Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Let's catch up!

Wow, it's been a year since my last posting. Time flies! I thought 2009 is not a good year for me so I was really looking forward to 2010 Year of the Tiger for a change. The past year and early months of 2010 have been interesting.
  • I started the new year with a trip to Mazatlan, Mexico (January 2010) with some friends from work - Abigail, Laura, Jon, and Francine. It was a fun and relaxing vacation!
  • I have to thank Facebook for reconnecting me with old friends, classmates, schoolmates from the Philippines and wherever they are now in the world. I am so looking forward to visiting them in the future. Besides, I've always wanted to visit Dubai, Japan, and stay longer in Italy.
  • My beloved grandma Charing passed away in July 2009 so I had to head back to the Philippines. The four days of wake was tiring but it was the only time since I was a child that I get to meet all our relatives, catch up with old friends, and spend time with family. I learned a lot about myself, my mom and her family, and how different Laguna will be without my lola. There was a big flood throughout the Philippines few months later. The cemetery was covered with water and all I can think about is my grandma. May she be happy in heaven or wherever she is. I hope she knows how much we deeply love her.
  • Got promoted to Public Health Microbiologist II in July also. Unfortunately, they started the 3rd Furlough Friday so I lost most of the 5% increase that I was going to get for the promotion to that furlough.
  • I turned 30, August 2009. My roommates took me to Belden Place in SF for a wonderful dinner. My boyfriend took me skydiving in Lodi. For his October birthday, I got us a month of fencing class and took him to ride the mechanical bull at Saddle Rack in Fremont.
  • Hiked Yosemite's Half Dome to raise funds with a trek group. Unfortunately, a guy committed suicide on top of half dome that day so they closed the cables and we weren't able to finish the last 400 ft. It was a great weekend. It's so nice to be with a group of strong-minded, fun, active women.
  • We had the best Halloween costume ever! I dressed up as Bay Bridge and Alejandro was a hippie Caltrans worker. It was a last minute idea after they closed the bay bridge for one week or so due to a broken cable that hits couple of cars and raised safety issues with the S-curve.
  • I got engaged October 2009 and we started planning our wedding for May 2010. The wedding preparation experience has been really fun and stressful at the same time. So, earlier this month, we've decided to postpone the wedding later this year. Going to bridal expos, shows, registry parties, and getting lots of freebies and trying out food and deserts, as well as visiting chapels, churches, parks, venues, and all the lovely places have been my favorite part of the planning. However, it gave us too many options that it gets harder to decide or settle with a decision that'll make everyone happy.
  • On top of that, we've been house-hunting. The fact that each of us owns a house made it a little more complicated. We're more conservative and indecisive with finding a home that will be a great investment as well.
  • We've also took a few premarital courses and counseling to help us deal with some problems and differences we have as a couple. It helped a lot to voice out how we really feel inside, communicate what we want, and settle some fears and doubts.
  • For Thanksgiving, we stayed with Gabriel's family in San Diego, checked out the San Diego Zoo and Wildlife Theme Park, old town San Diego and spent a day in the beautiful Balboa Park. We also had a chance to visit La Jolla beach and Mission Bay. Then, spent Thanksgiving watching Pacquiao VS Cotto at Alejandro's uncle's house in Pasadena. On our drive up, we stopped by Solvang and San Luis Obispo. The Bubblegum Alley is just unbelievable!
  • Adopted a guinea pig (Barry) and named him Shrek. He's my 3rd guinea pig and he is so smart. However, because of my busy schedule, I decided to have him be a school pet so he can spend time playing with children and be in school :)
  • To take a break from all the planning and work, we took a 5-day vacation to St. Petersburg, Florida. It was going to be a camping trip with lots of beach and art galleries and sun. However, we were only able to camp one night because the Easter season packed the most popular camp sites (Koresh & Fort de Soto). We end up checking in to some hotel and motel, instead to save money. It was a great trip, though. We get to swim with the manatees by Crystal River and I really love the town of St. Petersburg (with the Church that floats in the ocean) and the old-town (New Orleans-style) of Ybor Centro in Tampa. The Sunrise Easter service by the beach was fantastic!
  • The more I think about my engagement, the more I get reminded of the Wishing Chair that I sat in Smith Tower during my Thanksgiving visit in Seattle. They said that any unmarried woman who sit in that chair will be married in one year. I got engaged in less than one year after sitting in that chair. I googled up that chair but didn't get much info.
  • I started playing more Mahjong with a Meetup group and Pandemic boardgame with friends from work. Also, I finally had a chance to play badminton at GGBC in Emeryville.
  • We had Christmas caroling with "Hatid Biyaya" foundation to help flood victims in the Philippines.
  • Saw "Wicked" and "Fiddlers in the Roof". I can totally relate to Elphaba!
  • For Valentine's Day 2010, we decided to stay at the International Hostel at Fort Mason and enjoy a weekend in San Francisco. Watched Winter Olympics at their cafeteria.
  • I have so many friends having babies this year. Baby shower is just so much fun with lots of games and good food.
  • House-sit Jeremy & Ariel's house in Claremont. I love their black labrador, Mischa!
  • It was my first time to see myself in a perfect hourglass figure with a corset I tried in Dark Gardens, SF.
  • Picked up my grandma from LA in March. That was the first time I've ever been in a long drive with her. Down south, we really liked Hermosa Beach and the A capella semi-finals.
  • First time to drive a 28-ft Uhaul truck to help friends move.
  • Found Emeryville's NHI massage school as the cheapest place to get an amazing massage!
  • Finally met some Kiva microfinance lenders through a social night with the fellows in SF.
  • Marlone's wedding in Alameda became a small Tablante reunion. It was nice to see and catch up with relatives.
  • Picnic Day at UC Davis followed by a trip to Cache Creek Casino and Resort.
  • These days, I'm trying to get back to studying for my GRE and cooking my favorite Thai (pad thai, spicy seafood coconut/lemongrass soup), Indian (samosas, tandoori chicken/tikka masala, & curried vegetables), and Mexican food (chicken poblano with chocolate mole).