i am woman, hear me rawr!

Dear Bazaars,

There are so sooo soooo many of you nowadays but I’ve been so sooo sooooo super busy I haven’t seen any of you. Well, one…and it wasn’t to shop, but just to pick up my cousin who had a booth there. With less than a dozen days before Christmas, it’s hard to believe I have not entered any of you…that’s a lot to be said for a shopaholic like me!

Yes….this was me going crazy at the World Trade Bazaar a few years back with my then favorite shopping partner. Errr….I dunno though if she would say the same thing about shopping with me though. Lookie….

It was a blast shopping then, and we went crazy in the dog store haha….

We also had a loooong laugh after some crazy girl decided to swipe the shirt I was trying to buy. As in she intercepted it just as the saleslady was handing it to me. Grrr. Booo boooo booooo! (Remember that shirt Janine??? mwahahaha…..I mean of all the cartoon character shirts among the piles of character and sports shirts, including the wrestling ones, the candy ones and even the nba shirts the crazy lady had to steal mine!

What a fun, fun day I swear. So, dear bazaars, I’ve been meaning to drop by and see you, whether in World Trade or in Cuenca, but it looks like I won’t be seeing you this year anymore. Sigh.

Till next time,

Ria

PS. It just must be said, however: I think I miss you more. Ktnxbai

Janine!!! we have nicer pics in your Flickr but…I have no right click in my mac so I can’t get the location mwahahaha. And you disabled the download feature. Boo. Yes, I’m ranting because of I miss you a wee bit more today!!!

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Me neighbors probably hate me. Not that I mind very much, though, haha.

Why you may wonder? Well, for the past few months since I have been caught up with my art work, I tend to keep my iTunes playing in the background and well, if there’s a song I like it remains stuck at play for countless times. Like once, I fell in love with the song Live Like You’re Dying by Lenka, I played it for about 20 times right after the other. Seriously haha Lucky for them I only use my PC as a player and that I don’t have one of those extra large and powerful home theatre system speakers hahaha. Can you imagine hearing the same song (errr…I can but i guess it’s because I like it that way!) over and over and over again? And um…I kinda like melodramatic songs thank you very much teeheeeheee. So dear neighbors, SORRY!!!

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Just a little reminder:

ktnxbai

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In less than a month, we will usher in 2011, and although my goal this year was to be more mindful about my finances, well, let’s just say it’s something I still haven’t gotten in order haha.

For 2011, however, here are seven things I hope to plan and save better for:

1. My iMac Well, of course this would only happen if I meet my weight loss goal
2. Updating my insurance policies: comprehensive car insurance and my HMO plan. Since I’ve also completed the premiums for my life insurance, I may consider checking out a new term life insurance quote
3. Cleaning up my credit card debt. Yes…I fell into the trap haha.
4. Setting aside some cash for a class to take. I haven’t decided yet if I want to take a French classes, or yoga.
5. Me Day Mondays
6. A road trip
7. Building a small nest egg for investments

What about you? What will you plan for this coming 2011?

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I’m getting ready for a sorta bittersweet weekend.

*sigh*

Because I so often go to this beach resort in Laiya, I didn’t bother to log on to their website before booking my weekend with Bugoy but for some reason, tonight I decided to just check on something and I was greeted by the saddest news. They’re closing. Waaaah….

*heart breaks*

It saddens me so much because Balai has truly become a home away from home for me. It is where I went and found comfort in my darkest night and so every time I go there, it reminds me that no matter how difficult or sad I may be, there is a way home to where my heart really is whole and happy. And so since I’ve been faltering and flailing these past few days, I decided to go there and take care of my heart.

But but but….now I’m wondering if I’m making the right choice with going. Although…..according to their website they are opening in a new location nearby. While I know it won’t really be the same place anymore, I still hope that the new Balai in San Juan will maintain it’s rustic feel….which is why I fell in love with it in the first place even if they have so many newer places nearby, complete with infinity pools with poolside bars, internet/wifi capability with rack mount computers and cybernooks, and so on and so forth. Balai, on the other hand, only has very simple cottages that I just love. Plus they don’t even have television, much less internet. Yes, it is the one place where I can be offline and not feel so alone.

The upside, I guess, is that it allows me to close a chapter in my life’s journey. But on the other, I kinda wish it didn’t have to happen now because of all the changes that are coming my way that have been so overwhelming already….such as leaving my job, saying goodbye to the old and familiar, “losing” friends (errr…yes, I know they’re not lost really), and so on and so forth….and now I have to say goodbye to Balai. Saaaadnesss…..

But…I’m gonna hold on to the one silver lining: going there this weekend, bittersweet as it may be, will allow me to say I have gone full circle. I hope when I leave there on Sunday I will know I had made the right choice. And when I leave, I hope I find my way back to my heart. Oh…but please remind me not to leave my heart behind anymore because this time, there’s no going back.

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In one of my other blogs, I once wrote a post about how Bubba has been my teacher of life’s most important lessons. Today, I am reminded of it. I’ve been struggling these past few days with so many overwhelming tasks and things to do which have left me overtired and stressed beyond imagination. Add to that the fact that I am missing people and things around me a little too much. One of the few things that have kept me afloat is Bubba and for that, I’m truly grateful. He is truly a bright ray of sunshine no matter how dismal my day may be.

I really have learned so much from him, as I stated in my post before, but today I am reminded of this note from my Facebook page that I was tagged in by my friends at Project Lightning Kennel

A dog teaches us a lot of things, but we never seem to take notice.

These are some of the lessons you might learn… Read the rest of this entry »

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Sometimes I feel like I’m part of a cosmic joke that I can’t get or understand. It’s kinda like these lines in the song The Show:

I’m just a little girl lost in the moment
I’m so scared but I don’t show it
I can’t figure it out, it’s bringing me down
I know I’ve got to let it go and just enjoy the show

But but but….sometimes it’s a show I don’t enjoy thank you very much. Can’t it be something more simple and easy??? Then again, I suppose it’s the twists and turns and not-so-perfect things that come along that makes it “life” right???

sigh.

So…as I try to open my teeny-tiny puffy eyes this morning (it was a stressful night after all), I will try to hold on to my bright bit of sunshine…Bubba. As I tried to sleep last night (try being the operative word here), he did what he usually does when I’m not at my best…he snuggled in close to me and just lay there sharing my space. And when I’d wake up, unlike the usual where he would have moved to his bed, he was still there beside me. More so, when I’d open my eyes, he’d nuzzle me with his head a bit, as if giving me a hug. Oh I just sooo soooo love this little furball of mine.

Much as I hated the fact that my sister left Bubba to me when she left for the states, I realize now he is the greatest gift she had given me. Love, I tell ya.. truly ties that bind Much as this morning I still feel a wee bit sad and selfish because I find myself wanting more in terms of the love department, I will hold on to my bright bit of four legged sunshine.

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see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil

Today in school I was wrapping up empty Yakult bottles in brown crepe paper for our nativity project when lo and behold, one of the kids took one of the bottles and started “smoking” it like a cigar. Errr….let’s just say despite my years of teaching, I still get a wee bit surprised when I see things like this happen in class. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not pinning blame on anyone, because there is not ONE person to identify as the cause of such behaviors but I can’t help but think how crazy this world has become. For one, we expect our children to behave but WE don’t. For example, one of the things I keep telling my kids is to share…but take a look at our behaviors as grown ups…we often forget to do that. I guess in a way it was a reminder for me that, my little monkeys (oh, I go from Mommy Shark, to Mommy Chicken, to Mommy Monkey every so often in class, it’s a game we like to play haha!), do what they see grown ups do.

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