Home for a While

I went home for a couple of days to visit my mom and my brother who will be leaving early next year for Chicago. He will be assigned there for one straight year and since not one of us is sure if we'd still be able to catch up on January (I will be going back on Jan 14) I decided to just make a quick trip. It was a surprise trip. Only mom and dad knew about it. My brother and friends didn't have the slightest idea. Papa was supposed to come over but he changed his mind. I will try to compensate for it next month, I'd stay in Cagayan longer.

It was fun surprising everyone. And it was so nice to be welcomed back with smooches and hugs from my mom. Even if she has to wake up at dawn to go pick me up at the airport, she still cooked adobo and sinigang for me. After lunch I headed to the salon for some pampering. Gah. No pedicure for 3 months. My toes looked pretty with the delicate pastel pink polish painted on em. My closest friends had the shock of their lives when I went out of the room when mom told them to Skype with me Live. I couldn't even stop laughing when I saw my best friend, Monica's reaction when she saw me. I realized that I really am unstoppable. When I think of something, I should really do it. I had the time of my life surprising everyone back home.

Now that I'm here again, I'll push myself to eat all bland foods for five more weeks until I go back to the warmth and coziness of our home. Final papers are due before I leave so it's just a matter of writing and writing till kingdom come for the coming weeks. I actually have started scribbling on my new Starbucks planner courtesy of Ahia. There's no lines on the pages, I'm OC like that. I want my handwriting neat on my planner so I don't know how I'd manage to write without lines.

Moving on, for Christmas and New Year, I don't know what the plans are. Hotels are fully booked on the 31st so I don't know where to stay after watching the fireworks in 101. So help me God.

Thank You

I opened my planner. Stared blankly at the last few pages for the month of December. Then flipped through the first page, a calendar for 2009-2010. I wrote down my goals, the things I would want to accomplish for next year. I realized I did exactly the same thing the previous year. And what struck me is that whatever I have written down, God made a way and led me to the path I want. I'm still holding on to my faith that next year would be the same, He will shed light and help me find my way.

Thank You for being my companion, for being my source of strength. At night when I'm alone, who do I talk to? No one but You. Thank You for making me strong and independent. You take away my sadness. In my conversations with You, I am relieved that everything will be okay. If I don't have this faith I have now, I would have put everything down and surrendered. Thank You for the kind of relationship I have with my family and with my friends. I sometimes think about the things I do to deserve all Your goodness. But please, don't stop being there for me. I can't do this alone. Thank You and I can't wait to be with You in that another phase of my life that I'm dreaming of. We will do it slowly, as You have always done. I have learned through these experiences that setbacks are natural part of life and so I know now how to manage it. Thank you for everything. My heart, my faith, they all belong to You.

Post Midterms Hurrah

Would like to share this to you! The picture above is one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I have tasted. Not that I'm a huge fan of grilled cheese, or any cheese. I just love the hot of the grill taste of the bread plus the super gooey cheese filling.

Oops. It's been awhile now. See the picture above with my love? I have finally found love in Taipei. Love, love has come my way haha. I guess this is what graduate studies do to me. It drives me nuts. Haven't been updating lately. I have a lot of free time but due to unforeseen events, like waking up late during my free days because of the really crazy cold weather, I end up not accomplishing any single thing. No, seriously, I opt to read materials for school than spending time thinking of what to write. I always try to be the productive me during school days. I'm just lazy at times to write and update, so here we go.

Midterms is finally over. I did some presentation for my Comm Theories class, an examination for Research Methods and some papers and proposals for the upcoming finals. The only thing that bothers me here is the amount of reading materials we have to go through each week. Devastating, I say. Sometimes I bring the readings on my way to Church, on Sunday, since it takes around 15 to 20 minutes for me to reach there. I feel restless and sleepy every time I read in my room, I don't know why. But nonetheless, everything's a okay this semester. Looking forward to the next one. I cant actually wait for the course list next semester. I'm taking another 12 credits, which means that I only have 8 credits left. I wonder if I really can finish it in one and a half years. I'm positive though. Lord, I really want to land on a good job after this one.

December is fast approaching, so is Christmas, and New Year. It's my first time that I didn't get a Starbucks Planner Sticker card. My brother is doing it for me though, and according to mom, the acclaimed planner is now sitting on my table at home. Yaaay! Want to scribble on it now! Anyoo, I still can't believe I'm celebrating Christmas and New Year without my family, without my mom's Chicken Salad and my Aunt's embotido and fruit salad. But most importantly, this coming New Year would be the first time that we'd be celebrating the birthday of my lola, without her. I hope there's a party in heaven though. My lolo might be so excited to celebrate with her. Rest in peace, lola.

As for our celebration here, we're thinking of celebrating New Year's eve in a hotel, somewhere with a kitchen so we can cook and relax in uber soft pillows and bed. And for Christmas, we might go out of Taipei. Nothing's definite yet.

By the way, happy thanksgiving! I'm sure all of us has something to be thankful for this year and for the rest of our lives. Relaxing in bed now listening to music :)

Still Surreal

Eight weeks and still I find everything surreal. Each morning when I wake up, I always have to ask myself questions like where am I or am I home. Yes I miss home terribly. But going out with my now closest group of friends gives me time to not think about deep nostalgia. I am fond of them now because as days go by, we share parts and parcels of our lives with each other.

I cant help not to count the days. It is what motivates me to yearn and do all my best to study well and learn new things every day. I thank God for keeping me safe always and keeping everyone back home safe too. But please Lord, no more typhoon.

My heart longs for home. But this is where I am now. I love my present and I will strive for everything.

Birthday Post

Just a quick birthday post! I want to thank everyone who greeted me. Despite the distance, I was somehow able to celebrate with my friends and my family. As written on my facebook stat, I am really thanking God for the beautiful 21 years, for the gift of friends, colleagues, relatives and a loving family... am truly overjoyed even if I'm thousand of miles away from home. Thank you everyone!

Against All Odds

Wow, I don't even know where to start or how to start my update. A lot has happened here in Taipei, and back home. Maybe I'd start with the most unfortunate event that happened to my hometown last Saturday.

Typhoon Ondoy hit Manila last Saturday. Many lives were taken, houses destroyed, people injured. I cannot explain how I felt because aside from the sadness buried in my heart after reading updates from Twitter and Facebook, there was guilt in between. Guilt that I should have been there experiencing this together with my fellow Filipinos. This year, our nation has been struck with so many challenges. From the master rapper's death, to the dreaded ah1n1 virus, to a beloved president's passing. I think all I can do for now is pray and have an unceasing faith in God. Although I am thankful that my family is safe, it still breaks my heart every time I hear stories that my friends and their families have gone through. And I shall continue praying so they can cope well with their situation, against all odds.

As far as my studies is concerned, I'm doing pretty okay. The readings, even if they're couple of inches thick, I still find them interesting. Afterall, masters program is about higher learning. I have to read fast and understand them well, and not to waste so much time. I'm discipling myself and scheduling things step by step. But Sunday is definitely mine. My friends and I go to church and spend time together.

Last Sunday we went to Minquan E. Road- the Filipino Community here in Taiwan. We're so happy we finally saw Filipino goodies and ate Filipino foods. It's one of our happiest days because we're so dying to eat Filipino home-cooked meals and alas our wish was granted. We scoured through ShinKong Mitsukoshi and Kmall after, then had dinner at KFC. Yes the chicken cooked and tasted Western, no hint of Chinese flavor, thank heavens.

And tomorrow is my special day. I don't know how it'll go but one thing for sure, I'll celebrate it with my Filipino friends here, Bea and Diet. Too bad tomorrow's the scheduled outage at home… I'll be able to talk to mom and dad in the evening, and skype with my girls… I miss them so much but thanks to God's gift of technology, we can see each other daily.

That's all for now! :)

Not Just Studying Here

I promised myself I will be blogging after reading a chapter from my Communication Theories class and after reviewing for my Research Methods quiz. Classes have finally started for me. It feels so college-y, sitting in a lecture for about 3 hours. It reminded me of all the major subjects I need to take during my undergraduate years. Education system here is a bit different compared to our system in the Philippines. I don't know how to explain it. Let us just say that our CommArts professors in DLSU had the best 2-page concise syllabus and their matter-of-fact teaching is truly incomparable. Nevertheless, I have yet to experience the education system here so let me write about it in a month or so.

I will be taking four courses this first semester, and that is equivalent to 12 units, a full-load for a graduate student. I just don't want to slack of. I want to do everything I can so I can finish this as early as possible and do my serious stuff after. But don't get me wrong. I love the environment here (well, except the heat, the melting sweltering scorching heat), and our university is beautiful. It adds up to my wonderful learning experience yada yada.

But my life here isn't just about studying. It would be boring if I kept it like that. I still Skype with my parents and brothers daily, and also chat with my friends, and…. I'm now on the road to discovering Taiwan and all its wonders! Last Saturday my Filipino friends and I went to Dan Shui, a nice place overlooking the sea; to Fort San Domingo, somewhat similar to Malacanang of the North in Ilocos, and to Shi Lin, a night market (where you can literally faint just looking at the swarm of people). I cant wait for mid-October to come. We all promised we will take ourselves to a shopping spree. And and and! I cant wait to bring my family to the places I've been to. I miss them with all my heart.

Today is also the 40th day of my lola, so I cant be all too giddy and happy. I am still continuously praying for the repose of her soul, and asking her to be always by my side. My mom and aunts had a gathering this afternoon for Lola. I also prayed to her during the mass. I hope I can keep up with going to mass here every Sunday because I never missed my obligation back in Manila.

Tata for now. Some pictures :)