so I hope it helps~ One of the white eggplants seems to be swelling up nicely, so if the squirrels leave it alone we might be able to harvest it. (笑)

We have some guests over at our house today, apparently some friends from my mom and aunts' childhood. They've been chatting nonstop since lunchtime, I guess they've been catching up on all those lost years. (笑)

Might be going someplace this weekend~

Hopefully it's interesting? (笑) I think we have plans to drive up to either Philadelphia or Atlantic City, whichever they decide to hit first. My aunt finally got some vacation time, so she's particularly cheerful today(^^)

Ja, I need to take a shower and sleep now (笑) It's gotten so late and I had to wash a lot of dishes from our meals today (^^;)

Until next time~

I will take photos! (笑)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Best wishes for the rest of this year and the next~!

New York!

12:44AM @NJ


Went into New York City for the first time yesterday. It was an interesting trip, though some parts of New York still seriously remind me of home for some reason. Some things are just the same.

LIKE THIS SANRIO STORE (^^)

Sadly, I couldn't go in; we didn't have time. (>_<);

We had lunch at Yoshinoya~ Though it isn't the same as back home, it's more of a rice bowl place here. Then again, I have never tried Yoshinoya back home.


We went to many places, other toy stores and such. It was really cold!!!
What I did find enchanting about the city, though, was how their sidewalks seriously glitter at night.

Finally in New Jersey!

Timestamp: 3.21AM @ NJ


God, that trip was maddening. (O_O)
Basically, we left the Philippines on Oct 17 at 6am, and the flight took us to Beijing first. From Beijing, we took another plane to New York where we were picked up, and that's the overview of the flight.

I'm not so sure I'm too thrilled about travelling this far. I was happier during the stopover in Beijing. (^_^;)

Here's a basic transcript of my thoughts during the flight.
----------
Oct.17: 8am Beijing Time

Breakfast was finally served on the plane. I was starving and basically didn't care anymore. Once again, China proves that mushrooms save my life.

Oct 17: 12:30pm Beijing Time

The flight to Beijing took longer than I'd expected. The moment I step off the plane, a blast of cold air hits my face. My first thought: "Where the hell is the aircon?" You can't tell from the picture, but it was that cold. (O_o)

Since I had some excess Chinese currency from my trip several years ago, my mom and I decided to spend it right then and there. Airport shopping!! Managed to get some nice things, actually.

Funny moment at the airport though--I left my jacket in one of the waiting areas! I realized it when we were in line to board the plane. I ran at full speed to get it and skidded like an idiot on the tiled floor.
One of the female maintenance staff saw the whole thing and laughed. It wasn't a mocking laugh, it was actually quite a nice laugh. I'm glad I made her day. I guess she doesn't see things like that often. It was actually the first time I felt good about the trip.

I had some misgivings when I heard some Americans complaining about a lot of things while we were in line, like how when we were called to board, they didn't call us by section. I distinctly heard one of them say, "Well, that's dumb." Hmm. Not a very good impression on me, really.

Though there was a nice story from some woman behind us in line. She was telling her companion about how some stranger was asking around and flashing a passport at them asking if they knew the person on the passport. It was apparently a lost item and the stranger was trying to get it back to the owner. The lady commented how lucky the person who lost the passport was. There were still tickets and other things inside. I would have to agree.

Oct. 17: 2pm Beijing Time

On the plane headed for New York. Lunch was just served and I am so glad I grabbed the seafood option, I don't think I'd felt this satisfied about a food choice in a while. Still have an unpleasant feeling in stomach though, that has nothing to do with food. Hm.
Being in a plane full of Americans is starting to make me feel uncomfortable. People all around keep either socializing (not too bad) or just butting in among others (kind of bad).

Oct 17: 5pm Beijing Time
Karate Kid just finished airing as an in-flight movie. I'm glad they cut out the bad parts though. I wasn't too fond of the movie, but hey, it reminded me of home nonetheless. Was thinking of doing some Tai Chi in the back of the plane but was worried that I would attract too much attention/get picked on by the Chinese on board the flight.

Oct 17: 9pm Beijing Time
Dinner was served. I got too lazy to take a photo, plus I was hungry and I couldn't find my phone. Muh. I had spaghetti then. It was surprisingly good. Or maybe I was just starving like whoah.

I also somehow got roped into a Tai Chi conversation with two foreigners in the back of the plane. I was amused.

Oct 18: 12mn Beijing time
Getting very close now to New York. Only two more hours from this point and then it's all bright and sunny 2pm instead of dark 2am. I'm getting a little more worried , definitely. It struck me again how much I missed everyone.

Also, about 90% of the Caucasians on board the flight were strangely overweight. Erm. Just an observation. A disturbing one.

Oct 17: 3pm NEW YORK TIME.

FINALLY got out of the airport. Getting rushed off into a car to my aunt's house now.


Driving wherever. I have no idea how this will turn out, but I hope it's going to be enjoyable at the very least.
----------
And there you have it. All my woe and all my nightmares during the flight.

I hope I blog about happier times in New Jersey.
Hope to hear from you all!

My bags are almost packed...

As most of you probably already know, my flight to the US is today, Oct. 17. I haven't been blogging lately due to all the preparations for finals and other problems!

So tiring~ I just came from a Toujin party, and I swam probably for about 5 hours. (^_^;)

It was a day filled with madness. This kind of madness, love and insanity, I would never exchange for anything. 東人! 大好き!本当にありがとう！

In addition, Ochibi came to visit, and we had our last moments of fangirling, and she gave me a gift for me to remember her and Kin-chan by.

There is only one thing I can say--THEY ARE INSANE. And I love them.

No rest for me tonight though. I have to finish packing the things most important to me, and finish certain forms.

To all my loves in the Philippines, I WILL MISS YOU ALL.

Please support me till the very end~

My next post will be made from NEW JERSEY!!! I will make sure to document my stay.

EDIT [10.20.2010/3.06AM @NJ]Last shot with Ochibi:

MOTHER'S DAY~

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAAAY~

We had incredible food today~ ♪

Paella~ ♪
Barbecued Chicken~ ♪

and CAAAAKE!!!! (笑)

I'm so happy. And full. (笑)

I was able to behave for my mom today, so I guess she was happy for the most part. Fixing my room this morning in a rush was a bit...sudden, and a change in my plans. I had planned to make her breakfast, but...turns out she only wanted to eat fruit because of our big lunch. (笑)

Today was good nyaaa. And I can now bring paella as my food when I go to work. Hee~ ♪

Election day tomorrow! I hope everything goes well.

Obligatory Hiatus!

These will be my companions for the next two, maybe three days. (笑)

Tomorrow being Maundy Thursday, followed by Good Friday and Black Saturday, I will not use the computer. (>_<) I think it's only right that I don't. So, I will not be online for the next two, maybe three days.

Have a blessed Holy Week, everyone. (^^)

I DID IT.

Victory pose, outside the Humanities building!!
Totally ripped off Michael Jackson. (笑)

While Theology Oral Exams didn't go as well as I wanted them to (Fr. Dacanay was very intimidating), Philosophy Oral Exams were AWESOME!!! Dr. Garcia seemed quite pleased with what I had to say during the exam, and he even said "very good" when I finished. (^^)

And at long last, the school year has finally come to an end. (>_<)

My heart is heavy, and yet, light at the same time.

Please pray that I actually succeed in getting a good internship this summer!! I've been quite worried about it, to be frank. (^^;) And also, for some reason, I am still helping the Japanese club in ANI this summer! I hope I do well in both endeavors.

2010!

Happy New Year, everyone! (^o^)

My family and I went to Eastwood for their New Year Countdown. However, since we really just wanted to wait for the fireworks display, we waited in a nearby McDonald's Cafe. (>_<)

My last hour of 2009 was spent sipping a cup of tea, taking photos, and counting down to 2010 with a crowd.

2009's last cup of tea. It was good. (>_<)

My niece/godchild. I love her, she's so adorable. (>o<) She's growing up so beautifully, i hope she's a good kid, i rarely see her, honestly (she's my cousin's daughter and i rarely do see my cousin). I want to be a good godmother...

Of course once the countdown started we went back to the main event and watched the clock tick down the last few seconds of 2009, and then the chaos began.

Confetti showered down...

And fireworks went off.

It was fun. Fireworks at midnight, and of course konked out to sleep later that morning. Little did i expect Ochibi to invite me to a New year's party at their place. Even though i got there at around 10pm, i stayed till around 5am chatting with them, other people, and spazzing about Tenimyu. (^^;) We forgot to watch the sun rise (Though i don't think we would have seen it anyway)

I hope everyone's New Year was as good. (>o<) May 2010 be better for all of us, yeah? (^^)

Daytripper~

December 28th marked a day of true spontaneity! (^o^)/

Well, I'd barely been out of the house anyway, so i'm glad my mom allowed me to visit my friend Jamie's house. She'd invited me to come over and check out a game, Dragon Age: Origins. It was my first time going there, and i'm glad we were able to drag our friend Gus into it. We took the train, and i spotted this interesting advertisement for KFC. (o_o)

It may not be eye level, but i guess it gets some people's attention by their being forced to grab onto them as the train goes. Pretty good way to take advantage of the market of train commuters. (>_<) May as well keep this in mind during my classes.

It was a pretty amusing time at Jamie's house, playing Dragon Age for the first time and actually pondering getting it for myself. well, needless to say, i'm pretty interested in the game, even though admittedly, i suck at most games. (>o<) I'll have to get through it, first.

On the way back, I spotted a takoyaki stand at the station. (^o^)/ I know that whatever it is that we've got here for takoyaki probably isn't too true to the real one, but this is all i've got. LOL. I make it a point to try every single takoyaki stand i come across, since it's very rare that i come across one.

it was pretty good, actually, the takoyaki stand at V. Mapa station. (^^) They also had an interesting variant, a beef takoyaki, but it wasn't available at the time. (>o<)

Though to be honest, i still can't find the stand where i had my first taste of takoyaki. It was really, really good--and from what i remember, it had ketchup and wasabi mayo for sauce, and nori powder. It was a very interesting taste and i don't think I'll forget it anytime soon. (^^) It once set up shop in Miriam during one of those random bazaars a couple of years back, but i never found it again. This feels like such an impossible quest. (>o<)

I'm craving for Japanese food now. waaah! Perhaps i will make some onigiri tomorrow.

Ah, and it's New Year's Eve! Some of the fireworks have already gone off here (^^) but it'll be a big celebration much much later!

Food~

Fireworks~

Have a happy new year, yeah? (^^)

Reunion Aftermath

The parties are over! I am recovering from the Christmas aftermath. (>o<)

My Christmas day was spent among relatives from a certain side of the family, at our annual Christmas reunion. Most of the time my generation takes the chance to put on a bit of a show, after which we get money and gifts as rewards. This year i played the violin for them for the first time, earning me a lot of awed expressions. (>_<)

Considering that i learned these Christmas carols only by ear and practiced for only two days before Christmas, I'd say I did pretty well. I've only had 4 violin lessons my whole life and that wasn't enough to learn the finer points of playing. in addition, I haven't picked up the instrument in a while. (^^;)

Christmas eve, on the other hand, is normally spent with yet another side of the family. we went to a cousin's house for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, where we had an unusual combination of food. Sure, we had creamy seafood pasta, roast pork and mashed potatoes (normal), but it kind of got weird when the tuna sashimi came out. (O_o) I certainly raised an eyebrow to that. My mother and i posed next to their Christmas tree later on--if you'll notice, it's decorated with a LOT of stuffed bears. (^^)

I was still tired from my reunion with my friends, so i kind of conked out sometime after dinner. thankfully my auntie allowed me to stay in a quiet room to rest. I woke up after gifts had been distributed--and i discovered a box of Earl Grey tea among some of our spoils. (^o^)/

slightly less pleasing was the pair of M&M patterned boxers that somehow made its way into my pile of gifts. No matter--they are comfortable for sleepwear or house clothes, albeit embarrassing. (^^;)

It always feels nice to lie down after a tiring day. I'm glad the holidays are over--I can finally have a good night of uninterrupted sleep! That is, unless my brain decides to creep me out with a weird dream. (>_<)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE! I hope your Christmases have been as fulfilling as mine. (^o^)/

CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!

December 23rd marked our usual "Seigaku Reunion", our Christmas party. It got slightly sentimental as One of us pointed out that it would be our last Christmas party. (>o<)/

I actually wanted to protest. Just because all of them were going to graduate (Except me, since i transferred) didn't mean we'd have to stop the tradition of seeing each other on Christmas (^^;) What's the point of being friends then? (>_<) I felt slightly bad about that notion.

Took this photo with my camera just before we started eating and all. (^^) I'm glad i got to play the Fuji one more time this year, and I'm hoping to keep my role as the Fuji for years to come. Sometimes i wonder how we'll ever outgrow and live our "roles"?

Well, the evening progressed with karaoke singing (We even sang the Ghost Fighter theme song in Japanese), eating pizza (of course), and like every reunion --DRINKING.

I'm not much of a drinker--in fact i only had, what, three shots? But i think it was all good nonetheless, everyone stayed in a happy drift for a while. (^^;)

I think I'll spare everyone any details of actual drunkenness. (>o>)


Last shot at the end of the day, before taking Ochibi home.

Again, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!

no title

Good morniiiiing~ orz

As much as i would have liked to tweak this blog further, i

may have to go with my family to visit the dead today, which i find odd, considering today

is "All SAINTS' day", and not "All SOULS' day". *sigh*

I guess tradition can be stronger than a holiday name, a lot of people go to the cemetery on November 1st regardless of holiday. Unless we have saints in our family. O.o

I woke up this morning with a stomachache, and with my heart pounding pretty unnecessarily. I wonder if something's up...(>_<)

If there's anything interesting, I'm gonna see if I can update later. XP