~My Personal Preferences~
1. Quiet evening at home or Out on the town?
It depends on the company but I'm really a homebody at heart. :)
2. Watching a movie or Reading a good book?
Good book but if I really like the movie, I'll watch it, even by myself!
3. Ordering a meal or cooking one yourself?
It's hard to cook a meal for one person (but then I don't have a choice sometimes). Ordering meals is hard here in HK because I find the servings to be good for two or three people (but the HK people think it's just right for one person). Sometimes, I do order pizza but then that means pizza good for 2 days (lunch and dinner, lunch and dinner).
4. Going for a walk or taking a ride in the car?
Walk! Since moving here I find walking more therapeutic especially since I still haven't been around HK as a tourist. Walking home or simply just walking around on weekends is sheer pleasure for me since I live near the bay.
For some reason, I looked up Jim Henson on Wikipedia today.
I grew up on Sesame Street and it remains to be one of the best experiences I had. I feel sad for the generations who missed on this great show and those who didn't get to know Jim Henson's amazing creativity and talent. Sesame Street and the Muppets made everything I imagined as a child come to life.
I read about his funeral and tried searching for a video of it on YouTube. I found this video instead of the Muppets and Sesame Street characters paying him a tribute. It moved me to tears.
I love "Alvin and the Chipmunks"! I even remember one line from their signature song: "Alvin, Simon, THEODORE! Doop-doop-doo-doo-doop!" Hahaha!
I first listened to this version of the Chipmunks of "Bad Day" on Jen's blog. I just had to post it on mine!
I don't what's wrong with me lately. I've missed Mass two Sundays in a row now. What's wrong with me?
The few people who read this blog may say missing Mass is really nothing to worry about. For me, it is somewhat of a big deal. After doing it every single Sunday of my life (save for the few times when I was really incapable of going), missing it twice in a row simply because of laziness makes me worried.
Sigh.
On other hand, I was productive with my chores today. Got my little flat cleaned and vacuumed, cooked my lunch for the next two days, fixed a sandwich as well, did some laundry and did some ironing. Not my favorite chores but then, nobody's going to do it. Now, I'm left with this this nagging headache (one tablet of Alleve and an hour later, it's still hasn't gone away).
The HK Observatory has issued the cold weather warning this afternoon and right now, it's currently 18 degrees Celsius. It's forecast to still remain cold until Tuesday, with temperatures going from teens to tweens (16 to around 10). Yikes. On the other hand, maybe I can now finally wear those wool coats I panicked about buying last year. :P
Btw, I didn't get to watch any of the DVDs I brought from home. So far, I've only watched Pixar Shorrts (short films) and the Legally Blonde DVD Cheryl lent me.
Oh well.
I hope I have a good day tomorrow, have the interview go well and finish all my tasks.
]]>I rephrased Jen's tag of "8 Things I'm Thankful For".
1. I am and will always be thankful for my family. No matter how neurotic and stress-inducing my family is, I will gladly risk and give my life for them. After the loss of my mom, I now know just how much they mean to me. Sure it's hard sometimes and easier to lose patience with my father rather than try to be an understanding daughter but I'm trying.
2. I am thankful for my current job and the opportunity to prove my mettle in a foreign land. I prayed to God very hard for this job and the fact that I am here now is proof that God does answer prayers in His own time, for His own reasons.
3. I am thankful for my 31+ years of my life so far. I'm always prone to respiratory ailments but thanks to God, that's all I've had to battle so far. Getting seriously ill is one of my biggest fears especially since I'm now far from my family and living by myself. Maybe I've gotten a little more paranoid about keeping myself safe, but as they say, "Better safe than sorry." I hope I can grow to a ripe old age and prove that people with big ears do live longer. :P
4. I am thankful for friends, small in number though they may be. As a friend stated in her blog, "I don't need a lot of friends; just a few GREAT ones." I'm not comfortable around big groups and I've been blessed enough with friends (Don't believe the numbers you see in Friendster.) who may only take up to both my hands but who have really been there for me when I need them and even when I don't need them. They're the kind who you still feel a strong connection with even if you haven't seen or talked to them in years. They're the kind for keeps. And I am also happy that I am making new ones here in Hong Kong.
5. I am thankful for my writing and the gift of music. Writing is my bread and butter while music keeps my soul and my faith alive. It is also my connection to my family and how I give thanks to God.
6. I am thankful for the lesson of humility, simplicity and optimism. I am a pessimist by nature so my view of life is sometimes skewed. But living in a foreign land has opened my eyes and heart to learning and accepting changes. I have become more assertive but I believe also more humble and simple. In the face of seemingly rapid progress, it would be so easy to be complacent and forget my values.
7. I am thankful for the people who take care of me and my family back home. This would include my nanay's carer, my titas who help out my family, the people I work with and work for (my employers), and even the ones I deal with everyday such as my very courteous doorman, our cleaning ladies, even the bus and train drivers. Without them, functioning everyday would be very difficult.
8. I thank God for the gift of faith because without it, I would have probably succumbed to depression, angst, anger, stress, sadness and all other negative things. My faith is what gives me hope every single day, encourages me when my energy or self-esteem dips, makes me look forward to going to work, going home or talking to my family.
]]>What are you saving up for?
Submitted by Star.
My retirement, my own house, and hopefully also have enough to donate towards the completion of the Philippine Animal Rehabilitation Center (PARC) of PAWS.
What won't you miss about 2007?
Submitted by uncagedbird.
The stress, the homesickness, the painful memories. Goodbye!
If you're wondering what the title of my post is, it's a spin on "Desperate Housewives". I don't know if I spelled "jungfrau" correctly but it means "maiden" in German. I used that because I just finished a 5-hour ironing spree. Whew! I thought I had only a few clothes but I realized that wasn't the case. And I still have another load to do sometime this week. Good thing I have enough vacuum bags to pack away the extras that I won't be using until the weather gets warmer.
I went back to the work the day after I arrived despite getting very little sleep, nursing an allergy/flu and going to bed slightly cranky and hungry. I swapped my first Saturday of January schedule for 2 consecutive ones next week so I could clean my flat, run some very important errands and generally act like a housefrau for two days. I didn't even go to Mass today. :( And I really feel guilty about that.
It's a little hard to return to Hong Kong because I'm now homesick again. I miss my sister, my nanay, my two tatays, and all my cats, every single hair on their fat little backs. I miss our cluttered, chaotic little house. I miss sleeping next to my sister and all our jaunts to Trinoma and SM. I miss meeting her at the MRT station so we could have dinner together and buy ensaymada for Nanay. I miss my choirmates and singing at Mass in Tagalog. I miss all my kopimates, my Ninang Chuchi, my titas at 76 and all the people I know in our little village.
I don't know if I can go home for Christmas again this year but I might not. I might go home before or after the New Year instead. With the Chinese New Year holidays coming up, I also have the option to go but it's too soon and too expensive. I wish I could go with my sister when she visits my aunt in Singapore this October.
I miss a lot of things. But I miss home, my home. It's not how it used to be. I don't want to write everything here because I'm afraid I might end up getting nostalgic, sad, and crying. All I can say is that going home meant seeing how much time has passed and how much I have missed.
To the few people who read this blog regularly, or even those who just happen to find this, may I ask you to pray for my mother? She's old (85) and sick, though not that seriously ill. We just want her to regain her strength and feel strength. I hope you can help us pray for her recovery. I'd really appreciate it. :)
Meanwhile, I leave you with the results of this online test I got from Jen (as usual). :)
Brain Lateralization Test Results |
| Right Brain (34%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain. Left Brain (54%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain |
Back in HK after my holiday vacation in Manila. May I just say that 2008 didn't really begin that well for me. My flight was delayed for four hours; there was still no food served (never again, Cebu Pacific! You can stay in the Pacific!); by the time I got home, the stores were closed so I couldn't buy any food. And I was planning on doing some quick grocery shopping had I arrived on time so I can have a proper meal the next day. Thank God for McDonalds.
Another thing was I got allergies while in the Philippines due to the abrupt change from cold-to-hot and probably the pollution and I carried that back with me to HK. Thing is, now it's the hot-to-cold thing this time. Sigh.
The cherry topping was that after a soup-and-seafood roll dinner with my friend Lalou (which was her treat), I puked it all down my bathroom sink a few hours later. And now, I'm reduced to eating crackers, fizzled out Coke Light, water and Gatorade.
What a life.
PS. And there's two huge piles of laundry to do and my flat to clean!!! Waaaaaahhhh!!
Amazing what the human voice can do.
Non-Meowing Cats