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).

Little Rock

Hi loves.  It's me again... blogging from the other side of the world.  It's been more than 3 weeks since I arrived here in the US and my oh my has time flown by so quickly without me noticing...  Having been here for the time that I have has made me realize that I've been living under a "little rock" my whole life.  There's just too many things to see and experience elsewhere that I feel the need to be set free from the place I call home.  Macau has always been my comfort zone.  However, the need to grow has been haunting me ever since I started working two years ago.   "Time for change, time to get out of here" are words that would constantly pop up in my head, but how does one do it?  

Another state, another city.

Hi there loves! I'm currently in New Orleans where jazz music came from and soooo excited to let y'all know that I'll be spending Christmas here with my siblings and our aunt.  We've only been here for a few days and I'm already loving this place!  Oysters, PO boys, beignets and étouffeé were all just yuuuuuuum!  Yeeeees for food!  I hope you like my photos and here's hoping you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve with your loved ones!

One memorable week in the Land of the Rising Sun!

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

Exploring the city in Plains & Prints -- Day 1

"The World is yours to Explore"

There's something about being in a different country or a city that makes me feel alive and ready for new experiences.  With that being said, I woke up early on the first day despite the fact that we've only arrived the day before and were dead tired from our trip.  However, I honestly felt like we had no time to lose if we wanted to see everything that was on our itinerary.  Not to mention, we did not know the language (although Carlos knows the basics) so starting early was a MUST for us.

Land of the morning star

Greetings from the Philippines sweeties! :)  I've been here for two whole days and a half only and I've spent a lot of moolah on food already.  No kidding! :D  But I've bought other stuff as well too!

The book "Stupid Forever" was given to me by Ate Beth and the rest are from PowerBooks! :)

Twisted Basics

It's May!

Hello there wonderful people!  How's May treating you?  Mine's been pretty great except for the fact that I've been suffering from a bad cold/cough since Labour Day, so it's been a week now.  I'm not sure if it has something to do with the weather in Macau and the sudden changes in temperature (rain=windy/chilly; sunny=scorching hot).  Oh well, I should be used to it by now, but apparently my body isn't.  Moving on, I initially thought of posting this during Labour Day weekend but did not get the chance to do so.  I even thought of posting my "MAY Goals", but I never got around to doing it.  Instead, I'm sharing my photos I took in April with my phone.  It was a wonderful month, as it was mostly about food!  (Food=Wonderful life) 

Bali -- Day 2

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.

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.

Highlights of 2014

There's only less than a day before 2015 arrives and while everyone's busy preparing for the new year, I would like to share and make this post about everything I'm thankful for.

Isn't it funny how time flies?  It's the end of another year again...This year was full of amazing experiences, wonderful people and surreal adventures & moments that I will forever cherish and be grateful for.

One of the highlights of this year was when I visited my dearest friend Tiff, in Jakarta and met some of her awesome cousins, relatives and her friend, Bill.  It was amazing to see a part of Indonesia as well and I thank God for giving me the opportunity to have been there.

New York City -- Day 1

Two days after we got back from St. Louis, my sister took me to the airport where I had to fly alone because my sister did not have enough days of annual leave...  However, I wanted to go to NYC so badly that I decided to go on my own.  I met up with a friend from college who lives there and stayed with her for a couple of days.

St. Louis -- Cathedral Basilica & Gateway Arch

The next day was a Sunday so we attended mass at the lovely Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.  I was impressed by how it looked from the outside as it had that sort of medieval look, what with the arches and somewhat pointy towers.

The inside looked stunning as well, the art that were painted on the ceilings were very detailed and colourful.  The church was well lit and huge.  This cathedral is worth visiting because you can get the feeling that you're in Europe.  And maybe it's just me, but I tend to think of European cathedrals or churches in general whenever I see or go to one.  Of course the ones in Macau aren't as detailed in terms of the art and sculptures as the one below, but it still gives me that vibe, considering that it was once a Portuguese colony.

Our agenda for that day was to check out of the hotel, shop for food at Trader Joe's and visit the famous monument of Missouri which is known as the Gateway Arch.  Missouri is a wonderful city by the way, what with all their tall buildings and stuff.  I'm not sure if they can be compared to those skyscrapers in New York, but nonetheless, it's a great city!  I would definitely live there if I get the chance to do so.

We were only able to take pictures from the outside, due to the fact that there was a really long queue to go up and see the whole city from the arch.  I didn't think it mattered though because I know I'll be able to come back if ever my sister decides to move there. :)  I knew both my sister and aunt wanted to get back home asap since they had to work the next day and we didn't want to be on the road after sunset.

I definitely enjoyed my sister's company and I was a bit saddened by the fact that this was our last road trip for this year because I had to go back to Macau in two weeks (I'm back in Macau now, btw, in case any of you are wondering... I haven't really been in the mood to blog about my travels when I got back, until recently...so I'm trying my best to do them now).

Anyway, I do hope you like the pictures taken by my sister and yours truly.  Have a great week ahead everyone and hopefully someday, you can Meet me in St. Louis. :)

 

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.

Wisconsin -- The Long drive

The weekend after Eureka Springs was followed by our trip to Madison in Wisconsin.  The drive there was just oh-so-long, it can't even be compared to our previous road trips.  We had to wake up really early just so we can be right on schedule.  That didn't happen, of course.  That's what people get for planning ahead... so lesson learnt, don't plan ahead!  Just kidding! :)

We left home at around 3:50 am and during those few hours before the break of dawn, I fell asleep even though I wanted to keep my sister company.  However, to stay awake the entire trip was just impossible.  I'm actually amazed at how my sister managed to stay awake during the entire trip... not that she was given a choice.  I honestly thought that my sister would be switching with our aunt at some point, but they didn't so she had to drive all the way there with a couple of stops.

We had to stop at a bunch of gas stations to get something to eat and drink and use the bathroom.  It's not easy being on the road for a couple of hours, let alone being on the road for 12-13 hours.  The only things I could do was take photos, listen to music, take naps, read my book and of course chat with my sister about stuff while our aunt was asleep because we had a bunch of stuff to talk about.  :)

Eureka Springs -- Activities Parte Deux

So, our agenda for the next day was to go horseback riding which again, was something new for me because the only horses I've ever been on are the ones you can find in amusement parks.  Hahaha

At first, I was really excited and just because I was able to go through the ziplining activity did not mean that I wasn't terrified of getting on a live animal.  The fee to go horseback riding was 35 bucks if I can remember correctly, so it wasn't that expensive.  I was asked to get on the first horse which I honestly made me feel a little nervous because I had no idea what our guide was telling me to do.  She told me to "kick the horse" and I had no idea how to kick it, it's not like she showed me how to do so and I was all like "I can't wait for this to be over".

Behind me was Shannon, then Caitlin, Steph and then Naomi.  I honestly believed that our guide should've been in front of me because even if the horses knew where they were going, I honestly had no clue as to how to lead the horse.  I felt like it was leading me instead, so in a way, I felt pretty lucky.  It was definitely a bumpy ride and I only risked getting my phone out like once or twice because I didn't want it to fall during the 45 minute track.

We had breakfast afterwards and I could tell that I wasn't the only one who was hungry because as you can see from the photo above (Photo # 7), we all had two plates each.  Haha!  Talk about starving.

They asked me where else I wanted to go to or if there was anything else I wanted to see and my answer was I wanted to see the "Christ of the Ozarks" because I just had to see it again.  I can say that it still looks the same after more than a decade and once again, I'm so thankful that I got to go to Eureka Springs again and this time, it was with my friends!  Therefore, this town will always be special to me. :)  I would like to thank my friends for coming to Arkansas and making it possible for us to meet once again and see you on the other side of the globe again my loves! <3

I hope you all have a great week ahead loves!