Just live.

Hiiiii, so I haven't really gotten around to sorting out my photos in Taipei.  It might take a while since I've been preoccupied with everything that's been going on in my life.  I mean aside from my job and occasional meetups with friends and lunch/dinner with the folks, life just hasn't really been the same.  I haven't been the same, but then again this shouldn't really come as a surprise because everyone has the tendency to change.

Priorities.

Prioritizing has never really been my forte.  With that said, my stress level is always high up on the scale and I'm only in my mid-twenties.  Talk about being an adult.  Anyway, you might be wondering why I'm on this topic and my main purpose is to share my thoughts with anyone who reads this.  The past couple of years have been an emotional roller coaster ride for me.  I'm nowhere close to being an emotional wreck, but I must say I'm still clueless when it comes to choosing a career path.  My passion lies between travelling and writing (although I've never really had anything published before).

"Hungover"

One memorable week in the Land of the Rising Sun!

Yup!  Carlos managed to get me another stuffed toy!  Such a sucker for these! :)

The ultimate guide to living an awesome life (Inspiration)

Are you still in that phase where you're trying to figure out what you're gonna do with your life?  Or do you sometimes wish that life came with a guidebook or a manual just to make things a bit simpler?  My answer to these two questions would be "yes".  I still do not know for sure what I want to do (stability-wise), but I do have an idea as to where I want to be in the next couple of years or what I would like to achieve.

Oh Happy Days!

Gone are the days when I had the privilege of sleeping at dawn and waking up in the afternoon.  Life as an adult is not as promising as it seemed to me as a student.  Well, what did I know then?  I haven't experienced having to earn for a living at that time.  And now, there are times when I wish I could go back to being a student who knew nothing of budgeting salaries and saving up as much as one can.  Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of perks that comes with being an adult but for once I wish I knew what to do with my life and it's not as easy as deciding what movie to watch or which restaurant to book for a dinner date.  It's more than that because you'll have to think way beyond and actually see where you want to be in the next decade or so.

New York City -- Day 4

This is the last set of photos that I'll be sharing with you regarding my adventure in the Big Apple.  Time flew by oh-so-quickly and I'm so glad I decided to travel to NYC even if I was alone at that time.  It did not only teach me to be independent, but it taught me to be wise and most importantly, it taught me to get out of my comfort zone.

Wisconsin -- Cheese Factory/The Art Museum/The Wedding

The weather in Madison wasn't very promising.  It would've been nice if it was only chilly, but noooo it had to rain!  And I believe everyone knows that the cold + the rain won't please anyone.  However, I really can't complain though because I like cold weather!  I love wearing sweaters and jumpers and long sleeved clothing in general.  And I got to do all that in September so hoooraaay!!  If I were in Macau then, I'd be complaining about the heat.

Anyway, I'd say I'm pretty lucky to have a sister who is not one who would like her time to be wasted which is why we got to do a bunch of stuff before her friend's wedding (which was the main purpose of this whole trip).  I would just like to let you know that this blog post will probably be the longest among any of my other posts since I am reluctant to separate them. :P

Our first stop was the Cedar Grove Cheese where we got to see their little factory and got a tour out of it.  Basically, the tour enabled people to read what was on their walls including its history, how they're made and so on, so forth.  I honestly do not remember what was written on those walls because I was too mesmerized by the people behind the glass and pretty much intrigued by how they make the cheese... not to mention, I was also only interested in tasting/buying/eating the cheese.  We ended up buying some of their cheese curds which are to die for!  They were really, really good and those are what I would recommend you to get if ever you're in town or if ever you get the chance to visit them.  You can munch on them while watching a movie and it just makes a really good snack.  It also makes that squeaky sound as you chew on them which totally reminds me of the mice in cartoons. :)

We also passed by the store where we could get some sausages because my sister said they were good.  I think I've only had a few bites and they were alright, but I probably wouldn't come back for more... not unless I crave for them.

Texas -- Fort Worth Travel Diary

(The continuation of our trip to Texas...)  The next day we woke up early for church and drove to Fort Worth to see the Water Gardens afterwards.  I had no idea that such things existed, so of course I was awe-struck.  It was nice to just sit down and hear the water flow all the way to the bottom of the steps (see first photo).  After a while, we just kept on taking snapshots of almost everything, or maybe that was just me.

I posted this photo on instagram too.  Follow mrsadventurer68 on instagram if you haven't already.

Our trip to Texas was all about the food and our time together (yup, just us siblings!)  It's been so long since the three of us were together and it was the first time for us to go on a trip alone, so you can bet that we all had a wonderful time.

We had lunch at this steakhouse where we each had a different kind of steak.  I've always known that Texas is known for their steaks and we were fortunate enough to have been able to try some.  The one I ordered was so good that words won't be able to describe how I felt while chewing that juicy piece of meat.  While I got a bite off of my brother and sister's steaks, I still thought mine was the best.  And of course good things don't come cheap, so after we finished our meals and were fully satisfied, we asked for the bill.  We weren't surprised when we saw that it reached up to more than a hundred and thirty dollars, but we were laughing and joking about who would be staying and washing the dishes at the restaurant.  Aaaahhh good times!  

We wandered around the stockyards for a while, looking for souvenirs/postcards for our parents and friends when something caught my eye.

Isn't this interesting?  I wanted to buy a lot of these and give them to some people as a joke, but eventually decided not to.

After walking around some more, we saw a breed of cattle called the Texas Longhorn wherein people could get on them and take a photo for five bucks.  I certainly did not let that opportunity pass because as my sister would put it "I was already there", and I believe that money I spent was definitely worth it.

Sorry for the photo overload (and for the poor quality of some as they were taken by my phone), but I hope you like them and stay tuned for more!  I hope you all had a great weekend! :)

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Photo Diary.

We could've been complete but our dad wasn't able to make it cos of work back home.  Anyway, this is my mom and my siblings.

Oh yes!  This book moves!   

The Hogwarts castle was simply breathtaking and everything just felt surreal.  It really was just like in the movies where an unknown vibe coming from every direction was simply screaming "Brace yourselves for the adventure of a lifetime!"  We entered through Hogsmeade and then later found our way to Hogwarts where we got on the ride called "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" which was pretty fun considering we were in Harry Potter's world.  I'm unable to explain the ride with words though, but it was awesome!!!!  

Afterwards, we went around the shops only to find muggles and more muggles, speaking of which there were a whole lot of us in this part of the park than anywhere else which was insane because Universal Studios is huge!  Of course there were wizards and witches doing skits and marching around as well.  After all, it is called the wizarding world.

Everything was just fascinating!  I felt like Harry Potter experiencing everything for the first time, except of course, he was a real wizard.  We got our first Butterbeer right after the ride and it tasted like heaven!  And after that, we were hungry so we had lunch at The Three Broomsticks!  The food was delish, the ambience was great what with Harry Potter soundtracks playing in the background - everything was just awesome and there was nothing more I could ask for!!  My dream of going there came true and I'm just really thankful for this opportunity and experience for God made it possible. :)

May.

Hi everyone!  It has been again more than a month since my last blog post.  I have to admit though, that I'm really bad at keeping up with this blog because I have just been so caught up with trying to live in the moment.  Yup!  You read that right.  I have been able to spend some quality time with my family, my big love - Carlos, read a book or two and go to class despite the fact that I have to work 5 -5 1/2 days per week.  Oh and I was even able to attend a wedding reception of our dear friends, Julie & Jerome.

Isn't their wedding cake just lovely?

Oh and other than being able to be with friends and family, I am proud to say that I have achieved my goal.  You see I've been struggling with work at some points, so I'm happy to say that I have been working for a year now and I know some people would think "who cares? and life goes on", but to me, the fact that I've survived for a year is an achievement.  It has been one heck of a roller coaster ride because I've had to cope with the pressure and learn how to deal with keeping my emotions intact while at work.  I'm telling you keeping yourself inspired and being able to have positive thoughts at all times will keep you standing, and of course praying would make things and your life 100% easier as you'll be able to have the strength to overcome obstacles that come your way.

[photo from tumblr]

Happy Weekend Everybody!! :)

And so I bid 2013 farewell...

Before anything else, I would like to bid 2013 farewell...  It was, once again, a memorable year though I wouldn't consider it a great year.  I was however, able to accomplish some things which I'm very thankful for.  Of course I wouldn't have done it without God, my family, boyfriend and friends.  I'm done being a student in reality although I wish I weren't.  But at least I've made my parents proud that I've graduated with a Bachelor's degree.  I've started working and I was able to go to another country, thanks to the company I'm working for.  I was able to spend quality time with my family, boyfriend and of course my friends so when I think about it now, 2013 wasn't really that bad.  I just had a lot to endure and I had to adapt to working life, but I'm over it already as I've decided to stop complaining (which I highly doubt I'll be able to do) this year.  After all, 2014 is a new beginning and I have a feeling that this year will be LEGENDARY!  Hahaha And yes, I've been watching "How I met your mother" a lot these days so that explains the word.  I hope 2014 is going great for you all!!  Cheers to a new awesome year!!

xx,
Regine