[ 2010.04.15 ]

It's been a couple of weeks since I got back from my trip to PI and although jetlag didn't hit me as hard, for some reason, I'm having the darndest time getting back to the swing of things. I really miss my family and I wish I can hop on a plane right now and go for a quick visit =P It was really nice seeing my mom and the rest of the fam. I got to see parts of the country that I've never been to as an adult, namely Baguio and Tagaytay and boy, was it nice up there. Awesome weather and just beautiful. Got to see classmates from high school, some of whom I haven't seen since we all graduated, and it was great catching up with them.

Work is trying to pick up again so I am getting busier and busier. But since it's actually pretty light out still by the time I get home, that means, I get to spend more time outside, with my plants. It's been really nice watching everything turn green and bloom. In fact, I plan on spending most of my time this weekend outdoors. I hope my allergies don't flare up.

Tim bought me a grill for my bday, and it is Awesome! I used it last weekend and got to grill to some pork, turkey breasts, and asparagus. Good stuff! I hope I'll be able to use it again this weekend to cook up some yummy stuff.

[ 2010.03.13 ]

Well, Tim went and came back from Saudi and is set to visit Dev and Jas in OH in a couple of weeks. I am also set to visit my fam in PI in a few days. So still on track on the whole travel thing so far =). I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone back home. How I just wish it didn't take so darn long to get there. *sigh*

I have read a couple of books since my last post and I will try and take the time to update my read book list. I borrowed a few more from the library, but it doesn't look like I'll have time to read all of them. I am taking one with me when I travel since I have soooo much time to kill. But don't wanna take more than one since as always, I like traveling light.

I don't really have much else to share. Things are pretty much the same. It was unusually warm for a while so the daffodils came up way early. It's been cold again this week, and I just hope it doesn't go below freezing since I know that will kill my garlic and onions, which are now about 6 inches or so tall. But they won't be ready for awhile yet. I know I'm not gonna be gone that long, but I feel like i'll be missing out on some of the gardening stuff. Silly, I know.

I am sure I won't be posting til after I get back from my trip. So I hope everyone is having a merry month of March. And I'll tty all when I return.

[ 2010.01.17 ]

It's looking like our 2010 is going to be a year of travels. I'm already set to visit my fam in PI in March. And we're about 90% sure that Tim will be headed to Saudi this month, and possibly in March as well. I know Tim is wanting to visit Dev and Jas sometime in the spring and I really want to spend a good long weekend in AZ with my good friend Sangeetha in the fall. It will be interesting to see how much we do actually travel by the end of the year...

I started reading Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver and 170 or so pages into it, I had to stop. I keep waiting for things to "happen", and they just never do. I loved Cryptonomicon, and I really ought to read it again since I can't seem to remember half of what happened in the book. But I just have the hardest time convincing myself that I will ever get into the first of the Baroque cycle. It's really unfortunate. Oh well. Now, I have two relatively short books in my hands that I just borrowed from the library. A couple of classic sci-fi books that I'm hoping will give me more entertainment than Quicksilver did.



[ 2010.01.02 ]
I never did get around to telling you all about our trip to San Francisco. Here's a summarized version, we got to see quite a bit and it was tons of fun meeting up with Tim's friends from Harvey Mudd. And Tim and I really enjoyed Thirsty Bear. =)

Christmas eve was amazingly quiet and merry at Grandma Rosie's house. It really helped that there wasn't 4 feet of snow on the ground and freezing like it was last year. It was actually a pretty sunny xmas though a bit cold. We went up to Tim's parents' place after xmas eve festivities and spent 3 nights there. It was very laid back as usual and we got spoiled silly with presents. I got a chance to read books I borrowed from the library and I am still reading to this day. (I really hope I can keep this up.)

New Year's eve was at Riley's place and Tim and I were home by 10ish to ring in 2010 with Laika. The poor dog was too scared of the fireworks though. She slept in our bedroom that night as she was shaking and trembling so bad.

I am trying to enjoy the rest of my time off before I dive back into work with no rest in sight, til probably I go home to visit the fam in the Philippines in the spring. I'll keep you posted on this planned trip.

So far, my horoscope for the Year of the Tiger is looking good (if you believe in this kind of stuff). All I really want this year, is to be healthy. 2009 was filled with visits to doctors/dentists/specialists and I really hope that does not repeat this year. Anyway, I will end this here. And I hope you all have a prosperous and blessed new year!!!

[ 2009.10.25 ]
It's been a good 2 months since last post, and a few things has happened since. Let's see how much of it I can actually remember =)

Work is still, well, going. Tim is busy as ever. Though I don't think he has to travel anymore for the rest of the year (fingers crossed). He's been able to do a bit of house related work here and there. But not as much as he wants. The one thing we've been able to do, finally, is put in an order to get half of our windows replaced this year. That will probably happen next month. Tim is hoping he'll be able to replace the rest of the windows himself.

The last two weekends have been spent doing yard work. I planted the bulbs I ordered (daffodils and crocuses). I also planted onions and garlic and I am really hoping some of those actually survive my black thumb. Tim and I have also been working to get one of the raised beds emptied out of its dirt so we can move it to a better location. We found out, however, that part of that bed is being eaten away by termites so that presents more work for us this fall. We'll see how much of it we actually get done.
In the spring, I hope to be able to plant herbs (like basil) and possibly some carrots, and whatever else Tim's Mom gives us =)

The best news is that we're gonna be taking a break and heading to San Fran next week for a little R & R. It's really an early anniversary present for ourselves. Just couldn't wait til November to actually take some time off. Work and home stuff has just been busy enough to entitle us to a bit of an escape. =) Will tell you all about our trip when we get back.

Meanwhile, I hope you have carved your pumpkins and are ready for those trick or treaters. Have a Happy Halloween!!

[ 2009.08.31 ]
Who knew that owning a house would take up so much of one's time? =) It's really the only reason I haven't been able to post. There's been so much yard work to do, that I can barely keep up with stuff inside the house. And yet, it doesn't even look like I'm doing anything outside. Watering alone takes up a lot of time due to the fact that we don't have a sprinkler system in place. But enough of the whining/complaining. It's been fun having my own yard/garden!

We grew tomatoes, and peppers this year (courtesy of Tim's mom) and we had a ton of volunteer tomatoes in the south side of the property and they're all doing so well. The grapes are just growing like crazy (they should be ready by september, so I'm told), and I just harvested the last of the peaches (we didn't even know we had a peach tree until we started giving away the fruit and people told us they were peaches -- I know, we're not very smart).

Since last post, Tim had managed to put in a light fixture in the dining area, and we've managed to finally get ourselves a brand new LCD TV. I can't believe it either! We still don't have cable, so we only get the over-the-air stuff, but it's plenty for us since we don't really have a lot of time to sit down and just watch TV in the first place. It's been wonderful for watching movies though. Huge difference, in both sense of the word, haha!

We're working on getting windows replaced in the top floor (we have old single-pane windows in the entire house). So far, we've only gone to one window store but it's a start. We also still need to get an entertainment center to go with the new TV and a rug in the living room. The list goes on....

Oh, the biggest news since last post is that Devon and Jason came home to visit. I'm pretty sure the last time i saw them was at least 2 years ago, so it was soooo good to see them. They also just got themselves a house, so they also got their hands full with house work. We had a lot to talk about, as you can imagine. Anyway, I really wish they were closer, but I guess we'll just have to visit often.

I am having friends over this coming Saturday so I know I will be quite busy planning and cooking, and stressing over nothing. In other words, I am really looking forward to it and I hope everyone I invited shows up. I do love to entertain which might sound weird coming from someone who can be so anti-social. But then I never claimed to be uncomplicated.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that's all I got to share at this time. I hope everyone is having a great summer so far! Oh I almost forgot, US Open just started, are you rooting for anyone in particular? I'm not really sure myself. All I know is that I will be putting this 46inch TV to good use during the finals. =) =) =)

[ 2009.05.30 ]
If you check my last post back in february, I mentioned that Tim and I were very close to getting a house. Well, we did get a house (yay!) and that involved a lot of work. Needless to say, it was the reason I didn't post for the longest time. Moving alone took time. When we were finally all moved in, there were a lot of things that needed to be done. There is STILL a lot of things that need to get done. But as I am slowly learning and, more importantly, accepting, there's ALWAYS thing that need to get done. I just wish sometimes that they didn't involve so much money at times.

The house we ended up getting has a decent size yard. So it's a lot of work just trying to keep up with the weeds. It's insane! The previous owner must have spent tons of time outside cause there's a ton of plants and it's decently landscaped (if you wanna call it that). I'm literally in maintain mode. I just wanna keep everything alive, if at all possible. I think I've said thsi a million times, but I'm not known for having a green thumb so I am quite concerned about the welfare of all things currently green around the house. Hopefully with Tim's help, I can keep the yard in good shape.

One thing that took me by surprise is the fact that I like gardening (ie. weeding and pretending to know what the hell I'm doing with the plants). It's very calming to me, and I find myself anxious to get home, when it gets to be around 4pm or so at work. I actually look forward to doing yard work and get a little sad sometimes when I find I can't do much during the week nights. So the last few weekends, I've been mostly outdoors, weeding, pruning, watering. It's quite nice.

Tim and I bought an electric mower, and Tim's practically in charge of mowing. I would do it, but I have a feeling I'll just end up mowing the electrical cord (Tim didn't want a cordless mower, go ask him why). Tim has also been doing a TON of electrical work in the house. It's also another never-ending project it seems. He's getting to be quite the pro (I'm kinda biased so don't take my word for it). And also seems to be enjoying the joys and pains of being a home owner. I do think that he embraced this role waaaay before I did. Only more recently have I felt like I really am a house owner when I started paying huge bills (they're all way bigger than I thought they would be), and doing all this yard work business.

Since it's just been just soooo gorgeous, weather-wise, Tim and I have been playing more tennis. We've been going to the park close by where we also take Laika as there is an off-leash dog park as well. We've managed to get my friend Mark to play tennis with us on occasion, which allows Laika to play with Xene (Mark's dog) while either Tim and I are playing or Mark plays with me or Tim. It's been a pretty sweet arrangement. The dogs get to play, while we get our exercise.

Racquetball has also been a thing that's keeping me and Tim active lately. We do this Tues and Thurs during at 630am. Yes, you read that right, A freakin' M. It is insane, I know. But with my 9-6 schedule, it really does make sense to do it first thing in the morning, than hoping and praying that I still have the motivation to play in the evening when I get home from work.

I've been doing some crocheting lately. Nothing big, just hats and stuff since I think Tim is ready for a new hat come winter. And so am I. The only thing I haven't done is read. Unless you count comic books. My boss, Tom is a huge comic book fan. He has quite a collection going. He lent me Watchmen which I finished reading a few weeks ago (I still haven't seen the movie, I do plan to go see it). And as of last night I just finished Marvels. I have one more that he lent me that I still gotta read. The art on these things are just amazing. Watchmen has what I would call, typical comic look to it, while Marvels is very life-like. It's been fun getting into this. Oddly enough, I haven't been reading much webcomics lately. =)

Tim is currently on a camping trip with his Dad, uncle, and a family friend. He won't be back til tomorrow. I can't wait to pass him all the dog-related responsibilities again. Haha. Although, Laika is such a good and easy going pup. She really isn't that bad. And it always helps that it is warm out, as she tends to do nothing but lay in the sun and not move during those times. I am not complaining.

I'm sure my next posts are still gonna be about yard work so, you'll have to excuse me. Unfortunately, that's as exciting as it gets around here these days. =)

[ 2009.05.11 ]
I want to give an update on why I have been absent for so long. But that post will have to wait.

A friend of mine died a week ago. I haven't seen her nor talked to her in probably over a decade. But I remember the last few times we got together before I left home, and it feels like it was just yesterday. Learning of her passing away made me miss her terribly. I guess that's just what death does to you. We weren't especially close in those days, but close enough. What made our friendship so especial is that she had met her first love through me. A person that apparently meant a lot to her til the day she passed on. I am very honored to have been the one who introduced her to who I now sincerely believe to be the one true love of her life. I so wish that their story ended differently.

I also wish that I had kept in touch with her all these years. There's definitely a bit of regret on my part. I remember this one picture of us together so vividly. I almost wish I have it here with me now. You are in my thoughts, D. I hope you were surrounded by family and friends on your last day here in this world.

[ 2009.02.28 ]
Normally, Tim and I don't do anything or get anything for each other on Singles Awareness Day (aka Valentine's day). But this year, Tim decided to get me something, a karaoke CD with 6 of Fiona Apple's songs. It's awesome! Tim was able to rip it using some open source tools, with graphics/lyrics and all. I plan on taking it to Tom's place this weekend and pop it into his karaoke machine and continue with my practicing. I think we decided we're gonna have a band LOL. It will be an acoustic band as Tom is the only one we know who plays an instrument (guitar). Another co-worker Mike will be joining the band, but he's also vocals. We'll definitely let you know when we have our first gig! Hahaha!

So anyway, cause Timmy's been super nice (not just on v-day), I got him this. He really is the best hubby ever!!

Tim and I are thiiiiiis close to getting our own place. I am really, really looking forward to it. I hope everything goes as planned. If it does, then we will be once again packing and moving for the next couple of weeks. I am already dreading the idea, but the huge consolation is that, I'll be moving into a house this time, and hopefully I won't have to move again for a very long time after that. 10 years of no moves sounds might good to me right now.

I am still in the process of getting properly diagnosed for my gum issues. I think one thing is for sure, my gum problems are not caused by teeth issues. Meaning I don't have gingivitis and/or bone loss. So the quest for answers continues. My normal dentist has his own theory of what I have, and so did the periodontist I went to see yesterday. I am still gonna go see a regular physician next week to see what she has to say about these theories. No matter the outcome, I think I'm happy to have found a dentist who is willing to be patient and work with me on this. I just hope that this physician he recommended works out as well. Needless to say all dental work that needs to be done are all on hold. Is this a test of my patience (or lack thereof), or what???

I am extremely happy that it is the weekend. I'm hoping I'll be able to go hang out with Karli this Sunday. Maybe go see a movie and go shopping with her. We'll see. Definitely looking forward to a jammin' session with Tom and Mike. Hope we all don't suck too much! :-)

[ 2009.02.12 ]
So what have I been up to this past month? Not much, sad to say. Just hung out with friends for the most part. We went to my boss's (Tom) place last weekend and put his karaoke machine to the test. It was good fun. I haven't sang in quite some time and it really showed. I am out of practice and have lost a lot of range in my voice. It's kinda sad actually. I'll just have to keep going over to Tom's to practice I guess =)

Now for the not-so-good news. I am still dealing with teeth/gum problems. It's quite annoying. I have had a root canal done on that tooth that got filled day after xmas. But it is still hurting. I've gone in for a deep cleaning on the quadrant where that tooth is and still my gums are not happy. Needless to say, we haven't put a crown on the tooth yet. I am going back in for another cleaning (entire mouth), and the tooth will be filed down just a tad more. If the tooth/gums don't respond to the cleaning, I'm not sure what's next. I still have 2 fillings that need to happen soon. This is getting to be such a drag. Really.

We're off to see a friend of Tom's perform at a wine bar this weekend. He is part of a jazz trio, and I believe he plays the base. I am looking forward to it. Now I gotta run and get to work, so til next post!

[ 2009.01.16 ]
First entry of the year, and I just cannot think of anything wonderful to share. I know, I'm horrible. But I'll try. Well, how about I start off with the fact that Laika is still pretty stable on Phenobarb. That is definitely a good thing and something I'm thankful for. It's the only reason I'm not freaked out by the fact that Tim is gonna be gone for a few days for a training in Cali and I will be left alone to take care of the dog. I honestly wouldn't know what to do if she has a seizure and I am to deal with it all by myself...

Anyway, what else...Oh we did manage to have our late xmas celebration over at grandma's a couple of weekends ago. We then headed to mosier afterwards and spent the night there. We came back on a Sunday night and another snowstorm hit the gorge so it took us about 3 hours to get back to our place. It was a very stressful drive home. But we survived.

The house hunting is still ongoing. I'm not sure that I really wanna talk about it anymore. We had put in an offer (unofficially) about a week ago on a house and the sellers accepted verbally. They came back about 5 days later saying, yeah, they want more money and the offer has to be contingent upon them finding their own house, blah, blah, blah. Man, I don't know. If we don't find another one that we're interested in, we might consider upping our offer on that one. Otherwise, we'll probably just let that one go.

I think I mentioned last time that I ended up losing a filling on one of my teeth which was "fixed" day after xmas. The filled tooth continues to hurt when I'm chewing/grinding. I ended up going to another dentist and found out that the filling is quite close to the nerve and prob the reason why it hurts when there's pressure there. So I'm in for a root canal this week. Fun. I also have other teeth problems that need tending to this year. I am definitely maxing out our insurance in the next 2 - 3 visits. What a way to start the new year, I know.

I think that's about all that's happening at our end. Til next post!