Late 20's

Just 3 more weeks and I’ll be turning 27. Wow. 27. I can’t even say that out loud. It’s just too painful to hear. But then again, aging is something that you cannot stop. You just have to accept the fact that every year, your age will add up.Birthday wish list has always been a part of my routine every year. Sometimes I get to receive at least one or two items from my wish list, but most of the time I get nothing. Nada. But that’s why it’s called wish list, right? You get to wish something nice for your self and you just let the odds to be in your favour. This year, I listed some of the things that I really need. Let’s start with:

1. French Press – I love coffee, but I am deeply in love with tea, especially loose kind of tea. I still have a can of loose green tea that my friend, Hyden, got me from China. And I really wanted to use it with my new French Press. See what I did there? I’m already claiming that I’ll be getting a new French press! Positivity, guys. Positivity.

2. Any kind of herbs  or a vegetable in a pot( like tomato, eggplant, okra etc..)
– Cooking is one of the things that I most love. I’m proud to say that I got my cooking skills from both sides of my family. And if you would ask, “why herbs”? Because I love its freshness, especially when I add a freshly chopped Italian parsley or lemon/sweet basil leaves in my pasta dishes. You know, sometimes if you eat the same thing all over again, you’ll get tired of eating it. Believe me. So spice up your dishes with the help of fresh herbs! Naks.

3. Books – Could be old or new as long as it’s a good read. But if somehow you find a Charles Bukowski book, please do buy it for me. I’d be more than willing to pay for it. I’ve been dying to get a hold of one of his books and I’m running out of luck already. Like, seriously. Okay moving on... My love for book started when I lived with my Nanang (my grandmother from my father side) ages ago. She doesn’t just read a book, she would  devours it and meticulously reading every single word. She also thought me how to drink beer with coke, so yeah. There goes the pros and cons.

4. Knitting tools – This is so lola of me. I don’t know if it comes with the age but I’m really starting to like doing lola stuff. Whenever I watch knitting tutorials on youtube it always put a smile on my face. Yeah, maybe it really does comes with the age.

5. A Labrador – I like a big dog that I can cuddle and snuggle with. I’ve been wanting to get my self a Labrador, but the timing was just not right. Plus, you know, they are quite expensive. Now that I’m in my new place, I think I can get myself a cute baby lab. This one though, is a special wish and I want to give this to myself as a gift. But of course, I’ll save up first. Haha

 6. Clear jar with a cap – I just moved into my new place. It is quite small so I need to practice the art of organizing. Oh, and no, I’m not asking for a Mason jar because those are pretty expensive. Just a plain clear jar, big or small, will do.

7. A ¾ inch plywood – Don’t ask why. I just needed it. Oh, can I borrow a saw?

8. Power tools – Maybe I’ll just ask my father about this. Or better, I’ll just get his power tools at home.
 (This wish list is a little bit weird, don’t you think?)

9. I’m not really into gadgets and all that shiny stuff, but if someone would give me one then I’ll be more than happy to accept it with a smile on my face and a wink. Well, lets make that a two winks!

And that’s just about it. Hopefully, this year I get to receive at least 3 or 4 from my wish list. And again, I’m quoting one of my favourite lines from one of my favourite books, “May the odds be ever in my favour.”

Late 20’s. Yuck. I mean, YAY! Here’s to aging! J

There's no place like home.

Hello, there!

I’ve been quite busy these past couple of months. I finally moved into to my new place. Yay! And  had this weird allergy attack. Nay!

I’ve been wanting to have a place of my own. A place a can call home. I’ve been renting (bed space) for almost a year and I thought I should take this to a notch, and by a notch I mean renting my own place. Believe me it was not easy. Where I used to stay, it has everything: cable tv, WiFi and it also includes water and electric bill. I don’t have to think but sleep and eat and all that shit. But that place was just too far from my workplace. Good thing my best friend, Arvin, introduced me to his friend who has this place that’s been abandoned for ages. He told me it was used to be a water refilling station, so I already set my expectation. I knew for a fact it’ll be dusty and all, but it was far from what I expected. Really. Words can’t explain. And that’s the reason why I had this allergy attacked. The doctor said it was because of the allergen or something. Whatever. All I know is I have now all these spots on my arms and neck that will take a lifetime to fade. Oh, plus I had to take steroids for 7 days. Lucky me.

Okay, enough with the allergy. I’m over it now. Let’s go back to the best part. So when I went to see the place, I immediately fell in love with it. Remember when they say, “Don’t believe unless you see it”, well the place was not entirely a refilling station. The place where I’m supposed to be renting is actually located at the back of the refilling station. There you are, a cute tiny one bedroom apartment. I immediately saw its potential. And then I started thinking of the things I should be doing with the place. I knew it will look, if not exactly, like those rustic apartment pegs I’ve been pinning on Pinterest. Originally, I wanted a white apartment with black accent to it, but the tiles were blue so I had to think of something else. I thought, why not a light brown accent? And it works just fine!

Moving in to a new place, buying all the things you needed; those were not the easy part. Believe me, it sucks to see your pay-check go drown the drain in just one day. And there were some days where I think if I’m doing the right thing, but since I’m already in the action, then might as well finish what I started. My place is not yet done though, no furniture yet. It’s just me, my laptop, and my white walls for now. My place is still a work-in-progress. It’ll be my small project. Hopefully, before my sister moves in this coming August, my place will be all set. I still have a 4 months to prepare though. Wish me luck!

Here's a sneak peek of my new digs!

With its flaws and all. I love my ugly-pretty kitchen window!  

#thefatlifechoseme: Oh My Gulay

Food consumes me. Yes, it's really the other way around. Food is one of my weaknesses. It's my kryptonite. That's why I always push myself to do a little bit of exercise every now and then because if I don't, well, you know what will happen next. I'm not genetically skinny like some of the others who can eat whatever they want and not gain weight. I wish I was, but clearly, my pot belly is the major proof that I'm not.

Enough with me. Let's talk more about food. Last February 5, 2015, I went back to one of my favorite restaurants here in Baguio. It's been a while but the place remains the same, especially my favorite, Anak ng Puttanesca. Clever name, right?

I still don't know though why they use cheddar cheese instead of parmesan. But then again, that's just me.

I like my pasta with loads of chili flakes, but unfortunately the ran out. So, I'm left with ground pepper. But nonetheless, it still tastes good! 

And my juice was equally tasty. 

The menu

 Take a look at this artsy restaurant. 

The view

Wow ha. I'm really taking this blog thingy seriously na. Haha Anyways, since one of the things that I'm good at is eating, expect a lot of blog posts about food. 

Random Thoughts I

It's amazing how one's life can change so much in such a short period of time. It's exactly 10 months since I got into my first job and my life couldn't be more different now. Not just my life, really. I am become different. But it's a good kind of different, you know? Some nights when I'm lying on my bed waiting to fall asleep, I just think about my life in general; and sometimes I specifically think about who I used to be and what type of person I'm turning into. It now amazes me whenever I think of the shitty things I'd done in the past, things that now haunts me, things that I certainly wouldn't do anymore at this point in my life. But if given a chance to go back, I believe I wouldn't change anything nonetheless. Why? Simple because every single shitty decisions I had made has brought me here. And I like it here. I like the me now. I'm in my late 20's and I haven't majorly f*cked up my life. I'd done things I shouldn't be proud of, but who hasn't? I do get some panic attack every now and then when I think of the FUTURE (because let's get real. that thing is scary), but I'm teaching my self to calm down because I'm still young. And it's not like I'm throwing my life away. I have a job. So, not bad at all.

I can't say that there are no more bad days, but there's been huge improvement. Perhaps I've learned to love myself a lot more. Perhaps I'm looking at the world from a different perspetive. Perhaps it's a lot of little things that, when put together, are giving me the ability to truly appreciate life. Whatever it is, I'm gonna hold on to it tight. Because this is one of the best feelings in the world.

A penny for my thoughts

I haven’t been in the mood to post anything these past few months because I was too busy trying not to drown. But here I am now. This is not a happy blog entry though.

Last year was a rough year for me. It was basically blow after blow, and it doesn't matter how positive you try to be. The negativity always catches up. And then here comes 2015 and I still feel like I'm reliving the same thing over again. It's a vicious cycle I must say. 

It may not have seemed that way to other people because I'm good at hiding my feelings, but I can’t blame them. I’m not one to open up, not even to some of my closest friends. I went through a lot of bad days, trying to fight my inner thoughts. But earlier, I came across this quote and it perfectly describes my situation. 

"Note to self: every time you were convinced you couldn’t go on, you did." ―Destiny S.

To be fair, I had more good days than bad ones this year. But, of course, when you’re in the middle of a bad one, you completely forget all the things that make you happy and you should be thankful for. At least, that’s what happens to me. But I did go on. I did move forward. And I’m glad I did. Plus, It's a good thing that I have a job now, cos it somehow distracts me from all the chaos.

This is just a glimpse of my life and my thoughts. I don’t think I’ll ever fully explain what I’ve gone through to anyone because I don’t even know where I would begin. And because I don’t like feeling vulnerable. I don’t like exposing my deepest emotions. And maybe that’s the reason why I’d rather pretend that I can’t feel. Sometimes I’m not even sure I’m pretending. Sometimes it feels like I’ve mastered the art of indifference whenever I’m around other people.

But the truth is this: I do have feelings. I’m vulnerable. I’m a wreck. I have hurricane of emotions.

I don’t know what’s going to happen to me in the next few years. I just hope I’ll have the strength to go on again and again.