OMG It's Been a Year

Naiinis ako na I haven't been journaling as much. I really want to, hindi lang talaga kinakaya ng aking katawang lupa bilang wala na ako ulit minions. Of course having assistants make life much easier, but I have to admit I am liking the peace and quiet. But then again, I'd rather have someone who will help me with business stuff. Well I guess when the stars align, makakahanap din ako ng magaling na minion. 

Just a quick update with what happened these past 12 months...

Nawalan ng Minions, Nakahanap Ulit, Nagbakasyon Tapos Hindi Bumalik

As aforementioned, both of my assistants left. I know only one was coming back. I was sort of confident she'd be coming back. Tapos ayun tumawag. Mag-aaral daw siya ulit. Well, who am I to tell her to not pursue her studies- good for her, actually. Not good for me, but I know I can manage. Just right before Christmas, a former minion contacted me. Thank God that I found help just right before the busiest days. After the holidays, she asked permission if she could go home to Sorsogon to celebrate her son's 2nd birthday. Ayun siempre confident na naman ako na babalik siya. At first she was answering my messages, coordinating with me as to when she'll come back; then suddenly, no more replies. Na-ghost ako bish! Anyway, kinakaya ko naman. There are people who have been helping me- THANK GOD! 

My takeaway from this- I shouldn't take things personal. Before, when employees leave, I feel bad and take it personal. But now I realize na gamitan lang 'to. Hahaha! So I guess I'll contact her when I need help again, but for now I can manage by myself. 

Korea 2025

I celebrated my 42nd in Seoul ♥ I enjoyed it. There were some things I wished we had done differently, but meh, okay na rin. I can always go back, I guess. We were with Ate's officemate and officemate's niece. I did enjoy their company. It was fun. I just missed taking the train and checking out the city by foot. I mean, you see more of the place if you walk around. Bish, wala akong nakitang poster/ad ni Byeon Wooseok! I think we were to blame na rin bilang wala kaming plano. Also, I should have pushed for Suwon. Siguro kung nakita ko lang yung gate ng bahay ni Sunjae at nakapag-Cafe Mongted ako, I would have felt accomplished hahaha. Anubeh. But yeah, that's how I felt. Most especially during our last day. We could have done more than wait on our companions. And now I want to go back!! While Byeon Wooseok's ads are still aplenty!

rainy day in Bukchon Hanok village 

We meet again, Granhand :) 

I like their clean aesthetic

lunch. not very Korean, imho lol

Hongdae ata

dinner

Gamaksan suspension bridge

Imjingak

bullet-riddled train in Imjingak

frog in Imjingak

DMZ nga

that's North Korea across the river

LDR kami ni BWS

Kim Hyeyoon ad

ayan, LDR kami ulit

view of the Seoul Tower from our hostel

art biennale in Gwangju (JHOPE!!)

an art installation in the Gwangju Biennale

but of course, Compose Coffee

yes magsusugar ako para sayo, bhie LOL

to the mothership

BTS was on break- military service eme

Seoul nightscape

Seoul Tower

We were able to go to a lot of places naman, but I feel I could have seen more had we taken the train. Ang pagta-taxi ay sana pag-uwi na sa gabi pag sobrang borlogs na. 

Takeaway from this experience- MAG-PLANO! Plus if traveling with other people, we should make our own itinerary tapos assemble na lang after kanya-kanyang gala at nighttime or late afternoon for dinner, because sayang ang oras. 

High School Homecoming Chenes

It's been 25 years since I graduated from high school. 25 YEARS! Um, it was one event I honestly could have foregone- kung hindi lang ako nahiya because I was supposedly a part of the committee, pero sa totoo lang hindi kasi wala naman talaga akong ginawa. Bish, kinunan lang naman ako ng kidney. I guess I have a valid excuse for not being bibo with the preparations etc.

I enjoyed high school. I'm grateful for the friendships I started since then. Only a few have remained solid- mga 2 lang hahaha! But still I am grateful that high school for me was a pleasant experience, that I was not traumatized in any way. I was surprised to learn that a lot didn't want to attend because they didn't like HS because of the bullies, a few power-tripping teachers at kung ano pang ibang rason. 

My takeaway from this event- people don't really grow up. After 25 years, people are still the same. Siguro a few nagkakaroon ng realization at character development, but most, sadly, are still the same. Lalo na yung feeling nila cool sila. Haha. No. Mukha kayong tanga na feeling niyo ang cool niyo. Anyway, I don't think I'll be attending a reunion again anytime soon. The whole time I was just with my BFF who I meet every now and then naman. 

Capiz Vacation

Last January, we went back to the province for Uncle Er's 55th sacerdotal anniversary. I had fun because I think we were a bit more prepared- we booked a nice airbnb, Dad's friend lent us his van and AD was there to drive it (in other words, we were able to move around freely). 

Since we were already there, we also attended a family reunion in my Dad's side. Okay naman. Also, I don't get the logic of family reunions when you tend to stick lang din with relatives you already know. 

After the reunion ganap, side trip to Boracay with the sisterettes ☺

welcome back to me lol

vowed for this to be the last colored drink I take for the year...
LIE!

masarap :)

isa pang masarap charot
oo masarap mag-relax sa buhangin

masarap pero overpriced

skies were a bit gloomy...

so none of those breathtaking sunsets during this visit
actually, this one's not so bad

the day we return to the main island

colors

Day6 Concert ♥

Since Wooseok sort of introduced me to Day6's music, I've been hooked :) I failed to get a ticket last December as it was sold out already when I decided to buy; but, lo and behold, just two days before someone sold me their tickets at a discount. MAHAL TALAGA AKO NI GOD ;) Bawal inggitera :P 

Malapit na kaming umalis. Will end this update now. BRB. 

Yet Another Unfinished Post

[ Note from 2021: Decided to publish this post this 24th day of June 2021 albeit unfinished because I like to be reminded of things I've done, places I've been to and memories attached to theses photos. Just recently I read old posts and there was this post from 2015 about something my nephew said that had me laughing. If it weren't for this blog I would've totally forgotten all about it, so yeah totally keeping this blog and will update it sa abot ng aking makakaya so I will be reminded of these little snippets of my life. ] 

It took a while for me to write the second part of our Taiwan trip. After 2 months since I said I would post, here it is...

Day 3: Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen Old Town & Shifen Sky Lanterns

Of all our stay at Taiwan, rain chose to fall down on the day we booked a bus tour going to Yehliu Geopark and JiuFen and Shifen Old Town. And, it's also the way we chose to leave our umbrellas in our hotel room. Galing. Still, the rain didn't "rain on our parade." There were extra umbrellas in the bus we were able to borrow, plus it wasn't raining heavily- only intermittently.

Call time was at 8am. We walked from our hotel going to the meeting place which was, fortunately, located near a huge, three-floor Watsons store. A and I joined a Klook tour. I feel it's more convenient to join these tour groups so as to save money, time and energy. Hindi ako magaling mag-plano at gumawa ng itinerary, no. I'd rather be a lemming when it comes to these things.

Road to Yehliu Geopark

I liked this part of Taiwan. Even if my sister's comment was, 'attraction na 'yan?'
At least they're making money out of it.

One of my favorite shots I took on this trip

turista at mga bato

Yehliu Geopark is just a collection of stones sculptured by the sea through time. Hindi naman masyado magnificent at hindi rin naman ako mahilig pumosing sa gilid ng mga bato, but still it's a sight I enjoyed seeing.

The experience was quite hurried since we only had an hour to explore the place and there were busloads of other tourists with us. We had to queue going to the location, we had to queue or at least wait for our turn if we want to take photos of the more popular rock formations.

Next was JiuFen Old Town and it was raining a bit heavily around this time. Marami pa ring ibang turista. Kailangan mong makipag-siksikan para makadaan. Jiufen was the inspiration daw of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away. I see the resemblance.

Wala pa sila...

Ayan na

We were given a map of the place, a guide as to where to eat and the landmarks in the area. There were a lot of places to eat but we only chose two, I think. Una, dahil, medyo busog pa kami; Pangalawa, maikli pa rin ang oras na ibinigay sa amin.

One of the places we ate at was the one selling taro ball soup. This place is like the night market where there are plenty of stalls selling the same food, so there was just not one place selling taro ball soup but according to our map, this place was the best. So ayun, nakipila kami.

The place was packed so we ate standing up. We also shared a bowl. Masarap naman. Lasang kamote kasi kamote siya. It reminded me of guinataan but without the gata.

More walking after eating our bowl of taro ball soup. We finally reached A-Mei's Tea House, the supposed inspiration of the Japanese anime movie.

We got lost on our way back to the main alley while trying to avoid the swarm of tourists. Waley. We decided to go back and follow the lemmings. We still had time (around 15 minutes) so we managed to squeeze in another quick bite- Meatball Soup. We had to wait for around five minutes for our turn to order. And it was worth it. Sarap.