I've been gone so long. I know.
To you, who still bother dropping by to see if I've had something new up, I apologize and thank you. There have been days when I felt like putting something up but then I stop and think about how long it's been since my last real post and I felt that I can't share anything until I've explained my absence.
You see, life lately has been somewhat complicated. Nothing exciting enough to share, if ever there was, then I was too busy enjoying myself to sit down and write about it. I would tell you all everything's that happened in the last 3 months or so but that would be too long and too boring. I shall, however, itemize and summarize to keep this blog up to speed as much as I can.
1.) So Grace and Angel came to New York last October and we had the funnest 4 days we've had in a long time. The three of us haven't been together for over 5 years and we tried to catch up on each other's lives as much as we could. I wished we had more time together. None of us knows when us girls will be together again. I miss my ladies.
2.) I turned 28 last November. I was so fixated on making that birthday count, obsessing on how I was going to celebrate it. I wanted to make up for the depressing birthday I had the year before that. A time when I was still fresh from my separation and clueless about what to do with my life after it. I'm in a very different place now, I have very little of that old baggage left in me and I felt the need to commemorate that. Needless to say, my birthday fell short of my expectations. It wasn't what I thought it would be and I slept that night with a grimace and a sigh.
3.) Thanksgiving was a bit more fun. Everyone in the family except the Elabdouni's (tita chon, omee and tito mo) were in Mississipi celebrating it with Tita Susan at her new house. I decided to go out to Queens and spend the night and we had a typical American thanksgiving dinner, a meal of turkey slices, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, yams and cranberry sauce which tita Chon bought pre-made at the nearby grocery store. It was great. We all sat down for dinner as if we Filipinos (plus one Moroccan) regularly do this every year.
4.) This year I was able to give presents to people that mattered to me. Last year, I was unemployed and broke and had no resources to do so but this year was different. I still don't have a whole lot of money but I managed to give small tokens of appreciation to some. I even baked cookies (LOTS AND LOTS OF THEM), placed them in proper pastry boxes or metal holiday tins. I made choco-peanut butter cookies, white chocolate cranberry oatmeal and mint chocolate chip cookies. I don't want to brag but they were an extreme hit specially with the folks in the restaurant. So much that they've been demanding I make them more ever since. I've actually just finished preparing the cookie doughs (at 1am, mind you) which I will bake tomorrow before work.
5.)Christmas and New Years was one of the most fun I've had with family ever. This is the first time I've spent the holidays with family here in New York. Last year they were all in Germany for Kristoff's funeral. I got to know my other cousin Joe, whom I only see once a year during the holidays. He's 13 now and all grown up and I was kind of expecting him to be aloof and distant since he doesn't really know me all that well. After three days with him, he would be the first one to hug me when I walked in the door and even begged me to stay an extra day when I was supposed to go back home to Brooklyn. I shall make it a point to visit Syracuse soon so I can see him and Tito Ans again.
6.) I still cook from time to time. Specially since I finally got myself a pressure cooker which is, by the way, a godsend since it cooks my meals at a quarter of the time it normally takes to make them. I would've taken photos of my kitchen exploits but I'm ashamed to admit I've also been a lazy photographer.
7.) Mentally and emotionally, the last three months have literally been a morbid roller coaster ride. One would think I was bipolar at the rate my thoughts and emotions were going. Mica, was unfortunately a witness to all of this. Currently, I feel the dust has somewhat settled and I'm back to my usual self. Chanting helps a lot, even if I don't do it as often as I should.
8.) Thoughts for 2010: This year, I've made it my goal to surprise myself again. At the end of 2009, as I always do when a year ends, I looked back the previous year and see what I have accomplished and I am in awe of how far I have come. 2008 was a HELL of a year, both good and bad and I was just so wonderfully surprised how I managed to pick myself up from all the chaos that year has brought me. All I needed to do was go back and read my blog posts from that time and compare it to where I am now and it's like they're two different people. I'd like to be an entirely different person again when this year ends. A whole new me with much less apprehension and more hope and promise.
9.) One of the first steps I'm taking this year is my photography. It may remain a hobby and never a career but it's something I know I'll be doing for the rest of my life. My photography has taken a backseat and I really want to bring it back as part of my life. I keep making excuses for not pursuing it and I think it's time to stop. I may not have the best equipment and my camera is old and outdated but I will use whatever I have to reconnect with this long lost love of mine. I've been playing around a lot lately and took photos of Mica, her sister Benjie and Mica with Benny and the little number of photos I've posted on my facebook have created a small buzz amongst their friends and now they're telling me a lot of their friends want photos taken too. I'm flattered and scared at the same time. It's different when it's just play and when it's photos for work. I've done one job already and took pre-natal photos of Benny's friend Ifang. I haven't finished post-processing images and will share them (I promise) when I am done.
Well this post has gotten much longer than I thought it would be. But I suppose it was meant to make up for all the time I've been away. I will try to make it a point to share something, may it be a small post or even just a photo. I've come to realize I blog mostly for myself rather than for anyone else. I know I'll be disappointed to see next year that I have nothing to look back on during my annual year end introspection. 'Till next post.
To you, who still bother dropping by to see if I've had something new up, I apologize and thank you. There have been days when I felt like putting something up but then I stop and think about how long it's been since my last real post and I felt that I can't share anything until I've explained my absence.
You see, life lately has been somewhat complicated. Nothing exciting enough to share, if ever there was, then I was too busy enjoying myself to sit down and write about it. I would tell you all everything's that happened in the last 3 months or so but that would be too long and too boring. I shall, however, itemize and summarize to keep this blog up to speed as much as I can.
1.) So Grace and Angel came to New York last October and we had the funnest 4 days we've had in a long time. The three of us haven't been together for over 5 years and we tried to catch up on each other's lives as much as we could. I wished we had more time together. None of us knows when us girls will be together again. I miss my ladies.
2.) I turned 28 last November. I was so fixated on making that birthday count, obsessing on how I was going to celebrate it. I wanted to make up for the depressing birthday I had the year before that. A time when I was still fresh from my separation and clueless about what to do with my life after it. I'm in a very different place now, I have very little of that old baggage left in me and I felt the need to commemorate that. Needless to say, my birthday fell short of my expectations. It wasn't what I thought it would be and I slept that night with a grimace and a sigh.
3.) Thanksgiving was a bit more fun. Everyone in the family except the Elabdouni's (tita chon, omee and tito mo) were in Mississipi celebrating it with Tita Susan at her new house. I decided to go out to Queens and spend the night and we had a typical American thanksgiving dinner, a meal of turkey slices, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, yams and cranberry sauce which tita Chon bought pre-made at the nearby grocery store. It was great. We all sat down for dinner as if we Filipinos (plus one Moroccan) regularly do this every year.
4.) This year I was able to give presents to people that mattered to me. Last year, I was unemployed and broke and had no resources to do so but this year was different. I still don't have a whole lot of money but I managed to give small tokens of appreciation to some. I even baked cookies (LOTS AND LOTS OF THEM), placed them in proper pastry boxes or metal holiday tins. I made choco-peanut butter cookies, white chocolate cranberry oatmeal and mint chocolate chip cookies. I don't want to brag but they were an extreme hit specially with the folks in the restaurant. So much that they've been demanding I make them more ever since. I've actually just finished preparing the cookie doughs (at 1am, mind you) which I will bake tomorrow before work.
5.)Christmas and New Years was one of the most fun I've had with family ever. This is the first time I've spent the holidays with family here in New York. Last year they were all in Germany for Kristoff's funeral. I got to know my other cousin Joe, whom I only see once a year during the holidays. He's 13 now and all grown up and I was kind of expecting him to be aloof and distant since he doesn't really know me all that well. After three days with him, he would be the first one to hug me when I walked in the door and even begged me to stay an extra day when I was supposed to go back home to Brooklyn. I shall make it a point to visit Syracuse soon so I can see him and Tito Ans again.
6.) I still cook from time to time. Specially since I finally got myself a pressure cooker which is, by the way, a godsend since it cooks my meals at a quarter of the time it normally takes to make them. I would've taken photos of my kitchen exploits but I'm ashamed to admit I've also been a lazy photographer.
7.) Mentally and emotionally, the last three months have literally been a morbid roller coaster ride. One would think I was bipolar at the rate my thoughts and emotions were going. Mica, was unfortunately a witness to all of this. Currently, I feel the dust has somewhat settled and I'm back to my usual self. Chanting helps a lot, even if I don't do it as often as I should.
8.) Thoughts for 2010: This year, I've made it my goal to surprise myself again. At the end of 2009, as I always do when a year ends, I looked back the previous year and see what I have accomplished and I am in awe of how far I have come. 2008 was a HELL of a year, both good and bad and I was just so wonderfully surprised how I managed to pick myself up from all the chaos that year has brought me. All I needed to do was go back and read my blog posts from that time and compare it to where I am now and it's like they're two different people. I'd like to be an entirely different person again when this year ends. A whole new me with much less apprehension and more hope and promise.
9.) One of the first steps I'm taking this year is my photography. It may remain a hobby and never a career but it's something I know I'll be doing for the rest of my life. My photography has taken a backseat and I really want to bring it back as part of my life. I keep making excuses for not pursuing it and I think it's time to stop. I may not have the best equipment and my camera is old and outdated but I will use whatever I have to reconnect with this long lost love of mine. I've been playing around a lot lately and took photos of Mica, her sister Benjie and Mica with Benny and the little number of photos I've posted on my facebook have created a small buzz amongst their friends and now they're telling me a lot of their friends want photos taken too. I'm flattered and scared at the same time. It's different when it's just play and when it's photos for work. I've done one job already and took pre-natal photos of Benny's friend Ifang. I haven't finished post-processing images and will share them (I promise) when I am done.
Well this post has gotten much longer than I thought it would be. But I suppose it was meant to make up for all the time I've been away. I will try to make it a point to share something, may it be a small post or even just a photo. I've come to realize I blog mostly for myself rather than for anyone else. I know I'll be disappointed to see next year that I have nothing to look back on during my annual year end introspection. 'Till next post.
