Busy Week!

So today was my last day of work at the Campus Store, which was kind of bittersweet. It's been an awesome three years there; it's such a cool, laid-back working environment :) I went about work as normal, and then an hour before my shift was over, all of the managers and other employees on shift at the time came over with a big cake for me!

They also got me a card and the gold St. Mary's hoodie I had been eyeing and planning to get myself come Christmastime after I got back - although they forgot to remove the security tag, which means I'll be going back, but that's fine because I was planning to go back and visit anyway (and get myself some sweatpants ;P) after I get back in December. Regardless, it made me feel so special and loved :)

I'm going to miss working with these wonderful people, but it's time to move on to bigger and even better things. I want to thank all of them for making this the best first job I could have ever asked for - it was fun, challenging at times, rewarding, and definitely helped me to grow as a person.

Special thanks to Ray Raley for all he's done for me during our time together at the store. His being there was definitely a big part of what made the Campus Store feel like a family. Ray is like the awesome uncle, always there to tease, listen to personal problems, and give advice. I'm definitely going to miss working with this guy. We'll keep in touch, Ray Ray! :)

As for the rest of my last week before Italy, it's actually been pretty busy, but not so much to the point that I'm stressed or anything. It's a good kind of busy, getting in hangout time with friends and family, taking care of the last of my preparations, and in general getting totally psyched for studying abroad! Here's what's been on the week's agenda:

Monday was Ultimate Frisbee, Tuesday was Bible Study dinner at the Brennan's, Wednesday ..well, tonight is actually the only night I don't have anything planned, but I'll probably be hanging out with Fields later tonight, Thursday is Jaime's birthday, so I'm having dinner with the Fields fam, Friday my family is celebrating my Mom's birthday early because I'm unfortunately going to miss it,  Saturday Meghan's getting married (!!), and then Sunday it's off to the airport! Busy busy!

Since I'm not working tomorrow or Friday, my plan is to sleep in (of course, lol), and then finish packing, wrap up whatever last preparations I have for Italy, and do some final cleaning upstairs here at home because I doubt much of it will get done while I'm gone (no offense, Allison! lol).

Oh! Also forgot to mention: We finally heard back from the Air France rep, and I get to check in two bags after all, AND for less than expected! Suh-weet! Basically, we only have to pay US Airways for the second bag on the way over, and only Air France on the way back. So the total cost for the second bag is just half of what I anticipated it being last week. Score! :)

Four more days!

I'm so excited! 

:D

Packing Progress.

Still no word from my travel agent or the Air France rep, since the travel agency is closed on weekends. Juuust peachy.

So, despite all my despairing of yesternight, I decided to tackle the packing challenge again. This is what my room looked like in the midst of my attempts:

Basically, all the suitcases threw up everything all over my floor. The one empty space in the middle is where I sat to try to sort through things. My desk chair holds the if-there's-room-(which there isn't)-pile.

Hours later, guess what? I did it! I managed to pare and condense everything to where I was able to make everything fit into the one large suitcase and carry-on.

I was quite impressed, amazed, and proud of myself. I even was able to close the expandable zipper part of the larger luggage!

So, one part of the challenge accomplished. Now, the tough & tricky part: meeting the weight limits.

Check-in limit: 50 lbs
Carry-on & personal item combined limit: 26.5 lbs

US Airways actually has the limit for the carry-on stuff set at 40 lbs, but Air France is stupid and has the limit set at nearly half as much, even though the size limits are pretty much the same. Apparently Craig has been through Paris before though, and said they didn't check the weight limit. Like his mom said though, I don't wanna make that assumption and then later on be forced to check-in my carry on b/c it's too heavy or something. That would be super uncool.

The latest weight measurements I got so far are around 52.2 lbs for the check-in bag (initially 55, which I still considered not bad.. I was expecting like 70, haha), 24.2 lbs for my carry-on, and roughly 15 for my laptop bag. I've done a little more adjusting since, but not enough. I may leave this for another day, and simply rest on my accomplishment of actually being able to fit everything inside the bags. If, come Monday or Tuesday we find out that we can pay for and through-check another bag during online check-in, I may still choose that option to avoid cutting out even more stuff and overweight fees.

Inception & More on Packing.

Today we finally saw Inception! With all the hype that I've heard about it, I was not disappointed. I really liked it, while my family and Fields were more kind of like, eh. My sister attributed it to my math-yness, which I guess could be kind of true, it may have helped me follow the plot through all the layers and steps and such. Even though it was a two and a half hour long movie, I was entertained the whole time; it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat! The story was engaging, enthralling, and definitely original. I've decided that I like the paradoxical movies that really make you think and keep you on the edge of your seat, so long as it doesn't leave loose ends, so the storyline is wrapped up nicely and I'm not left wondering, Well, what about this? What happened there? Why did it go about like this and not like that? I hate when movies do that. But anyhow, basic point: I thought Inception was epically awesome, and I totally wanna watch it again to see anything I might've missed this first time :)

Update on the packing situation.. well, it's not really going all that well. We still haven't gotten a reply from the Air France rep to confirm that we can pay for a second bag in advance, through online check-in, which would then let us check it all the way through from BWI to Turin, according to the inter-airline baggage agreement between US Airways and Air France, since it'd be paid for. Since we don't have confirmation yet, my plan was to try to pack everything into one larger suitcase and a bigger carry-on, right? That way I wouldn't have to pay the baggage fees on the way over, but if I needed an extra bag on the way back, I'd only have to pay them one way.

That was the challenge, and I was actually feeling some ambitious determination about it. I was ready to take on the challenge and even be impressed with myself if I could actually do it. So, I tried today, took out some clothes and such that I figured I could do without, started moving them into the one bigger suitcase... Man, did that space fill up fast. I found that I was able to get all the clothes into the bags, but my shoes, toiletries, and hair appliances? No such luck.  It's definitely the shoes that makes it super tough.. there's just no space for them!

I admit defeat. I need a second bag. I can't keep cutting stuff out and just buy everything in Italy, I've already made so many expenses in trying to get ready. My plans were to have practically everything I'd need to sustain myself in Italy so that my expenses would mainly consist of food outside of the provided meals, souvenirs, and laundry detergent and softener. So if I could have the two bags like I originally had planned and set stuff aside for, that would be fan-freaking-tastic.

I could definitely pack for like, one entire month in a single suitcase, no problem. But three and a half? I wish, but it's just not realistic. :( Especially with needing different clothes for different seasons and all that. I'm sure glad I'm not going during the Spring semester, cuz then I'd definitely need more cold weather clothing, and there's certainly not room for all that.

So I know I'm being repetitive, but this is just so not cool. I'm trying to keep my stress levels low, but it's definitely been fluctuating today. I just need to know that I have the option of bringing a second bag, despite the cost.

Seriously, Air France dude, how long does it take to respond to an email and confirm a policy that's listed on your website?!?? 

Sigh. I guess I will just have to see what tomorrow (well, today since it is almost 1am) brings. 

8 more days.

*gulp*

Packing Pursuit in a Pickle.

I fly out in ten days. TEN days! Tomorrow, the countdown will be in the single digits!

I've been progressively packing for the past two weeks or so, and feeling pretty good so far about my thought-out planning and preparations.

This is my current packing status. All that's missing from the stuff laid out is basically underwear, tank tops, and bathroom stuff I'm still using.

So what do I find out this morning?

I can check in not two, but one, only one, single, 50-pound bag.

Not cool.

Ironically, the current song on my
randomized play all music list at the
moment is "Into the Airwaves" by Jack's
Mannequin, and I'm hearing these words
as I repeatedly keep forgetting to breathe:

So hold on, it's gonna be a hard day
So hang on, now, don't panic
Don't panic, there simply is no need

It's gonna be a hard day
It's gonna be a hard day
Don't panic, don't panic
We are hanging here
We are hanging here
 

Maybe this is God's way of telling me that things are going to be okay.

And I believe Him. It's true, things typically turn out okay. That doesn't mean that these aren't still unfortunate circumstances, though. Here's the long and the short (well, mostly long, with the way I explain things) of it:

My flight is with three other students, and we booked through a travel agent. To try to get cheaper airfare, they booked two separate flights - one thru US Airways to get us to Paris, and then from there we fly Air France the rest of the way to Turin. The two airlines have an agreement to check bags through from BWI to Turin, but the thing is, only one bag is paid for with the airfare. The issue is that a second bag for Air France cannot be paid for at BWI; it must be paid for in Paris, which means we'd have to reclaim it, probably go thru customs, and pay for it and recheck it in during our layover in Paris. Our layover is 3 hours long in Paris though, which I would think might be enough time. Another issue, though: in my researching both airlines' websites and going to the travel agency myself to speak with the agent who booked our flights, I learned what the extra baggage fees are for both airlines. Initially I was told that US Airways would let us take two bags free, but apparently their policy has now changed. The second baggage would cost $50 to US Airways and 55 euro (or $70) to Air France, and that goes both ways, meaning that's basically an extra $240 in like, hidden fees that we were not aware of when we booked this flight. So. flipping. LAME. 

While we did get an $1100 airfare stipend from the school, the airfare price and those extra baggage fees would mean that we'd be spending like $400 out of pocket, on top of tuition to St. Mary's, plus the Alba program fees. I just don't think I can justify that as being worth it, man. I'm thinking I'll just work on condensing all of the stuff I've already got laid out and bring a single larger luggage and hopefully a larger carry-on that still meets both airlines' size limits. It's going to be quite the challenge, especially putting into consideration the fact that I'm a pretty light packer, so all the stuff I've already laid out I consider to be things that I definitely want to bring. Sigh. 

Looking at the bigger picture though, regardless of this bit of a snag,

I'M STILL GOING TO EUROPE! :)

And that's what matters. I am still going to have the experience of a lifetime, even if I have more limited belongings with me. I've still been given such a great opportunity, and I intend to make the most of it. I'm trusting that God will take care of me, through whatever other obstacles I come across and no matter what happens.

Wish me luck. :)

Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

Man, finally coming up on the end of this 30-day blog thing. I think I'm the only one who's actually going to finish it, it kind of seems like the others have forgotten about their notes that they started on Facebook :P

So. Hopes, dreams, and plans for the next 365 days. Well, I have 15 days now until I leave for Italy (!!), and then after that the next 102 days aim to be spent traipsing around Italy and the surrounding European areas (!!!!).

My plans for this time frame are to pack, of course, which is turning into a kind of artistic challenge in itself. Little by little I've been adding to my piles of things to pack, and it is becoming ever-increasingly difficult to find room to fit everything in. I have most everything set aside except for my pants, PJs, underwear, and toiletries, since I'll still be using those in the next couple weeks here. Already space is quite limited, so I'm trying to approach my packing strategically - I know, I know, I'm overthinking and overanalyzing the packing situation, but I want to be prepared! Lol. - I have two suitcases, + a laptop bag and a carry-on, which I'm thinking at this point will be a small duffle rather than a backpack so I can fit more clothes in. In one suitcase I aim to fit all of my toiletries (I'm bringing enough stuff that should tide me over for at least a month, so when that's all used up I'll have that space to bring stuff back :] ), purses, probably all the bigger clothing items like coats, jackets, and sweaters, and my heavier shoes. All my shoes (and socks packed into the shoes) I'll be able to fit into the outer pockets of both suitcases, which I'll admit, I'm pretty proud of :P In the other suitcase I'd like to be able to fit practically all of my clothing, which is definitely going to be quite the obstacle. Stay tuned to see how that turns out as September 5th looms closer.. :S

No definite plans as of yet for after I get to Italy, but certainly a fair amount of hopes and dreams. I hope to be blown away by the concept of finally making it to Europe, and the beauty of God's handiwork in that part of the world. I hope to adapt fairly quickly and easily to the new and unknown environment of being an ocean away from home, family, and loved ones.. not sure how realistic that hope is though, I'm sure it's going to take some definite getting used to. I really really hope that I can make a good group of friends in the other students that are going, considering we're going to be the core community we'll all be hanging out with over the course of those 3 1/2 months. I dream of being able to see a lot of sights not just in Italy, but all over; I'm trying not to get my hopes and expectations up too high, but it's all just so exciting! I'm definitely dreaming of getting to make the most of any travel opportunity that comes my way and gaining the experience of a lifetime from one semester, and coming home an enlightened person. :)

After the next 117 days, I will be a college graduate! Insanity!
But, that still leaves 248 more days for me to relay hopes, dreams, and plans.

Since I'll be a graduate, I hope that I'll be able to find a full-time job fairly soon. I've been keeping in contact with some recruiters from NAVAIR that come to campus last sem; I wasn't eligible for the position they were looking to fill at the time since I wasn't a May 2010 grad, but hopefully something will turn up come December. I plan to keep emailing them even while I'm abroad so that hopefully there might be something lined up when I get back.

Other than that, I dream of moving out of my parents' house and getting out on my own once I've saved up a bit from a full-time job. There's absolutely nothing wrong with living at home, it definitely does have its advantages, but I feel like I can be more independent and self-sufficient out there on my own. Here at home, it's easy for me to slack off and not do things for myself because my grandparents like to take care of the laundry and the dishes since they're home all day anyway, and my parents pay all the bills, buy all the groceries, and do all the cooking. I'm sure we could talk things out and make some kind of arrangement for me to take care of some more things on my own, but in all honesty I kind of just want a good shove out there into the "real world" so I'll be forced to do all of these things on my own, instead of having the possible option of slacking off or something.

So, what does the next year hold for me? All kinds of excitement, changes, and big steps, for sure, but as for the specifics and details? Only time will tell. :)

Day 27 — This month, in great detail & Day 28 — This year, in great detail

Day 27 — This month, in great detail

Great detail? I do get to typing a lot but, umm... Yeah, I don't feel like it this time. Highlights of this past month included hitting the two-year mark with  my boyfriend, taking a relaxing (albeit short) trip to beautiful Virginia Beach, and hanging out with my girlies :)

Day 28 — This year, in great detail

I can write a little bit more about the entire year :)
So, man, 2010. It's gone by so quick! I can't believe it's already August; it certainly doesn't feel like it's already been 8 & a half months since the new year. The beginning of the year entailed a 5-course semester consisting of Algebra II, Analysis II, Sensation & Perception, International Economics, and Money & Banking. May saw the end of the most grueling and time-consuming semester of my life, but I was rewarded with straight A's for all my hard work :D That semester also completed my math major and economics minor, which is pretty darn awesome. Should be smooth sailing school-wise from here :) June saw my 21st birthday, spent relaxing with my boyfriend during the day and going to dinner and a Kennedy Center show in the evening. I had my first few alcoholic drinks in the following week and found that there isn't really anything yet that suits my fancy. Mid-June to mid-July saw a trip across the world to the Philippine Islands for some quality family time and utter relaxation on the beaches of Boracay.  Now yet another month has gone by since I've been back from the Philippines, and I'm getting in all the hangout time I can before jetting off across the ocean again (the Atlantic this time) for Italy! Crazy crazy crazy. So excited! and nervous. But mostly excited and anxious! :D

3 weeks!

Packing Pursuit

So I started packing today..

I'd say it's going pretty well so far..

That's everything!

Well. Except for my heavier jackets for winter, pants, shorts, most of my t-shirts, tank tops, toiletries, hair styling appliances, shoes, purses, socks... hmm. I have one more suitcase of this size I can fill, both with a limit of 50 pounds.

This could be quite the predicament.

24 days!

Day 26 — Your week, in great detail

Well, I've already blogged fairly frequently this week, so I don't see a need to reiterate the week's events in great detail.

The excitement of the past week consisted of perfect weather, chilly ocean waves, and scalding hot tubs in Virginia Beach over the weekend, an epically fun game of Ultimate on Thursday, and being on the same wavelength as my buddie Kirsten during our movie night on Friday. "Dude, I was just about to say the same thing!" (Repeat like 6 times. :P)

This coming week may be fairly busy:

Today (Sunday) I have to meet with Uncle Rhoel and another Fil-Am Auntie to discuss the website since I'll be abroad in the fall, so it'd really be more practical to have somebody else manage it who's in the area and actually more involved with the organization, you know?
Monday I'm going shopping with Kirsten and Jessica after work and taking my sis to her ortho appt. I think the objective is to find cute sundresses, but I usually just browse and see what catches my eye and see if the price agrees with me. I'm looking to find some simple, cute stuff to wear in Italy (since apparently the Italians are more fashionable.. eep!). Will need to try to keep myself to a budget though.
Tuesday night, as per usual, is Bible Study.
Wednesday I believe the plan is to get our work crew from when Laura was working at the store together for a dinner gathering at Olive Garden. The time hasn't been set, soo we'll see if this actually happens.
Thursday, if the regular schedule persists, should be another awesome game of Ultimate Frisbee :)
Friday my man comes home from travel, so I'll prolly hang out with him in the morning/afternoon (taking advantage of the neighborhood pool perhaps?), and then that evening is Kirsten's birthday party! Always a good time :) Note to self: Wrap Kirsten and Ashley's birthday presents at some point this week.
Saturday entails a wedding! I don't actually know the couple, I'm just accompanying Fields, but I love weddings. So much happiness to go around :)

I may also try to find time between all of those activities to start packing for Italy this week. 4 more weeks!

Knockout Naps.

I love naps. I love sleep in general. :)

But I need to stop taking knockout naps, haha. I lay down for a bit of a nap, and I pass out. Then I don't wake up until like two hours later, at which point it feels like I've slept too much; my contacts are stuck to my eyes if I slept with them in, and blinking rapidly to try to put them back in place only produces more blurriness; my hair's all fluffed up around the top and kinda matted on the side or in the back, and sometimes, if I got into a really really deep sleep, my joints will be stiff from sleeping in one position the entire time. Then I walk around in a too-rested stupor for a good half hour to an hour after waking up, stumbling around like a half-conscious zombie.

It's no good. It may damper my ability to fall asleep later at night. Buuut it's not going to stop me from taking more naps in the future. They're just too irresistible. :P I mean, come on, everyone knows how hard it is to not succumb to sleepiness, right?

Lol, I wanted a nap picture to go with this blog, and this is what I came across. I love Garfield. :)

Ultimate High.

So you know that feeling you get, that rush right after you've had an absolute blast with good friends and still have a bunch of energy and laughter left over and you're just enveloped by joy and smiles? Yeah, I got to experience that today :)

We play Ultimate Frisbee pretty much every week during the summer, and it's great, because it's pretty chill, we're not strict on rules, just out to have a great time. We were scheduled today to play at 6pm, but a glance at the weather earlier today revealed a Heat Advisory and Severe Thunderstorm Watch or something like that. I went out anyway, because I know we play rain or shine. Around 545pm, the water is pouring down, practically torrential. It's coming down so hard that I've got my wipers on the third setting, where they're whipping so fast across the windshield you'd almost think they were ready to have a seizure. Even so, the water was still coming down way too fast for that to be of any use, so I pulled into the LBC church parking lot for refuge to wait it out.

I was there all of 5 minutes, just listening to the new CD I bought (Jonas L.A. Soundtrack... I know, I know, but what can I say? I'm a total Disney Channel dork :] ) and watching the water flow outside my windows. Then this bright spot of light breaks through the clouds to my left, seemingly shining down right on me.

 
Then, ironically enough, the song playing on the CD starts saying

I've been saving my love for a rainy day, oh yeah
And I've been looking for a twist of fate

Then out of the blue, you came
You shine a little light on a cloudy day
Baby, you could make
A broken heart go away
I'm not gonna lie
This feeling inside, I can't explain
I'm gonna blame it on the summer rain

It was pretty much perfect, and a really cool moment. The spot got brighter and bigger as the rain started to let up, and it was strangely comforting considering I was in a church parking lot and had been saying little prayers asking God to keep me safe. :)

So I made my way out of the parking lot with the sun now shining brightly through the clouds. I reached the frisbee field, and it was still raining, but there were already like three other guys there tossing the disc around, and two more came not long after me. Since there were only a few of us, we couldn't play a full game with a full field and two end zones, so we played the version with the square end zone in the middle. Of course they had to put the square smack dab in the middle of the biggest puddle on the field, haha. It was very wet and squishy and splashy and awesome. I played with my cleats for a bit, but gave up after awhile and just played barefoot, which wasn't bad at all. We all had a great time running, splashing, and slipping and sliding in the water like little kids :P

Then three more people came, and we were able to play a full game with 5 vs. 4 people. Everybody was in good spirits, the teams were pretty balanced, and it was a fantastic game. I dropped quite a few, but overall I thought I did pretty well. There was one where Tenney was all the way across the field, and I ran to our end zone and called to him, waving my arms like a madwoman for the disc. I didn't think he'd actually do it; I was half-joking, and I kind of figured I could be a bit of a distraction to the other guys on the defensive team. He threw it, beautifully, straight across the entire length of the field, and I was like, "Oh snap, you really did it!" so I ran and caught it perfectly! It was awesome. We ended the game by playing to three, and that was the first of our three points. We "won" in the end, although of course we hadn't really been keeping score the whole time.

All in all, it was such a great time, and I had a lot of fun. We finished up just as the clouds were getting dark again, so we headed home pretty soon after. I was slightly worried another torrential downpour might start up while I was driving home, although it's not like I would get wet or anything since I park in our garage. Either way, the clouds were nice enough to wait to break loose til I was home with my car parked safely in the garage. I got out of my car and started unlacing my cleats so they could dry out in the garage, and I opened the door leading outside to wring some water out of my socks, when it started pouring. I was like Wow, perfect timing! God kept me safe and got me home without any problems.

Basically, today was awesome, and God is awesome. :)

One month!

30 days! 4 weeks! ONE month!

Oh my lands, that is insanity.
Today, the excitement is overshadowing the nervousness.
But overall, there's still that feeling of utter disbelief.

In one month, I will be traveling across the ocean to live for three and a half months out of two suitcases away from home, with like 20 other people I have yet to really meet and get to know, exploring wondrous places I have never been to. So crazy...


.. Crazy AWESOME! :D

Anxiety & Trust.

33 days until Alba! Yikes!

I'm getting super nervous, I'll admit. There's definitely excitement as well, but I guess what I'm nervous about is the people. I don't really know anybody on the trip, and since we'll be pretty much the primary people we hang out with for those 3 1/2 months, I'm really hoping I'll make some good friends, or else it's going to be pretty lonely. 

I started to let my worry build up to the point where I started freaking myself out thinking about the worst case scenario, so at that point I just reminded myself that I just need to trust that God will take care of me. I took to my bible and looked up trust in the index to find a verse that I could use to calm myself.. most didn't apply, but Matthew 6:34 says

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Kirsten also referred me to Jeremiah 29:11, which I've seen many times before, but it was good to be reminded of:

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

So I just have to take things one day at a time, and not worry so much about what I don't really have control over. Times like this always make me think back to Pastor Dooley's sermon at one of the services I went to at LBC where he said something like 80% of the time, people worry about things that they don't have control over, so what's the point? My boyfriend always shakes his head when I get into worry fits like this; all this energy spent worrying amounting to nothing, because things usually turn out just fine. Maybe this time I can try worrying a little less and just enjoying my life's blessings one day at a time, taking any obstacles that may come my way in stride. Here's hoping. :)

Day 25 — Your day, in great detail

Welp, today wasn't anything exceptional, but I feel like blogging. :)

Today's Thursday, July 29, and I had no work, so I got to sleep in. I slept til about 940am, got up and made myself a yummy breakfast of hot dogs, eggs, and rice (kinda typical Filipino breakfast :P). I ate said breakfast in front of the tube watching America's Next Top Model. I watched two or three and a half episodes of Cycle 5 yesterday on Oxygen, and there was only another episode and a half left until the finale, but I had to leave for Ultimate Frisbee, so I recorded it. The show's kind of addicting, I have to admit, haha.

After breakfast, I spent a bit of time on my laptop, checking my typical email and Facebook. Took a shower, and then spent a good amount of time deciding what to pack for my weekend trip to Virginia Beach. I've never been to Virginia Beach before, and I'm going with my boyfriend and a couple of our friends, so hopefully it'll be a good, relaxing time :) I checked the weather, and it looks like it's going to rain on Sunday (just 40% chance tho), and it's raining now, which is unfortunate, but okay b/c we're leaving Sunday and I think tomorrow and Saturday will be okay.

After getting pretty much all of my packing done, my sister and I headed out. First stop was the dry cleaner's to pick up some of Fields' stuff for him because he had a crazy amount of stuff to do for work before our weekend trip because of the travel for work he's got coming up (I'm not even sure if he's home yet, and it's half past eight! Ridiculous.). After that we stopped by Kohl's because I thought Mom had said they had backpacks there and my sis has been looking for a new one, but we didn't see any there. So we trotted off to the clothes section instead, where we ran into my math buddy Katie (Of course we would run into each other at Kohl's, we both love that store and actually went there on our last day of classes, haha), so that was pretty cool to catch up with her for a bit :) I got myself two new shirts, one to match a brown skirt I have that needed a solid top, and this other shirt that I just found hilarious:

Lol, I love it. :P

It looks like the same design style as this other shirt I saw at JCPenney a long while ago that I really wanted, but I didn't see any other sizes that would fit me :( I got a picture of that one on my phone too, though, so I can at least still view it for my own amusement :P

After Kohl's, we headed for the library, which was my sister's reason for even coming out with me in the first place, haha. Three movies that she had put on hold came in, so we picked those up. She's on a Miyazaki fix right now, so she got Princess Mononoke and The Cat Returns, as well as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time from the creators of Digimon (I think that's what she told me). I hadn't seen The Girl Who Leapt Through Time before, but I'd heard of it (still can't remember where), so we watched that in our basement after we got home. I really liked it! It was funny and quirky and cute, although the ending to me left more to be desired. It wasn't an unhappy ending, but I always like my romantic happily ever after type endings, haha. Basically, he should have kissed her and then stuck around. I even painted a picture in my head of what my preferred ending should have looked like and described it all out to my sister, who seemed quite amused by my ranting and raving. All in all, though, it was a really enjoyable movie with relatable characters and beautiful imagery, and I'd definitely recommend seeing it, especially if you're into anime :)

 

After the movie, my sister and I came upstairs and went into our separate bedrooms, and I've pretty much just been chilling on my computer since. The plan for the rest of the night I guess is to chill on the World Wide Web for a bit longer, check and make sure I've packed everything I need for the weekend, watch some tv or another movie, and then read some of my bible before heading to sleep.

Like I said, today wasn't exceptional, but it wasn't a bad day by any means. It's been pretty enjoyable :)

Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy

I wants me some crazy maki.

I'm not a big sushi person, but this sushi that we tried at a restaurant called Misato the last night we were in the Philippines was absolutely delectable. The rice was coated with crunchy tempura bits and it was all topped off with a bunch of crab meat. It might have been more crab meat actually inside the roll with the seaweed and all, buuuut I don't actually know since I just ate each sushi piece in one go. It was quite a mouthful.

Nom nom nom.. I wants sooome.

Why do I always get hungry right before it's time to sleep? -_-

Right now I'm thinking I may try to brave some Chipotle after work tomorrow. I haven't had any since I've been back from the PI because my stomach just hasn't worked up a big enough appetite yet. I guess I'll have to see tomorrow if tummy's up for the tasty challenge... :]

| edit - Thurs, July 29 | 

Just in case you were wondering, my stomach totally lived up to the Chipotle challenge the next day. :P

Days 20-23

I'm kind of tired of dragging out this 30-day blog thing, so here's a four-in-one! :)

Day 20 — A hobby of yours
In my spare time, I obviously spend quite a bit of time on the internet. Facebook is checked quite regularly, I'll admit, but more often than not it's more of a distraction from something I'm supposed to be doing rather than something I just lounge on all day and night long. Nah, my time on the internet is often spent watching videos on YouTube or something of the like - it's kind of ridiculous how quickly time passes when watching video after video after random video. I also watch episodes of Supernatural (other shows too, if I want to catch up, but right now I'm on Supernatural :] ).

Other hobbies? I've been a bookworm ever since I was a kid. Heck, reading Nancy Drew by flashlight in the third grade is the reason I have glasses, I'm pretty sure. While I don't read as often as I used to, I still enjoy it just as much, and if I find a really good book/series, I can still probably finish one book in a few days to a week. There's just something about getting lost in another world with awesome characters that is so engrossing :)

Day 21 — A recipe
Step 1: Take a box of your favorite cereal from the pantry.
Step 2: Pour some into a bowl.
Step 3: Add milk.
Step 4: Enjoy. They're grrrrreat! :P

I was going to try my hand at learning to cook this summer, but it's just been so much busier than I anticipated :( I do know how to make some things, like shrimp alfredo & breakfast burritos, but it doesn't stretch much further than that.

Day 22 — A website
Wong Fu Productions. These guys are genius! I always love their videos. Most of them are funny, but there are also some touching ones and awesome music videos mixed in, too. They're creative, cute, and clever. Check them out! :)

Day 23 — A YouTube video
A cute face and a random decisive click on YouTube led me to this music video, which I find fairly adorable :) ["Superman" - Joe Brooks]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otx0Bnru0dY

A couple steps closer..

I am getting ever closer to crossing the Atlantic Ocean and setting foot in Europe for the first time in my life! If you'll notice, I now have a countdown at the top of my page for the day I leave for my study abroad experience in Alba, Italy. Currently it says "It is 1 month, 2 weeks, & 2 days until I venture out for adventures across the ocean!" So exciting! :)

I've known for a while already when my departure date would be due to the schedule that the school's International Education has more or less in place for us, but I didn't want to put up a countdown until there was more.. official-ness. :P So what makes it more official today? Well, my plane ticket was secured about a week and a half ago, and today I now have my visa!

The visa was considerably easier to get than I expected. My boyfriend and I left this past Friday afternoon to go find the Italian embassy in DC, which was a mini-adventure (not exactly the fun kind) in and of itself. As a side note, I would never want to live in Washington DC - or any city, really, not my scene.. too busy and bustling and generally more polluted and crowded, with a higher risk of getting mugged - but anyway, DC is just so confusing. Whoever decided the layout of the streets and how to name them had extremely poor organizational skills. Most cities I think have pretty square layouts, right? If you look at a map, I imagine for other cities you'd see sensible blocks and straight streets with straightforward names like 1st St., 2nd St., etc, that follow a sensible order. DC had numbered streets, sure, that followed a somewhat logical order, and then it had roads like the one we needed to follow called Massachusetts Avenue, which we saw started as New York Avenue, changed back to Massachusetts, cut a corner through Mt. Vernon, then back to Massachusetts. Who does that?!? Just because Massachusetts takes a slight turn does not mean you need to rename it New York Ave. Mapquest should not be telling me that "Mt. Vernon Pl NW becomes Massachusetts Ave NW."  Roads should not have multiple identities! I declare that streets should not be permitted to have schizophrenia. And how does making a right turn off of Massachusetts, then an immediate left, and a turn around a roundabout take you back to the "same" road? Ridiculous. DC is completely ridiculous. If Fields hadn't taken me to get my visa, I might never have gotten to the embassy. I'd prolly have just gotten hopelessly and completely, frustratingly lost.

Anyway. After trickily navigating through the labyrinthine DC streets, we made it to the embassy. We got a pass from the guys at the gate and pushed buttons to open the doors (weird) to the consulate/visa office. It wasn't at all what I pictured it might look like. I imagined a nice classy open room with fancy desks where I could talk to a friendly person and get what I needed done. This looked more like a clinic waiting room. Very bare room, 3 counters with glass windows and little trays to slide documents from one side to the other. It kind of made me feel like I was in prison, not allowed to have any contact with the person on the other side of the glass (not that I wanted to anyway, but still, it wasn't very friendly feeling).

So I stepped up to the first free counter, and the guy behind the glass is still shuffling some stuff around his counter space, so I waited. Then he looked up at me and said nothing, so after a pause I asked what he needed, unsure of whether I should give him all the documents at once or if he wanted some certain thing first. I asked very politely, and it's not like I was taking a long time, but he responded, "Just give me everything!" quite impatiently. I was taken aback a bit, so I start rifling through my folders to get out what I knew was needed. As I'm doing so, he repeats "Everything, just give me everything," and I'm like okayy, I'm getting to it, just hold your horses buddy, you don't need my entire folder filled with everything the school's given us for the study abroad program. It was just like, my goodness. He's only working 2.5 hours every. other. day, what the heck is his problem? (That's another thing, the Visa office is only open MWF from 10am-1230pm, and they only take calls from 2pm-4pm. What?) So it was just like okay, here you go. Then he tells me I don't have bank statements that I need, and I'm like Crap. I forgot. , which just served to add to the feeling of incompetency his tone of voice and bored stare was giving me. Thankfully though, I didn't have to go back to the embassy to get it to them, I could fax them. So I faxed those in yesterday morning (Might I add that I think the fax number he gave me was wrong, because I tried like 3 times with it and it kept saying there was no response, so I had to use the one on the Italian Embassy website that was different).

And then today, upon arriving home from my dental appointment, I see on my bed the familiar pre-paid express mail envelope that I had to get ($18.30  just for an over-sized envelope! Agh. But that's what they required -_-) so they could mail my passport and such back to me. So this leads me to think Maybe the visa office isn't so bad after all. Regardless of their ridiculous hours and less than hospitable clerks, I have my visa! So I theoretically shouldn't have to deal with those or DC's insanity-inspired roads anymore. Hooray!

This means that I am pretty set to go to Italy aside from, you know, packing. :P There are also some other things I want to check up on, like the banking situation, voltage differences for the electronics I want to use, and possibly getting an International SIM card or whatever it's called for my phone. But still, the time-sensitive required stuff is good to go!

It still feels pretty surreal that I've got less than 2 months til I'll be in Italy. I'm starting to feel the excitement and anticipation build, along with some anxiousness. I don't know anybody in the group that's going, but hopefully that changes fast, cuz I need travel buddies! That's another thing: Where should I plan to go while I'm abroad? Hopefully I will have lots of travel opportunities while I'm there! And there's also the matter of getting a feel for the Italian language (we'll have a class there, but I've heard it's not the most efficient at getting realistically acclimated).. So much to do and think about in the next six and a half weeks! :)

Mabuhay!

[Wikipedia:]
"Mabuhay (pronunciation: mah-BOO-high) is a Tagalog word used to exclaim "long live". Comparable to the Romance language expression “Vive, Viva”, the salute associated with this exclamation; in which both arms are raised above the head in unison three times, is similar to that used in the Banzai. The expression is most often used at toasts (cheers!) during gatherings and parties, at rallies, political conferences, or for praising notable individuals. It is also an expression used in welcoming guests and a way of showing hospitality.
The root word buhay means life."

So my family and I just returned from a 3 and a half week long trip to the Philippines, where I gave my tagalog a good workout, haha. I wouldn't call myself entirely fluent, but I know enough to converse and get by, thanks to a 6-week stay there when I was 7 years old and had to pick up the language so my cousins would talk to me (they said I spoke English too fast for them to understand, so naturally, I had to conform, considering they outnumbered me :P). 

It was a pretty great trip, I hadn't been back to the PI since 2005 so it was really nice to see family again and all that. Some of my younger cousins have gotten so grown up, I can't get over it! We also got a lot of shopping done, plus we took a trip down to Boracay, which is basically the Hawaii of the Philippines, so it was amazing. We were there for I think about four days, and it was just so gorgeous. White sand all along the beach and into the water; no rocks or coral reefs to watch out for when swimming or anything! We also got to watch a show called ASAP (I don't know why it's called that, I'm pretty sure it doesn't stand for As Soon As Possible), which involves a bunch of the Filipino celebrities singing and dancing to mostly songs that are popular here in America. My parents watch it here in the states on TFC (The Filipino Channel), & usually I'm not really into it cuz I'm of the opinion where songs are most often best when sung by the original singers, but this particular show we went to I actually really enjoyed. They started with "Play that Funky Music," so it was really upbeat and got us all into the show, they did another Michael Jackson tribute including a slower version of "Thriller," which was interesting and actually sounded pretty good. Overall, I think there was more dancing and performances of songs from Filipino artists, which made the whole show more entertaining to watch for me. We have it recorded here on TFC at home, but still have yet to watch it. Our cousins and friends told us they focused on us several times (probably because we're considerably taller than the average Filipino :P), so that'll be cool to see ourselves on TV, haha.

 I have a bit over 1000 pictures/videos from the whole trip just on my camera, and then there are more from Dad's camera, so I've still gotta sort thru all of that and pick out the best ones and post some on FB. Dad has some cool panoramic shots on his cam as well as shots of fish-feeding and helmet diving in Boracay, but here's a sneak peek at some of our PI adventures from my batch of photos :)

Taal volcano as seen from a restaurant in Tagaytay

 Sunset in Boracay :]

Cousins :P

All in all, it was a fun trip, but it definitely feels good to be home sweet home. :)

Day 19 — A talent of yours

(I like how this 30 Day thing is going to take me like 3 months total by the time I'm done... :P)

Hmm, a talent, eh? I wouldn't really call myself talented, to be honest. I sing, I used to play the piano, I used to draw, but not so much anymore. I've never been amazing at singing or playing the piano, although I do enjoy both. I was pretty good at drawing, especially at copying a picture, particularly cartoon characters and animals. I think I was pretty good at shading and blending with colored pencils, but I don't really do that anymore; I used to just do them for art projects for class and such. I like to think I have somewhat of an eye for photographic shots, but I don't really utilize this "talent" if it is one, especially since I don't know all the fancy skills and attributes used in photography (ISO, shutter speed, aperture.. yeahh, I don't really know what any of those are or how they affect the photo being taken).. I do think it'd be a pretty cool hobby to pick up though, several of my friends took Photography in high school and they enjoy it as well.

Soo, in summary, I guess I'd consider myself fairly artsy, but only if I've got a project to work on. It's not a hobby of mine to draw or take pictures or anything, although that would be nice.. I guess I'm just lazy or have other things to do with my time :)

To end, though, here's an example of what I used to do with colored pencils if you wanna check that out: [Link]

Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Today feels like it's going to be a good day :)

To start, I woke up this morning at 820am (fairly early for me, not "sleeping the day away," as my boyfriend would put it, haha) and decided to finish up the book I've been reading: The Wedding, by Nicholas Sparks. It's a follow-up to The Notebook, and while I can't say I found The Notebook to be completely memorable (probably because I watched the movie before I read the book), I will admit that I've fallen in love with The Wedding, and I consider it one of my faves from Nicholas Sparks, with the other being The Guardian.

It's such a charming and cute story. It's about a couple who is coming up on their 30th wedding anniversary; It's written from the POV of the husband, who has been kind of neglectful during their life together, putting his career first and leaving the child-rearing responsibilities to his wife. Now their children have all moved out, but they are still stuck in the same groove, just living their lives together but separate, each having their own individual routine. The story follows their 30th year together, with Wilson (the hubby) trying to find ways for them to reconnect again.

It had me laughing out loud at some parts, and tearing up a little on others. The characters are lovable and totally relatable to and I think the situation the couple found themselves in is completely realistic, which is why I think I adored this book so much :)

So now I'm kind of on a lovey dovey high and just in a jolly giddy mood, and I hope it lasts for the rest of the day :) I'm thinking it's going to be a pretty chill day. It's Saturday morning, my family is gone prepping for the Fil-Am Fiesta they'll all be going to later. Later this evening I'll be hanging with my best bud Kirsten, and then we're going to join our other best buds, the lovely LC ladies, at Samm's for some night swimming (hopefully it won't rain!) and some good ol' hangout time. :) In the meantime, I am just hanging out at home. I'm thinking I'll watch a little bit of Supernatural after I post this blog, and then I really ought to get some packing done.

My family's taking a 3 1/2 week trip to the PI, and we're leaving later this coming week. I'm kind of excited about it, kind of complacent about it, too. It'll surely be nice to see our family there again, considering it's been about 5 years since I last visited. 3 1/2 weeks is a long time though... I'm kind of treating this as packing practice for when I go to Italy, haha. A little transition from living out of a suitcase for 3 1/2 weeks to about 3 1/2 months in the fall, I guess, haha.  But yeahh, hopefully it'll be an enjoyable trip :)

It's pretty crazy to think that it's already mid-June. By the time I get back from the PI, the summer will already be half-over! This summer has definitely been busier than I anticipated it would be.. in a good way, I guess. It's certainly been a lazy summer, what with me working only 3 days a week, but surprisingly, my free time has still been pretty ocupado. I imagined that I would have a ton of time this summer to just chill and do absolutely nothing in particular, just chill at home and read or watch my shows and movies and such, basically just have some me time, y'know? While I have def gotten to do more reading and vegging in front of the TV or computer in the past month, it still seems that even during my free time there's always things that need to be done. I haven't really gotten to do more exercising, like running or doing crunches, little stuff like that on a regular basis.. although Frisbee still keeps me pretty active :) I also haven't really gotten to try my hand at experimenting with cooking like I wanted to.. hopefully maybe in the last couple months of summer? :)

So yeah.. even though I haven't gotten to veg out as much as I imagined I would, I'd def say this summer has been going great. I've gotten to see my best friends a little more often and I think I'm loosening up quite a bit more from the rigor of the semester so my life is feeling quite a bit more laid-back, which is definitely nice.

To recap on some recent events, last week I celebrated my 21st birthday, so there was quite a bit going on then :)

Wednesday: I turned 21! Fields & I went to the MVA to get my new grown-up horizontal full driver's license, and then we headed up to DC to catch Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center, which was pretty entertaining.
Thursday: We had lunch with Fields' gramma and dad, and then later in the afternoon headed up to Potomac Mills to meet up with Kirsten and her friend who has in town. The mall was kind of a bummer, I typically am able to find a lot of stuff I like to buy, but a lot of the stores were closed down for new stores opening up, and all I found was a pair of sneakers (which I do really like and am glad I got, don't get me wrong, haha). Even so, it was worth driving up just to get to hang out with them for the evening :)
Friday: My parents treated us to a dinner cruise on The Odyssey in DC. It was pretty cool, I'd say.. nothing amazing, but it was pretty nice and relaxing, and I sure don't mind having a reason to dress up :P
Saturday: My math buddie Katie got married! I got to see Carla, Lydia, and Jessie as well, so it was like a mini-math reunion. It was a beautiful ceremony, Katie looked gorgeous and so happy, and it was great to hangout with everyone for a bit :)
Sunday: My birthday party! It was a pretty small gathering, just the LC ladies and a few others, but I think (I hope) everyone had a good time. We watched Liar, Liar, sang some karaoke and played some DDR (of course ;P), and then wrapped up the evening by watching some of our old videos that we made and reminiscing. Good times :]

I still don't feel any different now that I'm 21. I've tried a couple alcoholic drinks, but so far the experience of it hasn't been very positive, haha. I've decided that if I'm going to drink anything alcoholic, I just want it to taste like juice. Or, I'll just drink juice, to keep things simple, haha. :P

I think that's about all the updates I have for now. Basically, life is good and treating me well :)

Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)

[Link]

I haven't been on DeviantArt in forever, but I went on one day randomly like last week and looked up some Glee fanart, and this was by far like the most adorable thing I've seen. It's my desktop background now.. I love Glee! :D

There's also this fanart of Supernatural.. can you believe that's hand-drawn?? Amazing! I also looove Supernatural (especially Dean! :P). I'm caught up through Season 4 now and the plot is just craaaazy! I love it :P Gonna have to catch up with Season 5 online or something and then maybe I can watch Season 6 (the last one!) when it airs in the fall (well, via Hulu anyway since I'll be abroad.. :P)! :]

[Link]