Winter Wonderland

Not!!!

I will never dream of another white Xmas unless it will be certain that it is going to be a real worthy one.

I'm stuck in greyhound station. Been waiting for 5 hours now. Not even sure if my 19-hour trip to San Jose, CA will leave.

My only wish now is to see family and friends in time for Xmas day.. With or without snow.

Unit2233

Sent from my iPhone

Let it Snowww!!!

I spent a good part of my weekend with the Deardorffs and it was nothing but FUN! After work on Friday, I went to their place to have a yummy dinner and hangout. We were supposed to sing videoke, but we could find the right adaptor for the system. Maybe I wasnt meant to sing and scare the snow away -- yes, we want the snow to fall and everyone's been expecting snow since news have been reporting that there's going to be snow starting the weekend and it's one of the biggest snow storms of the decade.

The following day I went back to the Deardorffs so I could join them driving up to Seaside, the coastal area. We went with Chuck's childhood best friend Tyson. On the way to the coast, we drove by a mountain range and to our surprise -- the trees were all covered with snow and a few miles after -- there were snow falling!!! I was joyful! When we finally saw a viewpoint, we pulled-ver and played with the snow. It was fun!!!

Then we went reached the Seaside and the waves were crazy! Good judgment to not bring the boat with us -- we initially planned to go boating. It was windy, wet and freezing!!!

On our way back, we passed by a cheese factory called Tillamook Cheese in guess where Tillamook! Hahaha! I bought 2 nice magnets, which are now resting on my fridge. Teresa bought cheese curd snacks which were really great treats. It's like soft rubber when you bite it with a really good cheesey taste. It was so delicious but unhealthy. CURD??? What good does it do??? I only had 2 cheese curds (big pieces -- hahaha!) and was kind enough to my heart to not munch on some more.

We finally head back to the Deardorffs and decided we need a good meal. We chose this place called "Prime Time" -- a good sporty dining place where their specialty is ... ummm .... Prime Steak! I ordered mashed potato with turkey gravy on the side + 1/2 pound of baby back ribs!!! Oh man! My tummy was happy!!!

(sorry no photo of the prime ribs)

We then dropped-off baby Ivan at home and stayed with the babysitter. He's such a nice kid. He didnt cry nor whine ... he knows mom and dad are partying with Uncle Tyson and Uncle Jason. We headed to downtown and made our way to an Irish Pub called Kels. It was a happy place and there was a live band. They played 'hobbit-sounding' music and I can just imagine how the place feels like during St Patrick's day or New year's eve (I cant wait to spend my New Year's eve in SF downtown. Party on!!!).

After a round of drinks, Chuck's friend, Cathleen, arrived. She joined us for another round of drinks and then we headed to a Salsa Club. Cathleen apparently loves to dance Salsa and according to Chuck -- you have to be careful when she dances coz her boooteh is smashing everywhere! Hahaha! So the place was packed and WOW!!! It was my first time to be in a real Salsa Bar and man ... how I wish I can dance like those men who just impress the ladies by professionally leading them on the dance floor. The moves!!! Now I'm thinking I need to take Salsa lessons. It's a good way to really meet good looking, booteh-liciuos ladies. I did take some 'ballroom' dancing lessons when I was in college but my memory failed me. I just remember the basics, but I couldnt really lead. Bummer!!! I was also wearing my trekking boots (remember I went to the Seaside and played on the snow? So I didnt have time to change) so I was really reluctant to dance and move freely on the dance floor -- I dont wanna to step on anyone's stilletos and leave them with achy toes during the holidays. That's no fun! I did dance a few songs with Cathleen .. but I was so lame!!! I asked her to pardon my lack of good salsa dancing skills before ending the night.

(too bad I didnt take snapshots at the Salsa bar)

I got home almost 3am and after freshening up .. I headed to my warm bed.

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I woke up this morning all hungry. I went to check what the weather's like and when I took a peek at the window .. I was in deep awe!!! SNOW!!! My surrounding's filled with snow!!! I hurriedly took my camera and took snapshots of the view from the patio! I laid my palm out too to catch some of the falling snow and I'm amazed to see the patterns of the snow flakes. Really beautiful and amazing! But the flakes melt easily once it touches your palm (I guess it's my body temperature).

- 0 -

I then started cooking a meal and remembered I have a VCD of a local film from home. I put it in and I was just enjoying watching it... how I wish it will happen to me soon. Hahaha!!! You just have to guess what movie I'm talking about. Half of the film's setting was in Greece and I'm just soooo envious! Greece is my honeymoon destination! It just has to be Greece!

Now it's 30 minutes before my favorite show starts. It's Survivor Gabon's finale and I just can't wait to see how it all ends. I'm rooting for Ken. Actually I'm rooting for all of them -- which is a Survivor first. I just want to see how everyone will strategize to get the Million bucks.
Alrighty.. such a long post. Hope you enjoyed reading...

:)

Til next Unit2233 update

massages vs movies

surprisingly, i'm missing going to the movies more than i miss getting massages.
both are significantly more expensive here, but i guess more than 'going' to the movies -- it's going to the movies WITH people i love hanging out with. my sister, my cousins and my friends are my constant movie companions. while getting a massage is more of a personal activity you go to spend time with yourself :)

now, after writing this .. im missing both!
f*

Sunday breakfast

9am Sunday Waiting for the rice..
Oh yea.. This is my new mini-rice cooker. Sent from my iPhone

wall climbing

my first saturday here was spent sleeping and wall climbing (no, i wasnt sleep climbing :P). due to jetlag and maybe lack of quality sleep, i slept til 1:45pm. i wouldnt have gotten out of bed if not for my friend's phone call and being reminded that banks close at 2pm on saturdays. i needed to get some cash over-the-counter as my ATM card hasnt been delivered yet. lucky me, the bank is just right across the street and will take me about 3 minutes to get there. i made it on time and was able to get my cash.

a climbing gym called stoneworks - about 15 mins away from my place. we went there coz my co-worker's friend chose that venue to gather-up his friends and introduce to them his newborn son (that's why you see a baby stroller there). they personally know the owner of the place, so they were allowed to bring in food and some drinks.

thanksgiving desserts

i prepared some sweet treats (blueberry cheesecake and jello) for thanksgiving since i'll be going with my co-worker to visit his folks. i felt that i had to bring something. i was kind of hesitant to make them though, because i wasnt sure how it's going to taste like and also i didnt want to run the risk of giving them stomach ache. but i couldnt think of anything else to bring that will put a personal touch to it.

cheesecake -- without the blueberries yet...

whoala! the blueberry cheesecake!

(i brought this to the thanksgiving gathering and i'm happy his folks loved it! at first i thought they were just being polite, but when his dad helped himself with a second slice, i knew they genuinely liked it. i had a slice too to make sure i know how it tasted like AND just in case they end up with a bad tummy and i don't ... it cant be fully blamed on the cheesecake. Hehe!)

btw, the cold weather was helpful that night because i didnt have to wait HOURS before i can pour the next layer of jello. it hardened in as quick as 15 minutes.

it's cool coz i found these containers that worked well with the shape, showing-off the colors, layers. plus although it's small, it's just the right amount to give out. you see, I was able to make 3 full sets. i gave one to teresa and her family. the other 1, i gave to my co-worker. the last 1, well.. who else... for me :) hahaha!!!

unit 2234

i have a neighbor. it is unit 2234. surprise surprise! hahaha!!!

early this week, they (im assuming more than one person lives in there) hung a wreath on their door. and if you see their patio, they also decorated it with xmas lights. pretty cool! :)

no, i havent knocked and introduced myself to them. im not a very friendly neighbor .. yet. haha!!!

inside Unit 2233 part 1

i think my blog only allows me to post this much photos in one entry, so this doesnt show you yet all parts of unit 2233. in the meantime, here's a peek to 2233.

the moment you enter, it's either you see a big brown sofa (which is not shown here) or you notice the dining area behind it. so, this is the dining area. the table is set when i arrived and i havent touched any of it yet, so til now it's still like that. haha! you'll notice that there's a door beside the window.. that's to the patio.

this is the view from the patio. you can see the neighbors and the swimming pool (which is totally useless at this time of the year). the patio actually runs from the dining room to the bedroom. i can access the patio from either room. now taking maybe 5 steps from the entrance door and looking to your right, you'll see the kitchen. it is complete with pots and pans... the door you see there is the small laundry room where i have my washer and dryer.
now ofcourse the bedroom. i have a queen-sized bed and 2 side tables with lamps. i have an alarm clock radio (which does its purpose but i dont necessarily obey). you see the books on the table, which help me doze off at nite.
this is another shot of the bedroom (i was trying to be artistic - haha!) to show that there's a mirror / dresser right across my bed and that i have a ceiling fan with lights :)

i'll post photos of the living room, the fireplace (which i decorated with 3-dollar snowmen, so I can feel a bit of xmas around me), the bathroom, the laundry room and maybe the pantry? on part 2.


hope you enjoyed the little tour.




-Unit 2233

fortune cookie

i was looking forward to a panda express meal and i had one on tuesday. the best part about it was the fortune cookie. haha! this is what i got...

thanksgiving

thanksgiving is 5 days away, but why wait when i have a lot to say thanks to and to be thankful for. it's been long overdue to thank all the people who celebrated the despedida (bon voyage party) with me. it was 60 hours of partying (although I crashed 4.5 hours before the strike of midnite on sunday nite). the only thought on my mind waking up at 430am monday morning was whether i'm gonna have a hard hangover and migraine while i wait and get interviewed for the US visa. good thing i didnt have any post-partying, post-drinking headache -- and the best part, the interview went well and i got my visa stamp.

i think everything's gone the way the universe wanted it to go. it's been more than what i've imagined or planned. i want to return the glory to the Big One, first and foremost. the overflowing blessings of opportunities, loving family, friends, colleagues and the good amount of roadblocks that made and are making everything more worthwhile and senseful. i mentioned the roadblocks, because it's not a smooth ride to unit 2233. it's also good to mention that i didn't make it here on my own.

everything happens for a reason!

i'd like to take this opportunity to thank people in my life. it will be hard to mention names, so i'm not going to do that -- plus i don't want to run across the pain of forgetting people and making them feel bad about it. so the safest way would be saying -- thanks to you! you know who you are! :)

-0-

i know my friends have been waiting to hear from me. i've been getting IMs and emails asking me to post the recent pictures from the party, the japan trip and yea, oregon. you know i'm excited to post them as much as you are excited to see them, but aside from not being able to find the time yet... i also forgot to copy the folder of pictures on our home desktop pc, so i don't really have a copy of them with me. the only set i have is the one from the first night -- with intel friends -- and it's in my work laptop, which ofcourse i only turn-on when im at work. anyway, i'm gonna try to get hold of those pictures as soon as possible.

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here are some teaser photos from japan and one from oregon:

the busiest intersection in the world (in shibuya)

tokyo tower (near roponggi)

hard rock tokyo




a picture of mount hood in oregon (this was taken from my iphone while in the car during my settling orientation, thus the quality)

Unit 2233

Welcome to Unit 2233!

Unit 2233 has been my home for the last 5 days. It will be my home for the next 130.

Since I cannot let everyone physically enter through this door (for various reasons including your own safety, haha!), I can at least let you know what's happening behind this door and ummm... inside my mind.

Now I must warn you: My mind is very dangerous. Haha!

-Unit 2233