2011 - The Year of Spiritual Growth

The past year has taught me the real meaning of "patience". Thanks to you 2010.

Now, my new year's resolution #1 is to grow more spiritually. My meditation experience of 2010 was simply great. I got to reach whole another level of being in touch with myself. However, it's just a beginning... I can't wait to explore more and do my best to develop and grow my spiritual-self. I am excited to see myself in a year!!

I want generate more spiritual energy within myself as I am becoming in better touch with my spiritual-self and ultimately, connect with other spiritual beings out there and regenerate the good/happy/spiritual energy back to universe...

Smile, Kindness and Humility - 3 qualities that I would like to have glued to myself no matter what at all times. Come to me 2011. Let's do this! :) Happy New Year! xxx

Evil....

"...not blindness, but the refusal to see; not ignorance, but the refusal to know."

"The truly and deliberately evil men are a very small minority; it is the appeaser who unleashes them on mankind; it is the appeaser's intellectual abdication that invites them to take over. When a culture's dominant trend is geared to irrationality, the thugs win over the appeasers. When intellectual leaders fail to foster the best in the mixed, unformed, vacillating character of people at large, the thus are sure to bring out the worst. When the ablest men turn into cowards the average men turn into brutes." (Ayn Rand, 1966)

What does it mean to be a good leader?

Best management skills? Best public speaking skills? There are many set of skills a good leader should have but most of all, I say the best leader in any field should be able to bring the best out in people. And, just like true love, it will require patience, compassion and understanding more than anything else to achieve such type of leadership. Perhaps, it's time for the leaders out there and the whole world to be more humanistic. What do you say?

Young Folks- love this song!

"Young Folks"

If i told you things i did before
told you how i used to be
would you go along with someone like me
if you knew my story word for word
had all of my history
would you go along with someone like me

i did before and had my share
it didn't lead nowhere
i would go along with someone like you
it doesn't matter what you did
who you were hanging with
we could stick around and see this night through

and we don't care about the young folks
talkin' 'bout the young style
and we don't care about the old folks
talkin' 'bout the old style too
and we don't care about their own faults
talkin' 'bout our own style
all we care 'bout is talking
talking only me and you

usually when things has gone this far
people tend to disappear
no one will surprise me unless you do

i can tell there's something goin' on
hours seems to disappear
everyone is leaving i'm still with you

it doesn't matter what we do
where we are going too
we can stick around and see this night through

and we don't care about the young folks
talkin' 'bout the young style
and we don't care about the old folks
talkin' 'bout the old style too
and we don't care about their own faults
talkin' 'bout our own style
all we care 'bout is talking
talking only me and you

The courage to follow your heart

""What" and "if"....these two words are not as verbally threatening as they can be, but when they are put together, the story changes. "What if", "what if", I don't know how your story ended but if what you felt then was true love, then it's never too late. If it was true then, why wouldn't it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart. I don't know the love like Juliet's feels like. Love to leave, love to cross oceans for but I would like to believe that if I ever were to feel it, that I would have courage to seize it. And Clair, if you didn't I hope one day you will...." (Letters to Juliet)

_____________________________________

Beautiful...

"Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move,
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Living life on life's terms

There is no single answer to life as we all know, but not living cannot be an answer. Everyone has different stories. While it is important not to lose hope, it is equally important to accept what you can't control. My thought of the day it was.

Power of persuasion

Life may not be all that complicated after all. Simply, it's about how we persuade ourselves and the others/the rest of the world…

More thoughts to be added………………...

When the "day" comes...

It is terrible to think about your mind losing control over your body. Hence, some people out there are trying to exercise the most amount of power they can and eventually become completely fooled by the fact that they might live forever with such kind of false power. Perhaps it is one of the ways that we human kind is dealing with the fear we are born with, the perpetual insecurity for not being able to physically last for ever.

People end up hurting each other while seeking that brief moment of comfort knowing that we all have "it", whatever "it" may be interpreted differently in various situations. Life, as we all know it, is not going to last for ever and in fact, it is very short thus, living life to the fullest seems to be the best solution while we are trying to fight against the fear of death.

How do we get to live life to the fullest though? There's really only one way - being truthful to yourself and others. Let your body and soul absorb as much as they can while you are still breathing and teach them how to be grateful...

I don't picture my death right now per se, but when that inevitable moment of my life shall come, I would want everyone I love at the funeral to smile and be happy knowing that they all helped me live my life to the fullest somehow. In fact, I really hope they would have a big celebration, a very very happy one. Maybe go through some of the silly pictures and laugh out loud and understand that everything I shared with them was nothing but sincere.

Anyway, I am really happy knowing that I've always tried and I always will try to connect with the good in everyone around me and will try to bring the best out in me in return. I love you my life, people I've encountered in this life time, everything and anything that I was able to touch physically and emotionally. Thanks for the life I've been given. xxx

__

So, here's my tentative wish for my funeral to whomever might be in charge of planning:

First of all, I love you for doing this for me.

1. Food/beverage wise: you can choose what you want but make sure you include these items please - Borsh, Straciatella Soup, Romanian cabbage rolls, TIRAMISU (thanks to whoever invented this world's best dessert alive), Tacos de adobadas, Bibimbab, Flamkuchen, Jack&Coke, Gin&Tonic, Moscati, Loads of Vino Tinto.

2. Colour: please make it very colourful-no black is allowed. Please make sure there is at least 10 different colour-themes going on, and please, nobody is allowed to cry!

3. Music: please play everything and anything that you would bring memories about me plus, David Guetta (when love takes over - make them sing along) please. lol and the ending song shall be "Tu Quieres Volver" by Sarah Brightman. Thanks!

4. Note: please make sure everyone's enjoying the party and let them know that I am very grateful and have absolutely no regrets! Wouldn't have changed anything including the saddest moment of my life, I cherish all the moments and you all very much!!

DVO

Only if you knew how much I love you. I am happy we crossed our paths 3 years ago just around this time of the year.

Hofgarten, Lennestrasse, Lengsdorf, Chile con carne, poker nights, Christmas market, Gluewein, Wohnzimmer, Giotto Chocolates,,, it seems like yesterday...

You are so special to me. I love you and I always will. Can't wait to see you xxxx

Gracias!!! Anniversary with mom and dad

I just had my xxth anniversary with my parents. Just wanna let the whole world know how much I love you both. I am so so so lucky to have amazing parents like you and hopefully some day, when I have my own children, I can be as beautiful and kind like you both. I love you both so so much and I can't imagine the world without you. <3 <3 <3

P.S. If there is next life, I really hope I will meet you both again.
P.P.S. The image of b-day cake is not mine - hence, irrelevant to my age! lol

There are so many things...

I want to say to "you". This letter is for "you" and "you" will know it's "you" that I am writing to, when "you" read this.

First and foremost, everything else I previously thanked you for aside, I thank you for your genuine faith in me. I have thought about it for almost over a week now, and your true kindness and that faith really touched my heart. I have always believed (and still do) that one can communicate with one another with real heart and sometimes it only requires few words as your actions will transfer the message.

I really hope the faith you have in me will help me become as wise and great as you are now in the future, years and years down the road. Also, the respect you've shown me made me respect you even more, not to mention, you've already made a huge impact on many people's lives including mine.

I genuinely miss your company, our conversations and the good laughs we had together - "Starbucks day" was fun! Regardless of how you feel, you will always be special in my heart. If there is next life, I hope to meet you again and perhaps in a different setting - time and place.

I miss you!

"Me" :-)

A lazy heart

Close your eyes..
Stand in the middle of the city.

Let your heart breathe the air.
Let your heart hear the sound of cars passing by.
Let your heart be touched by the warm smile of a stranger.
Let your heart see the passion of lovers kissing.

Let your heart taste the beauty of life.
Let your heart feel your own soul
Let your heart touch the world.

Now, go ditch your lazy heart and get a new one with full of passion that is going to let you fully absorb and live every single moment of your life - That is all.

*Photo by Heather Garland

The Talk

I am whispering in your ear now
Can you hear me?

Let's go paint together
Will you come with me?

Red, blue, pink, purple, green
What can we add more here?

Let's add some "yellow" here
Can you hear me better now?

A whole new world,
we just painted together
Can you see it?

Now, hold my hand
Let's go take a walk

We are crossing the bridge now
Stars are shining

My heart is talking to yours now
Both our hearts are glowing

Let the stars keep shining
Let our glowing hearts light up the universe tonight

Just saying to you... ma belle vie!

Dear God (whomever is awesome out there given me the life I have now),

If you do exist somewhere out there, please take a moment to read my note to you.

First off, I just can't thank you enough for everything you've given me. Especially only if you knew how much I love love love my life. You allowed me to meet two most amazing people on earth - mum and dad. On top of that, you let me have two beautiful sisters. I know I am not even remotely entitled to complain but if I could make a mini wish, could you maybe let me see them more often? I miss them so so much.

That's not it... You've just let me meet so so many other amazing people who helped me be here today. Few words/smiles I've exchanged through random encounters in Egypt, the beautiful "greyness" I felt on the Bosphorus facing the city of Istanbul, the innocent smiles those Lao kids let me witness, the genuine warm human connection my Mexican Taco ladies showed me... and so so much more. I better start making a list for you. How did I become so lucky?!

Please tell me what I can do for you in return?

AND just so you know...Really, not that I wish to die tomorrow at all but even if I do, I know I've had an amazing life. Thanks so much!!

Love,
A very very fortunate girl

Fake relationships

There are various forms of fake relationship out there - fake friends, fake neighbors, fake lovers etc etc...Are we not sick of this just yet?!

Take a moment, sit down and think about your people relationships around. Deep down, we all know which ones are fake and which ones are real and it is OK not to have hundreds of genuine relationships. The truth is having a sincere relationship with anyone in any forms takes time and effort. Thus, it's nearly impossible to have 10 best friends. Even with those 10 best friends, you know deep down with whom you click better - life is all relative, if I may remind you.

Life is too precious and short to walk around with different masks on. Throw your mask out, throw your masked- relationships out, walk away from meaningless fake smiles.

Try to fill your soul, life, the world and the universe with the things that truly matter to you care about. xxx

Triste pero muy lindo - El mareo

"Avanzo y escribo
decido el camino
las ganas que quedan se marchan
con vos

Se apaga el deseo
ya no me entrenvero
y hablar eso
que se me iba
mejor

Con los ojos no te veo
se que se me viene el mareo
y es entonces
cuando quiero
salir a caminar

El agua me ciega
hay vidrio en la arena
ya no me da pena
dejarte que un adios

Asi son las cosas
amargas borrosas
son fotos veladas
de un tiempo mejor"

Que lindo este parte: "Con los ojos no te veo se que se me viene el mareo...El agua me ciega hay vidrio en la arena..."

Pues, duele el amor, no? Asi es la vida...

Time

You selfish thing! You always leave me behind...

We would always walk out of the door together but I never seem to be able to keep up with you. You are just too fast for me keep up with but I really wish you could stop for a second and wait for me - just try once, will you?!!

I guess the worst part of all is that you leave me with a giant box of memories - your smiles, your tears and everything else you like to put into the box. Enough is enough - I don't really want your gift box!! I would rather have you with me by my side.

Now, stop disappearing on me and leaving me the box of memories!! Instead, try to stay with me a bit longer.

BUT, I know that,,, that I will never be able to stop you nor would I ever be able to catch up with the amount of "time" you've spent with me in this life time. Thank you for all the good times, you selfish thing!

P.S. This may not make sense to everyone.

The life we shared together

I slowly close my eyes and there I hear,
your soft voice

I slowly open my eyes there I see,
your gentle smile

The streets we walked together
The moments we laughed together
The whiteness we longed for together

I am dreaming now and here I am,
Smiling back at you

The life we shared together...

The Run

Running and running
Running, yet again

The yellow cars
The purple trees
The "Maroon 5"s

We are all running
what are we running after?

We are all going somewhere
Where are we going?

My heart is racing

What are we looking for?
Where is the destination?

My heart is still racing

It is just a journey we are after.
There is no real destination.

Stop my heartbeat racing...

September

The smell of you
The sound of you

I don't know where to go

The long walk along the Bay Street
The long walk along the Rhine River

Feeling the rain soaking my hair right now
I see you walking out my window

Having a cup of tea right now
I hear you calling my name out the window

Captured in memories
I see your smile

I miss you...
How did I get here?
Time, please explain...

Where do I go now?

City lights...

You, me and all of us
We are lighting up the city tonight.

I see the thousands of city lights.
I hear the cars and I smell the air.

Summer is gone but Autumn is coming.
You are gone but he is coming.

Old memories are coming back.
Old friends are coming back.

New stories will be written.
New colours will be added to my painting book.

We will light up the city together for as long as we are here together.

I am missing you tonight.

Stop you all downers! Now, what's it going to be?

Just recently, I sort of realized how there are so many downers incessantly complaining about everything and anything they can possibly find around them. They are literally never ever happy and really the sad part is that they steal other people's positive energy by trying to put others in the same bad mood...

But really, how can you expect your life to be perfectly happy all the time?!! I understand that no one is happy all the time. Of course, we go through bad times every now and then. At the end, it's about how you would accept such situations and deal with those griefs, sorrow, anger and all those emotions that you are not exactly fond of.

In fact, all your complaints and disappointment stem from high expectations from anything e.g. others, society, the world... Stop expecting so much from others and try to look into your inner-self, reflect yourself and start putting things into perspective.

When you have issues (mostly your issues will involve other human beings directly or indirectly), stop blaming others for everything and try to understand and communicate. These things of course take a lot of patience but if things don't work out after you give it a try, then walk away. Don't complain nor let them upset you - just leave it and accept how some things and people out there are different from you. The moment you are starting to get upset heavily, you are giving away your happy and positive energy.

I've recently encountered a few people trying really hard to make me feel bad with their perpetual negative energy but!! I survived!! AND! realized how I've grown some thick skin as they unfortunately failed. :-) This may sound crazy but I picture some kind of silvery bubble around me when things are about to get upsetting. I tell myself I am protected by some kind of silvery shield around me and nothing trivial can really get into the shield to get me.

A. Life indeed is beautiful and you only live once.
B. Most likely your problem is nothing compared to those dying of hunger out there.
C. Be grateful.
D. Try to focus on the solution and be happy again.

Not that I've lived that long and that I know the best on how to live life but my recent experiences and realization just brought me so much balance and joy in my life. Don't let things bother you easily you downers, complainers and sensitive people out there. Life's short so, stop wasting your time on the negative side of life and be happy!!!

Now, what is it going to be? It's up to you to shape your own life: a happy face or a sad face? xxx

Honesty...

Most people out there believe that being honest is an easy thing to do for as long as one's willingness is there, however, there's so much more to "honesty" than the simple dimension we see in life. In fact, being honest (to yourself and to others) is one of the most difficult tasks to manage in life.

Really, what do you think would be the first step in order to be honest to our true-selves and others? Logically, it would be to get to know our "true-selves", no? How well do you know about yourself or better yet? how much are you willing to see your true-self?

We often manipulate ourselves all the time without knowing due to many kinds of fear out there. We tend to be cocky with the ideas we plant in our minds. It may be a life-time journey to be perfectly honest with yourself… No one has to know nor will they, you will be the only person knowing the truth which is essential for you to reach the TRUE HAPPINESS.

"Are we human?... or are we dancers"?

First of all, I really like this song (Human) by the Killers...but hang on cause this is not going to be the main point of my post today. :)

We get so cocky sometimes. We pretend as if we were perfect or even worse - we believe that we have to be perfect. We've been always taught to be "right" (/"perfect) from our parents, teachers and the society (now, religions is part of the society we are in!).

Sometimes the harsh reality out there doesn't accept you if you are not "right", which is equivalent to being perceived as "normal" in our society. Furthermore, the way of life such as values and societal norms are not even enough that people feel pressured to have that perfect physical beauty - plastic surgeries are rampant as well as beauty products. It almost seems like trying SO hard to be perfect in any way you can has taken some people's lives over out there. Have you ever taken a step back and thought about what's happening here? You are not living YOUR own life anymore; you are living for everyone else and everything else around you but yourself.

We need to remind ourselves that we are not and will never be perfect no matter what. We are ONLY human; we are not God. Maybe that's the beauty of life. No offence to you, God (please don't be upset) - but really, you don't get the joy of learning something new cause you already know everything, joy of acoomplishing something with your own effort because you have everything and I can name more and more, but that's ok for you! because that's your role (I am still speaking to God) just like how we huamn beings also have different roles to take in this life - no wonder some are supposed to be out there selling physical beauty to please our eyes and some are not.

I guess the bottom line is that we are able to enjoy the "journey" of life as human. As someone once said, "life is a journey not a destination." Maybe it's time for us to have a moment and really think about ourselves. Are we human enough?? (as opposed to "are we God enough?") Can anyone be human enough??...

P.S. By the way - don't get me wrong. I value a good sense of style because I think it's a sign of people having self-respect by taking good care of themselves and there is a fine line between being fashionable and being all plastic-ky. :)

La vida es sueño

Are we dreaming constantly? or are we dreaming in dreams of dreams, reality of dreams, dreams of reality? what is reality? how can we tell?!

Maybe we will never figure it out. Maybe searching for the answers for these questions is living life itself - called dreaming. Who said life was just a dream...

La vida es sueño.

Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor

is my favourite sonata by Beethoven. I love it so much so that I make sure that I don't forget to mention it on my CV under my "Interests". :-)

I don't believe in any specific God but, I think there could be something that might have created this big big universe. If I may refer to this "something" as my definition of "God", ultimately this "God" figure should be everywhere.

We all are, and whatever we all have created in this universe are direct/indirect products of "God" - you, me, us, time, love, cars, space, air, music, my thoughts and etc...Hence, my "God" that I am not able to define with one particular name does reside everywhere.

As cheesy as it might sound, listening to Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor right now, I am thinking I might be listening to "God" - so delicate yet passionate...

Really, how "YOUNG/OLD" are we?

My dad called me during his lunch break yesterday

and,

In one of the conversations we had, he mentioned how we only get to live 1/2 of the time we think we have lived at the end (generally speaking of course). His logic was basically that we all have 24 hours a day and if we were to spend more or less 8 hours on sleeping and another 4 on some essential misc stuff such as eating, walking etc. there's really not much time left for us to be productive or work for our dreams - at most another 12 hours. To sum up, this is exactly what he was saying: if we were to die at at age of 80, we are only really living 40 years of our life-time.

Now, do I agree with him? Yes and no. I found some logic in that however, I also enjoy my time of eating, showering, walking, running errands (I love the word, "errands") and etc. that my dad categorized under misc. Sure, they are truly essential part of our life (now, don't try to argue that we don't HAVE TO shower, eat nor etc. we are only "generally speaking", remember?), but they are also joyful, aren't they?

I genuinely have loads of fun making a list for my weekly grocery shopping day as I get to look around all these different things, compare and choose what I want to buy at the store - definitely exciting.

In the shower, I think about "what kind of body-wash do I want to use today amongst these 3 I own?", basically a question of how do I want my day to be? fruity? flowery? or maybe something else? or what kind of music do I want to hear in the shower and etc.?

Eating? God forbid, I enjoy eating and in order to appreciate the taste of my food better, I don't really drink water while I am eating. Really, I can go on and on about how I find every "mundane/routine-based" parts of my day still really exciting and enjoyable and they can also get productive - they make me happy and that happy vibe keeps me motivated when it comes to carrying out other tasks during my "non-misc" time!

I am fully aware of the fact that it's totally fine to have a different view on this but didn't want to tell this to my dad. He is a very hard-working man and I look up to him very much. I know I wouldn't have been here being "able" to enjoy my "misc. time" without him and his not-so- meaningful/enjoyable misc. hours. In this sense, he's already given me a better life than what he's had and how can I not love my daddy and look up to him?!!!

Anyway, back to the point and my conclusion here is that instead of 1/2, I would say we really do live 2/3 of our life time being fully awake! (also, "1/2 theory" of my dad is kind of sad, if you think about it...) Sleeping is also essential and very enjoyable part of our life but unfortunately, we are not exactly awake with a very active mind. So yeah, If I die at the age of 90, I would have lived 60 years, really...

So how young/old are we, really? Could I say...well my "sleeping+non-sleeping" age together is (say 30 as an example), and my "active" age is 20 actually?...

What it all boils down to is that... we tend to think we have the whole life ahead of us to do this and that and put things off but really, how do you know when your privilege of even being able to count your age in these two different schemes might stop? If what my dad wanted tell me with his "1/2 theory" was that we all should be more productive, diligent and proactive, what I want to say is that, on top of that, we need to learn how to enjoy every single moment of our life better.

Well here's my thought. For starters, there's not enough time to "love" - love yourself, friends, family, lovers, phone, shampoo, candles, waffles, "coco berry's", Beethoven Sonata, your misc. time, errands...anything and everything that are part of you and your life...xxx

In an ideal world: Part Une

In an ideal world,,,

I would like to own a cafe/bakery with the best pecan pie and the best chocolate croissant in the whole world. I recently found a pie place that resembles to my imaginary cafe/bakery by about 48.7%. I must admit though, I was still lucky to find a place like this in the city where I live in currently.

Well, I like how this place is cozy and has the yellow walls around. However, it's a bit too small and doesn't smell "pie-y" enough from outside and inside both...(minus points? hehe I am being the pie shop patrol right now!) You know what I mean though, right? One would definitely expect to smell some fresh pies from inside at least if not outside, and some coffee too! Besides I felt like there were not enough flowers inside... I would most certainly try to give more life to the place, had I owned the pie place. Colourwise, it was very yellow and brow and I personally liked it very much - just thought the place could use a bit more of white, green and light pink.

So here's how my own pie place/cafe/bakery is (in an ideal world):

*Description of colours that the place contains: yellow walls, brown furniture, white flowers (green leaves attached), light-green cushions, green plants (mini cactus pots with dark pink flowers on each table?), pink (NO neon-pink) napkins, or the logo of the place could be some kind of pink? and white and blue plates!

*Menu-wise, I am sure I will come up with something great but here are some essential things that will be included on my menu: awesome coffee, pies, chocolate croissant, cinnamon rolls, tiramisu (my fav dessert!) and many other delicious things of course! oh! and I do wanna sell some flowers on the side perhaps...

There are many other small little things that live in my ideal/dream world. It was just part one. Maybe I will write more about them soon!

It's so much fun to be in your own world every now and then. Sure we all grow older, we all get serious responsibilities, we all have to face the "reality" but really, does it mean that we need to stop picturing our ideal world and having fun, or forget about all that we used to dream of when we were young??

AND! guess what? you never know, some day, these dreams of yours/crazy ideas might come true!

Don't ever let anyone stop you from hanging onto your own bubble - just don't forget to jump back to the reality when needed...

Anyone wants to 10-4 me on this?! ;-)

My Beloved Taco Ladies & Tacos de Adobadas

Mexico is one of the few countries I feel very connected to for many different reasons, not to mention that I lived there for a while in the past. Actually, before I decided to move there for a while, I had visited the country twice through two different exchange-programs (in highschool and university) Now, you can imagine the way I feel for Me-hi-co.

Something about the country is definitely addictive. I think it might be the mixture of its beautiful weather, friendly people (except for those "naco"s -sorry!), great music and "antro"s and most importantly its DELICIOUS cuisine.

Mexico is a relatively big country and each region has its own special type of food that they are well known for. Unfortunately, despite the amount of time I spent in Mexico, I still haven't been able to try them all but I do know my favourite is "Tacos de Adobadas". (Photos attached!)

So, right by the place I used to live in Mexico, there was a local taco stand owned by 4 sisters. I used to call them my "dear taco ladies". ;-) As adventurous as I am, I tried many different taco stands and local restaurants to find the best taco place. It was probably one of the biggest silly personal goals I had during my stay in Mexico apart from trying to figure out the titles of new "hot" reggaeton songs played in "antros"(clubs) with my best team-mate of all, AMD! haha (we all have those secretive/almost nerdy personal things going on most of the time, right? or is it just me?! lol)

Anyway, I wasn't sure and am still not sure what these 4 sisters did to the tacos but their tacos were just so amazing!! The taste of meat was amazing, their homemade salsa was delicious and they had the best smiles of all at all times. By the time I had to leave Mexico, I knew I wasn't going to be able to find any tacos like that anywhere else in the world, and that my taco ladies were the best in the field of making good tacos (esp. tacos de adobadas).

The last day of my stay in Mexico, these four ladies and I exchanged e-mail addresses with tears. By the way, only one of them had an e-mail account. This morning I received an e-mail from one of the taco sisters, Leti. It's been almost 6 months since I spoke to her last. It was a lovely surprise.

We randomly meet so many people everyday and we sometimes underestimate how great those "random" encounters can turn into something wonderful and bring us some unexpected joy and laughter!

Oh how I miss you those scrumptious tacos de adobadas and my "dear taco ladides"!!! Un besote (a big kiss)!!! xxx

Ze first post: "Candles and/in the rain"

Hi all,

At the end, this might end up being my personal online diary but hey, (friends and soon-to-be friends) I really just want to collect and share genuine(could be random) thoughts of mine for those who are interested...

Ultimately, regardless of who we are, where we are from, what we are doing and etc... we all are breathing the same air trying to be good and happy everyday! For as long as we remain as imperfect human-beings, our real-life stories might be more or less similar in the sense that most of them are rather trivial and simple.

So here goes my first very simple story of the day. I just bought a new candle-holder today from a dollar store for actually $1.50 (yes, dollar stores do have things that cost more than a dollar sometimes!). It was "Made in China" (shocking!) of course, but lovely after all. It made my day and also, literally lit my night - thanks! Attached, please a find a picture of it, should you be interested. hehe

It's been raining all weekend. Yes, it's that time of the year. The monster monsoon has arrived! :-) I LOVE the rain. It gives me the best excuse to stay at home all day being all artsy (or trying to be artsy) and dorky with myself. What do I do with myself?? Here's what I do, but I am pretty sure there are at least 4 billion people enjoying the same thing as I do. (Now, that's more than 1/2 of the entire world population (6.8 bil))!!

Anyway back to the point, "j'adore" watching outside through my windows, observing what kind of umbrellas are in style these days (lol) trying to pick out Miss. Umbrella of the day, paying attention to how colourful the day gets with all these umbrellas in different colours (ahh what a joy!), drinking some tea, listening to some jazz tunes, reading all these books I've been meaning to read for a while, writing e-mails and most importantly, with my vanilla candle on! I must say though, my favourite kind is definitely vanilla. m m m

Something about candles... They seem to have an amazing power to somehow pause the time, capture you in that very special moment/space and let you feel the world. I find that effect extra amazing in rainy days. So, just to celebrate the beginning of the Monsoon season of 2010, I bought a new candle-holder that cost me just more than a dollar which will make this year's rainy season unique and artsy in its own way.

It certainly doesn't seem to cost much for one to be happy!! xxx