China

DAY 3---It is almost 6AM on Sunday 1.17.10. in Shanghai, China. The weather is not as bad as I thought it would be. At least there is some sun regardless of the cold weather. It isn't as cold compared to New York so I am glad that I can tolerate winter here. When I first came to Shanghai in September, I barely saw the sky despite of the humidity and heat. It's not as polluted either. I was amazed how beautiful the sunset was considering that I barely saw anything but the polluted layer in September. Day 1--- was interesting. I decided to walk to the local market to buy some grocery to cook for dinner. I wanted to buy fresh siopao they had inside but of course there wasn't any pictures on what the fillings were. The cook said something to me in Chinese assuming he was asking for my order. I then pointed to the Siopai then started flocking my arms saying, "Pok pok pok pok!" He smiled at me and pronounced Chicken in Mandarin twice and I immediately knodded my head. That 's how it works out here. Oh my goodness. That Siopao was so good. I had two for lunch and I bought these pili nuts I thought were only sold in Tagaytay, Philippines. I wasn't sure how it'd taste but as soon as I opened the package, I wasn't able to put it down. I found my favorite snack! That night I cooked an American meal for Mundo and had it all prepared as soon as he got home from work. It was nice to have a home cooked meal at home without any interruptions. That was the first in a long time since last year. I knocked out immediately after dinner due to the jet-lagg. DAY 2---was nice. We stayed in bed all morning catching up. We cooked the leftover steak for breakfast w/ some fried rice then went to bed. :) Lunch time we ate at a Chinese food chain restaurant down the street then went back home. I realized I have not worked out in so long so we took out the boxing gloves and jump rope. I thought of Steph and started doing these lunges all over the living room. The space is big enough to actually get a good work out. Then I started doing the jump rope so did Mundo then push ups then more lunges until I was out of breath. It felt good. It didn't help that we ordered in delivery from KFC for dinner though. Oh well. At least we got somewhat of a workout. Mundo is still asleep. I think we'll most likely venture out today considering how lazy we were yesterday. The pace has been good. I look forward to the days ahead alone with him to learn more, grow and have fun together. I love the food here and I am scared that I will gain weight so there will be a lot of walking and a lot of working out. We took the stairs to the third floor instead of taking the elevator to remind us how active we need to be. I highly doubt that it'll be a problem for us to get a lot of walking done because there is so much to see and so much to do in this Country that I'm starting to fall in love with. I need to start practicing Mandarin with the Rosetta Stone CD that Sandra lent to me. The next time I order some Siopai I hope I wont have to do the chicken dance and say pok pok pok and get laughed at. :)

Slowing down.. finally!

I've had a few hectic days. I'm back at my mom's from San Diego. I caught up with Stephanie and Morgan along with more quality time with the roomies. Thursday night was nice. As soon as I landed, I met up with my mom and Ate to watch some Tagalog Movie in Stonestown. I actually took MUNI for the first time. It was pretty cool riding it out in the streets of SF. The cool thing was it was perfect timing when my Ate turned into the street where I got dropped off. Afterwards, we had a very late dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. As soon as I got home, I immediately knocked out. Yesterday, I had a very long day taking care of my travel documents for China. I picked up my passport via BART from my mom's then took the Bus to the Chinese Consulate for my VISA. I wasn't able to get the same day rush service so I have to come back on Monday to pick it up. I leave on Tuesday for almost two months to spend a good amount of time with Edmundo. Slowing down with him finally is what we've both been looking for. In the meantime, I'll be spending more time with my family and Ivory. I had a really good walk in SF after I took care of my VISA. I had some time to think about the recent events. Within only a few weeks prior, I took almost every source of public transportation there is including plane, Metro systems, trains and buses from the East Coast to the West Coast. Even a city within a city made me comfortable about public accessibility. I was never a public transportation fan because I love to drive but I definitely discovered how cool it was to just sit back and people watch. I feel like I am more prepared to be abroad in a public transportation system. Edmundo is a big fan and now I can see why. It is universal and simple. I didn't take advantage of the Metro in Shanghai during my first visit
last year in September and now I think I will feel more comfortable.

Iyah's 21st birthday is on Monday. I can't believe how old she is which only means one thing... I am old! With that said though I feel pretty good with the upcoming days slowing down... finally! I can be lazy and just be.

Birds of a feather flock together

I'm running a day behind with this blog. Yesterday was a little hectic being my last day in New York. Sandra's man was very kind to drop me off Kuya Jeff's work otherwise I would've dragged my luggage from 190th all the way to 5th. I am very thankful for that.The ride from 190th/Broadway w/ Mr. B. was quite nice. We took the main street next to the Hudson river and we got to chat about life. I'm happy for Sandra cuz' he seems to care a lot for her. We opened a lot about eachother which was pretty cool considering we both just met. He's quite smart and seems like he's been around the block. I'm glad that my girlfriend is with someone like him. When I asked her what is it about him that she is fond of and she briefly mentioned that they think innovative together by expanding eachother's minds. Now, I know what she meant. He had a lot of knowledge I was on the same page with due to similar experiences. It was good to hear the experiences we both shared. I am grateful to have good vibes with people no matter where I go especially when I am traveling. We wished each other best wishes as soon as he dropped me off. I immediately texted Sandra by saying thank you and that he's a cool cat. :) I wish nothing but the best for them.

Kuya Jeff and I had a short lunch. We ate at this pizza joint down the block then I walked to the Empire State Building right after. Out of all the times I've gone to New York never once did I go up there. I always thought it was overated and the line almost always wrapped around the bulding outside. This time the line wasn't too bad. This wasn't the case inside though.
The wait was horrid but glad I was able to experience it. A few people including myself took the stairs from the 80th floor to the 86th because of the 40 minute wait up the elevator. I felt the building shake a few times. I started thinking about 9/11. What if that happened to me? Almost everyone there had someone with them while going up.

I felt anxious walking up and started missing my boyfriend but it was all worth it as soon as I stepped outside of the building. It reminded me strength and no fear. The view was breathtaking! It made me realize how small New York City is from the view up top. It was freezing and windy but again worth that long line I stood in along walking up those stairs.




After my long reflection up the Empire State Building, I met Mary. I always like hanging out with Kuya Jeff's wife plus I haven't seen her in 4 years so it was nice to have quality time with her. We went to Sephora then took the train to their house.
We caught up on her family and mine. She also gave me a tour to their new house. When Kuya Jeff got home we ate at this fantastic Italian Restaurant and had so much food!

I attended their wedding and have gotten close to Mary since then because Kuya Jeff and I are close. I think that she is an awesome wifey! She leaves for China this Thursday for 3 weeks so I am thrilled that her and I will both be there at the same time. Kuya Jeff said that she gets to meet Edmond before he does. Too bad he didn't get to meet my Kuya Jeff while we were both in New York. Anyhow, when we got home we knocked out right away since Kuya Jeff and I had to wake up at 4am.
Loi picked me up from the train station at Solana Beach today after a long commute from New York by plane, bus and train. I felt like I experienced every source of public transportaion there is on this planet in one day. From LAX I took the fly away bus to Amtrack so I wouldn't worry about anyone from picking me up. It was good catching up with him on the ride home. I did some errands then rode with Grace and Erin to a sushi restaurant for dinner. It was even better catching up with the roomates. We ate so much!
I am so fortunate for these two ladies! No words can desribe how cool they are. We'll definitely be friends for a long time. The next few days are hectic before my long trip to be with my beh beh cekes. I can't wait. I'm glad that things are in order for the new year! Keeping the momentum feels great with special people to share my life with. Thank you lord for your blessings.. Everyday I feel your love. Good night! I'm sleepy eventhough I slept in the plane, bus and train. Traveling is a pain in the butt but the destination at that end is worth facing when it's with the right birds flocking together.

Expect the Unexpected

Today is my last day in Manhattan. Even though my boyfriend went back to Shanghai yesterday and left me behind here in New York, I was able to spend good quality time with Sandra today. We hung out at the Natural History Museum, walked around Manhattan while having meaningful conversations in the subway. We people watched talked and talked about family, our future and etc. There's only a few girlfriends that I can share certain things with openly and she's always been one of them. It's not just the history and the bond that we've had since the 7th grade which obviously has not gone away regardless of lost years. It's effortless when we hang out and our conversations are awesome.
Last night, Sandra showed me some pictures Menconis, the infamous bar in Fremont near where we all grew up in Fremont. She told me how she ran into folks from back in the day during our high school years including my old roomie, Norman his sister, Nat, George Villegas and Kris Megino. These are names that hit to close to home because we grew up with these guys. I was glad that she saw our old friends from our high school days. Now that we both live in a different place the one thing that we share in common is how we will always treasure where we grew up.

What tripped me out was after a very nice day and devouring almost every item on the menu over dinner.. I get a text from Norman about our friend, Kris Megino as soon as we settle in her place. I guess he suddenly passed away after only finding out some sort of sickness for two weeks. Kris left behind a wonderful wife- Myra who happens to be an awesome girl of mine along with their young little daughter.

This was shocking news for our community in Fremont. It hits close to home and makes me appreciate the little things and the meaningful things in life. He is so young and died so unexpectedly. Myra is in my thoughts and prayers. I am very saddened by this and cannot imagine what she is going through. My faith seems to get stronger and stronger when rough times come unexpectedly whether if it's within my own family, close friends or hearing very sad news. I feel very blessed to have a life where I can learn and value each moment..each day with not only the people I love but with others who may need them too. Lessons seem never ending and it reminds us all to fully spend each day as if it were your last. Sounds cliche.. yes but how often do we hear tragedy and not learn from it? I can honestly say that I try to prepare to leave this earth behind with a meaning so when I meet the lord he will gladly embrace me with open arms. I hope and pray that he accepts me and my loved ones but not yet.

Today has been a perfect example to never underestimate life. Lesson learn is expect the unexpected because you'll just never know.

2010

I continue to ask myself how to live creatively, freely and more importantly passionately. How do I break through my own expectations and standards on seeking what the meaning of life is? How do you live as your own being? I seem to want more elaborate answers. My dad took me to the BART on my way to San Francisco before my flight to New York the next morning with my boyfriend, Edmond. While riding in the car with him he had this song playing called, Unanswered Prayers. Wow. The lyrics stuck to me when he sang it out loud and literally almost made me tear up, "Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers. Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs. That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care. Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." I realize that I can't have everything answered and only enjoy the journey. Honestly, my life thus far has been incredible. Who would've thought that I would be sitting in the living room of my childhood best friend from the 7th grade writing this emo blog in New York listening to Carrie Underwood and talking about life. It reminds me of when I use to come over her house after school. Sandra and I would sing all the time.. make our own lyrics and write songs. This time around I'd like to keep track of the new adventures yet to come and reflect more on life. Old and New. What better way than to start this year since I am turning 30. Closing out 2009 and bringing in the year was great with my soul mate, best friend and a very special indivudual who loves me for me with no reservations..only to learn and walk through a long windy road with me. Now, progressing into a new year with a more mature outlook is definitely going to be a little bit more challenging yet it is an exciting feeling. As I travel along this path, I truly hope I can accomplish more dreams and plan more towards a better future.

My boyfriend has been a big role in helping me become the better person that I am now along with the unconditional love/support of friends and most of all... my family. To some I am known as Mari, Marimi, Mare or Mucio. Marimilda MARIa- dad's mom // MILagros- mom's mom // DAlisay- my mom... is my full name for a reason. With all of these names in combination given to me as a symbolic meaning leads me to believe what the equation is. The answer.... That the scope of different variables in my life formulates a larger level of understanding of who and what I am yet still waiting to be discovered. I am proud of my roots and the formula that I believe God has created for me. I live my life to the best of my abilities and learn as I go while continuing to honor God. Of course, I am only human with no excuse. "Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived." ~ Jean Luc Picard

Happy 2010 and cheers to a New Decade with a New Momentum.