3 Things I realized in 2010

Here's my very short review of the year that was 2010. I wanted to list 10 things but unfortunately my brain could only spurn out 3!

In 2010, I realized:

(1) it pays to be extra duper patient. Be it in taking my own sweet time chopping ingredients for a recipe to not fretting about the long hours being stuck in traffic whenever I make my way from Q.C all the way to Mandaluyong to visit my parents. This also applies to my acceptance of the fact that it might take a little while longer to achieve the motherhood stage of my life. Hopefully I can sustain my patience in the year 2011. After all good things come to those who wait, right?

(2) That once I hit the 4th decade of my existence, my energy level has not been as perky as I expected. Now after walking for just a few minutes or simply kneeling during Mass, I start to feel tired and my bones start to ache. Oh alright so I guess one factor among many has to do with me gaining weight and/or reluctance to exercise - but believe me it gets doubly hard once you hit your 40s to lose stubborn pounds which refuse to simply fade away into thin air!

(3) I tend to overindulge whenever my sister is in town. That would mean eating unhealthy food, splurging on clothes and staying up way past my bed time. But during those short pockets of time when my sister visits, they are also the happiest days of the year. Fun times. =)

Overall, 2010 wasn't a bad year for D & D. It was filled with extreme highs with some depressing downs thrown into the mix. And that's just fine with me even though I tend to complain every now and then LOL

Here's wishing we all have a happy and blessed 2011. =)

Tis the most wonderful time of the year

Amidst all the frenzy and the hectic activities during this merriest of season, I wish to greet everyone - have a meaningful and Merry Christmas. =)

Bookings

It was always quite an adventure to travel back then (I mean during the early 80s). We didn't have much access to information about airfares, hotels and sights to visit. The travel agency would be the best option. Or simply rely on a few travel brochures you could grab at airports and/or train terminals. So holidays were pretty much an exploration into the unknown. Yet, that's where the beauty of traveling lies, in my opinion.

Nowadays thanks to the Internet, I tend to read all the relevant websites to arm me with loads of information about a city we plan to visit. You can find everything you need with a single click of the mouse. There are tons of packages which offer the cheapest airfares. As well as promos offered by numerous hotels. Most websites are designed specifically to help you make your decision on choosing a holiday easy and as hassle free as possible. For instance, LetsGo2 accomodations to LaSource Grenada makes me want to take the first flight to Grenada.

Sometimes with the myriad of information available at our fingertips, there is a tendency to 'overbook' the activities during our holidays. Which is fine if you are quite an energetic person and can explore many places in one day. But more often than not, I notice we need another holiday to recover from the hectic and fast paced vacation.

Winners

Congratulations to Team Philippines represented by the "The Riches" i.e Richard Herrera and Richard Hardin for winning the Amazing Race Asia Season 4. The race is televised weekly on the AXN Channel.

The final leg was in Singapore where the tasks were pretty difficult to perform. But the Riches played well throughout the race, they didn't make any enemies, kept a low profile but had the best combination of brawn, brains and good looks!

Well done, guys!

Scrubs

I've always been a big fan of medical shows on TV. I remember watching "St Elsewhere", "Chicago Hope" and "ER". Current times, I try to catch the latest episodes of "Grey's Anatomy", "Private Practice" and "Nurse Jackie".

But I'm not a big fan of hospitals. I only go there when it is absolutely necessary. Since I got married though, I need to go monthly for my check up with my OB-GYN who thankfully is a very kind and caring doctor.

But I can't really say the same for some nurses. Sometimes they can be quite stern when handling patients. I don't blame them since they need to go to work everyday in all cotton scrubs. And let's face it, their nursing uniforms are not exactly fashionable, to say the least. Besides they are overworked and tired from working really long hours. But nowadays cotton scrub uniforms have been modified and are more pleasing to the eyes. They even come in flowery designs which is a far cry from the plain blue scrubs.

Yesterday when I was young

My sister once asked me if I ever get bored staying home all day. Because you see D goes to work at 6am and gets home at 10pm. Well the thing is as long as I got internet connection, I get by. But of course I have to admit sometimes it can get really lonely being by my lonesome self.

That's why I'm really grateful that I am re-discovering songs from my past, thanks largely to YouTube. Never mind that most of the songs don't have music videos and are mostly montage of the artist's images. For me they are valuable souvenirs of my "yesterday when I was young" days.

We were based in Brussels, Belgium from 1978 to 1982. So my repertoire in music were mostly French songs from France and Belgium. My favorite singers back then were Claude Francois, Alain Chamfort, Herve Vilard, Daniel Balavoine and Michel Sardou. I was also a huge fan of the BeeGees, the Beatles, Neil Diamond and John Denver. The latter are pretty popular worldwide so it isn't difficult to find their CDs in record stores. As for the French songs, I was really happy to discover them on YouTube.



So listening to them all day long in repeat mode truly keeps me sane. It is just too bad one needs to be online to watch these YouTube videos and they can't be saved on a CD. But nevertheless ... I'm content! =)

I just want to say

I got my hair trimmed, this weekend.

So for 24 hours I had straight hair.

It felt good while it lasted.

I took a bath, the next day.

So it's back to wavy hair, alas.

But it is at a manageable length.

So I guess I just have to live with it! :D

12 days of December

I woke up today and realized there were only 24 days before Christmas comes a knocking on our doorstep. Yet I might be the only person (well aside from my hubby) in this country who has barely lifted a finger to get into the Yuletide spirit. There are no Christmas decors in our tiny apartment. I haven't joined the rest of the populace in their rush for Christmas gifts shopping. Heck I haven't even played a single Christmas carol on my player. I feel no extra pressure nor stress about my nonchalance, truth be told.

A lingering sense of anxiety envelopes me as I realized with much astonished sadness that as the year 2010 comes to an end, I still haven't achieved my ultimate goal. Our quest to become parents is still as elusive as winning the lotto jackpot prize. The first 7 months of this year I was under medication for fertility treatments. Then I needed to take a break from the treatments to avoid over stimulation of my hormones. My doctor remains overly optimistic that probably I could conceive without any meds but frankly I don't share her sentiments.

When I turned 42 last October, I said to myself 'enuff is enuff!'. I simply accepted my fate to have some peace of mind. I didn't want to be miserable, anymore. Crying every month over a negative result got really tiring. But mostly losing my joie de vivre is really a terrible feeling. I am still in a dark place yet I'm slowly learning to crawl out of it day by day by building a wall of stoicism to shield me from my pain.

In 12 days time, my fave person in the whole world will be coming home for the Holidays. I'm excited and really looking forward to some great bonding moments with my sister. Because I believe that TIME is the best gift we can give to one another during this merriest of all seasons!