.

2010-07-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

as my quota is filling up, i've moved to here http://awanderlustandhercarmera.blogspot.com/

2010-07-10T01:13:00.000-07:00

i am in love with exploring 'M' and it seems like i can't stop!

shooting spree

2010-07-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

saturday morning, i went out running for 9 kms on the hilly road alone. it's what i've been waiting for the whole week. it was a bliss. then i came home and had a shooting spree. sit back and enjoy my photos..;]

2010-07-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

i've noticed that the photos i took during the past weekend were mostly blurred. i think it's bc i didn't focus much and wasn't in the creative mood. and when i walked around the house, the light were strong already. i shouldn't have left it that late. and i think if i went out for a long run before i grabbed my camera, the mood and the photos might be clearer.

talking about the mood, i was in hugh foul mood this morning. after sending my 11 year-old cousin to school, i got back to open my shop and found out that after talking on the phone with his mom, my cousin mistakenly slipped my handphone into his pocket and brought it school. i tried calling him but he cut my calls. i supposed he was in his class and didn't want his teacher to know that he had a handphone with him. i found out later that his teacher confiscated the phone and if i needed the phone back, i had to go to school to get it. no, i won't. this is not the first time that he forgetfully brought my phone to school. the previous time, i went to his class and got it back. but this time, i am going to let him solve his own problem. at his school, there is a rule for the childrend that they are not allowed to bring a handphone to school. so, i will wait to see what he is going to tell me after he gets back from school.

i was very furious this morning bc my day was already packed and busy since opening my shop. i don't want any chaos added to my morning and i need that phone for work. but after taking so many deep breaths, i am okay now. i know it's not a big deal but i want my cousin to pay more attention for what he is doing and do not cause me any unnecessary extra works. if his mom or my sister were in my shoes, they would rush to school to fix things for him. but it's not my style of childbearing. i want him to fix his own problems that he has created..

2010-07-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

it was the most relaxing weekend for me and all of us. after driving back and forth the hospital for a week, i looked forward to this past weekend the most. when getting home, i aimed to finish the urgent translation i just got the day before by saturday morning and then let myself get lazy. i didn’t want to do a thing after emailing that work to my customer. my mind and body had been wrecked since monday to friday; sleep-deprivation, the soreness from mini-marathon, taking night shifts taking care of dad at the hospital, getting busy at shop during the day.

thus, the whole weekend, i got myself free from work; binged on sweets & had eating spree (i knew i shouldn’t), said no to running shoes (bc my knees still hurt), took several naps, took loads of photos, played with phun and py, slept in and was massively obsessed with ‘girl who played with fire’. it was a wonderful weekend.

2010-06-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

i still pull out some photos i took during the weekend. i've self-learned to use 'M' mode, instead of using 'AV' all the time. i've tried it before but found out 'AV' was easier to use and so i sticked to it onwards. but now i told myself that i've known 'AV' for a while and it's time to learn something new.

saturday morning, i walked around the house looking for something to snap and at the same time learned to use the 'M' mode and get myself used to it. i am a slow learner. i've read/owned books teaching photography. i read them all, got confused, put them at rest and learned photography my own way. only when i want to know something, i got back to the books, clear myself out of it and do it my own way again. i don't like sticking to the rules. it's depressing. and i don't like to depress myself out of my hobby.. and here are my exploration/experiment from using 'M' mode.

anyway, how was your monday morning? mine was spent unexpectedly at the hospital. at 6 am, i got a phone call from my sister saying that dad needed to go to the hospital again. he would be coming with mom and auntie who came for their doctor's appointment in another hospital and i had to pick up dad on the way and bring him to PSU.

after sending Kla to the school, i drove to pick up dad and brought him to emergency room in PSU. we went to the emergency hoping to get things done urgently. still, we had to wait for the young, just-graduated and inexperienced doctor to show up and make a fuss over my dad. i wanted to tell him that if my dad was not in pain, he would not rush in to town in the rush hour to see him in the emergency room. he finally prescibed some medicine for my dad to release the pain and cure the disease while he is waiting for an appointment with other doctor next month. we came home with a bag full of medicines but unsure with what the young doctor prescribed to him. this evening, we've decided to bring him to see another doctor, old & experienced, in a clinic in hadyai.. we were back to my shop an hour before lunch and then my work started..

some photos before the race

2010-06-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

friday afternoon, i drove home a bit early, stopped at the farmer market to buy foods for the weekend. arriving home, i saw py and her dad biking towards home on mom's bike. i couldn't help grabbing my camera to take pictures of them while i was driving after them.. they just came back from a bike ride.. dad and daughter..

we like to let them play on the dirt and get dirty as they wish. we believe it's a kind of learning.

in this pic, phun crawled slowly in the dirt from where he sat to where Achi was sitting, climbed up Achi's chubby back, rest his head there, spreaded his tiny arms around Achi's round waist and hugged her. cute, isn't it?

this photo of Achi was taken by py with my camera.

this too..

and this too..

i taught her to look through the viewfinder, close one eye and press the botton. i didn't know if she did what i told her to do or still blindly clicked as she used to do but i like how all the photos came out.. how was your weekend anyway?

my second mini-marathon

2010-06-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

sunday morning, i woke up at 4.30 am, a bit tossed and turned during the night. i was afraid that i would wake up late and didn't make it to the running event. (if so, i would feel totally miserable.) at 4.50 a.m. i woke up everyone to get ready and leave the house. we also dug phun out of his bed and carried him in the car with us. i had to be there before 6 am and lucky that i was there 15 mins in advance, so i had some spare time to warm up. most mini-marathoners were gathering at the start line and i went there standing mute among. it was okay for me to run alone among other fellow runners so i just looked around listening to their converstaion. as my nervousness has quietly gone, i stood there looking for some runners at the same age rank as me. as far as i saw there were few of them and all of them looked fit and firm. however, i wasn't so anxious as i didn't intend to win a trophy. i just wanted to have another experiece of running a mini-marathon and to step out of my comfort zone..

at 6 am, other runners and i were released from the start line. i didn't understand why they had to speed up right after they were released as it was just the first few meters of our 10.5k run. nevertheless, i speeded up after them. until the front shins started to get sore and painful, i slowed down. it was the first sign telling me that if i didn't take it easy, i would not finish this run. so i started to run at a slower pace for a while. until the pain had gone, i speeded up again. i kept passing other runners who outran me before. i started to go faster little by little. it was not bad at all when the shins were not sore. i could speed up as i wished. i think it was due to the weight that i lifted and the hills that i ran that kept me go on without not feeling too tired. while other runners started to slow down, i managed to speed up and ran faster. passing half way thru the u-turn point, i felt joyful that i still had plenty of energy left. i just had to make sure that i didn't dehydrate myself. so i stopped every water point to sip water and go on.

at one point after pushing through half way, i managed to keep up with a 50ish female runner who had outran me many minutes ago. she seemed fit and fast. her energy hadn't dropped since she was released, while i was puffing hard like a buffalow running a race beside her. we took turns pushing front until i didn't want to complete with her anymore, i speeded up faster and left her on the back. nearing to the finish line, i speeded up a bit more and finished my 10.5k run at 1.03.32 hrs. i couldn't believe the clock i saw. it was too fast than i expected. but if it was correct, i am quite fast if compared to my previous record.. it felt a sense of joy and pride.. it felt so incredibly awesome that i decided to step out of my comfort zone.. and do the hard thing..

we arrived home earlier than expected as we received a phone call from one of our uncles saying that dad had fainted. so we rushed back home after the run. reaching home and seeing dad's pale face, i phoned the clinic checking if they opened on sunday. they did so i booked him the first queue. my sis and mom drove him to the clinic and found out that he had vertical sickness.

after settling with dad, i got back home with phun and pae, took a shower and retreated to my bedroom to have a long nap. i slept like i didn't sleep the night before. my legs was terribly sore. the whole body was exhausted and i felt like i needed a day in bed.

there are 3 more running events held by different faculties in PSU. i think i will join all of them. i think i am hooked now!

2010-06-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

a few days back, i'd been hesitating to join the running event held by the Faculty of Pharmacy in PSU, Hadyai campus bc i don't want to do it alone and i am lazy to drive back to hadyai in advance. (i'd created so many excuses not to do it.)

but this morning, while running on the treadmill, i asked myself if not now, so when? i've wanted to join a marathon for a long time but scared of it. though, i used to take plunge before on a 15k mini-marathon in Tarutao island and i won a trophy. so this time, i am going to plunge into it again. it's time to leave my comfort zone and do the hard thing.

in the event, there is a 4k funrun (walk & run) too for family, elderlies, kids and interested non-runners. my mom, auntie and sister are going to do it while i am running 10.5k. at least, i have someone to wait for me at the finish line. wish me luck, people!

p.s. the picture is my sister and i at our first 4k funrun together.

2010-06-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

this morning when walking around the house looking for something to snap, the feeling i felt was like when i had eddy for the first time; that first sensation to touch and hold him tight walking around shooting, the feeling of owning him and putting the compact camera at rest.. i am glad the deep passion for photography has been reborn again. i remember before that i spent hours walking around the house looking for something to shoot until my eyes got blurred. and this is the blog i keep my 365 "project":http://idoitagain365daysofjoy.blogspot.com/

anyway, how is life treating you this week? i can't believe it's thursday already. i've been enjoying my life and work a lot lately. as i said, nothing speacial, it's just moment after moment that i enjoy living. i've been working long and busy day again. i like talking and interacting with my customers. i like planning my day, keeping schedule, playing in between, and pushing myself when deadline comes close. i always juggle play and work since i worked for the coperate world. and now i've realized that i've learned a lot of things while i was playing (and working) in the office. it's my kind of life living. this way, i won't feel pressure too much and at the same time i am productive. i get things done while switching to play.

and i've realized that working out of cubicle suits me best. how i gauge this? bc i am happier and i know myself a lot more. i've learnt the depth of my own mind. i have more time to do something else, apart from working. if i have to make a pie chart of my life, work would be 30% in it. i am not afraid of not having a fat bank account bc i don't have it now and i still survive. it feels like i am exploring out of my comfort zone. it's more like a way of living. i kind of enjoy the present and live the day.

2010-06-21T22:58:00.000-07:00

i am being tempted to start a 365 project again. i've done it before but failed gracefully. when i did it before, on the day i was in the mood to take photos, i took heaps of them but on the day i didn't feel like holding eddy, there was none to show the world.. so that i fell out of track and couldn't keep up.. while running this morning, i convinced myself that i should do it again. it's a challenge to take photos for 365 days in a row.. and naturally i like chanllenge. it's a creative thing to do and i want to be creative. i like photography so i should take photos everyday.. i think i will do it.. and i will start it tomorrow. ;] i will tell you where i keep them..

2010-06-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

hello monday.. we finally meet again.. not every week that i feel like i love monday but this week, i really do. nothing special but it's just some good thinking and it's bc of my day-to-day life i've lived lately. it makes me grateful as each day passes.

during the weekend, i've spent my life the same way as i usually live.. i woke up when i saw the first morning light creep into my room, not waiting for the clock to alarm at 5 like the days during the week. it was so good to be free from the snooze. i love waking up to the freshness and the stillness of the morning.

this weekend my sister declined to go out running along the road with me. she said that she prefered running back and forth on the road near the house. so i went out alone. i love running along the never-ending road. actually, i enjoy running alone. it's the time i use to clear my head and sort things out. it's one of the time that i have myself as my best freind..

instead of turning back home at the same point i used to do previously, i convinced myself to go farther, beyond my comfort zone. i kept running until i reached the market. it's about 4.5 kms from home. running 4.5 kms was not a problem at all but running back was quite a challenge. i kept running slowly to prevent my legs from getting too sore. i must confess that my legs went stiff and my right knees started to act up. the sun started to shine stronger and i had to fight with the temptation to walk home, instead of completing my 9k run. while running, i was argueing with myself. i've never stopped running and walked home before and this time, i shouldn't do so. so i kept running slowly, hill after hill...

eventually, i stopped at the temple where i usually stopped. it took me 1.10 hr to finish 9k. it felt so great and it felt like i've conqueued something very big first thing in the morning.. then i walked home slowly to cool down and i felt hundred beads of sweat running out of every pore of my skin.. it felt damn greatttt.. the sunlight was stronger and i didn't mind it burnt my sweaty face.. i will do it again next week.. only that i will start it earlier..

while walking home, py was eating boiled rice at a little stall not far from my home with her parents. i convinced her to walk home with me.

phun just woke up when we arrived home. i got into the house to get my camera and snapped the morning moments. have i told you that i love morning and the soft sunlight in the morning? it's a bliss..

i like taking photos of objects being bathed by the soft sunray.. it gives me sense of happiness.. the cheap happiness that you can find every single day..

i like weekend bc i can get away from work and play like a 7 year-old kid and don't bother how people will think of me.. i like being called auntie and being needed by py to be her playmate. i can't wait for her to grow up and teach her to love arts and reading.. i can't wait to watch tons of movies with her and share our ideas about them together. conversely, i want her to stay this age as long as she can so i can go back to be a kid again and play with the toys i didn't have a chance to play when i was her age..

i didn't take many photos this weekend but enough to look into them and reflect how i spent my weekend..

sunday morning was not different from saturday, only that i went out running shorter than saturday.. we had breakfast in the soft sun and made fun of each other.

sunday afternoon, i called my girl friend, checking on her with her moving. we talked for more than an hour. i like to exchange opinions with her about life and what we have learned from it. she asked me about my feeling after the breakup. it's been a month and a week now. i am not totally over him yet but i am doing fine with my new life. i've passed the moaning period and it's like i am beginning the new chapter of my life, the life i have to live without him as the center. he's been calling on my mobile and i've been avoiding his calls. i am not mad but i am not ready to talk..

(these 2 photos of phun and i were taken by py with my eddy.. she has been iching to touch eddy for a long while but i was so scared that she dropped my beloved eddy.. however, i wanted to take risk bc i know py will be one of the great photographers one day..)

during the weekend, i have experienced another sense of accomplishment. i've eventually finished the book 'the girl with the dragon tattoo'.. it's pretty big for me and quite a challenge bc it's not a chick-lit and it's out of my reading genre. and i am glad that it has become my genre now.. coming back to my shop, i've started a new book.. it's a little thing that i've been looking forward to.. life is good..

this morning, before running, i noticed that the second flower of this cactus is blooming again, while the old one was degenerating.. it's beautiful..

2010-06-15T23:15:00.000-07:00

Py was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon after staying one night there. she is getting much better and talkative again. thanks for asking, Natalie..

it's a relief that she is safe from Dengue hemorrhagic fever. but we will let her stay home bc loads of kids are getting sick with this disease currently..

i spent half day with her reading the new book to her and we snoozed off together. after she started to snore, i sneaked out of the room and got back to my shop.. her dad came to pick her up later in the afternoon after she had her last checkup by the doctor.

anyway, i got back to running this morning but tried not to run too much. just 3 miles on the first day to wake up my legs and on the day i want to do strength training, i will run less bc my appetite will go ridiculously high and i can't stop binging. so i try to do things in moderation. but on the day i don't do weights, i will run longer like 5-6 miles but i still need to set aside time for it.

now it's 1.30 pm and i started to feel drowsy again. i need some coffee but i can't bc i don't want to feel miserable when the cafein starts to kick. the headache is terrifying. so tea is better. (and hopefully no more cookies!!) ..

2010-06-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

i've stopped running since sunday. it's due to my period and i take it as a time to rest my legs and do something else when i am not running.

each morning, i spent more time reading and journaling. it feels odd but good to sit still from 5-7 am, instead of speeding up trying to make a new record on the treadmill. i will got back to the spinning track tomorrow though. i prefer getting fit and firm to being bulgy and baggy.

this week, i've finished 'larger than life' and am still going on with 'girl with dragon tattoo'. i like to read 2 books at the same period of time; one in the morning and one at night. the first one was light read and predictable and the second one was one of the best sellers. i wanted to give it a try. it's been pretty good and keeps me hooked. many things have come up and surprised me as the story goes on. but the story is quite long and complicated. i like the challenge and the change of author. it helps provoke the way of my thinking. it feels that if i keep reading the same writers, i keep thinking the same way. so, i still keep list of new books and authors recommended by other avid readers or websites, just in case i stumble on a used bookstore. actually, my books are running low and i want to go out hunting for them to overflow my shelf again.

above is a photo of my cactus that i've planted for years and never seen it bigger than this size and this is the first bloom it shows to the world. i can't help taking so many photos of it but this one is my most favorite.

this week is going to fly by with family's affairs; Jae's funeral and Py being hospitalized yesterday.. the whole week is being packed with schedule.. i hope you enjoy life..

2010-06-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

this weekend, i was out in town and had a chance to play with my camera again. not much bc i had to carry phun on my side while walking from mall to mall. his dad was with me while his mom was in a meeting but he refused to let his dad hold him. so it was me who played a nanny while his mom was not around.

but it was good to resume my old habit of taking photos of random things. it's like finding way back to the old me. it was good to be out and i will always look for chance to go out and snap some photos again.

when i am out, i like to find a place to sit and sip tea and munch on cake. it's divine.

eating chocolate cake once in a while wouldn't hurt my bulky tummy much, i think..

while the tea was for me, the coffee was for bro-in-law

while i was sitting alone taking photos of my tea cup and cake, i heard this a couple of thai woman and a old farang talking. i could tell his/her pesonalities hearing the guy talking/whining to his thai wife. but it was none of my business. so i focused taking pictures of what lay ahead of me on my table. but when taking my eye of the viewfinder, i saw this naggy old man shielded his forehead like this. i didn't think to take a photo of him but seeing this, i couldn't help.

we had dinner at fuji after my sis was finished with her meeting and then we headed home.

phun seeing this Mc dummy in a 'wai' posture, he 'wai' the guy back..

sunday morning, i slept in (not that late, just 7 am.). my sis and phun knocked on my door waking me up. i didn't want to run so i just stayed lazily in bed. not long after i woke, py and her mom arrived with their breakfast. we gathered at the marble table feasting on breakfast together. the sun was soft and shining.

our ordinary sunday morning began with kids playing and having breakfast together. i had my camera in hands taking photos of them documenting our moment. my brother washed his car. my sister looked for some info in the net and got interrupted by py. and she gave up the laptop for her to play.

phu, one of our young cousin, joined the morning with us too. i found it was easy to capture his pictures. they came clear and beautiful bc he was pretty still looking to the lense, not like phun and py. both of them were like moving little monsters, didn't know how to stay still.. but with phu, i didn't know which photo to put here bc there are so many photos of his beautiful innocent face..

sunday was always the shortest day in the week and time flew the fastest.

we retreated inside when the sun started to beam stronger. py and phu went back to their home around 10 am. then we got back to work around the house and lived our sunday together, lazily and blissfully..

while talking and playing at the marble table, we received a bad news that Jae, our 22 year-old cousin had passed away early this morning. she had down-syndrome but sang and dance better than i do. she was the joy of us whenever she was around. she was the center of our attention when we had a party with a karaoke. she could sing nonstop, in her own language. she caught dengue fever 2 days ago from her friends and was hospitalized right after being picked up from school. that night she was transferred from that local hospital to one of the big hospitals in hadyai. her dad was with her the whole night. early in the morning, the doctor told him not to worry and that he could go home and come back later. at 8.05 am, she was called dead. yesterday after coming back from home, i wrote in my diary about her and last night after falling asleep, i dreamt about her. she was still playful and teasing me. she chased after me to scare me bc she was a ghost. but it was her playful nature and i wasn't afraid of her. so we played together. she told me, in the dream, that she didn't want to go but they, the guys, shirtless, in green thai old- styled pants, came to pick her up. however, she accepted it gracefully. it's like she came to say goodbye to me. rest in peace, Jae. you will be in our hearts forever.

2010-06-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

today, i want to write about random things with the ramdom photos i took while i was on trips. i like to sit looking at thoes kinds of photos after the trips have ended a long while back. this is the way how i look at the progress of my photography. i like looking at them and question myself 'what i see in them and why i like them?'..

i guess each photographer has topics in their minds when shooting a photo. though they snap way too many of them, there are some, not all, of their faves.. i like snapping candid moments and i like to look for ordinary things and make them look a little more beautiful and interesting.. at least in my own eyes..

this one was taken at twilight in manila, while we were walking from halls to halls window shopping. it was a good-looking bustling area with cars, taxis, shopping malls, shoppers, tourists, teenagers, salarymen walking, meeting, fixing dinner and just hanging out..

the name of this shop hit me when i first saw it.. yep... people are people..

i've never eaten/bought donuts at home but when in a new place, why not try it? a friend who went with me, she was low with sugar and high with this new brand of donut, so we went inside and gave it a try.. sweet & soft as other kinds of donut but way pricy..

i've heard it's a good book and been translated into many languages. so i picked in up while browsing my fave bookstore in KL. i've not finished it yet, not half way yet , but i intend to do it.. it will be one of the 50 books i am going to read this year..

after being about and around, he is sitting collecting dust in my green shelf right now. when this semester ends, i will dust him off, wash him fresh and bring him to the far-flung country again. i promise you, bb.

..i am obsessive with tea, white tea cups and coversations over a cup of tea with a dear company..

i am trying not to post any photos of flowers again in this post bc i've posted so many already.. but here we go, i've posted one again.. it's just the photo gives me a fresh feeling..

this one was taken in dream world in bkk. it reminds me one of the dreams to go around, walk around and snap fountains in Rome. my sis and i are daydreaming about making this dream come true, in 2 years i guess..

this year, life is like riding a roller coaster, mostly emotionally. but that ride, up and down, reminds me how strong my heart is and how support and friendship are meant to me..

beach; i am sitting here thinking of a resort perching on a white sandy beach with a big dark blue-tiled pool where i can soak into the water until my skin get super dark..

and lastly i miss going out, shooting at myself in the mirror and being creative thinking where the hell in the picture to put me in to look even cuter than ever.. i miss visiting new places, getting lost, testing my own heart, learning somebody else's heart, sitting in a cafe ordering new taste of tea and being obsessive with taking photos of that tea cup while my company is talking about his/her life.. i've missed my life being spontaneous and random..

2010-06-07T05:44:00.000-07:00

hiya!

sorry for not posting much lately. i will put the blame on the breakup which has turned off my muses to create, snap, write and have fun with life. but i am gradually falling back to being 'normal' again. i am building up my motivation to create..

i've snapped some photos during the weekend but not too many as i did before. i didn't walk around the house with eddy in hands. i just snapped when everyone was around playing. i just wanted to document those moment with pictures. honestly, i miss time hanging out taking photos. i miss time walking around the house with py looking for things to shoot.. previously, i guess i just existed, not fully lived. i just didn't want to live or pretended to live. the joys have vanished into thin air.. but they are coming back, i promise...

here are some photos from the weekend. it was a total mess with kids working on thier arts together. i like home full with young artists getting hands stained and dirty with colors together. i don't mind cleaning up after them. even phun, his little finger nails were black with crayons. they started from water color. got bored with it, they changed to solving jigsaw puzzles, then to color pencils and lastly they played with all the colorful toys scattered around the house. until after lunch, py and her friends retreated to their homes to have lunch and a nap. and the house was heavenly quiet again..

lucky me, my bro offered to wash my car for me.. bliss!!

..photos from the weekend before from my auntie's garden..

happy weekdays!!

2010-05-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

i've been avoiding writing here bc i don't know what to say. i've been writing a lot in 43t, so i have left nothing much to write here. but what i write in 43t are mostly my daily life and daily goal. so, i feel it's time to update here and write something.

routine : i am still struggling to get back to my old schedule to open my shop at 7.30 am.. i couldn't finish everything by 7.30 am yet. i am a greedy person for my own time. i want to squeeze so many things in my morning routine. i want to write, read, and run before bringing kla to school and opening my shop at 7.30 am. (i used to be able to do this last semester.) i got up at 5 and read for 1 hour. after reading, i want to journal. i find that rambling in my diary is an outlet of my reading. when i read, i want to write. i got back to writing morning page again. not 3 pages every morning but the i've resumed the habit of sitting and writing in the morning. not constantly yet but i am slowly walzing to it. it's like having a meeting with an old friend. i've set 30 mins for writing but it seems like 30 mins is never enough to reflect things in my head. thus, it left very little time for running. when i had not much time left for running, i chose a quick run like 10-20 mins but i don't want to do quick run everyday. i want to do long 5 miles once or twice a week. i can not 'not run'. so i have to make time for it. it's kind of a way to jump start my long day.
relationship : it's been 2 weeks now since the breakup. pt still texted me from time to time to check on me. i didn't reply any of them. i deleted right after i read them. this time i want us to be finally over. i don't want to get back and repeat the same circle again. once is more than enough. i don't hate him. i am grateful that he let me go and that he was the one who made the move. i didn't have a heart to break up with him. i would feel guilty the whole life. i started to get over him but honestly, not totally over yet. i still miss him and it hurts. i don't miss him to want him back but i miss him and it hurts. but i will be through this process soon. the cheerfulness in me is up and down so far.
reading : when my schedule is steady. it's easy to get back to reading again. i've set a goal to read 50 books this year and 20 books have been down the shelf now. 30 more to go. this morning, i finished 'how to be good'. must admit that it was not that good as i had expected or as people in amazon said it was. but still it provoked me some thoughts and it kept me thinking. i like books that leave something for me to think along, though sometimes they are a drag. i feel like a big success when managing to finish a book. so the mood is 80% up today.
running : i am not a professional running but i enjoy running a lot. i run to loose weight, get in shape, get leaner, clear my head and mind, loose in my own thoughts, be alone and get away from people. when in my shop, i treadmilling but when at home in the village, i run along the tarmac. it's hilly and paved with rubber trees. it's soothing.
roaming: though i am back to work, i have some trips planned. this year is the year that i am super broke and it's the year that i stopped buying things i really don't want. i use what i have. i save hard bc income is not as good as before. i get creative with what i have and bargain with things so i won't spend too much money. why? bc there are 3 overseas trips, which is hard to say no, waiting for me through the end of the year. july, i am hopping on a night bus to singapore with family. there will be 13 of us. (yes, 13!!). mom and aunties had nagged us to bring them there for a long while. but my sis and i kept postponing the trip bc we are kind of seeing a lot of singapore already. but we finally gave in, set a trip for them and asked around if anyone wanted to join us on this trip bc we won't be going to singapore again in a few years. if they want to go, it's this year. only. next trip is india. everyone said it's a pure madness going there. but i really want to see india. there are enough reasons i can think about that i should make this trip happen. 1) i've kept postponing for a few years. 2) i have found buddies to go with me. 3) i don't want to wait until i push past 40. 4) i don't have any plan in october this year yet. 5) i love indian fabrics. 6) at least once in my life, i want to see india.. so here we go, !ndia! we picked sikkim and will be roaming around for 10 days. we will visit tea orchard in darjeeling and trek along snowy mountain in nothern part of india. and yes the flight was booked. the final trip before new year arrives is Laos. i am going there with one of my best friends. this trip, we want to chill out and see Laos in our lazy ways. we have plenty of time to explore northern laos.. we will travel in circle. go one direction and come back another... if all the trips are done, i will be travelling to 5 countries this year; philippines, malaysia, singapore, india and laos..

as i've walked through 2010 for 5 months now, i sat thinking back about the way i've spent my life.. i think i did it quite great. i've waded through a lot of things and most of them were what i intended to do. some were surprised and some were planned. i spent loads of time with my folks at home. i took good care of myself. i've made running my habit. i ate plenty of fruits and veggies. i managed to get back to the same weight and get rid of the extra kilos i happily gained during my holiday/traveling time. i've journaled alot and made it a way to connect with myself. i went out to see the world. i've been to the places i have never been before. i've met old and new friends, get connected and reconnected with them. i've been through few good cries. i've been hurt and heart-broken. i've found true friendship during those hard times. i've experienced the meaning of true friends. i've reconnected with my old boss whom i've not talked for 7 years and i managed to say thank you to him for being the hardest boss ever while i was living the coperate world. i must admited that i was occasionally pissed off with him while i was working for him. he made me feel like a tea in a cup full of hot water. i believe that tea is at its best taste when soaked in very hot water. (and he liked to soak me in that kind of water.) there were a lot more to be grateful for and yes i've been transformed through those months and the next 7 months will be spent even greater, i promise (to myself)..

2010-05-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

friday afternoon, while we were driving home from hadyai, kla and i saw this huge rainbow. i want to stop and snap but couldn't find the right place. so we kept chasing it until we turned right into the village. i parked the car on the roadside and snapped some photos of the rainbow. what i saw with my real eyes was way more beautiful than this...

the grey sky still looked wet and heavy from the thunderstorm that just had disappeared. it had a huge rainbow headband across from right to left.. on the opposite side, the sun was still bright and shining.. it looks more like sunrise than sunset..

saturday morning, my sis had to bring her boy to see the doctor in hadyai. i wanted to tag along instead of staying at home and living my life online like last week. i want to go out and see people. she and her hubby dropped me off in front of lee garden. i took the escalator to the second floor and saw that there was an idea market which i've heard about for a while but never had a chance to come. i walked around looking at cute hand-made things without the intention to buy anything. but when seeing handmade diaries with fabric cover, no lines and light brown paper inside, i couldn't resist. i bought one for myself and one for a friend. i can make this kind of diary but still don't have a mood to do it. so it's better to buy if i want to keep a journal..

after the idea market, i went to the third floor to sengho bookstore and browsed around for a few hours..

at lunch, we met up at fuji. whenever, we brought phun to hadyai, we liked to have lunch here bc he liked the soup and streamed eggs there and he could eat plenty of them..

my fave thing, apart from the food, is tea. i can sit there and sip all day long.

after lunch, we got back to sengho again. joon and pae wanted to buy some books for kla and themselves. i grabbed a book to read on the floor and watched phun while he was taking a nap..

after phun was up, we got back to central mall to get our car and drove back home..

sunday morning, i was up a bit late bc last night sis and i stayed up late looking/searching for a hostel in singapore. we are going back there in 2 months to see the newly built universal studio. my sister and i just went to singapore last december to buy a pram for phun and really didn't want to go back there again. but we couldn't resist our mom and aunties who really wanted to go there. they kept asking us 'when singapore trip, when singapore trip??'. we said 'okay, we will set the singapore trip for you guys but no more singapore in 2-3 years..' my sis and i don't want to keep going back to the countries we have been to a few times already. we want to go to new countries.. so here we go again.. singapore!

late sunday morning, we sat planning the trip and made some flight bookings. we are going there by a night bus and come back flying so everyone won't be too beat getting back to school or work on the next day.. so far 12 of us have confirmed. we have asked around relatives who wanted to join the trip bc as i said i won't make a trip to singapore again in next 2 years.. and this time, to make the trip more interesting, we will go see the newly made-universal studio.. i promise to take tons of photos while traveling around..

not only the flight from singapore that my sis and i managed to book, we also got it done with our flight to india. we call ourselves queens of low cost airlines now. in half day, we had booked flights with tiger air, jet airway and air asia..

at 4.30 pm, i drove back to my shop alone. the weekend was over and life is back to work. i decided not to stay online when getting to my shop. instead, i started cleaning my bedroom and did the laundry. after everything was done, i took a shower and chilled out with tea, journaling, scrapbooking and reading... good to be back to writing and taking random photos again..

2010-05-19T17:20:00.001-07:00

within a week of staying in my own cave and feeling lonelier there, i decided to come back here. it feels like it has deprived everything from me; my joy, my creativity, my energy and myself. the reason i wanted to take a break was that pt and i broke up again. we are finally over. it's our second breakup and i hope it's the last bc i don't want to repeat the same circle again. it's like riding a rollercoaster. up and down. left and right. up and down. left and right. no end. i want to stop it and live my own life. and now i am back. i don't want to stay sad and angry all the time. i want to let it go and forgive him for breaking us up for the second time. this time i will let him go, permanently. though, we have fallen apart due to the changes of our lives and that we were unable to glue them back together, our 13 years of relationship will be with me, forever. i won't forget that we had been through thick and thin together, through all kinds of weather. we'd grown up and learned so many things together. and hope that when we meet again, we are still able to look at each other's eyes and still feel good for each other. i don't want our love to fade away just bc we decided to walk on our separate ways.. i wish you luck, pt.

i am doing much better and getting back to the old me. i get back to writing in 43t again and i get back to running yesterday. it feels amazing. i read some inspiring stories about fellow runners and i got inspired. i read some stories about writing and i want to write more. i want to write everyday. but i want to write about the joy and the inspiration in my mundane daily life, not the things that depress me or my readers.

the storm is passing, not totally but some has gone. i am getting myself together and i am doing fine on my own. during that time, some friends who know about it have cheered me up, by phone calls, emails, facebook or 43things. thanks so much. you guys are amazing. i won't get through it this fast without you..

2010-05-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

i am posting some of my fave photos while i am taking a break. i know it won't take long. i might be back in 2 days, who knows. you guys know that i can't stop taking photos and writing. i like writing my heart out here and showing off tons of my cool photos. so it won't be long..

i am wandering through life and hitting a crossroad. i am stopping and thinking what i am going to do with the new road that is suddenly falling into my lap, without predicting it in advance. it is a surprise package came with shock, tears, good friendship and a new life to venture. it shocked me a bit. i've lost my footing. but i am shaking my cute bums and getting up. i will be back..

2010-05-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

yesterday was the royal ploughing day in thailand and a public holiday, so i decided to close my shop and drove to my parents'..

in the morning when everyone was up, we ganged up at the marble table to chat, eat, talk and make fun of each other. while sitting there, we watch py and achi play hulahoop..

..phun watched them play too..

when he saw that hulahoop was left unattended, he crawled to it and started to play on his own style.

trying so hard to make it spin around his tiny boday

after so many failed attempts, he gave up!!

oh..poor boy!

2010-05-10T01:17:00.000-07:00

hey there.. how are you guys doing? how was your weekend? mine was really awesome..

i spent both saturday and sunday eating, shopping, belly laughing, hanging out by the beach and pool in songkhla with 2 friends from high school; Rose and U..

on saturday before lunch, after finishing all my morning routine (detox, read, run, journal & take a shower), i drove to songkhla to pick up Rose at her home and then drove back to hadyai again to go shopping for swimming suit .. before shopping, we stopped by at chaba restaurant to eat somtam (papaya salad) as lunch ..

then we headed to central department store to buy swimming suits. the swimming suits there were way too cute, especially the bikini. i nearly couldn't resist myself buying one!!

Rose picked some of them to try on in the fitting room and most of them were in loud shades of colors.. red, orange, blue, green, pink..

..i walked around taking photos while Rose was busy in the fitting room..

when it was time to pay, Rose wanted to pay by her debit card. but there was a problem. they wouldn't accept her card unless she signed on the back of her card. Rose tried to explain them that nobody signed on the back of the card in the States as it could be used by someone else if she lost it. still, they persisted her to sign the card.. after phone conversation between Rose and the bank staff, they said they could not accept the card without her signature. so, Rose was fuming and got her card back and we walked away. i told her, we could try robinson..

so we left central for robinson. getting inside there, we looked for swimming suit section and before Rose tried any of them, we asked the staff to check if Rose could use her unsigned debit card.. after checking with her supervisor, the sale girl told us that the card was okay to use here.. then, Rose repeated the circle again (selecting swimming suits & trying them on)

after leaving robinson with a swimming suit, we headed back to central again bc my car was there. we got 4 hour free for parking there.. why?? .. right before we had problem with the card, i handed my car park slip to the sale girl and she happily stamped for me and gave us 4 hours! (the number of the hours for parking car depended on the price of the shopping..)

after getting in the car, we headed to Aom Bake House. we had fried noodle (me) and fried green curry rice (rose), cakes, coffee and tea here.. and we chatted some more..

after noodle and rice, we ordered a piece of cake for each of us. rose could finish hers in a blink while it took me longer as mine was sweetly rich and bigger.. if i didn't feel like my tummy was going to explode, i would have finished it all. it was very yummy!! i think i will go back to eat it again, only this time i will go back with empty tummy..

then we drove to songkhla to check in at the hotel. after settling in the room, we got changed to swimming suits and came out to the pool.. we lied on the wooden bench by the pool talking and waiting for the kids playing in the pool to retreat.. but no, it looked like they wouldn't leave the pool easily.. so we decided to walk along the beach.. it was awesome being tourists in our own town.. one must do it once in a while..

when the sun was setting, we walked back to the hotel, checking out the pool again. not so many kids so we hesitantly dip ourselves into the warm pool. not sure why it was so warm.. maybe, it was that the sun just set which left the water in the pool warm but Rose was not so convinced about that.. she thought about some other reasons.. however, she followed me into the water..

when it got really dark, the color of the sky turned into deep dark blue. we were still there floating in the warm water, chatting, looking into the glittering stars.. we were not so hungry yet due our mid afternoon feast..

around 7 pm, we got back to our room to take a shower and left for samila sea sport for dinner.. we mostly ordered seafood, ate slowly and chatted. we finally got back to our room around 10 mins before 10 pm. we planned before having dinner that we were going to walk in songkhla walking street (which we have never been there before and wanted to try..) but it was a bit late so we decided to get back to our room..

next morning, after waking up, we drove to krom luang chumpon statue. Rose wanted to light fire crackers there. later, we walked along the pavement taking photos..

..and then got back to the hotel to have breakfast..

late morning, Rose wanted to see her parents at khao san temple so i drove her there. getting back to the hotel, looking at the pool, i was hesitant to jump into the pool as it was 11 am and the sun was strong, baking and burning. i would be super dark after getting in it just for 10 mins. but the pool being devoid of people was so inviting.. getting back to the room, i finally gave in and put on bikini. i don't understand why thai people are so afraid of getting dark skin. you are beautiful bc of your thought not your outside appearance.. getting back to the pool, i slowly dip myself into the clear and inviting water. i swam for 20 minutes to make all the muscle moved and then got back to the room to take a shower and got ready to check out when Rose was back..

luckily, U (our high school girlfriend) was free from work and could join us for lunch. we picked chomchan in yor island to have lunch and chat.. so after checking out, we drove to yor island.. gosh! after all these years, U hasn't changed a bit.. when talking, she was still loud, funny and damn straight.. i hadn't seen her since 1993 but when talking to her, it was like we had met often after leaving school.. we laughed until our bellies hurt.. seriously..

we sat there talking from 12.30 am until nearly 3 pm.. i drove home feeling full and happy. before leaving, we had a promise to meet again in 2 years when Rose is back to thailand again.. next time, U will try to gather more friends.. i bet we will wreck the place with more high school friends!

snap arts on the road..

2010-05-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

as someone who likes to travel and snap around, when my feet get ichy and put me back on the road, i like to look for things to shoot, especially when i am on my own. i have few themes in my mind when my eyes are behind the viewfinder. i look for something like arts, any kinds of it, advertisements, quotes, sayings, mirrors, strangers, candid moments, foods, buildings, graffiti..

here are some arts from Malaysia to Philippines..

on the walls at petronas twins towers when i was walking looking for underwater world

when we were visiting Dr. Jose Rizal's shrine in the philippines, there was an art exhibition there too. and i'd walked around snapping some paintings around there..

here are from the wall in a pizza shop in a town we stopped by for lunch and passed through to Naga City

at bigg's, our fave hangout for lunch and dinner in Legazpi City

in Donsol, after going whaleshark watching and swimming with them, we fall in love with this kind creature. thanks so much, Siena and Cindy for giving me this incredible experience.. the mural paintings can be seen all around the town... not just in Donsol, you can see them all over the Philippines.. different places, different themes..

..and once again in another Bigg's, on the way back to Naga City..

..when we got back to Manila, we created our own art while waiting for biggggg lunch..

2010-05-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

hello from home..

after sleeping in, i greeted my day by doing some household chores slowly and sleepily, wanting to get all the works done before py and phun woke up.. bc when they did, we would do something fun together..

this week, we started our morning activities a bit late bc no one wanted to leave thier warm bed. it's sunday morning, people, and they wanted to be lazyyyyy..

but when all the members of the gang were up, we gathered at the marble table in front of the house, having breakfast, chatting, chasing and doing some creative mess.. py is in love with water color. everytime i get home, she asks if we should play it together.. why not? bc it's auntie's passion too.. not so professional but auntie can make a mess too..

py is slowly and happily falling into the artistic trap i dig for her.. taking photos, painting, writing, drawing.. she seems to enjoy doing all of them.. and we like to do them together.. it's the time to break my creativity loose, let it run wild and make a beautiful mess.. it's a win-win situation.. us spending time together.. py learning to love art, i falling back to be a 3 year-old joy again..

now, phun and py are taking an afternoon nap.. it's time for me to sink into my 'me' time, sipping tea, surfing net without feeling guilty, reading about india, putting my thoughts into my beloved blog.. have a glorious weekend, people..

when the sun sets, we will go out running on the hilly road together...

2010-04-28T03:04:00.000-07:00

some random photos from the road trip. my life is back to normal now. the packing, repacking and unpacking life is finally over, just for this summer. you know i am restless and my feet always get ichy, so there will be little trips here and there before the next big trip again..

i am happy to be a homebody again bc i am super-broke after so many trips wandering around. it's time to get back to work and save up. but it's how my life going.. i can't have big fat saving account without roaming around at all. so what the money for? i choose to have some and travel some.. i call myself lucky for the time, work and money that i can balance.. there are not so much of them but it's how i spend them. my only aim in life is to see as many places as possible.. go out snap, see the world and meet new people..

and the year of 34 had been so eventful. it was up and down. here and there. big and small. large and tiny. happy and sad. cry and laugh... this is how i want to live my life for the rest of my life. i don't aim for big things.. my very big thing in life is travelling..

when not travel, i don't like going out much. but when i am out, i am unstoppable.. life is too amazing to just stay in one single place..

i like going out meeting new people and seeing new things. i like mixing with local people to see how they live.. i've learned a lot from the philippines trip. i had a chance to stay overnight at venus's house. she has a lovely family. her mom is so kind. this is the way of travelling that i crave for.

and the beautiful photos i snap on the road are like oasis to me. when i am weary from work and routine life, those photos remind me why i work and what i work for.. 35 is going to be another bigger year.. i've silently planned some travellings.. and i really can't wait..

..let live large bc you have only one large life..

2010-04-27T01:36:00.000-07:00

hi there! i am back!

my 22 days of roaming around during this summer is finally over.. i've been to hua-hin, the philippines, and on a roadtrip with my family to some parts of my beautiful country, Thailand.. we left home on april 20, 2010 and arrived home last night on april 26.. i am planning to create 2 new blogs for our road trip and my trip in the phillippines.. so stay tuned!!

miss ya..

joy!

2010-04-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

today, after packing our old clothes for donation, we went to fuji for lunch. tomorrow is monday. it's time to get back to work and the long weekend is finally over. i need to finish one translation before leaving for philippines.. i guess i will write again when i get back from the trip.. have fun and i will miss you.. take care.. joy..

2010-04-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

april 2 of every year, we gather to make merit to our dead ancestors and grab that chance to meet all relatives before songkran festival or thai new year (april 13).. it's our family gathering. everyone is happy to see one another. kids run around playing and getting to know each other again.

i was home on april 1 bc we had a small party the night before our big day and on april 2, at night we had another big party. we sang karaoke and we danced together. adults got drunk and kids danced around.. it's our happy time we shared together once a year, before everyone is back to their normal life again..

2010-03-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

i've a place to show you. it's our new route for running. i drove past this road everytime i went back to my parents' home in the village but never thought of going running on it. there were some joggers and runners on the road but i still didn't give it a try. last sunday, we didn't go to the playground bc py didn't want to, so we went to this road. it was quiet, breezy and shady. i went there with my bike and i was glad that i wore my running shoes. i biked there while my sis, phun and her hubby rode a motorcyle.. i am so happy that my dad fixed my bike (yeah, wim.. it was finally fixed!!)..

i biked there with my camera hanging on my right shoulder. i was ready to stop anywhere if i want to snap some photos. i love the old feeling of the wind blowing against my face and the free feeling of being back on the saddle again..

when we got there, we parked the bike and motorcycle and then started to walk leisurely. i didn't aim to run that afternoon becuase i already went out running in the morning with my sister. but the road was so new and smooth and i couldn't resist. i handed eddy to my sis and started running for 10 mins. it felt so good. (you will get the feeling if you are a runner yourself. what you need is just a nice pair of running shoes and a place to run..) next time when we go out running again, my sis and i are going to come here..

monday morning, i drove back to my shop and decided to take a break from running for a day. my hips and back are horribly aching due to carrying too many dirt to fill the pool. i couldn't believe i worked that long.. i just wanted to accompany my dad while he was working nearby laying bricks for my bathroom.. i kept working until i was beat and retreated into the house.. after all the sweaty works, i somehow like the aching feeling on my back and hips..

today, i got back on the treadmill but just a quick 20 mins and i could make it to 2.7 miles. then, i did 100 crunches. i chopped it into 50/50. i couldn't do 100 in a row but i will be able to do it soon.. the hard work seems to pay off. i start to see my tummy is getting a bit flat and hard. it works, so i bet i have to keep on doing it.. i bought a new bikini and i want to look fab in it.. there is another summer trip waiting and we have booked a nice hotel with a big big pool and near the beach. i can't wait to get darker again. but this time, i swear i will wear more sunblock and more often. not the dark skin that bothers me but the ichy skin that i had to scratch while sleeping.. and you know what, the first stop after leaving home at 4 am and after the long drive, we are going to stop and stay 1 night in Hua-Hin! yeah, i am going back to Hua-Hin again..

now, i've kickstarted my day with running and warning up my writing with this blog.. it's time to get back to translation and be done with it.. before i am too lazy to do it.. have a lovely tuesday you lovely people..

2010-03-28T01:03:00.000-07:00

bb meets py

i am at home, listening to lifehouse and wasting my time online. weekend is meant to be my lazy time, doing nothing and playing everything with my niece and nephew.. they are napping now and i just woke up from my nap. it's sunday afternoon and everyone is at thier own corner, watching tv, listening to radio, taking an afternoon nap and working.. me, myself and i am in the kitchen, writing in my blog and reading something inspiring.. i want to write in my blog today, instead of waiting to get back to my shop tomorrow bc i feel inspired to write.. i have works to do, 2 translations, which i need to finish before leaving for philippines, but i will do it when i get back to my shop.. thinking of works makes my tummy flip already..

saturday and sunday morning, i was awake bc of my sis. she came knocking on my door, wanting to go out running with me. normally, i go out running alone and i like it. actually, i love my alone time when running. i love the long quiet road lined with rubber trees along both sides. i run under the shades with warm morning sunlight chasing after me.. i was lost in my own thoughts and it made the running go faster than i expected.. but this weekend, we went out running together both 2 mornings.. i miss the time like this with her. we used to do it often before, and now we start to do it together again.. while warming up by brisk walking, we shared things and looked for something to talk and make conversation..

after coming back from running, it's auntie time. honestly, when i am at home, i don't need to worry about works, my own works or household works.. i just don't do or think about them.. what i have to worry is what i am going to play with phun and py and then decide what we are going to do next after they get up from their afternoon naps.. it's my fun and relaxing time.. i will worry about my work again when i get back to my shop on monday morning..

saturday afternoon, i made a new camera strap cover out of my old skirt. it looks nicer and more professional than the first yellow one. i used sewing machine on the second one but hand-sewed the first one. i like them both but the first one was rundown after so many trips so i decided to make a new one.. it looks lovely and girly.. i think i am going to make the third one after seeing nice fabric...

this morning after running, instead of playing with py, i helped my dad carry the soil to fill the pool we dig. (so why did we dig it on the first place??) it took me more than an hour but it seems like the work is still a long way to finish.. after an hour and a half, i was beat and sweated madly... but i am glad to help him. who is going to help him if not me? my sis is too busy with her son and my bro with his work.. i am the most single and available one.. that's my job to help.. and i am pleased to do it.. and you know what i sweated more than when running and walking for 1.5 hours with my sis this morning.. and afterwards when i watched madagasca with py, i fell asleep way too many times before the movie ended.. it's a bliss..

and now we are packing to go to the playground again.. we went there already yesterday and we brought BB with us too.. py is in love with him carrying him around while changing sliders and chasing other kids.. my bro-in-law is into basketball (he is very good at it actually), so we played together after chasing py playing sliders.. basketball is not my thing but i always like to try new sports and playing basketball was so much fun chasing the ball and trying to win my bro-in-law by shooting more balls into the hoop.. but no surprise, he always won... life is fun, actually.. have a fun weekend while it lasts..

2010-03-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

i've finished this book this morning. i didn't mean to but i was so hooked so i kept on reading until the last page. as a result, i missed my running and journaling but the laughs and the insight from the book were worth it..

it's the book i would recommend to my beloved girlfriends to read and i want them to keep it handy and read it when they need some advise on relationship or dating.. bc i will do it myself too!

if you watch the movie and you love it, you will feel differently from reading this book. i can't say you will love this book but you will laugh along, out loud, while reading it and keep nodding 'yes', 'yes', 'yes'.. (and might think..gosh.. i'd made that stupid mistakes too!!)

this book makes my day as it gave me big and more laughs than i ever imagined. the language is straight and to the point and too harsh sometimes. it feels like it's hard to listen or believe bc it's too true.

at some level, it opens your eyes and gives you more self-confidence and self-esteem when dating or in a relationship.. i am not a girl playing games when being in relationships. i want something real and no faking. but i feel it's better if we, girls, learn to read the mixed messages guys like to give us. so we won't waste our precious time waiting, wondering, assuming.. and then we can move on with our life if we feel he is not the one we want to spend our time with.. you will realize faster who will be the one for you and who is not.. (and move on or stay there..it's your choice..) i don't say after reading this book, i won't make stupid mistakes, i think i still do bc i like to follow my own heart.. maybe, i still fall for the wrong guys but i will be more classy doing it or i will do it with a style.. who knows.. but i think i get many useful things from reading this book.. or if you need a good laugh, pick it up.. i would recomend any girls to give it a try.. i will read it again..

2010-03-25T04:57:00.000-07:00

we went out to have lunch at mk today. it's been a rare occurance for us since phun was born. we mostly gather at home and play with him. but today, sis was in town with her hubby and py came to take her clay scrulpture course in hadyai. so at lunch time, we met at mk and ate with gusto .. yum!!

..and it's my cheat day for this yummy vanilla ice cream. not my fave but yummy.. wish you have a happy thursday.. love ya.. joy!

2010-03-24T04:44:00.000-07:00

hello there.. i am very busy with works, translations and life at my shop. there are plenty of works to take control of my time, but still i can't stop thinking about my holiday in HH.. it's kind of haunting me.. i've been dreaming about it from time to time since riding a night train back home.. it's supposed to be a good time to cherish and be done with it after the trip had ended. but hell no.. the holiday is still lingering in my messy head.. i think i need to get away again..

but i tell you what.. it's a good feeling and good thinking that haunts me.. i don't regret any minutes of it.. i am glad that i didn't resist all the fun when i was there..

how was your weekend??

2010-03-21T06:18:00.000-07:00

mine was fun and fulfilling. i spent 3 nights and 2 whole days at home playing with phun and py. i've missed them so much after 2 weekends away.. apart from that i didn't do many things. i just wanted to enjoy my laziness as much as possible before bouncing back to work on monday.

py and i liked to make a mess experimenting our imagination together. it's our bonding time. she likes it when i eagerly play water color with her. i like it too bc it is time that she focuses and stays still and i don't need to use all my energy chasing after her too much. she loves it bc i let her make a mess as much as she wants to. her little chubby face is always stained with colors everytime we do some fun with colors. i think i can see what she is going to be like when she grows up.

she is in love with taking photos too.. she liked to tag along whenever i grab my camera and is tempted to use my eddy.... gosh, this girl is going to be my certified true copy when she is my age..

late in the afternoon, my sis, her hubby and i brought phun and py out to the local playground. they were having a blast and enjoying it so much.. next week, we will be there a little bit earlier and pack some foods to eat.. the good thing is that after playing with them, i could run around the playground for about 15 mins.. it's so good to run somewhere new..

.. we came back home soaked and salty at the last light of the day and were ready to jump into bed.. it was such a long and eventful sunday..

home sweet home

2010-03-20T03:02:00.000-07:00

i am home with my two angels. this weekend my sis and i planned a new fun together. we let all the kids lie down on the cement floor in front of the house and let them draw their imagination. we adults were having fun too..

some photos i want to share with you..

it is fun to be home with them after 2 weekends away..

our last day in HH

2010-03-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

while we were laying next to each other on the beach yesterday afternoon, i told BB that tomorrow morning he could sleep in if he wanted to. i didn't want to drag him out to the beach to watch sunrise with me but he knew where to find me if he didn't see me in my room. he said we had to do it together. so, here we are again. at the beach at 6.30 am. it seemed like i was torturing him for dragging him out of his bed to the beach this early. but he looked fine but sleepy.

..i took pictures at the hotel while waiting for him to get ready..

there were not so many people at the beach yet, so we picked the spot to lie down talking. i was the one who talked and he listened. i was wide awake in the morning, while he was a sleepy head. until the sun got stronger and the sea got warmer, i moved into the water. he said i played in the sea like a dolphin and came out of the water only when i need some air. yeah, i guess he was right..

i tried to drag him into the sea to have some fun bc i was sure that he was not going to have this fun in his home country.. i wanted him to enjoy while it lasted. he was hesitant and preferred being on the beach than getting wet.. but finally, he gave in.. and yeah, we did have a good time together at the beach on our last morning together. (sorry to throw so many sand at you, sleepy head... the dolphin just wanted to play and attract your attention..)

when the sun was stronger, we moved out of the beach to look for something to eat for breakfast. when leaving the beach, we had learned that it was already 9 am. we heard the tourist police sing thai national anthem and stopped still until they finished. it meaned we'd been at the beach for 2.5 hours. my burnt-honey skin had finally transformed into brownie dark skin on the last day..

along the way to the foodshop, we still stopped to take some mirror photos.. we'd been doing this the whole trip. i wish every time he sees mirrors on the road in his home country, he is going to miss me and think 'i wish joy were here..' ;]

we went back to that famous local restaurant but there were too many people and there were no seats for us, so we went back to another shop. the food was equally yummy here but there were less people. we sat and had a long breakfast. i felt the sadness in the air. it was our last breakfast together and the conversation was getting less. we say thank you to one another for showing up and making this trip unforgetable.. until 10.30 am, we walked back to the hotel to start our packing..

at 12 am-ish, we checked out. i left my backpack at the reception and walked with him to the mini-bus stand. we stopped at starbucks to have teas, brownie and banana muffin and some more talk.. nearly 2 pm, we walked to the mini-bus stand and i saw him off there. we hugged, said good bye and wished each other luck with what life will throw at us and with our travelling.. he is heading to india after thailand and i to philippines next month..

stolenjoy goes to india with BB

and bb goes to philippines with me

i walked back to the hotel alone. i was lost in my own thought with mixed feeling. the road seemed farther than when i walked with BB. i told myself..whatever, life goes on. party was over and i had to get on with my life.. i am so glad that we both showed up and made this trip enjoyable.. it was a blast actually..

i stopped by at the internet shop near the hotel and sat there for 2 hours to just check mails and pass the time. i didn't write much of things on the net but i just sat there to reflect the time we'd shared and abosorbed it bit by bit..

at 4 pm, i walked back to the hotel to get my backpack and moved on to the train station. there were 2.5 hours to pass there. i looked for a foodshop to have early dinner and write postcards to myself and py. and i just sat there thinking.. when i was done there, i walked around looking for a post box but it seemed there was none around. so, i asked a perfect stranger to post them for me. i asked her if she was passing a post box. she said yes, so i asked her to post the postcards and she was eager to do so..

the train was 1 hour late. i was there with bb, waiting, taking photos and looking at the 3 night-old memories in my camera... i kept looking at them again and again..

the train arrived hatyai at 7.00 pm. thank god, the upper bed was comfy, the air was not too cold and the train didn't shake too much. the blanket was clean and thick. bb was a nice little thing to cuddle with on the moving train.. still, i couldn't sleep.. if i were on a holiday longer, i might develop insomnia.. i finally arrived home at 7.30 am.. sleepy, safe and sound.. and i miss hua-hin already..

the third day in HH

2010-03-17T05:01:00.000-07:00

when travelling, i seldom sleep tight like i do at home. sleeping at the hotel in HH too, i slept just few hours. first night, i woke up at 4.30 am. i tried to get back to sleep but hell i couldn't. so, i got up to read and write postcards to my loved ones.

on our second morning together, BB and i decided to take another half-day trip suggested by the tuk-tuk driver. we were going to the elephant village and khaotakiab temple. but before hitting the road again, we liked to go to the beach first..

i like beach in the morning and was looking forward to it every time when i was a kid when dad came to visit me at auntie's house.. he always brought my sis and i out to the beach on a saturday morning at the end of each month.. i guess that's why i've turned into a beach bum.. it's your fault, dad!

BB and i got up at 6.00 am. it was my idea and sorry to get you out of bed this early. i just wanted to watch sunrise.. i can't do it when i am in hatyai and i just had 2 morning left here.. i knew you would forgive me after you go back to your normal life in chilly weather in your country and you think back.. yeah, i am glad she dragged me out so early to watch the gorgeous sunrise.. ;]

BB seemed like a sleepy head in the morning, while i was wide awake and ready for the first light of the day.. we walked on the quiet road toward the beach, not talking much. i guess BB still needed a little bit more time to wake himself up..

luckily when we were there, the sun was still not so up from the horizon. it lazily showed the orange-ish light on the line where the sky met the sea.. yeah, we were there in time to just sit and watch them. i was so happy that i brought my camera with me.. it seemed like we were among the first few sun worshipers there.. we had the beach and the sun to ourselves!! ..

we lied down on our sarongs talking and waiting for the water to get a little bit warmer. BB looked like he was going to nod off every minute.. after the sun shone for a while, i tested the water and got ready to walk into it slowly.. BB decided not to join me.. he said not today.. okay, so the dolphin had to play alone this morning.. you can't say that tomorrow.. i thought to myself.. however, thanks for coming out with me..

i soaked up with the sun and the salty water until the sun got so strong and my dark skin couldn't go any darker.. we decided to walk back to the hotel and got ready for breakfast..

the driver picked us up at the same place as yesterday. we headed to the elephant village to get there before 10.30 am for an elephant show. upon getting there, we decided to just ride the elephant. it was my third time and i was still longing to do it again.. the elephant we were riding was female named 'nong noi'.

she was playful, hungry so often, liked the shade and didn't enjoy a long walk alone.. while we were riding her, she stopped sideway to eat and refused to move on unless she wanted to.. when she walked past water, she stopped by to bath herself and sometimes she sprayed the water up to us too.. once, she was under a shade, she stood still for a minute enjoying her life under the shade.. and she seemed like to stop under every shade we passed.. the mahout both begged and forced her to move on. he begged her like she was his lover and they were kind of cute couple.. i told him not to force her to walk if she didn't want to as we were not in a hurry.. he said that she wouldn't be like this if she had a company. it seemed like she didn't want to walk alone in the baking sun. she prefered companies as we human do..

the view was like we were in a cowboy movie with desert and dry mountain and the hot bright sun shone above our heads..

riding with the mahout for a while, we were asked by him if we liked to ride the elephant.. i tell you what i was going to ask him the same question. not hesitating, i moved to the neck of nongnoi slowly after giving my camera to the mahout. it felt like i was falling down everytime nongnoi move her legs. but a while later, i got used to it. then, it was time for BB to try..

the sun was straight to our head and baking us but we didn't care at all. the fun and experience were so worth it.. my dark and burnt skin will heal but the experience won't come every single day.. which one you wanna pick??

inside the elephant village (it's more like an animal farm as there were other kinds of animals too.), a female mahout rode an elephant past us. she looked so natural and comfortable with the elephant she was riding. i couldn't help staring at her for a while. i wish i ride this natually..

after the ride, we were given a complimentary coconut juice and fresh and sour pineapple.

chilling out and cooling down from staying an hour in the sun, we moved to the second place, khao takiab temple.. gosh, seeing the ladders, i wanted to cry. my legs were still sore from walking at khao wang yesterday.. but giving up and not climbing them was not me at all. i walked and ran the high stairs, with a long-legged farang tagging and walking slowly behind me..

i told you what... the view was breathtaking. the wind blew lightly giving you a fresh energy to walk back down again.

before climbing the thin stairs, i saw this big tree with its flowers. asking the lady nearby, i was told that the flower was name 'salah' and brought by the abbot on his religious trip to nepal..

getting down from the top, we walked around taking pictures of monkeys. the monkeys here were quite laidback and intimate to people.. they even sat there still and posed for us..

after walking back from the waterfront part of the temple, we walked to tuk-tuk and got back to town. another plan for a stickily hot afternoon was trying different flavors of ice cream at a locally made italian gelato.

we picked differently and shared. it seemed like i picked the flavors from the west and BB from thai. he chose lemon and coconut and i rum and cappu..

we sat there a bit long, taking photos and chatting until the air-con was comfortably cool and our sweat were drying up.. we were back to life and the energy was surging up again. after being done with ice cream, we were out to the sun-soaked street again. BB wanted to buy used books, so we walked toward the beach. i like bargaining price for him to get the lowest deal. it was like a chance to talk to strangers and practice makes it natural, boy.

after the bookshop, BB wanted to see the chinese shrine on the waterfront. there, we went. it was the last destination before walking back to the hotel for a nap..

you really look like that swede with this cap on.. you've brought me back to the past again and again..

reaching my room, i peeled myself off the sticky top and shorts, jumped into the cold shower and got ready to nap. it was a bliss that i could sleep tight again, even if it was in the afternoon and was just for 2 hours...

we came out to the beach again at 4 pm. i thought to myself that it was still hot outside and i needed more sleep.. why could i told BB to meet at 4.30 or 5 pm?.. i kept asking myself so.. however, we were out into the sun again at 4 pm. ish.

the beach had not so many people as it was monday. so good that it was not so packed. we picked the place and lay our sarongs for a few times, as the wind was blowing trying to test our patience. i resumed my nap again laying next to BB on the beach. i told him to keep talking. i was listening and just closing my eyes..

gosh, it was blissful, quiet and breezy. the wind never stopped blowing. the conversation was going deeper and more comfortable. we seemed like to talk about everything.. i lay there back facing the sky closing my eyes, listening to BB talking. at this time of the day, he seemed wide awake, while i was a sleepy head.. i got up again when the bright blue sky turned pinkish orange.. people were starting to move out of the beach and not many people there now.. i just realized that it was getting dark and we didn't move to the water since we first lied down on our sarongs.. i was just too lazy to get wet this afternoon.. maybe tomorrow morning..

then, again we walked back to the hotel with hungry tummies. took a shower and walked to the night market. today, we were going to try padthai with fresh shrimp and fried mussle.. and yes, BB loved it again..

it was our last night and i was sad already thinking about it. after eating, BB wanted to buy 3 pairs of fishman pants for his psycologists. we went to the shop we saw before and again i started to bargain for lower price, until BB told me.. i am okay with the price, i stopped but i still wanted to keep trying..

tonight, we decided that it was an alcohol free-night. we will go for something soft and i hoped that afterward i would be sleeping better than previous nights.. we wanted to try the restaurants sitting on the waterfront. it was a good view there. the view that we saw nothing at all. it was dark in the nearly sleeping sea but the waves were still lazily crashing on the shore. the sky was ebony tainted with shimmering stars.. not so many of them but there were some for us to look at.. i wish we were at an island.. there will be thousand of them for us to count..

i ordered blended lemon for me and blended papaya for BB and we tried 2 thai dessests. sorry, i forgot their names.. and again, BB enjoyed it.. he seemed like easy to please, huh??

we left for the hotel at 10 pm. the more the nights, the earlier we hit the sack. BB kept yawning while we were sitting there talking. so i told him, we'd better move back to the hotel. he kept saying.. it was okay, we were not in a hurry. we could stay as long as we wanted.. but looking at his light blue eyes through the clear glasses, i saw they were half-shut..

on the second day in HH

2010-03-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

after talking to bb last night about our trip and the price of renting a tuk-tuk to 4 attractions, around 7 am i called the driver to confirm the trip. told him to pick us up at the restaurant that we had breakfast.. bb and i walked to the restaurant that i went yesterday but there were too many people so we went to another one nearby.. after having breakfast, we hit the road..

before bb came here, i asked him if he was interested to bring a mascot to travel with us while we were going sightseeing together. he said he liked the idea but didn't say much after i popped it up. until he arrived HH, i was pretty surprised when he knocked on my door on the first night before we went out for a drink with a little brown teddy bear in his hand.. it felt like the trip was going to be fun, i thought to myself..

..and now we had 2 more companies to travel with.. belgbear and stolenjoy (bb & sj)..

we left hh for petchburi. the driver took us to khao luang cave first. i've been here before but when going inside for the second time, i was wondering if it was the same cave as the one in the movie 'dangerous bangkok' starred by nicholas cage. bb and i tried to google and figured it out but we weren't so sure..

after khaoluang cave, we went to Phra Nakhon Kriri Historical Park (Khao Wang). it was located on Khao Khiri, a 92-meter-high hill. The hill was ordered to build by King Mongkut (Rama IV) who loved the area so much that he constructed a palace where he could stay during his numerous trips to the area. The palace was constructed in 1860 and the hill became known locally as Khao Wang (Palace Hill). Built in a mainly European style with Thai and Chinese influence, the palace dominates the three peaks of the hill.

yeah BB, sorry i didn't give you this information while showing you around bc i was forgetting to do my homework about the places i brought you to.. and i gave you the wrong information too!!

at first, the driver brought us to the point that had the cable car but BB and i told him that we wanted to take a walk, instead of riding the cable car.. it was a long, exhausting and hot walk but we didn't mind. we were on holiday and no need to hurry.

so we walked up the steep road and stopped by along the way to take pictures. at the entrance gate, we had to pay the fee. i paid 30 baht and BB paid 200 baht..

while walking, we were talking about various things. it was time to catch up and exchange ideas for what we wanted to know from one another. BB was interested to talk about religion, i could give him idea for what i've believed and known from my point of view.. the walk was enjoyable and the talk went smoothly..

we stopped at some places to sit and talk and enjoy the view.. BB, you are such a good company..

after khaowang, we headed to marukatayawan palace. but along the way back, the driver changed route and took the along-the-beach road along cha-am beach. there were so many cars and the beach was highly packed with weekenders..

in marukatayawan palace, we had to get into prapokkrao military camp. we'd passed the area that held the fair for international kite flying. there were some colorful and different kinds and shapes of kites in the sky but there were not quite a lot.. i think..

at marukatayawan palace, we were dropped at the front gate and had to walk inside. the road was bathed by strong afternoon sunlight. it was hot and sticky walking into the palace. i felt beads of sweats running down my hot back.. beach, beach, beach.. i was thinking to myself..

The summer seaside palace, often referred to as "the palace of love and hope is located midway between Cha-am and Hua Hin. It was built in 1923 under the royal command of King Rama VI using golden teakwood from the demolished Hat Chao Samran Palace. An Italian architect designed the palace with a dazzling composition of verandahs and latticework in regal proportions.

as we were there pretty late and there were other holiday makers before us, we were allowed to walk on the first floor only. if we wanted to go upstairs, we had to wait until 4pm. but we didn't want to as we had another stopped before hitting the beach in HH.. BB was quite looking forward to the beach, so we just walked around downstairs..

next and last stop of our first day was plearnwan. the place was still new and highly popular among thai tourists. it displayed thai old styled way of life. there we saw an old style of barber shop, cinema, gold shop, grocery store, ferris wheel, food stalls, ice cream shop, movie posters..etec.. they did not just display but they sold some products too..

leaving plearnwarn, we headed back to the hotel to get changed, grabbed our sarongs and walked to the beach.. BB was quite looking forward to it. (i think i said it already before?) . i didn't bring my camera with me as there were still too many people on the beach and i didn't want to worry about it while playing in the water..

the sun was lowering and setting. the golden light was still there shining on my back while i was sitting on the shore facing toward the sea. it was a glorious moment. so quiet and i was lost in my own thought.. BB was laying on his sarong. he retreated after he was pushed by the waves to the rock filled with sharp shells and there were some cuts on his fingers and kneels.. aw..poor boy..

i walked back to him and we talked some more on any subjects we could think about. i was getting hungry more and more as we had breakfast in the morning and decided to skip lunch. i asked BB if he was hungry too. he said yes so we we walked back to the hotel. it felt like i could eat an elephant alive by the time we finished showering and walking to the night market..

one of the plan of BB for coming to thailand was to try thai foods. after deciding where to eat, i ordered 'kangsom cha-om kai' and 'tod mon kung' for us. then, i walked to look for some snack to eat while waiting for our main course. i got back to the table with mixed deep-fried veggies.. i was so happy BB enjoyed all the foods i chose for him.. ;]

after the tummies were fully satisfied by yummy dinner, we walked leisurely in the night market looking around. the road was congested with both thai and expat holiday makers.. i guess mostly the thai ones were from bangkok..

we crossed the road to the other side and walked along the street to the beach side of HH.. we looked for a bar to drink and finish our night there.. we picked the one at the corner and chose the outside table. tonight we ordered singha and our chat started again. we've learned about each other so much more from this trip.. 3 nights and 3 days together all the time, apart from when sleeping..

there were too many mosquitos under the table, after one drink we decided to walk back to the hotel. the people on the street started to slim down as we walked towards the hotel.. BB started to learn to walk slower with his long legs.. as my stride was slower and my legs were shorter, he had to slow down and walked at my pace.. we always said that we had all the time to ourselves and no need to hurry.. yeah, that's right.. we were one of the holiday makers. this word sounded like music to my ears..

we hit the sack around midnight, a bit earlier than yesterday.. tomorrow there will be another half day trip.. to be continued..

on my first day in HH

2010-03-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

the express train arrived in HH station at 6.30 am. i walked to the hotel without using a map or the service from motorcycle taxi bc i was there 2 years ago. i still could remember the route and things hadn’t changed much. leaving my backpack at the reception, i walked into town to look for sth to eat. i hoped to check in first but it was way too early.

i went to a local, famous and highly-recommended restaurant and ordered ‘khaomankai’. sitting there alone, while eating i watched the chaos of food ordering, people eating, talking and waiting for an empty table.. getting full, i walked around the sleepy quiet town with eddy in hands. i walked slowly looking for things to snap. i stopped at the waterfront chinese shrine to look at the sea and some sea birds. after a while, i decided to walk back to the hotel and waited until they let me check in.

getting into the room, i took a hot shower and jumped into bed. the train was too shaky and i couldn’t sleep last night, quite tossed and turned along the way in the upper bed. the compartment i was sleeping in was pretty cold too.

getting up again around 2 pm, feeling a bit hungry, i walked out to look for something to eat. after eating, i walked to an italian gelato, ordered after 8 flavor. it’s not my fave flavor but it’s good to try sth different? i sat outside and watched the world go by.

then, i walked further to the beach to a used bookstore i saw this morning and bought one book named ‘he is not just into you’, quite a funny book..

around 4 pm, i walked back to the hotel, left my shoppings there, then caught a songtaew (open-air, 2 row-minibus) to a newly open market called cicada.

it was still early and the shop keepers were just starting setting up their stall. i walked around and around taking photos and looking at those handmade products. giving in to the temptation, i bought one handmade bag with marijuana print. i kept looking and touching it and told myself that i had to own it.. ah! my first shopping in HH.

i walked until it was getting dark and as songtaew was going to stop running soon, i decided to cross the road to catch a songteaw back to the hotel. getting back to the hotel, taking a shower, watching cable, reading a book, i fell back to sleep again.

after bb arrived around 10 pm, i let him take a shower and then we went out to the night market for a drink..

our first time meeting, we caught up and talked about a lot of things and about the site that we've shared. it didn't feel wierd at all meeting him and sitting there with him for the first time. he was quite what i expected but just a bit different. we talked about our plan for the next day and he seemed interested.. stay tuned!

we walked back to the hotel around 30 mins past midnight…

2010-03-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

we are back from our camping trip in tarutao island yesterday with darker skin and happier soul. we are like a new pair of lovebirds again..

nothing was booked in advance as we wanted to be spontaneous. we brought our own tent so we didn't need to worry about the room. it was the cheapest accommodation we ever paid. (30 ฿ per head per night!) ..

upon arriving, we registered at the visitor center and then walked towards the beach to pick out the location. pt set up the tent alone.. i lay in the hammock watching him do it and taking photos.. gosh! it felt like i was a princess going camping!!

after the tent was all set, we walked to the shop for a cold beer.. yummy yummy..

back to our tent, we hopped in the hammock and talked.. we had some quality time talking and made up for the lost time. it was so good that we understood each other again and more ..

at 5.45 pm, we ran and walked up to Toh Bue Cliff to watch sunset.. the day was my 500th running day and I completed my goal up there.. the view was breathtaking, worth every drop of our sweats. our hearts beated like they were trying to poke out of our chests.. love the feeling though.. up there it was silent and breezy..

we got back to our tent before night fell. the picture above was taken in front of our tent at 7.15 pm.. we walked along the beach and took some more photos before walking into the dark deep inside the national park to look for communal bathrooms..

after taking a shower, we walked to the canteen with the wine we brought from home.. ordered dinner and drank our wine.. it took us a while to uncorked the bottle.. but i tell what... it worthed the wait.. but this italian red wine knocked me out after the third glass.. i guess i drank way too fast.. i was drunk. my cheeks and eyes got awfully cherry pink.. my head spinned but my heart was gleefully happy and my live was merrily full..

next morning, we woke up from our hammock at 7.30 am. first we slept in the tent but it was freaking hot so we moved to our hammocks and slept through the night..

woke up to the warm sunlight, we got changed and ran to the beach.. our never-sleep swimming pool was just 10 feet away from our blow-along-the-wind castle..

during the day, we didn't do anything much.. just lay in the hammocks, ate, napped, drank beer, talked and talked some more.. and acted goofy for photos.. it was hilarious, joyful and freespirited..

at sunset, we came out to play in the sea until it got dark.. the sand and the sea was bathed with the last orange light of the day.. so beautiful..

during dinner, we ate and talked again. we laughed and made fun of each other. sometimes, we laughed until our bellies hurt... aww.. it was like our old time..

after dinner, we walked into the darkening beach and played our fireworks. after seeing so many cool pics, i wanted to try my own..

sunday morning, time to pack and leave this paradise.. we were so glad that we made it happen.. next time or next year.. we will go rock climbing!! stay tune.. ;]

2010-03-02T22:59:00.000-08:00

..some random photos from the weekend..

2010-03-02T22:29:00.000-08:00

finally, we went to the beach!!!

as a beach bum and an islander, i always look forward to beach trips. i was more excited than my niece, py. but when we played with the angry waves, being hit by them together, she screamed from the bottom of her lungs.. it's our greatest joys.. and it was phun's first trip to the beach.. he was in awe when his chubby feet touched the sand at the first time..

hope you enjoy the pic..

..moon with a wing..

we are moon eaters!!

there is another island trip on this coming weekend and we have planned to do something fun; hanging by the beach, hiking, swimming, taking photos.. aww!! i really can't wait!!..

2010-02-23T18:04:00.000-08:00

i went to the revenue offices yesterday to get my tax done. finally. i felt light and relieved. never get used to it and never like to do it.. after doing for my own, i did for my sister too. it took me half day going through all the process, so many people crowding the office and it felt like a zoo and i was one of the animals.. however, it felt good to get it sorted.

it's good to leave the shop though. after glueing my face to the screen for a few weeks, without going out during the day, except to the farmer market to buy foods and stock them up in the fridge. i was like silent bomb waiting to explode. but there was no harm to anyone. i just need to get out to change some air and view. then, come back to translation work again. shop is getting quiet as final exam is happening. less work but still more translations. i still can't figure it out why.. but it's good to work without train of interruptions from needy students. the days are quieter and i am more focused.

holidays are coming close. my little heart is dancing around. you know what, i start to visualize them now.. series of them..

2010-02-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

i am sad to finish this book. it's too early. i want to read it more. it feels like having a good friend nearby and listening to her fun and cheeky story about love, life and decision makings that come along while you are trying to wade through the path of life; family life, city life, working life and shits in life.. i feel bold and bolder after relishing this book.

2010-02-21T17:33:00.000-08:00

i love the feeling when i drove home on friday, arriving there when the afternoon sun was still bathing the road in the front of our house. the golden sun, it gave me a warm feeling. 'home', what a sweet word. it' happiness i am waiting for each week. back to home and everyone.

it's been 2 weeks that i carried work with me when driving home. i let myself glue with the laptop wrestling with translation works on refreshing saturday and sunday mornings, through the wee hours. when i wanted to rest my blurry eyes, i walked around with my nephew looking for chickens and chasing them. oh, the boy loves it. he loves cats, dogs, chicken.. anything animals.. and a motorcycle ride.. bliss..

when he was weary and sleepy, i sent him back to his mom and i was back to work. when the eyes got dizzy again, i grabbed eddy and snapped around. not so many things to shoot this week, as so many works still pending...

still, i am waiting for this busy time to die down.. it's getting better each week. and i can't wait for a weekend away with my lover.. until then, there will be more photos from other places, aside from home.. happy monday, everyone!

2010-02-17T05:30:00.000-08:00

some photos from the past weekend. still, the busy time hasn't ended. it's time to save up for the coming trips. i really can't wait to explore the corners of the world that i've never been. one of the goals of this year is to go to the places i have never been and to see the people i want to see; either new or old friends.

it's 8.30 pm on wednesday night and i am calling it a night. i give in for the day and will start it fresh tomorrow. sweet dream everyone.. love you!

my list

2010-02-17T04:52:00.000-08:00

i was tagged by natalie from here http://spreadingsunshineii.blogspot.com/ and here is my list!

i work from home, open an internet shop and i am a freelance translator.
i am a runner. i try to run 5 - 4 days a week. i run to clear my head and kick-start my day.
i am thai, living in the south of thailand with my 11 year-old cousin. i try to drive back to my parents' to visit my family every weekend.
i like to travel A LOT. i try to take a break from work at least 3-4 times a year; inside thailand and overseas. i have plenty of time during school break.
one of my passions is photography. i think i take way too many photos.
i write a lot, mostly in english, about my fleeting thoughts in my blog and in my diary.
i have so many good friends. they are my precious gems.

2010-02-14T03:38:00.000-08:00

last friday and this afternoon, i let my ears burnt by cell phone talking to pu. it was more than 4 hours that we talked. too bad that we live in different parts of thailand, so we have to rely on cellphones to catch up with one another's life. she and i have so many things in common, yet so many things different.

when we talked we shared on things we view in life. we consult and we listen. i like spending time talking to her. one night when we were in samed, after so many hours talking, and we were in bed already, she was going to doze off (she has a habit of dozing off while someone is still talking.), i told her not the time yet. you had to talk to me first. she said we'd talked about everything and nothing left to talk. then, she just nodded off..

each year, we plan to meet at least once a year in a place that we have been to already or places that both of us have never gone before, to explore and share the experience together. we like spending time experimenting new things or savoring old ones together. and this year, though we haven't fixed the dates and places yet, we have something in mind. we just have to see how we can shuffle with works and personal lives.. but one sure thing, i am going to meet her in bkk again in may.. just can't wait..

2010-02-14T02:39:00.000-08:00

it was hard to leave home today. phun is sick catching a cold from py. so he is pretty cranky and not feeling so well. still, he managed to smile and laugh every time i brought him out to see his puppy friends. he looked at them with exciting eyes as though he saw them at the first time. lately, he is quite clingy to me than his mom. i guess our bond has been built during our morning walk together.. oh.. boy, i've missed you already!

p.s. there is no photo of py this week, as she is in trang celebrating chinese new year with her grandparents from her mother's side..

2010-02-11T06:07:00.000-08:00

i am so happy it's friday tomorrow. it's been an incredibly busy week. 4 translation works in one week and many pages of each. i love this job but the deadlines have freaked me out. there is no time to play online when works are packed like this. but it is good to be wanted.

here are some photos from the past weekend again. can't wait to go home to take some more. i am calling it a night now.. sleep tight everyone!

2010-02-09T15:29:00.000-08:00

they are some random images from the past weekend. i felt the urge to write and post something short before my busy day creeps in. it's 6.30 am here. it's time for running. i just finished reading that book 'one for my baby'; feeling gleeful for another accomplishment. i love the book, love the time savoring it. not sure for the next one. i still have one unread book of tony parsons. not sure if i will read it next or skip it and read other book instead. just for a change and then back to him again after that book. i don' t know yet, will figure it out tonight.

days and weeks run so fast. i am busy but i am happy. so many works to keep me busy and a few more translations to make the semester end faster. oh.. i love all my work and my customers. they cheerfully fill up my day. everyday is a new joy..

i gotta go. it's time to run. i want to run longer and better than yesterday. i am not so tired as yesterday. my spirit is up today.. till next time...

2010-02-07T01:35:00.000-08:00

i have been so obsessive with photograpy lately. it might be the new lense that i want to get better knowing it. some photos don't please me. that's why i spend way too much time with it. i even brought my camera to bed with me when i was home. i liked to look at the photos i took before falling asleep. i am a trial-and-error photographer. i read books and magazines about photography but i don't like to take course. i read just to know the basic of photography. when i know what is what, i dropped all the books and let my instinct guide me. i don't photograph the way professional photographers do. i don't process my photos. i love how they look right after i transfer them from my camera to the computer. just like that. no need photoshop. i don't want to be good at photoshop, but at photography.. i just do it my own way. it's kind of snatching moments, instead of taking photos of good looking portraits. i look at several kinds of photographs and pick the style i like and find ways to capture them.

this weekend was the same as the previous ones. after waking up, i carried phun outside the house together with my camera. phun is an early bird and always knocks on my door with his mom waking me up, asking me to bring him out for a morning walk. we went out on his pram and later py joined us.

weekend is our time for morning walk, having breakfast together and looking for some fun activities to do..

as phun got up so early, sometimes at 5 am, he went back to sleep again around 8-9 am. and after that it would be only py and i doing some fun and creative things together..

first thing first was walking around the house taking photos. we like to take turns taking photos of one another and looked for themes to capture; dogs, fish, plants, people, food or self-portrait.. it's our bonding time.. i gotta grab these moments before they are too old to hang around with their auntie.. before auntie is sagging and aging..

there was a piece of leftover cake from her birthday in the fridge. while i took it out for her, she ran to the front yard to get the candles she played with in the morning and started to put them on the cake. i lighted them for her and then she started to sing innocently 'happy birthday to you, happy birthday to youuuuu'.. i told you my niece was funny and creative..

when i am at home, i try to look for fun things to do with her, as i want to plant an imaginative and creative mind on this girl. luckily, she plays along..

but these kinds of activity, i don't need to force her to do. i just bring them up and do it on my own and later she asked to join me. some weekends, i didn' t convince her to do as she was the one who wanted to do it..

this past saturday, after taking photos and drawing, we went out on a motorcyle to buy a set of water paint. she didn't have any idea what it was and how it worked. i cut a stick from banana leave and started making some prints from it.

actually, this kind of activity doesn't only help her learn but it's kind of releasing the beast in me too.. i have been yearning to do it for a long time. i liked to do it when i was a kid but always got complained bc of the mess i made.. now as an adult, i like to see my niece make a mess. it's such a beautiful mess..

later in the afternoon, py left for hadyai with her parents and phun had visitors; his granparents.. and it was time for me to take a break from them..

sunday morning.. as usual, phun and i went out for a walk..

and now it's sunday afternoon, auntie is back to work. i drove back with kla at 2 pm. it was hard to leave and i kept postponing from noon to 1 pm and then 2 pm.. i finally and really had to leave as some works were waiting for me at my shop.. till next week, the fun will be on again.. it is so good to have something to look forward to while passing through the busy workweek..

2010-02-04T17:31:00.000-08:00

oh..it felt so good to run 4 miles today. this week, i managed to run only 2 times, due to py's bd and too bone-tired from work. it felt like i was riding a non-stopable roller coaster. in the morning, it left me with no desire to run at all. i wanted to but the knees and the energy were unwilling to cooperate. i know this kind of day won't be long. soon comes the holiday. a long wild one.. until then, i have to just live it up!

2010-02-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

i am relishing this novel. it's my guilty pleasure. trashy novel is all i need when i am busy with my shop. it's something to look forward to after a long 13 hour-work. after shutting the door each night, i rush to my room taking time taking hot shower and then jump in bed, curled up to read this book. i can say that i am a big big fan of tony parson. i like the way he conveyed his thoughts through the words he used. they are just open, honest, real and hilarious. i like reading the books that keep me smiling and keep wanting to know more but don't want it to end. tony's books are that kind of book. i want to read all his books. so far this is my fourth. and one more thing that keeps me hooked with his books is that the guy is so damn handsome. inside the cover is his picture. i can't help but smiling seeing his face everytime i turn the page.. i know i know it's not a way to give comments on a book but it's a pleasure to read a book by a cute author.. happy friday!! ..

2010-02-03T17:11:00.000-08:00

here are some photos from py's bd party. upon arriving home, getting out of my car, i heard py screaming my name 'aunt joei, aunt joei, aunt joei'.. it was the happiest moment hearing her screaming out my name welcoming me to her party.. when i was walking near her, she asked 'where is my birthday present??'.. ..

it was fun walking around taking photos of the happy-faced kids. they were playing, running around with wild heart.. shouting, screaming and dancing.. even phun, he couldn't sleep and was wide awake wondering why so many kids running about at his home at his bed time..

it was my mom's idea to have this party, instead of us going out and having dinner at a restaurant. she said kids wished for a bd party of their own with all their friends around. it's so true, mom! py was so gleefully happy and so were her friends..

taking photos of kids is a challenge, especially when they are high with sugar.. you can't stop them from running or ask them to stay still just for a few second.. so most of the photos came out blur.. happily blur.. some like to pose in front of eddy, some are too shy to look into the lense..

2010-02-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

i am driving back home today. it's this girl's birthday. she is turning 3. py and her friends are going to have fun but auntie has to clear all her work to be there with her and her gang.. i wish she were born next month which i am not too busy like this and i don't like driving back to my shop in the morning and get stuck on the road in the rush hour, trying to bring kla to school before 7.30 am... but i promise everyone i will be home, so i will be there tonight..

2010-01-31T16:52:00.000-08:00

yesterday, i brought kla to the southern book fair in psu as i promised him last week. we walked around and around and ended up buying nothing. new books but they all look the same as last year, from only one printing company.. how could i expect thing differently?

so we went to se-ed bookstore in tesco instead. kla got one book but i got none. we came back to the shop and opened it until 7 pm.

while walking in tesco running some errands, i want a cup of this but suppressed my desire. it was near my sleeping time and i didn't want to toss and turn all night again. now, it's monday morning and i am carving for it again!

2010-01-30T17:37:00.000-08:00

yesterday, while driving back to my shop, i felt guilty for not staying one more night to help my sister taking care of phun. her hubby was in satoon working. only mom, joon and phun in the house. i could postpone my translation work and stay home with them, instead i chose to drive back to my shop to work on translation and get ready to open my shop on sunday afternoon. i love saturday and sunday morning with them; walking around taking photos, chasing py, bringing phun out for a walk, capturing our shared moments together.

but when i am in my busy time. i need at least a night and a morning alone each week to be with myself to unwind, to be ready for the whole long busy week again. but driving back yesterday, i still felt guilty for not staying home with them one more day. gosh, i feel like the guilty feeling is eating me. this coming tuesday is py 3 year-old birthday and certainly i will drive back home in the evening to join her birthday party to erase this guilty feeling.

they understand that i am hitting busy time but i feel guilty anyway..

2010-01-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

a whole week was gone, it was a good week. the weekend is for a lazy time alone and with family. pt was back to work offshore this morning. i miss him around already. i feel that something has changed between us since the breakup and the get-back-together. after what we had to go through, i can say the experience has put us in another level. better care, more careful and less taking one another for grant. in 28 days, we will meet again and we have planned to go camping together.. i miss our old times spending time with him and other friends..

2010-01-26T01:31:00.000-08:00

i want some changes for my clock, as this one, i barely see the time when i am in the far corner of the room.

a few days ago, i've got some ideas from a blog i came across, so i started my own project this afternoon. again, everything is from scraps.

front and back on the last step

and after all steps are done!

2010-01-24T17:57:00.000-08:00

i nearly missed my running this morning. i felt tired and didn't feel like running. it's probably bc of the food i ate the day before. i ate too little, so i felt like i didn't have any energy left. i don't know how my sister copes not eating carb at all. she is trying to loose her pragnancy weights by eating only protine and veggies and no carb, no sugar, no fruits, no dairy product. she's been doing it for a month i guess and she is near her ideal weight. she is very determined when coming to loosing weight. i always give up on my first day and choose to eat what is right for me. i try to adapt her loosing way with mine. it works. the result doesn't as apparent as hers but i could feel some change in my body. i am lighter. i think i am going to do what i am doing. to get the weights off permanently, i have to make it a habit. so what do i do?

i journal what i eat
i run 4-5 days a week + weight train 3 days a week (this is not for weight loosing only but i am addicted to running.)
during the week i try not to binge on sweets. i save them for my cheat day on the weekend. but i have my limit too, i do not eat like i am going to die today.
i stock up plenty of veggies and eat them at every meal and more than other food. they fill up the tummy.
i always have bananas in the kitchen. i eat them when my tummy is empty and with skim milk before running in the morning.
i eat rice only on breakfast and lunch. at dinner, i eat various kinds of things like grilled porked, fish and chicken with plenty of veggies.
if i want to carve for sweets, i go for plain yoghurt.
i avoid all kinds of fried foods but i don't cut them from my life. i just eat them once in a while and enjoy them when i do.
i don't believe the scale but i gauge my success by the clothes i wear. when buying new pants, i always buy a size smaller. i call them my future pants and try them from time to time to see how far i've come.

i swear i didn't intend to write about loosing weight at all. it just happens. have a good monday!

2010-01-24T00:13:00.000-08:00

as usual, this saturday morning i brought phun out for a walk right after we woke up. i got up pretty late when i was at home. it felt like my body was heavy for the long whole week. i sank into the mattress and it was hard to get up.

i like going out bringing phun for a walk. it was so peaceful and the air was crispy and fresh. he loved that soft sunlight when i stopped his pram and bathed him in. it felt like he got lost in the morning peace like i did.

this boy is so easy to smile. he brightens up the whole world when he smiles.

later after getting up, py would join us. then our saturday morning would fill with everyone talking and eating breakfast together..

when comes to toys, my niece always choose gun and sword. i barely see her carry a doll.

every weekend, i like to bring home some color pencils, drawing books and art supplies. it's time that we share together. i like her to turn to something like this when she gets older. sometimes, we walked around the house snapping.

this saturday, we painted phun's t-shirt. it's kind of a beautiful mess.

we like to pose for goofy pics and this one was phun and his dad who wanted to be harry potter.

before lunch, getting tired from playing, py went back to her home for a nap. i was at the house with phun. unluckily, phun was sick. he got diarrhea, so his parents had to bring him to the market to see the doctor and came back home with a bag full of bitter medicines.. poor boy..

getting back home, too tired from diarrhea, he slept soundly.

woke up smiling when seeing me pointing the camera towards him.

taking medicines, gosh..they were so bitter.. even if we mixed them with honey..

late in the afternoon, i drove back to hadyai and did some works before pt arrived in my shop. we planned to go to eat grilled meat/fish/tufu balls. we missed it last week bc it closed too early. after eating the balls, we headed to the bake house named oam. i wanted to sit there, chat, snap and spend time with him.

i feel the most comfortable seeing and spending time with him. i must admit that he is my comfort zone, someone when i am with, i can be who i am. i like seeing new people too but it's kind of making new friends, instead of dating. i guess i am crappy at dating, never like the idea of it. i need a relationship that i don't need to be with him at all times. i want to be on my own and no commitment to the future. pt perfectly fits that scope. as i don't find getting married appealing, i am better than fine having a relationship like this. when you get married, you marry the whole family and this freaks me out.

so on saturday night, if he is not going back to work offshore in an oil rig, we look for something to do together. we like to look for something to eat, look for new fave haunts and watch movies before going to bed. on weekday, living separately, we get back to our normal lives, working, waiting for the weekend and looking for things to do together after i spend time with my folks at home on friday night and saturday morning.. i try to keep it balanced and simple, life is simple..

2010-01-19T21:43:00.000-08:00

after seeing so many chic camera strap covers, i couldn't resist to make my own. the fabric i used is from a dress i modified into a long blouse. i like its color and pattern.

i have surfed the net to look for information for the easy way to do it and i ended up doing my own way.. i wrapped the fabric around the strap and started sewing. doing this way, the fabric will fit with the strap perfectly; not too loose and not too tight.

then, i cut the rim and reversed it.

iron to make the fabric look smooth..insert the strap back into the farbic..

tada!!

i've learned the way to make a new strap but i need to buy the materials. so this one is what i could find in the house..

2010-01-19T02:22:00.000-08:00

pt was here after work, so i asked him to install the magnet boards for me.

it's where i sort out the bill, write in my diary..

listen to music and watch movies..

and run.. i can be home the whole day without going anywhere..

..home sweet home..

2010-01-19T00:18:00.000-08:00

i've been out to have lunch with my sis. she was working in town. she told me about py and phun. py was kicking a football to show off phun. while she kicked, her flipflop flew and fell on phun's face. phun was puzzled but did not cry; while py was pretending she didn't do anything. we had a belly laugh together...

2010-01-18T19:06:00.000-08:00

i was finished with this book this morning. it took me 14 days to read through the last chapter. it's the biggest book i've ever read in a long time. there are so many nagative comments on the book. the story is quite tensed and heart-wrenching. i love the book though. it's my 4th book of this year.

next book will be 'dear john'. watching the movie trailer, i even want to read it more and can't wait to watch the movie. Channing Tatum is one of my fave actors since 'step up'.. i don't know when i will be able to watch the movie, i guess i have to watch the trailer until the movie comes out in thailand.. it's going to be loooooooooooong..

2010-01-17T03:19:00.000-08:00

after watching 2 movies (the rebound and under the tuscan sun), i dragged myself off the coach and did some painting. it's a part of the studio project i said before. but i think the studio has turned into a living room with a telly, a coach and workout equipment. i like to be in this room watching movies, exercising, journalling and taking an afternoon nap.. the room is still under construction, so i can't show all the images.

as i have plenty of old computer cases, i took the covers out and transform them into magnetic boards. i like to stick notes, bills and photos on them. so, i won't get lost with the bills and see the photos of my loved ones on the boards..

..my fingers always get stained with paint..

this is the picture from yesterday after pt installed all the boads on the wall. i took them down this morning to paint. i will show you after the painted ones are installed. gotta wait until the paint dry..

and my happy wall. it seems like i have to make a few more as the first one starts to pack already!

happy decoration!

2010-01-16T22:56:00.000-08:00

it's sunday afternoon again and time is flying by. it's another weekend i have lived fully. first, i've done what i'd postponed for a year; i went to see the dentist to scrape off the tartar and had some teeth fixed. i feel clean inside my mouth again. (not that it was very dirty.. but i felt cleaner after doing it..;])

i went home on friday afternoon. saturday morning, i accompanied my sister to bring phun for his vaccination. drove back to hadyai, saw the dentist, had my haircut, went to the floating market with pt for something to eat and snap. i felt like i was alice in wonderland walking around the market with my camera in hands. i snapped more than i post here. it was exciting seeing people walking on the wooden bridge looking and trying something to eat and the sellers dressing in thai traditional custumes. we had hell lots of fun and came back home with full tummies. ... sorry Rose, they are foods again.. next time when you come back to Thailand, i know where to bring you!!

2010-01-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

oh! i am in love with this new lense. it gives me the answer why i couldn't capture like some cool dudes do.. the answer is it's the lense!!!

yesterday, i had the urge to write postcards. after having been postponing it for a few weeks, i managed to make some postcards from DVD jackets and wrote them to my pals. receiving 2 beautiful postcards from laos yesterday was another kick to get me started writing them again.

it's friday and this boy is so happy bc at the end of the day his parents are coming to pick him up at school and bring him home. next week, his school is going to close for a week, due to teachers' meeting.. lucky boy!!.. so i will be shop-alone for the whole week.. lucky girl!!!

happy weekend! i will be roaming around snapping with the new lense!

2010-01-13T23:40:00.000-08:00

look! what i've recieved since new year! i am going to make a happy wall by hanging all the cards i receive this year and will see how many i will get!

since i am getting busy, i am going to write a little post whenever i am free or feel like writing with one or two images in it..

2010-01-13T17:53:00.000-08:00

i don't want to wait for a muse to write. i want to write something, anything. today i didn' t run bc laying down on the coach listening to lifehouse was much more perfect. today is going to be a long day again..

2010-01-11T18:12:00.000-08:00

my life is in a swing mode. it will be moving in this rythm for about 2 months, janaury and february. it's time to get myself busy, juggling things. i need to pull in more works and money before the quiet months of march, april and may walk in. then, it's time to roam around again. i start to love it this way as i know when to play and when to dig into work. each friday afternoon i still drive back to my parents' and back to my shop again on saturday afternoon. my shop is open 7 days a week now. i take a break on saturday and sunday morning and get my assistant open it on saturday afternoon. we work when it gets busy and we take a break when it's quiet like a haunted place.

i work and look forward to the trips planned during the 3 month-break. this year, they are not as gland as last year but they are something i am looking forward to. they are going to be exciting.

march; the trip with wim in hua-hin. i've been to hua-hin before with my girlfriends. i fall in love with this little town. it's a charming little old town. it gave me different kinds of feeling and there are different kinds of tourists too, from the ones in the south. i love the sunshine shining into town from the beach. it's warm and promising.
april; a trip to philippines to meet a friend from 43things. i go with one of my sis's workmate. i met and knew her from joining their trip to europe last year. she is about my age and loves travelling and backpacking. single and laidback. i planned this trip bc i just want to go somewhere i've never been before. i want to step out of my comfort zone. i've been to vietnam, malaysia, singapore, indonesia.. so why not philippines? i have a friend there who i met online about 3-4 years ago. she is a nice girl and around my age. so why not go and have some new experiences?
may; it's a family trip. we are going to drive dad's mini-bus and bring phun, py, kla and other kids who want to join us to bangkok and the provinces around there. we are going to visit dreamworld, zoos, safari world and many other places along the way. it's a kid's trip and i am willing to be a kid again. it's going to be a lot of fun, i can say that. when all the kids are sleeping, i am going to sneak out and meet some friends at night.. gosh! i can't wait..

after all the trips, it's going to be through half of the year again. time dashes past so fast.. so go out and live your little life large..

2010-01-09T23:43:00.000-08:00

the weekend was fabulous. the fun was over, as the work is starting now on sunday afternoon. i went home on friday but got back on saturday afternoon. feeling a bit guilty for leaving home too soon but i needed to live my own life separately from home and i wanted to get back to do some works and open my shop on sunday. so why it was fabulous?

watched 4 movies; 2012, 500 days of summer, the fireflies in the garden, coco chanel
went to the lantern festival
bought a new lense
stayed lazy half day on sunday morning
had the strong willpower to open my shop on sunday afternoon and got some works done.
new translation work
i have a lover!
being home alone
nightout with pt
tried new steak
drank wine and was drunk