Dreams made Real

Something to be thankful about.

2008-10-13T04:53:55Z

It's the Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. Actually, it's tomorrow. And while I'm not too inclined to really celebrate it (I barely understand the idea behind the celebration, really.), I still did my share of basking in the Thanksgiving spirit.

My aunt and I went down to the city's drop in center for some volunteer work that involved serving Thanksgiving lunch. For the blissfully unaware, that's pretty much where the homeless and those who can't feed themselves drop by to get a hot meal and maybe a shelter over their heads for a night. I was pretty apprehensive just because I've been made to believe by pretty much everyone I know over here that the homeless are scary folk who will try to steal from you, if not hound you as a form of begging. I've heard pretty nasty stories about how you can get mugged by them and pretty much the whole "stay away if you value your life" sort of story. So there I was, walking into the very building that housed these so-called criminals-waiting-to-happen. Imagine the horde (Is it a horde? I forget.) of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. And the nasty looks they had on their faces did nothing to assuage my anxiety as we made our way into the unkempt building that reeked of the smell of unwashed human bodies. Now, that wasn't particularly pleasant, either. It was a scene straight out of The Pursuit of Happyness.

So basically, we were lead into a briefing room where we stowed away our coats and purses in lockers ("just in case"...notice how this tiny detail only serves to keep me on edge) and were told how the system would work. There'd be people assigned to work in the kitchen to plate the food while the rest served either the main entree, dessert or drinks. I got to pick up the plated food and serve them directly to the scary looking homeless. Whoop dee doo. Wasn't quite looking forward to that. I was actually hoping for kitchen duty, or something. It wasn't that I was nandidiri (I can't think of the English word for it right now. I will edit when it comes to me.). It was just that...I was scared of them. Because of what I was lead to believe. So the first few tables was pretty nerve wracking for me. And I kept looking at the guide who was telling us which table to serve next. So I could nervously make plan of getting where I needed to go in my head without having to come near the scary homeless people any more than I had to. But as the hour progressed, they did things to surprise you. They show courtesy. They insist that the women be served first. They thank you for your efforts, which really was just a simple act of bringing their food to them. They smile, no matter that most actually looked like grimaces.

And then it hits you. You feel shame for being scared of them. You learn to look them in the eye and greet them a sincere "Happy Thanksgiving". And the way their faces light up when you do it is enough appreciation. That's when you realize that they're people, too. That just because they're homeless doesn't make them any less than either you or me. Some of them are in this situation by circumstance. A failed business investment could have been all it took for some of them. But to have society toss them aside and treat them as something subhuman doesn't quite make the rest of us very human either, does it?

While it was a great experience, (and yes, I'm thinking of doing it again. Woohoo, once an UPSCAn, always an UPSCAn. lol) I was left feeling vaguely bewildered. Something bothered me. I have been exposed to poverty. But the poverty that I've seen here just seemed so...defeated. What I mistook for nasty glares were just defeated expressions. Or maybe it was them scowling at their circumstances. You'd think they'd be happy to be where they were, being fed like they were, even just for that moment in time. You would have expected cheery laughter and all that. But.. it wasn't like that at all. Sure there were people talking and all that. It wasn't so much a happy atmosphere tho. It was more like a resigned kind of atmosphere. Like a..."I don't really want to be here but I have no choice" kind of atmosphere. Not even the "I'm grateful to be here at all" kind of atmosphere. It was just so..hopeless. That was the prevailing feeling. To feel hopeless on Thanksgiving (that's like us feeling hopeless at Christmas! *gasp*) just didn't seem right.

I honestly don't understand it. Is it really so unique to us, Filipinos, then to find hope where it seems not to exist? To laugh in the face of adversity? Is it rooted in our culture, to never lose hope? Does the fact that we mostly have close-knit families and a strong sense of community make the difference between defeat and keeping hope afloat? Does our faith play a role in all this? Because we aren't ever really alone, are we? So I guess we still have something to be thankful about. No matter how screwed up everything else in our country is.

*shrugs*

Sleep.

2008-09-11T04:05:19Z

I need sleep. I value sleep more than anything right now.

My sleeping patterns are so screwed again.

One sheep...two sheep...three sheep...

Music and Lyrics

2008-09-02T19:44:18Z

Funny how sometimes songs can hit home. Not that I'm feeling depressed or anything. Quite the opposite. Things are slowly working out for the best. :)

It just has me... thoughtful. Kind of hard to really explain.

Anyway, I found this song. It sounds really nice, altho a bit melancholic...

There is a voice, that has no name,
It comes with evening or behind the rain.
I have no time now, to stop and explain,
I just keep moving, cause it helps to ease the pain.
The night has music, that calls to me,
across the canyons of an endless sea.
I seek the shadows of yesterday,
They can't hold me and I must be on my way.
Speak to me softly but tell me no lies
I see tomorrow shining in your eyes,
I have no time now to stop and explain
I just keep moving cause it helps to ease the pain.

Aaargh.

2008-08-28T17:08:37Z

So now I know what I want. I know I'm getting it one way or the other. I have made my choice.

And things are falling slowly into place.

Yay, I have finally figured out the "what"...

But it's the "how" that's driving me nuts.

*sigh*

"Father, into Thy Hands I commend my spirit."

Green Day!

2008-08-05T00:05:09Z

Nope, not the band. Although, I do like the band and their songs Basketcase and Time of Your Life, but that's beside the point.

So today was pretty unexpectedly..green. Hence, green day. But I'm not exactly making sense by just saying "today was green day for me", so do let me elaborate.

I wore green. lol So that's not a big deal. But the thing is, I wasn't even consciously thinking of wearing green. It just so happened to be the first thing I grabbed out of the closet when I got dressed. Anyway, I wasn't supposed to, to begin with. But when in an unexpected turn of events, I ended up having lunch out. And well, I couldn't very well go in a ratty tee and sweats. Gross. Hence, the green tank top and shorts.

So, the lunch out. We were feeling adventurous and decided to skip downtown and instead head over to Airdrie (which is something like a 15min drive away from home). Great call! We ended up in the Airdrie downtown area where we found an Irish pub/resto called Killarney's. Yes, Irish. And if you know me at all, you'll know I cannot resist anything Irish. (Okay, so maybe that's not entirely, completely, totally true, but you do get my drift. XD) I so had to try something distinctly Irish. No pasta or salad for me. So we ended up ordering Blarney Chicken, Beef and Guinness, and Fisherman's Pie under what was called "Pub Staple". For a bit, I was tempted to try this dish with beef and kidney until i realized that kidney meant the body organ and not the bean. @_@ So, um, no thanks. :P It was all fantastic! Food was delish. Next time tho, I'll make sure I get something alcoholic. After all, what's the point in being in an Irish pub if you don't sample their liquor? XD

So from there, we headed to the mall to get me some decent work shoes. The ones I have right now are getting a bit worn from walking (and walking fast, too) home. So I ended up with black runners with pink and white trim. I doubt they'll call me out at work for having the girly trim as long as it's all predominantly black. *shrugs* [Oh, no green in this paragraph.. :P]

When we got home, we ended up cleaning up the front lawn. Which was a HUGE mess. We didn't get to have grass put in. We were out so much and didn't really have time to water and all that so we figured we'd just skip the grass this year. I suggested turning it into a rock garden instead, like a Zen garden or something. That would be sooo cool. I dunno how that'll hold up in winter tho, but a rock garden should be awesome to maintain. Like almost no maintenance. XD So we're doing that next year. It's too late now since summer's almost over anyway. So anyway, no grass, right? But what we had were these uber tall weeds. And they were nasty. I haven't done any gardening at all. The little gardening I've ever done was spraying orchids with that stuff to make them bloom (See?? I don't even know what the stuff is called!) and that bean sprout experiment back in gradeschool (if that even counts as gardening). I think the plant i got from a high school retreat died too. So obviously, no green thumb here. I felt so out of my element. But hey, we needed to do something about the forest of weeds on the lawn or else we could be slapped with a huge fine from the City.

Green Thumb Gardening 101 Lesson #1: For weeds that are knee high, a manual mower is next to useless. So we ended up using that spinning blade thing to cut them to manageable size before mowing them. I initially tried pulling, but that was pretty..inefficient. I actually appreciate rakes now (not the people, but the gardening tool. :P) and gardening gloves. It doesn't look like it's hard work, but I was surprisingly tired after a good 2 hours of that. I was more adamant about pulling from the roots so I'd take a spade and work on the soil. That was actually more troublesome but I figure if it's stopped at the root, less chance of me having to do this again. :P At any rate, it looks more..presentable now. And a little less neglected. :P I'm so looking forward to that rock garden next year.

So after getting all hot and sweaty, it was a good idea to get a bit of ice cream to cool off. Yay for that trip to Cochrane last Friday where we picked up a couple tubs of ice cream (they supposedly have the best ice cream in these parts; even have halo-halo, purple yam aka ube and young coconut aka buko as flavors.). We had green tea ice cream. I so love green tea ice cream. XD

So yeah, green, right? lol And the day hasn't even ended yet. But I don't see how it can get any more green than that. lol!

Teary eyes and runny noses.

2008-05-27T06:51:11Z

So I figured it was time I tried contacts. My aunt has been bugging me to get them, apart from my mother and most of the people out here. *shrugs* Apparently, glasses are so not me. No matter that they're the easiest way to make sure I can still make out things that are, well, far. @_@ It's gotten so bad that I'm literally of no help without them when we're lost on the road to spot street signs or at the grocery to check which aisle has which.

But can I just say that putting them in is just about one of the hardest things ever??? It took me a good hour just to get the one in my right eye for the first time. Not to mention a gazillion tissues and lots and lots of eye solution. Then, another hour of struggling with the left. Never before have I hated my long lashes till now. >< And it doesn't exactly help that your instinct is to blink when something touches your eye. Taking them out are weirder, still.

They feel weird, too. I still can't make out which way is which. The optician said the rounder part. Both look pretty round to me. I could be wearing them inside out right now for all I know. @_@ But it's nice to actually have 20/20 vision without the glasses. *shrugs* I still need practice putting them in.

Much more practice. ><

Recapping RENT and more...

2008-05-26T03:53:50Z

Okay, so I know I promised a more coherent post. I might as well do it now. :P

So, I went to see Rent. Before we hit the Jubilee Auditorium to go see it tho, we (me, Mian and Makki) had our sushi fix at the Sumo Lounge. It had a nice ambience and was surprisingly reasonably priced. I thought it might be a bit pricey but it wasn't. And the sushi wasn't bad at all. :) Amusing, also, was that our waiter had this bedroom voice thing going. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. Seriously. It was so contrived. I doubt it was his normal voice. @_@

It was wet and raining the whole day, too. But that didn't keep us girls from getting our cocktails and dessert. We were pretty determined, too, mind you. I think we actually traversed the entire +15 (series of walkways connecting the buildings in downtown) to keep from getting wet before we finally succumbed to the inevitable and pranced around in the rain. Lost and wet. Lol, it was definitely an adventure tho. Good thing Ms. I love the rain Mian had an umbrella with her. And it provided for more photo ops. Haha! After about an hour of walking around, we finally found Vicious Circle. And can I just say that the tiramisu was definitely worth the walk? Whipped cream heaven!!! XD Gotta love it. The cocktails was another adventure. I seriously have to read up on my drinks. I ended up getting one that was pretty strong despite the fact that the menu said it mas more sweet than dry. It sure tasted pretty dry to me. @_@ *shrugs* the tiramisu was definitely the star of that show. XD

From there, we went on to Rent and OMG. OMG. OMG. It was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C! I've never seen the movie. I wasn't too familiar with the plot or the premise. I just looked up a few songs so I'd have something to look forward to. But, wow. It was amazing. Hienz did a great job as Roger. Mimi had a wonderful voice. :D Mark was absolutely adorable. Angel dying and the reprise of I'll Cover You made me cry. Will I was so emotionally charged, as was Without You and Goodbye Love. Take Me or Leave Me, I'll Cover You and Light My Candle was sooo much fun. Over the Moon was soooooo funny! But Life Support still has the best lines after Seasons of Love. I cannot do justice with describing how amazing the show was. You'd have to see it yourself. Needless to say they got a standing ovation from the fully-packed auditorium.

That was the 23rd.

On the 24th, I got a belated birthday treat from my Tito Jimmy and we had sushi (again, wee!!!) at Sakana Grill. The food was goooood. XD I loved the Dynamite Roll. XD It was also my cousin, Tantan's birthday that day so we had dinner with her friends at Japanese Village where they cook your food in front of you. Lol, it was fun! Then, Ate Lai, her friend Maria and I went dancing at this place, I forgot the name. Had 2 rounds of drinks and decided to call it a night.

I really should go out more. I forgot how much fun it is to go out. Haha!

RENT!!!!!!!!

2008-05-24T07:39:02Z

It's 1am. I am incoherent. But I just have to post. Well, I'll compose my thoughts better in a longer, more detailed post.

I SAW RENT!!!!!! It was AWESOME!!!!

And while the cast was not composed of the people Yassie asked me to get her autographs for, it was still a good one seeing as they had Anwar Robinson (yes, the guy from American Idol!) play Tom Collins and the first South African Idol (I forgot his name, I don't have the program right now) do Roger! It was just..awesome. I got shivers and goosebumps when Angel died and they reprised I'll Cover You. And the finale song was...WOW. Won't You Light My Candle and Take Me or Leave Me (I'm not even sure about the titles) are so muuuuch fun! Without You was heartbreaking. It was just..wow. And the movie, apparently, did not deviate much. But I think they skipped out on some of the songs. Life Support was a great scene. I love the lyrics off that song.

" There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret
Or life is yours to miss
No other road
No other way
No day but today"

Love it, love it, loooooooooove it! XD

Went around downtown, too. Had my sushi fix at the Sumo Lounge. Then cocktails and dessert at Vicious CIrcle. The tiramisu is definitely something I'm going back there for. The Double Screw Martini was...so-so. I should've gotten the Bellini Martini. Oh, well. Next time. XD

What else? Oh, I blew 55 bucks on overpriced Rent merchandise (magnets, tanktop (I would've totally gotten a hoodie but not for 65 bucks! and not when I had to get other people stuff too) and program). And now I think it would've been a good idea to get a copy of the score. I should've gotten that for myself AND the program (that I'm giving to Yassie). Meh.

We got lucky to get such good seats, too, seeing as it's only playing this weekend. XD AWESOMENESS!!!

I can't wait for the next play! Too bad I missed Phantom when it played here...

Celebrating your birthday on the other side of the world.

2008-05-23T06:09:21Z

Can I just say I feel so loved? XD

I never quite expected this day to turn out so well. But it did. Beyond any and all expectation.

And I am just so grateful to be alive. :D

Thank YOU for being so awesome. Yes, YOU are awesome. :D

btw: YOU = everyone who remembered my birthday

Definitely one of the stupidest things I've ever done.

2008-03-22T09:06:57Z

So today is Good Friday. A time to meditate, fast and stay away from the internet.

But I just have to post about it. Else, I'll implode. lol

I have been MIA for good reason: I've been busy earning $$s. But that isn't why I'm back to posting.

This is:

So here I am, missing my family in the Philippines. I finally get to talk to all of them but it gets cut short. In my haste to dial 011-632-so on, I ended up dialing 911 instead of 011. And oh my, you do not want to play around dialing that number. @_@ So I panicked and promptly hung up. What I didn't know is that when you dial 911 out here and you hang up, a police car with sirens blaring will come rushing to your doorstep.

Luckily (if any luck is to be seen in this unfortunate incident), the operator calls back and asks what's wrong. I promptly do my "oops, i dialed the wrong number" line, but she has to make sure and double check. So now I have a police car rushing to my doorstep, but this time without the sirens.

I panic and ask if I will be fined. The operator assures me I won't be. I sigh in relief. And wait with cold, clammy hands and nervous foot tapping for the police to come. The operator stays on the line so she can talk to the police and verify that all is well on my end. I once again apologize for my blunder and she reassures me (she's really nice, come to think of it). Goes on to say that there's been a mad spree of..um, activity so I've been bumped to least priority. So now I have a police car coming to my doorstep. Soonish.

10, 20, 37 minutes later, still no sign of the cops. It's about 1:47am now. And then I hear it. My phone is buzzing. The nice operator hung up on me. @_@ I rejoice! All that worry for nothing! So now I have no police car coming to my doorstep, sirens blaring or not.

But it doesn't quite end there.

I am jarred from my about to sleep consciousness by the phone ringing in my ear (yes, I have a phone on my nightstand). It was the police! And they were 5 minutes away! Apparently, they STILL had to check, no matter that the operator hung up on me. I ask if they can do it quietly because my aunt was fast asleep, seeing as it was just a wrong number, anyway. So now I had a police car 30 seconds away and there I was, waiting by the door in my blue flannel pjs so they wouldn't have to ring the door bell. They did a quick look around the whole house (they were really nice about it, too, tiptoeing so my aunt wouldn't wake up) and even made small talk to put me at ease. Then they were gone.

So yeah, I'm never calling 911 unless for an emergency ever again. @_@ Stupid wrong number. @_@ It's 3am. I think I better get my shuteye.

Alberta Milk Ad

2008-02-04T03:50:13Z

Natawa naman ako sa ads ng Alberta Milk dito. Not because it was funny, mind you. But because of how it was so... not so much about milk. XD

"Sometimes moving forward means leaving something behind.
           That's what it means to grow.
                        Always grow.
                        Grow all ways."

Pretty deep for a milk ad. XD

Alone.

2008-02-02T01:42:37Z

You really don't realize what you've got till it's gone.

For 23 years I've taken my family's presence pretty much for granted. I was always immensely grateful for their ever-present support and love, and I still very much am. But from where I am right now, I value it all the more.

I miss my mom. I miss my dad. I miss my brothers. I miss my sister.

I miss my friends.

I've new family and friends here, but it simply isn't the same.

But I guess that's part of growing up and getting a move on in life.

Independence, here I come.

Is dying the "IN thing" these days?

2008-01-23T18:56:36Z

Seriously.

First, it was Brad Renfro.


Now, Heath Ledger.

Both good actors, drool-worthy pin-up boys... What's going on?! @_@
RIP, guys. T_T

The weeks that were.

2008-01-19T06:10:38Z

No, the flu bug didn't have such a hold on me that I'd spend all this time hacking away and producing enough phlegm to rival the snow (eew, you don't need that mental picture, sorry. :P), hence the posting hiatus. It's just that when you've been away for a while and a lot has happened, well, it feels somewhat chore-ish to recall everything. But for updating purposes, I will travel back through time and recall the weeks that were. (You know maybe I still am a bit sick, what with all this melodrama I'm spewing forth. *slaps a hand to forehead*)

New Year's Celebration was a blast! Almost literally. Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but we did set off the smoke alarms which was hilarious. :P All the family here came to our place and as with any Pinoy gathering, food and drink were overflowing. Apart from family were good friends who came to usher in the new year. Our Polish friends, the Swieniewskis (honestly, I'm not quite sure I even spelled their name right and I do apologize) were the first guests, followed by the family (The DeGuzmans + Konrad + Ate Wilma + Kitchie, The Javiers, The Fabellas + Ate Ninin) and other friends (I've forgotten their last names...basta sina Tita Jane :P). Some left early because they had other parties to go to, but the one we had going was just about to go full blast. Everyone had champagne at the stroke of midnight and the kids went crazy going after the coins being tossed (some even landed in wineglasses, perfect aim or bad tossing, you decide :P). After, we had game after parlor game and everyone was in good spirits. I got to bond with my cousins and had a really great time (of course despite missing the family back home).

Next day, we were on the first leg of our Winnipeg-Victoria-Vancouver Escapade.

Winnipeg = Snow. Seriously. I have never seen soooo much snow! And the winds that greeted us as we exited the airport was just plain crazy. Huge (and i mean HUGE) gusts from any direction, icy cold. My leather gloves proved useless and I was thankful for boots. Yay for Tita Cleofe, Tita Luz and Oliver for picking us up at the airport and more yays for Tita Norma, Ate Gagay, Kuya Loloy (nicknames, of course. :P) and Ate Amy for the nice warm room, breakfast and lotion. :D Another round of yays for Tita Nancy, Tita Luz and Jackie for taking time out to take us around. Hanging out with adults (ahem, "young once", ahem) have never been more fun and one laughtrip after another (especially Tita Luz. she has a future in stand up comedy, I swear! XD). The revolving resto experience was great fun (you got a good look at the city from high up plus those perogies were world-class!) and the sleigh ride, albeit completely, utterly, absolutely freezing and almost torture to my nearly frostbitten extremities, was so reminiscent of Jingle Bells it was all I could do to keep myself from bursting into song (it was too cold to sing. maybe that helped. :P).

After 2 stop-overs (so technically I've been to Regina, Saskatchewan too) and a pretty long taxi drive, we finally make it to our hotel at Victoria. It's really a shame we arrived at night because the view out there is just plain fantastic. I guess it's something like what I imagined Martha's Vineyard would look like (from those books I used to read waaaaaaaay back. funny, I remember this little tidbit but I can't seem to remember from where). It's like having Belle's town become a city. It's so...story book. It's this quaint city that screams Old World glamour. Factoring out the rain and heavy winds, man, I'd want to stay for at least a month there. It's that gorgeous. XD But I wouldn't want to live there. It would take the allure away because then, it'd be everyday magic and that could very well be taken for granted. The Miniature World was a wonder, the Butchart Gardens were still fabulous (despite the lack of its famous flowers) and the Empress was so pretty. I really want to go back. A day just isn't enough to explore Victoria.

Two taxi rides (with one near unbearable what with the driver's horrible smell, if you get my drift), a bus ride and a ferry ride later, we finally end up at our Vancouver headquarters. Since we got a hotel right smack in downtown, everything was accessible on foot. The Robson shopping district was like Beverly Hills (or that place were they have those fancy shops there, at least I think that's what they'd be like) with all the fancy stores (Louis Vitton, Prada, Zara...you name it, it was there!). The restos were pretty fancy too, and since we were in Canada, we ended up in Canadian ones, of course. :P The city tour we took was a gem considering it was raining out 90% of the time (hence the prevalence of the flu bug) and we really got to go to the places to see. And the church there was great, too. Hehehehe. No seriously. :D The funny laugh was for something else. :P

So 5 plane rides later, I finally get to rest my tired and aching feet (two-inch boots and major walking don't mix well) at home sweet Calgary.

And a few days later and I realize I got another souvenir from Vancouver, apart from everything else I got. Yup, the flu bug kicked in. :P

Not much happened after.

Today, just spent the afternoon at the Bacalsos. The food was fantastic! Especially that smoked meat from Montreal that they served. Now I know what I'm gonna ask Anna for pasalubong. XD Really great people, and I got a lot of good engineering insights from them, too. :D

Busy with my little travel business, too. I can now book tickets (air fare), hotels, car rentals and vacation packages anywhere and everywhere. Really. So if you're interested, drop me a line. :D Maybe I can even give you discounts. ;)

I found my heartsong!

2008-01-13T05:59:26Z

I absolutely love this song. XD

Will post more later. When I've gotten over the flu I contracted in Vancouver. T_T

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T07:45:44Z

Yun lang. Happy New Year lang tlga. Haha, I'm still swamped. Singit lang tong greeting, I can't text you guys individually e, so dito na lang.

Ingat sa mga daliri! :P Hahaha!

Still too much going on.

2007-12-27T05:55:48Z

Too much activity, I don't have enough time to really post.

But I did put up a few pics. Go check them instead. :P

Noche Buena, Christmas, Boxing Day, Pasalubong shopping, preparing for New Year's celebration (we're hosting), upcoming trip to Vancouver and Winnipeg... I still have too much to do. Will post more later. :P Very much later. :P

Merry Christmas everyone! :D Enjoy the rest of the holiday season! :D Don't binge too much! XD

Yoga and Sushi

2007-12-20T07:32:24Z

There's snow out and it's still cold. Everyone's saying it'll be a white Christmas and I sincerely hope so. That'll sort of make up for the fact that I'll be missing so many people back home come Christmas. But for now, this is pretty much beside the point. Not when you have a subject like that. Haha.

Testing my limits has never been so fun. I tried yoga today. Finally! And it was great. :D I had a lot of fun, the poses were hard and all (half the time I didn't even understand what pose to do because the instructor would just call out the name of the pose so I had to check what everyone else was doing first as it was an all-level class) but the funny thing is, I felt great after. Refreshed even. Not at all tired like after you do a workout at the gym. It was a good thing Ate Lai thought of bringing me with her to her class. :D Needless to say, I think I've found a workout I can stick to. And the philosophy behind yoga is interesting enough to bear looking into. It is, afterall, not just a workout, but a lifestyle, is what I'm told. ;) But no, I have no intention of turning vegan. :P

After, we (me and Ate Lai) had time to hang out at this snazzy coffee place and it was great to find a cousin who was on the same page as you. :D

Then, it was on to dinner at Globefish. The restaurant's name is worth mentioning because they serve great sushi. I swear. I've never tasted anything quite like it. Who would've thought avocado would be great in sushi? And that unagi can actually taste really good? Never was an unagi fan, I have never acquired the taste up till now.

So yeah, yoga and sushi.

Argh. I so need to have an intellectual conversation soon else my brain cells will so die out here. The closest I've had to one was a discussion on the merits of microwave cooking with my mother. And I doubt that counts. Argh.

Kicking the habit.

2007-12-10T05:06:44Z

Hi, my name is Stacey. And I am a caffeine addict.

I have recently discovered the best thing about coffee: Tim Hortons. I've had my first cup early this week, and I swear, I'm no coffee drinker but this definitely has me hooked. @_@ If I could, I'd probably drop by everyday. The coffee's that good. I can swear by it. :D It's no wonder then that it's the biggest coffee chain here in Canada, apart from the everpresent Starbucks, of course. And unlike Starbucks, it's very affordable. You can even get a cup of coffee for a little over a dollar. $1.18 to be exact. And I absolutely love their bagels with cream cheese and their breakfast sandwiches. XD Goodbye Sausage Mcmuffin! :P But I know that caffeine isn't exactly the best thing for you, right? So I can't be hooked, right? But their french vanilla, cafe mocha and cappucino tastes soooo good.... @_@ Besides, it's cold out. Most people here even smoke to keep warm. So coffee really isn't so bad compared to smoking. Lesser evil, so to speak. :P I'll kick the habit when winter's over and done with.

I hope.

:P

On a lighter note, we've finally gone to Banff!!!! It was gorgeous in winter, so I bet it's even better in spring and summer. It's like a quaint little village at the foothills of the Canadian Rockies (which I hope to be better acquainted with soon :P). The snow here was more than I've seen so far. In places, it's even knee or thigh deep! @_@ Boy, was I ever surprised when I stepped into a pretty deep snowdrift! My aunt and mom were laughing so hard they forgot to take pics. :P Good thing, too. :P The Bowfalls was still pretty stunning but all that ice, snow and amazingly picturesque mountains in the background kind of takes your attention away from the falls. :P Anyway, since we got there midafternoon already and there's not much you can do outdoors when it's dark at 5pm, so we just had a great dinner at The Keg (yummy Chili Chicken!) after a bit of sightseeing before we left for home. We're definitely coming back, tho. We haven't gone up in the cable cars, yet, to the top of one of the mountains and we haven't tried skiing yet. And this time, I think we're staying overnight to properly enjoy everything there is to enjoy. Maybe when it isn't so cold. When we got there it was a freezing -29degC. @_@ Walking outdoors was hard on the lungs, and your poor freezing toes. :P

Oh, and we've gone a bit around downtown and took the train. It was...amusing. :P I guess the experience was pretty much just like taking the MRT to Megamall. Only, the mall there had this pretty place called the Devonian Gardens with all those adorable turtles, gigantic carp and oh so pretty flowers. :D

Yup, I guess I have been busy. :P Oh, and apparently, snail mail is pretty expensive. Especially when you plan on sending Christmas cards to friends. Apparently, 6 stamps here cost $9.30. And I need something like fifteen of those. Or even twenty. <sigh> I need a job.

[For Yas] I wasn't supposed to, but...

2007-12-07T08:06:46Z

Okay, it's a few minutes before 1am out here and I really wasn't supposed to post anything. I was just finishing up a few things I had to encode for my aunt (in between watching Waterworld. Hahaha!) and editing my resume when I decided on a whim to search my name on Yahoo and see what comes up. If I were to Google my name, I'd only see an old list of the "new" DOST-SEI scholars. Amusingly, Yahoo provides more fun results. And yup, I could not resist posting because of just that.

Guess what I found?

A link to an old article that Yas' sister wrote. Yup, this was our 15 minutes of fame. XD Here's the part of the article about us:

High School friends.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Saleema Refran, 2bU! Correspondent

THE TEENAGE years are probably the most turbulent and confusing years of anyone's life. But despite all the trials and difficulties, these two friends were able to hang on to each other during those tough years.

Yasmin Refran, 18, and Stacey Carmela Salazar, 19, are both studying at UP Diliman.

How did you meet?

Stacey (S): As fate would have it, Yas and I were put in the same class back in first year sa Pisay (Philippine Science High School).

Yasmin (Y): Yeah. There I was, trying to be a loner, kaya lang she had to ruin my grand plan by coming up to me and saying, (assuming a perky tone) "Hi! I'm Stacey! What's your name?"

S: Hey! I didn't sound like that!

Y: Yes, you did, Stay. (Grins)

How long have you been friends?

S: Since June 1, 1998. You do the math. (Smiles)

Y: That would be five years, 17 days and approximately 10 hours.

What's the best thing about each other?

Y: Well, total opposites kami. But we're also so alike it's scary. We complement each other. I start saying something, she ends it the way I would. The term "kindred spirit" comes to mind.

S: I'll be honest. This is one tough question. There's not just one thing that can be labeled best about Yas. As cheesy as it may sound, the best thing about Yas is that she is who she is.

Y: Shucks, Stay. Ang sentimental natin ha! (Laughs)

What's the best thing about your friendship?

S: It transcends change. Kasi no matter how much we grow up, no matter how many things happen that mold us into different people, our friendship will always be there.

Y: Inunahan niya kong sumagot. (Laughs) Seriously, though, our friendship is very-low maintenance. First year lang kami naging classmates, but we still managed to become best friends.

S: Yeah. Weird 'no?

Y: The fact that we know we are each other's security blanket no matter what strengthens our bond.

Do you fight?

Both: No.

Y: Amazing.

S: Never have. Hopefully never will. (Smiles)

What do you do when you're together?

Y: Anything we can possibly think of doing.

S: We laugh. Go figure. It speaks for itself. (Laughs)

Y: One more bonding session, I'm going to barf.

S: See? We're such a happy pair.

--------------------------------

Several years later, we've finally had that one (and only?) fight. And we've been classmates since then (haha, Bio1!). But wonderfully enough, everything still pretty much holds. Even when I'm half the world away. :D Thank God for friends like Yas.

Yeah, I miss you, too.

It's REALLY snowing!!!

2007-12-06T04:29:23Z

I spent the entire day at the Calgary Public Library today. Wow, sooooo many books to borrow and read and browse through and choose from and... and... a bookworm's dream come true! XD Found a lot of interesting titles but I think I want to get my own library card first. :D I figure I might end up maxxing the limit of my cousin's at this rate. :P [Speaking of, I really am grateful to my cousin, Kristine, for taking me out of the house and off my mother and aunt's hands where I would have to suffer through another of their countless meetings and whatnots with all the other old people. Hence, my gratitude. And of course, thanks also to Ate Harlene for driving me back home when Kristine had to stay longer in the lib. :D]

I finally saw a lot of real snowing today. It caught me off-guard! Good thing, too, that we were indoors by then! And it was really, really snowing. Like hard. With big flakes. And a helluva wind. @_@ Am I glad I wasn't out then. But it would have made for a great photo op! XD Too bad I didn't have my camera, though. :(

Anyway, I don't really have much to say right now. Not much going on...yet. :P

I'm excited about the prospect of shoveling the driveway tomorrow, though. :D For $10. XD

Colder than ever!

2007-12-02T07:41:21Z

Winter is definitely upon us out here. The temperatures are now dipping into the -20sdegC zone and I'm not quite sure if I should be happy about it or not. Frankly, the first time I saw snow, it was like "Oh my! So pretty! Cool!". But now, it's more like "Oh no... Does that mean we can't drive to Banff today?". <sigh>

I have seen my first glimpse of cows today! (Haha, Nolet. :P) And funny, they didn't seem all that bothered about the weather. But they were just a handful, so maybe these were the cows with cabin fever (barn fever?) and super high tolerance of cold.

It seems like a lot has happened since I updated. This is what's hard about not updating more frequently. It's almost like the stories just keep piling up till you reach a point where you just have absolutely no idea where to start. And that's exactly where I am right now. So suffer my randomness as I just type up events as I remember them.

Let's see...

My aunt's house blessing and birthday was a blast! Got together with a lot of our relatives here and met a whole bunch of new friends, too, who promised to take me snowboarding. Now that prospect I am most excited about. I'll probably suck at it, but who knows? I just might get the hang of it. ;) Imagine that: me, snowboarding. How cool can that get?? I'm soo taking pics! XD

Everyone wears make-up around here. Well, maybe not EVERYONE, but a vast majority of the girls do. Especially those in my age. Those that don't are moms or really old people. Suddenly has me thinking if I should jump onboard that wagon. But quite frankly, I'm not that particularly concerned and I can get away with my necessary lip balm/gloss and mascara. :P Winter fashion's throwing me off, though. Half the time I don't know if I look okay or flat out stupid because I'm more concerned about fighting frostbite than looking good. These days I layer on sooo much clothing that I look horribly shapeless. I even have a jacket that my cousin christened "The Toga" because she says it looks like one. Oh, what the heck. >_<

The malls here aren't THAT small. I mean, seriously. They're so much bigger than I imagined from stories of relatives who live here. It's...strange that they think the malls are small. They aren't. Full of unfamiliar brands (Arnold Churgin, People's, Second Cup) and stores, it was fun walking around and just looking at the stuff. Converting the prices into Peso doesn't make you feel good about spending, though. Makes me appreciate the stuff at home and how much cheaper everything is. Like a bunch of hair ties cost $3.47 while they'd cost about Php40-50 at home. @_@ It's pretty fun though that the movie theatres are still primarily separate from the malls, although the bigger ones have learned to incorporate them too, pretty much like what we have. And another big difference is that buildings here are low-lying. Most aren't higher than 2 floors and the only tall ones are in Downtown.

There's so much food out here that I want to try! One of these days I'm going on a food trip. Seriously. And the servings are gargantuan. (see photo)

Sometimes, I just end up halving an order with my mom. I've tried finishing a single order, but I just can't. It's too much food. I just feel bad about how they just throw it all away, though. I mean, just imagine how many people would've benefited from that. Tsk. And I thin I'm getting a caffeine overdose. I drink tea all day. Usually it's either that or coffee and I'm not really a coffee drinker. I wish they'd broaden the variety of hot drinks. Seriously.

The accents are really different here. Most people I can understand now, but when they talk fast and eat their words, omg, it's an entire new playing field that just isn't familiar to me. I cannot, for the life of me understand a thing, then. I'm hoping I learn quickly, though. It's kind of getting more embarassing not being able to understand what they're saying when it's just plain English.

I've a whole bunch of pics to upload (including car pics), but alas, I have yet to get a card reader. Boy, do I ever miss CD-R King. And yeah, I do miss you guys, too. ;) I think I better sleep now. Been up late too much these days. Oh, and if you want to chat with me, I'm usually on YM at around 11pm here. So that makes it around 2pm there. Or is it 2am? I still can't quite figure out this darned time zone thing. Especially when it gets dark so soon, at about 5pm here. @_@ Whack, I tell you.

edit: got a new camera that serves as a card reader. hahaha! hence the uploaded pics. :P

Pinoys ARE everywhere.

2007-11-27T06:26:55Z

When people say that Pinoys are everywhere, it kind of seems like an exaggeration. Something that hyperboles are made of. But amusingly, I find it to be a reality. Today was another day spent in Pinoy houses (that even boasted of hothouses with potted banana, kalamansi and malunggay trees @_@) with Pinoys living here. We even went to a Pinoy grocery store (a big one, at that!) that looked a lot like Shopwise that showcased racks of familiar food and dvds/cds alike. Except for the crazy cold, it's like I've not left the Philippines. Not entirely. Heck, I even saw fresh durian being sold here! XD I took pics see here:

Check out these Pinoy dvds! (Naks, hindi pirated! XD)

See the prices? Ang mahal pag kinonvert to peso! @_@

What can I say, everyone loves Chocnut. XD

Freakiest item I've ever encountered so far in a grocery store (not for faint of heart animal lovers):

It's getting colder than ever out here. The padded jacket I brought with me from Manila is practically useless now in -16degC weather with wind chills of -20degC. It's so cold that when I left my water bottle inside the car for a couple of hours, the water was completely frozen when we got back. @_@ Actually, the cold weather by itself isn't so bad. It's the wind that urges you to run from one nice, warm and cozy place to the next. Totally understandable in freezer weather. :P

I saw a couple of Hummers today. Apparently, the nicer cars are driven downtown. Too bad all of them are dirty though. I guess when it snows every so often, it's just not worth washing. :P I think I'll browse through TopGear and check out new models so I can actually identify them without having to look at the signage. :))

And still no sign of them cows. No moose, either. Sorry, Nolet. :))

What's on the other side of the world?

2007-11-26T03:52:49Z

I know I promised to post more faithfully but a lot has just been happening and I'm thinking things will only slow down next week. My aunt's golden birthday, house blessing and a coming family reunion, apart from this business thing my aunt's involved in that she wants me to pursue, yeah, A LOT of things are happening right now.

So where do I start?

Let's see...

The flight WAS as uneventful as I figured it would be. It was just amusing that they had pretty good in flight movies (Transformers, License to Wed and Harry Potter V) but the audio just plain sucked. The only decent channel out of 14 is a jazz channel that I ended up listening to more than anything else. Funny lang how when I was flipping channels and trying to find a good one, I suddenly hear Piolo Pascual belting out "Kailangan Kita". [shudder] Suffice to say I'm no fan of his. Oh, and the view of the sunset after we've lifted off was fantastic! Absolutely breathtaking... :D I wish I thought of taking a pic..

Vancouver was...different. :D In a nice kind of way. For the first few minutes, I thought I was just in Cebu (what with all the Caucasians milling about) because there were soooo many Asian and Indian airport personnel! The customs officer was a nice man who, apparently, is accustomed to FIlipinos trying to smuggle delicacies. His first question was: "No bagoong or balut with you?" along with a knowing smile. Although when he said it, it was "No ba-gong or ba-loot with you?" :D We had 5 hours to waste before our connecting flight so we drank Tim Horton's (Canadian Starbucks) and browsed through the shops. Ridiculously priced goods. $4.99 for a tube of lip balm??? A nice Pinoy security personnel even took time out to chat with us as we were going around the place. :D Apparently we look very much Pinoy. My aunt says it's the black hair that gives us away. True enough, most people, even asians, have colored hair.

The connecting flight boarded later than expected. The plane was small. So small that the aisles is just about 2 feet wide. The planes that fly you to Cebu are bigger. @_@ And the very tall stewardess and steward had just about an inch of clearance before their heads hit the ceiling. @_@ But each seat had a touch screen monitor, lots of great music albums to choose from to make your own playlist and way too many good movies (No Reservation, The Simpson's Movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Hairspray to mention a few) to watch onboard. I was amazed. XD

Calgary is freaking COLD. 2degC is COLD. But -1degC is FREEZING. My lips are chapping like crazy. No amount of lotion can seem to keep my skin hydrated. I'm literally forced to wear moisture-rich lipstick just to protect my poor chapping lips. Lip balm just isn't enough. Jeans even with tights underneath aren't enough. Leather, closed shoes are necessary for your footsies' survival. I now love scarfs and gloves. This girl used to forever summer is weather-shocked. @_@

The freeways here are way cool. Gigantic stretches of monster roads with ABSOLUTELY NO TRAFFIC. :D And they actually have scenic routes where you can drive along the hillside and you can see the twinkling lights of the metro. I love looking at cars here. XD Gorgeous cars on the freeway! BMWs, Benzs, Pontiacs, Camaros, Buicks even an unreleased 2seater Honda Civic that totally kicks ass! XD I thought there'd be a whole bunch of cows out here, too. Haven't seen any yet. Or maybe that's because they're hiding from the crazy cold, too. I can definitely sympathize with that. XD

Canadians have weird accents, too. I never realized that. :P When we were at the local mall and I bought something at the cashier, the asian girl manning it asked me something and I could NOT understand a single word she said. It was a strange accent of both Chinese and Canadian slang. The result was garbled english. It was embarassing! @_@ I kind of felt bad that I couldn't understand her; especially when she was obviously flustered too. Yup, my first taste of culture shock. @_@

It is sooo cold out here... Turning the aircon on high is not even enough to mimic the sensation.

Countdown...

2007-11-23T10:57:58Z

Yes, I have been gone for quite a spell, but I think I'll be posting much more starting now. :P

Funny, I'm feeling both sad and excited. Sad, when I think of everything I'll be missing. :( Excited, when I think about every fun thing I'll have waiting for me. :D

The world's not so big anymore these days. So I'm guessing it won't be sad at all. We'll see. ;)