A snow story

As a child coming from a tropical country, naturally I have always been curious about snow. The wet and dry season we have back at home is nothing compared to the loveliness of autumn. But the fall season has come and gone and although it has had me feeling tingles on the insides, I was equally as giddy to experience a White Christmas month. So you could imagine my disappointment when I flew out of the East Coast without experiencing the slightest hint of snow. Since then I never stopped wearing the necklace with a tiny snowflake pendant my Tita Jan gave me as remembrance, to remind myself that someday luck would be on my side when it comes to witnessing that kind of winter.


It turns out that I didn't have to wait too long for that happen: on my last day in America we made our way to Big Bear City to play with snow!! Since we barely had enough sleep because of our family get-together the night before, the two-hour drive up the mountains gave us a chance to catch up on some shuteye. We woke up to some lovely views of the lake, tall trees, and log cabins; it tells us how far away we are from the jampacked highways we got so used to in SoCal. The place had a totally chill and cozy vibe, I really wished I have the chance to camp out there next time!

Be still my fangirl heart

Just when I needed something to ease my idle state and let me escape from reality for a bit, the comfort and solace found in watching my favorite TV shows has had me lonely as they too decided to take a break from the air. With limited options left, aside from immersing myself in reruns of random series that I chance upon every time I channel-surf (barely), I take myself back to the Friday afternoon my friends and I drove around Los Angeles and neighboring cities, "stalking" shooting locations like it's nobody's business.


We've all had our fair share of fangirl moments; that half-day happened to be the height of mine. Let me tell you this now: obviously there weren't any ongoing shoots nor have I spotted anyone famous on our mini-escapade—I've proven to be quite unlucky in that department. Besides, what was I to expect from a bunch of privately-owned houses and public spaces which were only use for exterior shots anyway? The mere fact, however, of being "there" was enough to throw my heart off the rails.

Land of the free

I apologize that it's taking me forever to catch up on more than half a year of lost photos and updates. Still struggling to get atop that imaginary mountain most people would like to call self-love as I seem to be so hard on myself these days. Really, I could go on and give you a thousand more reasons for my absence but that wouldn't really help now, would it?


Taken during our fourth of July vacation in Canandaigua, New York last year

Stuck in reverse

Sometimes it's just really hard to follow your own advice.

Half a year ago, in between packing, planning, and kissing my cousins goodbye, I devoted my down time scouring the Internet for writing- or publishing-related job openings that I slightly lost track of my remaining days in the US. I traded playtime with browsing Jobstreet and company websites, when I should have prioritized my limited moments with relatives. Eventually my worry for my future turned out to be uncalled for, as I right away snagged a position that suited me.

Fast forward to today, I keep going back to the past year though I pledged to stick with the present. 2013 started out grand but the glory days immediately crippled—I got no choice other than to cling on to what's familiar. It's easier to navigate through memories than to venture into the Great Unknown. It's nothing to be proud of, being scared of trying due to the high risk of failing. However, I'm on that road to recovery; I'm working my way through it. Slow and steady, I'll get to where I'm supposed to be. My heart is filled with so much anticipation despite my guarding every part of it.

I'm once again set to try what's left of my luck in a couple of days. In the meantime, here are the remaining California photos that have been sitting inside my folders, untouched, for too long now. Going through them made me miss my relatives and my American adventure even more. Praying for a repeat!

Golden as we'll ever be

The next day we woke up a little before noon and were surprised to be greeted by glorious sunshine. Sure, pavements still had puddles on them, glass windows were covered by rain droplets, and people carried their umbrellas the way they do handbags—but the morning drizzle had stopped thus sparing us from having a groggy time. I was more than thankful for that. If the lovely weather was any indication of how great the rest of our day would pan out, then I was looking forward to it. Already a step ahead, I had finished packing before I went to bed the night before and got ready as fast as I could the morning of.