Start:	Aug 23, '08
End:	Aug 25, '08
Location:	Sagada

Planning a trip to Sagada with some friends from Station1 (UCM), message me if you wanna come with!

I was just appreciating recently the silly little things we single people enjoy in living solo. Here's my top 10:

10. SCHEDULE FREEDOM! Getting home at odd hours without needing to apologize, going on spur-of-the-moment road trips with other BSGs
9. Not having to do the cleaning up immediately
8. Having coffee/dinner/movie with a friend of the opposite sex without any weirdness
7. Hogging the bed, not worrying about snoring
6. Experimenting on dishes using whatever's in the fridge/pantry without worrying that you'll kill someone else with your cooking
5. Playing dress-up -- never grows old (^____^)
4. Happy-Silly-Dancing  around in your pjs/underwear/...etc
3. ALL THE CLOSET SPACE IS MINE, MINE, MINE!!!
2. Uninterrupted quiet/worship time with God
1. Thinking up qualifiers for the sentence: "I like my coffee like I like my man..."

I decided REALLY late last night that since Andrew Quinley still hadn't replied to my emails (his family is here in Chiang Rai and I wanted to go to their church...) I would just go ahead and take advantage of the small group tour being offered. BHB1,100 for the car + guide + gas for the whole day isn't so bad. Told the night guard as much and tried to get some sleep.

Tried...

And tried...

Got buzzed awake by my alarm, just as well as I was in the midst of yet another teeth-falling-out dream. I haven't yet adjusted the clock in my mobile phone, so I reset the alarm and went to sleep again. My phone buzzed my awake again and I realized in my doziness I had reset it to a too-late time. It was 9am, when we were supposed to leave. So I threw some clothes on and went into a garden to see if I had caught the group.

Long story short, the guide had just arrived, so I had just enough time to better pack my stuff and put on my sunscreen. I was going to go around with a young German backpacking couple also staying in Baan Bua Guesthouse and No, our guide, was going to drive us around,

First stop: Visiting the Hill Tribes.
It was an hour-long drive up, and Dana and I spent the first couple of minutes doing the whole "getting to know you" thing, then the rest trying to get some rest. I just ended up with a crick in the neck, something that always happens to me when I try to snooze upright.

The hill tribes were very interesting. There were the Akha, the Long Neck Karen and the Big Eared Karen tribes all living together in the same area. A lot of the tribes migrated from the Burmese border not far from Chiang Rai. I'd read about the Karen in the book "Eternity in their Hearts," written by the same man who wrote "Peace Child." Very interesting stuff, I highly recommend it.

It was a bit of a tourist trap with souvenirs everywhere, but at least they were very reasonable priced. And it was interesting to see the women in full costume. They have a lot in common with the indigenous people in the Philippines, some of the hand woven patterns are almost identical to the Ifugao's.

Second Stop: The Myanmar-Thai Border
Another hour-long drive to the border. The Mekong is really small there, amazing that such a piddly little body of water can separate two big nations.



Had lunch here. Bit of a communication fiasco and I ended up with two bowls of noodle soup, the first with pork, the second with chicken. Sigh... At least I hadn't had breakfast so that should fuel the rest of my day.

Third Stop: The Golden Triangle Viewpoint
The Golden Triangle (composed of Thailand, Burma and Laos) was a region famous for opium and so-named because they used gold as the standard currency for opium trading.

Growing opium is illegal now, so there are at least 2 museums in the area dedicated to educating the public about opium, its effects, and its penalties.

The Mekhong behind the pretty lady in the pic is home to the world's largest catfish, which can grow to around 2.5m. You can ride that baby to work!!! LoL. They start fishing for that monster next weekend, during the Thai new year.

There were 2 old Buddhist temples in the area so got to see those, as well as a new and humongous golden buddha.

We spent another hour in the car going back to Chiang Rai town, had a quick shower and headed over the night market for dinner. Mild green curry with chicken. Mmmm... Had to dig out the Thai phrasebook to make sure it had no beef or pork, or was too spicy. But worth the effort.

Then had my first Thai massage. Just one hour, wanna go for two next time. It was GOOD, and funny because my masseuse and I couldn't communicated, so I couldn't really tell her what I wanted apart from my facial expressions, which under normal circumstances are pretty
comedic anyway. LoL. It was fun.

Then spent a good while uploading pix while trying to get sleepy.
My twit said it best:


I'm still weighing the pros and cons of heading over to Chiang Mai for the Songkran (New Year Water) Festival... It will be packed with tourists, and although I am one myself, I prefer to go when no one else is there.

 
I finally made it! My photoalbum says it all, but here are a few highlights:

I made it to Chiang Rai, Thailand, safe and sound, complete with welcoming party c/o my accommodations, Baan Bua Guest House. They have a cute web site and  free WIFI!!!

Napped for a bit then headed over to the Night Market to grab some grub. Literally.

I've been wanting to try fried insects (or flied insects as the locals say) since I saw them on our family trip to Bangkok in December 2006.

Quite yummy! The bamboo worm and house cricket are my favorites, the big water beetle was a bit too hard to eat, tough shell and all.

Did a little bit of pasalubong shopping, VERY small items because I have too many friends <ahem> and some birthday presents.


God is funny, he's also answering my prayer about affirming my feminine appeal... in unexpected but nonetheless welcome ways. ^_^ 'Nuff said.

As promised, this next update is being blogged from Bangkok Airport, where it turns out i WON'T be spending 11 hours. Because of Cebu Pacific's infamous lateness, that time will be shorter.

Oh well, at least I was able to meet new people from YWAM. As I was speaking to these much more mature workers, and listening to how God has worked in very different, but nonetheless very powerful ways in their lives, I realized how this trip could really be a turning point for me. I mean, I'm living the dream, baybeh. Independent woman, dream job, dream bachelorette pad, I really can't imagine it can get better than this.

But it can! (And no, I don't mean I need a man, because I don't.)
Because God is the God of the INFINITE! Meaning it just keeps getting better!
From glory to glory, from strength to strength, to infinity and beyond!!!

So I was pondering these things in my seat on the plane when we finally boarded. We even had to relocate from Gate 3 to Gate 15... Haaay NAIA. Good thing my ADHD tendencies prevent me from ever getting bored. Weird noh?

The girl in front of me in the line as we were boarding was my seatmate (I saw her seat was 22E, I was 22F. Yes, Leo's Byakugan and Allen's Sharingan are somehow rubbing off on me) so I said "Hi!" Once we got settled in our seats, turns out she, Sheila, was with Hot Legs, a Filipino dance company I actually knew about because one of the women in my small group is also a dancer. Turns out that our common dancer friend (Twinkle) was actually subbing for Sheila while she was going on holiday in Bangkok.
God does not play dice, and we DID pray for divine appointements, so !pt to God!

Ayun, because we left late, most of the othe passengers were trying to sleep so I tried to nap as well. No such luck. So instead I prayed about the trip and committed to the work I know by faith God is going to work in me.

And as I was having my own worship service in my seat thanks to my beloved walkman and looking out the window (I got a window seat!!!) at the clear night sky, I saw a falling star. It fell exactly in front of me, and I just knew.

I've been praying for a very critical something to be planted in my heart, and I believe He's going to bring Breakthrough this week. (And again, no, it's not a man.)

So expect more exciting updates!

In the meantime, I have to refine my talk, prepare my slides and maybe even handouts. I'm in Starbucks, and my twit says it all:
"I'm in Starbucks BKK Airport. My chipipay estudiante d'Katipunan technique works here too! I go a quiche, hot water & used my baon Tazo tea!"
Harang naman kasi talaga ang mga airport prices, but I will keep ordering "real" stuff because I'd feel guilty otherwise. LoL.

<--- She looks soooo tired.

It's been a LONG day, a long week even, but thankfully it's almost done. For the first time in so long, I am able to sit down and blog.

I am someone who can't sit still. I probably had undiagnosed ADHD, but by God's grace, I still turned out "ok". Not normal (perish the thought!) but... functional.

Anyway, I'm off to Thailand for a YWAM conference, and I'm so excited to be energized to be a bringer of the Evangelion!!! (Did any of you understand that?)

Basta...

So I'm in the Naia lounge, waiting for my plane to start boarding.

        FREE WIFI IN NAIA!!!
                    WHO'D HAVE THUNK!?

And to meet up with some new friends from YWAM, who I've never met before, but who are on the same flight as me from Manila to Bangkok.

Will be boarding any minute now.

My next post will be from Bangkok Airport, where I will be spending 11 glorious hours, hopefully solitary. ^______^

I can only rock the planet because I stand on the Rock of ages. ROAR!!!

Good Friday 2008. The newly-formed BSG (Blissfully Single Gals = Anj + Stef + Rory) go out on a road trip to Batangas (all the way to Pico de Loro) and Tagaytay.

It was one of those perfect days you have, when you don't have a schedule or an agenda, and you're out on the open road of life (literally speaking and otherwise) with people you can be yourself with. And trust enough to wear a swimsuit with. And sing your lungs out with. A rare gem of a day, and I'm glad I ducked out of other obligations to just... "be."

Oh, and I hadn't slept that night, and when I did manage to start falling into the blissful emptiness of sleep, my drift got interrupted by a 5am call from.. someone. Basta. Anyway, lets just say I was not the usual bright, hyperactive, sunny, perky and quirky hypeRory. I was still Rory albeit in happy but woozy, spaced out, and bangag mode. Not zombie mode though, thankfully, because Anj and Stef are just so ALIVE.

We had loads of adventures on the road, including Anj+Ror's first trip to Stef's house in Imus:
two perpetually-lost girls trying to find the way to foreign territory so early in the morning, with just a set of hopefully-100%-correct (they weren't) directions in a text message. This is a perfect formula for one of those horribly cheap 'n' cheesy teen slasher flicks that I never watch, but thankfully we made it anyway.

We generated a healthy collection of quotable quotes on the way, and here are some:

• "Life is like a road trip. Sometimes you lose sight of the beach."
  
  
• "That sign says turn left, but the text says turn right... Let's trust Stef's directions."
  
  
• "We're gonna die!!" --screamed while trying to take our emo-and-on-the-road music videos (Here's one video clip, care of Stef.)
  
  
• "Single life is like the Pico de Loro: beautiful but still under construction"
  
  
• "Shiva Shu-shu" --> Anj's many-armed corporation, given by Stef, named by Ror
  
  
• "I'm that rich, I could have given you the sky had you wanted"
  
  
• "What's sizzling buko go-od?" -- Stef has a rare ditz moment
  
  
• "...More of the night before..."
  
  
• "This is a worship service in a cup." -- Rory enjoying her cuppa coco from Bag o' Beans
  
  
• "Life is a curved road - Sometimes you're so close to the moon and sometimes it hides behind the trees."

More BSG updates to follow!

Hey folks!

Yes, I've been imitating a corpse for the longest time, partly because I was living as a zombie practically the last six months and partly because being a very visual person, having no digimemories to hang on to (visual cues etc) because of my pitiful lack of a digicam has been dragging down on my blog-eloquence.

So I'm back!!! Alive and my webpresence will soon overwhelm the net!!! (Now that's an ambitious statement if I ever read one) because I now have a digicam!!!

 I've been leaching snaps from my sister (three years my junior and she got a digicam more than a year ahead of me) and my friends and now I have a memory-catcher!!! Sounds pathetic huh? But it's true!!!

Here's a piccie of my new camera, which I have still to name, care of my mother's favorite -- and only -- sister (and my current host).


So quick update. I'm not in France and I'm not in the Philippines. So where am I? I'm typing this five minutes to midnight in Seattle. Yes, dear ones, the pseudo-post-colonialist zealot is eating her words, and they don't come any more calorie-packed than here in the US. But no, I am still not looking for a job here, and I pray God doesn't call me to stay here for longer. (That would be so embarrassing and I've been spewing anti-American sentiments for so long, and I can't blame the Brits too much for that).

Anyway, enough angsty ramblings. I'm on holiday, I've practically run away from home for some "me"-time to reflect on just where this (my one and only take on Earth) is going, and it is a bit unsettling to have a big wide expanse of nothing ahead of me, especially since I've been making ten-year plans ever since I was seven. Seriously.

But it's not just an empty nothing, it's a nothingness pregnant with possibility. (I've stolen that line from someone but I can't think who.) I CAN DO ANYTHING!!! But I don't want to get married yet, despite my discipler's counsel to start opening my heart. Um... the spikes stay on my wrists and in my hair and the gates stay up for another two years as far as I can help it!!! (Which isn't saying much as I've learned the past year)

Okay, I'm being boring and taking myself too seriously again. I am totally a chlor-mel (read more about temperaments).

Recently I evaluated the senses of humor in our family, well between me and my siblings anyway. My brother Josh is funny through slapstick and just saying sablay (random) things and being awkward in his coming-of-age sort of way. Chev is funny with her words, brimming with sarcasm, wit and not just a little bit of meanness. I'm really into words and word-play in the most babaw (shallow) way. I think I do it subconsciously to balance the way I take myself much much too seriously. Like I sometimes wish I could just write wittily like my sister, but I always end up too overanalytical and despite my best efforts not to come off as dry, I still do.

Sigh...

Funny how absence makes the heart grow not fonder but often more pensive... Or maybe it's just me and my overuse of ellipses... I even think in elipses... It leaves the thought open for amendment and clarification...

I just remembered how my guidance counselor told me that whenever I went in for my compulsory once-a-sem visit, she'd just listen while I shared and dissect my own words, thoughts and feelings, counseling myself. The hard part is applying that same sensitivity to others... I am a work in progress, and He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it!!!

There I go again with the reflexive-shrink-session.

I'll be more fun tomorrow... Maybe... There I go again with the ellipses...